Pot? Kettle?
24 comments on this postWhile I am certainly not upset with Laura Bush for involving herself in the crisis in Burma, I can't help but think - where were you in August 2005? I have always thought the the administration could have somewhat redeemed itself if Mrs. Bush had dedicated herself to some aspect of rehabilitating Louisiana or Mississippi. Mrs. Bush has said that the response to the cyclone is the most recent example of the junta's failure to meet its people's basic needs. Two of Mrs. Bush's other ironic quotes about the cyclone victims:
"this is an opportunity for the Burmese regime to show it does care about the welfare of its people."
"the government's performance in the lead up to the storm shows Burma's leaders are inept."
I recall that a few days after Hurricane Katrina hit, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin gave a similar speech in which he criticized the Bush Administration for the insufficient reinforcements they provided. I also recall that Bush didn't even call off his vacation until more than a day after the hurricane hit - AND she criticizes another government for failing to show that it "cares" about its citizens?
Mrs. Bush has rightly criticized the Burmese government for impeding relief efforts. I was similarly incensed when I read reports of the impediments to the dispersion of relief supplies to the hurricane victims. You may remember that FEMA was accused of DELIBERATELy slowing down the relief process by (1) interfering with the Astor Hotel's plans to hire 10 buses to carry 500 or so guests to higher ground, (2) turning away 3 Wal-Mart trailers loaded with water, (3) preventing the Coast Guard from delivering 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, (4) blocking more than 50 civilian aircraft responding to separate requests for evacuations from hospitals and other agencies, and on and on.
I know these two disasters are of vastly different proportions. Nonetheless, I am amazed that she can be so critical of Burma's response without at least giving some sort of caveat such as acknowledging that the Bush Administration "learned a great deal" from its response - or lack thereof - to Hurricane Katrina. The Administration's response was a disaster in itself. Who knows how many Americans died because of our government's ineptness? Does she think we forgot?
Politics aside, I encourage you to consider making a donation to one of the many organizations working to help the families of the thousands of victims and the hundreds of thousands of homeless. You can help the victims by making a donation to one of the agencies listed here which is preparing supplies to be delivered as quickly as possible.
"this is an opportunity for the Burmese regime to show it does care about the welfare of its people."
"the government's performance in the lead up to the storm shows Burma's leaders are inept."
I recall that a few days after Hurricane Katrina hit, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin gave a similar speech in which he criticized the Bush Administration for the insufficient reinforcements they provided. I also recall that Bush didn't even call off his vacation until more than a day after the hurricane hit - AND she criticizes another government for failing to show that it "cares" about its citizens?
Mrs. Bush has rightly criticized the Burmese government for impeding relief efforts. I was similarly incensed when I read reports of the impediments to the dispersion of relief supplies to the hurricane victims. You may remember that FEMA was accused of DELIBERATELy slowing down the relief process by (1) interfering with the Astor Hotel's plans to hire 10 buses to carry 500 or so guests to higher ground, (2) turning away 3 Wal-Mart trailers loaded with water, (3) preventing the Coast Guard from delivering 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, (4) blocking more than 50 civilian aircraft responding to separate requests for evacuations from hospitals and other agencies, and on and on.
I know these two disasters are of vastly different proportions. Nonetheless, I am amazed that she can be so critical of Burma's response without at least giving some sort of caveat such as acknowledging that the Bush Administration "learned a great deal" from its response - or lack thereof - to Hurricane Katrina. The Administration's response was a disaster in itself. Who knows how many Americans died because of our government's ineptness? Does she think we forgot?
Politics aside, I encourage you to consider making a donation to one of the many organizations working to help the families of the thousands of victims and the hundreds of thousands of homeless. You can help the victims by making a donation to one of the agencies listed here which is preparing supplies to be delivered as quickly as possible.
By Sophie - 5/08/2008
24 Comments:
Did you ever ask why the people who were warned well ahead of time never left the area? Tell me you wouldn't grab a backback and start walking.
You can't fix stupid. Don't blame the government for that.
And our military rose to the occassion.
Coast Guard Response
Medical Reserve Response to Katrina
Rapes in the Superdome? Anarchy? Surely you know these were lies.
Could it have been handled better? Absolutely...all the way from the Democratic mayor and governor on up to the President. But for God's sake, grow up, analyze what happened, and quit blaming Bush. God forbid the greatest natural disaster in US history happens under Obama (or Hillary).
You may remember that FEMA was accused of DELIBERATELy slowing down the relief process by (1) interfering with the Astor Hotel's plans to hire 10 buses to carry 500 or so guests to higher ground, (2) turning away 3 Wal-Mart trailers loaded with water, (3) preventing the Coast Guard from delivering 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, (4) blocking more than 50 civilian aircraft responding to separate requests for evacuations from hospitals and other agencies, and on and on.
Uh...could that have been because of the reports of hostile fire coming out of the affected area? Did you even pay attention to what was happening? They wouldn't send anything in until they knew it was safe.
ALL BUSH'S FAULT. Sing it with me, people. ALL BUSH-ESSSSSSS FAULT.
God you all have some growing up to do.
So do I get an award for "psycho poster on a liberal blog?" Can I write my own post and get it on here one day?
Pretty please.
Amen to the blog post.
Russ? Many of the people who were in NOLA when the hurricane hit were people who, right or wrong, get government checks at the beginning of the month. The hurricane hit at the end of the month.
Oh, and in case you were not aware, the hurricane passed the NOLA area and THEN the levies broke.
And let's not even get started on the military part. Mmmkay?
Your knowledge and compassion are impressive.
Russ, I worked in the shelters in Texas after the disaster.
There were plenty of rape victims. Most were housed together in the special needs areas of the shelters. I spoke to some of them. One woman was raped on the roof of the Convention Center. I saw the bruises on her legs.
It's easier to believe that it's all urban legend than face the truth of what happened and didn't happen.
Many of the people who were in NOLA when the hurricane hit were people who, right or wrong, get government checks at the beginning of the month. The hurricane hit at the end of the month.
Maybe it's time to stop relying on the government, hmm-kay?
There were plenty of rape victims. Most were housed together in the special needs areas of the shelters. I spoke to some of them. One woman was raped on the roof of the Convention Center. I saw the bruises on her legs.
I trimmed my bushes over the weekend and have bruises on my legs. I do not want to diminish rape, but if what you say is true, then why aren't you making a big stink about it? I would.
And do not tell me people won't listen...the media digs that stuff. If you don't make a big stink about it, and you believe it happened, you should be ashamed.
Fer real.
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I will not entertain rearguing the failures of Katrina.
But I am glad that I am reminded that Russ has absolutely zero crediblity after his disgracefully inaccurate and ignorant comments made about Katrina.
Great post Sophie.
Sophie,
We do know how many American died. 1,836. It was mishandled on every level.
I don't think that you should be upset that the First Lady is critical of the junta in Myanmar. They are refusing aid and reports are coming out that up to 500,000 people could be dead from this disaster.
I do not know if the 500,000 number is correct. Our august media was reporting over 100,000 deaths from Katrina, but sensationalism is what sells newspapers.
as someone who was fascinated by the katrina fiasco and it's aftermath, from a personal and public administration level, this is the greatest blog entry. i heart you sophie. LOL
russ, i gotta disagree. miscommunications and stupid decisions on both sides of the aisle, nagin, bush, landrieux, fema etc, all screwed the pooch. it was stupidly handled from the top to the bottom. i have analyzed the situation and the bush administration is to blame for the federal f-ups. who else could be? as he is in charge, the responsibility falls on his retarded head. president slappy is the one with katrina's failures on his resume.
additionally, i don't know if you've seen it, but president slappy fixed one problem that occurred by signing into law, a regulation that if a natural disaster occurs, the military can come in and help, regardless of the governors wishes. nice, huh? as the ruler of your state (governor), you have absolutely no say when the military shows up to take over your fiefdom.
president slappy and his band of merry morons can't be out of office soon enough.
