Nero Fiddling While Rome Burned?

[Bronco_Beerslug]

The irony!

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caption: President Bush plays a guitar presented to him by Country Singer Mark Wills, right, backstage following his visit to Naval Base Coronado, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Bush visited the base to deliver remarks on V-J Commemoration Day. (AP Photo/ABC News, Martha Raddatz). Link.




Meanwhile, during those same hours, in Mississippi: Volunteers rescue a family from the roof of their Suburban, which became trapped in floodwaters on US 90 in Bay St. Louis, Miss. (Ben Sklar / AP) August 30, 2005.


http://tinyurl.com/bcdj3

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

[DBruleU]

Please Read: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...4/151327.shtml

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by DBruleU

Please Read: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...4/151327.shtml

...and so the spin and the effort to cover Bush's flank begins...

Oh well - I guess DBruleU is still waiting for his RNC talking points.

[DBruleU]

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

...and so the spin and the effort to cover Bush's flank begins...

Oh well - I guess DBruleU is still waiting for his RNC talking points.

Spin? I guess thats what you call the truth these days. If its not from a slanted website such as buckfush.com, then its not worth posting.

[gunns]

Originally Posted by DBruleU

Please Read: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...4/151327.shtml

After the Sept. 11 attacks against the World Trade Center, no one suggested that the Bush administration should have been responsible for New York's disaster response or that federal agents should have been involved in the rescue of those trapped in the buildings.

I've loved these articles that are flowing out to shift the blame. What exactly was the local government officials supposed to do. Was Florida under water, with water up to the rooftops? Today the former leader of FEMA was on commending the mayor for his actions and that it possibly saved millions of lives. Where exactly was he supposed to get food and water? It's been clarified many times that the mayor was in contact with the governor who was meeting with Bush, but they were struggling to make a decision. Make a decision?

The mayor said today that he wants his police and firemen to get some help, some time off because they were doing all they could under the circumstances. Were they suppose to pull food and water out of a hat? Some have committed suicide most likely due to the fact some didn't know about their own families and because of what they had seen and their inabilities to do anything about it.

Chertoff even came on yesterday commenting on the fact that NO National Guard was severly depleted, that they have lost more in Iraq that any other state. I guess that would be the reason so many National Guard had to come from other states. Ya think.

As far as evacuation, I also questioned why they didn't transport them out before the hurricane as they did afterward. Talking with one of the evacuees that came to our state yesterday as I processed him today he said that those that went to the Superdome were told that they would probably have to stay in there for one day after the hurricane and then would be allowed to go home. No one could contemplate the damage that was actually done. And the other gentleman I talked with said he had seen babies dying of dehydration and no assistance. He was from Mississippi. Who exactly should we blame there? I love the blame for others but those that do that don't see any reason to blame Bush for waiting 4 days. Amazing.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by DBruleU

If its not from a slanted website such as buckfush.com, then its not worth posting.

rofl

You're suggesting newsmax.com is not a "slanted" website?

Too funny!

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by gunns

I've loved these articles that are flowing out to shift the blame. What exactly was the local government officials supposed to do. Was Florida under water, with water up to the rooftops? Today the former leader of FEMA was on commending the mayor for his actions and that it possibly saved millions of lives. Where exactly was he supposed to get food and water? It's been clarified many times that the mayor was in contact with the governor who was meeting with Bush, but they were struggling to make a decision. Make a decision?

Yep.

Louisiana is the second poorest state in the U.S., and Bush had already decimated the state's hurricane and flood preparedness budget - even though it was common knowledge that a category five hurricane in LA was #1 on FEMA's list of natural disasters that were likely to happen.

And now these right-wing handjobs are trying to cover Bush's flank by blaming the state government?

Unbelievable!

[TomServo]

only an a**hole or an idiot would depend on the federal gov. for anything. as i said B4 im just a hick from s co. but during tornado season i stockpile water, some canned food and keep a radio and flashlights.
depend on the governor or even the president? yah right.

[Broncojef]

Typical liberal spin. Why didn't they tax me more so the poor people could buy cars and leave the state? I'm sure Bush was helping the looters as well right? I mean I can see a Dad grabbing groceries for the family but some of those dudes had a freakin big screen strapped to their backside!! I could take a picture of you eating tomorrow and then show another of a kid starving somewhere at the same time. Give Bush a break he's doing a good job.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by Broncojef

Give Bush a break he's doing a good job.

