Oct 17 - 46/45 - McCain +01
ASHAMED TO BE AN AMERICAN
Editor's Note:I am going to be away from my desk for a few days, so I thought I would share this story I wrote days after Hurricane Katrina struck, approximately two years ago. I stand by my shame of this country. Bush ignored New Orleans in his most recent State of the Union....so did Nancy Pelosi in her first speech about the Democrats agenda. Pathetic.
Just this weekend, I watched Hotel Rwanda. The movie is a great, emotional and upsetting film about how the world, including a Clinton-led US, allowed the genocide of 800,000 Tutsi Rwandans. I remember being infuriated watching the movie, thinking how sick it was that the world allowed that to happen. One clear lesson from the movie: that genocide was ignored because they were Africans.Well, we have a new form of atrocity right in our own country. There is a modern-day, homeland genocide in New Orleans. And it is times like this where I thoroughly regret my constant use of strong language to such now-trivial issues like Rush Limbaugh or Tom Delay, because now I cannot use strong enough language to explain this utterly repulsive government-sanctioned death of thousands of innocent people. Maybe my words are too strong for some, but to me this is a partial genocide of the poor, and a partial genocide of blacks.
These people, 99% black, are being left to die. After 5 days they are left without food and water. Why are there not massive food and water drops from helicopters, or even just fliers with instructions, like we did at the start of Iraq? Why is there no plan? This is a fucking joke. Instead, these people are stranded in a pool of urine, feces, syringes, blood, and corpses.And don't even get me going on Bush. I'll have more on him in the days to come, but I will give one comment. Yesterday, that SOB had the nerve to say "we expected a big storm, but nobody thought the levees would break." REALLY! Because I thought they would from watching the news for an hour on Sunday night! Check my audio message from that night, which I clearly feared this type of disaster. And I am just some random person in freaking Phoenix....but THE PRESIDENT COULD NOT IMAGINE IT!
Yet these refugees continue to show strength. Yes, there are problems, but that is clearly the minority. Watch the news, and you will see thousands of people standing, waiting, and begging for any sort of help. And look what those people, the thousands that played by the rules, received in return for their faith in our government: nothing. Instead of a government that is helping, they are being treated like wild animals.I think Bush is scum, but today that is not my point. Today, I just think this entire country is a joke.
By Chuck - 8/31/2007
28 Comments:
Click here for reasons why President Gore would have saved hundreds of lives.
Click here for a timeline of events.
Election of 2000 = Shameful
Invading a country on false pretenses = Shameful
Govt response to disaster (Katrina) = Shameful
Debt to be paid by my grandchildren = Shameful
Conduct of the ruling class= shameful
Bush Admin turning the world against the USA= shameful
Comandeering the Republican Party by PNAC = Shameful
Denial, abandonment of sound conservative principles /Implosion of Republican Party = shameful
Immigration issue = shameful
Abandonment of Geneva Conventions= Shameful
Commander in Chief = TOTAL FAILURE
Add yours here
In spite of all this and more:
Petey is NOT Ashamed to be an American
Just noticed this popping up on some very conservative locations:
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS - BRING THEM HOME!
I'm not ashamed of being an American.
Just ashamed of my president.
There's a difference.
Menck,
Sure some people cared - a lot of people got into the giving mood for a few weeks.
and then there are wonderful people (like Kyle - not myself) that have continued to help.
Those are good signs.
But what was allowed to happen was horrific and unforgiveable. Bush should have been impeached, and maybe prosecuted.
Instead, he kept his job and 33% of this sicko nation still supports him. It makes me sick.
right on petey
Many people say that the governor and Mayor deserve blame, but they don't have the resources that a President does. A disaster of this magnitude requires leadership at our highest levels. They failed, due in large part to cronyism over qualified people in key positions.
Harry Shearer from The Simpsons was on Talk of the Nation on NPR yesterday. He made the point that many people falsely associate the tragedy in New Orleans with Katrina. The real power of the hurricane missed the city. It was the inadequately built levees that caused the disaster that everyone saw on television.
There was a complete and total lack of leadership in crisis on all levels, you can't give Nagin and the governor a free pass for political purposes. I am in no way condoning the lack of action of the federal government in the aftermath(specifically in insurance oversight) but the state and local leaders were just as culpable. The fact that Nagin was never proactive in preparation for the oncomig hurricane speaks to his level of incompetence. Not to mention the states utter lack of anything resembling a workable evacuation plan, oversight of the safety features etc. This goes back to the backwater abyss that is Louisiana politics in general. I was also appalled at Nagin's reelection, the voters obviously value something far more than competence (perhaps the promise of a "chocolate city") that has had a significant role in coalascening the morass that has surrounded any reconstruction attempt. Don't make excuses for them, they share culpability, and the electorate are receiving the same level of stupidity post hurricane that was so blatantly obvious previously.
