Fuck, said fuck, fuck, said fuck the facts...

(Despite the apparently hostile tone of the title of this post, I am no upset nor angry. I found that line of music, and laughed at it, and it WAS appropriate, so I used it. No anger is implied)

Johnnie Just The Facts [hey, that's how he wrote it. Although I do find it humorous that he complained that I didn't write it as Johnny, and now he's doing with an "-ie" himself, hehehe] comments on my last post:

This scenario has been known for about 15 years. No escape route could ever be developed because the city is below sea level and surrounded by levies. The only real blame that can be cast in recent years is the decrease in funding to FEMA because of increased defense budget and the appointment of the inexperienced brown to director after the last director complained about the cuts. If you're going to blame a president for not making a special effort for this case, start with the first bush and clinton and then move on to W.

Well, Mr. Just The Facts, let's talk a look at a few shall we? I am unaware of FEMA under the first Bush (other than he shut the government down around Christmas one year, causing some financial concerns for my family, cause mom's works for FEMA). I am aware that during CLinton's term, FEMA was fully funded, run by James Lee Witt, who spent his career in Arkansas Emergency Management (not raising Arabian horses or whatever the hell Brown was doing), and could handle emergencies, like Hurricane Andrew who ripped through Florida and Louisiana. There wasn't a four day wait for Federal aid. hell, my mother was sent to Louisiana sooner than that, and all she was doing was processing forms, not rescuing people or fighting fires or what have you.

Yes, New Orleans has levees, said to be able to withstand class 3 hurricanes. I can't speak for funding during the first Bush or CLinton (or Reagan or Carter either for that matter) as I have no stats on funding requests for levee improvements during that time. but I DO know that last year, the Army Corps of Engineers requested somwhere in the neighborhood of $150 million to upgrade the levees and allow them to withstand class 5 hurricanes. And I know that Bushies, in his quest for more money to Iraq and Halliburton, cut that to $20 million. ANd Congress, in their infinitie wisdom went along with it, and not only that, but they approved $231 million for a bridge in Alaska that will reach and island with only one small community on it. The reason? Ted Stevens of Alaska is the ranking member of the transportation committeee and inserted the pork for his constiuents.

Nevertheless, Mr. Facts, all of this isn't the main point I think people were making. I understand there is plenty of blame to go around prior to the storm hitting. Local, State, and federal government didn't do enough to get the people out of New Orleans.

My problem is with the callous disregard the Federal GOvernment had following the hurricane. For Brown to claim, on THURSDAY, after three days of all of us watching the news reports out of New Orleans, for him to claim that FEMA just found out about the people at the convention center THAT morning, is an outright lie. It's a serious break from reality. And for Bushie to soon thereafter applaud Brown by saying, "You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie" is inane. The man is not in touch with reality and niether is the majority of his government.

And the worst part is, we've got three more years of this moron. And impeaching him? How is that any better? God, that would give us President Cheney. well, I mean, that's practically what it IS now, but, you know what I mean.

God help us all.

POLT = listening to "Modern Love" by David Bowie

You get my tits in a knot, sunshine, and you're gonna be in deep shit! - Debbie, Queer As Folk