Katrina: Another Excuse for Bush’s Failed Ideology
Katrina: Another Excuse for Bush’s Failed Ideology
On Monday, the Washington Post quoted former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein as saying that Bush needed to give an address to the nation, a proposal the White House accepted the next day. Duberstein said, “There needs to be a Bush vision for the future of New Orleans… I think a very presidential speech reporting to the country on progress to date and, more significantly, a vision to the future of New Orleans and the region is something that needs to happen sooner rather than later.†Bush’s “vision†for New Orleans and the Katrina recovery effort is being slowly revealed, and unsurprisingly, it’s a vision that’s steeped in conservative ideologies of old that promise little help to actual victims Hurricane Katrina.
“SEPARATE BUT EQUAL†EDUCATION: The Wall Street Journal reports that Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will ask Congress to waive a federal law that bans educational segregation for homeless children. The Bush administration is arguing, along with states like Utah and Texas, that providing schooling for evacuees – who, in this case, are likened to homeless children — will be disruptive to public school systems, so they want to have sound legal backing for creating separate educational facilities for the 372,000 schoolchildren displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The State of Mississippi is opposed to waiving the Act because they argue the law helps evacuees enroll in schools without red tape. [WSJ, “Schooling Evacuees Provokes Debate,†9/14/05]
REFUSAL TO EXPAND ELIGIBILITY FOR HEALTH CARE: The Wall Street Journal notes that Medicaid, “the federal-state health program for the poor[,] has emerged as the main way to provide medical coverage for many evacuees.†“To me, each day that passes without us knowing … exactly what the Medicaid relief package is going to include is adversely affecting not only our state … but other states who are getting our evacuees,” said J. Ruth Kennedy, deputy director of Louisiana’s Medicaid program, which provided health care to one-quarter of the state’s population before the hurricane. But the Journal reports that the “White House appears cool to any expansion†of Medicaid for Katrina survivors, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was “not convinced†it was needed. [WSJ, “Katrina Lays Bare Medicaid Dispute,†9/14/05]
LOWER WAGES FOR HURRICANE RECOVERY CONSTRUCTION WORKERS: On September 8, 2005, President Bush suspended application of the Davis-Bacon Act, a federal law governing workers’ pay on federal contracts in the Hurricane Katrina-damaged areas. According to the Washington Post, the Act “sets a minimum pay scale for workers on federal contracts by requiring contractors to pay the prevailing or average pay in the region. Suspension of the act will allow contractors to pay lower wages.†Congressman George Miller (D-CA) said, “In effect, President Bush is saying that people should be paid less than $9 an hour to rebuild their communities.†[Bush’s Order Waiving Davis-Bacon Act; Washington Post, 9/9/05]
LOWER WAGES FOR HURRICANE RECOVERY SERVICE WORKERS: The Washington Post reports, “the White House was working yesterday to suspend wage supports for service workers in the hurricane zone as it did for construction workers on federal contracts last week.†The article notes that anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist “is among those lobbying the White House to suspend wage supports for service workers in the hurricane zone.†[Washington Post, 9/14/05]
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How is the republican congress doing? I just heard on the radio that Congressman Sensenbrenner said they will not revisit the bankruptcy law and waive it for victims of natural disasters like Katrina.
September 14th, 2005 at 1:13 pmMinimum wage laws are exactly what is not needed in post-Katrina. These will only hurt reconstruction by raising the wages of a few, but leading to increased unemployment. I thought we all learned this in basic principles of economics. Where were you?
September 14th, 2005 at 1:18 pmExcellent work Faiz
We need to show the American people what the GOP ideology is and why it is the largest threat to each citizen. It is a major negative to GOP incumbents in 2006.
But we must also define our ideology and defend our definition with a ferocity that shows our “fight attitude” to these same citizens. This can only be accomplished by a united front. To unite our candidates we MUST HAVE AN AMERICAN SECURITY PACT that lists our solutions but that also defines the GOP by the failures of GOP solutions. A good start is a list at Washington Monthly by Kevin Drum. A good starting point, but we must include SECURITY OF AMERICA, not just accountability.
• Freedom of Information Act. Repudiate John Ashcroft’s 2001 memo (and the White House followups) that encourage agencies to refuse FOIA requests even when no harm would result from disclosure.
• Congressional Ethics. Revitalize ethics investigations by guaranteeing bipartisan ethics committees in which both parties have the right to subpoena records.
• Independent Commissions. Ensure proper oversight of government operations by appointing independent commissions to investigate disasters like Hurricane Katrina, not handpicked committees designed to provide political cover.
• Presidential Papers. Immediately reverse George Bush’s 2001 executive order blocking access to a huge swath of presidential papers from previous administrations.
• Task Forces. Open up the operation and deliberations of federal task forces to the public. No more repeats of the secretive Energy Task Force run by Dick Cheney.
• Classification. Reverse President Bush’s 2003 executive order that substantially increased the ability of federal agencies to classify information that had previously been open to the public.
• The Press. Provide a personal promise from every Democrat that they will not lie to reporters under cover of anonymity. If they do, reporters are free to break their promises of confidentiality.
• Legislative Text. Revive the old rule that the text of new legislation must be available for a minimum of three days before roll call votes are taken.
