Live From New Orleans: Hurricane Gustav, The Republican National Convention, And Governor Palin Announces Her Daughter Is Pregnant
Hi everyone. Holy moly, what a day! A lot of action went down and at this point the only thing I can say with relative certainty is that the CNNers are very, very tired. Since I had some work I needed to stay up and get done anyway, I watched all our little wet and wind-beaten hurricane reporters through the night and into the morning. It actually wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Rob Marciano standing on a roof was a little disconcerting, but it was really only Ali Velshi that had me worrying, specifically since John Roberts kept implying he was going to die. Okay, he wasn't that bad, but seriously, what the hell John? I know you were scared for him, but be a little more reassuring for a guy's first hurricane. For his part, Ali seemed pretty okay with being on an island in a shaking house.
I can't believe another sign tried to get Anderson Cooper. Aw, even inanimate objects love the silver surfer. There were plenty of other correspondents braving the elements as well, including Drew Griffin (you think he was investigating the wind or the rain aspect?) , John Zarella, Susan Roesgen, Sanjay Gupta, Don Lemon, and Gary Tuchman. Sorry if I left somebody out. It doesn't mean I don't love you. And then of course there was Chad Myers, who is awesome. He's proof positive that first impressions can be overcome because I loves me some Chad and the first time I ever saw him was during his infamous Katrina freakout. Anyway, how cute is it that he worries about all the correspondents like they're his kids?
It appears that Gustav was not as big a threat as anticipated, but I'm not going to use the words "relief" or "optimism" because though things look good now, those levees could still fail. Not to mention the fact that no one has gotten a good look at the damage yet. By the time you read this the situation might be completely different. You can probably tell by now this isn't a regular review. The CNNers aren't the only one's who are tired and I imagine it's showing in the scatteredness of this post. In regards to all the levee talk, I know the election is looming, but I'd really love to see the show stick with the issue, even after the hurricanes are out of the news cycle. There's a grassroots effort in Louisiana right now to get an independent levee investigation. It'd be great to see that get some press.
The Obama interview was pretty good and Anderson's shot in the lower Ninth Ward was infuriating, but not surprising. Yes, Katrina has been forgotten by many people. I like that Obama talked about wetlands restoration because it's so important, but doesn't get enough play in the usual Katrina conversation. I also loved that he said he'd go down there in a "hot second" if they needed him. Not just a second, people. A hot second. The Nagin interview was pretty good too. It looks like he got at least a partial chance to redeem himself.
The whole Governor Palin daughter baby thing is craziness. Did McCain even vet this woman? Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should leave the poor girl alone. Yeah, the pregnancy strikes at the heart of Palin's support of abstinence only education, but shouldn't we be focusing on McCain's apparent horrible judgment in picking Palin in the first place? Not to mention how insulting it is to women because obviously the McCain camp thinks our little brains will be swayed by the fact that she has girly parts just like us. I guess her stance on the issues is supposed to come second to her gender.
Also happening today was that whole Republican National Convention thing. Oh yeah, that. And the Republicans? Not free speech fans, apparently. Glenn Greenwald keeps us updated on the police raids and arrests. In fact, even Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman got arrested! (Watch the video.) For those of you not familiar with Amy, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to revoke your news junkie card. Seriously.
I shall leave you with our vlogging blog gals, who have made their way to St. Paul, and I gotta say, look a little bored. Hopefully tomorrow will find us all a bit more peppy (and LA completely unscathed). Sorry for the lackluster post.
I can't believe another sign tried to get Anderson Cooper. Aw, even inanimate objects love the silver surfer. There were plenty of other correspondents braving the elements as well, including Drew Griffin (you think he was investigating the wind or the rain aspect?) , John Zarella, Susan Roesgen, Sanjay Gupta, Don Lemon, and Gary Tuchman. Sorry if I left somebody out. It doesn't mean I don't love you. And then of course there was Chad Myers, who is awesome. He's proof positive that first impressions can be overcome because I loves me some Chad and the first time I ever saw him was during his infamous Katrina freakout. Anyway, how cute is it that he worries about all the correspondents like they're his kids?
It appears that Gustav was not as big a threat as anticipated, but I'm not going to use the words "relief" or "optimism" because though things look good now, those levees could still fail. Not to mention the fact that no one has gotten a good look at the damage yet. By the time you read this the situation might be completely different. You can probably tell by now this isn't a regular review. The CNNers aren't the only one's who are tired and I imagine it's showing in the scatteredness of this post. In regards to all the levee talk, I know the election is looming, but I'd really love to see the show stick with the issue, even after the hurricanes are out of the news cycle. There's a grassroots effort in Louisiana right now to get an independent levee investigation. It'd be great to see that get some press.
