Your perception of Bush compared to 2001/2002?

[Art]

Actually, Art, what is happening is that people are falling into anecdotal evidence extrapolation trap: if a person says they haven't eaten in 5 days, people extrapolate that that means there has been no aid to anyone. But one person (or 1000 people) saying they are starving does not contradict the fact that there was aid there before the hurricane.

Perhaps the christian fundamentalists thought the old trick with the 5 loaves and 5 fishes would solve the problem?
As to the details of who is to blame, well hopefully an independent inquiry will sort that out but even with a cursory look at the disaster it is obvious to (almost) everybody that there were serious deficiencies in the response of the relief agencies.

 

[Informal Logic]

Returning to the topic of the OP, the kindest thing I can say is I have never been impressed with the man. The only thing that has changed is his ratings. Even so, he has still pushed through pet legislation like CAFTA so unfortunately it has not been enough to make a complete lame duck of him. I suspect this is because those who oppose him are picking their battles, such as Supreme Court appointments. In reference to future military aggression, I hope the low ratings and lack of world support will keep the Bush regime in check.

Bush would do well to return to the traditional Republican platform. At the minimum he must try to avoid more blunders, and try to keep the administration spin from being so obvious (e.g., the insurgents are in their last throes).

 

[TRCSF]

Actually, Art, what is happening is that people are falling into anecdotal evidence extrapolation trap: if a person says they haven't eaten in 5 days, people extrapolate that that means there has been no aid to anyone. But one person (or 1000 people) saying they are starving does not contradict the fact that there was aid there before the hurricane.

Yes. And if tens of thousands of people are trapped in the Superdome and NO Convention Center, and they're not gettting food and water and babies and the elderly are dying because of it, then it is to early to point fingers, and besides it's the mayor's fault, and besides it didn't really happen anyways.

 

[TRCSF]

Oh my. I saw a dead body on TV in New Orleans. All bloated and floating in the water.

Could there be two or three dead people in New Orleans? No, I don't want to extrapolate.

 

[TRCSF]

Oh, hey. I just saw a house on TV. It was in New Orleans and flood water was up to the raptors. Do you think there might be a whole row of houses in New Orleans that have been flooded?

Nah, probably my crazy liberal sensibilities that are deluding me into thinking this is a disaster.

 

[TRCSF]

Golly gee willikers. There's an evacuee in the Astrodome who's lost her family, her house, her job, and all of her posessions.

Thank god there's only one.

 

[TRCSF]

Holy mackerel.

Somebody got sick of typhoid.

Well thank god nobody really got hurt.

 

[TRCSF]

Oh, the humanity.

Trent Lott lost his house.

Thank got the President plans to rebuild it.

It's going to be fantastic!

 

[pattylou]

Holy mackerel.

Somebody got sick of typhoid.

Well thank god nobody really got hurt.

Did you really see typhoid? I'd think GI disease emergence would be a headline.

(GI = gastrointestinal, not general infantry)

 

[TRCSF]

Did you really see typhoid? I'd think GI disease emergence would be a headline.

(GI = gastrointestinal, not general infantry)

Excuse me. I meant Cholera. Five confirmed deaths.

 

[pattylou]

Ah.

http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=120066&region=4

I was impressed that GI disease didn't wreak havoc in Indonesia - apparently partly because chlorine tablets were provided by us in months prior for other reasons, that sterilised drinking water.

I would hope we can get such tablets to the Gulf states as well.

Apparently the cholera variant in these cases enters through cuts - not the mouth - so chlorine sterilisation of drinking water would have made no difference.

 

[TRCSF]

Ah.

http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=120066®ion=4

I was impressed that GI disease didn't wreak havoc in Indonesia - apparently partly because chlorine tablets were provided by us in months prior for other reasons, that sterilised drinking water.

I would hope we can get such tablets to the Gulf states as well.

Apparently the cholera variant in these cases enters through cuts - not the mouth - so chlorine sterilisation of drinking water would have made no difference.

Yeah, that was a blessing. I know little about microbiology, but doesn't cholera love to spread through standing water? My understanding is that there was not as much standing water with the tsunami, relatively.

 

[pattylou]

It spreads through human waste. usually contracted orally, and death can be within 24 hours of symptoms due to massive fluid loss (violent diarrhea etc).

Having standing water would certainly make the problem worse. I thought cholera would certainly have become epidemic aftr the tsunami - even though there wasn't much standing water - because of the lack of sewage treatment and clean water supplies. I expect the chlorine tablets helped enormously.

 

[SOS2008]

I was googling briefly to see what was reported prior to Katrina making landfall. Quickly, here is one.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/28/national/main798819_page2.shtml

It presents all levels of government and agencies as being concerned and making ample preparations. If this was the case, it is truly baffling why execution went so poorly. Whether there was spin or just incompetency (or a combination) the bottom line is it's all bad.

Bush may not be taking the brunt of the blame according to this ABC Poll: http://abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1094262&page=1, but the South has been important at election time, and they are not happy with Bush.