Top FEMA Deputies Make Brown Look Qualified
If Bush were to fire FEMA director Mike Brown the agency would be run by the Chief of Staff and the Deputy Chief of Staff. (See the FEMA organizational chart).
The Chief of Staff is a guy named Patrick Rhode. He planned events for President Bush’s campaign. Rhode has no emergency management experience whatsoever. From Rhode’s official bio:
His first position with the Bush Administration was as special assistant to the President and deputy director of National Advance Operations, a position he assumed in January 2001. Previously, Mr. Rhode served as deputy director of National Advance Operations for the George W. Bush Presidential Campaign, in Austin, Texas.
The Deputy Chief of Staff is Scott Morris. He was a press flak for Bush’s presidential campaign. Previously, he worked for the company that produced Bush’s campaign commercials. He also has no emergency management experience. From Morris’s official bio:
Mr. Morris was also the marketing director for the world’s leading provider of e-business applications software in California, and worked for Maverick Media in Austin, Texas as a media strategist for the George W. Bush for President primary campaign and the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign.
These guys make Brown look qualified. And that’s no small feat.
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We are so screwed. We’re worse off than before 9/11. Why WOULDN’T the terrorist strike now?
September 6th, 2005 at 1:34 pmBush would be an ingrate to fire Mike Brown. After all, Brownie delivered Florida for Bush in 2004.
For the full story on the politics of Bush-era disaster relief, see:
“FEMA: Florida Election Management Agency.”
September 6th, 2005 at 1:35 pmCronyism vs. Nepotism
September 6th, 2005 at 1:36 pmWe all know that nepotism is alive and well in business, and many suffer from the fallout.
Cronyism is alive and well and rampant in this administration and ALL suffer from the fall out.
This is the big difference I see in this administration: they put people into positions based on their contributions to a Bush campaign, not their ability to actually do the job! I recall reading something in a Molly Ivins book about Bush being very good at campaigning, but pitiful at governing…this was before 2000. Would that we had heeded her warning!
September 6th, 2005 at 1:42 pmI was no fan of Clinton, but his appointments at least seemed to factor in competence.
How can anyone still approve of this administration, these nutjobs masquerading as Republicans? They have violated every principle that the Republican party stands for…or at least used to stand for.
Anybody want to start a new party…maybe call it The Genuine Republican Party? Heaven knows, the Dem’s are a bunch of weak-kneed idiots as a group, and the folks running around calling themselves the Republicans these days are as corrupt and incompetent a group as this country has ever suffered under!
Convene the grand juries and indict them all. That is the only way you will remove these incompetents from office.
September 6th, 2005 at 1:44 pmBruce Schneier has been commenting (since 9/11) that Security/Anti-Terrorism funding should be spent on two things.
1) Intelligence to catch terrorists. A terrorist caught is out of the way, whether they have committed an act of terrorism or not.
2) First Responders/Emergency Responders. Make sure that the people who have to deal with a disaster are properly equipped and trained. It doesn’t matter if the disaster is man-made or natural, it doesn’t matter what happens, if the people are trained and have the equipment then they can handle almost anything. If after a disaster/terrorist attack the country as a whole, picks itself up, dusts itself off and carries on then then terrorists won’t be effective and disasters will be mitigated.
I agree with this, and wish that the people who are spending the money would do so wisely…
I know it’s just wishful thinking, but wouldn’t it be nice…
Z.
September 6th, 2005 at 1:44 pm#1, at least Golan Sipel was somewhat qualified for the job, having done security with the Israeli national army. ah, even as i write that, it makes me chuckle. but seriously, i can’t believe the things coming out of mike brown’s mouth.
September 6th, 2005 at 1:45 pmThere is only one jersey girl. Please don’t use it unless you are Jersey Girl.
I just being respectful, I hope you will be too.
September 6th, 2005 at 1:49 pmHas anyone looked to see how well Mayor Nagan actually followed his city’s emergency response plan? You won’t see this discussed anywhere in the MSM, at least not for awhile. Before you point the finger at the federal government, you should look at what happened locally first. FEMA is not a first response organization. As Nagan has one finger pointed at Bush, he should realize that he has three pointed directly back at him.
http://www.cityofno.com/ portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26
September 6th, 2005 at 1:51 pmThis is the way Murka has always been. A US government federal employee in the 1850’s said this about the starving Sioux Indians in Minnesota when they were being persecuted by BIA ‘policy,’ “Let them eat dung.”
He was ‘qualified.’
flip flop, it never stops.
This is Murka, it shouldn’t happen here. But… it does.
September 6th, 2005 at 1:56 pmThe hard work of keeping America safe(r). Brown & possibly Chertof will be sacrificed. It is all PR at this point.
I believe there will be a three pronged campaign; 1) the presidential commission (with a simultaneous quashing of any Democratic/Congressional investigations) 2) continued “leaking” of Louisiana State Democratic short comings 3) and ultimately a bloodletting of “officials once removed from the administration”.
There, we should all feel safe(r).
September 6th, 2005 at 1:57 pmAs you can see from the above stench, #2 has been enacted. Soon all Americans will need to start anti-viral meds if the GOP rot is to be conatined.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:01 pmWhen a competent person screws up big, you fire the competent person.
When an incompetent person screws up big, you fire the incompetent person AND the person who hired the incompetent person.
When an incompetent person screws up big, and they were hired by an incompetent person, you fire both, and blame the electorate that elected them.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:06 pmBUSH LOVES NICKNAMES. DO YOU THINK WE CAN MAKE THESE STICK IF WE USE THEM ENOUGH?
