Tag: Michael Brown

Matt Drudge Is A Slimy Weasel

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Matt Drudge is a slimy weasel and the poster child for why America’s so damned angry. The screengrab above is from Drudgereport.com, Thursday evening, 8:08 PM PDT. His headline, “‘HOPE AND CHANGE’ TURNS TO RAGE”

As is normally the case, Drudge isn’t promoting his own story, but one published elsewhere. His link is to Britain’s Mail Online and describes what happened yesterday, not tonight.

Heavily armed SWAT police trained their guns on the public and fired tear gas in Ferguson, Missouri, last night as racial unrest over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen rocked the St. Louis suburb for the fourth night running. (emphasis mine)

An inflammatory photo of Michael Brown, the unarmed young man shot by a Ferguson, MO policeman sits above the headline, his middle finger unfurled. The headline itself is a dig at President Obama. It’s a Drudge twofer!

But, hold on. Brown was a high school graduate getting set to attend trade school for HVAC repair. He had no criminal record. In other words, he was training for a job. He was no thug.

cjmusickAttorney C.J. Musick came up with “#IfTheyGunnedMeDown,” a hashtag which quickly went viral on Twitter. Black men (and a few women) posted two shots of themselves–one which could be interpreted as threatening and another more mainstream and docile.

The attached photos on the left shows Musick with President Clinton and with a bottle of cognac. Which would be used #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, he asked?

Drudge can’t be bothered with tonight’s turnabout to peaceful protests under the supervision of the Missouri Highway Patrol and with a less militarized police presence. That doesn’t fit his narrative.

The press should be free. Drudge is entitled to slant the news as he wishes. It’s our right. It’s his right. But, someone’s got to call him out on it.

I can’t guarantee tonight will stay trouble free. But I won’t purposely blind myself to the truth as Drudge has.

Asking Tough Questions

This is a small blog with minimal schlep. I’ve been asking where our country’s response to Hurricane Katrina has been for days. Now, through Internet audio and video, I have watched others – mainly journalists with network weight, asking the same questions.

I’ve found most of the links on Crooks and Liars. It is a site I had never seen before today and, quite honestly, I don’t know anything about it or its political slant.

The answers I’ve heard haven’t been satisfying to me. The fact that these journalists now feel empowered to ask tough questions is a good thing.

I watched Anderson Cooper interview Senator Landrieu of Louisiana. He was having none of whatever she was saying – especially her glad handing other politicians for their diligent work in this catastrophe. He brought her back to dead bodies and suffering people.

In the past I have criticized Anderson Cooper for his ‘cowboy’ reporting in the face of imminent natural disasters. My opinion of Mr. Cooper has greatly changed, and to the better. I have seen thoughtful and insightful reporting on his part. He has won me over.

I’ve always enjoyed Jack Cafferty. Whoever at CNN decided to let him speak his mind did us all a great favor. Whether I agree with everything he says, I always listen and ponder.

In a piece of video I just watched, Cafferty used his age, 62 years old, as a reference when speaking that he had never seen a response like this to any disaster – ever.

I’m am watching Ted Koppel in a segment that has been captioned:

He had no interest in the spin, and began at least five questions with “With all due respect Mr Brown, but…” Koppel is leading the growing chorus of speaking truth to power.

Ted is interviewing Michael Brown from FEMA. This is not a good day to be Michael Brown.