99XWatch.org

Plethora of Pandering

So, it's been a quiet week here at 99XWatch.org.  Does that mean that TJ&L have stopped pandering to conservatives?  Not bloody likely.  Internet connection problems and non-blog related events have conspired to keep me away from the keyboard.  So here's a summary of some of the things I would have written more extensively about, had I had I been able.

• Leslie mocks Cindy Sheehan on Monday.
• Jimmy says in the 7:00 hour Tuesday News Pile:   "There's no reason for anyone in this country to go hungry.  There's no reason for anyone in this country to be unemployed."
• TJ&L correctly ridicule Michael Brown's testimony before congress on Wednesday, yet take every opportunity to shift blame from FEMA to State and Local Officials.  News Pile fails to mention that congressional probe is lead by Republicans and that Democrats are outnumbered and lack subpoena power.
• Thursday Toucher and Jimmy claim inability to understand the case against Tom Delay prevents them from commentary.  Number of casino lobbiest Ralph Reed's golfing buddies indicted goes to three*.  Number of times TJ&L have mentioned plagerist Ralph Reed's criminal associations goes to zero.

* Jack Abramoff, David Safavian, and Tom Delay. Come on Rep. Bob Ney!  You can make it four!

The Future Is Now?

We envision a future in which Toucher takes his place as an intelligent talk show blowhard, a Neal Boortz for the Audioslave set.

From The Sunday Paper, September 18-24, 2005, a Washington Times for the Audioslave set.

Toucher was #49 on "The SP 100" behind the actual Neal Boortz (#39) and fruit salad in the shape of flowers (#46).   

Baron Focuses on Potential for Abuse of Aid by Poor, Ignores Potential for Abuse by Inside Government Contractors

In the 7:41 am News Pile Jimmy Baron made the following commentary:

I don't want to rain on the parade of charity.  Alright, to be sure there's thousands of people who are hardworking people who lost their homes, who lost their livelihoods, who lost everything they had, but you know, there's a lot of people who don't want to help themselves involved in this too—Like the people who, a lot of whom ended up down in the Superdome, a lot of the inner city people.  I am gonna be really concerned that some of these gift cards and things that some of these people get are going to buy lottery tickets, and are going to buy things that would not be deemed essential.  And so you know, again not to put a damper on it, but is anyone else starting to get a little bit of a feeling that some of the people we're seeing on TV wound up in the position they're in in the first place because in life, they don't help themselves to begin with.

Meanwhile, the following story got no mention on 99X:

Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.

Certainly, two wrongs do not make a right.  Halliburton's billing for $422 million in "unsupported" costs for its work in Iraq does not make using a $200 Redcross-donated Walmart gift card to buy an X-Box right.  That being said, it takes a lot of $200 gift cards to equal the $9 Billion the Coalition Provisional Authority has been unable to account for.  Given the poor performance of government contractors in Iraq, particularly those with close ties to the Bush Administration, Jimmy would do well to focus more attention on their activities, and less on whether or not the poor buy lottery tickets.

I'd like to acknowledge Andisheh Nouraee whose post on atlanta.metblogs.com inspired this one.

Jimmy and Leslie Call Media's Questioning of Disaster Preparedness "Irresponsible" and Political, Yet Fail to Mention that Bush Wondered the Same Thing

In today's 6:28 am News Pile Jimmy and Leslie had the following exchange:

Jimmy:  I understand we should be informed as citizens, but at what point is it kinda irresponsible for the news to go on and publicly say or for people to go on the air and publically say, especially government experts to say that uh "hey terrorists, just so you know, we got no defense here," because that's basically what they're saying.  What they're saying is that this country's security is wide open.

Leslie:  They're continuing to politicize it.  That's why.

While Jimmy and Leslie questioned the media for such speculation, they failed to note that Bush had mentioned the same issue in a press availability on September 13th, 2005.  99XWatch.org observed that on September 14th, Leslie played a truncated soundbite from that press availablity where Bush wondered "Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack or another severe storm?"

Leslie Falsely Suggested that Whether or Not Blanco Requested Federal Help Is in Question

In today's 6:28 am News Pile, Leslie stated:

Maybe, while everyone is arguing whether the Lousiana Governor requested or should have requested help the weekend before Katrina's arrival, the Federal government could have gone anyway but didn't.

In fact, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco requested help in a letter to president Bush on August 27, 2005, the Saturday before Katrina made landfall. Blanco's letter stated:

I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.

Bush Wondered, "Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack?" But The News Pile Edited It Out

Most major media reported President Bush's "acknowledgment that he is unsure whether the United States is 'capable of dealing with a severe [terrorist] attack.'" Leslie Fram, In both the 6:32 am and 7:57 am News Piles, played a downcut version of the more widely reported soundbite, omitting Bush's question.

What Leslie played:

BUSH: Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government. And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong.

What Bush said:

BUSH: Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government. And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong. I want to know how to better cooperate with state and local government, to be able to answer that very question that you asked: Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack or another severe storm? And that's a very important question. And it's in our national interest that we find out exactly what went on and -- so that we can better respond.

