Bayou Buzz, Catholics, and da Cops...

I was asked yesterday if I knew who/what the Bayou Buzz website was. Before going there, I was pretty sure it was Jeff Crouere's website. Crouere has been a tertiary-to-secondary radio/tv commentator with a conservative bent here in New Orleans for a few years now. Probably his highest-profile venture was a talk show with Marky-marc Morial, where he was the angry white guy and Marky-marc was...well, you get the idea.

So, off I went to this website suggested by a friend. When I get there, I'm not surprised to find a story about the current controversy involving Superintendent Eddie Compass of the NOPD. Da Chief wanted to bring in a guy from the Nation of Islam to speak to NOPD officers on the subject of community relations. Dennis Muhammed, security chief for Minister Louis Farrakahn, has experience offering this sort of training, and Compass thought it was worth it.

Of course, anything to do with the Nation of Islam is as explosive as if NOPD had hired one of David Dukkke's lieutenants. Jewish leaders decried the plan, as well as white police officers. Compass immediately backed off from the idea, which is to his credit. I don't think Da Chief was looking to start a fight with anyone, but I'll comment on the choice in a moment.

When I go to Crouere's website, his take on the flap is interesting. Bayou Buzz is proud of the fact that their reporting of the story is what Drudge picked up on to send the story national. They also mention receiving e-mail from Bill Donohue of the Catholic League. Seems that Mr. Donohue was quite upset with Da Chief for coming up with this idea in the first place, and wrote a letter to the City Council:

“Farrakhan is anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic and anti-gay. He has mocked Catholicism, ridiculed the pope and insulted Catholics everywhere with his vitriolic comments. In short, he’s a bigot. Common sense, never mind common decency, argues against any Nation of Islam official lecturing the police on tolerance. I ask that you intervene to find someone with impeccable credentials to carry out this task.”

That an extremist Catholic leader is bashing Farrakahn is not really news. That a conservative commentator and website is printing that bashing isn't really news either. The problem is Mr. Donohue is truly Mr. Pot to Farrakhan's kettle, because he's as big an anti-Semite as Minister Farrakahn, as he demonstrated on the MSNBC show, "Scarborough Country" back in December. Mr. Donohue, while railing about "Hollywood," made some choice comments about Jews:

Who really cares what Hollywood thinks? All these hacks come out there. Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It's not a secret, OK? And I'm not afraid to say it. That's why they hate this movie. It's about Jesus Christ, and it's about truth. It's about the messiah. Hollywood likes anal sex. They like to see the public square without nativity scenes. I like families. I like children. They like abortions. I believe in traditional values and restraint. They believe in libertinism. We have nothing in common.

In typical conservative fashion, Bayou Buzz makes no effort to point out the irony of one anti-Semite bashing another. Given that the Catholic League is further out in la-la land than Dr. James "SpongeBob Is Evil" Dobson, it's safe to say that he and other leaders of the Catholic League aren't going to be invited over for dinner at the houses of average Catholic families. The Catholic League doesn't represent mainstream Catholics. Shoot, they don't even represent crazy Catholics. I don't know if Crouere isn't Catholic or if his people at Bayou Buzz just don't their homework, but either way, their sloppiness speaks for itself.