Last one on Powerline for awhile

Because honestly, it’s almost depressing. Ed Morrisey is ‘Captain Ed’ at Captain’s Quarters, another always-wrong wingnut poodle act — apparently they all like to cite one another a lot, in circlical fashion. So take it away, Claremont Institute Fellow John Hinderaker:

hinderaker.jpg

Ed Morrissey vs. the New York Times

It is, of course, no contest. Ed takes the Times to task for its reporting on “bus problems” in Louisiana. At one point, the Times quotes Governor Blanco “burst[ing] into the state’s emergency center” and yelling, “Does anybody in this building know anything about buses?” Blanco knew nothing about buses, and neither, apparently, do the Times reporters.

But everyone who reads blogs–conservative blogs, anyway–knows about the hundreds of buses that were available to the local authorities, were supposed to be used by the local authorities to carry out the evacuation of New Orleans, but were not used by the local authorities. Here are some of them; probably nearly all of our readers have already seen this and similar photos of the unused buses:



This-and-similar? We’re only aware of one photo that could be captioned as ‘the’ unused buses. And here’s that photo, the same one he posted, from a far-left, liberal, Loony McMoonbat blog that was among the first to snag it from the AP feeds. Sadly, No! vs. Powerline: It is, of course, no contest. Bluster, bluster, hummana-hummana. The pathetic presumption and flagrant mendaciousness of their partisan personal attacks are counter to the facts. No backs, double-tax. We’re always angry. I’m eating a sandwich.

The Times reporters actually penned this howler:

“Yet the federal, state and local officials who had failed to round up buses in advance were now in a frantic hunt. It would be two more days before they found enough to empty the shelters.”

Yes, those hundreds of buses sitting idle are hard to spot, all right. The Times’ reporters either don’t know the facts, and didn’t take the trouble to do any significant research in preparing their story, or else they know about the bus fiasco but don’t want their readers to know.
Posted by John at 05:44 PM | Permalink

So, now: Not to absolve the NOLA authorities of their actual failings and fuck-ups, but what is he talking about here? Let’s be extra-careful to read what he said, and not to project anything onto his words.

Yes, those hundreds of buses sitting idle are hard to spot, all right. The Times’ reporters either don’t know the facts, and didn’t take the trouble to do any significant research in preparing their story, or else they know about the bus fiasco but don’t want their readers to know.
Posted by John at 05:44 PM | Permalink

1) Here’s the lead paragraph of the Times article, which gives the timeframe.

The governor of Louisiana was “blistering mad.” It was the third night after Hurricane Katrina drowned New Orleans, and Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco needed buses to rescue thousands of people from the fetid Superdome and convention center. But only a fraction of the 500 vehicles promised by federal authorities had arrived.

This mise en scene took place on the night of Thursday, September 1st., since the hurricane made landfall early on Monday, August, 29. The levee was also breached on the morning of the 29th.

2) The bus pic was taken earlier on the same day as the scene in the Times article.

3) And here’s the pic once again.

nolabuses-thumb.jpg

If this reminds you of anything, I’d just like to say that I don’t know about you, but in the town where I was born, there lived a man who sailed the seas.

yellow submarine.jpg

We were upset about the buses too last week, when nobody could tell what was going on in NOLA. But I personally wouldn’t bet ten bucks today on whether those buses could have been started, driven, and moved to the convention center or Superdome by the time the photo was taken. Maybe they could have, if no intervening streets were any more deeply flooded than the lot. I simply can’t tell for sure from the one picture.

But Hinderaker, as always, is smarter than we are. “Aha!” he crows. “What about THIS?” And he hands you something like a copy of the racing form with a horse’s name circled, a laundry tag with a printed misspelling on it. “This proves once again that the the far-left liberal bla-bla, hoopdy-hoo, raggle-fraggle…” And it’s always just some load or another of common biz-booster, red-baiting ’50s Rotary Club bullshit, straight from Iowa or the equivalent, mildly adapted for the online reader with fancy terms like ‘global free market’ and ‘MSM.’ A crisis of buses? Look, here are buses in this photo I found at Free Republic! Some crisis (snort). MSM sux.

Yes, he’s literally that fecklessly ham-headed. I have a hard time believing it too.

 

Comments: 77

 
 
 

All else aside, can you spot a reason why these buses might not have been available on the day in question, Thursday, September 1st.?

Is it because the leftwing media falsely portrayed welfare as a good thing and allowed these buses to get high on the hog of government largesse; and thusly subverted their will to drive and carry people to safety? Do I win something for guessing right?

 
 

Oh wait, I know. Because these buses hate America. Or is it that they hate blacks? I just can’t tell anymore.

 
 

The mayor of NOLA executed a poor plan perfectly – using the buses to carry people to the shelters of last resort before the hurricane struck. The only thing he can be faulted for is issueing a mandatory evacuation order to replace his strongly urging evacuation recommendations – which had no meaning since they have no laws for mandatory evacuation – at 9:30 AM instead of about 12 hours earlier. Using his busses then would not have gotten everyone out if it was even possible being unplanned and then some would been stuck on the highway in a hurricane. If they could even find enough drivers who had mostly evacuated earlier.

 
 

Man, how are you guys able to stomach powerline and their circle-jerk companion websites? i gotta admit that they’re pretty efficient at all linking to each other once a sufficiently advanced rationalization (for how the crappest of their personal beliefs must actually be good for the greater universe and all) is tossed out into their sphere…..but to tell you the truth…there’s really only so much vicarious masturbation i can deal with.

now, i’m gonna beat off to some pictures of aerial assault kittens…….

 
 

There is no problem using these buses. In order to use the bus you:

1.) Clap your hands until a driver arrives.

