It seems to me that the last time we had a president as well-liked, articulate, and friendly with the American people it was in the 1970s. He was seen as a man of vision, as a graceful man, and as a man above the petty battles of partisan Washington.
It also occurs to me that there were gas shortages. I mean big, long lines. I'm taking this all on faith. I wasn't alive then. It might be part of the vast satan-induced liberal-media conspiracy to destroy America. But I don't think liberals are that smart, or that organized.
Now, we're faced with a similarly bright, articulate (worst speach? that's saying something, NYT), and loved president. And look what's happening:
Economic boom. Nope. wait. OIL SHORTAGE.
Not because we didn't drill in ANWR, but because we didn't diversify our holdings (you know, MBA 101.) Instead we put all our eggs in one basket. And so did everyone else. Lucky us.
Just in case you were wondering, gas prices in the heartland hit 3.19 a gallon.
This isn't an issue for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve--filling it, or drawing it down. It's an issue for National Energy Policy.
Too bad we don't have one.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Posted by John at Thursday, September 01, 2005
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Ah, I get it. It's a joke. Man I was all freaked out at first thinking you were serious.
Chinahand,
You mean we dont have a National Energy Policy?
Heard a clip of the President earlier today suggesting, we not drive so much and only fill our gas tanks when really needed, Great consolation in those words, along with his listing of what was "on the way" to the stricken area. Ignoring the energy policy or more appropriately, a lack of one, discussion for the moment, and focusing on the rescue and cleanup.
Why is the help not there already? If this is the way our officials react to a disaster of this magnitude in our own back yard, it is no wonder we fail to see the need for prompt assistance elsewhere in the world, i.e. Darfur and other places.
We were talking about a class 4 or 5 hurricane for 2 days before it hit, and levies designed and engineered to withstand a class 3 storm right in the path. Maybe this was cause for alarm? We were hearing about a possible 20 to 30 ft. storm surge along a coastline with a topography resembling, oh I don't know, something like, Indonesia!
Mandatory evacuation? Granted there were those who made a conscious decision not to heed the warning and stayed, but there were also those without the means to leave. Now they need to be rescued. Many will never be able to return. With much of the city under water for weeks, many if not most of the homes will need to be demolished and unless we as a nation decide to build new homes for all the uninsured there will be a wholesale displacement of the poor and formerly middle class of the region.
When this immediate part of the problem is under control I pray that we can have a serious look at our preparedness for such large scale "natural disasters". For, if the predictions of global warming are only 50% correct, then the models suggest far more frequent occurrence of such onslaughts from old Mother Nature.
We need to do better! Better evacuations, quicker response, more rapid deployment of food and water, medical attention, and yes, crowd control.
I hope we will have a discussion about coastal building and development. Much of this devastation to structures and to the people could have been minimized with more thorough forethought of appropriate building.
These are for a later time. For now let's just get the needed help to the people of the Gulf Coast.
Post a Comment