The dis-loyal opposition

In a family that includes fat Teddy, Billy Skakel and William Kennedy, one must make a special effort if he’s going to vie for the title of “whakiest.” Well Bobby Kennedy Jr. (BK jr. like the hamburger) gives it his best shot when he opines that failure to enact the Kyoto accords a mere four years ago caused hurricane Katrina and its intensity. But wait there is more. BK jr. goes on to posit that God steered hurricane Katrina away from Dem controlled New Orleans, LA and toward Rep controlled MS and AL because they supported the president in “his” Kyoto decision. The unusual thing in all of this is not that four years of Kyoto would have done little more that push our economy into recession. The unusual thing in all of this is gross ignorance of the author. The unusual thing in all of this not crass political opportunism undertaken by a complete idiot – but then I’ve already said he’s a Kennedy so that’s redundant. The really unusual thing is that a Lib Dem actually believes in God albeit an environmentally vindictive God. Hey BK jr., explain a Cat 5 Andrew hitting FL years before Kyoto was ever even a gleam in any anti-American, environmental whacko’s eye.

Then there’s Sydney Blumenthal who opines that the Bush administration cut disaster preparedness in LA by 44% to pay for the war in Iraq. First, the budget was cut to pay a group of artists to grace us with next generation of Piss Christs. Next, anytime a Dem says that the administration cut government spending what they really mean is that the administration slowed the rate of growth. Like, Dems propose a 50% increase in spending and Rep agree to a 6% increase. Dems then claim Reps slashed the budget by 44%.

Besides, it seems to me that it is not the federal government’s responsibility to provide funds for the protection from flooding of people who chose to live in a sinkhole. Sure we need to get in there and help them out now, but it seems to me that the City of New Orleans and the state of LA had the responsibility to take care of flood protection. They reap the benefits from Marti Gras and Super Bowl Sunday, add ten cents to the cost of beer or, dare I say, a hurricane on Bourbon Street and reinforce the levies and pumps to keep the sinkhole dry.

When the “100 year” flood hit the Mississippi river for the second time in as many years, I recall seeing a single farm house in the middle of a sea of water created by the swollen river. The farmer, not the state or federal government, had undertaken to build an eight foot earthen berm around his house to keep the flood water out. Why, how could he do that without the government? When I lived in the CA high desert where earthquakes are more common, I kept two plastic garbage cans filled with food, water, batteries, 10 gal. of gas and other essentials. The government didn’t come put the things I might need if an earthquake hit inside my shed, I did it. I also fixed my kitchen cabinet doors with child locks so they would not to swing open during an earthquake. I reinforced wall hangings and fixed my grandfather’s clock to wall. The government did nothing to help. When an 8 did hit and electricity and water were out for days we were somewhat prepared – no thanks to the government. If I chose to live in a sinkhole, I might have undertaken to prepare for the likelihood that the sinkhole, which happens to be surrounded by water, might begin to flood.