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Looking for loved ones in Haiti
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Tuesday near Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, leaving thousands missing. Are you searching for a family member? Upload his or her photo on ireport.com.
Avlon: Two veteran wingnuts resurface
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is a senior political columnist for The Daily Beast and author of the forthcoming "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
By John Avlon, Special to CNN
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/01/15/oliver.pat.wingnuts.art.jpg caption="Filmmaker Oliver Stone and televangelist Pat Robertson."]
Two long-time luminaries of the wingnutsphere resurfaced this week: Pat Robertson on the right and Oliver Stone on the left.
Pat Robertson is no stranger to Biblical interpretations of massive disasters, but with the devastating earthquake in Haiti, he dove in yet again – saying that Haitians had made “a deal with the devil” long ago, implying that this led to the earthquake. Here’s the full quote:
“Something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French...And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, “We will serve you if you get us free from the prince.” True story. And so the devil said, “OK, it’s a deal.” They kicked the French out, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor.”
The Reverend Robertson is a repeat offender in this regard. After Hurricane Katrina, he said that the devastation was related to America’s abortion laws and after the attacks of September 11th, he and Jerry Falwell lay blame at the feet of the ACLU and People for the American Way.
In the interest of balance, it’s worth pointing out that Robertson’s charity Operation Blessing International has donated over 1 billion pounds of food and relief supplies over the past twenty years – and they have reported sending a million dollars worth of medication to Haiti. But Robertson, sadly, wasn’t the only one to try to spin the still unfolding disaster in ugly ways. Wingnut King Rush Limbaugh declared that President Obama would use the earthquake to boost his credibility with “the light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country.”
On the left, Oliver Stone is a great director in my book but he's also a world-class Wingnut. Fresh off the heels of lionizing Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez with a documentary debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, this week he announced that Hitler needs to be seen a more balanced light.
“We can't judge people as only bad or good,” Stone told a conference of television critics this week. “Hitler is an easy scapegoat throughout history and it's been used cheaply. He's the product of a series of actions. It's cause and effect."
According to Stone, even Stalin sometimes gets an unfair rap. These international monsters will presumably not be included in his upcoming Showtime series presenting an alternative (read left) history of America.
Wingnuts can’t resist callously projecting their politics on catastrophes both past and present. Too often we wait for tragedies to unite us – but the devastation in Haiti should remind us of the wisdom that Wingnuts so often deny: what unites us is far greater than those things which divides us.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John Avlon.
We Listen – Your Comments 1/14/10
Editor's Note: Thursday’s American Morning viewers offered various suggestions for relief efforts in the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake on Tuesday evening. All eagerly awaited reports of active participation by the international community to provide supplies and medical attention, and some expressed frustration as the delay. Others reflected on the destruction in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and wondered about the needs of that community still in dire straits, so many years later.
- Janice: If possible, couldn't planes be used to inform the people in Haiti of contact areas for medical help – food, etc. The type of banners used at the beach for advertising? This would be a way everyone could see it.
- Paul: please suggest to the us gov. to start air drops of small food/water, may be little parachute on the boxes or bags, this will help not to have run over each other or riot on the trucks when they try too deliver it !!!!! it going too get real bad send in troops if we have any?
- Carrie: Why doesn't the US load up all the FEMA trailers they're trying to sell on a huge freighter and send them all to Haiti? I know there have been complaints about the trailers, but they are at least shelter and better than a lot of those people's homes were before the quake.
- Susan: Haiti Suggestions: 1. Supply planes should be flying in day or night, one right after the other. Light the runway with tires. It works in other places. 2. TENTS!! Thousands of tents need to set up immediately for all those people on the streets. Tents, with food, clothes and medical supplies. Thank you for all you do!
- Alberto: With the Province of Guantanamo less than 150 miles away from the disaster zone in Haiti, with tens of empty school buildings capable of housing 500-600 person each, thousands of highly trained healthcare and other professionals, hundreds of thousands of hurricane victims lay exposed to a crude environment, threat of epidemics, only because of a lack of political will of international institutions and powerful governments unwilling to work out an agreement that could enable tens of thousands of victims to find temporary safe haven in Cuba. What will we do in the next 48 hour when massive transmissible diseases spreads like wildfire through Port au Prince.
- Ronald: tell me whether Cuba has sent its massive amount of doctors and medicine is arriving to Haiti. I recall, Cuba offering to send a massive amount of doctors to USA with tons of medicine but the State Dept denied entry to them for the victims of Katrina. Now, will Cuba get there.
- Sandy: it's wonderful to see the world come together to help Haiti, my first thought was where was all these people when Katrina hit us. It's been almost five years and our own country isn't put back together. New Orleans still doesn't have a hospital. People are still homeless. The schools haven't been rebuilt. The people affected by Katrina were put through hell, floating dead in the same water other people had to walk through to try to get to some kind of safety. No they weren't buried under rubble, they were dying in sewage water, heat stroke, and thirst for Gods sake! Where was our own government, watching it on T.V And the rest of the world where were they .Helping people in need is a wonderful thing. Taking care of our own should come first. If we have all these resources why isn't the effects of Katrina fixed?
What do you think of the relief efforts in Haiti? How do you think this compares to the mobilization of efforts for Hurricane Katrina? What ideas do you suggest for relief in the devastated nation?
U.S. student survives Haiti earthquake
Many families are waiting desperately to hear from their loved ones missing in Haiti. In Florida, twelve students and two faculty members from Lynn University were on a humanitarian aid trip when the earthquake struck. The hotel they were staying in was flattened. The university says 7 of the 12 students have reported to the American embassy in Port-au-Prince and are safe, Julie Prudhomme is one of those students. Her parents, Steve and Joan Prudhomme spoke with CNN's Kiran Chetry Thursday.
Secy. Clinton: "We've got a long way ahead of us...and a long way back"
As the death toll rises, the true extent of the damage is difficult to assess. The next twenty four hours is crucial for survivors. What is America doing to help? Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton spoke with CNN's John Roberts on U.S. relief efforts live on American Morning Thursday.
Haiti earthquake resources
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