• Voting. Schedule all congressional votes for normal business hours and restrict voting to the normal 15-minute period. Laws should not be passed in the dead of night and voting should not be kept open indefinitely.
Power, corruption, and the GOP.
September 14th, 2005 at 1:31 pmscott..to stupid to comment on.
September 14th, 2005 at 1:33 pmScott
I have a degree in economics, and what the suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act does is pure manipulation of the labor market by holding wages below the optimum wage level. In another words an artificial wage ceiling that will only result in a labor shortage.
Yes, you have the right question of “where were you”, but look in the mirror when you ask it.
September 14th, 2005 at 1:41 pmPower, corruption, and the GOP.
Isn’t it ironic that Bushco is asking for suspension of the sanctions against racial segregation of schools in order to avoid having children choose schools to attend? I am pretty sure that buried within NCLB ESEA2 are provisions that support and encourage children of any race, creed, faith, etc to attend schools of their choice to improve their achievement and such. Now we have a situation where thousands upon thousands of kids are needing and asking to do just that and Bushco wants to cut them out completely.
As for Davis-Bacon: well at some point the US will necessarily have to become the third world nation it is destined to be, where wageless labor conditions prevail in manufacturing industries that are hazardous and toxic in order to provide China and India with products for their massive consumer cultures. We might as well begin now eh?? Get rid of unions and force people to work for food and shelter so that the very few wealthy can generate income and acquire assets without ever having to worry about taxes or redistributive processes. Why doesn’t that sound special??
September 14th, 2005 at 1:58 pmI would suspect that some other mitigated disaster will allow Lucifer Bush to further rid the country of prevailing wage. He’s been attacking the working man his entire political life.
Someone just sent me this, but Google the word “Failure” and “Worst President Ever” and see what you get. Some clever programming over at Google? I highly doubt it.
September 14th, 2005 at 1:58 pmAt the federal level the battle over what the reconstruction process will look like will be widely reported by the mainstream media. On the ground existing and newly formed labor and community groups will struggle to find a role. They may have gotten some help.
In a story reported in today’s The NewStandard http://newstandardnews.net Titled Louisiana NAACP Head Urges Shelter Denizens to Organize by Brendan Coyne, the article describes the efforts of the NAACP and ACORN to:
“…begin organizing committees to handle resource distribution, information gathering and dissemination and agitating for better treatment from government agencies.â€
Louisiana NAACP President Ernest L. Johnson’s “announcement was conducted in coordination with several bloggers and came in advance of public service announcements on Baton Rouge radio and a web video release.â€
It can’t be a bad thing for people to be organizing to control an uncertain future.
Best,
September 14th, 2005 at 2:07 pmCurt Braman
How is the republican congress doing?
comment by Alvord
Well Al, I’d say the republican congress is doing exactly what the democratic congress has always done except more of it. It raises the question of what Democrats are good for anymore.
Republicans are spending my money like drunken Democrats. They’ve started nearly as many wars and are allowing poor non English speaking folk in the country by the millions. They’ve just “relocated” almost a million welfare recipients into previously untainted neighborhoods and are now getting ready to hand over 100 billion of our dollars without accountability to Louisiana career politicians to rebuild a toxic wasteland of crooks, drunks, sexual deviants,voodoo priests and common criminals. You tell me how they’re doing. By any previous Democratic standard set I’d say they’re doing pretty dang good if they were Democrats.
By Bill O’Reilly
America and the poor, that is the subject of this evening’s “Talking Points Memo.â€
The aftermath of Katrina has produced a debate over poor Americans. There are about 37 million people living below the poverty line right now. The issue was described this way by Newsweek (search) reporter Evan Thomas (search), a liberal guy but not alone, who writes, “Liberals will say [the authorities] were indifferent to the plight of poor African-Americans. It is true that Katrina laid bare society’s massive neglect of its least fortunate.”
Massive neglect? Let’s take a look at that bit of overstatement. Halfway through President Clinton’s tenure in office in 1996, the poverty rate was 13.7 percent. Halfway through President Bush’s tenure, the rate is 12.7 percent, a full point lower.
In 1996, the Clinton budget allotted $191 billion for poverty entitlements. That was 12.2 percent of the budget and a whopping amount of money. That’s why Bill Clinton (search) was called the first black president by some.
However, the Bush 2006 budget allots a record shattering $368 billion for poverty entitlements, 14.6 percent of the entire budget, a huge increase over Clinton’s spending on poverty entitlements.
[…]
Hard-working Americans are providing the poor with Medicaid, food stamps, supplemental security income, that’s free money, child nutrition programs, welfare payments, child daycare payments, temporary assistance to needy families, foster care, adoption assistance, and health insurance for children.
But it will never be enough for the Jesse Jacksons and Howard Deans of the world, never. They told you the truth. They’d go out of business.
Now I fully expect to be attacked by the far left media for telling you all this. I’m sure they will label me a racist, a shill for Bush, stuff like that, but I don’t care. The dollars don’t lie. We are a generous nation. And that is the truth. And that is “The Memo.â€
September 14th, 2005 at 2:08 pm“…begin organizing committees to handle resource distribution, information gathering and dissemination and agitating for better treatment from government agencies.â€
[…]
It can’t be a bad thing for people to be organizing to control an uncertain future.
