Michelle Bachmann draws predictable progressive ire by linking Hurricane Irene with God's wrath and Washigton's spending. Anyone watching the video would know she was kidding (the crowd's laughter is only one clue), but that would be too much reality for the reality-based.
Just to help our friends on the left - we aren't imprisoning the Israelites, either.
I drove up from Charlotte to Allentown, PA on Saturday night/Sunday morning, and I can say that it was no picnic out there. Those flashes in the sky weren’t lightning, but rather exploding electrical transformers, most especially when they produced a green flash.
Perhaps the answer to the overhyped charge is that NYC is, in fact, a large “black hole” that sucks in everything, including hurricanes.
Posted by: Neo | August 29, 2011 at 02:01 PM
In the bulging annals of religious hyperbole, is this like claiming 9/11 was God’s wrath on America? I’m always cautious of those who believe they know the mind of God.
Posted by: MarkO | August 29, 2011 at 02:23 PM
is this like claiming 9/11 was God’s wrath on America?
No, this was a joke in poor taste, while that was either horribly offensive Dark Ages bigotry (in the case of Pat Robertson linking 9/11, God, and America's tolerance of gay people) or resolutely confronting the nation's sins in the manner of the Old Testament prophets (in the case of Jeremiah Wright linking 9/11, God, and America's foreign policy over the last 50 years).
Posted by: bgates | August 29, 2011 at 02:30 PM
Liberals have NO sense of humor. None.
Posted by: bio mom | August 29, 2011 at 02:32 PM
Liberals do seem to find us funny.
Posted by: MarkO | August 29, 2011 at 02:33 PM
I know its bad form to go off topic right away, but this is a must read for JOMers:
Colin Powell’s cheap shot
A little bit to get everyone started:
On “Face the Nation” yesterday, former secretary of state Colin Powell accused former vice president Dick Cheney of taking “cheap shots” in his about-to-be released memoirs. However, in taking on Cheney’s account of the Valerie Plame matter, Powell is the one who misleads and distorts.
Posted by: Ranger | August 29, 2011 at 02:34 PM
Ranger, I just read it. Powell's public actions, including this guilty silence, make me believe any bad thing Cheney might say about him.
Posted by: MarkO | August 29, 2011 at 02:36 PM
Sometimes I think that Michelle Bachmann is politically tone deaf.
Posted by: Barbara | August 29, 2011 at 02:39 PM
MarkO, the best part is that its at the WaPo. Hopefully, it will actually be published in the dead tree version as well, where all of Powell's dear friends in DC will read it.
Posted by: Ranger | August 29, 2011 at 02:48 PM
"Sometimes I think that Michelle Bachmann is politically tone deaf."
It might even be that sings parallel fifths thinking it is political harmony.
Posted by: MarkO | August 29, 2011 at 02:58 PM
*she* sings. I type in parallel 5ths.
Posted by: MarkO | August 29, 2011 at 02:59 PM
Dear God that WaPo article is delicious in its dissection of Powell. Nobody loves a turncoat; it's a hard lesson to learn but one which is richly deserved. I never thought I'd say this but job well done WaPo.
Posted by: Captain Hate | August 29, 2011 at 03:02 PM
I hope we aren't disparaging the tone deaf here. I'm tone deaf and it's been a burden I've tried to shoulder valiantly. Please, let's be more sensitive toward our sisters and brothers who can't discern when someone sings flat. Thank you.
Posted by: (Another) Barbara | August 29, 2011 at 03:05 PM
Carney just said at the WH press conference that he got a call in the middle of the night about the earthquake that hit DC last week...IIRC the quake was at 1:51 pm...the President's spokesman is really in the loop
Posted by: BB Key | August 29, 2011 at 03:10 PM
Would the joke have been funnier if she had replaced 'God' with 'Gaia'?
I seem to remember a effeminate, flabby-joweled Atlantic writer pining for Gaia to pound the anti-AGW rubes with "fists of fury" not so long ago. He wasn't joking...
