Sun 4 Sep 2005
The failure of George W. Bush to even slightly resemble a man who can be trusted to write out the alphabet, let alone lead a country, has reached a level that is unthinkable. Our federal government is inept, it is out of touch with its citizens, reality, and quite frankly doesn’t care about either. I have seen the grin on his face one too many times, and I’m now convinced…he just doesn’t care.
It seems that the Bush administration is so used to the images of death that it has created in Iraq that it has gotten New Orleans confused with downtown Baghdad. Not one person in this country should be defending them over this, not ONE, regardless of whatever side of the fence you stand on in regards to the largely meaningless bickering that is everyday politics in America. These people needed our government, and it failed them. Who knows how many lives could have been saved had there been any federal response that gave the faintest impression that they were prepared for such a disaster, or at the very least could come up with SOMETHING once they realized that they weren’t. They failed at their JOB to a miserable degree, and from George Bush on down, we must hold these “people” (I use that term very lightly) responsible for their inability to deal with the chaos in New Orleans.
Impeach Bush.
September 4th, 2005 at 7:01 pm
Of course, we all feel much better about things when semi-respectable news programs show us bodies floating in water as though we were watching Gilligan’s Island. Certainly this type of exposure will allow us to act rationally when trying, somehow, to actually think about the complete mishandling of the situation.
Seriously, though, I agree completely with the impeachment idea, and I think this is a great time for it. This isn’t the time to be sentimental and grieve about the conditions (it’s not going to make anything better, because apparently the horror of the conditions themselves did little to stir support) but instead the time to be pissed off at this bunch of assinine morons who have ruined whatever was left of this country. Infinitely MORE pissed off, that is.
You’d think the administration would use the disaster to their advantage, namely conduct a fantastic rescue, to take attention away from the hysterical nonsense in Iraq. You’d think they would really bank on this one: not a chance. I expected more from them, something dirtier, more Satan and less Disney; but this is just ludicrous.
People are outraged, and after the feeling sorry dies down, anger will surface. Boy, are our boys in a hole now… We better start filling it with dirt before they get out.
September 5th, 2005 at 6:31 pm
Good analysis:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301653_pf.html
The U.S. government has spent the past 4 years preparing for disasters like this, and it’s clear now that they’ve completely failed. How in the fuck will it be able to respond to a nuclear or biological attack?
September 6th, 2005 at 9:54 am
There’s no money to be made in disaster preparedness, no billions generated by the military industrial complex…why should they care?
They’ve been exposed.
September 6th, 2005 at 10:48 am
True, but there’s still billions to be made by the housing industry (who often need to fight environmentalists and affordable housing advocates over new home construction) and countless other corporations who can provide support.
September 6th, 2005 at 6:20 pm
Yea, just referring to ones that our boys in charge are involved with.
September 6th, 2005 at 7:45 pm
You liberals are so naive. I’m sure your boy John Kerry would have botched this up just as badly, if not worse, than Bush.
No one was prepared simply because nothing of this magnitude has ever happened. Relying on the government to “save” people is for weak-minded fools.
Learn self sufficiency!
Learn self-responsibility!
Vote Libertarian and never rely on big government again!
September 6th, 2005 at 8:20 pm
Impeach Bush, then what?
September 6th, 2005 at 8:32 pm
John, we’re not liberals. You libertarians are so presumptuous.
September 6th, 2005 at 10:26 pm
“Impeach Bush, then what?”
Drink myself silly with happiness.
September 6th, 2005 at 10:43 pm
Also, sorry but I’m not a liberal.
Also, sorry but big government isn’t going anywhere, just like big business isn’t going anywhere (except straight to hell along with the rest of us).
Also, sorry but the fact that this happened was not a surprise to anyone with forsight. Nobody is playing the blame game here, all I’m saying is the man whose job it is to have people in place and plans ready for events like this should suffer some consequences for the overall failure of the way the immediate aftermath was handled, which is the most important time when you’re talking about saving as much life as possible. Inept doesn’t begin to describe how it was handled.
Maybe if Bush put someone in charge of FEMA who actually had experience in dealing with emergencies things would of been different (Bush has appointed, in succession, his 2000 campaign manager and an Oklahoma lawyer whose only emergency management experience prior to joining FEMA was as an assistant city manager). Maybe if FEMA was an actual separate entity instead of being absorbed by Homeland Security, which spends all of its time on “terrorism” things would of been different. Maybe this, maybe that, whatever. The point is they fucked up and there should be some accountability…now I know that is a ridiculous thought given this governments track record, but call me an idealist.
http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2004-09-22/cover.html
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1125468020104100.xml&coll=1&thispage=1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083102256.html
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/12528233.htm
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_08/007014.php
September 7th, 2005 at 12:21 am
Also, John Kerry is not my “boy”.
In truth, I disliked him only slightly less than Bush.
September 7th, 2005 at 12:30 pm
>>John, we’re not liberals.
