Katrina, the Middle-Class Scylla and Charybdis

With two contributors here from Louisiana and one with strong ties; Katrina money, the red tape tape concerning it, the national misconception about Louisianians, and the general health of the Gulf Coast states are points of contention.

A little personal history, prior to Katrina hitting, my family and I evacuated to Georgia from Gulfport, Mississippi, my former residence. Due to the requirements of my job I had to return to Gulfport almost immediately. Leaving my family in Alabama, probably the hardest thing I ever had to do.

I have been several places around the world which were war torn and I can tell you, the state of the Gulf Coast was like nothing I have ever seen before. The amount of devastation, carnage, and broken lives was surreal and indescribable, especially witnessing it first hand and on the deck.

When the national coverage started, I was shocked to see what was happening in my birthplace of New Orleans. And the rumors, ranging from civilians shooting at helicopters that were trying to rescue them, to snipers shooting drug addicts that were attempting to pillage local hospitals for pharmaceuticals, to armed posses of New Orleanian residents roaming the streets looking to kill or capture looters and lawbreakers. Most are true in one fashion or another.

What was hardly covered was the kindness and the human compassion that was extended from stranger to stranger. Bonds of friendship that would have otherwise not formed if it were not for Katrina. The faith based and community groups who showed up to help rebuild and the military, for its incredible first response. None of this garners ratings.

All we have been privy to, thanks to the media, is welfare rats whining and wanting their FEMA checks, abuses by our local officials, the "Chocolate City," looting, a corrupt police force, and Spike Lee's ignorant movie which only assisted in propagating the media myths. Some of this is wholeheartedly true and other facets are a representation of a small minority, not the real story in its entirety. What was not reported, as often is the case, was the suffering of the middle American in this embattled region. I am here to tell you first hand, they're in the majority, not those you see on the television or read about in print.

These people are just like you; middle to average incomes, homeowners, 2.5 kids, a dog, they pay their taxes, they work, and they suffer because of partisan politics and games. Are they stupid for living where they do? Let me ask you this, are they any less stupid than someone who lives in California, close to the San Andres fault, the Mid-West in tornado alley, or the North East being subjected to blistering weather and snow storms? My humble opine is no, they aren't stupid. This is their home, it is what they know and love. A place full of rich heritage, decent people, and a fantastic culture. Something worth conserving.

Why do I bring this up? It was a comment by OP, on another post, and an article from MSNBC, that I just read that inspired this.

OP made the point, through an unofficial source (Whatever that means.) about Jindal being afraid of inciting political warfare with the WH and Congress by not accepting stimulus money and how that might effect the release of Katrina money. Funds which have already been set aside for the residents of the Gulf Coast and they have yet to receive. Keep in mind, there is plenty of money to go around, but accessing it is the problem as pointed out in this August 2007, article in Reason magazine. This problem still persists.

The whole point is not to gather support for the people affected by Katrina, your mind is already made up one way or another. This is about political noise generated by the government, which gets nothing accomplished, and the media sensationalism over the topic du jour. The truth and reality always walk the middle line, and not in the moderate sense either.

This applies to this particular blog, we do ride the right side of things because we are right wingers. Nevertheless, we are Americans first, and the atrocity of government mismanagement coupled with the vile displays of media sensationalism is what drives the fight here. The Katrina episode showed why our system is broken, it exemplified the hand out mentality of those who are not deserving and the taking away from those who rightfully are, the declination of an over-sized government bureaucracy which is still failing, and an abysmal dereliction to report the truth. Even with this evidence, our elected officials, supposed greatest minds, and media titans still continue dragging us down this hole.

Remember, we have them outnumbered almost 1,000-to-1 and our votes do count. If they continue with their malfeasance and treachery, vote them out on their collective asses. Get involved, stay informed, and do something. We may not always enjoy having these choices and freedoms, so exercise them and don't take them for granted. In other words, be an American.

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The Elitist Wars: Volume One (The Media)

CT

Sarah Palin’s introduction on to the scene of national politics, some say, has re-ignited the Culture Wars. While this may be true, she has also ignited a new war, the Elitist Wars. There has been much questioning about the mind set and intellect of the people who support her and many Liberal writers have been asking lately, what is wrong with elitism? Their point is this, “Wouldn’t you want the best pilot flying planes, the best soldier leading troops, the best athletes playing ball, etc.” A very good point and something that we as Americans cherish beyond all, the winner. The next point they raise is why you wouldn’t want an intellectual elitist as your leader. Again, a good point and seemingly difficult to refute. Not really, when you read history and some of its wisest philosophers.

Looking back into history, a la 18th century, I can turn to my idealistic icon, Sir Edmund Burke, the wisest of Conservative oracles, for some insight. Burke had been prescient in determining the true cause of the French Revolution; a clash between pragmatic thought and the intellectualism driven by the Age of Reason. Sound familiar?

