BCE uses firefighters as props?? What a fucking outrage!

[FORD]

(September 06, 2005 -- 06:44 PM EDT)

On the Al Franken show this afternoon I mentioned this article from today's Salt Lake Tribune which tells the story of about a thousand firefighters from around the country who volunteered to serve in the Katrina devastation areas. But when they arrived in Atlanta to be shipped out to various disaster zones in the region, they found out that they were going to be used as FEMA community relations specialists. And they were to spend a day in Atlanta getting training on community relations, sexual harassment awareness, et al. This of course while life and death situations were still the order of the day along a whole stretch of the Gulf Coast.

It's an article you've really got a to read to appreciate the full measure of folly and surreality.

But the graf at the end of the piece really puts everything in perspective, and gives some sense what the Bush administration really has in mind when it talks about a crisis. The paper reports that one team finally was sent to the region ...

As specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

You can't make this stuff up.
-- Josh Marshall
Copyright 2005 TPM Media LLC

This document is available online at http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_04.php#006430

[FORD]

here's the original SLC Tribune article...


Frustrated: Fire crews to hand out fliers for FEMA
By Lisa Rosetta
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
ATLANTA - Not long after some 1,000 firefighters sat down for eight hours of training, the whispering began: "What are we doing here?"
As New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded on national television for firefighters - his own are exhausted after working around the clock for a week - a battalion of highly trained men and women sat idle Sunday in a muggy Sheraton Hotel conference room in Atlanta.
Many of the firefighters, assembled from Utah and throughout the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thought they were going to be deployed as emergency workers.
Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA, shuffled throughout the Gulf Coast region to disseminate fliers and a phone number: 1-800-621-FEMA.
On Monday, some firefighters stuck in the staging area at the Sheraton peeled off their FEMA-issued shirts and stuffed them in backpacks, saying they refuse to represent the federal agency.
Federal officials are unapologetic.
"I would go back and ask the firefighter to revisit his commitment to FEMA, to firefighting and to the citizens of this country," said FEMA spokeswoman Mary Hudak.
The firefighters - or at least the fire chiefs who assigned them to come to Atlanta - knew what the assignment would be, Hudak said.
"The initial call to action very specifically says we're looking for two-person fire teams to do community relations," she said. "So if there is a breakdown [in communication], it was likely in their own departments."
One fire chief from Texas agreed that the call was clear to work as community-relations officers. But he wonders why the 1,400 firefighters FEMA attracted to Atlanta aren't being put to better use. He also questioned why the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - of which FEMA is a part - has not responded better to the disaster.
The firefighters, several of whom are from Utah, were told to bring backpacks, sleeping bags, first-aid kits and Meals Ready to Eat. They were told to prepare for "austere conditions." Many of them came with awkward fire gear and expected to wade in floodwaters, sift through rubble and save lives.
"They've got people here who are search-and-rescue certified, paramedics, haz-mat certified," said a Texas firefighter. "We're sitting in here having a sexual-harassment class while there are still [victims] in Louisiana who haven't been contacted yet."
The firefighter, who has encouraged his superiors back home not to send any more volunteers for now, declined to give his name because FEMA has warned them not to talk to reporters.
On Monday, two firefighters from South Jordan and two from Layton headed for San Antonio to help hurricane evacuees there. Four firefighters from Roy awaited their marching orders, crossing their fingers that they would get to do rescue and recovery work, rather than paperwork.
"A lot of people are bickering because there are rumors they'll just be handing out fliers," said Roy firefighter Logan Layne, adding that his squad hopes to be in the thick of the action. "But we'll do anything. We'll do whatever they need us to do."
While FEMA's community-relations job may be an important one - displaced hurricane victims need basic services and a variety of resources - it may be a job best suited for someone else, say firefighters assembled at the Sheraton.
"It's a misallocation of resources. Completely," said the Texas firefighter.
"It's just an under-utilization of very talented people," said South Salt Lake Fire Chief Steve Foote, who sent a team of firefighters to Atlanta. "I was hoping once they saw the level of people . . . they would shift gears a little bit."
Foote said his crews would be better used doing the jobs they are trained to do.
But Louis H. Botta, a coordinating officer for FEMA, said sending out firefighters on community relations makes sense. They already have had background checks and meet the qualifications to be sworn as a federal employee. They have medical training that will prove invaluable as they come across hurricane victims in the field.
A firefighter from California said he feels ill prepared to even carry out the job FEMA has assigned him. In the field, Hurricane Katrina victims will approach him with questions about everything from insurance claims to financial assistance.
"My only answer to them is, '1-800-621-FEMA,' " he said. "I'm not used to not being in the know."
Roy Fire Chief Jon Ritchie said his crews would be a "little frustrated" if they were assigned to hand out phone numbers at an evacuee center in Texas rather than find and treat victims of the disaster.
Also of concern to some of the firefighters is the cost borne by their municipalities in the wake of their absence. Cities are picking up the tab to fill the firefighters' vacancies while they work 30 days for the federal government.
"There are all of these guys with all of this training and we're sending them out to hand out a phone number," an Oregon firefighter said. "They [the hurricane victims] are screaming for help and this day [of FEMA training] was a waste."
Firefighters say they want to brave the heat, the debris-littered roads, the poisonous cottonmouth snakes and fire ants and travel into pockets of Louisiana where many people have yet to receive emergency aid.
But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

