Hurricane Katrina: Ten Years Later
Hurricane Katrina happened to New Orleans ten years ago, and it's just as heartbreaking today, watching Geraldo Rivera cry with a baby in his hands at the sheer madness that was unfolding before him.
These two interviews by Fox News' Shep Smith and Geraldo Rivera were heart breaking in so many ways. It showed the raw emotion of these two newsmen, who were confronted by trying to cover these horrific events - in real time - while trying not to let Hannity, a paid stooge of Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch, color the events in a positive George Bush light.
If you remember, the right wing media was blaming the NOLA victims for this tragedy and not the Bush administration's incompetence.
I'm sorry that the video I captured for C&L ten years ago isn't the best quality, but it was the best at that time and still captures these horrific moments perfectly. (Please try to watch the entire video.)
Shepard Smith and Geraldo Rivera were livid about the situation in NOLA as they appeared on H&C. When Hannity tried his usual spin job and said "let's get this in perspective," Smith chopped him off at the knees and started yelling at him saying, "This is perspective!" It was shocking.
Geraldo who I'm no fan of was crying, holding a little child up to demonstrate the extremely inhumane conditions these people are forced to endure. Forced is the right word because they are locked in the Superdome by our government and can't leave. Troops are guarding the bridge as we speak.
Digby wrote about it thusly:
Fox News reporters have played this story pretty straight (for them) and it's making the stars extremely uncomfortable. Somebody's going to have to have a talk with the supporting cast. They are going off script.
Update: Sean's up now and he's equally uncomfortable with Shep's story about the thousands still stuck on freeways and bridges with no food and water --- who have been ignored for days now. He's been covering one single bridge for days and nobody knows why they haven't been helped yet. He's almost shrill.
Now Geraldo comes on and he freaks out, begging the authorities to let people still stuck at the convention center walk out of town. Shep comes back and he says they have checkpoints set up turning people back to the city if they try. (wtf?) They are both on the verge of tears.
Sean says they need to get some perspective and Shep screams at him "this is the perspective!"
This was some amazing TV. Kudos to Shep Smith and Geraldo for not letting O'Reilly and Hannity spin their GOP "resolve" apologia bullshit. I'm fairly shocked
.