Oh, for chrissake. Apparently, lefties are now trying to blame the fires on Bush.
California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer complained on Capitol Hill Tuesday that the ability of the state's National Guard to respond to disasters like the fires has been compromised because too much of its equipment and personnel are committed in Iraq.Shut up, idiot.
GARAMENDI: Of course it's public relations. ... okay, President Bush comes out, we'll be polite. But frankly, that's not the solution. How about sending our National Guard back from Iraq? So that we have those people available here to help us?Shut up, idiots. That link notes how Bush was vilified for not visiting New Orleans until four days after Hurricane Katrina.[...]
MATTHEWS: Do you think the president's arrival will distract from the efforts to fight the fire?
GARAMENDI: Absolutely. No doubt about it.
Rep. Pete "Fortney" Stark said "These houses are being burned up for the President's amusement."Okay, I made that last one up.
Apparently, though, the Kos Kids are doing some major riffing on the Bush thing, but I won't even go there. Follow the links above for more, I'm out of time on this one.
Oh, except for noting that it's also getting blamed on global warming.
UPDATE: No cannibalism reported yet.
Posted by Ken S at October 24, 2007 07:27 AM | TrackBack (0) |My standard comment:
In these kinds of situations, you can be the kind of person who DOES something, even something small to help. Or, you can grandstand and contribute to the problem, and the further fraying of America, by pulling out your personal favorite dead horse and starting to beat it.
Both Boxer and Garamendi seem to enjoy flaying that horse corpse.
What we need is a giant "OFF TOPIC" bullhorn to blow when people start talking about this stuff. Not the time, not the place.
I will say - I'm glad to hear that Qualcomm Stadium, while not luxurious digs, and while it's full of worried people, does not seem to have descended into the chaos that the NOLA stadium did. (And I heard people interviewed who were staying at the stadium, almost to a person their comments were, "I'm grateful to be here, I'm glad my family's safe, the volunteers are doing everything they can to see that we're comfortable." ) And it also does my heart good to hear that there are so many volunteers wanting to help that they're almost having to turn people away.
Posted by: ricki at October 24, 2007 08:29 AMPeople like Boxer and others like the Kos kryers really have no idea what really being an American is all about.
Posted by: Val Prieto at October 24, 2007 08:33 AMTwo words: Katrina, bitches (it's rather like an urge to stand up and yell "SCOOOOOOREBOOOOOOOARD")
And ricki, they WERE turning volunteers away.
One more thing, Bush offered to be here YESTERDAY, but Ahnuld and others told him to stay away as he would be distracting. So he delayed his own trip two days.
Posted by: caltechgirl at October 24, 2007 09:27 AMFolks, no matter what Bush says or does, people will find some reason to poke him in the eye, often undeservedly. Bush Derangement Syndrome™ has been around long enough that some of the afflicted are entering the terminal stages.
Posted by: The_Real_JeffS at October 24, 2007 09:54 AMRe: update, Ken, doncha think that the Terminator actually touching an Important Person Who Is Employed By The MSM™ doesn't constitute cannablism, with intent, if not in fact? Journalists simply don't mingle with the proles.
Posted by: The_Real_JeffS at October 24, 2007 02:36 PMI'd call Garamendi a tool, but tools are useful.
Posted by: McGehee at October 24, 2007 03:16 PMHow often does the National Guard show up at forest fire scenes? What exactly are they expecting the NG to do, anyway?
Posted by: Alan K. Henderson, Juror Number Thirteen at October 24, 2007 09:59 PMAlan: I suspect that some of the folks calling for the National Guard have a belief in magic, i.e.: enough governmentally-related folks at the scene of some disaster magically makes the disaster go away.
And because they ALSO get to complain about Bush because some of the NG troops are in Iraq, it's a bonus.
That said - I suspect at least some of the NG guys are trained in firefighting or rescue or some other sort of skill that would come in handy.
Posted by: ricki at October 25, 2007 06:03 AM