Hurricane Katrina Napster

[SkinWalker]

Everything Katrina. Links/pics/news stories/government response/lack of gov. response/etc.

 

I was going to ask that we exclude any debate about whether or not the state & federal governments screwed up or not, but the failure of the government in this time of great tragedy is... well... tragic. I watch news video of reporters whom I recognize from their work in Sudan, Bosnia and Iraq, and then see Harry Conick Jr and find myself wondering: how is it they can figure out how to get into New Orleans with their cameras, but FEMA couldn't get the National Guard in there for over a week?

 

The United States is the country that organized the Berlin Airlift. Where were the C-130's dropping MREs? We evacuated thousands from Saigon during TET. Where were the Hueys and Sea Planes? Why didn't the executive office order Greyhound and Amtrak to fill their coaches with anyone who wanted to leave? Why wasn't there an executive order for cruise ships to steam over and begin shuttling people from the city?

 

I have no love for the Bush admin, but as I watched the storm gain intensity and approach New Orleans, I expected the National Guard to stage and FEMA to take control of transportation infrastructures like buses, rail, and airlines to manage the evacuation. I was shocked to find it didn't happen.

 

I expected the day after the storm that the National Guard would be in place, parachuted in if need be.

 

If i could figure this out, why couldn't the leadership of our nation?

 

The answer is what we've feared all along: the regime currently running the United States isn't interested in the American People. Its interested in the elite class. There's no doubt in my mind that there are those in government, of decision-making pay grade, who are saying to themselves, "whats wrong with the dummies who chose to stay and ride out the storm? Why didn't they just get in their SUVs and leave the city?"

 

There's no doubt in my mind that there aren't those who will read those last two sentences and think there's nothing wrong with them. But these are the same people who don't recognize the "untouchables" of our society. The poverty and near-poverty classes whom we pretend are simply lazy welfare bums and not the elderly, undereducated, underskilled, underprivilaged, etc.

 

A recent FoxNews broadcast on the radio featured some talking head that challenged those that dared to question the government in this time of crisis. Now is not the time for questioning and looking for places to point fingers, he said. I say, if not "now" then when? Right now is the time. People in New Orleans aren't simply "frustrated" as the Bush administration has said. They're dying. The entire world is looking at our failure and thinking WTF?

[SkinWalker]

SCIAM - The Drowning of New Orleans From this Original Article.

 

Meet The Press 9/4/05 - Transcript

 

Meet the Press 9/4/05 - Podcast

 

Satellite Image from Google

 

IMPACTS OF BUDGET SHORTFALL. In Orleans Parish, two major pump stations are threatened by hurricane storm surges. Major contracts need to be awarded to provide fronting protection for them. Also, several levees have settled and need to be raised to provide the design protection. The current funding shortfalls in fiscal year 2005 and fiscal year 2006 will prevent the Corps from addressing these pressing needs.

 

From the Army Corps of Engineers website:

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/visitor/index.htm

National Geographic 2004.

 

What's in a name?

 

How do you define "looter?"

 

New Orleans Topography via the National Aeronautics & Space Administration.

 

A quote from a British geologist and friend of mine:

I am simply stunned that the richest, most technologically advanced nation on the planet, where more than 50% of the research on organisation and management has been conducted, is behaving in such an inept, criminally incompetent, lackadaisical, dysfunctional manner, with less leadership on display than one would expect from a diabetic aardvark with piles. Stunning, and truly sad.

 

After Katrina hit I said to myself, "Now the US will show the rest of the world how this sort of thing should be done. If this doesn't embarass third world and a lot of developed nations too, nothing will." How wrong I was.

 

-- Ian

 

Katrina Timeline - via the New York Times.

 

Fire the FEMA director! A recent demand? No... one from January 2005!

 

From 60 minutes, last night:

 

"Despite what you’ve been hearing, not one of New Orleans’ levees failed. All of the massive earthen levees survived. The failure was in flood walls like this one on the 17th Street canal. The flood walls are miles long, but only two feet thick.

 

Al Naomi is the man who manages them for the Army Corps of Engineers. He was probably the first to understand what was about to happen to New Orleans.

 

"Flood walls are unforgiving. They’re either there or they’re not," Naomi says.

 

The walls were designed in 1965 to withstand a Category 3 storm. Category 4 Katrina pushed her surge over the top.

