"Minister" Louis Farrakhan, the nutjob head of the Nation of Islam, is on a nationwide tour, speaking with people forced from their homes by Hurricane Katrina.
During a stop in Charlotte, Calypso Louie opined that some of the levees in New Orleans may have been deliberately blown up to "destroy the black part of town and keep the white part dry."
Farrakhan has a long history of making racist and moronic statements. He once described Jews as "bloodsuckers" and told followers that he communicates the late founder of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammed, who (according to Louie) is presently orbiting the earth in a spaceship. And, in case you were wondering, Farrakhan also claims that he was abducted by aliens in the past (that part we believe).
What's unbelieveable is that media outlets continue to give Farrakhan air time and print space to spew his vile comments. "Minister" Farrakhan established himself long ago as a bigot, a vicious anti-Semite, a homophobe and a certifiable loon. But reporters are still willing to stick a microphone in front of his face, or scribble down his rantings and take them at face value.
The reporter who covered Calypso Louie in Charlotte, Anna Crowley, should know better. According to her biography, she's a past winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award, one of the most prestigious honors in broadcast journalism. But apparently, she was unwilling or unable to call Farrakhan on his baseless claims, or simply call her assignment desk and suggest they cover a real news story instead.
Incidentally, I did a check of the other Charlotte stations. I couldn't find any coverage of Farrakhan's visit on the website of WSOC, the dominant ABC affiliate, or on the webpage of WBTV, the local CBS station. Perhaps they've already deleted their stories, since Louie's visit occurred earlier this week. Or, perhaps they ignored him altogether. That would be a welcome development.
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