General Honore for President!

[frodo_biguns]

http://thepoliticalteen.net/2005/09/20/stuckonstupid/


“You are stuck on stupid, I’m not going to answer that question”

- - General Honore to reporter.

I’m glad someone finally said it.

DOWNLOAD and view video here.
http://thepoliticalteen.net/2005/09/20/stuckonstupid/

[tough love]

Dig it when army guy shoots from hip.

One of our military guys who just led a troop to partake in Joint Task Force 2 in Afghanistan was asked by our pink media just before they left, 'what was up with them going the Afgha.
He said that they were going there to kill scumbag murderers.

That didn't go over to well with the poli-puke crowd, but it sure hit home with the regular folk who have had it with these slaughtering bastards.

btw..word has it that since the JTF2 effort took effect, they have been very successful at doing what they do.

Sorry, if this ventured too far off your thread intent.


Anywho; RACK little victories.

[Tom In VA]

RACK Honore

[Variable]

RACK that guy.

There's nothing worse than reporters hounding public figures with the same tired boring questions for weeks on end hoping that they'll piss them off and get some new soundbite that they can run with. All they're really doing is trying to manufacture the news when they have nothing to report.

[DrDetroit]

I disagree, Variable. I don't think that they are asking tired questions in order to get a soundbite. They are asking questions that blatantly distort the situation. This serves to get a response that they can use in a new column. Of course, that new column won't simply be reporting facts of an event, but will essentially be an op-ed article where the author finds some way to bash the government.

There's plenty to report re: NOLA, however, they get to choose how to frame their articles. Hence, they get stuck on stupid as they ask questions that lead tio a pre-determined conclusion.

[BSmack]

They are asking questions that blatantly distort the situation. This serves to get a response that they can use in a new column. Of course, that new column won't simply be reporting facts of an event, but will essentially be an op-ed article where the author finds some way to bash the government.

Exactly. If you read the full transcript he's berating them for that. He has to remind them that their role is to carry the message he's putting out and nothing more.

Since when is the role of a free press to simply "carry the message he's putting out"? Unless the reporting is from Stars and Stripes, he has an obligation to do much more than "carry the message he's putting out".

[Variable]

That obligation does not extend to creating news. And in a press conference of that nature, the role of the press IS essentially to take the guy's statement and relay it to the people. Had it been the new director of FEMA up there, those questions would have been pertinent, but it wasn't, so they weren't.

To put it another way, it's certainly within a reporter's right to ask those questions, but if he does he's very unprofessional. There's a time and place for those questions and that press conference was neither.

[Tom In VA]

Since when is the role of a free press to simply "carry the message he's putting out"? Unless the reporting is from Stars and Stripes, he has an obligation to do much more than "carry the message he's putting out".

Since the free press has shown their inability to carry out their purported "obligation" to report facts and facts alone.

The line of questioning was to collect fodder for yet another sensationalist piece of garbage not even worthy of lining a bird cage.

[DrDetroit]

Since when is the role of a free press to simply "carry the message he's putting out"?

It is their role when the issue is communicating evacuation and emergency preparation information, ass.

And at that time, he was providing information relating to preparedness and evacuation. Instead of simply recording the evacuation instructions, the media there were demanding answers to their questions about Katrina. Sorry, but that was the wrong forum.

Do you (and they) need to be reminded that their job is not to render conclusions or to choose which argument is best, but rather to report the facts about an event?

It seems that you do.

[Hapday]

Since when is the role of a free press to simply "carry the message he's putting out"? Unless the reporting is from Stars and Stripes, he has an obligation to do much more than "carry the message he's putting out".

Since the free press has shown their inability to carry out their purported "obligation" to report facts and facts alone.

The line of questioning was to collect fodder for yet another sensationalist piece of garbage not even worthy of lining a bird cage.

Exactly. It tells an extremely sad tale of how low journalism has fallen when they have to be reminded of their job. Their job is to report the news not make it. Opinions belong only in editorials and columns.