 

"It just was overtopped and the water started pouring over the support for the flood wall, failed and it just pushed out and toppled over and that was it," Naomi explains.

 

Naomi was at a loss when asked how this engineering disaster could have been prevented."

 

Transcript here:

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005...ain815179.shtml

 

The American Red Cross

 

Donate with World Vision

 

Wikipedia Entry - already!

 

FEMA - Federal Emergencey Management Administration - the FEMA mission: "is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident." ... They've convinced me.

[ShadowTemplar]

Trust in Skin to get the sources.

 

How do you define "looter?"

 

\rolleyes

 

FEMA - Federal Emergencey Management Administration - the FEMA mission: "is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident." ... They've convinced me.

 

?

[Dagobahn Eagle]

Will the US government now finally realize that we need to take care of our planet?!

 

Do the math: America has 5% of the world's population - and is responsible for 50% of its Co2 emissions. The weather on Earth is going crazy. Storms and other catastrophies have been ravaging Europe for years now. Who are experts attributing it to? Global warming.

 

The German Prime Minister (Gerhard Schröder, is it?) addressed this point, which I applaud him for (what I don't applaud him for is how I heard that he said Americans "deserved" Katrina for not taking care of the Earth - as if the people in New Orleans run the show. Maybe if Kathrina hit the White House...).

 

The US Neo-Cons need to bin its "we're a s0vereign nation wee kan polllut3 all v wantxxorz!!!2221111eleven:usa:" attitude and reduce those emissions. I'm not näive enough to say they're responsible for all storms recently, or that if the high-grade people cut emissions, all storms will cease, period. But storms will be reduced, the oceans will not rise as much, and maybe there won't be a "Kathrina II" for a while to come. Not to mention that Europeans won't have as much acid rain brought in from guess where?

 

I have no love for the Bush admin, but as I watched the storm gain intensity and approach New Orleans, I expected the National Guard to stage and FEMA to take control of transportation infrastructures like buses, rail, and airlines to manage the evacuation. I was shocked to find it didn't happen.

Blame it in part on the "I luv my 2nd amendment!!11" civil rights fanatics who are convinced that everything with a gun connected to the government is evil.

 

A recent FoxNews broadcast on the radio featured some talking head that challenged those that dared to question the government in this time of crisis. Now is not the time for questioning and looking for places to point fingers, he said.

Trust HoaxNews:mad:.

 

Dagobahn Eagle

[toms]

I did try and work out the financial costs involved in implementing kyoto vs. disasters like katrina, but the figures i found for kyoto varied so wildly that its impossible to get a reasonable figure. Plus of course there is no guarantee that implementing kyoto would have had any effect on katrina.

 

This is the worst hurricane season on record though, and things are definately getting screwy weather wise. Heck, we had a hurricane in the UK a while back... something i've never heard of before.

The costs for katrina ARE going to be pretty huge though. the emergency aid bill was $10billion. Its gotta be more than that now they are upping the troop levels. Plus the cost of rebuilding, plus the cost of housing and feeding all those people, plus funding them now they all have no jobs, plus the loss of all those businesses.

Plus of course all those potential lives lost.

Does show that just because US business doesn't want to pay a bit extra to protect the environment doesn't mean it might not be better for them to do so in the long run.

[ShadowTemplar]

The US Neo-Cons need to bin its "we're a s0vereign nation wee kan polllut3 all v wantxxorz!!!2221111eleven:usa:" attitude and reduce those emissions. I'm not näive enough to say they're responsible for all storms recently, or that if the high-grade people cut emissions, all storms will cease, period. But storms will be reduced, the oceans will not rise as much, and maybe there won't be a "Kathrina II" for a while to come. Not to mention that Europeans won't have as much acid rain brought in from guess where?

 

Actually acid rain has a rather remote connection to carbon dioxide, being principally caused by sulphor dioxide emissions. But I think the Dutch are rather pissed with rising water levels...

 

This is the worst hurricane season on record though, and things are definately getting screwy weather wise.

 

Yep.

 

Heck, we had a hurricane in the UK a while back... something i've never heard of before.

 

Ah, hurricanes actually do hit Europe once in a while. Once about every century, on average. So the change in hurricane patterns over Europe is a rather poor measure of climate change, because the fluctuations in the data far exceed the bias.

 

Does show that just because US business doesn't want to pay a bit extra to protect the environment doesn't mean it might not be better for them to do so in the long run.

