Posted on 02/25/2006 6:08:56 AM PST by Phsstpok
Kasich's "From The Heartland" item on FNS has this as the blurb on the link:
Congress must stop a plan for a UAE-based company to operate U.S. ports
I think you nailed it (him).
Here's the line up for tonight:
Now you've done it. You have Freepmail
You are NO help. No, I have put the tree up, but I certainly am thinking about it all. Rats. I thought I'd have more time!!!
LOL....Well you could decorate it with Easter ornaments!!
An Easter tree? Oh no....
I think I may go lay down and get some rest before the little men with white jackets come for me.
The failure was, first and foremost, by the local government, for not executing (or even paying attention to) their own disaster plan. They also made horrendous decisions once they finally did choose to do something. They then threw up their hands and abandoned their responsibilities to the Federal government, even though reality meant that no real Federal forces could be in place and effective for several more days. They also failed, criminally in my opinion, in their responsibilities over flood control for over 50 years. Corrupt local officials (the Landrieu family prominently among them) made fortunes in graft when they should have been looking after the safety of the citizens. All of this disaster flows from the local failure.
The state government failed in their responsibility both to oversee the local government and to execute their own plans, primarily through the entity organized crime syndicate also known as the Democrat Party. They fostered, protected and participated in the grotesque corruption that has kept Louisiana (and much of the South) in abject poverty since Reconstruction.
The Federal government failed primarily in their oversight responsibility but, as Frank Borman explained during the aftermath of the Apollo 1 fire, engineers and politicians can suffer from a "failure of imagination." The Federal government should have been treating Louisiana and New Orleans like bankruptcy court treats a failed business, requiring detailed plans and permission to take any actions. This should be a civil rights action taken by the Justice Department, because clearly the rights of the citizens of Louisiana, particularly New Orleans, have been grotesquely violated for nearly 150 years. And then the Federal government must take a fresh look at the decisions of this failed entity and start with a clean sheet of paper. They must realize that we can't turn over a significant portion of our population to the depredations of a criminal enterprise masquerading as a political party. Frankly we must look for the liberation of the south eastern quarter of the United States, The South, from the shackles that have been imposed on them by idiots and mobsters.
But then we come to the ultimate failure of the Katrina disaster. The failure of the so called "major media." They misreported the facts on the ground as it was happening. This misinformation adversely affected the actions of all of the agencies involved, to the extent that people certainly died because of things said by Anderson Cooper and Shep Smith and the rest of that insane clown posse. And they have steadfastly refused to correct the record, examine their own failures or take even a cursory look at the work being done in the aftermath of these events. They have yet to do any reporting on any of the proposals for rebuilding New Orleans or the rest of the "red neck Riviera." They should be taking the lead in getting these proposals a proper airing and public review, but I frankly doubt that they are even aware of most of them.
Truly pitiful.
So, what is my answer, you may ask? (you know I'll give it to you, whether you ask or not)
First, the media must be held accountable for their failures. That will primarily be our responsibility. By that I mean the free form pool of experts that makes up the Internet, particularly places like FR. We must go back and thoroughly document the things that they did wrong, assemble them in a coherent form and then publicize. Video pod-casting comes to mind. At the very least a really good thread on FR.
Second we need to get the specifics of the government failures and thoroughly study the analysis being done by those entities. They will do things to cover their own behinds, but they will also provide some of the best analysis of everyone else's failures. We should be able to construct a useful critique of what really happened by synthesizing the various self serving reports.
Third we must reorganize DHS to build up a generalized "homeland defense" organization, capable of providing the support that was brought to bear by the military this time (even if it was delayed by bureaucrats). I would like to see a new combination, built around the current Coast Guard, that would encorporate border security, police powers and disaster response. The new capabilites to be added to the Coast Guard should be modeled on the Marine MEU structure, perhaps even utilizing much of the same infrastructure, but with police powers that the military lacks by law. They should also absorb the Border Patrol and truly secure our nations borders.
Then we should seek out the various proposals and power plays about reconstruction. We should publicize them and invite the immense talent pool represented here to contribute their judgments, advice and criticisms to move things forward. This is an opportunity for the people of the world, as represented here, to participate in an historic social mega project. We should make sure that it doesn't become a giant bureaucratic boondoggle.
