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Ahab or Adams?
I wrote this column in response to David Brooks' Thursday New York Times column, Democrats Still Split by Great Divide, comparing speeches of John Kerry and John Edwards. It takes the form of an open letter. Brooks' original column can be found at:
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=886
*****
Dear Mr. Brooks,
While I can understand and appreciate Edwards' perspective, I think that Kerry's is the more emotionally relevant at this specific moment in our nation's history. Accordingly, I must come to his defense; he is hardly the "Senator Ahab" that you caricatured.
The Bush Administration is dangerous. Their arrogance is astounding, as is their incompetence. This nation has seen nothing like it in my lifetime.
The Bush Administration has put us all in extraordinary peril, through their botched, quixotic invasion/occupation of Iraq. Many warned them of the dangers, but they knew better - or so they claimed.
At best, we will get limited stability via the establishment of a de facto theocracy with ties to Iran in Southern Iraq. At worst, we will get outright civil war, and a terrorist breeding ground between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Yet, no amount of failure dims the Bush Administration's enthusiasm for their imagined abilities, and for policies that rarely work as advertised.
At what point does persistent incompetence, and an unwillingness to acknowledge evidence of said incompetence, become evil?
There is an innate urge for justice within the human psyche. It must be done for equilibrium to be re-established. And justice has never been done vis-à-vis the Bush Administration.
Kerry knows that; he knows it at the core of his being. He has reason to be angry. He was, by far, the better man, the more able man, in 2004. An entire world knew it, outside of the Red States.
As I head for Washington, DC this weekend, I am struck by a thought. Even though I'm not clear what the best policy for effectively concluding our involvement in Iraq might be, I know that I cannot rest until this President and his advisors have been driven from the field in disgrace.
This failed neoconservative ideology must be utterly repudiated, so that it can never rise up again. This has become personal. This has become a blood feud between quintessential American pragmatism and reckless, unfettered ideology.
This is a battle that traditional conservatives should be fighting alongside liberals. In the end, if we've learned anything from history, it's that ideology divorced from reality ultimately gives birth to tremendous human suffering, and to a tangible, unmistakable form of evil.
America was exceptional precisely because our Founders & Framers understood this. Yes, poverty and economic injustice remain serious problems, and John Edwards' message must be heard in the years to come. But as far as I'm concerned, ideological insanity masquerading as credible strategy remains the greatest danger to the continued existence of this nation.
John Kerry is angry. I'm angry. Why aren't you angry, David? Or rather, why is it that your anger is directed at the man who insists on blowing the whistle, and not at the President who has done so much wrong?
Of course, you can dismiss me, as you dismissed Kerry, as just another Ahab - but I prefer to think of myself as a disciple of an earlier son of Massachusetts, a John with the surname of Adams.
Sincerely yours,
Can anyone answer this..?
Ok we know the courts have ruled that say foe news is not 'obligated' to tell the TRUTH..
HOWEVER...
What if those lies, or distortions ACTUALLY LEAD to someones death..?
Can Cindy Sheehan sue the New York Times for say 'wrongful death'..????
I just thought of another ????
It is a long standing and well known rule no soldier can sue the government that owns them, HOWEVER..
Can the US Military, or a group of its members, sue for an injunction against the NY Times and foe news???
The Levees in NO has been breeched again
2 ft water in lower 9th ward
Matt, nice letter.
New Orleans in Military Lockdown as storm surge already flooding 9th ward.
My brother said the West Bank appears to be fine but no access is being granted to New Orleans Downtown, CBD, French Quarter and the water is rising fast in 9th Ward.
Kerry, and all the rest of them need to be shown the door, politely, but the door nonetheless.
They are out of touch with the real concerns of the majority of the population.
Out of touch with reality. Perhaps not as badly as the Bush Administration, but out of touch all the same.
If we do not see that they perhaps we ourselves are out of touch with the reality that MOST of America is lower middle class or poor.
A US City on Military Lockdown...
IF we do not get some truly representative leaders in Washington, D.C. than we had better get used to that term...
MILITARY LOCKDOWN.
WAKE UP AMERICA!!!
Posted by: Indy at September 23, 2005 11:09 AM
I'm with ya. Everyone I talk to these days, all are fed up, not only with Bush, but with politicians in general... they say they are all alike.
With the tepid opposition from Dem's to issues that are so ripe for the taking, time after mortifying time, it's hard to argue that they are not all alike.
I'm tired of speeches, of soaring rhetoric, of legalese answers to questions, all devoid of critical action.
Are they waiting for things to get worse?
Talk is cheap, or at least it used to be.
For all of those wealthy bleeding hearts who have not the stomache for the reality of what the Founders of this once great Nation actually did...
And what the people of this Nation are likely about to do.
Go hide in your well furnished basements.
The Revolution Starts NOW!!!
We'll let you know when it is safe to come out.
Matt,
Excellent letter.
Hurricane Rita update:
Monumental screw up here. Rick Perry, Tx Transporation Dept or FEMA fail to anticipate massive gasoline shortages along evacuation routes; scores of cars stuck in bumper to bumper traffic running out of gasoline and water, being abandoned.There is literally no gasoline at any gas stations w/i 100 miles of Houston, anywhere.
Our governor is in desperate political shape b/c of 2 failed specials sessions where we got neither property relief or money desperately needed by ct order for schools. But why with all of our hurricane planning did no one including FEMA anticipate a need for gasoline, planning emergency storeage facilities along evacuation routes? Reports coming in locally of 20-30,
yes 20-30 hour drive times to go 240 miles from Houston to Dallas.