Posted by: lyle | August 29, 2011 at 03:16 PM
*an*
Okay, I'm a rube and proud of it!
Posted by: lyle | August 29, 2011 at 03:19 PM
Another B:
Tone deafness (in terms of music) can be a blessing if you have children in band or choir, a husband that sings in the shower or whistles casually, or a garage band is practicing in your neighborhood.
Posted by: Appalled | August 29, 2011 at 03:24 PM
And if you actually read her actual words, it's obvious she's NOT kidding, audience laughter or not. Maybe they were laughing AT her -- at her moronic, childish view of God.
But there's a much larger point. Even if she WAS joking -- actually, especially if she was joking, it's sacriligious to say God sends messages about TAX CUTS via earthquakes and hurricanes. What a worm's-eye view of God. I actually happen to believe God exists, and I find her "joke" offensive in the extreme.
Posted by: Kathy Kattenburg | August 29, 2011 at 03:38 PM
Unsurprisingly, Tammy Bruce is teeing off on Powell so much she insists on playing the sound clip because she can't do justice to how whiny and self-absorbed he sounds.
Posted by: Captain Hate | August 29, 2011 at 03:39 PM
I'm sure you're right, Appalled. In our family we have a genetic flaw that results in such a tragic rendition of Happy Birthday that we all beg our relatives to recite it only.
I was just kidding in my original post, though. . . trying to mirror Harry Reid's outrage that Michelle Bachmann was "morally reprehensible" in being light hearted about something as terrible as a hurricane "where more than 20 died." The Great Pontificator.
Of course I agree she should have known better. If one of her aides sneezed and Michelle said "God bless you," the NYTimes would run it as a front-page story and CNN would feature it every half hour. Only liberal politicians can mention God without paying a price.
Posted by: (Another) Barbara | August 29, 2011 at 03:45 PM
God did & does use nature to punish or bless or show signs. When we had the earthquake, that was the first thing I thought. My sister-in-law asked if we were okay, & I wrote :
"Yeah...I've never felt one before. I guess it was pretty big, according to some neighbors that lived in Calif..I've got another neighbor's dog here cause it was nervous & scratching up the door to get out of their house.
The Lord is speaking...I wonder if anyone is listening!!"
God bless America is a popular phrase...what does God do when He is mocked or millions of babies are sacrificed? We all like the blessing part, but their is another side to it that we don't seem to want to face.
Posted by: Janet | August 29, 2011 at 03:47 PM
Are you guys hearing about Omar Obama's arrest for drunk driving last Wednesday? (It's all over the Perth newspapers). Unfortunately it happened in Framingham (MA) after the guy left the chicken bone saloon on Karaoke night. (I will say the chicken bone saloon has the best wings on earth. It's a biker bar in down town Framingham. He's an illegal and has had a driver's license for 20 years.
I'm trying to find out who represented him at the arraignment. (That's my old stomping grounds)Not that I expect anyone to tell me anything.
Howie Carr is posting the police report and the registry info on his website as I write this.
What a family!!!
Posted by: Jane | August 29, 2011 at 03:54 PM
Whe does no one point out to libberals that they should love Hurricances.
First, it reduces the population - they love less population.
Two, it reduces fossil fuels usage. No power, just think, that's how liberals want you to live your whole life.
Thiurd, its the earth getting back at the human infestation.
Its a win, win, win.
What I loved the most this morning was watching all the uppity" folks making their way to Walmart, since the store had power, to buy their essentials.
Apparently Walmart ain't so bad after two days with no power....
Posted by: Pops | August 29, 2011 at 03:54 PM
Apparently old 'Mom and Pop' on 'Main Street' were still closed, without power and sitting at home in the dark.....
Posted by: Pops | August 29, 2011 at 03:55 PM
"And if you actually read her actual words, it's obvious she's NOT kidding, audience laughter or not. Maybe they were laughing AT her -- at her moronic, childish view of God.
But there's a much larger point. Even if she WAS joking -- actually, especially if she was joking, it's sacriligious to say God sends messages about TAX CUTS via earthquakes and hurricanes."