Best,
Curt Braman
Comment by curt braman
The American Negroe will never control anything until they learn to control themselves. They can agitate all they want for “better treatment” from Government agencies but that helps them not on whit when they go home loot and shoot each other. In my opinion what the American Negroe must do is wean themselves from the government teat and agitate among themselves for more personal accountability to the group. They need to lynch Calypso Loui, Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton and all the rest of the professional race hustlers and elect new leadership. The Black man will never cross that River Jordan until he starts taking responsibility for himself.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:16 pmMulti millionaire, Sensenbrenner (heir to a paper fortune) is cold-heartedly refusing to even consider another look at the bankruptcy bill about to go into effect — just in time for people who have no jobs and no homes, but they do have their outstanding bills.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:19 pmNice.
This is the same jerk who banged the gavel to close a meeting and walked out when the Democrats were still talking. Then he turned out the lights.
I guess the Bush administration didn’t hear Judge Roberts praise Brown v. Board of Education yesterday during his comfirmation hearing?
Whoops! I guess “seperate but equal” might actually become “live with business” again! Too bad Roberts opened his big mouth!
September 14th, 2005 at 2:23 pm#3 Citizen. Nice work. Thanks.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:23 pmCurt Braman
I agree Curt they need to organize; it can only help us by getting the word out. But I’m sure that there will be presidential decree of “suspension of all rights while in a shelter, unless it’s a GOP approved committee”.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:27 pmWhat was the poverty rate when Clinton left office and Bush took over?
September 14th, 2005 at 2:28 pmWhat was the poverty rate when Clinton came into the White Housetaking over for Bush I?
I-Right_I needs a liitle correction on his Clinton/Bush poverty facts (most likely he got them from O’Reilly or Rush).
According to the US Census, the poverty rate decreased every year Clinton was in office, while it increased every year under Bush.
1993: 15.1% (start of Clinton)
1994: 14.5%
1995: 13.8%
1996: 13.7%
1997: 13.3%
1998: 12.7%
1999: 11.9%
2000: 11.3% (end of Clinton)
2001: 11.7% (start of Bush)
2002: 12.1%
2003: 12.5%
2004: 12.7%
Media Matters shows a good graph at: http://mediamatters.org/items/200509130002
September 14th, 2005 at 2:30 pmWell, floods sure do bring the rats up out of the sewers.
Got some real jobs on this thread.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:30 pmI thought we all learned this in basic principles of economics. Where were you? - scott cunningham
I always thought that basing economic policy on this sort of Economics 101, classical economics, simplified picture of things was akin to basing nuclear policy on physics 101 in which you assume a spherical cow or public health policy on a “classical” point of view in which no new diseases can evolve as evolution isn’t even considered in the equation.
Oh yeah … I forget the latter is already gonna happen thanks to our gummint now saying “evolution is only one possible theory” …
September 14th, 2005 at 2:34 pmcitizen 80203 - Scott was being ironical:-) Get it?
As Scott knows, and you don’t, it’s all pissing in the wind, Bush suspended Davis-Bacon almost two weeks ago. As a degreed economist shouldn’t you know this?
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ news/ releases/ 2005/ 09/ 20050908-5.html
September 14th, 2005 at 2:36 pmBush has always struck me as a man who longs for the south of the 1950’s.
He may get his wish.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:37 pmThe American Negroe will never control anything until they learn to control themselves.
Wow! I like it when they just come right out and BE RACISTS!
http://www.pandagon.net/ archives/ 2005/ 09/ you_knowracism.html
If you want to know why us hyperpartisan liberals keep bringing up racism in the wake of Katrina, it isn’t because we’re trying to destroy Bush, or because we have some irrational belief in the power of race over all other societal factors.
It’s because even with the insanity of the hardcore right-to-life crowd, even with the Schaivo fiasco of the past year, even with the current Supreme Court nominations focusing around Roe v. Wade…nobody is ever going to take this story…
September 14th, 2005 at 2:38 pm#16 - good job, IRI is once again ‘economical with the truth’ and can cut and paste from Fox News all by himself too.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:39 pmcitizen 80203 - Scott was being ironical:-) Get it?
How “ironical”! I think you meant to say “facetious”.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:41 pm#20 - more like the US of the 1890s…
September 14th, 2005 at 2:42 pmBobby
Why would ask that question in this tread? I see no American discussing that here. However, since you asked in 2000 it was 11.6% lowest in 20 years, the highest employment rate in 30 years, lowest crime rate in 30 years, largest economic expansion ever, lowest teen pregnancy in 60 years, and list goes on and on.
Not that any of this matters, now after 5 years of skel rule. But poverty is now at about 13% and climbing.
Power, corruption, the GOP skel elite.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:43 pmNow I know why they chose to “bus” these survivors to Utah and Texas - friendly states to Bushco. I knew there was a scheme in progress. I first thought it may be about voting blocks. This corrupt admin thinks ONLY of themselves. They could give a rats ass what is best the average American. We are like cheap labor to them.
