even if you don't agree with the author all the time - you have to admit its sadly amusing, and true - this time at least.
Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?
Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!
I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?
And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!
On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.
There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.
No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!
You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.
Ronkonkomonga
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Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by neeniebean86
- but if he's going to talk about being 'more proactive', then he certainly should be called out on not being more proactive himself. If i had the amount of money that the Rich and famous did, you can bet your hiney would've gotten a helicopter and flown over the area to see if there were any people that i could help rescue- not sit at home, pointing fingers at others for not doing the same
I see your point - but isn't that like saying if I saw a pothole on the street and the town didn't fix it - I should get out there and be proactive by filling it in myself (actually - the my township doesn't even allow you fix your own curbs)
So - if everyone with the means hopped in a helicopter and flew over, or picked up people on the highway, or performed emergency triage in a makeshift ER, it could create more problems - or hurt more than it helps.
Isn't that is why we elect leaders... to unify, organize and direct everyone's efforts during a crisis. BUT - when leaders are incompetent, greedy, arrogant and ignorant - people, innocent people who trust their 'leaders', die. I think thats all the article is saying.
SomethingBlu
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Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by sweetadeline
I think that playing the so-called 'blame game' is not only helping, but also necessary. Lots and lots of people are dead for no good reason. We cannot let this kind of disaster happen again. We must hold people accountable.
Sure, we can't control the weather (or can we... plenty of scientists believe that the recent increase in hurricane strength is being caused by global warming, which is in turn caused by this country's ridiculously weak environmental policies). BUT we can control our response to disasters. AND we must hold those responsible accountable for their actions, or lack thereof.
Blame does not belong solely to Republicans or Democrats or Greens or whoever else. It belongs to everyone in our government who made those cuts to emergency relief and flood funding. It belongs to everyone in our government who decided that the United States' priorities are beyond our shores and beyond our borders. It belongs to every person in our government (and, frankly, every voter) who emphasizes corporations' rights and wealthy people's rights over human rights.
If we do not hold anyone accountable, the same disasters will occur. Again and again and again. If that's the 'blame game,' sign me up to play.
I completely agree...
And to the poster that wrote that about what 'we're' doing...well, as much as we could.
But then again, we're not the PRESIDENT of the US and not in charge of assisting/uniting the nation when disaster occurs. It's apples to oranges...and I'm shocked that anyone would hold the average person to the same standards as an elected official.
Blu-ize
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Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Both administrations, Clinton's and Bush's were approached for funding by LA to bring the levees up to snuff. The request was for $240M. They got 40M. Hardly enough. Now we will pay $40B, not to mention the human lives lost and suffering that we can't put a price tag on.
Gov't in general goofed, now we all have to help.
SomethingBlu
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Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by Blu-ize
Both administrations, Clinton's and Bush's were approached for funding by LA to bring the levees up to snuff. The request was for $240M. They got 40M. Hardly enough. Now we will pay $40B, not to mention the human lives lost and suffering that we can't put a price tag on.
Gov't in general goofed, now we all have to help.
$40B...it is estimated that the tally from Katrina is at about $100B. To think, this did not have to be as severe. Hindsight is 20/20, yes...but that's for the average citizen. You would think that the government has access to confidential or 'classified' information from scientists and architects.
February05
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Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by SomethingBlu And to the poster that wrote that about what 'we're' doing...well, as much as we could.
But then again, we're not the PRESIDENT of the US and not in charge of assisting/uniting the nation when disaster occurs. It's apples to oranges...and I'm shocked that anyone would hold the average person to the same standards as an elected official.
I agree- we all do what we can and with what is within our means. I would never judge anyone for giving less or more than they possibly can- they do what they can do to help. BUT my point was that certain people in Much higher positions than any of us (i.e the author of this article) have the means to be more 'hands on' in such a situation, and rather than taking That initiative, they standing there pointing fingers. Its Fine to voice your opinion- its one of our basic freedoms and rights- But, imo, thats not helping this situation in any way whatsoever- it only causes more dissention and division among the people
PegaLega
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Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
ok-I was watching the news with FIL and the reason that our National Guard did not show up right away is b/c Louisianas Governor has to make a call that the state is in a state of emergency and she waited 2 days to make that call, National Guard was waiting and prepared to go in....Just wanted to let you know
Wintersbride
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Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by kismet8601
ok-I was watching the news with FIL and the reason that our National Guard did not show up right away is b/c Louisianas Governor has to make a call that the state is in a state of emergency and she waited 2 days to make that call, National Guard was waiting and prepared to go in....Just wanted to let you know
Actually you are correct and this has been on the news for about 2 or 3 days now. ALL of the branches of this government failed these people. It took the National Guard a week just to get down there in the first place. I am not a big fan of Bush right now, but I do not not think using the same person as a scapegoat all of the time is useful in this situation. However, I am getting sick and tired of Michael Moore, as well as other celebs who can't keep their mouth shut. Finger pointing will not save these people's lives. While everyone is busy trying to place the blame on someone babies are dying! A lot of things should have been done: the levy should have been replaced and built up, people should have left, and rescue responses should have been a lot quicker. However, as much as we love to point the finger at Bush all the time, if we must point a finger at all we should be pointing it at the right people.