lrosetta@sltrib.com

[FORD]

http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/rids/20050903/i/ra2838142191.jpg?x=380&y=306&sig=nGxy3CvKSMMZUshWzlVoOg--
yeah, roll up your sleeves, you goddamned monkey. As if YOU are doing one fucking thing to help these people. And now you have the fucking nerve to hold back the trained "first responders" you are always paying lip service to in your speeches. Bush, you are truly a piece of shit. :mad:

[Keeyth]

Fucking Chimp! God he pisses me off.

You know, now that this disaster has taken over for the Cindy story, Karl Rove will NEVER be held accountable. He's laughing all the way...

[Mezro]

Mezro...Bush = fraud...I am always shocked that more people don't see it...

[ELVIS]

Originally posted by FORD

On the Al Franken show this afternoon...

That's your first mistake...

[scamper]

Al Franken = Laura Ingraham = lame

[ELVIS]

= Ed Schultz = LAME

[Mezro]

Mezro...I do not like Al Franken one bit...can't put my finger on what it is...but he pisses me off...

[ELVIS]

The only good show on Air America is Jerry Springer...

[Warham]

Al Franken. LOL. and FORD makes fun of Free Republic.

[FORD]

Al Franken's alright, but Randi Rhodes and Mike Malloy are the best radio shows on the air.

And I see that Elvis has heard of Ed Schultz.... probably listened to him by accident one day and wondered "why is Limbaugh actually making sense for once"

Ed's not my favorite because he does sound too much like Limpdick, but he's a good one to draw in the Busheep for that very reason.

[ELVIS]

He sounds like a drunk Limbaugh with marbles in his mouth...

I told you Schultz sucked over a year ago...

[ELVIS]

Randi Rhodes is an utter disgrace!

You sir, are an idiot!


:D

[Keeyth]

Randy Rhodes is dead!! ;)

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Mezro
Mezro...I do not like Al Franken one bit...can't put my finger on what it is...but he pisses me off...

He is a bit of a condescending bore. But I like him in small doses, which is all I get courtesy of iTunes).

[ELVIS]

Originally posted by Keeyth
Randy Rhodes is dead!! ;)

..and Randi Rhodes sucks!

[FORD]

Elvis can't handle the truth, apparently. But let's not get off message here. This isn't a talk radio thread. This is about the Idiot Son of an Asshole using highly skilled people, who would be of great help in this fucking disaster, as props and propagandists. Let the failed horse groomer pass out his own fliers. Maybe he can do that without fucking it up?

[ELVIS]

Air America sucks except for the Jerry Springer show...

I said in another thread, that the FEMA head has some blame to take...

Enough about Bush...:rolleyes:

[Warham]

Let their true hatred show, Elvis. It just makes them look even more foolish, as if they haven't looked that way enough since 2000.

"He BETRAYED us! He preyed on our FEARS!" ~ Al Gore, former Vice Presidential windbag and inventor of the interweb.

[DrMaddVibe]

We shouldn't forget the doctor's words on algore



http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=12838

Gore's loose marbles

© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com

Now that the three debates are over and we've had ample opportunity to observe Al Gore in performance, some of his odd, sometimes hysterical behavior ought to alarm many Americans about the vice president's mental health. There was that strange incident in the third debate when Gore rose out of his seat and walked threateningly over to George W. Bush, who just stood there in amazement wondering what it was all about. Bush, at a loss for words, just nodded. Gore then backed away.