They are just so corrupt it’s mind boggling. The cronyism is rampant and dangerous; all these people in office that do not have experience. Bush has totally gutted every social program and put in Browns and Chertoffs. And worse, there are Americans that feel we don’t need these social programs and go along with it. Government is ours, people. These low IQ meglomaniacs need to go.
Can you believe Denny (the wrestler) Hastert thinks a new “stimulus” package is in order. He said it’s the perfect time for even greater tax cuts. OY VEY!!! Would anyone defend this?
September 14th, 2005 at 2:45 pmMy name was prophetic. The American right did die in 2005. One hurricane is all it took. But it really committed suicide. With Bush at the helm, it shot itself in the head.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:48 pmCan you believe Denny (the wrestler) Hastert thinks a new “stimulus†package is in order. He said it’s the perfect time for even greater tax cuts. OY VEY!!! Would anyone defend this?
This is not what DeLay is saying. They are foundering. They are staggering on the ropes. The right hand doesn’t even know what the left hand is doing. Our biggest problem now is the DINOs like Lieberman and Biden. The GOP is dead.
DeLay declares ‘victory’ in war on budget fat
http://www.washtimes.com/ national/ 20050914-120153-3878r.htm
September 14th, 2005 at 2:52 pm#25 Citizen,
September 14th, 2005 at 2:57 pmI was questioning the troll at #9, who was making some inaccurate claims comparing Bush and Clinton. Thanks to Just the Facts for the stats, and thanks to you for your additional facts. You guys are a lot quicker than I am; I knew that if I innocently asked the question, someone would quickly put the troll in his place at the bottom of the class. Thanks guys!
Rudgrl
I see no tongue in cheek here. You see, one must either overstate the obvious with reference or understate the obvious with reference to be “ironical”. He does neither, so if I missed the code I apologize to Scott. But this is what he posted;
Minimum wage laws are exactly what is not needed in post-Katrina. These will only hurt reconstruction by raising the wages of a few, but leading to increased unemployment. I thought we all learned this in basic principles of economics. Where were you?
As for suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act it was September 9th to be exact, and I believe I posted here within an hour of it. Look, I was making a point, I’m sorry you did not see the “ironical” of it.
September 14th, 2005 at 2:58 pmBobby
I know that you were referring to the skel troll, so I choose to be “ironical”. I have fed these skels more than anyone here and I made a mistake by doing so. Now I will just ignore them, but will not offer any advice to you as I’m more guilty than most.
September 14th, 2005 at 3:03 pmThis is what I read from Rueters today. I was in shock.
But House Speaker Dennis Hastert, speaking at the same news conference with McCrery, suggested Hurricane Katrina’s devastation actually posed a new reason for pursuing tax relief — as an economic stimulus.
“We believe we need to stimulate this economy,” Hastert said, noting that Congress had passed stimulative measures after the shock of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
September 14th, 2005 at 3:08 pmTo “Tommy the Tiger” who gave me the idea to google “Failure” and “Worst President Ever”…
Haha, what’s even funnier is to find this in the page:
Since becoming President of the United States in 2001, President Bush has worked with the Congress to create an ownership society and build a future of security, prosperity, and opportunity for all Americans. He signed into law tax relief that helps workers keep more of their hard-earned money, as well as the most comprehensive education reforms in a generation, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This legislation is ushering in a new era of accountability, flexibility, local control, and more choices for parents, affirming our Nation’s fundamental belief in the promise of every child. President Bush has also worked to improve healthcare and modernize Medicare, providing the first-ever prescription drug benefit for seniors; increase homeownership, especially among minorities; conserve our environment; and increase military strength, pay, and benefits. Because President Bush believes the strength of America lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens, he has supported programs that encourage individuals to help their neighbors in need.
Who the hell do they think they’re kidding? Conservative base members KNOW these things aren’t supposed to be true, and those of us who expect these things of an American President obviously can see these things aren’t true.
Fantasy thinking, I guess it’s supposed to get you everywhere!
September 14th, 2005 at 3:32 pm“Halfway through President Clinton’s tenure in office in 1996, the poverty rate was 13.7 percent. Halfway through President Bush’s tenure, the rate is 12.7 percent, a full point lower.”
Let’s see, those who were marginally living below the poverty line and just needed a little boost to make it to the surface account for the fact that poor people are not poorer, while those at the bottom of the poverty bracket have not gained an inch, and you call that progress?
You can have your version of progress, I think I’ll aim for working on getting those at the bottom up to breathe some air, thank you!
September 14th, 2005 at 3:41 pm“They’ve just “relocated†almost a million welfare recipients into previously untainted neighborhoods”
You’re one cold MF, aren’t you?
