Iraq comes to Louisiana: In Iraq, somewhere between 50-70 journalists have been killed by U.S. forces. Now, journalists in New Orleans are finding themselves being threatened by edgy troops with weapons.
As a result of the imagery coming from the gulf coast, especially New Orleans, Bush's poll numbers are dropping dramatically. In response, it appears the government now wishes to control those images coming out of the Big Easy.
I heard Scott McClellan this morning saying how government officials welcome journalists during this difficult period in New Orleans so long as they are in the accompaniment of authorities. In other words, "embedded" as they are in Iraq.
Unfortunately, as we learned in Iraq, unembedded journalists--those who strike out independently and send back images and stories unauthorized by the government--have a far higher incidence of "accidental" shooting by our military.
That's what some journalists in New Orleans are beginning to experience, that is, threats by edgy authorities toting guns.
I find it ironic that the media had free reign in New Orleans for nearly a week while the government was trying to muster a rescue effort. The images we saw, no doubt, cost Bush some of his approval. I know there was little interest in rescuing or saving the lives of poor black Americans in that city, but one has to wonder if FEMA or Homeland Security had gotten some troops in there with rifles in the faces of reporters--while not saving lives--they might have saved Bush a few percentage points.
I'm shocked, because Bush and his Turd Blossom are usually so very aware of photo ops and good faux public relations which--as it turns out--are usually just that, spin based on bullshit. So, they'd better get in there, clamp down on the testy media, even if it means having to resort to shooting a few independent minded journalists.
(NOTE: News comes of CNN filing a lawsuit against the government for banning photos of dead bodies floating in the streets of New Orleans. The government claims it's out of respect for the dead. Oooh, another irony. The government didn't respect the dead when they were living. Now they're worried about respecting them in death? I think they're more concerned with saving Bush's ass.)
1 comment:
They got off to a slow start because they were on vacation when the storm hit and Big Dick was probably off killing some animals. Now that he's back, things are under control again. He might have had to put little Georgie in the corner for a while - or adjust his meds.
Doing photo-ops is hard work.
Post a Comment