[BSmack]

Since when is the role of a free press to simply "carry the message he's putting out"? Unless the reporting is from Stars and Stripes, he has an obligation to do much more than "carry the message he's putting out".

Since the free press has shown their inability to carry out their purported "obligation" to report facts and facts alone.

The line of questioning was to collect fodder for yet another sensationalist piece of garbage not even worthy of lining a bird cage.

Exactly. It tells an extremely sad tale of how low journalism has fallen when they have to be reminded of their job. Their job is to report the news not make it. Opinions belong only in editorials and columns.

Spin does not equal news. To just "carry the message he's putting out" is not reporting the facts, it is reporting the General's spin.

[DrDetroit]

The problem is that journalists are not simply reporting the facts of an event. They have become advocates for different points of view or they use their reporting to settle public debates by concluding that one side has the better argument.

Craig Crawford, a Congressional Quarterly columnist wrote the following in his book, "Attack the Messenger" --

I think there's a distinction between opinion and conclusions. What I try to do is "conclusionary" journalism — where you've presented both sides and then you draw a conclusion about which side has the best argument. Journalists can draw conclusions about what they're covering without coming off as advocates.

He sees conclusionary journalism as dominating today's mainstream media and works to justify that method of journalism as a proper role.

The mainstream media has abdicated its responsibility to objectively report the facts and instead chooses to cherry pick different parts of each side of an argument and then render a conclusion about who is right or wrong. That is an improper role as any non-journalist recognizes...well, except for thos eon the left who believe that the media, like the Courts, have a role in solving the ills of our nation.

[DrDetroit]

Spin does not equal news.

True. However, where O'Reilly, Hannity, etc., acknowledge that they are not merely reporting the news, the NYT, LATimes, WaPo, AP, etc., inject advocacy and opinion into their journalism.

To just "carry the message he's putting out" is not reporting the facts, it is reporting the General's spin.

When the General is providing evacuation instructions and information where is the "spin?"

Just admit it, you don't know what the General was saying and you don't know what was being asked.

[Tom In VA]

Spin does not equal news. To just "carry the message he's putting out" is not reporting the facts, it is reporting the General's spin.

The way I've heard it, there was no "spin" at all. The General was conveying information as it related to the current impending crisis. The reporter wanted "juicy gossip". The reporter wanted to drag a better, more focused man, a man in a position of leadership and accountability into a discussion that should be reserved for "Oprah" type shows. He met his match.


Your answer is pure and utter bullshit.

[DrDetroit]

A larger snip of the event:

Male reporter: General Honore, we were told that Berman Stadium on the west bank would be another staging area...

Honore: Not to my knowledge. Again, the current place, I just told you one time, is the convention center. Once we complete the plan with the mayor, and is approved by the governor, then we'll start that in the next 12-24 hours. And we understand that there's a problem in getting communications out. That's where we need your help. But let's not confuse the questions with the answers. Buses at the convention center will move our citizens, for whom we have sworn that we will support and defend...and we'll move them on. Let's not get stuck on the last storm. You're asking last storm questions for people who are concerned about the future storm. Don't get stuck on stupid, reporters. We are moving forward. And don't confuse the people please. You are part of the public message. So help us get the message straight. And if you don't understand, maybe you'll confuse it to the people. That's why we like follow-up questions. But right now, it's the convention center, and move on.

Male reporter: General, a little bit more about why that's happening this time, though, and did not have that last time...

Honore: You are stuck on stupid. I'm not going to answer that question. We are going to deal with Rita.

Rather than asking follow-up questions about the current plans for Rita, the reporter was pursuing an agenda asking about why a,b,c was done not done during the last storm.

Sorry, but with a strengthening hurricane bearing down on you, the media a larger responsibility to inform the public rather than pursue the blame game.

[BSmack]

This was a press conference was it not? Since when does the government controll what questions reporters can ask? The general gave his evacuation instrustions and then the reporters asked some legitimate follow up questions about the "last hurricane" that they should have been asking before. Better late than never. The general was doing some bargain basement grandstanding.

[Variable]

it's certainly within a reporter's right to ask those questions, but if he does he's very unprofessional. There's a time and place for those questions and that press conference was neither.