2.) Snap your fingers until the water recedes.

3.) Wish away any malfunctions due to water damage.

Voila! All the buses are now in working order.

When will you silly, reality-based Sadly No! folks realize that with Republicans in charge all things are possible.

 
 

just to add my 2 (more) cents…..

i do think Ray Nagin messed up big time. they all (federal, state, and local) basically blew it as far as preparation for a forecasted disaster of potentially huge proportions. however, the conservosphere is trying to conflate this period of incompetence with the post-landfall incompetence which i think pretty much solidly lies with the federal government….it being the only level of government in the region which at that point wasn’t incapacitated.

 
 

I’ve got to agree with Jeff above. Clap, snap, and wish really would be more effective than anything else. Personally, I would have turned those school buses into totally pimped out rock&roll charter bus type stuff. Replete with plasma screens, fish tanks, hookers, and booze, and maybe even blasting out some Snoop Dogg. But that’s just me talking, and you might want to wish for something else.

You got to hand it to those Republican bastards. They’re crooked as the day is long, but damn if their god doesn’t come through for them in a pinch. Well, except this time. But God needs some vacation time too.

Faith-based policies rule!!

 
 

Silly, when Brownie declared that FEMA was responsible in the event of an emergency that overwhelms state and local capabilities to respond, all he meant was FEMA was responsible for pointing the finger at the locals and saying “all your fault”. Oh, and they’re responsible for turning away offers of assistance by corporations, foreign countries, and the military. What did you think he meant?

 
 

When LGF went nuts over the bus photo, I commented “Maybe you couldn’t tell from the photos, Charles, but those buses are underwater. Not very useful.” Anybody catch that Jefferson Parish rep on Bill Maher Friday night? Maher asked him why the buses weren’t used, and the gentleman chuckled painfully and said “They were!” The locals were responding to a hurricane, not a flood, and acted accordingly.

 
 

BTW, “Clap, Snap, and Wish” will be the name of my new folk album. Buy it this holiday season!

 
 

Jesus H.

Yet the federal, state and local officials who had failed to round up buses in advance were now in a frantic hunt. It would be two more days before they found enough to empty the shelters.

I can’t believe he finds fault with that. It fits right into a logical timeline. They had failed to round up busses beforehand. The hurricane struck, rendering lots of busses unusable. Now they were scrambling to find busses that weren’t stuck in flooded parking lots.

A chipmunk’s left testicle v.s. Hinderaker. It’s no contest, really.

 
 

why can’t we (the left) let everyone hang for this one? “the blame game” is exactly what rove & co. want–as long as there’s a partisan divide, faithful republicans will carry the whitehouse’s water regardless of evidence of incompetence or wrongdoing. so, since nagin and blanco were equally negligent, failing not just to mobilize the powerline buses, but well before that having told the poor of the city, “look, you’re on your own, bitches”, why not send a reconciliatory message toward still-half-sane republicans and say,

EVERYONE OUT. THEY FAILED. THEY CANNOT BE TRUSTED ANY LONGER.

some will still defend bush, but they will not have the “partisan blame game” meme to keep their bubba’s vigilant.

 
 

why can’t we (the left) let everyone hang for this one?

I tend to agree. Look at Nagin’s awful performance on Meet the Press for evidence:

MR. RUSSERT: The Superdome was established as a safe haven for people who could not evacuate the city to go to. Why wasn’t there water and food and cots and security in place at the Superdome from day one? Couldn’t you as mayor have guaranteed that?

MAYOR NAGIN: Well, we put in place the resources that we had to provide security. There was running water at the time. There was backup systems. There was food. We encouraged every resident that was coming to the Superdome to at least have perishable food to last them about two to three days and also to have water to last them about that time.

Is he serious? “We encouraged people to at least have perishable food?” You’re talking about people whose houses got flooded, and you expect them to walk into the Superdome with a turkey??? If you are setting up the Superdome as a safe haven, there ought to be rations already in place to feed people for days.

 
 

is a crisis of buses like a GAGgle of gannons?

 
 

“”We encouraged people to at least have perishable food?”

Based solely on the brilliance of the Mayors “there was backup system’s” remark, I beleive some benefit of the doubt (i.e ‘non-‘) is in order here.

I know what he meant.

and he used no extra ‘s so i’m prone to give it to him.

 
 

Yeah, but they were going to the Superdome to shelter from the hurricane for a few hours, not from a flood.

It looks as if nobody truly believed that the whole city would get flooded. They had heard it from their engineers all right but they just didn’t believe it would actually happen. Maybe one suburb would get sloshed over and that would be it. This seems to me to explain the lack of preparation.

At the moment, the only chance the Bushies have is to focus all attention on Blanco and Nagin. Please, nobody tell them that (a) in 2000, Nagin supported Bush over Gore; (b) in 2003, Nagin supported Jindal over Blanco for Governor. In other words, Nagin is a DINO (Democrat-in-name-only).

 
 

It looks as if nobody truly believed that the whole city would get flooded. They had heard it from their engineers all right but they just didn’t believe it would actually happen. Maybe one suburb would get sloshed over and that would be it. This seems to me to explain the lack of preparation.