1. NEW ORLEAN’S new name: LAKE GEORGE
2. KATRINA relocation centers, with a nod to Herbert Hoover: BUSHVILLES
3. DICK CHENEY, who supported slashing flood control funds and refused to leave his Wyoming vacation once the deluge began: DICK BAN DIKE
4. MICHAEL BROWN, FEMA Chief, an incompetent Bush crony who was previously fired from his gig at a horse owners’ association: BRONCO BROWN, MISMASTER OF DISASTER
5. MICHAEL CHERTOFF, Homeland Security Chief: MISLEADING MIKE, THE HOMELAND HUCKSTER
6. CONDI RICE, preoccupied with a thousand-dollar shoe buying spree in Manhattan during the crisis: IMELDA RICE or NO SHOES, NO SERVICE
7. The act of reflexively defending Bush: BUSH FLUFFING
8. Those who engage in same: BUSH FLUFFERS
9. When Bush hallucinates about “mandates” or “political capital”: FLUFFY BUSH MOMENTS
10. Repealing the ESTATE TAX, which is levied only on the richest 1% of estates yet is the GOP’s top priority in this time of crisis: THE PARIS HILTON TAX CUT
ONCE AGAIN, DO YOU THINK WE CAN MAKE THESE NICKNAMES STICK IF WE USE THEM ENOUGH?
September 6th, 2005 at 2:10 pmYou’re a freakin’ dipstick #9. Do you not understand the difference between elected officials and federal appointments?
I’m p*ssed at the Democrats too for not at least making a noise as Bush filled these posts with his cronies, but we might as well have had the twins running FEMA. These goddamn GOPhers who profess to hate big government somehow never turn down a post that carries some importance, and now we wonder why when expertise is needed, federal responses fail. No coincidence at all.
Here’s the deal. If Bush keeps on appointing numbskulls to protect us, we can start choosing numbskulls to protect him. I nominate Michael Jackson to head up the Secret Service, and Steve-O to pilot Airforce 1.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:13 pm# 9 - Liberals,
Why don’t you find out about Mayor Nagan’s response for us? Help us out and let us know.
Here’s what I know (courtesy another post by Zwack):
The Gov. of Louisiana requested FEMA’s help on Aug 28th.
http://www.gov.state.la.us/ Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf
And when is FEMA supposed to help? WHEN the Governor makes a request.
http://www.fema.gov/txt/library/thisisfema.txt
You may want to step out of the tiny minority of people shamelessly defending the Bush cronies in FEMA for their dereliction of duty.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:14 pm#9 troll, Is this one of the daily talking points from Der Leader’s Office of Mind Control?
What is your point? If you don’t follow the rules, pass go and collect $200 you don’t get help? Get a grip, this is part of the issue, everyone is waiting for someone else to do something for 5 days. It was a stare down. There are no rules for devastation like this, you just do it.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:15 pmTAC
As an base argument, they are GREAT! However, I believe simpler is the answer. Democrats=Party of Accountability, GOP=Party of Rot/Corruption. One or two easy to remember messages over and over. But Condi=Imelda & Paris Hilton relief package, priceless!
September 6th, 2005 at 2:19 pm#17
My point is that Nagan did not even follow his own city’s emergency plan. If he had, then more people would have gotten out. There were hundreds of school buses underwater that if the right person was in the mayor’s job, would have been used to evacuate those less fortunate. What I can’t stand is the media and every liberal out there trying to make political hay that this is all of Bush’s fault. I’m not saying that everything he did was perfect either. I’m just saying that there is enough blame to go around.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:28 pm#9 - You’re simply wrong. FEMA WAS in charge and screwed up (because Bush undid FEMA’s 90’s renaissance and filled it up with GOP activist cronies).
“The moment the president declared a federal disaster, it became a federal responsibility… The federal government took ownership over the response”
- Former FEMA chief of staff Jane Bullock
http://www.latimes.com/ news/ nationworld/ nation/ la-na-fema5sep05,0,2650635,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines
September 6th, 2005 at 2:29 pmI took a look at the White House declaration of impending emergency posted on the web site August 27.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ news/ releases/ 2005/ 08/ 20050827-1.html
OOOPS, maybe it isn’t their fault, afterall! There seems to be a few key parishes missing from the list: Orleans, St. Bernards, St. Tammany, Palquemines, St. Charles, Jefferson, among others. Isn’t that a coincidence?
“The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.”
I guess the unlisted parishes are on their own.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:32 pm#19 - There is enough blame to go around. I think Mayor Nagan will step down after this. The question is, will Bush step down? Or will he even get an independent inquiry going?
September 6th, 2005 at 2:32 pmTry ‘em. Hang ‘em.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:37 pm#19 - it’s not about “making political hay”, it’s asking the tough questions. As a citizen, you have a DUTY to ask questions of your government. By NOT asking questions you’re not doing your duty (and neither are “establishment” Dems for that matter).
September 6th, 2005 at 2:38 pmSlightly off topic, but in regards to this “School Bus Evacuation” talking point the Right Wing has.
How many school buses did NOLA have on August 28th? How many people (not just children) per bus? What’s the maximum # of people all these school buses “could” have evacuated assuming a one way trip?
My prediction: Way less than the number of people available.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:38 pmGeorge wanted me to be the guy.
I’ve been doing a gig in the middle east but I could get back real quick.
Guess who was in Jordan last week at the request of its king, Abdullah II, leaving, by coincidence, the day before a missile was fired at a U.S. naval vessel? None other than Kerik, who now heads a security firm, called the Kerik Group, which is exploring projects in Jordan, Dubai and Lebanon.
Eight months after his personal life unraveled before the nation following his nomination as director of Homeland Security, Kerik has resurfaced. Although a mystery remains of how he was vetted for the police commissioner’s job without filing the proper financial disclosures, it appears no indictment will follow from that or from anything else he allegedly did.
Instead, on Kerik’s Web site, there is a picture of him and President George W. Bush, with the presidential quote, “Bernie is a dedicated, innovative reformer who insists on getting results.”
http://www.nynewsday.com/ news/ local/ newyork/ ny-nyplaz264398474aug26,0,543993.column?coll=ny-ny-columnists
http://www.kerikgroup.com/capabilities.htm
September 6th, 2005 at 2:45 pmTo the fish troll
We are draining the GOP cesspit, when it’s low enough we will drown you in it.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:48 pmAs bad as the Bushies are - “Where are the goddam Democrats?’
September 6th, 2005 at 2:52 pmI’m getting sick and tired of the only opposition to Bush is voiced in these Blogs. It’s about time we demanded more of our leaders - the DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP!.
