Posted on 09/02/2005 6:45:16 AM PDT by Chickenhawk Warmonger
Now is the Time to Shut Up Robin Mullins Boyd
The complete and utter devastation of the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina breaks my heart. Every picture of the damage, every picture of the victims rips at my soul. My heart tells me that the flattened cities are just scenes from a movie, while my brain tells me that the Gulf Coast will never be the same.
In spite of the mass of suffering humanity, some have decided to use this fierce attack from Mother Nature as another excuse to blame President Bush, the Republicans or even the United States. I woke this morning to hear Miles O’Brien braying like a jackass while attempting to goad Gov. Barbour into blaming the Federal Government (AKA the Bush Administration) for “dropping the ball.” I listened to callers on AM talk radio proclaim that Hurricane Katrina was God’s wrath on the United States because George W. Bush is President. Other callers decided that the evil Republicans were deliberately not helping the African Americans in New Orleans so the plan for a “New World Order” could proceed. People running off with televisions and boxes of Nike shoes were called “victims” while snipers shot at hospital personnel trying to evacuate patients. And who could forget Robert Kennedy Jr’s truckload of manure, disguised as an op-ed on the Huffington Post, thrown at President Bush and Governor Barbour.
That spark of the anti-war movement, Cindy Sheehan, took time away from her I Hate Bush bus tour to blame the President for the Hurricane. Meanwhile the 3-bus tour continues while we regular folks wait in line to pay over $3.00 per gallon for gas. The New York Times was more concerned with a critique of President Bush’s speech and the old canard about “global warming” than the looters preventing the rescue of survivors. Sidney Blumenthal lamented the Bush budget cuts for New Orleans flood control to pay for the illegal, immoral and unjust war in Iraq. Blumenthal conveniently forgot what the Clinton administration did to funding for flood control in New Orleans.
Over at the “underground”, the grassroots of the Left took up where the media stopped. Here is a few of the best of the worst…
“We are all victims of this disaster called the Bush Administration. And the best way to help ALL the victims of this disaster is to end it.”
“Did Bush order the failure to fill the levee breach? The City of New Orleans has essentially been destroyed because of a massive failure to attack the levee breach in time. There was a plan in place - but for an as yet unexplained reason - the effort to fill the breach never began, as if someone ordered it not to occur.”
“This has GOT to be our opportunity. Bush *#@% royally on this one. We have to do or say absolutely anything to use this disaster to get rid of the useless chimp.”
“There is no doubt that Bush could have prevented this. We have to make sure that this is the end of this slimy administration.”
“Well, the Bushgang never liked New Orleans anyway.”
“With all the looting happening in New Orleans, and bad as that is, especially with the gun-toting thugs shooting at rescuers and relief workers, STILL I can’t imagine anything as bad as the Corporate looting that has been going on in this country ever since GWB took office.”
“The people who BENEFIT from Republicans in power flew out of New Orleans to their Vacation Resort Homes in Aspen two days before the storm. They are over insured and will be at the front of the line of the government payouts. The top 1% will make money off of their losses on the Gulf Coast.”
“Imagine if this happened in some lily white red state city – the reaction would be much different. I’m guessing the repukes are letting people just die there.”
“They call it thinning the herd.”
“Those Louisiana and Deep Southern mega churches are just storming into action. I see all those big volunteer teams of white Christians fanning out and helping their fellow man, reaching across race lines, volunteering their time, money, and efforts, lowering prices to help the poorest refugees make it through in their time of need. Oh wait; I’m not actually seeing any of that.”
“Fundies probably have no interest in helping New Orleans anyway. Bush is probably celebrating.”
“I have to wonder if the failure to patch the levees was somehow intentional. We know New Orleans is a hugely Democratic area.”
“I guess Homeland Security funds can only be spent chasing down people wearing turbans.”
“Know your America: White people salvage, black people loot.”
There is plenty of time for the left wing fringe to fire up their black helicopters and make their tin foil hats. There is more than enough time left in the Bush Administration for the media to beat up on the President. You have three more years to blame President Bush for everything from hurricanes to panty lines. People are waiting on their roofs for rescue workers. Resources are being diverted to control looting. Rescuers are risking their own life to save the hurricane victims. Families are searching for some tiny piece of their life before the hurricane.
Now is the time for the hate filled Bush bashing party of blame to shut up. Channel some of that energy into helping your fellow Americans. You will have plenty of time to spew your venom after the rescue and recovery efforts are completed.
