The Democrat smear machine is still at full tilt with TPM saying “gotcha!” to a Bobby Jindal statement about Katrina. The Jindal statement: (h/t Mother, May I Sleep With Treacher and Hot Air)
During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. When I walked into his makeshift office I’d never seen him so angry. He was yelling into the phone: ‘Well, I’m the Sheriff and if you don’t like it you can come and arrest me!’ I asked him: ‘Sheriff, what’s got you so mad?’ He told me that he had put out a call for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters. The boats were all lined up ready to go – when some bureaucrat showed up and told them they couldn’t go out on the water unless they had proof of insurance and registration. I told him, ‘Sheriff, that’s ridiculous.’ And before I knew it, he was yelling into the phone: ‘Congressman Jindal is here, and he says you can come and arrest him too!’ Harry just told the boaters to ignore the bureaucrats and start rescuing people.
What’s the gotcha from TPM? That the visit didn’t occur the day after Katrina but a few days after Katrina.
Yup, some gotcha.
But now, a Jindal spokeswoman has admitted to Politico that in reality, Jindal overheard Lee talking about the episode to someone else by phone “days later.” The spokeswoman said she thought Lee, who died in 2007, was being interviewed about the incident at the time.
Pathetic.
Oh, here is the Sheriff in his own words describing the help Jindal gave to him:
I can tell you first hand that with Hurricane Katrina, the day after, Bobby was in my office and said “what do you need?” And it wasn’t phone calls, he was in my office.”
Pathetic libs….just pathetic.
UPDATE
Col. John Fortunato, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said Jindal appeared at the sheriff’s offices on the east and west banks several times in the days after the storm. The boat rescue holdup by federal response officials did occur initially as citizens brought their watercraft to a staging area in Jefferson Parish, he said. But the problem was resolved and the great majority of boats were deployed to the flooded areas of New Orleans later that day.
Teepell, who after the storm drove with Jindal to visit various sheriffs’ offices in his district, said he recalled being in Lee’s office in west Jefferson on several occasions in the days after the storm. Teepell said he remembers the phone conversation but did not know who was talking to Lee.
Lee was recounting the boat rescue story to the caller on the line, Teepell said. The phone call was not taking place while the boats were attempting the rescue operation, but some days afterward, Teepell said.
See author page
Unfortunately, it’s not pathetic at all, Curt. It’s SOP. The Left and the mass media don’t have to worry about facts. They throw sh*t out there and it becomes the conventional wisdom and then the Right scrambles to defend itself with the facts, only to have the willingly ignorant sheep of America not believe the facts, but instead believe the sh*t that was thrown out there first by the Left and repeated over and over and over and over by the mass media.
They have been doing this for 8 f***ing years now. This is how they gained back control of Congress and won the White House. This is what they do. And they will continue doing it until the American public gets a f***ing clue and stops believing the lies. (which I don’t see happening anytime soon…)
Michael you are absolutely correct. This is all calculated, and further provable by the propaganda (brainwashing techniques), in Obama’s speeches. One of the ways Obama is keeping his “following so to speak”, is the same way he GOT his following, by demonizing Bush.
I doubt many notice, but when Obama speaks there is almost ALWAYS, even if subtle, a dig on Bush. Thanks to the George Soros campaign (I linked to evidence of this in an earlier post); GW Bush was the victim of the biggest hate campaign of all time. We need to look no further for proof of that by already seeing the same things Bush was hated for; Obama gets either a pass or a luv fest.
I could write volumes on “word changes” and propaganda used by the left. It’s the same with their lies; say them enough and the masses believe them.
Now seeing that Jindal is an up and coming threat, the big Left machine is wasting no time “programming” us to “Jindal derangement syndrome” as they did with Bush. If anyone doesn’t believe me I will happily show it to you in the speeches.
Man, this was some nice investigative bloggin’ and probably not a whole helluva’ lot of effort to do it. You just earned a serious fan here. Keep up the great work and please pass by Politics and Critical Thinking, I am gonna run this in hopes of pissing off a Prog or two.
The “liberal smear machine?”
You are quoting a left wing blog. Both right wing and left wing blogs like to hype rumors and create conspiracy theories out of thin air.
The right wing blogs are every bit as bad as are the left wing blogs, e.g.
