Did George W. Bush Care About the Poor and Middle Class?

[Boozy]

- The *very* first thing Bush did when he swiped the Presidency was to reinstate the Global Gag Rule, which prevents healthcare organizations overseas from so much as saying the word "abortion" to their patients; if they did, they'd lose their funding.

And he successfully passed off this evangelical imperialism as "quadrupling aid to Africa."

[Fashion Lad!]

Given the amount of aid that was given to Africa by GWB, when I say we need to cut all foreign aid to African governments, tell me I don't care.

I never said I didn't see the video. I said show me proof that Bush didn't care about black people, not show me proof that Kanye said that.

[Dreamstalker]

From what I understand, it was well-known that the levee system wasn't in the best of shape. Yet, nobody did a thing to remedy it--it was only a matter of time before a storm strong enough would inundate the city.

Bushco response to Katrina. It seems that he was well-warned; funds that had originally been intended to rebuild/replace levees were instead funneled into DHS.

[Fashion Lad!]

Bushco response to Katrina. It seems that he was well-warned; funds that had originally been intended to rebuild/replace levees were instead funneled into DHS.

I see your op-ed piece and raise it with my own. Don't blame Bush for Katrina

[Dreamstalker]

I didn't say Bush should be blamed wholly for Katrina, it seems that the downward spiral started when levee funds were diverted by the logistical nightmare that is DHS (and that, he is responsible for).

[Fashion Lad!]

I didn't say Bush should be blamed wholly for Katrina, it seems that the downward spiral started when levee funds were diverted by the logistical nightmare that is DHS (and that, he is responsible for).

Where did I say you said he should be? If we're going to bring up Op-ed pieces as fact, I decided to have my own op-ed that goes against what yours said.

[Gravekeeper]

Didn't Bush appoint a guy that judged horse shows to the head of FEMA? -.-

Heck of a job, Brownie.

[Fashion Lad!]

Didn't Bush appoint a guy that judged horse shows to the head of FEMA? -.-

Heck of a job, Brownie.

Everyone has extra-circular activities.

[linguist]

Everyone has extra-circular activities.

This was more than an extracurricular activity; it's what he spent 11 years doing for a living before going to work for the Bush administration. Nothing in his professional or personal life remotely qualified him for directorship of an emergency management agency.

[Fashion Lad!]

The failure of response to Katrina can primarily be put on the local government. They had plans in place, but did not follow them. They were unorganized at best. So when FEMA comes in, has no real knowledge of the area and is supposed to take care of everything that the local government was supposed to take care, yeah, they're response is going to be slow. But they are doing a lot more work than what they are originally supposed to be doing.

And most of the Katrina victims were white. So Kanye was being a bit of a drama queen. But what else is new?

[Gravekeeper]

The failure of response to Katrina can primarily be put on the local government.

There's no denying state and local fucked up too. But compared to FEMA?

Under Brown's ( Horse show judge guy ) direction FEMA's response was slow and they either interfered with the actions of other agencies, making things worse, or slowed down the efforts of other agencies by insisting they go through all the blue tape required to officially request assistance. Rather than immediately providing assistance. This included Brown ordering police and fire from other counties to not respond to emergency calls unless they had been cleared with FEMA through official regulations. They also interfered with the relief efforts of non-government groups and would even outright refuse aid from other agencies because they were not "authorized" to provide assistance. They also confiscated aid packages and supplies other agencies and groups were trying to distribute. They even denied aid from hospital and medical staff that were volunteering to provide emergency first aid due to "liability" concerns.

FEMA screwed the pooch so hard it couldn't walk straight for a week.

I mean seriously, they gave them MOPS:

"Chalmette Medical Center stated, "Doctors eager to help sick and injured evacuees were handed mops by federal officials who expressed concern about legal liability... And so they mopped, while people died around them."

Brown wasn't even aware there were refugees at the Convention Center until 3 days after and only because a reporter told him. Than Bush congratulated Brown on his fine work with the infamous "Heck of a job, Brownie" comment. Which didn't help.

On Sept 9th, Brown was recall to Washington and removed from his position as director of FEMA and Vice Admiral Allen from the Coast Guard was put in charge of the relief efforts. Brown resigned 3 days later.

Brown had zero experience running an organization like FEMA and zero experience in any sort of emergency response management. He was a horse show judge for Christ sakes. But Bush appointed him to FEMA.

Couple that with Cheney personally ordering power crews diverted to Mississippi to make sure a gas pipeline didn't lose power due to Katrina and ya, I can see how people would get the impression that no one gave a shit.

Personally, I don't think its that Bush didn't care, I just think he was detached from the reality of the situation. As he often was during his presidency to be honest. Now Cheney, Cheney didn't give a rat's ass.

And most of the Katrina victims were white. So Kanye was being a bit of a drama queen. But what else is new?

Interesting article, though I'm curious as to the guy's sources as they are not accurate per the horse's mouth: The Louisiana Department of Health which indicates 1464 victims of which 53% were black and 39% were white. So unless the remaining 135 reported missing are all white ( Unlikely ) it would seem to cast doubt upon that article.

Though he did include an interesting bit at the end: "The data showed that blacks were more likely to drown or die of a physical injury than whites. They were more than twice as likely than whites to die along a street or highway. Whites, meanwhile, were more likely than blacks to die in a nursing home."

That makes it sound like you could attribute more of the storm related white deaths directly to failures in the system of evacuation. Which was largely FEMA's failure.