You want disaster relief? Impeach George W. Bush.
I just stopped at the grocery store to pick up a candy bar. They only had one line open, plus the do-it-yourself area where you have to play amateur cashier. I hate that do-it-yourself area, but the other line was too long so I used it.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Bob A. Booey
By the news, Olsen? Or by what someone said here?
That is all.
27 - Temple Stark
Venezuela donated $1 million - and the Bush administration supported Chevez' ouster/coup.
I think you can shell over a few and maybe quit being such a drama queen.
These are fellow Americans.
I'm just waiting for someone to say you're the typical ... anything. You're not, though there may be a higher percentage of bloggers with the same wasteful view.
28 - Silas Kain
Yikes, B.A.B. Now I am getting pissed but that will have to wait. Once these refugees are secure and officials have a handle on things it's time for Congress to answer a lot of questions. This is not all on George W. Bush. Congress ultimately makes all the appropriations and they better have answers. All the more (t)reason for members of Congress to ask their financial supporters to donate to Hurricane Relief rather than individual politicians in this election cycle.
29 - Bob A. Booey
I agree, it's time to help people before we point fingers.
But note that in the article that the Bush administration consistently lowballed both Congress and what his own agencies were asking for in funds. Congress ended up giving more than Bush thought was necessary, so clearly even they thought their leader was resisting too much.
That is all.
30 - Eric Olsen
all of it
31 - Raygaan
I will never display my American Flag again. Just when i thought I couldn't be anymore disappointed with the leadership of this country...it happens. The bastard sits on his ranch in his chaps riding off into the sunset on his horse...while thousands of people go without food, water, and shelter. 2 days he stayed on his ranch after Katrina hit the southern US even though he was briefed constantly on the the imminent threat of devastation. How sad it is to live in the wealthiest country in the world and have our own people starving to death. To the people that have had their lives ripped from them in this horendious disaster, my prayers and thoughts go out to you, and yes i will donate...don't make these innocent human beings pay for G.W.B.'s mistakes. Oh and by the way...FUCK YOU G.W.B
32 - nugget
*listening to "when the levee breaks"*
33 - Natalie Davis
Mr. Stark, "fellow Americans?" What the frig does nationality have to do with it?
Mr. Blunderford, I hear what you are saying, but come on. People are in trouble, big trouble. If you can afford to give something, anything, and don't, that is just wrong. Be an example of true compassion for the Shrubites to see: Help. How would you feel if you were hungry and homeless and someone opted not to help you because they were angry with some stupid politician???
34 - Z.Z. Bachman
I find this thread very amusing. I was wondering how long it was going take for someone to blame the President for the disaster caused by this hurricane!! I guess I got my answer.
The truth is the levee system inadequacy has existed long before the Bush administration well back into the 8 year Clinton admin when we were all fat dumb and happy. The threat of New Orleans being devistated by a direct hit catagory 4 hurricane has been a matter of record for a number of years. GOP haters make it sound like this was a revelation that occured only on Bush's watch. Please spare me. How is it that Blunderford is not throwing darts at all of the political leaders in ALL parties I wonder??
Withg that said, I am miffed at this adminstration's arrogant attitude about accepting aid... see posts on my blog... but I can't see my way through to blaming the president for the levee inadequacies !!
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ZZ Bachman / ZardozZ News & Satire Portal
Have a Blog? Ring Surf it @ ZZ OpenRing
35 - Bob A. Booey
Bachman,
I was waiting for how long it would take for someone to blame it on the Clinton administration.
The problem with the argument you're making (and it's the same 9/11 defense of Bush) is that we've gotten hold of a LOT of recent science even in the last three years from people both inside and outside executive agencies indicating New Orleans was more and more at risk. Clinton didn't have access to the amount of data indicating that New Orleans was critically vulnerable to a hurricane. The articles linked above indicate that Bush's OWN scientists and administrators warned him repeatedly that now was the time to finish building those levees, and even worse, that extra funding could have made them finished by the time a hurricane struck. Now it's quite obviously too late and what money was spent is now completely wasted.