Kathy, you seem to be a member of the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" branch of Christianity, which doctrine seems a tad contrary to the Big Guy's.
Posted by: H Salt Fortescu Esquire | August 29, 2011 at 03:57 PM
I'm trying to find out who represented him at the arraignment. (That's my old stomping grounds)Not that I expect anyone to tell me anything.
I read somewhere this morning, maybe at Headline News @ AoS, that it was a Maryland woman with the last name of Wong that was the same person who represented Aunt Zeituni.
Posted by: Captain Hate | August 29, 2011 at 03:59 PM
That WaPo link is wonderful. Here is another good editorial at the WaPo from when they reviewed the Plame movie Fair Game.
During the entire Libby lynching the WaPo had 2 personalities going. Their reporters would run all the usual bash Bush, evil administration stories...while the editors would point out that Wilson was a liar. It was weird.
Posted by: Janet | August 29, 2011 at 04:00 PM
I hate to be in the position of defending Bachmann but I fail to see how what she said was sacriligious (sic)
Posted by: Captain Hate | August 29, 2011 at 04:01 PM
Hurricane Irene (from the perspective of NYC) is the perfect metaphor for “Global Warming” … lots of hype, followed by failure to perform, laying waste to everybody else on the way there.
Posted by: Neo | August 29, 2011 at 04:20 PM
Ok, I have to confess that I laughed out loud at Borowitz's Pat Robertson Blames Mild Earthquake on People Who Seem Kind of Gay
Almighty’s Anger at Metrosexuals Caused Ambiguous Quake
Posted by: cathyf | August 29, 2011 at 04:26 PM
If comedy can be reliable, unvarnished news (The Daily Show) why can't heartfelt, unpretentious news (Bachman's speech) be comedy?
Regarding Powell, Rush had a sound bite of him telling Shifty Bob that Armitage came to him (red-faced eating humble pie) and told him he was the source for Novak. As soon as he heard this dribble out of old Dick's mouth he immediately called the FBI and told them who the real source was and that Ladies and Gentlemen is how the whole Plame affair was solved. He had nothing to do with it, honestly
Posted by: Jack is Back! | August 29, 2011 at 04:27 PM
Posted by: Neo | August 29, 2011 at 04:34 PM
Anybody believe Powell's Hamlet-like vaccilation over whether to back Zero in his reelection? Me, neither.
Posted by: lyle | August 29, 2011 at 04:36 PM
Crap. Va
ccillation.Posted by: lyle | August 29, 2011 at 04:38 PM
Colin Powell .... almost as loathesome as Wesley Clark.
Posted by: fdcol63 | August 29, 2011 at 04:39 PM
The irony ,'it's what's for dinner' is when Armitage was being hastled by the flying monkeys of the Christics, the 'truthers of the day' for his role in SouthEast Asia, guess who came to his aid; none other than Scooter Libby, just as Ken Starr found out with Dan Moldea, no good deed goes unpunished in Washington ; if you are a Republican.
Posted by: narciso | August 29, 2011 at 04:44 PM
Responding to Sara's comments from the previous hurricane thread: I doubt all the hype and exertions (evacuations, etc.) saved many if any lives at all, and greatly added to the cost. Of course there are scenarios in which they might have made a difference. As to the 18 dead, some of those were people surfing or sailing, some were heart attacks--tragic, but not really attributable to the storm. Not to make light of deaths, but a dozen or so deaths is basically a statistical nonentity: Probably more (but different) people would have died if their hadn't been a hurricane just from going about their daily lives.
I drove back from Lake Placid to NYC. Lots of trees down, power out. Had been planning to come Sunday, but they were reporting flash flood and high wind warnings until late Sunday night, so we came back this morning instead. The highway to I-87 was washed out, so we had to take a roundabout route. Then a 30-mile section of I-87 was closed, so took an alternate route from Albany. Then all the parkways into NYC were closed, so we had to maneuver back to I-87 in Yonkers. A 5-hour trip turned into 7 hours, but all in all no big deal.
