Thank You John Kerry
The Flood Continues...
"Natural and human calamity have stripped away the spin machine, creating a rare accountability moment, not just for the Bush administration, but for all of us to take stock of the direction of our country and do what we can to reverse it. That's our job -- to turn this moment from a frenzied expression of guilt into a national reversal of direction.
We've seen America at its best and our government at its worst. Millions of Americans are beginning to realize where they fit in our democracy under Republican governance: nowhere."
"Katrina is a symbol of all this administration does and doesn't do. Michael Brown -- or Brownie as the President so famously thanked him for doing a heck of a job -- Brownie is to Katrina what Paul Bremer is to peace in Iraq; what George Tenet is to slam dunk intelligence; what Paul Wolfowitz is to parades paved with flowers in Baghdad; what Dick Cheney is to visionary energy policy; what Donald Rumsfeld is to basic war planning; what Tom Delay is to ethics; and what George Bush is to "Mission Accomplished" and "Wanted Dead or Alive." The bottom line is simple: the "we'll do whatever it takes" administration doesn't have what it takes to get the job done.
This is the Katrina administration."
"This is the real test of Katrina. Will we be satisfied to only do the immediate: care for the victims and rebuild the city? Or will we be inspired to tackle the incompetence that left us so unprepared, and the societal injustice that left so many of the least fortunate waiting and praying on those rooftops? "
"Today, let’s you and I acknowledge what’s really going on in this country. The truth is that this week, as a result of Katrina, many children languishing in shelters are getting vaccinations for the first time. Thousands of adults are seeing a doctor after going without a check-up for years. Illnesses lingering long before Katrina will be treated by a healthcare system that just weeks ago was indifferent, and will soon be indifferent again."
"The rush now to camouflage their misjudgments and inaction with money does not mean they are suddenly listening. It's still politics as usual. The plan they're designing for the Gulf Coast turns the region into a vast laboratory for right wing ideological experiments. They're already talking about private school vouchers, abandonment of environmental regulations, abolition of wage standards, subsidies for big industries, and believe it or not yet another big round of tax cuts for the wealthiest among us! "
"On the line is a fundamental choice. A choice between a view that says “you’re on your own,” “go it alone,” or “every man for himself.” Or a different view - a different philosophy - a different conviction of governance - a belief that says our great American challenge is one of shared endeavor and shared sacrifice."
Our challenge...[is] to speak out so loudly that Washington has no choice but to make choices worthy of this great country.
-Senator John Kerry, in speech at Brown University, 19 September 2005
Transctipt
Amen.
By the way, I had no idea this or Bill Clinton's remarks were coming when I wrote my column for this week. Both came out after my deadline, Sunday, so I guess for a lowly college student to see the exact same problems as a standing senator and a former president before their views are made public really shines a light on how obvious the problems with this administration on poverty, debt, economics, and their priorities really are.
Not to be narcissistic, but my psychic powers are proving to be much stronger than anticipated. Kerry comes very close to calling for impeachment in this speech, and though he can't get it with this congress, there's 33 senate seats up for grabs in 12 months. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
"Natural and human calamity have stripped away the spin machine, creating a rare accountability moment, not just for the Bush administration, but for all of us to take stock of the direction of our country and do what we can to reverse it. That's our job -- to turn this moment from a frenzied expression of guilt into a national reversal of direction.
We've seen America at its best and our government at its worst. Millions of Americans are beginning to realize where they fit in our democracy under Republican governance: nowhere."
"Katrina is a symbol of all this administration does and doesn't do. Michael Brown -- or Brownie as the President so famously thanked him for doing a heck of a job -- Brownie is to Katrina what Paul Bremer is to peace in Iraq; what George Tenet is to slam dunk intelligence; what Paul Wolfowitz is to parades paved with flowers in Baghdad; what Dick Cheney is to visionary energy policy; what Donald Rumsfeld is to basic war planning; what Tom Delay is to ethics; and what George Bush is to "Mission Accomplished" and "Wanted Dead or Alive." The bottom line is simple: the "we'll do whatever it takes" administration doesn't have what it takes to get the job done.
This is the Katrina administration."
"This is the real test of Katrina. Will we be satisfied to only do the immediate: care for the victims and rebuild the city? Or will we be inspired to tackle the incompetence that left us so unprepared, and the societal injustice that left so many of the least fortunate waiting and praying on those rooftops? "
"Today, let’s you and I acknowledge what’s really going on in this country. The truth is that this week, as a result of Katrina, many children languishing in shelters are getting vaccinations for the first time. Thousands of adults are seeing a doctor after going without a check-up for years. Illnesses lingering long before Katrina will be treated by a healthcare system that just weeks ago was indifferent, and will soon be indifferent again."
"The rush now to camouflage their misjudgments and inaction with money does not mean they are suddenly listening. It's still politics as usual. The plan they're designing for the Gulf Coast turns the region into a vast laboratory for right wing ideological experiments. They're already talking about private school vouchers, abandonment of environmental regulations, abolition of wage standards, subsidies for big industries, and believe it or not yet another big round of tax cuts for the wealthiest among us! "
"On the line is a fundamental choice. A choice between a view that says “you’re on your own,” “go it alone,” or “every man for himself.” Or a different view - a different philosophy - a different conviction of governance - a belief that says our great American challenge is one of shared endeavor and shared sacrifice."
Our challenge...[is] to speak out so loudly that Washington has no choice but to make choices worthy of this great country.
-Senator John Kerry, in speech at Brown University, 19 September 2005
Transctipt
Amen.
By the way, I had no idea this or Bill Clinton's remarks were coming when I wrote my column for this week. Both came out after my deadline, Sunday, so I guess for a lowly college student to see the exact same problems as a standing senator and a former president before their views are made public really shines a light on how obvious the problems with this administration on poverty, debt, economics, and their priorities really are.
Not to be narcissistic, but my psychic powers are proving to be much stronger than anticipated. Kerry comes very close to calling for impeachment in this speech, and though he can't get it with this congress, there's 33 senate seats up for grabs in 12 months. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
posted by Jon Fish at 5:07 PM
2 Comments:
Are you completely kidding? You're glad that you came to the same conclusion as a traitor/idiot and a rapist/adulterer/cover-up artist/smoothtalkin/do nothing ex-but-still-wants-to-be presidential liar? Careful, Kerry will probably change his opinion on this tomorrow, anyways.
What?
Notice, I cite my sources. I'd kinda expect the same
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