Did everyone write their senator/congressman today to demand that they grow a backbone and hold this administration accountable?
September 6th, 2005 at 3:04 pmI took a look at the White House declaration of impending emergency posted on the web site August 27.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ news/ releases/ 2005/ 08/ 20050827-1.html
OOOPS, maybe it isn’t their fault, afterall! There seems to be a few key parishes missing from the list: Orleans, St. Bernards, St. Tammany, Palquemines, St. Charles, Jefferson, among others. Isn’t that a coincidence?
“The President’s
I think I read some where that this is really about “Cindy” two months earlier. It has been stated that he is using a delcaration that is 8 weeks late to cover for be timely on Katrina.
Bush and his group are real good CYA, just lie, Lie Big, and often until it is accepted as being atleast partially true.
We have not seen anything yet.
September 6th, 2005 at 3:13 pmNO Buses - I understand that one of the problems with using buses is that there were no drivers. Everyone was told to leave so they did. It’s going to be critical to look at what went wrong. But, what is apparant, is that in florida, FEMA responses were much quicker and decisive. That didn’t happen in LA, etc. How come? Does it mean that the prezident screwed up or someone else? If the new Home Land Security structure is the cause of the problem, then fix it. What is clear is that WE NEED TO ASK HARD QUESTIONS. Enough with “hard work” now is the time to determine what went wrong and fix it.
It’s a shame that the defenders of the administration want no quesitons asked and look to blame others. It’s necessary to our national security to determine if the prezident dropped the ball. While he will never admit a mistake, with so much damage and death, now is not the time to play political games.
September 6th, 2005 at 3:33 pmWhy WOULDN’T the terrorist strike now?
Why should they bother? Bush has, for the past 4 years, done more to hurt the USA than they could possibly hope to do with any terrorist incident — why would they attack a guy who’s essentially on their side?
September 6th, 2005 at 3:35 pmBob & Marie
You are so correct. Where are they? I have come to the conclusion that we must punish this current crop of full time politicians. Take out Biden & Liberman with a funded grassroots campaign, this will get their attention as nothing else has. Our party is weak at the most critical time in our nation’s history. This is why I believe the DLC has become an albatross to the party, they only encourage “the middle dance of obscurity” and not progressive thinking. As a moderate I believe we can be progressive and moderate, we just need leaders, not candidates.
September 6th, 2005 at 3:39 pm#19,
September 6th, 2005 at 3:41 pmYou don’t get it, the catastrophe is not Bush’s fault, the reaction or lack there of is. Nagin is a hero for telling the prez and govenor to quit arguing and come-up with a plan. Not unlike Sheehan wanting to ask the prez about his war in Iraq. On Monday someone from FEMA should have been on-site, they were not. The president could have flown into the area on Tuesday and landed, instead a look at a 1,700 feet fly over, no leadership. Again, we see evidence of a government not for the people but for the select.
#32 Hell, Al Queda probably feels sorry for us by now. I agree, why would they bother? It’s just too easy. I really feel safe now. Thanks W.
September 6th, 2005 at 3:41 pmNot until Nagin called W out in public did he get anything accomplished. The trolls are on their smear campaign - they don’t waste a minute.
September 6th, 2005 at 3:45 pm[…] […]
September 6th, 2005 at 3:46 pmBoy, you should see the guys in charge of my operation. They are even more qualified than these clowns….And that is really saying something…
September 6th, 2005 at 3:48 pmThe right-wingers keep talking about the buses, the buses. But they never talk about where the people were supposed to be evacuated to.
Nagin’s authority ends at the city line. He couldn’t just dump evacuees off at the edge of New Orleans with the hurricane coming in. They needed to be provided with shelters, sanitation, food, and water in case the city flooded and they couldn’t go back home. That’s exactly the type of disaster mitigation that FEMA’s supposed to provide.
The fact that wingers think that tens of thousands of people could be driven out of the path of the storm in the fifty or sixty buses they keep showing pictures of just goes to show you the kind of logistical brilliance that led to this disaster.
September 6th, 2005 at 4:04 pmNo, no… now is the time for the billboards to be plastered with a heavenly adorned huge picture of Bush with the words ‘Our Leader’ emblazoned above his dear face all around the parishes of New Orleans.
Rally for the President on the DC Mall, today and everyday.
He can do nothing wrong, his mother has a beautiful mind.
Vote Bush in 2008 long live George Bush
It only makes sense.
Don’t blame Bush, blame me. It’s all my fault… I think.
September 6th, 2005 at 4:06 pmYou forgot Mark Wallace, the general counsel. The guy who replaced Brown, when Brown got the promotion.
Mark Wallace got his start as Jeb Bush’s limo driver in 1994.
September 6th, 2005 at 4:10 pm#21
look again at Blanco’s aug 28th request:
http://www.gov.state.la.us/ Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf
orleans and other parishes are listed in her request for assistance…a request that went ignored…
and, personally, if i were pres i wouldn’t giving a flying you know what if that paperwork was filled out or not in such a crisis- i’d be contacting the states affected finding out what they needed rather than saying “well, have you filled out form X of 59?? you have? not to my knowledge….”
& here you have on the 29th:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ news/ releases/ 2005/ 08/ 20050828-1.html
and i just realized something..when did the main federal response begin?? thrusday…..that 29th item indicates “For a period of up to 72 hours, federal funding is available at 100 percent of the total eligible costs for emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance. The 72-hour period funding at 100 percent excludes debris removal. ”
which would be about 72 hours….
September 6th, 2005 at 4:13 pmTrent Lott says he wants only accountibility of Federal officals. He does not want these officals pushed out of their roles to testify before the investigations.
September 6th, 2005 at 4:21 pmI need to correct my post:
Trent Lott implies he does not want accountibility of Federal officals. He says, he does not want these officals pushed out of their roles to testify before the investigations.
