SOBBING JOURNALISTS AND HURRICANES

The leftwing Independent can be counted on for a good laugh on any day. They outdo themselves today and I agree with them. Taking U.S. t.v. reporters to task for their emotionalism, singling out Shepard Smith at FOX who was, in my view, an absolute idiot. The Independent thought he was emotional during Katrina. But Rita was something else.

Last week, though, when Hurricane Rita provided the anticlimactic follow-up to the devastations of Katrina, those same reporters found themselves standing alone in the driving wind and rain, struggling not only to maintain their dignity on camera, but also to come up with a valid reason why they were doing this at all.

Fox News's Mr Smith, now in Beaumont, Texas, was blown several feet and knocked to the ground during a live two-way. Anchor Greta Van Susteren, dry and comfortable in the studio, didn't even stop talking as Smith struggled to get up and find something solid to cling to.

No doubt, she was humiliated by his performance. If Roger Ailes had not been otherwise engaged doing something else, I expect he would have cut off the sorry spectacle. And don't even mention Geraldo Rivera to me. I half jokingly tell friends that I am buying a gun so in case of an earthquate, if that Adam Henry comes anywhere close, I am plugging him. He's not posing in my front yard.

But in case you think the Independent actually had a clue. They go on to chide Russert for challenging Aaron Broussard. They thought it "a heartless piece of gotcha journalism." Shows how closely they follow anything.