Re: Re: By the way, Bill

Clark,

There were many years with no war, back to the Clinton adminstration, 
and the Federal funding for levees were cut, so assuming that no war = 
more money for levees is bogus.  We could have cut a million other 
projects, and I guarantee you that that levee money would STILL have 
been cut.  Again, the biggest, baddest levee in the world would not have 
saved New Orleans from a Cat4 or Cat5 storm.

The number of National Guard troops on hand WAS sufficient.  Why can I 
say that? Because if you have 60% of your available troops at home, AND 
YOU DO NOT DEPLOY THEM, then it would not have matter if there were 10% 
available or 100% available.  The Governor of Lousiana screwed up, did 
NOT deploy the troops prior to the storm, and as of this moment has 
STILL not declared an emergency!!!  So how many troops were available is 
irrelevant if you don't deploy them.  NOW, she's deployed the troops 
(two days after the disaster, I think it was) and now other states are 
sending more, but that's AFTER the damage was done.  How many lives 
saved, how much property protected, had she declared an emergency before 
the storm like Florida, Mississippi and Alabama?  We'll never know, but 
clearly she messed up big time and it cost lives.  Now, granted, it 
might have been nice to have 100% of troops available, but Congress went 
down this path of using National Guard as a ready reserve decades ago, 
and this is what the military looks like now.  No doubt the left would 
love to see the draft return and a large standing army so they can use 
it in campaigns, but long term security interests do not require a large 
standing army.

The war is not illegal, was never illegal, and your statement that it is 
old news will not change it.  Congress voted for it, the President 
prosecuted it, and it's as legal as legal can be.  The 1991 armistice 
was broken, and we have countless UN resolutions calling for the 
enforcement of that edict.  Use to koolaid drinking talking points all 
you want, but it's a legal war and more importantly, a JUST war to free 
50 million people from despots.  The mass graves of 500,000 should be 
enough to convince anyone that the war is just, but apparently, the 
lives of muslims just don't matter as much to some as they do others.

Lastly, I don't "blame" Clinton for failing to spend the money on the 
levees.  Hell, I think projects like that are a state responsibility.  I 
despise government make work programs, and believe each state ought to 
take care of it's own infrastructure.  We've proven through many years 
and many administrations that the Feds are going to mismanage and 
mishandle the project, so I would APPLAUD a move to go back to the 
states to get this stuff done.  Frankly, if a state believes that a 
project is vital to their safety, and the Feds do not chose to fund it, 
then it's one STUPID state if they fail to do the project at all wihout 
the Feds leading the way.  If Florida had an infrastructure need suchs 
as levees, and the Feds refused to fund it, then Florida ought to find 
the money and get it done themselves.  So I'm not blaming Clinton, I 
merely stated that Clinton also cut that budget drasticly, and I hear 
none on the left condemning him.  Side note: it's probably why he was 
quoted the other day DEFENDING the Bush administration on the levee 
point.  He knows that his administration made the same assessment, and 
also cut that funding.

Defensing the Feds to the average American is not a lost cause.  
Defending the Feds to those on the left with an axe to grind is.  ABC 
polling the other day - despite a left wing media barrage - showed 55% 
of Americans did NOT blame the Feds for the problems in New Orleans.  No 
doubt the left and the media will keep beating the dead horse trying to 
change it, but I think as Federal involvement escalates, that number 
will go down, and most Americans will be proud of the overall rescue 
effort in the Gulf Region.



-- 
Bill Highfield
St Cloud, Florida, USA!

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