September 6th, 2005 at 4:24 pmRNC talking point I’ve already heard, #25. Damned hard to deploy school buses inside the city of NOLA that are being swamped by flood waters…I’d also want to SEE those buses, too. Many of the kids in NOLA take trolleys to school — I’ve been on them when school gets out, packed to the gills like sardines in a can. So exactly where are these buses that the RNC is chatting up? Any chance they’re damned close to the levee?
September 6th, 2005 at 4:25 pmWhat? Incompetent leadership? Get outta here. At least we have a really qualified Secretary of State who also heads the Department of Shoe-Shopping during any state of emergency. We proudly support our first pro-torture Attorney General, who doesn’t love that? And our anti-UN UN Ambassador. If only we could find some illiterate hick to speak about the greatness of our No Child Left Behind flop. At least these bullshitters don’t believe in “big government.” We got that going for us.
September 6th, 2005 at 4:35 pmTo get back to the original topic — notice that on the FEMA org chart that the top operational folks who actually know something about disaster management are both *acting* directors. Typical of this administration across the board — key operational posts going unfilled or temporarily filled while the top prestige posts are uniformly given over to hacks. (See also: Treasury dept.)
September 6th, 2005 at 4:36 pmHello Liberals Suck. I know that you got your talking point off Drudge Report. But the thing is, Drudge isn’t very smart. People e-mail things to him and he posts them. The guy is not the world’s greatest detective.
But anyway… About the buses. Are you saying that Nagin should have evacuated the citizens of NO on buses before the hurricane hit? If so, why? Did you believe that the levees would be breached? If so, then you disagree with Bush, who said that no one could have anticipated that the levees would have been breached.
So if you disagree with Bush, do you believe that Bush was wrong to slash funding for levee repair?
September 6th, 2005 at 4:37 pmKatrina highlights the inability of the US Government and moreso the Bush Administration to response to the needs of the American People. The Department of Home Land Security is a joke and merely a way of rewarding those who worked on the Bush Campaign with our hard erranded dollars. If Home Land Security does not have the authority to act in an Emergency or to dispatch troops what is it purpose. The American People have once again been deceived.
While all of us are focused on the immediate needs of the people both black and white impacted by Katrina we need to think ahead and ensure that the plans for the future included returning those who want to go to their homes.
Although Bush pleaded to rebuild those areas affected will that rebuilding include the poor or will the eminent domain law be used to take their homes and hand them over to a wealthly developer to build high rises, resorts, etc. Will the Government add insult to injury..While focusing onthe immediate needs we need to began to build a building fund to ensure that those who want to go home can and moreso that what little they do have remain theirs.
We need to write our politicians, the media and whoever else will listen and urged them not to add injury to insult..protect those who have been displaced and ensure that they will have something to come home to.
September 6th, 2005 at 4:41 pmHuffington post wonders what might have been had Renquist died while Clinton was president: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ russell-shaw/ 1993-gore-book-warns-lou_b_6850.html
Would Al Gore have filled FEMA and DHS with ‘Caligula’s horsemen’?
Wow, and I thought Al Gore was supposed to be barking mad….
September 6th, 2005 at 4:57 pmThis is a result of the Homeland Security Act that Democrats proposed and then ended up opposing after the GOP added provisions that stripped government civil service protections away from its employees. This returned thousands of jobs to partisan appointments which had ended over a hundred years ago. Now Homeland Security even more than other departments is the place to dump political buddies who need a job. And everytime the White House changes hands one set of hacks will be removed and another brought in.
September 6th, 2005 at 5:44 pmRegardless of what Nagin, Blanco, Chertoff, Bush or God Himself did in response to Katrina, staffing FEMA after 9/11 with woefully unqualified individuals constituted criminal negligence and dereliction of duty. Bush put the most important Federal initiative since 1945 years in the hands of a lawyer fired by a horse breeders’ association, and the result was the needless death of thousands of Americans that would have been saved by a competent response. Even Karl Rove can’t put an acceptable spin on that.
I’m sure the Congressional investigation will take a close look at the credentials of all the individuals holding management positions in DHS. If the top three positions at FEMA are any indication, I have a bad feeling about what they’re going to find.
September 6th, 2005 at 5:49 pmThe apologists always miss the most basic points. First of all FEMA is supposed to be able to respond to terrorist threats - and they won’t give the mayor time to line up the yellow buses. If FEMA can’t respond properly with 1 weeks notice - heaven help us with a terrorist attack. This administration has sold itself on protecting us from the terrorists - but a better question is who will protect us from their incompetence? If they have to try to scapegoat a desperate mayor to try to protect themselves from the utter failures - they are pathetic little crap bags… The president argued he need to be able to fire union employees to ensure incompetent people didn’t work for the department of homeland security - but it seems the opposite is true. He just wanted to ensure that only HIS incompetent people worked there - and he intended to replace competent ‘adversaries’ with them. And all of america pays once again for the king and his idiotic pea brain…
September 6th, 2005 at 6:24 pm… It’s so sad , it would be funny - if it weren’t TRUE ! It literally boggles the mind to think of the incompetence it required to f*** this ‘ evacuation ‘ up SO completely , from the 3 day beforehand warning to the ” S(t)uperdome Settlement ” fiasco . And then , to add insult to immense injury , we have Chertoff and his equally moronic counterparts blathering : ” We didn’t know … ” - WHY NOT !?! It was ALL OVER the media EVERYWHERE - CNN , MSNBC , even Faux News ! We knew the S(t)uperdome was ‘ going down for the count ‘ by Tuesday evening - HOW can Chertoff LIE right to our faces ? Even more important , how does he sleep at night , knowing SO MANY people DIED because he just didn’t care to watch the news ? …
September 6th, 2005 at 6:44 pm[…] If you want a top-notch emergency response organization, don’t hire your three top staffers from the ranks of college buddies, political event planners, and press flaks. These people know how to booze, plan boozing, and cover up boozing, respectively. […]
September 6th, 2005 at 6:52 pmYou could call the response to Katrina a “Chinese fire drill” but that would be a compliment, as the Chinese recently evacuated 900,000 people in the face of a cyclone and only lost 14 people.