Interesting! This means that the people of New Orleans were, to some degree, practicing faith-based disaster preparation. A very Republican thing to do.
Wonder why it failed them…

 
 

I’m tempted to blog in defense of Bush, but though I’m a conservative, I’m not a Bush apologist. Before rushing to judgment, I’m waiting until all of the evidence is in. Besides, this is the time to put politics aside and join forces in a massive effort to help out those afflicted in the Gulf region. It’s so easy to allow the blame game to deflect from the need for ongoing aid to the region. Though the vocal minority of you have been lost in the blame game, the silent majority of you have been donating for the cause. My donate-to-download program is just one example, though it is a drop in the bucket compared to other donation programs. You folks made my donate-to-download post-Katrina remake of City of New Orleans the most requested song of over 50 songs on my site. That seems to suggest that you’ve been donating-to-download this song in large numbers. By the way, there is another remake now available as a donate-to-download song. It is my post-Katrina re-make of the Kris Kristopherson classic, Me & Bobby McGee. Those who donate any amount for aid in the Gulf region (I recommend the Salvation Army (800)SAL-ARMY), can now download this song for free at:
MEnBOBBIMcGEE2.mp3
The City of New Orleans and my original song depicting the hurricane and its aftermath, New Orleans (In the Wake of Katrina) are still available as donate-to-download numbers and can be found at:
http://www.drblt.com/freesong.htm

 
 

A webcartoonist gives his take on Katrina, “playing politics,” and Bush.

(It’s the Sept. 1 entry. If that’s scrolled off the page, just head to the bottom of the page and click on “Older Thoughts”.)

 
 

Libby – there is no September 1 entry.

 
 

Oh, and of course, capable bus drivers are a dime a dozen — especially in the best of times!

 
 

So, Dr BLT PhD, what specific evidence are you waiting for before passing judgement?

Or are you just waiting long enough to be able to say, “yeah, so your city flooded. But that was so last month – get over it, already!”

 
 

“I’m not a Bush apologist.”

Ummm, whatever. Your talking points are the same, so it’s hard to tell.

The silent majority here is deadly, (in the whomever smelt it sense) and Leuutce and Tomato don’t agree with themn because, (as with the dealt-ing of smell), whomever blames it, claims it.

‘Blame game’ is SO 9/10.

 
 

that was for you, Dr Narcissus

 
 

Besides, this is the time to put politics aside and join forces in a massive effort to help out those afflicted in the Gulf region. It’s so easy to allow the blame game to deflect from the need for ongoing aid to the region.

Yeah, because our poor wittle bwains would asplode if we tried to write a check to the Red Cross and think about who is responsible for this mess ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Ohmygod no. Can’t do that.

So let’s all wait before we try to hold anyone accountable — oh, excuse me: It’s not about accountability, is it? It’s just “blame-gaming.” Right. Anyway, let’s all wait before we try to do it, because we don’t want our wittle bwains to asplode.

 
 

i won’t play the balme game if you play the personal responsibility game.

deal?

In other words, until, at least, Brown decides to ‘spend more time with his family’ this should be relentless.

and it’s not a game.

 
 

Karl, every moment that you spend emotionally and mentally engaged in the blame game, is a moment that could be invested in gathering funds and other resources, and in encouraging others to gather funds and resources to help those afflicted by the hurricane. In all honesty, no, at least in your case, Karl, I don’t think your “poor wittle (brain)” can handle both the blame game and the charity drive. To stray a little from the language of my discipline, this dual tasking assignment that you’ve taken upon yourself seems to be driving you a little nuts (no formal diagnosis intended).

 
 

[Boom]

Ow! He shot me with a shotgun loaded with rock salt!

Hey, every minute you spend playing the blame game is one less minute when you can…

[Boom]

Ow! He did it again! Ow, jeez! Look everybody, he’s shooting me with…

[Boom]

 
 

This just in, mdhatter: Brown has decided to spend more personal time with his family. Now let’s ream the rest of these fuckers.

 
 

Dr. BLT,
As a (now former) elected official of 8 years I can say definitively that there is no such thing as a “blame game”. There is responsibility and accountability. To paraphrase Jon Stewart: Those who invoke the “blame game” defense are, in all likelihood, the ones to blame.

There were responsibilities to be dealt with, they were dealt with poorly and many either died or suffered needlessly on that account. Now, in the aftermath, we must hold accountable each of those responsible.

Surely you can see nothing partisan in that?

 
 

Gavin, it doesn’t take much ammunition to knock you guys down. With every new blog entry, you open yourselves up to more fire. With all of the holes in your arguments, you folks have given me a pretty big target to work with. I must admit, Gavin, you had me running for cover with that last comment, though. That peashooter of yours looks pretty powerful.

 
 

TwistTieCollector: Sure, bury your head in the sand and pretend that the blame game doesn’t exist. That’s very convenient if you’re the one playing the game. In fact, that’s part of the game—denying that it exists. We all know that those who hypervigilantly seek out every opportunity to ascribe blame to those on the other side of their political fence, in an opportunistic fashion, as a way of engaging in crass political posturing, are playing the blame game.

 
 

Ok, Doc, we’re on for a duel with facts and cites. Where’s a hole in one of my arguments?

 
 

No Sept. 1 entry? Did you check under “I Think This” column below the comic?

 
 

I think I’ll pull a Marie Jon’ and post the entire article, just in case no one else can find it.

—-
September 1, 2005

The incompetence of King George.

The irony is enough to make you vomit.

Today, September 1, the Department of Homeland Security launched National Preparedness Month.

Preparedness for what? The display of unpreparedness going on in Louisiana is greatest human tragedy on American soil in my lifetime so far. How dare these people talk to us about preparedness. People are dying amidst disease, squalor and misery because of their unpreparedness.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m sorry. I’m really angry.

What we keep hearing, from the administration but also from people who should know better, is that this is not the time to “play politics” with the disaster.

Well, first of all, who’s playing? I could not possibly be more serious.

And second, why do so many people have this idea that politics are a game? Some sort of popularity contest, unrelated to people’s actual lives? I have news for you. Politics are the means by which we select the leaders who will, in turn, make policy. Policy affects your life. At times like these, policy can be the difference between life and death.

