GE Russert never got to debate Aaron Broussard again.

Nothing defined Timmeh better, IMHO, than his interviews with a Louisiana Parrish president, Aaron Broussard, shortly after Katrina in September, 2005. (2005, and the rebuilding has not been debated, planned, or even a death toll made. Gifts were never distributed. Foreign aid turned away. And Bush lied about not imagining the levees would break.)


Here is Timmeh making the case that it was the local and state's fault for not responding, not the feds:

September 4th, 2005. MTP.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9179790/

(snip)

MR. BROUSSARD: ...that have worked 24/7. They're burned out, the doctors, the nurses. And I want to give you one last story and I'll shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me. The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.

MR. RUSSERT: Mr. President...

MR. BROUSSARD: Nobody's coming to get us. Nobody's coming to get us. The secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. I'm sick of the press conferences. For God sakes, shut up and send us somebody.

MR. RUSSERT: Just take a pause, Mr. President. While you gather yourself in your very emotional times, I understand, let me go to Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi.

(snip)




Timmeh won't let it drop. He says bloggers found out the woman didn't die on Friday. She died earlier. Not as many phone calls were made. September 25th MTP:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9438988/

(snip)

Mr. Broussard: Sir, at every level. Are you kidding? This is a jigsaw puzzle. This is a mosaic. The blame will be shared by everybody. The heroic deeds will be magnified as individual stories of heroics come out from different people and agencies that did eventually come here. Sir, this is chaos. It's organized chaos at best. There are plenty of heroes that have to be uncovered. There are plenty of villains that have to be uncovered. Let the process go on. Let it happen. I don't have time to do it, sir. I didn't even watch my own broadcast that you played to me in my ear. It pained me to hear that again because Tommy Rodrigue is a friend of mine. He works for me. I was at his mother's wake.

When somebody wants to nit-pick these details, I don't know what sick minds creates this black-hearted agenda, but it's sick. I mean, let us recover. Let us rebuild. If somebody wants me to debate them on national TV, hey, buddy, be my guest. Make my day. Put me at a podium when I got a full night's sleep and you will not like matching me against anybody that you want. That person is going to be in trouble. If this station or anybody else or any other station wants to do that, you just give me a full night's sleep, sir. I haven't had one in about 30 days. But you wind me up with a full night's sleep, I'll debate every detail of everything you want, sir.

(end snip)

Then, Timmeh goes on Imus on Sept. 27th to defend his ambush of Mr. Broussard:

http://mainstusa.blogspot.com/2005/09/russturd-on-imus.html



Something went wrong with American journalism. Corporatism. Sensationalism. Access management. That is the lesson I take away. That, and hug your family and friends today. Also, there are more important things than working all the time, and more important things in life than access.

And treat others as you would want to be treated.
And "that which you do unto the least of you, so also do you do unto me".

Out of the ruins
Out from the wreckage
Can't make the same mistake this time
We are the children
The last generation
We are the ones they left behind
And i wonder when we are ever gonna change it
Living under the fear till nothing else remains

We don't need another hero
We don't need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

I am now convinced that this excessive deification of Russert on GEM$NBC (continuing as I type) is not simply about mourning a colleague, but is more about their perceived chance to divert attention from Scotty's (and others) public criticism of their role in the lead up to the war.

M$M has decided that the news for the past 17 hours is about themselves...and of course ratings. Ah well - no need for further proof that the so called public airwaves are about the private interests of corporate M$M. They are doing this because they can.

This must be a painful time for Russert's family and friends but this is way over the top.

Russert died with this sham and many others on his conscience.



One of the reasons Walter Cronkite is still alive at age 93 is because as a journalist Cronkite has a nothing to be ashamed of.