September 14th, 2005 at 3:43 pm[…] got your compassionate conservatism right here. Permalink| […]
September 14th, 2005 at 3:51 pm[…] Conversation: Seperate but Equal dan: the education secretary is trying to get laws banning school segregation waved for children of evacuees… thousand: …. heather: … dan: “SEPARATE BUT EQUAL†EDUCATION: The Wall Street Journal reports that Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will ask Congress to waive a federal law that bans educational segregation for homeless children. The Bush administration is arguing, along with states like Utah and Texas, that providing schooling for evacuees – who, in this case, are likened to homeless children — will be disruptive to public school systems, so they want to have sound legal backing for creating separate educational facilities for the 372,000 schoolchildren displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The State of Mississippi is opposed to waiving the Act because they argue the law helps evacuees enroll in schools without red tape. [WSJ, “Schooling Evacuees Provokes Debate,†9/14/05] heather: Oh dear. Andross: I am awestruck thousand: Just when i thought bush and his cronies couldn’t come up with a worse idea Erik: dan, can I get a link to the segregation story? dan: [WSJ, “Schooling Evacuees Provokes Debate,†9/14/05] dan: let me check dan: the WSJ doesn’t have a lot unless you subscribe dan: but i found it here: http://thinkprogress.org/2005/09/14/katrina-excuse/ dan: http://online.wsj.com/ public/ article/ 0,,SB112666498176540100,00.html?mod=todays%5Ffree%5Ffeature dan: found Erik: Thank you. dan: You’re welcome heather: “These displaced and homeless children are not the typical homeless children,” Sen. Hatch wrote. “Nearly all of them are with their families.” heather: WTF heather: They are still goddamn homeless!! […]
September 14th, 2005 at 3:56 pmDenny Hastert, from my state, is a fat fathead. A former wrestler, he is apparently suffering from having spent too much time in head-holds. His proposal to enact more tax cuts for “economic stimulation” is an outrage. Just goes to show you that nothing - nothing - distracts them from their ultimate goal: more, more, more for the haves, and to hell with the have-nots.
September 14th, 2005 at 4:07 pmi RIGHT I
source it, or you’re just blowing smoke.
September 14th, 2005 at 4:10 pmWhat many of the wingnut commenters seem not to “get”, is that the Davis-Bacon laws refer only to governmental contracting, *not* to a general minimum wage.
You can make a case that raising the minimum wage will reduce employment, and one can have a nice little argument about the pros and cons.
But government reconstruction spending doesn’t reduce its “demand” when the cost goes up a bit. And frankly, the areas hit by Katrina could really use the added economic stimulus of paying “prevailing” wage rates, rather than “starving and desperate for any job” rates, no matter how much paying the absolute minimum to hurricane survivors gives wingnuts a woodie.
As for the racism charges, like many others I had naively thought that overt racism was a thing of the past. Until the wingnuts started sounding off after Katrina. That was really a wake-up call.
And yes, let me echo Pandagon in thanking I-RIGHT-I in just coming out with overt racism. You pull the mask off the modern republican party, and reveal the rotted visiage of Strom Thurmond. Now pardon me while I try to control the urge to lynch your racist ass.
September 14th, 2005 at 4:14 pmMarie - agreed. I can’t believe this creep was elected. I know it wasn’t you. I’m stuck here with the evil cat killing doctor - I feel your pain. There are very few repubs that are even qualified for the job. Reread resumes people. Take back our government is what I chide daily here in my RED state.
September 14th, 2005 at 4:15 pmRelocated to “untainted” neighborhoods. That says a great deal. Who were those armed goons who stood on the highway and turned escaping victims back to the city for fear of their “tainting” the neighborhoods?
September 14th, 2005 at 4:30 pmWhat that a quote from Bill O’Liely, or from you? In either case, they are thoughts from a cretin.
The WH used Katrina and 9/11 to pull off the scams that are coming to light right now. The moves are now a fait accompli and nothing will be done to override them.
The scams have become standard operating procedure, and a few voices are raised in objection, but life goes on. George Bush and his cohorts know this. Does the American public?
IN YOUR FACE, AMERICA: the relentless Bushco Scams
September 14th, 2005 at 5:15 pmCLICK HERE
Some of this is about WHITENESS,,,,,ie. the good ole white boy network of Mike Brown and his roommate, etc. Judith
September 14th, 2005 at 6:14 pmRudgrl
I see no tongue in cheek here
I see rudgrl’s tongue up in scotts bung.
Bush asks condi for permission to pee!
http://americablog.blogspot.com/ 2005/ 09/ more-like-he-needs-time-out.html
September 14th, 2005 at 7:31 pmThe displaced Americans need to either stay in their hometowns and wait or go to a blue state. We treat people like human beings and welcome them whole heartedly.
In Chicago, we are providing homes, jobs and necessities to many victims. Guess what, most of them want to stay here where the real American’s live.
If any of the victims are able to read these messages, LEAVE TEXAS AND UTAH NOW! YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE!
September 14th, 2005 at 9:31 pmWould a “Negroe” eat a “potatoe”? Only Dan Quayle knows, I guess.
Sott—The minimum wage is more than your breathing time is worth, that much is for darned sure.
September 14th, 2005 at 10:59 pmThat would be “Scott”. Sorry. I DO know how to spell; type, not so much.
September 14th, 2005 at 11:01 pmThey’ve just “relocated†almost a million welfare recipients into previously untainted neighborhoodsâ€
You’re one cold MF, aren’t you?
Comment by Rome Again
Yes. Just as cold as the Filthy Left that was so disappointed that they couldn’t find those 10,000 black bodies floating around to hang on that “Negro Hating Bush”.
