Conservatives are CORRECT... we ARE making America look weak...

[TygrBright]

...but not for the reasons they believe:

Last weekend I enjoyed a visit from an old friend. She is a social scientist and researcher from Africa, and although she travels regularly, she had not been to the U.S. since the beginning of the current Imperial Fiasco in Iraq. So I was very interested in getting her perspective on America from the outside, as it were.

Irene (not her real name) would probably be considered quite moderate, even a bit conservative, ideologically. Still, as a social worker in Africa she is naturally affected by the appalling social and cultural problems of African states, and her views are above all pragmatic, because in Africa all social change is the art of the possible.

For the most part, she said very little that surprised me about the various views of America she’d encountered during her travels in Australia, Europe, and of course, Africa itself. They resent us (big surprise!) They hate Bush (newsflash!) They still like individual Americans but they despise our government and our consumer-driven culture (whoa! clue phone!) Then she said something else I expected: “Well, generally, many people seem to think that America is growing weak.”

I nodded my head, sagely, “Yes. Repeating our mistakes from Vietnam, getting lured into the quagmire in Iraq, losing control of the situation in Afghanistan, having our attempts at peace-making and democracy-brokering utterly ignored…” But by that time, she was shaking her head. “No, no… that’s not it at all!”

That stopped me. It wasn’t? Was I about to hear a GOPpie talking point about "dissent weakens us in the eyes of the world and gives comfort to our enemies?"

“No, of course not. Foreign policy and military setbacks are only to be expected, they don’t really show much about America’s internal strength.”

Blink-blink. “Then…?”

“We all watched, you know, when the hurricane hit Louisiana. Even in Africa, it got lots of coverage. We saw it coming, we heard the predictions that it would hit New Orleans. And I think everyone was expecting the Americans to use all your technology and your wealth to deal with it. It was just shocking to watch, when you didn’t. Seeing America looking like a third world disaster area, bodies floating around… It made America look so vulnerable, and your government couldn’t or wouldn’t do anything to stop it!”

Well, there you have it, folks— America DOES look like a bunch of sissywimps to the rest of the world, we ARE looking weak and in danger of looking weaker!

But it’s not because we have a bunch of nancypants liberal whineybabies criticizing Our Manly Macho President and begging him to Pull Out of Iraq, no indeed. Nor because we have a limpwristed liberal opposition wringing its hands about the Administration’s plans for bombing Iran.

Nope. It’s because Mr. Macho President himself, and his Highly Aggressive, Manly, Get-It-Done Administration BUNGLED THE JOB of saving our own citizens from a natural disaster everyone knew was coming, and couldn’t even effectively pick up the pieces afterward!

And every two-bit pissant terra-ist, every evilminded rogue dictator, every outlaw state in the world, now knows that we can’t even protect our own people when we KNOW something bad is going to happen, and we can’t do DICKSHIT to clean up once it HAS happened.

How d’ya like THEM apples, hmmmm?

pugnaciously,
Bright

(ed. to include signature)

[myrna minx]

1. Your post sent a chill down my spine.

:cry: Because I know you're correct. :cry:

[fooj]

2. Those apples suck. It makes me soooo angry that these

rat bastards have done this to MY COUNTRY!!! It is heartbreaking.:cry:

Peace.

[FreedomAngel82]

3. It's so sad and depressing

But so very true. :(

[savemefromdumbya]

4. Many people over the pond started to worry in 2000 when * stole the electi

People couldn't believe that America could have had such a menace inflicted on it as the 'appointment of King George' in 2000. Since then people have been concerned for the american people of what is going to happen to them. Basically being abused.

[ixion]

5. we've sunk so far, so fast, on so many levels

it's really disheartening, because it was all entirely unnecessary. Tens of thousands of people have died because of an ideology, and that's a truly horrible thing.

[Spazito]

6. Excellent commentary and very true!

Watching the inability (deliberate or otherwise) of the US government to lift a finger to help it's own citizens until too late and, even then, to be seen as being totally inadequate to the job was very, very telling.

[JCMach1]

7. Not just weak, but THE SAME as their own often corrupt

goverments...

They used to believe the U.S. was different... not any more...

That's the dominant view here in Asia and especially the Middle-East...

That sad irony is-- they love American culture and products over here... it's just our government screwing it up for everyone... EVEN BUSINESS

[TygrBright]

8. Yes, that too.

She said "Well, I don't have to explain government corruption to Americans, do I..."

I was so ashamed.

sadly,
Bright

[Niche]

9. P.S. This Adm. was vacant during 9/11 TOO...

What's gonna happen if nuclear-disaster happens? Incompetence! They did nothing in either disaster. They're running the country like they ran Enron - completely immersed in non-reality.

[JCMach1]

10. Not ignoring, just creating it where they can

and look where that has lead us....

4th Reich LITE

[GOPFighter]

11. Nice post. I hadn't thought of it that way.

Yes, we did look weak, because we are. The goal of the Republicans is to change us from a nation working together to help those in need of help, into a collection of individuals who rely only upon themselves. Rugged individuals. No government help whatsoever. Get hit by a hurricane? Sorry 'bout that. It's your fault for living there. Lost your job? Tough luck, stranger. Got sick, lost your job and now have no insurance to pay the hospital and now you're being evicted? Shoulda' planned for this by building up your savings for a rainy day. It's not my fault you decided to take the kids to the amusement park back in 1996.