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=obama&getit=Go&sp-a=00062d45-sp00000000&sp-advanced=1&sp-p=all&sp-w-control=1&sp-w=alike&sp-date-range=-1&sp-x=any&sp-c=100&sp-m=1&sp-s=0
“liberal smear machine?”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/weekinreview/17vitello.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print
I recommend the above linked NY Times article as a useful primer on the ancient tradition of the political smear.
I don’t like the point of view that either conservatives or liberals are possessed of demonic qualities, while those who feel that way about their political opponents are entirely justified in their own self-righteousness. Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach CA
(I love watching you dimwits scramble to delete this comment. It’s proof positive of your inability to deal with the facts.)
What Jindal claimed: “During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee…”
What really happened: “Jindal overheard Lee talking about the episode to someone else by phone “days later.””
Conclusion: Jindal lied.
What’s really pathetic here: The wingnut inability to deal with facts.
I have to agree with Larry on this.
Jindal had a good point: bureaucracy impedes effective action, so expanding an already bloated government is a bad idea, but …
Unfortunately, according to most of the stories I’ve read, he apparently misrepresented the timeline and events, probably to make it appear that he was much more of a “hero.” Most of the accounts by people who claim to have been in the midst of the Katrina disaster also do not lend credence to the sheriff, his deputies, or his police force, stating that the police were there primarily to enforce curfews and guard against looting. Therefore, I’d be hesitant to rely on the sheriff’s testimony as to the timing and descriptions of actual events.
Concerning Jindal, I’d bet he was indeed working hard and trying to help his constituents, but his story and weak response do not bode well for a GOP front-runner in 2012. I agree with those who say he looked as if he were speaking to a group of first-grade students.
If the GOP hopes to improve its image, it must do much better than Jindal’s performance. Republicans need to show sincerity, compassion, and a real concern for every person. They need also to divest themselves of special interests, and not jump at every chance to further the GOP’s political agenda. In the long run, successful politics results from taking proper care of citizens. Placing politics first is a recipe for disaster.
Jeff V
Funny, now these liberals are trying to claim that Katrina as an incident lasted a few hours or maybe a day. Katrina lasted for weeks. The first week was when people needed help the most. Hell, Sean Penn showed up a week after with a boat to prove how easy it was to rescue people if you would just go do it. Jindal makes the same point a few days BEFORE Penn and it is no big deal.
Jindal, the lone republican, was the only member of government that did some good. The democrat Govenor refused federal assisistance for almost a week. Fema wans’t ALLOWED to help because the Govenor refused to allow it.
Like Mayor Navin who just decided that the long thought out plans for dealing with just this sort of emergency that had been planned out for years just wasn’t a good plan. Navin’s plan lead to the busses being flooded instead of being used for evacuation like the plan call for. Navin just decided he didn’t need to follow the emergency plan. He decided to make his own plan on the fly and sent people to the dome where there was no food or water and then he gave up started blaming the federal government who his Govenor was not allowing in the state.
But here comes Jindal, forget the damn bureaucrats and go rescue the people!
And liberals hate it. Have to re-write it and change the words around to try to Jindal out to ba a bad guy. Why? Because he had a positive effect.
Hate filled liberals are just full of hate. It isn’t in them to be able to recognize a good act. They wouldn’t know a good act if it bit them. The are so blinded by brainwashing, indoctrination, and hate that they cannot even imagine that people on the other side of the political aisle could be humans who love and care about others. It is this demonization that democrats rely on: unthinking, blind, and hateful demonization.
Obama cannot give a speech with trying to demonize Bush. He cannot take responsiblity for his own presidency; he says if this fails it will be Bush’s fault. And all the blind hatefilled Obomites nod along to the hate filled beat.
And yesterday Obama announced a troop withdrawal from Iraq as if he had arranged it but that was actually signed, sealed and delivered by Bush while he was still in office. But Obama takes credit for it, cast snide remarks about Bush, and blind hate filled liberals lap it up without thinking.
Typical hate filled, blind, liberals
LIBERALS need to show sincerity, compassion, and a real concern for every person. They need also to divest themselves of special interests, and not jump at every chance to further the liberal political agenda. In the long run, successful politics results from taking proper care of citizens. Placing politics first is a recipe for disaster.
It’s a two way street.
Oh! And yeah a bunch of those snopes links are marked TRUE.
Typical of liberal thought; two wrongs make a right! They have a right to lie because they once saw some one else do it.
Greeeeat defense bone head.