[BSmack]

it's certainly within a reporter's right to ask those questions, but if he does he's very unprofessional. There's a time and place for those questions and that press conference was neither.

Since when is it the wrong time to ask why?

Here's the exchange again.

Male reporter: General, a little bit more about why that's happening this time, though, and did not have that last time...

Honore: You are stuck on stupid. I'm not going to answer that question. We are going to deal with Rita.

Yea, that justified flying off the handle... not.

[Tom In VA]

Yea, that justified flying off the handle... not.

You might be right, he could have more tactful and tossed the dude a quarter.



~flip~




Here's one for you. I'd suggest getting what you need, a clue, rather than anything else.

[BSmack]

Yea, that justified flying off the handle... not.

You might be right, he could have more tactful and tossed the dude a quarter.

Here's one for you. I'd suggest getting what you need, a clue, rather than anything else.

Nice smartassed remark. Typical dittotard response when confronted by logic.

[Ace]

Is Honore black? Hard to tell

[DrDetroit]

This was a press conference was it not?

Yes.

Since when does the government controll what questions reporters can ask?

It does not. However, that doesn't prevent government officials from calling reporters stupid for asking dumb questions now does it?

The general gave his evacuation instrustions and then the reporters asked some legitimate follow up questions about the "last hurricane" that they should have been asking before.

Nice spin. More reasonable spin would be that the General provided the information and the reporters did not seek to clarify it nor enhance it, but chose to play the blame game re: Katrina.

Better late than never. The general was doing some bargain basement grandstanding.

Yeah, that's it. :roll:

[Variable]

it's certainly within a reporter's right to ask those questions, but if he does he's very unprofessional. There's a time and place for those questions and that press conference was neither.

Since when is it the wrong time to ask why?

It's already been hashed and re-hashed and hashed yet again in the past couple of weeks. They blew it. Bush was accountable (finally) and the head of FEMA was fired. What answer is this guy going to give that's anything new?

Here's the exchange again.

Male reporter: General, a little bit more about why that's happening this time, though, and did not have that last time...

Honore: You are stuck on stupid. I'm not going to answer that question. We are going to deal with Rita.

Yea, that justified flying off the handle... not.

He had already said that he wanted to move forward and discuss the current issue only. A reporter with any professional ettiquette would heed that request, knowing that any further questions on that topic would just piss the guy off. He continued that line of questioning and *shocker* the general got pissed off.

The fact that you understand where an asshole reporter is coming from on this matter speaks volumes about you.

[BSmack]

Honore: And Mr. Mayor, let's go back, because I can see right now, we're setting this up as he said, he said, we said. All right? We are not going to go, by order of the mayor and the governor, and open the convention center for people to come in. There are buses there. Is that clear to you? Buses parked. There are 4,000 troops there. People come, they get on a bus, they get on a truck, they move on. Is that clear? Is that clear to the public?

Female reporter: Where do they move on...

Honore: That's not your business.

Male reporter: But General, that didn't work the first time...

Honore: Wait a minute. It didn't work the first time. This ain't the first time. Okay? If...we don't control Rita, you understand? So there are a lot of pieces of it that's going to be worked out. You got good public servants working through it. Let's get a little trust here, because you're starting to act like this is your problem. You are carrying the message, okay? What we're going to do is have the buses staged. The initial place is at the convention center. We're not going to announce other places at this time, until we get a plan set, and we'll let people know where those locations are, through the government, and through public announcements. Right now, to handle the number of people that want to leave, we've got the capacity. You will come to the convention center. There are soldiers there from the 82nd Airborne, and from the Louisiana National Guard. People will be told to get on the bus, and we will take care of them. And where they go will be dependent on the capacity in this state. We've got our communications up. And we'll tell them where to go. And when they get there, they'll be able to get a chance, an opportunity to get registered, and so they can let their families know where they are. But don't start panic here. Okay? We've got a location. It is in the front of the convention center, and that's where we will use to migrate people from it, into the system.

