If this is true, people should be livid. I am livid,
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.
’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’
They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.
🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵
Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.
Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!
A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals
Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.
I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.
Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.
This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.
Fight them, without becoming them!
The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.
Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.
Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.
Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?
Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.
Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.
We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.
They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.
When I was faster i was always behind.
The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.
So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.
Republicans do not trust women.
DJ Any Reason
We should be livid. Should we be surprised?
Ned Raggett
You can add this to that:
http://www.brendanloy.com/2005/09/you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me.html
Cromagnon
Wow!! The Bush White House using stage-managed photo-ops! Who woulda thought????
DJ Any Reason
By the way, I feel I’d be remiss if I didn’t note approvingly that this post from John is actually rather critical of the administration. In my previous comments over the past few days I’d been rather harsh (well, perhaps not in comparison to other commenters, but by my own standards at least) in going after what I perceived as Bush apologism from him in the face of this disaster, so this post is a welcome reprieve.
Keep up the good work John.
Ned Raggett
*Any* WH using stage-managed photo-ops, who woulda thought etc. The shock should not be that this happened but that the defenders of power, regardless of party, seem to think it doesn’t.
ppGaz
Well, we talked about it in the comments yesterday.
It didn’t seem to cause a big stir.
Mark-NC
I’m absolutely NOT surprised!
I still stand in amazement that ANYONE thought the ultimate son of privilege would make a good president. His background: poor student (got into Yale anyway), poor college student (got into Harvard anyway), up for the draft (daddy pulled strings), service is long but not hard (skip the last two years), failed in business even though daddy’s friends bankrolled the startups, made money by latching onto daddy’s billionaire friend’s coattails, got to play manager of a baseball team (traded Sammy Sosa!), only experience in government – 4 1/2 years in Texas (the WEAKEST governor in the 50 states BY DESIGN).
Now somebody who hasn’t done squat to earn the right and privilege to serve as president is nake o the world for what he has always been – just an average Joe.
And it shows IN SPADES!!!
Miller
On Friday, while thousands still waited to be rescued and many were dying, the world’s largest PR firm (the White House political staff) continued to arrange staged events.
One of the biggest was the convoy of food, water and supplies arriving at the Convention Center. This convoy was staged 8 miles away over a period of several hours. Much of the material could have been delivered earlier, but that would have been less dramatic.
over it
I am disgusted.
Not overly surprised.
But definitely disgusted.
Pb
Oh the irony.
Damn those Germans, for exposing our feel-good, stage-managed photo op for the blatant propaganda it was.
james richardson
will anyone but the bloggers show their disgust?
Jim Caputo
So what should be done about it, John? You’re livid. The president delayed needed supplies to people who had gone without food and water for days in order to stage a phoney bullshit photo-op. What should be done? And please don’t tell me what CAN’T be done. Tell me what SHOULD be done.
jobiuspublius
Not surprising and I’ve been displeased for, some time now. It’s been obvious for some time now that we are a cluster fuck nation. To withhold resources is criminal.
Doesn’t anybody remember the coastguard props he used for that first appearance we all enjoyed so much the other day? How about when he stopped the 9/11 recovery so he could use them as props? The naivette, lol.
BTW, Chirs Mathews is talking about N.O. and friends. Fox is talking about the supreme court situation. A contrast. But absolutely no surprise.
Greenwood
The Dutch television network report that exposed the phony food distribution center has been picked up by media throughout Europe. The Europeans cannot understand how the United States could have so badly mishandled this situation. As of Saturday there were hundreds of European (and other foreign) tourists trapped in New Orleans. They had of course arrived by air, did not have rental cars, and had no way out. The foreign TV stations have been speaking by cell phone with some of their nationals who were trapped, getting first-hand accounts that were greatly ad odds with the platitudes being spouted in Washington.
Respect for the US has taken another beating. And there is almost no respect for our President.
Pb
At least they aren’t talking about Aruba. Gah.
