[quote=“Jaboney”]As someone who respects the intelligence and wit of many cartoonists, I find that remark highly offensive. 
Of course, he does provide a lot of material for them to work with. 
[/quote]
Of course, those oh-so-witty and clever cartoonists thought the same about Reagan… and guess who was right and who was wrong…
That’s right. Reagan was right and the witty cartoonists were wrong.
That’s funny!
spook, you know that is exactly what they said about Reagan… right? You know that, don’t you?[/quote]
True. Reagan’s worldview was salt of the earth though. I see George Bush’s as more like fertilizer.
I know you do but you never actually articulate very clearly why and when you attempt to do so and are challenged you go along with these cutesy remarks that are more of MFGR’s forte. Can’t you do better than that?
haha now that is cartoonish. hee hee hee
[quote=“fred smith”]I know you do but you never actually articulate very clearly why and when you attempt to do so and are challenged you go along with these cutesy remarks that are more of MFGR’s forte. Can’t you do better than that?
haha now that is cartoonish. hee hee hee[/quote]
Doesn’t “I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees” sound like something Homer Simpson would say? 
And who is PRIMARILY responsible for those levees? Hmmm? hahaha. Keep trying. I know that this will sink in eventually.
[quote=“spook”]
Doesn’t “I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees” sound like something Homer Simpson would say? [/quote]
Well…did you anticipate the breach? If so, did you email Bush and set him straight?
[quote=“Comrade Stalin”][quote=“spook”]
Doesn’t “I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees” sound like something Homer Simpson would say? [/quote]
Well…did you anticipate the breach? If so, did you email Bush and set him straight?[/quote]
No. I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t.
At least I can admit my mistakes.
Hmmmmmm…from a British newspaper…racism?
[quote]SURVIVING Hurricane Katrina was the easy bit.
Dozens of Brits stranded by the floods endured an even greater terror as New Orleans descended into total anarchy.
Young British holidaymakers MARISA HAIGH and CLAIRE WATKINS were among those who took refuge in the Louisiana Superdome. The terrified girls went through “a living hell” as mob rule swept the stadium.
It was there that graduate Marisa, 23, told us: “There were crazies, crack junkies, robbers going mad inside there.”
Marisa, from Guildford, Surrey, said: “White tourists were getting picked on by the locals.”
On Thursday, amid fears for their safety, all the white girls were moved to a nearby medical centre. [/quote]
And more at:
Yes, I agree completely, Bush should be down there personally shooting looters and spooning baby food into babies’ mouths. As opposed to making national policy decisions and telling lower-level managers to do their jobs.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
Must just be you. You were the one ranting that they should fly “every helicopter in a three state area” in random patterns all over New Orleans to pick up individuals from rooftops. I was merely pointing out that they are using helicopters in an appropriate fashion, from fixed locations and in well-defined patterns.
I’d be laughing if it weren’t so pathetic. Did you bother reading any of the stuff about the New Orleans Police joining the looters, telling people asking for help to “go to hell, it’s every man for himself”, and so on?
Twenty bucks of food in a baggie is too much for them to afford?
Well, none of them voted for Bush, I’m sure. 
If they had, he probably would have personally helped them carry the items they were looting, right?
Not a good time for Daley to make offers to anyone, or for anyone to take them. They may end up in front of a grand jury. 
Right next to the welfare cheese.
Unfortunately, by the time the Democrat mayor and governor of NO/LA were done handing out the contracts to their cronies, they didn’t seem to have enough funds left to operate all those waterlogged schoolbuses.
cough cough Does anyone else see the irony in this?
Please identify this irony…
Please identify this irony…[/quote]
Notice the man on the right is the owner of Halliburton, which has and had major contracts over in that there oil rich area called the Middle East…
[quote=“fred smith”]Maybe the head of FEMA should be sacked. Who hired him? Who has the responsibility for overseeing him?
But you all seem to be ignoring the fact that local officials are first and foremost responsible for their communities. Did you read the lessons NOT learned from last year’s hurricane (near miss?) and did you see how the governor and mayor promised to have a better plan on track. Why didn’t they? Please also show how the response time could have been faster (give examples of other disasters) and please show where (other disaster) federal authorities have been first and foremost responsible above and beyond local ones.[/quote]
But where do local officials get their funding for major projects? :s 
Looked at from one angle or another, there’s enough blame in this situation to go around for everyone, Republicans, Democracts, national authorities, local authorities, and some ordinary, local citizens caught up in the mess.
Although I haven’t researched it exhaustively (be realistic, who has time or energy for that on every thread?), I accept that the chain of responsibility basically follows this sequence: individual, family, neighborhood, city, state, and nation. I had no intention of avoiding or denying that in any of my comments so far. I assumed it was a given and understood by all.
That said, during times of overwhelming tragedy, based on some shared moral code, doesn’t an obligation, if not a legal responsibility, fall to those with the capability to respond? I think it does. Many other instances within the U.S. on a daily basis, and in the aftermath of this event, support this concept. Those who can, should. Many who could, did. Not everyone mind you. But there was the heavy equipment operator who drove to the levee breach and started working on it. There were neighbors rescuing each other in boats. Despite the obvious commercial benefits, there was WalMart driving the truckloads of supplies into the city. Even the actor and activist Sean Penn tried to drive a leaking boat in to help. And countless other examples of which we’ll only ever know a small fraction. All of these things happened and are still happening without any legal obligation. Without any hassle or argument about hierarchy or responsibility or response time. These things happened because the people who could do them decided to do them.
I suspect that, underneath much of the disillusionment and/or anger about this situation that of course extends far beyond these often petty forums to the whole of the nation and much of the world, is exactly this issue. Regardless of who’s responsible for what, the federal government had more capability than any local entity (and more than most other nations for that matter). That is unquestionable. Why then, based on the same morals, values, judgments, and compunctions did the federal agencies and personalities not respond in the same way – immediately and with everything they could muster? Don’t talk to me about faster than Hurricane Andrew or the mayor needs to ask. If your neighbor’s house is on fire, you don’t ask him to fill out a form before you’ll help him. Almost everyone seems to get that except the federal government. And many people are some combination of embarrassed, ashamed, and trying to figure out why the federal government doesn’t get it – this concept shared almost instinctively by ordinary people.
Great post. I hope to high heaven they do get it, because what was already simmering (poverty,race,etc issues) is going to explode if their understanding of the impact of their decisions isn’t felt.
Please identify this irony…[/quote]
Notice the man on the right is the owner of Halliburton, which has and had major contracts over in that there oil rich area called the Middle East…[/quote]
Cheney doesn’t own Halliburton… and the US Fed Government has lots of money to do what it is doing in Iraq.
I don’t see the irony.
Please identify this irony…[/quote]
Notice the man on the right is the owner of Halliburton, which has and had major contracts over in that there oil rich area called the Middle East…[/quote]
Cheney doesn’t own Halliburton… and the US Fed Government has lots of money to do what it is doing in Iraq.
I don’t see the irony.[/quote]
[quote]
Halliburton, the Texas company which has been awarded the Pentagon’s contract to put out potential oil-field fires in Iraq and which is bidding for postwar construction contracts, is still making annual payments to its[color=darkred] former chief executive,[/color] the vice-president Dick Cheney[/quote]
Okay not OWNER, but da’ BOSS, close enough.