“And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this–this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them.”
With this woman as his mother, is there any wonder why King George is so out of touch? You couldn’t write insensitivity this striking. Can you tell that everyone in this family thought that poverty during the depression was just about people being lazy?
This makes me sick!
In a segment at the top of the show on the surge of evacuees to the Texas city, Barbara Bush said: “Almost everyone I’ve talked to says we’re going to move to Houston.”
Then she added: “What I’m hearing is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality.
“And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this–this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them.”
Source
I don’t get it. Underpriviledged people are getting the royal treatment in Texas for free and are going to bw able to start new lives there. I don’t see the bad in that. People who otherwise couldn’t afford to go start a new life, a fresh start, on their own are now getting that chance.
Good point !!
Insinuating that there is nothing but good vibes, and everyone is perfectly happy about losing everything they own to live in Texas is in bad taste.
A fresh start without (for some people) their kids, parents, significant others, or relatives?
Right? I woke up and read the ‘so what?’ comment…decided to ponder that idea while I made a pot of coffee. It hasn’t made sense to me at all.
My way of thinking in most matters is admittedly Eastern, but the concept of ‘put yourself in their shoes’ is hardly exclusive to that broad classification of faith.
To me, it’s simply outrageous for someone to attach any positive assumptions whatsoever to the condition those in shelters find themselves in today. Barbara Bush was speaking to the ‘country club’ constituency when she said what she did. It’s the same as wealthy individuals living in Flint who said that the poverty all around them was result of laziness and not the mass layoffs at GM.
A priviledged point of view with absolutely none of the empathetic thought required to sound at all human in a time like this. We have to be able to put ourselves in their shoes and look around prior to agreeing with this woman.
Bush’s initial visit to the area matches what I’ve heard from Barbara and that entire family over the years on issues like poverty. He didn’t want to go anywhere near those people. Now his speech has been fine tuned…
Right:
After the black plague the people that survived were better off due to less competition for resources.
Good things frequentely come from bad things, but that does not mean we should not try to avoid bad things. In other words maybe we should maintain levees and prevent flooding and try to prevent thousands of deaths, not be happy afterwards that the people who survived get another chance.
Insinuating that there is nothing but good vibes, and everyone is perfectly happy about losing everything they own to live in Texas is in bad taste.
No, everyone is happy that even though they lost everything there are people out there who will help them and care for them and provide for them. What B. Bush is saying is that the refugees are expressing gratitude and thanks to those who helped and that they are in a better place.
A fresh start without (for some people) their kids, parents, significant others, or relatives?
How is George Bush going to being people back from the deasd? This is a new form of liberal lunacy. Nothing can bring the dead back to life but those left behind can get the best treatment we can give and they are getting it.
I woke up and read the ’so what?’ comment…
What is the ‘so what?’ comment???
To me, it’s simply outrageous for someone to attach any positive assumptions whatsoever to the condition those in shelters find themselves in today.
Why, don’t you care about the condition the people are in, what their thought and feelings are?
A priviledged point of view with absolutely none of the empathetic thought required to sound at all human in a time like this.
This is boiler plate liberal bias taking a statement someone made and twisting it completely out of context.
He didn’t want to go anywhere near those people.
With hurricane Andrew Bush went in too fast and now it’s too slow, there will never be anything any conservative does that will please a liberal and that is all this is. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
And for the record, it is the Mayor’s fault and the Governor’s fault the damage and relief efforts are so bad. FEMA was there two days before, the Governor sat on all the rescue equipment and the Mayor ignored the evacuation order.
In other words maybe we should maintain levees and prevent flooding and try to prevent thousands of deaths, not be happy afterwards that the people who survived get another chance.
This is true in liberal dream land but in the real world;
1. Levies could only withstand Cat 3, not the Cat 5 Katrina was.
2. The levies were not scheduled for repair even if there was money.
3. It would have taken 20-25 years to make the levies Cat 5 proof.
4. FEMA was there 2 days before the hurricane hit.
5. Mayor ignored evacuation plea.
6. Governor failed to take leadership role with all available resources.
7. It’s not the Fed’s responsibility to manage disaster plans.
8. The levies funds have been an issue since 1965.
9. Liberals rallied against levie improvement on environmental grounds.
10. Liberals rallied against levie improvement on budgetary grounds.
Here is a good question for the left leaning members of this blog. Why did Democrats fight so hard against levie improvement over the last three decades only to now blame a Republican for levie improvement failures?
Right thinker says – “Why, don’t you care about the condition the people are in, what their thought and feelings are?”
The answer is a big fat NO. All they care about is blaming George W. Bush. That is their life goal. Their mission. That is what they live for. That is what makes them so absolutely pathetic.