Accountability is a dirty word
The new spin out of the Bush White House is to blame the Governor for everything. First it was the thugs in NO preventing aid and here comes strategy #2. I think Rove is in over his head here and no spin can undo the images that have now crystallized in the minds of all but the most partisan right wingers.
jobiuspublius
Still wondering about M.S. and A.L. Didn’t they request help and experience Bob the Rebuilder in Chief’s interfereance? Are they that neglected?
over it
Wow. Something else to be livid about…if true. Our international popularity, which was already struggling, is now nosediving.
It is sadly embarrassing.
jobiuspublius
Tim Russert is having Chertoff for lunch.
jobiuspublius
Russert is reading a highly accurate prediction of Katrina’s aftermath fro the Times-Picayune. It is dated 2002.
Stella
Senator Mary Landrieu wrote to Bush:
“But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment.”
Maybe this is how disaster relief works. With the food drop, there is no gasoline to be had for miles, roads are impassable, citizens can’t get to the food drops. It would seem to me the relief needs to be on the move. Put up the drop for a day or hours, tear them down and move on to another district and revisit where needed.
As far as the levee repair go, maybe Bush timed his visit when the Civil Corp of Engineers had a manuever planned not the other way around.
I don’t want to come across as an apologist for Bush but why must everything be viewed through the lens of political opportunism? Did that European television crew take the time to follow the relief mission onto the next community? Did Landrieu try to educate herself as to how the levees would be repaired in the short run? It may be approached in stages for a reason.
W.B. Reeves
If true, I suspect implausible deniability will be the order of the day. First, outrage at such a “partisan smear” during a national tragedy, followed by “if such a thing occurred no one in authority had any knowledge” with promises “to get to the bottom of it”. Then assertions that, even if it is true, it had no appreciable impact on actual relief efforts and, finally, that Bill Clinton, sometime, somewhere did something, somehow equally bad. Sprinkle lightly with slams at “Bush-bashers” both in the U.S. and “old” Europe and serve cold.
jobiuspublius
Wow, Shiefer just tore Bob the Rebuilder in Chief and friends a new one! He thinks we may need a do-over!
jobiuspublius
The President of Broussard County just recounted the drowning of someones mother. Fell apart completely. Haley Barbour followed him and is struggleing to keep it together.
W.B. Reeves
You sound like a reasonable person so I urge you to re-think this.
According to your scenario, the CCE has a clutch of equipment at the levee for legitimate purposes when the President just happens to be having a PR event. The next day there is only a single piece of equipment on scene and the levee remains breached. So what precisely was the purpose of the putative CCE “manuever”? Obviously it wasn’t to repair the breach, otherwise they’d still be on site.
You think that’s reasonable?
slide
John must be a BUSH HATER.
chuck
While you folks sit around pleasuring yourselves, people are out there working. Let’s take a moment to appreciate what they are doing.
As to the press and politics, I wouldn’t take anything too seriously at this point, it will take weeks to put all the bits and pieces together and get a good idea as to what has gone on. But hey, if you can’t drive a truck, don’t know what a 23 Stihl or a granny gear is, then by all means keep a-talkin. If bickering is what you can contribute, then you’re doing your very best and it is appreciated. From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs!
jobiuspublius
1/3 of our nations seafood, 1/5 of our nations oil, 1/4 of our nations gas. This is huge.
Jane Finch
Considering that Mary Landrieu had been doing her utmost to publically support Bush and the FEMA folks (see the interview with Anderson Cooper for example), her public about-face signals that even she couldn’t maintain the solid political front to protect local, state and federal bureaucratic asses.
Good for her.
capelza
Oh Chuck…you are maing a silly statement. I come here for information and for some place to lose the quaking rage I feel. My home is already on 4 lists, our family has sent money, I have an appt. (it’s needed here in my tiny Oregon coast town) to give my fairly rare blood type…and it is all I can do not to get in my car and keep driving till I can find someone to help (to be honest, it was my husband that stopped me from speeding down there to search for my friend who we can’t locate. He lives/lived just north of Metairie). So don’t pull the we are just talking and not doing anything canard on a blog. This IS my outlet for the helplessness I feel.