Poll after poll shows that people agree with the Democrats on almost every major issue. We would be a liberal country if we voted for the leaders who would actually enact policies we agree with. But we don’t vote that way for some reason. You saw it in the last election. It was all “I’m going to vote for Bush because you know where you stand with him.” And “I’m voting for Bush because he makes me feel safe.”

It is not the quality of a leader’s Clint Eastwood impression that keeps you safe, people. It is the quality of his (or her) policies. And this administration’s policies are terrible. Al Gore’s would not have been. John Kerry’s would not have been. You would have agreed more with their policies and priorities. They would not have been asleep at the switch. America, your nearsightedness in returning this man to power made this crisis worse. It made people die.

George W. Bush said on “Good Morning America” that no one anticipated that the levees might break. That is flat out false. In fact, many people anticipated it. FEMA, in 2001, identified a category 5 hurricane destroying the levees and flooding New Orleans as one of the three major disasters most likely to befall the United States. One of the others was a terrorist attack on New York.

Well, guess what? We’ve had both. Guess what Bush did to prepare? Nothing. Then the administration looked us straight in the eye, both times, and said no one could have anticipated that this would happen. Well, bullshit, George. It’s bullshit and I don’t think you care.

This one is even worse, because in 2003 and 2004, the Bush administration specifically cut the funds for strengthening those specific levees, because it needed the money for Iraq. It’s ironic that we were told, ad nauseam, that we had to invade Iraq because it posed a real threat to our safety and we had to be proactive. So, in the name of that, the administration took away the funds that might have prevented a far more likely tragedy from claiming so many lives, as it is now in the process of doing.

And who normally deals with these tragedies? Well, the National Guard. That’s why we have a National Guard. It isn’t designed to fight wars. It’s designed to deal with domestic disaster scenarios. But nearly half the Louisiana National Guard is in Iraq.

George’s vanity war and his neo-imperialist fantasy of remaking the middle east and his obsessive desire to slash his friends’ taxes all came before these people’s lives. And now they’re dying. Old people. Children. Sick people. Mostly poor people, who couldn’t escape, and, when the hurricane was bearing down on them, got no governmental help in doing so. And now they’re dying, George. Dying.

Playing politics? George, you’ve spent your whole presidency invoking 9/11. You’ve spent your whole presidency trying to claim anyone who doesn’t support your policies doesn’t care if 9/11 happens again. This despite the fact that the other side tried to stand with you right after that tragedy happened. They ignored your policy failures; the fact that Clinton’s National Security Adviser, Sandy Berger, gave you specific warnings about bin Laden and plans for dealing with them; FEMA’s warnings that such an attack would be a huge disaster; and the fact that Hart-Rudman warned explicitly in Spring 2001 that one was coming. And you did nothing, but the Democrats let it slide because no one thought it was the time to dwell on past failures.

Well, now we’re in it again, and in a lot of ways this one is even worse, and you not only did nothing to prepare, you impeded others’ ability to do so. And again we’re being told this isn’t the time. Well, when is the time? How many times do you have to get people killed before we’re allowed to talk about it? How many dead babies do we have to see on TV before criticizing the people who let it happen stops being “shrill”? I’ve had enough.

America, to you I say, this is proof that your policymakers should be people who are competent and whose policies you actually support. If you install a government because, gosh, they look likable and macho on television, you’re going to get lousy policy, and people will suffer and die. It is not a game, it is not an abstraction, and you need to stop treating it so casually.

George, to you I say, we are not playing politics. You’re the one who’s playing. Playing golf, playing guitar in photo ops, acting like nothing was wrong the day after Katrina hit, the day the levees broke and New Orleans started to disappear. Giving speeches comparing yourself to FDR while lives were being washed into the Gulf of Mexico. You’re the unserious party here. You don’t get to base your whole career on playing politics, then urge others not to do so the moment politics becomes inconvenient.

People are dead because of your policies. If you really do talk to God, I hope he gives you an earful for this one.

— from idrewthis.org

 
 

Doc BLT,
I seek to have those responsible held accountable: The response was a clusterfuck.
Holding elected officials accountable for the discharge of their responsibilities is a major tenet of democracy. It is not a game. Lost lives, property, and livelihood are not part of a game.

By calling accountability a game you engage in the most crass political posturing (to use your own words) and demean the role elected officials play in our society. That is just plain sick.

 
 

Crap, I forgot to put the most important parts of the article in bold print. Oh, well.

 
 

Dr. BLT, every moment that you spend emotionally and mentally engaged in the Sadly, No! comment posting game, is a moment that could be invested in gathering funds and other resources, and in encouraging others to gather funds and resources to help those afflicted by the hurricane. In all honesty, no, at least in your case, Dr. BLT, I don’t think your “poor wittle (brain)” can handle both the comment posting and the charity drive.

 
 

TwistTieCollector: With all due respect, your reasoning is a little twisted. I am all for holding folks accountable for bad decisions, or dilatory responses to crises, or whatever the situation may be. Moreover, the wait, for those afflicted by the hurricane must have been excruciating. The situation is serious and should not be glossed over. What I object to are those who just seem to love to hate Bush and rush to judgment whenever the opportunity, or the perceived opportunity arises. Does it appear that he was too slow to respond? Yes. But we all know that appearances do not always accurately reflect the real nature of events. There were many people holding high positions of authority in this matter, and it’s a complicated situation. Is Bush really so powerful, in and of his own accord, that he just has to snap his fingers and things begin to happen? I think not, at least not in most cases. Even Bush has to wade through a great deal of red tape to get things accomplished. I’m not saying that he tried as hard as he could have, but I’m not assuming he did not, at least not at this point. Is it a game? Yes, for some who choose to play it, it is, in fact, just that–a game.

