My Own Public Service Announcement
In case anyone missed it, last night Rob heard on the radio that George Bush was telling all Americans not to buy gas, unless you need to.
Good thing he told us that. We routinely buy gas when we don't need it.
Ass.
Good thing he told us that. We routinely buy gas when we don't need it.
Ass.
30 Comments:
Oh Lord, I cannot even hear things about that man any more without wanting to vomit through my nose.
Really. We live in Lexinton, KY and the price is 3.09 and we're a really pedestrian-unfriendly town (no sidewalks anywhere) so we can't walk or bike even though I'd be willing to...
Can I just reiterate that again? Ass.
Bush may be an ass, but people going to fill up extra cars, gas cans, and lawn mowers are asses as well. They've clearly missed the message that their panic is a cause in the price spike.
Rebekah
What he meant was.... people are freaking out and buying UP gas that they don't need.
You know last week when the phones started ringing and emails were flying and everyone was rushing out at 10:00 pm to fill up their tanks, their mothers tanks, their containers, buying NEW gas cans and containers and filling those too....
and the next morning there were little yellow bags covering all the pumps because they were 'out' and having to wait for more gas deliveries.
Yeah... that's what he meant. Just buy your gas as you normally would and don't buy into the dramatics that people were.
Perhaps some of you may want to read what Bill Clinton said last night on CNN about the realities of federal response to this disaster.
Yeah, I'll only buy it if I need to. After all, I only heat my home or feed my family when I "need to." And aren't we sufferning from a shortage of clean air? Maybe I shouldn't breathe unless I really "need to." It steams me that people act as if gas is something we can do without. For right or wrong, and I tend to beleive it's wrong, we've become a nation way too dependent on oil (foreign or otherwise). It's not that people are unable to sacrifice convenience, it's that people NEED to get to work, the store, the doctor, school, etc. People aren't driving less because they already don't drive for recreational purposes most of the time.
And another thing. How many freaking vacations can our president take?! I swear I read far too often that Bush is "on vacation" at his ranch in Texas. Remember when protesters used to picket Washington? Wonder why that woman was protesting in Texas? Because Bush seems to belive the presidency is a 9-5, 25 week a year job. You know no one will step in to do anything about gas prices because those who can aren't typically affected by them (either because they're making money from them or have enough money that they can afford it).
Usually your posts are very funny and/or insightful and I enjoy reading them. You know what Bush meant when he made that comment--that he was referring to the people panicking and stockpiling gas. Today I just feel like your commentary is unworthy of you, and I'm sorry I bothered to read your blog.
Hmm. He meant that people are hoarding and this hoarding is going to result in an even more desperate crisis, price and supply wise. It has happened before.
Let's discuss asses. Could they be the person or persons who decided it would be a good idea to release prisoners into the Superdome filled with women and children. The number of rapes, murders and juvenille sexual abuse that are happening there are ureal.
Or could the real asses be the ones that decided to shoot guns at relief MILITARY helicopters that were bringing in food and water to them?
Or could it be the asses who decided to stay in their homes, that were below sea level, to weather out a Cat 4-5 hurricane????
Gosh, there is so much we can do to help. Let's direct our anger into relief for the ones who are suffering.
I think that was unfair. Lots of people ran out to top off tanks and fill containers, to grab gas before the prices got any higher. I was going to do it too, but my husband stopped me. He was right. Bush was only referring to the panic, not to people driving to work.
Why is everyone mad that Bush wasn't there days ago? What was he supposed to do there? He said he didn't want to get in the way. Don't you think that the president and his huge entourage would maybe disrupt things? Hinder relief efforts? Why is it HIS fault that he didn't condemn the efforts the day after the hurricane? Maybe he THOUGHT the agencies were organized and was waiting for things to clear up a bit before going in. Now that they haven't, and we are all seeing the shocking truth of what is not happening, he is as sickened as the rest of us. Why are you blaming him? How about if it is just a huge huge huge HUGE disaster that is just going to take a long time to recover from? All those people suffering who are angry and yelling at us when the reporters put them on tv - they have NO idea how widespread the devestation is. Yes, they are angry and scared, and they have every right to be. But they think people are sitting around doing nothing. Is that what you think? There are a lot of people doing a lot, but the destruction is so huge that even such an effort is still going to take a long time.
