9/5/05
In 1966, Harry Harlow conducted a number of infamous experiments on rhesus monkeys. He had two groups of babies: those who were raised normally by their mothers, and those raised without any motherly touch at all. The death and infection rate among the motherless monkey babies was dramatic, while the other monkeys thrived. However, there was a third group.
This other set of monkeys was provided a "chicken wire" mommy - a monkey-shaped piece of wood, covered in chicken wire and carpet. The baby monkeys clung to these fake mothers for dear life, and while the sickness and mortality rate was pretty high, many of them survived. However, they showed odd behavior later in life, often rocking back and forth with bizarre bursts of rage.
I hate to tell ya, but that's you, Republicans. You have clung to your President - your monkey-shaped, wooden piece of rug - as if your life depended on it, while the rest of us look on in pity and frustration. What I've heard from some of the conservatives, and indeed in some of the comments from the last entry, absolutely stun me. Blaming Clinton? I mean this compassionately: what is wrong with you?
Nobody needs another blog or another op-ed piece decrying the federal government's response to Katrina, or how the director of FEMA got his job because of an old-boy-network favor. The best take-down of the government I've seen in five years is here (hey, if you can quote Ben Stein, I can give you Keith Olbermann) and all you need to do is peek at any Op-Ed page - including the right-leaners - to get a sample of the media's current rage at Bush's machine.
One almost-Shakespearian character in this saturnine saga is Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, a long-time Capitol Hill shill who began the disaster with her pat, inoffensive "team player" voice, congratulating the President and the response teams (and provoking a devastating take-down from CNN's Anderson Cooper).
It wasn't until it became clear that Karl Rove and Dan Bartlett were beginning a systematic campaign to shift blame to the local governments, presumably starting with Landrieu, that she saw that no player was too small to be sacrificed for Bush's benefit. Then she took a chopper ride with Stephanopoulos over New Orleans in which she finally broke down in sobs, understanding, truly, there was no hope.
To those who are complaining about politicizing such a tragedy, I have to say: fuck you. Republicans have been politicizing while standing on the burned backs of 3,000 of my fellow New Yorkers for four years now. Besides, many of us are going out of our way to do what we can to ease the suffering in the town that provided solace to me and my wife a few days after the Twin Towers came down. We're giving more money to this effort than we've ever given to anything, but if you want a real hero, look no further than my sister Michelle, who was at Ground Zero and is now temporarily quitting her job so that the Red Cross can send her into New Orleans. Maybe I'm not allowed to politicize, but SHE sure as fuck is.
The only levee that refuses the break is the buttress of right-wing delusion holding back the waters of the Bush administration's criminal incompetence. Liberals expecting a tipping point will be sorely disappointed. I wouldn't be surprised to see Bush's ratings actually go up over the next few weeks, as the interior of this nation is unable to assign the man - or his cronies - any blame.
There was a day when I thought this nation's collective wisdom could be altered by facts, but, like Valmont in "Dangerous Liaisons," since the last election "I have no illusions; I lost them in my travels." I suppose the PIPA study was right - in the face of scary elements, this nation has turned blindly to whatever father figure they could get their hands on. In this case, a cardboard rhesus monkey covered with carpet.
In a way, you have to pity conservatives: they were so ripe for the perfect takeover of American culture: the Congress, the Supreme Court and a terrorist attack aligned perfectly for what could have been a Republican FDR. Instead, they - and we - ended up with a disturbed, smirking fratboy who can barely flush his own toilet. You have to think, even the most virulent commenters on this blog have got to be shaking their heads in the dark of their own rooms.
Thus, amidst so much carnage and heartbreak, there is one good thing that has emerged from the hurricane: liberals and progressives will be exonerated by history. Even though we will lose every battle of our present age, the big picture will absolutely show George W. Bush as the worst President in the history of America, flying past Hoover, Harding, and even James Buchanan.
An old WWII poster showed a girl asking her father "What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?" We can look at Lucy, decades from now, when she asks what we did during the worst reign in U.S. history, and we will be able to tell her, with a straight face, that we gave money, helped those less privileged than us, voted against the bad guy time and time again, protected elections, sat on our bed and cried while mothers looked for their babies and policemen killed themselves, and did everything within our power to shed a little light during a very Dark Age.
Posted by Ian Williams at September 5, 2005 09:51 PM
A friend – a Registered Republican - sent Ken Mehlman, Chairman of the RNC, a letter urging him and the Bush Gang to get out of town. My friend said this in an extremely miffed yet eloquent manner, and asked me what he thought the response from the administration would be.None? Would he be put on a Nixon-like Enemies list? How about the disappearance of his family and all related? Or D). None of the above?
My response was:
D). You're probably already on an Enemies List, but this administration is in such disarray, I wouldn't worry about it too much, for the time being.
Jeez, 65% of the country is probably on The Enemies List of the Bush Junta.
Tragically, the reconstituted Supreme Court will turn this country into even more of a Police State than it already is. We are becoming a Third World Country.
I've spent the last week paying close attention to the Katrina disaster, and it's actually brought me hope. The media is grilling the administration. The citizenry is outraged. It’s about time. There's a good chance - though I wouldn't bet on it - that Bush and his people are going down.
But the Supreme Court. Those pricks are going to be around for a long time.
One of the lessons that Katrina has dramatically made clear is that there are a hell of lot of pissed off people in this country with not much to lose, and they have a complete lack of belief that their government is worth a damn.
I was hoping for a pic of Lucy and Chopes, but I actually prefer what you wrote today. Well said. I have said it before. . . I like the way your mind works! That Harlow comparison is excellent. You articulated very well how I have been feeling lately. Bush IS in fact a cardboard monkey covered with carpet! While I voted for him in 2000, I have been disillusioned time and time again, yet I held onto the ideal that drew me to him in the first place, whatever that was (I can't remember anymore). And your "bizarre bursts of rage" comment -- EEK, that is ME. Just look at all of my crazed, irate comments from the last post! Ugh. Anyway, I have finally let go, and hopefully others will too. I have a feeling that there are other quasi-Republicans like me out there who have decided that enough is enough. There is only so much incompetence that you can ignore or rationalize or explain away.
And, Michelle fucking rocks. Send her my well wishes -- I hope that she stays safe.
I'm viewing most of this tragedy from the other side of the pond (London, to be exact) and the anger and hatred is just as strong over here as it is there. I feel somewhat removed from the situation in New Orleans due to my distance, and that makes me feel almost guilty to be so far away from the tragedy. Yet whatever side of the pond we're on, however far removed we may be, the situation remains: our President is a class-A moron and a shame to our Nation.
Everything bad is alway all Bush's fault, why is this any different? Here's Mayor Nagin and local officials "acting" before Katrina and before the national TV cameras and mikes showed up...and they started "acting."