Only if you define "good job" as "AWOL."

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Bush sits on his ass for five days before responding to the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, untold numbers of people die as a direct result of his inaction, and you call this a "good job?"

You must be drinking the fortified Kool-Aid.

[TomServo]

Lesse, days B4 they pretty much begged pple to leave the states. now its other ppls fault they stayed.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by TomServo

Lesse, days B4 they pretty much begged pple to leave the states. now its other ppls fault they stayed.

In case you're not quite up to speed on the situation, not everyone had the means to get out.

Bush Fiddles While N.O. dies

http://www.newsday.com/news/columnis...rail-columnist

Bush's style is to be nowhere if things that carry a bit of fear happen. During Vietnam, he kept all dental appointments. For the World Trade Center attack, he first froze in a classroom in Florida. Then he flew off in his plane for long hours. Three days later, he got to New York where a flunky placed a retired firefighter, alongside him atop a truck. Then Bush called out a football dressing room speech over a bullhorn.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

If our justice system worked...

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

We're now seeing up close and personal the kind of 'competence' Bush puts in charge -- and these were exactly the sort of unqualified blame-shifting know-nothings they sent over to 'manage' Iraq.

[Spider]

Originally Posted by Broncojef

Give Bush a break he's doing a good job.

..... you should get booked on letterman , this was some funny stuff ......

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

FEMA is already being sued for fraud

It's almost unbelievable.

FEMA higher-ups get into cahoots with insurance company higher-ups. They conspire to low ball the value of totaled houses, along with calling property "abandoned" in order to turn a profit.

If this isn't treason, it should be.

http://www.femainfo.us/legal_actions_fraud_suit.shtml

http://www.femainfo.us/Links/Complaint.final.htm

[gunns]

Originally Posted by TomServo

only an a**hole or an idiot would depend on the federal gov. for anything. as i said B4 im just a hick from s co. but during tornado season i stockpile water, some canned food and keep a radio and flashlights.
depend on the governor or even the president? yah right.

We do that here. We have anywhere from a month to a years supply of emergency supplies. Some people in NO did that but the problem was the hurricane either washed it away or made it unusuable.

I think we've all learned we can't count on the Feds.

[gunns]

Originally Posted by Broncojef

Typical liberal spin. Why didn't they tax me more so the poor people could buy cars and leave the state? I'm sure Bush was helping the looters as well right? I mean I can see a Dad grabbing groceries for the family but some of those dudes had a freakin big screen strapped to their backside!! I could take a picture of you eating tomorrow and then show another of a kid starving somewhere at the same time. Give Bush a break he's doing a good job.

Oh, so we should be judging all those people by the actions of a few.

DOH.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Big Katrina fight at FOX News

Shepard Smith and Geraldo Rivera were livid about the situation in NOLA as they appeared on Hannity and Wimp. When Hannity tried his usual spin job and said "let's get this in perspective," Smith chopped him off at the knees and started yelling at him, saying, "this is perspective!"

It was shocking.

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/sto.../1/195752/4860

Who knew Shepard Smith had a human streak in him?

Better watch it, Shep.

At FOX, you get a raise if you lie and spin for Bush, but if you tell the truth
you'll find you're not getting as much camera time as you once did.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

How the Bush administration let New Orleans die

By Randolph T. Holhut

DUMMERSTON, Vt. - President Bush says he plans to investigate what went wrong with the federal government's response to the devastation in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina.

Isn't that like O.J. Simpson's vow to find the "real killer" of his wife Nicole?

There have been many mistakes made since Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, but, to me, it all comes down to three things:

- The decision to starve flood control efforts in New Orleans to pay for the war in Iraq.

- The decision to fold the Federal Emergency Management Agency into the Department of Homeland Security and replace people with experience in dealing with natural disasters with clueless political appointees.

- The total lack of federal leadership, from President Bush on down, in the early stages of the crisis.

Let's look at these things one at time.

We knew before the storm that the system of levees and water pumps that keep New Orleans above water needed repairs, but the federal money to do the work never arrived.



In 1995, Congress authorized the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project (SELA). The Army Corps of Engineers spent more than $430 million shoring up sinking levees and building pumping stations. But by 2003, there was about $250 million of work still to be done and the SELA funding was slowly being drained away to pay for the war effort in Iraq.