Very sad news to report. A nursing home bus 2 blocks from my house with 45 elderly patients explodes outside Dallas killing 20. Fortunately for the time being my mom seems safe in a different bus.
I have been yelling at my mom's nursing home since tuesday afternoon to evacuate and they said no way is it necessary. Last night they called to me that FEMA took their 3 buses and gave it some other nursing home so they couldn't leave til 11 pm last night, the absolute worst time traffic wise to get to Dallas. Sounds like b.s. but my mom seems ok so far just freaked out over a 20-30 hr bus trip. The storm may be veering to Pt Arthur or Beaumont. We are safe 50 miles north of Houston with our new Dem friends who tell me they agree with my theory of Faux News being programmed into business ventures and a discussion of how to stop it.
But Chuck/Indy someone needs to find out why neither FEMA, Rick Perry nor TX DPS offices didn't anticipate folks running out of gasoline during evacuation and having to abandon their cars.Is it Katrina, mass psychology b/c we had 200,000 Louisiana folks here and panicking after what they saw in N.O.? Its hard work to evacuate a city of 4.5 million and we need to think of that if something else should happen to another very large American city.
I also anticipate W bragging how great Gov. Perry did and bush making every conceivable effort to try and salvage Gov Perry's desperate political campaign with billions from Congress to save his sorry ass and his miserable failed budget shortfall. Again my paranoid theory.
I saw CNN so screw themselves one day, via Wolf Blitzer.
At the beginning of his program he decided to take a poll. He asked, does congress have your best intrests at heart...???
Needless to say I knew it was going to be a blow out. I even went and voted no myself. The hour goes on then wolfbvoy appears on the screen with the results..
I dont think he looked at them beforehand cause he started stammering, then turned bright read , he says never has CNN done a poll that turned out like this.
Does congress have your best intrest at heart 99% said NO.
It was about I guess a year or so ago, maybe longer. It was one of those funny moments where you really giggle at someones pain and hope for thier continued suffering. Wolfs face was priceless, the man was more red and waxy than a crayola crayon.
99%... imagine that.
Posted by: Ira at September 23, 2005 11:23 AM
The only thing Perry was good at was going to a death cult church in Ft. Worth to sign two of its sweetie pie legislations.
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Posted by: monkey at September 23, 2005 11:16 AM
The Democrats don't care anymore. I stopped giving to DCCC and DSCC as a result, knowing that they give money to DLC type candidates I could care less about - and will keep losing to the Republicans anyway.
I am starting to feel more and more like heading overseas will be a smarter thing than keeping up the fight. What a feeling to have, right before tomorrow's mobilization.
Posted by: Ira at September 23, 2005 11:23 AM
Not Paranoid Ira...
Monkey and I were discussing the exact thing the other day.
It is the spin.
Just like the private mortuary company in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast collecting bodies...yet releasing no count. They are forbidden to talk to the media.
As you know this evacuation has been a joke and the roads are still clogged with motorists trying to escape the path of Rita.
It has been 24/7 here in Austin.
We are overflowing with people and cars.
You are right Ira.
And unfortunately the only way to counter it is through the stories of all who have witnessed the utter failure of our government to secure and protect our domestic tranquility.
If there were a nuclear or biological incident there is NO WAY ON EARTH that any large metropolis could be evacuated...and more than likely, as what occurred in New Orleans, the orders would be to keep all contained within the ravaged city... And shoot to kill.
WAKE UP AMERICA!!
Today is my moms birthday.
Her brother, my uncle, lives pretty much on the Texas coast and we thought he was evacuating yesterday. He is a prison guard at Ramsey Prison near Rosharon just slightly south of Galvaston.
At this time he said that the evacuation of the prisnors NEVER CAME and the guards are under orders to not leave. They are to hunker down inside the prison and are directly in Ritas path.
My mothers little brother is now barricaded inside Ramsey prison with the worst of the worst that the Texas prison system can offer.
I dont know what to do about it.
Lautenberg to Bush: Rove Negligent in Duties as Hurricane Disaster Point Person
Senator Frank Lautenberg has just sent President Bush a letter decrying Karl Rove's negligence as the "point person for disaster coordination and recovery" in the White House.
Rove is departing Washington today to attend fundraising events in North Dakota while Hurricane Rita slams into Texas.
Bush has made clear that Karl Rove is his "point person" in heading up his team's response to these hurricane onslaughts. . .but he will be off-site collecting dollars for the party rather than helping those without resources or wealth who may still be trapped in Rita's path.
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/
Read the letter (pdf) here==>http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/Lautenberg.pdf
This morning on NPRs Morning Addition: Exclusive
Morning Edition, September 23, 2005 · In the days before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, officials in local, state and federal governments held a series of telephone conference calls aimed at coordinating their responses to the storm. The sessions were recorded by Walter Maestri, emergency manager for Jefferson Parish, who shared them with NPR.
In tapes of the disaster planning meetings, emergency managers and civic officials evinced a growing concern with the strengthening hurricane's possible effects -- and after the storm made landfall, a growing frustration with the aid effort mounted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
As emergency preparations gave way to coordinated actions and pleas for equipment, the recorded calls depict an emergency command center in Baton Rouge that became a center of frenzied activity.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4859329
Bulletin on Bush Booze story
Posted by kstewart33
Added to homepage Thu Sep 22nd 2005, 06:32 PM ET
Ed Schultz just interviewed an editor with the National Enquirer. The editor said the paper stands by its story "150%" and would go to court over it if they had to. He said that they have 2 different sources for the story, and that the sources had been informing the National Enquirer about this story for about the last month or so.
