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Kyoto believers, Bush conspiracists, and blood-for-oil delusionals are about to explode: “Halliburton Subsidiary Gets Storm Repair Contracts”
Avast ye scurvy dogs! It be piracy on the high seas!
Arrggghhh!
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2005 09 04 at 11:40 PM • permalinkNo conspiracy. The POTUS has let his country down. Buck-passing aside, this was a time for decisive action, and he blew it. A great sabre-rattler, but a lousy administrator.
Are some Bush supporters developing a bunker mentality, refusing to acknowledge any faults? The Bush lovers are sounding every bit as irrational and cultish as the Bush haters.
Posted by reverse_swing on 2005 09 05 at 12:21 AM • permalinkNotice that one of the leading relief organisations was Chabad Hurricane Relief. The Jews and Halliburton! Margo must be having a fit! See the link for picturesChabad Hurricane Relief
Reverse Swing — OK, expert, enlighten us.
Bush declares State of Emergency days before Katrina approches NO.
FEMA prepositions relief teams and supplies all around the perimeter of the impacted area.
Bush personally calls the governor of LA and asks her to order an evacuation.What did he not do that he was legally able to do?
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 09 05 at 12:37 AM • permalinkreverse_swing—I recently heard about the President being criticized back in 2004, for being too QUICK to assign disaster-area status after another major weather event. The implications were that the assignments were politically motivated.
I also lived in Illinois in 1993 ... the year of that monster flood. Then, the chattering classes were critical of those who persisted in living in the flood plain ... but not a peep about federal “incompetence” beyond the Corps of Engineers advocacy of levees.
What a difference an election makes ...
Methinks much of the criticism (on this and virtually all other issues) stems from the perception of the “chatterers” that this President is stubbornly standing in the way of their manifest destiny—to lead us ignorant, uneducated, superstitious (aka God-respecting) bumpkins to progressive Utopia—and they seek not only his ouster, but they seek to assure that only the “enlightened” like themselves will rise to public office in the future, by any means necessary.
As for the fruit of the chatterers’ ideology, one need only look to the mayor of New Orleans ... IMO, the poster boy for the culture of dependency the chatterers have engendered since the 1960’s ... and the dozens of buses at his disposal that are now ,sitting in the water because they didn’t have on-board bathrooms (and therefore were considered unacceptable for use in evacuation).
Posted by Rich Casebolt on 2005 09 05 at 12:44 AM • permalinkOh boy! Wonder if the moonbats will start picketing Halliburton’s Carrollton, TX office again, like they did in 2004?
I kind of miss going out there with the Dallas chapter of Protest Warrior ... and giving them a taste of my version of protest music:
You say that this is a war for oil
It’s greed at the point of a gun
But I say if we wanted to take that oil
We’d have stayed there in 1991 ...
And I guess that you’ll just have to deal with the fact
It was returned to the people of Iraq ...Your protests, my friends
sound much like breaking wind
Your protests sound much like breaking windPosted by Rich Casebolt on 2005 09 05 at 12:53 AM • permalinkMayor Blanco shouted on TV for help but didn’t file the requests. I heard of FEMA-gathered doctors held up because Blanco hadn’t signed off on their being brought in. In the USA, in most cases the state authorities sign off on federal intervention or the intervention simply does not happen, because these are the United States, not the Conquered Provinces. And Blanco wouldn’t let control be consolidated and federalized because she feared that then they’d be in a position to blame her and the local government for any problems. If that sounds counterintuitive, consider the condition that the local government was in. Sky-high murder rate, criminal element out of control, as a matter of tradition. Over 250 buses sitting in a lot near the freeway and apparently no way to get drivers to evacuate those who couldn’t do for themselves. Half the police force soon goes off the job, and around only a third of them are reporting to work now. And the Bush team was trying to smooth over the disagreements with Blanco and the locals, to present a unified public face. The FEMA head Michael Brown publicly talked nonsense in what may have been at least partly a CYA effort for all levels of government involved, though his job history is anything but reassuring. Anyway, the public mask of unity has been tossed aside.
Frankly, if another hurricane starts to threaten New Orleans any time soon, I think Bush should ASAP use every legal means to take Blanco and her cronies out of the loop.
