Bush Monitors Earthquake Damage From Ranch

[Placebo]

President Bush spent part of Monday at his Texas ranch monitoring devastation from a deadly earthquake in Southeast Asia — a replay of his post-Christmas vacation last year when he was monitoring damage from an earthquake in Iran.

Bush sent letters of condolence to Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Landa, Indonesia, India, Maldives and Malaysia — all countries affected by the Sunday earthquake and tidal waves that have killed more than 22,000 people.

"He's been monitoring it very closely," White House spokesman Trent Duffy told reporters at a briefing here. "He's seen some of the images on television."

On Dec. 26, 2003, when Bush was beginning his 2003 post-Christmas vacation here, his advisers were keeping him abreast of an earthquake in southeastern Iran that left more than 26,000 dead.

More...

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041227/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_4

[Be Brave]

1. I wish the almighty rips one big one right through Crawford Ranch, Texas.

But spare the citizens of Crawford. Just get Bush.

[opihimoimoi]

7. He watched it CNN news and got a sound bite and a few clips

of what most of us saw. Roughly 1.2 minutes of it ....if that.

Then his people sent out all the letters and messages in his name to the affected Nations.

Its was all pat yourself on the back for being compassionate.

[Chipper Chat]

2. I've heard that "Size-meic"

is important to him.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Is he talking about how big his ding-a-ling is AGAIN???!!!!!

[AllyCat]

4. Since when is seeing a few images on the boob tube

considered "monitoring VERY closely"?

Stupid, stupid chimp!:mad:

[Catchawave]

14. Unless he's reading DU's LBN too!?

...and we haven't been too kind:spank:

[TankLV]

20. That must mean WE"RE monitoring events too!

When do we get paid since we've performed this great service to the nation, too?

[mcscajun]

21. Well he's watching them all at once, don't you see...

...there must be at least 10 TV screens on the big media wall at the ranch in Crawford. Surely 3 or 4 of them are tuned to the news? (The rest were tuned to football games and Christmas programming.)

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

"Closely monitoring" Gimme a break.

[AllyCat]

23. Don't forget cartoons!

[mcscajun]

24. Oh! Silly Me! I forgot!

He must also have been watching "Drawn Together" and "Yu-Gi-Oh!"

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[NYC]

51. He sat close to the TV.

[Goathead]

5. Didn't he just spend Christmas at Camp David?

The nerve of this guy, he is on permanent vacation. How much you want to bet he flys strait to Kennebunkport from Crawford? Fuck off George W. Bush!!!:mad:

[Shakespeare]

6. Oh, bullshit. Just complete, unadulterated bullshit.

The hell he's monitoring it. He doesn't give a shit about it, and only made his brief statement about us sending "appropriate" aid because, well, he had to.

If agent Mike or any body else allied with that band of crooks is reading this, I'm telling you flat-out it's BULLSHIT. And everybody knows it.

[TahitiNut]

19. Why would he waste his "beautiful mind" on the death of brown people?

Well ... maybe if there's a profit in it for his cronies. :eyes:


:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[iamjoy]

25. It Wasn't Just Brown People!

Western tourists died also.

I mean, people from Britian and Australia, and probably America too.

And to think, they could have been in their countries' militaries, maybe helping out in Iraq.

[TahitiNut]

43. Out of 100,000, how many? 1%? 2%?

Just what's the Bushoilini ratio on the value of white-skinned lives vs. brown-skinned lives these days? 100 to 1? 50 to 1? I hear it's 100 to 1 in Iraq ... 100,000 dead Iraqis vs. 1500 dead Amurikans (but many aren't white-skinned).

But we can't compare him to Hitler until he kills 11 million in death camps. After that, it can be discussed by polite people. :eyes:

[Just Me]

28. Like his Momma,...he couldn't possibly handle "reality",...

,...they MUST protect their "beautiful minds" 'cause they are whopping wimps. If they were forced to live the life of just one common Joe for a whole year (without any guarantee of "escape"),...they would be in dark places.

They certainly do NOT deserve to be living in their "kingdom",...considering how they got there: arms-dealing, drug-profiteering, manipulating the masses for their benefit via fear-mongering and psy-ops. Sick fucks. They are sick fucks.

I hate them. :cry:

[Catchawave]

42. You betcha there's profit concerns....

...isn't that part of the world where all our "sweat shops" are ?

[Dimsdale]

8. Chimpy doesn't "monitor" anything.

Doesn't read. Only gets updated by his staff. Somebody had to point this out to him and suggest that giving it lip service will look good to Bushbotdom. Maybe he'll scrounge up $30K and have them divide it up amongst the 10 or so countries effected. What a guy!

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

9. Bush Monitors Earthquake Damage From Crawford Pig Farm: the truth

1). "President Bush spent part of Monday at his Texas ranch monitoring devastation from a deadly earthquake in Southeast Asia"

TRANSLATION: "I'm sick of watching this depressing crap, bring me my Spongebob DVD...NOW!"