PegaLega
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Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by FutureMrsH
Posted by kismet8601
ok-I was watching the news with FIL and the reason that our National Guard did not show up right away is b/c Louisianas Governor has to make a call that the state is in a state of emergency and she waited 2 days to make that call, National Guard was waiting and prepared to go in....Just wanted to let you know
Actually you are correct and this has been on the news for about 2 or 3 days now. ALL of the branches of this government failed these people. It took the National Guard a week just to get down there in the first place. I am not a big fan of Bush right now, but I do not not think using the same person as a scapegoat all of the time is useful in this situation. However, I am getting sick and tired of Michael Moore, as well as other celebs who can't keep their mouth shut. Finger pointing will not save these people's lives. While everyone is busy trying to place the blame on someone babies are dying! A lot of things should have been done: the levy should have been replaced and built up, people should have left, and rescue responses should have been a lot quicker. However, as much as we love to point the finger at Bush all the time, if we must point a finger at all we should be pointing it at the right people.
Completely agree-I just couldnt watch the news everyday-tooooooo upsetting
February05
Posted:
Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by FutureMrsH Actually you are correct and this has been on the news for about 2 or 3 days now. ALL of the branches of this government failed these people. It took the National Guard a week just to get down there in the first place. I am not a big fan of Bush right now, but I do not not think using the same person as a scapegoat all of the time is useful in this situation. However, I am getting sick and tired of Michael Moore, as well as other celebs who can't keep their mouth shut. Finger pointing will not save these people's lives. While everyone is busy trying to place the blame on someone babies are dying! A lot of things should have been done: the levy should have been replaced and built up, people should have left, and rescue responses should have been a lot quicker. However, as much as we love to point the finger at Bush all the time, if we must point a finger at all we should be pointing it at the right people.
well said.
sweetadeline
Posted:
Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by FutureMrsH
Posted by kismet8601
ok-I was watching the news with FIL and the reason that our National Guard did not show up right away is b/c Louisianas Governor has to make a call that the state is in a state of emergency and she waited 2 days to make that call, National Guard was waiting and prepared to go in....Just wanted to let you know
Actually you are correct and this has been on the news for about 2 or 3 days now. ALL of the branches of this government failed these people. It took the National Guard a week just to get down there in the first place. I am not a big fan of Bush right now, but I do not not think using the same person as a scapegoat all of the time is useful in this situation. However, I am getting sick and tired of Michael Moore, as well as other celebs who can't keep their mouth shut. Finger pointing will not save these people's lives. While everyone is busy trying to place the blame on someone babies are dying! A lot of things should have been done: the levy should have been replaced and built up, people should have left, and rescue responses should have been a lot quicker. However, as much as we love to point the finger at Bush all the time, if we must point a finger at all we should be pointing it at the right people.
I strongly disagree with some of what you've said here.
People who aren't physically in the Gulf Coast area can't do much to save dying children except to send money and to volunteer to house Katrina's victims. And lots of people (of all political stripes) are sending money and housing people who need homes now.
Why shouldn't people speak up about holding our government accountable?
Why must we 'rally around' a deeply flawed response from our leaders?
What does it matter if people disagree over who's to blame? (Honestly, there's dissent amongst the people in this country either way. Why keep quiet about it?) As I said in my previous post, the blame does not belong to one person, one organization, or one political party. It belongs to all of those responsible for budgeting and decision making.
We have to investigate what happened and relentlessly seek out those responsible to make sure that this kind of disaster does not happen again. Rallying around flawed leadership (whether Republican, Democrat, Green, Independent, Libertarian, Martian) is a hallmark of totalitarian regimes, not democracies.
I would much rather see people disagree with each other than keep quiet and let this BS happen again. In the face of such disasters, I for one am in no mood to play nice and chalk the catastrophe up to 'oops, accidents will happen.' Finger pointing may well save people's lives... next time.