Well, I'm probably not going to brag to my future children that I contributed by sending money after a crisis, because no matter how much it pinches, it never feels like I've done enough. I'm not doing enough on any front, because my ass is still here in New York; I'm still going about everyday business; and I also can't find much righteous fury in me (I'm a little disappointed in myself, frankly, because I'm much more comfortable with finger-pointing than I am with this horrible futile heavy-heartedness). And I guess the shrillness is doing some good. Anderson Cooper looked to me like a guy who hadn't slept in four days, while the senator who (let's not kid ourselves) clearly does care kept her cool in an admirable way. But Anderson said the right things to get the ball rolling--it just seemed to me in the wrong way or at the wrong time or both.
Well, one thing I can say definitively is kudos and thanks to those like Michelle and Scruggs who are actually getting out there and helping with their hands. Scruggs's stories from yesterday had me in tears. I hope Michelle will share some experiences with us as well.
Ian, nobody can say it like you do. And Laurie from Manley Dorm, you just made me cry. It's the first time I've felt the smallest amount of hope that the truth will actually reach people. I felt sick on my stomach last night watching TV when the mayor of New Orleans was being blamed for not providing enough public transportation to evacuate the city properly. Thank you, Ian, for preservering. I feel like our country has been on the most self-destructive binge in its history- and maybe we've hit that rock bottom place where there's no hiding from the extreme poverty, greed and chaos that is gripping our country, and where we can hopefully turn our collective lives around.
ian, you forgot to include "we drove a fuel-efficient hybrid car called a prius" in the list of things you can tell lucy that you and tessa tried to do during the w era. considering how much trouble our country's gotten into thanks to oil-driven foreign policy, you should pat yourselves on the back.
visit www.oilendgame.com to see how much the u.s. (and the whole world) would benefit by getting cars to run more efficiently -- and how easy such a transition actually could be.
but it will never happen as long as the oil barons and their cronies are running things.
re- T"he best take-down of the government I've seen in five years is here (hey, if you can quote Ben Stein, I can give you Keith Olbermann)"
I raise you one Wesley Pruden (really fine synopsis):
http://washingtontimes.com/national/pruden.htm
And I'll up the ante to Oliver North: http://www.military.com/Opinions/0,,FreedomAlliance_090105,00.htmlI will reiterate. A hurricane is a natural event. Last week on 29 August the New Orleans area was hit by a Cat 4 hurricane created by nature....subsequent to the hurricane several levees broke (they are manmade of course...). At that time, the city was faced with a flood of biblical proportions. A co-worker of mines brother in Metarie says the water rose to the second story in 10 minutes.
Think about it- 10 minutes....
George Bush's fault...c'mon use a little logic in that red-headed, anti-depressant medicated, Mormon
geneticized brain. Get a grip man.What you have written is the most unmasculine, "hyperbolcally-hyped" and silly diatribe I have ever set eyes upon:
"An old WWII poster showed a girl asking her father "What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?" We can look at Lucy, decades from now, when she asks what we did during the worst reign in U.S. history, and we will be able to tell her, with a straight face, that we gave money, helped those less privileged than us, voted against the bad guy time and time again, protected elections, sat on our bed and cried while mothers looked for their babies and policemen killed themselves, and did everything within our power to shed a little light during a very Dark Age."
Have some self-respect Ian. Your daughter may read this whining drivel one day....
Now go ahead and attack me but don't make a further ass of yourself.B2
Not that this will make any difference to you guys, since you hate Bush with the white hot fury of a thousand supernovas, but here's just some of the things the WH had on scene withing 24 hours -- 24 hours! -- of Katrina hitting the area.
"FEMA deployed 23 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams from all across the U.S. to staging areas in Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, and Louisiana and is now moving them into impacted areas.
"Seven Urban Search and Rescue task forces and two
Incident Support Teams have been deployed and
propositioned in Shreveport, La., and Jackson, Miss., including teams from Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Three more Urban Search and Rescue teams are in the process of deployment."FEMA is moving supplies and equipment into the
hardest hit areas as quickly as possible, especially water, ice, meals, medical supplies, generators, tents, and tarps."U.S. Coast Guard -- More than 40 Coast Guard aircraft from units along the entire eastern seaboard, with more than 30 small boats, patrol boats, and cutters are positioned in staging areas around the impact areas, from Jacksonville, Fla., to Houston, now conducting post-hurricane search, rescue and humanitarian aid operations, waterway impact assessments and waterway reconstitution operations.
"Department of Transportation -- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) dispatched more than 390 trucks that are beginning to deliver millions of meals ready to eat, millions of liters of water, tarps, millions of pounds of ice, mobile homes, generators, containers of disaster supplies, and forklifts to flood damaged areas. DOT has helicopters and a plane assisting delivery of essential supplies.
"Department of Agriculture -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) State Emergency Boards are
coordinating agricultural-related responses at the county, state, and national levels in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and elsewhere. USDA is also coordinating damage assessments to area crops, livestock, and other agriculture-related operations. Farmers are encouraged to contact their local USDA Service Center for additional information on assistance available."Department of Health and Human Services -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has sent 38 U.S. Public Health Service Officers to Jackson, Miss., for deployment. In addition, HHS has 217 U.S. Public Health Service Officers on standby for deployment to support medical response in Louisiana, Mississippi, and other Gulf states.
"Department of Defense -- The United State Northern Command (NORTHCOM) continues to assist FEMA after disaster declarations were issued for Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi following the devastation caused in parts of each state by Hurricane Katrina.
"Department of Labor -- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is contacting major power companies to the areas affected to provide safety briefings to employees at power restoration staging areas in affected communities. OSHA is also releasing public service announcements to inform workers about hazards related to restoration and cleanup."
It must give you all great comfort in believing your political adversaries are mentally ill. Keep it up folks and Republicans will keep winning elections.
Bad Bob, a hurricane is in fact a natural event. Nobody is even going there. The response, however, is up to our national government. People have died of dehydration and starvation because we didn't have an adequate plan in place. I live in Durham, NC and the local paper ran a story yesterday on three Duke students who drove to New Orleans on Wednesday in their 2 wheel drive Hyundai and rescued 7 people from the Superdome before a single evacuation had taken place from our government. Also, FEMA came in and CUT all the local and state emergency lines so that the emergency response team couldn't even communicate with one another! NOT the fault of a hurricane. Fault of a bunch of idiots.
If you stick with the facts, I'm sure that you'll see that you don't have a leg to stand on. And when that happens, feel free to call Ian, and the rest of the country names. It just goes back to you.