2). "a replay of his post-Christmas vacation last year when he was monitoring damage from an earthquake in Iran"

TRANSLATION: "I'm sick of watching this depressing crap, bring me my Looney Tunes DVD...NOW!"

3). "Bush sent letters of condolence to Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Landa, Indonesia, India, Maldives and Malaysia"

TRANSLATION: "Look, Karen Hughes is on the payroll...have her write a letter, rubber stamp it, and don't bother me until "The OC" is over."

4). "He's been monitoring it very closely"

TRANSLATION: He fell in sleep in front of the TV last night after his second bottle of Chivas"

5). "He's seen some of the images on television"

TRANSLATION: "MTV Real World / Road Rules Challenge Marathon" interrupted by "MTV News" uodates on Southeast Asia

6). "On Dec. 26, 2003, when Bush was beginning his 2003 post-Christmas vacation"

TRANSLATION: ""On Dec. 26, 2003, when Bush was beginning his 2003 post-Christmas vacation, which began on Jan, 1, 2003"

7). "His advisers were keeping him abreast of an earthquake in southeastern Iran"

TRANSLATION: "His advisers were keeping him abreast of the final episode of "Friends"...Ross gets Rachel, proving that even the biggest loser can win big"

BELOW, President Bush and First Lady Pickles Bush CLOSELY MONITOR the devastation from the deadly earthquake in Southeast Asia:



:grr:

[Vidar]

38. I forgot. Are pigs one the animals that can predict earthquakes?

Then chimp can predict the tsunamis that already happened. No, that would be too truthful for this bucket of excrement.

[manly]

64. bush monitors tsunami effects

I thought "Pickles" was their dog.

[JoFerret]

10. Send support, not prayers

Pray all you want, but what they need is help now and in the future. The US is one of the least generous of western countries when it comes to intertnational aid.

[Catchawave]

11. He sent "letters" ?

Who signed them? Afterall he is on vacation.:P

[Phoebe_in_Sydney]

16. Rummy wouldn't be using

his auto letter signer these days, so Dubya's probably using that for the letters of sympathy to south Asia.

On CNN International they've been showing Powell talking about how the US will help. Dubya would've said "Send Colin out to say sumthin'. He's the do-gooder always talkin' about the rest of the world."

Still, it must be a relief for the US to see a mess in the world that it didn't create :-)

[CoffeeCat]

35. Oh great. Bush is writing "letters"

Oh please.

Haven't these people experienced enough disaster?

Do they need a pile of grammatical errors and disingenuous condolences, presented to them on Hello Kitty stationery?

Someone grab the pen outta the chimp's hand before he hurts someone!

[Barrett808]

12. Seems like there's always some disaster when he's on vacation there

Or is it my imagination?

[MKE Dem]

13. Well....

He is kinda always on "vacation"

Seriously, if I took as much time off as him...

My mgr voted for Bush, maybe I should start taking a ton of time off, and call it "Patriotic Support Our Troops" time and see what happens :)

[politicasista]

15. Why is this clown president?

It's a joke! He is a fake. At least Clinton was sincere.

:grr: :argh: :puke: :puke:

[SlavesandBulldozers]

66. that's the trillion dollar question isnt it.

<spoilers ahead>

answer: because God has a sick sense of humor.

[karlrschneider]

18. Haha...yeah, that'll work really well, I'm sure.

Welcome to DU! :toast: How're things in MKE? Been a few years since I plonked onto Mitchell Field.
;-)
(Is the little airport at Hale's Corners still there? I used to visit Paul Poberezny there many, many moons ago)

[MADem]

27. It seems like we have had

...nothing but shitty weather, floods, fire and pestilence (remember the hurricanes, the locusts, the western fires, the odd weather) ever since that bastard occupied 1600 Penn. Hell, it pissed down freezing rain when he had his first big DC party.

It seemed like the sun was always shining when Bill was in the WH. Now, the clouds never seem to go away.

[Tight_rope]

39. No shit...It's actually snowed in Houston....something

I swore would never happen until I was years in my grave.

[Krupskaya]

17. They must be laughing their asses off.

I mean the spokesmen and handlers. "He's been monitoring it on television." "He sent some letters." They must roar with laughter in the break room, seeing what the journalists will print and the Murkin people will swallow.

[spanone]

22. He turned on FAUX and watched fair and balanced reporting.

[CoffeeCat]

34. I wouldn't be surprised if FAUX blamed the earthquake on liberals...

How long do we have before Falwell makes a statement, blaming the earthquake on liberals?

I'm sure FAUX will showcase that interview.

"Ya see here. God warned us about liberals and their evildoing. He said he would send earthquakes, floods and locusts and that is exactly what is happening. This earthquake an an earthly expression of God's disapproval of gay marriage, gun control and honest elections."

[Imagevision]

26. Is there a story here?

31. Re: is there a story here

Yeah there is. About how despite there having been clearly a disaster of the century going on in SE Asia, and despite the BBC having devoted most of their Sunday news segment to it, and TV5 also, CNN would not interrupt or preempt their regularly scheduled crap like "this week with Blof Witzer" or whatever, to cover it. Tonight on CNN 360 with the crewcut guy, a USGS "science advisor" admitted that they had notified the WH, State other agencies and foreign govs upon seeing their USGS thinga majigs jumping all over, no one did anything during the 2 hrs prior to Sri Lanka getting hit by the waves and the three hours before India was hit. No one gives a shit in high places, least wise Bush or Colin Powell.

[joeunderdog]

59. They ABSOLUTELY give a shit.

This is a great cover story while they're getting killed by the dozens in Iraq. A little holiday news bonus for the troubled administration.


...Now watch this drive.

[hopein08]

29. Letters would make me feel bunches better

Or NOT. I suppose that if I had just gone through the tsunami and earthquake and had no home, no food, no family...a letter from W would be just the thing to make be feel better.

Only if I could burn it for warmth!

:puke::puke::puke:

[WMliberal]

30. great article title

I couldn't think of a better euphamism for sitting on the couch watching CNN than that!

mom: "Matt, what are you doing?"
me: "Im monitoring the professional football situation in New England from my 'ranch' in Chesapeake, while consulting my (liquor) cabinet."

[susanna]

32. Translation: the incompetent fool

and his handlers realized they might should have said something more than "we're sorry" when multiple thousands of people died in a devastating tragedy.

What a smooth move. These folks amaze me, truly. And not in a good way.

on edit: spelling

[BrightKnight]

33. What is the government actually doing.

"He's been monitoring it very closely." What is the government actually DOING? NGOs have been the backbone of relief efforts. It does not follow that government should do nothing. Government involvement is not just the compassionate and civilized thing to do. It is also good foreign policy.


We can certainly provide something they need. We could provide a hospital ship, small craft to recover bodies, Peace Corps missions to help clean-up and rebuild, etc..


Perhaps he has been reading "My Pet Goat" again.

[Princess Turandot]

36. He probably just thought that..

Sue Nami was a country-western singer he hadn't heard of and ordered a CD.

[6000eliot]

37. Gee, I hope he doesn't bruise his finger on the remote!

Douche bag.

[shayes51]

40. I guess values and compassion don't matter much

when the tragedy and human suffering are about dark-skinned people halfway around the world.

[dbt]

41. Lemme see do I grok this:

From his Pig Ranch, bu$h is able to monitor developments halfway around the world--but was unable to buy a vowel concerning the 9/11 attacks?

Verily, I grok not.

:freak:
dbt

[Massachusetts]

44. I have this vision

of Dr. Evil sitting at the head of a round table with all his cohorts. Sitting on Der Cheneys lap is none other than Minnie Me (Little shrub).

[ilovenicepeople]

53. Speaking of Dick

Where in Satans cauldron is Dick Cheney????

[buddysmellgood]

45. A real president would have sent one of our hospital ships to help.

Oh, that's right...we're using them all.

[UncleSepp]

47. We are sending ships. n/t

[buddysmellgood]

49. War ships. Not a hospital ship. The administration is already trying

to spin this disaster as a part of the "war on terror." They are pouting that terrorists will use the disaster as an opportunity. Absolutely no shame.

[UncleSepp]

52. The war ships were available

The ships were available and not that far away, coming from Hong Kong and from Guam:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002133710_lincoln29m.html

<snip>

Together, the Lincoln and Bonhomme Richard groups carry a number of types of air support, including helicopters that can be used for search-and-rescue missions, reconnaissance or transport of medical supplies; food, and other equipment, said Maj. Guillermo Canedo, a spokesman for the Navy's Pacific Command.

Both also can provide limited medical assistance.

The ships have water-treatment systems that can produce about 50,000 gallons of drinking water daily.

"Water is an immediate need that we'll be addressing," he said.

<snip>

I don't see any war on terror spin in this.

[buddysmellgood]

55. Nope, not in that story. But look around, you'll find a separate story

warning that terrorists are working to take advantage of the situation.

[UncleSepp]

58. Is that coming from BushCo, or a yellow editor?

Some of that kind of reporting doesn't require direction from above, it's just unscrupulous people selling papers with whatever scary and gory junk they can. That isn't to say, of course, that this administration and others in the past don't push "news" out to the media to further their agendas!

[UncleSepp]

46. Maybe it's a pragmatic decision

When something seriously wrong is happening at work, I usually stay home to fix it by remoting in rather than waste time driving to work. There's nothing other than actually putting hands on hardware that I can't do from home with a broadband connection and a cell phone.

If the President's job is basically to have people tell him what's going on, then make a decision and tell other people what it is, it seems like that's well enough done from anywhere. Why not stay put at the ranch and not waste a day getting to Washington to talk on the phone there instead of talk on the phone in Texas? Not to mention that for the President, there's a huge expense and expenditure of other people's time and effort to make a trip like that. It seems perfectly practical, and perhaps even considerate of the staff, to stay in Texas and work from home. Going to Washington would just be a media-friendly gesture that would not seem to increase his effectiveness.

If he has to meet with people face to face, they can be flown to Texas as easily as they can be flown to D.C., probably easier due to not having as much congestion getting into Crawford as getting into a major city on the crowded East Coast. Welcoming leaders into something that is more like a family home than the White House seems to be friendlier anyway. If I were in his place, I'd probably do the same thing.

[BrightKnight]

48. Lack of action and apparent concern are not in the national interest.

"Riding his bike" and "strolling" at home is the wrong message to send to the rest of the world. He has been in office long enough understand this. He simply does not give damn.

The Bush family has very close links to US eugenics programs. Perhaps he does not see this as a tragedy. I wonder where he keeps his grandfather clock.

http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/index.php?showtopic=11939&st=0&p=114754&#entry114754

His lack of action and apparent concern has seriously undermined our humanitarian and public relations missions. The reputation of the US has again been degraded by Bush.

[UncleSepp]

50. I agree with that

But he can show concern and take action from anywhere. OTOH he could also be inactive and unconcerned right in the Oval Office.

[Bridget Burke]

60. He should have shown concern immediately.

Part of his job is being the symbolic representative of the American people. (Yes, I'm getting nauseous.) A simple, heartfelt message about the horror of the event, adding that thoughts (& prayers, even) were with the victims--condolence messages needn't be witty & complex. A vague statement about aid efforts could be included. Of course, his physical & mental abilities make it hard for him to even pretend to care.

Of course he won't take "action"--that's the job of his underlings. But some of them should have worked on a plan that could be announced--quickly. Instead, they wasted time wondering how this tragedy could be "spun" to benefit them. A massive & visible aid effort from the USA could actually help us in the court of world opinion--we need that right now. Just adding a reason--too bad that basic human decency is never one of their motives.

[UncleSepp]

61. It would have been something, at least

Even if he didn't know what to say, that would have been OK. The image of him looking shocked and confused in the middle of his yardwork saying "My God, that's horrible. We are all so sorry for the loss, and we'll figure out how to help" would have shown him in an honest and decent light having a perfectly normal human reaction, and probably would have resonated with the rest of the shocked and confused people in the world whose normal lives were suddenly interrupted by this catastrophe. Why he missed that opportunity I just don't understand.

Unfortunately, not only does everything have to be spun first with this administration, the spin doctors aren't even very good at what they do.

[Algorem]

54. When he heard "tsuNAMi",he thought he had to move to Alabama again.

[FredScuttle]

56. I look forward to the Congressional investigation next year

where it's revealed Chimpy received a briefing report entitled "Fucking Ginormous Tsumani Determined to Strike In South Asia" on December 23, 2004.

Well, I guess it is at least comforting that the administration is showing the proper dignity and not using the occasion of this global tragedy to smear Bill Clinton....eh, what's that?

What a group of total douchebags.

[njdemocrat106]

57. Gee, what else is new?

When Judgment Day comes, Bush will just be riding it out in his cozy little ranch.
"Laura, we're out of pretzels again! Laura?" :evilgrin:

[Caledonia]

62. Typical

Tory Bliar is the same, only he is monitoring the situation from his vacation in Egypt.

[frustrated_lefty]

63. Somebody

give that moron bags and bags of pretzels to enhance his TV viewing pleasure.

[robbedvoter]

65. "No speechwriters at the ranch - initial drafts" - working on it (sorta)

"Now is a time for him to, sort of, think about how he wants to address the American people," Duffy said, adding that there were no speechwriters at the ranch. "I think the best way to characterize it is there are some initial drafts."

[mcg]

67. Bush being a scrooge and brags about it, we can do better.

BushCo has pledged what, 35 million so far? That's around one 7,000th of the money being spent on Iraq. Sure, it will be more, but how much more? Bush, they don't want your 'condolences', they need our help.

We can do better, here's some links:

Habitat for Humanity, led by Jimmy Carter:

https://www.habitat.org/giving/donate.aspx?link=33

Oxfam (suggested by MoveOn):

https://secure.ga3.org/02/asia_earthquake04?source=aqt04_mo

A side note about Habitat for Humanity: houses they built inexpensively withstood the big Florida hurricane years ago, while more expensive houses were destroyed because the developers used staples instead of screws on the roofs (Habitat for Humanity used screws).