Lally's Alley: QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Monday, June 16, 2008

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

I'm not going to get this quote exactly right, but my friend Sylvia left a message yesterday from Iowa City about the flooding there and in Cedar Rapids and other places, saying something like: "It's just like Katrina, only white people, so they're taking better care of it."

16 comments:

JIm said...: Katrina devastated New Orleans and Mississippi equally. In a disaster, the initial recovery is run by local politicians and private citizens. New Orleans and Louisiana have been run by the Democrat Party for generations. The emphasis of their governance has been on victomhood, class warfare, government corruption and misuse of funds. Congressman William Jefferson and cold cash comes to mind. Money, originally earmarked for levees, was co-opted and spent on special local political projects. Disaster resulted. Mississippi has had Republican party government for years. Mississippians looked to themselves and local institutions first, to deal with the disaster. The federal government is a poor manager. Look at the performance of the US Postal Service vs. United Parcel Service or FedEX. Race had nothing to do with it.; June 16, 2008 at 1:01:00 PM EDT
Lally said...: Jim, you have all the answers and if it weren't for the Democrats this country would be paradise, and Bush Junior will go down in history as the greatest leader of our times. I'm sorry me and my friends, (whose I.Q.s and accomplishments are exceptional but nothing compared to your obvious brialliance I concede) like to talk about things we care about and from our own perspective, what fools we are to have any other perspective than yours (by yours I mean Limbaugh and the other rightwing genuises you ditto). Thanks for straightening us all out on everything Jim. Your job is done, you can retire now and let us poor simpleton "liberals" and "leftists" repent for our sins, thinking we could make the world better, what idiots! From now on we will just let your rightwing people rule the world and everything will be so fun. Thanks for enlightening us all Jim. Now we'll talk among ourselves and not feel obligated to answer your brilliant insights into our failings and the rightwing Republicans infallibility can continue to prove its correctness with more sublime achievements at home and abroad.; June 16, 2008 at 1:55:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...: The statement and belief that the people of Iowa are being treated better because they are white is truly pathetic.

The people of Iowa did what they could do for themselves rather than sit and declare themselves victims. They got out of the way of the flood and helped others while doing so.

Now they will rebuild with FEMA assistance, not expecting FEMA to rebuild for them.; June 16, 2008 at 3:15:00 PM EDT
JIm said...: That was a little limp Mike. You showed more intestinal fortitude when you were a kid with no talent for football, yet clawed your way to a letter. I lost track of you in 1960. Apparently, the years have been hard on you.; June 16, 2008 at 3:18:00 PM EDT
Unknown said...: Wow. Will it ever end? My party is better than yours, my comprehension is superior, my understanding of the constitution, issues, blah blah blah. I look forward to some thoughtful comments after a post to be sure, but the same old same old is getting old.; June 16, 2008 at 4:58:00 PM EDT
Lally said...: If you think that racism wasn't involved in the neglect of the 9th ward in New Orleans and the Bush administration's response, you're naive. Junior's own mother Barbara made it clear when she stated that "those people" never had it so good, referring to those stuck in the Superdome after the flood, which was caused by federal neglect of the levies and ignoring all the warnings from the usual suspects, liberals and Democrats. Mercy me, they got it right but those no good 9th ward black folks should have rebuilt the levies themselves with the money left over from trips to the golf course. And as for Jim, if you're gonna get personal son, wait til you see me in person, or call me on the phone, as you have for the past several years in which you've been well aware of what I've been up to and who I am and have always been and the beliefs I have always had and fought to defend (maybe we lost touch because you were in college and I was in the service, and by the way I never did get a letter due to the arcane rules in that boys Catholic school we both went to, but I did play varsity football in my junior year, defensive end, and then didn't in my senior year because I had to work after school to help with my father's home maintenance business, working in homes like yours if I remember correctly, and then extra jobs beyond that to earn pocket money so I could get to Manhattan, specifically the lower end where there were people who shared my perspective and interests, like on this blog. Get this through your head Jim, I honor our boyhood friendship, despite our differences even then, and I respect yours and anyone else's right to their own opinions, but I don't like most of yours because they are based on false propganada propagated by those whose foremost interest is the enrichment of certain coporations and an already wealthy elite. I hate to have to start deleting you and anonymous and "another Lally" whoever they are, but I may have to, because you just repeat the same tired nonsense that not only ignores the facts but disrespects people and ideals I care about, including myself.; June 16, 2008 at 5:09:00 PM EDT
JIm said...: If you do start deleting responses, it would fit in well with the Democrat party idea of the First Amendment. The "Fairness Doctrine" for a blog on a public internet would make perfect sense for a liberal/conservative in today's America. I suspect all the Democrat party leadership, including Obama, would applaud your courage in stamping out dissent.; June 16, 2008 at 6:01:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...: Racism was involved in the Katrina evacuation and aftermath. Buses were not used to evacuate enough of the poor.

