Spot the idiot

Bill O'Reilly has joined the idiot chorus. A basic understanding of 1) the Constitution, 2) economics and 3) disaster planning he sadly lacks.

On the first point, he seems to believe that whenever the mainstream media gets a good video of something tragic or sad, the Constitution and the Law should simply be ignored. His understanding of marshal law--non-existent. His comprehension of the legal powers of the police, the national guard and the military is abysmal.

On the second point, tonight he espoused the absolutely brilliant idea of encouraging people to not buy gas on Sunday, to penalize the eeeevil oil companies who are (gasp) making money. Ok, folks! Make sure you fill your tanks on Saturday, so you don't have to buy on Sunday. Yeah, that'll teach them a lesson. And later, he said that companies should immediately renounce 20% of their profits. And that is supposed to do...? If the problem, as he seems to believe, is too much demand, a decrease in price (reduced profits) will cause consumption (demand) to do what? Yes Johnny, go to the head of the class... Demand will increase! The guy is a genius!

On the third point, he seems to believe that the most important place/person for 'officials' to deal with is whoever he has on the phone or on the camera right now. Bill, it is called 'triage'. It is in the dictionary. Look it up. You want a military operation? You will get a ruthlessly effecient plan to take back the city from looters block by block. Some sections and neighborhoods will be sacrificed for others. The decisions on life and death will be made, not on the basis of tear-jerking camera shorts, but on cold calculations and a commander's best training; if you ask for it, be prepared for the consequences.

Which brings me back to the first point. He asked why the 'authorities' were not more prepared. Well, the evac order was given. He seems to think that every time there is the threat of a major storm, the Marines should go in and remove, by force, people from their homes and places of business. Think about it Bill...this disaster is an act of God. The response, the 'failure' of the government, is the price of freedom. Cuba, China, Iran, even England have the authority to take citizens from their homes, or take the homes from their citizens (yes, I know about Kelo), but look at the costs...