Posted on 09/03/2005 10:16:01 AM PDT by smoothsailing
Get Off His Back
By Ben Stein
Published 9/2/2005 11:59:59 PM
A few truths, for those who have ears and eyes and care to know the truth:
1.) The hurricane that hit New Orleans and Mississippi and Alabama was an astonishing tragedy. The suffering and loss of life and peace of mind of the residents of those areas is acutely horrifying.
2.) George Bush did not cause the hurricane. Hurricanes have been happening for eons. George Bush did not create them or unleash this one.
3.) George Bush did not make this one worse than others. There have been far worse hurricanes than this before George Bush was born.
4.) There is no overwhelming evidence that global warming exists as a man-made phenomenon. There is no clear-cut evidence that global warming even exists. There is no clear evidence that if it does exist it makes hurricanes more powerful or makes them aim at cities with large numbers of poor people. If global warming is a real phenomenon, which it may well be, it started long before George Bush was inaugurated, and would not have been affected at all by the Kyoto treaty, considering that Kyoto does not cover the world's worst polluters -- China, India, and Brazil. In a word, George Bush had zero to do with causing this hurricane. To speculate otherwise is belief in sorcery.
6.) George Bush had nothing to do with the hurricane contingency plans for New Orleans. Those are drawn up by New Orleans and Louisiana. In any event, the plans were perfectly good: mandatory evacuation. It is in no way at all George Bush's fault that about 20 percent of New Orleans neglected to follow the plan. It is not his fault that many persons in New Orleans were too confused to realize how dangerous the hurricane would be. They were certainly warned. It's not George Bush's fault that there were sick people and old people and people without cars in New Orleans. His job description does not include making sure every adult in America has a car, is in good health, has good sense, and is mobile.
7.) George Bush did not cause gangsters to shoot at rescue helicopters taking people from rooftops, did not make gang bangers rape young girls in the Superdome, did not make looters steal hundreds of weapons, in short make New Orleans into a living hell.
8.) George Bush is the least racist President in mind and soul there has ever been and this is shown in his appointments over and over. To say otherwise is scandalously untrue.
9.) George Bush is rushing every bit of help he can to New Orleans and Mississippi and Alabama as soon as he can. He is not a magician. It takes time to organize huge convoys of food and now they are starting to arrive. That they get in at all considering the lawlessness of the city is a miracle of bravery and organization.
10.) There is not the slightest evidence at all that the war in Iraq has diminished the response of the government to the emergency. To say otherwise is pure slander.
11.) If the energy the news media puts into blaming Bush for an Act of God worsened by stupendous incompetence by the New Orleans city authorities and the malevolence of the criminals of the city were directed to helping the morale of the nation, we would all be a lot better off.
12.) New Orleans is a great city with many great people. It will recover and be greater than ever. Sticking pins into an effigy of George Bush that does not resemble him in the slightest will not speed the process by one day.
13.) The entire episode is a dramatic lesson in the breathtaking callousness of government officials at the ground level. Imagine if Hillary Clinton had gotten her way and they were in charge of your health care.
God bless all of those dear people who are suffering so much, and God bless those helping them, starting with George Bush.
......................................
Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He also writes "Ben Stein's Diary" in every issue of The American Spectator.
We are talking about two seperate tragedies here. A Hurricane and then afterward a tsunami/massive flood.
The quote is idiotic drivel and obviously from someone who is either a liberal or a democrat or both, or maybe a member of the communist party, or possibly a republican who has an axe to grind. The person is devoid of common sense and sees only what he/she wants to see, that is that Bush is an incompetent, worthless idiot. That said I do not agree with any of this quote.
I give up. Please enlighten me (and all the rest of us, please). The quote is probably from turtle face...
could be any elected democrat. or dan rather
Thank you Ben Stein! If only there were a hundred more of you reporting the news we might have some truth and common sense flowing over the air waves for a change.
Ping to a great article!
Which highly esteemed news journalist said this?
Pat Buchanan?
This hurricane proved once and for all that even if an asteroid struck the United States, the Democrats would try to find a way to blame President Bush.
Ben Stein Bump!
I am going to quote this over and over and over.
Bookmarked and bumped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who cares...some idiot with an deadline to meet, or attention to get, trys to come up with a collection of words that someone, anyone, might read....it's like what passes for "art" in some circles these days...all for the shock value...the attention it might get from the oh so upright MEDIA. BARF!
I've had idiot lib 'friends' emailing me MM's latest drivel.
Compared to Ben, Michael is the Scooby Doo of politics.
Anything for a Scooby Snack.
Kevin Phillips?
bttt
The Guardian in the UK had a lovely nasty piece about President Bush, and how inept his actions were. I answered them in spades and hope others will too. Their email is: politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk. Go get em!
He sure does. This is about the strongest, clearest reply to the Bush-blaming lunacy I've come across so far.
Thank you Mr. Stein.
bookmark
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