What is wrong is that FEMA was run by crony of the President, and was so poorly managed that the emergency conditions for generator-guy to make a fast buck endured much longer than necessary. That’s the bad effect anarchists like Stossel on have on Republicans; first they convince Republicans that government has no legitimate role, then Republicans hand out top-level postings to their drinking buddies figuring what they heck, it won’t make a difference anyway.

J-Stoss is a stupid, stupid man, morally bankrupt and all too willing to ignore reality in favor of Darwinian Libertarianism. Fuck ‘im.

And as far as the oil companies go – sure, a PROFIT is fine, but when you’re talking the obscene returns the oil companies are actually making at the moment, well, it’s rather like a big fat guy cleaning out the local Chinese buffet singlehandedly and when people complain defending himself on the grounds that he has to eat, too. Whattya want, he should starve to death?

Only someone who experienced the aftermath of Katrina first hand would say that willingly investing your money to buy generators and going into that war zone with no guarantee of what your return would be even if you did sell them for double what you paid was gouging. I expect that given the fact there were no generators to be had anywhere in the state (or in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Louisianna too for that matter), the opportunity to buy a generator for merely double price would have seemed to be a screaming bargain.

I’m a liberal but I was there. Some people here are just not aware of the reality.

Was generator man a hero? No, I won’t say that he was a hero. Did he gouge? Well, I dunno. What’s a fair price to pay for goods in a war zone where help is scarce, where power is out, where the heat and humidity and lack of ice and refrigiration add to the misery and the toll?

If generator man had been a local merchant with existing stock that he bought for a wholesale price, then yes, he’d be gouging. But that’s not what generator man was. Generator man was a private citizen who saw a need and an opportunity. risked his own capital, bought 19 generators (generators which otherwise may never have been available to those in the affected area that needed them) and drove himself to a part of the country that looked like a war zone, had no rooms available, had scarce fuel and sold them for double what he paid. So what? Do you have any idea how much FEMA was paying trucking companies to let trucks filled with ice idle for days on end in Selma, AL? Any idea what contractors like CH2MHill were getting (and are getting) as a fee to set up eacy tiny travel trailer?

If our government had been prepared instead of being led by incompetents, perhaps generator man would not have had a market for those 19 generators. But given that the government response was incompetent,. there was a market, generator man took the risk and 19 people/families/businesses got a generator for a price they were willing to pay much sooner than they would have otherwise.

Like I said, it pains me to be siding with John Stossel but in this case, he’s right. I was there. I know.

Which is essentially what the same guy wrote three days after 9/11:
Panic at the Pump

What a wonderful world this is, eh?

He was forced to apologize on air for faking research that “indicated” organic food contained as much pesticide redidue as non-organic food.

Three of his producers quit rather than skew research to suit Stossel’s agendas.

He went to an anti-rape rally at Brown University ‘ as a “reporter”, swore at the students, and asked one girl a hypothetical question about how she’d react if he fondled her breast.

In all, Stossel is a fraud, who is also apparently Andrew Sullivan’s latest squeeze toy.

Erm?!?

I mean, really, who the fuck says “erm?”

Read that sentence out loud:

“John Stossel’s column this week is… erm… well, just read it for yourself.”

Did you really say “erm?” Have you EVER heard anyone say “erm?”

Are you British? Aussie? Irish, maybe? I’ve never heard an American say “erm.”

I’ve heard “er,” “hmmm,” and Ed Koch’s favorite utterance, “uh,” but never an “erm.”

Maybe you’re trying to affect an accent? Why not try Russian (gmmm) or Japanese (ohhh). Erm just isn’t cool. “Erm” is as fucktarded as “heh” (indeed or not), and is something up with which I will not put!

Die, erm, DIE!!!!!!

like the good old days in Louisiana.

“the only people who would have purchased them would have been people who could most afford to pay, who are not the same people as those who need the generators most.”

What other other method of allocation would you suggest? A lotto? The person with the most ammo? Who can walk the farthest? Stand in line the longest? Maybe let the government handle distribute them (which means they would have been in a warehouse for about six months.

Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Gouge him on its price, and I’m your bitch for a lifetime.

I don’t quite get the phrasing. I’d've said, and he’s your bitch for a lifetime.

Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Gouge him on its price, and he’s your bitch for a lifetime.

Now that’s an accurate and effective meme.

Does anyone else think J-Stoss and Jonathan Edward would make a cute couple? Just askin’ . . .

I mentioned nothing about heroism. I was, rather, excluding the notion of anything near heroism.

I assumed that when you wrote, “Stossel is right,” you were referring to the same column everyone else was, one titled, “Mississippi has a place for heroes: jails”. My mistake.

That’s right. Eat it. Cobag.

I mentioned nothing about heroism. I was, rather, excluding the notion of anything near heroism.

With such a limited number of generators selling at a fairly high price, the only people who would have purchased them would have been people who could most afford to pay, who are not the same people as those who need the generators most.

Yes, I see how its difficult to resolve this, as many in need just can’t afford. But, isn’t this the realm of government support rather than government crackdown. I’m sure Sheperson could have easily sold those generators to people who are in need and who are also able to afford. Is that so bad?

Look, I probably get the same gut reaction to this story as you. I don’t think like Sheperson and his generator idea isn’t something that would pop into my head during a tragedy such as Katrina. But, the bottom line is: if he would have been able to sell those generators, he would have made life a little better for some devastated people down there — I imagine thankful people. He, also, would have accomplished something more helpful than I.

More accurately: “I told the kid I’d save him as long as he gave me his lunch money.”