I don’t know of too many conservatives
calling for Bush to be impeached, but maybe that’s just me…
>>You libertarians are so presumptuous.
I never said I was a libertarian. I am non-partison. In the midst of all this chaos and finger-pointing, the libertarians simply offer the path of least resistance.
By the way, you can impeach Bush, but that’s not going to fix the problem. This is how big government operates, regardless of party affiliation. And as long as we continue to hand over our governanace to arrogant and smug individuals, left or right, these sort of problems will continue.
September 7th, 2005 at 1:07 pm
“I don’t know of too many conservatives
calling for Bush to be impeached, but maybe that’s just me…”
So it’s one or the other, then? Now, that’s kind of absurd, isn’t it? If Liberals and Conservatives were all that’s out there, this website wouldn’t be in operation.
“I never said I was a libertarian. I am non-partison.”
Let me just remind you, from your first posting…
“Vote Libertarian and never rely on big government again!”
That statement makes us infinitely more justified in calling you a libertarian than it does you in calling us liberals. Or non-conservatives. Or whatever you’re talking about. And partisan is spelled with an A.
And if we want to impeach Bush because he’s a prick, it doesn’t mean we think fairies will sprinkle magic dust on the United States the night following the impeachment. It means that we don’t want his stinkin’ behind in office anymore, and that ANYTHING else would somehow be SLIGHTLY better.
“And as long as we continue to hand over our governanace to arrogant and smug individuals, left or right, these sort of problems will continue.”
The above is an obvious and needless statement. We know they’ll continue. Really.
Look, if you have a method of taking our “governance” away from these smug individuals you mention, please lay it out for me. I would be more than happy to go along with you on it. Somehow I’m not sure you’ve gotten that far.
September 7th, 2005 at 1:30 pm
“So it’s one or the other, then? Now, that’s kind of absurd, isn’t it? If Liberals and Conservatives were all that’s out there, this website wouldn’t be in operation.”
No, it’s not one or the other. I found this site when I typed in “Liberal blogs,” so I guess it was my mistake to assume that this was a Liberal forum.
“Let me just remind you, from your first posting…
“Vote Libertarian and never rely on big government again!”
That statement makes us infinitely more justified in calling you a libertarian than it does you in calling us liberals. Or non-conservatives. Or whatever you’re talking about. And partisan is spelled with an A.”
I believe I also said that the Libertarian party offers the path of least resistance. Go ahead and call me a Libertarian if it makes you feel better. I’d rather be called a Libertarian than a kneejerk reactionary, which is what I would call anyone calls George Bush a prick without knowing ALL the facts.
BTW, good catch on my spelling error.
“Look, if you have a method of taking our “governance” away from these smug individuals you mention, please lay it out for me.”
No problem. Use your freedom of choice and stop voting for mainstream politicians. If people
stop buying into the “lesser of two evils” mentality, then things might possibly change.
September 7th, 2005 at 2:02 pm
“I believe I also said that the Libertarian party offers the path of least resistance.”
Yes. You did. Hooray.
“Go ahead and call me a Libertarian if it makes you feel better. I’d rather be called a Libertarian than a kneejerk reactionary, which is what I would call anyone calls George Bush a prick without knowing ALL the facts.”
It makes me feel neither better nor worse to call you anything but John. And sorry, but I don’t have to know all the facts to know that George Bush is a prick. I’m sure you don’t know all the facts either, and I’m sure that if you did know them, you would be delighted to call him a prick. Also, I can call him whatever I choose, and I’m much more certain that he’s a prick than that you are, in fact, a Libertarian, but I could care less about either theory.
I’m not, as you purport, a kneejerk reactionary. Come to think of it, if you call everyone who doesn’t know all the facts (which is every person on the planet) that thinks George Bush is a prick (which is a whole lot of people) a kneejerk reactionary, then perhaps kneejerk reactionary ain’t so bad. Maybe it’s better to “react” when something happens rather than have a calm set of beliefs that you blindly apply to any situation. Ultimately, I thank you for that accusation. However, if you keep speaking in labels, I’m going to explode.
Look, I know you’re not one of those militant assholes. You have good points. You have to understand, though: we KNOW that the solution is not to choose between the lesser of two evils but to vote for people who could really make changes, changes that would benefit us as people, not as Liberals and Conservatives and non-partisans and whatever-the-hell-you-want. Our frustration lies within the unwillingness of the American people to understand these points. Grassroots can only go so far, and while I understand that it’s changed some things in the past, the destructive path we’re on now isn’t going to swerve in any direction just by a few votes. Voting is meaningless anyway, I hope you realize that. (I’ll be expecting a long retort to that one.)
Starting a sentence with “If people…” automatically warrants your idea’s failure. There’s no way people will do anything that makes sense, not in big numbers. The country is too centered on individual survival for that (as I’m sure you’ve witnessed with this Katrina business.) And we definitely have some big numbers of people to contend with. So I’m not sure any of what you’re saying has any merit as a solution simply for the fact that people won’t buy it, no matter how logical it may seem.
