It's just a matter of degree & direction.<br><br>I'm just not so ready to let the worm off'n the hook that easy.<br>This isn't 'Sesame Street', or 'Mr. Rogers' Neiborhood' where<br>Georgie sez "I Sohwee" and we makes like it never happened.<br><br>This is a grown up world, and people are really dead!<br>His half hearted/half assed pseudo-apology is unacceptable!<br><br>And ...must I remind you, (again) that I'm not just talking about<br>the bloated corpses STILL bobbing in the deep south;<br>I'm talking about getting lied to, and dragged into an illegal war<br>that has set us at odds with friend & foe alike. I'm still talking<br>about and the people left rotting in prisons Without DUE PROCESS<br>"rendered out" to countries where anything goes to die horrendous <br>deaths, at the hands of sadists trained by our so-called-friends.<br><br>I'm talking about millions of Americans living "on the edge",<br>without access to affordable prescription drugs or medical coverage, <br>...one major illness away from having their life snuffed out, and<br>having every thing they've ever worked for snatched away from <br>them, ...with no "safety net" to catch them WHEN they fall.<br><br>The threat of Home Heating Fuel rising by 31%-73% come Winter.<br>Mercenary Troops called in, and more being trained on American soil.<br><br>This whole administration hasn't just been "Just ONE Screw-Up" <br>~ IT'S BEEN ONE LONG UN-WAKING NEVER-ENDING NIGHTMARE ~ <br><br>...and it has to come to an end. ...It HAS To.<br><br>Hysteria? <br>What can I say, besides... <br><br><br><br><br>[color:green]"...or am I a butterfly that's dreaming she's a woman?"</font color=green>

'...the states make of the federal government in anticipation of a disaster were in order. No one really has disputed that fact.'<br><br>you must be joking <br><br><br>"... your personal feelings on how fast it should have been?<br><br>Yes, as well as the President's statements that the response was inadequate. As well as the media covering the story. As well as every person I've talked with who witnessed the events on live TV. When you have hard right pundits like Joe Scarborough asking for 6 days in Biloxi "Where's FEMA?", or for days watching people dehydrate and suffer in New Orleans and the Mayor and Senators and Governors asking "Where's FEMA?" when they were told relief was coming. When I stayed up late at night listening to New Orleans talk radio and hearing from the people there what was not happening to help them, and yet the Mayor made an official announcement of S.O.S. because aid was not arriving... Yes, all that effects my personal feelings on how fast the response could have been for a known emergency in which the President said he took "extraordinary" steps to prepare for ahead of the storm. <br><br><br>"a general request for help and then FEMA just sends everything they got."<br>When authority is given to FEMA to coordinate the response, yes, I believe it is up to them.<br><br>

I'm not joking. No one has said that the state requests of the federal governenment before the storm made landfall were not in order. The requests were in order. All the proper paper was filled out and filed.<br>Some may argue that there should have been more requests made before the storm made landfall but that is a different point.<br><br>Hard to make the request for busses to evacuate people from the Superdome on the Saturday before landfall.<br><br>As to the second point. I see, now. All you need is enough people to claim something is true in order for it to become true.<br><br>Again you have bought into the MSM meme that all this (feeding and hydrating people at the Superdome) was FEMA's responsibilty. Do you know this for a fact, a real legal fact?<br>One real fact is that the state of Louisana turned the Red Cross away from the Superdome, not FEMA. These people could have been fed and hydrated far earlier had the governor requested the proper number of troops to police NO, the superdome and the convention center.<br>What gave Scarborough the expectation that FEMA should be there within 6 days? Previous experience with a FEMA response?<br>Again, FEMA supports the states efforts unless the state gives up its rights. If the state doesn't sign off its rights and also has no effort itself to coordinate with then response will lag.<br><br>You seem to think I'm saying FEMA is blameless. I'm not, I'm just saying the stuff currently being blamed on FEMA is, as of yet, without any real foundation. Over the next couple of months we'll find out how FEMA could have responded faster.<br><br>Actually this is probably going to backfire against people again.<br>Bush is going to say, "Yes, I'm responsible and I will fix this." Then institute a sort of "Disaster Patriot Act" where by when a disaster is immenant then the Feds will just come in and take over the state, walking all over states rights.<br>Be careful what you wish for.<br><br>

By "degree" you mean "decibels", yes?<br><br>What you won't slow down long enough to see is that it's all coming home to roost now. Between the recent revelations about the war in Iraq and the Katrina meltdown, the truth is starting to dog him like Pinocchio's nose. Just look at his approval rating. El Tank-O! And his new-found contrition -- act or fact -- is most certainly too little too late.<br><br>Between screaming rabidly at the neocons, and sticking your fingers in your ears and making lalalalalalalala sounds when you don't like what you hear, you're missing the wheels come off all by themselves.<br><br>I'm not promoting complacency, nor am I dismissing the global mess he's made. But I am suggesting that now is the time for reason. Now is the time to say, "See? I told you there was a problem." without getting in everyone's face. Now is the time to bolster credibility and not frighten the emerging converts away with such [here's that word again] hysterics.<br><br>What I'm trying to say in a nice way is that now you can<br>SITDOWNandSHUTUPsoWECANWATCHtheENDoftheSHOW!!!<br><br>*whew!*<br><br><br>

<br><br>OK. Passes you the pop-corn.<br><br><br><br><br>[color:green]"...or am I a butterfly that's dreaming she's a woman?"</font color=green>

"Just look at his approval rating."<br><br>The sad thing is it took a disaster largely out of his control at home for his approval rating to take such a dive (as opposed to the slow erosion of before).<br><br>Yes, maybe people are thinking, "here we are trying to fix Iraq's wagon, when we have our own serious problems," and that contributed to the large drop, but at this point I am not sure if I can even give the average American credit for that much attention span. Baghdad and New Orleans are just too big for most people to bother thinking about at the same time.<br><br>Or maybe I don't give people enough credit...<br><br>We are what we repeatedly do. -Aristotle

But seriously;<br><br>With the refusal to ratify the Kyoto Accord,<br>John (the Bully in the china-shop) Bolton representing us in the UN (as we speak)<br>With an avowed Bush-Bot being thrust into A Life-Time Position as CHIEF JUSTICE <br>of the Highest Court i the Land.<br>...and TWO Wars Boiling Over, while DARING several MORE Countries to get Involved<br>by threatening to Nuke them Preemptively when ever he gets around to trumping<br>up the charges against them...<br><br>I've yet to see where you're suggesting that there's enough breathing room<br>to just kick-back and "enjoy the show".<br><br>Ooops, ...there's that "C" word again.<br><br><br> <br><br><br>[color:green]"...or am I a butterfly that's dreaming she's a woman?"</font color=green>

Wha...? There was a hurricane in Bahgdad? <br><br>

<br><br>No, ...But Ms. Bird's getting slammed again... <br><br><br><br><br>[color:green]"...or am I a butterfly that's dreaming she's a woman?"</font color=green>

Breathing room? Did I not say we can't become complacent? You're still doing that lalalalalalala thing. And hyperventilating, too (speaking of breathing)!<br><br>