Proof that right wingers are honest

[Tim Hancock]

I am thoroughly p!ssed off at what I heard come out of W's mouth last night. In nearly all other aspects of W's presidency, I have been satisfied with his decisions.

He is proposing that the whole country must bear the huge burden for rebuilding NO along with taking responsibility for all future disasters. While I feel awful for the folks who have been hurt by this hurricane, I do not feel that it is the federal govt's responsibility to pay for the cleanup of every natural disaster that occurs. I feel like W just caved in big time to the left's pressure.

If a tornado wipes out my house, I expect my insurance to cover a good portion and the rest, I will be responsible to take care of.
I do not think the feds should ever be responsible for taking care of me due to losses incurred from a natural disaster. This just smells too much like welfare and food stamps to me.

Rant over!

[techweenie]

I was amazed by the speech. It was as if W was channeling FDR or LBJ: everyone gets everything they want, and lots of it.

One part was classic W: no mention of where the money is going to come from. (He'll have to borrow it.)

I only heard the first part of the speech -- about rebuilding and "we'll stay there as long as it takes" (NO=Iraq?). Did he say anything about working on a plan to prevent future flooding?

[osidak]

I just thought the we will rebuild taller and better to be kinda funny. I guess just like the WTC sight has been built taller and better.

[bryanthompson]

This is the right time for us to fight for the black vote, which republicans have admitted they've (mostly) abandoned.

I agreed with some of the parts of his speech, although if he had said, "We will rebuild New Orleans... 50 miles upstream," I'd be much happier. I didn't think it was a bad speech at all. Just too much free stuff, and no, not free as in beer.

[DaveE]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
...I feel like W just caved in big time to the left's pressure....

Tim, You guys own all 3 branches of Federal Government. If you want to do something, do it. We can't really stop you. Now if you feel guilty about it, well, that's another matter.

When I say 'you', I'm referring to the collective 'you', of course.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

The era of big government is officially over.

We are now officially in the era of huge government.

"I feel like W just caved in big time to the left's pressure."

Tim, Presidents don't need to cave into either side's pressure in a situation like this. They are significantly stronger than you would give credit to any Dem or Rep President, especially one with his party controlling virtually all of government.

Whatever happened to personal responsibility. Your belief is what makes me mad about peoples' political ideals. If your guy does something you don't like, it's not his fault, it's the other side who MADE him do it. Lame excuse at best.

[legion]

I might go back to being a libertarian.

[Mulhollanddose]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
I am thoroughly p!ssed off at what I heard come out of W's mouth last night. In nearly all other aspects of W's presidency, I have been satisfied with his decisions.

I agree, but he was absolutely on the ropes and the party was facing Hurricaine Stalin...It was a "your damned if you do or don't" situation...So we step back a few feet, grab some African American voters and come out smelling like roses; as the Democrat party's endemic corruption and ineptitude comes to the surface and political rotten egg is all over their finger-pointing faces.

I understand the fear. I still don't like every liberal hell-hole's money bag opening wide as corrupt liberal politicians come a trick-or-treating at the public trough.

[DaveE]

Originally posted by Mulhollanddose
I agree, but he was absolutely on the ropes and the party was facing Hurricaine Stalin...It was a "your damned if you do or don't" situation...So we step back a few feet, grab some African American voters and come out smelling like roses; as the Democrat party's endemic corruption and ineptitude comes to the surface and political rotten egg is all over their finger-pointing faces.

I understand the fear. I still don't like every liberal hell-hole's money bag opening wide as corrupt liberal politicians come a trick-or-treating at the public trough.

I guess you have to have the courage to believe in your policies, whatever they are, or accept that they are wrong, or that you are afraid to follow through with them.

[bryanthompson]

I've been listening to AirAmerica and doing some more reading on this, and I've decided it's a good plan after all. Anything that can get them this worked up and afraid has to be good. If they (the dems) were encouraging the plan, then I'd be truly afraid.

[Mulhollanddose]

Damned if you do or don't...Nothing would have changed the left's reaction...It is all about pleasing the special interests...(which BTW Bush did just the opposite of).

