Monday, January 18, 2010

Clinton on HAITI aid...........

Bill Clinton is standing up to criticism that aid isn't getting to Haiti fast enough. I'm wondering if what he said here in italics isn't a little ironic?"No, I don't think they were slow coming in," Clinton told AFP as he walked down the hospital hallways cluttered with injured survivors. "The infrastructure broke down (as a result of the earthquake), and that's what we're building up."

The infrastructure in those areas most affected wasn't in too good shape as a result of the Katrina flooding, either, as most of us remember it. I'm not posting this to argue Katrina again; most people who blame Bush for so much are as eager to hear the other side of that one as they are to hear the other side of global climate change. I see a pattern here. Photos: Katrina.

22 comments:

RightKlik said...

Keen observation. The blame games can be very revealing.

Anonymous said...

It's a huge undertaking to move large equipment, and hundreds maybe thousands of people (rescuers and others) at the drop of a hat. It can't be done.

It involves coordination, and the logistical problems in a country which has been literally destroyed, are a nightmare.

I believe everyone involved in this effort to save lives have done everything humanly possible and as timely as possible in the face of this disaster.

The desperation of the Haitian people is equally understandable. They are left with literally nothing. Not even water.

Katrina was different in this sense. There was a warning of five days that the hurricane was coming, yet Louisiana officials waited and watched, even refused President Bush when he requested the military be allowed in.

The people of New Orleans also had that warning, and many, including those with children, stayed, and waited. Dozens of buses remained idle which could have transported hundreds of people who had no other way out.

I can say if I had children, and had a five day warning of an imminent cat.5 hurricane, I'd have gotten out of there before I'd take the chance of staying. If I had to walk, I'd walk.

Both of these disasters are examples of what human beings are or are not capable of. We are not capable of being everything to everyone, as hard as we may try.

The officials in Louisiana did nothing. They were not capable. They were incompetent. They didn't try, and faded into the background, while the President took all the blame.

Governor Hayley Barbour and the people of Mississippi didn't blame anyone. He and they took action and were totally ignored by the media.

Haiti suffered an earthquake. No warning. The human cost is shattering, and it's no one's fault. Terrible things happen and people suffer and die, and it's heartbreaking to watch.

Everything that happens does not require blame. Sometimes it just is, as terrible as that may be.

Pris

Brooke said...

OK, I'm gonna say it:

Bill Clinton doesn't care about black people!!!!

Great observation, Z!

Z said...

Oh, Brooke, BRILLIANT.
Don't you KNOW that would have been what was said had McCain become president and Bush went to Haiti and said that?
Great observation from YOU, m'dear!

Z said...

Pris, PLEASE don't bore us with FACTS anymore!! :-)
That our media neglected to remind Americans of the information you remind us of is more scary than a hurricane. That leftists didn't care for the truth is maybe even worse than that.

So frustrating.

Linda said...

What is so sad about Haiti is all the money that has been poured into that country over the years. Someone said it was over $3 BILLION in the past decade, and they still build their homes with mud. I realize an earthquake can take down buildings made of mortar and steel, but I bet in a year, even if no other natural disaster happens to the island, they will still be living in squalor.

I met someone today that said they had never thought about being racist, but this past year, we found out that we are all racist if we acknowledge any negative thing about the 'black' people. It is thrown in our faces every single day.

Z said...

It is sad, linda....any slightest criticism is racist.
THAT much money and who got it? Dominican Republic has the same weather, same soil, etc etc and it's thriving ....feet away is Haiti and those people have suffered forever.
That we gave money and didn't watch who got it is unforgivable; thank goodness Bush implemented good methodologies for African relief monies, etc...

Pasadena Closet Conservative said...

But didn't you get the memo? Katrina was different. Bush was President. Therefore everything was the Federal government's fault. Local and regional accountability didn't exist. And good news was not reported.

I wonder if Clinton understands how disingenuous his remarks are?

elmers brother said...

He also essentially agreed with Rush Limbaugh yesterday on the Sunday talk show. Saying that the government can't do it all, that people should consider giving to NGO's as they will be carrying a lot of the burden also.

Anonymous said...

This business about being called a racist for telling the truth has been with us for a while. It’s called ‘political correctness.’ In point of fact, Haiti is much like dozens of other countries where foreign aid is little more than a bonus check to the regime temporarily in charge. Linda is right … Bill Clinton (nee any progressive) could care less about the plight of black people, otherwise they wouldn’t work so hard to co-opt them into economic slavery and a feeling of social inferiority. I mean, where would liberals be without all that black anger created by liberals?

Is this simply Katrina redux? No, not hardly. When Bush left office, he took his hurricane machine with him to Crawford, Texas. Besides, we know how much Barack and Michelle love black people, don’t we? Surely, you haven’t forgotten how quickly Barack threw his aunty under the bus when she was having problems with the immigration service.

