The President’s Fortune for Flood Relief
Be sure to listen to this 49 second Allison Gaito report on federal funding for disaster relief. As if striving to outdo Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s bumbling use of metaphor, Congressman Patrick Kennedy declares:
What is more important than having the President here is having his money here.
I’m surprised the local media hasn’t made more of the news that President Obama is dipping into his private fortune to help victims of the flood. Unless, of course, Patrick meant that taxpayer dollars actually belong to the president.
Ah, so someone speaks without having a speechwriter look at it, and despite the great help from the Gov. for your neighbors, you have only criticism.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
Why not just post less – but real things? Quantity does not equal quality.
That’s what 99% of AR readers are wondering about the content-free blatherings of our resident Leftists.
BobN- hit the nail on the head
Sure, Bob knows what hundreds of others thing because……..because…….because he says so.
Where was it you got your degree? Did they teach you the scientific method? Or do you go on faith?
Making fun of someone on Good Friday doesn’t seem Christian.
Just as
“… it’s not the Kennedy’s seat, it’s not the Democrats’ seat, it’s the people’s seat”
just so is it not the President’s money, it’s not the federal government’s money, it’s the people’s money.
It’s heartwarming to see that even in the face of a natural disaster that is costing Rhode Islanders (of all ideological persuasions) their homes, jobs and businesses, we can still lob political cheap shots.
They never miss a chance!
Of course, Sarah Palin is off limits, but let anyone else say one misplaced word, and Justin, the self-avowed man of faith, jumps down his or her throat.
Oh, thou hypocrites!
It is good for those reasonable people here to see how unfair the RI right can be. They must have run out of real issues – so now have to parse words.
Stuart-get real.That”Oh,thou hypocrites”stuff is really almost funny.You seem incapable of refraining from adopting a sneering sarcastic tone with an air of false intellectual superiority.
Where did you get your degree?Or is Valley Forge junior college as far as you went?
In our era,one really didn’t need a degree outside of the sciences to advance.
Oh,sure,if you wanted to be a lawyer or teacher you needed one,but most liberal arts degrees were a waste of time.
You prattle on about the scientific method-you even referenced the Theory of Relativity once-Einstein has little relevance to our daily lives and I highly doubt you understand what he did.I certainly cannot,but then I have trouble with long division.
I guess Einstein helped pave the way to atomic weapons-great gift to mankind that was.
“It’s heartwarming to see that even in the face of a natural disaster … we can still lob political cheap shots.”
Just as it is heartwarming to see a President play politics and only go see the damage in a state where the Governor is a supporter and same party? Even though he went to MA where the damage is not as bad as it is in RI? Yep, that’s just heartwarming.
I see no reason to assume that Kennedy’s statement was a gaffe, as opposed to a straightforward statement of his actual view of the “president’s” resources. In other words, I wasn’t mocking anybody; rather, I was criticizing a couple of blueblood politicians who sought to use the disaster to promote government as savior and, in Kennedy’s case, one particular politician.
As to political cheap shots, I guess those commenting indignantly never said a word about “Brownie.”
Rep. Kennedy said something revealing, and Justin pointed it out. Rather than address the content of Kennedy’s comment, you guys act indignant (rhody’s is my favorite) and criticize Justin. So predictable.
Why didn’t President Obama come to Rhode Island? Unfortunately, without any further explanation, I think Patrick might be right.
Why did Rep. Kennedy refer to aid as “his money”? I cannot ever imagine referring to government aid as the president’s money. I think it’s fair to question someone who would.
To paraphrase the Hollywood opinion leader, Kanye West, it’s because “Obama hates white people.”
Yeah, too many white people in RI.
Maybe he should fly over in Air Force One, and have a pic taken of him looking out the window?
I guess RI is a bunch of ingrates. Luckily, our current Prez will not punish you for that. So keep on complaining as you suck at the teat of Big Government. It must be tough.
