Bush in No Hurry on Katrina Recovery (even GOPers slam Darwinian approach)

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Bush Is in No Hurry on Katrina Recovery
The president's go-slow approach is called a recipe for chaos, even by fellow Republicans.

By Peter G. Gosselin, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — Almost two months after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast and a month after promising in a nationally televised speech to help rebuild the region "quickly," President Bush has settled on a cautious, piecemeal approach that even many members of his own party fear will stall reconstruction and sow economic disarray.

Bush has made highly publicized trips to Louisiana and Mississippi on average of once a week since the storm, but the administration has yet to introduce legislation for two of the three proposals the president highlighted during his September speech from New Orleans.

In the case of the third proposal, $5,000 accounts to help workers left unemployed by the hurricane, an administration-drafted House bill would provide aid for fewer than a quarter of the jobless.

Despite mounting evidence that Washington is having trouble putting to use most of the $62 billion in emergency funds approved by Congress so far, the president has resisted appointing a recovery coordinator or further detailing his vision of how to tackle rebuilding. In interviews last week, he explained that he wanted state and local officials to act first....

***

"Laissez-faire, Darwinian capitalism is not going to work here," (Jack Kemp, Housing and Urban Development Secretary under George H. W. Bush) said. "Markets do work, but they need the direction of government in situations like this."



http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-katrina17oct17,0,1240995,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[SammyBlue]

1. Anyone surprised? They are only poor, black people.

In his mind, fuck 'em. I'm not surprised.

[peace frog]

6. Poor black people are not known to be Bush supporters

or to vote Republican in general. In the recent words of Neil Boortz, they "don't achieve squat. They sit around all the time waiting for somebody else to take care of them. They have children they can't afford. They're uneducated. They can barely read. And the high point of their day is Entertainment Tonight on TV." With such prevailing Repub attitudes towards the minority poor, one can hardly expect Dubya to lift a finger to help.... he doesn't give two shits if black NO ever comes back.

[nickgutierrez]

15. Exactly right, unfortunately.

"George Bush doesn't care about black people." - Kanye West

And he's right, too.

[AndyTiedye]

16. Bush is Polling *2%* From Black Voters

Even David Duke and George Wallace never got that low.

[AspenRose]

31. "They have children they can't afford"

But...but....what about being PRO LIFE and everything? Compassionate Conservatism?

Oh yeah, it's WHITE PEOPLE you don't want aborting their children. Just black people. A la Bennett.

Oh no, I've never seen WHITE PEOPLE having children they can't afford...like going to fertility clinics so they can have 7 or 8 or 9 kids at the same time and then turn around and have corporations donating formula, clothes, etc. I guess that's just fine. :sarcasm:

Sick, disgusting people.

[fleabert]

2. george bush doesn't care about black people

kanye had it right from the git-go...

[Miss Chybil]

11. You're wrong.

George Bush doesn't care about any people, unless they're rich and Republican - and, I'm sure, preferably white.

[fleabert]

20. you are right.

Kanye just didn't take it far enough.

[ClintonTyree]

3. god will provide.......

it was god's will that Katrina struck in the first place, god will rebuild the city when and how he sees fit. Just wait, god will provide. I'm sure god and bush have talked this over many times, there's nothing to worry about! :sarcasm:

[WePurrsevere]

4. Many theists forget that although they may truly believe that

their Divine/Great Spirit "will provide".... when they're rapidly headed towards a waterfall in a dingy... THEY still need to ROW. ;)

[Lerkfish]

7. many groups sending money and aid to katrina victims, as well as

welcoming them into individual homes, are theists.

I'm just sayin.

:shrug:

[WePurrsevere]

23. I'm sure non-Christians such as Pagans, Atheists, etc have also donated &

helped in cases like 9-11, Katrina, etc.

IME donating, helping and caring are far from being exclusive to Christianity.

[Lerkfish]

26. no, but you were precluding them out of hand in your post

that I replied to. You were implying theists AREN"T providing aid. I merely pointed out that in fact, they were.

I never said non-theists weren't...that would have meant making as wrong a statement as you had, that i was replying to.

[WePurrsevere]

27. No... I was responding to both original & "God will provide" post...

that while it's fine to believe that "God will provide" you still need to take action (row) which Bush is slow on.

FYI - I *am* a theist and have donated and helped many times and fully realize others do as well. I also have a DD and good friends that are atheists who are generous and willing to help folks.

I'm not quite sure how you came to the conclusion you did from my post but apparently my point was missed or misunderstood so I apologize for the lack of clarity and my misunderstanding that you were somehow saying that non-theists were not as giving.

[Lerkfish]

28. ahhh. apologies.

I wasn't reading the thread in the hierarchical format and missed that your post was in repsonse to another post.

at any rate, quite enough misunderstanding to go around, I'll drink my share and apologize.

:)

[ticapnews]

21. Reminds me of the flood...

A man heard a report on the radio that a flood was coming. He ignored an evacuation order and said that he trusted in the Lord and the Lord would save him. It started raining and the water rose. The man refused to leave - God would save him. The rain continued and the water rose higher, so the man climbed to the roof of his house. Another man in a boat came along, but the man refused rescue and said that he trusted in the Lord and the Lord would save him. Alone on the roof of his flooded house, without food or clean water the man got sick. A helicopter came by and dropped a rescue rope. The man refused saying that he trusted in the Lord and the Lord would save him.

