Posted on 09/05/2005 8:55:53 PM PDT by neverdem
It was the climax of George W. Bush's video introduction at the Republican convention: the moment at Yankee Stadium during the 2001 World Series when he threw a pitch all the way to home plate. The video ended, and the conventioneers cheered as Mr. Bush strode onto a stage shaped like a pitcher's mound.
Well, live by the pitch, die by the pitch. When you campaign as the man on the mound, the great leader whose arm rescues Americans in their moment of need, they expect you to deal with a hurricane, too.
Mr. Bush made a lot of mistakes last week, but most of his critics are making an even bigger one now by obsessing about what he said and did. We can learn more by listening to men like Jim Judkins, particularly when he explains the Magic Marker method of disaster preparedness.
Mr. Judkins is one of the officials in charge of evacuating the Hampton Roads region around Newport News, Va. These coastal communities, unlike New Orleans, are not below sea level, but they're much better prepared for a hurricane. Officials have plans to run school buses and borrow other buses to evacuate those without cars, and they keep registries of the people who need special help.
Instead of relying on a "Good Samaritan" policy - the fantasy in New Orleans that everyone would take care of the neighbors - the Virginia rescue workers go door to door. If people resist the plea to leave, Mr. Judkins told The Daily Press in Newport News, rescue workers give them Magic Markers and ask them to write their Social Security numbers on their body parts so they can be identified.
"It's cold, but it's effective," Mr. Judkins explained.
That simple strategy could have persuaded hundreds of people to save their...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The trouble is that in New Orleans the Mayor would probably want President Bush to pay for those Magic Markers.
Despite the protestations of the communist NY Slimes, the facts will reveal that LA Governor Blanco and NO Mayor Nagin failed to act, while GW and the federal government eventually had to take charge from these inept, corrupt democrats. Memo to NT Slimes -- you ARE the weakest link.
And another question, what color should they be, for readability?
WTF is going on at the NYT?
I guess their bash the Pubbies strategy has failed.
A week into the crisis and a levelheaded report does not compare/contrast with the vast quantity of moonbattery and racebaiting editorials that pass as news from the Old Grey Whore.
Did you read the rest of the story?
Flourescent ink, wave a UV light over it, and voila, instant legibility.
BUMP!
I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Did you read the rest of the story?
How bout a 3 month pause in posting from the NYT on this site? We won't miss the bastards and will likely find we can do without them.
I don't know.
Add this one to the mounting evidence against LA!
Hell no. I will read what folks post here, no way is my browser going to grace their site.
This portion of the article looked levelheaded, unlike most of the tripe they produce.
NEW ORLEANS FLASHBACK: OFFICALS WARNED RESIDENTS 'YOU'LL BE ON YOUR OWN'
But the TIMES-PICAYUNE published a story on July 24, 2005 stating: City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give a historically blunt message: "In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own."Staff writer Bruce Nolan reported some 7 weeks before Katrina: "In scripted appearances being recorded now, officials such as Mayor Ray Nagin, local Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins and City Council President Oliver Thomas drive home the word that the city does not have the resources to move out of harm's way an estimated 134,000 people without transportation."
So that's why I saw 666 written in black on Mary Landrieu...
Within a day or two, you will see the MSM shift gears into "now is not the time to point fingers mode" as the evidence of Louisiana culpability adds up.
What's wrong with this article by John Tierney? It's on the money. Have you ever read Garbage is Recycling?
Unfortunately, evacuating this place (Hampton Roads) is a nightmare unless you're leaving by boat. Every road out of here jams up if you just look at it the wrong way.
"And another question, what color should they be, for readability?"
I can't believe you said that!!!!
(I only THOUGHT it.) :-)
Nice analysis.
He calls this a fair question? The man on the mound is looking at months and months of displaced people now in football stadiums, churches, YMCA buildings, etc. He's looking at rebuilding entire communities. He's looking at the economic impact on the entire country. I find this rush to judge him ineffective or effective absolute lunacy.
Thanks for the link.
