Yeah that Flocking Gubnur Jeab is pulling that "personal responsibility" crap that the pukes are so famous for,

Cut the shit out of every program, then when the people couldn't afford to stock up ahead of time, due to the crappy wages down here, he blames them, similar tactic in N.O., thank God it missed here where I am.

The only good thing out of this is thats where Limpballs castle is located, I hope he got some damage, like washed into the ocean

There is some chatter in the MSM but they may be under orders to keep the background noise down.

Jeb may run for pres so the press must be good.

What is wrong with you?

These people live in Florida, hurricane capital of the U.S. They should be stocked up with food, water, flashlights, batteries ... etc.

It's not the Gov't fault that they are stupid. Should the Gov't "wipe their ass" also.

So let me get this straight .... "people are stupid and it's Bush's fault"

This isn't "rocket science" ... to have food, water stocked up for 3 days.

Your a typical "liberal" moron that thinks the Gov't should do everything ... for everyone.

Lay off the Kool-Aid ....

Greg our Governo, John Ellis Bush (real name is not jeb) In all of his bush dumnbess spouted off for a freaking week before the hurricane to not hoard gas, there was plenty of gas, the ports were full of gas, gas was no problem. Is it hard to then assome that if the gas stations are open you can buy ice and water or food?
The one thing wrong with that assumption is the dumb ass governor is too stupid to realize that hurricanes blow trees down on powerlines and across roads and destroy houses. Without power you can't pump gas or process credit cards or have refrigeration to keep ice cold or have lights to see your food rot in the heat. You can't cook on electric stoves, you can't do your laundry so you stink as you sweat in lines two miles long for the supplies that aren't there.
Note to FEMA and bushco: hurricanes blow trees down across powerlines they therefore disrupt power. To get an idea what it is like go stand on your tennis court from 5 am untill 6 pm with a screaming baby on your hip and do this without any water or food for the baby. There will be no breaks for the bathroom and your maid can't set up a fan to keep you cool.

Well, they already made the mistake of repoting somewhat well during the Katrina disaster. Now that they all have patted themselves on the back, they are going back to cowering...

If you get the big picture, this all makes sense. The GOP is controlled by, and is only interested in, the 1% elite of the population. They have taken over all branches of government via electronic voting machines, also made by part of that 1% people they represent. They push through legislation to benefit the 1% at the expense of the other 99% of us. They cut social programs and give hundreds-of-billions of tax cuts to the 1%. This is a direct correlation. They are taking $$$ from the 99% and giving it to the 1%, as is proven by the increasing difference between rich and poor.

So, are you surprised at the GOP-controlled government's responses to hurricanes? And, hand-in-hand with all of this, the GOP-controlled government is in bed with Corporate-owned mainstream media. So, are you surprised that the MSM doesn't cover the disasters to the 99%? It would expose all the cuts to disaster relief by this GOP-controlled run-away government.

Are you surprised by the MSM not covering:

1. PNAC
2. WHIG
3. 9/11 inside job
4. Electronic Voting Machine Security

This all makes sense when you get the big picture. You have the 1% getting in office via the voting machines they themselves make, and fuck the 99%! The first thing the GOP-controlled government talked about, when the issue of funding for hurricane relief came up, was the 99% "sacrificing and tightening their belts". There was no talk about rescinding tax cuts for the 1% rich, or cutting foreign aid or pork barrel spending. No...the GOP talk was for cutting medicare/medicaid/social programs.

THEY USE DISASTERS TO PUSH THEIR AGENDA THROUGH EVEN MORE! GET IT???

It actually speeds up their agenda. They tried to push through school vouchers during the hurricane disaster. The first thing they think of in a disaster, is "how can we use this disaster to push through part of our agenda?".

9/11 speeded up their agenda of war in the middle east and taking away American's civil liberties via the Patriot Act.

So, try to think of how the Florida hurricane will be used by the GOP to speed up pushing part of their agenda through.

Remember, their motto in moments like that is, "Let's not think of this as a disaster, but as an opportunity."

CNN is showing long, long, long lines for fuel and other things.

At first FEMA said Florida was the best at hurricane response and was doing a good job. Then that changed and Jeb took responsibility for what is called less than favorable response. FEMA should too ...

"... it will get better in a few days ..." is what they are saying.

I am wondering why FEMA response has not improved ... in the sense that there has been a lot of practice ...

And I think people would be wise to purchase back up generators (small ones) if they live in Florida or the Gulf Coast ... and the government should subsidize those expenditures with a tax break of some sort ... maybe even low interest loans.