Joe, if you don’t understand the relevance of Einstein to modern life, I’m not going to be able to explain it to you! I guess you will deny Newton is relevant next!
EInstein has a hand in everything from GPS to Smoke detectors to cancer treatments. From TV to the optical cables that carry the internet, Einstein is present. How about lasers and all the related stuff – used for everything from eye operations to measurement….yep, Einstein!
Oh, he was Jewish and a Liberal.
As to my degrees, there are none on the wall, a fact which I am proud of since I never cared much about paper. But ask me to do anything from electrical work to plumbing to building a house from the ground up, and I can do it. My idea of education differs from the status quo.
I’m a business guy, not an academic.
Maybe the reason Obama didn’t come to Rhode Island is that Carcieri asked him not to.
Given the things Carcieri has said about health care, he may not want Obama in our state at all. A president, no matter which party, scores big political points when he comes to a stricken state with disaster relief, and Don didn’t want Obama looking like a hero. POTUS respected his wishes, and went to Mass. Instead.
Or maybe three witches who share a glass eye warned the president that a giant sea monster awaited him in Rhode Island, so he went to Massachusetts to consult an oracle and gather divine weapons, first. He’ll be along just as soon as he’s defeated that lady with snakes for hair.
Could be, right Rhody?
If Obama came you would be mad they shut down 95 again for presidential security.
Justin, admit it, it is not a very Catholic thing to make fun of people on Good Friday, or holy week. This should be a time of reflection and not criticizing. People have lost homes and jobs. Shame on you. Where are your priorities?
Justin, that’s hilarious. Tara, your post is funny, too.
A devout Catholic, are you, Tara?
If so, I don’t know why you so uncharitably insist that I’m being dishonest when I say that I’m not making fun of anybody. I’ve responded to a politician’s apparent understanding of the ownership of government resources. That it is Holy Week doesn’t necessitate passivity on political matters, especially in the context of a semi-occupational activity such as my online commentary.
Justin
As soon as he said that I was thinking the same thing
What was more telling our Governor with a big smile on his face “I second that” or something like that
If it was a gaffe or done on purpose you have to ask yourself How many people really think that its obamas money
Please
Reflect we should and not just think but act on how we can better serve our fellow man Not just in time of tragic events but all the time.
Education is NOT something to be shamful of. What would be a real shame on good friday is to not tell your nieghbor “Hey your house is on fire”
Stuart-I like the way you threw in the gratuitous stuff about Einstein’s background-I don’t any smarmy advice from you.And no,I really can skip your explanation of Einstein’s relevance to daily life,because frankly,I don’t care.
I wonder why,if you’re in the top 2 or 3% as you say,you waste so much time here.I mean,you’re expecting us to take you at your anonymous word.I’m not that much of a dope.Go build a house.Go eat local beans and honey.Go fart in your hat.
Actually I am a Providence College grad. I would classify myself as a recovering Catholic.
I was Catholic until I hit the age of reason.
By which you mean what: that you decided that you had reason to discard a belief system that advises against particular behaviors?
If you meant your comment as a secularist truism that stands as its own evidence, I’d note that I was non-Catholic until well into my twenties, and spent many hours in the preceding years combing through history, literature, science, and so on in an effort to understand the world that I inhabit. Not knowing your background, I can’t compare our different pursuits of “reason,” but at the very least, I think it fair to suggest that our differing directions prove that the “age of reason” does not self-evidently require a move away from the Church.
Now I understand, you converted to Catholicism. Those are the worst kind.
Tara, my mother is a recent convert to Catholicism, too.
But unlike Justin, she realizes that her parish priest (ironically, a guy Justin admires and quotes frequently here) didn’t give her license to pronounce judgment upon the rest of us peasants.
Not all of us see God as an instrument of partisan or ideological vengeance.