 

Or the short run. Actually, businesses profit from protecting the environment... At least if they are fined hard whenever they screw up big time (oil spills, acid seeps, etc.) and are forced to clean up the mess they might leave behind.

 

Now of course companies can profit more from screwing the environment. This usually happens when they can push the direct and indirect costs of destroying the environment on the taxpayers. But if the taxpayers choose not to subsidise environmental destruction, it actually rarely pays, even in the short term.

[Darth Andrew]

The United States is the country that organized the Berlin Airlift. Where were the C-130's dropping MREs?

I heard that it is much more difficult to airdrop supplies in urban areas since the supplies need to be very close to the target, but with buildings everywhere and the city flooded.... But I do see your point otherwise.

 

Anyway, this isn't solely the Bush Administration's fault. This article brings up some good points, once you put the conservative-lean aside: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/9/4/151327.shtml Anyway, I think that the whole government -from federal to local level- was woefully unprepared. Plus the swinging of the hurricane to areas that people thought would be safe threw off evac efforts.

 

P.S. What's with Australia and Norway having the same emmisions output as the US? Unless the US's is something like 30 while the other two countries' is 17....

[lukeskywalker1]

I was going to ask that we exclude any debate about whether or not the state & federal governments screwed up or not, but the failure of the government in this time of great tragedy is... well... tragic. I watch news video of reporters whom I recognize from their work in Sudan, Bosnia and Iraq, and then see Harry Conick Jr and find myself wondering: how is it they can figure out how to get into New Orleans with their cameras, but FEMA couldn't get the National Guard in there for over a week?

 

Lets think about this thoroughly. Whose fault is this really? I honestly blame the governor more than Bush or anyone else... but thats just my opinion. Think about it like this: Whats easier to pack up and move out: 5 guys a few cameras, and microphones, or a couple thousands troops ready with supplies (which all have to be collected, sorted, and packaged) Not to mention they had to find and inform people that they were going there. This doesn't just happen over night- I know, I've worked with food packaging, and orders, on a small scale. It would take us hours to get military rations / MREs ready to go, and we didn't make the food! We just sorted, boxed and labled, other people have to actually fix the food first. Granted, there were like 7 of us total.

 

How do you define "looter?"

 

Just some bad wording, eaten alive by the press... if it had been the other way around, no one would have cared.

 

Other than that, I can't say much else. It was poorly planned for.

 

 

This morning I heard that 1,500 people were being sent up my way, to a military base (where I used to work, like I mentioned, packaging food) The base it about 20 miles from my house. Later tonight I heard a Methodist Center in a neighboring town (about 15 miles from me) was taking in a bunch of people, who were already there... Then later tonight I head about 4000 people were coming into my county. 2000 people in my town, and 2000 in the other town (my county only has 3 towns, the biggest population in the largest town is like 2400... so the county population is going to double)

[SkinWalker]

Anyway, this isn't solely the Bush Administration's fault. This article brings up some good points, once you put the conservative-lean aside: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/9/4/151327.shtml Anyway, I think that the whole government -from federal to local level- was woefully unprepared.

 

The article brings up a lot of fallacy and strawman arguments as well.

 

From the article:

First responders and the manpower to deal with emergencies come from local communities: police, fire and medical. Under our federal system, these local departments answer to local authorities, not those in Washington. These first responders are not even under federal control, nor do they have to follow federal orders.

 

This was a disaster that was unprecedented and has killed untold thousands. It would seem that the death toll will exceed 9/11. The local first responders were victims. FEMA turned away all others that attempted to get into New Orleans. FEMA turned away thousands of responders and supplies.

 

The article goes on and on about the responsibility of local government to manage an evacuation, and this is true. But such evacuations of over 200,000 people who haven't the means to get out of the city require an infrastructure that isn't casual.

 

The main problem, and the point at which the author reveals himself as an asshole (no other way to describe this), is that it makes the assumption that because local government "failed" to evacuate properly, the issue is suddenly not the problem of the rest of the nation. Not the problem of the federal government. Hundreds of thousands of stranded and dying people -stranded and dying for OVER A FRICKIN' WEEK BEFORE ASSISTANCE CAME IN- is well beyond the scope of the local government to fix. It requires thousands of troops & support personnel.

