[Millee]

BOR is a blowhard, but I still like him.

"Talking Points" wants to reinforce two things. First, the huge, bureaucratic government will never be able to protect you. If you rely on government for anything, anything, you're going to be disappointed, no matter who the president is.

Reminiscent of "we're from the government and we're here to help."

[cubreporter]

BOR IS a blowhard and I NEVER liked him.

[PeskyOne]

BOR is a blowhard, but I still like him.

He's an arrogant blowhard as is Newt Gingrich.

[JIM O]

President Reagan's words are even more powerful today than when he said them.

I think a good lesson learned here is when you live behind a dam below sea level and your city tells you to leave. Leave! That way we can concentrate on and help the people who are incapable of getting out.

[Jeff Head]

There's no question the Bush administration was slow in getting relief to the hurricane zone

ABsolute Bravo Sierra. BOR is simply wrong on this. It is simply amazing at the Federal level what has been accomplished in so short a time. No other nation could have respondesd with this level of assistant to so large an impacted area in this amount of time.

Logistically you cannot make this level of support and assistance move in 72 hours. Just the same, the Coast Guard (a federal agency) was there making a huge difference from the first day.

The first several days were the local and state government's responsibility and they failed miserably. They had the resources to mitigate the disaster (busses, national guard troops), but they failed to apply them directly or efficiently.

[syriacus]

I'd love to see O'Reilly call for an investigation of the way Louisiana handled the Federal help they got after Hurricane Ivan last year.

President Declares Major Disaster For Louisiana To Aid Ivan Recovery, September 16, 2004

Are Witt and Blanco busily flushing evidence of previous bad behavior?

Is Blanco afraid to have too many Feds asking too many questions about what Lousiana has done as a result of Hurricane Ivan?

[ncountylee]

Memo to all democrat Mayors and Governors:

The NYT, MSNBC, WaPO, etc. win.

In case of disaster in your area do absolutely nothing to save lives, protect property or relieve suffering. Your new assignment is to blame Bush, blame Bush and blame Bush. Got that? Good, together we will build a better America.

[Mr. K]

THEY ALL NEED TO BE REMINDED THAT THE FEDS DECLARED A STATE OF EMEGENCY BEFORE THE STORM EVEN HIT~!

[cwb]

"President Bush was 24 hours too slow in reacting to the disaster. Why? I don't know."

---

I do. Because the Federal government was forced to become the "first responders" and were tasked with doing things that should've been done in the first 24-48 hours by the City and State governments.

[DJ MacWoW]

President Bush was 24 hours too slow in reacting to the disaster.

This has to be one of the most irritating things I keep hearing. Femas response time is 72 to 96 hours. The flooding started on Tuesday after the hurricane hit Monday. Relief arrived Thursday. No one on the left seems to grasp the enormity of 90,000 square miles. It wasn't just NO that was hit.

[DouglasKC]

There's no question the Bush administration was slow in getting relief to the hurricane zone. That's a legitimate criticism,

There is a question. What evidence does he dish up to prove this? Oh, none. Just the hearsay of the media.

[msnimje]

BOR better come down hard on Blanco and Nagin soon or he is going to lose a lot of viewers. I am tired of writing him emails every day telling him how oblivious he is to the facts in Louisiana.

[OldFriend]

He bashes the NYSlimes and then goes on to add his own full of $hip trashing.

[hermgem]

Who runs all those States and all those Cities?
Are Governors and Mayors just puppies, there for presiding over festivities or are emergencies part of their jobs?
Cities and States got financial disaster support to plan, train, organize for emergencies.
At what time should the Feds move in to supersede helpless, non present Governors, Mayors, Police Chiefs by taking over and move those unorganized but elected representatives out of the way since lives are at stake.

[Doogle]

There's no question the Bush administration was slow in getting relief to the hurricane zone

..perhaps Mr.O wanted thousands of rescue vehicles along with experts in their field stationed in New Orleans BEFORE the hurricane hit like some nimrods were ranting as to why it was so so so slow. This way they would still be stranded and we'd have to call for assistance from Russian submariners. The magnitude of this storm and it's consequences simply over power the gulf states.....what still isn't being answered fully ..is why so many people were sent to the dome without food, water, beds, and security!!

Doogle

[SMARTY]

Liberal politicians are just using the gratis face-time on TV which covers the storm and victims to continue their campaign against the leadership of this country.


If there is anyone in the country who is NOT clear on that premise, they almost deserve to believe all the BS the Liberals are handing them.

Just once, can't the Liberals drop the 'invalidation' thing they do to all order and authority emanating from this administration? Just once can't they come up with a plan of their own or at least support the efforts of others? Their gratuitous opposition to everything is so OLD.

[Sam Hill]

"There's no question the Bush administration was slow in getting relief to the hurricane zone."

Idiot!

[Doogle]

Blanco strikes me as one of those people who get in the "express line" of the supermarket with two full carts of goods and gets annoyed if she's told the regular line is over there Ma'am. Even though she has shopped there for years.
She needs to be taken by the hand and led on foot through
washed away,burned,looted,and muddy neighborhoods and told
"see what you did...see...look at that...see"..and then slapped across the nose with a rolled up newspaper and made to sit in the basement.


Doogle

[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

I don't appreciate Phone Bill's nightly endorsement of looting--as long as it's only for food. He seems to be focusing on the governor, but seems to be letting the mayor off the hook.

[tarheelswamprat]

More arrogant and ignorant BS from O'Reilly. He's trying to "split the difference" on blame so he can posture as a "fair" commentator.

RE: The truth is this. Governor Blanco of Louisiana did not have a disaster plan in place, did not have enough state police and National Guard to secure a city the size of New Orleans, and did not push for federal help soon enough.

Only the last of his statements above are true. The Governor and the Mayor did have a plan - they didn't follow it. There were plenty of National Guard and police to do the job - she dithered and vacillated and refused to issue the orders to them, or to authorize the the President to do so.

O'Reilly's research and fact-checking are atrocious and incompetent.

[DallasMike]

Fellow Freepers:

At the suggestion of writer Michelle Malkin last Friday, I have cobbled together a blogsite called Texas Clearinghouse for Katrina Aid to serve as a clearinghouse for refugee efforts in Texas.

Texas is getting more refugees than any other state -- that's fine, we'll take them all -- but we need help providing them with food, clothing, and shelter.

If you are a refugee, you can information that will help you find relief. If you want to donate or volunteer, you can find someone who needs you.

Right now the site mostly covers Houston and Dallas but I will add various churches, schools, and other charities in San Antonio and Ft. Worth tonight. My wife is down at Reunion Arena in Dallas as we speak handing out care packages and otherwise ministering to the refugees as a representative of her employer.

There are a lot of churches and other organizations in Texas that need help in dealing with the problem and I would be most appreciative if you would get the word out.

Many thanks,

Michael McCullough

Stingray blogsite