Funny how a post on Obama not coming to RI turned into rantings on Catholicism. Almost typical of Rhode Islanders to aruge about who can qualify as a “real” catholic. Anyways to be quick and to the point, the flooding in RI cannot be compared to an event such as Hurricane Katrina or even the midwestern floods that occur what seems yearly. One can only imagine if he did come here, the same people complaining would also complain about that. Rants of “money/time wasting”, “poltiical photo op”, etc would be rampant. Fact remains, the President did not come here nor does it really matter. Had people died, had the flooding been worse, had govt. totally failed to respond in any constructive way, then yes the President should have came. That was not the case however. I’m not one to argue for arguments sake or to try spin everything to suit my views/what I want to hear. I just have had enough of this debate, since WPRO harped on it for close to the last week. And a side note, BobN and Stuart may in fact be the same person. They are on the opposite sides of issues, but find themselves there the same way.
Gosh Tara, I thought liberals prided themselves on their non-judgmental attitudes and tolerance. But you sound like a radical imam. How can we reconcile the apparent contradiction?
steadman has it right. But it was a foolish post in the first place. So let’s have some more foolery. BobN comes to mind. He’s my “the sky is falling” chicken little desktop link to this blog. BobN is now the official neurotic chicken from fairy tale land . Good job BobN!
Main Entry: un·hinged
Pronunciation: \-ˈhinjd\
Function: adjective
Date: 1652
: upset, unglued; especially : mentally deranged
Justin why do you torture them so?? lol
The Floods of 2010: Signs of improvement
01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, April 3, 2010
By C. Eugene Emery Jr.
Journal Staff Writer
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, center, joins congressional delegates Rep. Patrick Kennedy, left center, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, right, after a press conference at T.F. Green Airport on Friday. Below, a special wraparound section on the flood will appear in The Sunday Providence Journal.
THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / BOB THAYER
President Obama’s secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, took a helicopter tour of the state and vowed to help Rhode Island apply for federal recovery aid. The visit came the day after the president made a five-minute call to Governor Carcieri promising to deliver whatever Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance he wanted.
It is still the best policy to go to professionals if you want information and news. Katz does not even qualify as minor league or for that matter sand lot. By the way Major League Baseball begins tomorrow night.
Hope springs eternal unless you are a fan of the Red Sox.
>>>>I wonder why,if you’re in the top 2 or 3% as you say,you waste so much time here
Because the leisure class has lots of time on their hands! Fortunately, I am not a middle manager who has been downsized and each time gets paid less and less and works more and more (a typical story these days).
I usually don’t exactly count as to which percentage I fit into, but since you asked – I would be, especially this year, upper middle class in terms of income.
However, being a saver and investor for many decades, my net worth ends up in the top 5% – not as high as I thought (just checked….)
Heck, eating beans saves a LOT of money!
“Hope springs eternal unless you are a fan of the Red Sox.”
Spoken like a true pre-2004 Yankees fan.
Stuart-help me out here.You,on the one hand,claim to be an “enlightened freethinker” and “social democrat”.Okay.On the other hamd you claimt o be part of the leisure class and a lifelong investor(one can only imagine your investments are in what is “the market”)-so what are you,really?A money-grubbing capitalist or an altruistic do-gooder willing to lend his wisdom to the unenlightened? See, a lot of people who tend to follow your way of thinking have the same conflict.Ira Magaziner comes to mind.they live the GOOD life while berating others for not doing “enough” for the poor,dispossessed,etc. Guess what?I can do without a big screen plasma tv,and so can people receiving assistance. My wife and I give to causes voluntarily and can’t even deduct it because we file a short form.But WE decide where to give it,and we have people in our own family in need because of the economy.Guess who we are going to help first? Beans are okay,but you can keep the honey.I’m diabetic,so it’s a no go. It seems,Stuart,you are a mass of contradictions. You also are illogical in your extrapolations about what others here may believe.How you make the leap from my disliking Obama to idolizing Buckley is beyond me.It’s like saying because I dislike apples,I must also dislike Ford products. I am something of a freethinker,and even within the somewhat dogmatic structure of law enforcement,I often went outside the box,so to speak.Nothing illegal,just unconventional-and it worked out pretty well. I certainly don’t follow a religious dogma.Simply because I believe in an ultimate Creator,does not make me reject the scientific method,nor its results.It’s just that anything that Man can conceive of is limited by his finite nature. Neither you,myself,nor probably einstein would be able to understand the true meanings of infinity or eternity.Just the idea of “never-ending” is beyond… Read more »
Not to mention that Kennedy also said that ” The president needs to federalize the National Gaurd so they can get paid” Besides being Un constitutional do you hear anything else wrong with that message.
