Bush post-Katrina
I was going to write on this subject but Steyn beat me to it in today’s Telegraph. Had a long chat with a friend of mine who is a producer at the BBC about it. We agreed that the screeching against Bush started way too early and was way to shrill to be effective. Granted the BBC & ITV and the left-wing papers in the UK took every single daft claim against Bush at face value. Whether its the claim that over 10k people have died, blacks were overly affected (in fact the parishes/counties worst affected by Katrina were mostly white) and that Bush is wounded politically the reporting is that this are all facts. Half of the time one had to wonder whether or not the person reporting had any idea that Bush could not could actually run for President next time round. A second term President is a lame duck soon into his second term anyway. Of course, considering the behaviour of the Dems at all level in Loiusiana and chumps like Kayne West & Jesse Jackson I doubt the Republicans are going to suffer at all. Needless to say any poll which exonerates Bush personally was ignored.
What has most annoyed and bothered me however is the complete lack of understanding of the governance of the US by Americans many of whom I thought of as well-informed bloggers. Are people that ignorant of the relationship between the state and the federal goverment? I mean I expect my non-political geek British friends to be a bit weak on this but American educated bloggers? Do they not know that the federal authorities have to invited into any emergency situation by the state (or for that matter neighbouring states national guards)? Do they know about the history of curruption in the Louisiana going back for many decades? Do they not know that there are in some cases conflicts between the Napoleonic-law inspired LA state law and that of the Civil Law-inspired US?
The most sensible writing I found on the subject was from my other favourite Canuck writer; Colby Cosh.
Now there are lots of things about the post-disaster situation that could have been used to bash the administration. However instead of waiting until the waters had receeded and the facts were known the knee-jerk Bush haters went insane. Bush comes out looking Presidential and they come out looking daft. And whose is suppose to be dumb?
Comments are off for this postNo joy in Norway
While England may have been celebrating their win in the Ashes; Norwegian right-of-centre types were crying in their collective beers. The centre-right coalition has been trounced by the socialist one. This despite the fact the populist right-of-centre Progress Party has done rather well indeed. We can expect Norway to lurch to the left according to Gnorhat; who will be closely following developments in his country’s politics. He also has links to latest political news in Norway on his sidebar. Political observers like me will be closely watching the next big election on the world scene; that of New Zealand this Sunday. Many New Zealanders are wishing that Helen Clark, their ultra left PM’s party, gets trounced despite the alarmingly close race.
Comments are off for this postVideo Of The Week
I have no idea who the Bloodhound Gang is, and I can’t make head or tails of this video, which is drenched in symbolism. Even the title, “Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo,” seems to be coded in dense military jargon. Is it encrypted? Could it have something to do with Iraq?
The lyrics are a curious string of metaphors that will leave you baffled and scratching your head. I think people will be debating their meaning 40 years from now. It may be the “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” of our age.
But never mind all that. The really exciting thing about this is that former CNN talking-head Tucker Carlson has a new gig as the lead singer for the band. He’s traded in his bowtie for an even more ridiculous piece of neckware—but there’s no doubt about it; that’s our Tucker!
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