In contrast, a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico blew up without warning on April 20 and the Coast Guard was in route with assets on April 21 and took the lead in the search and rescue effort for the 11 missing and presumed dead and according even to BP was "leading the response." Less than one day later the Federal government was in the water.
At 4:40 p.m. the day of Katrina (8/29/05) Bush appears in Rancho Cucamonga, California for another Medicare event. On Katrina he notes: "It's a storm now that is moving through, and now it's the time for governments to help people get their feet on the ground. . .For those of you who are concerned about whether or not we're prepared to help, don't be. We are. We're in place. We've got equipment in place, supplies in place. And once the--once we're able to assess the damage, we'll be able to move in and help those good folks in the affected areas."
The difference I've always noted between the previous Administration is that the previous Administration talked about what they were doing, but what they were actually doing was at best a shell game. The problem with their game is the pea isn't under any of the cups.
Later that day on August 29, King George received a call from Governor Blanco and the Governor said, "Mr. President, we need your help. We need everything you've got." Bush later assures her that "help is on the way."
On August 30, King George, in San Diego, delivers a 60th anniversary marking the end of WWII speech at 11:04 a.m. Of Katrina, he says, "we're beginning to move in the help that people need." The cups are a blur at this point.
Two days after landfall on the morning of August 31, the President has a half hour video conference with Cheney whose in Wyoming and top aides and later that day flies over New Orleans in Air Force One looking very concerned in the photographs. His press secretary tells reporters "The President, when we were passing over that part of New Orleans, said, 'It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground.'" It might even have been triply devastating as Air Force One has air conditioning.
In the Gulf BP presented a picture of "oh, it's not bad and we can handle it." They continued to present this Polly Anna response anytime the White House or others asked for answers until a select group the President had gathered put all the facts together and came to an "oh, shoot" (or some other s-word) moment. At that point, a fly on the wall, would have heard the proverbial "Houston, we have a problem." And, at the same time, regardless of anything being discussed, there were limited options. The company Cheney had built and the company that bilked America out of billions in Iraq was also, along with BP and other energy giants, the people who would have to be relied on to fix the problem. The fox wasn't simply watching the hen house; the fox had eaten the chickens and now was needing us to supply more. Such is the hand the President was dealt when King George and his band of criminals stripped out as much regulation as was necessary from as many industries as was feasible to maximize as much profit as was even a remote potential--goal accomplished, the King went to Crawford.
Red Herrings
The right is real good about red herrings. The problem with the left, with progressives, is we're real good at self-criticism. It's what makes us such a powerful force in scientific debate. The right sort of screams about emotional things; the left tends to weigh options, discuss, criticize and test. But, at the same time, the argument often times is hijacked into the world of Big Fat Idiots when in fact a serious discussion amongst adults is what is necessary. We need that serious discussion today.
Passivity and "Obama's Katrina"
I do criticize President Obama for his "Katrina," however, it's not the criticism of somehow false conflating a natural disaster caused by an epic storm killing over 1,500, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and destroying a major American city to a disaster involving private industry, caused by human error, soiling our oceans for decades, and killing 11 people.
The criticism I have is we, all of us, should demand an end to our dependence on fossil fuels. All of us should get rid of these internal combustion nightmares. All of us should stop today purchasing anything based on plastic. All of us should use technology to hold meetings and quit flying all over the place as though arriving at a location and then driving to a meeting is more effective, unless you're building a relationship, than say GoToMeeting or one of the many other technological solutions.
The criticism I have is we don't have a viable electric car.
The criticism I have is we have no high speed rail.
The criticism I have is to move us away from oil, the President proposes, "as an interim," a nuclear solution--can you imagine the oil rig as a nuclear reactor? Probably wouldn't have to worry about having this conversation.
The criticism I have is we're going to b*i*t*c*h and moan and complain and say things like "Obama's Katrina" and get all excited about the red herrings, but tomorrow morning we're going to pull into our convenience store, idle up to the pump, shut off our engine and put the $3 a gallon death to planet earth in our tanks...again...still.
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