It is miserable and heart wrenching, and I cry when I see those mothers with their babies who can't get any milk because their mothers can't eat or have water. It is sickening to see people dying while waiting to be rescued. But why is that someone's fault? So much blame is being thrown around, and people need to find someone to focus their anger on; the president makes an easy target.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rant here. But maybe you didn't know that people were stockpiling gas?
Unfortunately when you voice your opinion, which is completely valid and yours to have, about Bush you will receive hateful comments, as you have. While I am completely a non-supporter of Bush and pretty much every noice that escapes his mouth I think that if he had said it with more intelligence it would have come across better. I would like to contribute however, Ass.
I understand that those who rush to the gas pumps to get gas actually cause it to run out but if I stay home and don't go and all those others do....what happens in a few days when my tank is empty?
Who rewards me for not rushing to the station and fills up my tank?
*crickets chirping*
Yeah, I went and filled up yesterday and got my daughter to come too.
Yes, we will conserve as much as possible. I will drive her to school instead of her driving herself.
But now my tank is full and I feel safer.
What if WE get a Cat4 or 5 here in my coastal NC town? How could I evacuate on an empty tank?
Our politicians need to get off their butts and do something about finding our own oil and for the long term, finding an alternative to fossil fuels.
And for the commenter who didn't like this post....get your own blog AND don't post anonymously.
Chris can post whatever she wants.
It's HER BLOG.
Wow, Ashley, hateful? I don't see any hateful comments - barring those swearing and spitting about Bush. And novaks8, it's true that if someone has an opinion, they should try starting their own blog. But when someone's blog has a comments section, they are going to receive dissenting opinion now and then. Especially when discussing politics.
Since when was rational discussion hateful? Geeze, folks.
Yeah, it's sad that people so quickly blame the President. Or at least it would be if it weren't somewhat true. The reason Bush has drawn so much criticism is because he remained on "vacation" while so much horror was going on there. To those who say that's because there's nothing he could do, I ask you: why is he NOW saying he's going there because he hopes his presense will bolster confidence in the victims that their government is working to assist them? Does he think that wouldn't have been the case two days ago?
He's also drawing fire for this event because the Army Corps of Engineers has yelled and screamed over the last handful of years that a major risk of devistation existed for the New Orleans area if the government didn't spend more money on bolstering it's hurricane defenses. Not only did Bush NOT give them the money they needed to address the issues, he CUT their funding by 44% overall (and 80% in ONE freaking year!), instead chanelling the funds to the war in Iraq. I've been Republican historically, but I'm not so jazzed that this guy and his cronies (like Rove) are my party's representatives right now.
He didn't cause it, and yeah, there's not a LOT he could do by being there, but the point is he was less available by being "on vacation" (at the very least there's a public perception of which he should have been mindful) and relief is taking WAAAAAY too long to reach that region. THAT'S something he could do something about, but no, he spent the first three days defending his adminsistration's lack of resolve, only NOW admitting the response was faulty. Ass.
I understand that with open comments you take what you get but I don't like people who try to dictate what you write in your blog.
It seemed almost like a threat "I may not read anymore because this post was not like the others"
and that isn't fair.
What bothered me the most was the anonymous part.
Fine, say what you feel but leave a name.
Boy, go to the dentist for the day and look what happens. This is why I never write anything that is remotely political.
Anonymous if you are sorry your read my blog and won't be back at least have the guts to leave your name. Sorry I can't be funny all the time.
I was not blaming Bush in this post. I do not think any of the crap that is happening there is his fault. My problem with him lately, is that he doesn't even give the pretense of giving a damn.