The Elitist Wars: Volume I (The Media)

This war has been going on now for almost four centuries and has evolved little. The only thing that has changed is the method of dissemination that fires revolution. In Burke’s time it was pamphlets written by philosophers and political activists, today it is op-eds and news reports written by journalists. But like today, it was this coupling of writers of the day and the oppressed commoner which caused the French Revolution to be handled so gruesomely. Burke had this to say about writers and the media outlets of the day.

“Writers, especially when they act in a body, and with one direction, have great influence on the public mind. ... They became a sort of demagogues. They served as a link to unite, in favor of one object, obnoxious wealth to restless and desperate poverty.”

They have become the propagators for the message of the Liberal elite and intellectuals. Also many of its, “journalists” feel they are the privileged and anointed members of this particular faction. Handing us, the dolts, oafs, and peasants, the necessary information required so we can keep on breathing through our mouths while they dictate policy and “take care of us.”

Burke, calling them instigators is being at the very least, polite. The media, in present times, represents the most abhorred traits in humanity; hypocritical, high-born, recremental, falsifying cabal only capable of dumbing down the masses into drooling dullards with worthless ten minute sound bites and talking points.

Now is this to say that the media will fire a bloody revolution with the physical results of the Terror in France? No, it probably will not and the chances of it are very slim. But what it does cause is the over simplification of the truth and turns this into reality. A reality that becomes accepted by pop culture as the norm or gospel. Have you ever wondered why when you hear something come out of an actor, the media or an activist’s mouth you can detect the shallowness of their position? You cannot quite put your finger on it, but you know it’s there; this is because it is a talking point, nothing more. There is no substance to it nor is there any depth, it is the cause du jour.

In basic marketing, and that is all media reporting is today, there is a very simple way to make people remember something, repeat it three or five times. Eventually when you repeat it enough people stop questioning it, accept it as reality, and move on to the next issue. It is saturation bombing of useless information to shift you in a certain decision making direction. Now, this is an explanation in the simplest of terms, the actual techniques used by news agencies, politicians, activist groups, corporations, etc. are much more complicated.

Governor Palin is a fine example of a victim of this technique. Palin portrays herself as a folksy slice of Ameircana and I do not doubt she has those attributes. But that is not what is being debated here. Her appeal is that she is like everyone else and is taking all of us to Washington to fight and reform. Unfortunately for her, the media has made her into a caricature of the image she is trying to portray. They are in effect saying she is trash because she is so average; she is not worthy to lead because she is so common. Though in most instances they are not saying so bluntly, they are shrouding it platitudes and patronization. This is not a defense of Palin as more of an inductive approach to what the media has done to her. The very same techniques have been used for and against Obama by the media also.

Burke understood these media techniques used by intellectual elitists and how they would readily fire up the local populaces against a perceived enemy. He also warned about the dangerous waters the French were treading in because of it. But the fervor caused by the French Revolution made his warnings fall on deaf ears and it was not until two years after his death he was vindicated. Out of this Age of Reason and Revolution was born the tyrant that Burke warned of, Napoleon.

-CT

"Happy Hunting!"

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Media Hype

C.T.

Media hype, we hear about it all the time, but what is it? Well, by my own personal definition it is, " Sensationalism of mediocrity that sells and gets ratings and acquires viewers." Anyone with common sense or is somewhat well versed in politics and economics knows we are in rough times, or about to be. But when you turn on the tube, what is the "news" you see?


We are inundated about the Democratic mud slinging, Britney, Bush bashing, Obama bashing, Clinton bashing, useless sound bites, human interest stories, and opinion. None of this in my world qualifies as newsworthy. Where is the news? What are the things they should be reporting to the American public and where has it been written that we should take the MSM as gospel on situations?


The answer to these questions is simple; no one reports the news, the American public deserves the truth, not hype or op-eds, and the MSM is not the gospel on anything. Politics and reporting are more intertwined than ever before, I am sure to an extent it always has been. Why is the "news" reported based on the editor's and producer's political background? We do not deserve that, we deserve a report, not an analysis by the so-called experts. Take something simple as a police report, it is a gathering of the facts based on investigation into a particular situation. This sounds pretty simple and it is, this is way the news should be. Now, I do realize that there is always going to be an amount of personal judgement as to what transpired, but that is alright. What we are seeing on the idiot box these days is far passed that.


I would think the media went South after 1968-69 when Walter Cronkite declared the Vietnam war was unwinnable, because of the Tet offensive. Ironic, thing was, that it was the hugest military blunder made by North Vietnam and American forces spanked them. But, the war was unwinnable? Could you imagine if the media had declared that in World War II with the German counter attack in France after D-Day? We might be living with an ever looming fascist threat.


President Lyndon Johnson is reported to have said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost America." This remark, made back in the late 60's, shows the power the media wielded back then. To think that they have not perfected the art even further is foolish. With the advent of the Internet and the speed at which information can be disseminated nowadays the power of the media has been greatly expanded, but so has the power of the little guy to investigate it and find out the truth. No longer are we restricted to just being told what is happening, we can actually find out all the facts and make our own rational decisions.

C.T.

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