This is not about Bush. It is about what kind of country do we want, do we want a country that ignores disaster victims? Personally I don’t think that is what most people want, but the leader of our country seems surprised that people care what happens. It is worht debating if that is the kind of man we want as a leader.
This is not about Bush.
It’s always about Bush, were this Clinton all the liberals would be gloating about what a great job he did and how the brave Mayor and Governor fought back nature and the Republicans, your typical historical revision.
It is about what kind of country do we want, do we want a country that ignores disaster victims?
You mean like the Mayor and Governor? Bush had to call the mayor personally to get him to order the evacuation. 24 hours before the storm he did but it was too late. THen the Governor sat on all the rescue equipment for a few days. The Fed was the only one working to save New Orleans.
but the leader of our country seems surprised that people care what happens.
I think the leader is surprised that liberal politicians would let liberal voters suffer like that. Seriously, they just laid down and waited for the Fed to get there. Talk about not caring. Bush is the only one who does care. Bush has done a great job considering this is the 4th worst storm in recorded history hitting the most fragile city (7 feet below sea level, come on).
Right:
Ultimately the rescue effort comes down to what a republican president did or did not do. The federal government controls the resources and is in control of all branches of government. Bush’s early inaction shows what is important to him. Bush is doing what he thinks the people want, letting poor people fend for themselves, even when the resources to help them are nearby. For example the navy ship that was awaiting orders to help.
Right now the critism is about what should be done to help people in the future as it is a foregone conclusion that this disaster was mishandled at the start, if you want to point fingers at the mayor go for it. I always believed Rudy Guiliani should have done something about the terrorists.
Have a good night
Karl it isn’t about Bush? Whom are you kidding especially with the statements coming out of your mouth! It seems to me that the hurricane victims are not being ignored. This was a natural disaster and as such it takes time to get recue et cetera into place. New Orleans knew this storm would come someday and it finally did and GWB didn’t cause it. There are a lot of culpable people here- Republican and Democrat and history will prove my point!
Paul I agree with you, the governor of Louisiana as well as the mayor and yes the president should have handled the situation differentely, but Bush is the only one talking about what a great job his FEMA director did, and Bush is the one bringing in Haliburton.
This is not sports where fans argue that their team can do no wrong, this is about things that effect our lives, I freely admit Democrats made mistakes, but right now the majority of resources rests with the federal government and a president who only acts when shamed into it.
One thing I don’t get is why they are trying to get everyone to leave. If they are going to rebuild the city they are going to need workers and several large construction companies already seem to be looking for laborers, why import these workers when you have a lot of people down there already who could probably use a job.
I am pretty sure it is the mayor who is adamant about getting all the people out so he probably is deserving of some critism.
When I look at the entire situation I see a breakdown of the entire system and Democrats are part of that system, at this point, like I keep saying it is not so much about Democrat or Republican as what kind of country do we want to be.
From pandagon.net
What Kind Of Asshole Conservative Response Did You Have?
Posted by Jesse Taylor at 12:55 PM
It’s like a Livejournal quiz…only without the quiz part. You get to decide what kind of asshole conservative response you’d have to Hurricane Katrina!
Religious Conservative
God hates faggots and the rich white unmarried college kids who travel down to the French Quarter every year to drink, carouse, and deposit various genital secretions on or in each other. Thus, he killed a bunch of straight black people with families.
Economic Conservative
New Orleans was destroyed because it was a pitiful welfare state, the root cause of which was a mixture of the endemic nature of black people to rely on Big Daddy government coupled with the endemic nature of liberals to prey on black people. This explains their reluctance to pay $5 for a waterlogged Twinkie – years of socialism have stained their ability to understand that market economics require the fucking over of black people during emergencies, lest the government actually help them and turn their children into welfare-loving parasites. Gay welfare-loving parasites.
Cultural Conservative
The race pimps and hustlers keep saying this is about race. It isn’t. It’s about niggers being too stupid to move out of the way of the storm.
Faux-Moderate Conservatives
We’re in the midst of a crisis here – there’s plenty of blame to go around. We’ll apportion Democrats’ now and the rest to Republicans when New Orleans is rebuilt…in 2025.
Compassionate Conservatives
Finally, Katrina has done what years of government intervention couldn’t – herd all the poor black people into a giant stadium where they can be dealt with by giant trucks of crap from Wal*Mart. Where’s my firefighter calendar?
Right Thinker: I never said I wished George Bush could bring back people from the dead. I also agree that the people who have lost everything in the hurricane deserve the best treatment they can get.