Kyle the sins of the local leaders was in lack of preparation and action in the face of danger. One of the consequences of the Almighty federal Government and the level of micromanagement that Democrats such as yourself are in favor is (not a knock) that it is unwieldly, bureaucratic, and lacks decisive actionable responses. There is a reason that leadership AND responsibilty is disseminated in effective large bodies is the ability to react quickly and effectively. Bush will go down as the monster in people who share yours and Chucks views, and while I have serious issues with his RESPONSE to disaster, the lack of leadership, preperation, and ACTION from the state & local levels Prior to and IN THE FACE OF disaster is the lesson I take away from this tragedy
By saying Bush's actions were no worse than Nagin IS condoning Bush's behavior.
Nagin was on the ground, with his people, trying and fighting for help. He may have been incompetent, too, but there is no way to call the two's conduct the same - that is what you just did.
Jesus you went to law school?!?!?
If Nagin = Bush and I say that Nagin's actions were wrong (or BUsh's) then obviously Bush's were as well, hence the equals sign.
Nice try though
here is what I said directly
" I am in no way condoning the lack of action of the federal government in the aftermath"
My issue with state/local was that they did nothing for the people they were eleected to serve(prior to and during), you obviously see no problems with that and would rather just simply say "BUsh did it, he's the devil!!!"
We agree on something. I'm ashamed you're an American, too, Chuck. ;)
Keep in mind Chuck attended a Tier 4 law school... ranked slightly ahead of the Sally Struthers School of Law.
T-dawg----apparently you slept through your "new math class". It is not related to logic only emotion.
Anon--screw you about your law school comment. Who in the fuck do you think you are?
Shit, I only made it through one semester of art school. Can I still post ?
Forgive me Mencken for assuming that people trained to articulate the nuances of the law would be able to comprehend a two paragraph point of view without intentionally misrepresenting its content and intent. Perhaps I should just permit the bastardization of my comments without retort? Or maybe I should just refrain from engaging in thought and rely on oversimplified rationale and blanket condemnations to express myself.
When you throw stones you have to be willing to have them thrown back at you. Considering that I never took him to task for his point of view, but merely stated mine I took umbridge at his blatant mischaracterization for what I wrote. I am left with two choices:A-he knowingly knew that I never implied approval of the federal govt's actions, yet stated I did to dismiss my argument on the grounds that anyone who supported Bush's post Katrina response is inherently wrong or B-he incorrectly inferred from my posts that I did approve of Bush's response.
SO he is either lying or an imbecile, and taking into account his education level I was giving him the benefit of the doubt, because if anything i am a charitable soul.
Just like a bleeding heart liberal that hates his own country. How can you be ashamed to be American? This is the greatest country put forth on this earth. Our standard of living is so great that 75% of the poor have cars, 66% have cable or satellite, and 66% actually own their own homes. The real problem is that you aren't really ashamed of America, you are ashamed of yourself and blaming America for your short comings. Perhaps you were picked on growing up, perhaps you are a failure in your parents eyes, or perhaps you are just lazy and expect big government to hold your hand and help you skate through life without you having to think for yourself or do anything until your dying days as the socialist left taking over your party would like you to live. No one is denying Katrina wasn't a total cluster fuck. In this case, shit rolled up hill and no one was expecting this level of castastrophe. We all knew it was going to be bad, but that bad? I remember seeing the footage as it came out and feeling terrible for all those stuck there and depending on government at all levels to take care of them. That was a mistake. Then I thought, why are all these people even there? Didn't greyhound even offer free tansportation out of harms way? Wasn't Nagin supposed to utilize school buses (parked below sea level) to shuttle people out of the danger zone? It started with Nagin and his failure to implement and enforce a mandatory evacuation. He failed to tell his people what a category 5 storm is, and what it can and will do. If he didn't have the resources to evacuate everyone then he should have looked for help from the governor. If the governor didn't have the resources, she should have contacted the feds. All of this should have been done before Katrina hit (there is a nie 3 to 4 day warning period with hurricanes, not like an earthquake or other disasters). Nagin failed to even make the evacuation mandatory, and he should be culpable for the lives of all that were left. It is also well known that the President, even with many of his short comings, took the time to call the governor on several occassions and recommend she declare state of emergency prior to Katrina making land fall. She drug her heals and Bush practically had to do it for her. No one knew Nagin wouldn't call a mandatory evacuation and turn away help, know one knew how well prepared or not Louisana was to handle the aftermath, and no one expected anyone other than emergency workers and government to even be left in New Orleans. After it was clear it was a total claticlismic mess, the governor still took her time in getting information to the feds that it was beyond Louisiana's capabilities to handle the mess alone. After she threw in the towel, the feds did react slow, but it takes time to put together a major operation such as that. I calculated it at about 12 hours from the time she flew the white flag and our national guard operations were in full force (not too bad, and yes; I am blaming the President for not reacting on his own before and waiting for her to decide she needed the help. The Iran war was planned months in advance you idiot, so that comparison is just a total lack of intelect. It's also amazing to me the conspiracy theories that the feds reacted this way as to achieve some type of genocide.Well here's another conspiracy theory... What if Nagin,the governor and the other democrats all the way up to Pelosi thought if they didn't call a mandatory evacuation knowing that the majority of the people left would be black and perish significantly, they could use that as ammunition to bash Bush and for their own political gain? Look, I really don't believe that;I am just saying it was a mess starting locally going all the way to the top and one conspiracy theory is just as stupid as the other. No one should have been there, and no one knew it was going to be that bad. I think TV and movies have led people to believe that the government can put together these huge military operations (whether designed for disaster relief or defense)at the drop of a dime;it just doesn't work that way. Do me a favor, if you think any other country could have reacted any better with the knowledge we had at that particular point and time with that lack of prepartion prior to landfall, and the level of upstream information lag; then move there. I am thinking France might be a good place for you so you can stand in line waiting for a doctors appointment. The blame goes all around. This was mishandled from Nagin to the President. This is the difference between the conservatives and libs. The libs always blame the conservatives for everything and take no responsibility for their portion of that blame. Conseravtives will blame everyone at fault, even their own and change the leadership if that leadership fails them. Libs tend to continue to re-elect politicians that have freezer fulls of bribe money, smoke crack and do ho's, have homosexual trists with underage interns, and rape women like Jennifer Flowers and Kathleen Willy (you know I'm talking about, your cult leader you follow so blindly). How's your KKK democrat member Byrd doing nowadays...