Racism was involved when the people trying to leave New Orleans were forced back by neighboring town's police. It was also involved in Gov Blanco's refusal to send transportation to remove those stranded in the city.

The Feds cannot enter Louisianna without permission of the governor or legislature as dictated by the state constitution. Even after Bush went to New Orleans to meet with Blanco and Nagin, she still refused to suspend habeas corpus. Nagin left that meeting angry and complaioning to the media that she was the hold up all along.

There is no similar situation in Iowa. Their state constitution allows for the suspension of habeas corpus for natural disaster. Yet there has been no cries to blame the feds for the floods or damage.

Just the facts of the matter no matter what political bent.; June 16, 2008 at 6:34:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...: Lal--If you delete Jim's comments, no matter how distasteful or narrow-minded or slanted to the right, or just plain stupid they may be, you fall into his trap. Better to let him post them and not bother to reply. They are frequently only too obviously reactionary and intended to lure you into disputes he's sure he can win by the simple expedient of accusing you of America-hating, of being blind, etc., etc., etc. Let him blather on. If no one takes his bait anymore, eventually he'll give up.

Bob Berner; June 16, 2008 at 11:25:00 PM EDT
JIm said...: I showed my wife, Loyeen, the last posts, not really expecting her to agree with me, that you had obvious anger management problems and a closed and uninformed mind. Loyeen is a life long Democrat and a Teacher Union member. Naturally she thought, I was at best being my typical "Right Wing Nut" self or at worst a Nazi. She took particular umbrage at my saying,
"You showed more intestinal fortitude when you were a kid with no talent for football, yet clawed your way to a letter." I did not mean to impugn your courage as a teenager.I said in a previous post that I admired your teenage physical courage. I meant to impugn your intelectual courage, if you saw fit to delete dissenting opinions.
You also went on about tough financial times in senior year. The South Orange McKenna's of the 40's,50's and 60's aspired to "Lace Curtain" status but were often not far from "Shanty". My Father was an entrepeneur like yours. He had two bankruptcies in the 30's and 40's. It took him many years, but he paid it all back to his creditors, even though he was not legally required to. I remember, on at least one occasion, that my Mother did not have enough money to pay for food. My brothers and sisters and I went door to door selling pot holders and wallet inventory, that my father had from a previous enterprise. He was angry, because of pride, when he found out that we did it, but we eat that week. It took ten years for my father to pay off the debts. When he started another business in 1960 he had immediate credit. In short, I am not sympathetic of the pity party theme of tough times. Most of us have them at times in our lives and we get over it.; June 16, 2008 at 11:25:00 PM EDT
JIm said...: Hi, Anonymous said…
I can not figure you out. One minute you sound conservative and then you are just another closed minded liberal. Are you the same person or just a split personality? I can
take " distasteful, narrow-minded and slanted to the right". Reactionary is a label I wear with pride when confronted with liberal/progressive policies that have a history of failing time and time again. "Just plain stupid" sticks in my craw. I thought "intellectual traps" were for stupid folks. Those who are true believers in their politics, would surely take the time to study and back up their beliefs in a calm and reasoned debate like our Founding Fathers. Actually, I take that back. Our Founding Fathers were anything but reasonable. They risked their lives and property for ideas like, like Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, They thought freedom of speech and onerous taxation were particularly vexing. Most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence suffered loss of life, and or, of fortune. I am not suggesting that our tax system is without representation, just that it is idiotic and need of urgent reform to reflect the competitive world that we live in.; June 17, 2008 at 1:53:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...: Jim, get your own blog.; June 17, 2008 at 5:40:00 AM EDT