[bryanthompson]

ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE NATION
As Prepared for Delivery

Good evening. I am speaking to you from the city of New Orleans – nearly empty, still partly under water, and waiting for life and hope to return. Eastward from Lake Pontchartrain, across the Mississippi coast, to Alabama and into Florida, millions of lives were changed in a day by a cruel and wasteful storm.

In the aftermath, we have seen fellow citizens left stunned and uprooted … searching for loved ones, and grieving for the dead … and looking for meaning in a tragedy that seems so blind and random. We have also witnessed the kind of desperation no citizen of this great and generous Nation should ever have to know – fellow Americans calling out for food and water … vulnerable people left at the mercy of criminals who had no mercy … and the bodies of the dead lying uncovered and untended in the street.

These days of sorrow and outrage have also been marked by acts of courage and kindness that make all Americans proud. Coast Guard and other personnel rescued tens of thousands of people from flooded neighborhoods. Religious congregations and families have welcomed strangers as brothers and sisters and neighbors. In the community of Chalmette, when two men tried to break into a home, the owner invited them to stay – and took in 15 other people who had no place to go. At Tulane Hospital for Children, doctors and nurses didn’t eat for days so patients could have food, and eventually carried the patients on their backs up eight flights of stairs to helicopters. Many first responders were victims themselves – wounded healers, with a sense of duty greater than their own suffering. When I met Steve Scott of the Biloxi Fire Department, he and his colleagues were conducting a house-to-house search for survivors. Steve told me this: “I lost my house and I lost my cars, but I still got my family ... and I still got my spirit.”

Across the Gulf Coast, among people who have lost much … and suffered much … and given to the limit of their power, we are seeing that same spirit: a core of strength that survives all hurt … a faith in God no storm can take away … and a powerful American determination to clear the ruins and build better than before.

Tonight so many victims of the hurricane and the flood are far from home and friends and familiar things. You need to know that our whole Nation cares about you – and in the journey ahead you are not alone. To all who carry a burden of loss, I extend the deepest sympathy of our country. To every person who has served and sacrificed in this emergency, I offer the gratitude of our country. And tonight I also offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes … we will stay as long as it takes … to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives. And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know: There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.

The work of rescue is largely finished; the work of recovery is moving forward. In nearly all of Mississippi, electric power has been restored. Trade is starting to return to the Port of New Orleans, and agricultural shipments are moving down the Mississippi River. All major gasoline pipelines are now in operation, preventing the supply disruptions that many feared. The breaks in the levees have been closed, the pumps are running, and the water here in New Orleans is receding by the hour. Environmental officials are on the ground, taking water samples, identifying and dealing with hazardous debris, and working to get drinking water and waste water treatment systems operating again. And some very sad duties are being carried out by professionals who gather the dead, treat them with respect, and prepare them for their rest.

In the task of recovery and rebuilding, some of the hardest work is still ahead – and it will require the creative skill and generosity of a united country.

Our first commitment is to meet the immediate needs of those who had to flee their homes and leave all their possessions behind. For these Americans, every night brings uncertainty, every day requires new courage, and the months to come will bring more than their fair share of struggles.

The Department of Homeland Security is registering evacuees who are now in shelters, churches, or private homes – whether in the Gulf region or far away. I have signed an order providing immediate assistance to people from the disaster area. As of today, more than 500 thousand evacuee families have gotten emergency help to pay for food, clothing, and other essentials. Evacuees who have not yet registered should contact FEMA or the Red Cross. We need to know who you are, because many of you will also be eligible for broader assistance in the future. Many families were separated during the evacuation, and we are working to help you reunite. Please call 1-877-568-3317, that’s 1-877-568-3317, and we will work to bring your family back together, and pay for your travel to reach them.

In addition, we are taking steps to ensure that evacuees don’t have to travel great distances or navigate bureaucracies to get the benefits that are there for them. The Department of Health and Human Services has sent more than fifteen hundred health professionals, along with over 50 tons of medical supplies – including vaccines, antibiotics, and medicines for people with chronic conditions such as diabetes. The Social Security Administration is delivering checks. The Department of Labor is helping displaced persons apply for temporary jobs and unemployment benefits. And the Postal Service is registering new addresses so that people can get their mail.