I know what he intended with his words. And I don't know where you all live, but who has big drums to fill with extra gasoline? I did buy a little can of gas the other day for my lawnmower, so I could mow my freaking lawn, and I wonder if people think I was hoarding it?
Craziness I tell you. The whole world is crazy.
Jody,
I couldn't agree more with what you said. But my bigger question, which I think I will address in a different post because I have been thinking alot about it is What were the rest of the 25,000 people doing in the Superdome while these attacks took place? Surely they saw them. But we live in this society that is so completely devoid of personal responsibility and a sense of caring for others. Do men no longer have honor?
And it would probably surprise most of you that in many issues I identify more with the Republican party. So I was not just jumping at the chance to promote my own political views.
Carry on people. Give to the Red Cross as much as you can, then give a bit more.
I'm just so disgusted by the whole situation now. And heartbroken.
Oh Good Grief! (Regarding Dot's Comment)
This is the EXACT SAME SPEACH Dan Quayle gave in San Francisco after the Earthquake in 1989.
From Dot - I think the past few speeches Bush has given are his absolute worst, he must be writing them himself now..."the devastation is devastating...it is very bad...this is serious"... Shit, I was waiting for him to do that iritating suck on his upper lip thing and say, "It's really, really wet there, and humid, too."
Dot
Chris, just let me jump on the bandwagon here and let you know that I, for one, understood your feelings in your post. I had the same reaction during his speech. I also knew what he meant.
You have the right to post whatever you want on your own blog.
There are people suffering. How can you tell starving children to just be patient? No blame game going on here. An ass is an ass. He just came across as totally unfeeling in his speech.
Interesting article about W's vacation time:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080201703.html
Here's part of it:
"The August getaway is Bush's 49th trip to his cherished ranch since taking office and Tuesday was the 319th day that Bush has spent, entirely or partially, in Crawford -- roughly 20 percent of his presidency to date, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS Radio reporter known for keeping better records of the president's travel than the White House itself. Weekends and holidays at Camp David or at his parents' compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, bump up the proportion of Bush's time away from Washington even further."
Man, I have to scrape to save up two weeks a year. Must be nice.
Tammie - Do you really think a president being on vacation is like you being on vacation? They are plugged in 24 hours a day wherever they are located.
Well, here in Memphis, people did panic and hoard gas...One guy was filling up 10 gas cans plus his big ol pickup truck. So, the panic mentality does happen.When we lived in a hurricane prone area (13 out of the last 14 years) we always tried to keep at least a quarter tank of gas in the car for emergencies. So, he had a point. You don't have to like him, but you do need to be just. And having a president or high ranking official is not a fun thing for rescue people to have to deal with. If you asked them, I bet they would have said "great! stay out of our way for a bit, will you?" Because it is not just him...its all the Secret Service, support staff, etc. I mean, its good that he's going, but I don't really see what going right away would've done. I was amazed at the lack of planning on NO's part. Were they that surprised that the levees failed? It's all sad. Maybe now the troops have arrived things will even out. The ones there have been working their tails off (over 100 rescue missions in 24 hours by helicopter).
Kim: Of course not. At least when I'm on vacation, I keep up on current events. "W" knew about this on 8/28 and is just NOW getting his ass in gear?! In the meantime, thousands have died... and "W" is just hanging out in Texas.
Get your facts straight sister.
Tammie, I think it is hilarious that you think you know what Bush is doing at his ranch in Texas. Are you really so dull that you think he is sitting around doing nothing? Or are you just one of theose people who instead of responding with action, needs to sit around casting blame.
Since you know so much about disaster relief, I would suggest you put your knowledge to work and go to Lousianna and help head the relief efforts.
No?
Well then, do you have ANY idea how difficult relief and rescue is to plan? Do you think that driving busses from long distances should take less time than a package delivered by UPS? They both have to go the same distance, yet you think miles should evaporate when it comes to an emergency. It can take days to transport busses to a rescue site. How about preparing food for thousands and thousands of people. I would bet you bitch and moan when planning and preparing a dinner for 8 close friends.
Lets think about the reality here, and not the fantasy of "POOF" heres food, water, diapers, wipes, medication, clothing, transportation for THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of people.
How about delivering medical care to the seriously injured without the benifit of electricity. How do you suction someones airway without air pressure?? Think M.A.S.H. and multiply it time 10,000 and you will have an just a bit of a taste of what the doctors and RN's are experiencing there.
Oh, and imagine the surprise of resue workers who arrived by helicopter to transport people out of a hospital, when they were met by gunfire instead of gratitude and thankfulness.
Evacuations were not done right. It all fell apart at the local level.
I lived in an active hurricane region. It is a barrier island. I have been through two of them, both direct hits, one evacuation and numerous damaging tropical storms. Relief, rescue and recovery take time. There were dead animals and live power lines on the roads for 48 hours after a cat 3 hurricane in Galveston.....a place that is VERY efficient in its timely evacuation and recovery efforts.
Why don't you ask the major of NO why he didn't have busses and vans to evacuate all the poor and disabled BEFORE the hurricane? I mean, like someone up above said, they knew it was coming DAYS before it hit. So why such a suck ass evacuation? THAT is the question of the day.
Rant over.
Jody: I guess I question why evacuation efforts "failed" when I saw on the news that there were DOZENS upon DOZENS of school buses that were in a parking lot... flooded. Why weren't these used to evacuate people?
As for the relief efforts, W. knew about this on 8/28 and just went to "tour" the area yesterday?! Why didn't he put pen to paper and say, "whatever you need, I'll do it" and help them??!
Gretchen: "He didn't want to get in the way?!?!?" Come on. He was on VACATION! He's the president, he should cut his vacation short days ago and been on top of this. It just looks bad.
And yes, I can bitch and critisize the government, I VOTED FOR THE OTHER GUY!
So, Tammie, maybe you should rant and rave at the Mayor of NO and Governor of LA?
By the way, Bush did respond to the crisis. I was also wondering if you think he can respond just as effectively from Texas as from Washington. After all, Texas is closer!
As for his tour, he didn't jsut go yesterday. He toured by plane on the 31st: http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/08/31/bush.katrina.ap/
It hit Monday. He was surveying it by Wednesday. If you go here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167289,00.html please take note of the date and that Bush declared it a disaster area THAT DAY.
Also, this site shows the Feds had prepared: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167466,00.html
Here is shows he issued a state of emergency, BEFORE it hit: http://websearch.cnn.com/search/search?source=cnn&invocationType=search%2Ftop&sites=web&query=levies+katrina+new+orleans
Please everyone, remember that nature will beat man every time, no matter how well we prepare for it. Laying the blame on the President is just ridiculous. Please read the links and quit passing on heresay.
I will not take over Chris' blog with this anymore.
I JUST read the October 2004 edition of National Geographic and they have an article on this very thing happening and the chaos that would ensue. It was written almost a year ago and sure enough it has happened exactly the way they predicted. How can you not have been a resident/mayor/gov of any of these states not knowing or preparing people better? Clinton and Bush's people had/have both been warned of this potential madness occuring due to mother nature - due to the lack of preserving the gulf coasts wetlands.
The damage incurred will affect SO many realms of life - being LA is one of the top locations of the seafood industry (AK being top) and the oil industry in the US.
Historically there is every reason to think this would happen again.
Everyone in authority is an ass!
Chris, I wholeheartily agreed with your first thoughts about what Bush said -- I struggle with him mightily, and tend toward the right side of most things - but these last few years have been enlightening! I do not like or think either party has what it takes to lead this nation -- and that is scary!
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Oh for petes sake. Bush did not cause this mess down there!!!
And yea one more thing..I like Bush!!
Bush is amazingly st*pid.
by car hampshire in maine new private sale seller
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