Notably, the editor said that a "highly respected" newspaper has also been working on the story and could well publish something on it in the next week or two.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/
Great letter Matt.
Personally, all talk of politicians now on either side, who said or did what, is more garbage in garbage out.
Brooks is trying to deflect from the real tragedy unfolding---the great unpreparedness and dismal failure of the country's government in the event of actual calamity.
After all is said and done, after 9-11, after Katrina, after all the billions of dollars spent---everything Brooks says, anything ANYBODY says, who says or did what, why, when is MOOT.
When the chips are down, we're alone.
Now we can continue our disappointment in our media or elected officials or we can move to higher ground--make this grassroots, and come from the mud up to the doors of Congress. We will have a few thousand over in Washington DC this weekend.
There is a connection between that war in the Middle East and our inability to secure our own people's safety on our continent.
This movement is bigger than any of us realize, and with our anger, our power, our resolve to stand with our own, and face down these thieves, we can, I hope transcend the irrelevant pettiness we've been accosted with the last five years.
It's time to put our representatives on notice: DO YOUR JOB OR LEAVE THE OFFICE.
Where is the leadership in our country??? I can't think of a damn person in our government right now who really has any guts or a plan or is doing anything constructive to make our country better.
I can't think of a damn person in our government right now who really has any guts or a plan or is doing anything constructive to make our country better.
Posted by: madame defarge at September 23, 2005 12:47 PM
Madame:
WE are the relevant ones. Its time to bypass heroes and save our own lives.
inappropriate ir not...
If I KNEW there had been SERIOUS issues in Ohio by November 3rd of 2004, If I could KNOW that...
There is NO WAY IN HELL Kerry DID NOT know that. Yet he conceeded ANYWAY.
What exactly was honorable about that?
WHY would he do such a thing?
That is a very simple answer. Because elite dems have no intention of ending our subjigated slavery via vote fraud.
If the elite dems help do away with vote fraud then THEY can not rig it themselves eventually.
They have no intention of freeing us from slavery, they only cocern themselves with the positioning needed to BECOME the slave MASTERS.
This is not about dem vs. repell. This is not about repell vs repell or dem vs dem...
This is about THEM vs. US.
THEM those that would leave US behind to die by the tens of thousands.
FIRE THEM ALL.
Our first right WAS NOT spelled out in the first amendment. OUR first declared right as a NATION is the ability to throw off tyranny and re invent our government from the ground up.
Revolution is at hand wether we like it or not. A revolution that kerry himself was NOT willing to be sacrificed too. It is time to start cutting away those who would sacrifice US so damn easily it is contemptably cowardly.
Kerry had his chance to save us all. Kerry saved himself. Good for him.
As for the rest of US... it is time to pray for the best and prepare for the worst.
Fe...i agree...there are NO heros in government...but exactly what would you purpose us 'masses' do to save ourselves (short of violence)...
LOL /me shakes his head
In the real world, the congressional black caucus is not really approved of by regular black people..
Why dont you come on down to the ghettos of the real world and ask them yourself.
but exactly what would you purpose us 'masses' do to save ourselves (short of violence)...
Posted by: pcdoc at September 23, 2005 01:09 PM
We SHUT DOWN THE NATION!
SHUT DOWN THE COUNTRY LIKE THE PEOPLE OF THE GULF COAST WERE SHUT DOWN FROM RESCUING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS BY OUR GOVERNMENT.
WE SHUT DOWN WASHINGTON D.C.
WE TAKE BACK THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE!!!
WE TAKE BACK THE WHITE HOUSE!!!
WE TAKE BACK OUR HERITAGE AND OUR DIGNITY AND OUR CONSTITUTION!!!
There is strength in numbers.
There is dignity and honor in dissent.
There is one true Nation, and it belongs to the People.
It is time to once again declare our INDEPENDENCE from complete and utter TYRANNY!!!
How many more innocent soldiers and civillians must die before we gain the courage to face the inevitable?
How many more worthless and hollow words will we be betrayed with before we stand up and fight for what is truly ours by birth, by heritage, by our NATURAL RIGHTS?!?!?
Want Freedom?
Sometimes we must TAKE what is ours when it is not on offer from our elected leaders.
Vive la Revolution!!!
Matt, wonderful, thoughtful letter, and reality-based. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
I will always be a Kerry fan. For those who blame this minority party, or those at least who try harder, are blaming part of our solution while our grassroots build up its vote delivery and new crop of ideas and candidates on a regular basis.
I regret that Kerry had to play the margins, and I'm not sure how necessary it was to even get the same results, but I would like his reputation back. For most though, without a complete win, he is to be blamed and discarded.
Unfortunate that we can't accept the benefit of someone trying to lead the opposition, which will not change the opinion or power overnight. Might take beyond the next election. How much anger do we wallow in.
The refusal to hear his name, accept his help, has become like a death in the family of someone dear and valued. I want that good feeling close, and of strength, while I venture forth trying to rid ourselves of this evil. And I spend a spectacularly large amount of time doing so. Up to 2:00 every night on the computer, meetings, letters, running around like camp counselor to involve others to get out of the house. Haven't stooped since fall of '03, and don't think hubby hasn't commented.
I want to draw strength from where I can, my friends, logmates, but inspirational leaders help as well. All kinds.
they will NOT just give it all back.
Like it or not Indy is right, we must TAKE it from them.
