Posted on 09/04/2005 10:27:00 PM PDT by nickcarraway
***UPDATED: Sunday, Sept. 4, 2005, 2:13 p.m.***
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.
5.) 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.
6.) 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.
7.) 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.
8.) 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.
9.) 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.
10.) 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.
11.) 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.
12.) 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.
**** UPDATE: Sunday, Sept. 4, 2005, 2:13 p.m.:
More Mysteries of Katrina:
Why is it that the snipers who shot at emergency rescuers trying to save people in hospitals and shelters are never mentioned except in passing, and Mr. Bush, who is turning over heaven and earth to rescue the victims of the storm, is endlessly vilified?
What church does Rev. Al Sharpton belong to that believes in passing blame and singling out people by race for opprobrium and hate?
What special abilities does the media have for deciding how much blame goes to the federal government as opposed to the city government of New Orleans for the aftereffects of Katrina?
If able-bodied people refuse to obey a mandatory evacuation order for a city, have they not assumed the risk that ill effects will happen to them?
When the city government simply ignores its own sick and hospitalized and elderly people in its evacuation order, is Mr. Bush to blame for that?
Is there any problem in the world that is not Mr. Bush's fault, or have we reverted to a belief in a sort of witchcraft where we credit a mortal man with the ability to create terrifying storms and every other kind of ill wind?
Where did the idea come from that salvation comes from hatred and criticism and mockery instead of love and co-operation?
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. Please click here to subscribe.
ben stein for fed chair!
Hello Free Republic:
I'm going to climb out on a limb here. Been lurking for a couple years, posted a few one liners here and there - but now I'm really, well I'm pretty darn upset, and I've moved beyond the one liners just now.
I just had one of those thoughts; the sort which start and materialize into something comprehensive as soon as they start - like a sudden vision of clarity - which I posted on another forum basically to inflame and irritate the liberals there. :) It has to do with the current (whining) about how fast, or not so fast, some quantity of conspicuously camoflage-bearing people in rotary wing aircraft were available for television cameras to focus on for their viewers.
Now it's probably a good time for me to confess to never having been in the government's employ, nor having access to any inside information of any sort - which of course means I can just go ahead and vent. So here goes:
The current opportunity, as far as a federal response to Hurricane Katrina, seems to have centered on how (let's be honest, slowly) the response seemed to have been. So here's this lifetime civilian's proposal:
A new branch of the American military, reporting directly to DHS, with a standing 15,000 troop strength - equipped and deployed 24/7/365 evenly along all our borders, to augment and assist the Border Patrol.
Three shifts of 5,000 deployed evenly around the country with vehicles and various logistical support. On the Canadian border, the Pacific coast, the Rio Grande, all along the Atlantic seaboard from Louisiana to Maine, in Juneau, even Maui. On duty keeping an eye on things, ever vigilant, protecting our borders when things are ok.
No portion of America, more than 500 miles from available, instantly deployable response and support.
The .01% of the time when something terrible happens - they literally drop everything and jump in the Humvees with 2 hours notice. Anywhere! Worst case - troops rolling into the hot zone on average FIVE HOURS after their "go" command, then increasing troop and equipment level steadily - as the remainder of the reaction force deploys in place immediately, as it arrives.
Our borders will still be protected, since the Border Patrol has the primary responsibility and will keep that job - they'll stay right where they are.
The beauty of the new service? They'll always be training and ready to roll.
Now please feel free to point out the idiocy of the idea. :) Don't worry, I'm not easily offended.
Bump!
Bless you Ben Stein
i like it...i like it...i like it
Thats a damn good choice Chrispy if I may say so.
Yeah the libs are attempting to fill usenet with their lies. Time for our facts to hit their posts of lies
http://jednet207.tripod.com/PoliticalNewsGroups-PC.html
One big correction - It was the state governments call. The feds can't come in without the states OK. It's a states rights issue. The state has control over FEMA until power is handed over to the feds voluntarily. Bush finally met with the mayor, and then the feds took over and things started to move.
You are right. It IS a "MUST READ".