No offense to anyone, but as an avid news-watcher I am sick and tired of 24 hour storm coverage. It is pretty bad when all world news is put on hold for a week so that the news stations can cover everything from the coming wind, to the quiet nights to paddling a canoe down the flooded river. If anything, the Florida disaster is covered just right, it was every other hurricane in the last 2 years that has been over-covered.

The problem with generators is the cost of operation, mine uses 14 @$2.89 gallons of gas a day, can't be used in apartments or condos.
When the trees blow over the roots pull up the waterlines and break them so you have no water. More intense storms have a tendancy to break the trees off instead of blowing them over thereby actually doing less damage to parts of the infrastructure like the water and sewer system.
For anyone saying they should evacuate I ask how many weeks can you afford to take off from work and live in a motel in another state, pull your kids out of school, hope you have a job when you get back.
If you compare this to Katrina this covered an area much larger with many many more people affected than by katrina.
The full disaster damage by this storm is not even yet known. There was only 50,000 in NOLA there is 6 million on South FL.
Last year people sat in traffic jams on I95 for 12 hours to only go 150 miles That is why they did not evacuate.

CNN is reporting that a lot of senior citizens are not able to protect themselves like young studs Greg #3 seems to have in mind.

One lady said she has not had food to eat since monday. These are senior citizens who cannot go stand in line for hour upon hour as the young can.

CNN shows a long line of elderly folk lining up to get beans ... the first food to get to them. Wow four days without food would be hard on anyone.

Jeb Bush said that people had plenty of time to "prepare" for Hurricane Wilma. Apparently he was referring to stocking up on water, food, etc.

How does one prepare for losing power for weeks on end? Can everyone afford a generator? How does having extra food on hand prevent spoilage?

How does one prepare for gasoline shortages, and lines so long that one runs out of gas while on line?
Does everyone have a storage tank at home? What do gasoline tanks cost? Do they fit in the basement?

The point isn't that Jeb Bush is to blame for a hurricane. It's that he's so intolerant of criticism (a family trait, it appears) that he feels the need to lash out in advance against people in need of help. Jeb has never known hardship in his own life, so he can't relate to folks who need public services to survive difficult times; that's bad enough, but he has a mean streak to boot (another family trait).

Reps. Kendrick Meek and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of FL were ripping the management of FEMA, that "Brownie" is still on the taxpayer dole, talked about how people in their districts were suffering (heard Debbie say she went down there), etc, etc on CSPAN last night.

These two, plus Tim Ryan of OH are in the "30something working group" and "chat" about an hour a week on the floor of the House, usually at night. I hardly ever catch them, but enjoy them when I do - they do a great job.

Got the biggest kick out of Debbie a few months back when she compared Bush's "I want my own way!" temper tantrums to those of her young kids. Couldn't believe she said that on the floor of the House of Representatives, but good for her.

I just had a talk with my ex next door neighbor, they moved to Ft Lauderdale. She is staying in Orlando with friends until they have power and water again.
Her husband is a supervisor for a major tree service in south FL. He has to send a truck all the way across the state to Ft Myers for fuel to operate their equiptment.
The main transmission lines from the west to east side of the state are down along Aligator Alley, That will not be a quick fix.
If they don't do something quick there will be more deaths in S. FL than ther were in NOLA and this time they will not be able to hide the bodies.
When the senior citizens start stinking in their condos that is when the excrement will contact the wind machine. When junior finally gets here from up north and finds mom and pop dead from dehydration all hell will break loose. Weekend forecast is temp in the low 80s.

Alright, I agree that FEMA's response to Katrina was disastrous. But this report about Wilma has totally pissed me off. What the hell do you want Fema to do, go down to southern Fla before the Hurricane and personally stand there holding up limbs so they don't hit power lines? You guys are ridiculous sometimes. There are and have been 6000 people working to fix the power lines, but you all want to believe that nothing is being done. A frigging hurricane just hit Fla, open your eyes. Shit happens when natural disasters hit, you can't expect everyone to return to their normal routine the day after this happens. I'm going to through these posts individually to explain how dumb most of you sound.

First, Brad, your original blog, all I can say is thanks for the information. You at least know what you're doing. I do have to comment about the media coverage. I can't go more than five minutes of watching CNN or FOX without seeing problems from the aftermath of Wilma, or Jeb saying that there have been some problems, and it is his fault for them. I believe you are exaggerating the media coverage. The only reason they're not doing a 24/7 thing on this is that Miers pulled her nomination today.

