Bush supporters' aftermath thread

Ticomaya wrote:

dlowan wrote:

Like the government's response to Iraq.


Do NOT let them see coffins.



Putrescent.

Like the media's reluctance to show the dead bodies caused by the terrorist attacks on 9/11. ... Wouldn't want to inflame the populace.

But if the dead are not caused by terrorists, but by a natural disaster, by all means let's show the dead. Let's go to court to insist on the First A right to show the dead.

But for what purpose?

Bizarre.

Tico, you're doing it again.

This was not an issue until publication of pictures of drowned people WAS BANNED. Who tried to ban it, and for what purpose? That is the issue.

The response to Katrina was a governmental failure of historic proportions. The "I do believe, I do believe" crowd can quote obscure columnists from Toledo to Dublin, (Pretty bizarre, huh? Having to dig up apologists from Ohio and Ireland to support their faith-based views LOL) but it won't change the fundamantal fact that the bulk of the blame lies at the feet of the Bush administration, the most incompent administration in our history.

Given that fact, do you liberals really think that this is going to increase the public's confidence in the big government you all value so highly? That, plus the unfair and petty tactics of the Left to make political hay out of this disaster I think will not improve your performance at the polls.

Bush has failed to recapture the spirit of national unity he championed in the weeks and months after the September 11 attacks, and widespread dissatisfaction with the federal government's slow response to the storm has helped send his poll numbers to all-time lows.

VE QUESTIONS

To the rescue after Andrew

James W. Monroe retired as a two-star general in charge of logistics for the U.S. Army and now lives in Parkland. Notably for South Florida, Monroe commanded Army logistics after Hurricane Andrew, bringing relief supplies and troops to devastated South Miami-Dade and other needy areas.

Q: How were you drafted into the recovery efforts after Andrew?

A: The day of the storm, I was on a golf course. I got a call from my boss that the Pentagon wanted me to be down in Miami to work on the hurricane. I was there around Tuesday afternoon. Realize that it's not good to compare responses, because the situation was not the same as Katrina. When I was called in 1992, that decision was most likely made by a one-star general in an emergency-operations center in the Pentagon. My understanding is that the ability to make such decisions at a lower level was more prevalent then.

Q: Wasn't there ws criticism then, as there is now on the Gulf Coast, of a slow response?

A: Keep in mind, I was part of the advance party to make the assessment to get the needed help. The three-star general in charge of the Army was there. You had the military there. But what people are looking for are the trucks with troops and supplies, and that is not going to happen in the first 24 hours. The logistics of doing that don't happen that way. Remember, there are two kinds of cavalry: the National Guard, which belongs to the state; and the military, which is federal. The Guard is closer. The military follows if someone decides they are needed. So after the Guard shows up, it is at least a day later when federal assistance shows up.

Q. How are relief efforts then organized?

There are phases that need to occur after a hurricane, flood, fire or any disaster. For decades the military has had relief plans, domestic and overseas, that get updated every year. Whether it's a flood or terrorist attack, the basics are the same. The nuances come in the detail. Andrew, for example, devastated South Dade, but people could move around. The question became how to get them basic needs: ice, water, food; and get electricity, cell towers and sewers working. FEMA are the people who are supposed to get in there to make that assessment hours after the disaster and communicate that to state and federal people to tailor the plans.

Q: What was your experience with FEMA?

A: FEMA was a disaster during Andrew. It was not organized and structured to deal with disaster. Not until it got help from the military was it able to provide the leadership that they were supposed to provide to all levels of all governments. That's what Andrew needed, someone in charge to tell everyone what needed to happen.

What has happened in Katrina, I don't know. But I suspect it's similar to Andrew. The initial FEMA assessment and its taking charge didn't happen. I'm talking about getting in charge, someone with the authority to tell the Army Corps of Engineers, the Red Cross, even the military what to do. Everything has to be done in concert with the relief efforts, or else you have what I call ''islands of excellence.'' You have a lot of people trying to help in isolated pockets all over the place, but no one is coordinated. And the people outside of those islands don't get the results.

Nothing one can do will eliminate all fatalities when you have as much devastation as in Katrina or Andrew. But the disaster relief has to minimize that as much as possible. That is their purpose.

Q: Are there some lessons that you can share?

A: Seeing Katrina, I have a notion that disaster policy may be all wrong. It's my understanding that an outside agency can't go into a city, or into a state, unless the mayor, or state governor, asks for help and has exhausted all resources. We ought to think about reversing that. When the local people don't have access to their resources, when they've been destroyed, the first responder can't be local, but has to be an outsider. I don't know how you do that politically. If no one can respond locally, the state should have the authority to assess and call in help. If the state is overwhelmed, FEMA ought to get there and get in charge. Remember, you're talking to a military guy. We aren't always efficient, but we are effective.

Herald Editorial Board member Susana Barciela prepared this report.

I have thought this over,and the dems are right,it IS Bush's fault.

He created the hurricane,he broke the levee,he flew the planes on 9-11,he started the genocide in Darfur,he created the typhoon that is hitting China now.
Its his fault that Mt.Kiluewa in Hawaii is flowing lava again.

Its his fault when you get a flat tire on your car,its his fault that the mail runs so slowly.
Its his fault that WW2 started,its his fault that earthquakes happen.
Its his fault that forest fires happen.

Lets face it,everything bad that has EVER happened on this planet is the fault of President Bush.

I have thought this over,and the dems are right,it IS Bush's fault.

He created the hurricane,he broke the levee,he flew the planes on 9-11,he started the genocide in Darfur,he created the typhoon that is hitting China now.
Its his fault that Mt.Kiluewa in Hawaii is flowing lava again.

Its his fault when you get a flat tire on your car,its his fault that the mail runs so slowly.
Its his fault that WW2 started,its his fault that earthquakes happen.
Its his fault that forest fires happen.

Lets face it,everything bad that has EVER happened on this planet is the fault of President Bush.

Clinton won Florida because George Bush the elder raised taxes after pledging not to do so. That's it. Pure and simple.

Clinton's FEMA had its own problems (and huge criticism) in the wake of Hurricane George

Before Witt came along, FEMA was a lackluster agency under abysmal political management. As Donald Kettl of Brookings has written, the old FEMA was a laughing stock: "Every hurricane, earthquake, tornado and flood, the joke went, brought two disasters: one when the event occurred, and the second when FEMA arrived."

People in Washington assumed that since Witt came from Arkansas, and they'd never heard of him, he must be another hack. But in disaster after disaster, he turned the agency's reputation completely around. Before Rudy Giuliani, there was James Lee Witt.

Clinton kept Witt busy: In eight years, he declared a record 348 disasters. As they proved in Oklahoma City and countless other occasions, Clinton and Witt understood that if there's ever a time people need a federal government and a President, it's in times of disaster.

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Clinton's FEMA had its own problems (and huge criticism) in the wake of Hurricane George. .

It's a new low BBB, and one espoused by only the lowest of the low.

Now THAT is an issue I'd like to take up.

Why don't we do a search of ad hominims of Fox and BBB and see the astronomical number BBB has spewed, compared to the very few from Fox.

Anyone game?