 

As much as it seems to be a conspiracy theory, the entire situation has the appearance that the Bush administration gave an order to FEMA to *not* allow assistance into New Orleans.

 

FEMA turns away supply trucks from WalMart

 

FEMA turns away experienced fire fighters

 

FEMA won't accept help from AmTrack in evacuating people & saving lives

 

Homeland Security won't let Red Cross deliver food

 

FEMA turns away a flotilla of boats trying to rescue people

 

Navy Ships turned away by FEMA - including a 600 bed hospital ship and a ship that can make over 100,000 gallons of water/day.

 

FEMA turns away water, generators, and diesal fuel

 

FEMA orders 1st responders not to respond - FEMA's own words while stranded people die.

 

The Bush admin F**** up. If they made such an order, its treason. If they didn't, it's gross -GROSS- incompetence. Now we can see why the Iraq War is so fouled up as well. Iraq is costing us a billion dollars per day. That's $360 Billion per year! How are we ever going to afford to rebuild after Katrina? Perhaps Bush can give us all another tax break, that'll help, eh.

 

Bush is incompetent.

[Dagobahn Eagle]

P.S. What's with Australia and Norway having the same emmisions output as the US?

I do not believe it does. Note that it says "15 or more". I can gladly believe that Norway emits a lot of Co2 even though we have a lot of hydro-electric plants. Just think about all the heating in the winter. But I still believe the US is higher up than Norway, and its percentage of global emissions has to be higher.

[ShadowTemplar]

Lets think about this thoroughly. Whose fault is this really? I honestly blame the governor more than Bush or anyone else... but thats just my opinion.

 

Because?

 

Think about it like this: Whats easier to pack up and move out: 5 guys a few cameras, and microphones, or a couple thousands troops ready with supplies (which all have to be collected, sorted, and packaged)

 

\sigh

 

Hurricanes don't exactly come as a surprise. I've got a question for you: How come the German government can evac everyone along the Rhine, the Donau and the Elbe (as they did when those rivers flooded this summer) in the same amount of time it takes the famous White House to get off their butts and start moving? I can understand that you can't evac people during a hurricane, but ffs they had almost a whole week between the first warning that a storm was brewing and the time when it hit. Of course you don't start evacuations over every potential storm, but you damn well start making contingency plans!

 

A friend of mine tells me that there is an aircraft full of disaster relief en route to the US which is sitting dumb in a Swedish airport because US authorities have denied it access because - can you believe it? - they fear it may be a terrorist threat!

 

I'll badger him for sources and get back to you.

[toms]

P.S. What's with Australia and Norway having the same emmisions output as the US? Unless the US's is something like 30 while the other two countries' is 17....

 

Well, Australia is about the only other country to refuse to sign up to kyoto. Maybe that is why...

 

--

 

I look in my crystal ball and I see the head of FEMA getting the chop... though Bush is usually good at getting his underlings to take the fall for him.

[lukeskywalker1]

Because?

 

Exactly the same reason you posted under that. They knew it was coming as well, so really, why blame the president, or the white house when the officials in those states ALSO knew what was coming. They could have evacuated those people, but they didn't.

[SkinWalker]

Read my last post.

[CapNColostomy]

It is my opinion that if Bush didn't deserve to be impeached before, he certainly does now.

[lukeskywalker1]

As much as it seems to be a conspiracy theory, the entire situation has the appearance that the Bush administration gave an order to FEMA to *not* allow assistance into New Orleans.

 

Wha!?!

 

The Bush admin F**** up. If they made such an order, its treason. If they didn't, it's gross -GROSS- incompetence. Now we can see why the Iraq War is so fouled up as well. Iraq is costing us a billion dollars per day. That's $360 Billion per year! How are we ever going to afford to rebuild after Katrina? Perhaps Bush can give us all another tax break, that'll help, eh.

 

Hmm... I would like to say incompetence... is there a real evidence to say that he told them not go in? And if so, why? I'll admit, I didn't click the links.

 

Read my last post.

 

Oh... hehe.

 

But, I just don't think its all Bush's fault. They have... or had school buses down there, they could have put those people on the buses. But they didn't... maybe right now its Bush's fault, but the whole "before it happend evacuation" wasn't... I don't think.

 

It is my opinion that if Bush didn't deserve to be impeached before, he certainly does now.

 

I seriously don't think it will happen.

[SkinWalker]

But, I just don't think its all Bush's fault.