I do wish that Barbara Bush had phrased her concern in a more sensitive manner. If she thinks the victims are grateful, she should say “they are grateful to the rescuers”, instead of making it sound like they’d gotten into a better situation out of sheer chance. I don’t think any of them would have chosen to be in the situation they’re in, and I don’t think the people who have lost loved ones would feel they’re in a better situation at all.
This post from matthew yglesias seems to get to the heart of the problem for democrats:
…the essence of the Democratic Party’s problem. Sometimes, one America was the one where the hyper-rich beneficiaries of the Bush tax policy live and the other was the America inhabited by most citizens — the one where people work for a living. At other times, one America was the America inhabited by most citizens — the one where when the mayor says evacuate, you fill up your car and drive out of town, or use your credit card to get a ticket on a bus; the other America, in that telling, is the one where you’re too poor to get out of town and the government is too callous or too stupid to help you. Both stories contain much truth, but they’re different stories. The former narrative — mobilizing middle-class resentment at Bushian indulgence of privilege — is the one might likely to bring wins on election day. But the second narrative — mobilizing America’s vast resource base to improve the conditions of the most unlucky among us — is the more morally significant one
When I say what kind of country do we want I think this cuts to the issue.
The federal government controls the resources and is in control of all branches of government.
True, the Federal Government controls itself which is ultimately controlled by the people. But, the authority is on the state level. States run the show and it is up to the states to plot the course of government resources.
FEMA was there days in advance, Bush was making calls and getting resources into position for the states to use. It was the state and local government that ignored the pleas of the Feds and now they are suffering for it.
Bush’s early inaction shows what is important to him.
Bush was in action before the storm ever hit land and yet liberals perpetuate the lie that Bush did nothing. The democrats can only win through fraud and this is a prime example.
Bush is doing what he thinks the people want, letting poor people fend for themselves, even when the resources to help them are nearby.
Wow, put down the crack pipe!!!
Right now the critism is about what should be done to help people in the future as it is a foregone conclusion that this disaster was mishandled at the start,
This is a perfect example of the exploitation of the underprivilaged by the Democrats, nothing else.
I always believed Rudy Guiliani should have done something about the terrorists.
9/11, like Katrina, happened and the difference is Rudy rose to the occasion while the New Orleans guy sunk like a rock.
Bush is the one bringing in Haliburton.
First your mad that there aren’t enough resources there and now your mad that the President is fixing the damage. I think you need to pick a looney point of view and stick to it. Either Bush is doing too little or too much.
but right now the majority of resources rests with the federal government and a president who only acts when shamed into it.
This argument is a lot like someone starving outside a McDonalds with $1,000 in their pocket. “I’m at McDonalds but I’m starving to death because no one will bring me food.” The resources are there, why didn’t the Governor and Mayor utilize them? Why do they still not utilize them?
One thing I don’t get is why they are trying to get everyone to leave.
Maybe because liberals went ape shit over the Fed not evacuating everyone.
If they are going to rebuild the city they are going to need workers and several large construction companies already seem to be looking for laborers, why import these workers when you have a lot of people down there already who could probably use a job.
Stalin would be proud. Round up the poor and socially expendable (like clergy, teachers and such) and force them into manaul labor. What would a secratary or massage therapist or veterinarian know about driving a bulldozer?
Forced labor is not the answer and, frankly I’m surprised. Haven’t these people gone through enough that now people want to force them into the construction industry.
I am pretty sure it is the mayor who is adamant about getting all the people out so he probably is deserving of some critism.
It was the Mayor who left everyone to the mercy of the storm. While hundreds of school buses sat idle the Mayor thought people could survive a Cat 5 Hurricane.
When I look at the entire situation I see a breakdown of the entire system and Democrats are part of that system, at this point, like I keep saying it is not so much about Democrat or Republican as what kind of country do we want to be.
The sound of retreat. The country I’d like to live in is not one where Democrat Governors and Mayors completely screw up a situation and then try to blame it on the Republican President. Michael Moore likes it, but I don’t.
The Governor and Mayor caused the most damage, the most harm and te most loss of life.
I do wish that Barbara Bush had phrased her concern in a more sensitive manner.
She wasn’t voicing concern, she was telling America what the refugees told her. Liberals are the ones twisting it into something that it isn’t.
instead of making it sound like they’d gotten into a better situation out of sheer chance.
They’d gotten into a better place because most of America takes care of it’s own while a minority uses the suffering of others to hurt the Commander and Chief. People take care of people in America and don’t sit areound waiting for someone else to come bail you out.
I don’t think any of them would have chosen to be in the situation they’re in, and I don’t think the people who have lost loved ones would feel they’re in a better situation at all.
