Posted on 03/03/2006 5:43:42 AM PST by Brilliant
"Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings. For there is none worthy of the name but God, whom heaven, earth and sea obey."
Thus spake the humble early English King Canute, who once mocked flattering courtiers by demonstrating his impotence in the face of an incoming tide. "Stop," he said, attempting to command the waves, which of course kept coming.
...Thus we have this week's new low in anti-Bush hysteria, in which Democrats and assorted media are alleging some kind of scandal in a piece of videotape showing President Bush was warned that Hurricane Katrina would be a very bad storm. And yet . . . well, and yet Mr. Bush declined to follow King Canute in attempting to command the sea, thus dooming the city of New Orleans.
The whole "story" here is so preposterous... But for the record, it's worth noting a little semantic legerdemain on the part of the Associated Press reporter who narrates the videotape. The reporter implies that Mr. Bush lied when he said after the storm that nobody had anticipated "the breach of the levees." This is supposed to be contradicted by the video footage of a pre-landfall briefing in which the National Hurricane Center told the President of the possibility that "the levees will be topped ..."
But in fact the New Orleans levee system wasn't topped; it was breached, just as Mr. Bush said -- and there's a big difference between the two. The levees being topped by the storm surge would have caused damage, but arguably much less severe than what happened after the structural failure that actually occurred. And in any case, the levee breach was the result of flaws so fundamental they were beyond anyone's power to fix that close to the storm...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Of course, that's not true, either, but I would not call it a "lie." It's simply an error. There were lots of people who anticipated it years in advance. I think it's primarily a local responsibility to anticipate these things, though, and to make sure they don't happen. The President cannot spend his time preparing for a hurricane in New Orleans which may or may not happen during his term. That's the responsibilty of those most closely affected.
Latest polls show Bush has one bazillion negative point rating. MSM wood pulp media proven correct after all. 99.9% of voters breathe enormous sigh of relief. Promise never to read blogs again.
Yeah, right.
The people that stayed behind are the ones that thought the storm wasn't going to be as bad. President Bush would have caught heck even worse if he had sent in the feds to force the people to leave.
The MSM are nothing but scum..
I saw a video where they warned that the levees might be "topped" which means water runs over the top.
This is much different than the levees *failing* which they did.
It doesn't matter though.
Right now in Sacramento, we are debating the Auburn Dam once again. Regardless of who says what, the dam will never be built because the rafting companies and their environmental wacko friends will never allow it. When the levees "top" in Sacramento, the same liberals will be the first to look for someone to blame.
Its just how the system works.
Right now in Sacramento....
Zactly. John Q. Public got sick 'n tired of Katrina a long time ago and has moved on.
My wife and I were there in the mid-80s. We drove past the Dome, and there was a huge traffic jam because it had rained the night before, and the streets were flooded. I remember commenting to my wife that if they can't keep the streets free of standing water after a little thunderstorm, how can they do it if there is a hurricane? Her response was that the city is below sea level, and it's no secret that NO will be inundated if a hurricane hits.
That was in the 80's.
"The people that stayed behind are the ones that thought the storm wasn't going to be as bad."
A very high proportion of the "people" who stayed behind in NO were thugs, gangbangers, criminals, welfare dregs and all-around dirtbags who have terrorized the city for decades. Otherwise known as democrat voters, they were looking to take advantage of the situation. And, might I say, near 100% of those are black. With Katrina, the city got a good and salutary flushing out, which has been much to the detriment of cities like Houston, Dallas, Baton Rouge and elsewhere across the US who received these poor "refugees". Now, the thugs are coming back in numbers. However, unlike before Katrina where crowds of tourists "diluted" them into lesser contrast, they are more noticeable and causing trouble. This is not good for NO.
On another thread yesterday, someone posted a clarification that Bush made way back on Sept 12th., in a press conference. He said that his "nobody anticipated it" comment did not refer to the pre-landfall situation, when everyone was indeed concerned about the levees being topped, but on the morning after the hurricane, when everyone was saying that New Orleans had "dodged a bullet" because the levees weren't topped and there was minimal flooding in the city. He said that because everyone thought that the worst was over, that the levees were now safe, that was what his comment referred to. I think at that time that Nagin was actually telling people to come back into the city, if I remember correctly.
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