-----"....officials such as Mayor Ray Nagin, local Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins and City Council President Oliver Thomas drive home the word that the city does not have the resources to move out of harm's way an estimated 134,000 people without transportation."-----
But wait. I thought that was the National Guard's duty to transport these people? At least that's what Nagin and the MSM would have us believe.
Use bugmenot.com.
Name the many mistakes the President made.
They can't do it other than a complaint about HLS.
Oh, sure, they finally admit the LA officials fail. They finally start to look a little at the welfare state and dismantle it.
But still the usual tripe and shots at Bush diminish the piece since that man on the mound is the person that saved millions of lives by calling the Governors for evacuation, practically begging Blanco to evacuate. That man is the one that had to calm the incompetant fools and ride to the rescue with our wonderful military. That man on the Mound is the one that has not descended to new lows in finger pointing, but instead rallied people to stay concentrated on rescue, relief and charitable donations.
This piece isn't good enough, not by a long shot. I'm not in the mood to accept bits anymore. They gave bits of praise inbetween bite earlier in the year with the vote in Iraq, lebanon revolution, etc...Look what happened afterwards.
Until the full Truth is given credit without malice or cheap shots I'm not going to praise the article, even if they take a dig at the welfare state.
ROFL!
I keep hearing the media say that Bush was 24 hrs too late... but wasn't it Blanco that ASKED for 24 hrs to make a decision as to whether or not to let him intervene?
There's a lot of wisdom in the piece, "balanced" by foggy criticism.
http://www.asambleasociedadcivilcuba.info/CPrensa/CANF.htm
LOUISIANA GOV & CASTRO LOBSTER LUNCH???? ( SNIP)
"The resolution is in contrast to a recent trip by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to Cuba where she had a lobster dinner with Fidel Castro. Governor Blanco's meeting with Castro has come under fire by Louisianans for failing to meet with dissidents, call for democratic reforms, release of political prisoners, freedom of the press, and respect for human rights."
(Louisiana Gov has more in common with Cuba than US methinks.)
You've been on this forum long enough, since May 7, 2004. His performance in this disaster stems from his reluctance to make honest criticism of the knuckleheads in Louisiana, including FEMA, the governor and mayor, IMHO.
Whether that comes from an personal instinct not to deliberately offend anyone, a political calculation to continue a "new tone" in Washington or an inhibition to call a spade a spade, it really doesn't matter because the effect is the same.
Maybe you can tell me why he hasn't cast one veto against all sorts of BS passed by Congress, besides crap that he advocated such as the "No Child Left Behind" expansion of the feds into education as well as the prescription drug benefit expansion of Medicare.
He has no excuse now that he's a lame duck for not using the veto, not that he had much of an excuse before he was re-elected.
His performance in this disaster stems from his reluctance to make honest criticism of the knuckleheads in Louisiana, including FEMA, the governor and mayor, IMHO. -neverdem
Failure to rhetorically bat away the responsible but feckless officials, local and federal, doesn't rise to the level implied when John Tierney wrote: Mr. Bush made a lot of mistakes last week.
The NYT wins. In case of disaster in your area do absolutely nothing to save lives, protect property or relieve suffering. Your new assignment is to blame Bush, blame Bush and blame Bush. Got that? Good, together we will build a better America.
I don't live in Florida, but who's surprised? Dems weren't called pinkos for nothing. I remember my older sister telling me over dinner, "better red than dead". Thank God she got some wisdom with age. Thanks for the link.
I see that this guy doesn't buy the "Ellis Henican" theory of local officials' response. That theory, which he promoted yesterday, is that Local officials can't be counted on in a national emergency, because they've lost their homes and families.
You are a partisan hack.
I say this because instead of finding fault with his response to the hurricane, you can only introduce policies from legislation that doesn't concern this at all.
And, BTW, "new tone" doesn't have a damn thing to do with this at all as YOU should know. Maybe if the President cared more about politics then he did restoring order to save lives he would indulge in what political hacks enjoy. Finger pointing. Instead he kept his head and got this done.
Take a hike until you can grow up.
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