the NOLA zoo animals at the gym
For the cheerfulness factor, I should report that the New York Times once published a photo taken during a hurricane that hit Miami (not the flooding kind, just wind and rain). The Miami Zoo had to do something with all its animals to keep them safe, so there was a photo of all the flamingoes herded together into a restroom. They put down straw on the floor, and there were backup generators so the birds had lights, and all of these gawky pink birds were staring at themselves in the mirror.
My grandfather cut this photo out of the Times, highlighted the fact that it was the
men's
restroom, and faxed it to all his children in mock-outrage.
(I also have a photo of the Central Park Zoo lion, catching snowflakes on his tongue, also from the Times.)
A lot of the buildings in NO are still standing. They'll be stinky and need new drywall and carpeting, but they're THERE.
But after a few days of waterlogging they may no longer be structurally sound. Water is incredibly insidious in it's destruction. Not to mention id the water is containminated. And they are saying that it may take days or weeks to get rid of the water.
Oh. Shrub was here.
Oh yes, I noticed the battle ship behind him. He
does
like posing in front of them, doesn't he? Too bad it's the opposite direction from the tragedy and all.
He does like posing in front of them, doesn't he? Too bad it's the opposite direction from the tragedy and all.
Well we are
very
pretty. And he is
very
stupid...
I feel the need to watch more news.
Check this out:
6:39 P.M. - JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Senator Trent Lott is urging President Bush to visit Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, telling the president -- quote -- "the people of Mississippi are flat on their backs. They're going to need your help."
Victor and I were talking about that just today -- on a different topic. I think GWB doesn't have the "I feel your pain" gene, or not much of one, and he doesn't want to come across as not-as-good-as-Bill-Clinton, so he avoids "feel your pain" situations.
Which, with enough spin, he can get away with, for a while. Then it starts to look like hiding, which, it really kind of is.
Personally, I suck at expressing the fact that I feel others' pain, so I empathize with the dude, but, you know, I am not President.
I think GWB doesn't have the "I feel your pain" gene, or not much of one, and he doesn't want to come across as not-as-good-as-Bill-Clinton, so he avoids "feel your pain" situations.
I suspect you are right but, to me, he comes across as just oblivious that there even is pain. Which is a bad trait in a President. And in a human with any kind of power or responsibility. It's like he thinks that if he just hides for long enough, the problems will have gone away.
There was a Newsweek article a couple weeks ago about how Bush had met with lots of families of soldiers killed in Iraq, and how compassionate and empathetic he had been.
Which read like an offensively blatant puff piece -- you almost expected little hearts surrounding the article, with "News Week Bush" doodled around it -- but they had found people to say how genuinely he felt their pain. So there you go.
Victor and I were talking about that just today -- on a different topic. I think GWB doesn't have the "I feel your pain" gene, or not much of one, and he doesn't want to come across as not-as-good-as-Bill-Clinton, so he avoids "feel your pain" situations.
I was watching him on the news today and wondering if he ever speaks without prepared speeches. I was never a big fan of Clinton but he knew how to be heartfelt and human when it was needed.
Sue,
my mother saw when GWB met Pope JPII and GWB couldn't speak from the heart AT ALL when he met JPII. You'd think a world leader would be able to say, "It is such a pleasure to meet you. Blah Blah." But GWB could even give a two sentence set of platitudes without reading it.