September 6th, 2005 at 6:55 pmThe placing of these individuals in not just an accident caused by needing to park two job-seekers from the campaign. It is part of a deliberate plan to incorporate FEMA into the Bush image-polishing operation. Here’s a quote from an article by Eric Bohlert in Salon:
Eric Bohlert in Salon: The Politics of Hurricane Relief
“Then one month before the election, Bush took the unusual measure of ordering FEMA to pay 90 percent of the costs local Florida agencies accrued in the wake of the hurricanes. Traditionally, FEMA only covers 75 percent of the costs not covered by insurance. The directive covered infrastructure repairs as well as police and fire department overtime.
Partisan politics were certainly in the air during the busy hurricane season. Specifically, one FEMA consultant, in an e-mail dated Sept. 3, 2004, recommended that “top-level people from FEMA and the White House need to develop a communication strategy and an agreed-upon set of themes and communications objectives.” He stressed, “Communication consultants from the President’s re-election campaign should be brought in.” FEMA officials insisted they did not follow the consultant’s advice.”
September 6th, 2005 at 7:29 pmAs fasr as I am concerned there are numerous posters on this blog site that should go back to the wingnut sites, get more information, and then return.
All the wingnut comments I have seen here are off the mark, not backed up by facts, and spout the rove line.
Grow up folks, at least get thru puberty.
September 6th, 2005 at 7:36 pmTo the Bush administration, being republican was sufficient to qualify a person to work for the CPA in Iraq. So of course for these guys the ability to raise money for Bush is, in itself, such a meritorious action that the fundraiser had therefore proven his qualification for any federal job open.
September 6th, 2005 at 7:45 pmthe largest seaport in the USA was attacked and Bush blew off the response. This was no “local” failure but a national disaster. New Orleans is the world’s FOURTH BIGGEST SEAPORT…
September 6th, 2005 at 7:58 pmHow is mayor Nagin responsible for the people being without water and food for days after the hurricane?
If it was all his fault wouldn’t other areas like Biloxi, Gulfport, Pass Christian, Bay St-Louis, Waveland, have received adequate help?
The Superdome did what it was supposed to do: protect the people DURING the hurricane and protect them from the floodwaters. (Nobody that went to the Superdome drowned in their submerged houses.) The problem is what happened AFTER the flood when water/food/buses failed to arrive and people were locked inside waiting, and the army shot people who tried to walk across the bridge to the west bank which had water, electricity, food.
September 6th, 2005 at 8:15 pmActually, New Orleans is the fifth, although it is included in all of “South Louisiana, USA” for cargo moved. Shanghai, Singapore, Rotterdam and Ningpo are the leaders. See http://www.geohive.com/charts/seaport.php
Also please note that the entire area of devistation is as large as Great Britain. Gives some perspective on the entire operation (not just NOLA).
September 6th, 2005 at 8:31 pmAlso, let’s not forget the National Guard–in *any* natural disaster, one of the first steps is always to call out the National Guard to secure the area, and act as a force for maintaining order, and assisting civilians–that’s the main reason for the existence of the National Guard!
September 6th, 2005 at 8:53 pmInteresting you bring up the impact of the loss of the port of NO on the economy. Setting aside the horrendous human misery we’ve seen played out just for a moment, the economics simply bear witness to the folly of not protecting New Orleans and the people who live(d) there:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/090605R.shtml
September 6th, 2005 at 10:07 pmRe: 60
September 6th, 2005 at 10:26 pmWillie, you’ve drawn the parallel. If indeed it is the forth in the world, vis a vie the US, we are in deep excretement.
OK 5th is still disturbing.
September 6th, 2005 at 10:28 pmContrary to an earlier claim here by “Liberals Suck,” FEMA IS a first-response organization…by its very own charter!!! Look it up at fema.gov. But perhaps Chertoff and Brown haven’t gotten around to reading the document.
September 6th, 2005 at 10:56 pmWhat they need to do is replace these idiots by having a reality tv program like Rock Star INXS or The Apprentice. Could we possibly do any worse?
September 6th, 2005 at 11:20 pmMaybe finally the people will be heard. Maybe finally the MSM will wake up and ask the hard questions about why completely unqualified people were occupying offices of importance such as FEMA.
September 6th, 2005 at 11:46 pmThe best way you protect your people is to be prepared for the unexpected at all times. You always have to leave room for the unexpected.
These people were oblivious to the real life that everyday, regular people have to live. And by my best guess that’s about 90% of us.
We elect and trust these people to formulate and maintain plans of action when or if they are needed.
In this case, I believe blame is wide and far reaching.
I think the beauracracy sat back and hoped that the levees would hold.
hey everyone, is it any more obvious to the american people that bush is full of shit? i agree with all who say that with warning of a hurricane we still had dead bodies lying in the streets for days. this is the united states people. the human suffering and total civic breakdown in NO is an international embarrassment. how can all of those bush supporters who have their heads crammed up their biblical asses b.s their way out of this one? tell them God help us if there is a real terrorist attack.
September 7th, 2005 at 12:02 amThe problem is that the present Bush administration is no different than all other levels of government in our country. (Well, perhaps there is more incompetence at all levels with this administration.) People that have been appointed to high level positions have no experience or expertise in the areas that they serve. Just look the FEMA management. These people are only there because they were big financial contributors or close friends. The whole system, from the local santitary or water district all the way to the top needs to be repaired before our country totaly falls apart from incompetence.
September 7th, 2005 at 12:13 amGood Grief! FEMA just sent 180 evacuees to Charleston West Va. instead of Charleston So. Carolina where they were awaited!
September 7th, 2005 at 12:18 amIf this weren’t so critical, this would be a comedy. Laurel and Hardy would do better than Chertoff and Brown.
I just don’t understand… Japan was hit today by cat 3 (almost 4) hurricane Nabi. On the news, we saw the emergency teams out ther already on the scenes rescuing people even if it was not completely over yet.
The folks in Louisiana and Mississipi needed to get out of this newly created filthy dump ASAP… NOT A FRIDJIN WEEK OR SO LATER for God sakes…
Somebody pointed this out earlier: GET THE JOB DONE!!!
