NationStates Jolt Archive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4233266.stm

Bush pleads for 'spirit of 9/11'

President George W Bush has urged national unity following the Hurricane Katrina disaster and invoked the US response to the 9/11 attacks.
"America will overcome this ordeal, and we will be stronger for it," he said in a national radio broadcast.

'Another disaster'

In his weekly radio address, Mr Bush reminded the American public of the national unity after 9/11 attacks, four years ago on Sunday.

"Today, America is confronting another disaster that has caused destruction and loss of life. This time the devastation resulted not from the malice of evil men, but from the fury of water and wind," he said.

"Four years later, Americans remember the fears and uncertainty and confusion of that terrible morning.

"But above all, we remember the resolve of our nation to defend our freedom, rebuild a wounded city, and care for our neighbours in need."

...

Just what exactly is Bush asking for? Already, the American people have opened their hearts, wallets and even homes in support, sympathy and generosity for the victims of the hurricane. So far, over $587m have been pledged by the American public in the 10 days following the disaster, which more than doubles the initial 9/11 and Tsunami donations in the same period. People are offering refugees homes, companies are offering them Jobs, community and Church groups have banded together to provide all sorts of essential items for those that were turned out of their homes...

If not this, then what the heck is the Spirit of 9/11 supposed to mean?

The sprirt of 9/11 to non americans demonstrats the need and fun of killing americans!!!

He wants them to forget about how he screwed New Orleans and "come together" to support the nation. Or, in American terms, support the current governing party.

He wants them to forget about how he screwed New Orleans and "come together" to support the nation. Or, in American terms, support the current governing party.

He never screwed New Orleans. The mayor of new orleans and governor did that very well. :rolleyes: I can't believe you harp on about falsehoods.

He never screwed New Orleans. The mayor of new orleans and governor did that very well. :rolleyes: I can't believe you harp on about falsehoods.So what did Bush mean then?

He never screwed New Orleans. The mayor of new orleans and governor did that very well. :rolleyes: I can't believe you harp on about falsehoods.
Yeah, by declaring states of emergency well before the storm hit--that was just a horrible thing for both the mayor and the governor to do. And by not calling out FEMA until after the storm hit--oh wait, that was the federal government who did that. Peddle your tripe elsewhere, you Bush apologist.

i think Bush wants everyone to come together in harmony and support whatever he does,like they did after '9/11'well for a while anyway then people got over the shock and started to look at things objectivly

It isn't going to work this time on the American people. Sure we have opened up our wallets to help but there will be no repeat of the after effects of 9/11. The politicians made sure of that. :(

He wants them to forget about how he screwed New Orleans and "come together" to support the nation. Or, in American terms, support the current governing party.

Precisely. Invoke some fallacious "spirit of the nation" type thing, everyone pulling together, then boom, everyone gets all warm and cosy cos they are working together, he's off the hook, meanwhile he can use Katrina to...destroy employment law? Jesus, the man is a reptile.

Plus, of course, the more "the nation" does, the less "the government" has to do, so he can spend less money on the poor folks, and still have a nice fat tax cut for his big business buddies.

The spirit of 9/11 was a spirit of national unity that allowed him to pull off whatever he wanted to with the republicans and democrats shutting up and filing silently in line behind him. That kind of behavior makes ruling America a lot easier for the President and I can understand why he'd want it back.

maybe his plan is to, get loads of Dollars from americans, and then accidently missplace a certain amount of it, into government funds. conspiracies and america are really easy topics

Yeah, by declaring states of emergency well before the storm hit--that was just a horrible thing for both the mayor and the governor to do. And by not calling out FEMA until after the storm hit--oh wait, that was the federal government who did that. Peddle your tripe elsewhere, you Bush apologist.

MY WHAT IGNORANCE. You are just so wrong. You need to peddle your tripe elsewhere. Wrong false hoods. What about the fact how the mayor called for an evacuation one day late? What about the fact that he never deployed the bus system which was under water? The governor needs to ask for federal assistance.. and did she do that? No.

He never screwed New Orleans. The mayor of new orleans and governor did that very well. :rolleyes: I can't believe you harp on about falsehoods.
What was Bush doing the day of, the day after and the day after that when the hurricane hit? Praying? Maybe that is what saved Fats Domino.

MY WHAT IGNORANCE. You are just so wrong. You need to peddle your tripe elsewhere. Wrong false hoods. What about the fact how the mayor called for an evacuation one day late? What about the fact that he never deployed the bus system which was under water? The governor needs to ask for federal assistance.. and did she do that? No.
New Orleans is famous for it's driver-less buses.

