Hurricane

Idiots at Fox News Downplay Hurricane Damage ‘In Our Country’ vs Puerto Rico

Posted by on September 29, 2022 at 1:12 pm. 6 Comments :

As Hurricane Ian rumbles over Florida and much of the south eastern seaboard, leaving human and material destruction in its wake, the coverage of this unnatural product of climate change by Fox News proves to be just another opportunity to propagate disinformation and amplify ignorance.

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Hurricane Shooter

On Thursday morning, host Martha MacCallum responded to comments by her colleague Bill Hemmer regarding the the state of the power grid in Florida following the hurricane’s landfall. Hemmer noted that 200,000 people were reported to have lost power, and that that number was likely go up in the next few hours. MacCallum agreed and added that…

“You know you feel terrible for people in Puerto Rico who were just hit, in Cuba who were just hit. Thank God we have better infrastructure in our country. We’ve put a lot of investment into making sure that we’re ready for these things. But it’s an act of nature and you never know exactly what to expect.”

Who wants to tell MacCallum that Puerto Rico is “in our country”? This is a “mistake” that is often made on Fox News, where they seem loathe to concede that the mostly Latino citizens of Puerto Rico are, in fact, Americans.

However, as bad as that was, it wasn’t the only ignorant blunder made by both Hemmer and MacCallum. Their praise for authentic, unadulterated, American infrastructure neglected to notice that there are actually more than two million Floridians without power. So the failures of the energy facilities on the mainland were no less severe than those on the tiny and distant island. Even though they have the advantage of being connected to the broader national power grid.

This might be a good time for a reminder that the vast majority of Republicans in Congress voted against the passage of President Biden’s Infrastructure Bill.

RELATED: Crybaby Trump Whines Impotently About Passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill

What’s more, Donald Trump has been a prolific promoter of purposeful lies with regard to past natural disasters. Following his infamous paper towel throwing affair in Puerto Rico, Trump sought to make the tragedies of Hurricane Maria disappear. He tweeted that…

“3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000. This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible.”

Actually, Democrats had nothing to do with the casualty estimates. And Trump doesn’t need anyone’s help to make him look bad. The 3,000 fatalities were verified by both non-partisan government agencies and independent researchers at George Washington University. They were also affirmed by the Republican governor of Puerto Rico.

The fact that Fox News is intent on callously discounting the hardship and grief suffered by victims of Hurricane Ian shouldn’t surprise anyone. They are the same network that stood behind Trump when he asked whether we could nuke a hurricane. And then there was the time that he described North Carolina’s Hurricane Florence in 2018 as “a tough hurricane. One of the wettest we’ve ever seen from the standpoint of water.” Both Florence and Ian were classified as Category 4. But maybe Trump declassified Florence with his mind, saving untold lives.

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Trump Whines About Media Covering Hurricane Ida Instead of Bashing Biden On Afghanistan

Posted by on August 30, 2021 at 3:11 pm. 2 Comments :

America’s most flagrantly dishonest and flamboyantly narcissistic president, Donald Trump, is affirming just how little he cares about the American people. Apparently it wasn’t enough for Trump to preside over the deaths of more than 620,000 Americans. He still felt compelled to exploit the victims of a terrorist bombing in Afghanistan in order to advance his “Big Lie” about election fraud.

Donald Trump Sweating

And yet, that still didn’t satisfy Trump’s obsession with slandering President Biden, even at the expense of more suffering by fellow citizens.

On Monday morning Trump visited with the radical Christianist radio host, Todd Starnes, who was too over the top for Fox News, who fired him two years ago. In the course of their mutually admiring intercourse, Trump unleashed a round of the moldy oldies he has been spinning for years.

