Birdblog

A conservative news and views blog.

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Location: St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Friday, December 31, 2004

The Politics of Disaster

This morning I lingered in bed. I want to be fresh so I can make it past my normal 9p.m. bedtime and maybe make it up till the beginning of `05. (I`m such a wild party animal!) Since we are off from work today, I sauntered downstairs and flipped on the Today show to see what was new in the world. There I was treated to Matt Lauer talking with Tim Russert about the ``stingy`` U.S. response to the catastrophe in Asia. I was appalled at both the tone and the substance of their commentary! The Mainstream Media has given up any pretense of fair and unbiased reporting. Russert started by claiming the entire World has harshly criticized this administration for a petty and hard-hearted non-response to the situation. He then went on to say it is because the worst hit countries are predominantly Moslem. A grim faced Lauer nods his head sadly in agreement as Russert speaks, making his thoughts plain. At no time during this interview is any discussion of the particulars made; how much we pledged in immediate assistance, how the President (and Colin Powell) made clear that much more was coming, how the United States has led the World in disaster relief historically, etc. No, none of this was spoken of. What we heard was basically that George Bush is a mean, miserly SOB who ran down to Florida for a photo-op when disaster struck, but couldn`t care less about a the 150,000+ dead in Asia because they`re Moslems, and of course Bush is a racist bastard. Oh, if only John Kerry were here!

The politicization of this issue is perhaps the lowest thing I have ever seen. The U.N., angry at Bush for bipassing their hallowed ``authority`` over Iraq, is trying to use these deaths as a club to beat America. For those corrupt, small little men to dare make such accusation in light of their abyssmal track records is reprehensible, and would not have made page 10 of the Daily Shopper if we had a truly free press. We don`t have a free press-we have a voluntarily socialist press who hates the United States, hates conservatives, and hates George Herbert Walker Bush. That they would politicize this issue is reprehensible, and proof we need regime change in the Hallowed Halls of Journalism.

It`s time we break the leftist stranglehold on the Media. The left completely dominates the MSM, starting at all the major Schools of Journalism. We need to begin by pushing to break up this monopoly (in fact, in all of academia). We need to form coalitions to buy up major news outlets, then demand more balance. We need to continue to support the alternative media. New guidelines need to be established for working journalists; they need to understand that they are there to report the news and not make it (surveys of incoming journalism students show that most of them are going into journalism to ``change the world`` and not report the news.) We need a new standard of ethics. Until we reform the MSM we will not have a free press.

Meanwhile, our good friends in the environemental movement are once again trying to blame this Tsunami on technology and global warming. These people have one track minds.

I suppose they could argue that global warming is relieving the pressure of the ice covering the poles. The melting of the ice caps is reducing the weight which is compressing the Earth`s crust at both poles, and the shift in hydrostatic pressure is causing earthquakes. The only problem with this is that we have seen no rise in sea level to verify any appreciable melting. If we are going to engage in flights of fancy, I would like to advance the idea that perhaps the increase in the Solar Wind striking the Earth`s magnetic field as a result of a more active sun may be at fault; the magnetic field has been converting the kinetic energy of these charged particles into potential energy, and storing this inside the Earth. When this energy builds up to a critical level it causes a plate shift then boom!

All of this is, of course, poppycock. The fact is, we have always had Earthquakes as powerful as the one which caused this giant Tsunami. In 1811 (I think) here in Missouri we had an earthquake as powerful as this Asian one. The Mississippi river flowed backwards for a week! Fortunately, in 1811 very few people lived around the New Madrid fault line. If this were to happen today we would all be toast.

That is the problem here. Asia has had enormous population growth in the last 100 years, and far too many people were within striking distance of that wave. There is nothing to be done about it. (Unless you liberals would like to suggest forced sterilization, or euthenasia for our Asian friends.) The only solution is to develope better early warning methods, and evacuation plans. We are not going to give up the coasts, and we are not powerful enough to stop earthquakes (I know many of you libs think you`re gods, but you need to disabuse yourselves of that notion. There is one God, and you ain`t him!) We are going to have to learn to manage these situations.

I would like to point out that the United States is under absolutely no obligation to lift a finger in this crisis; we help because it is the charitable thing to do, and we are a very charitable people. We do not owe Southeast Asians anything. We will help them for kindness sake. As we have helped so many others in the past. We have always gone beyond the call of duty in times like these. The United States has traditionally given far more than any other nation on Earth in disaster relief, and for jackasses at the United Nations to badmouth us is beyond belief. It`s past time we pull the plug on them!

How about this; we cut off all funding for the United Nations and divert it to help the disaster areas. While we`re at it, maybe the networks can donate all their profits to disaster relief. Think about how much help this would give the suffering! Let`s hold Dan Rathers last paychecks so we can send the money to Southeast Asia!

This issue should not have been politicized. This should be about helping, not politics.

I hope everyone donates whatever they can to help in disaster relief and let`s all pray for the hurting, and the dead. It`s time to pray.


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