[Mb-hair] Definition of Incompetence

[RJ Mac]

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
> 
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