Kerry, Lawmakers: U.S. Isn’t Prepared for Next Attack

[kerrygoddess]

Kerry, Lawmakers: U.S. Isn’t Prepared for Next Attack
September 11th, 2005

The Lowell Sun has rarely been known to turn tail on the conservatives but they certainly did a bit of an about face today with this article, giving creedence to MA and New England Democrats — Mass. lawmakers: U.S. isn’t prepared for next attack.

WASHINGTON — Grim images of unattended corpses and stranded hurricane victims illustrate shocking deficiencies in the nation’s homeland-security systems designed four years ago to prevent and respond to the next 9/11, lawmakers said this week.

Ominous doubt on Capitol Hill about the government’s ability to minimize the loss of life in the event of another major terrorist attack was widespread this week, a sharp contrast to the abundant political unity immediately following the nation-changing al Qaeda attacks of 2001.

“They clearly are not prepared,” Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., told The Sun, referring to the Department of Homeland Security’s readiness for another attack.

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=504

[whistle]

1. Unless shrub intends to declare marshal law and mobilize all ....

...of the national guard in all of the states.

[saracat]

2. Thank you John. Make this the issue!

[politicasista]

3. Yes, it needs be heard.

:kick:

[Dr Fate]

5. One way is for him to go on some TV shows and say it.

He should do it while lots of folks are still glued to the news channels.

[FreedomAngel82]

7. Oh brother

:eyes: You think they're going to listen to him? LOL!!!!!!!!!! All they'll do is remind people he's a failed (ha) presidential canidate. :eyes:

[Dr Fate]

16. They just might listen to him...

...but he has to give it a shot first.

I'll bet a good 50% of the country or more would like to hear his opinion.

[ClassWarrior]

21. So you know for a fact he hasn't given it a shot?

Do tell, Doc.

NGU.

[Dr Fate]

22. My lying eyes have yet to see him on TV or hear him on Air America

...but he did write an Op-Ed for the Chicago Defender. And it was great- I am also for more DEMs writing Op-Eds- a lot of people do still read the papers everyday.

I've seen Dean, Edwards, Obama and Hilary on TV in the past few days-and no one cut their mics or anything. So I know that the booking agents are allowing top Democrats on.

If someone is censoring him from TV as you may be suggesting, then he needs to speak up about that and help make the case for a biased media. Until he does, it's all unconfirmed internet theories to me.

[MH1]

23. Well apparently he got on local TV

because he was busy chartering a plane to get relief supplies to the disaster areas (Baton Rouge and Lafayette, La)...

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/4960903/detail.html?rss=bos&psp=news

Maybe he doesn't think trying to get on national TV should be his highest priority right now; although I agree with you that it would be great if he just had some PR person set it up and he didn't have to spend a lot of time on it himself.

[Dr Fate]

4. It's true. Bush has not prepared this country for a sudden attack.

He had warning for this hurricane and the floods- there will be no warning for a terror attack, or earthquakes, black-outs, etc.

I'd like to see Kerry on TV making this pointed charge.

[FreedomAngel82]

8. It seems to me

that you only pop up to bash people who are saying something. :eyes: Get real and stop being a hater. :eyes: Why don't you go on tv and talk eh? :eyes:

[Dr Fate]

17. Because I dont have PR booking agents, that is why I dont go on TV.

And if I'm such a "hater" I would not want to see Kerry at all.

You are the one who claims no one would listen to him- I disagree with that.

[TayTay]

10. Dr., I just saw Mary Landreiu on the Senate floor

and she said that there is a trip being organized for Senate Dems to go to LA and check out the damage on the ground and hear from the people afected by the disaster directly.

This should be heavily covered by the media. There have been recent 'chicken or the egg' arguments in here if Dems are speaking but not being shown on TV. This should answer some of that.

I don't know who is going, but will post if I find out. Kerry is there today, don't know if he will go back. But it sounds like Landreiu was talking about a substantial number of Dems going.

[emulatorloo]

6. kicking n/t

[kerrygoddess]

9. Kerry Recalls Talking of LA Coastal Flooding at ‘04 LA Campaign Event

… he recalled talking about issues of coastal flooding at an event he held in Louisiana during the campaign.

He also recalled warning that the nation is not being sufficiently prepared for a terrorist attack, especially one targeting nuclear or chemical plants.

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=517

[LittleClarkie]

11. Kerry made my morning radio show's news report

That's something, since it's not all that serious a news report. So Kerry is getting publicity.

But the local news person and DJs went off about how Kerry can't talk about underfunding FEMA because his wife is rich and they should be giving millions away. So we can't talk about government incompetency unless we're poor?

They reported that Kerry said we should have had food set up in advance. Their question was "Where?" since we didn't know how far the storm surge was going to go, and you wouldn't want the food flooded. Well, how about the SuperDome for one. How about places they were telling people to go. Anything was better than what was done, which was near nothing.

They also commented that folks couldn't get in, so what would be the point. Well, reporters could get in, couldn't they?

I like my local morning show guys, except when they remind me they're Republican.

[TayTay]

12. The Dems should have had food set up in advance?

What are these people smoking? It was the responsibility of the agencies that are supposed to respond to emergencies in the USA to do this. That's what we fund them to do. There criticism reminds me of one in the Boston Herald last week that lambasted Sens. Kerry and Kennedy for not giving their houses away to victims to stay in. Ahm, said columnist never offered his house, never said he was taking up a collection for victims or anything. Just whined about KErry and Kennedy and their houses.

Odd criticism. Rethugs have apparently lost their minds over this and reason has fled them utterly. Perhaps there is some sort of mental health specialty that deals in Rethuglicanism and how to safely mitigate it's effects with some medications of some sort. (So that these unmedicated fools can't get out and infect the rest of us.)

[LittleClarkie]

14. Actually, Kerry was making the point that Republicans

needed to set up food in advance. The Republican dj's just shouted "WHERE?!" And my answer to that was, "How about where the people were being sent?"

But you can't expect an agency you've gutted to work like that, I guess. And you're not allowed to say it's been gutted if you are rich and Dem, otherwise you should shut your rich yap and give money to help the poor. One of the dj's did manage to point out that it wasn't Kerry's gazzillion bucks to give -- it was his wife's.

It didn't make alot of sense.

One of my other friends thinks that the Dems should have stocked the food up, but then she didn't say how Nagin was supposed to do that without funds or personnel.

[Nikki Stone 1]

13. Well, duh. (Of course we're not. The money has gone to Iraq.)

But I'll recommend anyway. It needs to be repeated until the silly FOBs (Followers of Bush) get it through their skulls that we are NOT safer thanks to Junior.

[tavalon]

15. Well, now

that's like, um, duh.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kerrygoddess]

19. HUH?

What the heck does this have to with the DLC? Guess you didn't read this.

[Supersedeas]

20. yet, what used to be important to the Corporate Press was that * is a

likeable guy.

[Dr Fate]

24. And bush has even admitted that:

"The president was asked whether people should be worried about the government's ability to handle another terrorist attack given failures in responding to Katrina.

"Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack? That's a very important question and it's in the national interest that we find out what went on so we can better respond," Bush replied."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050913/ap_on_go_ot/katrina...

[kerrygoddess]

25. Ah... see Kerry was right! N/T

[leesa]

26. Can I have my taxes back then?

[LiviaOlivia]

27. kick