Russ doesn't believe people were raped, but he believes the military did a great job.
Update: the UN has had to stop all shipments of aid to Burma because the military is seizing the supplies.
While it is hypocritical of anyone in this administration to criticize a country for a bad response to ANY situation, the Burmese government has reached a new low.
When are you guys going to bring up Hillary's racist attack on Obama supporters? We know Annie won't comment on it and if Chuck brings it up he will get attacked. What's the point in this site anymore? Get some backbone Kyle and make Annie address these issues or fire her for being the equivalent of that dumbass from Texas
But I am glad that I am reminded that Russ has absolutely zero crediblity after his disgracefully inaccurate and ignorant comments made about Katrina.
I'm heart-broken.
Sammeee, Amen. I was reminded of that bill last night. Nice to think that the person a state elects to handle its management could have no say in the management of disaster relief.
Terra-
Thanks for the update. It seems that one of the main problems that could be multiplied by the lag in delivery of aid is the the possibility of the further spread of diseases such as malaria.
Russ-
With regard to your criticism of "the people who were warned well ahead of time" that never left the area", we clearly have a different perspective on the way a person's resources impact their response to a disaster like this. I presume that a large number victims from both the tsunami and the cyclone, even if they had been warned, likely wouldn't have left their source of livelihood - the land and/or their boats, etc.
One reason they won't allow aid, especially from the US, is because they're afraid of outside countries taking over. We have made a mess of our reputation abroad, and the people of Burma will suffer for it. Their leaders are afraid of the US invading them like we did Iraq - without cause - to bring about regime change. They are paranoid, sure, but our actions don't help!
I love it
I knew the US would be blamed by some for the horrific situation in Burma. Anon thank you for not disapointing me.
Annon why dont you learn a little about the regime in that country before you make your absurd comments. They are a bunch of narco thugs. They dont give a shit about their people.
As far as Katrina we have spent more on real dollars there than the entire Marshall plan. I hate to say it but part of the problem is you cant help people that dont want to help themselves. Yes I know that doesnt include all of the victims but it is true of many.
Russ,
Repeat after me--"the US is the evil empire and the cause of all that is bad". Say it over and over until the concept makes sense and overrides any facts to the contrary. Trust me it will make you feel better and eventually you will become open minded, compassionate and superior.
good luck
Fred - You are absolutely right about the corruption and cruelty of the Burmese government. In terms of Katrina, we have to remember that quite a bit of government money was spent immediately after the hurricane to help with removing debris. Also, quite a bit was misspent by the government on half-assed programs meant to help relocate and temporarily house people. Certainly there have been those who have taken advantage of the FEMA debit cards, and, for the life of me, I don't understand why there weren't more government restrictions to make sure that such violations wouldn't take place. I think the fact of the matter is that the government, at every level, was not prepared to handle something like this.
dear fred. your retarted.
no one is blaming the US for the Burmese (Myanmarian?) woes. we're merely comparing the clusterfuck that is going on in Myanmar with that which occurred after Katrina. The US government screwed the pooch then, and the Myanmar government is doing it now. What I believe Sophie's point was, since you missed it blatantly, was that Mrs. President Slappy is calling them morons for their mishandling when her husband did no better; in fact worse, as we have tons of money to assist those in dire situations yet did not. Please, refrain from your vitriol until you can grasp the basis of the conversation. Like a child, better to be seen than heard.
Sammee,
Anon stated that because of our actions the narco thugs will not allow us to assist them in helping their people who are in dire straits and without the aid it is going to cause additional deaths and suffering(my addition). I may be a retard but the simple logic seems to be because of our previous actions their understandable pariona is going to result in additional deaths and suffering.
Sammee feel free to call me a retard but I would assume a person that is as educated and progressive as yourelf might feel to use that term is being insensitive to special needs people.
Well Fred, if it walks like a duck, talks like duck.........
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