 
 

The funny thing is, Doc Sammich, that most of the people who are, in your terms, playing the “blame game” are not just aiming their ire at Bush. There are plenty of people who need to be held accountable for the disaster that was the government’s response to Katrina, at all levels of government. The main exceptions are those who appear to bear a fair degree of culpability for the problems: Nagin, Blanco and, of course, the Bush Administration. It is of course in their interests to point fingers away from themselves; but I think you’ll find that most of us out here in the blogosphere, without a need to be re-elected, are more interested in finding the reasons for *all* of the failures, no matter where fault lies. I won’t deny that if the Bush Administration takes a heavier fall than the state and local nabobs, I will not be sorry, nor will I be surprised.

But it is fatuous of you to suggest that we put off investigating why things happened (or didn’t happen) as they did (or didn’t) until some vague future date just because some people seem to be pointing fingers at the president. And it is absolutely galling of you to (a) accuse us of not working enough for the relief effort, without having the faintest idea of what any of us are doing and (b) try to capitalize on the event by shilling your music every time you mention the disaster.

Bah. Enough. You’re not worth further effort. You keep trumpeting about how wonderful you are for encouraging donations, and maybe that will help you sell a CD or two. Mazel tov. Meanwhile, the rest of us will continue helping the relief efforts, mostly in silence (at least here) and trying to figure out why this national disaster was allowed to happen so we can prevent it ever happening again.

 
GuinnessGuy (One-Half of the Way Toward Two B.S.s)
 

Some mood poetry for the good Doctor’s ‘Visit’:

Consider our friend Doctor BLT
Who’s charisma’s like that of a tree
He got so outraged
At Gavin, Seb and Brad’s humor page
That he huddl’d in a mere of his wee

Doctor BLT ranted and raved
Because wrote Gavin a thing quite “depraved”
The Commenter’s were in shock
But did continue to mock
Until the good Doctor abstained

 
GuinnessGuy (One-Half of the Way Toward Two B.S.s)
 

Still More:

BLT demands we use his full title
For it makes him feel girlish like Tzeitel
Relevent t’may not be
But courteous must we be?
If we ain’t Doctor’s brains may well addle

Our friend BLT likes to croon
But sadly his tracks aren’t a boon
The mixing is weak
The backup vocals are freaked
And sometimes cannot carry a tune

I hesistate to call Doc BLT a goon
Because I think he might howl at the moon
But his crazy discourse
and his lack of remorse
Can sometimes make him look like a loon

 
 

Correction on that first one on the second post-

It should go-

BLT demands we use his full title
For it makes him feel girlish like Tzeitel
Relevent t’may not be
But courteous must be we?
If we ain’t Doctor’s brains may well addle

 
 

Dear Dr. BLT:Imagine this scenario, which did not happen on Sunday:

*brrrring*
Michael Brown, Head of FEMA: Hello?
George Bush, POTUS: Brownie! Wha’s shakin’
Brown: Oh, just kickin’ back with the wifey and a coupla margari– er, lemonades. You, sir?
Bush: Yeah, yeah. Just wonderin’ how many of them 28 ‘mergency-whatever-units you got pre-pos- er, close by an’ waitin’ down South. Just had me one of those fancy TV-phone calls with the big weather guy and he says N’Awlins’s gonna get hit awful hard — wind, tornados, may even have some levees topped. Just wanted to double-check with ya that everything’s in place…

See, this is where that “failure of imagination” we talk about comes in. Imagine you appointed someone to run FEMA, and they had Michael Brown’s resume, even his padded resume. I imagine I would be on his butt 24 hours a day if a crisis hit, were it my appointee. Just sayin’

 
 

Umm, Doc.

Youve never once come close to knocking me down, nevermind addressing me had on. Here, in other threads, or, in fact ever.

I don’t want your attention per se, but your sails are a little short on wind, you just can’t fill them using what you bring to the table, and tough i am not responsible, I’m amazed I haven’t been blamed, bitched out, or lectured to by you.

Since everyone else has, i guess i’m just jealous.

 
 

and chimera,

he would be on his ass, had he been responsible for appointing him.

but it’s the ‘blame game’ now, not the ‘personal responsibility’ game, silly.

what a nickname… brownie.

it’s usually used behind someones back.

 
 

Does anybody know what the third likely disaster mentioned by FEMA was? I’m hoping for a “dinosaur-killer” asteroid strike. Or maybe an invasion of martians.

 
 

Damn. Silly me. Can’t tell the difference between accountability and blame-gaming, flaming, hey what ever happened to Plame-gaming? heh.

Yeah, “Brownie.” Lemme just come right out and speculate as to whether it’s a take-off on bro’s name or the color of his nose.

 
 

Out of curiosity, how does one tell the difference between “loving to hate” a president who has ignored the need to do anything about global warming, who allowed New York City to be attacked by terrorists, who managed to ignore his experts long enough to see most of New Orleans underwater, who started an incredibly expensive war that serves no purpose, leaves half a country with fewer rights than they had before, forces our much “suported” military into underprovisioned tour after underpaid tour, and damages our reputation with countries among whom we may need to work in the future; and those who simply want to figure out who is responsible for the latest governmental fuckup, regardless of position or party, so that they can be removed from having the opportunity to fuck up the cleanup efforts?

Dan Someone: You’re my hero.

 
 

Ambulocetus, love the nick. The third disaster is the potential for a city-levelling earthquake in San Francisco, IIRC.

Is there any possibility that the government might consider preparing for that one now, or are they just going to assume that, you know, sure, the other two Most Likely To Kill Major Numbers Of the Citizenry Disasters actually happened, but, hey, what are the odds of the third happening too?
That’d be like, what, hitting the trifecta?

