Bush has failed

[Agathon]

Did anyone watch the Daily Show this evening?

[Boris Godunov]

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3004197

I'm astonished I can continue to be astonished.

Many of the firefighters, assembled from Utah and throughout the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thought they were going to be deployed as emergency workers.
Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA, shuffled throughout the Gulf Coast region to disseminate fliers and a phone number: 1-800-621-FEMA.
On Monday, some firefighters stuck in the staging area at the Sheraton peeled off their FEMA-issued shirts and stuffed them in backpacks, saying they refuse to represent the federal agency.

"They've got people here who are search-and-rescue certified, paramedics, haz-mat certified," said a Texas firefighter. "We're sitting in here having a sexual-harassment class while there are still [victims] in Louisiana who haven't been contacted yet."
The firefighter, who has encouraged his superiors back home not to send any more volunteers for now, declined to give his name because FEMA has warned them not to talk to reporters.

But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

Oh no, the administration wasn't engaged in photo ops at all, nope...

[Jack_www]

I just read the article. These people are idoits! I am just stunned at the level of incompetence at FEMA. The people who run it seem more concerned about following rules then trying to help people who need it. It is worse then the DMV!

[Jack_www]

One lession I take from this is that I cannot relly on the government for even the basics. I am always going to have enough supplies to last me a week in the event of a diaster like this. I dont know if this can even be fixed.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
I don't think any of us are blaming bush for the heli grounding...

Oh?

Originally posted by Guynemer
I can not ****ing believe this. Honest to God, this is just beyond all belief. I've truly tried to remain calm and rational through all this, but this is just too ****ing much.

Impeach this *******.

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
I think it's time for someone to rid us of this troublesome President.

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Whoha


They told me I was daft to build a castle in the swamp, but I did anyway. that sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. It also sank into the swamp. I built a third castle. That one burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. but the fourth one, that one is still standing!

Huge tracts o'land.

[Guynemer]

NYE--I'm blaming him for the utter incompetence that has permeated his administration and appears to be costing us lives.

If we can impeach Clinton for a blowjob, we can impeach Bush for being an asshat.

[notyoueither]

If he didn't visit the site, you'd crucify him.

When he did, you crucify him for presidential security.

No matter what he does, you win. You get to crucify him.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think anybody in your whole 'chain of command'(?) did a very good job. However, I do see the political knives being drawn and pointed at the preordained target.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Seen this yet? It's an open letter to Bush from the editors of the New Orleans Times-Picayune -- and it's spot-on:

Sept. 6, 2005 | Dear Mr. President:

We heard you loud and clear Friday when you visited our devastated city and the Gulf Coast and said, "What is not working, we're going to make it right."

Please forgive us if we wait to see proof of your promise before believing you. But we have good reason for our skepticism.

Bienville built New Orleans where he built it for one main reason: It's accessible. The city between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain was easy to reach in 1718.

How much easier it is to access in 2005 now that there are interstates and bridges, airports and helipads, cruise ships, barges, buses and diesel-powered trucks.

Despite the city's multiple points of entry, our nation's bureaucrats spent days after last week's hurricane wringing their hands, lamenting the fact that they could neither rescue the city's stranded victims nor bring them food, water and medical supplies.

Meanwhile there were journalists, including some who work for The Times-Picayune, going in and out of the city via the Crescent City Connection. On Thursday morning, that crew saw a caravan of 13 Wal-Mart tractor trailers headed into town to bring food, water and supplies to a dying city.

Television reporters were doing live reports from downtown New Orleans streets. Harry Connick Jr. brought in some aid Thursday, and his efforts were the focus of a "Today" show story Friday morning.

Yet, the people trained to protect our nation, the people whose job it is to quickly bring in aid were absent. Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach. We're angry, Mr. President, and we'll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry. Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been were not. That's to the government's shame.

Mayor Ray Nagin did the right thing Sunday when he allowed those with no other alternative to seek shelter from the storm inside the Louisiana Superdome. We still don't know what the death toll is, but one thing is certain: Had the Superdome not been opened, the city's death toll would have been higher. The toll may even have been exponentially higher.

It was clear to us by late morning Monday that many people inside the Superdome would not be returning home. It should have been clear to our government, Mr. President. So why weren't they evacuated out of the city immediately? We learned seven years ago, when Hurricane Georges threatened, that the Dome isn't suitable as a long-term shelter. So what did state and national officials think would happen to tens of thousands of people trapped inside with no air conditioning, overflowing toilets and dwindling amounts of food, water and other essentials?

State Rep. Karen Carter was right Friday when she said the city didn't have but two urgent needs: "Buses! And gas!" Every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially.

In a nationally televised interview Thursday night, he said his agency hadn't known until that day that thousands of storm victims were stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. He gave another nationally televised interview the next morning and said, "We've provided food to the people at the Convention Center so that they've gotten at least one, if not two meals, every single day."

Lies don't get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President.

Yet, when you met with Mr. Brown Friday morning, you told him, "You're doing a heck of a job."

That's unbelievable.

There were thousands of people at the Convention Center because the riverfront is high ground. The fact that so many people had reached there on foot is proof that rescue vehicles could have gotten there, too.

We, who are from New Orleans, are no less American than those who live on the Great Plains or along the Atlantic Seaboard. We're no less important than those from the Pacific Northwest or Appalachia. Our people deserved to be rescued.

No expense should have been spared. No excuses should have been voiced. Especially not one as preposterous as the claim that New Orleans couldn't be reached.

Mr. President, we sincerely hope you fulfill your promise to make our beloved communities work right once again.

When you do, we will be the first to applaud.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporleans/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tporleans/archives/2005_09.html#076771

[Jack_www]

I agree that the Federal government screwed up big time, but they ignore the failers of State and Local government too. This was a total break down of government on all levels to help the victoms.

[Jack_www]

Originally posted by Agathon
Did anyone watch the Daily Show this evening?

I did and of course highlighting the idiot things Bush said about the hurricane.

[Jack_www]

The best part of the Daily Show was when they first played tape of President Bush saying that no one expected the levy to breach. Then they played a clip of levy engineer on August 26, 2005 saying that a cat 5 or 4 hurricane was going to breach the levy.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Jack_www
One lession I take from this is that I cannot relly on the government for even the basics. I am always going to have enough supplies to last me a week in the event of a diaster like this. I dont know if this can even be fixed.

If you lived in a place with a decent government, you wouldn't have to worry about it. Try touring the Netherlands and see how a sensible government prepares for such events.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Jack_www
The best part of the Daily Show was when they first played tape of President Bush saying that no one expected the levy to breach. Then they played a clip of levy engineer on August 26, 2005 saying that a cat 5 or 4 hurricane was going to breach the levy.

And yet the right wing ***** still defend this cretin.

Did you see Stewart's list of Bush **** ups? It's getting quite long now.

What was Clinton's list? Getting a blow job from a fat girl IIRC.

Oh... and did you see what his ***** of a mother said? **** me...

[Sandman]

What's amazing is that there's a whole group of right-wingers arguing that it wasn't Bush's fault because the Federal Government didn't have the legal authority to intervene until asked, and that took a long time.

What's more amazing is that they seem to think that having bureaucratic black holes like this is an acceptable way to run a country.