MY WHAT IGNORANCE. You are just so wrong. You need to peddle your tripe elsewhere. Wrong false hoods. What about the fact how the mayor called for an evacuation one day late? What about the fact that he never deployed the bus system which was under water? The governor needs to ask for federal assistance.. and did she do that? No.Could you shelve the "Bush was responsible for the Katrina aftermath" arguments for a second? I'd still like to know what you think he meant by the 'Spirit of 9/11' remarks.

Spirit of 9/11? Isn't that a shadowy figure going around reminding people that the terrorists are after us and we must be loyal to the government to make them go away?

Spirit of 9/11? Isn't that a shadowy figure going around reminding people that the terrorists are after us and we must be loyal to the government to make them go away?

Osama has a terrorist weapon to throw hurricanes against Americans! :D That's it!

Could you shelve the "Bush was responsible for the Katrina aftermath" arguments for a second? I'd still like to know what you think he meant by the 'Spirit of 9/11' remarks.

I never said that. In fact I believe the exact opposite. I don't think he was responsible for it.

Spirit of 9/11 remarks? I think it is fine by me to remind people why this nation must stand strong against terrorism.

If not this, then what the heck is the Spirit of 9/11 supposed to mean?
The Spirit of 9/11, is a period when Bush enjoyed his highest approval rating, and he wants to return to that lofty level again. IMHO Bush has overplayed the 9/11 trump card, and he hasn't done anything positive since.

In the aftermath of the disaster named Katrina, Bush and his lackeys have clearly demonstrated that the Peter Principle applies to them.

MY WHAT IGNORANCE. You are just so wrong. You need to peddle your tripe elsewhere. Wrong false hoods. What about the fact how the mayor called for an evacuation one day late? What about the fact that he never deployed the bus system which was under water? The governor needs to ask for federal assistance.. and did she do that? No.
Oh, she didn't? Better get ready to eat some crow. (http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=976)
Date: 8/27/2005


Contact: Denise Bottcher or Roderick Hawkins at 225-342-9037


Governor Blanco asks President to Declare an Emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina


BATON ROUGE—Today Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco forwarded a letter to President Bush requesting that he declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina. The full text of the letter follows:

August 27, 2005


The President
The White House
Washington, D. C.

Through:
Regional Director
FEMA Region VI
800 North Loop 288
Denton, Texas 76209

Dear Mr. President:

Under the provisions of Section 501 (a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5206 (Stafford Act), and implemented by 44 CFR § 206.35, I request that you declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period beginning August 26, 2005, and continuing. The affected areas are all the southeastern parishes including the New Orleans Metropolitan area and the mid state Interstate I-49 corridor and northern parishes along the I-20 corridor that are accepting the thousands of citizens evacuating from the areas expecting to be flooded as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

In response to the situation I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on August 26, 2005 in accordance with Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. A State of Emergency has been issued for the State in order to support the evacuations of the coastal areas in accordance with our State Evacuation Plan and the remainder of the state to support the State Special Needs and Sheltering Plan.

Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.35, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster. I am specifically requesting emergency protective measures, direct Federal Assistance, Individual and Household Program (IHP) assistance, Special Needs Program assistance, and debris removal.

Preliminary estimates of the types and amount of emergency assistance needed under the Stafford Act, and emergency assistance from certain Federal agencies under other statutory authorities are tabulated in Enclosure A.

The following information is furnished on the nature and amount of State and local resources that have been or will be used to alleviate the conditions of this emergency:
• Department of Social Services (DSS): Opening (3) Special Need Shelters (SNS) and establishing (3) on Standby.
• Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH): Opening (3) Shelters and establishing (3) on Standby.
• Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP): Providing generators and support staff for SNS and Public Shelters.
• Louisiana State Police (LSP): Providing support for the phased evacuation of the coastal areas.
• Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (WLF): Supporting the evacuation of the affected population and preparing for Search and Rescue Missions.

Mr. President
Page Two
August 27, 2005

• Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD): Coordinating traffic flow and management of the evacuations routes with local officials and the State of Mississippi.

The following information is furnished on efforts and resources of other Federal agencies, which have been or will be used in responding to this incident:
• FEMA ERT-A Team en-route.

I certify that for this emergency, the State and local governments will assume all applicable non-Federal share of costs required by the Stafford Act.

I request Direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property.

(a) List any reasons State and local government cannot perform or contract for performance, (if applicable).

(b) Specify the type of assistance requested.

In accordance with 44 CFR § 206.208, the State of Louisiana agrees that it will, with respect to Direct Federal assistance:

1. Provide without cost to the United States all lands, easement, and rights-of-ways necessary to accomplish the approved work.

2. Hold and save the United States free from damages due to the requested work, and shall indemnify the Federal Government against any claims arising from such work;

3. Provide reimbursement to FEMA for the non-Federal share of the cost of such work in accordance with the provisions of the FEMA-State Agreement; and

4. Assist the performing Federal agency in all support and local jurisdictional matters.

In addition, I anticipate the need for debris removal, which poses an immediate threat to lives, public health, and safety.

Pursuant to Sections 502 and 407 of the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5192 & 5173, the State agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the United States of America for any claims arising from the removal of debris or wreckage for this disaster. The State agrees that debris removal from public and private property will not occur until the landowner signs an unconditional authorization for the removal of debris.

I have designated Mr. Art Jones as the State Coordinating Officer for this request. He will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in damage assessments and may provide further information or justification on my behalf.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
Governor
EnclosureDated August 27th, two days before the storm hit on the 29th. Methinks you have been busted--like you generally are whenever you try to parrot the Bush administration line.

Oh, she didn't? Better get ready to eat some crow. (http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=976)
Dated August 27th, two days before the storm hit on the 29th. Methinks you have been busted--like you generally are whenever you try to parrot the Bush administration line.

Me thinks you are an ignorant person. I was only stating things she didn't do. I never said she didn't declare state of emergency. She was just too slow in about everything else. Here is an expose article:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007219

As the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues to shock and sadden the nation, the question on many lips is, Who is to blame for the inadequate response?

As a former state legislator who represented the legislative district most impacted by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, I can fully understand and empathize with the people and public officials over the loss of life and property.

Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible--local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin.

The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his emergency operations center.

The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved.

In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a simulated hurricane drill 13 months ago, in which widespread flooding supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside New Orleans. The exercise simulated the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in the simulation apparently were not solved.





A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan. Again, they did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected.
The New Orleans contingency plan is still, as of this writing, on the city's Web site, and states: "The safe evacuation of threatened populations is one of the principle [sic] reasons for developing a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan." But the plan was apparently ignored.

Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation and supervising the actual evacuation: His Office of Emergency Preparedness (not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation.

The city's evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas." But even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed." This was not done.

The evacuation plan warned that "if an evacuation order is issued without the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area impacted by toxic materials." That is precisely what happened because of the mayor's failure.

Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result people died, and there was even rape committed, in these facilities. Mayor Nagin failed in his responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation of the citizens of New Orleans. Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement is for the city's emergency center to be linked to the state emergency operations center. This was not done.





The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid.
In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that thousands of people died because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to implement the state plan, which mentions the possible need to evacuate up to one million people. The plan clearly gives the governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending in state resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal assistance.

State legislators and governors nationwide need to update their contingency plans and the operation procedures for state emergency centers. Hurricane Katrina had been forecast for days, but that will not always be the case with a disaster (think of terrorist attacks). It must be made clear that the governor and locally elected officials are in charge of the "first response."

I am not attempting to excuse some of the delays in FEMA's response. Congress and the president need to take corrective action there, also. However, if citizens expect FEMA to be a first responder to terrorist attacks or other local emergencies (earthquakes, forest fires, volcanoes), they will be disappointed. The federal government's role is to offer aid upon request.

The Louisiana Legislature should conduct an immediate investigation into the failures of state and local officials to implement the written emergency plans. The tragedy is not over, and real leadership in the state and local government are essential in the months to come. More importantly, the hurricane season is still upon us, and local and state officials must stay focused on the jobs for which they were elected--and not on the deadly game of passing the emergency buck.

Mr. Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a free market public policy research organization in Olympia, Wash.

Me thinks you are an ignorant person. I was only stating things she didn't do. I never said she didn't declare state of emergency. She was just too slow in about everything else. Here is an expose article:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007219Mesa, you didn't just quote OPINIONjournal, did you?

Mesa, you didn't just quote OPINIONjournal, did you?

It is owned by Wall Street Journal and the guy who wrote the article seems reputable enough. What the fuck is the matter now? You can't handle the reality?

Bush Suspends Pay Act In Areas Hit by Storm
- Washington Post, 9/09/05; Page D03

President Bush yesterday suspended application of the federal law governing workers' pay on federal contracts in the Hurricane Katrina-damaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The action infuriated labor leaders and their Democratic supporters in Congress, who said it will lower wages and make it harder for union contractors to win bids.

The Davis-Bacon Act, passed in 1931 during the Great Depression, sets a minimum pay scale for workers on federal contracts by requiring contractors to pay the prevailing or average pay in the region. Suspension of the act will allow contractors to pay lower wages. Many Republicans have opposed Davis-Bacon, charging that it amounts to a taxpayer subsidy to unions.

In a letter to Congress, Bush said he has the power to suspend the law because of the national emergency caused by the hurricane: "I have found that the conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina constitute a 'national emergency.' "

Bush wrote that his decision is justified because Davis-Bacon increases construction costs, and suspension "will result in greater assistance to these devastated communities and will permit the employment of thousands of additional individuals."

AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney denounced the Bush announcement as "outrageous."

"Employers are all too eager to exploit workers," he said. "This is no time to make that easier. What a double tragedy it would be to allow the destruction of Hurricane Katrina to depress living standards even further."

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, accused Bush of "using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cut the wages of people desperately trying to rebuild their lives and their communities."

Miller said: "In New Orleans, where a quarter of the city was poor, the prevailing wage for construction labor is about $9 per hour, according to the Department of Labor. In effect, President Bush is saying that people should be paid less than $9 an hour to rebuild their communities."

It is owned by Wall Street Journal and the guy who wrote the article seems reputable enough. What the fuck is the matter now? You can't handle the reality?Mesa, that comment is extremely ironic coming from you.
Anyway, I was merely pointing out that an editorial is not usually the best form of support. That is "reality". And besides, anything that has the word "Freedom" in it deserves scruitiny, just as anything that has the word "Republic" (Peoples' Republic of China) or "Democratic" (Germand Democratic Republic or Democratic Republic of Congo). Just because it agrees with you doesn't make it "real".
If that was my credo, you'd be seeing a heck of a lot more opinion sites for my sources.

Mesa, that comment is extremely ironic coming from you.
Anyway, I was merely pointing out that an editorial is not usually the best form of support. That is "reality". And besides, anything that has the word "Freedom" in it deserves scruitiny, just as anything that has the word "Republic" (Peoples' Republic of China) or "Democratic" (Germand Democratic Republic or Democratic Republic of Congo). Just because it agrees with you doesn't make it "real".
If that was my credo, you'd be seeing a heck of a lot more opinion sites for my sources.

I wonder why i had you on my ignore list. I try not to keep grudges, but when you say things so mind blowingly ignorant and false, I really must wonder. The editorial cites facts.

why don't you post something directly disputing it, oh smart one?

Spirit of 9/11 remarks? I think it is fine by me to remind people why this nation must stand strong against terrorism.I'm a little confused. What's the link between Katrina and terrorism? Or was the Spirit of 9/11 comment supposed to be something along the lines of "Sorry about Katrina; we're doing our best. But don't forget about the terrorists either!"?

I'm a little confused. What's the link between Katrina and terrorism? Or was the Spirit of 9/11 comment supposed to be something along the lines of "Sorry about Katrina; we're doing our best. But don't forget about the terrorists either!"?

I thought the Spirit of 9/11 remarks were about unity concerning 9/11? I didn't say anything about Katrina did I. Those al qaeda guys must be awfully smart making a hurricane... not. I never said that.. so please don't misconstrue what I said.

I think its because he wants to remin the American citizens of what happened. He wants the population to stay in a state of fear by reminding them of the past and by showing and talking about whats happening in New Orleans.

FEMA can act without the state asking them to.

The second known time that FEMA stood by was in 1990 when Desert Storm was enacted. Prior to President Bush's invasion of Iraq, FEMA began to draft new legislation to increase its already formidable powers. One of the elements incorporated into the plan was to set up operations within any state or locality without the prior permission of local or state authorities. Such prior permission has always been required in the past. Much of the mechanism being set into place was in anticipation of the economic collapse of the Western World. The war with Iraq may have been conceived as a ploy to boost the bankrupt economy, but it only pushed the West into deeper recession.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11921 allows the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency to develop plans to establish control over the mechanisms of production and distribution, of energy sources, wages, salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial institution in any undefined national emergency. It also provides that when a state of emergency is declared by the President, Congress cannot review the action for six months. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has broad powers in every aspect of the nation. General Frank Salzedo, chief of FEMA's Civil Security Division stated in a 1983 conference that he saw FEMA's role as a "new frontier in the protection of individual and governmental leaders from assassination, and of civil and military installations from sabotage and/or attack, as well as prevention of dissident groups from gaining access to U.S. opinion, or a global audience in times of crisis."
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/fema.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Federal_Emergency_Management_Agency

I thought the Spirit of 9/11 remarks were about unity concerning 9/11? I didn't say anything about Katrina did I. Those al qaeda guys must be awfully smart making a hurricane... not. I never said that.. so please don't misconstrue what I said.I'm not really misconstruing what you said; just asking for clarification on your clarification of Bush's statement, where he did ask for the So911 in response to Katrina.

Wow, this's far more convoluted a clarification of my clarification question than I wanted it to be. >_>;;

I wonder why i had you on my ignore list. I try not to keep grudges, but when you say things so mind blowingly ignorant and false, I really must wonder. The editorial cites facts.

why don't you post something directly disputing it, oh smart one?Very well:
He's got some very valid points. Those are cases in which the local governments failed. I'm not going to blame Bush for reducing the levee budget, because as far as I've heard, the levees wouldn't have been ready at the time. What the editorial fails to address, however, is the failure of national aid efforts to get underway after it was clear that the local effort was overwhelmed. This is in part due to Bush's policy of putting people that might not be qualified for the job into important positions. The comments made by the Secretary of Homeland Security, which is responsible for dealing with situations like these, among other things, were particularly disgusting. It's one thing to be doing things to slowly, but when you deny that that's happening, you're doing something wrong.
The editorial only tells a part of the story. That's the problem with it. The blame goes everywhere. Not just to Bush, and not just to the local governments.
Bush isn't directly responsible for the fiasco, but his policy of whom to put into positions of power is part of the reason why there was such a leadership vacuum after the hurricane struck.
What I personally blame him for is going and staging a big PR show in some places.

Look, I don't want to make this political (and I was doing so out of anger) because two of my relatives were in New Orleans at the time. My dad's side is pretty rich, but these two relatives who were hit by the disaster turned around and donated $100,000 for the relief efforts themselves.

We should just pick of the pieces and work on reconstruction. We can think about what to do better after the work is done.

Look, I don't want to make this political (and I was doing so out of anger) because two of my relatives were in New Orleans at the time. My dad's side is pretty rich, but these two relatives who were hit by the disaster turned around and donated $100,000 for the relief efforts themselves.My condolences. I hope they're alright.

We should just pick of the pieces and work on reconstruction. We can think about what to do better after the work is done.Thing is, some of us are afraid that by the time the work is done, the evidence is going to be erased...
[/Battery :( ]

I don't know what the spirit of 9/11 is

I think that it could be a nice point if meant like the spirit of kindness that I saw almost everyone treating each other with after it happened. It was kinda eery but nice at the same time. :)

yes I know some people weren't treated so kindly afterwards and thats not so nice :(

I hope he doesn't mean the sense of outrage and wanting to make someone pay for it. Although both are happening because of katrina so um... I dunno what i'm talkign about.

It is owned by Wall Street Journal and the guy who wrote the article seems reputable enough. What the fuck is the matter now? You can't handle the reality?

The Wall Street Journal is third only to the New York Post and Washington Times for right wing crap.

It's like the Bizarro New York Times. It's got an editorial page full of retarded crap, but the actual news stories aren't half bad. Like how they said that the crime rate was 3% lower under Bush Jr, than under Clinton, but they were taking those statistics from the first year of each of those presidencies. i.e. Comparing the crime statistics that Clinton inherited from Bush Sr. to the statistics that Jr, inherited from Clinton and then blaming Clinton for Sr's statistics and crediting Jr, with Clintons.

If you're citing an opinion journal by the guy who owns the Wall Street Journal, then you may as well quote the White House Press Secretary.

The sprirt of 9/11 to non americans demonstrats the need and fun of killing americans!!!
Do yourself in, instead, please.

He never screwed New Orleans. The mayor of new orleans and governor did that very well. :rolleyes: I can't believe you harp on about falsehoods.

Oh, so Bush is a liar when he took responsibility?

Oh, so Bush is a liar when he took responsibility?

Don't bother pointing that out. Any Republican actually capable of hearing that information has either become a democrat or his head has exploded. The rest survive by a sort of selective deafness. So selective in fact, that it extends to the written word.

Don't bother pointing that out. Any Republican actually capable of hearing that information has either become a democrat or his head has exploded. The rest survive by a sort of selective deafness. So selective in fact, that it extends to the written word.

And ignore options for the forums. ;)

maybe he shall start a war on tornadoes

What was Bush doing the day of, the day after and the day after that when the hurricane hit? Praying? Maybe that is what saved Fats Domino.
"God told me to strike at al Quaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did." -- George W. Bush , Friday morning September 16, 2005

The Spirit of 9\11? Bah, humbug!