The levee’s unexpected break—some time after Katrina passed—is when disaster turned to catastrophe, and temporary relief turned to new scrambling. The main break was at a recently reinforced section, concrete several feet thick. Maybe a barge hit it, accidentally, one would prefer to think.
I appreciate that state and local authorities weren’t up to scratch. Nevertheless, in the aftermath Bush did what was necessary, not what was sufficient. That’s the difference between an average leader and a great one.
Posted by reverse_swing on 2005 09 05 at 01:16 AM • permalinkMethinks much of the criticism (on this and virtually all other issues) stems from the perception of the “chatterers” that this President is stubbornly standing in the way of their manifest destiny—to lead us ignorant, uneducated, superstitious (aka God-respecting) bumpkins to progressive Utopia—and they seek not only his ouster, but they seek to assure that only the “enlightened” like themselves will rise to public office in the future, by any means necessary.
Yeah Rich, they (in all seriousness) call it “protecting democracy”. What they don’t say is that they want to “protect” democracy from the people, who “obviously” can’t be trusted to do “what is right!”
Whoever coined the term “moonbats” obviously knew what they where talking about.
Hang on reverse_swing. Please elaborate on the statement Bush did what was necessary, not what was sufficient?
What should have Bush done?
Personally review NOLA’s storm emergency measures?
Invaded Louisiana?
Removed Blanco and the mayor?Geez, people blame Bush for acting like a cowboy on one occasion and blame him for not acting cowboy enough on another.
The first line of responsibility lies with the mayor and the people at the coalface, second with the Governor of Louisiana and lastly with the federal agencies.
As someone else commented, if the problem was the Feds why aren’t Alabama and Mississippi in the same dire situation?
Over to you reverse_swing.
—NoraPosted by The Thin Man Returns on 2005 09 05 at 01:31 AM • permalinkNo wonder I’m getting a migraine. The screeching must already have started.
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2005 09 05 at 01:31 AM • permalinkOh yeah—“reverse_swing,” over here terms like “Bush lovers” marks you out as a troll who is not interested in anything but getting attention. Please take your masochistic need to be abused to someone else’s blog.
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2005 09 05 at 01:33 AM • permalinkNo wonder I’m getting a migraine. The screeching must already have started.
I’m sorry Andrea, I promise to keep the noise down :-)
—Nora
Posted by The Thin Man Returns on 2005 09 05 at 01:37 AM • permalinkHalliburton Subsidiary Gets Storm Repair Contracts
Arent we all just Halliburton Subsidiarys in the larger sense…puppets of our capitalist masters?
/philosophy major drop out.
The POTUS has let his country down. Buck-passing aside, this was a time for decisive action, and he blew it.
Not to pass the buck or anything.
I spent 3 hours tonight watching coverage of the events. Saw the Mayor, he seems engaged and also to have mended fences with the President and spoke of the sense of calm W. helped him to achieve.
No sign of the Governor though. Seems shes in hiding.
I’ve heard more from my Governor (Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, some 1400 miles away) than I’ve heard from La.‘s Governor.
Dont kid yourself Reverse, the feds (the American people) are bailing out an incompetantly run Democrat state on this one and no amount of spin will gain your side any Bush-bashing traction. But keep trying.
Oh my God! Four whole days to verify that a corrupt Democrat run state didnt have it’s shit together.
A great sabre-rattler, but a lousy administrator.
Yep, all W. does is rattle the sabre, I see no evidence of his actually ever using it.
Are some Bush supporters developing a bunker mentality, refusing to acknowledge any faults?
Wish-full thinking on your part…sorry about that.
#13 Bush may be an average leader, but me thinks you are an above average follower if you do not recognize that those who seek to lay the blame at Bushes door do so reflexively, and from politically motivated malice, and without recognition of the manifest failings of a multitude of others with more immediate responsibility.
Yoo hoo reverse_swing where are you?
Surely you’ve had enough time to formulate a reply to the reasoned responses following your post.
Enquiring minds want to know
—Nora
Posted by The Thin Man Returns on 2005 09 05 at 01:56 AM • permalinkCheck out reverse-swing’s email address and then think, “Is this guy just blowing smoke out of his arse?”