Ian,
I love you and your blog. Don't change a thing.How's the sleep training going? I sit with my 7 year old every night until he goes to sleep. The books say this is not good but a local Dr.(has 4 super achiever sons) told us that he never let any of his sons cry themselves to sleep. Anyway, I really enjoy the time with him.
Amen, xtcian.
The fact that the cause of the levees breaking was due to a hurricane shouldn't matter in explaning why it took so long to mobilize national guard troops, organize rescue efforts, and supply food and water. What if terrorists had bombed NO causing the same flooding to occur? Same end result. So where was the response? Ultimately, the responsibility of overseeing it lies with our fearless leader and those he's trusted to put in place of agencies that do have more direct control. When you have the head of FEMA (Friend of Equines, Mares, and Arabians) stating 3-4 days later that he was only just then aware of the deplorable conditions throughout the city's shelters and hospitals, then something is seriously wrong. Yes, the devastation covered an obscene amount of surface area to contend with vs a terrorist attack, and amidst all this chaos, you can't expect things to go textbook smooth. However, at least there was a few days warning to get some organizational structure in place to get all the cooks in the kitchen somewhat in sync. Days later and no one knew who was in charge. 4 years after 9/11 I would expect better crisis management.
Our leaders were caught with their pants down, but at least ole Clinton worked best that way. :-)
This is funny, Ian is once again trying to point fingers and politicize this, and as always - leaves out the facts and just throws around DNC talking points.
Ian can\'t put any blame on the Governor or Mayor, because the Governor is a female Democrat, and the mayor is a black Democrat, and the DNC sheeple Ian could never ever blame a Democrat for mistakes made. All those hundreds of school buses that were left to sit in a parking lot and are now sitting in feet of water, those are owned by the city of New Orleans and are the mayor\'s responsibility, those could have been used to evacuate thousands of people, but the Mayor never directed them to be used. Ian also never used a picture today in his blog entry, he made sure not to use the following 2 pictures : ( http://static.flickr.com/26/40217127_c4499b3641_o.jpg ) ( http://static.flickr.com/28/40217125_002c0fb411_o.jpg ) Every bus you see in those pictures is controlled by the mayor, a Democrat, so Ian can\'t show you those pictures. Those buses are all on Canal Street, less than a mile from the Superdome.
It is funny that Ian starts off his entry today talking about babies clinging to things. The Democrats have been throwing money at the poor inner-city blacks for years, just for the free votes. The welfare checks gives the inner-city blacks a reason to sit home instead of getting a job, to sit home and become out of shape, and not to be come self-dependent. We saw the consequences of that the past few days on TV, many blacks far overweight who could barely even walk by themselves, who were sitting around waiting for the government to do things for them. The welfare-state created by the Democrats has made a whole class of people completely dependent on the government. But Ian can\'t talk about that either, has to cover that up like the school buses.
Ian never mentions that Clinton had 8 years in power, 8 years to fix those levees, the great left-wing intellectual Clinton had time to watch those babies in Waco, Texas get burned to death, Clinton had time to send troops to Kosovo - a place which never attacked America, Clinton had federal money to throw at groups overseas that perform abortion, Clinton had more time in the White House than Bush has had to fix those levees. Ian makes sure he never tells you that fact.
This is why the Democrats can\'t win a national election, nobody is buying their lies anymore, they see right through all of this DNC propaganda like the left-wing stuff Ian pumped out today. Ian is so brainwashed by NPR and DailyKos and Sharpton and Jackson that he wants to leave out the facts and hopes nobody notices about the buses, or why the levees weren\'t properly fixed during Clinton\'s years, or why the welfare-dependent people cannot make decisions on their own. You\'re not fooling anyone Ian, the American public turns on the TV and sees those buses sitting there rusting away now, sees how Clinton never fixed the levees, and the American public is seeing exactly which race of people didn\'t obey the evacuation orders and stayed behind to do looting and shooting and raping, your DNC propaganda and exclusion of certain facts is not fooling anyone Ian.
Photo of Lucy and selective blocking of commentators needed now.
Scruggs-
I agree. You are asking all the right questions and they are questions that demand answers..the point I am making is that you and others in this blog are afixing all the blame..not any of the good.. to Bush and and that is flat wrong.
FEMA has a proven response to hurricanes, even with a amatuer in charge, but this went beyond a hurricane- to a flood that filled up a house in 10 minutes, as I said. No one predicated that to happen..it was only postulated and the local government and the state had contingencies (remember the picture of the 500 buses?)FEMA wouldn't have been able to do much with the Johnstown floods or the NO's flood of '27 either. If the FEMA horse guy fucked up- he should be canned.
The bottom line is that the city, the state, FEMA and the feds did not anticipate the flooding. When it happened, the locals were late and the evacuation contingencies were not executed. The feds were stymied by logistics problems and yes, the President was havind a photo op with a dam guitar. We all watched the news Monday nioght when all said " N'orleans has dodged another bullet".
Everyone (means all) was wrong.
All I will say is that trying to make political hay out of this is despicable.
re -"What if terrorists had bombed NO causing the same flooding to occur? Same end result."
I also agree.
Scary ain't it? And if (when?) it happens I am sure it will be all Bush's fault, right?..just like all the other bad things Ian mentions above.
What to do? Curl up in a fetal position and have a primal scream (sort of what Ian did above)? Move to Toronto? Become a Muslim and wear a Burqa?
Or fight for yourself, your family and your country?
It's up to you. That's the responsibility of freedom.
B2
ian - call me crazy but it sure seems like you're the fratboy rocking back and forth with rage. (you were in a fraternity, remember?)
that being said, i do empathize with your present rage b/c i had to suffer through the embarrassing clinton years while he took credit for all of the republican economic policies of the past while banging every pig in sight. let's face it, every republican is going to piss you off and vice-versa.
liberalism - the haunting fear that somewhere, someone, can help themselves
ps....PLEASE run hillary. we're going to have fun with her. (and if you keep blaming natural disasters on us and really piss us off, it's going to get REALLY fun)
Re: JBoogie's comments on welfare...
Unless the last two years of my higher-level education have been completely wrong, your opinions on welfare are unfounded and pretty much ridiculous. Being on welfare is not a fun thing. For anyone. Welfare strictly limits where those checks can be spent. There is no funding for extravagances or luxuries. Many of these lazy black people that you're talking about have families and children. If they were to get a minimum wage job (not much else is available without job training, which the government does not readily provide for free) and stop receiving welfare checks, the cost of living skyrockets.
Transportation and childcare are two basic needs for working families, and after paying these expenses, they are only deeper in debt. A full-time working mother who has just come off welfare can even hold down a second, part-time job and it is impossible to make ends meet. This is without factoring in health insurance, which was not provided by any of my minimum-wage jobs and is especially important if there are children involved. If you really want to see the numbers, I can try to look through some textbooks and crunch some numbers, but I have Spanish homework to do and I’d rather not.