PegaLega
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Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by SomethingBlu
I completely agree...
And to the poster that wrote that about what 'we're' doing...well, as much as we could.
But then again, we're not the PRESIDENT of the US and not in charge of assisting/uniting the nation when disaster occurs. It's apples to oranges...and I'm shocked that anyone would hold the average person to the same standards as an elected official.
Its not about holding the average people to the standard of an elected official-its the fact that relief wasnt there, the damage is done what is going to happen next???? To get angry about what they didnt do a week or a year ago is silly...you cant turn back time, take it as a lesson learned. Everyone is saying 'the poor people couldnt leave, they have no shoes, no clothes, no food, no water....' you cant complain about the amount of relief efforts if everyone is sitting home not doing anything about it...no I am not going to go there and help but I will do what I can to help the people who lost everything. Maybe they are doing everything that they can....the administration failed these people when the hurricane came, the least that people can do is try to help in the after math...
heidla
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Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by kismet8601
Posted by SomethingBlu
I completely agree...
And to the poster that wrote that about what 'we're' doing...well, as much as we could.
But then again, we're not the PRESIDENT of the US and not in charge of assisting/uniting the nation when disaster occurs. It's apples to oranges...and I'm shocked that anyone would hold the average person to the same standards as an elected official.
Its not about holding the average people to the standard of an elected official-its the fact that relief wasnt there, the damage is done what is going to happen next???? To get angry about what they didnt do a week or a year ago is silly...you cant turn back time, take it as a lesson learned. Everyone is saying 'the poor people couldnt leave, they have no shoes, no clothes, no food, no water....' you cant complain about the amount of relief efforts if everyone is sitting home not doing anything about it...no I am not going to go there and help but I will do what I can to help the people who lost everything. Maybe they are doing everything that they can....the administration failed these people when the hurricane came, the least that people can do is try to help in the after math...
I am angry about the situation and lack of cohesive response and I absolutely don't think that it is silly. I will not sit back and keep my mouth shut about this because I feel it is not only my duty, but also my right to question my governing body. We have to ask questions about why our government ignored the professionals who warned about such a disaster.
I also don't think that to assume that people who are voicing their opinions on this matter are not helping. Perhaps, those individuals are not only donating, but also are trying to make sure that our officials are held accountable.
sweetadeline
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Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by heidla
Posted by kismet8601
Posted by SomethingBlu
I completely agree...
And to the poster that wrote that about what 'we're' doing...well, as much as we could.
But then again, we're not the PRESIDENT of the US and not in charge of assisting/uniting the nation when disaster occurs. It's apples to oranges...and I'm shocked that anyone would hold the average person to the same standards as an elected official.
Its not about holding the average people to the standard of an elected official-its the fact that relief wasnt there, the damage is done what is going to happen next???? To get angry about what they didnt do a week or a year ago is silly...you cant turn back time, take it as a lesson learned. Everyone is saying 'the poor people couldnt leave, they have no shoes, no clothes, no food, no water....' you cant complain about the amount of relief efforts if everyone is sitting home not doing anything about it...no I am not going to go there and help but I will do what I can to help the people who lost everything. Maybe they are doing everything that they can....the administration failed these people when the hurricane came, the least that people can do is try to help in the after math...
I am angry about the situation and lack of cohesive response and I absolutely don't think that it is silly. I will not sit back and keep my mouth shut about this because I feel it is not only my duty, but also my right to question my governing body. We have to ask questions about why our government ignored the professionals who warned about such a disaster.
I also don't think that to assume that people who are voicing their opinions on this matter are not helping. Perhaps, those individuals are not only donating, but also are trying to make sure that our officials are held accountable.
Exactly, Heidla. Maybe we can't 'turn back time,' but we can try to ensure that the same mistakes don't happen again by holding people accountable. If we don't hold people accountable, there will be no 'lesson learned.'
Wintersbride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
I am not saying that we should not hold people accountable. Obviously this type of situation needs to be re-examined in order to ensure a like tragedy never happens again. I don't think anyone is saying not to do so. I hate to say it, it's always the same person who gets blamed. Like I said, there are politicians that I am not a big fan of right now, but it must be recognized that this is not just one person or branch of government's fault. Instead it was a series of incompetent (sp?) acts on the part of everyone. I am sure that after this is all said and done people are not just going to turn the other way and forget about it. I am disgusted just as much as you, trust me.