What was in Gore's mind when he did that? Was he seething with inner rage or was he just being a bully? Gore also seems to have a very shaky hold on reality. He keeps stretching it, undoing it, remaking it. His exaggerations, lies, made-up stories, suggest that he ought to be a novelist rather than a politician.

He is robotic in his loud, assertive campaign slogans, which are supposed to pass for serious argument. The monotonous repetition of the same words and phrases are supposed to leave in the minds of the audience indelible impressions that will make people vote for him. Sort of like Pavlovian conditioning. And so his repetition of "one percent" is supposed to make average Americans rebel against the rich by voting for the one candidate who will fight the "1 percent."

Gore is creating a kind of war mentality in the electorate. Instead of becoming the president of all the people, he will wage war against the rich, which is anyone who earns over $80,000 a year. He will fight Big Oil, Big Tobacco, the HMOs, the pharmaceutical companies, and Washington lobbyists. Many Americans own stock in the very companies that Gore wants to fight. He wants to turn the federal government into a battlefield. And what will the voters get in return? Lower prices for gas? Gas prices are determined by the market, by supply and demand. When oil prices were low, did Big Oil conspire to make them low? But now that OPEC has found a way to raise oil prices, they will try to keep them as high as possible for as long as possible, because OPEC members are now rolling in cash and just love it.

As for the pharmaceutical companies, they have produced the miracle drugs that have cured diseases and extended human life. Their investment in research and development is huge. Their prices may be high, but that's because the cost of producing these drugs is high. Most of their stockholders are widows, pensioners, and retirees who depend on that dividend money to supplement Social Security. If the companies cannot make a decent profit, their stockholders will get no dividends. Rather than mount a divisive crusade against the pharmaceutical companies, Gore ought to congratulate them on their productivity and offer to subsidize seniors who need the drugs. But he prefers to tell the voters, "I will fight for you," as if the presidency were a call to battle.

Gore is also a man of multiple personalities, a sure sign of pathology. When he spoke at a black church he assumed the personality of a black preacher, using the same kind of body language, voice modulation, and rhetoric, trying to whip up the congregation into a frenzy not for God but for Gore. Sometimes he rants and raves like a demagogue, using emotional arguments instead of common sense. He changes his personality to suit the occasion. That's why everyone wants to know who is the real Al Gore.

I believe we saw the real Al Gore in the third debate. Eleanor Clift, unhappy over Gore's performance in the first two debates, told her colleagues on the McLaughlin Group, "Let Gore be Gore." And that's what he was in the third debate. He was sanctimonious, unctuous, overbearing, rude, monotonous, repetitive, smug, belligerent, wooden and unbelievable. He constantly broke the rules of the debate by interrupting Bush. The trouble is that no one can trust Gore's figures or assertions because the label of liar hangs over his head. And yet, many millions will vote for him.

The dictionary defines a psychopath as "a person suffering from a mental disorder," and it defines hysteria as "a psychiatric condition variously characterized by emotional excitability, excessive anxiety, sensory and motor disturbances." If you observed Gore in the first debate, you saw a man contorting his face, reflecting emotional excitability of an extreme kind. His body language reflected excessive anxiety about his ability to win the debate. His psychopathic behavior indicates that he does suffer from a mental disorder. He is unable to adhere to the truth, to reality. His behavior suggests an obsessive personality, so determined to become President that he is willing to say anything, and perhaps do anything, that will get him there. He does not have the temperament required of a President. Because his word can never be trusted, he is disqualified from the job.

Another important fact about Gore is his past, which the liberal press has preferred not to delve into. His father, Sen. Gore, was a close associate of Armand Hammer, the millionaire communist agent who was the head of Occidental Petroleum. Gore Sr. served as a director of Occidental and provided Hammer with valuable contacts on Capitol Hill. Gore Jr. owns stock in Occidental. The close relationship between the Gore family and a notorious communist agent should be made known to the public.

On the other hand, we all know about the Bush family. Father was an able president, and Barbara Bush was a well-loved first lady with none of Hillary's ambition to rule the world. As for George W., during the debates he came across as unpretentious, secure in the knowledge of who he is and why he is running for the presidency. His answers to the questions were measured and thoughtful, and when he tripped on what he wanted to say, he accepted his verbal mishap and went on from there. He may not be the most articulate candidate to come down the pike, but he strikes one as being intelligent enough to deal with the problems a president will have to face. He surely is as intelligent as Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. He is also smart enough to know that he will have to call on the wisdom and experience of the people around him when necessary.

