[Mb-hair] Definition of Incompetence

[Michael Butler]

Natalie, who can reached through this list
MB
> Great piece:  what was the source, please?
> 
> rj
> 
> --- Michael Butler <michael at michaelbutler.com> wrote:
> 
>> Thanks to Natalie
>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Definition of Incompetence
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>       I don't know whether you saw President
>> Bush's smirking speech
>>>> last evening, which today's Times calls "one of
>> the worst speeches of
>>>> his life," or saw his pathetic interview this
>> morning on Good Morning
>>>> America, in which he praised the comprehensive
>> federal response to the
>>>> on-going disaster in New Orleans.  Both
>> appearances make it painfully
>>>> clear that the worst president in American
>> history and his thoroughly
>>>> incompetent administration continue to lead our
>> sad country from one
>>>> disaster to another.
>>>> 
>>>> The president used his air time yesterday and
>> today to lie  , there is no
>>>> softer word appropriate, to the American people
>> about the catastrophe in
>>>> New Orleans and to dissemble about federal
>> efforts to assist those in
>>>> need.  When the president says, as he said to
>> Diane Sawyer this morning,
>>>> that no one could have predicted this, he is only
>> demonstrating to a
>>>> watching world that he has no idea, NO IDEA, of
>> what he is talking
>>>> about. It was predicted by experts on every cable
>> channel starting last
>>>> Friday when Katrina set course for New Orleans as
>> a Category 5
>>>> hurricane. 
>>>> 
>>>> Frankly, it's a pretty stupid lie, much easier to
>> expose than a lie
>>>> about weapons of mass destruction.  In this case,
>> most of the country
>>>> had seen people predicting this disaster, so the
>> president just seems
>>>> out of touch.  What was worse last evening,
>> however, was the giddy,
>>>> almost joyful, speech the president gave about
>> how much the federal
>>>> government was doing to solve the crisis.  Does
>> he really not watch  watch
>> TV?
>>>> Does his staff mislead him that much?  His
>> casual, careless style was
>>>> beyond inappropriate.  It was obscene.
>>>> 
>>>> While claiming that no one could have predicted
>> the disaster, he ignored
>>>> the fact that his own staff at FEMA warned him in
>> 2001 that the flooding
>>>> of New Orleans was one of the three most likely
>> catastrophic disasters
>>>> facing the nation. (A terrorist attack on New
>> York was one of the other
>>>> three.)   Perhaps he was on vacation and didn't
>> read their report.
>>>> 
>>>> But surely he noticed when the former Republican
>> Congressman who headed
>>>> the Army Corps of Engineers protested the Bush
>> cuts in the budget for
>>>> reinforcing the levees.  The president should
>> remember -- he fired him.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> And what were the cuts that led to the protest?
>> Worth reviewing,
>>>> perhaps?  President Bush cut federal flood
>> control spending for
>>>> southeastern Louisiana from nearly $70 million in
>> 2001 to less than $40
>>>> million  this year.  He cut an Army Corps of
>> Engineers request for $27
>>>> million for hurricane protection for Lake
>> Pontchartrain to less than $6
>>>> million.  As a result, for the first time in more
>> than 37 years, work
>>>> had to stop on strengthening the very levee that
>> broke this week.
>>>> Actions have consequences.  In this case, the
>> consequences are the
>>>> destruction of a city, the loss of American lives
>> and the
>>>> incomprehensible image being presented to the
>> world of an American
>>>> government that appears to be led by a chief
>> executive of such
>>>> incompetence that you wouldn't let him run a
>> Laundromat yet alone a
>>>> government.
>>>> 
>>>> It gets worse.  The president cut completely the
>> funding for research on
>>>> flooding, and he cut all funding for local and
>> state authorities in
>>>> Louisiana to do a trial run of a disaster
>> scenario.  Cutting taxes for
>>>> the wealthiest people in America and privatizing
>> essential services were
>>>> more important than prepare  ng for a disaster
>> that every expert was
>>>> predicting. 
>>>> 
>>>> What exactly do these Republican political
>> operatives Bush has appointed
>>>> to jobs throughout the federal government do all
>> day?   They certainly
>>>> don't do disaster planning.  How is it possible
>> that four years after
>>>> 9-11 the Department of Homeland Security doesn't
>> have plans in place to
>>>> evacuate every major metropolitan area in the
>> country?  After spending
>>>> billions of dollars on homeland security, did no
>> one think that it might
>>>> be necessary to evacuate large numbers of people
>> after a disaster
>>>> strikes?  Why weren't tents, beds, trucks, boats
>> being kept at the ready
>>>> for such an emergency?  Why were citizens urged
>> to evacuate New Orleans,
>>>> but given no assistance if they were too sick,
>> old, or immobile?  Why
>>>> were no provisions made for those without cars?
>> If there are no buses
>>>> in New Orleans, why wasn't FEMA deploying them
>> from surrounding states  ?
>>>> Why wasn't the guard or the army directed to
>> assist in the pre-hurricane
>>>> evacuation? 
>>>> 
>>>> Why, after all we know about the failure of
>> communications on 9-11, are
>>>> the New Orleans police and fire department unable
>> to communicate?  I
>>>> know the answer to that.  I'll tell you why.
>> Because the Bush
>>>> administration has opposed every effort to
>> designate a band on the
>>>> communications spectrum for public safety
>> purposes.  If you not
>>>> outraged, you're not paying attention.
>>>> 
>>>> In keeping with his policy of promoting
>> incompetent people, Bush
>>>> appointed GOP lawyer Michael Brown to head FEMA,
>> despite his complete
>>>> lack of experience in management or disaster
>> relief.  Prior to joining
>>>> FEMA, Brown's only emergency management
>> experience was as an assistant
>>>> city manager.  So why should we be surprised that
>> FEMA is incapable of
>>>> getting water to people who have been waiting for
>> it for four days?
>>>> This morning, the Navy annou  nced that a medical
>> ship would be leaving
>>>> Baltimore for New Orleans tomorrow!  Why wasn't
>> it sent last weekend?
>>>> What are all of the Louisiana National Guard's
>> amphibious vehicles doing
>>>> in Iraq?  How much use is an amphibious vehicle
>> in the desert?
>>>> 
>>>> I want to be clear about this.  George Bush is
>> not responsible for the
>>>> hurricane.  But his budget priorities,
>> appointment of political hacks to
>>>> jobs that require trained and experienced
>> administrators, and his
>>>> care-free attitude in the face of a monumental
>> crisis has created a
>>>> tragedy beyond human comprehension.   Why weren't
>> federal troops sent to
>>>> help in the first hours after the levees broke?
>> Why aren't they there
>>>> today?  Why weren't ships pre-deployed in the
>> area with pumps?  Why were
>>>> no hospital ships pre-deployed?
>>>> 
>>>> A friend of mine who lives in New Orleans called
>> me this morning from
>>>> Baton Rouge.  His nephew, a fireman in New Orl
>> eans, told him last night
>>>> that they are tying dead bodies to trees so that
>> they can be collected
>>>> at some point in the future.  He saw a baby die
>> outside the Superdome
>>>> last night. There are people waiting in the wet
>> streets of New Orleans
>> 
> === message truncated ===
> 
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