Male reporter: General Honore, we were told that Berman Stadium on the west bank would be another staging area...

Honore: Not to my knowledge. Again, the current place, I just told you one time, is the convention center. Once we complete the plan with the mayor, and is approved by the governor, then we'll start that in the next 12-24 hours. And we understand that there's a problem in getting communications out. That's where we need your help. But let's not confuse the questions with the answers. Buses at the convention center will move our citizens, for whom we have sworn that we will support and defend...and we'll move them on. Let's not get stuck on the last storm. You're asking last storm questions for people who are concerned about the future storm. Don't get stuck on stupid, reporters. We are moving forward. And don't confuse the people please. You are part of the public message. So help us get the message straight. And if you don't understand, maybe you'll confuse it to the people. That's why we like follow-up questions. But right now, it's the convention center, and move on.

Male reporter: General, a little bit more about why that's happening this time, though, and did not have that last time...

Honore: You are stuck on stupid. I'm not going to answer that question. We are going to deal with Rita. This is public information that people are depending on the government to put out. This is the way we've got to do it. So please. I apologize to you, but let's talk about the future. Rita is happening. And right now, we need to get good, clean information out to the people that they can use. And we can have a conversation on the side about the past, in a couple of months.


http://www.radioblogger.com/

Thanks for flashing it out. Now he looks like an even bigger asshole than before.

[DrDetroit]

Only a complete buffoon would see it that way, dolt.

Here we have the guy providing information and instructions to the media so that the media can assist in getting that information to the people.

And what do the media want to do? Talk about what didn't work the last time.

Now, lets ignore for the moment that the last time the Mayor neither enforced that supposed mandatory evacuation nor did he communicate the locations of those places to evacuate to. Hence, the General is doing exactly the opposite here by employing the media to communicate the evacuation plan.

And the media wants to carp about how that didn't work the last time despite it being done the last time.

You are a total ass, B.

[BSmack]

And what do the media want to do? Talk about what didn't work the last time.

What is it about "But General, that didn't work the first time... " that you don't understand. The reporter saw the feds making the same mistakes over again and called him on it.

[DrDetroit]

Um, dickhead, what are you failing to understand about the fact that UNLIKE the first time, the information is being communicated and it's being communicated by the federal government?

What's happening now is not at all like what happened the first time around. As I stated earlier, the first time around neither the local nor state government communicated the evacuation plan, didn't use the media to communicate the evacuation plan, and ultimately failed to evacuate people.

So...what are the similarities that you're seeing?

[BSmack]

Um, dickhead, what are you failing to understand about the fact that UNLIKE the first time, the information is being communicated and it's being communicated by the federal government?

What's happening now is not at all like what happened the first time around. As I stated earlier, the first time around neither the local nor state government communicated the evacuation plan, didn't use the media to communicate the evacuation plan, and ultimately failed to evacuate people.

If that was the General's answer, why didn't he just say it instead of melting like a little bitch?

[DrDetroit]

That was not the general's answer. He shouldn't have to mention it. These reporters have an obligation to know what the fuck they are talking about.

It's not that hard to understand that the preparations for Rita are nothing like the lack of preparation for Katrina.

:roll:

Why the fuck should the general be obligated to state the self evident?

[Risa]

Is Honore black? Hard to tell

http://bbs.babycenter.com/board/baby/ba ... ad/2470181

© 2005 DiversityInc.com®
September 16, 2005

He's been called the "Rajin' Cajun," "The category 5 general," and
a "John Wayne dude" but he actually appears to be New Orleans'
savior.

As city and state leaders cursed and cried about the lack of
response from the federal government, and journalists blasted Bush
administration appointees with questions about which leader dropped
the ball in the wake of destruction left by Hurricane Katrina, one
man, Lieutenant General Russel Honore, 57, emerged as a no-nonsense
leader focused on providing relief to survivors and recovery for a
city deluged by a deadly flood.

