Well, the talking points are out and all the democratic politicians are saying let’s not look into this until latter. Latter meaning [like the 911 report] when the public isn’t interested anymore OR when the republican spin machine has had enough time to caught up with and redirect public opinion. Thanks Congressional Democrats for towing the line for Bush. On a few occasions the Republicans actually get caught with their pants down and it sure is nice of Democrats to hold the towel up for them. People are howling for blood yet democrats are providing cover for this administration and acting like our country can’t do 2 things at the same time. So we can’t investigate this CATASTROPHIC FAILURE while [finally] providing people in Louisiana aid. I mean please tell me if I am wrong BUT is it really going to be the same people we currently need to pass out water bottles and drive buses THAT we will also need to running a congressional investigation. I have heard a lot of people say that if it wasn’t for the Republican controlled house and senate Bush would be impeached. That is true but what is also true is if we ONLY had democrats in the congress will still wouldn’t have enough democrats with the courage to just initiate impeachment proceedings.

I just ran across some great quotes from the BillMon Blog [ http://billmon.org/archives/002125.html ]. Some of you may remember that when Hurricanes where headed for Bush’s beloved Florida he was there before it stopped raining. Perhaps these Louisiana people have finally learned their lesson and will now move to Florida and become Hispanics.

Peace, Jon

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Gov. Jeb Bush sought federal help Friday while [Hurricane] Charley was still in the Gulf of Mexico. President Bush approved the aid about an hour after the hurricane made landfall.

By Monday afternoon, the cavalry seemed to be in place . . . Cargo planes were shuttling FEMA supplies from a Georgia Air Force base to a staging area in Lakeland, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had shipped 11 truckloads of water and 14 truckloads of ice. The first assistance checks to victims were to be shipped Monday night.

St. Petersberg Times
Unlike Andrew, aid's right on Charley's heels
August 17, 2004

As of noon Monday [two days after Frances made landfall] FEMA and other Federal response agencies have taken the following actions:

• About one hundred trucks of water and 280 trucks of ice are present or will arrive in the Jacksonville staging area today.

• 900,000 Meals-Ready-to-Eat are on site in Jacksonville, ready to be distributed.

• Over 7,000 cases of food (e.g., vegetables, fruits, cheese, ham, and turkey) are scheduled to arrive in Winter Haven today.

• Disaster medical assistance teams (DMAT) are on the ground and setting up comfort stations. FEMA community relations personnel will coordinate with DMATs to assist victims.

• Urban search and rescue teams are completing reconnaissance missions in coordination with state officials.

• FEMA is coordinating with the Department of Energy and the state to ensure that necessary fuel supplies can be distributed throughout the state, with a special focus on hospitals and other emergency facilities that are running on generators.

• The Army Corps of Engineers will soon begin its efforts to provide tarps to tens of thousands of owners of homes and buildings that have seen damage to their roofs . . .

• The Departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Defense together have organized 300 medical personnel to be on standby. Medical personnel will begin deployment to Florida tomorrow . . .

White House
Responding to Hurricanes Charley and Frances
September 6, 2004

Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan may count as some of the biggest political contributors to President Bush's reelection campaign, according to a poll.

The post-hurricane survey shows Bush surging ahead of his Democratic challenger by 49 to 41 percent -- an about-face from August, when Bush trailed Sen. John Kerry 41-47 percent, Quinnipiac University reported Thursday.

''The ill winds of the hurricanes have blown some political goodwill for President Bush,'' said Clay F. Richards, a pollster for the independent Connecticut university.

''You can't underestimate the impact of a president coming down and promising all this federal aid to people who need it,'' said Richards, noting that Bush toured hurricane-ravaged parts of Florida three times.

"It's like Rudy Giuliani at ground zero on 9/11. The commander in chief is there, on the ground, saying help is on the way.''

From Miami Herald Sep. 24, 2004

# posted by Jon Easton : 5:35 PM  1 comments