Posted by: jimmyk | August 29, 2011 at 04:45 PM
Number storm-related deaths is up in the mid 30s now, huge damage from NC to Vermont. Just because NYC didn't get what was expected, I guess that means the hype was just hype, no truth to any of the real damage. Or maybe the hype was just in the wrong places, like Ocean City, MD instead of upstate NY and Vermont. The estimated insurance costs are $5-$7 billion, overall costs estimated to make this one of the most costly hurricane with estimates of $47-48 billion.
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | August 29, 2011 at 04:59 PM
Well, since this thread is about "humor," I know all of you will get a big yuck out of this via TVNewser:
I don't watch DWTS and I know I won't be changing that anytime soon.
Posted by: centralcal | August 29, 2011 at 05:05 PM
The estimated insurance costs are $5-$7 billion, overall costs estimated to make this one of the most costly hurricane with estimates of $47-48 billion.
I am wondering how Irene could possibly be more costly than Andrew. Does this figure include lost NYC business or something?
Posted by: Porchlight | August 29, 2011 at 05:07 PM
Sure, it was a costly storm, though much less than anticipated--insurance stocks jumped today, for example. But my point was that all the hyperventilating and evacuating had a negligible impact on the cost.
Posted by: jimmyk | August 29, 2011 at 05:10 PM
Hurricane Humor........
Remember when Sen. Sheila Jackson Lee thought the hurricane names were to "lily-white". She wanted names reflecting African-Americans.
So I always try to make up alternative names. Let's see coming up we got Jamal, Keisha, Leshawn, Marquis .....:)
You just know they would call us racists!
Posted by: Ann | August 29, 2011 at 05:14 PM
Does this figure include lost NYC business or something?
I think it includes the value of all those lost weekends on the beaches at the Hamptons.
The figures I've heard are $7 billion direct, maybe $20 billion from indirect losses, including the evacuations and shutdowns.
Posted by: jimmyk | August 29, 2011 at 05:16 PM
No need to risk the charge of racism, Ann. Just call the next storm Jesse. When it reaches M, call the storm Michelle. Back to A and Al will work just fine. :-))
Posted by: Thomas Collins | August 29, 2011 at 05:20 PM
I am wondering how Irene could possibly be more costly than Andrew. Does this figure include lost NYC business or something?
Yeah, I am so cynical. We just had a windy rainstorm here in the DC area.
Posted by: Janet | August 29, 2011 at 05:21 PM
Bachmann started a joke; that started the whole world crying...
Meh, if she censors everything she says so that she can't be "attacked", then she can't say anything.
Posted by: mockmook | August 29, 2011 at 05:23 PM
Ann, Do not forget Hurricane Sasha or Hurricane Malila
Posted by: BB Key | August 29, 2011 at 05:24 PM
If so, jimmyk, then perhaps the evacuations would have had an impact on the indirect losses.
Still, that can't begin to approach the direct cost of Andrew (@$45 billion in 2011 dollars, second most costly US hurricane after Katrina).
Posted by: Porchlight | August 29, 2011 at 05:24 PM
Forgot to mention: Hurricane Andrew was about $40 Billion in today's dollars. Katrina had $60 billion in insured losses, over $100 billion in all. As for loss of life, the Galveston hurricane killed 6,000+, Katrina around 1800.
Posted by: jimmyk | August 29, 2011 at 05:25 PM
Bachmann was just a placeholder until Perry got into the race. She has no chance now. She needs to find a quiet way to exit and take up a leadership position in the House and use her higher profile to good effect. Perhaps she will get another swat at the pinata another time.
Posted by: GMAX | August 29, 2011 at 05:26 PM
Right, porch, I meant that that the evacuations etc. didn't reduce the direct costs. No doubt they contributed greatly to the indirect costs.
Posted by: jimmyk | August 29, 2011 at 05:28 PM
Thanks jimmyk, I thought that's what you meant.
Posted by: Porchlight | August 29, 2011 at 05:31 PM
I'm holding out for Shaniqua.