You think someone who lost a loved one would rather be floating next to the corpse day in and day out rather than in Texas? Of course everyone would choose not to have a hurricane at all, what kind of statement is that?
I don’t think any of them would have chosen to be in the situation they’re in,
Are you serious, not even one person wanted to be financially and psychologically smashed by the hurricane? Thanks for stating the obvious.
…the essence of the Democratic Party’s problem.
Here is the essence of the Democratic Party’s problem. They are parasitic. They thrive on the misery of others, exploiting them (racism), using their resources (unions) and feigning interest int their causes (black churches) without ever giving back (no ideas of their own).
For some reason I doubt the mayor can order the US milatary to do much of anythinge. The essence of the democratic parties problem is that they have let the republicans bully them into picking on the poor, Hopefully democrats will start standing up for people on the margins. But if republicans want to start looking out for the poor and protecting indavidual rights then maybe people will vote for them. I really don’t care which party figures it out I just hope someone does.
Mistakes were made by both parties and that is the point I keep trying to make, it is not about justifying the mistakes it is about trying to fix the problems, and I don’t think another tax cut is the answer.
For some reason I doubt the mayor can order the US milatary to do much of anythinge.
IT’s not a matter of ordering it’s a matter of the military being available at the request of the Mayor and the Mayor doing nothing. How the hell is the military supposed to know where the Governor or Mayor need them to be deployed? The military aren’t mind readers no matter how much X-Files you watched.
The essence of the democratic parties problem is that they have let the republicans bully them into picking on the poor
Are you serious??? The Republicans are forcing the Democrats to abuse the poor and minorities? Howard Dean, is that you??? What have you done with Karl?
Hopefully democrats will start standing up for people on the margins.
They have never stood for people on the margins, they just promise them a lot of free stuff in the future in exchange for them volunteering for campaigns, giving money and voting for Democrats now. It’s always been an empty promise.
and I don’t think another tax cut is the answer.
Do you think these refugees are going to have the money come April to pay their taxes? Do you think these washed out businesses will have the money to pay taxes and licensing and such come April? The last thing that needs to happen is to raise taxes for the government when the people need it the most.
Right:
Only people who have income worry about taxes.
Both parties bash the poor, and I am not blaming the republicans(although my last statement sounded like that) Really it comes down to what politcians have to do the get votes and their are certain people that it is always ok to demonize, and right now it is the poor that get bashed by both parties. I am dissapointed with both paries right now, this catastrophy could have been prevented and it was not. The Democrats, even though they do not have any real power, should have stood up and said something and they did not. As a society we have reached a point where siding with the disadvantaged is considered weak. Both parties and the people who vote for them are to blame and I hope that society changes. The US is supposed to love the underdog, not kick it while down.
Only people who have income worry about taxes.
Sales Tax? Permits? Employment tax? Suppose the taxes are raised and businesses are unable to operate and, thus, unable to hire the refugees. Building materials, business licenses, etc. The tax burden needs to be relieved, at least for a short period of time.
Right: one more time — B. Bush’s quote makes it appear that she believes people were better off after the hurricane than before it. Of course, this is obviously not the case, but the Bushes have the reputation of ignoring the obvious.
B. Bush’s quote makes it appear that she believes people were better off after the hurricane than before it.
No, she is saying that being in the arena is better than being in New Orleans and that the people whom you wouldn’t normally expect to get good treatment are getting good treatment.
You are readling her statements with liberal colored classes.
Of course, this is obviously not the case, but the Bushes have the reputation of ignoring the obvious.
Would it be too much to ask for some examples or would accuracy ruin the ambiance of that statement?
Damn, link didn’t work. Let’s try this one:
http://s89194761.onlinehome.us/mypetgoat.jpg
Exhibit B: Barbara Bush’s quote, shortly before the first Iraq invasion:
“Why should we hear about body bags and deaths and how many, what day it’s going to happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Oh, I mean, it’s, not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?”
mypetgoat.jpg
So your Exhibit A proves that Bush knows how to read.
Exhibit B: Barbara Bush’s quote, shortly before the first Iraq invasion:
Exhibit B shows B. Bush’s disdain for the liberal media’s attempt to find anything negative to report, even before it’s happened. It’s a good point, why buy into the media’s bloodlust and ghoulish desire and hope to see American soldiers dead? It’s a very good point.
Well, if we’re allowed to be snarky with our comments, then Exhibit A proves Bush looked at the book. It didn’t prove that he actually knows how to read it. *rolls eyes*
No – it’s because the water outside everyone’s second story window stinks from all the courpses, busted utility lines and sewerage.