The Obama interview was pretty good and Anderson's shot in the lower Ninth Ward was infuriating, but not surprising. Yes, Katrina has been forgotten by many people. I like that Obama talked about wetlands restoration because it's so important, but doesn't get enough play in the usual Katrina conversation. I also loved that he said he'd go down there in a "hot second" if they needed him. Not just a second, people. A hot second. The Nagin interview was pretty good too. It looks like he got at least a partial chance to redeem himself.
The whole Governor Palin daughter baby thing is craziness. Did McCain even vet this woman? Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should leave the poor girl alone. Yeah, the pregnancy strikes at the heart of Palin's support of abstinence only education, but shouldn't we be focusing on McCain's apparent horrible judgment in picking Palin in the first place? Not to mention how insulting it is to women because obviously the McCain camp thinks our little brains will be swayed by the fact that she has girly parts just like us. I guess her stance on the issues is supposed to come second to her gender.
Also happening today was that whole Republican National Convention thing. Oh yeah, that. And the Republicans? Not free speech fans, apparently. Glenn Greenwald keeps us updated on the police raids and arrests. In fact, even Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman got arrested! (Watch the video.) For those of you not familiar with Amy, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to revoke your news junkie card. Seriously.
I shall leave you with our vlogging blog gals, who have made their way to St. Paul, and I gotta say, look a little bored. Hopefully tomorrow will find us all a bit more peppy (and LA completely unscathed). Sorry for the lackluster post.
posted by eliza at 11:52 PM
4 Comments:
Eliza,
I was right there with you staying up all night watching the hurricane coverage.
I too, worried about Rob on that roof. I was so afraid that he was going to be blown away.
I think the only one you left all your list and that was Brian Todd, who was later in the day from Baton Rouge. The only reason I remembered him was, I was surprised to see him covering a hurricane.
I too was appalled at John Roberts actions toward Ali. He should have kept his mouth shut. As for Ali, he did a fantatic job for his first hurricane. On the outside he seemed to keep his cool.
I am with you, did McCain even vet this woman? I do think CNN did a bad thing talking so much about it. Did you see Bill Bennett go off on Wolf? I am not a fan of Bennett, but I did agree with him on this. LIke he said is if Obama can say leave her alone, than I think the media should as well. Yes Palin is into abstances, but she cannot be right there with her all the time to stop her. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but I just think this should be a non issue. I am sure there are many other things out there that we don't know about her that will come out.
Looks like Anderson is going to be back at the RCN according to TVNewser today.
Sorry for the long post, but you covered so many good things that I felt like I wanted to respond.
Thanks
Hi Eliza,
Congratulations on your 2nd anniversary of your blog. I couldn't respond until now. You wrote a very moving piece on Katrina. I wasn't aware of Anderson until then. I couldn't fully eat or sleep until I was assured that rescue was on the way. I remember not being able to do that until Friday night after the mass evacuation. As for Palin, I feel she has too much on the home plate, Alaska is about it for her. I'm with you, her veiws are in line with McCain's, that is what's important. I'll be blunt, she is no Hillary. I feel if you feel strongly about Hillary's stands on issues, then it should be ridiculous to you for McCain to throw her out and say look. ladies. My county in Florida is more populated than the state of Alaska. I watched the tape on the levees you provided a link for. Very sobering, indeed. As always, I enjoy your bog.
Anne D.
Eliza,
To be really honest, they are my kids....I send them out to those places and I want them back safe to their families. Thanks so much for your kind words.
Chad
@anonymous 12:08--Long posts are totally cool. Have you seen the length of some of my posts?
The last (and only other) hurricane I watched all the way through was Rita and that was scary. This one wasn't too bad, though yeah, I might have felt better if they tethered Rob like they did Ali.
The funny thing about John Roberts is that he was clearly afraid for Ali, but it came out like: "What are you doing there, you idiot?! Now you're going to die." Heh.
I feel bad for Palin's daughter. She didn't ask for any of this attention and the fact that her mother announced the pregnancy in order to debunk rumors about her own pregnancy is pretty tacky. I mean, someone would have eventually noticed that Bristol is pregnant, but I think it could have been handled better.
@Anne--Thanks! I can't believe it's been two years.
Normally I have low blood pressure, but during Katrina I thought for sure I was going to have a stroke. And I wasn't even directly affected. I can't imagine what it must have been like for those that were.
Florida, huh? Swing state, baby! I hope you're influencing all your friends. :P
@Chad--What a welcome surprise on the blog! I don't know if you'll ever pop back to read this, but thanks so much for commenting. I'm continually fascinated by your expertise and entertaining analogies. If there have to be hurricanes, you're the one to watch.
And though I kind of joked about it, your compassion and concern for your colleagues is truly admirable. Also? Awww. Sorry, it had to be said.
Post a Comment
<< Home