Echo Chamber in the Superdome

By the last count, nearly 1000 people died in and around New Orleans during and after the Katrina hurricane. Your pictures of the dead are graphic. But what do these pictures prove except to document – in photography – what this statistics already shows?

People who die in a catastrophe, whether a hurricane, in a tidal wave or in a highway pile-up make a gruesome sight. But these images create an emotional reaction, they don’t change the facts.

The facts appear to be at this point that no seven-year-old was raped and her throat cut at the Superdome; neither were there mass rapes or mass killings. It does not appear that rescue helicopters were shot at by snipers. The body count was one-tenth of the estimated broadcast by the MSM.

The MSM follow up, such as it is, goes along the line of “it now appears that the death toll was not as great as initially feared, and some of the rumors originally reported were apparently exaggerations.”

This is followed by no analysis of why this is the case; no soul searching about why this happened. Is this the way the MSM would treat an analogous situation if some other agency of organization spread the most hyperbolic stories that turned out to be false? I doubt it.

The real problem is that the MSM has lost so much credibility that your question is going to be a common one: “even though they lied the first time, this time they are telling the truth?”

For a free society to work it needs a free press; one that gets basic facts out. This function the MSM is in the process of destroying, It’s a shame.

moneyrunner wrote:

"People who die in a catastrophe, whether a hurricane, in a tidal wave or in a highway pile-up make a gruesome sight. But these images create an emotional reaction, they don’t change the facts.

The facts appear to be at this point that no seven-year-old was raped and her throat cut at the Superdome; neither were there mass rapes or mass killings. It does not appear that rescue helicopters were shot
at by snipers. The body count was one-tenth of the estimated broadcast by the MSM.

The MSM follow up, such as it is, goes along the line of “it now appears that the death toll was not as great as initially feared, and some of the rumors originally reported were apparently exaggerations.”

The fact is, as the images show, that some guy had a pair of scissors stuck in the back of his neck, fell, and bled out where he lay, in front of hundreds or even thousands of people camped out at the convention center, and nobody there lifted a finger to help or save him.

The fact is that 500 civilians with boats showed up for water rescue, were shot at, and turned around and went home.

The fact is that helicopters trying to evacuate patients at Tulane University were shot at, to the point at least one marine was diverted from search and rescue and placed by helicopter onto a nearby roof to suppress sniper fire so the helicopters can do their jobs.

The fact is that shortly after the storm, Blanco and Nagin began screaming that Bush was at fault, and exaggerating an already bad situation to make their point.

The fact is that very shortly thereafter, the MSM picked up this standard and ran with it, right up until Bush promised a quarter trillion bucks for the state and local government to loot, and then they stopped.

The fact is that the Times Picayune, who led the charge that Bush was at fault, reversed it's story as soon as the money was promised, with a story that SOME of the "news" out of New Orleans MAY have been exaggerated.

The fact is that the MSM began there, and escalated the position to one where ALL the news out of New Orleans was false, that NONE of it ever happened, and now have progressed to the thrid and final standard state of proceedure, they are reporting this as if it were established fact.

The fact is that a great many freepers who were angry over the blame Bush treatment in the original stories of the chaos have now seized the MSM's new position with unmitigated glee, and are busily cutting and pasting stories from the very worst offenders of the MSM, the LA Times, The New York Times, the Times Picayune, which are swallowed whole by other freepers, also angry at the original Bush treatment, who then help the mainstream media propagate YET ANOTHER LIE.

The fact is that when the stories of the extreme corruption and graft that exacerbated this tradgedy to begin with, are brought out and levelled, these same freepers have accomplished at least half of the defense work for the scumbags who didn't do their jobs and spent the money on everything EXCEPT what it was legislated for, because "nobody died, nobody lied, none of it EVER HAPPENED."

Instead of charges of negligent homicide, contributory negligence, and malicious negligence that they deserve, these people will be slapped on the wrist, allowed to remain in office, gleefully spend the relief money on one quarter trillion dollars worth of personal benefit, and New Orleans will rise again, not as a new city bought and paid for, but as a thin veneer of shiny chrome over a foundation further worsened by at least an order of magnitude, superficially sanded out and glossed over, with the exact same problems (only worse) waiting to bite us yet again, only harder next time.