Posted by Quentin George on 2005 09 05 at 02:40 AM • permalinkI appreciate that state and local authorities weren’t up to scratch. Nevertheless, in the aftermath Bush did what was necessary, not what was sufficient. That’s the difference between an average leader and a great one.
I’m still trying to get my hands around the statement “...Bush did what was necessary, not what was sufficient”.
Surely, if Bush did what was necessary, then that was sufficient, unless the entire situation was beyond the capability of anyone on the planet.
Except for reserve_swing, sitting on the sidelines, screaming, and flinging his feces, and helping not at all.
Just when one thinks that the stupid comments have reach an all time low, someone digs the hole even deeper.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 09 05 at 03:36 AM • permalinkNevertheless, in the aftermath Bush did what was necessary, not what was sufficient. That’s the difference between an average leader and a great one.
And that’s the difference between a well supported argument and a núanced pile of steaming bullshit.
Posted by zeppenwolf on 2005 09 05 at 04:04 AM • permalinkAndrea wrote:
No wonder I’m getting a migraine. The screeching must already have started.
A disturbance in the Force? As if millions of moonbats cried out in anguish and just kept screaming in agony? ;-)
Posted by Patrick Chester on 2005 09 05 at 04:04 AM • permalinkreversal-lite wrote:
Are some Bush supporters developing a bunker mentality, refusing to acknowledge any faults?
No. Just because every attempt at destroying President Bush has failed when brought under scrutiny doesn’t mean he lacks flaws. It means your side is too damned desperate and will try to exploit anything to hurt him.
Though I must admit, it leads one to take every moonbat outraged accusation that comes from your side with immediate skepticism. That is not acknowledging claims of faults. Is that enough for you?
Posted by Patrick Chester on 2005 09 05 at 04:08 AM • permalinkGood point, Patrick. I liken to the old story of the boy that cried wolf.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 09 05 at 04:28 AM • permalinkThe anti-Bush sentiment is so strong amongst the left that even their Australian cousins in the media are having a go too!
Our ABC’s Washington correspondent Leigh Sales was out looking for an anti-Bush statement from some poor unfortunate New Orleans lady, and set her up with the question (along the lines of) “How does that make you feel about President Bush?”
I expect our reporters to be out on the job, but they should not use their assignments as an opportunity to fish for anti-Bush statements. Why did she feel it was her job to do that? She is reporting for an Australian audience who are not, for the most part, hostile to him. Perhaps, like many of her colleagues, she works to the most important segment of that audience - the clique they all belong to.
I think it is just a reflex action, reveaing the common mindset.Sorry Andrea, I’ll curb my masochistic tendencies and leave GWB alone in future.
Quentin George, I’m intrigued: what does my email address reveal about me? Is this some new branch of psychology?
Posted by reverse_swing on 2005 09 05 at 05:43 AM • permalinkQuentin George, I’m intrigued: what does my email address reveal about me? Is this some new branch of psychology?
Your location, mate. Think about it.
Posted by Quentin George on 2005 09 05 at 06:55 AM • permalinkI notice you’ve not bothered to answer my questions reverse_swing.
Scared? Bereft of true debating ability?
Step outside and be prepared to be slugged by a girl.
—Feisty Nora
Posted by The Thin Man Returns on 2005 09 05 at 07:04 AM • permalinkreverse_swing ignored a lot counterpoints to his screed, Nora. I expect that was deliberate, as pretending to be an authority requires one to ignore facts.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 09 05 at 07:15 AM • permalinkFeisty Nora, I know a classy dame like you would never stoop to fisticuffs.
Scared? No. Bereft of true debating ability? Maybe, and an ignorant Aussie to boot according to Quentin. But the Administrator has told me to stop seeking attention by criticising The Prez. And that’s what I’ll do. See you on a friendlier thread.
Posted by reverse_swing on 2005 09 05 at 07:45 AM • permalinkBack to Halliburton via Tim Worstall. Key point being the contract was awarded in 2004 and that this demonstrates planning - which for some reason (ww?) is not given weight as evidence of preparedness here.
