I Got Your Approval Rating... RIGHT HERE...
...I want to thank my brotha Joe for sending the information below to me. It's the same information I read for myself late last week. Amazing what facts can do to a person, when they're actually released. Please read through it - whatever your affiliations may be. This is another glaring example of ridiculous mismanagement of funding within the current regime in place here in the states.
Hindsight is 20/20, and while I'd never blame King George II for starting a hurricane.... the storm within my heart and soul rages daily - and is gaining momentum daily due to the deceit, hatred, nepitism and greed - not to mention the intentional "dumbing down" of the docile, complacent, non thinking masses that make up the majority of our neighbors all around us - that fuels this president and his team.
Go ahead and tell me I'm over-reacting, that I'm being reactionary, alarmist or ridiculously over the top. That's what Gee Dub would want.
I'm choosing to vent to 1) help deal with stuff that, as a concerned HUMAN BEING troubles me, and to 2) further educate myself daily as to what is happening around us - and to question the answers rather than simply accept them.
I don't break the law. I don't beat my wife and kids. I don't want to join any angry groups and take up arms. I'm not looking to be involved with a coup of any kind. I DO however, want to be well learned enough to deal with things that JUST AREN'T RIGHT.
Pray for the folks who are suffering through this disaster. Pray for the future of our children as well - because in light of the forces of nature working against us at times, we're dealing with a long tunnel filled with stateside terrorism, perpetuated by our own alleged "democracy" - one that is of the firm belief that we're living "One Nation, under GREED, taking liberties with the poor and unknowing, and justice for the rich".
I didn't mean to get off on such a tangent. For the verbosity - I apologize. For the content - I will never apologize.
As Steve Earle has said: "The most important thing to remember is, no matter what anyone tells you, it is NEVER EVER unpatriotic or un-american to question ANYTHING in a democracy."
And Mark Twain as well: "PATRIOTISM is supporting your country ALL the time, and your government when it DESERVES it."
and finally, MY SON: "Daddy, if the Government has so much money, they should SHARE it with the poor people?"
Below is the text which incited this rant. Thanks for reading.
September 1, 2005, The Washington Monthly
CHRONOLOGY....Here's a timeline that outlines the fate of both FEMA and
flood control projects in New Orleans under the Bush administration:
January 2001: Bush appoints Joe Allbaugh, a crony from Texas, as head of
FEMA. Allbaugh has no previous experience in disaster management.
April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the Bush
administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work. In May, Allbaugh
confirms that FEMA will be downsized: Many are concerned that federal
disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement
program.... he said. Expectations of when the federal government should be
involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is
an appropriate level.
2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the
three likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country.
December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh announces he is
leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do
business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like
Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management.
March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded
into the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is refocused on
fighting acts of terrorism.
2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and
planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and
Response. FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery.
Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding
requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: You would
think we would get maximum consideration....This is what the grant program
called for. We were more than qualified for it.
June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in
New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish emergency management chiefs
Walter Maestri comments: It appears that the money has been moved in the
president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I
suppose that's the price we pay.
June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million. One of the hardest-hit areas
is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created
after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St.
Tammany parishes.
August 2005: While New Orleans is undergoing a slow motion catastrophe,
Bush mugs for the cameras, cuts a cake for John McCain, plays the guitar
for Mark Wills, delivers an address about V-J day, and continues with his
vacation. When he finally gets around to acknowledging the scope of the
unfolding disaster, he delivers only a photo op on Air Force One and a
flat, defensive, laundry list speech in the Rose Garden.
So: A crony with no relevant experience was installed as head of FEMA.
Mitigation budgets for New Orleans were slashed even though it was known
to be one of the top three risks in the country. FEMA was deliberately
downsized as part of the Bush administration's conservative agenda to
reduce the role of government. After DHS was created, FEMA's preparation
and planning functions were taken away.
Actions have consequences. No one could predict that a hurricane the size
of Katrina would hit this year, but the slow federal response when it did
happen was no accident. It was the result of four years of deliberate
Republican policy and budget choices that favor ideology and partisan
loyalty at the expense of operational competence. It's the Bush
administration in a nutshell.