Don't let your politics get in the way of an objective viewpoint here.
That is all.
36 - Matthew T. Sussman
I blame the Coolidge Administration!
(Oh, and from this post, Blunderford is added to my Authors-I-Won't-Read-Again list.)
37 - Scott Butki
See, if you were making the argument that Hastert is now making here:
namely, that he wonders if money should be spent to rebuild the city, that I could understand.
But to not give money to the needy because of political difference of opinion... that just seems heartless and cold.
38 - Blunderford
I'll miss you next time, Matthew. You bring so much to the conversation.
39 - Shark
Great stuff. Spot-On. I wish I'd written it!
Welcome to Blogcritics. Shark already loves you.
=====
And I agree; let the rich GOP fucks who got the big tax breaks donate.
Let Bush & Co tap into the $200+ billion being poured down that hellhole in Vietn...um, Iraq.
Send some Humvees to New Orleans instead of Hano...um, Baghdad.
Fuck Bush. It's day four. Where the hell is he? Where the hell are the US RESOURCES? Why weren't they lined up Sunday night waiting to go in and do some triage on a major American city and a few dozen minor ones?
BUSH is the leader. Top Dog. Commander in Chief. His people are in need. His nation has been "attacked". Why hasn't he trotted out Guiliani and stood with the New Orleans firemen on a pile of dead bloated bodies on Canal Street vowing, "Mother Nature will hear from us!"
Fuck him and the voters he rode in on.
BTW: I CAN'T DONATE to the fuckin' fund; I'm fucking BROKE. I don't have A DIME TO SPARE.
In 2000, I was an upper-middle class guy with a great job.
Now I'm barely employed, over-educated, over-qualified -- and have NO health insurance.
I'm also paying $3 a gallon for my little gas-saving Nissan to cart me to my barely above minimum wage, part-time, no benefits job.
I'm worried about my own family's survival...
...SO ASK THE FUCKING RICH to donate.
Ask my boss to donate. Ask the GOP PACS to donate.
Ask those FAITH-BASED prayer mongers to wave their fucking magic wands over this disaster.
Offer some prayers, motherfuckers. (Guess the ones you offered BEFORE Katrina struck didn't work, huh?)
Ask the overpaid, underworked CEOs to donate.
Ask the assholes in this country who supported Cowboy Bush and his $200+ BILLION BAGHDAD BOONDOGGLE to cough up some cash.
I ain't got it.
40 - johnt812000
You are a misanthrope and a horrible human being. Not to mention a [edited]
Air should be illegal if cretins like you breathe it.
[edited]
41 - Z.Z. Bachman
"How is it that Blunderford is not throwing darts at all of the political leaders in ALL parties I wonder??"
I never blamed the Clinton adminstration, but you have avoided acknowledging the fact that this issue TRANSCENDS politics. If you were reading carefully, and could avoid the Bush bashing rhetoric for a minute, MY point was that ALL politicians are ass holes about protecting New Orleans properly from a catastrophy. But I suspect you are too narrow minded to understand that considering you took the time to post this irrational point of view in the first place.
42 - brent
ONE MONKEY'S UNCLE: It seems YOU are extremely ignorant in this matter. Can YOU read? Are you [edited] to think that ALL THOSE PEOPLE were so poor that they couldn't afford a bus ticket? Some may have been, but had the STUPID ones bought those bus tickets....how hard would the rescue of the ones that could NOT afford a ticket be? ALOT EASIER. These people are told EVERY year during huricane season how desperate the situation can be with a strong huricane. Have you read that? I have. These people live BELOW SEA LEVEL. Have you read that? I have. Ever heard of common sense? I have. How much is a bus ticket?
43 - Vicgtor Lana
to all: Choose and decide to help. Click on this link and forget the naysayers like the Blundering One and others:
link
44 - Bob A. Booey
But wait, I think the really important moral question for us stupid people here is:
HOW MUCH IS A BUS TICKET?!!!?!!!!?!!