Don Surber
Oh yea, Mary Landrieu is such a great, unbiased source for Kevin Drum, another nonpartisan. We elect presidents to be men who run our governments, not gods who prevent natural disasters or who instantly cure whatever ailment we have.
Name the crime. Cite me the U.S. Code
Oftherwise this is hysteria talking. Yea, mistakes happen. Wanna explain the hundreds of buses parked?
Even the captain of the Titanic was acquitted. Can we drag the survivors out of the waters before we begin the recriminatioons? Is there anything but politics in the lives of people? Is there any human tragedy that some will refuse to profit upon politically?
Apparently not. That’s not criminal, of course. But it ain’t my idea of moral.
Pb
Criminal negligence
neil
I want pictures proving this. Surely they exist.
Darrell
I read that on a Sunday morning talk show this morning she threatened to punch out Bush or anyone else who would dare to criticize state or local response to Katrina. Yeah, real non-partisan and balanced there. Can we wait for a response before assuming with such flimsy evidence that Bush used needed equipment for a photo-op? Unless I missed something, the entire allegation is based upon the word of a Dem Senator who is clearly losing it.
Having said that, the Bush admin needs to answer for what actually happened after the press conference.. if they don’t, it’s fair to assume that an aid center really was built for the purpose of his visit. Not good, but in the scope of things, not a huge deal.
And FEMA needs to answer whether or not Amtrak offered trains and why that resource wasn’t utilitized if in fact it was offered. But the Bush haters never wait for answers, they immediately react with emotion and hatred.
Note that the Bush haters(tm) who are sooo willing to jump on the press op story, not a single one of them has said Jack-sh*t about the hundreds of buses located right next to the Superdome that could have been used for evacuation, or acknowledged that Bush had to beg the governor to issue evacuation orders, and she did so only at the last minute.. days before she should have… a f*ckup of epic porportions that could have saved hundreds or thousands of lives. Then she refused to use the national guard for DAYS after Katrina hit. But the Bush haters, dishonest scumbags that they are, haven’t said sh*t about those catestrophic fuckups which are FAR worse than any staged photo-op
Hell, up until a couple of days ago, we had ignorant Bush haters on this site actually claiming that NOLA had no emergency plan and that it was ALL FEMA’s responsibility… Not until the plan was shown to them did the leftist morons finally have a “duh, I guess it wasn’t all FEMA’s responsibility after all” moment.
If the Bush hating left had one ounce of integrity, they would be demanding answers from the governor and local officials as well. But they don’t, because the left are hypocritical scumbags who don’t give a sh*t about getting to any truth unless it means hurting Bush. It’s who they are
capelza
Darrell, wow…
So Mitt Romney, REPUBLICAN governor of MA is a Bush hater and the REPUBLICAN Senator of LA is a Bush hater???? Newt Gingrich, him too?
over it
I am not a Bush hater….but I sure as hell hate the way he and his administration have handled themselves during this disaster. I also hate the way the Local and State Governments have handled themselves. There is plenty of disdain and blame to go around.
You act as though it is all or none. All of the blame or none of it. This is not the case. Yes, Bush is to blame. And FEMA. And Homeland Security. And the Mayor of NOLA. And the Governer. And a whole shitload of others as well.
In my opinion…just about the only ones blameless down there are the ones who were UNABLE to leave. For whatever reason.
They deserved more. They deserve more.
I for one believe much of the article based solely on common sense. Of course they grounded all air traffic(helicoptors included) when Bush was strolling around. Of course they provided a nice backdrop for him to pump hands and slap backs in. Security is the reason for the clearing of the air space…and do you really think they would place him in a place where the inept response was in full view? It was a photo-op. Period. To think of it as anything but is just plain naive….it not outright ignorant.