Harryn Studios said...: jim - i hesitate to address you directly because of the on going arguements that could follow - none of which i'm interested in participating ...
you've demonstrated intelligence and tenacity - and on occasion insight - thank you - and under limbaugh dictum you've attempted to convert the 'uniformed' ...
but most often your comments become annoying because of their argumentative and heckling nature - it's like a loud-mouthed aethiest at high mass ...
it would seem more gentlemanly and polite to frame an occasional opinion and more expedient to perhaps begin your own blog as suggested in previous comments ...
i wake to a cup of coffee and reading my favorite news and blogs around 6 a.m. ...
more often than not, your comments are like annoying, distasteful commercials ...
i'm sure michael would list your sight appropriately if you decided to blog it on your own ...
best regards ...; June 17, 2008 at 8:12:00 AM EDT
JIm said...: Harryn,
The "athiest in a high mass" comment gives me pause. I may have become shrill to match what I felt was shrillness and closed minded-
ness expressed on this site. My own site is a no go. I will reflect. Thank you for the comment.; June 17, 2008 at 8:48:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...: Dissent??
Jim believes he is owed his moments of dissent on the PERSONAL blog of poet/actor Michael Lally.? Jim, I think maybe you perhaps are too lazy, or too afraid to put yourself out there, with your own blog, so you latch on to other blogs to do your bloviating.
This site is not your blog. Understand? Pithy comments are all that are needed by the likes of you.; June 17, 2008 at 6:16:00 PM EDT
Connie said...: I think that the comparison of the flooding in Iowa to that following Katrina leaves out a lot of differences leaving the argument of democrat or republic responsibility beside the point. I agree that racism played a role in the fed's tardy response to Katrina, and the apparent breakdown in the ability of the New Orleans government to respond to the needs of the people was stunning. But the overall situations varied greatly.

Katrina was a disaster that took many people by surprise. When the levees broke, the flood was devastatingly fast and isolated people in their homes with little warning. They thought they had avoided the worst once the storm passed through only to find that they hadn’t planned for the aftermath. But in Iowa the townspeople have had the time to take a more orderly approach to the coming waters and were able to evacuate and sandbag.

I followed the Iowa City situation. There were constant updates on the level of the Coralville dam many days before the spillway was actually breached. There was enough notice that buildings were evacuated. The art faculty was moved out about a week before the crest. As far back as June 6, sandbagging had started around neighborhoods. Several thousand young strong UI students were on hand to sandbag around the UI buildings.

From what I’ve seen from checking the Daily Iowan and Press-Citizen websites at a distance of a thousand miles, there was a lot of preparation and a lot of warning.
University officials were able to move all the art out of the museum before the water got that high. We won’t see any photos of people sitting on roofs waiting for rescue. The local infrastructure was present in Iowa City not evacuated to DesMoines to watch the weather reports on TV. So the fire and police were there to help people and organize the response.

The destruction will take a long time to come back from. The water continues to take out towns downstream. My hope now is that the flood will recede quickly giving those affected the chance to get back into their homes and places of business and start the long process of drying out their possessions and restoring their lives.; June 18, 2008 at 6:26:00 PM EDT