Now for the morons (and I don't think you guys are morons, just on this issue you're being dumb...)

#1 Floridiot, you said
Yeah that Flocking Gubnur Jeab is pulling that "personal responsibility" crap that the pukes are so famous for,

Cut the shit out of every program, then when the people couldn't afford to stock up ahead of time, due to the crappy wages down here, he blames them, similar tactic in N.O., thank God it missed here where I am.

It is flat out wrong to assume that the government exists to solve everyone's problems. This is not just my libertarian philosphy talking. You have to be practical - does the state government have the means to deliver food and water to all of the possible citizens in Fla that could be affected by a hurricane? Hell no. If people have the means to feed themselves when there is no hurricane, they have the means to go to the store and get 3 or 4 days worth of food and water when expecting one. They were warned about the hurricane a full week before it hit. And most of these people have lived through many hurricanes, they should know by now how to get through one. Finally, if you haven't noticed, the government is doing quite a bit to try to get food to people. If Jeb isn't supposed to take personal responsiblity for this, as you say, what is supposed to do? Blame someone else, like the federal government? NO. Fla has been great in the past with responding to hurricanes, and you can be sure that in a few days when they get the millions of downed power lines fixed, people will be happy. Again, a frigging natural disaster just hit them, you don't recover from this in a day.

#2 Dredd, you said,
There is some chatter in the MSM but they may be under orders to keep the background noise down.

Jeb may run for pres so the press must be good.

Please, just watch the news coverage right now instead of just assuming they're not saying anything. As I'm writing this, CNN has been reporting on possible problems with the relief for the last 30 minutes.

#4 BarryG, you said that FEMA and Bush are forgetting about power being down.

You're right, most problems are coming from no power. But again, a hurricane just hit them. You can't just magically point at all the power lines and watch them fix themselves. Thousands of people are working to fix the power lines, this stuff doesn't happen overnight. And it does take time to mobilized the people needed to fix this stuff. Even if you say there was enough warning, you never know exactly where the hurricane will hit and how bad it will be.

#5 Dennisdekat

The media reported well about Katrina? How about when they said the death toll was expected to be between 10 and 20k? How about when the times slandered Geraldo, then burried their apology about it? How about when they lied saying there were rapes and dead bodies everywhere in the NO Convention Center? They blew that way out of proportion. If anything, they're being responsible about reporting this one by not exaggerating the hell out of it. Wake up.

#6 BigDan,

I'm not even going to waste my time with your post (there were way too many things wrong with it). That was just dumb. If you want to call me out on it, I'll be happy to show you why you are flat out wrong.

#8 Dredd, you said:

At first FEMA said Florida was the best at hurricane response and was doing a good job. Then that changed and Jeb took responsibility for what is called less than favorable response. FEMA should too ...

I am wondering why FEMA response has not improved ... in the sense that there has been a lot of practice ...

Maybe FEMA's response has improved, and you're just too blinded by your hate for this administration and this government to see it. There job is to manage national disasters, not come in and within 24 hours make it look like the national disasters never happened. This liberal ideology is what makes you all so utopian - sounds good in theory (the government making everyone's life easy), but it is impossible to make it happen. Again, the gov't is not there to solve everyone's problems. If you want it to be there for that, start voting for people who want to use budget 50% of our GDP.

#9 - I'm starting to get sick of it too. You all want the media to start reporting the news that is important to you all, yet you complain when they don't completely preoccupy themselves with national disasters.

#10 BarryG, you said:

For anyone saying they should evacuate I ask how many weeks can you afford to take off from work and live in a motel in another state, pull your kids out of school, hope you have a job when you get back.
If you compare this to Katrina this covered an area much larger with many many more people affected than by katrina.
The full disaster damage by this storm is not even yet known. There was only 50,000 in NOLA there is 6 million on South FL.
Last year people sat in traffic jams on I95 for 12 hours to only go 150 miles That is why they did not evacuate.

I somewhat agree with you here, but now I understand why you don't understand this situation. You think hurricanes are inconviences. WRONG. People evacuate because it is the right thing to do, because hurricanes are very dangerous and pose a threat to people during the storm and for a period of time afterwards. Of course, FEMA and Fla could probably solve everyone's problems immediately if this was nothing more of an inconvience. But unfortunately, this is not an inconvience, this is a serious problem that affects many people's well-being, even if government response is immaculate.

#11 Dredd,

Yeah, unfortunately these things do happen. Seniors can be adversely affected by this sort of thing, especially because they need the ice to cool their medicine and/or insulin. You really do have to feel sorry for them.

#12 RLM, you said:

The point isn't that Jeb Bush is to blame for a hurricane. It's that he's so intolerant of criticism (a family trait, it appears) that he feels the need to lash out in advance against people in need of help. Jeb has never known hardship in his own life, so he can't relate to folks who need public services to survive difficult times; that's bad enough, but he has a mean streak to boot (another family trait).

I don't even know if I like Jeb Bush much, I guess I have too much of a sour taste in my mouth from Dubya. But he has done a good job responding to hurricanes for years now. Again, you make the mistake of assuming that the government should be some supernatural entity that has the power to magically solve everyone's problems, but that is impossible.

#14 BarryG,

Alright, I've said this enough above. You can't fix power lines overnight. The power loss is not the problem with the response. It's getting people the supplies they need. There were a bunch of gaffes getting the people the supplies they need, but they're fixing that now. You can't expect everything to be perfect all of the time. This is why liberalism fails, it's far too utopian and it is bad to put your faith in an inherently wasteful and inefficient government. And inside, you want these seniors to die, because its more ammo for your attacks on Jeb and FEMA.

Look, I'm not posting here to take shots at those of you here who disagree with me. I have a lot of respect for a lot of you, especially Brad. But I see this as nothing more than taking advantage of a natural disaster to push forward more attacks against people you are opposed to. Treating these disasters as opportunites to attack political foes is in my opinion wrong, and I believe that many of you here are distorting the truth or are just blind to genuine efforts to help people because the people trying to help are your enemies. In my opinion this is irresponsible, and that is what pisses me off.

Please try to prove that I'm wrong about this. I dare you. If I am wrong, I'll admit it. But somehow I get the feeling that I'm about to either get a barrage of name-calling and baseless claims intertwined with conspiracy theories, or you all will just ignore the fact that I ever wrote this post because you are afraid to respond to it.

Greg #3

"...people are stupid and it's Bush's fault..."

You got this backwards. It should read "Bush is stupid and it's the people's (who voted for him) fault".

FEMA is dysfunctional. We know that. I would like to see some discussion in this blog about what the BCFOL might do next. I do not believe that the Republican powers that be will go into the 2006 mid-term election with a 39% or lower approval rating. That is too low to win by hacking voting machines. The BCFOL will create a distraction. Will it be:

1. Another war?
2. Another attack on U.S. soil?
3. Dump Bush/Cheney?
4. Economic Depression?

You know they will not stand pat. What will they try and how can we prevent it? I think we need to think ahead of Rove and Cheney.

The point I am trying to make is this . THERE IS NO FUCKING PLANNING FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN A GOD DAMN FUND RAISER. These ass holes did not plan adequqtely for a war they did not plan adequately for Katrina they did not plan adequately for rita they did not plan adequqtely for wilma. For crying out loud the damn storm followed the track the weather channel had been predicting for a week, There is no excuse to not have the required supplies and personel standing by.
You might as well face it a person that can't find oil in Texas damn sure can't run a country.

The meatheads will never get it

people barely make enough money for living day to day
how can they afford to evacuate, let alone stock up on two weeks of supplies, when they haven't a living wage to support themselves?

Nittany Lion #15

I see you have decided to appoint yourself guardian of the blog.

I said:

At first FEMA said Florida was the best at hurricane response and was doing a good job. Then that changed and Jeb took responsibility for what is called less than favorable response. FEMA should too ...

I am wondering why FEMA response has not improved ... in the sense that there has been a lot of practice ...

You replied:

Maybe FEMA's response has improved, and you're just too blinded by your hate for this administration and this government to see it. There job is to manage national disasters, not come in and within 24 hours make it look like the national disasters never happened. This liberal ideology is what makes you all so utopian - sounds good in theory (the government making everyone's life easy), but it is impossible to make it happen. Again, the gov't is not there to solve everyone's problems. If you want it to be there for that, start voting for people who want to use budget 50% of our GDP.

I don't know what country you imagine this is, but it is one that claims to be governed by law, and the supreme law, it is said, is the US Constitution. It begins:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The promise is that we the people establish a government that will insure domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty.

Domestic tranquility means "a disposition free from stress, a state of peace and quiet" and general welfare means "Health, happiness, and good fortune; well-being".

That is the purpose of our government. Why would FEMA and all the other governmental agencies be set up and funded if they were not designed to do what government, in our country, is set up to do?

Should it be like ohio where pension plans of hard working people, like at Enron, find their way to neoCon coffers to promote the neoCon rather than take care of old folk who have nothing else to rely on?

This is for all of those out there who wish to perpetuate the mainstream media and the bu$h administration’s myths and outright lies about the (so-called) Liberals (translation: anybody but Republicans.) To you, oh ignoble ones …I’m so very tired of listening to you whine and point your finger at sane people who have managed to hold onto moderate values, as you attempt to displace your own deficiencies on them. Shame on all of you.

You do not seem to be able to learn from written history about the consequences of man’s inhumanity toward man. I am forever appalled at the dichotomy of illumination vs darkness which still exists, after so many centuries, during which mankind has arrogantly proclaimed itself to be deserving of God’s love. Take note, g.w. and your cabal – you are not in any way representing people who are truly guided by the Great and Holy Spirit. Have any of you even read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo? This is just one of the many accounts of what happened in the past when the elites were in complete control. Read these accounts – then weep for yourselves.

For those reich-wingers who want to complain about FEMA and its guarantee to the people of this country (I call on you to also read Dredd’s comment # 19), take a look at the beginnings of FEMA.

I sure wish I had the time (and energy) to continue in more long-winded and serious debates with these skunks, but I’m afraid my time has become quite limited. Suffice it to say that I am not interested in bashing my head against a brick wall. These people have been given excellent information, but refuse to think. We must devote our time to those who are interested in helping our country heal and rise out of the sewers where the neoCONS have placed us and let the scarlet lettered rats drown.

ABOUT FEMA:

FEMA.gov/library
The Robert T. Stafford Act – FEMA

At its inception, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was created to consolidate and coordinate the efforts of over 15 different agencies and departments that were responsible for responding to and preparing for disasters. Created by President Carter through Executive Order 12148 in 1979, FEMA was tasked with carrying out the authorities contained in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et. seq., as amended) (Stafford Act), which is an amalgamation of previous disaster acts, including the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, the Disaster Relief Acts of 1970 and 1974, the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, and the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974.

Robert T. Stafford was a REPUBLICAN

Senate Years of Service: 1971-1989
Party: Republican
STAFFORD, Robert Theodore, a Representative and a Senator from Vermont; born in Rutland, Vt., August 8, 1913; educated in the public schools of Rutland; graduated, Middlebury College 1935; attended the University of Michigan Law School; graduated, Boston University Law School 1938; Rutland County prosecuting attorney 1938-1942; during the Second World War served on active duty in the United States Navy as a lieutenant commander 1942-1946, and during the Korean conflict 1951-1953; captain in the United States Navy Reserve; Rutland County State’s attorney 1947-1951; deputy State attorney general 1953-1955; State attorney general 1955-1957; lieutenant governor 1957-1959; Governor of Vermont 1959-1961; elected as a Republican to the Eighty-seventh Congress in 1960; reelected to the five succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1961, until his resignation from the House of Representatives, September 16, 1971, to accept appointment the same day to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Winston L. Prouty; elected by special election January 7, 1972, to complete the unexpired term ending January 3, 1977; reelected in 1976 and again in 1982 for the term ending January 3, 1989; not a candidate for reelection in 1988; chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works (Ninety-seventh through Ninety-ninth Congresses).

I haven't read all these, but I'm here in Florida & I can tell you our situation. And thank you, Larisa!

I really thought I was prepared: I had laid in supplies of food, water, candles, batteries, filled my car's gas tank & filled 2 5-gallon containers for the generator I bought after Katrina. I had ice in the freezer. Our shutters were up.
But I've been here for 23 years and I don't remember lines like this for gas. I was on a gas line for 4 hours the other day & was 3 cars away from the pumps when they ran out. Now, it's pretty impossible to get ice or gas, when your car's on empty & you're not sure which place to try.
Some stations have gas but no power, some vice versa, two supermarkets I tried were out of ice. And we're told that all power may not be restored till November 22nd.
THAT'S A BIT MORE THAN 3 DAYS, GREG.
My daughters scavenged for wood (no shortage of that around the neighborhood!), made a fire pit in the backyard, & that's how we're cooking, which is actually kind of fun; but we're not elderly or sick or in a nursing home!
We'll be fine, but people like Greg don't help. To him I say: Wake up & smell your government's corruption, incompetence & indifference to human life, for pity's sake.

The annual worldwide press freedom index from Reporters Without Borders shows the United States, which is supposedly spreading freedom and liberty throughout the world, is in a fast decline regarding the freedom of its own press.

The report ranked the United States in 44th place, an atomic drop from a favorable position of 22nd held last year, and from a handsome 17th place in 2002 (link here).