 

Don't make a mistake in assuming that there is only one issue: the evacuation of New Orleans. There are two. The evacuation is one, but the rescue is the second. Thousands will have died when the counting is all done (likely to be a number that tops the death toll of 9/11) during the period that followed the hurricane until FEMA/Homeland Sec. finally got into the city. That, my friend, cannot be placed upon the shoulders of the local government as the infrastructure and ability to conduct rescue was not available. It was only available at the federal level.

 

Sure. The local governments could have evacuated better. But evacuating over 200,000 people who don't have transportation is not an easy thing to manage.

 

They have... or had school buses down there, they could have put those people on the buses.

 

Who would have drove them? The school bus drivers who evacuated with their families? If so, how do you break the news to a minimum wage school bus driver that you cannot leave NO with your family, even though they could use your assistance, but will have to stay behind to drive evacuation buses? A plan like that involves some very complicated coordination and planning. Where are the keys to each of the buses? How do you get the keys to alternate drivers? How do these drivers find the buses? Are these drivers qualified to drive a bus? Where do these drivers go (so they can reach the right people and the most people)? Where do they take the evacuees? What are the primary, secondary, and tertiary routes? What is the primary rally point? The secondary? Did they conduct a drill? If not, can we really expect that they'll fill the role? And just who are these designated drivers exactly? New Orleans school district alone had 500 school buses. That means at least 1000 people (you want to make sure there are co-drivers/backups for each bus) tasked initially with at least 500 actually driving if not the full 1000.

 

The logistics aren't simple. With the military, you can task 500 truck/bus/hummv drivers almost immediately (been there done that). You can't with city and county government. The best that could have been done would have been to send in the national guard of the state. But that this wasn't done to manage an evacuation isn't surprising since it is unprecedented. An evacuation required of a storm this size has never been conducted. Even with Camille, there was no mass evacuation.

 

But they didn't... maybe right now its Bush's fault, but the whole "before it happend evacuation" wasn't... I don't think.

 

There is no "fault" with regard to the "before" action. There existed no precedent to follow. No infrastructure to execute an evacuation of the scale needed without massive support from the federal government.

 

The fault, however, after the hurricane lies squarely and soley on the Bush Adminstration and its gross incompetence regarding the management and staffing of FEMA/HS.

 

There was a large naval hospital ship off the coast that did not get used. FEMA turned away first responders, supplies, and aid in the days following the flood. THEY TURNED THEM AWAY! Mayor Daley offered massive support and assistance. FEMA told him no. Walmart tried to get trucks of water in. FEMA said no. The Coast Guard tried to refuel the emergency vehicles of Jefferson Parrish, FEMA said stop. Generators were sent, FEMA turned them back.

 

Hell, I tried to give three bags of cloths to the evacuees at Reunion Arena in Dallas and FEMA officials told me I couldn't! A Dallas Police Officer got pissed and let me through, telling me to just ask anyone I saw if they needed toddler clothes for a girl. Wanna guess how long it took to give them away? Far less time that it took for me to argue with the FEMA assholes.

 

I seriously don't think it will happen.

 

Then perhaps a revolution is in order. This nation is on the verge of collapse. We are spending a billion dollars a day in Iraq. Rebuilding after the destruction of Katrina is going to cost just as much. Economic collapse has toppled nearly all of the major civilizations of the ancient world: the Maya; the Egyptians; the Greeks; the Romans; etc.

 

George Bush and his band of idiots are ruining this great nation in their quest for status and prestige. Elitism was the contributing factor in nearly all of the collapses above. It'll be our undoing as well.

[Dagobahn Eagle]

I would really like to know why FEMA denies all these supplies and relief effort. I truly can see no motive behind it whatsoever, logical or "conspiracy-like".

 

A friend of mine tells me that there is an aircraft full of disaster relief en route to the US which is sitting dumb in a Swedish airport because US authorities have denied it access because - can you believe it? - they fear it may be a terrorist threat!

Only in America:rolleyes:...

 

Then perhaps a revolution is in order.

Or perhaps not? I believe such things cause a good deal of monetary, structural, and bodily damage. But that's for a different thread.

[toms]

Has anyone found a statement from FEMA anywhere on WHY they have acted in this way? Like Dagobahn Eagle I can't think of any logical reason for it. But maybe there were sound operational reasons for acting as they did.... if so they need to step up and explain them. Cos at the moment it just doesn't make sense. There is always a bit of chaos and confusion in circumstances like these, and some mistakes made, but this number of seperate (apparently) illogical decissions is very weird however you look at it.