Byron York: "A new poll by CNN and ORC International finds that 27 percent of Democrats would like to see their party nominate a candidate other than Barack Obama for president in 2012."
Posted by: Danube of Thought | August 29, 2011 at 05:33 PM
"Anybody believe Powell's Hamlet-like vaccilation over whether to back Zero in his reelection? Me, neither."
Does anyone suppose there is great value in the endorsement of the most perfidious man in town?
Posted by: Clarice | August 29, 2011 at 05:36 PM
I give up. I'm sorry that lives were saved by having people evacuate, and if nothing else, we were all saved from Shep crying do something as he points off to some stranded diehards after access roads were washed away. And I'm sorry we didn't have severe wind damage instead of so much water damage from 12-14 inches of rain in less than 10 hours. Flooded homes don't seem to have the panache of roofs blown off and windows blown out.
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | August 29, 2011 at 05:40 PM
There is another storm tracking closely to Irene. It hasn't been named yet, so they are calling it TD 12. The problem with the over-hype, if it was, from last week is what if this one is worse and people say feh?...
Anyway, there aren't pictures of minorities clinging to their rooftops. We are talking about mostly white Americans in Vermont, etc.
Posted by: Sue | August 29, 2011 at 05:41 PM
The actual losses from Irene will be inflated to provide the President a bit of cover for the terrible Q3 GDP results that are in the pipeline. Most economic indicators are signaling a negative number for Q3 and probably for Q4 so the President needs all the excuses that he can find.
The President's selection of yet another well credentialed academic moron to replace Goolsbee (the well credentialed academic moron who replaced the well credentialed academic moron Summers) shows his quite fantastic ability to completely divorce himself from reality in order to maintain steadfast allegiance to progressive ideals which have failed and will continue to fail until his removal from the Oval Office.
President Albatross is super glued to stupid and the glue is holding very well.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | August 29, 2011 at 05:43 PM
I'm sure you're right, Appalled. In our family we have a genetic flaw that results in such a tragic rendition of Happy Birthday that we all beg our relatives to recite it only.
OMG. I went through the last of the Birthday Celebrations this weekend, which included my sister in law singing.
To understand my reaction, it helps to know that while I don't have perfect pitch, my ear is more than good enough to be a piano tuner.
Which was completely unnecessary in this case, as SiL literally could not stay in the same key from "Happy" to "you."
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | August 29, 2011 at 05:44 PM
Y'all leave us alone. We like to sing, whether we can or not. I call us God's joke to mankind...no singing ability but plenty of desire to sing at the top of our lungs...
::grin::
Posted by: Sue | August 29, 2011 at 05:46 PM
Sara,
No one is saying that there was no damage or loss of life, or that flooding is good. Just pointing out that the reality did not match up with "Hellstorm 2011: The Second Coming of Katrina" as hyped/predicted by the media.
Posted by: Porchlight | August 29, 2011 at 05:47 PM
In all seriousness...I can't carry a tune in a bucket...I can hear I'm not carrying a tune...I can hear when someone else isn't carrying a tune. I sing anyway. When I feel like it and to hell with my ears and anyone's ears around me.
Posted by: Sue | August 29, 2011 at 05:48 PM
Via Legal Insurrection:
Irene wasn’t overhyped in train- and drive-through country
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | August 29, 2011 at 05:50 PM
We went to the Ranger game at Arlington Stadium Saturday night. Rangers lost, but I sang the National Anthem at the top of my lungs and didn't care who around me liked or didn't like my voice. I was feeling kind of patriotic since the first pitch was thrown out by someone badly burned at the Pentagon on 9/11.
Posted by: Sue | August 29, 2011 at 05:52 PM
Kathy, you seem to be a member of the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" branch of Christianity, which doctrine seems a tad contrary to the Big Guy's.
There is nothing in what I wrote here that conveys the meaning "damned if you do, damned if you don't." If you think there is, perhaps you can show me where it is, as opposed to just asserting it?
Posted by: Kathy Kattenburg | August 29, 2011 at 05:52 PM
Porch: I'm not reading comprehension challenged, I know perfectly well what you all are saying. Hear what I'm saying, "I do not agree with you and think you all are very wrong."