Whoever, whatever, now, fast…
So, for a moment, let’s forget the following:
1- While people started dying, and starving, Bush was eating cake, playing guitar, having a drink in his comfy AF One, got picture of his Hollyshitness taken with freshly shinned parked rescue helicopters and military troops in almost formal apparel and that he was miserably trying very, very hard to almost feel sorry for these people, holding them in his arms. Anyways, this poor guy needs a rest so he did the best thing: send his vice “undisclosed person” to an “undisclosed disaster area”.
2- Condy was shopping for shoes: after all, a thousand dollar shoe must be way more robust than a 35$ hard capped boots, shouldn’t it? Also, filth washes off easier on shinny shoes than used ones…
3- Rover is trying to spin yet another ballon on his nose… Luckilly, so far, only F*?&cks News get tickets to that clown show…
4- The whole FEMA upper org chart is as competent to do their appointed jobs (as a whole) as a cat at an olympic’s final swiming competition
5- FEMA knew that disaster would struck the New Orleans area at any given moment since month, years ago but, ooops, did not planned for it…
6- Bush is gonna “lead” the investigation. (Bravo! That’s the best way for a criminal to get out of trouble: investigate your own case!)
7- I’ll stop here, there are to much to list
That being said, Nagin is on a distress mode: people do make mistakes on distress mode and people are by their nature, not perfect. All he wanted was to RECEIVE HELP NOW, RIGHT AWAY, IMMEDIATLY, PRONTO, PRESTO!!!
There is a difference between doing mistakes and sheer incompetence, and this difference shows itself when someone want to get people off their arses right away, even if he did not filled the proper 4 copy form, as opposed to someone that tells people that everything is fine and that help will probably, maybe be there whithin 72 hours. (Which, as a salesman selling technique, seems much quicker than 3 days…)
But, please, forget all this for now, shall we? Pointing finger is not polite, as mommy said.
So, please,
GET THE F?%!ING JOB DONE.
As for the responsible not getting the help there on time, I hope that they’ll “… smoke them out of their caves. It’s a promise”. (I heard that somewhere…)
Thanks for letting me vent…
September 7th, 2005 at 12:46 amTo the poster “Liberals suck.” I have one finger pointed at you. Well, maybe not pointed.
September 7th, 2005 at 2:36 amHurricane Katrina News From Think Progress
In a chance to pick up some news stories that slipped through the cracks, let’s look at three interesting article from Think Progress a site that fights for “Social and Economic Justice, Healthy Communities, Global Leadership” and “A Secure…
September 7th, 2005 at 5:33 amDutch newspapers have of course follwed the news in America with great interest esp. because we had huge parts of our country flooded in the past (and will have that again if global warming doesn’t stop!!!).
Interesting is that alle the experts here say that the system followed in NO at the moment to close the gap in the dyke’s is not very reliable.
September 7th, 2005 at 10:20 amhttp://www.votetoimpeach.org
September 7th, 2005 at 10:39 amwe have got to get him out….
[…] And, the organization leading this clusterfuck, the ones that are apparently handing out these orders to the military? It’s run by a bunch of no-nothing, low-ranking, Bush-family lackeys. It’s no wonder people are dying in droves. […]
September 7th, 2005 at 10:49 amBush has an I.Q. of 91. Give the guy a break. He is not smart enough to do anything correct.
September 7th, 2005 at 10:51 amRequired reading for all future presidential candidates: -
“Executive Orders” by Tom Clancy
September 7th, 2005 at 10:56 amA Republican sympathizer accusing leftists of MAKING POLITICAL HAY?????? Anybody see the humor in this? Making political hay is all the Bush Administration does! That’s their only job, to stay in power.
Face it: People are fed up with the fakes running this country. They feel for the poor souls left to sit in filth and go hungry for days. They want regime change, and yes, that’s political.
All the arguments about local action/inaction fall apart when you consider that Governor Blanco requested help from FEMA. the day before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast (See #16.) Nagin may be covering his ass, and he probably didn’t do all he could have, but remember that New Orleans was praised for the success of its evacuation plan on Monday morning. Maybe it wasn’t the best plan, but it was executed.
September 7th, 2005 at 11:31 am#72 Actually FEMA told Charleston SC that they were receiving evacuees - leaving SC scrambling since they weren’t expecting anyone. Turned out those were the people Charleston WV had invited and was ready for.
