Pres. Bush on Iraq & Katrina
Now I suddenly realize both how bad things really must be in Iraq, and also why things are still so bad in the wake of Katrina.
Any more of Bush’s brand of “progress” and we’ll all be moving back into caves.
This letter has not been edited.
When Katrina happened, Bush actually flew over New Orleans on his way to vacation in Crawford & waved to the drowning people.
But that's better than 911 when he abandoned ship and scuttled off to hide in a bunker in the Midwest. Guess that's progress!
Posted by drew on September 5, 2007 02:47 PMI feel slightly more stupis after reading these posts....
Posted by on September 5, 2007 03:20 PMI'm not sure that's possible, 3:20.
Posted by Tbone on September 5, 2007 03:35 PMi totally agree, but here's what really blows me away, bush was actually "progressive" enough to turn down a suggestion from one of my good friends about creating better sources for homlessness in America, guess he doesnt really care enough to acctually make progress in the US
Posted by Danny on September 5, 2007 05:06 PMi totally agree, but here's what really blows me away, bush was actually "progressive" enough to turn down a suggestion from one of my good friends about creating better sources for homlessness in America, guess he doesnt really care enough to acctually make progress in the US
Posted by Danny on September 5, 2007 05:07 PMOk, I have a REAL problem with people blaming the President for Katrina, or even the lack of Federal response for Katrina.
Here is the way things really work. When a disaster happens on a local or state level, it is the responsibility of THAT LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT to respond appropriately. As there were conference calls between the President, Sec. Brown, Mayor Nagin, Gov.Blanco, and the CDC days and weeks prior to Katrina landing, that the city of New Orleans initiated a MANDATORY EVACUATION of the city, and was responsible for the evacuation of those that are not able to evacuate on their own, why would the blame fall on FEMA, or even the President?
It is incumbent upon the Gov. of the state of Louisiana to activate the National Guard, and request Federal Aid. Gov. Blanco did not activate the National Guard until 4 days AFTER Katrina, and did not officially request Federal Disaster Relief until Aug 29th (the day the storm hit). In comparison, Gov. Bush of Florida declared Florida on Aug. 24th, and the Govs of Mississippi, Alabama declared a Federal Emergency on Aug. 26th, 3 days prior to Katrina hitting landfall.
The Federal Government has allocated $423 BILLION dollars, already delivered to the State of Louisiana. It is now the decision of the state on how and where to spend that money.
You want to point a finger for Katrina? First one should go to those that thought they could "ride it out, because we did before." The second finger should be pointed directly at Gov. Blanco. The third to Mayor Nagin, for not having or implementing his emergency action plan (the city sits below sea level for crying out loud, and has been hit with terrible storms in the past), and THEN should be pointed to FEMA, for not moving until they SAW what was happening on freakin TV.
A pretty compelling (although very biased) film was made by Spike Lee, 'When the Levies Broke; A Requiem in Four Acts.' It does a pretty good job of demonstrating the lack of action by ALL involved in this mess. Their is only so much the Federal Government can do, logistically, and constitutionally.
I would love to see someone come up with, other than Bush standing in the hanger and saying "and Brownie, your doing a heck of a job" any kind of evidence on how this was President Bush's fault.
Posted by Dan2 on September 5, 2007 05:22 PMHeard a good one on the Jay Leno show last week. He was going along in his monologue and remarked: "We're celebrating two great events this week, Two years ago Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. And a year ago FEMA found out about it."
Which wasn't so far fetched after all. They don't raise Arabian horses much in the New Orleans area; and the former President of the Arabian Horse Owners Association (or whatever the name) could hardly be expected to concern himself about a little flood water in a place where fine horses weren't being threatened. Now courld he?
Posted by Old Grouch on September 5, 2007 05:43 PMMissed that one OG, but that is pretty funny!
Isn't the big National Arabian Horse Association right here in Colorado on 120th, up around Broomfield?
I remember driving past it, but honestly don't know if it's Arabian, or some other horse.
Posted by Dan2 on September 5, 2007 05:58 PMdrew and petey,How can you idiots be so stupid>I don't know where to start because I deal with people with IQ"s over 70.
Posted by Keith on September 5, 2007 07:19 PMAnalogy........
A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost.
She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat
below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help
me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago,
but I don't know where I am."
The man consulted his portable GPS and replied,
"You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet
above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level.
You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude
and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.
She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."