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | August 29, 2011 at 05:52 PM
And then he did....nothing. Powell was the Secretary of State and was ordered by the President to cooperate with the investigation. What stopped him from coming forward to publicly say what he knew and did at the time? He could have put a stop to the whole train wreck with no further damage to the administration and no sham of a court case against Libby. Instead he kept silent.
That silence cost a man his reputation and career, but I don't think that was Powell's real goal. I believe that he wanted to embarrass Bush - if not worse - for his own petty personal reasons regardless of the fact that we were a country at war. He's a small man and does not deserve to be called General.
Posted by: Barbara | August 29, 2011 at 05:53 PM
The President's selection of yet another well credentialed academic moron to replace Goolsbee
Ah yes, Alan Krueger, who argued that the minimum wage actually increased employment. (David Neumark subsequently showed Krueger's data were flawed, but the damage was done, similar to all those "corrections" in fine print from the NYT.)
Posted by: jimmyk | August 29, 2011 at 05:55 PM
I'm sorry that lives were saved by having people evacuate, and if nothing else, we were all saved from Shep crying do something as he points off to some stranded diehards after access roads were washed away.
Brendan Loy points out today that there was always a 5-10 percent probability of the worst case happening, which of course means 18 or 19 to 1 against. But the worst case would mean water to the second floor of my old building at 55 Broad, flooding the tunnels, flooding the ABC and 123 lines and the PATH train (which is way below sea level), flooding the NYSE building and Trinity Church Chinatown and the Meat Packing Disxtrict, wiping out the massive major telecoms hub down under Battery City... and that's just what I can think of off hand.
It could easily have done $50 billion to $100 billion damage.
It was worth a little excitement even if the odds were against it.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | August 29, 2011 at 05:58 PM
I was glad to have real information so that I could make informed decisions. Whatever the damage from Irene, I just don't need Mayor Bloomberg wagging his finger and speaking like a schoolmarm telling me to pay attention. Maybe others do.
Posted by: jimmyk | August 29, 2011 at 05:59 PM
I hate to be in the position of defending Bachmann but I fail to see how what she said was sacriligious (sic
Perhaps (obviously?) you don't think it is, but I think suggesting that God takes positions on political issues like tax policy is sacrilegious. It seems plain to me WHY I find it sacrilegious, even if you think it's not, but if you really need me to, I'll spell it out for you.
I do thank you for the hint at my spelling error. Really. No sarcasm. I don't like to make mistakes in spelling or grammar (and that WAS a mistake, not simply a typo). So thanks for that.
Posted by: Kathy Kattenburg | August 29, 2011 at 06:00 PM
Picture of The Day:
Napa, Ca Tea Party Aug 27 2011
Posted by: Ann | August 29, 2011 at 06:00 PM
No one is saying that there was no damage or loss of life, or that flooding is good. Just pointing out that the reality did not match up with "Hellstorm 2011: The Second Coming of Katrina" as hyped/predicted by the media.
But no one could have said it wouldn't, up to about midnight the night before.
Basically, it was double or triple hit points on a 20-sided die; we just made the saving throw.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | August 29, 2011 at 06:01 PM
Porch,
Right about now you should throw out a bless your heart and move on...
Posted by: Sue | August 29, 2011 at 06:01 PM
I never get the gentle encouragement given to cleo though. weird.
Posted by: Janet | August 29, 2011 at 06:05 PM
"There is nothing in what I wrote here that conveys the meaning "damned if you do, damned if you don't." If you think there is, perhaps you can show me where it is, as opposed to just asserting it?"
If she isn't joking she has a moronic, childish view of God.
If she is joking she's sacrilegious.
Either you couldn't see that because you're stupid or because you're dishonest.
See how it works, dear?
