It's the last day of my holiday, and the weather has been superb. We spent the day in
Southport having got there by train. It's the first time we've ever traveled that route by train, and it goes through some really beautiful countryside. It also follows the canal which we will have to cycle in the near future.
Southport is an up-market Blackpool with a wide variety of attractions. The main one is the beach, and when the tide goes out, it can go out for a mile or more! Did the usual things; walked the pier, had an ice-cream, went into the 'Penny arcade' - which uses old, pre-decimal pennies, went to a pub for lunch, had a pint and a half of Thoroughbred - so did Christine, Fish and Chips, more time on the beach and tried to get to the sea, then back home on the train. During all this, I read the Sunday Papers and a couple of articles caught my eye.
From
The Observer:
- Bush at Bay; From Baghdad to Biloxi, the President has never been so assailed by such vitriolic criticism.
- Hurricane Katrina; Special Report - a compilation of reports on the devastation and its aftermath, both social and political.
From
The Independent on Sunday:
- New Orleans; Highwater Hell; A detailed report on conditions in New Orleans, with links to other articles reporting on the hurricane and aftermath.
Bush appears to be an easy target, and clearly many others have to shoulder blame for what has happened - but the "buck stops at Bush's desk". Everytime some major disaster occurs, he looks just like a scared rabbit caught in the headlights, and it's not helped by the fact his mouth appears to be smirking. I'm sure he is genuinely horrified, it's just that America is burdened by a President, that is effectively clueless and helpless when it comes to protecting people at home. He, and the American people, have much, much more to fear from nature, than any terrorist attack. Nature kills a lot more people!
5 comments:
Unfortunatly, Bush is not up for reelection, however the members of the House will be. It is America's citizens responsibility for voting out the ineffective congresspersons.
In addition, FEMA was once well-respected, but once it fell under Homeland Security, it was lost in the beauracracy. Not high priority unless it's a terrorist threat.
An example...the US Foresty Service offered planes to be used (that normally dump water on forest fires) to be used to combat inaccesable fires in New Orleans. After two days, they still weren't approved. Baffles the mind. I am ashamed.
The Observer loves to villianize Bush. While many of the papers over here love to do that as well, there is a bit more balanced presentation of what Bush has done. Or just read bloggs for a more widspread presentation. ;)
Thanks for stopping by, I like a good argument, even if it means agreeing to disagree.
Cheers
Matt
MattJonesBlog.com
Many thanks mattithyahu, but when even Fox News is openly critical of Bush, it seems that there is a growing realisation that papers such The Observer/Guardian have been correct in there assessment of Bush.
I do read a variety of blogs from all spectrums, but at the end of the day, the left of centre blogs do tend to match my view point of why humanity is here. A civilisation is judged by what it does to the least of its citizens.
I honestly think that the only time Bush gets worried is when his PR starts to wane. Then you'll see him plastered all over the place by our free (snort) press with concerned looks and hugging specially screened "survivors".
We've learned over here, Mark...that when a disaster strikes our nation, we are on our own. Our government is no longer by the people and for the people.
You are so right Jay. The moment you get the Feds involved, you have a cluster-f*ck.
I am just catching up on what happened during my wk-end away, & obviously the guys at FEMA should all be forced to move their families to the Big Easy & live under their own inane rules.
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