Slowly the man wasted away and finally died. When he arrived at the Pearly Gates he demanded an audience with God and said "Lord, I trusted you to save me and you let me die alone." God replied "I sent you a weather report, a boat and a helicopter - what were you waiting for?"

[WePurrsevere]

25. Thanks for reminding me of that one. I've heard it before & enjoyed it.

:)

n/t

[WePurrsevere]

5. Hey BushCo - "ACTIONS speak louder then WORDS" n/t

[hatrack]

8. Well, shit, Jack - lassiez-faire social Darwinism is what you guys DO

Why the surprised fake indignation??

[DrZeeLit]

10. Isn't "laissez-faire social Darwinism" a redundant phrase?

I mean... laissez faire means "leave alone to do" which sort of equals "evolve."
And "social Darwinism" means "evolve" or "strong survive in the social milieu" = evolve.

Just a thought.

I hate to say this, but I used to sorta like Jack Kemp, from a moderate POV.
Where the heck has he been? He cannot possibly stand *? Can't see him on that bandwagon.

[newspeak]

29. social darwinism is a crock!!!

a crock 100 years ago, a crock now. it's taking natural Darwinism to an all time low! Anybody remember the Russian scientist who observed animals in Siberia who came up with the theory that animals actually work together to survive. so some trustee baby, who couldn't even blow his nose without help, but can cheat, steal, lie is there because he's the fittest!!!!

[DrZeeLit]

32. Exactly. Good explanation of the side they never use for an example. nt/

[not fooled]

33. Yeah, if social Darwinism really existed...

...* would be working in a 7-11 right now. :eyes:

[No Exit]

9. Some of those people were Bush supporters

For example, I'd be willing to bet that most of the St. Bernard Parish people were staunch Bush supporters. They are not evangelicals--they are Catholics. But I'm sure they voted for Bush.

St. Bernard Parish is across a canal from Orleans Parish's Ninth Ward. St. Bernard Parish was devastated just as the lower Ninth Ward was.

Then there is Cajun country--victim of Rita. The Cajuns were also, for the most part, Bush supporters.

I love both those areas, but I know the people there had not yet seen the light.

Well, well, my friends... what do you think of your president NOW?

[KamaAina]

14. Yeah you right. St. Bernard went 2-1 for King Dumbass**

as did Plaquemines. In fact in one of the most competitive of Southern states they may have made the difference. Somehow I don't think it'll happen again...

Actually St. Bernard is separated from the Lower Ninth Ward only by Jackson Barracks (LA NG, half of which is still guarding Iraq :grr: ); the Industrial Canal separates both from the rest of N.O., which is why they were "protected" by a separate levee system. There are signs that the two are at long last making common cause around the issues of levees, wetlands reclamation, etc.

[Tomee450]

22. Many people in Louisiana

haven't seen the light. It's as if the Civil Rights era never affected them. I think Louisiana almost elected David Duke.

[pitohui]

24. new orleans/orleans parish was overwhelmingly for kerry

just an fyi

[nvliberal]

12. What a bunch of fakes.

They try to play both sides of the fence, and they lie through their teeth doing it.

And those people who want to cut the budget on the backs of working people and the poor are NOT "fiscal conservatives."

That's SUCH a con. The day they push and actually implement repeal of the obscene tax cuts for the wealthy and put through a timetable for withdrawing out of Iraq is the day I will EVER take these people seriously.

[Brooklyn Michael]

13. The one time the right believes in ANY kind of Darwinism

...and it's the one where "only the rich survive".

I'm shocked....SHOCKED, I tell you.

[Beetwasher]

17. Coldly Calculated

He's hoping it falls off the front pages and out of people's consciousness and he won't have to do anything at all except funnel more money to Halliburton for doing nothing.

[Gloria]

18. "cautious, piecemeal approach"--what does that mean?? Mr. "Bold"

Bush doesn't know about being cautious...is this a nice way to say that it's a big mess??? More INCOMPETENCE??? Or just lack of will??

Probably both. Buscho doesn't give a damn...let the locals do it, all of a sudden? Well, let the locals do it and let them tell Bush's buddies like Halliburton to go screw themselves and hire local people at the prevailing wage....

[camero]

19. It's all part of the plan

Bush's solution to all problems are to ignore them, wait for the situation to destabilize sufficiently, then send in the military. Figures if the situation gets bad enough, people will be screaming for dictatorship and fascism. I'm seeing seeds of that now where I live.

[Lisa]

30. DARWIN would slam the "Darwinian" approach ...

He was a humanist who opposed slavery. Unlike the Bushies, he didn't run riot and start applying bastardized versions of the theory of natural selection to justify pre-existing biases against the poor, different ethnic groups, etc.

From what I have read, he was closer to Dickens in his sympathies, than to laissez-faire capitalist tycoons. After his death, while the 20th century saw many cases of environmental determinism (and eugenics) being applied to public policy, it's important to remember that there are plenty of evolutionary biologists who didn't have an axe to grind about privatization, etc.

Just as Malthus never argued that poor people should be "culled" to save on welfare expenditures (which one of my teachers once tried to argue).