#6 Halliburton’s control of Kellogg-Brown&Root; (KBR) naming on overseas and domestic operations also has a lot to do with legal, tax, and retirement package considerations I’m thinking.
#4. I suppose we should have had a great hands-on administrator like Jimmy Carter or a great impressionist manager like Bill Clinton. I detect the slight hint of “he was on vacation”. He was on vacation like the rest of Congress and the Judiciary for the same amount of time. It’s called the August recess and it goes back a long time to when people needed time to go home via slower means (pre-Kyoto) and to excape the stifling Washington summer.Just when one thinks that the stupid comments have reach an all time low, someone digs the hole even deeper.
The Real Jeff S, I would greatly appreciate if you would not look in my direction when you say that. Thank you.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 09 05 at 10:08 AM • permalinkLook people, all of this, all of what’s been going on in our country, the whole world for that matter, since 2000 is all about George Bush taking control from the state and local governments and making his personal fiefdom, Halliburton, a world dominating corporation. He’s taking over. And you all are just stupid if you can’t see if for yourselves.
(I sure hope McEnroe doesn’t have a problem with me saying that).
Posted by wronwright on 2005 09 05 at 10:19 AM • permalinkreverse_swing said:
But the Administrator has told me to stop seeking attention by criticising The Prez.
But Andrea actually said:
Oh yeah—“reverse_swing,” over here terms like “Bush lovers” marks you out as a troll who is not interested in anything but getting attention. Please take your masochistic need to be abused to someone else’s blog.
A simple explanation: we get a lot of stupid trolls here. They tend to use a lot of cliches (e.g., “Bush lovers”). When someone uses those cliches, a warning buzzer attached to a bullshit detector sounds.
More to the point, not everyone here is a “Bush lover”, although I doubt anyone actually hates him. So when you applied a broad brush and a tired cliche to the blog, you got hammered for it. And rightly so, IMHO.
Bush has made mistakes. No one here will argue against that. But make your point intelligently, and maybe people will listen to you.
Maybe.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 09 05 at 10:23 AM • permalinkwronwright, can I help it if you walk around the place with a shovel?!??!? Get a grip, man!
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 09 05 at 10:25 AM • permalinkThe shovel is for digging through the Antartic ice cap. I’ve been assigned the job of moving a damn lake. Again. Like I’m the “lake moving guy”.
I always get these type of jobs.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 09 05 at 10:31 AM • permalinkI meant, “Get a grip on the shovel?!?!?!?!”
Sheesh. What else are you going to grip?
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 09 05 at 10:43 AM • permalinkWhat else? The space lasers, that’s what. Karl Rove has them but, of course, forgot to mention it to me. Sigh.
I’m burning me a hole through the Antartic ice cap. Maybe I can move that lake at the same time. Of course, I sure hope I have better luck at it than with that 1940’s alien weather machine. As I explained to Reichminister Rove, it was a wee bit less than successful.
Ok, where did the operating manual go to? I sure hope it ain’t in Hebrew like the other death machines.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 09 05 at 12:21 PM • permalinkBush-lovers?
I didn’t vote for him in 2000. I voted for him reluctantly in 2004. There’s a ton of things about him (rather, his policies) that piss me off. But:
1) He’s not evil
2) He’s not stupid
3) He’s not responsible for the Mayor and Governor fucking up in Louisiana. He’s rescuing their sorry asses.Do you realize that water vapor is the largest cause of the greenhouse effect?
Yeah, so?
And it makes a big ass hole in the ozone layer too. But what are my choices?
I mean, McEnroe gives me a spoon and two Dixie cups. That’s it. Ok, I supplemented that when I “borrowed” a shovel from his black op helicopter. (Sure hope he won’t be needing that soon). Now with those fine tools I have to dig through 5 to 10 miles of solid ice. I mean solid buddy.
No, no, no, no. The space lasers are definitely the tool for me. That is, if I can figure out how they work. I sure hope I don’t vaporize anything I’m not suppose to. Like France.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 09 05 at 08:47 PM • permalink
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Oh Christ this could get worse than the hurricane! Keep your heads down…Halliburton!!!!!!!!! aaaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh.