Making Baby Jesus Cry

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
The Democrats are so fucking unable to distance themselves from their nutjobs

The Party told us all to stop repeating stuff from DU and Air America, but you guys keep checking them out.

[pony_trekker]

Bush is flying to Mobile, Alabama, for a briefing from emergency chiefs, then getting a helicopter tour of flattened coastal communities. He plans to walk through one of the hardest-hit: Biloxi, Mississippi.
But in New Orleans, which has been hit by looting and is mostly under water, Bush will just fly over and land at the airport several miles from the city center.

'Course. If he would have set foot on land he would have been capped faster than a wabbit during wabbit season.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I'm not going to defend some moron whom you saw on TV, and I'm not going to say that five years of wetland protection and restoration would have left New Orleans dry. But the fact is, the Bush Administration has been looking the other way on that shit, and the reason you worry about it is because sooner or later this day comes.

OK. I agree. So what we should be saying is "Now is a good time for Bush to reconsider his policies on wetlands. Look what can happen again."

But thats not what I'm hearing from most left columnists. Most are trying to opaquely create the perception - however logically and physically impossible it is - that Bush's policies somehow caused or contributed to the NO disaster. They employ tricks like saying "Bush doesn't support building up the silt deposits or fixing the wetlands," followed quickly with "and this wetland and silt issue caused the NO disaster." The speaker knows that to a large swath of the ADD addled audience of Average Joe idiots, this translates to "Bush... caused... the NO disater." They're exploiting some of the public's stupidity and some of the public's desire to blame Bush for everything bad to try to create the perception that he caused this mess.

That is bullshit - its as bad all the GOP semantic dodging we've seen for the past five years.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I'm not going to defend some moron whom you saw on TV, and I'm not going to say that five years of wetland protection and restoration would have left New Orleans dry. But the fact is, the Bush Administration has been looking the other way on that shit, and the reason you worry about it is because sooner or later this day comes.

So has the Clinton admin. And Bush I. And Reagan. And Nixon.

New Orleans is built in an untenable location. It is below water. It is in a flood plain/delta. The Army Corps and others have for decades tried to preserve it through channeling the Mississippi and building levees. That has, in the short run, helped. But the long run consequence is that the silt and mud that ordinarily are deposited on the land and keep it from sinking into the ocean (as it compresses) instead flows into the Gulf. That is, the levees merely exacerbate the long-run problem.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
I'm not being defensive; i'm questioning a) why you put the blame (apparently) on teh federal gov't and b) whether your expectations are realistic.

If you look at the maps, basically every decent sized road into NO is at least partially submerged. When the trucks drive in, they meet with sniper fire and unruly crowds (yes, the latter could be dealt with through more troops). Remember 9/11? NYC had prepped with this great command center for just such an event. Except that it got crushed by two falling buildings before they even got going. It's not like anyone could have massed trucks of water and food in Baton Rouge just before the storm, ready to go in.

They could have used all the mobile WMD labs they found in Iraq.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Penske_Account
At least they have their Second Amendment rights to fall back on. The founders have their backs.

Fear Not. Kofi Annan is urging the UN to lend a hand.

Also, unconfirmed reports have Jesse Jackson touching down in Baton Rouge within the hour.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Which government? We have a state government as well as a local government. Where are they in implementing the disaster plans they too might have put some thought into?

It would appear that the New Orleans municipal government is not really functioning. That may be attributable, in part, to the fact that most of the city is or was under water. It also appears, though, that the police were in on the looting action early and often.

[Penske_Account]

Originally posted by ironweed
Don't get all defensive. Here's a disaster plan - mobilize the National Guard, whatever part of our Army, Air Force and Marines that's still here, and commandeer every bus, truck, van, boat and Vespa scooter you can find. Load it will bottled water and slim jims. Drive it to NO. Drop off the food, pick up as many people as you can carry. Repeat as necessary. Do this two days ago. Sounds dumb, right?

Ha. We have found the elusive middle ground. I agree. Plus they should be airlifting/air dropping bottled water as fast as they can fly the planes over. The news I am watching, MSM, fwiw, is reporting the risk of dehydration deaths starting.


Of course the liberals told us dehydration is the most humane form of death. Personally I am still skeptical and Terri is not answering my emails on the subject.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally posted by Penske_Account
(1) That.is.modern.day.liberalism;

No. The intellectual dishonety in the Left's blaming Bush for the NO disaster is the Left taking a page from the Right's playbook.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Penske_Account
At least they have their Second Amendment rights to fall back on. The founders have their backs.

The news reports out of New Orleans certainly make widespread gun ownership sound like a wonderful thing.

[notcasesensitive]

Originally posted by ironweed
Crazy train indeed. I run into a few of the Air America people from time to time because they gather at my regular gin mill. They're so far out that last summer I was accused of being "part of the problem" for saying Kerry was running a shit campaign and was going to get his ass kicked if he didn't pull it together. Must have been sort of like suggesting that Regan didn't walk on water in Penske's company.

This is what I hate about partisan politics in this country. I went to a Kerry meeting in Texas before the election and I couldn't even bear to sit there. Listening to these people discuss how stupid the country is and how Republicans are only Republicans because they are misinformed and ignorant. Stop worrying about the other side for a minute, and worry a bit about setting yourself apart. Assinine. And based on the Republican posters here with their soundbites and the Liberal Effete Snob bullshit, it is the same issue on the other side of the aisle. This is why I will never be active in politics for either side of the fence.

AON, does wondering if, perhaps, the thousands of people still trapped in NO were somewhat less black and somewhat more wealthy the national guard would have commandeered everything that moves in five states to pull them out, like, two days ago, make me a cynical hater of This Great Land Of Ours?

I don't necessarily disagree. I was thinking last night that when Bush makes his stops (as opposed to flying around in the air to look at things), he should be forced to go to the Convention Center. That is one way to get the security that is needed in that area - send in the Secret Service to prep the place for a presidential visit. I bet that would get all sniper issues taken care of.

How much ammo do these people have stockpiled, anyway? I know there was a report that the police were trying to get to all the abandoned gun stores and the like to get all of the ammo before it could be looted, but if they are running out of everything else, shouldn't they just run out of bullets at some point? I'm probably naive here.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
They could have used all the mobile WMD labs they found in Iraq.

Of the 12 most-vunerable Senate seats up in 2006- 8 are Dems. Keep driving it sport.

[Penske_Account]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Fear Not. Kofi Annan is urging the UN to lend a hand.

Also, unconfirmed reports have Jesse Jackson touching down in Baton Rouge within the hour.

Bush is on the ground in Mobile now. The cavalry is on the way!!!

[Penske_Account]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
It also appears, though, that the police were in on the looting action early and often.

I maintain my opinion that there is no organization more corrupt in the US today than the police departments of most major US cities. Ironically, these cities are uniformly, npi, controlled by Democrats.

[Penske_Account]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
No. The intellectual dishonety in the Left's blaming Bush for the NO disaster is the Left taking a page from the Right's playbook.

Well, your return to sanity was nice while it lasted. Ty@50, will Sebbie ever get and stay compliant with his meds?