To carry out the first stages of the relief effort and begin the rebuilding at once, I have asked for, and the Congress has provided, more than 60 billion dollars. This is an unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis, which demonstrates the compassion and resolve of our nation.

Our second commitment is to help the citizens of the Gulf Coast to overcome this disaster, put their lives back together, and rebuild their communities. Along this coast, for mile after mile, the wind and water swept the land clean. In Mississippi, many thousands of houses were damaged or destroyed. In New Orleans and surrounding parishes, more than a quarter million houses are no longer safe to live in. Hundreds of thousands of people from across this region will need to find longer-term housing.

Our goal is to get people out of shelters by the middle of October. So we are providing direct assistance to evacuees that allows them to rent apartments, and many already are moving into places of their own. A number of states have taken in evacuees and shown them great compassion – admitting children to school, and providing health care. So I will work with Congress to ensure that states are reimbursed for these extra expenses.

In the disaster area – and in cities that have received huge numbers of displaced people – we are beginning to bring in mobile homes and trailers for temporary use. To relieve the burden on local health care facilities in the region, we are sending extra doctors and nurses to these areas. We are also providing money that can be used to cover overtime pay for police and fire departments while cities and towns rebuild.

Near New Orleans, Biloxi, and other cities, housing is urgently needed for police and firefighters, other service providers, and the many workers who are going to rebuild those cities. Right now, many are sleeping on ships we have brought to the Port of New Orleans – and more ships are on their way to the region. And we will provide mobile homes, and supply them with basic services, as close to the construction areas as possible, so the rebuilding process can go forward as quickly as possible.

And the Federal government will undertake a close partnership with the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, the city of New Orleans, and other Gulf Coast cities, so they can rebuild in a sensible, well planned way. Federal funds will cover the great majority of the costs of repairing public infrastructure in the disaster zone, from roads and bridges to schools and water systems. Our goal is to get the work done quickly. And taxpayers expect this work to be done honestly and wisely – so we will have a team of inspectors general reviewing all expenditures.

[bryanthompson]

In the rebuilding process, there will be many important decisions and many details to resolve, yet we are moving forward according to some clear principles. The Federal government will be fully engaged in the mission, but Governor Barbour, Governor Blanco, Mayor Nagin, and other state and local leaders will have the primary role in planning for their own future. Clearly, communities will need to move decisively to change zoning laws and building codes, in order to avoid a repeat of what we have seen. And in the work of rebuilding, as many jobs as possible should go to men and women who live in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Our third commitment is this: when communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm. Within the Gulf region are some of the most beautiful and historic places in America. As all of us saw on television, there is also some deep, persistent poverty in this region as well. And that poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us rise above the legacy of inequality. When the streets are rebuilt, there should be many new businesses, including minority-owned businesses, along those streets. When the houses are rebuilt, more families should own, not rent, those houses. When the regional economy revives, local people should be prepared for the jobs being created. Americans want the Gulf Coast not just to survive, but to thrive … not just to cope, but to overcome. We want evacuees to come home, for the best of reasons – because they have a real chance at a better life in a place they love.

When one resident of this city who lost his home was asked by a reporter if he would relocate, he said, “Naw, I will rebuild – but I’ll build higher.” That is our vision of the future, in this city and beyond: we will not just rebuild, we will build higher and better.

To meet this goal, I will listen to good ideas from Congress, state and local officials, and the private sector. I believe we should start with three initiatives that the Congress should pass.

Tonight I propose the creation of a Gulf Opportunity Zone, encompassing the region of the disaster in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Within this zone, we should provide immediate incentives for job-creating investment … tax relief for small businesses … incentives to companies that create jobs ... and loans and loan guarantees for small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises, to get them up and running again. It is entrepreneurship that creates jobs and opportunity … it is entrepreneurship that helps break the cycle of poverty … and we will take the side of entrepreneurs as they lead the economic revival of the Gulf region.

