EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Feb 2, 2009 16:21:51 GMT -5
My brother is among the tens of thousands still without power in Kentucky and elsewhere. He and others have had no power since Tuesday. What is FEMA doing? And, where is our President? Haven't seen any reports of him being in the area hit.
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TC
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Post by TC on Feb 2, 2009 16:45:11 GMT -5
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Feb 2, 2009 16:53:28 GMT -5
Barack Obama does not care about rednecks. There, I said it.  |
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HoyaNyr320
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Post by HoyaNyr320 on Feb 2, 2009 16:58:55 GMT -5
Ed... did you forget how to use google? As serious as these ice storms are, it is laughable to compare this natural disaster to Katrina- where homes were destroyed and people were sitting on top houses that were under water. To be fair though, it appears that the Kentucky state government deserves a lot of credit for calling in and directing the National Guard early- they have taken the unprecedented step of having them go door to door in the affected areas so that they could direct relief quickly. I guess the one part of Katrina that gets overlooked is that it was a failure the top down- President Bush, FEMA, AND Louisiana state government. |
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Feb 2, 2009 17:08:10 GMT -5
In fairness to ed, the CNN story here does not exactly jibe with some of the reports out of the local Kentucky papers, where it's being reported that the state is still waiting this week for additional disaster declarations from the federal government (and the additional funding and resources that would accompany those). Add to that the combination of A) Obama making fun of people who can't take the ice, even if it was DC people; B) Obama hanging out at the Alfalfa Club while 700K were without power; C) Obama hosting a white house super bowl party while still more than 500K were without power, and you might wonder why no one's really even asked the question "why haven't you visited the area?" It is not COMPLETELY outside the realm of possibility, is it, that the Democratic governor of the state, no political novice, might be trying to give a little political cover to the new President? But my favorite part of this story (EDIT: not that a natural disaster, even a small one is an occasion for "favorites," just that this is what I find most worthy of attention, as opposed to any Obama jibes) is not some ability to give the President a little bit of a hassle, it's the response of Kentucky residents, which basically boils down to: "screw the feds; we can take care of ourselves!" www.kentucky.com/787/story/678825.htmlHere is one of my favorites: "Quit your whining! We Kentuckians don't need help from the Fed's to respond to an ice storm...and what's more, we shouldn't expect it. Believe it or not, the primary role of the Federal government is not to provide private citizens generators (or chainsaw-wielding soldiers) when our electricity goes out for a few days. A little personal preparedness goes a long way in situations of this nature. My family has lanterns, a pantry full of canned food, a camp stove, a kerosene heater, jugs of water, and some extra blankets. I was raised to believe that individuals (not the local, state or federal government) are responsible for the well-being and comfort of their families. Plan ahead, people!"Good stuff! |
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Post by strummer8526 on Feb 2, 2009 17:20:53 GMT -5
My brother is among the tens of thousands still without power in Kentucky and elsewhere. He and others have had no power since Tuesday. What is FEMA doing? And, where is our President? Haven't seen any reports of him being in the area hit. For at least four years, the B&G board is going to be unreadable, isn't it? |
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TC
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Post by TC on Feb 2, 2009 17:50:09 GMT -5
Add to that the combination of A) Obama making fun of people who can't take the ice, even if it was DC people; B) Obama hanging out at the Alfalfa Club while 700K were without power; C) Obama hosting a white house super bowl party while still more than 500K were without power, and you might wonder why no one's really even asked the question "why haven't you visited the area?" Can I just ask - when did we decide it was necessary for a President to visit disaster-stricken areas for a photo-op? Don't get me wrong - I think some of the criticism Bush received after 9/11 and Katrina for why wasn't he there 10 minutes later was stupid - but what would Obama or Bush really be doing in Kentucky other than taking pictures next to downed trees? |
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Feb 2, 2009 18:09:23 GMT -5
TC, I agree with you.
As I pointed out, I liked a lot the responses from Kentuckians saying, "No thanks, you're not needed here." (although I'm sure the emergency money is needed).
But as you noted, if we're going slam Bush for just flying over the Gulf Coast and not actually visiting*, I think it's only fair that the question at least be asked of Obama.
*Also please note, I realize that the flyover was not the sum total nor anywhere near the most substantive of the Bush-Katrina harangues, but it'd be pretty revisionist to say that it didn't get huge play in the media.
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Bando
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Post by Bando on Feb 2, 2009 18:34:06 GMT -5
Threads like this happen when your only source of news is Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. FEMA's been in Kentucky since Thursday. |
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Feb 2, 2009 19:29:50 GMT -5
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Cambridge
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Post by Cambridge on Feb 2, 2009 19:38:19 GMT -5
Yeah and Tropical Storm Gaston devistated Richmond, VA back in 2004 and nobody said Edited. A number of people died. Hundreds of homes were destroyed. The entire Shockoe Slip was submerged destroying hundreds of businesses. My parents were without power and water for 10 days. Their basement was under two feet of water. That is less than 100 miles from DC, it's the former capital of the Confederacy, a state that only just voted Blue for the first time since the last days of the Dixiecrats and Bush didn't visit and you know what...I didn't really expect him to.
Disasters happen all the time. They happen everywhere. What is your point other than to sow cynical, sarcastic vitriol? It must be a dark, miserable world you live in. Why do you have to turn tragedy into a political scoring point.
EDIT - I want to say, this goes both ways. Dems do it all the time -- they definitely love playing the victim. I just hate it when people turn tragedy into a notch in the political tit for tat. Those are real people with real problems, not talking points.
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Cambridge
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Post by Cambridge on Feb 2, 2009 19:43:20 GMT -5
Are you seriously posting this as a legitimate source? I'm baffled. I might as well post Pravda in response. It's about as valid. Don't get me wrong, I can totally believe the FEMA response is less than stellar, but there has to be a better source of news on this. |
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Feb 2, 2009 20:14:18 GMT -5
Cambridge, I posted this topic with an ulterior motive. The motive was to show once again that, had Bush failed to show up he would have been crucified. It remains to be seen if Obama is treated the same but six days into it, the President has been nowhere to be found in Kentucky or Arkansas or the rest of the area hit. Your side dished it out without mercy during the Bush years but seem to have thin skins when Obama's administration is concerned.
Secondly, TC gave a link to an account saying FEMA was doing well. It quoted a Democratic governor as its source. If you followed a further link at that link you would find the one I cited. It quoted the Kentucky head of FEMA saying FEMA had not shown up. Even though the site was a gun advocate site it provided direct quotes from the local FEMA head. Is my source any less legitimate than TC's?
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Feb 2, 2009 20:16:35 GMT -5
Are you seriously posting this as a legitimate source? I'm baffled. I might as well post Pravda in response. It's about as valid. Don't get me wrong, I can totally believe the FEMA response is less than stellar, but there has to be a better source of news on this. You could try the Associated Press. Pretty much all this story that ed linked was doing quoting that account (though granted added a healthy dose of political snark in the process): news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090130/ap_on_re_us/winter_storm_outages;_ylt=AotxPVjpY1r_G8q6setPSIx34T0DI wouldn't exactly call the AP Fox News. I don't deny that there is a pretty good level of political tit for tat going on here. But to say this is nothing, pay no attention, move along....well, I think you have to grant that there is a certain sector who might not be quite so ready to do that and might want to take a moment to point out some of the unfair treatment that was leveled at George Bush by comparison. I will also add, FEMA aside, that the -- yes, Democratic -- governor of Kentucky is doing an very good job in this situation, far better than his erstwhile Louisiana counterpart a few years ago. |
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Post by Coast2CoastHoya on Feb 2, 2009 23:14:56 GMT -5
since when does a Presidential site visit do anything other than make for a photo op?
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The Stig
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Post by The Stig on Feb 2, 2009 23:30:06 GMT -5
I'm going to put on my upper-Midwest snob cap and say "You need FEMA for an ice storm? CRY ME A (frozen) RIVER!"
Really, the rest of the country's inability to deal with anything frozen that didn't come out of an appliance is a source of constant fascination for us in the colder parts of the country. I remember last year Georgetown canceled classes for a day because there was snow in the forecast. It didn't snow. I certainly didn't complain (it was my birthday), but it was more than a bit ridiculous.
Back on topic, if Bush were still President, nobody would care about this either. It's literally orders of magnitude away from Katrina.
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Post by Coast2CoastHoya on Feb 3, 2009 0:04:37 GMT -5
30 million Californians say: "fires, floods, mudslides, drought, rolling brownouts, drug cartels, and earthquakes, EDITEDs!!"
Agree with Stig. If this was one year ago and Bush didn't head to KY, I wouldn't have cared less. Whoever would have been "crucifying" him would have needed to get a life.
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Bando
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Post by Bando on Feb 3, 2009 0:36:06 GMT -5
From that site: "I wonder why so many of the same people who could not find a way out of new orleans when the flood was coming somehow found their way to the Innauguration just fine" Charming. I'll be sure to post Democratic Underground threads here from now on, as they're apparently just a valid source as any. |
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Bando
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Post by Bando on Feb 3, 2009 0:52:47 GMT -5
Also from EasyEd's site:
I'm sure DFW and Dan McQ have to give warnings like this all the time.
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Feb 3, 2009 7:17:38 GMT -5
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