Finally, in broad terms, I am in favor of rebuilding New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, with both public and private funding, but of doing it smart. I want to do things like abandon the 9th ward and St Bernard Parish, as they were, but explore new options, like creating a "Venice of the South" in their place. I want to look to a "greater New Orleans" involving the entirety of the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, with efficient mass transit (primarily light rail and buses) and small community development, rather than mega city or suburban sprawl. There are a lot of exciting possibilities for the entire region and we should all take the opportunity to contribute as we can.
Can you tell I've been saving that up for awhile?
I got the feeling that King was just grasping for any excuse NOT to want to accept the offer by the Dubai company that they will do what it takes to allay Congress and American's fear.
and Bahbah replied
Right, and since there is no apparent rational for this position, I have to ask what is the real reason. Too bad I don't know the answer. (I see Tony said you got it right :)
I direct your attention to some original reporting in this New York Sun editorial
So what, one wonders, accounts for the sudden turnabout and interest of all these politicians in the UAE as a potential terrorist threat? The answer got a lot clearer yesterday afternoon when the International Longshoremen's Association, the AFL-CIO-affiliated union that represents workers at the six ports that would be affected by the Dubai deal, issued a statement praising the politicians complaining about the deal. The union's statement expressed "great concern" about the transaction. From there, it's easy to just follow the money - documented by The New York Sun's examination of Federal Election Commission records - from the political action committee of the International Longshoremen's Association into the pockets of the protesting politicians.
<snip>
Mr. Bowers has been president of the ILA since 1987, having previously served for 24 years as executive vice president of the union, its second highest position. He was charged with racketeering and named as an associate of the Gambino organized crime family in a July 2005 civil complaint filed by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn. Whatever objections the politicians have to the UAE and its leadership - and we are not, by any stretch, fans of the emirates - they're no more serious than the charges in the racketeering suit brought against the ILA and Mr. Bowers by the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Roslynn Mauskopf.
The names Gotti and Gambino figure prominently in this, folks. The funny things is this could be viewed as two "crime families" getting into a turf war. And the Sheiks don't play by the Marquis of Queensbury Rules. They do things "the Dubai Way."
I think Bush and company are following an old truism: it's better to have them inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in. Folks, we allied ourselves with Stalin to defeat Hitler, for goodness sakes. The UAE are the 7th Cav, compared to that pact with the devil. And frankly, right now, I'd rather have the UAE company managing these ports than, say, GM.
Great analysis....and great ideas.
RE: the rebuilding of New Orleans...how do suggest we get around the Landrieu Dynasty...that seems to be trying to run the whole state, just from that one family??? LOL
Fox News has shown picketers all day...on the docks, so I guess they got their marching orders also..even though this would not affect even one of their jobs..from the way I understand it.
Am watching Paul Gigot's new show...
This Bruce Bartlett is cuckoo....he is saying that President Bush't tax cuts weren't a good idea.
Puh-lllllllleeeze.
I think I gave a too simplistic statement of what Bartlett said...
He did say that Bush didn't come into his Presidency with a PLAN (that dreaded P-word)...and that had he had a PLAN, he could have accomplished a tax overhaul..and all kinds of economic changes..
BUT, he just doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that 9/11 changed a lot...and had a real impact on the economy. Paul Gigot did point that out...but, like so many of Bush's critics, he shrugged it off like that wasn't that important.
Then Steve Moore from WSJ came on and just slammed the book with Bartlett sitting right there...I was cheering Steve on.
Now the roundtable is dicussing the port deal...and they are calling it a "protectionist" problem by the nay-sayers.
I like Gigot's panel...Jason Riley of WSJ, is very good.
They are stating that opting out of the global economy is NOT an option...(Pat Buchanan, are you watching?).
They also pointed out, like so many freepers, that Sen. Frist came off as weak, in calling for legislation to STOP the deal before he even took the time and effort to learn about it.
This is a great show...too bad it has such a bad time slot.
Tony-if you are reading this...you might want to pass on to your Fox bosses..that this Paul Gigot show deserves to be SEEN. They are also echoing your thoughts this last week re: the ports deal.
Plz add me to your ping list!
Jeesh...and I thought I didn't have a life...
Unbelievable: compact, concise, dense and over flowing with salient overview...
Cheers...
Whit
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