But what about the MSM smearing Palin? For the week after she was announced as the VP pick the MSM went after her with one lie after another. Dozens of lies throw out as if they were facts by MSNBC, CBS, ABC and PBS. Not bloggers. Main Stream Media whores who lie at the drop of hat about conservatives. Sure, that was driven by bloggers like Media Matters, Kos Kids, DU, and many many others.
If you want to start counting the lies the liberal side will have tons and you might find a few from the right.
It is not a lie that Ayers is his friend. They worked together for years. I know a lot of liberals don’t what it is like to work but you typically become friends with people you see all the time. Ayers had a political launching party for Obama at his own home. The only lie there is the one liberal keep pushing which is that they never spoke even though they worked together for years and their kids went to the same schools.
Most of what liberal call lies are just the truth. Swiftboat commanders came out and told the truth about Kerry. Liberals now call telling the truth about your opponent ‘Swiftboating’ for some odd reason. It makes them look pretty silly since Kerry never bothered to address the Swift boat guys claims aside from saying things like, “We have already disproven these claims” with out ever making the attempt to disprove them. And then liberals all line up to sing, “Kerry said it wasn’t true, and that prooooves it. That prooooves it.”
What’s really pathetic here: The wingnut inability to deal with facts.
So we are to believe that the Sherrif wanted to launch rescue boats while the Hurricaine was still happening?
Brilliant.
BTW, why put your “watch this message be deleted, if you know it’s going to be deleted? Who is going to read it if it isn’t there?
Do you think ANYTHING through?
@openid.aol.com/runnswim:
The South Carolina robo-calls about McCain’s daughter being instigated by the Bush campaign is a well worn myth, apparently, not surprising, snagging the NYTimes:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+democratic+myth+machine%3a+about+John+McCain+and+Max+Cleland%2c+those…-a0130933958
“So we are to believe that the Sherrif wanted to launch rescue boats while the Hurricaine was still happening?”
Nope. You are to believe what Governor Jindal’s office has told you: his original claim that he was in the Sheriff’s office while the Sheriff was allegedly on the phone yelling at bureaucrats is a load of dingo’s kidneys. Jindal’s current story is that he heard about it from the Sheriff later. Goodness only knows what it will be tomorrow.
Jindal’s original fairy tale also fails to jibe with what Sheriff Lee himself said about the boats. Lee told Larry King that he didn’t learn about the alleged insurance snafu until a week later:
“Those boats where not allowed to get into the water when they were needed and I just found out about seven days later one of the reason boats couldn’t get in was they didn’t have enough life preservers and some of them didn’t have proof of insurance.”
There ya go, wingnuts. More facts to ignore. You must all be in ecstasy right now.
m.e.atbra.in???: Who let this clown back in here?
Larry with all respect to your beliefs (or unbelief’s), I find it more than interesting that you don’t “like” the talk of “demonic qualities.” Isn’t that an imposition of your belief?
I agree with you that both sides do it, but why are you so against calling a spade a spade when true and what is so upsetting to you about the use of the word demonic?
Quite honestly, I think even a board like FA would benefit greatly from a good thread/discussion of the “spiritual warfare” side of politics, but suspect that is not likely to occur, despite the fact that greater than 90% of Americans, including our president, “claim” to be Christian. It’s not possible to be a Christian and not believe in demons.
Furthermore, ”possessing demon-like” qualities is simply plain old SIN, which we ALL do every time we live outside of God’s commandments: there are always consequences to sin. That said, real “possessions”, as in needing an exorcist over a sacramental confession, are rare, however even the Vatican has confirmed the fact that both Stalin and Hitler were possessed.
Bottom line; there is plenty of “sin”, i.e., “demonic qualities” to go around on both sides, albeit, in our “moral relative” world, few not only fail to recognize sin, but even more so, the consequences. The fact that we have a radical pro abortionist as POTUS, tax cheats and a pornography proponent in the cabinet, thieves in congress, is beyond enough proof.
The paradox of it all is that all of our problems, regardless if or if not choose to believe it, have their genesis in “demonic qualities.” Perhaps if we paid attention to it, we would come to realize that maybe it’s God from whom we need a bailout, however doing so would have to make us, dare I say, face our own demons!
Many including myself, believe that America had (and ignored) our “prophet”; the one Harvard booed 30 years ago during his Harvard commencement speech and the New York Times called Solzhenitsyn’s “hectoring jeremiads.”
Funny how that same prophet came back into the spotlight by his death this past August, “coincidentally”, right before our “September big step into socialism.”
If anyone, understood, by experience, Marxism and totalitarianism, it was the great Solzhenitsyn. When asked what went wrong in Russia he always gave one simple answer, “We forgot God.”
