I did not vote for Bush [either times], I do not agree with how he is allowing things to be run and no one will be able to change my mind on that.
As far as Michael Moore goes, if he wants to impress me and really make a difference; he could surrender 100% of the profits from "Bowling for Columbine" to the effected families.
He could also take 100% of his Fahrenheit 911 profits and do the same.
I watched Bowling for Columbine and was not impressed. Against my better judgement I watched Fahrenheit 911 and in all honesty found it to be just a collection of propaganda.
The only effect Fahrenheit 911 had on me was that I walked away thinking this: If just 1% of those accusations were correct, it was too many. Was this what he intended viewers to get from the documentary? No clue.
As far as Cindy Sheehan is concerned I think this woman is truly doing nothing but disgracing her son by her actions. He joined the service, he was not drafted. He wanted to serve his country as best as possible in whatever way he could [she said this herself], sadly it ended in his death. I just dont see what she expects to accomplish with her actions of late. Surely she does not hold the loss of her own son at a greater loss then the 1000+ other families who have lost loved ones during this time of war.
Cindy Sheehan is just another person that the likes of Michael Moore will feed off of.
I dont doubt for a second that Michael Moore is already gathering "evidence" for his next project "Katrina".
What troubles me the most about how the aftermath of Katrina was handled was that it wasnt handled. Bush alone is not 100% at fault for this, but he does have fault that he cannot evade. He openly berated those in office in Louisianna making claim that our government cannot step in UNTIL the state "asks for help".
I literally felt ill after hearing this.
However, when state oppointed officials try to handle a mass destruction like this on their own, for whatever the reason; you really cant point the finger of blame solely on the Presidents actions, or lack of them.
When I heard Mayor Nagin literally crying on the air and begging for help I can honestly tell you that I cant remember when I weeped so hard. My heart ached for these people, as it continues to do today. But through my tears and sorror I find myself asking questions: Why didnt he [Nagin] call for the evacuation himself?
I also ask myself why didnt the able bodied men and women held up at the dome go out on rescue missions themselves. I cant even imagine just sitting still if I was healthy enough to get up and help my neighbors, friends and family. Have we become a nation that is dependant on the help of others moreso than helping ourselves?
I found this and found it interesting, perhaps you will as well.
Mayor Nagin: Gov. Blanco Delayed Rescue
After days of blaming the federal officials for not responding quickly enough to the Hurricane Katrina crisis, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin praised President Bush on Monday - and charged that Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco had delayed federal rescue efforts by 24-hours.
"I'm so happy that the president came down here," Nagin said of Bush's Friday visit to Louisiana in an interview with CNN. "He came down and saw it, and he put a general on the field. His name is General Honore. And when he hit the field, we started to see action." But Nagin had harsh words for his state's leaders, telling CNN: "What the state was doing, I don't frigging know. But I tell you, I am pissed. It wasn't adequate."
The New Orleans Democrat said he urged Bush to meet privately with Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco during the visit. The meeting took place aboard Air Force One, he said.
After reviewing the crisis with Gov. Blanco, Bush summoned Nagin for a private chat - where, according to Nagin, Bush explained: "Mr. Mayor, I offered two options to the governor. I said . . . I was ready to move today. The governor said she needed 24 hours to make a decision."
Reacting to the governor's footdragging, Nagin lamented: "It would have been great if we could of left Air Force One, walked outside, and told the world that we had this all worked out."
"It didn't happen, and more people died."
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You may also find this interesting as well.
Louisiana Officials Could Lose the Katrina Blame Game
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
September 07, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - The Bush administration is being widely criticized for the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina and the allegedly inadequate protection for "the big one" that residents had long feared would hit New Orleans. But research into more than ten years of reporting on hurricane and flood damage mitigation efforts in and around New Orleans indicates that local and state officials did not use federal money that was available for levee improvements or coastal reinforcement and often did not secure local matching funds that would have generated even more federal funding.
In December of 1995, the Orleans Levee Board, the local government entity that oversees the levees and floodgates designed to protect New Orleans and the surrounding areas from rising waters, bragged in a supplement to the Times-Picayune newspaper about federal money received to protect the region from hurricanes.
"In the past four years, the Orleans Levee Board has built up its arsenal. The additional defenses are so critical that Levee Commissioners marched into Congress and brought back almost $60 million to help pay for protection," the pamphlet declared. "The most ambitious flood-fighting plan in generations was drafted. An unprecedented $140 million building campaign launched 41 projects."