Trump railed against his omnipresent foes for having “the fake news, and they have all of the big tech, and all of the crooked politicians,” while delusionally claiming that “we have the people.” Well, except for the people in every poll and the 81 million majority who voted for Joe Biden. Then Trump hauled out this bit of inanity:

“[The people] are not taking what’s happening in Afghanistan. If you look at last night, all they talked about was the hurricane. You look at CNN, and you look at MSDNC, these are horrible … they’re way down, fortunately, they’re way down in ratings. But all they want to talk about is the hurricane, or anything else that they can talk about. Because Afghanistan is not something that can even be discussed in a rational way, The level of stupidity – and we had a great agreement.

So in Trump’s warped view, a catastrophic, category 4 hurricane bearing down on some of the nation’s most populated cities isn’t deserving of media coverage? This was the most severe weather crisis in the region in years. Millions of people were thrust into darkness. Homes and businesses were flooded. It’s too soon to assess the death toll because it isn’t safe enough yet for rescue and recovery operations to begin. But Trump is whining because this has allegedly interrupted the non-stop coverage of Afghanistan. He obviously couldn’t care less about the Americans currently in harms way at home.

You have to wonder what “news” Trump was watching. While there was extensive and warranted coverage of Hurricane Ida, stories about Afghanistan continued to be broadcast by all of the legitimate news networks. The only reason that Trump wasn’t satisfied is that the coverage of Afghanistan was unduly negative toward Biden, which Trump and his GOP confederates were fueling with their own disinformation and partisan criticisms. He was more interested in those attacks continuing than in the public being informed of imminent danger.

For it’s appropriate decision to focus on the hurricane, Trump lashed out at the media with his tedious complaint that they are “the enemy of the people,” adding that they are “fake and crooked and corrupt,” and that “They’ve got to hate our country.” But like almost every insult that Trump casts, these all sound like better description of his own fatal flaws. Trump is a textbook example of psychotic projection. And he is a bigger threat to the welfare of the nation than a hurricane.

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How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
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Crybaby: After Joking About Hurricane Irma, Alt-Right Icon Milo Yiannopoulos’ House Is Destroyed

Posted by on September 11, 2017 at 2:08 pm. 2 Comments :

As Hurricane Irma is downgraded to a tropical storm, its destructive consequences are still being evaluated. There is no doubt that it was the most powerful hurricane recorded in modern times. Dozens of fatalities have already been reported in its wake, and the numbers are expected to increase. The human tragedy is only just beginning to be fully understood as flood waters continue to rise.

Milo Yiannopoulos

These facts didn’t stop conservative pundits and politicians from belittling Irma’s impact. Prior to its landfall in Florida, Rush Limbaugh unleashed his conspiracy theory that the media was over-hyping it to juice their ratings. Some commentators assessed the aftermath as less than what they were led to believe by a panicky press.

They should tell that to the families who lost loved ones and homes. And no doubt the estimated six million people who are without power would disagree. Affected communities will continue to struggle with blocked roads and closed hospitals and schools. And, sadly, two Palm Beach officers died in the line of duty.

Among those who sought to underplay the disaster was the alt-right leader, Milo Yiannopoulos. He’s a former Breitbart author who was pilloried for comments defending pedophilia. He’a also a proud climate science denier. Prior to Hurricane Irma’s landfall in Florida he thought it would funny to joke about the imminent danger. As reported in The Independent:

“Mr Yiannopoulos, a former Breitbart News writer and editor and a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, had earlier appeared to joke about the destruction the hurricane had caused. Last week, as the storm hit the Caribbean, he wrote on Facebook: ‘In more positive Irma news, Richard Branson’s Necker Island has been devastated.'”

“And, as the hurricane headed towards the impoverished Caribbean island of Haiti, he said: ‘Irma is about to finish what Hillary started: leaving Haiti in ruins.’ That was a reference to Hillary Clinton, who faced questions during her presidential campaign against Donald Trump over the work of the Clinton Foundation in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake there.”

He’s hilarious, isn’t he? But what’s really funny is what he posted on Facebook after the hurricane passed through his home of Miami. In all caps he whined “MY HOUSE IS GONE.”