If you want the people of the 'Democrat created welfare state' to help themselves, you should urge your president to increase the minimum wage. This way, it would actually be possible for parents to work full-time, get off welfare, and even spend time with their children.
Or perhaps Bush could work to implement a public transportation system. And don't try to tell me that anyone on welfare can use buses or trains to get to his or her job, because we both know that an efficient and moderately-priced system does not exist outside of the major metropolitan areas of this country. Almost every other industrialized nation reduces fuel costs (increasingly important for all Americans!), traffic, and pollution by making sure citizens can get from point A to point B.
Wait, I have another idea! Perhaps we could fund schools (especially inner-city schools) to provide after-school programs for children with little or no cost to parents. Not only would students benefit from extra time with teachers or aides for homework help, but they would be shielded from the evils that exist on their daily walks home from school. And we could curb the practice of young children taking care of even younger siblings because Mom and Dad had to work extra shifts so they could buy food or asthma medicine.
And as for the FAT lazy black people, most welfare money can only be spent on necessary items at the grocery store. Discounts on fruits and vegetables encourage those on welfare to eat more healthy foods. In the metro DC area, there are farmer’s markets several days a week that accept food stamps, and you won’t find any Little Debbie products there.
I only outlined a few things that were wrong in your earlier comment, JBoogie. Yes, I am aware that people abuse the system, but most of those on welfare just want to provide food and shelter for their children and themselves.
Ian, you are so full of hatred that your posts no longer make sense. Perhaps you should take a week or two off from blogging, it is sad to see you sinking to these lows.
I am afraid that tomorrow you will be blaming Rove and Halliburton for the hurricane.
"The response, however, is up to our national government."
You don't think it's also the responsibility of state and local government (not to mention citizens themselves)? From what I've read, about 90% of the responsibility for aggravating the situation rests with them. The city of New Orleans didn't follow its own disaster plan. That you want to assign 100% blame to Bush is just plain nuts.
"...three Duke students who drove to New Orleans on Wednesday in their 2 wheel drive Hyundai and rescued 7 people from the Superdome before a single evacuation had taken place from our government."
Heh. That's total B.S. You know, I'd probably be filled with righteous lefty anger if I didn't know any better. Read my comment of 8:00 AM, Lee.
J Boogie, stick to the facts - I'm with you on the buses sitting there, but when you blast people about being poor or out of shape, remember that your grandfather probably owned theirs. A lot of the people you see on TV are old, or disabled, or taking care of old relatives, and got stuck in this situation through no fault of their own.
I see plenty of out of shape white folks in the midwest who could use a few less Big Macs and Chicago sausages. Maybe it'd be better if those people gave more to welfare...
The Welfare system could be improved, yes, but don't make sweeping generalizations about people who are trying to display more gumption than you ever could.
Oh, by the way, what about all the black police officers who stayed to help out? Don't accuse Ian of being selective in his choices unless you yourself are going to be above such things. I appreciate contrary opinions here, but cut out the racism and poorism and keep the arguments on the level, por favor.
"If you want the people of the 'Democrat created welfare state' to help themselves, you should urge your president to increase the minimum wage."
Yeah and put even more people out of work. I guess your two years of higher education didn't include a course in economics.
"...we both know that an efficient and moderately-priced [public transportation] system does not exist outside of the major metropolitan areas of this country."
Sure, I can't wait to take the el from Ames to Des Moines. Such a public transportation system to get all citizens from "point A to point B" would be ridiculously cost-inefficient for 99.99999% of this country.
P.S. "Writer" makes a good point.
thank you ian for putting into words what many of us have been feeling since this tragedy occurred. i have absolutely no training in emergency management but even i would know that you need to get food and water to people. and that people need medical treatment and a place to go to the bathroom!
and to those of you bashing ian - no one is saying that gwb caused the hurricane but instead that FEMA (thanks scruggs for that description of what those letters mean!) dropped the ball. and why bash us lefties for admonishing FEMA as being political when your king gwb is the one who politicized that agency as well as anything having to do with our security in this country. and for all the bashing of the horse show expert what about chertoff! his appearances on the sunday talking head shows were embarrassing. he has absolutely no experience in the area of homeland security - he was a federal judge. makes you think we may have been better off with bernie kerik in charge of homeland security after all! and did anyone see chertoff at a press conference when he was asked a tough question and his response was something like "well in the courtroom we would call that an argumentative question....." and then went on to not answer the question. his smug face makes me sick. and don't even get me started on global warming.
i am just taking comfort in the fact that LFMD has come to her senses and hope that there are many more like her out there with buyer's remorse.
we need lucy pix.
I try to avoid the political talk. I tend to think most anybody willing to work for the government on either side of the aisle is an incompetent raving moron.
The blame game is tiresome. I want to see someone take some responsibility, from Bush on down - somebody, anybody. Instead we'll have some scapegoats and nasty spin from both sides.
The only ones I've been impressed with thus far are Mayor Nagin and Gen Honore. That's too short a list for a crisis like this one.
Mayor Nagin? The guy who told the feds to "get off their asses" and bring him 500 buses? Ok. Nevermind that he had 500 buses within a few miles of the Superdome but never bothered to use them to evacuate people as HIS OWN DISASTER PLAN specifically called for. Now they're sitting under water.
That guy is in total CYA mode. He's numero uno on the blame list. As I said before, I was very reluctant to start playing the blame game while there's so much more important things to be concerned about. But after all the Bush-bashing, enough is enough -- can't let this stuff slide by unchallenged.
Mayor Nagin, as quote in today's WSJ: "Get people to higher ground and have the feds and the state air-lift supplies to them--that was the plan, man." It wasn't the written plan and the one that had been practiced. Man.
How terribly offensive and unfounded, J. Boogie. I am from WV, a very low income state with one of the lowest minority populations and highest rates of obesity. Poverty is the common denominator here, not race. I saw this at hungercoalition.org, "Recent work from Cornell University and the University of California suggests that obesity among poor women often results not from too much food, but from inadequate resources. Ups and downs in food availability appear to cause some to develop coping mechanisms that protect the adequacy and nutritional quality of their children's diets while contributing to their own obesity." Also cited is the fact that it's often more expensive to eat well than poorly and I suspect health and nutrition education is lacking in poorer communities (any MPHs out there to back me up?).
Finally, I can't accept someone who I'm quite certain can't dance calling himself "Boogie." I will have to assume the "boogie" is for "booger."
I read with disbelief and horror some of the comments on the past couple of xtcian blogs. The chicken-wier and carpet Repulicans who blame Clinton for everything, and absolve monkdy boy of everything make me want to claw my face off. Are they blind? Stupid? Afraid? What?