The day Honore, a three-star general and the second-highest ranking
black official in the Army, came on to the national stage news
reports, he described New Orleans as a city in chaos. Survivors who
took cover in the city's Superdome and its convention center had
been marooned for days. Even usually stoic television journalists
visibly cried as New Orleanians told them about losing grandmothers
and children in the flood that followed Hurricane Katrina and that
they had been without food or water for days. Also, journalists
reported that gun shots fired by gangs taking over the city at
rescue helicopters and rescue workers had stopped the rescue efforts.

between "ragin' cajun" and "black", i reckon that makes him creole.


a soldier's a soldier. so what?

[Variable]

between "ragin' cajun" and "black", i reckon that makes him creole.

I reckon you're stereotyping. Fucking racist pig. Wow, this is fun!

a soldier's a soldier. so what?

If you're implying that race doesn't matter in the military, you'd be wrong. The military, since it's composed primarily of the poorer elements of society from all racial groups, has a big problem with racism and with people giving special perks to members of their own race. ...but then you knew that.

[Tom In VA]

between "ragin' cajun" and "black", i reckon that makes him creole.

I reckon you're stereotyping. Fucking racist pig. Wow, this is fun!

a soldier's a soldier. so what?

If you're implying that race doesn't matter in the military, you'd be wrong. The military, since it's composed primarily of the poorer elements of society from all racial groups, has a big problem with racism and with people giving special perks to members of their own race. ...but then you knew that.

Now several people with whom I am acquainted give a different account. But they're mostly mudrollers.

But I have also heard that the conditions on Aircraft Carriers is very different.

That leads me to the conclusion that it all depends on how close to being killed you are. In the "rear", there's the luxury of these fallacious barriers such as race.

When you're getting shot at and the shit is hitting the fan, I suppose the barriers come down.

But that's not from my experience, just conclusions drawn from people I know that have served.

[Diego in Seattle]

If you're implying that race doesn't matter in the military, you'd be wrong. The military, since it's composed primarily of the poorer elements of society from all racial groups, has a big problem with racism and with people giving special perks to members of their own race. ...but then you knew that.

Wrong.

Thanks for letting us know that there's racial harmony among those on KP. :roll:

[Variable]

Thanks for letting us know that there's racial harmony among those on KP.

BWAHAHAHAHAA....um, not really.

Wrong.

Guess I should have specified that I was speaking about the Navy. Not the first time I've stepped on my keyboard.

Now several people with whom I am acquainted give a different account. But they're mostly mudrollers.

But I have also heard that the conditions on Aircraft Carriers is very different.

That leads me to the conclusion that it all depends on how close to being killed you are. In the "rear", there's the luxury of these fallacious barriers such as race.

When you're getting shot at and the shit is hitting the fan, I suppose the barriers come down.

But that's not from my experience, just conclusions drawn from people I know that have served.

You're right, when you're getting shot at, the barriers come down. However since 99.9% of the time you're not getting shot at...

Most people probably don't know this, but the Filipinos run our Navy. Up until the late 90's we used to recruit them by the thousands right off the streets of Manila. They come to the Navy and with few exceptions join the Good 'ol Boys Club, or as we called it "The Filipino Mafia". The FM is similar to most other groups that organize, except that where blacks usually hate whites and whites usually hate blacks, Filipinos hate everybody.

From there it generally depends on who is running your workcenter. You usually have blacks that are cool or racist or whites that are cool or racist. The racism usually comes in two forms: They either give preference to members of their own race directly by giving them the cush jobs or indirectly by purposely giving others the shit jobs.

Generally the best guys to work with and work for were hispanics, as you had so many from so many different groups. I worked with guys from El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Equador, Mexico, Guatemala and Spain. Virtually all were good guys and were accepting of others.

The military was a bit of a shock to me, as I grew up fairly insulated from racism in NoCal. At my high school, the only group that didn't hang out with everyone else were the fresh-off-the-boat latinos and that's only because they didn't speak any English. Then I get to boot camp and have two black company commanders (drill sargeants) and the first time they turn their backs, the hillbilly next to me leans over and whispers, "All I have to do is make one phone call and them two n*ggers will be swinging from that tree in the courtyard. Culture shock some?