Barbara Bush and her husband grew up in a time when people of their social status viewed the millions affected by the depression as ‘lazy’. Let’s not pretend these people have ever been in the shoes of the people this ‘Satanic Liberal Media’ insist on aiming their cameras at.
Barbara has had to deal with some hard things in her life…like having to buy her own cigarettes and knowing George had affairs…having to raise George Jr. on her own, having urine thrown on her by Nancy Reagan.
Seriously though, read up on how these people viewed the Great Depression for some perspective on their world view. While at Yale, Bush Jr. walked into class and found out they were going to be reading ‘The Grapes of Wrath’…he said to his professor, “that commie book?”
The Great Depression was a cartoon to these people. Just like the scene in Iraq and Vietnam. There aren’t real people in those coffins, it’s just the ‘liberal media’ making it all up. I’m pretty sick of this family. We can’t elect any more rich kids…to think that we could have had McCain all these years…hell, I’ve got to stop thinking about this before I start sobbing like one of my boys.
Chris:
I can see why you would want people out if they are in immediate danger, where I have a problem with this is that who is going to help rebuild? I think the jobs should go to residents to help give them a say in what happens and also these people could use a job. What I fear is that the jobs will just go to more cronies and in the end the substandard work that the crony system creates will just lead to more problems. My other fear is that these evacuations are so they can move people out of New Orleans to help change the complxion of the city.
Nice post Soxfan
Chris
Didn’t look like the Patriots had much of a super bowl hangover.
That’s going to be one of the things Bush is judged on when this is all over and done with in a few years. Wasn’t it Reagan who said, ‘I think the best social program is a job’ (may be a bit off, but that was the jist of it). This is the time where a leader steps up and helps his people, and paychecks in exchange for helping to rebuild their own communities…I couldn’t think of anything better. If every displaced citizen whose home was destroyed is absorbed into communities that cannot support them over a long period of time, I’m not sure what happens. Obviously wages go down (they’re low already compared with corporate profits and the wages of our top 1% and the gap is growing every year)…
No they didn’t…I was able to watch that game with my brother, who’s out of the Marines now. The defensive line is so deep and young. Jarvis Green on third downs with a fresh motor can be devastating, and Wilfork/Warren are getting better every game they play. We’ve got another one about the age of 22 named Marquise Hill, from LSU, could be another good one. Got to love Tim Dwight as well!
Well, if we’re allowed to be snarky with our comments, then Exhibit A proves Bush looked at the book. It didn’t prove that he actually knows how to read it.
Yes, were allowed to be snarky with our comments. Humor is a great delivery for truth. And, you are correct, Exhibit A proves that Bush looked in the general direction of a book, I do that everyday.
With that said I’d like to express my opinion that Exhibits A & B were a complete waste of our time and blog space.
It is nice to see Dwight on a good team, I have liked him ever since he ran back a punt against the Broncos in 98.
I really hope Bush rises to the occasion, he cannot run for reelection. If he turns this into a positive for the people left in New Orleans, I might even change my opinion of him. Reassigning Brown is a step in the right direction.
I get accused of hating Bush…which I do, but it’s for these situations right here where the country needs a person whose more of a leader than a politician, but this guy is all politician and always has been. The reason you don’t let people go after failures is it feeds the fire of your enemies. This guy has stuck with that quite well in the past, but went too far by promoting Wolfowicz…that was a guy who should of and could have been pitched. Karma had something to do with Brown turning out to be a political anchor for him, and one that needed to be cut from the body before the host got pulled under water with him.
This alone is not a positive as this Coast Guard Admiral he’s promoted has led something like 1500+ search and rescue missions!!! You know what America is asking themselves this morning…WHY WAS A SUIT IN CHARGE OF IT TO BEGIN WITH?
That’s the problem with an administration like this one. They’re ALL suits. They’re spreadsheet jockeys who have never gotten their hands dirty. And that’s the problem with promoting Condelezza Rice to Secretary of State and John Roberts to Chief Justice…it’s the same type of promotion as this clown Brown to the head of FEMA. It’s more about the person getting promoted than the American people having the most qualified individual in the position.
Roberts hasn’t even been a judge for ten years yet! He’s going to LEAD the most prestigeous group of judges in the entire country? Rice…she’s going to sit face to face with Arab leaders and get them to do what we want them to do? Karan Hughes is going to show Muslim men the error of their ways?
He had a gift in Colon Powell as a lay-over from Clinton and his father, but ran him out. He had hundreds of candidates for this FEMA job and the Ambassador to the UN job…
Spreadsheet jockeys in expensive suits posing as professionals. Take your buddy to work day…every day.