Apparently that silly old hurricane blew his home away. In all seriousness, it is never funny when anyone suffers this sort of tragic loss. Natural disasters are not selective and they do not discriminate. Even though some of their victims, like Yiannopoulos, do in overtly racist ways. They nevertheless deserve sympathy and whatever assistance is rightfully theirs from their neighbors and their government. That’s one of the enduring strengths of America and the caring people who live here.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

However, in Yiannopoulos’ case, he also deserves his share of ridicule and shame for not giving a damn about any of this until it affected him. That’s a common personality flaw of right-wingers. But we also have to be alert to the possibility that he is lying. It would not be unlike him to use the tragedies of others as prank to get attention. Assuming he’s being truthful about his loss, he can apply for aid from FEMA as needed. But he also has to accept the laughter aimed at his blinding selfishness. Maybe he will learn something from it.

UPDATE: As I speculated above, it turns out that Yiannopoulos may be lying. The Miami Herald did a little digging and found evidence that the picture of rubble Yiannopoulos said was his home belongs to someone else. If this is a prank, it is an especially heinous one that exhibits callousness toward real people who are really suffering. But then, that’s pretty much what you’d expect from this sleazeball.

It’s Come To This? Florida Sheriff Has to Warn People NOT to Shoot Into Hurricane Irma

Posted by on September 10, 2017 at 12:40 pm. NO Comments :

Sunday morning is bringing an unprecedented peril to Florida and much of the Southeast. As Hurricane Irma gets closer to population centers it’s size and strength are threatening both life and property. The most important thing now is for anyone who has not evacuated to find shelter and hope for the best.

Hurricane Shooter

That said, there are still surprisingly asinine incidents popping up that make one question Darwin’s theory of natural selection. For instance, Rush Limbaugh broadcast a ludicrous and dangerous conspiracy theory. He said that warnings to evacuate were just a plot by television companies and convenience stores to increase ratings and sell more bottled water. Less than twenty-four hours later he fled his Palm Beach estate, leaving his listeners to the fate of Irma.

However, a Facebook post later appeared to challenge Limbaugh’s idiocy. Ryon Edwards, a twenty-two year old prankster, posted an event coordinated to the arrival of Hurricane Irma. He invited readers to join him in shooting at the hurricane to alleviate any related stress or boredom. They responded in the tens of thousands. This did not go over very well with the law enforcement community. As Time Magazine reports:

“Florida authorities are advising people against firing weapons at Hurricane Irma following a Facebook event titled ‘Shoot At Hurricane Irma’ that garnered interest from over 45,000 accounts.

“‘To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons at Irma,’ the Twitter account of the Pasco County Sheriff’s office tweeted on Saturday night, just hours before the eye of the storm passed over the Florida Keys. ‘You won’t make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effects.’ Bullets fired into a storm system like a hurricane can have unpredictable and potentially dangerous trajectories.”

It may seem unnecessary to persuade people not to shoot at a hurricane. But we’re talking about people who think the Second Amendment permits them to take up arms against fellow Americans. And that includes those serving in the police and military that they sometimes praise as heroes. There are no shortage of stories about NRA members who shoot themselves or other innocents for frighteningly stupid reasons. And every Independence Day these cretins fire into the air despite warnings and news of tragic consequences.

The Pasco Sheriff was correct to assume that a fair number of the thousands who joined the Facebook event might take it literally. Many people hold views that are no less absurd. There are those who believe that these hurricanes, and other natural disasters, are God’s punishment for homosexuality. And others are convinced that only the pagans will be swept away. This doesn’t even address all the mainstream Republicans who deny the effects of climate change and the science that predicted these massive weather events.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

That absence of reason can also infect gun owners who imagine that their bullets in large numbers will turn Irma around. In reality, it’s the bullets that can be turned around, and directly back toward the imbecile who fired it. The fact that a professional law enforcement officer finds it necessary to issue this warning is a sad statement on the state of our nation. But it’s better to make the warning than to regret the suffering after the fact.