The levee board promised Times-Picayune readers that the "few manageable gaps" in the walls protecting the city from Mother Nature's waters "will be sealed within four years (1999) completing our circle of protection."
But less than a year later, that same levee board was denied the authority to refinance its debts. Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle "repeatedly faulted the Levee Board for the way it awards contracts, spends money and ignores public bid laws," according to the Times-Picayune. The newspaper quoted Kyle as saying that the board was near bankruptcy and should not be allowed to refinance any bonds, or issue new ones, until it submitted an acceptable plan to achieve solvency.
Blocked from financing the local portion of the flood fighting efforts, the levee board was unable to spend the federal matching funds that had been designated for the project.
By 1998, Louisiana's state government had a $2 billion construction budget, but less than one tenth of one percent of that -- $1.98 million -- was dedicated to levee improvements in the New Orleans area. State appropriators were able to find $22 million that year to renovate a new home for the Louisiana Supreme Court and $35 million for one phase of an expansion to the New Orleans convention center.
The following year, the state legislature did appropriate $49.5 million for levee improvements, but the proposed spending had to be allocated by the State Bond Commission before the projects could receive financing. The commission placed the levee improvements in the "Priority 5" category, among the projects least likely to receive full or immediate funding.
The Orleans Levee Board was also forced to defer $3.7 million in capital improvement projects in its 2001 budget after residents of the area rejected a proposed tax increase to fund its expanding operations. Long term deferments to nearly 60 projects, based on the revenue shortfall, totaled $47 million worth of work, including projects to shore up the floodwalls.
No new state money had been allocated to the area's hurricane protection projects as of October of 2002, leaving the available 65 percent federal matching funds for such construction untouched.
"The problem is money is real tight in Baton Rouge right now," state Sen. Francis Heitmeier (D-Algiers) told the Times-Picayune. "We have to do with what we can get."
Louisiana Commissioner of Administration Mark Drennen told local officials that, if they reduced their requests for state funding in other, less critical areas, they would have a better chance of getting the requested funds for levee improvements. The newspaper reported that in 2000 and 2001, "the Bond Commission has approved or pledged millions of dollars for projects in Jefferson Parish, including construction of the Tournament Players Club golf course near Westwego, the relocation of Hickory Avenue in Jefferson (Parish) and historic district development in Westwego."
There is no record of such discretionary funding requests being reduced or withdrawn, but in October of 2003, nearby St. Charles Parish did receive a federal grant for $475,000 to build bike paths on top of its levees.
Earlier this year, the levee board did complete a $2.5 million restoration project. After months of delays, officials rolled away fencing to reveal the restored 1962 Mardi Gras fountain in a four-acre park featuring a new 600-foot plaza between famous Lakeshore Drive and the sea wall.
Financing for the renovation came from a property tax passed by New Orleans voters in 1983. The tax, which generates more than $6 million each year for the levee board, is dedicated to capital projects. Levee board officials defended more than $600,000 in cost overruns for the Mardi Gras fountain project, according to the Times-Picayune, "citing their responsibility to maintain the vast green space they have jurisdiction over along the lakefront."
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So, IMO the state officials are mainly to blame for this, their inability to react and do the right thing locally surely hurt them and led to perhaps a good number of avoidable deaths. BUT, Bush's administration is not innocent in all of this. As commander he should have stepped in immediately when the State's officials did not do the right thing for their citizens.
What happened at the dome in a national disgrace. Oh wait a minute, no buses available? No safe paths to the dome? Sickening. It's truly sickening when a country as thriving as the United States jumps to the aid of others in a blink of an eye, yet takes a very long slumber before helping it's own.
Oh, and here's a photo of "some" of the "un-available" buses that were held locally.
If Hurricane Katrina has showed us anything at all, it has shown us just how very vulnerable we are.
Everyone should have a "what if" plan and be prepared to see it through. Everyone.
I hope none of you lost anyone in this tragety. I live in Florida and had the eye right atop us during Katrina and it was very scarey. All of my siblings and my Uncle who live here locally were without power for almost a week. MY parents and I did all we could to make sure that they were ok, that their children were fed and slept in a dry bed in a safe place. We did what we could for them and pulled together as a family.
I manage a large rental property in our city and have several of my residents who are still looking for relatives and/or friends.
A girl I used to work with is also MIA still to this day, she was in the French Quarter doing a revue. I can only hope that all of these people, their families and their friends will get through this as best as possible.
I am very much looking forward to the end of Bush's term, and I can only hope that the next person to fill that position will do a better job all around.
