Republican or Democrat, American or Foreign, the politicos are fine subject for speculation, rumination and a bit of derision
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Imitates General Honore
General Honore is some poobah in the National Guard who captured the whimsy of the country after storming into New Orleans with his tough words and in-charge attitude. He also made one of the more popular phrases of this year part of the national dialogue.
I speak specifically of Honore's famous "stuck on stupid" comment that resonated, if ever, during the mess that was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
From Sweetness and Light.com
, we have a picture of the fine Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans, all dignified looking as he rides his horse down the streets of his city. How handsome is this fellow who left his citizens to drown as school buses sat up to their wheel wells in water, unused for an evacuation Louisiana politicos did not want to enact?
Does riding that horse give Nagin the respect of General Honore? We thinks not. It only makes him look "stuck on stupid".
Here's An Interesting Tidbit on AP's Famous Nothing Katrina Tape Story
Recall yon reader, if you will, Dan Rather, CBS, and those "fake-but-accurate" documents about Bush's National Guard service. Move on now to the recent AP story that had "secret tapes" (heh) of the weather service advising a group of administration types that the coming Katrina storm might "overtop" the levees.
The "overtop" word being critical here. Because Bush had stated, before this big secret tape was suddenly "discovered" by the AP, that no one suspected the levees would be breached.
First, that tape was nowhere near secret. Indeed a viewer can see before their lying eyes a whole bunch of news people in the room. If my ageing memory serves me right, I believe I saw that same news clip myself during all the Katrina brouhaha.
Second, the AP called Bush a liar and they had this "secret" tape to prove it. Only the weather guy, who knows nothing about breaching at any rate, said the levees might be "overtopped".
Article comments
1 - Dave Nalle
Great stuff, Pat, especially on the key difference between an 'overtopping' and a 'breach', which the mainstream media has managed to totally bury. That last comment on Ebrahim's name might strike some as a bit racist, though.
Dave
2 - Jackie
The point is not whether the president was briefed on the leevees being breached OR overrun.
Either way the water from the lake, would be in the streets of New Orleans
It is the complete lack of immediate response and the dragging of feet once they did respond, that is the issue.
3 - JP
Nagin is a twit, first off, trying to get reelected. He's got to try anything. As for breach vs. overtop, there is a difference and it's likely much less water would have entered had it only been overtopping. Overtopping could lead to what we witnessed, but it would've taken a much stronger hurricane to raise the lake and river level that high.
recent article on TomPaine.com sums this one up in my opinion: "There's a realization going around Washington these days. It goes something like this: If an administration gets elected by saying government is bad, it follows that they will appoint people who don't care about governing. Hurricane Katrina demostrated this in spades last year."
Still the response was catastrophically bad, and that finger points at all 3 levels--local, state, and federal. The feds can't escape this one. Even if you assume all the local agencies and such should be sacked, and the governor should go, you still have an impotent response from FEMA.
A
Not caring about government is how the administration allowed a crony like Michael Brown, from the horse administration, to be in charge of a vitally important agency.
4 - MCH
"From the times I've seen Newt Gingrich out and about the man has been anything but coy about his presidential ambitions. By me Newt has a chance to beat John McCain for the Republican nomination because so many conservatives are disgusted with "moderate" McCain."
I'd vote for John McCain (Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross, POW for 7 years) over Newt Gingrich (draft-dodger, four deferments) in a heartbeat.