I was listening to the BBC World News Service broadcast on NPR. The lead story from the U.S. was President Bush’s response to Katrina. They paraphrase his statement this morning as saying, essentially, “We will take any means necessary to restore law and order, in New Orleans. Looting, gas gouging, and insurance fraud will not be tolerated.”
Listening to CNN now, a reporter confirms gunfire in the city, and agrees with the characterization that New Orleans is “going over the edge.”
Everywhere this story is shifting from a humanitarian disaster, for which we were ill-prepared, and for which our federal government’s response has been poor, into a story with this headline:
Bush Declares War on Insurgents on the Gulf
of Mexico. Will Fight Terror of Disgruntled Minority
I just see this whole thing being spun in a Rovian manner. Pile on enough MSM images of people looting. Mass unrest. Hindering the national response. As a way of managing the colossal fuck-up that this was.
Reports of shots fired at helicopter now. It is a full blown fucking insurgency.
Fuck this information. Poor people were left behind. Largely black people were left behind. They have been rotting without any effective response for days. They can steal all the food, clothing, and guns they fucking want in my book. God bless them for trying to fucking survive. And, now, the greatest mobilization, at least it seems from the news I am getting, is to suppress their insurgent activity.
It reminds me of a comedian’s line during the controversy surrounding the beating of Rodney King. “If you ever see me in that situation, put down the fucking camera, and help me.”
Am I insane, or is this the political gambit that is going to be played? Even white, Democratic Governor Blanco is in on the act, saying words to the effect that, “We will do what it takes to restore law and order.” Why don’t you do what it fucking takes to restore food and shelter? Fucking worried about fucking insurance fraud. Vomit.
Also, just to throw this in. Fucking Haley Barbour – “It’s going to be hard.” Everything that the Republicans fuck up, is now explained away as being “hard.” Fuck off. Leading is hard. Step the fuck out of the way if you don’t want to do it.
The reaction to this disaster is one of the worst moments I have ever seen in this country. Fucking ridiculous.
Just my two cents.
Be gentle with me.
You have summed up my own feelings on the matter perfectly!
This a clusterfuck of mind-boggling proportions — if I didn’t have a sick kid home with me today, I would take my video camera and go down to Houston adn interview some of the people who have finally gotten out — only a few hundred so far, but goddammitt, their stores need to be HEARD!
Sorry to hear about the kid. But, I do love the spirit of the citizen journalist. I can’t believet he shit I am seeing. This is just unbelievable. Keep us posted from down there. I am officially offering the Silver Dome for over-flow refugees. This could end up being like a really cool conert tour. We could have T-shirts. And shit. If it wasn’t so fucking incredibly in-humane.
And when they find that they have too many poor, southern blacks in those forces being moved in to quell the insurgency – “These people are my brothers! This ain’t the sandbox, and these aren’t hajis – fuck this shit” …. more ammo, better guns…
Thanks! He’ll be ok — he just has croup (non-viral kind, lots of shit in the air this week) but daycare would’ve sent him home anyway ’cause he’s running a low grade fever, so I figure why bother bringin him in in the first place.
My husband will blow a gasket, I’m sure, but I am thinking about trying to organize a trip down to Houston to pick some of these people up and bring them here…Austin has got at least one shelter set up and the school districts are preparing for new kids in school — I just don’t know how they are going to GET here.
I will be checking around later on when the kiddo is napping about what is going on here.
BTW, thanks for the tips on head explosions — got anything for the heart?
Rock on Brinn…I still think your house needs a name you’re like the Underground Railroad for Tribbers and others no doubt in Texas. Glad your son will be ok.
The jackass in charge of this little ‘joint task force’ adventure… quoted in January 2005…
The mission is complex, Honoré added, and takes everyone pulling together to complete. “There must be no daylight between us.”
Units used to be made up of Soldiers from the same area, and they came through at 95 percent ready to go. “That’s the way mobilization looked. Now, these units have been cherry picked already when they get here,” he said. If a unit is down to 75 percent strength, we have to find the other 25 percent, Honoré said, and it takes longer to build the unit into a team.
“This is an Army of One,” he told the crowd, “and there is no place like Fort Dix to see that. Don’t ask, `Are you National Guard or Reserve?’ What difference does it make? It creates a suspicion among the troops that we talked it, but didn’t walk it. I don’t want any doubt in their minds that there is some housing or some piece of combat gear they won’t get. We can’t afford to have that.”
He is at this moment bumbling through a painful statement.
Can someone keep my head from exploding?
that squeezing the head firmly between both hands to keep the most absurd thoughts from thrusting your brains apart, is the most effective method to keep the skull from fragmenting in an erruptive burst. That said, it is not a full-proof tactic, and has been known to cause an additional back-up of fucked up shit in the mind, and therefore, and even more devestating detonation in the near future. It is the best I can do. I am in triage mode, here dealing in the aftermath of Katrina.
Head has been firmly in hands for days now, but listening to the scanners picking up shit from around the Superbowl…. FUCK!
I have not blogged in so long, I have forgot how to rate people 4s. I thought I just hit the drop down menu, and select 4, and then hit rate all. But, alas, when I look at the screen, it does not show I have rated the ratee. What is a poor blogger to do. Wandering the streets. Needing food. And a chance to rate allies in this blogging disaster. And… whoa…. look the fuck out… here comes an APC, and guys in khaki camouflage shooting at me… fuck… We’ve got Cajuns in the wire… we’re surrounded… call in air strikes… Bob… Bob… BOB… oh fuck… they got BOB…
acid flashback from joy of blogging again… it is all good…
Haley Barbour does not think that the Federal Government has bungled the response. Thanks for that piece of news.
Haley Barbour is the former chairman of the RNC. If the elephant flies above the national flag, it sure as hell is going to fly higher than the Mississippi state flag. Republicans are Republicans first, and Americans second.
Is anyone else following the radio scanner thread on Fark???? It . Is. Frightening.
I want to be frightened some more.
I bought two two-gallon gas containers last night, and the clerk said, “Do you need both of these?”
And I said, “Fucking right I do.”
I am over the edge man.
Pretty … um.. enlightening thread happening here If you spend enough time digging through, you’ll find links for the feed and a mirror site. I don’t want to post it here – they seem to be – rightly so – a little protective of it. And.. well… shit… if you read a bit, you’ll see.
Two things. CNN. Bush — the actual tape that inspired this diary. What a dick. He reeled off the crimes they’ll stop. I forgot to mention — charity abuse. Stop those fuckers from abusing our charities. What a fucking moron.
And, a reporter relayed his account from the Convention Center, from what I guess is the back up plan for the Superdome, and said that people are dying there. They had seen a baby die. I assume it was dehydration. I don’t know. But, that is pretty fucking pathetic. Three days after the Hurricane, and we were unable to get some fucking Aquafina to the babies left behind in the storm.
This is fucking outrageous. My face is bright purple, I know it.
Reporter also said that there is a huge and apparent class divide, easily visible at hotels. Tourists and guests with money are getting on buses out of the city. Poor people are watching, not allowed on the busses. What is this, a re-make of the Hotel fucking Rwanda? This is Louisiana. Somebody do something.
Rescue operations. Oh my fucking God. They are officially standing down, because it is too dangerous to go out there.
I have a suggestion. Build a fucking Green Zone in the center of New Orleans, where the dome was. And then you can be safe. Fuck me.
Welcome back Joe and what a day to come back to the Net huh..Great first diary back. And I think we’re going to need the help of your caustic humor for this unfolding clusterfuck to help get us through the towering rage all of us here feel.
I haven’t turned on the tv yet today(got up late) but reading this diary and thread is getting me more freaked out then I was last night to say nothing of being almost numb at the epic failure of this administration to be prepared for a disaster like like this. I already mentioned last night I’m getting tired of saying ‘wtf’ and it seems this is just starting-this clusterfuck of epic proportions to say nothing of the goddamn race angle so long simmering under the surface in this country has turned into a full blown in your face news story-that’s being ignored.
It is a hell of a day to be back. I have been running around all day saying, “What the fuck?” What the fuck?”
This is completely outrageous. I am not coherent enough to say anything much, accept, “What the fuck?”
Riddle me this. How can the President of the United States have a news conference, while people are starving and dying of thirst at official “evacuation centers” and spend one fucking minute talking about the ramifications of gas and oil.
I know it is a big story. But, fucking help the fucking people survive, and we’ll worry about the gas and oil tomorrow you dim fucking feeb.
He is an idiot.
The governor held a press conference at the same time with her rescue personnel at the same time as Bush. Instead of cutting to the President, there was a terse note on the screen “The President’s remarks will be broadcast later” and the governor, rescue workers, hospital personnel continued to update the people of Louisiana. F*** GWB!
I can’t think of a more useless waste of time, than listening to him bray.