September 14th, 2005 at 11:11 pmI-Right-I
September 14th, 2005 at 11:34 pmYou’re not worth the time it would take to refute your bullshit point by point, so I’ll just go for one of your fairy tales. You imply that Bush has done more to lower the poverty rate than Clinton. Hmmm….let’s look at this chart: http://www.msnbc.com/news/972210.asp?cp1=1 (it’s old, but sufficiently illustrative). From the moment Clinton entered office the poverty rate fell until….hmmm, oh yeah, 2000. It’s done nothing but rise since then. “Yeah,” you may counter, “but it was going up when Bush took office.” So it was, as it was when Clinton took office. It turned around during Clinton’s tenure, but has done nothing but increase during Bush’s.
In other news, real median household income has been stagnant for the past two years. Individual bankruptcies are up, unemployment is up, and individual debt load is up. In addition, our national debt is up, and the surplus Bush started his administration with is nothing but a memory. I could go on, but the truth will make no difference to you. Perhaps, though, newbie readers who don’t know that lying about economics is a Republican pastime may take a heads-up about bullshit such as yours.
O’Reilly:
“Halfway through President Clinton’s tenure in office in 1996, the poverty rate was 13.7 percent. Halfway through President Bush’s tenure, the rate is 12.7 percent, a full point lower.â€
US Census Bureau:
1993: 15.1% (start of Clinton)
1994: 14.5%
1995: 13.8%
1996: 13.7%
1997: 13.3%
1998: 12.7%
1999: 11.9%
2000: 11.3% (end of Clinton)
2001: 11.7% (start of Bush)
2002: 12.1%
2003: 12.5%
2004: 12.7%
Priceless. Most of O’Reilly’s viewers never get the real perspective.
September 14th, 2005 at 11:34 pmSadly, I may have to agree that Bush has done more to lower the poverty rate than Clinton. I think Clinton wanted people to have a chance to work, and pull themselves out of poverty.
September 15th, 2005 at 12:54 amBush’s way is quicker…….kill’em, either by war or mother nature. Bush wins.
What many of you may not realize is that the reason Bush waived “prevailing wages” is construction folks are bringing in Mexicans (NAFTA) and South Americans (CAFTA) for the reconstruction.
Please see (I believe) http://www.commondreams.org for the interview between the British paper “The Independent” and Hugh Kaufman of the EPA. Kaufman states that New Orleans is uninhabitable for the next decade and Bush is trying to hide it. Kaufman also makes the comment that the “migrants” will get sick and or die.
September 15th, 2005 at 2:56 amTo Citizen 80203…WOW! What a brilliant plan. Stunningly easy to carry out and puts us well on our way back to real representative government. If Roe is overturned I am going to rename myself Incubator 80203 in your honor!
September 15th, 2005 at 7:00 amFor the troll who posted #9..how well off are you? Here is a series of questions for you personally. If you know know what the term “Honest” means, answer these questions.
1. Do you happen to live in one of those “untainted” neighborhoods?
2. Are you gainfully employed?
3. Do you know what it is like to be poor?
4. Do you know what it is like to have so little of the resources that you Trolls claim to give to the poor?
5. Would you know how to survive if you lost EVERYTHING?.
If your answer is No to more than one of these questions, Just STFU and go find some Wrong-Wing site to whine on and stop posting here. No one here cares what you really have to say.
September 15th, 2005 at 8:30 amOf course, those segregated “happen to be black.” Sound familiar? Besides, wouldn’t it be less of a cost to integrate the displaced students into public schools? Isn’t it about helping our fellow man instead of leaving them to rot? How is that going to disrupt the schools? I mean, kids CAN be cruel, but with so many displaced, I doubt that many of them will be rallied when they taunt those who no longer have anything.
September 15th, 2005 at 9:09 am“It’s just a ride and we can change it any time we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money, a choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one.”
September 15th, 2005 at 9:22 am-Bill Hicks
“I’m gonna share with you a vision that I had, cause I love you. And you feel it. You know all that money we spend on nuclear weapons and defense each year, trillions of dollars, correct? Instead — just play with this — if we spent that money feeding and clothing the poor of the world — and it would pay for it many times over, not one human being excluded — we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever in peace. Thank you very much. You’ve been great, I hope you enjoyed it.”
-Bill Hicks
It’s time we stop our bickering and come up with a NEW vision, a NEW reality. . .together.
September 15th, 2005 at 9:26 amthanks for this entry, Faiz. I had no friggen clue this was going down.
September 15th, 2005 at 9:58 amFor the troll who posted #9..how well off are you? Here is a series of questions for you personally. If you know know what the term “Honest†means, answer these questions.
comment by concerned citizen (of the USA?)
1. Do you happen to live in one of those “untainted†neighborhoods?
A: Yes and speaking for myself and the Black family across the street, the Mexican Family next door to them and all of my hard working real American neighbors we don’t want any Section 8 losers moving into our neighborhood with their gangster bastard children and poor personal hygiene habits.
2. Are you gainfully employed?
A: I’ve been gainfully employed since I was sixteen. I’ve worked for peanuts before and NEVER even when I was unemployed received a dime’s worth of benefits. What’s your point? Do you think that the fact that you are a loser and can’t hold a job should make me feel sorry for you?