What you have seen, twice now, even has a name.

It's called the New Orleans Razzle Dazzle, or just the Razzle for those who live there, it is a scam at least 50 years old, a scam in which victims are reported to cheerfully get fleeced of all they have and clamor for more, and you, and every freeper supporting this thread, is falling for it, hook, line and sinker.

Why?

Because you want to.

You want to believe that Bush wasn't at fault, that the stories were all exaggeration, that the media lied to you, you want it so bad that when the EXACT SAME LIARS tell you EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR, you believe them unconditionally and WHIP OUT YOUR WALLETS.

That's how scam artists work, by telling you what you want to hear, then walking away with your money and car keys, laughing at your embrace, positive beyond a doubt that as soon as you find something else worth having, the exact same trick will take it away from you again.

You know what?

They're right.

Jeffers, my friend ( and you are my friend), you make the following claims:

The fact is, as the images show, that some guy had a pair of scissors stuck in the back of his neck, fell, and bled out where he lay, in front of hundreds or even thousands of people camped out at the convention center, and nobody there lifted a finger to help or save him.

The fact is that 500 civilians with boats showed up for water rescue, were shot at, and turned around and went home.

The fact is that helicopters trying to evacuate patients at Tulane University were shot at, to the point at least one marine was diverted from search and rescue and placed by helicopter onto a nearby roof to suppress sniper fire so the helicopters can do their jobs.

I don’t want to contradict you, but unless you show me documentary proof of these events, I really don’t know why I should believe you. You describe a scam you call the Razzle, but I have no way of knowing what you say is true, or if this sort of thing is the product of a deranged mind.

I certainly don’t want to refer to the NY Times of the LA Times are unimpeachable sources, but they sometimes do get things right. There WAS a hurricane named Katrina, New Orleans did get flooded, there were people at the Dome and the Convention Center and they were uncomfortable for several days. Can we agree on that?

The “official” body count is somewhere between 900 and 1000; can we agree on that?

Some local officials including the mayor and police chief went on national TV and claimed that some horrible events occurred that, in fact, did not occur. Can we agree on that?

Now before we get all huffy and each of us climbs high horses about who is the more gullible, I suggest that we allow the time to pass and for reality to set in.

What we do know is that there are those with agendas; you and I both have them. Mine includes that belief that the MSM has a Left/Liberal view of the world that influences their choice of facts, that prevents them from separating some facts from fiction, and that inevitably results in creating a story line like “Bush delayed FEMA response because he does not care about poor blacks.”

Now you tell me yours.

"The fact is, as the images show, that some guy had a pair of scissors stuck in the back of his neck,
fell, and bled out where he lay, in front of hundreds or even thousands of people camped out at the
convention center, and nobody there lifted a finger to help or save him. "

(***graphic content***)
http://cryptome.quintessenz.at/mirror/katdead-01/pict65.jpg

http://cryptome.quintessenz.at/mirror/katdead-01/pict33.jpg

Note the presence of the scissors, numerous chairs, and the absence of smears, drag marks, or compression bandages.

"The fact is that helicopters trying to evacuate patients at Tulane University were shot at, to the
point at least one marine was diverted from search and rescue and placed by helicopter onto a
nearby roof to suppress sniper fire so the helicopters can do their jobs."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1497816/posts

There's a lot of other confirmation of this out there, including first hand reports from the pilots of the choppers who had to wave off because of the sniper fire. Matter of fact, I've seen and may have a picture of the chopper's door laying on the roof. We all (those of us following the live threads) did, and many of us commented on what it might have been doing there. You have to go looking for it if you want the truth, and the MSM is not the place to start.

Begin with anecdotal reports. Hold a question mark next to each archived incident until you get three unconected sources claimiung the same thing. Then look to the MSM for corroboration. If you get it, replace the question mark with "Corroborated", and file it. If not, look for one more unconnected anecdotal report, stamp it, "Corroborated" and crossfile an "MSM lied" event linked in both directions.

Information management 101.

"The fact is that 500 civilians with boats showed up for water rescue, were shot at, and turned
around and went home."

