We heard all about the crime gangs and rape gangs prowling the Superdome and the Convention Center. There were reports of over 200 dead at those sites alone.
The actual total was six, about what you would expect statistically.
The MSM has spent years trying to get Bush to apologize for whatever. Do you think they will show us how that is done?
Me neither.
Mr. President,
We are sorry we didn’t rape and pillage more while we had the chance.
Sincerely,
The Gangs of NO.
Art,
they don’t need to apologize, it wasn’t the Presidents fault, with or without rapes and murders.
Just out of curiosity, has there been an investigation on what crimes were or weren’t committed? For example, were all the reported murders/rapes at the Super Dome just apocryphal stories? I would sure like to believe that they were.
There are no reported murders at the Superdome. Four deaths from natural causes, one overdose and one suicide account for the six total deaths there.
It looks like all, or nearly all of the stories were just BS.
Read the thread I posted at about the same time Art posted this one.
Actually, Nagin and the NO Chief of Police should be the first to apologize since they were right at the front of the line in talking about those crimes occurring. If I were a journalist, I’d to think that statements from the Chief of Police re: crimes would be a very credible source…apparently not.
I have a hard time giving them much of the blame on this matter. They were pressed and pressed for estimates. They gave them while making sure that everyone knew they were based on no hard information. The media, loving disasters, ran with it as if it were fact.
Sure, the officials shouldn’t have repeated the rumors, but give them a break. They had quite a bit on their plate.
I dunno–there’s a difference between estimating numbers early on and repeating specific, unsubstantiated stories. Moreover, in a time of crisis, I’d expect them to be much more reluctant to mention stories of that nature as it could escalate tensions, create a public panic, etc. I can appreciate them having a lot on their minds, but with respect to crimes of the nature being reported, it was incumbent upon them not to mention anything that wasn’t backed up with hard facts.
Moreover, even if they had a lot on their minds, my larger point is that quotes/statements from local officials, on record, about the existence of such crimes goes a long way in terms of credibility. I am sure the media was very much looking forward to being able to print such sensational stories, but having those stories corroborated by local officials isn’t as shoddy as other journalistic practices of late…
Why do we think anyone owes us any apologies? People do their jobs, and they make mistakes, and they keep moving on. Why do people want apologies for something a guy 9 states away said about something they only vaguely follow on the news? These guys overestimated the amount of crime going on. So what? What they should do is do a better job of reporting accurately. I get this all the time at work. Every single time I tell people I don’t want their apologies, I want them to do their job correctly.
I think you do want to get a “I screwed up, but I learned my lesson and will get it right the next time” though. I don’t think you would appreciate it if they admitted no error, took no responsibility, and kept on screwing their job up the same way over and over.
People likely died because excessive resources were allocated to deal with security problems that didn’t exist.
“I think you do want to get a “I screwed up, but I learned my lesson and will get it right the next time” though. I don’t think you would appreciate it if they admitted no error, took no responsibility, and kept on screwing their job up the same way over and over.”
There is a big difference between someone owning up to their shortcomings and resolving to do better in the future, and demanding that someone get on TV and say they’re sorry.
“People likely died because excessive resources were allocated to deal with security problems that didn’t exist”
Really? Who? And what would have happened if those resources weren’t allocated? Would security problems have developed simply because there was less security? I think people died because an terrible disaster occurred for which it is almost impossible to prepare adequately. I don’t think a whole lot of people died because they sent more cops to the Superdome.
Fair enough about people dying. I can’t document that.
In this case, we get no acknowledgement that anything was wrong. It frosts me in that these are the same MMQB that nitpick every decision by every person in a position of responsibility as if they could do better.
If I thought for a second these were honest and isolated mistakes, I would be more forgiving. There is a common agenda to the majority of news reports. Find something that is wrong, make it sound worse than it is, and blame it on Bush.
I think the trend is a little more like:
“Find something that is wrong, make it sound worse than it is, and blame it on someone”
Certainly the President gets his share of this, but that’s part of what comes from being in charge. However, there’s been plenty of finger pointing on both sides. As far as I can tell, both the mayor of N.O., and the gov of LA are pretty much worthless. At least the other States affected seem to have decided to take as much of the recovery efforts into their own hands as they can. FEMA was woefully unprepared for something they themselves predicted could happen. Responding to this type and level of catastrophe is the entire reason for FEMA’s existence. The administration did a bad job of selling what they were going to do to fix things, and seem to have decided to throw money and the military at the problem.
The only people doing a good job is the Navy. That’s because the Army sucks. 
Very good. LOL.
How foolish are you Art? We all know that the right wing people are in “Protection Mode” covering their leader and covering up the murders of the poor African Americans that George Bush’s hatred for has been shown so clearly…we all know that if he held the gun / knife or not GW is the one who caused this.
How does the fact that the numbers of crimes commited in the Super Dome were exaggerated effect the fact that Bush and company did not even know that there were people IN the Super dome until four days after?
Your facts are mixed up. FEMA head Brown did not know there were people in the Convention Center (NOT the Superdome). Why? Because the Convention Center was not a designated evacuation center, but people went there anyway (I don’t blame them for that). But, that is why there was no food or water there either.