Shut down DC. Its not doing a damn bit of good business anyway.
pcdoc:
Don't know yet how we the masses can begin to re-structure the whole corrupt mess, but what we can begin to do is start locally.
Start supporting products and vendors that are socially and environmentally conscious.
Start supporting candidates that show courage and backbone and are TOTALLY open about who funds their campaigns, regardless of their party affiliation.
Put PRESSURE on those congresspeople in the Ethics Committee and threaten their seats if they don't start doing their job. (I know--tall order, but its a place to start in the Halls of Power).
Put a HUGE spotlight on those Congresspeople (such as the infamous Mr. DeLay) who insist on making permanent upper-class tax cuts and funding pork barrel projects in the middle of the country's direst time.
Make sure our Congresspeople understand we will NOT tolerate FURTHER cuts to programs that should be supporting people most in need--the very people who are dying in the Disaster Zone.
I know some of these are lofty-minded principles and theories, but that's the daunting road ahead. Personally, I would be happy if Rita blew off Rick Perry's wig, but that's another $20 dollars...
I live in Los Angeles - don't presume I don't know what is happening in the real world.
Posted by: Pamela at September 23, 2005 01:23 PM
Yeah when over 40,000 people from Los Angeles are left behind to die then maybe your view of the real world will be a pressing matter to me.
Till then, I'll just watch Louisiana dissolve around my ears and listen to what the people here say.
Was at a NY City Council meeting this to speak about paper ballots and optical scan. We might be able to convince the city not to go electronic, and maybe, there goes the rest of the state. Actually positive feeling for the first time in a while, but the other side is lying and bribing, so we'll see.
Get my head out of the sand... no sand here, see Cali got all that
NOt sure what is happening, but with posts disappearing like that, the dialogue is unreadable.
So, I will reiter my congratulations to Matt for this excellent letter in answer to Brooks and I will come later, when it is a little calmer.
Probably not a good moment to start posting here.
How about for our next trick...
We make our elected officials disappear???
ALL OF THEM!!!
Notice she slandered me, tried to insult me and insiuate I had no window into the real world, yet never once addressed my original statement.
Ok I have to ask, is she REALLy a repellican..?
Christy:
For me, you will always walk on the High Ground.
Fe...
Thank you..
I think
Christy:
I mean it in the most respectful of ways. I always found your commentary on the reality of your community--our communities, completely honest, totally compelling and utterly, tragically real.
Its the current disaster unfolding now that most politicians have HATED to face. Being real in the face of their denial is the most profound and powerful political act we can do.
You have my respect and admiration, always.
Kerry will get my loyalty when he EARNS IT
He got my vote, what the hell else can I do for you Mr. Kerry?
Want me to fight for you too??? ok DID THAT
I live in a dangerous place and I was out on the streets in the middle of the night dodging rednecks and gang drug dealers to put up signs for kerry. Did ANYONE pay attention?
The COPS in my town SURE as hell did. Kerry was NOWHERE AROUND.
And look what that got me. Kerry conceeding the VERY FIGHT he PROMISED to take upon himself.
My birthday was Nov 2nd. I will NEVER forget what happened that day. I REFUSE to ponder on the day after.
Kerry has my respect but my vote?
What does he care about it ANYWAY.
BTW I was the FIRST VOTER in line that morning. I stayed up all night to be first here to vote for him.
And what what what good did it do?
Bill Maher's "New Rule" from last Friday night --
http://www.safesearching.com/billmaher/home.shtml
And finally, New Rule: For Christ's sake, no more devil movies. "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" opened huge last week, and it surprised a lot of people, mostly because Owen Wilson wasn't in it. [laughter] But exorcism, or as the Catholics call it, "elective surgery,"-[laughter] [applause]-is a popular theme nowadays because it reinforces the comforting notion that evil resides outside of us.
Well, I'm sorry, but it doesn't. And whenever I hear someone blame a bombing in Baghdad or a levee breaking in New Orleans on the forces of evil, it makes me so mad I just want to grab my pitchfork and stick it right through my cloven hoof! [laughter] [applause] [cheers]Now, Americans have always loved devil movies: "The Exorcist," "The Omen," "Rosemary's Baby," "The Devil's Advocate." The list goes on forever because Americans love the devil. Why? Because he's simple and he provides a simple answer. He did it. [laughter] But evil is not a demon with a tail and horns. That's a Jew. [laughter] [applause] And evil - evil isn't some spectral goblin with red eyes and the voice of Anthony Hopkins. That's Anthony Hopkins. [laughter]
Is George Bush purely evil? Of course not. And that's what's so evil about him. [laughter] He doesn't twirl a mustache and smirk and cackle. Well, he doesn't twirl a mustache. [laughter] [applause] [cheers] He's like the Peanuts character Pigpen. [laughter] Wherever he goes, he stirs up such a humongous mess it can only be cleaned up by Halliburton. [laughter] [applause] [cheers] But he is not pure evil.
Because evil is a chain. Did any one person doom New Orleans ? No, it's a chain. People vote for a corrupt leader; a corrupt leader puts unqualified cronies in high places, and when those cronies f*** up, evil gets done. The devil didn't fly up from hell and knock a hole in that levee. The levee just didn't get built because the money for it went to rich people's tax cuts and pork projects and corporate welfare. [applause] [sustained cheers]
Evil isn't " Salem 's Lot ." It's Trent Lott. [laughter] [applause] This week, an ailing American bald eagle was found to be dying from mercury poisoning. Republicans immediately tried to blame it on the eagle's lifestyle choices. [laughter] But it's worth noting that also this week, the White House threatened to veto limits on mercury pollution. Now, pure evil would be if George Bush sat around the White House saying, "Let's poison eagles!" And even I don't believe George Bush would do that.