Bush should have been on a plane to the gulf coast about a week sooner than he was. The Federal government, in spite of any failings of the local and state people, should have had food and water and means of evaculation on site many, many days before they did. You say "It takes time to asses the situstion" or "Deployment takes time" or "They didn't know the extent of the problem for some time". Oh, Bullshit, folks. As Ted Koppel put it so elopquently to some FEMA person who was making those excuses "Don't you folks watch television?"
I don't think Bush is evil (though he has a lot of evil people around him), but he is demonstrably inept, out of touch, and not too bright. Why is he our leader and the supposed leader of the free world? Why were a bit over half of us willing to vote this moron into office in 2000, and then RE-ELECT him in 2004? I didn't much care for Kerry, and worked and voted for him because even a well-reared rhesus monkey would have been a better choice than Bush. But I can't IMAGINE Kerry failing to appear personally as soon as a plane could get into the gulf coast. I can't imagine him NOT deploying an army of rescuers into the area within HOURS! Same for Clinton. Same for Gore. Are y'all blind, deaf, and dumb when it comes to the Bush et al. debacle?
My only hope is that enough peoplewill finally realize how hopeless this administration is, how horribly they have failed those in need....
Oh, and by the way, whoever was saying that Clinton was reaping the benefits of the earlier Republican economic policies, how do you explain the utter failure of the economic picture during Bush;s administration? (I half expect someone to say that bush's illegal war, his push to destroy Social Security, his failure to respond to the Katrina crisis, and all his other debacles are just fine, but Clinton got a BLOW JOB IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!:" Yeah, and that's going to bring our country down. Get a clue, you guys.)
And whoever tried to use Oliver North, a convicted felon and anything but a patriot, to bolster his argument... PU LEEEZE.
OK, Ian may occasionally be king of hyperbole, and I may be somewhat to blame, since I taught him to read and write. But boy is he on the money with this blog. There is just no understanding how some devout Bush lovers can fail to see what a total wipe-out, what a pathetic and destructive failure Bush has been.
I hope I live long enough to see Lucy and Sean Patrick and Lucas live in an America that has come to its senses.
"The Federal government, in spite of any failings of the local and state people, should have had food and water and means of evaculation on site many, many days before they did. [...]
"I can't imagine him NOT deploying an army of rescuers into the area within HOURS! ... Are y'all blind, deaf, and dumb when it comes to the Bush et al. debacle?"
Among other things in my 8:00 AM comment: "FEMA deployed 23 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams from all across the U.S. to staging areas in Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, and Louisiana and is now moving them into impacted areas.
"Seven Urban Search and Rescue task forces and two Incident Support Teams have been deployed and propositioned in Shreveport, La., and Jackson, Miss., including teams from Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Three more Urban Search and Rescue teams are in the process of deployment.
"FEMA is moving supplies and equipment into the hardest hit areas as quickly as possible, especially water, ice, meals, medical supplies, generators, tents, and tarps.
"U.S. Coast Guard -- More than 40 Coast Guard aircraft from units along the entire eastern seaboard, with more than 30 small boats, patrol boats, and cutters are positioned in staging areas around the impact areas, from Jacksonville, Fla., to Houston, now conducting post-hurricane search, rescue and humanitarian aid operations, waterway impact assessments and waterway reconstitution operations.
"Department of Transportation -- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) dispatched more than 390 trucks that are beginning to deliver millions of meals ready to eat, millions of liters of water, tarps, millions of pounds of ice, mobile homes, generators, containers of disaster supplies, and forklifts to flood damaged areas. DOT has helicopters and a plane assisting delivery of essential supplies."
That was within 24 hours of Katrina passing over the area. I'm repeating myself because it appears necessary to do so. No doubt things could've been done even better, but blaming the whole "debacle" on Bush is just wrong. The City of N.O. was to have prepositioned supplies and portable toilets at the Superdome and other spots around the city IAW it's disaster plan. It didn't happen, and that's not George Bush's fault.
Matt, Babbob, Jboogie;
All the spin in the world will not undue that Bush is a horrible leader. You can spin, dice, cut, chop, toss-it, beat and flip it, but it all comes down the same. Bush is not a good president for the US. I am not nearly educated enough to express an opinion on whether he is the "worst" president of all time and I realize that talking sense to "burning bush" types is a waste of time but nevertheless, try to just looking at the facts, no spin. Trust your gut, not your instict to prove you are right. It is not about whose guy is better or worst, it is simply about Bush, period. When Clinton fucked over the liberals by failing to keep his pants on and lying under oath, I just shook my head and said, "he sucks" and is a disappointment. I liked Clinton then and I still do, but I admit he fucked up. Get a grasp, Bush has made a million mistakes and continues to do so. It's okay to say, "my guy is letting me down". It's okay to like him and to want to have a beer down at Bubba's Beer Barn with him, but that doesn't make him a good president, a good leader, or a good person. Good luck.
tregen:
I think I am looking at the facts, but there ya go...
I'm not a Clinton hater, by the way. I even, gasp, voted for him once. Never again though, will I vote for a Democrat unless there are some serious changes made in their party.
(Even) the BBC concludes: "The breakdown of the relief operation in New Orleans was the result of multiple failures by city, state and federal authorities"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4216508.stm
In the same article, the BBC also let's us know (via the NYTimes) the following:
"Shea Penland, director of the Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of New Orleans, said [it] was particularly surprising because the break was "along a section that was just upgraded." "It did not have an earthen levee," Dr. Penland said. "It had a vertical concrete wall several feel thick."'
The BBC also ran the photo of Mayor Nagin's submarines, I mean, buses.
I wonder how tregen and Ian and the rest of the DNC sheeple will try to spin the BUS FACTS. Tregen and Ian will probably next try to say that Cheney slashed the tires on all those buses, anything to take blame off their dear little DNC Mayor Nagin and the DNC governor of Louisiana.
No matter how you try to spin it Tregen, those HUNDREDS of buses are still sitting underwater, all your liberal spin and lies won\'t make those buses disappear.
You will NEVER see a picture of those buses on the front page of the lib-rag NY TIMES.
To me George Bush is a lame duck president who is just trying to do his job.
If you haven't heard, this isn't an election year. You lost last year. GW is in power. He ain't running for office. There is another election in '08.
We had a natural disaster and you folks are falling apart whining and pointing fingers especially at Bush.
Is it purely political- yes it is- you can perfume your political pig all you want but you're wrong and you're not helping the folks of N'orleans one bit with this carping.
Venom and ad hominem attacks (pissant at that) strung out over the internet have no usefull purpose at this time. Get a grip.