We would all be wise to “revisit” those famous words at Harvard 30 years ago. D’Souza does a nice summary, and the entire speech is easily found online. Here’s an excerpt.
@pdill: “Quite honestly, I think even a board like FA would benefit greatly from a good thread/discussion of the “spiritual warfare” side of politics, but suspect that is not likely to occur.”
You might want to email Curt with some ideas of a reader post along those lines.
@joe tulips,
You are correct; responsible action in government is a two-way street. You must not have seen my other posts, joe; I’m an equal opportunity critic.
This time it was Jindal who prompted me to comment, though most of my ranting of late has been directed at Obama, his administration, and his party’s leaders (especially Reid and Pelosi).
Jindal made what is usually a rookie error – misrepresenting the facts and circumstances surrounding an incident, in an era of “instant” fact-checking and opposition (including the media) that is all too eager to catch a Republican who lies, mis-speaks, or whose accounts of an event do not jive with common understanding. I don’t think Jindal’s intent was to tell an out and out lie, but he made a big mistake with his story. Nowadays, Republicans just can’t expect to be able to escape the microscope, so they need to be extra careful not to fall into the habit of exaggerating stories to score political points.
Democratic Party members and figureheads *do* get a pass from mainstream media, with the exception of a few networks and tv/radio commentators. Its not an equitable situation, but it’s the current reality, and it’s not going to change any time soon. Let’s face it: media journalists are usually liberal arts’ grads, have grown up with a liberal-slanted media, and generally choose to work in media outlets with similar political leanings. There’s nothing surprising about that, nor is it surprising that they often fail to recognize when their reporting is slanted.; it’s ingrained into their subconscious being.
That’s why it’s all that more important for Republican leaders to take the high road, and make sure that Democrats cannot take issue with any facts that are stated. Sure, all political figures out to do this as a rule, particularly if they really believe they are serving the public, but Republicans can’t ignore or escape the biases that exist.
Jeff V
@ruaqtpi2:
Jeff,
If it weren’t for the fact we have video of the sheriff saying that Jindal was there, in the sheriff’s office, the day after Katrina then this story may have some legs.
Because we have the sheriff on tape, this is just another contrived kerfuffle.
Now, PDill, where in the world did you ever come up with this?
As one example, possibly you believe in the literal narrative of the demons and the swine (Matt 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26). Many people do believe in the literal interpretation of Scripture. Equally many who consider themselves to be Christians interpret such passages in an allegorical sense. Who is “correct,” or, are both “correct,” in the eyes of God?
You think you know this?
You go on to say:
>>even the Vatican has confirmed the fact that both Stalin and Hitler were possessed.<<
Well, it’s obvious that both of these men were truly evil, but I don’t know how to respond to the statement that the Vatican has “confirmed” that they were “possessed,” when you quote an exorcist as your source.
Perhaps it’s incompatible with your particular brand of Christianity not to believe in demons, but, fortunately, you are not empowered by God to make pronouncements such as this which apply to the rest of humanity.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
To Missy:
The “well worn myth” was still being affirmed by McCain’s campaign manager, 4 years after it was allegedly discredited:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/03/21/the_anatomy_of_a_smear_campaign/
Anyway, it’s not centrally important to my observation that both liberal bloggers and conservative bloggers jump on the merest hint of a rumor and fan it until it goes viral.
In the “old media,” it was always a problem whether or not to “go” with a given story before it had been independently confirmed. With the “new media,” bloggers seldom feel any such devotion to journalistic standards.
I think it’s great to expose a given “smear” as being without substance. What I object to is the implication, by one side or the other, that their particular side is morally superior to the other side, when it is demonstrably clear that many individuals from both sides are more than eager to spread rumor and innuendo, when it serves their purposes to do so.
People who spread false rumors are “pathetic.” Conservatives and liberals aren’t “pathetic” — they simply have different points of view.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
Jindal is not going to be a viable candidate for President or Vice President. Creationism problem.
Aye,
There are still a lot of Louisianans who don’t believe the sheriff. What the “locals” say is in step with what I’ve observed of the police in the south (at least when
No matter what was the actual sequence of events, Jindal’s presentation just didn’t come off as well as Obama’s. These days, people add up the total package of message and messenger when they compare the things that politicians say. The left will take advantage of any perceived mistake or weakness, n matter how insignificant, and will blow it up and make a federal case out of it. They finally have the powerful combination of oval office and majority in both houses of congress, and they see that this is possibly the only opportunity for a long time to get their programs enacted. They’re going to fight tooth and nail to make the best of the opportunity. As Rahm said, he doesn’t want a crisis to go to waste (even if the *country* goes to waste in the process.)