Cheney would do that. [laughter] [applause] [cheers] And even he is not pure evil. Dick Cheney doesn't hate poor children and caribou. They're just in the way. [laughter] Bottom line: some people think Satan is real and some people think global warming is real. If you think stopping gays from doing it is more important than the ice caps melting, the boogeyman is you.[applause] [cheers] ++
MargorieG, Nice Post! I, too, am a Kerry fan and an Al Gore fan, and a Howard Dean fan, and a John Edwards fan, and a Clinton fan, and a Carter fan. I like all of these people. I do not always agree with everything they say or do but my gosh, we will continue to be bulldozed by the Rovians if we are scattered and angry.
Lets see blue staters for one... the 'people' who knows whats 'best for us'.... The people who blame us for bushs sins.
Well hell Louisiana just fell to pieces, did ANYONE bother to get the opinion of the people ACTUALLY HERE? What IS their take on current events...?
No TRUE opinion needed as long as yall can go ahead and argue about things youve never ACTUALLY laid eyes on. and the irony of that is we have been giving our opinion all along. yet STILL we were abandoned by our nation.
Indy and I were raised at the complete opposite of the social spectrum, yet we are from the same place and he sees the exact same thing I see.
There are ONLY TWO logical conclusions left. Either Revolution is coming...OR Civil War is coming. TAKE YOUR PICK itll probably all look the same ANYWAY.
Yes it could have been stopped but no one is in the BUISSNESS of stopping it..are they..?
Many do not support Kerry any more nor do they live in the past.
Right now there is a horrilble storm already re-flooding my hometown. Threre are MILLIONS of displaced Americans scattered from California to Florida and the current hurricane threatens to displace millions more.
Our Nation is in shambles, and though not responsible for the forces of nature, our elected officials ALL OF THEM are responsible for our Domestic Tranquility and safety.
They have all failed us miserably.
ALL OF THEM.
YAY! John Kerry is still a Senator!!! Whoo hoo!
He and the rest have not done ANYTHING to assist the American people in this our darkest hour and our time of need.
So wave your Kerry banners and by all means wear your Kerry pin...no one is stopping you.
But what you do not seem to realize is you are speaking to a diverse group of Americans who all have their own strong opinions as well.
Deal with it.
Christy
We have a republican from Houma, LA on the Dem Daily who has been sharing the reality of Louisiana for weeks with us:
Donnie From Houma, LA Says:
September 20th, 2005 at 12:08 am
Pamela, where do I begin? I am humbled by the words spoken by the man I told you in recent days, that I like more each day. It goes beyond that now, I must admit to the fact now, that I really have come to respect this man. His words ring loud, and I have heard him. I hope that others will hear him. There are so many things that I want to tell you, but I will email you and cover most of it.
I just had a talk with another Republican buddy that I have known for years, and after a heart to heart talk, he broke down and he admitted that we have messed up, and we have to go in a diff. direction. He said that we have to look for someone that is a real leader, and not make this mistake again. He’s not sold on Kerry or the Dem. party, but I don’t see him backing the GOP in the future elections. He is hurt, and might not trust anyone soon.
These recent days have been real emotional for people like us down here, and I can only hope that we can open dialog, during the future days, with my people down here. Emotions that I had, reading Mr. Kerry’s comments, have come to Re-Enforce what I have said and done lately.
We talked about New Orleans, and how he had to send his daughter to a school in another state, as we wait for things to get back to normal. Meanwhile, he will split his time between his home to do repairs, his family in another state, and my place, as his temp. home. And as I write this, we have another storm that may come here. He just left to go back out in the Gulf of Mexico to do his job.
John Kerry, is a Beacon of hope and a Light House, for those of us lost at sea!! The Story gets so much deeper down here, and I now know that we have hope. I don’t know if I can describe what happened tonight, but two people had to come and understand, that we need change, and not lies. I will never be the same after this. We have our pact to take care of our families, and we do not expect the Federal Gov. to help. I have come to find out that the Criminal Vampires in the White House, will have to starve. if they expect us to bow down to them.
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=601#comment-4186
Christy, hopefully people are beginning to notice what you've been saying all along...
Poverty Increases as Incomes Decline Under Bush
The day after Hurricane Katrina hit, exposing much of the public to the tragic conditions of poverty in America, the Census Bureau quietly released its annual report entitled, "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States." In some respects, it provided a demonstrable backdrop to the pockets of poverty common to New Orleans and other cities. It also explained why, despite President Bush's assertion last month that, "Americans have more money in their pockets," many people aren't faring as well as they once did.
--snip--
The average income last year for a poverty-stricken family of four was $19,307; for a family of three it was $15,067, and for a couple it was $12,334. The poverty rate increased for people 18 to 64 last year by 0.5 percent. The South experienced the highest poverty rate of all regions.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/05/09/21_poverty.html
"It is something to scream into the void. It is like a miracle when it screams back at you."
I've been screaming for a long time. What we need to continue doing is scream effectively, with good common sense, and infatigable energy. And we need to continue screaming until they stop their nonsense.
The long-term destruction of America's poor says only one thing to me: Our Government wants poor people dead. And in this day and age, that is a crime against humanity.
America kills poor people by undereducation, malnutrition, and economic hardship. We kill them by making it EXPENSIVE to be poor. We kill them by letting their neighborhoods rot enough so that they HAVE to move out so developers can move in. We kill them by forcing their sons and daughters to make the only decision they can make to survive, which is to join the military.