Sad that we are seeing our fellow Americans in such dire straits…..embarrassing that the rest of the world is seeing it as well.
One does not have to be a Bush hater to say these things. To rail against those that are saying these things as being nothing more than “hypocritical scumbags who don’t give a sh*t about getting to any truth unless it means hurting Bush.” is idiotic. If anything, I think that it shows that you are nothing more than a hypocritical scumbag who doesn’t give a sh*t about getting to any truth unless it means hurting those who disagree with you politically and keeping Bush blame free.
Sheesh.
Darrell
A dishonest as hell characterization of what I wrote. What a surprise. I said FEMA should provide answers and that the Bush admin should provide answers. I never said nor suggested that anyone should escape blame.
Here’s a little test for you ‘over it’ – Before I posted, show me ONE earlier post you’ve made on this site criticizing the state and local officials handling of the disaster. Now if you’re really not a dishonest hypocritical scumbag, surely you can direct us to a previous post of yours critical of the state and local govts handling of the disaster, right?.. I mean, unless your criticisms have only been running in one direction
My Pet Goat
Yup, apparently all of the facts proving Bush to be an incompetent, again and again ad nauseum, in so many circumstances, are Bush haters too. As was Katrina, and as is the Mississippi and that evil old levee that ruined poor W’s vacation. Hey, we need to cut Bush a break here, it’s upsetting poor Darrell, and we all can see how prone to hysterics he is when the unpleasannt facts threaten to overwhelm him with severe cognitive dissonance. Poor old boy needs a break, he’s clapping as fast as he can to keep all that Bush-hatred at bay, I would guess his hands are red and bruised after a solid week. Reality is closing in on him, don’t know how long afore his poor head explodes!
Darrell
You want to see how deranged some (most?) leftists have become? This deranged:
Chris Johnson
John:
Bush visited the scene in order to be photographed in front of a massive relief effort.
Because Bush visited the scene, air traffic was grounded- ALL air traffic, including relief flights.
Because Bush has some requirements for what should be in the background of his photo ops, military and other workers were brought in to stand looking impressive in the background, just as they always are.
Because the relief effort was part of the background of this photo op, and because personnel were used to man the photo op rather than to organize a genuine relief effort, there was no organizational work to establish a continuing presence for this relief effort- and with no-one assigned to man the relief station, naturally it was picked up and trucked off with the lights and cameras when the photo op was over.
What do you mean is this true??
It is absolutely in character and follows logically from a set of assumptions that YOU do not want to believe are present.
Please, John, allow reality to teach you what these assumptions are- rather than allowing happier assumptions to dictate what reality must be.
Chris Johnson
…and I’m sorry, but ‘incompetent’ is not an acceptable word for describing this behavior. It appears that these people are capable of setting up fake help for refugees for a photo op and then TAKING IT AWAY.
How do you pack up the food station and put it in trucks and drive away leaving starving people standing there by MISTAKE? I actually didn’t see the photo op. Lot of stuff, was it? Empty boxes? Probably full boxes and real food was more easily available under the circumnstances?
“Oops, silly us”? How does ‘incompetent’ describe this behavior?
There is another word that better describes this tormenting of refugees, and you don’t want to believe it applies. Let go of the ‘incompetent’ word. These things are not being done as a series of ‘whoops, silly us!’ mistakes.
over it
No sweat:
So, I guess that I am not a “dishonest hypocrytical scumbag”, eh?
You are painting with far too wide of a brush. If, indeed, I did mis-characterize what you have been foaming at the mouth about throughout several posts….Mea Culpa. However, I feel that it is you that have mis-characterized the vast majority of what people have been bemoaning here. You have latched on to the thought that anyone blaming Bush is blaming Bush and Bush alone….and that they must obviously be raging left wing Bush haters from the word go. You are wrong. Period.