"It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq," Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, La., told the New Orleans Times-Picayune in June 2004. "I suppose that's the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can't be finished and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue."

The New Orleans-area emergency management agencies pleaded with the Bush administration in 2004 for more money to deal with sinking levees. No money was forthcoming. Despite the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season being the worst in decades, the Bush administration cut funding for flood control work in New Orleans by 44 percent.

And now, it's too late.

There's no way of decisively knowing if the money that was not spent over the last two years to finish SELA would have made a difference in minimizing the destruction in New Orleans. But it is clear that what happened there is a prime example of domestic needs that have been neglected to pay for an unnecessary war in Iraq.

That leads us to the next failure - the merger of FEMA into the Department of Homeland Security.

It has been well documented that money that had once been earmarked for disaster preparedness was diverted to "the war on terror." Even though FEMA stated before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that a major hurricane destroying New Orleans was one of the three most likely catastrophic disasters this nation would face (a major earthquake in San Francisco and a terrorist attack in New York were the other two), FEMA lost its Cabinet-level status and had its disaster preparedness money cut.

According to the Los Angeles Times, three out of every four dollars that FEMA provides for first-responders and local disaster preparedness now goes to anti-terrorism activities. Key program were cut and emergency managers were replaced by political appointees with little or no expertise in responding to disasters.

At the heart of homeland security is the protection of citizens from disasters, manmade and natural. Hurricanes and floods are more likely and more destructive than terrorist bombings. But the Bush administration chose to ignore this. Cutting money designed to minimize the damage of a disaster that everyone expected would happen had deadly consequences for the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

And the lack of leadership by the Bush administration in the first days of the disaster was nothing short of criminal negligence.

The National Guard units that would have been deployed in New Orleans were in Iraq, as was their equipment. It took five days for other units to reach New Orleans.

The scenes of anarchy in New Orleans almost paralleled what we saw in Baghdad in April 2003. The response by the Bush administration was about the same. It did nothing until it was too late.

Maybe it was because the Bush administration cared as much about the people of New Orleans as it did the people of Baghdad.

New Orleans is a city where half of the households earn less than $22,000, nearly 30 percent of the population lives in poverty, and it has some of the highest violent crime rates in America.

The people who didn't have cars, money or a place to go when the storm approached and evacuation orders were issued were left to fend for themselves, while the people who had the money and means to escape the storm did so.

This was a perfect illustration of how the taboo subjects of race and class are never far from the surface of daily life in the United States. The scenes of starvation, disease and death in New Orleans - scenes that should shame the Bush administration, except for the fact that none of them are capable of feeling shame - was a direct result of the schism of race and class. The well-off, who were mostly white, survived. The poor, mostly black, died by the thousands.

Why did this have to happen? And who should be held accountable?

It's been four years since the 9/11 attacks, and disaster preparedness has not only not improved, it has gotten worse. And unlike the 9/11 attack, Hurricane Katrina was a disaster that came with plenty of warning. What would happen in the case of another 9/11?

The Bush administration has no excuses. No amount of spin and lying can cover up the dereliction of duty displayed by the White House.

Why did it take until Sept. 2, five days after the storm, for Bush or any other high-ranking official to set foot in the Gulf Coast? Why was FEMA turning away rescuers and supplies from New Orleans? Why did it take days for food and water to reach victims? Why does it seem like our federal government is no longer interested in providing the essential services of government - providing security, rescuing those in need and preparing for disasters before they happen?

These questions must be answered. The people who were responsible must be held accountable. And we must not have a repeat of the Bush administration's sorry performance the next time a storm or another disaster strikes.

[Rohirrim]

Let's get honest here. Bush isn't running again. He couldn't give a damn. Like Mamma Bush said, "This is working very well for THEM."

[RunByDesign]

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

FEMA is already being sued for fraud

It's almost unbelievable.

FEMA higher-ups get into cahoots with insurance company higher-ups. They conspire to low ball the value of totaled houses, along with calling property "abandoned" in order to turn a profit.

If this isn't treason, it should be.

http://www.femainfo.us/legal_actions_fraud_suit.shtml

http://www.femainfo.us/Links/Complaint.final.htm

Dude, what are you talking about?

THAT is earning capital in crony-ized America.

Didn't you know?

[Clockwork Orange]

Originally Posted by Broncojef

Give Bush a break he's doing a good job.