Ultimately, we kill the poor by refusing to see them. And we've been doing that for decades.
Christy, you do our communities justice by speaking the truth. We need to keep our eyes open. For one brief shining moment on TVs worldwide during the Katrina disaster, the WORLD got a glimpse of how America treats its underclass.
If the truth is a pair of wooden toothpicks we use to keep propped open the eyes of politicians everywhere until they get off their behinds and take care of poor people, not kill them, then the screaming must continue until they beg us to stop.
These politicians have been paid far too much money to kill American poor. And sadly most Americans let it happen by apathy and neglect and demonization of those most in need. But to be poor---where but for fortune go you or I...it could happen to any one of us.
We can't let them get away with it.
*** D.C. UPDATE ***
===================================
Karen just called to say that Camp Casey III is set up and ready to go for tomorrow's big march and rally.
Stage is up.
Lights.
Karen said electricity is building in the air.
Posted by: Pamela at September 23, 2005 02:13 PM
My Uncle and Aunt and cousins are in Houma and it got through with minimal to NO DAMAGE!!!
No rescues or FEMA or RED CROSS needed, and from the tone of the letter makes me assume it is someone who is college educated and has not the least idea nor care for the conditions of the surrounding area and the people.
What's the point of his post?
Edited - No personal attacks please
Posted by: Pamela at September 23, 2005 02:13 PM
I am VERY GLAD you have had a few WEEKS WORTH of his opinion. That only took the LOSS OF A MAJOR AMERICAN CITY
Gratitude is a gift. For all those politicans who are working for me and my country today, I thank you.
Indy
He's a Marine Corp Vet and FYI he drove into New Orleans to rescue his 82 year old grandmother during Katrina and he's on his way now to get her again. He's videotaping the journey and effects of Rita today. We'll have the video up in the next few days.
Meanwhile try reading other things he has told us:
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=582
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=546
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=528
Those are his Guest Blog posts.
Ultimately, we kill the poor by refusing to see them. And we've been doing that for decades.
Posted by: Fe at September 23, 2005 02:14 PM
Wow...
Just wow.
If Katrina did any good at all amidst such tragedy, it is she slapped us in the face with issues we've refused to see for a very very long time.
Posted by: Christy at September 23, 2005 02:19 PM
Christy
What is more significant is the fact that a republican actually found a liberal blog who would listen rather than scream above the din.
Edited - no personal attacks please
That is what I dont GET???
I was RAISED REPUBLICAN.
Im SURROUNDED BY REPUBLICANS. My entire family IS republican.
I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT BUSH.
ITS NOT BENN GOOD BY THE WAY
I COULD HAVE TOLD YOU THAT MONTHS AGO.
I am looking forward to the march tomorrow. The organizers were quoted in the paper this morning as saying they expected 100,000 people. That seemed like a pretty good number to put out right now...I would be very disappointed if we don't get to at least 100,000, and the little signs point to more people getting here than you might think, buses from places that haven't sent buses before, the number of calls we got once we offered to put people up, etc. So I see 100,000 as a floor which I really hope we bust right on through.
I see Indy wants to shut down DC. The idea of shutting DC down as a protest is always out there, but I don't think anyone's tried lately; I remember things got pretty messy in 1971. Given how overloaded the roads are around here, a few thousand people could bring the whole region to a standstill if they were in the right places at the right time. Some guy threatened to jump off a major bridge over the Potomac, they shut traffic down on the bridge, and got 20 mile tie-ups. And not too long ago another guy ran a tractor onto the Mall and claimed to have explosives, and once again produced a huge traffic jam.
This march is going to surround the White House. If people wanted to shut something down as a clear symbol, the driveways into the parking lots and underground parking at the Capitol would be an obvious choice.
Christy:
I like calling Katrina the "anti-911". Its been remarkably deft in surgically pinpointing the most obscene results of three decades of neglect of America's marginalized communities.
This neglect has been ongoing with complicity by Congress and the White House--and by both parties. If politicians don't wake up and become radicalized by this event, I don't know what it will take to get them.
Half of my family lost everything in Katrina and are scattered across the country...the other half are living in New Orleans right now and all you can do is praise yourself for having some Republican Marine shoot video of the misery of peoples lives for you?
Fe, I still remember your post-Katrina thematic on the invisibility of those who suffered, and as a voice for invisible everywhere. Brilliant, heartfelt from someone who has seen it very close, and we have to do better.
"the other half are living in New Orleans right now and all you can do is praise yourself for having some Republican Marine shoot video of the misery of peoples lives for you?"
I'm not praising anyone. The video he's shooting is of the storm, that's it.
Posted by: dick bell at September 23, 2005 02:29 PM
=======================================
I think the march and rally tomorrow is going to be a real wake up call for people, if the media gives it any reasonable coverage.
One of the things that I hope gets covered in background stuff is that people are coming to the march for so many difference reasons.
Some people want the troops out now. Some people want a realistic timeline with benchmarks. Some people have been against the war from day one.
But the thing that will bring them all to the White House lawn is the fact that this administration has - yet again - illustrated their serious incompetence in meeting the Iraq challenge.
That is the one thing everyone agrees on.
Bush = incompetence.
I like calling Katrina the "anti-911".
Posted by: Fe at September 23, 2005 02:30 PM
You know in so many aspects it IS the exact opposite of 911. Not just in consequence but in physical dimentions as well.
I remember the morning of 911 so well, but it will never compare to my reaction to Katrina...
