Bush decided to combine his vacation time with his trip to New Orleans....

[BIG JOHN]

Since his vacation time in Crawford Texas was cut short by Hurricane Katrina, he decided to make up for it down at the Big Easy: BJ

[Train]

Figures.

[buf]

Yep, that's the place he said he had fun in his younger days. And it appears that Papa Bush caught the fish.
Somebody did a great job in their "re-arranging" of the characters in the pic.
Wonder if those sun glasses GW has on are "government issue". They resemble those I see on some of our [/B]fighting men in Iraq.

[Sidewinder]

Thats our Pres, times get tough, he goes on vacation. Sidewinder

[buf]

You know--we may all be safer if he stayed in Washington because 9/11 found him in St. Petersburg, FL and now Katrina found him, let's see was it in San Diego or was it at some other place speaking and trying to shore up his stature/party or a fund raising speech.
Vacationer--yes; the most "vacated" president of all time.

BTW, we have heard the biblical story of some people asking for ALMS(gifts, food, money; etc.) ALM could stand for Alabama, L=Louisiana and M=Mississippi. These people need our ALMS. Please respond where possible.

[user595212]

Y'know Buf, I might almost agree with you, if only someone in this administration had his/her hand on the tiller. But no one seems to . . . He fired all the ones who did. There's no one home in Washington!!

What an incredible picture. Somehow I missed this one. It sort of fits his attitude.

I wrote a nasty e-mail to the governor of Alaska the other night. He said something like we'd better not give out those $2,000 ATM cards because some people might just want a windfall and not need the money. !!!! These people are, so many of them, old; they are disabled or sick; they are poor; and their skin, by the by, is the wrong color for the Bushies. Now they've lost what little they had, and they had practically nothing to begin with. Where on Earth does a politician (who one presumes managed to get elected) get an attitude like this? I told him God will judge . . .

It's absolutely appalling, all of it. They left those people there to die.

Here's an article that sort of says it all for me:

Seeking Higher Ground

A must-read. Simple but profound.

I used to live in New Orleans and, I have to tell you, I hated it. I always had this terrible sense of doom there. I was in a flood that was only a fraction of this, but it was bad; abandoned my car in three feet of water and walked in hip-deep water to work: at least it was safe. However, this time, of course, the Times-Picayune building (where I worked) is flooded and ruined. It used to be on higher ground; no more.

Shame on Bush and all his minions.

Wendy

[Falcon Speed]

I am not being facetious but is that for real? Is that a real picture without any touch-ups?

I can't imagine someone to be that heartless in a time like this.

[user595212]

Well, actually . . .

I suppose not, now that you mention it.

It looked just too good!!

Wendy

[Triple7's]

I am not being facetious but is that for real? Is that a real picture without any touch-ups?

Original Fishing Photo

[buf]

Thanks for all comments. Not even the Bushies would have the gall to pose for such a picture in such times as these in NO!!!---Would they?!?!
I have visited NO a number of times and found that there were places of great interest to see; including the French Quarter(day and night). Never once thought about the city being flooded. What a sight to see these past 2 weeks and allow my mind to wander back to how it used to be. Kinda doubt that NO will ever be the same again.
Highway US90 from Biloxi to NO was a beautiful drive along the Gulf of Mexico as recently as 15-20 years ago. No more, now I guess.
It is bad enough to think of all the people from Mobile to NO who no longer have any material goods in their lives. And then to have had NO initial help for days.
Sad Sad!! Total recovery may never occur.
And remember today is 4 years since 9/11

[oldhermit]

The picture found its way to the Glenn Beck website.
http://www.glennbeck.com/page2/index.shtml

[user595212]

I hear ya, Buf. The Gulf Coast is beautiful in the right conditions (or used to be). I've driven Highway 90 myself a couple of times. The danger, though . . . I really preferred Georgia, just my opinion.

FWIW, here's my old N.O. neighborhood now:

[yanqui]

First of all, I'd like to ask if anybody really believes that the president of the united states ever gets to completely take a vacation? Just because he was still somewhere other than DC, I don't believe that he wasn't trying to get a grasp on the situation. I don't think that there is anything in his background, or in that of former Presidents Clinton or Carter or Reagan, for that matter, that would suggest that they could jump into the middle of hurricane aftermath and know what to do. Being a good leader doesn't mean you have to have all the answers, it means you have to hire or appoint those who do. Brownie as any kind of supervisor in FEMA was a huge error in judgment. That's what I see as Bush's biggest mistake in this.

Second--I live on the Alabama gulf coast, where we endured Frederic, and last year Ivan. Central Florida took it on the chin three times to our one--last year. This year we got Dennis, who undid the beginnings of Ivan repairs. Katrina did much more damage to the Mississippi coast than she did anywhere in Louisiana, and a little fishing town in southwest Alabama called Bayou LaBatre will be years in the rebuilding; and yes, there will be a rebuilding, because the alternative is unacceptable.

Third--there is plenty of blame to go around, so putting it all on teh third line of defense is pretty short-sighted adn ill-informed. EVERYONE living around the gulf of mexico knows what a hurricane has the potential to do. That's why voluntary evacuations should be as effective as mandatory ones. The fact that they're not is the direct fault of the residents. We don't just hear this in the two days prior to a hurricane, we hear it for six months of hurricane season EVERY YEAR.

Fourth--When a plan is drawn up, as was in New Orleans, by the people in charge of doing so, published and publicized, and not followed by the city officials, somehow the news organizations missed that and Bush still got the blame.

[buf]

yanqui: a little fishing town in southwest Alabama called Bayou LaBatre . Now there is a name of a town that I had long long forgotten, well almost.
When I was 13-14 years old, I went there with some older buddies. One of them had a car and how I ever "got in with" those guys, I will never know. Long story short--I somehow got left behind on that Saturday night while they drove back to Creighton--a suburb of Mobile, as I recall.
It seems that I was in a house visiting with a girl and her family when my "gang" pulled out for Mobile. I had to spend the night (and the girl's Dad was a retired sailor) but they put me up for the night. What a night it was (and my friends said the girl was not a very friendly person and her Dad was pretty mean--neither was a problem to me and it was an enjoyable weekend.) Not all what you may be thinking.
Yep, the guys came back the next day and we had a crab "boil" or whatever it was called.
I couldn't help reminiscing about Bayou LaBatre!!!

[yanqui]

There is nothing in the world like fresh gulf shrimp and crab. I haven't gotten the taste for crawfish or oysters, though. The Bayou area is really neat, and the Blessing of the Fleet and the festival that accompanies it are always worth experiencing. Hope the town gets back on its feet soon, lots of good, hardworking families there.