"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told
me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do
with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've
not been much help to me."
The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Liberal Democrat."
"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"
"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or
where you're going. You've risen to where you are, due
to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise
that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me
to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same
position you were in before we met, but, somehow,
now it's my fault."
7:31-
Heh,
How true.
Posted by Get Real on September 5, 2007 08:30 PMGood post,07:31
Posted by Keith on September 5, 2007 08:54 PMSince Katrina and Iraq are Bush's fault then I guess it is okay to blame the 250,000% increase in the abuse of women since that fateful day when a drunken Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge and left Mary Jo to die.
Posted by legal on September 5, 2007 08:58 PMSince Katrina and Iraq are Bush's fault then I guess it is okay to blame the 250,000% increase in the abuse of women on Ted Kennedy since that fateful day when a drunken Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge and left Mary Jo to die.
Posted by legal on September 5, 2007 09:00 PMI say we should cut and run in New Orleans because there local government isn't meeting the benchmarks.And the voters are too stupid to do anything about it.They re-voted all the corrupt politicians who were responsible for the diaster.
Posted by Keith on September 5, 2007 10:29 PMWhen a hurricane hits Florida - as they do all the time - FEMA is right there to help and to rebuild in record time. Maybe because a lot of older white people who vote live in Florida. When a hurricane hits the poor people of Louisiana, Miss, and so forth, the feds don't give a rats ass.
Posted by on September 6, 2007 09:11 AMIn reply to 07:31==
Israeli leader Ehoud Olmert comes to Washington for meetings with George W. For the State Dinner, Laura Bush decides to bring in a special Kosher Chef and have a truly Jewish meal prepared in honor of their guest.
At the dinner that night, the first course served is Matzoh Ball Soup.
George W. looks at this and, after learning what it is called, he tells an aide that he can't eat such a gross and strange-looking brew.
The aide says that Mr. Olmert will be insulted if he doesn't at least taste it.
Not wanting to cause any trouble (after all he ate a sheep's eye in honor of his Arab guests), George W gingerly lowers his spoon into the bowl and retrieves a piece of matzoh ball and some broth.
He hesitates, swallows, and a grin appears on his face. He finds he really likes it, digs right in, and finishes the whole bowl.
"That was delicious," he says to Olmert. "Do the Jews eat any other part of the matzoh, or just the balls?"
o9:11,Tipical liberal.More money has been spent already in Louisiana than the Marshall plan spented in rebuilding Europe.That's in today dollars.It's a fact that because of the corrupt dems. down there stop the progress.
Posted by Keith on September 6, 2007 09:26 AM09:13 AM anonymous,
Priceless! One of the best yet! And an almost perfect example of just how much Bush actually does know about anything in the Middle East - or even here in America, among those other than "conservatie" Republicans, for that matter.
Posted by Old Grouch on September 6, 2007 10:59 AMWith all of Iraqs oil riches why is this war costing taxpayers anything? If they want US help why isnt Iraq paying for it? Let Iraq up the ante for biger bonuses to fight their War. They should be hiring our army and weapontry, we should not be footing the bill. At leats the Katrina victums are US citizens
Posted by UnHappy Taxpayer on September 6, 2007 11:46 AMFlorida fares better with hurricanes because,
1. The state government has an evacuation plan.
2. The state government is right there after the storm providing for it's citizen's until Fema can get there to also help.
3. They get off there asses and rebuild instead of sitting in Fema trailers and complaining,where's my money.why hasn't the government rebuilt my house?
4.The people of Florida understand they live in a hurricane zone and prepare before the storm hits and rebuild after.
Think about how many storms have hit Florida and how many have hit New Orleans.
Why is Florida still there thriving?
Why is New Orleans not?
New Orleans has been given billions of dollars. The difference between Floridians and people of New Orleans is Floridians don't rely on the government to do everything for them and the people of New Orleans expect the government to come down there and wipe their asses.
Posted by on September 6, 2007 01:34 PMPete,
Please, really? Why must you depend on the federal government? The problem with Nawlins' is not "Bush" but rather with your local and state government. This democrat controlled city and state for years has not produce anything but more dependency on government. If the democratic principle of "utopia" can ever exist it would be in New Orleans, but for some unknown reason( I could never guess why) it has failed and will continue to fail in every major democrat controlled city, state or nation( God Forbid). Democrats need the poor and disadvantage or they cannot survive.