I meant Iraq war, not Iran so when you post your retort (and I know you will) no need to call me out on that line. And yes, I know it's funny that I said the Iran war and used the word intelect in the same line. Unlike a lib, I am admitting my mistake and not going to spin it.
Geezuz , did this thread degenerate into a pissing match.
On the NO disaster:
During the disaster, Capt,,,,, of the USN sent me some recon photos showing the whole cities public school busses (100's) sitting idle and then up to the roof line in water. We surmised that had the drivers not abandoned their duty and just commandeered their bus, loaded it up with people, and just driven away when the gittin was good, a whole damn lot of persons would have been saved.
I tell this episode because there seemed to be TOTAL failure in rescue right down to the individual level - in short chaos. After a few days, many brave charitable individuals moved in to help ( many cajuns w/bass boats for example.)
& the travesty of a neighboring city across a bridge turning the fleers back to drown is nothing short of murder. (The mayor ordered the police to do the dirty deed because he didnt want a bunch of riffraff in HIS city)
& the dirtiest detail of failure I know of: The Seabees in Gulfport awaiting orders to mobilize their efforts to rescue whoever they could - and believe me - These guys would have made a BIG difference....The orders from our benevelant commander NEVER came because he is a motherflokkin incompetent pile of shit
The Marines landed a ship full of help - I believe - NOT to the Commander in Chief's credit - if you get my drift
Anonymous, that "bleeding heart liberal" tirade has about as much substance as a 14 inch turd with all the shit scraped off
Without your so called "Bleeding heart liberals" present in this country - persons just like you would have just the macabre/mean/every man for himself/perpetual war country that you absolutely deserve.
The "bleeding heart Liberal" buzzphrase is so tired
Petey,
Anon may be a little over the top but you do your position no favor by your crack about where we would be without bleeding heart liberals. One can only infer that if you aint one of you-you must be mean, in favor of constant war etc. Yuo really believe that?
I am referring to the balance in a Democracy that occurs (or should say did occur) ~ Left balances out Right.
That is to say that BHL's technically "balance" out Rightwing Warmongers...I suppose its fine that both exist in our American culture ..and a point is that both sides should realize that. I perceived that Anonymous is so one sided that he/she wishes the BHL's be sanctimoniously disappeared. I think thats whet pisses me off the most about our recent times - Complete Condemnation of the other side - which I think is Unamerican.
If one believes that everyone in America should think just as he/she does, is that a stretch to think that he/she would get their just dessert if their wish is realized?
Personally , I am in favor of NO war & further, I believe that this Nation is way too mean to its own and in dealing with other nations to the extent of severely damaging our foriegn relations.
God, now I sound like a politician - forgive me
Therein lay the creed of a moderate
Petey,
If you are truly a moderate I will have to rethink one of my assumptions. That being- moderates are by defintion not as passionate as those that define themselves as conservative or liberal. If there is one thing your not is is dispassionate.
My uncle Leo told me I am not "Normal"...throw in being raised by Nuns and Jesuits and a family that is not shy about kicking some ass (militarily speaking)...also a lifetime member of the "hey, wathch this" club.
Adds up to really giving a shit
I also am retired from 25 yrs of being a OHSAA baseball official
It all makes sense now--25 years
Before the first game each year I told my kids until you are as good at the game as the umpire is at his job dont question his calls and then I told the parents if you have any question about the calls talk to me and I will take it from there. I cant tell you how many opposing coaches I told to quit acting like a jerk and mornic parents I told to be quiet or hit the road.
Post a Comment
<< Home