Hell if it'll make you feel any better you're right. It was a simpler time when Clinton was getting BJs in the Oval Office. I would never let Clinton put me into therapy. Things change. Shit happens. Adapt and prevail don't carp and whine....
To the Ma- Glad to see you come to your boys rescue Ma but he is falling apart and ready to crawl into a fetal postition. He needs more than just political back up. Give him a spine and some rational sense.
If this was a Bogie movie from the '40's somebody would slap him- hard.
B2
Matt, I'm not disuputing any of the things you say happened within 24 hours. There may have been noisy activity on some level, But the help did not arrive. And there was no IMMEDIATE super/doubletime emergency assistance or people would ot have still been without drinking water... more important in the short term than food... for DAYS AND DAYS. Yes the local governments bear their share of blame for how badly this was all handled.
But only, oh, say, the U.S. armed services have the wherewithall to IMMEDIATELY deploy the most crucial needs and get them delivered. I just don't understand why Bush and the boys (and token girl) didn't demand that the army send helicopters there as soon as the news reports began to come in with PICTURES AND INTERVIEWS ON THE SPOT with people who were fast becoming dehydrated and overcome with the heat on overpasses and rooftops. More finessed rescue work, of course, takes a little more time, but there was no immediate response. If we had beeen attacked by some axis-of-evil terrorists in NO, as Ian said, there WOULD have been an immediate response... count on it. Oh, wait... Bush's response would have been to go bomb someone. Never mind.
I don't like the blame game any better than you do, but my main peeve with Bush is his lack of any appropriate response other than a news conference or two. He should have shown some leadership by appearing on the scene ASAP, and rallying his people to get the troops and SOME help there. It just didn't happen, and I call that inept and unconscionable. Instead of going benind the podium, inscribed with the symbol of his high office, and spouting his usual lame vague pronouncements at oress conferences,, he should have been on a friggin' airplane to put his effort and his body where the tragedy had just occurred. that would have shown him to be a real leader, a real commander inchief.
Sorry, Matt. He's not presidential, not a leader. He's just not.
"To the Ma- Glad to see you come to your boys rescue Ma but he is falling apart and ready to crawl into a fetal postition. He needs more than just political back up. Give him a spine and some rational sense."
sorry, BadBob.. no backing off here. I not only taught Ian to read and write, but endowed him with my politics. I don't write to "back hm up".. only to express my own outrage and frustration. So you'll have to say we are both "losing it".
But the only loss I feel is for the America I love and which I have to believe will yet come to its collective senses.
Double dose of hypocracy from Times-Picayune and Mayor Nagin...(via Drudge and many sources)
"Before residents had ever heard the words "Hurricane Katrina," the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE ran a story warning residents: If you stay behind during a big storm, you'll be on your own!Editors at TIMES-PICAYUNE on Monday called for every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be fired. In an open letter to President Bush, the paper said: "Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been were not. That's to the government's shame."
But the TIMES-PICAYUNE published a story on July 24, 2005 stating: City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give a historically blunt message: "In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own."
Staff writer Bruce Nolan reported some 7 weeks before Katrina: "In scripted appearances being recorded now, officials such as Mayor Ray Nagin, local Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins and City Council President Oliver Thomas drive home the word that the city does not have the resources to move out of harm's way an estimated 134,000 people without transportation."
"In the video, made by the anti-poverty agency Total Community Action, they urge those people to make arrangements now by finding their own ways to leave the city in the event of an evacuation.
"You're responsible for your safety, and you should be responsible for the person next to you," Wilkins said in an interview.
Here's Governor Blanco (via The Corner on NRO):
On CNN yesterday, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin blasted Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco for taking too long to make a key decision -- he didn't say what it was -- during a meeting with President Bush:
"[Bush] said, 'Mr. Mayor, I offered two options to the governor.' I said -- and I don't remember exactly what. There were two options. I was ready to move today. The governor said she needed 24 hours to make a decision."
Now, it's clear that Nagin has proved an unreliable source of information, but it is also true that charges of indecisiveness -- or what her supporters call a "deliberative" nature -- have dogged Blanco through her campaign for governor and time in office.In September 2003, the Associated Press wrote that "confronted with sharp controversy, Blanco can appear hesitant." On November 2, the Shreveport Times endorsed her opponent for governor, suggesting that Blanco and her governing team would be "indecisive" and "unprepared." On November 8, 2003, the New Orleans Times Picayune published an article headlined, "Blanco Defends Studious Tack; Jindal Says Her Plans Are Short On Details." The article began:
Listening to the campaign rhetoric, voters might think the choice in this year's governor's race is between an unsure procrastinator and a know-it-all bean counter.
With the two candidates having similar views on many issues, Democrat Kathleen Blanco and Republican Bobby Jindal have focused on defining their differences in management style.Blanco says she will use studies and special commissions to build consensus for solutions to a few of the state's biggest problems, while Jindal accuses her of lacking specific plans and depending on committees.
On January 11, 2004, Dan Juneau, head of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, defended Blanco against charges of indecisiveness. She's not indecisive, Juneau wrote, just deliberate:
What kind of governor will Kathleen Blanco be? She will be quite different from her recent predecessors in many respects. For openers, she is a listener, and a good one. She doesn’t assume she knows everything and she likes to accumulate as much information as possible before finalizing a major decision. This trait of often being deliberate may cause some to claim she is indecisive as her governorship unfolds. But Governor Blanco would rather be criticized for taking her time in finding the right approach than for shooting from the hip and moving in the wrong direction.
Michelle rocks.
No, matter who you vote for the politicians get elected.
According to the study then: Rocking back and forth and occasional bizarre bursts of rage is therefore, a normal reaction for all US citizens, when faced with natural disasters and terrorists attacks, while clinging to a placebo. Currently a chicken wire monkey placebo is all the US has. The death and infection rate will continue until the democrats can offer anything as a serious alternative. So far they are the motherless group. Pity and frustration, are not even equivalent terms to the massive depression most of my democrat friends suffered in movember. It’s only voting folks. Democracy occurs every day.
Michelle rocks.
Ian vs. George
frat boy = frat boy
basketball = baseball
average grades = average grades
ivy diploma = short a few credits
fossil fuel family money = fossil fuel family money
farm upstate = ranch down south
bullied as a child = bullied now
formerly clinically depressed and now chemically dependent = formerly chemically dependent and now in conversion to Christ
awkward years in father’s shadow = awkward years in father’s shadow
president film company = president US of America
director independent film = director US armed forces
father, husband = father, husband
writes opinionated blog = writes his name
wants to be gentleman farmer / television producer = wants to be gentleman farmer / baseball commissioner
most resembles: ferris bueller post college years = most resembles: curious george post college yearsMichelle rocks.
babbod,
I'm not liberal or conservative, just thoughtful. You should try it. I'm sure I can grab you thousands of buses that aren't under water, but that's not the point, son. Here, try a little bit of conservative talk to see if it will sink in.
http://cunningrealist.blogspot.com/
maybe he is not conservative enough for you, here try another one.
http://www.belgraviadispatch.com/
no?, try this one.
http://www.cato.org/research/articles/bandow-031211.html
or maybe some David Brooks (no liberal bias there)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/opinion/04brooks.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fDavid%20BrooksBottom line, he is a horrible leader, would your really want this guy to run your company? Be honest, at least with yourself for God's sake. You can always self-flagellate later if you need to.
