I've already donated cash, but I have several spare cans of whoopass I could send Babs' way....

3. Stop by #metachat -- it's not like you need an invitation or anything.

I guess we know which side of the family G-Dub got his foot-in-mouth disease from.

Then she added: "What I’m hearing which is sort of
scary is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is
so overwhelmed by the hospitality.

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you
know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she
chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."

I always heard, during the first Bush regime, that Barbara's "good mother" routine was a carefully choreographed PR stunt, that the real woman was cold and calculating, and vindictive as hell. Guess it's true.

me3dia dix points.

Her quote is just so.. so.. so.... Ugh.

Yeah, it sucks, but can we really be surprised at this juncture?

Even though she words it unfortunately, she carries home some valid points:
1. Most of those who were bussed in were, in fact, economically disadvantaged. Those who could afford to leave prior to the hurricane, for the most part, did... leaving those without access to transportation behind.
2. Many (perhaps even most) have indicated their desire to stay in the city to which they've been evacutated. I've heard several express this same thought in local evacuee centers here in town.
3. For many, this will represent a new start and second chance, and they will end up better off.

Heaven help me for agreeing with the ol' bag.

And I'm not giving to the Red Cross; I'm buying underwear or whatever's needed (we're getting several calls a day) at the store and dropping it off at the evacuee centers.

But she's the wife of a former president, and the mother of the current one, and she finds the notion "scary" - what does that suggest/indicate to all those towns across the country that are looking at the possibility of integrating Katrina victims into their communities?

appalling but not surprising at all

She really thinks that living in a stadium as a refugee with thousands of others and nothing to call their own is preferable to the lives they had.

And watch how Texas gets less and less welcoming as time goes by and they're all still there.

She needs to shut up--that whole family needs to just go away forever--terrible for the country.

Mom.

Taz, I think it suggests/indicates that those towns punch that bitch in the mouth as hard as they can.

Let's face it: for people like the Bushes, taking in the displaced means parting with some of the filthy lucre they hoodwinked a nation in swiping. Vampires.

That kind of rich stays rich only on the skulls and bones of the poor.

But she's the wife of a former president, and the mother of the current one, and she finds the notion "scary" - what does that suggest/indicate to all those towns across the country that are looking at the possibility of integrating Katrina victims into their communities?

She's just expressing the concerns that all of us are thinking. I'm in one of "those towns" and in the wake of the crisis, we will do whatever we can to help. On the other hand, none of us are kidding ourselves here; the evacuees that are being bussed around are those who did not have access to transporation, largely for lack of money. Those folks are now in our communities and may stay permanently. I hope they become productive members of the community, but it is a little scary that they may not; that they will be as desperately poor here as they were in New Orleans, and become a liability to our city. We can all chip in and take care of their immediate needs for the time being, but... what next?

And watch how Texas gets less and less welcoming as time goes by and they're all still there.

Well, much of the relief effort is being funded and carried out, at least for the time being, by individual citizens and community organizations. We can shell out money for underwear and socks and food and stuff for a week, two weeks, a month, but this is not anything any of us have budgeted for. In fact, it is wreaking havoc with our budgets. Additionally, I suspect a LOT of the money for relief will be absorbed by Houston and other cities will be left to fend for themselves.

Does it speak poorly of Texans if we become "less welcoming" as time goes on and our own resources are stretched?

I live in Houston, and it is a scary time. We are giving, and loving, and helping. What we do not know is of all of the people who will settle here, for a short period or for the rest of their lives, how many will be criminals, junkies, or too ignorant to contribute to our city?

Yep. I mean, Texans are generally hospitable, but don't push it, right, sarah?

Right. I am flashing back to the Mariel boatlift, where a lot of Cubans escaped from Castro, but then he pulled the dirty trick of emptying the prisons onto the boats, as well.

Prove me wrong. Given the opportunity to start a new life, with a better enviromnent, I hope that many people will take advantage of that.

-that whole family needs to just go away forever-

AND WHAT ABOUT PRESIDENT JEBBY???

Well... I don't have a car, but don't worry! I promise I won't be mugging anyone in any alleyways. Okay... maybe Barbara, but the rest of you are safe.

Seriously, though, I don't blame individuals for wondering what changes will be wrought in their communities, but Barbara Bush's comments are not casual observations from any old citizen, and her message was very clear. If she knew my annual income, whe would definitely be "scared", and rushing to disinfect herself after shaking hands with me.

are jenna and notjenna in iraq yet? what's the hold up?

it's their STDs, q---they're still contagious.

I live in a teeny little town outside of Dallas, and we've got about 5% of our total population in evacuees at the moment. Now, the town is responding like troopers, they really are; we've pulled together clothes and cribs and necessities, and bunches of us are taking turns manning the kitchens and whatnot. We just finished our community center 2 weeks ago, and now it's really getting a chance to make us a community.

But, the budget for this is going to have to come from somewhere, eventually. That much is true. Many of the evacuees that I've spoken with want to stay here, which is great...but seriously, there are no jobs here. Most everyone commutes into Dallas or one of the other surrounding cities. Out here, there's farms, a few chain groceries, half a dozen fast food places, a couple of nice restaurants on the lake, and a few dozen small businesses that are almost universally manned by the people who own them. We're one of those "one road towns", in that all the businesses are on Route 66, but if you go a block in either direction away from 66...there's nothing but houses and land. There's no industry that can absorb a couple hundred people. Especially when we've already got an unemployment issue for our youngest worker set. Our tax base is already strained under the insane school financing laws of this state, our homeowners and sales tax rates have already hit the legal cap, so I don't know where we're going to find the money.

I read today in the Dallas Morning News that Texas has gotten 250,000 people that evacuated LA already, possibly more on the way, and most of them are saying that they don't want to go back. (And who could blame them.) But damn, that's a lot of people to absorb all at once.