Posted by: H Salt Fortescu Esquire | August 29, 2011 at 06:08 PM
Flooded homes don't seem to have the panache of roofs blown off and windows blown out
Indeed. One man interviewed on my local CBS channel was almost in tears because the home he had lived in his entire life had been completely destroyed by Irene. He looked to be in his 40s. He was devastated. I'm sure he is thankful that his loved ones escaped harm -- of course that's the most important thing. But that doesn't mean his overwhelming grief at losing his home was misplaced or deserves to be trivialized.
Thank you for fighting the good fight on this, Sara. I agree with everything you've written.
Posted by: Kathy Kattenburg | August 29, 2011 at 06:09 PM
I ♥ you Janet.
Posted by: Ann | August 29, 2011 at 06:09 PM
It is impossible to sing in parallel fiths and yet be tone deaf.
Posted by: Jumpstart | August 29, 2011 at 06:15 PM
I just found out that over 6,600 Americans died today. It appears that around 6,600 died yesterday as well and what's worse, more than 6,600 will in all likelihood die tomorrow. The government's not doing a damned thing about it either.
Bastards.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | August 29, 2011 at 06:23 PM
"Anybody believe Powell's Hamlet-like vaccilation over whether to back Zero in his reelection? Me, neither."
Well, I do believe he is undecided at the moment. He needs to see the state by state polls about 6 weeks out from ellection day. Only then can he make his very principled and ernest decision to endorse whom ever is likely to win.
Posted by: Ranger | August 29, 2011 at 06:23 PM
Ann, you just have a soft spot for smart alecs, wisenheimers, cro magnons, & general riff-raff! It's why we get along so well...
Posted by: Janet | August 29, 2011 at 06:26 PM
MarkO,
I learned something new today thanks to your comment. I looked up "parallel fifths" to find out just what they were and found that musical composition is far more complicated than I ever knew.
There is even YouTube of a singing group called "The Parallel Fifths". When I listened to them sing, it seemed that something was off - like the voices were competing with or grating against each other. Now that I know what they are, your comment about parallel fifths is right on target.
:-)
MarkO at 2:58 pmPosted by: Barbara | August 29, 2011 at 06:30 PM
Thanks for the link to Jennifer Rubin, Ranger. It was an awesome cutdown of that snake Powell.
Posted by: PaulL | August 29, 2011 at 06:39 PM
Hurricane humor
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 29, 2011 at 06:39 PM
Rick Ballard @ 5:43--
As usual Rick you were spot on.I'm sure Krugman and Christine Romer told COS Daley that Krueger is the next well credentialed moron in line for the economist job. Obama is completely stuck on stupid... he will go down on the bridge of the USS Obama as it sinks into economic oblivion. As the rising water drowns his Telprompter, Obama will curse and blame Whitey in general and no doubt the Jews in particular, for making America a racist society. The end will be so ugly, but so well deserved for this poseur and fraud.
Posted by: NK | August 29, 2011 at 06:43 PM
Charlie,
Have you ever thought of asking Sara out on a date?
Posted by: JOM rabble rouser | August 29, 2011 at 06:44 PM
So, FEMA is now a necessary ornament on the government Christmas tree since they performed so well in keeping Irene from flooding the NYC subway system and kept the insured damage to less than $5 billion.
Another inefficient, non-necessary and completely useless Federal agency to cut to the bone. Give the governors and local people the press time. Someone please tell me why we have FEMA?
Posted by: Jack is Back! | August 29, 2011 at 06:51 PM
Have you ever thought of asking Sara out on a date?
She's got more sense than that.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | August 29, 2011 at 06:53 PM
Yes, Sue, let's give a "Bless your heart," the Southerners way of saying "F-you, you idiot."
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | August 29, 2011 at 06:56 PM
In the end, it wasn't Powell or that fat ass Armitage, it was W that let Libby twist in the wind. Cheney knew he was a soldier in the bigger war but Bush ignored him. Bush could have saved Libby and chose not to.
Posted by: bunky | August 29, 2011 at 07:00 PM
Yes indeed, bless your little heart.
Posted by: Gmax | August 29, 2011 at 07:05 PM
Okay, from now on, every time there is a single hurricane - heck, tropical storm - heading to any square inch of US territory, everyone within 100 miles of the coast in question should be ordered to evacuate. Mandatory. That is my new stated position.
