"Whatcha Heard Through the Grapevine Haji?"

You know, I'd be better off just sitting in traffic, picking my nose, and waving down the taxi driver stuck next to me so I could ask him "Whatcha heard through the grapevine Haji?" than attempting to get a genuine balanced story from ABC, NBC, or CBS.

I don't normally post this late on Friday nights, but tonight was special, not only because it was a blockbuster night and I got to watch a classic, "Shaka Zulu", but because I once again almost puked at seeing more Mainstream Media liberal bias. I've posted about this topic once before in July, and it led to a pretty good debate. Let's see what reaction I get this time. It all began after my African warrior marathon when I decided to check out the web for some scoop. I ran across this article in WorldNetDaily. In this revealing piece, one can see first-hand how ABC news correspondent, Dean Reynolds, in a live interview from the Houston Astrodome so blatantly loaded his questions as he asked some New Orleans evacuees about their thoughts on President Bush's speech yesterday evening. To Mr. Reynolds' surprise, and dismay every single evacuee thought quite highly of the President's remarks and plan. After several attempts to get a negative answer from these evacuees he was stumped. It's quite hilarious. You must read the transcript and see the video for yourself.

After reading the article and watching the video, I then went to the ABCnews Hurricane Katrina coverage website in order to see if ABC had followed up this story. What did I find on the thoughts of evacuees after Bush's speech? Well, let's just say Dean's video didn't make the cut. I found one single article entitled, "Viewers Skeptical Over Bush Speech". In this pathetic, putrid example of journalism, six people were interviewed that absolutely hammered Bush again and again, and then, finally, two small, yet positive quotes were kind of thrown in almost carelessly at the end- (Kind of like you do when you get a couple of pennies back for change, but really don't want to keep them, so you put them in the little "give-a-penny-take-a-penny" tray for some other patron to use).

Yeah, and ABC wonders why nobody watches them anymore. On that note, if you still do watch these guys, why don't you do yourself a favor and head to the local Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus to get your clown fix there instead. Anyways, clowns are creepy. Last I heard, Bozo was dead and haunting people. But who knows? Maybe Dean Reynolds and his 12 mini-me sidekicks will jump out of their ABC company Ford Pinto (as it bursts into flames) to come to the rescue of their circus and finally redeem the American clown image. I think he may even make quite the Ronald McDonald.

Here's the transcipt... (I highlighted the loaded questions)

"I'd like to get the reaction of Connie London who spent several horrible hours at the Superdome. You heard the president say repeatedly that you are not alone, that the country stands beside you. Do you believe him?"

Connie London: "Yeah, I believe him, because here in Texas, they have truly been good to us. I mean-"

Reynolds: "Did you get a sense of hope that you could return to your home one day in New Orleans?"

London: "Yes, I did. I did."

Reynolds: "Did you harbor any anger toward the President because of the slow federal response?"

London: "No, none whatsoever, because I feel like our city and our state government should have been there before the federal government was called in. They should have been on their jobs."

Reynolds: "And they weren't?"

London: "No, no, no, no. Lord, they wasn't. I mean, they had RTA buses, Greyhound buses, school buses, that was just sitting there going under water when they could have been evacuating people."

Reynolds: "Now, Mary, you were rescued from your house which was basically submerged in your neighborhood. Did you hear something in the President's words that you could glean some hope from?"

Mary: "Yes. He said we're coming back, and I believe we're coming back. He's going to build the city up. I believe that."

Reynolds: "You believe you'll be able to return to your home?"

Mary: "Yes, I do."

Reynolds: "Why?"

Mary: "Because I really believe what he said. I believe. I got faith."

Reynolds: "Back here in the corner, we've got Brenda Marshall, right?"

Brenda Marshall: "Yes."

Reynolds: "Now, Brenda, you were, spent, what, several days at the Superdome, correct?"

Marshall: "Yes, I did."

Reynolds: "What did you think of what the President told you tonight?"

Marshall: "Well, I think -- I think the speech was wonderful, you know, him specifying that we will return back and that we will have like mobile homes, you know, rent or whatever. I was listening to that pretty good. But I think it was a well fine speech."

Reynolds: "Was there any particular part of it that stood out in your mind? I mean, I saw you all nod when he said the Crescent City is going to come back one day."

Marshall: "Well, I think I was more excited about what he said. That's probably why I nodded."

Reynolds: "Was there anything that you found hard to believe that he said, that you thought, well, that's nice rhetoric, but, you know, the proof is in the pudding?" <--(GET A LOAD OF THIS ONE!)

Marshall: "No, I didn't."

Reynolds: "Good. Well, very little skepticism here. Frederick Gould, did you hear something that you could hang on to tonight from the President?" (WELL DEAN, IS THAT ALL YOU WERE LOOKING FOR WAS SKEPTICISM?)

Frederick Gould: "Well, I just know, you know, he said good things to me, you know, what he said, you know. I was just trying to listen to everything they were saying, you know."

Reynolds: "And Cecilia, did you feel that the President was sincere tonight?"

Cecilia: "Yes, he was."

Reynolds: "Do you think this is a little too late, or do you think he's got a handle on the situation?"

Cecilia: "To me it was a little too late. It was too late, but he should have did something more about it."

Reynolds: "Now do you all believe that you will one day return to your homes?"

Voices: "Yes" and "I do."

Reynolds: "I mean, do you all want to return to your homes? We're hearing some people don't even want to go back."

Mary: "I want to go back."

Reynolds: "You want to go back."

Mary: "I want to go back. That's my home. That's all I know."

Reynolds: "Is it your home for your whole life?"

Mary: "Right. That's my home."

Reynolds: "And do you expect to go back to the house or a brand new dwelling or what?"

Mary: "I expect to go back to something. I know it ain't my house, because it's gone."

Reynolds: "What is the one mistake that could have been prevented that would have made your lives much better? Is it simply getting all of you out much sooner or what was it?"

Mary: "I'm going to tell you the truth. I had the opportunity to get out, but I didn't believe it. So I stayed there till it was too late."

Reynolds: "Did you all have the same feeling? I mean, did you all have the opportunity to get out, but you were skeptical that this was the really bad one?"

Unnamed woman: "No, I got out when they said evacuate. I got out that Sunday and I left before the storm came. But I know they could have did better than what they did because like they said, buses were just sitting there, and they could have came through there and got people out, because they were saying immediate evacuation. Some people didn't believe it. But they should have brung the force of the army through to help these people and make them understand it really was coming."

London: "And really it wasn't Hurricane Katrina that really tore up the city. It was when they opened the floodgates. It was not the hurricane itself. It was the floodgates, when they opened the floodgates, that's where all the water came."

Reynolds: "Do you blame anybody for this?"

London: "Yes. I mean, they've been allocated federal funds to fix the levee system, and it never got done. I fault the mayor of our city personally. I really do."

Reynolds: "All right. Well, thank you all very much. I wish you all the best of luck. I hope you don't have to spend too much more time here in the Reliant Center and you can get back to New Orleans as the President said. Ted, that is the word from the Houston Astrodome. And as I said, when the President said that the Crescent City will rise again, there were nods all around this parking lot."