3. Do you know what it is like to be poor?
A: I know what it’s like to have a school teacher mother raise three boys on less money than a welfare queen nets per year.
4. Do you know what it is like to have so little of the resources that you Trolls claim to give to the poor?
A: Do you know what it’s like giving 50% of the money you earn to the government that hands it out to people like the New Orleans Negro and people like you who hasn’t been required to work a day in their life?
5. Would you know how to survive if you lost EVERYTHING?.
A: Yes I would and so do the thousands of decent people who lost everything but their pride and ambition in the storm. You don’t see too many white folk standing in those lines to get their fair share of free money from the government and you don’t see too many white folk who actually went through the storm making the obscene charge that the reason help didn’t arrive “in time” was because they were poor Southern Whites.
If your answer is No to more than one of these questions, Just STFU and go find some Wrong-Wing site to whine on and stop posting here. No one here cares what you really have to say.
A: My guess is your answer to all of the above is no and that you hate yourself for it. I don’t have that problem because I know that it’s people like me that built this country. It’s people like you that ruin it. I’ll STFU when the last commieratbastardmofo like you is put in those detention camps we’re building for you in West Texas.
September 15th, 2005 at 10:23 amClinton was a moderate Republican. GATT and NAFTA passage, repeal of the Glass Stegal Act, “Welfare to Work” in the internet bubble economy - We haven’t had a President that really cared about the poor since Carter.
To the “Economics Expert” what ever happened to “manufacturing (value added) goods are the only form of true wealth”? With Zolenger’s WTO trade deals,
that “giant sucking sound” is our supersonic trip to the bottom. Economic Treason.
Don’t worry though, once the “Argentinaization” of Amerika is completed the illeagal immigration will cease as the pay, housing, quality of life, and social stratification in the US will be just as bad as the Mexican kleptocracy (that the US supports). The US STILL hasn’t imposed any real financial reforms on Corporations since ENRON.
NO worrys - Roberts will be confirmed - is there ANY Bushco “Nominee” that hasn’t been installed? I can’t think of a single one myself.
The iron fist is beginning to show itself in the form of the impoverished Katrina evacuees detainment and patrols by our pivatezed Military (Black Water). How about making THOSE mercenaries work for less then $9/hr or even the standard NO beat cops pay!
(Despite the constant references to Christ)These “conservative” elites fear neither God or the laws of Man. Never mind the civil war in Iraq, thanks to these American plutocratic fascists we’re well on our way to having one here! Then again, thats what the “Patriot Act” and the “War on Terror” is really all about anyway.
September 15th, 2005 at 10:30 amI taught high school for 26 years, and for once I can say this administration is right about something. Putting all the “Katrina Kids” into public schools would be disruptive for the schools (it’s already happening) and a waste of time for the “Katrina Kids.” Their records are gone, so they’ll have to be assessed as to grade level, etc. The best thing actually is to set up school districts just for them. The administration’s motives may or may not be racist, but either way they’re right about this one thing.
September 15th, 2005 at 11:40 am[…] Separate But Equal alive and well From Think Progress, an update on the latest actions of the bitch who bitchslapped PBS because a bunny met a lesbian: “SEPARATE BUT EQUAL†EDUCATION: The Wall Street Journal reports that Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will ask Congress to waive a federal law that bans educational segregation for homeless children. The Bush administration is arguing, along with states like Utah and Texas, that providing schooling for evacuees – who, in this case, are likened to homeless children — will be disruptive to public school systems, so they want to have sound legal backing for creating separate educational facilities for the 372,000 schoolchildren displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The State of Mississippi is opposed to waiving the Act because they argue the law helps evacuees enroll in schools without red tape. [WSJ, “Schooling Evacuees Provokes Debate,†9/14/05] […]
September 15th, 2005 at 1:07 pmWhy can’t we house the evacuees in the numerous military bases that were closed? Each base is essentially a mini-city within itself, complete with store, church, schools, etc. They sit there unused now while we attempt to jam-pack the evacuees into other cities and school districts.
I suppose this makes too much sense for it to happen. Not enough money going to fat cats in my scenario…
September 15th, 2005 at 1:38 pmsuppose this makes too much sense for it to happen. Not enough money going to fat cats in my scenario…
Comment by Jim Lawrence
My guess is that it was discussed and rejected. Those military bases would cease to be “bases” in MSM newspeak and become internment facilities, gulags, prison farms and death camps. Though for my money, and a lot of it is my money, prison farms is where more than quite a few of them belong.
September 15th, 2005 at 1:45 pm#9 Troll,
Bill O Lielly is right, “Numbers don’t lie.” But what he doesn’t admit is that he is a pro at lying with numbers. As others on this page have noted that poverty steadily fell every year in Clinton’s watch and climbed during each of Bush’s. You demand “source it” then nothing. Answer me this will you admit O’Liely lied? Oh BTW here is the US Census’s own poverty rates 1959-2004
http://www.census.gov/ hhes/ www/ poverty/ poverty04/ pov04fig03.pdf
September 15th, 2005 at 2:21 pmScott Cunningham (opposing the minimum wage): “I thought we all learned this in basic principles of economics. Where were you?”