911 made me like everyone else, terrified, jumpy. Angry. But the actual even was only two hours.
I remember on the third day after Katrina I saw convoys of buses trucks convoys of construction equipment passing and I saw those people at the Super Dome begging for help ..For the next 12 hours or so i started roaming around my house aimlessly, bumping into walls that didnt exist and bouncing off of them just to wander in another direction. I did what I could getting apts ready but then id go right back to wandering.. I finally stopped myself but then on the 4th night i just started getting sick every time i tried to move. Everything I thought of made me cry.
I thought 911 was the worst feeling ever. I was so wrong.
Gratitude is a gift.
For all those people, and yes, politicans are people, who are working for me and my country today, I thank you.
For all those who are allowing the insanity of hate to continue, in the name of peace, I worry for our country.
What's with all the solo Kerry bashing? We need to support ALL the dems who are fighting to make things better, not rehashing 2004. Yes, I feel Kerry made mistakes, so did the ENTIRE Democratic Party and candidates. NO ONE is perfect, and NO candidate will best meet everyone's needs. That is the reality we have to deal with. It's unfortunate that we are playing right into the hands of Rove and the conservative Republicans with the constant fighting. We need to pull together and help the Katrina and Rita victims. Focus on 2006, worry about 2008 later.
2 cents.
OMG...My uncle is barricaded in Ramsey prison, none of the guards can leave. The prisoner evacuation NEVER CAME. He is DIRECTLY in Ritas Path.. and LOOK at this BS
Sheriff's Dept left inmates in New Orleanss
during Katrina flood; 517 unaccounted for
My uncle is in a prison with inmates left to die on the coast of Texas.
Blackwater Down: Mercenaries on US Soil
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092305O.shtml
"This vigilantism demonstrates the utter breakdown of the government," says Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. "These private security forces have behaved brutally, with impunity, in Iraq. To have them now on the streets of New Orleans is frightening and possibly illegal."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEVERAL OTHER mercenary (aka 'private security') firms are mentioned by name!!! This article is well worth the read.
I've been curious about the one or two blurbs in MSM and in one or two news articles that said the Fed. gov't. couldn't go into LA until the governor relinquished control of the state to the Feds so they could declare martial law. What's up with that? Why does a governor have to relinquish control of a state for the National Guard (over whom the governors are the CIC for the troops in their states!) to help the citizens of their own states? Is it currently because Nitwit has "control" of the Nat'l Guard because he keeps sending units to Iraq and/or Afghanistan??? When the Red River flooded MN & ND in 1997, I don't remember an issue about who had control of the Nat'l Guard. The governor just sent them out to help rescue people and feed livestock for people who live outside of city or town boundaries - which means most residents in the farming communities on either side of the Red River boundaries. What am I missing???
Christy, just curious, who is/was your candiate?
The management here does apologies???
My candidate would be a combination of three people
John Edwards
Barrak Obama
Clark..Wesley Clark that is.
Any of those three willing to fight for it honestly would take it...
But they HAVE to be TOTALLY engaged..As in HERE.
Hi folks -
I have to say - I'm gearing up for DC, and I've been telling lots of people about the DCP, and some of them have asked me if it's a lot of bickering/sniping like on many of the other blogs. I was proud to say that it was mostly not that.
I REALLY hope that today is not the day they decide to check us out. We're bigger than this folks. There's room for all of us here. That's what democracy is about. If there's not, then we're no better than the other side.
Peace folks. Breathe deep and step back a little. The last word isn't that important.
When I speak of Edwards support in Louisiana im not joking, he would SWEEP IT.
The man is as cute as a white man can get, AND hes speaking with the spirit of Martin Luther King on his delicious lips...
Backed up by Clark and Obama...
YOU WOULD TAKE IT ALL
More than half the country says U.S. should speed up Iraq withdrawal
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/22/iraq.poll/index.html
Carol:
Have a great trip to DC. Make sure to check out Busboys and Poets while you're there. And thanks for your perspective. We're going to need it over the weekend.
from a daily kos poster:
Sen. Obama Introduces a Resolution Opposing Photo ID Requirement for Voting
by jim bow
Fri Sep 23rd, 2005 at 09:44:13 PDT
As many here know, the Carter-Baker Commission for Electoral Reform recently released its recommendations for reforming the election process. The most controversial recommendation is the photo ID requirement for voting. Sen. Obama, along with Sen. Dodd (D-Conn.), introduced a resolution opposing the photo ID requirement, and so far 20 Senators, including Hillary Clinton, Dick Durbin, Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, and 12 others have signed onto the resolution. Please tell your Senator to sign onto this resolution because it's extremely important that we don't revert back to the dark days of Jim Crow Laws.
read more here...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/23/124413/999
Posted by: dwahzon at September 23, 2005 03:03 PM
Great to see that the house and the senate dems are stepping up on this issue.
Also, this editorial from John Conyers on the same subject.
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=3...
Help Prevent the Implementation of a Modern Day Poll Tax
by Cong. John Conyers Jr.
September 22, 2005
johnconyers.com
Printer Friendly Version
EMail Article to a Friend
Stop James Baker, III From Doing it Again
Join With Me in Fighting New Poll Tax Proposal
I have spent my more than 40 years in public service fighting for voting rights and a better democracy. Today, I am sad to say, there are proposals being made that would set us back in that struggle. A privately funded, unaccountable Commission organized by former Bush-Cheney campaign lawyer James Baker, III, and former President Jimmy Carter issued a report today that includes policy proposals that will disenfranchise over ten percent of eligible voters----a national ID requirement to vote. I need your help to fight this 21st Century disciminatory poll tax today. It is unconscionable that in the very year we are celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, that we would even consider a proposal that would make it more difficult for tens of millions of citizens to vote.