HUH?!!! TELL ME!
HOW MUCH IS A FUCKIN BUS TICKET OUT OF THIS TOWN JACK?!!!!!???!!!!
That is all.
45 - JR
I paid my taxes for just this eventuality; is it my fault the government misappropriated them?
And frankly, I am way too nervous about the next few months to throw around any spare cash.
46 - Victor Lana
Bob: Some of the poor people of NO, already interviewed, have said they had only five to ten bucks on them. That AIN'T paying for no bus ticket or even a tank of gas. Many of them had cars underwater, so that kind of left that option out anyway.
Meanwhile, some rich SOBs paid $3000 or more for limos to take them to Texas or wherever. It's a classic case of the haves getting away and the have nots getting screwed. This is as bad as the Sudan or any other social atrocity and we'd better address it in a meaningful and swift way.
Look at the TV coverage: the majority of the people are minorities. Doesn't this seem just a bit strange? All these people (mostly of color) have been left to basically fend for themselves for four days? In my opinion it's a national disgrace.
47 - newkid
In reference to ZZ's post:
The President also commented in this afternoon's press conference that he would not ask for support from the international community...that America could handle it's own problems. What a message for the victims and their families as well as the international community.
Also what are your feelings on global warming and its likely effect of the strength of these recent killer storms?
As a country we are "whistling in the wind" on environmental issues.
48 - Matthew T. Sussman
BTW: I CAN'T DONATE to the fuckin' fund; I'm fucking BROKE. I don't have A DIME TO SPARE.
And yet all this time to potshot everyone else...
49 - Bob A. Booey
Victor, I was making fun of the guy right above me with his bus ticket mantra.
Forget it :)
The TV coverage does look like a 3rd World disaster area. Nature doesn't respect any class or wealth.
That is all.
50 - brent
A bus ticket isn't much BOB. FUCKING DUHHHHHH
51 - Pablo
Does your hate keep you warm at night, Blunderford?
52 - JR
Does your hate keep you warm at night, Blunderford?
If it does, he's one step ahead of the rest of us this winter when the power goes out.
53 - Blunderford
Unfortunately my hatred is only for the Bush administration and I can't keep it going as long as I'd like. It does get tiring. Thanks for asking, though.
54 - Pete
You're a miserable [edited]
55 - Dave Nalle
Wow, Blunderford. Your despicable selfishness and willingness to throw away your humanity to serve a political cause really makes you a poster boy for everything wrong with the left today.
You hate the administration, so to hell with the human beings who are suffering. Never mind that the administration didn't cause it or really even contribute to the problem in any significant way - despite the lies you're reading on DailyKos. All that matters to you is using the thousands of deaths and destroyed lives to advance your political agenda.
[edited]
Dave
56 - Blunderford
That may be. I haven't been bitch-slapped in a while now and you may be right that the time has come.
57 - Sean
I'll agree with Dave Nalle: [edited]. Yeah, so the people of New Orleans voted for Kerry. Does that mean that I won't help them, even though I voted for Bush? No, because they're just people, and I'm a decent human being. [edited].
58 - Blunderford
Don't hold back, Dave. Let me have it.
Unfortunately I don't have a political agenda, just anger. But I could retort here that the Bush administration has repeatedly used the deaths of thousands of people on 9/11 to push their political agenda, from implying that John Kerry was not suited to deal with terrorism to changing their justification for the war in Iraq from weapons of mass destruction to the need to fight the war on terror by bringing democracy to Iraq.
You won't make me feel bad for hating Bush. I feel for those who have died and suffered. I've used this post for a little provocation and I don't regret it, because I am angry over so many things that have happened in this country over the last 5 years, and to see poor people bear the brunt of a tragedy that possibly could have been prevented makes me sick. And to know that money was diverted away from protecting New Orleans to fight the war in Iraq drives me batty.