Jeff V
Like it or not, the GOP needs to meet ot exceed Obama’s “sizzle” in order to capture people’s attention and sell fiscal responsibility.
@openid.aol.com/runnswim:
He based the claim by what one person said in a campaign crowd. Both the LA Times and York investigated and couldn’t find evidence to back up the claim.
You are spreading a false story and that makes you a part of your point.
I tend to think the right began the process of attacking Jindal. Just look back at the FA blog post about it and the comments from the right. I had no problem with his speech, and I did listen/read the entire speech.
Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action and morals. Larry appears to think I make this stuff up, and suspect he has much company in thinking that way. The first line is a quote from the Catholic Catechism.
Maybe I should take Mike’s suggestion and ask Curt for permission to start a “spiritual and political” thread, with the goal being to point out how the “spiritual determines the political.” The reason would not be because FA’s needs a Catechism teacher for Lent, but merely to demonstrate that demons and evil are not only a core Christian belief, but are very much the core of our current “crisis.”
Based merely on the teachings of Christ, I could make a rock solid case, and it wouldn’t or need be specific to Catholicism, merely Christianity. For starters, it’s the only reason most Americans are baptized! So no Larry, it’s not ME making the claim that you feel I have no right to make, it’s me making the case via the teachings of Jesus, who by the way, was the ONLY PERSON WHO EVER CLAIMED TO BE GOD, period.
My original point was that most of this country is not only Christian, but based in Judeo/Christian values. We spend endless hours debating economic theories and who’s to blame, when in God based reality, the blame can ONLY go…to the demons! Now Larry, if you are still reading, I realize you may find this too extreme for consideration, but being that you are an open minded kind of guy, could you at least for a minute consider, what if it’s true? I’m not out to convert you or anyone else, only to make a rock solid case, based on the teachings of Christ, that our “crisis is spiritual in nature.”
As for the exorcist stuff Larry, for a plethora of reasons, I don’t fault your ignorance, but do suggest that you get your facts before you make such sweeping dogmatic conclusions. Hitler and Stalin both practiced Satanism, as do many today in this country. The “exorcist” in question is none other than Father Amorth of the Vatican. You would be wise to at least read his Wikipedia entry (I’m not a big fan of Wikipedia, but everything in this write up appears to be accurate), or if you are really up for some enlightenment, one of his books.
In conclusion to your quote:
I respectfully disagree. It’s the obligation of every Christian in America to make such a pronouncement of evil, especially within our own government. Lastly, as Jesus himself taught us when he gave us the Our Father, “Deliver us from evil.” I’m only pointed out that the evil Jesus was talking about is absolutely “demon-related.”
p.s. Here’s a few key quotes with the link to my references. This isn’t the place to debate Biblical interpretation, just referencing what the CCC teaches.
II. THE FALL OF THE ANGELS
391 Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy.266 Scripture and the Church’s Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called “Satan” or the “devil”.267 The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: “The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing.”268
395 The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God’s reign. Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries – of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature- to each man and to society, the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history. It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but “we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him.”275
A hard battle. . .
407 The doctrine of original sin, closely connected with that of redemption by Christ, provides lucid discernment of man’s situation and activity in the world. By our first parents’ sin, the devil has acquired a certain domination over man, even though man remains free. Original sin entails “captivity under the power of him who thenceforth had the power of death, that is, the devil”.298 Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action299 and morals.
Sorry about the repost. Can you delete #24, since I prefer the edits I made in #25?
Done – Aye
This attack by libs on Gov Jindal just highlights what Rush said the other day. That libs don’t merely attack liberty and the policies of their opponents THEY SEEK TO DESTROY THE PERSON HIS REPUTATION AND CHARACTER. Just ask Bork, Thomas and Bush and now Jindel.
eaglewingz08, you need to have looked at the criticism of Gov. Jindal here in FA “Underwhelmed by Bobby Jindal” by mikeA.
Here we go, Radio Equalizer posts the comments of liberal talk show host Mike Malloy and wife having a bit of racist fun at the expense of Bobby Jindal. Brian also caught a few other racist lefties in the act.
http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2009/02/libtalker-laughs-as-wife-slurs-bobby.html