I have to give my thanks to those on the net who make it their duty to compile lists like these. Here are a few of my personal favorites:
"We've got a lot of rebuilding to do. First, we're going to save lives and stabilize the situation. And then we're going to help these communities rebuild. The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." (Laughter) --George W. Bush, touring hurricane damage, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005
Yeah, Trent Lott, the aspiring slave owner, he'll have a new house and Bush will be right there on the porch of that grand new house celebrating the resurrection of the rich and powerful! Who knows where the normal folks of the south will live, and who cares! Trent Lott will have a brand new house. Even better than the one before it. It must be nice to have that kind of financial confidence and security.
"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." –President Bush, on "Good Morning America," Sept. 1, 2005, six days after repeated warnings from experts about the scope of damage expected from Hurricane Katrina
"It makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level....It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed." –House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), August 31, 2005
"Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well." —FEMA Director Michael Brown, Sept. 1, 2005
"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, 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 is working very well for them." - Barbara Bush during a radio interview with the American Public Media program "Marketplace," September 6, 2005
Sort of scary, huh Babs? All those poor black people coming into Texas wanting help? This wasn't at all what you bargained for, huh? They had nothing to begin with and now they're in your state, wanting what you have to give? Does she think this was a golden opportunity for the people of New Orleans to improve their lives by moving to Texas? WTF? Maybe they planned the hurricane because they were looking for a better life at the freaking Astrodome? What the hell is this woman trying to say?
"I have not heard a report of thousands of people in the convention center who don't have food and water." –Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, on NPR's "All Things Considered," Sept. 1, 2005
"We just learned of the convention center – we being the federal government – today." –FEMA Director Michael Brown, to ABC's Ted Koppel, Sept. 1, 2005, to which Koppel responded "Don't you guys watch television? Don't you guys listen to the radio? Our reporters have been reporting on it for more than just today."
"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." –President Bush, to FEMA director Michael Brown, while touring Hurricane-ravaged Mississippi, Sept. 2, 2005
"Well, I think if you look at what actually happened, I remember on Tuesday morning picking up newspapers and I saw headlines, 'New Orleans Dodged the Bullet.' Because if you recall, the storm moved to the east and then continued on and appeared to pass with considerable damage but nothing worse." –Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, blaming media coverage for his failings, "Meet the Press," Sept. 4, 2005
"...those who are stranded, who chose not to evacuate, who chose not to leave the city..." –FEMA Director Michael Brown, on New Orleans residents who could not evacuate because they were too poor and lacked the means to leave, CNN interview, Sept. 1, 2005
"I mean, you have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving.” –Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Sept. 6, 2005
Right you are, Rick Santorum and "Brownie." Those poor people should have just donned their fucking wings and flown out of New Orleans. In fact, we should punish people who were incapable of escaping one of the most catastrophic events imagineable for being stupid and wanting to die. Apparently, head-in-ass-syndrome is an epidemic.
"It's totally wiped out. ... It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground." –President George W. Bush, turning to his aides while surveying Hurricane Katrina flood damage from Air Force One, Aug. 31, 2005
How 'bout you go down and check it out, you damn coward? Oprah has done more than George Bush has. Did Bush venture inside the Superdome to see the remnants of the catastrophe that took place there during the days that thousands were left for dead? No. He didn't. But Oprah did. Oprah for President.
"I believe the town where I used to come – from Houston, Texas, to enjoy myself, occasionally too much – will be that very same town, that it will be a better place to come to." –President George W. Bush, on the tarmac at the New Orleans airport, Sept. 2, 2005
Oh yes. It will be the very same town, Bush. No historical relics or landmarks destroyed. In his world, everything is replaceable. He's not really interested in history anyway, otherwise he might consult with it now and again when trying to prevent making idiotic mistakes. As for the "good times" Bush had in New Orleans and mentioned in the above quote, could he possibly have had less decorum in making this statement? I saw the clip last night on Jon Stewart and I was astounded at how crude and tacky the comment came off. Jon Stewart did his hysterical Bush mockery. The evil head bobbing, shoulder scrunching, "heh, heh, heh" that he does after he shows a clip of Bush being a smug asshole. Yep, had a reeeeeal good time in Nawlins. Too good of a time! Heh, heh, heh. Remember them days when I was a drug abusing, alcoholic? Those were good times.