Gore unnerves people. They will never know what the truth is should he get us into trouble. He will seek to blame others. He will invent stories. As president the power may go to his head and create awkward situations. Gore will try to be another Franklin Roosevelt, expanding government programs and bureaucracies, aiming for his place on Mount Rushmore. Bush, on the other hand, talks of responsibility, of working with men and women from both parties to achieve a particular goal. He does not have a lust-for-power vision. He speaks of less government and more individual responsibility. If he gives us as good a presidency as the one we got from Calvin Coolidge, this writer will be very happy.

Americans don't like power-hungry leaders. They like modest leaders who respect the people they are leading. Gore comes across as someone obsessed with being president, as if his entire life has been devoted to that end. He is like a stubborn child who wants what he wants and if he doesn't get it will have a temper tantrum to end all temper tantrums. The voters are beginning to feel uneasy, like a parent dealing with a strong-willed child who will only become worse if he gets what he wants.

And that is why Bush came away from the debates with increased support. The thought of having Al Gore harangue them for the next four years is more than a lot of people can take. Can you imagine what a Gore state-of-the-union address would be like? Who could stand it? After eight years of Clinton, most Americans want a normal President, a man who speaks the truth and speaks it plainly. Bush seems to fit the bill.

[FORD]

Instead of posting 5 year old slander, Ass Vibe, why don't you address the topic of this thread..

Why is George Bush Jr dragging firefighters half way across the country for purposes of propaganda, rather than actually saving lives, which they are well trained to do.

[DrMaddVibe]

Originally posted by FORD
Instead of posting 5 year old slander, Ass Vibe, why don't you address the topic of this thread..

Why is George Bush Jr dragging firefighters half way across the country for purposes of propaganda, rather than actually saving lives, which they are well trained to do.

Because you live in a world where 5 years ago means everything.

Let it go fuckhead!

Your boy lost. Deal with it. Moveon.org!

[ELVIS]

:D

Hahaha!


:D

[diamondD]

He still hasn't come to grips with the fact that he isn't a Jr!

[frets5150]

:rolleyes:

[frets5150]

:o

[frets5150]

:D

[Nickdfresh]

Al GORE is in New ORLEANS with no fanfare. Let's pray that his evil mission to help people fails. Ahahahahaha!

[DrMaddVibe]

If algore is part of it...it's already DOOMED!

[Keeyth]

Bush is in office for the next four years... ...so we're all DOOMED!!!

[FORD]

Even 5 1/2 years later, Al Gore is still more Presidential than the Chimp.

[Keeyth]

Originally posted by FORD
Even 5 1/2 years later, Al Gore is still more Presidential than the Chimp.

That is so true. He really does have a much more Presidential air about him than Bush ever had.

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by DrMaddVibe
If algore is part of it...it's already DOOMED!

Yeah, I guess when BUSH sees that the winner of the 2000 election is there, he's sure to start fucking it up...

[LoungeMachine]

Originally posted by FORD
Elvis can't handle the truth,

That may just be the understatement of the year.

:cool:

[LoungeMachine]

I find it amaing that the so called "Christian, Conservative, Health Care Providing" ELVIS instead of reporting from the front lines of this crisis any REAL insight, simply spends his time bashing The Left, calling people N******, and telling people to FUCK OFF

Now THAT'S the kind of Compassionate Conservatism I want from MY health care providers !!!!

Hypocritical piece of Shit.

[ELVIS]

You have no idea what you're blabbing about...

[Warham]

Originally posted by LoungeMachine
I find it amaing that the so called "Christian, Conservative, Health Care Providing" ELVIS instead of reporting from the front lines of this crisis any REAL insight, simply spends his time bashing The Left, calling people N******, and telling people to FUCK OFF

Now THAT'S the kind of Compassionate Conservatism I want from MY health care providers !!!!

Hypocritical piece of Shit.

That time of the month?

[DrMaddVibe]

Originally posted by LoungeMachine
I find it amaing that the so called "Christian, Conservative, Health Care Providing" ELVIS instead of reporting from the front lines of this crisis any REAL insight, simply spends his time bashing The Left, calling people N******, and telling people to FUCK OFF

Now THAT'S the kind of Compassionate Conservatism I want from MY health care providers !!!!

Hypocritical piece of Shit.


Wow...you must've been good. Bon Jovi said he doesn't have health care and he's in pop 'n roll too!

[ELVIS]

LMAO!


:elvis: