Rumsfeld Continues To Blame Newspapers
Rumsfeld Continues To Blame Newspapers
Over the past week, Secretary Chertoff and Gen. Richard Myers have used the talking point that the Bush administration’s slow response to Katrina was justified because they had read headlines in the paper shortly after the hurricane had passed that said “New Orleans Dodged a Bullet.”
But ThinkProgress and other blogs called the administration out for citing a headline that didn’t exist. So staffers in the administration desparately scrounged around for real headlines to make their case, and they found three. In an interview with the Sean Hannity radio show yesterday, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld rationalized the Bush administration’s incompetence by arguing that headlines from these newspapers had misled them:
It’s interesting, however; I was told this morning that on Tuesday, August 30th, some of the headlines in the press of the United States said “New Orleans Spared From Storm’s Fury;” “New Orleans Spared Straight Shot;” “New Orleans Escaping Feared Knockout Punch.” So all the press was reporting — and of course, if you remember, New Orleans did escape the terrible wind damage that hit — and the wave damage that hit Mississippi. What New Orleans’ problem was, was that the levees did not withstand the flooding, and the city of New Orleans was flooded.
Had Rumsfeld and others bothered to read the full text of the three articles they found with favorable headlines, they would have realized that federal government help was needed immediately.
Headline: New Orleans Spared Straight Shot, but Still Dealing with Floods, Damage
[T]he storm’s strong winds and rains have still flooded many neighborhoods and ripped part of the roof off the Superdome… Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco says she’s gotten reports of as many as 20 buildings collapsing. Some residents have had to be rescued by boats after climbing onto the rooftops of their homes to escape surging water.
Headline: Escaping Feared Knockout Punch, Barely, New Orleans Is One Lucky Big Mess (originally in NYT with this headline; reprinted in the OC Weekly here with different headline)
During the storm, scores of desperate calls for help poured into the emergency operations center in a vault-like section of City Hall. They were recorded with mechanical self-control by operators who usually handle 911 lines.
“Residence has collapsed,” one operator said as she passed the information to supervisors shortly after 7 a.m. “Flooding inside.” “Female unable to breathe; she is oxygen-dependent,” she reported a few minutes later. “House on fire,” the woman said, after her next call. “Another fire,” she said, moments later. “Two males on a roof, water rising.” “Water up to windows,” she reported after another call. “People screaming that I’m drowning.” “Elderly couple in a building,” the woman reported. “Roof came off.” So it went throughout the day, but all the authorities could do was note the location and urge people to hang on. “We couldn’t send our officers out in the storm,” Matthews said later. “We couldn’t put them at risk.”
Headline: New Orleans spared from storm’s full fury
At least 53 deaths were reported, 50 of them in one county. The fire chief in Gulfport called it “complete devastation.”
Huge oak branches on Mobile’s waterfront were toppled, and an oil-drilling platform broke apart.
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I think we’ve all forgotten that Bush, by his own admission, doesn’t read newspapers and it’s obviously become office policy. They just scan the headlines and wait for someone to tell them what’s important.
September 7th, 2005 at 4:47 pmI’m surprised they even read headlines
September 7th, 2005 at 4:48 pmThey only have aides read the headlines after they have to justify some asinine statement attributed to the news.
September 7th, 2005 at 4:51 pmSo it’s worse than we thought, they get their information for the Headlines without reading any articles. No wonder why we have the clusterf**k of Iraq, and the disater of Katina. Perhaps, had the famous “Bin Laden dtermined to attack U.S.” memo sould have been printed in newspaper Headline style we would have averted 911.
September 7th, 2005 at 4:56 pmMaybe if Rummy had been given a PDB titled:
“Katrina Determined to Strike Levees in New Orleans and Flood City”
….but then again…
September 7th, 2005 at 4:57 pmSince when do the leaders of our Federal Government rely on media headlines (however prominent or obscure) for their intelligence?
September 7th, 2005 at 4:57 pmWoo – that’s spooky Citizen…
September 7th, 2005 at 4:58 pmSince a monkey came to office.
September 7th, 2005 at 4:58 pmWSAV NBC 3 in Savannah, GA, The Orange County Register, and the Minneapolis Star-Register. These are their news sources at the White House?
September 7th, 2005 at 5:05 pmit’s actually New York Times, Associated Press, and Minneapolis Star-Tribune. But the fact remains that they had an incompetent response and are now looking around for headlines to validate it
September 7th, 2005 at 5:07 pmThere are no words. I have hit the saturation point with these people. This country is FUBAR.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:14 pmThis is just nutty.
We have paid billions to give these guys the best imaginable high-tech views of everything that is going on in the world.
I’m sure they all get daily briefings as well, based on intelligence experts monitoring US as well as international events. And they could pick up a phone and instantly have people running into their offices with details.
It’s another sign of their contempt that they try to play pass off this blatant fraud on us.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:26 pmWell, remember folks, this is entirely consistent with their privatization agenda. They’ve nearly privatized the military and now they’re working on privatizing intelligence. Good job guys. Pretty soon they’ll privatized the White House. Oh wait…
September 7th, 2005 at 5:28 pm#4 – Right on.
But I feel, after watching these wack-jobs for 5 years, that what they really want is what Grover Norquist declared oh so many years ago. He want’s to drown Government in a bath tub.
While other first world nations socialize, the US privatizes and kills everything good in the process. Silly me, I thought the role of the government was to protect citizens from agressive entities.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:33 pmThese f*%kups want us to believe that they didn’t respond to the hurricane fallout quickly enough because they were getting their news updates from the morning paper? Get the hell out of my face with that garbage. These guys can deploy a unmanned aerial vehicle to drop a stinger missile on a wheelchair-bound Arab enemy in the middle of the desert on the other side of the globe and they’re trying to sell us this line of crap. Not today fellas, not tomorrow, not ever.
I’d rather be a Muslim extremist than a lying, stealing, cheating fraud. F%*K you Rumball, democracy it untidy in this country too. Now face the music!
September 7th, 2005 at 5:35 pmNORTHCOM Warning Center Tracks Threats
By Merrie Schilter Lowe
Special to American Forces Press Center
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., Sept. 27, 2004 — It is called the domestic warning center but the name does not adequately reflect the center’s diverse responsibilities.
“The DWC tracks potential threats — man-made and natural — assesses them and provides a “heads up” so the command can prevent, deter and defeat land and maritime threats. When deterrence is not possible, the center coordinates federal military support to assist civil authorities in mitigating the aftereffects. ”
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2004/n09272004_2004092702.html
The link to the main site is here. It even says how they can track Santa, but Rumsfeld goes to Hannity to lie to the American people about how he couldn’t know that a major hurricane was destroying the southern coast of the US.
http://www.norad.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.links
There is no limit to what these criminals will do and say – with the help of the lying media.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:37 pmJay – that’s a great tagline for an anti-liberal ad I’ll be setting up in the state of North Dakota. God, you guys are practically writing my stuff for the next election all by yourself. Thanks – filibuster proof senate, here we come!!!
September 7th, 2005 at 5:38 pm#15 – You hit the nail on the head. Its better to have ethics and morals than to claim you have them and really be a cheating lying SOB.
Laurel and Hardy could have done a better job than these Konservative Wack-Jobs!
September 7th, 2005 at 5:42 pmDilemma, bring it on you puke. I’m ready to rip someones face off and your’s is as good a place to start as any. I’m sick of wingnuts, I’m sick of the Bushies and I’m sick of you. ANYTIME you think you’re man enough, I’d be MORE than happy to have a one on one debate with you. The kind that requires hands and no words. The kind that gets settled with one of us lying on the street. Coward.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:45 pmThe administration spin doctors and their media cronies are doing the usual job of covering up Bush’s incompetence. Most Americans, according to various news outlets, now don’t see that anyone is particularly at fault. Brown might be offered in sacrifice, but the same nonsense of the last five years will continue. Bush is never wrong, Bush never makes mistakes just as the Right-Wing is never wrong and never makes mistakes. Despite what the polls may indicate, the public remains easily swayed and misled.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:47 pmThis is outright incompetence. In the private sector, these clowns would have been given a swift kick in the ass out the door. What ever happend to relying on folks in the field for information? I hate to say it but these guys are dumb at this. This only shows these folks are clueless. The head of FEMA and two of his deputies are political cronies. Get real experts on the job and not political hacks. Who hired those clowns?!!!
September 7th, 2005 at 5:48 pmJay I’m with you
Time to call these skels what they are, a f**king herpes sore that needs some treatment.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:48 pmJay – stop threatening me. You sound unglued. Calm down – the country is bleeding red and there ain’t a thing you can do about it. Loser.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:48 pmOne question for Rummy: Got bin Laden?
No one to blame but he and his Konservative friends for that one.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:53 pmHey republican skel above
“stop threatening me”, what a small girl. But maybe small enough to drown in the bathtub. Not only are you a chickenhawk who never served anything but GOP skel interests, but you are a small effeminate man. Time for a conjones insert operation skel.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:56 pmI’ve never been more glued and more resolute. I will fight here, in D.C. or wherever it needs to happen. You are a coward and a traitor, unworthy of your citizenship. Every point you make, every word you type is a lie. Liars finish last. Liars are losers. And you know it.
BTW, I am willing to back up my threat…and there’s nothing you can do about the fact that you are afraid.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:57 pmAnn Coulter says that Ned is a coward too: http://mediamatters.org/items/200508260002
September 7th, 2005 at 6:02 pmBet that stung Neddy, didn’t it?
Kick his fu*kin’ ass Jay.
September 7th, 2005 at 6:04 pmWhat is the newspaper (name of paper) that Chertoff read? that Rummy read? I would like to know exactly what peper they read so I can look at the front page for myself.
September 7th, 2005 at 6:06 pmYou folks on the left can’t handle the fact that the people who got out alive, even with the delay, are so happy to be alive that they don’t care to comlain. Not that I am implying there is much to complain about, but the fact also remains that there really is no problem according to the polls.
September 7th, 2005 at 6:07 pmThe sad truth is that too many people believe them and they think the same.
September 7th, 2005 at 6:12 pmI just returned from a peace demonstration with Cindy Sheehan’s group in Batavia, Il. outside Hastert’s office. This is strong Republican country, and while we were allowed to gather, the Bush supporters on the other side of the wooden horses were so loud, and so obnoxious with their taunts of the speakers and of us, that it was really disgusting. Parents of soldiers who had died were give no respect by them. They were like spoiled little kids that should have been given a time out in the corner.
I’ve been to demonstrations before and this was the most rude opposition. I can only imagine how things wil be when we go wo D.C. on the 24th.
The White House has its army in order and they go out in force.
they lie. plain & simple
September 7th, 2005 at 6:14 pmYou know Stan you miss the whole point.
September 7th, 2005 at 6:20 pm(1) When pictures of dead bodies floating in sewage in American cities cover the television screen, something has gone badly wrong
(2) When China can do a hell of a better job than the self-styled ‘greatest nation on earth’ with its typhoon, something has gone badly wrong http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4212636.stm
(3) When the Air Force can drop a napalm bomb on Fallujah at 20 minutes notice and yet America can’t drop a bottle of water into the Superdome in 5 days, something has gone badly wrong
(4) The duty of a citizen is to question government – those poor souls on the Gulf Coast expect their fellow citizens to stand up for them and ask the questions – why don’t you feel you can stand up for them, Stan?
BUSH LOVES NICKNAMES. DO YOU THINK WE CAN MAKE THESE STICK IF WE USE THEM ENOUGH?
September 7th, 2005 at 6:23 pm1. 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
11. One more…BUSH LIED, NEW ORLEANS DIED.
ONCE AGAIN, DO YOU THINK WE CAN MAKE THESE NICKNAMES STICK IF WE USE THEM ENOUGH?
*****
“…the Bush supporters on the other side of the wooden horses were so loud, and so obnoxious with their taunts of the speakers and of us, that it was really disgusting. Parents of soldiers who had died were given no respect by them…”
This really sums it up, doesn’t it? Supporters of Bush and his war against everything un-Amerikan are nothing but rabid foam mouthed insensitive maniacal fools. They get ahold of an idea that makes sense to them, and they’ll follow it to ground every time.
Ah… the product of our formerly great education system. They can’t think for themselves. And they hide in groups.
September 7th, 2005 at 6:30 pm#25 — Hey, Citizen, what did small girls ever do to you? ;-)
September 7th, 2005 at 6:34 pmMine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of King George;
He is trampling out the vintage
Where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
Of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Chorus:
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
Glory! glory, Bush will screw ya!
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
George Bush is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watchfires
Of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded Him an altar
In the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence
By the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Chorus
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
Glory! glory, Bush will screw ya!
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
George Bush is marching on.
I have read a fiery gospel
Writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with my condemners,
So with you my grace shall deal.”
Let the hero born of woman
Crush the serpent with his heel,
Since Bush is marching on!
Chorus
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
Glory! glory, Bush will screw ya!
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
George Bush is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet
That shall never sound retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men
Before His judgment seat;
O be swift, my soul, to answer Him;
Be jubilant, my feet!
George Bush is marching on.
Chorus
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
Glory! glory, Bush will screw ya!
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
George Bush is marching on.
In beauty of the lilies,
Christ born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom
That transfigures you and me;
As he died to make men holy,
Let us live to make men free,
While Bush is marching on.
Chorus:
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
Glory! glory, Bush will screw ya!
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
George Bush is marching on.
6. He is coming like the glory
Of the morning on the wave;
He is wisdom to the mighty,
He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool,
And the soul of wrong His slave.
Our George is marching on.
Chorus:
September 7th, 2005 at 7:00 pmGlory! glory, hallelujah!
Glory! glory, Bush will screw ya!
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
George Bush is marching on.
I’m thinking this is a case of two examples where garbage rises, sad to say.
Exhibit A: Rumsfeld and Myers and Chertoff are supposed to be among the highest ranking officials in the U.S. government, privy to resources and intelligence that would dwarf anything us mere mortals are allowed to know. And yet they’re relying on the newspaper for their intelligence for this case? And, especially to the point — the headlines?
Exhibit B: These corporate media outlets aren’t blameless themselves. They certainly shouldn’t have cast the predominant frame as “Katrina didn’t make an absolute direct hit on New Orleans. Therefore, everything is just ducky.”
September 7th, 2005 at 7:01 pmGood point Zookeeper
It is the “men” on the right I have a problem with. It’s what Marie posted above, these are the chickenhawk “men” that chant the loudest. I’ve come to the conclusion we need a Progressive team of enforcers to line up at events, much like the panthers. We are entering a constitutional crisis in our country, media being censored, one party proclamations of “investigationâ€. Dangerous times ahead, time we started looking after our own protection. Just really pissed right now at these skels and their “those who shout the loudest incoherent rants take power” mentality.
September 7th, 2005 at 7:02 pmthe country is bleeding red and there ain’t a thing you can do about it. Loser.
Blood is actually bluish until it hits hot air, like yours. Why do you think veins look blue, and yes, the GOP is hemhorraging. He’s such an idiot.
September 7th, 2005 at 7:06 pmWe all MUST remember this in 2008…BUSH YOUR FIRED!
September 7th, 2005 at 7:09 pmI hope some of the locals here in the “Bible Belt” will vote next time on some principle other than sexually-based moral values, as I know they did the last 2 times. People, we CANNOT elect the leaders of the only superpower on earth (or are we?) of merely average intelligence and sensitivities, no matter what his public declarations of faith may be. There are, whether you can believe it or not, far more important issues in our world than abortion and sexual preferences. Don’t you people remember when the worst thing going on in the USA was Clinton getting blow jobs in the Oval Office? Ah the good old days.
September 7th, 2005 at 7:13 pmcitizen 80203 and JCGofW you understand what we are up against. I fear the division in our country is growing more threatening every day.
September 7th, 2005 at 7:13 pmThe GOP has an army of fools ready to go on a moment’s notice, brown shirts are pressed, boots shined.
I think the nation is in real trouble.
See this after action report, it proves who’s to blame.
September 7th, 2005 at 7:20 pmJohn you are a f**king skel
Once again the skel republican pussy hits dumbass talking points. How bout this skel, Thousands dead-irrelevant if you control all branches of “govment”. Go suck and swallow somewhere else skel!
September 7th, 2005 at 7:30 pm30. “… there really is no problem according to the polls.”
Stan, surely you jest? The Katrina debacle has been one major clusterf*** and you have the audacity to say there is no problem? There is culpability from the local, state, and federal governments, but the feds are the ones who really dropped the ball. The shrub had authority to act as early as 8/27 (perhaps 8/26) and delayed. “Brownie” is useless yet the commander-in-grief applauds him. Brown needs a swift kick in the ass (kita) out the door closely followed by his two immediate subordinates and Chertoff. Let the military (Gen. Honore) run things in the short term, and appoint true professionals to FEMA and DHS. Of course, our fearless leader [gag] won’t do this because it would confirm a mistake, and he’s dedicated to his boys. How would we have reacted had this event been a true surprise? Time for a bike ride or another photo-op yet?
September 7th, 2005 at 7:32 pmI never seem to be amazed at the number of people who will really buy this bunk. How anyone would think that the military, president and emergency agencies would rely upon newspapers just boggles the imagination. However, there just seem to be a bunch of people who will not take the time to really think about the issues. They get their news from Faux News and have neither the time or curiosity to really think further. They want their world in simple sound bites. They do not think about the fact that NOAA, FEMA and local authorities had people on the ground with the ability to assess facts in real time. They don’t realize that Coast Guard helicopters were in the air immediately after the event. But then these are the same people who still believe that there was WMD, that Saddam participated in planning 9/11 and that the rich are unfairly taxed. Rummy and the rest know that a substantial portion of the country (their diehard base) will go along with it.
September 7th, 2005 at 7:34 pm#43 – Marie, I see on a daily basis what we’re up against. Its sickening. And you’re right. The brown shirts are pressed and the boots have been shined.
The hope that I have is that we have reached an explosion point, very similar to what happened to the Konservatives back in 1927. Everything tipped in an instant to the progressive side. We might be there again. We all need to be pulling like crazy to make a significant change happen. The Konservatives have learned a few things since 1927 about how to control “unruley” masses. :-(
September 7th, 2005 at 7:36 pm43. Marie … it is frightening how the conservative message is so consistent … almost word-for-word the same regardless of the site. And they don’t say anything for a while after events/news breaks (e.g., awaiting the official position statement and talking points). Just like the shrub, when they are forced to think and react off-the-cuff, the idiocit and hypocritical nature of their “message” becames abundently clear.
September 7th, 2005 at 7:36 pmI blame Sean Penn for all of this mess.
September 7th, 2005 at 7:40 pmEllis
Spot on, “it is frightening how the conservative message is so consistent”. Has anyone noticed that their bullet points have a certain cadence? “up or down”, “blame game”, “gaming the system”, “flip flop”. It seems almost a masturbatory cadence, to work up to a kind of sexual frustration. I’ll be willing to lay down a hundred bucks, most of these skels are impotent.
How about skels, send us a jpeg of you masturbating, just to confirm?
September 7th, 2005 at 7:47 pmAnd yes, you can beat off to a picture of Rove.
Marie and all the left, do you remember on the small issues way back in the 60’s when we were having problems with diffrent companies raising their prices to high.? Think it was Mayonaise once, coffee and sugar at one point. Short of an all out civil war, scary thought, it may come to total shut down by all of us to get attention and get this murderious mess turned around. If our marches and impeach actions are ignored we can shut our country down by the following. First stock pile food, water, gas ( I did that in the 70’s) when the gas thing happened then. 2nd wide spread shut down on a given day, don’t buy anything. 3rd don’t go to work. Timimg and soladarity is the key. We should be prepaired to last a week or more. If all us dems do this at the same time together we would accomplish a great deal. I know people with famalies and jobs are at a greater risk here and have more to loose than I but it may come to this because this bunch only knows money. When there is no one to wipe their asses and buy their goods we may start to see change. Saw Palosi on T.V. she’s mad hope more follow but right now we need to focus on getting results and if marching becomes to dangerious for our masses, (remember Kent State) we can go the boycot route. If we can dream it, we can do it.
September 7th, 2005 at 7:55 pmI can’t believe that Ronald Dumbsfeld is quoting the freaking OC Register. That is my local paper. These morons can’t write a story if their life depended on it. Almost every article in the OC Register is just a reprint of an AP or Ruetters story.
Not to mention the are right wingers and always slant stories that way. That is why their headline is so blahsie about Katrina. They don’t want the Bushies to look bad.
Problem is that they do look bad. Very bad.
September 7th, 2005 at 7:59 pmMaybe they were checking the Drudge Report for their news that morning…
Link on the top left of the page saying, “NEW ORLEANS SPARED BRUNT OF STORM SURGE; PUMPS DOWN…”
September 7th, 2005 at 8:05 pmI can’t believe there are still people trapped in the SuperDome/Convention Center –
People apparently have been sent there from hotels and they are in desparate straights yet again
CNN just reporting – Anderson Cooper
September 7th, 2005 at 8:10 pmI wonder what made Rummy go on the Ham Hannity show instead of appearing on Lou Dobbs or with Dan Abrams?
September 7th, 2005 at 8:12 pmF”k Rumsfeld
Read this interview with Charmaine Neville…
http://www.counterpunch.org/
“Alligators were eating people. They had all kinds of stuff in the water. They had babies floating in the water.
We had to walk over hundreds of bodies of dead people. People that we tried to save from the hospices, from the hospitals and from the old-folks homes. I tried to get the police to help us, but I realized they were in the same straits we were. We rescued a lot of police officers in the flat boat from the 5th district police station. The guy who was in the boat, he rescued a lot of them and brought them to different places so they could be saved.”
September 7th, 2005 at 8:21 pmDump Bush, Chertoff, Brown
And bring the troops home now from Iraq
STop the stupidity – Bush’s criminally negligent stupidity that has led to the deaths of thousands upon thousands in Iraq and NO.
With Bush in power, who needs terrorists
September 7th, 2005 at 8:45 pmThe whole argument is ludicrous. Why the white house should read the newspapers to learn what’s going on in the country? Don’t they have their own way?
Anyway, people, bloggers, please all comment on this: http://www.boingboing.net/2005/09/07/katrina_rape_murder_.html
expecially the part where they say:
I want to know if I am the only one to think that this is the creepiest thing EVER…
September 7th, 2005 at 8:56 pmThe boy king is a terrorest, he should be arrested and tried for war crimes against Iraq and the American people….Blessings. All his croneys including Rummy as well.
September 7th, 2005 at 8:56 pm#51 it sounds more like a goose-step marching cadence to me.
I don’t give a flying f*** how this plays out politically. I’m even willing to allow politicians a certain measure of cronyism. But this is beyond the pale.
I just heard today from the CEO of one of the country’s top hospitals. I won’t relay what he said about the federal response, but it was not kind.
Volunteers are sitting idle, hospital beds are reserved and sitting empty, waiting for FEMA to finally get its act together. But they can deploy emergency personnel and equipment for Bush’s photo op.
And Bush and Bush supporters are scrambling to cover their political asses. They have no shame.