Now, I am expecting you to say that this is just proof that I am some how in the minority. I disagree. I have seen the same feelings expressed over and over again on this blog and others. There is plenty of blame to go around. Blame will land firmly on the shoulders of both Republicans and Democrats….lefties and righties. And justly so. Bush, like it or not, is one of the persons who will have to shoulder his fair share of it.
over it
Good grief….some idiot posts and you take them as the spokesman for a whole group of people? There are start raving idiots on all sides of the political spectrum. If that is who you choose to base your perceptions of the rest of mankind on…more power to ya. I could go to LittleGreenFootballs and cut and paste idiotic quotes from the Right…but I won’t because, well, that would be idiotic.
You, m’dear, are an ass.
jobiuspublius
Darrell, what your missing is that Bob the Rebuilder in Chief’s vision is a disaster that the public does not accept. He fire James Lee Witt and broke FEMA.
People are tired of Bob the Rebuilder in Chief’s MO, create the problem, then, create the “solution”, i.e., the blame and the contracts.
Darrell
No you are not like the majority of leftists whose criticisms do in fact run in one direction. I apologize to you for my mistake
Most are doing exactly that. Blaming Bush almost entirely. That is exactly what is happening. And it’s despicable
Darrell
You pretend that there is an equivalency which does not exist. One can find FAR MORE of these types of things on the left than could ever be found on right leaning sites. It’s how so many of them really think
over it
Apology accepted.
But I still say that idiocy is distributed evenly. I do not think that one side or the other has a market for it. You will find it where you look for it. Something tells me that you are more prone to seeking out the idiots on the Left…..others seek out the idiots on the Right. As for myself…I try to steer clear of idiots in general.
To make such broad narrow-minded statements only sets you up to being quoted as an idiot by those on the Left. “See!! Look at what this Darrell guy posted….ALL Republicans/Righties must think like that…hateful bunch that they are!!!”
Bottom line, and not only now in a time of crisis, we as Americans really need to clean up the hatred for and from both sides.
I have been visiting this site now for a year or so….very seldom have I seen a non-aggressive post from you. You seem to delight in baiting the other side into showing their ass as well. If this how you get your kicks…fine….if, however, you do not see that this is what you are actually doing…take a look and think before you lash out in the manner that you do. Good will has to start somewhere.
Yes, I am somewhat of a Pollyanna…my dad is always telling me so. ;)
Darrell
Have you read all the one direction only criticisms of “Dear Leader” with virtually nothing said (with the exception of John Cole himself) about the FAR worse (imo) inaction of the governor and city officials? And I am expected to react charitably toward those types of hateful dishonest accusations?
over it
And before you jump on me again….I am not pointing the finger at just YOU. I fully realize that there are others here, from both sides, who are equally(or more)vitriolic. Why stoop to the same level though?
I have learned a lot from this site when it comes to politics and peoples beliefs. But, when it comes down to the name calling whatnot I tend to just skip over what is being said(whether I agree with it or not). The only reason I responded to the above was because it was my own self that was called out…..and called out incorrectly(I freely admit that there are times that I deserve to be called out). It is my opinion that more is accomplished/learned when a civil level of discourse(heh, that sounds all official) can be maintained.
Just my opinion though.
Sojourner
Does anyone know or care who this leftie is? Why don’t we worry about those in leadership positions. For example, does anyone know where the hell Cheney is? Counting his money in a dark Halliburton basement? You’d think he could find something useful to do.
over it
Heh, you beat me.
Like I said…the other side is showing their ass…why join them?
I, for one, am capable of seeing their inane, vitriolic comments for what they are….inane and vitriolic. I do not think that I am alone in this. Why add to it? Why spur them on to making further inane vitriolic comments in response to your baiting them? I figure that John is capable of deleting the worst of it. The rest….let them type till their fingers bleed….most here will ignore them.