Funny, their vision of rugged individuals never seems to include rugged companies that never need tax breaks!

[Mutley]

12. kick

[VaYallaDawg]

13. You are 100% on target with this info.

I was in Italy at the time Katrina hit New Orleans, and we watched the storm and ensuing fiasco on European TV. It was an eye-opener to talk with people in the street there. They were amazed, dumbstruck that America, with all its economic and technological prowess, was so ill prepared and unable to manage a natural crisis like that.

The crowning blow came when it was evident that the police officials were unable to even coordinate moving all the traffic outbound from the city on the interstate highways. The inability to manage public safety amazed the Italians - who are pretty good at creating confusion of their own even without a hurricane or a flood.

Right on the heels of all the human tragedy came all the finger-pointing and ass-covering by the N.O. mayor, LA governor, Bush, and Browniegate. It was downright embarassing.

[Raster]

14. Unfortunately the ugly unvarnished truth is far worse than we are weak

and our government can't protect our citizens. In reality this pResident and his cronies CHOSE NOT TO PROTECT OR HELP New Orleans and its citizens because they didn't economically matter. The poor, black citizens of New Orleans in the path of Katrina WERE LEFT TO DIE. Already the survivors have been scattered to the four winds with little hope of returning to the remnants of their lives. Already their homes are being condemned to make way for a new whiter, more rethuglican New Orleans, friendly to bushco* and its petroleum mafia collaborators. The black, Democratic voting bloc that was New Orleans will never be allowed to reconstitute. This was purging the voting rolls at its most obscene, purge by murder.

[cosmicdot]

15. comparative infrastructure ... comparative leadership ...

pictures are worth a 1000 words ...

and, these, I believe, say a lot about where our pseudo-leaders have failed us ... what have their interests and priorities been? where has all the money gone? where are the modern-day leaders who are concerned about our infrastructure? we've gots lot of weapons of mass destruction ... and, new, improved (privatized) prisons are a big priority (and, to make a profit, one needs to generate 'criminals') ... manufacturing of fear, hate, distractions, and division are big items ... taser guns and riot gear, too ...


... the good ol'boy pseudo-leaders have increased their personal wealth beyond their wildest dreams ... while they've mismanaged the common good ...

... security is more than bugging its citizens and making them all suspects ...


“Well, generally, many people seem to think that America is growing weak.”


Here's how the British hold back the waters from flooding London:



And the Dutch solution to protecting an entire nation that mostly rests below sea level:



The Italians are defending their city on the sea, Venice:


And the richest, most powerful and technologically advanced nation on earth ..


Shock and awe me with such such marvels as the Millau Bridge in France ... I'll have French fries, thank you.



The world's highest road bridge has been inaugurated in southern France by President Jacques Chirac.

The Millau bridge over the River Tarn in the Massif Central mountains is more than 300m (984ft) high - taller even than the country's Eiffel Tower. ~snip~

"The bridge is now a source of pride for Millau, which believes many more tourists will come to admire one of the engineering wonders of the 21st Century ~snip~

I'm still hoping for those leaders to come along who will talk about the New Deal for the 21st Century.


FDR: TVA built dams across the Tennessee Valley in the 1930s and ’40s


While comparing things, I thought this was interesting:



Levee scene along Bayou De Glaises, Louisiana, 1927.

"In the spring of 1927, one of the greatest natural disasters hit when the Mississippi River basin flooded land in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. In the days before FEMA, President Calvin Coolidge sent Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, to coordinate relief efforts. His radio campaign raised $15 million for relief supplies and he established tent cities for over 600,000 left homeless by the flood."

("in the days before FEMA" - it is from the Hoover presidential library and museum site)

[TygrBright]

16. Thanks....

...for the GRAPHIC depiction.

I love my country, but I don't think I've ever been so ashamed of it.

sadly,
Bright

[Carni]

17. Amen!

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see a hurricane headed towards a city under sea level and realize you need to move a hell of a lot of people out of that city.

These people are so busy picking our pockets they don't have a plan in general.

[Kansas Wyatt]

18. Some Senator needs to read your post on the Senate floor.

Any Senator reading the DU?

[canichelouis]

19. Here, here

[tomreedtoon]

20. Some Democratic CANDIDATE should say this.

This is an obvious, clear indictment of the Republican adnimistration that has nothing to do with war or abortion. It's something that could incite just about anyone to reject Republicans.

So why aren't any of the so-called "front runner" Presidential candidates saying anything like this?

Is it that they don't have the courage? They don't want to "offend" someone? Or, as I fear, is it that they really don't want to win?

I got a typical fund-raising call from a Democratic phone bank. The guy was nice and polite, and I lstened for almost a full minute - which I rarely give to a telemarketer. When he asked for a $110 donation, I told him politely, "When I start hearing Democratic candidates fight back, especially on matters like Alito, then I'll donate."

I have a feeling my donation money will be sitting still for a long, long time.