The "John Wayne dude"--NOT
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin likes to call Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, commanding general of Joint Task Force Katrina the "John Wayne dude." Actually, from what I am able to tell, Honore is the exact opposite of the John Wayne persona. Whereas John Wayne's characters prevailed by being cool and deliberate, Honore prefers being foul-mouthed, swaggering, and insulting.
I have no doubt that Honore, a native Louisianian, is doing a good job of taking charge. There is already talk of his being the front-runner for Time's "Person of the Year" award. He is also being praised for his sympathy for the poor and the elderly. His treatment of the news media, however, leaves much to be desired. During the last five years, the media has deserved every insult we could hurl, but they are now asking intelligent, important questions about the hurricane, and Honore is responding by covering for the White House and insulting the reporters.
I imagine that people are eating this up. I'm not.
I have no doubt that Honore, a native Louisianian, is doing a good job of taking charge. There is already talk of his being the front-runner for Time's "Person of the Year" award. He is also being praised for his sympathy for the poor and the elderly. His treatment of the news media, however, leaves much to be desired. During the last five years, the media has deserved every insult we could hurl, but they are now asking intelligent, important questions about the hurricane, and Honore is responding by covering for the White House and insulting the reporters.
I imagine that people are eating this up. I'm not.
posted by Diane at 5:20 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I agree that the news media has earned every insult we might hurl at them. The MSM is more than failing at reporting the news. They are mostly a giant wrecking ball that delivers information only as an afterthought to crushing the usual suspects or delivering crisp photos of the latest missing white girl.
They have not asked important and intelligent questions. Mostly they ignore the obvious, because it contradicts their agenda. They don't ask Louisiana politicians how they could giggle about a repuation as the most corrupt political machine in american history (tammany cost less) and then pretend like the poverty and confusion was someone elses fault. And when Farrakan and Rev. Jackson waltz in to town and claim that a bomb breeched the levee, how is it that not one cub reporter raises his hand and calls Farakan Stuck on Stupid.
When the media can crush people with lies and ineptitude and receive praise for their performance.....and an accomplished 3 star general gets criticized for calling an idiot Stupid (at a time when he really needed to be called stupid) then our country is upside down.
The General was explaining the current preparation for Rita, the reporter was asking a stupid question by implying that the General in anticipation of Katrina should have kicked the Governor and mayor out of Louisiana, declared a police state and marched the city's foot dragging occupants out of town at the point of a bayonet. Which in retrospect is the only way the feds could have protected New Orleans from the officeholders that they chose to steer their ship.
A man with swagger is not as bad as a man with ego that hears such a dumb question and scratchs his head and considers the merits of marching federal troops from state to state.
Honore knows a horse's ass when he sees one. I am glad he reminded us all how underserved we are by a tragically incompetent media.
TJ King - Orange county, CA
By
Anonymous, at
9:26 PM
I understand Honore's impatience, but he has treated practically all members of the news media--not just the one you're seein on TV--that way. Most of the questions have been legitimate, especially in light of the fact that the people of Louisiana have absolutely no reason to trust the government.
Honore's answers, when he has bothered to give them ("none of your business" is his latest reply) have either been insulting, or they have been cover-ups for the administration's incompetence.
And Louisiana can no longer be said to have the most corrupt political machine in American history: That would be the Bush administration.
By
Diane, at
10:29 PM
Words and circumstances and political bias and 'lies' and most importantly THE TRUTH, and a administrator like Honore and worst: the media. Put them all together and you have one hell of ride. Honore is doing a fantastic job and I feel that there have been MANY TIMES that President Bush would like to have said the same thing at a number of his media briefings--but--he had to hold his tongue.
Quite frankly, get rid of the 'political correctness' poppycock and move on from there. The media *is* biased and their whole mission is bash Bush. They live and die for it. And its pretty amazing. The media has had to eat a lot of excrement over many stories they've written, printed and it ain't over yet.
They do not own the news anymore.
They're. done. over. finished.
They are truly 'stuck on stupid'.
By
Anonymous, at
11:21 PM
I know what you mean. I've been disgusted, too, after initially hoping he'd put things to right. He lied, right off the bat, when asked why the Nat'l Guard didn't get there sooner, by saying they couldn't have moved any faster, due to flooded roads.
Yeah, right. Setting aside the fact the roads were no impediment on Friday, when they finally began rolling into the city, there's the question of how everyone else and their mother was getting into NO. It wasn't satellite that brought you those images of the convention center. It was journalists, and I saw no gills on them either.
He's from the same part of the state where my sister in law lives. I'll have to find out the real scoop from her one day.
By
Anonymous, at
7:29 AM
How is what he said "foul-mouthed"????
Me thinks you're overreacting.
By
Joaquin, at
8:38 AM
dax,
You're just getting selective sound bytes on TV. He began using the foulest language imaginable the moment he set foot on the ground, and he hasn't stopped.
By
Diane, at
11:14 AM
Kathy,
There have been numerous stories of National Guard and other trucks having to drive through the flood waters to get to the Convention Center, etc. Actually, there was no water at all at the Camp Street ramp, but none of the drivers thought to ask anyone if there was a non-flooded route.
By
Diane, at
11:16 AM
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