You're going to have to wade through the Katrina threads to find this one. Could have been Wednesday morning, could have been Thursday morning, but 500 people who'd been running SAR for two or three days didn't turn tail on rumors. FEMA made the call. I believe FEMA. I also believe 500 people is a large enough statistical pool to sift through to reality. (Note that the quantity "500" is 496 more than the requisite "4", "MSM lied" incident properly crossfiled, report classified "Corroborated".

"You describe a scam you call the Razzle, but I have no way of knowing
what you say is true, or if this sort of thing is the product of a deranged mind."

"Despite knowing the game was fixed, two undercover troopers got
hoodwinked. After the troopers spent the $200 they were given for the
sting, they pulled out their own money, Graffeo said.

"We got a call from our guy saying, `We can win this game, man, we're
only one point away,"' he said."

http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/perlstein051004.html

"April 23, 2004 --NEW ORLEANS -- A federal grand jury is collecting evidence in an expanding investigation of an alleged $1 million-a-year drug and gambling operation in
the French Quarter.

The grand jury is focusing on alleged payoffs to New Orleans police officers for protection of the operation.

One of four officers reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation, 8th District Officer Mike Eskine, was called to appear Thursday before the grand jury.

Investigators said the operation that flourished at 335 Bourbon St. lured tourists with a rigged game called Razzle Dazzle in which players were routinely cheated out of their
money.

In addition to Eskine, other officers have been subpoenaed in the investigation, and more subpoenas are expected. "

http://flyservers.com/members5/policecrime.com/misconduct/Louisiana_police.html

"There WAS a hurricane named Katrina, New Orleans did get flooded,
there were people at the Dome and the Convention Center and they were uncomfortable for several
days. Can we agree on that? "

No. "Uncomfortable" is spin. Listen to the fear in the Guardsmen's voices on the scanner logs. Listen to the calls from the guys surrounded by hundreds of PO'ed refugees calling for reinforcements that never came. There were 300 to 500 good guys at the dome, and between 10,000 and 30,000 in the herd. It WAS Lord of the Flies, dude, and anyone trying to tell you different has a bridge to sell.

"The “official” body count is somewhere between 900 and 1000; can we agree on that?"

No. In the hardest hit areas where surge shoved residences off the foundations, splintered them, and spread the debris out across city blocks, the water drained back out into Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne long before the bag teams first entered the neighborhoods. I'll settle for 1500 though.

"Some local officials including the mayor and police chief went on national TV and claimed that some
horrible events occurred that, in fact, did not occur. Can we agree on that?"

(Hang on while I finish laughing....)

Yeah, we can agree that those clowns went on TV and said that.

"What we do know is that there are those with agendas; you and I both have them. Mine includes that
belief that the MSM has a Left/Liberal view of the world that influences their choice of facts, that prevents
them from separating some facts from fiction, and that inevitably results in creating a story line like “Bush
delayed FEMA response because he does not care about poor blacks.”

Now you tell me yours."

Okay, but to save time, I will use a few quotes, because instead of debating you over whether the MSM is still spinning, or whether they "saw Jesus" and have stopped spinning, I could be finishing this:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1489838/posts

1. " Mine includes that
belief that the MSM has a Left/Liberal view of the world that influences their choice of facts, that prevents
them from separating some facts from fiction, and that inevitably results in creating a story line like “Bush
delayed FEMA response because he does not care about poor blacks.”" (Recognize that? Thought you might.)

2. I want Blanco, Nagin and the Landrieu twins in prison, because: "Instead of charges of negligent homicide, contributory negligence, and malicious negligence that they deserve, these people will be slapped on the wrist, allowed to remain in office, gleefully spend the relief
money on one quarter trillion dollars worth of personal benefit, and New Orleans will rise again, not as a new city bought and paid for, but as a thin veneer of shiny chrome over a foundation further worsened
by at least an order of magnitude, superficially sanded out and glossed over, with the exact same problems (only worse) waiting to bite us yet again, only harder next time. "

3. I want history to record the facts. Katrina did what it did, not one death more or less, not one fire, rape, incident of looting, levee breach, of structural failure more or less, not inch of surge higher or lower, reality.

Fiction leads to poor decisions. Fiction lays the foundations for scams and corruption. Fiction is a lie.

GIGO.

..or, in my prefered dialect:

SISO.

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