Florida chickens have come home to roost

Floridians didn't put GWB into power. Bush's goons and the Supreme Court did.

Cast your mind back. The result was very, very close, which was the reason for asking for recounts etc. That means about 50% of Floridians (of the ones who voted at all) voted for Bush. The rest are blameless, and don't deserve your petty and nasty blog post.

Anyone with any brains from outside your country could witness the shenanigans going on at the time, but the USA just let it pass by, and then had the utter stupidity to vote the man in again.

The whole USA deserves the results of the oil 'spill'.

We "deserve" the results of the oil spill? Go fuck yourself with a splintered piece of balsa wood you arrogant shit. I live in south Louisiana and have to deal with the fallout (literally in some areas) from this massive fuck-up. You had a decent point, but you fail to take your own advice; some of us DIDN'T vote to put GW back in office (or to put him in office the first time). Did you completely miss the irony?

Richard, did you click on my petty, nasty link at the end? It may or may not cause you to rethink your petty, nasty comment.

Also, the recount was in part needed because of cheating at the ballot box. Supervised by a OilBush appointed secretary of state.

Jared, what I said to Richard, I say to you. (Click that link, it is there for a reason.) And, it applies to Louisiana as well as Florida. We live in a country where you do have the chance to take responsibility. We at the northern end of the Mississippi are going to pay for your decisions. When I complain, don't you dare tell me to shut up.

You did, after all, elect a governor who does not know what a volcano is, apparently.

Every one of the Gulf states is to blame, at least partly, for the continuing conservative, anti-regulation tone of this country. This oil spill is owned by Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. They have benefited from Gulf oil ... that they have sold us over time ... and now we are going to pay for their stupidity.

Greg is not allowed to say something negative about the all suffering residents of those states. We are all expected to come to their aid and support, and we will. But this IS their problem.

Well, I've read the link and agree with it. And yes, Pawlenty is an abominable governor. Shame on you, Laden!

Thanks, Greg. I appreciate the honesty and the tone. There is a lot of blame to go around and most of us are responsible in one way or another (we drive oil fueled cars, SUVs, ride buses, planes, eat food and use goods brought by truck, train, etc.).

The responsibility is nor equal all around, and the ignorant, selfish right wing deserves the lion's share of blame.

Greg, your governor is no great prize, *and* he has presidential aspirations. And must I remind you what state Michele Bachmann represents in congress?

Get off your high horse. Fully half the population are of below average intelligence. The real problem is the Repuglican party who have lied, deceived, and cheated their way to power by exploiting ignorance, stupidity, and superstition, and the media that has allowed them to get away with it.

LightningRose: You are, of course, absolutely correct.

You did click the link, right? Did you?

I wasn't even thinking of the politicians that the Southeast seems so intent on electing when I clcked the title of this blog entry. Instead, I remember all the "Drill, baby, drill" fuckwads that were to be found in every corner when I lived down there. I remember saying on all the local papers and blogs in that area that their tune would change when tar balls start washing up.

Amazing how none of those fuckers are on the beach with self provided cleaning materials. Instead they are bitching that Obama hasn't cleaned up the spill, and somehow making all the resources come out of thin air, because these same redneck morons don't understand that tax money is required for the government to actually DO stuff.

It's just a giant clusterfuck all around, isn't it?

This tragedy isn't a hurricane or tidal wave. It wasn't some natural event causing widespread devastation and destruction. It wasn't beyond our control to protect against or out of our league to deal with after (e.g. my post, esp the section on Puget Sound/Valdez Star).

People did this. And thus, yes, people are to blame. There's no nice way to say that.

There's no point, as a resident of Florida or any Gulf state, in protesting with "well I didn't vote for XYZ." Sadly, Laden is right. You, as a state, did. You did not convince enough of your peers to fight against the people and legislation that led to this situation. Of course we all share a burden of this blame, as lax federal regulations are at the heart of the situation. But while the blame is country-wide, more of it weighs on the shoulders of the Gulf States, for those states in particular allowed this to occur in their backyard. And while they face the consequences of their choices, it is the innocent that are really are the true sufferers- the entire ecosystem in the Gulf, which never had a choice in the matter.

What' important now is to take this and learn from it. We need to change, as a country, our attitudes towards regulating dangerous industries which have the potential to cause these kinds of tragedies. If we don't, we're only going to have another event like this occur, and it could be any state which ends up to blame.

Oblama didn't fix everything in two years, so we better put the party of Ronaldus Maximus back in power pronto. They'll keep us safe from liberals and other enemies. /snark

Seriously, I cannot fathom how people would want to go back to the very thing that ultimately caused this debacle. Obama may not be perfect but at least he understands that government has a job to do.

We are all equally culpable, every time we turn on a light switch.

Make no mistake: "We have met the enemy, and he is us." --Walt Kelly.

s/Florida/USA/g

Well, yes, Rich, as usual, sed reveals the truth.

i'd be tempted to read more of your blog based on the title, but this post is asinine. i'm a florida native, and in 2000 i voted absentee (not for bush).

my vote didn't even get counted. the *u.s. supreme court* stopped the recount.

florida's a fucked up state but they don't deserve this. get your facts straight.

Karen, did you click the link? I am guessing not.

Oh, Karen! You make the rest of us Floridians look stupid.

Greg, maybe you should change the color or boldness of your links. They are a little hard to spot. (Well, at least for me and my recent age related vision)

I didn't vote for Bush. ANY Bush. ANY time. FLORIDA voted against offshore drilling and never allowed it off our coasts. That is beside the point. I deserve this? Florida deserves this? kids who aren't old enough to vote deserve this? Are you God? No. So by what right do you say we deserve this?

No we do not. The misguided don't deserve this either. Our state and it's creatures don't deserve this. The fish don'ts deserve this.

I could say you deserve to have your fingers rot off for the absolute nonsense you mix into what could be very educational and moving articles. That diarrhea you spout is only slightly less toxic than the poison in the gulf. I'm not God either, so I cannot say for sure what you deserve.

You have the right to speak your mind. I have the right to say you're an asshat. Grow a real brain, or at least some actual thought patterns. Rather than spout insults, why not actually spout sense?

My apologies, Greg.

I did click on the link, but only skimmed the article and missed the paragraph regarding Pawlenty and Bachmann.

No worries. The point of these posts is not to lull but to anger. The thick sarcasm is meant to control the very strong reactions but we are in the early days of working out this whole language-reactor thing!