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.
Beth1210
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Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
well hopefully our next presidential election wont be hijacked by the people in this country who are more worried about abortion and gay marriage then the real issues that affect us
stephanief
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Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
sad but true
shamrock12472
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Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Just wanted to add my 2 cents in. There is a lot of blaming of Pres. Bush but regardless of how you feel about him, the delay in the relief efforts weren't all his fault.
The president is never truly on vacation regardless of where he is. He is always available and was available. He attempted to declare New Orleans a National Disaster Area prior to the hurricane. The LA governor refused. Without the declaration of a national disaster area, the US Federal Gov't can't do anything. They can't send the National Guard, they can't send life support supplies, they can't appropriate funds, they can't send military support.
The Mayor waited much to long to evacuate the city even though it was strongly urged by the President. Once they did start evacuation procedures, they failed to follow their own emergency evauation. All the means of getting people out were gone. At this point still, the area wasn't declared a National Disaster Area thus NOT allowing the President to send Federal help.
Once the governor did declare it a National Disaster Area, the federal government's support could be mobilized but it takes time to get down there. Plus, based on new Homeland Security legislation, the Red Cross is the first responder to natural disasters.
Congress was asked to come back early and begin session. Congress is the only part of the federal government that can okay funding..the President can only ask congress to provide the emergency funding.
I add this to give you all a different perspective of why certain things were not done.
Wintersbride
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Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by boobobunny
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.
Well, also a lot of people just opted to ride it out even in the face of instructions to leave. Property is a big thing down there and many, especially the elderly, don't want to leave their homes. Some did not think it was going to be as bad as it was, they thought it was an exhageration. I asked the same question myself.
PegaLega
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Re: Open Letter to 'our president'
Posted by heidla
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.
I probably am not making my point clear, I mean TV and radio-today so many days after they are talking about Kanye West and what he said, yesterday I turn on the TV and you hear the levees didnt hold we didnt have the man power to go in before, how about tell us how many people are still there and what we need to do as A NATION to help them ETA:All you hear is EXCUSES...