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A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

In NYC, DHS Secretary Napolitano Answers Questions On “The View” (No, We’re Not Just Vaccinating Half The Population) & “Jon Stewart” (No, Government Isn’t Adding LSD To H1N1 Vaccine)

October 13th, 2009 · No Comments

Yesterday, DHS Secretary Napolitano visited two pillars of the ‘new’ New York City-based national television establishment — she first appeared on “The View” and then was a guest on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”.

It was part of the Secretary’s effort to engage a broader audience, particularly as part of the H1N1 flu public information effort. I thought that both shows in their own styles elicited some interesting, informative and sometimes humorous answers on a variety of questions, many of which may be on the minds of their viewers.

On “The View,” Barbara Walters called Napolitano a “brave woman” for taking the top DHS job, adding with a laugh: “If it works, great. If it doesn’t, it’s all your fault.” Napolitano then took questions from the four-woman panel on a number of hot button homeland security-related issues. The link to the video of the show is here.

The questions (and answers) included: does the government’s H1N1 response comes under the umbrella of Homeland Security? (”It does in a way…We have a coordinating role”); why is the government only vaccinating half the population for H1N1? (They’re not; everyone can be vaccinated.); did the ‘Right-Wing Extremism’ report “discredit the Department” (”It was poorly done as you suggest, and we retracted it.”); “You have not been without controversy?” (”The office is not without controversy.”); what’s the current status of terror alerts system or as Whoopi Goldberg broke out into song, “Where have all the colors gone?” (”The problem is ‘a’ people use it for humor, thank you. But also it didn’t communicate information. ‘What are you supposed to do?’…We are relooking at that system. Is it the right way to communicate good information to people?”); and should Americans still be preparing for terrorism and other disasters? (”Yes.”).

Finally, Barbara Walters asked: “Do you think it’s still ‘if and not when’ in terms of a terrorist attack?” The question was asked, I think, out of real curiosity and not as a gotcha. But it’s something I have not heard the Secretary answer in a public setting. As she started to do so, Walters about to hit a commercial break, asked for a quick answer: “We’re going to be prepared either way,” Napolitano said. A video of Monday’s episode can be found here. The interview comes at the end of show.

DHS SECRETARY NAPOLITANO AT “THE VIEW”

On “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart’s first question was also about the terror color alert system. Napolitano told him that the Department was “revisiting” it, because “They are the subject of late night humor as you might have noticed.” The video of the “Daily Show” interview can be found here.

Stewart asked about the H1N1 vaccine in his own typical way: “Is it something you would recommend to people or do you not trust the government?” It gave Napolitano a chance to get the government’s flu prevention message out to the “Daily Show’s” young demographic, a focus of the flu outreach effort. She said “this is a bad flu, and it’s a very safe vaccine.” Stewart asked if the government was adding LSD to the vaccine. (Napolitano denied it; Stewart seemed convinced.) Even without the use of LSD, Napolitano said the nation would handle whatever the H1N1 dealt us this year. ”We’ll work the problem…We’ll get through it.”

Stewart concluded the interview by noting, “And if we see something…we should say something” adding, “because I live in New York City, and I see a lot of unusual things.” That actually was a good transition to the third television appearance Napolitano did yesterday — with another ‘new’ pillar of the media establishment Bloomberg Television yet in a more traditional format. In the interview, the Secretary said that there are people with terrorist leanings are currently in the U.S., “It is fair to say there are individuals in the United States who ascribe to al-Qaeda-type beliefs.”

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Tags: Media · See Something/Terrorism Tips

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