Semper Fi

Bloviating Zeppelin said...

Yes, this is a horrible situation. Granted. But why is it that there is damned near a 180-degree difference between Haiti and the DR which is RIGHT NEXT DOOR on the SAME island?? Can you say: "cor-rup-tion"?

I KNEW you could!

BZ

Bloviating Zeppelin said...

Also: why is it that, during the news footage I've witnessed, I've seen Haitians do nothing but complain about the lack of aid whilst, surrounding those being interviewed, are hundreds of persons performing NO WORK whatsoever?? What's THAT about, eh?

BZ

Chuck said...

I have wanted to blog about this but I did not want be disrespectful (you did a good job with yours). With that said, I have been thinking that it's funny how taking a few days to get supplies to these people all of a sudden seems reasonable.

Z said...

BZ, during Katrina, I heard on the radio the son of a nurse in Houston who'd called him to tell him the teens who came from the Katrina-hit areas were sitting on cots in the Sports Dome smoking and complaining and doing NOTHING so they had to get and pay for immigrants to come in on buses and help clean, etc. I thought that was so pathetic.

In the Midwest when those horrid floods hit shortly after, you never heard anything like looting, complaining, whining,...they just fixed things and made them better for themselves.

FairWitness said...

Hi Z, according to several European sources, Obama's Haiti rescue effort is a total pooch screw and his team, including former President Clinton, are acting like overbearing, pushy brutes. Here's a link to an article about it:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7020908/US-accused-of-occupying-Haiti-as-troops-flood-in.html

And here we've been told every 5 seconds how great Obama's response has been in comparison to President George W. Bush's Katrina response. Can the lamestream media EVER just report the story without all the Bush-bashing and Obamarama hoopla? Sheesh!

All complaining aside, those poor, poor, pitiful human beings in Haiti. I am so very sorry for their devastation. It's just beyond comprehension.

Z said...

FairWitness...I heard that the French are getting funny about this...but, really, they have some nerve. We're helping, not occupying; but the DAMNED liberals in our country have maligned our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan SO much as OCCUPYING that now the Europeans feel they can slam us for OCCUPYING even if we go to HELP PEOPLE! This is PATHETIC.

Everybody is so angry and so focused on the wrong things lately I wonder if this world will ever go back...seems like all this started with 9/11...it's terrible.

And yes, we need to help the Haitians.........

Odd, I heard Sally Quinn tonight say something to the affect that "We have to help Haiti or that can have negative repercussions on America." She meeant economically and I was a bit stunned at that comment...WHAT? AS IF!?

MathewK said...

Wait, why is slick-willie defending anything, i didn't know he was in charge. Oh don't tell me, he still thinks he's in charge and he thinks the great & glorious messiah of the left barack hussein obama is really just the coffee boy.

Ducky's here said...

Most people who have watched clips of doctors sawing off limbs so that children can be freed from rubble and the general human misery in Haiti are sick and tired of right wingers talking about Bush vs. Clinton or some other bullcrap.

Those people need help, so we try to help. End it there and stop the crap.

Z said...

Ducky, ah, so you think that our even discussing the Clinton hypocrisy means we're in the way of doctors sawing off limbs or that we don't feel miserable seeing those things? REALLY?
Republicans can multi-task Ducky, and we are NOT going to let this hypocrisy be unnoticed because there's trouble there.

That's what's happening to our country now; we have a president who passes bills at midnight Friday or Sat night and hides behind big bills people are involved with to sneak by smaller bills ....

We are noticing EVERYTHING DUCKY and even you'd have to admit I'm right on this Haiti/Clinton situation.

They are removing limbs with NO ANESTHESIA, folks....PRAY FOR THOSE PEOPLE, HARD.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Clinton ought to just shut up about Haiti after reinstalling a dictator there after the Haitian people forceably deposed him for staying in office beyond his term and executing political rivals.

Let someone who actually helped the Haitian people speak, like Bush that sent Aristide packing after Clinton reinstalled him.

But, beyond all that, Ducky is right. The Haitian people continue to need our help in this crisis. It's the least we can do after saddling them with Aristide for 6 more years than they wanted.

Chuck said...

Duck, did you criticize Bush during Katrina?

Bottom line is that you get more and more irrelevant with every comment you make.

I get sick to death of libs whining about criticism of Obama after all of the nonsense during Bush's term.

Anonymous said...

After Bush left office, many people wondered what he did with that darn Hurricane machine. You know —the one he used to create Katrina and vector it toward all them Po’ black folk. Well, I think I know what happened to it. Bush shoved it up Ducky’s butt. It’s the only explanation for Ducky’s idiocy.

Sam