history lesson

[Dan Scanlan <coolhanduke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Subject: How SHOULD A President Respond?...A history lesson

In September 1999, Hurricane Floyd -- a category 3 -- was bearing
down  on the  Carolinas and Virginia.

President Clinton was in Christchurch, New Zealand - meeting with
President Jiang of China (you know, actually working). He made the
proclamation that only Presidents can make and declared the areas
affected by Floyd "Federal  Disaster Areas" so the National Guard and
Military can begin to  mobilize. Then  he cut short his meetings
overseas and flew home to coordinate the  rescue efforts.  This all
one day BEFORE a Cat-3 hit the coast. That is  how you do it.

How about this President's own father during Hurricane Andrew?  Once
again,  President Bush (41) -- August, 1992 --was in the midst of a
brutal  campaign for re-election.  Yet, he cut off his campaigning
the day  before and went to  Washington where he martialed the
largest military operation on US soil  in  history.  He sent in 7,000
National Guard and 22,000 regular military  personnel, and all the
gear to begin the clean up within hours after  Andrew passed through
Florida.

"Cause, you know, those people and their stuff was actually where it
belonged, rather than being used for insurgent target-practice
halfway  around the world in a vain effort to make Iraq safe for
Iranian  takeover."

In August of 1969 when Cat-5 Hurricane Camille hit roughly the same
area  as  Katrina, President Nixon had already readied the National
Guard and  ordered  all Gulf rescue vessels and equipment from Tampa
and Houston to follow  the  Hurricane in. There were over 1,000
regular military with two dozen  helicopters to assist the Coast
Guard and National Guard within hours  after the skies cleared.

Bush 43 - August 2005 - Cat-5 Hurricane Katrina bears down on New
Orleans and the Mississippi gulf.  Both states are down nearly 8,000
National Guard troops because they are in Iraq -- with most of  the
rescue gear needed.

Bush is on vacation.  The day before Katrina makes landfall, Bush
rides  his bike for two hours. The day she hits, he goes to John
McCain's  birthday party;and lies to old people about the multi-
billion-dollar  pharmaceutical company welfare boondoggle.

People are dying, the largest port of entry in the United States
(and  fifth largest in the World) is under attack. Troops and
supplies are  desperately needed. The levees are cracking and the
emergency 1-1/2 ton  sandbags are ready, but there aren't enough
helicopters or pilots to set  them before the levees fail. The mayor
of New Orleans begs for Federal  coordination, but there is none, and
the sandbagging never gets done.

So Bush -- naturally -- goes to San Diego, to play guitar with
country  singer and lie to the military about how Iraq is just
exactly like WWII. The levees give way, filling New Orleans with
water, sewage, oil and chemicals.  Ten percent of all US exports, and
50% of all agricultural  exports ordinarly go through this port.  It
is totally destroyed.

Bush decides he'll end his vacation a couple of days early --
TOMORROW  --BECAUSE HE HAS TICKETS TO A  PADRES GAME!

He goes back to the farm in Crawford, with every intention of doing
something on WEDNESDAY about this disaster that happened starting
last SUNDAY night.  He had time for a couple of rounds of golf, too.

Now, aren't you swelling with pride. Send it around so others can
feel  the relief.