I heard this morning on WAMU (which is what I listen to at 6 freaking am when I have to wake up for my Child who’s Not being Left Behind) that our illustrious President is willing to spend any amount to repair the damage in New Orleans so that it will rise again. He’s on the side of the poor. And he wants to fix what’s broken.

If he’d spent half the amount of money he seems to want to pledge for the repair of New Orleans in fixing the problems with the levees and helping to support the poor residents who’ll suffer most from this disaster, and if he’d spent time actually researching the backgrounds of the individuals in whom he’s trusted to protect our country and not his right to retire fat and happy, he wouldn’t have to call for spending this amazing amount of money. Over 200 billion dollars. In a deficit. While we’re still at war.

Don’t believe me? Listen to the reports from NPR:

Bush Calls for Bold Plan to Rebuild Coast

New Orleans Residents Wonder How They’ll Rebuild

And best of all

Who Will Foot Bill to Rebuild New Orleans?

A quote from the third story: “You’re a fiscal conservative until you get hit by a natural disaster.” –Trent Lott

Who’s going to pay for George W. Bush’s mistakes and those of the individuals he has in charge? We are. For decades and possibly generations to come.

Now, how long do you really think it’s going to take before the concept of a raise in taxes comes across? Remember that tax refund you saw at the start of his administration? Don’t get too fond of it. If it isn’t already gone to your car in the form of gas, it will be soon when the right finally realizes that taxes are necessary evils.

And finally, my own DH blows up in someone else’s blog space, because he can’t stand that people are picking on our President. The fact is, there’s so much to be angry about with the way our government is handling this current crisis, that it’s actually a release to laugh at something (even if it’s doctored), that makes Our Prez look even more ridiculous, but this is what set him off.

No, I have no idea how John Kerry would have handled the problem. No, I don’t know what Al Gore would have done. It doesn’t matter to me. They didn’t get elected. GWB did, and what he has done with his presidency is squander our hard-earned savings, pander to the right wing and old money interests.

Nothing on this planet would please me more than seeing him taken down – impeachment is too good for him.

KMH, I may not agree 100% with everything you said to my DH, but I am so there.

In many ways, I wish tomorrow was the 24th.

Comments:

ML:
For that matter, the levee request was around 105 million as opposed to the 200+ billion this will probably take.

Funny; I don’t remember your DH being particularly jingoistic, so I’d imagine there’s more to the story.

Me:
Someone pushed his “That’s Not Funny” button and he went off.

I had to stop our conversation this morning. He’s no better with me right now.

Having him in exile without a reliable means of communication besides phone is a REAL pain!

ML:
Ah, found the exchange. Some of the comments in this discussion on the note were interesting.

What I see in that exchange is essentially “Hey, there’s a lot wrong you can talk about without taking cheap shots” and a response of “I really don’t care whether it’s a cheap shot; I’m upset enough that I’m beyond that.”

As far as the bathroom break note goes, there are certainly reasons to be disquieted. But the reason the note’s getting as much play as it is are probably more based on all the other reasons people are upset with CIC, rather than the contents. (Now, the manner this note was written? Not “Pls. effect a short bathroom break,” or “When will there be bathroom break?” but instead “I think I may need . . .” seems odd.)

The photographer insists he didn’t know what was in the note when he took the picture. I actually have some problems with this – they say that the image was blown up and cleaned before publication; since the unidentified contents could well have been something more important or classified I wonder whether telephotos may end up banned from some of these locations.

KMH:
word.
one of my buttons, in turn, is “i chose to put you on my friends list and now you’re posting things that i don’t agree with, so you should alter your blog to cater to my feelings and stop writing things that i find offensive, because as one of the people who chose to read what you write i get to tell you what you should and shouldn’t say.”

wrong month to play that game with me. figure out how custom friends lists work, or, hell, unfriend me (it’s not like i do this for the clickthroughs), but do NOT tell me what i get to write in my own goddamned friends-locked journal.

on the other hand; eh, whatever. didn’t sound like he was having a particularly good week BEFORE he wrote himself off of the disney trip and had computer breakage. sorry if drawing the line in the sand stepped on any toes in the process.

Me:
Re: word.
I am, as I said, right there with you. I already pointed out to him that your space is, in fact, your space.

And he is, for the record, having a seriously sucky week, simply made suckier by the trashing of said laptop.

I’m personally ready for a do-over myself.

CS:
I guess New Orleans could rise again, but then, so could the flood water. Wonder which one he meant.