Ben Stein is pointing out the obvious facts and truth.
It is shameful that the MSM and Democrats were trying to use even this disaster to attack President Bush.
Exactly, and yet Bush requested permission for the feds to take over prior to the 'cane and was rebuffed by Governor BooHoo. Libs & Dems don't understand the laws of the land and never did.(unless their breaking them that is)
This admin. seemed peculiarly oblivious when it comes to shoring up defense here. They seem to have disappeared on the issue of illegal immigration (bizarro world where Hitlery makes more sense on an issue than the current WH), seem to have no interest in securing nuclear or chemical plants, and hey, what's it matter to them that 1/4 of the oil we consume comes through the port of NO? Their oil buddies seem not to be hurting...
We'd be rightfully screaming if this were WJC. If I were the WH scheduler I probably would not have GWB out golfing or visibly fundraising this week. And, for god's sake, sending out Clinton (the lesser) to get quality face time in front of the cameras with Poppy? What are they thinking??
We weren't responsible for the 911 attack either, but the feds acted quickly to pull NYC through... we had 4 years, the levees could have failed just as easily with a judicious terrorist bomb; the hurricane's full force bypassed NO. Where has all that money gone?
Bush should fire the heads of FEMA and DHS, instead of letting a bunch of media pundits make him look weak spouting lame excuses...
Ben Stein in 2008!
It would be nice to have a non-politician in office, one who is also quite smart.
Beautiful.
"When the city government simply ignores its own sick and hospitalized and elderly people in its evacuation order, is Mr. Bush to blame for that? "
I would love to see a reporter interrupt one Mayor Nagin's idiotic, profanity-laced, buck-passing tirades with this question.
DITTO
PLEASE,NO PICTURES !!!!
we had 4 years, the levees could have failed just as easily with a judicious terrorist bomb; the hurricane's full force bypassed NO. Where has all that money gone?
You are wrong about the bomb comment. It would have taken an absolutely huge bomb to take out that much levee, more than could be driven in with a semi. Prior to the storm the Levees were well below the top of the earthen dike, not like you see them today, right up to the concrete wall.
You can't build Levees in 4 years, you can't even get the EIS done in 4 years.
The decision to build levees to defend against a Cat3 hurricane and NOT a Cat5 were local/state/federal decisions, made over 50 years by successive administrations at all levels of government.
The money went toward paying for all the Wellfare queens under the Johnson Ford Carter Clinton administrations.
You want to blame someone, blame the Mayor. He had the responsibility to Evacuate his city. The left over 500 busess parked on the weekend of the storm. Blame the Governor, she failed to declare an emergency untill the day before the storm hit.
You need to do a little better research, and a little less swollowing the MSM hook line and sinker.
The .01% of the time when something terrible happens - they literally drop everything and jump in the Humvees with 2 hours notice. Anywhere! Worst case - troops rolling into the hot zone on average FIVE HOURS after their "go"
You must think the United States is the size Florida or something.
Do you have any idea how many sets of duplicate "Humvees" you would need to keep a set 500 miles from anywhere? Dude: Do the math. You can't even get to the humvees 500 miles away in two hours.
But just in case you missed it, we already have this force in every state, with a headquarters in every large (and most of the medium sized) cities. Its called the National Gaurd.
And it does a tremendous job.
The failurs of N.O. were Local problems of a corrupt democratic government that did not follow its own disaster plan.
Lurk for another couple years please.
Does the National Guard report to DHS, and is it deployable at a moment's notice solely on the judgement of the CIC?
Does the NG help secure the borders?
(pretty fair flame about lurking though, will admit)
:)
Does the NG help secure the borders?
Better yet, the National Guard is IMMEDIATLY available to the Governor, without even waiting for Washington's approval.
The National Guard is at the disposal of DHS at the Presidents direction, as the President can also deploy the guard as needed. (Although I would feel much better having the DOD managing the guard than the political hacks over at DHS. Any organization that thinks they provide safety by strip searching old ladies and putting 1 year old babies on the No Fly List does not strike me as a serious organization).
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