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Saved from disaster, thanks to Bush

Thursday, November 8 at 12:01 AM

Now that the 2007 hurricane season has closed, we can look back at a 2006 and 2007 in which the United States experienced no major disasters from hurricanes. Indeed, these seasons have seen storm activity below forecasts and historic norms.

We should all take a moment to thank President Bush and his environmental policies for this mild weather.

Sound ridiculous? Not if you use the logic of Al Gore and Robert Kennedy Jr.

After the devastating Katrina and Rita hurricanes in 2005, Gore and RFK Jr. blamed the increased violent storm activity on the Bush administration’s failure to address global warming and sign the Kyoto Accord.

Logically, if you blame Bush for roiling the waters in 2005, then you must concede that he calmed them in 2006/2007.

Of course, this is as ridiculous as those people who find no intellectual discontinuity in the oxymoronic notion that any man can simultaneously be an idiot and capable of controlling the weather.

Phil Goodwin, Erie

READER COMMENTS

They grow them mighty dumb up in Erie...

Posted by on November 8, 2007 12:22 AM

"these seasons have seen storm activity below forecasts and historic norms"

Yep, thanks to the African dust plume.

Posted by Bangalore Skank on November 8, 2007 02:02 AM

Double standard,

If you totally blame anyone for things going bad, then you have to give them full credit when things go well. You can't have it both ways.

Posted by jgd777 on November 8, 2007 05:59 AM

jgd777.

Think through what you just wrote. If A is true and B is true and equals C, but you can't have both A and B at the same time, the equasion then is indeed oxymoronic.

Posted by Allen Campbell on November 8, 2007 06:28 AM

777 no the dumonuts have it both ways everything that is bad is Bushes fault and anything that is good is their idea. just look at all the wonderful bills passed by the dumonuts in congress. minimun wage increase to a very livable wage now that they touched it, called Turkey bad names, and least but not last they wrote a letter to Rush Limbaughs boss and cried to him that he is not nice to them.
now they have done all they can on the good side so they can go home for a few months and tell everyone what a great job they have done.

Posted by on November 8, 2007 06:29 AM

Let's face it, Bush did a masterful job of managing the weather this year. A hell of a lot better than he did when he let a hurricane breech the levies in New Orleans, trapping 500,000 folks who didn't know enough to get into the 2,000 school busses and drive out of their below-sea level town. The few remaining are still struggling, waiting for Bush to show-up with a pick and shovel in order to help them pick up the piles of debris.

Practice makes perfect...

Posted by Hank on November 8, 2007 07:01 AM

Is global warming to blame for the increase in storms (oops - there was only 1 major storm in the atlantic basin this year) and 2 the past two years. And oh yeah there was not a major storm to affect the US in the past two years. So now I suppose it is to blame for the dust storms in Africa that supposedly caused a lack of hurricanes. Which of course is Bush's fault.
So which is it? does global warming cause more and larger hurricanes or did it cause the dust plume that inhibited the hurricanes? Can you have it both ways? I suppose for you global warming conspiracists the answer is "yes"

Posted by on November 8, 2007 07:11 AM

This continued assinine belief that the failed levies in Louisianna are the current administrations fault have got to stop. Katrina did not flood the chocolate city (as mayor nagin calls it) of New Orleans. It did not flod for 6 days after the katirna had passeed. What happened was a complete failure by Nagin, the State of Louisianna in competance. Annual inspections and upkeep of these levies had been ignored for years. the Corp of Army Engineers have documented files of recomendations and violations by the state of not upkeeping and improveing/replaceing equipment and below code construction of these levies.

This BDS is just getting sillier and sillier.

Posted by on November 8, 2007 07:25 AM

Yea, right!

Posted by ollie on November 8, 2007 07:37 AM

LOL I guess this is all the right wingers can come up with to praise Bush. "There were no natural disasters one year, great job" Other than that he pretty much sucks.

Posted by just sayin' on November 8, 2007 07:43 AM

Of course Bush has limits on what he controls.
What he HAS had control over, he's screwed up.
No heads rolled after 9/11, or Katrina relief, or the debacle that is Iraq.

In fact those responsible had medals given to them.

I want a position in the Bush administration.

He's done a "heckova" job hasn"t he?

Posted by dmz on November 8, 2007 07:45 AM

The Deniers always crack me up.

Listen carefully folks. Abnormal global warming increases the intensity of weather patterns. There is no debate on that.

The fact that we had a couple of quiet years doesn't make this fact any less true.

Give us some sign that you understand that.

Posted by jay on November 8, 2007 08:09 AM

Remember, Gore also predicted that with global warming the pine beetles would migrate higher and destroy more pine trees? Did all these Bush policy supporters go over the continental divide on I-70 to Vail and beyond lately?

Posted by observer on November 8, 2007 08:18 AM

Bangalore Skank ,

Was the African dust plume included in the famous global climate model?