Hindsight is 20/20, and while I'd never blame King George II for starting a hurricane.... the storm within my heart and soul rages daily - and is gaining momentum daily due to the deceit, hatred, nepitism and greed - not to mention the intentional "dumbing down" of the docile, complacent, non thinking masses that make up the majority of our neighbors all around us - that fuels this president and his team.
Go ahead and tell me I'm over-reacting, that I'm being reactionary, alarmist or ridiculously over the top. That's what Gee Dub would want.
I'm choosing to vent to 1) help deal with stuff that, as a concerned HUMAN BEING troubles me, and to 2) further educate myself daily as to what is happening around us - and to question the answers rather than simply accept them.
I don't break the law. I don't beat my wife and kids. I don't want to join any angry groups and take up arms. I'm not looking to be involved with a coup of any kind. I DO however, want to be well learned enough to deal with things that JUST AREN'T RIGHT.
Pray for the folks who are suffering through this disaster. Pray for the future of our children as well - because in light of the forces of nature working against us at times, we're dealing with a long tunnel filled with stateside terrorism, perpetuated by our own alleged "democracy" - one that is of the firm belief that we're living "One Nation, under GREED, taking liberties with the poor and unknowing, and justice for the rich".
I didn't mean to get off on such a tangent. For the verbosity - I apologize. For the content - I will never apologize.
As Steve Earle has said: "The most important thing to remember is, no matter what anyone tells you, it is NEVER EVER unpatriotic or un-american to question ANYTHING in a democracy."
And Mark Twain as well: "PATRIOTISM is supporting your country ALL the time, and your government when it DESERVES it."
and finally, MY SON: "Daddy, if the Government has so much money, they should SHARE it with the poor people?"
Below is the text which incited this rant. Thanks for reading.
September 1, 2005, The Washington Monthly
CHRONOLOGY....Here's a timeline that outlines the fate of both FEMA and
flood control projects in New Orleans under the Bush administration:
January 2001: Bush appoints Joe Allbaugh, a crony from Texas, as head of
FEMA. Allbaugh has no previous experience in disaster management.
April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the Bush
administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work. In May, Allbaugh
confirms that FEMA will be downsized: Many are concerned that federal
disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement
program.... he said. Expectations of when the federal government should be
involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is
an appropriate level.
2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the
three likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country.
December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh announces he is
leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do
business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like
Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management.
March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded
into the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is refocused on
fighting acts of terrorism.
2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and
planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and
Response. FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery.
Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding
requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: You would
think we would get maximum consideration....This is what the grant program
called for. We were more than qualified for it.
June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in
New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish emergency management chiefs
Walter Maestri comments: It appears that the money has been moved in the
president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I
suppose that's the price we pay.
June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million. One of the hardest-hit areas
is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created
after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St.
Tammany parishes.
August 2005: While New Orleans is undergoing a slow motion catastrophe,
Bush mugs for the cameras, cuts a cake for John McCain, plays the guitar
for Mark Wills, delivers an address about V-J day, and continues with his
vacation. When he finally gets around to acknowledging the scope of the
unfolding disaster, he delivers only a photo op on Air Force One and a
flat, defensive, laundry list speech in the Rose Garden.
So: A crony with no relevant experience was installed as head of FEMA.
Mitigation budgets for New Orleans were slashed even though it was known
to be one of the top three risks in the country. FEMA was deliberately
downsized as part of the Bush administration's conservative agenda to
reduce the role of government. After DHS was created, FEMA's preparation
and planning functions were taken away.
Actions have consequences. No one could predict that a hurricane the size
of Katrina would hit this year, but the slow federal response when it did
happen was no accident. It was the result of four years of deliberate
Republican policy and budget choices that favor ideology and partisan
loyalty at the expense of operational competence. It's the Bush
administration in a nutshell.
posted by swg11871 at 10:13 AM
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