I think that you have a lot of good points to make. I just think that those points would be more apt to be listened to if not peppered with the base insults you seem to specialize in. As it is, most of what you say is ignored and only the insults are responded to. In fact….that is how this back and forth began. ;)
Big picture…the whole flies/honey vs. flies/vinegar thing has some merit. You do your ‘side’ no great service if spewing only vinegar.
Darrell
I did call you out incorrectly, and I apologize again for that. However, my point still stands. Virtually the entire left is pointing fingers in ONE DIRECTION ONLY. Not all of them, but most of them. That I was wrong about you in particular does not change that fact. I also see that the Bush haters almost never ask logical questions and never wait for more information before making their hateful accusations. What’s more, they promote and defend those who are trying to turn this tragedy into an issue of racism. It’s despicable, it really is.
over it
No need to apologize again. ;)
I do see what you are saying….I just don’t fully agree. I think that the Bush haters out there will always point fingers to him first and foremost. But not all the fingers pointing towards Bush now…are from Bush haters.
If Clinton were still in office(and everything else about the situation were the same)…all the Clinton haters would be pointing their fingers at him right now. So would I….and, just like I am not a Bush hater, I am not a Clinton hater. There are/were just as many irrational Clinton haters as there are Bush haters. The fact that he is ‘Bush’ has less to do with the current finger pointing than the fact that he is ‘President’.
Most, all, none, every, always, never….these are words that should pretty much be avoided when making statements about the thoughts/actions/beliefs of others. The force of your(‘your’ being whoever is using them…not just ‘you’) arguments lose credibility points when they are used. I actually learned that in debate.
At this point in time people are still lashing out out of sheer shock and anger. Once the dust settles(the water recedes) there will be a reckoning to be had and the facts will come out. For now, why add to the negativity and name calling? It really only makes things worse.
jobiuspublius
Because they have the common sense to go for the big fish?
Darrell
Because virtually the entire left is not waiting for the “dust to settle” before throwing out their hateful accussations.. that’s why. They don’t care about facts or truth, only lashing out at the Bush admin.
Boronx
Why are livid? He was a phony before you voted for him and he’s a phony now. Isn’t this what you wanted?
Tractarian
I’ve been trying to think of who really is blameless in this whole ordeal. Certainly not Nagin, Blanco, Brown, Chertoff, or Bush. They should all be publicly shamed or fired or both. Not USACE or NorthCom, not FEMA or DHS or the National Guard. They all dropped the ball.
But then it hit me – what about the Coast Guard? They have been running airlift rescue missions all week and they have been doing it quietly and effectively. They got in there quickly and none of their personnel have made any ludicrous public statements as of yet.
My conclusion: next emergency, call the Coast Guard.
Tractarian
You sound like you are 10 years old, at most. How old are you, Darrell?
capelza
I think the finger pointing outside of the blogworld “started” when the reporters who were there day after day kept asking “Where’s the help”? Anderson Cooper, Shep Smith and others, Tucker Carlson for cripes sake!.
It wasn’t the “groundswell” from the left that put the Admin in CYA mode, but the American people seeing it for their own eyes, whether on CNN, MSNBC or even…gasp…FOX.
Longshot
Darrell Says this:
You want to see how deranged some (most?) leftists have become? This deranged:
And reads an apocryphal account of a piece of shit who drove past a family of refugees … over a bumper sticker.
Darrell, I’m calling you out for the piece of shit you are for tarring “leftists” with the brush of a piece of shit like this.
While I do my best to not let others define my political leanings, I suspect you’d call my sister and I ‘leftists’ as well.
My sister’s helping deal with refugees in Houston. I’m helping deal with the situation here in Dallas. People here are getting double-awed, both by the MASSIVE AMOUNT OF GENEROSITY AND EMPATHY displayed in terms of cars wrapped around the block non-stop wanting to give anything they can to the Salvation Army (next stop: Texas Stadium), and then awed a second time over when we realize that, compared to 25,000 refugees with small children and nothing but the waterlogged clothes on their backs, what came in is only a drop in the bucket compared to what is NEEDED AND WILL BE NEEDED FOR A LONG TIME TO COME.