September 7th, 2005 at 11:48 am[…] Katrina has been not only a colossal human tragedy but also a discomfiting ratings boon for the media. Like millions of people worldwide, I’ve been watching coverage of this unfolding disaster with sympathy, sadness and anger. I’ve seen grown men cry in desperation, witnessed celebreties and journalists rescue the sick and disabled, and raged at the utter incompetence of our elected officials to offer timely humanitarian aid. For the most part, I have been at a loss for words. But in the past few days, with growing calls for the dismissal of patronage appointees Brown, et. al, I’ve noticed that the administration’s media team has been focused more on spinning than on doctoring. The NYT has surmised that Karl Rove is behind this, offering that “in a reflection of what has long been a hallmark of Mr. Rove’s tough political style, the administration is also working to shift the blame away from the White House and toward officials of New Orleans and Louisiana who, as it happens, are Democrats.” […]
September 7th, 2005 at 12:27 pmHey I’m no troll. I lived in New Orleans and am a Yellow Dog Democrat. It seems that govt officials at all levels are attempting to escape responsibility by shifting blame to others. Mayor Nagin has justifiably bitterly complained of the fed’s ineptitude, bordering on criminal negligence. So has the NO Director of Disaster MISmanagement, and Councilman Thomas has misdirected his ire at Baton Rouge, which has doubled its population, with great sacrifice, to help evacuees. But in fact there is plenty of blame to go around; so their own failure to in any way accept responsibility makes them legitimate targets. Nagin was asked day before yesterday about NO’s responsibility after the storm. He denied any. I was hoping he would be asked at minimum, whether in retrosepect he would have done anything differently before the storm. In a separate interview with Chris Matthews yesterday, he was asked that very question, and whether he bore any responsibility. He cleverly deflected this into only “I should have screamed harder” (post storm). “He who lives in a glass house…etc.” Let’s look at why so many people were put in such dire circumstances to begin with. Perhaps Nagin, et al, would do well to look into their own hearts and assess their panicky, illthoughtout, and inhumane prestorm efforts. Clearly there was no preplan or else it wasn’t a very good one. Without going into detail, by Friday it was apparent that the storm would be a direct or near hit, yet no evacuation order came until Sunday, the day before stormstrike. The consequences had been predicted and wargamed ad nauseum, even for a Category 3, yet some 100,000 NO citizens were left to their likely fate on their own. At minimum, why weren’t the Dome and C Center supplied with food and water, when even in the best of circumstances they would not get help for 2 or 3 days. As best I understand, not one extra bottle of water or can of food was provided. Why no municipal disaster supervisor/s or policemen detailed or asked to volunteer to impart some order or at least share their plight. And even worse, why was transportation not commandeered, since Nagin acknowledged that the majority of those to be left behind were not doing so willingly, but rather for lack of vehicles or resources; or because of infirmity. In response to a reporter’s inquiry, Nagin proudly said, “We got 80% out.” “We” got NOONE out. The 80% got themselves out by the grace of God. I know New Orleans. I lived there. There had to be in excess of 2,000 vehicles available; city buses, police auxiliary vehicles, rental fleets, U-Hauls, over 200 school buses, and even AMTRAK. Now, most of those vehicles are empty mute skeletons under water. For Shame. I now live in the Houston area, and am so proud that the people here have stood tall and opened their pocketbooks and more importantly their hearts, to help out. By the way, even a Cat 3, the strongest predicted and modeled, was likely to take out or surge over the levees. And see Brian Williams at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9216831/#050905 for catastrophic damage prediction by National Weather Service at 10:11AM, Sunday the day before stormstrike.
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005
…DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED…
HURRICANE KATRINA…A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH…RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.
MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS…PERHAPS LONGER.
AT LEAST HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL…ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED…ALL WINDOWS WILL BE BLOWN OUT.
THE VAST MAJORITY…OF TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING…BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED.
POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS…AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
Talk about horrifyingly prescient!
September 7th, 2005 at 3:31 pmGive the FEMA leaders a fair trial, then take them out and hang them.
September 7th, 2005 at 9:24 pmGeorge W. is the president of the United States and, as such, wants to take full credit for the positive (are there any?) outcomes which result from actions taken within the Oval Office. Well, the flipside of that situation is that he must also accept responsibiilty for the failures or ineptitudes which result from his actions within the oval office. It’s time that he quit looking to others (i.e. “daddy”) to fix his mess and he start accepting responsibility. If he can’t handle the pressure of being the president, then it is time for him to resign his presidency — and do the country a favor.
September 7th, 2005 at 10:34 pmTwo points on School bus evacuation.
I don’t know for sure about Orleans Parish, but in most areas all school buses are privately owned. The drivers are usually owner/operators. In St. Tammany years ago they went on “strike”–actually breached their contracts–and quit picking up kids until they got more money. We even had a case in which a driver failed to pick up kids in the afternoon because he had a better offer taking a church group over to Gulfport.
The big issue is where would all those poor have found shelter? Unless things have changed drastically I can almost be certain sheriff’s cars would have blocked any attempt to bring those feared and despised N.O. blacks into their parish! We might have had a mini war during the evacuation. A report about deputies from Gretna firing shots to keep people from crossing over indicates things have not changed all that much. Even assuming they did get out, where would they shelter? It is taking several domes and many other sites now with so many dead and still in the mess.
Evacuations of that magnitude across state lines have to be a Federal matter. That sort of thing is supposedly what all that HS money has been going to the last several years. Evacuate Chicago! Evacuate Atlanta! Where to?
September 8th, 2005 at 12:12 amFellows, fellows, fellows, I am deeply outraged by your vicious attack on Mr. Brown. I have excellent experience with two dogs and two cats, therefore I feel myself qualified to be the new director of the atomic energy agency. It’s idiots like you people keeping folks like myself from all the good jobs. And let me assure you all that handling two cats and two dogs on a full time basis is far more complex that a few horses. So, back off on Brown!!
September 8th, 2005 at 3:26 amToo many trolls in this post :)
September 8th, 2005 at 8:39 amThe outcome of these events is scripted in advance by social, economic, and technological forces that give new meaning to the term “autopilot.” How, in your wildest imagination, if they can drive a missile firing military aircraft into the Pentagon and call it a 757, do you think it matters in any way, shape, or form, who is head of what? The animated celluloid cartoon concoctions of Disney would fair equally as well.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:54 amNilitos,
No matter what the disaster, whether it is man-made (a terrorist attack, a large scale inductrial accident,…) or natural (earthquake, hurricane,…) you need to have a plan for how to deal with it. You also need to have trained first responders.
In the immediate aftermath of a disaster there is chaos and confusion. If the disaster is large enough, local first responders will not be adequate to deal with it. At this point, state and federal resources step in.
Anti-terrorism dollars are most effectively spent in two areas (although I’m not seeing much sign of them being spent in those two) Intelligence and First Responders. Intelligence to try and catch terrorists, preferably before they commit an act, but failing that, afterwards, before they commit the next one. First Responders because no matter what the terrorists throw at us, they will be the ones to deal with it.
Spending on first responders also helps protect against Natural disasters. These people need to train, be properly equipped, and need to know what they are doing. They also need to be co-ordinated. Co-ordination and planning is one area where FEMA come in. FEMA should also have first responders of their own. Given that FEMA should be practicing and planning they really need someone in charge who knows what they are doing.
The outcome may be scripted in advance, but given the right planning we can change that script.