 
 

“That peashooter of yours looks pretty powerful”

why do trolls always bring it back to their own endowment-inferiority?

and it looks like (luckily) Dan Someone shamed Dr. BLT into leaving with his astutely-observed “Dr. BLT, every moment that you spend emotionally and mentally engaged in the Sadly, No! comment posting game, is a moment that could be invested in gathering funds and other resources”. Who would have thought the troll-wingnut contingent had any shame left?

 
 

Isn’t it funny how Bush cut through all the quote-unquote red tape to rush to Terri Schaivo’s bedside, yet he was too caught up in this red tape to react to Hurricane Katrina…

 
 

“Who would have thought the troll-wingnut contingent had any shame left?”

It’s all they have, they spout bile and spittle to hide it.

 
 

Dan Someone, you want me to give you the benefit of the doubt as it concerns your degree of investment in relief efforts in the Gult, but you are unwilling to give me the benefit of the doubt as it concerns my level of investment in such efforts. Instead, you try to impugn my character by ascribing sinister motives to my musical endeavors aimed at raising money for hurricane relief. I’ve taught university courses in the Psychology of Motivation, and that doesn’t mean that I know everything there is to know about the subject, but I do know this much: One person can never know the motives of the other. They can form hypotheses, but they can’t see inside the other person’s psyche and make definitive statements about what causes that person’s actions. Psychologists, with all their training, can’t even say for certain what the motives of their patients are.

Furthermore, I’ve never “trumpeted how wonderful (I) am for encouraging donations.” Go back and read my entries. You’ll find I’ve only thanked those who have contributed. GuinnesGuy, I’m happy that I’ve been a source of inspiration for your poetry, but I’ve never demanded that anyone use my full title when addressing me. But I’m not a Mr. That’s simply a fact. You can call me Mr, but that doesn’t make it so. I’m a Dr.
Referring to me as Mr. is simply incorrect and makes the person who is using that title look ignorant and silly. Being a Dr. as opposed to a Mr. doesn’t make me smarter, or a better person than anyone else, but I did work hard to earn that title, and I’m entitled to claim it. Are you jealous? If you are, that doesn’t make me arrogant, that simply makes you jealous and insecure about your own status, or lack thereof.
Call me Bruce if calling me Dr. irks you.

Now, Kathleen, just to set the record straight, Dan Someone may have intended to shame me, but he did not shame me, as you’ve suggested. To be truly shamed, the person intended as the recipient of the shame has to accept someone else’s disparaging definition of him/her. I don’t accept Dan’s definition of me. He doesn’t know me, but seems, like many of the rest of you, to be inclined to clinging to negative stereotypes. Gavin, how about a truce? You can’t possibly win this pee-wee battle with someone who has studied Freud for so many years.

 
 

Brucie, I would never dream of trying to discern your motivations, but the fact that a large majority of your comments regarding the Katrina disaster have referred to your songs, downloading your songs (for free! if you donate! to the Katrina victims!) or how many people have downloaded your songs is, shall we say, suggestive that you are shilling your music.

And I would say that any comment you have made in which you note how many downloads you’ve had since you encouraged donation for free downloads is indeed “trumpeting how wonderful you are.” I defy you to find any single other poster in the comments to this bog who has said anywhere near as much as you have about what they are doing for the Katrina relief effort. And if you do find anyone who comes close, please note whether they are saying it spontaneously and unsolicited or in response to someone’s — e.g., your — accusations that we are complaining (or finger-pointing or blame-gaming) instead of contributing.

And to be completely clear, I have never had the intention of shaming you, so you go right on being shameless.

 
 

Dan, since mine is a donate-to-download program, number of downloads is reflective of the number of times people are donating. I was merely using this as an index to note how generous the silent majority of you are in terms of putting aside your political differences and contributing to my donate-to-download program. In order to keep those donations rolling in, it behooves me to mention the donate-to-download offer every now and then. Why, in your cynical mind, do you have to automatically infer that my motives are anything but honorable? Do you subject others who have initiating projects to that level of cynical scrutiny. Now, if you had evidence that I was fooling people, and actually finding a way to take their money to use it for my own gain, that would be something worth bringing up. But all you have on me are unsubstatiated suspicions about my motives. You make yourself sound like a silly, cynical spectator. You seem intent on discrediting me or rendering my efforts to raise money for victims illegitimate. Why are you so invested in such an effort? What does it do for you? Do I pose some kind of threat to you? If so, you don’t need to feel so threatened. I am generally regarded by folks who know me to be non-threatening soul.

 
 

BLT, why is it you come in here talking about how Dan Someone cannot know your motivations, and that no one can know anyone’s motivations for anything, yet you still try to explain to all of us our motivations for what we write here. You say of Dan: He doesn’t know me, but seems, like many of the rest of you, to be inclined to clinging to negative stereotypes. yet you come in here and try to throw around negative stereotypes of everyone here, even though you don’t know any of us.

You say …every moment that you spend emotionally and mentally engaged in the blame game, is a moment that could be invested in gathering funds and other resources, and in encouraging others to gather funds and resources to help those afflicted by the hurricane. yet you spend all of your moments arguing against seeking accountability (no matter what you call it) when you could be releasing more songs to raise cash for the victims.

You say We all know that those who hypervigilantly seek out every opportunity to ascribe blame to those on the other side of their political fence, in an opportunistic fashion, as a way of engaging in crass political posturing, are playing the blame game. yet you seem to refuse to acknowledge that you are engaging in a version of this too by insinuating that those of us who have differing political opinions from yours are not doing as much as right-wingers for the victims.

You say Being a Dr. as opposed to a Mr. doesn’t make me smarter, or a better person than anyone else, but I did work hard to earn that title, and I’m entitled to claim it. yet you later insinuate that you’re better than everyone here because you’ve studied Freud for a long time.

I don’t care who you are, what your motivations are, or shit about you. I’ve never listened to any of your songs, and I doubtful ever will. I do know you come in here accusing us of doing everything that you are actually doing in each of your comments. I don’t care if you earned a Ph.D. or an Associate degree from Sally Struthers on TV. You don’t want to be called Mr. and that’s fine with me. You’re just blt to me.

And one more thing, we can’t afford to wait to start holding people accountable for what happened with the response to Katrina. September – November is the most active time of the hurricane season. Do you think that just because a really bad storm already hit NOLA, another one won’t come until we’re ready? We’ve got to get this shit fixed right now so it doesn’t happen again.

 
 

Yosef, what I said about Dan and to the rest of you in that last entry was not a definitive statement about his motives, or any of your motives for that matter. I was careful to use the term, “seems” so as to indicate that my statement simply reflected a perception on my part, and not a statement of definitive truth. Compare that statement to the declarative statements Dan has made about me. There is a big difference.

I was a bit shocked about your suggestion that I spend more time releasing more songs to raise cash for victims and spend less time “arguing against seeking accountability.” You’re one of the first members of the vocal minority at this site to actually suggest I release more songs. Most vocal members of this sight seem sickened by my songs and cynical about my motives. Thanks for having a little faith in my ability to write good songs and for not attacking me for what you perceive to be my motives. I’ll admit, the remark about my knowledge of Freud did sound a little pompous, but that was a tongue-in-cheek remark, I was speaking in facetious terms.

 
 

For the record. If anyone knows an actual mental health professional who isn’t a hypocrite and an arrogant jackass, but instead is actually capable of helping people, could you email me? I’d like to meet one, just once, before I die.

 
GuinnessGuy (One-Half of the Way Toward Two B.S.s)
 

Why the hell would I be jealous of some random guy who gets his jollies by bothering commenters on an obscure satire website- doctorate or no?
I mean, if you’ve so confident in your intellectual superiority over us (and don’t think you aren’t, or else you wouldn’t be here- and frankly, it goes both ways), why don’t you try debating commenters over at Kos or Atrios- they attract like credentialed individuals that wouldn’t call you ‘mister’ (or maybe they would- after all, like us, they’re under no obligation to respect either you or your accomplishments)?
I don’t care about your music- frankly, it could use some significantly better mixing, but it’s about the caliber I’ve come to expect from hobby musicians.
That’s a great suggestion- go do something constructive instead of arguing with us.
Donating money to Hurricane relief is a worthy cause- have at it.
You’re never going to convince us of your political beliefs, and we’re never going to convince you- so why don’t you do the same thing as we do (shake our heads and wonder how presumably intelligent people could possibly believe the shit they do), and then call it a day.

 
GuinnessGuy (One-Half of the Way Toward Two B.S.s)
 

For the record. If anyone knows an actual mental health professional who isn’t a hypocrite and an arrogant jackass, but instead is actually capable of helping people, could you email me? I’d like to meet one, just once, before I die.

I’ve got a cousin, but she’s only a nurse in a psych ward (or somesuch- I’ve never understood her job precisely). She’s a bit flighty but pretty down to earth (or at least she is at Thanksgiving…).
Otherwise- I’d like a piece of that, if anyone has leads.

 
 

every moment that you spend emotionally and mentally engaged in the blame game, is a moment that could be invested in gathering funds and other resources, [blah blah etc…]

Oh really, Dr. PB&J. You knew that was a childish, lame-ass argument when you thought of it, you knew it was a childish, lame-ass argument when you wrote it down, and you knew it was a childish, lame-ass argument when you clicked “post.” But you hit “post” anyway. Let’s try and keep our standards up, shall we?

I’m truly disappointed, Dr. Aside from the fact that you use 3-syllable words correctly, that’s the sort of troll-post we can get from Marie Jon’.

 
 

BLT, I don’t care about your motives, and i’ve got no idea what your songs sound like. As I said before, I haven’t listened to them and I never will. If you’re helping to raise cash or items to aid in the relief of Katrina, that’s awesome. Please keep at it.

But don’t come in here trying to tell us about ourselves and then getting upset when we return the favor to you. And don’t hide behind little words like “seems” when you know full well you actually mean the things you’re saying.

 
 

Sidhe, as a matter of fact, I do know of a mental health professional who doesn’t fit into your negative stereotype of mental health professionals. That person is me. GuinnessGuy, aren’t you protesting the jealousy hypothesis a bit too much to be taken seriously?

 
GuinnessGuy (One-Half of the Way Toward Two B.S.s)
 

GuinnessGuy, aren’t you protesting the jealousy hypothesis a bit too much to be taken seriously?

Dr. BLT, aren’t you protesting the “pompous, conceited ass” hypothesis a bit too much to be taken seriously?

 
GuinnessGuy (One-Half of the Way Toward Two B.S.s)
 

This all begs the question: when can we have Marie’ back?
She’s the best troll ever :sigh:

 
 

you proved me wrong Dr. BLT – there is no shame left.

Does it really take a psychology degree to know that “one can never truly know the motives of others”? I would have thought that just a bit of experience in the real world would teach one that. But I guess that is the problem isn’t it? living in the real world.

