Posted on 03/26/2006 5:06:59 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
A 'tension convention' - that's how Don Imus would have described the ill-concealed ill will on this morning's Fox & Friends Weekend between Juliet Huddy and Julian Phillips.
Huddy is a former host of the show who was making a guest co-hosting appearance. She wasted no time in setting the confrontational tone. In her opening comments, Juliet congratulated host Gretchen Carlson on "doing a fantastic job" then pointed to Phillips saying "and Julian, you're doing a . . . " as her voice trailed off in a sarcastic riff.
"I decided to come back to harrass you," Huddy continued, as Phillips replied "I'm looking forward to getting into a fight." Carlson, evidently aware of the prevailing state of hostilities observed "I'm sure we're going to get into something between the two of you."
It was later in the opening coffee klatsch, when talk turned to the Natalee Holloway case, that Julian threw gasoline on the racial fire. Discussion centered on new allegations by the Aruban Deputy Chief of Police that Natalee died as the result of an overdose of alcohol and drugs. Huddy and Carlson were clearly offended by this blame-the-victim theory. Carlson went so far as to call the investigator's allegation that Holloway had drugs in her possession 'blasphemous' [presumably meaning to say 'slanderous'], and Huddy sardonically observed "I hope [the deputy chief] has a way to back all that up."
Far from being offended by the allegations, Phillips was happy to offer up a theory consistent with them: "could it possibly mean that she was so impaired that she might have drowned or something? That certainly has been a theory out there."
And while Phillips blithely proclaimed that "you don't want to see anybody die," it was clear that he was less concerned for Holloway's fate than he is for what he sees as the perceived mistreatment . . . of Aruba. "My whole problem with this case is that it's kind of held an entire country hostage. I just don't believe one person missing should hold an entire country hostage." Your 'whole problem,' Julian?
Phillips wasn't appeased when Carlson replied that Arubans should be angry "at the fact their government has no clue what the heck they're doing in this case." He shot back: "We have thousands of missing people in this country. Does anybody hold the United States hostage?"
When Huddy argued that much of the continued focus on the case is due to the relentless efforts of Natalee's mother to keep the story in the news, Phillips' argument took an even more sharply-defined racial turn. He replied: "there are other people who have been relentless. There's a case here in New York where a Hunter College student was missing and the mother was relentless and no one paid any attention to her."
Phillips was referring to the case of Romona Moore. Although Moore's killers were apprehended and convicted, her mother has sued NYC claiming that "the NYPD has a policy of not making a prompt investigation of missing person claims of African-Americans, while making a prompt investigation for white individuals."
Here's a link to a NY Daily News story on the case: http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/403188p-341399c.html
With his "no one paid any attention to her" comment, Phillips was clearly taking at face value the explosive claims of the mother, who is seeking more than $1 million in damages.
As I stated, I did not catch the full exchange. I didn't hear the 'race' reference. I was in the other room (making coffee) and just heard him say 'he tought too much attention was being paid to this one case when there were other missing persons cases that got scant attention'. [The remark I heard didn't have a racial reference.]
By the time I got the TV/Comuter room, F&F had Huddy interviewing the Uncle.
Phillips didn't explicitly mention race, but he did specifically cite the case of the missing Hunter College student as one in which another mother's pleas went unheard. And as you'll see from what appears in the thread, with more at the given link, the Hunter College case is one in which the victim's mother explictly charges anti-black discrimination.
Juvenile tripe complete with shrill, rude over talking children who haven't got a clue about anything.
Such is the byproduct of twenty four hour "news" shows.
Remember the old days whenever the left wing networks staged a Republican rebuttal on some scandalous allegation, they would always trotted out some wimpy,goof who had failed the Dale Carnegie course?
I rest my case.
Fox and Friends is unwatchable on weekends.
Fox and Friends is unwatchable on weekends.
My parents would have never let me or my sister do something this stupid. The mother takes big blame on this one.
He should be shipped over to CNN and she should be put on some cheerleading squad; somewhere where her grating voice and pom-pom personality would fit right in.
I couldn't agree more. Boycott city .
So, I didn't see any of this exchange. But it doesn't surprise me, because it sounds like Julian Phillips being Julian Phillips. When Neal Gabler starts making guest appearances, the end will be near.
The "adults" were coaches being given a reward for their work. They were not there as chaperons or anything else. Fun only. As far as that racist on Fox, I quit watching a long time ago, he needs to go, in a hurry!
Thanks for the ping. Could you post their pictures in the future? Because other than Julian, I don't remember who is who of those women without looking it up.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my FoxFan list. *Warning: This can be a high-volume ping list at times.
Thanks for the ping!
Huddy and mike Jerrick were the best. Just those two on the weekends would be just fine. Instead Fox has to play a little race card themselves in their racial quota system.
I wonder if harris faulkner is part of the quota system - as well as Bill-John-Boy-Walton-Hemmer?
I wonder if harris faulkner is part of the quota system - as well as Bill-John-Boy-Walton-Hemmer?
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