If New Orleans had had an emergency evacuation plan then everyone would know how to get out of the area, where to go and how to get there. People wouldn’t be reliant on having money or a car. They wouldn’t need to know these things in advance, they could be informed at the time. The local media start broadcasting a message “Please make your way to one of the following locations…” Once people arrive there, they get shepherded aboard buses, planes, tranes, cars, whatever and are delivered to a shelter. If that shelter has problems then there is a plan to move people from that shelter to another location. And so on. This is Disaster planning. Most larger Businesses have Disaster Recovery plans, and those that don’t are probably working on them.
So the fact that the head of FEMA knows more about the rear end of Horses than how to plan for a disaster IS a big deal. It would be like hiring a circus clown to run a bank. It might work, it might not, but wouldn’t you rather hire someone with financial experience?
Z.
September 8th, 2005 at 11:14 amThey always have a hidden agenda or a complete incompetance issue don’t they. I wonder if they all get together and talk about how to UNIFY THEIR LIE or are they briefed by pentagon officials on a unified lie. The “Bush Wacked” ensemble of morons seem to keep spewing the same pathetic little phrases, like programed robots of doom, that are repetedly laid out for our viewing displeasure. Their facud is easily seen through. It would seem the people that are driving the bus don’t know how to get from point A to point B, let alone point A to point B to point E without a navigational gps system that does all the thinking for them. Mike Brown, eat a big bowl of shat and that goes for anyone who is a part of the awful attempt of trying to pull a fast one on the USA! WE’RE NOT BUYING IT!!! A nice, fresh enema of Orleans water does a body good. ENJOY >:(
September 8th, 2005 at 12:12 pmI am not big on politics and I probably wouldn’t win in a debate against any of you but this is where I am coming from; People are suffering due to this administration and right now thousands are dead. I want to advocate for human rights; I have the right to be evacuated if I can not afford to leave a scary situation. AND if you haven’t noticed everyone out in the street due to Katrina is BLACK and POOR now that says a lot about our government. I am pissed.
September 8th, 2005 at 2:50 pmThis national tragedy could have been prevented as far as loss of LIFE is concerned. 80% of the people are claimed to have evacuated with their material possessions. Little “Christian” thought was given to the fact that human lives were at risk. How many could have helped the 20% that remained, by forsaking the material wealth that went with them out of N.O.?
This Administration could have organzinzed the people if ONE responsible moron in this Bush administration would have done the duty he was appointed/elected to do.
It is sad that the poor and helpless was murdered as a result of IMMORAL GREED among the “self proclaimed Christian majority and their “idol” George W. Bush and “Nationalism”. Those that lost their life, were sacrificed on the “altar of Greed and hypocrisy” of a nation that is shameful. Not one person should have perished in this storm of hoplessness, abandonment and despair.
September 8th, 2005 at 5:04 pmWhy hasn’t there been a terrorist attack? Because there are no ‘terrorists’ - just covert operatives of the US national security agencies. They’ll show up when they’re required (if they didn’t already show up in New Orleans - it has yet to be established that the breaking of the levee was not intentional).
September 8th, 2005 at 9:18 pmThere is a bigger flood that is more destructive than what resulted from Katrina!
This self destructing insanity by Ostriches of “we the people” to allow the jackals of leadership of this once great nation to continue their devastating flood of lies and coverups for their incompetent leadership.
In my opinion the Fourth Reich has raised its ugly head in the eyes of the world. That is a worse tragedy than Katrina.
September 9th, 2005 at 8:14 amComment #1 “We are so screwed. We’re worse off than before 9/11. Why WOULDN’T the terrorist strike now?”
THIS is the question we should be focussing on…Why DONT the terrorists who hate us so much strike now when we’re on our knees and when it would DESTROY Bush? Is it because they can’t manage it? Come on!
September 13th, 2005 at 6:21 amTruth is, Al Quaeda consistently hit targets that help their so-called enemies and never do ANYTHING that harms Bush. An attack in another country like Australia would help him right now, an attack on US soil would finish him. Which will happen?
[…] What, exactly, is your fault, George? Is it the fact that you failed to return the multitude of phone calls placed to you by the Governor of the state suffering the most? Is it your fault you failed to provide authorization despite our soldiers being ready to go? Is it the fact that you and your toadies in the senate cut funding for levee work in 2003? Is it that you staffed a “disaster management” agency with political hacks and expert fund-raisers instead of competent persons trained to, y’know, deal with disasters? Is it the simple fact that your staff is so terrified of your petulant, immature, proud, ignorant leadership style that no one wanted to tell you the bad news? Which is it? Out with it. Just “taking responsibility” may make all your right wing apologists and administration shills fawn over you anew, but for the rest of us, the meaning (or lack thereof) of that non-specific, non-committed and nonce language begs for a real response. […]
September 14th, 2005 at 2:24 pmWhy would the terrorists bother to attack, FEMA is doing a good job for them.
September 28th, 2005 at 8:38 am[…] Exposure of Bush’s cronyism in FEMA (2) and EVERY OTHER PLACE IN THE ADMINISTRATION. […]
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March 11th, 2006 at 9:43 am[…] Partial explanations for FEMA’s ineptness may be found in the Washington Post (9/4); Knight-Ridder discussion of FEMA’s focus on terrorism 9/2; and Kevin Drum’s chronology (Washington Monly 9/1) of fema & flood control projects for the past few years. Other explanations might lie in the capability of FEMA & Homeland Security staff: Think Progress (9/6) examines the qualifications of other FEMA staff. The Wash. Post points out (9/8) that five of the eight top FEMA officials have no disaster experience and are apparently all patronage appointees: Bush donors or Republican political operatives. In that environment, it’s not surprising that the Post also found that veterans who have emergency management experience have left FEMA in droves since the Bush appointees came in. Fafblog points out why the President is not to blame (9/6) and offers another approach (9/5). … As for what didn’t happen, ThinkProgress.org debunks (9/13) right wing myths about Katrina, evacuation, and emergency relief efforts. […]
June 27th, 2006 at 7:24 pmThere were hundreds of school buses underwater that if the right person was in the mayor’s job, would have been used to evacuate those less fortunate. What I can’t stand is the media and every liberal out there trying to make political hay that this is all of Bush’s fault. I’m not saying that everything he did was perfect either.
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