25 Mind-Numbingly Stupid Quotes

[mrchetsteadman]

1) "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." ?President Bush, on "Good Morning America," Sept. 1, 2005, six days after repeated warnings from experts about the scope of damage expected from Hurricane Katrina (Source)

2) "What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) ? this is working very well for them." ?Former First Lady Barbara Bush, on the Hurricane flood evacuees in the Houston Astrodome, Sept. 5, 2005 (Source)

3) "It makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level....It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed." ?House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Aug. 31, 2005 (Source)

4) "We've got a lot of rebuilding to do ... The good news is ? and it's hard for some to see it now ? that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house ? he's lost his entire house ? there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." (Laughter) ?President Bush, touring hurricane damage, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005 (Source)

5) "Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well." ?FEMA Director Michael Brown, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

6) "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." ?President Bush, to FEMA director Michael Brown, while touring Hurricane-ravaged Mississippi, Sept. 2, 2005 (Source)

7) "I have not heard a report of thousands of people in the convention center who don't have food and water." ?Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, on NPR's "All Things Considered," Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

8) "Well, I think if you look at what actually happened, I remember on Tuesday morning picking up newspapers and I saw headlines, 'New Orleans Dodged the Bullet.' Because if you recall, the storm moved to the east and then continued on and appeared to pass with considerable damage but nothing worse." ?Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, blaming media coverage for his failings, "Meet the Press," Sept. 4, 2005 (Source)

9) "I mean, you have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving.? ?Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Sept. 6, 2005 (Source)

10) "You simply get chills every time you see these poor individuals...many of these people, almost all of them that we see are so poor and they are so black, and this is going to raise lots of questions for people who are watching this story unfold." ?CNN's Wolf Blitzer, on New Orleans' hurricane evacuees, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

11) "What didn't go right?'" ?President Bush, as quoted by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), after she urged him to fire FEMA Director Michael Brown "because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right" in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort (Source)

12) "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?" ?House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX), to three young hurricane evacuees from New Orleans at the Astrodome in Houston (Source)

13) "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did." ?Rep. Richard Baker (R-LA) to lobbyists, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal (Source)

14) "Louisiana is a city that is largely under water." ?Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, news conference, Sept. 3, 2005 (Source)

15) "I also want to encourage anybody who was affected by Hurricane Corina to make sure their children are in school." ?First Lady Laura Bush, twice referring to a "Hurricane Corina" while speaking to children and parents in South Haven, Mississippi, Sept. 8, 2005 (Source)

16) "It's totally wiped out. ... It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground." ?President Bush, turning to his aides while surveying Hurricane Katrina flood damage from Air Force One, Aug. 31, 2005 (Source)

17) "I believe the town where I used to come ? from Houston, Texas, to enjoy myself, occasionally too much ? will be that very same town, that it will be a better place to come to." ?President Bush, on the tarmac at the New Orleans airport, Sept. 2, 2005 (Source)

18) "Last night, we showed you the full force of a superpower government going to the rescue." ?MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

19) "You know I talked to Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi yesterday because some people were saying, 'Well, if you hadn't sent your National Guard to Iraq, we here in Mississippi would be better off.' He told me 'I've been out in the field every single day, hour, for four days and no one, not one single mention of the word Iraq.' Now where does that come from? Where does that story come from if the governor is not picking up one word about it? I don't know. I can use my imagination." ?Former President George Bush, who can give his imagination a rest, interview with CNN?s Larry King, Sept. 5, 2005 (Source)

20) "We just learned of the convention center ? we being the federal government ? today." ?FEMA Director Michael Brown, to ABC's Ted Koppel, Sept. 1, 2005, to which Koppel responded " Don't you guys watch television? Don't you guys listen to the radio? Our reporters have been reporting on it for more than just today." (Source)

21) "I don't want to alarm everybody that, you know, New Orleans is filling up like a bowl. That's just not happening." -Bill Lokey, FEMA's New Orleans coordinator, in a press briefing from Baton Rouge, Aug. 30, 2005 (Source)

