President Katrina Quotes

They say that tragedy plus time equals comedy. That is to say, if you wait long enough after a disaster, there will come a prime opportunity to make a really good joke of it. 9/11 took a while. Katrina, apparently, hasn't. The Onion, quite possibly the world's most irreverent satirical comedy rag, has shattered the myth. Within days, they've covered all angles of the disaster, and created a tasty, if not exactly tasteful, menagerie of hysterical articles covering Katrina's unfortunate fallout. http://www.theonion.com/content/node/40305

My personal favorites are the blunders that have escaped the candid mouths of a Bush-Administration caught completely off guard... again. These one-liners alone ought to be W's own personal undoing if not for the facts that A) we have seen nearly 5 years of the same schtick, and B) we are doomed for another 3 years of it. An excellent source: http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/currentevents/a/katrinaquotes.htm

Anyhow, with due respect, I submit my own editorial.

I've followed this story more closely than 9/11 and the tsunami. I've been reading the technical articles, the stories of strife, and coverage of the incredible surge of grass-roots and volunteer efforts that have followed. I've made it a point, however, to avoid the political, commercial, and religious articles. I could go on about Bush petting a New York fireman's dalmation in New Orleans, Cheney's business buddies scoring multi-billion-dollar rehabilitation contracts, or celebrities touting the virtues of their new religious sects while recruiting new converts on the streets of Biloxi, but nah. While it is true that hero's, millionaires, and saviors will be made of this disaster, personal, monetary, or spiritual gain has no relevance to what needs to be done to fix this.

In 2001, I had a few friends in Manhattan who lost loved-ones. In 2002 and 2003, we all had friends and relatives lose jobs to a downtrodden economy. In 2004, my cousin lost his fiance while vacationing on the shores of Phuket. Thousands across the globe have lost their own lives or those of loved ones to martyrs' recent suicide bombings. In 2005, as we bid farewell to New Orleans as we once knew it, I believe every American on the globe has simultaneously lost at least a little respect for their country's leadership. Here's why. Consider the sayings "Once bitten, twice shy" or "hurt me once, shame on you, hurt me again, shame on me". In other words, to make a mistake once is a legitimately reasonable human error. Twice under similar circumstances is inexcusable.

My editorial: I submit that two of these disasters, the ones in 2001 and in 2005, have one huge mistake in common. A mistake made by our own elected federal representatives under the rare luxury of similar circumstances: clear warning signs and sage advice given by experts, presented over a period of months or years leading up to their respective disaster.

Those circumstances were ignored. Warnings were not heeded and advice was not followed. It's the same kind of reactionary, arrogant leadership that causes once-successful businesses to flounder. General Motors now. Polaroid in the 90's. Xerox in the 80's. GM has mired the great mind of Bob Lutz under layers of old-world management styles. Polaroid had a good thing going in instant photography, until "Whoops, I guess we missed that whole digital format thing altogether!" Xerox engineers developed the first mouse and graphical user interface... and then their managers sorta dropped the ball (pun intended). http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2002/marapr/features/mouse.html


"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
- George Santayana


Mr. Bush, the signs are all there. The lessons are painful when they're not learned the easy way, and damnit, I'm tired of getting hurt. If you've learn nothing else during the last 5 years of your life, please just remember this: When historians, engineers, economists, philosophers, the general public, or anyone smarter than you who cares more about the welfare of the nation and world than your political clout, speak.... please listen.