But you are right. And I agree with you. Us and another miniscule number of people are in agreement. Now what?
September 7th, 2005 at 2:05 pm
Want to know why Bush is a prick? He waved at Stevie Wonder.
PRICK!
:)
September 7th, 2005 at 2:21 pm
“I found this site when I typed in “Liberal blogs,” so I guess it was my mistake to assume that this was a Liberal forum.”
All hail the omnipotent internet search engines! Nowhere on this site will you find us proclaiming to be anything but people with opinions. We’re not trying to further any agenda. Some of us might consider ourselves liberal, some don’t. I fall into the latter. Can we put this behind us then? Ok, good.
Look I agree with you in theory about changing things and what not (I voted for Badnarik in ‘04, if you must know…with a grin of course). Problem is, the power structure and government of this country is so corrupt that significant change (on a level that we are talking about) is simply not possible. Government and Big Business have been in bed with each other for decades, the difference is that now they are open about it…and people still don’t care. They’re happy to wake up and go to work and eat and not concern themselves with the horrible truth. They’ll still wave their flags and puff up their chests and plaster their cars with yellow ribbons and play the part of the innocent little civilian, though. These are the people that you expect to suddenly realize they’ve been wrong their whole life? Sorry man, not gonna happen. Impeaching Bush is much more realistic, and even if it doesn’t mean anything it would still do my heart good.
And yes, of course I ask myself that if I believe all of this then why do I bother writing…
answer: If I don’t, I will explode with rage.
September 7th, 2005 at 2:26 pm
addendum:
Voting?
I’ll believe in voting when it is a verifiable process, which it is anything but in this country these days.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:35 am
>>>Impeaching Bush is much more realistic, and even if it doesn’t mean anything it would still do my heart good.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:36 am
“Impeaching Bush is much more realistic, and even if it doesn’t mean anything it would still do my heart good.”
Well, if they impeach Bush, I hope they also hold Governor Blanco accountable. From what I’ve read and heard, she’s the one who really dropped the ball.
September 8th, 2005 at 9:00 am
Who knows where the blame really lies. Hell, blame the people who decided to take up residence there despite knowing they were moving into a bowl shaped city surrounded by water in an area where hurricanes are common. Personally that knowledge would of been enough for me to say “nah, but thanks for the beads.”
Its less the lack of preparation and more the lethargic reaction that was exhibited by the feds that gets me. Its the fact that the New Orleans National Guard was over in Iraq securing oil pipelines instead of being back home where it belongs (the fact that National Guard are being called over to Iraq is another subject entirely…). Its the fact that we can somehow find billions of dollars to spend on an endless war but can’t use simple common sense to better secure our own cities without having nature “teach us a lesson” or whatever.
This is just the latest fuckup that Georgie has presided over, and personally I think its time to bring some accountability to a government that seems to exist in a state outside of paying for its mistakes. How much life is going to be lost to his blatant ignorance before people wake the hell up?
A lot more, unfortunately.
September 11th, 2005 at 3:55 pm
Quick thought:
These days, it makes lots of sense to be a knee-jerk reactionary. Why? We keep getting prodded by the Administration. It is Pavlovian.
Supreme Court chooses Bush… poke… ow!… okay, this is fishy, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.
Cheney’s secret energy meetings/Enron/California blackouts… poke… gosh, cut it out… okay, maybe they didn’t mean it… maybe there is no connection…
Unheeded warnings about 9/11… poke… ow! Well, just maybe there was some fault to be shared… I dunno… this is starting to hurt though…
Appointing Henry Kissinger as chair of a truth commission… poke… damn! Are these guys crazy! This is a priori nuts! This is the “We shouldn’t flagellate ourselves” about Cambodia guy! This is Pinochet’s consoler!
Early lies about Iraq… poke… damn!
Later lies about Iraq… poke… BAH!!!
Casualties in Iraq… poke… sweet Jesus, save us! Save the troops! Save the Iraqis!
Failure to plan for Iraq… poke… SHIT!
Halliburton/KBR boondoggles and fraud at the expense of the nation and our soldiers… poke… hey, that one broke skin!
Revelations about “Brownie” and other FEMA political hacks… the deaths… the destruction… the ineptitude…
I think at this point, with this Administration, it makes sense to flinch first (particularly in light of potential white-wash investigations). It isn’t ideological, or instictual, or paranoid… it is empirical.
And I left out a hefty number of pokes.
September 11th, 2005 at 5:20 pm
Haha, that was excellent.
September 11th, 2005 at 10:55 pm
Nicely done, Ben.
September 12th, 2005 at 11:47 am
[…] Luke posted this comment in response to mine in his article lambasting the President for the inept handling of Katrina. Well, they’ve been exposed all right, but in that commercial interests can be served in non-military areas as well. […]
July 30th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Underage pedo porn….
Underage free incest boy porn….