September 7th, 2005 at 9:31 pmWell, I guess we can be thankful that the administratioin reads DAILY newspapers. Had they waited for the free weekend city tabloids, or their Newsweek or Time to arrive in the mail, they’d still be scrambling for a scapegoat. Thank God they stay on top of these things.
/sarcasm off
September 7th, 2005 at 9:54 pm#8–Calling Bush a monkey is offensive to monkeys.
September 7th, 2005 at 10:32 pm#62
KC, glad to see that there is another geek amongst the crowd.
/sarcasm = on
George Bush is great!
/sarcasm = off
September 7th, 2005 at 10:37 pmThe comments by Rumsfeld are beyond lame. This is a guy who ignores all criticism of the Iraq war and is contemptuous of the press claiming that he was misled by a few newspaper headlines!
Shameless. I would love to see him and Bush (and Rove) in stocks on Pennsylvania Avenue.
September 7th, 2005 at 10:46 pmDon’t our tax dollars pay for, like, I don’t know…a WHITE HOUSE STAFF and ANALYSTS and ADVISORS who tell them what the hell is going on? Do they really need to rely on newspaper headlines? This country is in worse trouble than I thought.
September 7th, 2005 at 10:51 pmFor the first time in my life I am going to exercise my right to bear arms.
September 7th, 2005 at 11:06 pmI’ve always preferred a ‘bare ass’ to ‘bear arms’ – much more appealling.. ;)
September 7th, 2005 at 11:09 pmWe can do both Ryan.
September 7th, 2005 at 11:16 pmI wish I could be more optimistic that citizens are becoming more aware of the disaster that Republican leadership has been. I am in awe of the discipline of the Right-Wing Meme Machine has when it comes to monopolizing the public dialog.
September 7th, 2005 at 11:30 pmI wish even more that the Democratic Leadership would show some inspiration and guts. Even if it means risking being trashed by the Right Wing Media. One real leader of FDR or even Wellstone quality should be able to tear the Bush Administration to shreds.
I don’t know if I’ve got the time to wait for the new Liberal Think Tanks to start showing results, or the patience.
In a country with a real opposition, we’d be seeing a general strike or some other massive public response.
nittacci,
September 7th, 2005 at 11:54 pmI am afraid you are more correct than I would like to believe.
We must all hang together against the powerful machine of the right and we must force our representatives to do the jobs we elected them to do – and for which they get paid. They are playing too nice, too polite.
The Republicans would not think twice to step on their necks, and we should demand that the Democrats use similar tactics. I am usually not this physical, but drastic times require drastic measures. If our leaders don’t show some backbone, we will have to do it ourselves.
The nation is headed toward disaster for lack of good leadership on both sides. Theirs is criminal but strong, ours is democratic, but appears weak.
I agree Marie. Its time for the people to start voting out all members of congress. In the next election I will vote against any current member. I’ve used this practice when voting for judges. They get cocky and lazy when they get too many terms.
You may have noticed that the pugs consistently tout that we aren’t behaving when we speak out and many dems fall for that nonsense. Speak loudly and if you must riot!
September 8th, 2005 at 12:11 amMarie,
Before you say the demos are all too polite – remember that Pelosi called bush oblivious and dangerous today… I think this event might have finally given the press and the opposition party some guts. It’s ‘abstract’ when it’s ‘over there’, but to see so many americans die, lose their health and lose their jobs I think is a watershed event.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:41 amGosh, I sure hope you’re right, Ryan.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:43 amKeep up those encouraging words.
Ryan Neat
September 8th, 2005 at 12:45 amI just saw the clip of Pelosi of which you spoke — as you say, it WAS strong. I would like her to keep it up – and I hope others join her.
WHY IS ANYONE ARGUING WITH THESE GOONS OVER NEWSPAPER HEADLINES.
WHAT THE HELL ARE THE LEADERS OF THIS COUNTRY DOING USING NEWSPAPERS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED AFTER A CAT 4 HURRICANE.