If you've ever been to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, it's easy to picture Bush there as a young man acting a fool out on the town. Not a care in the world. Checkin out the tits and reveling in the madness. If someone would have told him then that he would one day be invading other countries, murdering innocent people, and ignoring the pleas of Americans for help in a time of unfathomable tragedy, he probably would have just laughed that smug laugh, thrown back another shot of Jim Beam, sniffed a little blow and said "maybe so, maybe so. Sounds like a good time. Do I get to take vacation?"
Posted by Maria at September 7, 2005 01:28 PM | TrackBackI am just flabbergasted by the sheer incompetence and lack of compassion of our leaders during this disaster. Bush was elected, ostensibly because he would make us safer and protect us. This doesn't make me feel very secure. I can't help but wonder how we would fare out here in California after the "big one" hits.
You may be interested in the following timeline -> http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline
Posted by: Superchuy at September 7, 2005 04:08 PMThese assholes know how to take a bad situation and make it worse, with cold, heartless comments that are staged yet not rehearsed.
if Santorum and GWB didn't invent head-in-ass-syndrome, they've certainly perfected it. those two meatheads deserve each other.
Posted by: P at September 8, 2005 01:30 AMYa know what I am getting sick of - all of this comparison with 9-11.
They better be real careful because comparing the two events is a dangerous thing. With 9-11, we were surprise attacked. 2000+ people died.
With this hurricane, we knew it was coming for 2 weeks. We knew the dangers of such a storm to that region wwould be devistating. And even after we failed at doing all we could to save as many loves as possible, we still failed ater the fact. And 10,000 possibly have died.
10,000+ people and we knew this was going to happen.
Anyone out there who thinks our government is not to blame should be ashamed of themselves.
Posted by: ha at September 8, 2005 06:58 PMfigured you guys might like this little exchange
The first thing that should have been done is to evacuate everyone possible from NO. The fed didn't have the assets on the ground for that. The city could have used school buses, metro buses, vans. Even though Nagin is black, I think he and the others in charge thought that the ones they left behind were throwaways, because they were poor, black, and so many were helpless. That really angers me, more than anything else that has happened since this disaster struck. Those poor people were flat out abandoned by those that could have helped them. FEMA has no legal authority. Their brief is to "coordinate with other agencies" and is primarily for relief effort only. The guard should have been sent in much sooner, but only the governor has the authority to do that. Bush would have had to supercede Blanco's authority to send in guard before asked. She dilly-dallied around and left it way too late. Had Bush superceded her, many, probably including me, would have been furious that he had usurped what is a sovereign "state's right" (and, no I'm not an old gray haired segregationist, either, although that was one of their favorite battle cries). I think we need to keep the federal government out of our business as much as possible. Do I think there were screw ups at the federal level. Oh, you betcha. Do I think the most flagrant and egregious were federal mistakes. Nope, I don't. And, one other thing I'd like to point out. Whatever you may think of America/Americans on a daily level, when something like this happens, I think we see the true soul of our people. The response to the disaster, and not just in monetary terms, has been enormous. People have opened their homes, their schools, their wallets. It's at times like this that I remember why I love this country and her people. We can be petty, overbearing, whatever, name a sin. We have plenty of people who will use this to bilk others and commit crime. But, we can also be some of the most compassionate and generous people on earth. We've shown this time and again, and nowhere more so than with this horrible catastrophe.
Posted by Cait at September 8, 2005 05:15 PM
The screw ups at the local level determined the size of the snowball of screw ups on up.
