Bigfoot Talks About the Real Situation in the Dome

http://www.bullmooseblog.com/

Should criminal incompetence constitute grounds for impeachment?

Is Rummy actually in charge of the rescue mission in New Orleans? After all, the Bush Administration seems intent on using the Baghdad model for New Orleans. We could have at least expected that a Republican Administration would be able to restore order in the aftermath of a national disaster. Apparently not.

Where were the troops? Once again, the Bush Administration has approached a national challenge with insufficient resources. It used to be liberals that were characterized as incompetent and soft on crime. No longer - enter the Bush conservatives.

However, if you believe what is coming from the hourly press conferences from the President and his minions, everything is going swell with the federal response. Perhaps today in New Orleans the President will repel down from a Coast Guard helicopter in an orange jumpsuit and declare "Mission Accomplished."

And America weeps.

Given what has happened in New Orleans, why should Americans have any confidence that the federal government is prepared for a major terrorist attack on an American city? This is a monumental dereliction of duty by those we have entrusted to defend and protect us..

But if one listens to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a city is an expendable thing. And conservatives are defenders of tradition?

The magnitude of this disaster is only matched by the incompetence of this Administration. Now we know the meaning of conservative Commissar Norquist's "leave us alone" coalition. Or is this just the highest stage of "compassionate conservatism" as Americans starve or die of thirst on the streets? Maybe, we are just judging the Bushies by the standard of the "soft bigotry of low expectations."

And don't forget - this is the Administration that demands accountability and standards from our educators and students. Parents - don't accept any excuses from your kids for substandard school work but don't leave any incompetent FEMA Director or Secretary of Homeland Security behind!

Conservative governance has produced fiscal irresponsibility, government expansion, unprecedented incompetence and lawlessness. Have they no shame?
-- Posted at 8:42 AM - 9/2/05

Posted by libby at September 2, 2005 6:20 AM

Yesterday - early this morning? - MSNBC turned over the report to two cameramen who had been at the Convention Center for a couple days. They confirm your correspondent's report. At one point one of the cameramen broke down in tears. I think this is going to shake out as one of the biggest scandals of the NO disaster: citizens directed towards a high profile facility and then abandoned.

Posted by Doug Anderson at September 2, 2005 8:50 AM

If I was a cynical bastard and didn't have (limited) experience with the N.O. and LA governments, I'd say said their entire emergency plan was "let the federal government handle it".

Thank goodness I'm not a cynical bastard.

Posted by P.A. Breault at September 2, 2005 8:51 AM

G-rod -- you're doing a major public service here, using your lifelong resources and contacts to pass along unvarnished observations from the scene -- someone on local SF Bayrea news pointed out last night that film of black people with goods is consistently tagged "looting stores for food and water" while film of white people carrying goods is "people who LOCATED food and water."

For now, I tend to think in terms of "Don't fix the blame, fix the problem" -- this despite my intense personal antipathy toward Bush and his henchmen.

And you, serving as messenger for people who are there, clear, and articulate, are adding impetus to that process, toward fixing the problem.

(Gee, I don't usually offer kudos to you for what you do and say -- like... hmm, NEVER -- so common decency and personal integrity makes it important for me to do so now. Keep it up.)

Posted by Saintperle at September 2, 2005 8:52 AM

I saw someone that I work with here on the news. She went to New Orleans to try and convince her grandparents to leave.

What's most disheartening is to see the situation used for partisan purposes by both sides of the blogosphere and media. We seem to be living in a fantasy world only tangentially affected by reality. Let's try to stick together on this one and let the moonbats and wingnuts burn each other out.

Posted by StephenB at September 2, 2005 10:01 AM

Sigh.. thanks, as usual, for the reality check.

P. S. Holding to habit to keep on to my sanity -- mandatory printfreak input on the dangers of Spellcheck (even in emotional reportage): "dire straits" -- as in channel)

Posted by DeborahAdams at September 2, 2005 2:12 PM