Anything less is just pure heartlessness.
Posted by: Porchlight | August 29, 2011 at 07:07 PM
Hurricane Irene was not just about New York City. I know New Yorkers consider themselves the center of the universe and the smartest people on the planet, but guess what, not that many care whether you survived the storm or not. I, for one, could care less whether Bloomberg shook his finger or not. No one was hyping the storm in upstate New York. No one was hyping the storm for New England, especially Vermont. I doubt that Outer Banks visitors and dwellers think the warnings were hype. I cannot believe how provincial you all sound.
So you didn't get to be the center of attention, be damn grateful about it and stop whining about how your mayor took the precautions against a worst case scenario and interrupted your life for a few hours. Your neighbors out on Long Island didn't fare quite as well, your neighbors in New Jersey even worse, but hey, they don't count do they?
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | August 29, 2011 at 07:09 PM
bunky,
Cheney could have resigned and let the world know why then. Why wait until know?
Posted by: Jack is Back! | August 29, 2011 at 07:09 PM
Let's face it, Powell was singed by the fact that his presentation to the UN was panned by the left. If he was told, or even asked, by Bush to make that pitch, we would have heard about that by now.
A good manager doesn't have to tell high-level people what to do. During a discussion of a problem, they volunteer. And that's Powell's real issue.
Posted by: Extraneus | August 29, 2011 at 07:10 PM
It was an awesome cutdown of that snake Powell.
Posted by: PaulL | August 29, 2011 at 06:39 PM
Well, I figured the JOM community would enjoy it. Not that there was anything new in it for most of us, but just seeming the truth in an MSM format for a change was nice.
Posted by: Ranger | August 29, 2011 at 07:11 PM
Yeah, you do that Porch. Sheesh!
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) | August 29, 2011 at 07:11 PM
Oh Powell is just angling for some position with Obama. He is by most lights a functional Democrat anyway, as he demonstrated in 2008. That was clear during the Bush years too if one took a close, hard look.
I never got the adulation of Powell. Bush promoted his career for obvious political reasons, and the Right got with the program, again for the obvious reasons, but he never really was a conservative.
He was a competent field officer in Vietnam and no coward or sunshine patriot, but so where most his cadre of the ring knockers back then. He was a terrible SoS once you look past his allure to the EU liberal/tranzi elites--though this allure was indeed useful at the time. He really could not reach beyond his role of "historic cabinet member" in thought or deed.
He may or may not be a Socialist, but he most definitely is a careerist and, in my book at least, an opportunist. I see no evidence that he wants to roll back the size of the State, roll back the whole political culture of the New Deal and all of its accretions. In a very real sense, he has benefited greatly from the PC hogwash of "Cultural Marxism". When we regard his membership in the GOP, we must realize that there was profound hostility in his generation of officers towards the Democrat Party due to their outrageous treason during the Viet Nam War, and one does not doubt that Powell genuinely felt some real anger here.
I do not know why any should be surprised about the latest revelations of his pettiness and weakness of character. Many an observant patriot has point out Powell's true nature over the years.
Posted by: Jumpstart | August 29, 2011 at 07:12 PM
JIB: I think he hung on because of the surge and his leaving would have brought alot of chaos to a teetering White House. Just my guess.
Posted by: bunky | August 29, 2011 at 07:17 PM
JIB:
I agree with you regarding FEMA.
Allspaugh was on Fox Business today saying the over-hype is un-necessary and that next time people will be reluctant to listen to needed advice.
I think the politicians need to stay out of it, including Obama. If the media didn't have Michelle Bachmann to mock{anything Reid says is just garbage in my view} they would have to comment on how stupid and ridiculous Obama looked at the hurricane center. Chuck Todd actually had a picture of President Bush looking out the window ala Katrina. This is news coverage? It's so bad as to be pathetic. Some networks have become completely unwatchable and we are a year out from the election.
Posted by: maryrose | August 29, 2011 at 07:20 PM