Posted by on November 8, 2007 09:00 AM

Please try to understand, the effects of climate change are always bad. The floods in the Southeast a few years ago and the current drought are both due to climate change. Dry areas that get more rain, bingo climate change, wet areas that are drier - climate change. warm to cold and cold to warm it is all climate change. Volcanic eruptions, dandruf, bad breath, the Rockies lossing they are all due to climate change. When the climate changes for the first time in the history of the earth (Its never happened before) it will bring doom and gloom. The effects are almost biblical. You could almost say it is a religion.

Posted by on November 8, 2007 09:09 AM

So because nothing happened that this inept President could go in and screw up, we should all praise him for that? Is this how low our standards are for our leaders these days?

Republicans seriously need to start holding its representatives accountable, and demanding better leaders, if they hope to EVER be relevant again past '08. Consistently apologizing for Bush and regime is not the way to hold power.

Posted by Dan on November 8, 2007 10:10 AM

"The effects are almost biblical. You could almost say it is a religion."

Exactly. When will we start taking Pat Robertson seriously? He has told us that natural disasters are God's way of getting His revenge on people who fail to worship him Pat's way. The odds of your being troubled by a natural disaster are greatly reduced if you will send Pat some money.

Posted by Truth on November 8, 2007 10:15 AM

"Volcanic eruptions, dandruf, bad breath, the Rockies lossing they are all due to climate change."

I'm inclined to agree with the above satire. If global warming doesn't cause dandruf and bad breath, surely it can't be much of a problem. Thanks for the insight, 09:09AM.

Posted by Truth on November 8, 2007 10:19 AM

The original letter and this whole thread is ridiculous.

No, Bush doesn't control the weather.

(Talk about trying to divert attention from the real issues through ridiculously sarcastic rhetoric!)

However, he was president when two hurricanes ravaged the gulf coast. As president, he is and was ultimately responsible for the government's bungled response to those disasters.

As for the global warming issue, as president Bush has a duty to protect the best interests of this country - present and future.

Anyone who believes that the pollution from millions of cars and factories and assorted other things is having no impact on the global environment is living with their head in deep the sand.

Throw a rock in a lake and it causes ripples. Pollute the environment we live in and there will ultimately be consequences.

Bush took us to war in Iraq because he believed that Saddam and Iraq potentially presented danger to our safety and existence.

Why would he then not be willing to take similar extreme actions to protect us and our future citizens from other potential dangers?

Why did he choose to accept other government's faulty intelligence about Iraq's WMD and nuclear capabilities but chooses to ignore our own citizens studies about the impact we are having on the planet?

Perhaps because he hasn't figured out a way for him and his friends to profit from protecting the planet?

Posted by Thomas on November 8, 2007 11:03 AM

why didnt algore twist his bosses arm to sign the kyoto peice of crap? all of this global warming could have been stopped only if the clinton gore reign would have done something.
That damn Bush did not do his job by making the dumocraps sign that treaty to prevent all of this.

and Regan lets not forget him as I am sure he played a part in this too.

i cant wait for the next mikie moore movite to come out. it will be so inspiring to all of the idiots on the left and they will have something new to talk about.

Posted by on November 8, 2007 11:06 AM

It is very easy to have a really good boogieman. Christians have the devil. Everything bad is the work of the devil. Eveything good is God's will. Jessie Jackson has white people. Everything bad is due to racism. Everything good is due to overcoming racism. Islam has infidels. Republican have democrates and democrates have republicans. Global warming zealots see abnormal temperatures, rainfall, lack of rainfall, extra insects, fewer insects as signs of the hand of God opps sorry the hand of global warming.

Posted by on November 8, 2007 11:12 AM

And the global warming ostriches have Al Gore's big house.

Posted by Truth on November 8, 2007 05:09 PM

Okay, so I made a mistake. It could happen to anybody as confused as I am:

And the ostriches that global warming is a new drink have Al Gore's big house.

Posted by Truth on November 8, 2007 05:12 PM

Okay, so made another mistake. What I don't understand it that the doctor said I didn't have Alzheimer's.

And the ostriches who think that global warming is a new drink have Al Gore's big house.

Posted by Truth on November 8, 2007 05:15 PM

Look, this is the bottom line.
God gave us free will to choose to make decisions, and our Constitution gave us the option of voting (or not) for our leaders.
We are stewards of the planet, according to the "Good Book", to keep beautiful and to pass on to future generations.
And neo-cons figured a way to usurp the voting process so our current resident of our White House was "selected" FOR us, and we let them get away with it.
Either way , we've only ourselves to blame and have subsequently failed both God AND our Founding Fathers.
If we're smart we will do what's necessary to repair the damage, if it's not too late already.

Posted by dmz on November 8, 2007 07:02 PM

observer,funny you babble that ,the problem could of been fixed during the clinton adm.but blocked.Not right now but years ago the redwoods are in a mjor disaster zone.The experts,not politicials have said if the underbrush isn't control one discarded joint or cig could take away the whole forest and it would be impossible to stop the fire.So Bush again did the right thing ok-in to manage the forest only to be blocked unconstitutionly by a liberal piece of sh\\it judge who over rule from that anti-American 9th district.Another incompetent clinton appointed judge.So dumb-ass liberals ,1 match ,no more redwoods.Liberals screwing up the enviroment again.

Posted by Keith on November 8, 2007 11:16 PM