BTW, sheep are generally animals that follow mindlessly even while being lead to the slaughter, you should take a look in the mirror if you can pull you nose out of the sheep ass in front of you.
Ian-thanks for articulating what I couldn't. You rock!
Nice job again trying to spin Tregen, we are not talking about thousands of just any buses, we are talking about HUNDREDS of buses just ONE MILE away from the SUPERDOME. Buses owned by the CITY, controlled by the MAYOR, a DEMOCRAT. Just keep spinning away little sheeple, you can post links to any blogs you want, but the pictures of your Yellow Submarines sitting in water will not change. You can try to cover your eyes from the picture of the terrible democrat mayor and stick your head up your a__ Tregen, but the pictures will not change.
Ian's mom, I don't think you quite appreciate the logistics involved in such a massive relief effort, but if your criticism is that the feds should've gotten there quicker and did more than they had, I suppose that's fair enough. At least you acknowledge that there were mistakes made by persons other than those in the Bush Administration.
you can say "ass" here, it's okay.
Matt, I agree with you that there were mistakes made by others, including the Mayor of NO, the Gov. of LA, the Gov. of AL, the Gov. of MS, and many others but can you guys see even one mistake by the Bush administration? Even one?
Ian,
A while back you posted the link to a blog from a lovely person in Thailand, I saved the link but can't seem to find it. Would you mind reposting link? thanks. T
"...can you [] see even one mistake by the Bush administration? Even one?"
Big mistakes? Sure, but discussions of them wouldn't include the names Plame, Clarke, Burkett or Katrina.
North Carolina is not an Ivy. Geez. What has this world come to?
okay, fair enough, it's your opinions I'm trying to get too.
Give me a big mistake that in your opinion they (Bush admin) have made, if you don't mind.
"Tregen"-Is that an alien name? Rhymes with Reagan!
Thanks for the wonderful links. I mean it.
re- "babbod"
Do you hafe a lisp Treagan?re- "I'm not liberal or conservative, just thoughtful.."
What a non-committed thought process you have..sounds so non-judgemental and Godlike.. or is that a way to set out the "coup de (weak) grace" Me? I'll admit to being a thoughtful conservative (well, most of the time).
re- "You can always self-flagellate later if you need to" Are you talking about spanking the monkey? Nahhhhh
re- "BTW, sheep are generally animals that follow mindlessly even while being lead to the slaughter"
..surely you can't mean me, a 22 year miltary vet? Believe me, I'll be one of the last who is "slaughtered" as you so nicely put it. Who exactly is going to perform this "slaughter"? You and all the carping whiners on this blog? Or perhaps you mean liberals...bring it on "son".
BTW, up above you say this: "I am not nearly educated enough to express an opinion on whether he is the "worst" president of all time..."
It sure sounds like you can't keep your opinions straight and yes I agree- you are not educated enough.
I'm going to "Bubba's Beer Barn" for a Budweiser...burp.
B2
Which "Tribe" are you in?
http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000129.html
PS- c'mon- read it Tregen- I read your links.
Ivy — Strike that, reverse it. A few credits short for Ian, at UNC; Ivy (Yale) for GW.
“even one mistake by the Bush administration? Even one?”
Well, if this Mayor Nagin quote is accurate, “The governor said she needed 24 hours to make a decision.”; then perhaps demuring to her authority at this time when she was a deer caught in the headlights, was a failure. The president could have possibly overruled her authority, and based on news images and whatever information he had at the time ordered efforts to proceed.Although, I’d rather the federal administration not have the freedom to declare an emergency and rush in with whatever force they see as neccessary, whenever they choose. I could see that be rather abusive in other situations.
wow, badbob...you bring out the absolute worst in me. it's a good thing i can keep myself limited to kickboxing the shit out of a bag so that i can stay level-headed when confronted with the likes of your narrow-minded, holier-than-thou, vituperative crap.
first of all, just because you have served does not mean you won't be slaughtered (either by evildoers or a mis-guided commander in chief who sends you off to war without proper armor or strategy). and it doesn't give your opinion more weight than those who have not.
now, more importantly, it seems utterly asinine to me that people are stuck name-calling and re-hashing points about buses that were not dispatched. i don't think a single reader on this blog denies that there were multiple and complex failures in every level of government (local, state, and federal). but local failures do no negate the importance of the huge and repeated failures of the current administration.
on top of that, as far as i'm concerned, this is not a matter of republican versus liberal. this is simply an assessment of individuals. in this case, the eminently incompetent and, frankly, egregiously shameless brat, george w. bush. not only is he not qualified, but also he's more interested in vacationing than doing the job to which he was elected.
forget the 49% of americans who did NOT vote for GW. what about those of you who did? is this an acceptible way to run a country? to plan for the future of america? to make us stronger on even one front? to protect our children?
all i want is for an honest assessment of the ways the country is being run. and i want accountability from those who were voted into power. elected officials are SERVANTS of the populace. and, if they're not up to the challenge (yes, george, running a country is hard work, suck it up), then they should be fired. such is the way of the world.
so, badbob, i encourage you to demand the best from your hero and leader. and, if you think this is it, then i won't lose one more moment taking you seriously or trying to understand your point of view.
Ok, tregen. Bush has made mistakes with spending (i.e. Medicaid bill) and not yet using a single veto. That the same party controls the White House and Congress makes the pork roll that much more. He's doing a rather poor job with immigration and not being serious, at least apparently, about controlling our borders and securing our ports. I also wonder if we aren't pursuing the wrong strategy in Iraq, though the goal is certainly right in my mind. Here's more thoughts on that:
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/in_the_media/in_the_media_show.htm?doc_id=294803&attrib_id=7374
And is it true that Mayor Nagin is sending New Orleans police officers (the ones who didn't walk off the job) on 5-day vactions in Las Vegas to "de-stress" while their city lay in ruins? I mean, are you kidding me? I have to be hearing that wrong.
We have 175 survivors coming to our Salvation Army Camp and possibly another 150 coming to our old abandoned hospital (just built a new one) in my sleepy Appalacian town of 2,000. I doubt that there will be an attempt to permanently place urban families with no transportation in a mountain town with few jobs and no public transportation, but none the less, I am curious to see how we pass the test. Will fears and prejudice win the day, or will compassion reign?
Badboob,
You are great, I loved the link you sent. everyone should read it to get a better idea of who babbood is and which "tribe" he belongs to.
http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000129.html
Badboob, thanks for the 22 years of service.
the sheep comment - did you learn to take and follow orders in the military.. do exactly as you were told? "Don't think boy!! just do what I tell you to do!" Or did you just do what you thought was right? My guess, you followed orders like a good soldier and now that you're out, you just can't seem to do anything else except follow. You don't even know what your fighting about. Do you think Bush has made any mistakes other than perhaps not killing enough Arabs or other people who don't belong to your "tribe"?
I like your name also Badbob... it sounds really tough. VERY MACHO. Maybe I'll start posting under thunderman, or toughguy... makes me feel good already.
Enough juvenille stuff. Thanks for the post Matt, I appreciate having a semi-normal exchange with you. I have to go to work but will get around to checking the link and responding later tonight.
Wow!
David - HA! Good one on the me vs. George. However, a few things... UNC is a public Ivy (although real Ivys hate it when you say that) and I graduated with flying colors. Actually, more like sedate earth tone colors because you're right, I had totally average grades. Also, I'd like to say that although Tessa's dad certainly had oil money, we don't have any $$$ invested in that shite.
Some other thoughts from the comments: actually, I wasn't blind with hatred while writing this, just really sad and hoping for some future redemption. Also I wanted everyone to know I was paying attention during Psych 80 at my Public Ivy.
Craighill: I agree, running Hillary would be a disaster I hope the Democrats can avert.
Mom: Actually, I was pretty apolitical until things got so bad under Bush the Elder. In fact, I remember in kindergarten chanting with the other kids "Nixon, Nixon, he's our man - stuff McGovern in the garbage can!"
tregen: You are referring to the lovely and talented Lyle in Bangkok:
http://www.lylesinrodwalter.blogs.com/
I love my mother and don't want to dishonor her.
That said, would it be in bad taste to have 2 mothers?
And if the answer is no, will Ian's mom please adopt me?
I already have red hair.
I'm all for the old college try and COLLEGE f'in rox as we all too well know, but some of these smarmy, (b)itchy, creepy, private property ivies still rub me the wrong way. I guess I should really stick to running in my own neck of the woods.
I only went to Carolina. Is that okay? Do I still belong?
DOOK is a stink-weed Ivy. Oops, someone, baldbob, please edit my spelling. And Ian mispelled "public Ivy"; Carolina is a "Pubic Ivy". And I misspelled misspell.
Hey Ian's mom, we love you here in the city of brotherly (and sisterly) love. I have turned many people on to Ian's writing, though it seems I am the only one of us who ever posts a comment. You clearly did a great job raising your boy, well done. Matt, Boogie, B2, et al seem to be, to me anyway, self-loathing sicophants, afraid to admit that thier President has ever made a mistake, or that they made one in voting for him in the first place. I smell a change in the air here in my part of the country, and am looking forward to seeing Ian and all of the regulars musings on the '06 elections. keep a close eye on the PA Senate race, Santorum crashing and burning will be one of the greatest moments in Pennsylvania history.
OK, I'll admit a mistake Bush made.
He should've killed all the Democrats and gays and blacks in his first administration.
P.S. I have a small penis, but that doesn't stop badbob from being my bitch.
Thanks for the props Ian.
Shite! I should have added:
He knows all the chords vs. “Y’all want me to play a G-string?”
I’m a public ivy grad myself. Since I read the entire blog in two nights of insomnia, you’ll have to forgive me for missing the fact that you had completed your degree requirements. I thought somewhere in there you had hinted that you still had something left undone. Or is this since Mom is reading here too? Ha.
I hope things are going well in LA! Or Park Slope if you’re back.
My neighbor just returned from securing her family from NOLA. Parents were in the French quarter. They are now spread between Austin and baton Rouge if I gathered correctly all I heard. She said it is quite surreal. Two hour gas lines, just like the seventies but... with 50 gallon gas cans and guns!
Well, since Matt did it, I will too.
Some confessions.
1. I weigh 400 pounds. (Well, technically, 407 still, but those last 7 pounds are the hardest!)
2. I wasn't in the military. My real name is Jeff Gannon, and I have been granted "inside access" by Karl Rove.
3. I live with my mommy.
4. My ass is so big, I can't reach my buttcrack.
5. My mom has to wash it.
6. I kind of like it.
7. I like to come into places where I am unwelcome, refuse to engage people in reasonable discourse, and basically put them down even though no one is interested in me or invited me to come and take a steaming juicy dump on everyone.
8. I wonder why I have no friends.
LOL. Y'all are scaring off this homo-phobe!
Love the link back to dailyKos- that's rich!
re- 7. "I like to come into places where I am unwelcome, refuse to engage people in reasonable discourse, and basically put them down even though no one is interested in me or invited me to come and take a steaming juicy dump on everyone."
You're right Kos. I do enjoy the baby pictures though but I will, sniff-sniff, go back to my den.
Adios dear sheep- remember that Toronto beckons and please remeber to take your meds!
The Real B2
To the imitator, whoever you are: Pretending to be someone else, and being vulgar while doing it, reflects poorly on your side, not mine. After all, it could be any one of you. Not very classy.
To Matt, whoever you are: it's probably J Boogie or badbob pretending to be you, or even YOU pretending to be you to generate sympathy and still being vulgar while doing it. And pretty much everything you say has reflected poorly on your side, not ours.
After all, you could be an individual instead of just another hackneyed, broken record regurgitating cherry-picked talking points among that shrill chorus of Bush apologists - not even a chance of being mistaken for classy there.
Well, Ian knows, though I doubt he has the spine to out one of his own with the truth. And why is the "other side" always spouting talking points while what you say comes from, uh, heartfelt conviction, I suppose?
If you can't win an argument, launch into ad hominems; that seems to be your strategy. It's only a matter of time until you dwindle it down to the two words.
No, actually I don't know. I get IP addresses, but everything else is pretty fake-able. And Matt, I think I've shown plenty of spine with the amount of conservative talk that goes on in my own blog, despite the fact I get emails from everyone I know telling me to delete half of them because they're so fucking depressing.
Yeah, yeah, don't do you any favors, etc.
Amen, Ian - well-stated.
Oh, and, Matt?
"It's only a matter of time until you dwindle it down to the two words."
My guess as to those two words, as regards your situation here?
"Stop whining."
Joe C.? Is that you?
Ian, it would probably take one minute to compare the IP address to to those left with names in other comments. I doubt the person was a first time commenter.