Is it all Bush's fault? No. He's not a hurricane. But does it add to the pattern of Bush spending our money warmongering while cutting taxes for the rich and giving a middle finger to the poor? Absolutely.
59 - Wayne_West
This is just sick. I couldn't give a flip either way about George Bush. He's not the point.
Natural disasters are natural disasters...not political events. And if you're going to allow your hatred for a politician get in the way of your better judgment as a member of the human race, then I think you'd be well-served to do a re-examination of your own priorities.
60 - Blunderford
I'll follow up on this post tomorrow. I'm sure you're all very excited. For now, good night. Feel free to abuse me with your comments while I'm sleeping.
61 - lumberjack
You can look at the chart and see that Katrina was nothing out of the ordinary. We're not having bigger or more frequent storms than in the past. But I'll tell you what, nobody should have to give aid unless they want to give aid. Just say you don't want to. One day you may feel conected to the rest of the human race to such an extent that you can't imagine NOT giving aid. Until that day, well, we'll get along just fine without you.
62 - Al Barger
Apparently this hateful and irrational Blunderford guy thinks that George Bush is God. I don't know why. I'm certainly not that impressed with Dubya myself.
However, Blunderford blames George Bush for a huge hurricane, which is a big ol' honkin' Act of God if ever there was one.
You know, if George Bush were THAT powerful, we wouldn't be having near the troubles in Iraq that we do.
63 - Celeste O.
Blunderford is only angry because after he purchased his candy bar, he maxxed out his mom's credit card while filling up his SUV so he and his girl couldn't cruise to the mall and buy materialistic fluff to afford his wasteful lifestyle.
64 - Al Barger
Also, leaving aside the political stuff, the story of his grocery store trip tells you quite well where Blunderford's heart is. He's obviously 100 times more concerned with an extra five minutes he had to spend at the store than with the horrible widespread death and destruction of Katrina.
65 - CJ
[edited]
You can look at the pictures of the devastation and write something like this?
It's a good thing politics won't get in the way when you or your family is in need.
[edited]
66 - bheagle
You are a hateful [edited], and reading your rant made me want to throw up.
Unfortunately, this tragedy has shown that there is now one more division among Democrats. There are now somewhat rational liberals and completely hatefilled liberals who care about nothing but their shameful socialist political agenda.
I hope you reread what you wrote and hang your head in shame.
67 - -E
I thought this was a NATURAL disaster, not something someone caused? How about instead of pointing the finger in blame at someone you get over yourself and help out your fellow human beings. They didn't ask for this. They didn't ask to be left jobless, homeless and possibly alone in the world.
If you don't like Bush, that is one thing. But don't condemn those suffering because of something nature did. Donate to the Red Cross, then the government doesn't see a dime (not even in taxes).
68 - R.B.
Leave the guy alone. He's entitled to his own views and I really don't think that trying to lay the guilt trip on him and tell him what "scum" you think he is will really have much impact on him. Seriously, what's wrong with you all? Get over it and find a more worthy cause to serve than namecalling and trying to change the opinion of someone whom you don't even know.
69 - Bob A. Booey
Feel free to rename this topic "Cheap Moral Grandstanding by Amoral Right-Wing Whackjobs Who Love an Easy Target."
Thanks.
That is all.
70 - Townleybomb
Someday, when you're wondering why millions of us who might otherwise call ourselves liberals despise you and mock you and don't listen to a word you say, take a good long look in the mirror.
And punch yourself with every ounce of strength you have, 'cause I can't fuckin' reach.
71 - Ed Falkner
Whatever you do, don't open your wallet. Don't do it. Just stay as close-minded and dunderheaded as you can.
Close your heart and your eyes like you've closed your mind. And yeah, bud, I'm talkin' to you. Assuming you read to comment 67 or 68 or whatever this is by the time it gets up.
Whine and kvetch and moan when BushitlerMcChimpyHalliburton does anything. Or doesn't do anything. Or says something. Or doesn't. Or once did something. Or didn't. Whatever.