We were taking more advanced economics courses which taught us that the simplistic, reductionist stuff from Econ 101 doesn’t actually work in the real world.
September 15th, 2005 at 3:00 pmActually there are quite a lot of whites lining up for assistance in the part of Northwest Florida where I live, I Right to the contrary.
September 15th, 2005 at 3:07 pmI-Right-I,
Do a Google search on the term “Rahowa” and go visit the sites that come up. I’m sure you’ll find people you like within that community. And don’t forget to pick up your brown shirts from the dry cleaner….you know, the one that is probably run by some chink who can’t speak teh language or some dirty, thieving Jew.
You sound like such a wonderful human being. Since you’re so self-reliant, I think you should pack up, go to the feces and oil infested 9th ward in New Orleans and show those “negroes” and “welfare queens” just what it means to be responsible. Heck, you could build your own house from the ground up after you clean up the thick layer of toxic stew that was left behind by the flood waters. No fancy contractors or developers, though….you have to do it all yourself.
He (I-Right-I) has to be joking, right?
PS - Be sure to read the details about O’Reilly’s bogus stats. Might help to cure you of your ignorance.
September 15th, 2005 at 3:48 pmActually there are quite a lot of whites lining up for assistance in the part of Northwest Florida where I live, I Right to the contrary.
Comment by Fraser
Is that a fact? Good to know the welfare scammers aren’t getting it all. Let me know when they get their little credit cards with free money and use it to buy Louis Viton bags or pull the buy and return scam so they have plenty of free drug money.
September 15th, 2005 at 4:30 pmI-RIGHT-I has absolutely no answer to those who pointed out his twisting of the data on poverty in the U.S., yet he keeps bloviating nonetheless. Unless you are willing to admit that you either deliberately lied - or were taken in by someone else’s lies - about the poverty rate, I suggest that it is *you*, Mr. Right, who should STFU. Proven liars and fools have little right to demand anyone’s attention or respect.
September 15th, 2005 at 7:15 pmThink Progress? Does this group have a point? I notice all you guys do all day is complain about the other guy. I haven’t seen you put into action any good ideas for fixing the things you are complaining about. Why is that?
September 16th, 2005 at 1:03 pmDon’t you have a good idea other than Groucho Marx’s mantra,
whatever it is I’m against it,
no matter how you shorten or condense it,
I’m against it!
Your Emporors doesn’t have clothes either.
Think Progress? Does this group have a point?
Comment by Tom Canavan
Yes Tom, they do have a point and a mission. Specifically, it is to advance the cause of World Communism errr, aahhh, eeer…I mean “Progressive Thought”.
September 16th, 2005 at 2:13 pmI can’t figure out what the hell is wrong with America….with the pundits, the press, and the public at large? Four major investigations by INDEPENDENT commissions and/or prosecutions should have been launched and impeachment hearings should have been called long ago
And no, Pat Fitzgerald who is investigating the Plame leak, however honest, is NOT independent. Ken Starr was an Independent Counsel. Pat is a Special Prosecutor employed by the US Department of Justice…and got the job because Ashcroft was hammered into recusing himself. He still reports directly to Gonzales’ people
Bottom line: Bushco got in the way of the law every time…and succeeded. Go figure. Read this article if you want the facts, and understand how powerless we really are….
September 21st, 2005 at 12:48 pmABOVE THE LAW
You poor Liberal Democrats are such whining cry babies. It’s a shame that you still need Big Daddy to hold your hand every time you hear a noise in the night get a little scared. I think it’s time to take off the training wheels and just ride the bike on your own. I also think Daddy is going to have to cut-off the leach allowances now that you’ve grown into pseudo-adults, so just shut up and take it like a man.
September 27th, 2005 at 11:48 amI won’t be surprised when you guys start blaming our lawmakers for their failure in banning the invasion of these darn hurricanes.
nudist teen
You are invited to take a look at some helpful info in the field of skimpy thongs galleries thong dreams
November 20th, 2005 at 1:55 pmThis is for Christian Librul
November 22nd, 2005 at 10:56 am“Teacher”,
You really need to teach yourself some history because if you look back in the past you will see that separate is never equal. Black people have and still are striving for their equalities in life. If you place the homeless children (BLACK CHILDREN) into different schools they will not get a chance to learn. The U.S. cannot afford to get the evacuees off the street to begin with. What makes you think they are going to give them a nice and equal place to learn. The only thing the U.S. has done for the evacuees is taken their land and replaced their homes with expensive housing, that the blacks cannot afford , so the poor blacks will not move back. The only thing the act of separating the schools will do is keep the black from striving for bigger and better things.
[…] From Think Progress: The Wall Street Journal reports that Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will ask Congress to waive a federal law that bans educational segregation for homeless children. The Bush administration is arguing, along with states like Utah and Texas, that providing schooling for evacuees – who, in this case, are likened to homeless children — will be disruptive to public school systems, so they want to have sound legal backing for creating separate educational facilities for the 372,000 schoolchildren displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The State of Mississippi is opposed to waiving the Act because they argue the law helps evacuees enroll in schools without red tape. […]
September 6th, 2006 at 4:53 pm