Balanced Coverage Toucher Style

After playing audio of Laura Bush mispronouncing Hurricane Katrina, Toucher apparently felt the need to balance his coverage by slandering Teresa-Heinz Kerry (mp3, 531KB). 

Jimmy Calls Critics of Federal Katrina Response "Naive and Ignorant"

From Monday's 6:34am News Pile:

Jimmy:  I think that all these people who are pointing the finger at George Bush for the whole catastrophic thing are so naive and ignorant...

Leslie:  Of course.

Jimmy:  ...to think that one agency or person could have done something to prevent...this was a complete collapse of not only the entire system on a state, local, and federal level, but also the society of New Orleans.

Among the "naive and ignorant":

New York Times: "Breakdowns Marked Path From Hurricane to Anarchy"
Washington Post: "The Steady Buildup to a City's Chaos"
Los Angeles Times: "Confusion at Crunch Time"
Philadelphia Inquirer: "Failure at Every Turn"

Leslie, Stop Getting Your News from Karl Rove and Fox

Following in the footsteps of Fox News, in Friday morning's 6:46 am News Pile, Leslie Fram presented the following mischaracterized account of why the Red Cross was unable to provide disaster relief in New Orleans:

Yes there is all of that finger pointing and yesterday the Red Cross came out and said this:  Louisiana officials rebuffed the American Red Cross requests to enter the state and the city with relief supplies last week because of concerns over logistical difficulties. The Red Cross never launched its relief into the city. The national president of the American Red Cross Marsha Evans first made the request to undertake the operation during a visit to the state, that was on September 1, three days after the Hurricane. Vic Howell, who is a chief executive officer of the agency said that he renewed that request the next day, and apparently, [The Louisiana Office of] Homeland Security told him they weren't ready for him to come in.

In fact, the Red Cross was not rebuffed,  it was asked to wait 24 hours, not due to logistical difficulties but due to "security concerns", according to the Associated Press, via NOLA.com.  Fram's mischaracterization, whether by design or by accident, is consistent with George Bush's chief Political Advisor Karl Rove's plan to shift blame for the poor Hurricane Katrina response to state and local authorities.

Leslie Fram Helps Bush Pass Buck

The Bush Administration, having failed miserably at responding to Hurricane Katrina, has now embarked on a campaign to shift blame to Louisiana state officials.  Leslie Fram joined this campaign by suggesting on all three of today's News Pile segments that Louisiana state and local officials were to blame for the poor rescue and relief effort.

Here are Leslie's statements on the matter:

6:33am "I think that a lot of that finger pointing needs to back to the mayor and the governor of Louisiana"

7:55am "There are a lot of reports though...pointing fingers to state and local government in Louisiana"

9:41am "I kind of believe [the failures] really started though with state and local."

The following time line shows the actually sequence of events, showing the early action by Louisianna officials and the delayed reponse by the Federal Government:

Friday, Aug. 26: Gov. Kathleen Blanco declares a state of emergency in Louisiana and requests troop assistance.

Saturday, Aug. 27: Gov. Blanco asks for federal state of emergency. A federal emergency is declared giving federal officials the authority to get involved.

Sunday, Aug. 28: Mayor Ray Nagin orders mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. President Bush warned of Levee failure by National Hurricane Center. National Weather Service predicts area will be "uninhabitable" after Hurricane arrives. First reports of water toppling over the levee appear in local paper.

Monday, Aug. 29: Levee breaches and New Orleans begins to fill with water, Bush travels to Arizona and California to discuss Medicare. FEMA chief finally responds to federal emergency, dispatching employees but giving them two days to arrive on site.

Tuesday, Aug. 30: Mass looting reported, security shortage cited in New Orleans. Pentagon says that local authorities have adequate National Guard units to handle hurricane needs despite governor's earlier request. Bush returns to Crawford for final day of vacation. TV coverage is around-the-clock Hurricane news.

Wednesday, Aug. 31: Tens of thousands trapped in New Orleans including at Convention Center and Superdome in "medieval" conditions. President Bush finally returns to Washington to establish a task force to coordinate federal response. Local authorities run out of food and water supplies.

Thursday, Sept. 1: New Orleans descends into anarchy. New Orleans Mayor issues a "Desperate SOS" to federal government. Bush claims nobody predicted the breach of the levees despite multiple warnings and his earlier briefing.

Friday, Sept. 2: Karl Rove begins Bush administration campaign to blame state and local officials—despite their repeated requests for help. Bush stages a photo-op—diverting Coast Guard helicopters and crew to act as backdrop for cameras. Levee repair work orchestrated for president's visit and White House press corps.

Saturday, Sept. 3: Bush blames state and local officials. Senior administration official (possibly Rove) caught in a lie claiming Gov. Blanco had not declared a state of emergency or asked for help.

Monday, Sept. 5: New Orleans officials begin to collect their dead.

Adapted by MoveOn.org from: Katrina Timeline, http://thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline/