Bush's visit with Scouts put off again

[sabra]

<<SNIP>>
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/breaking_news/12245578.htm

Bush's visit with Scouts put off again

Associated Press


WASHINGTON - President Bush's trip to the Boy Scout jamboree has been postponed again, a day after some 300 people at the national gathering were sickened while waiting for him in hot, humid weather.

Bush initially was to speak Wednesday at the Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, an Army base in central Virginia about 75 miles south of Washington, where a memorial service was planned for four Scout leaders killed Monday while pitching a tent. Severe thunderstorms and strong winds caused Bush's visit to be rescheduled for Thursday evening.

But on Thursday morning, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the Scouts had asked the president to put off his appearance yet again, until Sunday.

"This is a large crowd," McClellan said. "I think part of it was they just wanted to make sure they had all the medical supplies and EMT personnel to handle such a large crowd. It's as simple as that. A lot of it had been used previously."

<</SNIP>>

[Cocoa]

1. Bush jerks around the Boy Scouts

he's probably loving it. Suckers!

[DemsUnite]

17. Have time for a soldier's funeral, Georgie?

[wildflower]

31. Apparently his visit was originally planned as a recruiting effort:

Mourning Scouts Will Hear From President Bush

POSTED: 8:37 am CDT July 27, 2005

-snip-

Bush's speech Wednesday evening at the Boy Scouts of America's quadrennial jamboree -- initially intended to celebrate volunteerism and military service -- was turned into more of a consolation session after four men died on Monday while erecting a large dining tent at the gathering.

http://www.nbc5.com/news/4774781/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=1167317&dppid=65193

(the above was from Wednesday, before the visit was postponed again)

ON EDIT: The article doesn't say 'recuiting effort,' but that is how I read it; I could be wrong. Sorry if this has been discussed already.

[RobertSeattle]

2. There goes the Boy Scout vote

From the video I've seen, yesterday was a complete fiasco as hundreds got hyperthermia while waiting for Bubble Boy to show up.

[Tesha]

3. Doesn't matter, s'long as Adam and Steve can't get hitched.

They'll still vote for Bush.

Tesha

[Sequoia]

6. Child abuse

making them stand in the hot sun.

[mockmonkey]

4. Be Prepared

yeah, ahuh.

[KeepItReal]

5. Couldn't that MoFo just get in the Bushmobile and *DRIVE* down??

They can go as fast as they want...they're the GOVERNMENT.

[MaineDem]

7. Thank you!

That was I thought as well.

[barbaraann]

8. Forced Standing is a type of torture.

http://lostpages.net/lostpagesDRtorture.html

[Changenow]

9. Bush flips off scouts, and all of us, must see!

http://homepage.mac.com/onegoodmove/movies/bushflips.mov

He's sane?

[tblue37]

27. The video is hard to see,

and my eyes are not sharp. Can anyone tell me if it is for sure that it was his middle finger rather than his index finger? And what was the reason he would have been flipping reporters off (or pointing with his index finger if that is what he actually was doing)?

Were they asking him difficult questions? (I am severely hearing impaired, so if the reporters' questions are there in the audio of the clip, I would not be able to hear them.)

I am trying to get a sense of whether he really did flip reporters off on video. I know he did that on video when he was governor, but if he is that open about his attitude now that he is president, either he really beleives no one can touch him now (which could lead to one of those falls that pride goeth before), or else he is so stressed out that he can't control his public behavior even as well as he has been doing all along (which isn't all that great anyway).

[rogue_bandit]

30. Yes, it really was the middle finger

Leno assures the audience that the clip is unedited in any way.

The video didn't reflect the voices of reporters leading up to the gesture, so the reason for the flip-off is not clear.

Oviously, the guy is a creep extraordinaire (Bush, not Leno)

[Enraged_Ape]

10. How many innocent casualties before this man is impeached?

Now he's torturing Boy Scouts, for crying out loud!!

[Beetwasher]

11. To Bush, The Boy Scouts Are Props To Be Used At His Leisure

They should be GRATEFUL that Bush has even deigned to acknowledge their meager existence and that they get the chance to get sick and die in oppressive heat for their glorious leader, who may or may not ever even show up. At least Bush considered showing up, that should be enough for them!

"But on Thursday morning, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the Scouts had asked the president to put off his appearance yet again, until Sunday."

Right. The scouts asked the President to delay so more of them could get sick and possibly die in the oppressive heat.

[Parche]

12. Thunderstorms my A$$

He didnt go because of the Cafta vote, him and Cheney
were trying to get the yes votes in time
That story about thunderstorms is a lie

[LibertyLover]

13. Thunderstorms

Not exactly a lie. Yesterday evening around 6:35 or so a cold front moved through the DC area bringing with it gusty winds (gusts to 60 mps), heavy rain and thunder and lightening (although if the truth be told, not as much as I thought there would be given the way the clouds looked). I know because I was caught in it waiting at the New Carrollton Metro station for my husband to come pick me up. DC was not hit as hard as the areas north and south of the city. Driving was difficult and flying would have been impossible. I don't recall what time he was supposed to speak to the Scouts, but I think it was late afternoon, right about the time the storms would have been forming. I'm certainly not disputing your comments about CAFTA and think that * would have found another excuse to ditch the Scouts to lobby for it had the weather not provided him such an easy out. And given that, the Gods forbide, had he been in a chopper, been hit by weather and had a major accident, Cheney would take over, it may be for the best that * didn't try to go to the Jamboree yesterday.

[KansDem]

14. Hey, Scouts! This is just like his stint in TANG!!!

Now do you see why more than half the country disapproves of his performance as President?

[displacedtexan]

15. This gives new meaning to "Be prepared."

Be Prepared NOT to die of heat exposure while waiting for George W. to show up.

[frictionlessO]

16. I heard there were 40,000 or so people at the jamboree, if thats true then

this excuse does not wash in any way whatsoever. 40,000 people is nothing compared to some concerts, festivals (and trust me those people were more than prepared), and even some sport events.

Nope not buying it.

[MindPilot]

28. I was thinking the same thing -- 2 hours at 90 is nothing

ask any construction worker, cop, firefighter, soldier or landscaper.
These are boy scouts, kids in top physical condition, are they sure it's the heat?

[ElectroPrincess]

32. I was in "that heat" just a little north of the Boy Scouts ...

Up here in Northern "we ain't exactly cosmopolitan" Virginia, i.e., south of Fairfax. :P

And HELL YES! The heat index was toping out at 110 degrees. I've lived in true oppressive heat within such places as Phoenix and Panama (the country). However - and this is big - there was something smothering that seemingly caused many *normally healthy people* to drop like flies in three straight days of "heat restrictions." Most likely a combination of high humidity and lack of proper hydration.

I think many folks here will concur that this past Monday through Wednesday in these parts of Virginia was a true hot-house hell. :grr:

[Moderator]

18. Kick

[RamboLiberal]

19. WP: Bush Again Postpones Visit to Scouts (Now Sunday)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/28/AR2005072800761.html

More Than 300 Boys Treated for Heat Problems After President's First Trip Put Off

President Bush postponed his visit to the Boy Scout National Jamboree in central Virginia until Sunday so that officials could be sure to make appropriate plans for handling any heat problems in the crowd, White House officials said today.

The storms that moved through the region last night forced Bush to cancel a planned appearance at the Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill. But more than 300 Scouts still had to be treated for heat problems, including dehydration and light-headedness, after waiting in the blazing sun for more than two hours in their dress uniforms to see Bush.

Bush was expected to come to the site today, but White House spokesman Scott McClellan told the Associated Press this morning that Boy Scout officials had asked Bush to postpone his visit. They "wanted to make sure they had all the medical supplies and EMT personnel to handle such a large crowd," McClellan said.

Despite temperatures in the high 90s yesterday, hundreds of Scouts stood in long security lines in the afternoon and then sat waiting in an open field for the president. Supplies of ice and water were provided to the Scouts, but still many succumbed to the heat. According to the AP, soldiers from the fort helped carry sick Scouts on stretchers to the hospital and emergency workers from surrounding jurisdictions were called in to help treat and transport them.

[MisterP]

20. boyscoutprostrationcount.net?

[Ilsa]

21. Seeing Bush is a health hazard. Maybe they'll go home. eom.

[jobycom]

22. Still haven't sobered him up, eh?

[rocktivity]

23. Why would they want to hang around after those four guys died anyway?

Between that, the heat stroke epidemic, and Bush's cancelling I'd have beeen long gone. And isn't making them wait around for two days risking even MORE heatstroke in order to ensure they don't get heatstroke a little incongruous?

:shrug:
rocknation

[marmar]

24. The Scouts can look at the bright side...

If they got sick from the heat, imagine how they would have felt after a Bush speech!

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

[Moderator]

25. Kick

[unrepuke]

26. Standing in line...

"...hundreds of Scouts stood in long security lines in the afternoon and then sat waiting in an open field for the president."

This will be good practice for them in a couple years when they get drafted.
They can trade "Be Prepared" for "Hurry Up & Wait"

[Sam_Lowry]

29. Shame he can't put as much effort into his job...

...as he does for the photo ops. Wait, maybe that's a good thing...:dilemma: At least he's not doing active harm at the time....Cheney and gang are.

[HawkerHurricane]

33. I hate duplicate threads.

Now I have to cut and paste my simple comment, which won't fit it unless I cut and paste what I was commenting too...

OrangeCountyDemocrat (363 posts) Thu Jul-28-05 05:28 PM
Response to Original message
1. They Should Back Out Completely
If they had any balls, the Boy Scouts would tell Shrub that they reconsidered his appearance for "security" reasons...or something of that sort. Doesn't anyone have the guts to tell this Loser off and publicly snub him? What's he going to do, go after the Boy Scouts for embasrassing him?


Alert Printer Friendly | Link | Reply | Top
HawkerHurricane (1000+ posts) Thu Jul-28-05 05:44 PM
Response to Reply #1
4. They won't.
Sometime in the past years, the Boy Scouts got taken over by Paulist Extremists. They'll suck up all the abuse that BushCo dishes out and beg for more.

[livinginphotographs]

34. Gov. Mark Warner made it.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031784107281
Gov. Warner delivers sympathies at Jamboree

[KeepItReal]

35. Blackhawks and Huey helicopters were there to medi-vac scouts out...

Marine One could not fly on over??

Also...I say again: Couldn't he just jump in the Bushmobile and *DRIVE* there??

[rainbow4321]

36. "100's of heat related illnesses....President's security precautions"

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/sns-ap-jamboree,0,1651547.story?coll=nyc-nationhome-headlines


"You'd like to say the cool heads should have recognized the potential for heat-related illness, but it's so extraordinary -- I suspect the president's security precautions really were the driver," Waltz said.

Indeed, White House security rules dictated that the Scouts go through lengthy security checks and be waiting inside the arena two hours before the president's arrival, Fairrer said.

"The White House security rules ... are certainly in place to make sure the president and his entourage are protected and we certainly respect that," she said. "But at some point, we have to say this just jeopardizes the health of the youth too much."

On Wednesday, 40,000 Scouting enthusiasts waited hours in the stifling heat for an appearance by President Bush, who ended up postponing his visit due to the threat of severe thunderstorms. Sun-sick Scouts began collapsing and more than 300 people were treated for heat-related illnesses.

[kestrel91316]

37. Bush's handlers don't even trust the BOY SCOUTS???

Boy, sometimes I wonder how the hell they can keep secret from * how much everybody hates him.