Just piss and rant and let us get on with our work, OK? You know, the guys that actually produce and do something in society while the rest of y'all have the time to bitch about BEING ASKED FOR A FRIGGIN' DOLLAR! Small-minded clap-trap. And yeah, I'm talkin' to you.
You prove our side of the intellectual divide absolutely correct every time you speak. And, if you have the audacity to answer, that will probably prove it, too.
And, actually, no I'm not writing this for you. People like you rarely change their minds about foul trash like this. It's so that if anyone else happens to wander over here and see this drivel, they can see one more "you are acting like a jackass" comment, so that they know there are actually some adults left here in the U.S.
The one's ready to do the heavy lifting, and pound out some dollars.
72 - Russ
How sad that you let your hatred of the President get in the way. It is absolutely your right to hate Bush, but it is also shallow of you to blame him for your stingy ass not giving.
If you don't want to give, then don't. But to say it's in response to something Bush did is pathetic.
73 - Peter Porcupine
What amazes me is that none of you seem to have even HEARD about the 1,282 blogs in 14 different countries who all set aside today to blog for donations - total after one day was over $200,000 so it is being extended through the weekend.
Click on my blog to see how it works - we all have picked a specific charity (mine is Salvation Army because of their low administration costs and high percentage of direct disaster aid).
I'll take your candy bar, Blunderboy. You can have it back when you grow up and realize that there are many things in this life more important than poitics.
74 - a marine
hey got back awhile ago from iraq...nice to see the citizens i spend time defending can't even lift a finger to help another. i am not well versed in the intricate field of politics so i will refer to what i do know.
why couldn't the national guard/army/navy responded sooner? ever try flying into a category 4 hurricane much less landing helos in the hot spot? but that's beside the point, seeing as how reports indicate that over 80% over the city is flooded it would be hard pressed for the army to come and lift any one out right away...even if the hurricane stopped. as for ground transportation, judging from overhead shots many vehicles capable of transporting large amounts of civilians have severely limited ingress/egress routes...hence the slow extraction. logically, if roads in use are limited in accessibility then positioning of 40,000 troops will take time.
if i do remember my government and politics correctly, disasters in a state is first and always delegated to the governor unless the governor petitions the president for help, then the president declares martial law....etc. so despite of the numerous comments regarding bush's lack of response the duty belonged to the governor of louisiana.
as for building the levees...it should have been constructed right the first time despite which ever president was in power. the blame rests not on the president but on congress, which translates to the senators and representatives who gauge their votes on the publics opinion of how their tax dollars should be spent. yes the president can propose a bill but congress can always cut it down if they choose to do so.
many seem to compare this to 9/11. the event in new york while tragic did not interrupt traffic flow severely...not in the sense of the 5 o'clock rush but meaning that rescue vehicles, tranportation vehicles and heavy industrial vehicles were able to drive within a relative close proximity to where ever they needed to go. so contrary to movies, media and rumors, rescue operations for the most part take a along time, a lot of patience and a lot of prayer.
anyway i know y'all do have the freedom to express your thoughts and opinions...but it doesn't help out the people down in new orleans does it? so save the arguing for later and help if you can.
semper fi
75 - Lori in AZ
What does voting for someone have to do with helping those in dire need? Do you think for a moment that the state of Louisiana might have some (read MOST/ALL) of the culpability in this? State legislatures have been "working" on a disaster plan for a few years. Guess they really didn't think it could happen. Next year, $71M was slated to be cut from the "big plan". Call in the gov't to fix up the problems the state should have addressed years ago. Blame Bush, b/c Kerry surely would have stopped the hurricane with the power of his caring.
As far as the store employees, just doing their jobs. Don't shoot the messenger, PLEASE! Pull your head out of your ass, man!
Fuck, we need a few million more like you so the rest of us will have a reason to bang our heads against a wall. Excuse me while I vomit.