My GOD, it’s the wrong damn thing to hit them on. Forget the newspapers, how about communicating with the states hit? What are they doing, having coffee and danish in the breakfast nook, figuring out what to do that day?
Criminy.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:48 amNo, think I heard somewhere they have a morning prayer meeting to start the day. Wonder what they did while all were on vacation. Where was Rummie all this time.? Remember the young Service man last year that asked the big question when Rummie was on a photo opp and in Iraq.? What a pile of crap he is. Sorry I have been off point here can’t stand any of this bunch.Blessings
September 8th, 2005 at 4:27 amNot to worry. They don’t waste their precious time reading major American newspapers, they read World Net Daily.
I found the “New Orleans dodges bullet” headline here:
http://w115.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46025
September 8th, 2005 at 5:56 amI Can’t believe they read the paper to get their info with our technolegy now, the net, high speed everything, who do they think they are kidding. I’m continuely learning even now. All the GOP lies are dragging us back to the dark ages, they might start the witch trials next. Where’s my broom….Blessings
September 8th, 2005 at 9:40 amI think Rumsfeld and Myers have enough to worry about in Iraq and Afganistan. We have enough “experts” involved with disater relief as it is.
September 8th, 2005 at 9:51 amI’m really getting to the point of confronting every as*hole on the street that has a W/04 sticker on his car. I’m so fuc*ing frustrated and mad that I’m ready to go postal.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:08 amAlcoholics and adicts always blame those who try to tell the truth instead of assuming accountability. This is why the ‘christian’ route of going dry is such a bad psychological disservice to alcoholics. It just turns them into adicts of religion, hate and ignorance instead of helping them address they psychological underpinnings that support them being an alcoholic in the first place. Too bad bush didn’t go to 12 step and get good therapy instead of following some christian quack with a bible and a level ignorance only surpassed by his arrogance…
September 8th, 2005 at 11:21 am#81 – Your comment made me remember several excellent posts by Justin Frank MD on Huffington Post regarding Georgie, his untreated alcoholism, and the consequences to the country. Quite interesting.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:13 pmKatrina: The Kitchen Sink Edition
“It Wasn’t in the Papers, How Would We Know?”
September 8th, 2005 at 12:17 pmThink Progress finds the administration defending its efforts by saying the newspapers told them the storm would spare New Orleans. At yesterday’s press briefing a reporter asked this obvious question:…
What kind of leader leads by what he reads in the newspaper? Are they saying they have no other information pipeline than the media? That’s completely absurd. Did they first hear about 9/11 from a newspaper headline? This weak attempt at a defense for being incompetent just makes them look more incompetent.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:35 pmThe point you are making is important, but this is the more obvious question: WHAT WERE THEY DOING GETTING THEIR INFORMATION FROM THE PAPER? Why weren’t they AT WORK?
Do you get to leave work when there is a threatened disaster or an emergency of any kind if you are a manager or have any significant critical role?
Let’s say you are the Manager of Technology at a company and your firewall has been penetrated. Do you wait to find out what the on-call network administrator says is happening the next morning, or do you go into work? If you want to keep your job and your reputation and your moral obligation as a competent administrator, you damn well go to work.
September 9th, 2005 at 12:45 pm… and guess who gets the contract to repair the naval facilities damaged by Katrina? Haliburton. (see http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/hurricane_katrina.html)
September 12th, 2005 at 10:51 amThe President, I understand, is a follower of the Rapture Index. I’ve read this several times in various places, though, obviously I can’t know if it’s true. If it is, a hurricane is considered a good thing by the Rapture, it has a positive score, because it brings the world one step closer to fulfilling the criteria in the bible for Doomsday. To overexert yourself countering the snowball down a mountainside that Rapture and the End of The World signifies is, I believe, a sin against the intents of God. Bush wants Armageddon, so all the good Americans can go to Heaven. I have a feeling you’re all f***ed. Doesn’t the American constitution have a means to get rid of a dangerously useless president? Impeachment at least.
September 14th, 2005 at 5:42 pm