Posted on 09/05/2005 10:26:53 AM PDT by nj26
As one who has seen these hurricanes up close as a Gulf Coast resident, news reporter and member of Congress — where I got a behind the scenes look at how to run relief operations — I have been trying to connect the dots for those of you who have not been so intimately involved in hurricane recovery efforts.
With so many trying to figure out why so few acted professionally in the first days of this epic crisis, I offer an insider's view of who is to blame for this national disgrace.
We begin with Harry Truman who famously declared that the buck always stops at the president's desk. For those who now define the term conservative as unwavering support for George W. Bush, even this suggestion is maddening.
But the bottom line is that despite the fact the president was strapped with two governors who bungled this crisis badly, in the end it is the president who sends in the National Guard and FEMA relief.
The president's suggestion that the size of this storm caught all by surprise just doesn't get it. His administration was 48 hours late sending in the National Guard and poor Americans got raped and killed because of those mistakes....
Secondly, the first responders in any hurricane are local and state officials. When Florida was struck by four hurricanes last year, Governor Jeb Bush was nothing short of spectacular. Louisiana Governor Blanco was breathtakingly clueless as were other Louisiana officials. The deaths of many lay on their doorsteps.
FEMA’s Michael Brown also shoulders the burden for the suffering in New Orleans. His claim that no one knew of the suffering on the ground until Thursday defies logic. America knew the crescent city was drifting toward chaos on well before Tuesday....
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
If Chuck Hagel ever leaves the Senate, he can always find a job as a token PMSNBC "Conservative".
According to him its Bush's fault people were raped and murderered. That sounds more like liberalism. How about blaming the ANIMALS first, then all the locals who abandoned ship? Thank God NY'ers didnt quit in the face of disaster: There'd be 10,000 9/11 dead.
Scarborough Affair? ;^)
Scarborough has gone pundit
at least he bothers to report from Mississippi....I'll give him that.
good thing though he left Congress, he appears way left of his solid panhandle constituients
(1). Its the Gov's job to call out the National Guard.
It's also the Governor's job to declare a Federal emergency, which Blanco has never done. I'm not going to sit still for Bush being blamed for the Louisiana government's incompetence.
Here's my letter to the Pensacola News Journal:
In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, President Bush’s political opponents rushed to denounce his efforts to provide emergency relief to the area.
Forget that President Bush declared Louisiana a disaster area before the governor did, people like Robert Kennedy, Jr., Al Sharpton, and Hillary Clinton blamed the President for everything from causing the hurricane to delaying relief because of New Orleans black skinned residents.
Crisis reveals character and interestingly Joe Scarborough took this opportunity to align himself with those of the extreme Left.
Joe’s ravaging comments did nothing to help the logistics in any way. All he did was add fuel to the fire of those that dedicate their lives to defeating every aspect of the Bush Administration.
It is understandable that the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana would rail on the President; first they must cover their enormous failings; second, they are Democrats.
Qatar and Kuwait offer hundreds of millions of dollars in aid yet Joe took the opportunity to dance on the graves of Katrina’s victims in order to blast the President.
I don’t know why he did that, but he permanently lost my vote for any office for which he may run.
SCARBOROUGH WE MUST REMEMBER HAS AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW PRACTICE WITH RFK JR. WHO HAS PUBLICALLY BLAMED HALEY BARBOUR FOR THE HURRICANE.
Well, well. Now THAT is interesting news. So Scar is close to RFK Jr., is he? It reveals a lot.
And critisizing Haley? LOL Libs evidently fear the guy, they haven't gone after the Alabama or Texas Governors, also competant, with the same venom. I guess they think this guy will go places potentially.
Scarborough is getting some real street cred with the MSM. He, like others have learned to corner the market in filling the "it's not just liberals who disagree with Bush, it's also Conservatives like PMSNBC Conservative #1___________, PMSNBC Conservative #2___________, PMSNBC COnservative #3____________"
This is what happens when you let reporters in the field "anchor" themselves. They get emotional. They only see what's right in front of them. It's like using Prissy, Butter McQueen, to report on the Civil War.
"Unfortunately, as long as ankle biters like Scarborough and the MSM Machine continue to spin this as being the president's fault, the truth will fail to get out."
For the MSM, one "maverick" Republican like Scarborough, McCain, or Hagel does 10x as much to further their agenda than any Democrat could ever do.
Now is the time to do it. If you haven't already stopped watching, boycott now. The new Fall lineup will be starting this month. Whatever rat audience Scarborough has at this point in time will soon be flocking to reality TV. Without us, his ratings will surely tank.
I don't think 1000 officers were no-shows. I believe their whole department is only 1200, or they have 1200 uniformed PO's and the 300 are upper brass. All 1200 were supposed to be on duty and from what I have heard 200 are unaccounted for right now. I did hear 2 committed suicide on the job and several are feared dead from the storm.
I know many cut and run and I am not excusing any of it. It is one big cluster down there.
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
It definitely sounds like it...the turncoat.
"poor Americans got raped and killed because of those mistakes."
Poor Americans got raped and killed because crime runs rampant in New Orleans. We can recount the liberals' and leftists' contributions to fighting crime: sympathy for criminals, glorification of crime and violence, constant attacks on the police and other authorities, attacks on businesses, etc.
I never watch his worthless show. He was pulled from WTNT AM 570. No ratings.
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