I propose the creation of Worker Recovery Accounts to help those evacuees who need extra help finding work. Under this plan, the federal government would provide accounts of up to five thousand dollars, which these evacuees could draw upon for job training and education to help them get a good job … and for child care expenses during their job search.

To help lower-income citizens in the hurricane region build new and better lives, I also propose that Congress pass an Urban Homesteading Act. Under this approach, we will identify property in the region owned by the federal government, and provide building sites to low-income citizens free of charge, through a lottery. In return, they would pledge to build on the lot, with either a mortgage or help from a charitable organization like Habitat for Humanity. Home ownership is one of the great strengths of any community, and it must be a central part of our vision for the revival of this region.

In the long run, the New Orleans area has a particular challenge, because much of the city lies below sea level. The people who call it home need to have reassurance that their lives will be safer in the years to come. Protecting a city that sits lower than the water around it is not easy – but it can and has been done. City and parish officials in New Orleans, and state officials in Louisiana, will have a large part in the engineering decisions to come – and the Army Corps of Engineers will work at their side to make the flood protection system stronger than it has ever been.

The work that has begun in the Gulf Coast region will be one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen. When that job is done, all Americans will have something to be very proud of – and all Americans are needed in this common effort. It is the armies of compassion – charities and houses of worship and idealistic men and women – that give our reconstruction effort its humanity. They offer to those who hurt a friendly face, an arm around the shoulder, and the reassurance that in hard times, they can count on someone who cares. By land, by sea, and by air, good people wanting to make a difference deployed to the Gulf Coast – and they have been working around the clock ever since.

The cash needed to support the armies of compassion is great, and Americans have given generously. For example, the private fundraising effort led by former Presidents Bush and Clinton has already received pledges of more than 100 million dollars. Some of that money is going to governors, to be used for immediate needs within their states. A portion will also be sent to local houses of worship, to help reimburse them for the expense of helping others. This evening the need is still urgent, and I ask the American people to continue donating to the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, other good charities, and religious congregations in the region.

It is also essential for the many organizations of our country to reach out to your fellow citizens in the Gulf area. So I have asked USA Freedom Corps to create an information clearing house, available at usafreedomcorps.gov, so that families anywhere in the country can find opportunities to help families in the region … or a school can support a school. And I challenge existing organizations – churches, Scout troops, or labor union locals to get in touch with their counterparts in Mississippi, Louisiana, or Alabama, and learn what they can do to help. In this great national enterprise, important work can be done by everyone, and everyone should find their role and do their part.

The government of this nation will do its part as well. Our cities must have clear and up-to-date plans for responding to natural disasters, disease outbreaks, or terrorist attack … for evacuating large numbers of people in an emergency … and for providing the food, water, and security they would need. In a time of terror threats and weapons of mass destruction, the danger to our citizens reaches much wider than a fault line or a flood plain. I consider detailed emergency planning to be a national security priority. Therefore, I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to undertake an immediate review, in cooperation with local counterparts, of emergency plans in every major city in America.

I also want to know all the facts about the government response to Hurricane Katrina. The storm involved a massive flood, a major supply and security operation, and an evacuation order affecting more than a million people. It was not a normal hurricane – and the normal disaster relief system was not equal to it. Many of the men and women of the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States military, the National Guard, Homeland Security, and state and local governments performed skillfully under the worst conditions. Yet the system, at every level of government, was not well coordinated, and was overwhelmed in the first few days. It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces – the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment’s notice.

Four years after the frightening experience of September 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency. When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I as President am responsible for the problem, and for the solution. So I have ordered every Cabinet secretary to participate in a comprehensive review of the government response to the hurricane. This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina. We are going to review every action and make necessary changes, so that we are better prepared for any challenge of nature, or act of evil men, that could threaten our people.

The United States Congress also has an important oversight function to perform. Congress is preparing an investigation, and I will work with members of both parties to make sure this effort is thorough.

[bryanthompson]

In the life of this nation, we have often been reminded that nature is an awesome force, and that all life is fragile. We are the heirs of men and women who lived through those first terrible winters at Jamestown and Plymouth … who rebuilt Chicago after a great fire, and San Francisco after a great earthquake … who reclaimed the prairie from the dust bowl of the 1930s. Every time, the people of this land have come back from fire, flood, and storm to build anew – and to build better than what we had before. Americans have never left our destiny to the whims of nature – and we will not start now.

These trials have also reminded us that we are often stronger than we know – with the help of grace and one another. They remind us of a hope beyond all pain and death – a God who welcomes the lost to a house not made with hands. And they remind us that we are tied together in this life, in this nation – and that the despair of any touches us all.

I know that when you sit on the steps of a porch where a home once stood … or sleep on a cot in a crowded shelter … it is hard to imagine a bright future. But that future will come. The streets of Biloxi and Gulfport will again be filled with lovely homes and the sound of children playing. The churches of Alabama will have their broken steeples mended and their congregations whole. And here in New Orleans, the street cars will once again rumble down St. Charles, and the passionate soul of a great city will return.

In this place, there is a custom for the funerals of jazz musicians. The funeral procession parades slowly through the streets, followed by a band playing a mournful dirge as it moves to the cemetery. Once the casket has been laid in place, the band breaks into a joyful “second line” – symbolizing the triumph of the spirit over death. Tonight the Gulf Coast is still coming through the dirge – yet we will live to see the second line.

Thank you, and may God bless America.

[DaveE]

Yes, heard it last night..........

[turbo6bar]

Originally posted by bryanthompson
This is the right time for us to fight for the black vote, which republicans have admitted they've (mostly) abandoned.

Why should anyone fight for the black vote? Why should anyone fight for any vote? Do the right thing and let the chips fall.

I support Federal dollars to clear the waterways and interstates. I do not support Federal dollars to enable homes and businesses to be rebuilt on ground below sea level. This is not Amsterdam. We do NOT have a shortage of buildable land. Homes and businesses lying beneath sea level offer no strategic or commercial benefits to New Orleans or the United States.

[dd74]

So you guys don't care if New Orleans and its outlying parrishes, get rebuilt? How about Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss. which his speech proposed to also fund? Don't care about those folks either? Is it about the people and their...what...irresponsibility? Do you think they're to blame for an entire city being drowned? Because, after all, if it weren't for the people, there wouldn't be a city, parrishes and counties to bail out, correct? So what's the new mantra? "It's all their fault?"



Splash some reality in your faces: if Bush did nothing, his popularity would probably hover in the twenties. As is, he historically owns one of the lowest popularity ratings of any President in their second term. And if he did nothing, there goes the Republican seats up for grabs in mid-term elections. Plus, the party can kiss the moderates goodbye and secondly, it refuels the racism fires - if Bush did nothing.

Not to mention NO and other Gulf Coast regions have already shown their potentcy as hubs of resource. Again, how much did gas prices rise after Katrina when all those offshore rigs were blown from their foundations?

His speech was not just about providing aid to the displaced throughout the region, but also reintroducing commerce, which aside from one or two 24-hour bars, has also been displaced.

[ronin]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
If a tornado wipes out my house, I expect my insurance to cover a good portion and the rest, I will be responsible to take care of.
I do not think the feds should ever be responsible for taking care of me due to losses incurred from a natural disaster.

well, some constitutionallists might slightly disagree with you. it's that whole silly "promote the general welfare" thing

the situation is based on scale. one house - maybe not. a major region - well, perhaps

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock


If a tornado wipes out my house, I expect my insurance to cover a good portion and the rest, I will be responsible to take care of.
I do not think the feds should ever be responsible for taking care of me due to losses incurred from a natural disaster. This just smells too much like welfare and food stamps to me.

Rant over!

I think Jesus would disagree with you.

[ronin]

btw: dd, just to clarify. the rise in gas prices had nothing to do with the oil rigs in the Gulf, but rather with the lost gasoline production capacity of the four refineries (of a total of eight) that were shut down because of the storm