PegaLega
Posted:
Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by sweetadeline
Posted by heidla
Posted by kismet8601
Posted by SomethingBlu
I completely agree...
And to the poster that wrote that about what 'we're' doing...well, as much as we could.
But then again, we're not the PRESIDENT of the US and not in charge of assisting/uniting the nation when disaster occurs. It's apples to oranges...and I'm shocked that anyone would hold the average person to the same standards as an elected official.
Its not about holding the average people to the standard of an elected official-its the fact that relief wasnt there, the damage is done what is going to happen next???? To get angry about what they didnt do a week or a year ago is silly...you cant turn back time, take it as a lesson learned. Everyone is saying 'the poor people couldnt leave, they have no shoes, no clothes, no food, no water....' you cant complain about the amount of relief efforts if everyone is sitting home not doing anything about it...no I am not going to go there and help but I will do what I can to help the people who lost everything. Maybe they are doing everything that they can....the administration failed these people when the hurricane came, the least that people can do is try to help in the after math...
I am angry about the situation and lack of cohesive response and I absolutely don't think that it is silly. I will not sit back and keep my mouth shut about this because I feel it is not only my duty, but also my right to question my governing body. We have to ask questions about why our government ignored the professionals who warned about such a disaster.
I also don't think that to assume that people who are voicing their opinions on this matter are not helping. Perhaps, those individuals are not only donating, but also are trying to make sure that our officials are held accountable.
Exactly, Heidla. Maybe we can't 'turn back time,' but we can try to ensure that the same mistakes don't happen again by holding people accountable. If we don't hold people accountable, there will be no 'lesson learned.'
Im not saying that people SHOULDNT be held accountable...Im saying that there are people who do not have homes...what are we going to do for them NOW!?!?!?! As far as ASSUMING no one is doing anything, that isnt what I said. What I said was there are people who do something about it and there are people who dont...if you arent part of the solution you are part of the problem-not talking about ANYONE SPECIFICALLY!!! Generally speaking.... There are people to blame...there is no sense in wondering WHY when we should be helping these people get out and get to safety-now when people 'think' soemthing is going to happen they will do something about it instead of spending the money elsewhere...
PegaLega
Posted:
Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Im sorry ladies if my opinion bothers some of you...or if anything I have said hits a nerve...there is no sense in having this thread if it doesnt make you want to help all the people who have lost so much....
sweetadeline
Posted:
Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by kismet8601
Im sorry ladies if my opinion bothers some of you...or if anything I have said hits a nerve...there is no sense in having this thread if it doesnt make you want to help all the people who have lost so much....
Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but did any of us say anything about not wanting to help?
boobobunny
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Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by SomethingBlu
Posted by dleeny I'm no fan of Bush. I agree that it took a long time to get the proper amount of relief in. there was no precendent for this kind of tragedy.
Agreed. But shouldn't there have been? LA is BELOW SEA LEVEL, warnings came in 5 days BEFORE the hurricane hit. This was expected to be a 'monster'. Why did he go down there on Friday?
why didn't the state and fed governments sending buses to transport these people out prior to the hurricane? we all knew how stong the hurricane was...and that a large % of New Orleans did not have the means to leave.
heidla
Posted:
Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by kismet8601
Everyone is saying 'the poor people couldnt leave, they have no shoes, no clothes, no food, no water....' you cant complain about the amount of relief efforts if everyone is sitting home not doing anything about it...no I am not going to go there and help but I will do what I can to help the people who lost everything. Maybe they are doing everything that they can....the administration failed these people when the hurricane came, the least that people can do is try to help in the after math...
I'm sorry, maybe it was the use of the word EVERYONE in this statement that made me feel as if you were being a little too general. Many people are helping and wondering what went wrong. I don't think that because you are doing one doesn't mean that you aren't doing the other.
PrincessRose
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Member since
Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by Blu-ize
Both administrations, Clinton's and Bush's were approached for funding by LA to bring the levees up to snuff. The request was for $240M. They got 40M. Hardly enough. Now we will pay $40B, not to mention the human lives lost and suffering that we can't put a price tag on.
Gov't in general goofed, now we all have to help.
Not entirely the case. The necessary monies were allocated in installments over the years (see my post in Xelindrya's thread) however were drastically cut after 9/11 because acts of G-d were less of a priority than acts of Terrorism.
There is no evidence that the project would've been finished by now, but it's fair to assume that it would've been a lot further along had the funding not been cut.
Yeah, the Gov't screwed up, but it's clear to see that there were those who foresaw the problem and wanted to do something about it, and those who disregarded the problem entirely.