[lukeskywalker1]

Hmmm... I agree SkinWalker. Bush will get his place in History.... I mean, how many presidents have experienced this:

 

Getting Bombed by a forgeign country

Starting a War on Terror

Starting a War on Iraq

Rebuilding Iraq

Electing 2 Supreme Court Justices

Dealing with a hurricane that destroyed several cities.

More?

 

And all that at once.

 

Thats a lot of stuff. Sadly a lot of things aren't going well... :-\

[SkinWalker]

Hmmm... I agree SkinWalker. Bush will get his place in History.... I mean, how many presidents have experienced this:

 

Getting Bombed by a forgeign country

 

We weren't bombed by any foreign country that I know of.

 

Starting a War on Terror

 

And sadly abandoning it in favor of the ...

 

... War on Iraq

 

... when we should be focused on the terrorists who attacked us and still actually threaten us.

 

Rebuilding Iraq

 

A failed delusion. Let's rebuild Afghanistan like we promised first.

 

Electing 2 Supreme Court Justices

 

Justices aren't "elected," they're appointed. And, to date, he hasn't appointed one. Let's see if the first is approved before we give Bush any credit.

 

Dealing with a hurricane that destroyed several cities.

 

If you call it that. "Dealing with," I mean.

 

And all that at once.

 

Interestingly enough, it's all incidental with exception of Iraq. The only planned thing among the list is, perhaps one of the biggest failures.

 

Bush will be remembered as an elitist failure.

 

Thats a lot of stuff. Sadly a lot of things aren't going well... :-\

 

It's sad for the nation. Sad indeed.

[ShadowTemplar]

There is no "fault" with regard to the "before" action. There existed no precedent to follow. No infrastructure to execute an evacuation of the scale needed without massive support from the federal government.

 

Here I think you are mistaken. Precisely because the situation mandated an evacuation on an unprecedented scale it was Federal business - whatever protocol may be decided upon after the cleanup for dealing with similiar situations in the future. I don't know any other federation in the world where the responsibility for foreseeing and managing this kind of contingency would fall upon any kind of 'local authorities.' Not even Russia is that backwards.

[lukeskywalker1]

We weren't bombed by any foreign country that I know of.

 

Meh, meant 9-11.

[DarkStarMojo]

This is going to blow up in the administration's face. First of all, the government's failure to mobilize, help with the evacuation, provide aid to those who need it, and rescue the survivors has already angered a lot of people and cost Bush (and his Republican cronies) the support of a majority of the African American vote that they were gaining in the last election. Kayne West isn't the only one who thinks George Bush doesn't care about black people. His views have been mirrored by numerous others and the President's approval rating has slipped below 40%, to the lowest it has ever been. It's already apparent, from the article "FEMA turns away supply trucks from Walmart" that Skinwalker posted, that some Democrats are using this to their advantage, namely Hillary Clinton who we all know has designs on the White House.

 

In one of several such appeals, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, called on President Bush on Sunday to appoint an independent national commission to examine the relief effort. She also said that she intends to introduce legislation to remove FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and restore its previous status as an independent agency with cabinet-level status.

 

It doesn't matter that Bush isn't going to be running in the next election. It's likely this disaster (and disasterous relief effort) will be a major topic of debate and a major thorn in the Republicans' side. I hope it costs them the election and puts a Democrat in office (and more Democrats in Congress too). Above all else, however, this proves that perhaps the biggest issue of Bush's reelection campaign (aside from the anti-Kerry mudslinging) has failed. He hasn't protected the American people from terrorist threats. How can anybody with half a brain think we're safe from terrorist plots, which are likely going to be very insidious and hard to detect, when our own government can't protect its citizens from a hurricane it sees coming A WEEK IN ADVANCE?!

 

This is an embarrassment for all of us in the United States and it is all because our government doesn't care about anyone who isn't part of the "elite" upper class and has squandered billions every day fighting a hopeless war in Iraq, not to mention that the heads of all our most important organizations are inexperienced and incompetent and only got their positions because they're old friends of Dubya's.

 

*end rant*

[Dagobahn Eagle]

Urban legends on Hurricane Kathrina (Snopes).