Dubya saves 9,721 african-americans!!!

[dude1394]

With the Louisiana casualty rate coming in at 279 versus the hysterical 10,000 and 1,000 a day figures touted by the leaders of New Orleans...It's obvious that Dubya has just saved 9,721 citizens. Mostly african-american. Can you say Nobel Peace Prize??

nypost
washpost

But on Sunday, columnist Jack Kelly called Washington's response "the most monumental and successful disaster relief operation in world history."

An overstatement? Maybe.

Consider this, though:

* Tens of thousands of people were rescued, the levees have been plugged, water has been pumped out and a good chunk of the city is already dry.

* The Defense Department says that 70,073 active-duty and National Guard personnel are in the area.

* Some 346 helicopters, 68 planes, 20 Navy ships, 2,037 medical personnel and 789 field-hospital beds were present.

* Some 17 million meals have been given out.

[LRB]

It's obvious that Dubya has just saved 9,721 citizens

That's actually pretty darn funny, except maybe to the thousands who were rescued, who I'm sure for the most part are profoundly grateful for their lives and the help. It's wonderful news to hear that it looks like deaths will be far, far less than many local leaders believed.

[Drbio]

I have spent many hours with shelter victims and to a man they are grateful. I've yet to hear anyone complain about the federal response. I've heard some question Nagin and Louisiana, but not the federal government who by many accounts dropped food and water almost instantly. It was certainly a delayed response by a day but the logistics of that were understandable. The Cityand State effectively prevented an overnight federal response.

The people are grateful.

[chumdawg]

Thanks for pointing this out, dude. If George Bush truly didn't care about black people...they'd know it. They...would...know it.

[dude1394]

Mayor Nagin Blames Bush for Lower Body Count
by Scott Ott

(2005-09-12) -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin today blamed President George Bush for the lower-than-expected number of bodies discovered in the receding flood waters, and said it's part of a White House campaign "to prevent black people from getting what they deserve."

Last week, Mayor Nagin predicted that as many as 10,000 corpses would be found due to the Bush administration's slow response to the crisis, however, so far the total number of flood-related deaths is closer to 200.

"We were on track to have the most horrifying natural disaster in America's history," said the mayor, "but Bush knew that would generate huge compassion and lots of cash flowing to this predominantly-black community."

The former cable TV executive said that if the death count remains in the hundreds, rather than thousands, the big question will be 'who benefits?'

"Follow the money," said Mr. Nagin. "Low body-count means less federal aid and less redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor black folks of my city. You don't have to be a cable guy to figure out that this benefits George Bush and his rich cronies."

[dude1394]

HUD Unveils New Orleans Housing Concept
by Scott Ott

(2005-09-13) -- As part of a White House PR offensive to refute charges that President George Bush doesn't care about poor black people, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today unveiled a plan for rebuilding public housing in New Orleans that will ensure near-total evacuation of low-income residents in advance of future emergencies.

An artist's rendering of the proposed new public housing complex shows what appears to be a vast train yard, with thousands of Amtrak cars refitted as charming family residences. At the end of each column of railcar-homes, the sketch shows several engines.

"When the evacuation order comes," an unnamed HUD spokesman said, "the conductor hollers 'All aboard'. People get into their homes, and off we go."

The HUD source said the idea was proposed by Mr. Bush himself.

"Since the president takes the blame when people ignore evacuation orders, we're making it tougher to ignore them," said the spokesman. "Now, if you want to stay, that's fine...but your home is going to Chicago."

Amtrak is a quasi-governmental agency whose mission is to transport taxpayer dollars out of federal coffers to an undisclosed location.

[Hitman]

I am not a huge Bush supporter, but the spin of turning this natural disaster into an anti - Bush promotion was sickening.

Crying racism all the time is getting so old.

[LRB]

LOL Dude some really good stuff. Sad fact is it's probably not very far from what some local Louisiana offical are proposing and saying private.

[mavsman55]

No, that's not true. Bush doesn't care about black people dude!

[Drbio]

Originally posted by: Hitman
I am not a huge Bush supporter, but the spin of turning this natural disaster into an anti - Bush promotion was sickening.

Crying racism all the time is getting so old.

That is a refreshing and accurate post.

[LRB]

Originally posted by: Hitman
I am not a huge Bush supporter, but the spin of turning this natural disaster into an anti - Bush promotion was sickening.

Crying racism all the time is getting so old.

Not only does it get old, but it does a disservice to those who truely are the victims of racism because when the cry of racism is correctly raised the general public doesn't pay that much attention to it because of hearing it so oftwn when it has not be a valid case of racism. I appreciate your post very much on this issue Hitman.

[Usually Lurkin]

from the Corner:

Q: What is George W. Bush's position on Roe vs. Wade?

A: He really doesn't care how people got out of New Orleans.

[Drbio]

Good one UL.

[dude1394]

Boy THIS is a shocker!!

Whites, Blacks differ on Bush Govt's attitude to Katrina
Thursday September 15 2005 00:00 IST

Kamlendra Kanwar

NEW YORK: The views of Whites and Blacks in the US differ starkly on the attitude of the Bush administration to Hurricane Katrina, according to a survey carried by the leading newspaper USA Today.

