Prescient Words
From:Patrick Weidinger
What is the world thinking of the U.S., right now? Here we are, the so-called most powerful country on earth, and we are allowing this to happen to our own people. It's Baghdad, May 2003 all over again. Lawlessness as the few peacekeepers that are there are powerless to stop it. "Free people are free to do bad things" said Donald Rumsfeld. Yes, so are poor, hopeless, and down-trodden people, with nothing left to lose. Where is the help? It is day four of this tragedy. It's New Orleans, not like it's Indonesia half a world away. Why is the city still without security? As a professional involved in local emergency planning efforts, the first thing we learn, in post-emergency response training, is to control the scene, to control the perimeter. Until you establish control of the perimeter around the disaster area, and establish control inside it for those who remain, those who need help and assistance, you can't even begin to mitigate the disaster and start recovery efforts. There is no control, there is no perimeter, and there is no one setting it up. This is appalling, unforgivable. This is a gross example of incompetence. And it is firmly laid at the feet of George Bush, the Republicans, and the neocons who feel we can dismantle federal assistance, preparedness, safety and health agencies and programs like FEMA, OSHA, EPA, etc. Who send the National Guard troops we need to control these emergencies to fight a misguided war in the Middle East. Who change environmental laws to allow development and destruction of wetlands. Who fail to fund the repair and strengthening of levees. Who cut Corp of Engineer budgets to send the money to the President's Iraq war. Who dismantle FEMA, rolling it into Homeland Security, without first establishing a person, let alone a sub-agency inside Homeland Security, with the responsibility for national emergency response and preparedness for natural disasters. No one is to blame for the hurricane and its destruction, but these Republican bastards are to blame for this aftermath. Bush is going to the area to have a look around. I want to see if they actually dare let him out of the helicopter or jet to meet with actual people on the ground? I doubt it, they don't dare let this maniac get close to these people, they are likely to tear him to shreds. More likely, they won't let Bush near these people because he is cracking up, the guy is losing it, and the handlers don't dare let Americans see that their so-called decisive, strong leader is actually a shell of a human being. He couldn't face Cindy Sheehan, how can he face this? He can't.
What is the world thinking of the U.S., right now? Here we are, the so-called most powerful country on earth, and we are allowing this to happen to our own people. It's Baghdad, May 2003 all over again. Lawlessness as the few peacekeepers that are there are powerless to stop it. "Free people are free to do bad things" said Donald Rumsfeld. Yes, so are poor, hopeless, and down-trodden people, with nothing left to lose. Where is the help? It is day four of this tragedy. It's New Orleans, not like it's Indonesia half a world away. Why is the city still without security? As a professional involved in local emergency planning efforts, the first thing we learn, in post-emergency response training, is to control the scene, to control the perimeter. Until you establish control of the perimeter around the disaster area, and establish control inside it for those who remain, those who need help and assistance, you can't even begin to mitigate the disaster and start recovery efforts. There is no control, there is no perimeter, and there is no one setting it up. This is appalling, unforgivable. This is a gross example of incompetence. And it is firmly laid at the feet of George Bush, the Republicans, and the neocons who feel we can dismantle federal assistance, preparedness, safety and health agencies and programs like FEMA, OSHA, EPA, etc. Who send the National Guard troops we need to control these emergencies to fight a misguided war in the Middle East. Who change environmental laws to allow development and destruction of wetlands. Who fail to fund the repair and strengthening of levees. Who cut Corp of Engineer budgets to send the money to the President's Iraq war. Who dismantle FEMA, rolling it into Homeland Security, without first establishing a person, let alone a sub-agency inside Homeland Security, with the responsibility for national emergency response and preparedness for natural disasters. No one is to blame for the hurricane and its destruction, but these Republican bastards are to blame for this aftermath. Bush is going to the area to have a look around. I want to see if they actually dare let him out of the helicopter or jet to meet with actual people on the ground? I doubt it, they don't dare let this maniac get close to these people, they are likely to tear him to shreds. More likely, they won't let Bush near these people because he is cracking up, the guy is losing it, and the handlers don't dare let Americans see that their so-called decisive, strong leader is actually a shell of a human being. He couldn't face Cindy Sheehan, how can he face this? He can't.
posted by Anonymous at 9/02/2005 02:04:00 PM
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