Do you *really* think anyone who gives a shit about the refugees is asking for a SINGLE SECOND what their political affiliations are before helping? Do you *really* think that? Because I don’t. I don’t because I believe in MY OWN EYES. At the Salvation Army center in downtown Dallas, I worked alongside African-American inner-city community leaders, the Boy Scouts, *bikers*, I don’t even know how many church, community and youth groups, and people like me who just drove up with a carload of stuff to unload asking “After this is unloaded, where can I park so I can help?” Some boxes of stuff that came in had labels from as diverse groups as the Kiwanis and the Nigerian Women’s Association, not to mention the great many people who drove up with what looked like anything at all they could scrounge up and thought would help.
The line was nonstop, and ranged across the political spectrum (where political beliefs or affiliations could be identified at all) – people ARE NOT TALKING POLITICS WHEN THEY’RE TOO BUSY UNLOADING CARS AND LOADING PALLETS FOR TRUCKS.
I’m a pretty liberal guy living in a pretty conservative city, so I take it as read that many of the voting-age ppl I was working with were predominantly Bush supporters (can’t say for sure – see ‘too busy’).
And you say You want to see how deranged some (most?) leftists have become? This deranged:
As if you weren’t already aware that heartless sonsabitches range across any political spectrum you could name. But your reaction was to point to this single sonofabitch and say “See what ‘leftists’ are like?!” Liberal though I am, I’d be taking issue with anyone who tarred all Republicans with the Barbara Bush “Why should I waste my beautiful mind on that” brush, because I know that’s deceptive, fatuous, and fundamentally unfair to all the principled Republicans (conservative, moderate, etc) that I personally know (a liberal in Texas with no Republican friends is a lonely soul).
That’s my long response to your statement, Darrell. My short response? F*CK YOU!!
jobiuspublius
Great point. I wonder why. Who funds them? What’s have they been thru these past 5 years. Maybe Bob the Rebuilder in Chief took the term “puddle pirates” seriously and said, “Aw, please uncle Darth, can we keep them please? I’m the president and I want puddle pirates!”
summr
Darrell writes:
Do you have credible sources that back up your assertion that Bush had to “beg” the governor to issue evacuation orders and that she “refused” to use the national guard?
This article dated August 29th states that:
“About 150 National Guard soldiers, New Orleans police and civil sheriff’s deputies were patrolling the facility.” (referring to the superdome and implying that some national guardsmen were present by the 29th).
This article dated August 28th states that:
“As many as 100,000 inner-city residents didn’t have the means to leave, and an untold number of tourists were stranded by the closing of the airport. The city arranged buses to take people to 10 last-resort shelters, including the Superdome.
Nagin also dispatched police and firefighters to rouse people out with sirens and bullhorns, and even gave them the authority to commandeer vehicles to aid in the evacuation.”
With regards to the schoolbuses that you are referring to — did the mayor have the authority to commandeer buses belonging to a school district? I’m genuinely asking here because I don’t know.
This article dated August 1 includes the following statement:
“When members of the Louisiana National Guard left for Iraq in October, they took a lot equipment with them. Dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad, and in the event of a major natural disaster that, could be a problem.”
This article indicates that states that offered their
national guards did not receive authorization from Washington DC to deploy them until September 1, even though they were ready before this date.
When the dust settles we will probably find plenty of blame to go around, and serious communications breakdowns among local, state, and federal authorities, but I seriously believe that FEMA dropped the ball on this one completely.
National disasters are FEMA’s primary responsibility, and the accounts of response failure go beyond New Orleans, LA to Biloxi, Slidell, Gulfport, etc. The affected area is 90,000 square miles, not just New Orleans.
Nelson Muntz
Ha Ha!
Rethuglicans heal thyselves.