Try to here it without thinking he is a idiot scary stuff
Not to mention that Kennedy also said that ” The president needs to federalize the National Gaurd so they can get paid” Besides being Un constitutional do you hear anything else wrong with that message.
Try to here it without thinking he is a idiot scary stuff
Steve, did you also hear about that President who made virtually all the members of the National Guard go overseas – many for multiple deployments – all for a war of error (and choice) ?
Sounds a bit more egregious than paying them, but what do I know?
The continous redeployment of the Guard and Reserves is despicable.At least we only had to do one tour in Vietnam.
If we really want to have wars,let’s have a draft with NO deferments.Not gonna happen.
“Or maybe three witches who share a glass eye warned the president that a giant sea monster awaited him in Rhode Island, so he went to Massachusetts to consult an oracle and gather divine weapons, first. He’ll be along just as soon as he’s defeated that lady with snakes for hair.”
lol
More!
>>>It seems,Stuart,you are a mass of contradictions. Joe, the minute anyone can figure you out, you’ve become just another member of some club! Put it this way. I’ve made every dime of my money honestly, and started out as a adult very poor. I did small time carpentry, cleaned out garages and even mowed lawns. I built up that business and then got into other businesses. Then I learned computers and got into the web very early – was online in 1986 and did internet consulting and work since 1995. I never have made the big bucks, but we always lived below our means. We never moved into that bigger house, just remodeled the old one. I drove my work truck. I always tried to fund my IRA. So, that is where I am an investor! Not a fat cat hedge fund guy, just someone with his savings and retirement funds which I direct myself…because I think I have as much insight on what is a good investment as any 9-5 working stiff broker. As mentioned, I’m a hands-on type – whether in small business, computers, contracting, etc. – so I have been lucky enough to always have work (working for only myself). Granted, never having to submit to authority (except my wife and military school and parents) has probably spoiled me – but I like it that way! Yes, I was a “hippie” of sorts in the 60’s, but IMHO that is where I received some of my best education like “the government and establishment lies…..” and “drugs pretty much suck once you’ve tried them a couple hundred times”, etc. As I said before, I don’t put any label on you. Maybe I overreact to some stuff because of all the BS I’ve heard out of the right in… Read more »
Stuart,
I am thinking you are attempting to be sarcastic or witty by assuming I would approve of one and not the other.
If thats the case you would be really wrong. But thanks for thinking you may know me
Holy cow-I’m a Scorpio also,but I’ve never really given that stuff any credibility.
I also invested carefully and we certainly lived below our means.I haven’t fallen into the credit trap.
It annoys me to see people like the woman running a major drug ring in Providence who was collecting welfare and yet drove around in an Escalade and owned a Harley-nothing wrong with that picture,hmmm?
I don’t like my taxes used that way.When the firemen came around pumping out my neighbors’ basements,I considered that a good use of tax money.I’m not anti-government,but rather pro-good government.
It costs enough to heat my house,which is very modest-who needs a big barn anyway?I don’t even have AC-we use fans,shade trees,and cross-ventilation.
I think BobN makes a lot of good points,but with you guys it’s like Rhody and me-no quarter.
I spent 32 years taking orders-I just kinda ignored the ones I thought were idiotic(except in boot camp).
Justin,
I guess it is good that you came to Catholicism later in life, you got to miss out on the alter boy experience.