Fucking Liars
President Bush wants us to believe that nobody could have anticipated the breach of levees protecting New Orleans from the waters of Lake Pontchartrain. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush appeared on CNN today, both peddling the same line.
With all due respect to these three men: stop fucking lying to us, assholes.
Everyone, including these men, was well aware of the potential for disaster in New Orleans, long before Katrina struck. In 2001, FEMA reported that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the United States. The levees that ended up breaking were only capable of withstanding a category 3 hurricane and plans by the Army Corps of Engineers to reinforce the levee system were continusouly frustrated as President Bush moved money to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq. For God's sake, how hard could it be to see disaster coming when most of New Orleans is below sea level. It was a city waiting to drown.
With all due respect to these three men: stop fucking lying to us, assholes.
Everyone, including these men, was well aware of the potential for disaster in New Orleans, long before Katrina struck. In 2001, FEMA reported that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the United States. The levees that ended up breaking were only capable of withstanding a category 3 hurricane and plans by the Army Corps of Engineers to reinforce the levee system were continusouly frustrated as President Bush moved money to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq. For God's sake, how hard could it be to see disaster coming when most of New Orleans is below sea level. It was a city waiting to drown.
posted by Doughbot at
8:44 PM
6 Comments:
Amen! Americans have been lied to for so many years I don't think we'd know truth from fiction anymore.
But this type of disaster was definitely common knowledge. I remember seeing a special on it years ago (about 10 years ago now).
By
Canadian Perasma, at 9:36 PM
At least the media has finally grown some balls. Wolf Blitzer made this point aggressively today on The Situation Room after Clinton and Bush Sr. both stated that no one could see this coming. The MSM are finally holding these people to task and making it clear that we're sick of bald face lies.
By
Doughbot, at 9:57 PM
I know!! CNN has pulled back from the brink of rightwing shilldom!
By
Canadian Perasma, at 11:26 PM
I've been working on this issue.
The actual truth is there was $12 billion in work needed to the Louisiana coastline that the State couldn't afford, and the Feds put off.
$200 billion+ in extra funding available for Iraq, yet nearly zilch for a disaster waiting to happen back home, as they all knew, as FEMA has advise the Bush admin years ago.
By the end of this, we may be seeing the heads of leaders from three levels of government on stakes on the New Orleans city limits.
By
Mark Francis, at 12:03 PM
To Mark: Thanks for the comments. America is a large, geographically diverse country that is heavily built up along the coastlines. As a result, there are so many "disaster[s] waiting to happen back home", as you put it. Perhaps finally, Americans will clue in that their safety and security is best served by taking care of problems at home, rather than striking out into the world to attack invisible boogymen.
By
Doughbot, at 12:42 PM
mark's comments interest me. i was recently speaking with a friend who has retired from work with the canada centre for inland waters and he suggested the same: there was knowledge of exactly what needed to be done -- preventative work on the dykes which were supposedly not properly repaired years before -- but that this was not done (evidently, due to the 12 billion dollar cost mentioned in the feedback, above). the tragic disasters caused by katrina have been shocking. living in the uk while the news was broadcast on BBC, found most of my european friends asking me about the nature of life, healthcare, safety, living standards, etc. in the US. most people are shocked, in disbelief that "this could happen to the united states" as if it were impossible for either Americans or north americans to suffer so badly in their own country. I have been trying to dispell myths about the nature of american cities and to draw attention to the dispairities that exist...the poverty, etc. in many parts of the country. Still, it is an event that is imperceptible to many. I heard on one BBC broadcast that the area affected (devastated) covers an area which is geographically (size-wise), the equivalent of whole of the United Kingdom. Have you heard this as well? This seems to put the disaster in perspective for many British, Scottish and Welsh friends, who then imagine just how much territory and how many lives are being/have been affected, and how much infrastructure was wiped out by Katrina, the water damage etc.
Bo - good to read your recent posts as it is sometimes excellent to have one's own thoughts confirmed in the voice of another.
C.
By
Anonymous, at 12:37 AM
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