NYT: New Orleans in Peril (Mild Slap at Vacationing Bush)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/opinion/31wed1.html

On the day after Hurricane Katrina was declared to be not as bad as originally feared, it became clear that the effects of the storm had been, after all, beyond devastation. Homeowners in Biloxi, Miss., staggered through wrecked neighborhoods looking for their loved ones. In New Orleans, the mayor reported that rescue boats had begun pushing past dead bodies to look for the stranded living. Gas leaks began erupting into flames, and looking at the city, now at least 80 percent under water, it was hard not to think of last year's tsunami, or even ancient Pompeii.

Disaster has, as it almost always does, called up American generosity and instances of heroism. Young people helped the old onto rafts in flooded New Orleans streets, and exhausted rescue workers refused all offers of rest, while people as far away as Kansas and Arizona went online to offer shelter in their homes to the refugees. It was also a reminder of how much we rely on government to imagine the unimaginable and plan for the worst. As the levees of Lake Pontchartrain gave way, flooding New Orleans, it seemed pretty clear that in this case, government did not live up to the job.

But this seems like the wrong moment to dwell on fault-finding, or even to point out that it took what may become the worst natural disaster in American history to pry President Bush out of his vacation. All the focus now must be on rescuing the survivors. Beyond that lies a long and painful recovery, which must begin with a national vow to help all the storm victims and to save and repair New Orleans.

[Carolab]

1. Tell Bushco to use the "bribe money" in Iraq. n/t

[Kurovski]

3. Is that the 9 billion that's gone missing in Iraq?

Or is that in addition to?

Does it include the many millions in bogus charges from Halliburton and other "contractors"?

What's a bribe and what's profiteering? It's difficult to keep track.

[Carolab]

5. It's kind of all mixed up together, I'm sure.

The accounting seems to be a little lax...

but what happened to the 3 billion that Saddam was "saving" that was "found"...for starters?

[lvx35]

2. I would say that's a medium slap.

Not quite mild, but not quite HOT! ;)

[Kurovski]

6. Perhaps just right ? I mean considering the circumstances.

With an implied promise of more to come.

[lvx35]

7. quite perfect to my tastes! :) nt

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kurovski]

8. That might be too elaborate. Everyone quickly understands

"incompetence" and "negligence".

Evidence, rather than the abstractions of motive will carry a greater power to convince.

LIHOP is for the Editorial page and speculation in history books. Perhaps there will one day be actual evidence. Someone in the administration might actually have a conscience, or develop one, if the darkest things are true.

The Right-Wing likes to reduce us all to "conspiracy theorists", why give them the chance when actual evidence of incompetence and negligence is all you need? Why give the RW a chance to shriek and howl over the evidence by discussing motive? Why hand them a red herring?

Is it really a newspaper's job to tell us what someones motive is?

[aquart]

9. Whereas the incompetence is self-evident.

[Kurovski]

11. It's always good to get it in print.

How does George put it? "Repeat it over and over till the truth sinks in...to sort of catapult the propaganda."

The Right-Wingers in Freepton are already framing the Bush administration's incompetence regarding emergency services for the Gulf Coast States as "Blaming him for the hurricane."

We will most likely hear variations on that "defense" from others with higher profiles than the Goonbats in the weeks and months to come.

[izzie]

10. Why would people pay for inter structure when they could get refunds

With the privatization of every thing from gated places to live, selling off parks, hired private army and police why should any one want to keep what makes this country going, up to date. Really is hard to understand what people are thinking. And I learned this from my GOP father only he seemed to be not of the same party who is in power now.