The federal response is and will be based upon the local situation.
Build a bad 'foundation' and the rest of the structure will be crap....
Posted by Mad Mi-key at September 8, 2005 05:40 PM
"The first thing that should have been done is to evacuate everyone possible from NO. The fed didn't have the assets on the ground for that. The city could have used school buses, metro buses, vans."
And where was the state and city going to get those kinds of resources to get nearly 3/4 of a million people out of the city? Even more so, where the hell do they take them? And even more so, when they get them to this place, what do they do with them? Something of that magnitude cannnot be handled on just a local or state level. You are talkimg about a million plus people from 3 different states. Who is supposed to be in charge? Where do these reources come from? Who is supposed to feed and house these people? Who is supposed to take care of their medical needs? Again, the only entity I know of that has the resources available (or is supposed to if they aren't off invading other countries for fun and profit) is the US Government. Heck, we are even supposed to have a special department just for that kind of thing. I used to be called FEMA.
"Even though Nagin is black, I think he and the others in charge thought that the ones they left behind were throwaways, because they were poor, black, and so many were helpless."
Well if the shoe fits...last time I checked, most of those people left behind ARE black, poor and helpless.
"hose poor people were flat out abandoned by those that could have helped them. FEMA has no legal authority."
Last I checked, Nagin was at and still is at ground zero. So is the governer and the lt. governer and many other state officials. And even if fema really needed legal authority to help out, they were asked, and they did not respond. Partly because Brown didn't feel the situation was that bad and partly because his hands weere tied because FEMA is part of the dept. of homeland insecurity. And while we are on "legal authority" the US Military has no "legal authority" to go invading other countries - but that didn't stop us.
"The guard should have been sent in much sooner, but only the governor has the authority to do that."
I know. But when the gaurd is over in another country fighting for coporate oil, it is awfully difficult to get them back to protect the STATE in which they are supposed to be gaurding.
"Bush would have had to supercede Blanco's authority to send in guard before asked. "
He did when someone feeding tube was taken out. Shit, the entire fucking congress of the United States did that. Supercedeing states rights when states don't want or need it and then turning their back when they do want or need it seems to be Status Quo for the good ole' bush whitehouse.
"She dilly-dallied around and left it way too late."
She certainly dillie dailed in Baton Rouge all right. Probably went to silly old briefings and tried to work out stupid little details like where to get the reources to help the impending doom. How dumb of her. Maybe if she was more like Bush who was hard at work on his ranch in Crawford Tex-ASS while some stupid old storm threatened the sntire gulf region, than things would have gotten done. I think it would have been too much of a burden on Bush if he picked up the phone and said "I am here if you need me for anything.." Wait he did do that. For Jeb.
"Had Bush superceded her, many, probably including me, would have been furious that he had usurped what is a sovereign "state's right" (and, no I'm not an old gray haired segregationist, either, although that was one of their favorite battle cries)."
Yes God forbid his approval rating drop anymore what would he have done. 10,000+ people have died, but at least he didn't infringe on any states' rights.
"I think we need to keep the federal government out of our business as much as possible."
Except only when it is deciding what is morally right for us. Or telling our schools that they are obligated to send every kids record to the military. Yea, they shouldn't be in the business of saving lives or anything stupid like that. At least we agree on one thing - they sure are good at killing people. (see iraq)
"Whatever you may think of America/Americans on a daily level, when something like this happens, I think we see the true soul of our people"
Yes, we do. And it is pretty sad we cannot rely on our own government to help.
Posted by: ha at September 8, 2005 09:11 PMFucking George, the bastard dug up Barbara and gave the corpse airtime as a decoy. And she fits the decoy profile perfectly because 5 minutes after she's done garbling that senile elitist bullshit she totally forgets about it. Unlike George, who forgets everything before he speaks. I'm certain they're inbred.
Professor Leotus Clouse and The Duke of Sweet Cheeks
from S.O.M.M. & B.I.M.B.