Does it take five days to give an order? Why so slow - this the point and you should be asking it and not blaming me.
Your fellow countrymen are needlessly dying - face up to it and make sure it never happens again.
They are, as Shakespeare put it, "Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Go git 'em, OpusatFR!
Show me where I said American troops are cowards?
As for the WW2 typical cliche stuff, I don't remember American troops liberating Britain from Germany, do you?
"Does it take five days to give an order? Why so slow - this the point and you should be asking it and not blaming me. "
I'm not blaming you, that's rather silly. It is slow because Governor Blanco is so completely over her head and incompetent. She should have ordered shoot to kill immediately. That would have stopped it and stopped the police force from walking.
The Mayor of NO went through this in 2004, piling everyone into the stadium with the same result. No preparations had been made. Fortunately for them, there was no flooding and no direct hit, just disgruntled New Orleans and....nothing more was done to prepare for the inevitable catagory 4 or 5.
I'm as frustrated as the next person but until you have a grasp of the Federal system, you won't understand. It works exceedingly well when we have competent governors, and we do. Unfortunately, Louisiana is the most corrupt state in the union with a political machine to match.
Their mentality (or lack of) will do more to destroy this great nation than any threat we face foreign or domestic.
Those are her voters, she can't have them killed!
This explains the answer to your statement. It's called the Posse Comitatus Act....
http://www.dojgov.net/posse_comitatus_act.htm
I think you are being a rough on the folks on the ground.....just imagine, a white NG opening fire on a group on non-white looters...CNN would be there with cameras...shooting people at this stage of events, is just not on...
I will repeat what I said in another thread, it is this IGNORANCE of our system of government that allows people of your ilk to make these statements. Please be better informed in the future.
Oh wait. We don't have one, because our elected leaders and the political operatives who our donations to political organizations support are too busy making anonymous leaks to the WaPo so they can get invited to better cocktail parties.
And here you put a bucket of their #hit on my stoop and ring the doorbell.
Thanks a lot. ~ ; )
I have never in my life seen at a mayoral level such deafening silence. In ANY local disaster, accident or event, the mayor is at the forefront of the incidence. This guy seems only to give a one sentence statement now every few days. "Desperate SOS" yesterday. What is that suppose to mean? JMO. I havent seen this guy in days.
Ask that question of Governor Blanco.
Ask it again of Mayor Nagin.
Those two people, who are apparently completely incompetent to hold their respective offices, are the people who hold the authority to give orders regarding policing and riot control in Louisiana generally and New Orleans particularly. That authority in now way resides in Washington, DC.
You are posting from Great Britain, so perhaps you can be forgiven for not knowing how governmental authority is distributed in these United States. Now you know, so quit carping.
FWIW, I think they should have given orders on Tuesday that looters be shot on sight. Refusal to give such orders is, however, one of the least of their failures. Their greatest failures are in the realm of planning, which should have been ongoing efforts since Hurricane Camille (at least).
And another thing:
The woman is so out of control, she actually cried on television, lost her composure and had to be prompted by her aides. They have been hiding her.
And before you say I'm sexist, I'm a woman and way tougher than most men I know. I've never abandoned a podium or felt threatened because a man walked up to me in a debate.
She's a disgrace. She should have been projecting strength and competence and this utterly feckless, useless person is collapsing.
I can otell you the people of the UK are shocked and horrified at what is happening.
As usual we will do everything we can to help.
But questions have to be asked at why the rescue effort is so bad. People are astonished that the USA can send troops to far flung countries in days, and yet in New Orleans it is almost non-existent after five.
I repeat, Britons are devastated for Americans right now and want to help badly - but at the same time are open-mouthed in amazement at how America could be so slow in it's recovery. That's all I'm saying.
WADR, Houston (and Dallas, et al) is alot closer to NO than those NE cities. Transport alone to them would probably be as costly as transport+housing to closer cities. And the logistics of the people getting back would be worse for them.
Maybe instead call out St Louis, or Louisville, or OK City or Atlanta.
You seem to be saying that the National Guard REFUSED to do certain things, while ignoring that they must be given orders to do those things.
So, please, spare all of us the divisiveness of saying the British Army would do it better. If they weren't given orders to do X,Y, or Z, they wouldn't do X,Y, or Z either.
The Governor of Louisiana dropped the ball, not the National Guard so assigning blame to the men and women of the National Guard is offensive.
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