...We are now told that this is not a time to point fingers, even as some of those saying, "Don't point fingers," are themselves pointing fingers at the victims of the tragedy...Truth cuts like a knife.
...We're told this is not a time to hold our national government accountable because there are more important matters that confront us. This is not an either/or choice. They are linked together. As our nation belatedly finds effective ways to help those who have been so hard hit by Hurricane Katrina, it is important that we learn the right lessons of what has happened, lest we are spoon-fed the wrong lessons from what happened. If we do not absorb the right lessons, we are, in the historian's phrase, doomed to repeat the mistakes that have already been made...
...When the corpses of American citizens are floating in toxic floodwaters five days after a hurricane strikes, it is time not only to respond directly to the victims of the catastrophe but to hold the processes of our nation accountable, and the leaders of our nation accountable, for the failures that have taken place. [applause]The Bible in which I believe, in my own faith tradition, says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..."
...In the early days of the unfolding catastrophe, the President compared our ongoing efforts in Iraq to World War II and victory over Japan. Let me cite one difference between those two historical events: When imperial Japan attacked us at Pearl Harbor, Franklin Roosevelt did not invade Indonesia [applause].
I personally believe that the very fact that there has been no accountability for the horrendous misjudgments and outright falsehoods that laid the basis for this horrible tragedy that we have ongoing in Iraq, the fact that there was no accountability for those mistakes, misjudgments and dissembling, is one of the principal reasons why there was no fear of being held accountable for a cavalier, lackluster, mistaken, inadequate response to the onrushing tragedy that was clearly visible.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Al Gore, Hero
No doubt, the repubs will not like the fact that they may have to hang a medal around Al Gore's neck for stepping up to the plate and helping a great deal more than our president following the Katrina aftermath. Martian Anthropologist has a nice post today that led me to Gore's 9 Sept speech. Here are some intersting snips:
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2 comments:
Comments following Gore transcript
honor, respect and blah blah blah
Posted by: SBK on Sep 13, 2005 1:46 AM [Report this comment]
Mr. Gore, you know you will always be MY president and I stand with you. Your generation; however, is killing me with rhetoric. We need a plan, not more groaning on. I want you to go meet with Dean, H. Clinton, Pelosi and whoever else and get a good solid concrete plan for how each of your contentions will be turned into action and then call it a platform for the '06 election. You are right we have a lot of what we need in terms of tech and knowledge, but political will can only be created when we know what we are willing into existence. The leaders need a strategy. I implore you guys to get one. The only way to create political will is to give us something to stand behind and point to as your plan. Climate change, Iraq, reconstruction of the Gulf…we are ready, but what do you propose?
Not the real problem
Posted by: jyongue@iag.net on Sep 13, 2005 3:48 AM [Report this comment]
A very good speech, but it addressed symptoms. The root cause is overpopulation. Until we achieve negative population growth, global warming, polution, resource consumption and other symptoms will get worse. Treating the symptoms is good for the short term, but solution requires treating the root cause of the problem---overpopulation.
Indulge me ================
1. The problem in NOLA wasn't global warming, it was long-term mismanagement of the Mississippi River.
2. No city dweller depends on a car for transportation. Cars are necessary for suburban living, not city living. No public transportation system, no phone system and certainly no cellphone system is designed to serve everyone at once. If it were, it would be massively overbuilt, no one would want to pay for it.
i must agree with sbk's (via anonymous) assessment that rhetoric, though often powerful, offers little in the way of reform.
a politician without a plan is little more than a stooge in expensive suits.
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