About two hundred years ago, scientists (one of them was Benjamin Silliman) gave a briefing to President Thomas Jefferson about meteorits.

Silliman became a target for President Thomas Jefferson's derision because Jefferson doubted Silliman's conclusion that a rock fell from the sky. Jefferson was a science hobbyist, but he was also a southern U.S. partisan. The President dismissed Silliman's claim by scoffing, "I would more easily believe that (a) Yankee professor would lie than that stones would fall from heaven."

(source: http://www.amsmeteors.org/about.html)

Jefferson is among the persons I respect in American history but he neglected to listen scientists just like Geor...

About two hundred years ago, scientists (one of them was Benjamin Silliman) gave a briefing to President Thomas Jefferson about meteorits.

Silliman became a target for President Thomas Jefferson's derision because Jefferson doubted Silliman's conclusion that a rock fell from the sky. Jefferson was a science hobbyist, but he was also a southern U.S. partisan. The President dismissed Silliman's claim by scoffing, "I would more easily believe that (a) Yankee professor would lie than that stones would fall from heaven."

(source: http://www.amsmeteors.org/about.html)

Jefferson is among the persons I respect in American history but he neglected to listen scientists just like George Bush. (The two men are by no means comparable, don't get me wrong please! It would be an insult to Jefferson!) I think being the head of the government is another state of mind we poor ordinary people can not understand

Good point EG. For all we know the briefing might have gone something like this in his mind:

National Hurricane Meterologist: "Mr President - exteremly severe hurricanes are definitely on a collision course with New Orleans and sir, we believe ve the amount of impact on the levees and the area will be deadly. We think it is imparitive that you declare a national emergency now."

Bush: "Hmmmm....so you all think the rain will be pretty heavy and the winds pretty chilly. I reckon we better make sure people have their boots and unmbrellas and button up."

NHM: "Sir -- did you hear what I just said - this is beyond a severe storm - this is a killer storm"

Bush: "Ooooh doggie --- don't worry ...

Good point EG. For all we know the briefing might have gone something like this in his mind:

National Hurricane Meterologist: "Mr President - exteremly severe hurricanes are definitely on a collision course with New Orleans and sir, we believe ve the amount of impact on the levees and the area will be deadly. We think it is imparitive that you declare a national emergency now."

Bush: "Hmmmm....so you all think the rain will be pretty heavy and the winds pretty chilly. I reckon we better make sure people have their boots and unmbrellas and button up."

NHM: "Sir -- did you hear what I just said - this is beyond a severe storm - this is a killer storm"

Bush: "Ooooh doggie --- don't worry the people aren't sugar...they won't melt with a little rain"

NHM: "Sir - this is not just a little rain"

Bush: "Can your fancy equipment there tell me what the weather will be like where I will be at tomororw? I am planning to go for a bike ride - but if the sun is not shiney it wouldn't be prudent"

NHM: "Excuse me sir?"

yadda....yadda...

My clipmarks doesn't work in Firefox anymore, so check this out on the subject:
Sammon Excoriates Media on Katrina Video: “Journalistic Fraud” & “Disingenuous”
Posted by Brent Baker on March 2, 2006 - 20:26.

The media at all levels on Wednesday pounced on video released by the AP of government conference calls held as Hurricane Katrina hit last August, with most stories portraying them as containing a smoking gun about how President Bush was warned about potential levee failure. But as FNC's Brit Hume noted on his show Thursday night, the video, which MSNBC's Hardball hyped Wednesday as “breaking news,” was hardly any such thing, or “confidential video” as the AP hyped, since the video was ...

My clipmarks doesn't work in Firefox anymore, so check this out on the subject:
Sammon Excoriates Media on Katrina Video: “Journalistic Fraud” & “Disingenuous”
Posted by Brent Baker on March 2, 2006 - 20:26.

The media at all levels on Wednesday pounced on video released by the AP of government conference calls held as Hurricane Katrina hit last August, with most stories portraying them as containing a smoking gun about how President Bush was warned about potential levee failure. But as FNC's Brit Hume noted on his show Thursday night, the video, which MSNBC's Hardball hyped Wednesday as “breaking news,” was hardly any such thing, or “confidential video” as the AP hyped, since the video was made public at the time and the sessions were open to the press.

During Hume's panel segment, Bill Sammon, fresh to the Washington Examiner from the Washington Times, excoriated his press corps colleagues for “journalistic fraud” as well as “disingenuous” and "bogus" reporting. Referring to the video of a meeting President Bush participated in from his Texas ranch, Sammon charged: “It's held out today and yesterday as almost a smoking gun. I would say not only is it not a smoking bun gun, it's actually a journalistic fraud for some of the reasons you've outlined where they suggested it was ‘confidential' videotape where it wasn't. It was open press. Also, they make Max Mayfield out to sound like he was sounding the alarm bells when clearly he was ambivalent in the extreme....So, to suggest that was the warning that Bush should have heeded and didn't, is disingenuous in the extreme.” Sammon also took on the press for denigrating Michael Brown as an incompetent, but now they want to “rehabilitate him because he's now willing to trash the Department of Homeland Security....This is disingenuous of the mainstream media to suddenly rehabilitate Michael Brown for their own political purposes."

From: http://newsbusters.org/node/4265