 
 

Let’s all stop being so negative and show a little old fashioned love and respect for one another. I’ll take responsiblity for my part in this. I’ve been somewhat negative, cynical and sarcastic, maybe even a bit pompous. I may have even been guilty of bad mixes on some of my songs (which ones were they, and what is needed, more bass? less distortion? ). I’m been writing songs for many years, but I’m a rookie on the soundboard. Please be patient. I’ll get better over time. Yes, I’ve grown to be cynical and negative by spending so much time on this site, but I won’t use that as an excuse. I don’t have to become part of my surroundings. It is my responsibility to brighten the darkness. Instead I fear I have contributed to it. Life is too short to be using this forum to launch verbal attacks on one another. Consider this official: I’m calling for a truce!

 
 

Very well- my primary advice would be to turn down the backup vocals considerably- they very nearly drown out the lead vocals (and that’s pretty much everything I’ve listened to).
Otherwise- you’ve pretty much got the equal of most adult hobby bands I’ve experianced, and I’ve experianced quite a few. College towns tend to produce a lot of them- professionals apparently feel it’s a good way to relax.
I admit… I’ll probably end up indulging in 20 years or so, after I become a middle aged fogey and have a real professorship somewhere, hopefully, comfortable and decently prestigeous (that’s right, fellow commenters- I could be teaching your kids someday, bwahahahaha!!!)- although hopefully my singing voice won’t have deteriorated too badly.
Like I said though- you’re not half bad (which you can take for more of a compliment than it sounds, since my tastes on subject matter and style run way in the other direction- but I’ve always been pretty cosmopolitan about appriciating all music. I can even find nice things to say about some of Toby Keith’s work *wink*), and the only problems are the volume of you lead vocals (needs to carry above backup vocals a lot) and the backup vocals need perhaps (and I’d have to hear it softer to know for sure) to harmonize better with you leads.
Always glad to help a fellow musician… and always nice to pull away from politics sometimes (even on a political blog)- it will bring out the worst in all of us.
So, sorry for anything overly cruel (some of it attributable to the need to rhyme), and have a decent day.

 
 

You get no truce from me because you are still being a hypocrite.

Your last post offers us this statement:
“Let’s all stop being so negative and show a little old fashioned love and respect for one another. I’ll take responsiblity for my part in this. I’ve been somewhat negative, cynical and sarcastic, maybe even a bit pompous.”

Mere sentences later, we get this:
“Yes, I’ve grown to be cynical and negative by spending so much time on this site, but I won’t use that as an excuse. I don’t have to become part of my surroundings. It is my responsibility to brighten the darkness. Instead I fear I have contributed to it.”

Shorter Doc: “Let’s just stop the fighting. I’m sorry I was mean and all, but it’s your fault.”

I refuse to believe there is any possibility that you are a licensed mental health professional. While it’s not inherently exclusive of being a manipulative bully, in my experience actual people who have actual degrees in the field are significantly less obvious about being manipulative bullies.

However, if it helps, I’ll just drop you into my virtual killfile and you can pretend my ignoring you is the result of your insincere request for a true.

*plonk*

 
 

“I’ve been somewhat negative, cynical and sarcastic, maybe even a bit pompous.”

Hooray! Welcome aboard!

ao are most of us who come here.

you act as though we have a problem with that, or that’s bad somehow….

well, personally, i don’t think so.

It’s the narcissistic self-aggrandizing Dr. That is what makes me (at least) love to pile on.

You are not darkening the brightness (that’s accomplished via light on dark, if that’s your pref)…

you ARE posing however, and the obviousness of it is painful to my eyes, and your terrible lack of skill at it, combined with your self-importance, has, well, denied you my respect.

*plonk* (What Sidhe said)

 
 

GuinnessGuy, it’s nice to receive some constructive criticism from a fellow musician. It is refreshing, and I do need it. I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t have the greatest engineer’s ear, though I’m practicing at it intensely. And you’re right, it is nice to take a step back from political wrangling.

As for Sidhe, and mdhatter, I won’t respond in kind, only with kindness. I may fail here and there, but I’m going to do my best to be nice. I will even try to leave my narcissism at the door. I once had a clinical supervisor who told me that I was one of the first supervisees he had that was not narcissistic. I guess I must have deteriorated since then. I will accept that criticism and try to improve in that area. I wrote the song, Right-wingers Need Love Too, so if I expect love from left-wingers, then I need to be willing to give love. We get so tied up in political bickering and we all think we have the answers, but that duo from the 70s, England Dan and John Ford Coley, got it right in the song, “Love is the Answer.” Or as the Beatles said, “All You Need is Love.”

 
 

It’s this internet business, I imagine, that brings out the most negetive and destructive portions of our personality- after all, you don’t ever have to deal with the people you offend in real life, and they don’t know who you are.
But it’s the price we pay for global communication (and is definatly worth it).

 
 

Doc,

I’m sure we could have a beer.

But if you’re as annoyiong in real life, we’d be in the parking lot having a four letter word pretty quick.

I don’t believe you are that annoyimng in real life. Then again, i don’t believe you arr a psychiatrist nor a musician in real life.

Nor do i think that’s relevant, but you sure do harp on it a lot.

That appears as a compemnsative act.

We don;t care who you are, just what you say, and especially, wheteher you appear to believe most of what you say, and you, to me, do not.

I don’t have that fancy ‘ignore’ device that Sidhe has. Regardless, I hope your ego got the stroking you were seeking.

 
 

You may wish to take it to the parking lot, or engage me in a four-letter-war-of -words, but the only four-letter-word I believe in is “love.” You may question the authenticity of my presentation, but I will continue to give you the benefit of the doubt, not because I think I’m better than you and that I couldn’t stoop to your level, but rather, because I think it’s time for the left & the right to unite and to find common causes to work together on. We could all stand to expand our wingspan.

 
 

PS: I’m sure we could have a beer too. By the way, who’s buying?

 
 

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