To a question `Do you think President Bush cares about Black people,' while 67 percent of Whites said he cared, 72 percent Blacks felt that he did not care.

The poll was conducted by USA Today and CNN with Gallup Poll during September 8-11 and covered 1,005 adults.

Sixty percent of Blacks surveyed said the fact that most hurricane victims were poor and Black was one reason why the federal government failed to come to the rescue more quickly. The Whites overwhelmingly rejected that idea, with 9 out of 10 saying that these were not factors.

But golly gee dubya's poll numbers are up? Another swing and a miss it seems for the democrat media. We'll all wait for the next batch of hysterics from the lunatic fringe.

It is 46 percent as per this survey as against 45 percent in a Gallup poll 10 days earlier and a record low of 38 percent in a recent Newsweek poll.

[Mavdog]

up? they are at the lowest point of his term in office:

"The American public is highly critical of President Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Two-in-three Americans (67%) believe he could have done more to speed up relief efforts, while just 28% think he did all he could to get them going quickly. At the same time, Bush's overall job approval rating has slipped to 40% and his disapproval rating has climbed to 52%, among the highest for his presidency. Uncharacteristically, the president's ratings have slipped the most among his core constituents Â* Republicans and conservatives."

pew center

[reeds]

actually the casualty rate is still climbing. 474 in New Orleans, 711 total...

[Drbio]

Originally posted by: reeds
actually the casualty rate is still climbing. 474 in New Orleans, 711 total...

And reeds revels in every death.

[LRB]

Originally posted by: reeds
actually the casualty rate is still climbing. 474 in New Orleans, 711 total...

Reeds it's down right ghoulish the way you seemingly appear to rejoice in any reports of deaths that you can use in any way to make a political point. Just would question, would you be so free to post if it were your own children in the stastics would you exploit their deaths as well to make your political point?

[dude1394]

Originally posted by: reeds
actually the casualty rate is still climbing. 474 in New Orleans, 711 total...

Ding! Ding! Ding! The ghoul-o-meter rings up another soul.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally posted by: Mavdog
up? they are at the lowest point of his term in office:

"The American public is highly critical of President Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Two-in-three Americans (67%) believe he could have done more to speed up relief efforts, while just 28% think he did all he could to get them going quickly. At the same time, Bush's overall job approval rating has slipped to 40% and his disapproval rating has climbed to 52%, among the highest for his presidency. Uncharacteristically, the president's ratings have slipped the most among his core constituents - Republicans and conservatives."

pew center

A recent (sept. 11) ABC/WashPost poll found the same thing. It also found that roughly 2/3 of the people thought that state gov. deserved blame, and (surprise) 2/3 thought that local government deserved blame. It's no surprise that media isn't publishing the other two findings, which suggest that 2/3 of the people want to blame someone - anyone for the tragedy (but probably don't know enough to sort out who). The same poll found that an overwhelming majority of respondents thought that democratic criticism of the president is politically motivated. I also wonder if the polls would be finding this same level of satisfaction if the news sources focused on the good (pretty standard, maybe improved response by FEMA, vast numbers of people evacuated, vast numbers of people saved, largest relief effort in US history, etc.) rather than the bad.

[Mavdog]

Originally posted by: Usually Lurkin
A recent (sept. 11) ABC/WashPost poll found the same thing. It also found that roughly 2/3 of the people thought that state gov. deserved blame, and (surprise) 2/3 thought that local government deserved blame. It's no surprise that media isn't publishing the other two findings, which suggest that 2/3 of the people want to blame someone - anyone for the tragedy (but probably don't know enough to sort out who). The same poll found that an overwhelming majority of respondents thought that democratic criticism of the president is politically motivated. I also wonder if the polls would be finding this same level of satisfaction if the news sources focused on the good (pretty standard, maybe improved response by FEMA, vast numbers of people evacuated, vast numbers of people saved, largest relief effort in US history, etc.) rather than the bad.

the data is right there at the link. how anyone can claim " that [the] media isn't publishing the other two findings" when it's right there to read is beyond me.

[Usually Lurkin]

I wasn't pointing out bias at the pew research center, but at those media outlets that publish the data for general consumption.

here's an example: an MSNBC story on the pew poll:
here's what they have to say about the pres:

Two-thirds said the president could have done more to get relief efforts going quickly, according to the survey

Here's what they have to say about state and local governments:

but now that you mention it, count the number of questions asking about how Bush and the Feds may have done wrong in the pew poll, and count the number of questions asking about how Nagin and the city may have done wrong, and count the number of questions asking how Blanco and the state may have done wrong.

[LRB]

I might add UL even when MSM outlets publish the full results, the focus and emphasis is clearly on placing blame on the federal government. I mean when you publish that 67% dissapprove of Bush's actions in bold headlines and then announce else where in small print that the same 67% dissapprove of state and local government's response that denotes a clear attempt towards bias IMO. Why not just say that 67% polled dissapproved of government response on all levels? Maybe because that wouldn't meant the political agenda that most MSM outlets seem to exhibit.