22) "FEMA is not going to hesitate at all in this storm. We are not going to sit back and make this a bureaucratic process. We are going to move fast, we are going to move quick, and we are going to do whatever it takes to help disaster victims." --FEMA Director Michael Brown, Aug. 28, 2005 (Source)

23) "I don't make judgments about why people chose not to leave but, you know, there was a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans." ?FEMA Director Michael Brown, arguing that the victims bear some responsibility, CNN interview, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

24) "I understand there are 10,000 people dead. It's terrible. It's tragic. But in a democracy of 300 million people, over years and years and years, these things happen." --GOP strategist Jack Burkman, on MSNBC's "Connected," Sept. 7, 2005 (Source)

25) "Thank President Clinton and former President Bush for their strong statements of support and comfort today. I thank all the leaders that are coming to Louisiana, and Mississippi and Alabama to our help and rescue. We are grateful for the military assets that are being brought to bear. I want to thank Senator Frist and Senator Reid for their extraordinary efforts. Anderson, tonight, I don't know if you've heard ? maybe you all have announced it -- but Congress is going to an unprecedented session to pass a $10 billion supplemental bill tonight to keep FEMA and the Red Cross up and operating." ?Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), to CNN's Anderson Cooper, Aug. 31, 2005, to which Cooper responded:

"I haven't heard that, because, for the last four days, I've been seeing dead bodies in the streets here in Mississippi. And to listen to politicians thanking each other and complimenting each other, you know, I got to tell you, there are a lot of people here who are very upset, and very angry, and very frustrated. And when they hear politicians slap ? you know, thanking one another, it just, you know, it kind of cuts them the wrong way right now, because literally there was a body on the streets of this town yesterday being eaten by rats because this woman had been laying in the street for 48 hours. And there's not enough facilities to take her up. Do you get the anger that is out here?" (Source)

[Fotix]

Link would be nice:

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/current...quotes.htm?nl=1

:ninja:

[mrchetsteadman]

Yea my fault. This other site I was on is being hacked. Some young idiot hacked the main account and is deleting every post...

[odious_m]

Yea my fault. This other site I was on is being hacked. Some young idiot hacked the main account and is deleting every post...

586512082[/snapback]

Not a "young idiot." Just a patriot defending his admin... er, I mean... country.

[mAcOdIn Veteran]

Well I don't think all the comments are stupid. I too honestly question the wisdom behind wanting to rebuild a city surrounded by three large bodies of water under sea level, can anyone really say it makes perfect sense to rebuild New Orleans? That to me is just human arrogance in my opinion. The city is constantly sinking, constantly going deeper and deeper under sea level and the waters are constantly rising, the city was virtually destroyed and we're talking about putting it right back in the same place? they could have taken this chance to pump some of that water into barrels and fly or drive it to some place that needs water like Texas or Montana but instead they're pumping it right back into the lake. We have a dry lake bed here that would love some water.

Great forward thinking guys, really smart. If we're going to have to start at almost the beginning again why not just rebuild the harbor and move the city inland some and connect it with a good highway and railway system?

And the people who stayed behind DO deserve some portion of "blame", although I wouldn't use the term blame. It's just that everyone knew what was on the line and people chose, made informed decisions, and decided to weather it out. Look I would have probably done the same thing, I make less than 800 dollars a month, as does my roommate, so I by no means live rich or middle class even, one natural disaster would financially end me. I can't not work for a week, I can't stay at a hotel for a week, I can't afford for my house to get looted, so given the option of trying to wait out a natural disaster I would probably take my chances. I'm not saying they made the "wrong" choice, because in life there's many times where all the options are "wrong", but the consequences of thier decision to stay does somewhat fall on thier shoulders as well, to say otherwise is rediculouse.

[mrchetsteadman]

Not a "young idiot." Just a patriot defending his admin... er, I mean... country.

586512392[/snapback]

LoL, riiiight. He was mad because he wasnt a MOD anymore, so he hacked the main account and destroyed the site. But then deleted himself by mistake... : :pinch:

Well I don't think all the comments are stupid.  I too honestly question the wisdom behind wanting to rebuild a city surrounded by three large bodies of water under sea level, can anyone really say it makes perfect sense to rebuild New Orleans?  That to me is just human arrogance in my opinion.  The city is constantly sinking, constantly going deeper and deeper under sea level and the waters are constantly rising, the city was virtually destroyed and we're talking about putting it right back in the same place?  they could have taken this chance to pump some of that water into barrels and fly or drive it to some place that needs water like Texas or Montana but instead they're pumping it right back into the lake.  We have a dry lake bed here that would love some water.

Great forward thinking guys, really smart.  If we're going to have to start at almost the beginning again why not just rebuild the harbor and move the city inland some and connect it with a good highway and railway system?

And the people who stayed behind DO deserve some portion of "blame", although I wouldn't use the term blame.  It's just that everyone knew what was on the line and people chose, made informed decisions, and decided to weather it out.  Look I would have probably done the same thing, I make less than 800 dollars a month, as does my roommate, so I by no means live rich or middle class even, one natural disaster would financially end me.  I can't not work for a week, I can't stay at a hotel for a week, I can't afford for my house to get looted, so given the option of trying to wait out a natural disaster I would probably take my chances.  I'm not saying they made the "wrong" choice, because in life there's many times where all the options are "wrong", but the consequences of thier decision to stay does somewhat fall on thier shoulders as well, to say otherwise is rediculouse.

586512676[/snapback]

Your mind is in the right area, but the ideas are kinda... :ninja:

The water is contaminated so I am not sure WHY they would put it back in the ocean. But the water is no good anymore...

[dreamz Veteran]

Well I don't think all the comments are stupid.

a lot of them just make you say, "wow" and not in a good way.

I too honestly question the wisdom behind wanting to rebuild a city surrounded by three large bodies of water under sea level, can anyone really say it makes perfect sense to rebuild New Orleans?

if i had my way as a city planner, i'd take the opportunity to re-do the city design from scratch, this time, putting into place several mechanisms to avoid catastrophic damage in the future. i don't think they're going to make it exactly like it was. there are infinite possibilities; i'm sure they can pick a good one.

And the people who stayed behind DO deserve some portion of "blame", although I wouldn't use the term blame.

586512676[/snapback]

i'd say "responsibility." no one can blame them for what happened. the destruction wasn't their fault, but they are responsible for their own lives, provided, of course, they knew all the facts.

[mAcOdIn Veteran]

@C-Squarez

Well I'm guessing that the water could be treated and made safe again, if not lets just shoot it into space or something instead of going to mars.

@dreamz

What could you do as a city planner to fight mother nature? The idea that we can out engineer a hurricane or massive flooding is kinda preposterous. Sure they could build an infinite amount of rings of levies, each with it's own series of super water pumps, so that there's several barriers between these things the water, but at what point does spending an unknown epic amount of money on rebuilding a city purely out of man's desire to conquer nature become more important and feasable than just common sense and admitting mans inferiority to nature?

Responsibility is a good word, I don't know why it slipped my mind, especially since it was in the quote I was thinking of, perhaps because I'm getting sick and tired of Bush and everyone else getting blamed for something that has no blame.

[mrchetsteadman]

i'd say "responsibility."  no one can blame them for what happened.  the destruction wasn't their fault, but they are responsible for their own lives, provided, of course, they knew all the facts.

586514462[/snapback]

I love when people like you post dreamz, thank you. But then again, like mAcOdIn said, most people can't leave at all. They depend on work so they can't just get up and go because a storm is about to hit. The whole situation was just messed up in my opinion. No one is to blame, it's just something that happened and we have to learn from it.

@C-Squarez

Well I'm guessing that the water could be treated and made safe again, if not lets just shoot it into space or something instead of going to mars.

586514510[/snapback]

You are another person I love seening post. But anyways, i am not sure why THAT slipped my mind. We should be treating the water. But there must be a reason that is not being done. But I have no idea what it is...

[mntbikeracer1]

I love when people like you post dreamz, thank you. But then again, like mAcOdIn said, most people can't leave at all. They depend on work so they can't just get up and go because a storm is about to hit. The whole situation was just messed up in my opinion. No one is to blame, it's just something that happened and we have to learn from it.

You are another person I love seening post. But anyways, i am not sure why THAT slipped my mind. We should be treating the water. But there must be a reason that is not being done. But I have no idea what it is...

586514556[/snapback]

The water is beyond any form of so called treatement. It is extremely caustic, toxic, has a very high pH and would take years to "treat". The only way to get rid of it is to dump it into the Gulf Coast and dilute it into the ocean. The only way to treat it would be through reverse osmosis, a process that would cost tons of money and take a very long time. Money and time better spent on getting these people homes.

[dreamz Veteran]

@dreamz

What could you do as a city planner to fight mother nature?  The idea that we can out engineer a hurricane or massive flooding is kinda preposterous.  Sure they could build an infinite amount of rings of levies, each with it's own series of super water pumps, so that there's several barriers between these things the water, but at what point does spending an unknown epic amount of money on rebuilding a city purely out of man's desire to conquer nature become more important and feasable than just common sense and admitting mans inferiority to nature?

well, i'm not an engineer or a city planner (which i'm sure you know), but one would assume that there would be mechanisms or certain designs that can be used to minimize the catastrophic effects. of course, it would be great if people moved out of those areas (e.g. tornado alley) that are repeatedly destroyed, but i don't see that happening. given that they're going to rebuild, they might as well improve the design. ensure there are backup connections to emergency lines, embed critical components in protected areas, etc. they can also improve their emergency evacuation strategies and so on.

Responsibility is a good word, I don't know why it slipped my mind, especially since it was in the quote I was thinking of, perhaps because I'm getting sick and tired of Bush and everyone else getting blamed for something that has no blame.

586514510[/snapback]

the way i see it, everyone is responsible for his/her own life and what they choose to do with it. it's just a corollary of autonomy.

of course, while no one can be blamed for the disaster, people and organizations can be blamed for mismanagement, etc.

I love when people like you post dreamz, thank you. But then again, like mAcOdIn said, most people can't leave at all. They depend on work so they can't just get up and go because a storm is about to hit. The whole situation was just messed up in my opinion. No one is to blame, it's just something that happened and we have to learn from it.

586514556[/snapback]

if you know that a storm is coming, that evacuation is mandatory, and that you may face death, it is your responsibility, whatever you choose. that's not to say that it is your fault, but you chose.

[....]

a lot of them just make you say, "wow" and not in a good way.

586514462[/snapback]

And a whole heck of a lot of them are taken out of context.

[mAcOdIn Veteran]

@mntbikeracer1

Interesting, I'll take your word for it as I don't know jack about that kind of stuff, as I'm terrible in chemistry and the like sciences.

@dreamz

I'm not doubting that we can make the city safer to an extent, what I'm questioning is whether it's worth and and are our reasons for doing so valid. I feel that the money would be better spent building the city somewhere else, although my take on this is probably over simplistic, as I'm sure getting the land, zoning, and all the red tape of actually building a city is in itself probably even harder to get through than making NO safer for a hurricane.

[dreamz Veteran]

And a whole heck of a lot of them are taken out of context.

586514629[/snapback]

that may be true, but some do stand on their own.

@dreamz

I'm not doubting that we can make the city safer to an extent, what I'm questioning is whether it's worth and and are our reasons for doing so valid.  I feel that the money would be better spent building the city somewhere else, although my take on this is probably over simplistic, as I'm sure getting the land, zoning, and all the red tape of actually building a city is in itself probably even harder to get through than making NO safer for a hurricane.

586514711[/snapback]

yeah, i know what you mean, and i've thought that myself, but while i have not done any calculations, i wouldn't be surprised to find out that it is more efficient to re-develop the current location than to transplant it.

[Boffa Jones Veteran]

The problem with hurricaine/flood proofing is that it has caused damage to the environment around there already. The more they divert rivers and stuff like that the more the city will sink and the wetlands(?) are flooded and the situation just gets worse.