[« No Worries...?!?] [Bush knew.... »]
09/07/2005: Gems o'the Day:
From Bryan at Why Now?:
Yesterday in Looking to Rebuild on the Mississippi Coast, Melissa Block talks with Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS).And from Sher Wright Sunday (but I'm just catching up on some of my reading...):
Taylor talks about the loss of 80% of the homes along the coast, including his, and how people have been coping - by "borrowing" the contents of the local Wal-Mart [it's not New Orleans, so he must be wrong when he says looting].
Mr. Taylor wants the local FEMA representative fired for interfering with the efforts to help the people affected. FEMA insists that individuals should make their own way to a central distribution point. This is a very efficient system for FEMA but it assumes a way of communicating with those affected and that they have transportation. In the FEMA system the individuals have the responsibility of finding help rather than expecting FEMA to find them.
"Where's the cavalry?" They're in the fort waiting for you to make your way there.
Fourth Grade Logic Exam – Part II
4. As President of your country, you have a choice of spending $140 million to fortify levees against an hurricane disaster that may or may not occur during your term, or spending this amount plus tens of billions more to rebuild. What is the most logical course of action?
A. Bite the bullet and fortify the levees.
B. Roll the dice.
C. Repeal the death tax.
Scoring:
A. A dumb move for so many reasons, including 1) sending money to just a few Blue State congressional districts makes no sense when there are so many needy Red State districts; 2) As Speaker Hastert points out, we should be bulldozing rather than rebuilding cities like New Orleans that need as much $140 million of the US budget of $2.5 trillion (.0056%) to be safe; 3) think how stupid you’d feel if you got to the end of your term and the city hadn’t flooded even once!
B. Why not? This approach got Bush reelected!
C. Bonus points for staying on message through petty distractions that everyone will forget by the next election cycle.
5. Write an essay on government’s responsibility to protect citizens from natural disaster.
Scoring:
A. More than four words: no credit.
B. Full credit for the following phrases: “It’ll just flood again,” “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse,” “Let them eat cake,” or “Huh?”
C. Extra credit for “Repeal the death tax.”
Len on 09.07.05 @ 11:40 AM CST