The simple fact is that many minority and poor voters do not have the time, money or need to purchase a drivers license. In fact, over ten percent of eligible voters in the last election did not have a photo ID. They vote by presenting other means of identification (a voter registration card, utility bill, or affidavit). This Commission is now asking Congress to deny the franchise to those voters unless they obtain a national ID card. The Commission makes the implausible claim that, in these times of a multibillion dollar war in Iraq and multibillion dollar restoration of the Gulf Coast, the Congress will pay for ID cards for those who cannot afford to buy them. We know this is not going to happen.
Even if you are not among these vulnerable populations, this affects you. The institution of a National ID card has throughout our history been a tool of repression. This recommendation, coupled with the Commission's recommendation of interoperable data bases of voters, is the first step toward data bases of American citizens.
Make no mistake about it, this national ID voting card will result in the disenfranchisement of poor and minority voters, and make us susceptible to the same old Ken Blackwell-style Republican electoral dirty tricks that cost Senator Kerry the election in Ohio. Remember the lack of voting machines in Ohio for Democratic voters? Remember the machines that broke down or registered strange numbers of votes for George Bush or unknown third party candidates? Remember Ken Blackwell"s paper weight requirements for voter registration cards? Imagine if the Republican party can, in one fell swoop, apply new legal obstacles to more than ten percent of voters, most of them poor, minority and elderly voters, most of them Democratic voters, from being able to vote.
Please help me today. I have made this website into an action center on this issue. It will be constantly updated with up-to-the-minute news and actions you can take to help on this issue. Thanks for your help and your continued stand for a better democracy.
Write a Letter to the Editor Opposing Plans to Impose this New Poll Tax
Oops, sorry, I did not realize I copied the entire editorial.
House okays bill allowing hiring discrimination in churches and religious organizations receiving federal dollars.
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/09/22/house-conservatives-ok-bill/
I am about 5 seconds away from pulling this blog over, taking off my belt, and delivering some heinously offtune choruses of Kumbaya... all while struggling to keep my trousers from hitting the berber.
Kids, don't try this at home.
Posted by: monkey at September 23, 2005 03:13 PM
Can we just go Eat At Joes instead?
am about 5 seconds away from pulling this blog over, taking off my belt, and delivering some heinously offtune choruses of Kumbaya... all while struggling to keep my trousers from hitting the berber.
Kids, don't try this at home.
Posted by: monkey at September 23, 2005 03:13 PM
Monkey:
If you're going to do it, use a back brace...
Vic:
Its illegal. How do they think this bill will pass?
Looks like Washington is turning into a free-for-all...
Well, probably the same way it's "illegal" to torture prisoners... I guess you just redefine prisoners. Then you redefine "discrimination"...
When the rules don't suit them, these guys just change them.
New rules. Done.
Posted by: Victoria Ellen at September 23, 2005 03:11 PM
And they DARE to deny marriage to gays, so that they keep paying higher taxes for a government that actively encourages discrimination against them?
Again, I don't know if joining the festivities this weekend is worth it. It may be going nowhere. A one-way ticket out of the country is looking more enticing. I was thinking of leaving in ten years - I don't know if I can wait that long anymore.
And Christy, I hear you. I'm from an all-Republican household too. An IMPORTED one at that. And for them to rejoice at the sight of dead people in Louisiana? I would rather REVOKE their citizenships, and DEPORT them first!
Edited - please keep it clean
Posted by: Victoria Ellen at September 23, 2005 02:38 PM
CSPAN & NPR (on All Things Considered) say they're going to cover it.
Looks like Washington is turning into a free-for-all...
Posted by: Fe at September 23, 2005 03:20 PM
Yes Fe, what I've realized is that the Constitution of the United States of America is ONLY a document - a document only as good as those in power are willing to respect it.
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!
ALL OF THEM!
They do not represent the best interests of the people of the United States of America and as such must be removed from office.
Let's see how reasonable you are when your family has been through what mine has...and the millions of other Louisianians who are displaced...and now Texans...Americans one and all.
The time for talk is over.
The time for Revolution is NOW!!!
Posted by: Victoria Ellen at September 23, 2005 03:23 PM
Yes, and as long as the Death Book, which replaces the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, says gays are worth nothing, the discrimination is perfectly legal.
Posted by: Indy at September 23, 2005 03:34 PM
Just a question. Why did you find Kennedy and Schumer that much better?
I certainly understand your anger, particularly if you are from LA, but why this exception for them?
May be I am naive to ask this question, but I figured I'd ask rather than staying ignorant.
You want a dream candidate...?
Put up Bobby Kennedy Jr. with Edwards Obama and Clark in the immediate leadership.
That is one Kennedy who knows the score of a game not fought for. He can not help but rise to great hieghts..its in his blood.
TODAY FROM Talking Points Memo:
For all of us who criticize from the sidelines, sometimes it's hard to appreciate the sort of tireless, behind-the-scenes efforts that the White House puts into into screwing the middle class and abandoning those displaced and uprooted by Katrina.
From the LAT ...
Two days after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced plans to issue emergency vouchers aimed at helping poor storm victims find new housing quickly by covering as much as $10,000 of their rent.
But the department suddenly backed away from the idea after White House aides met with senior HUD officials. Although emergency vouchers had been successfully used after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the administration focused instead on a plan for government-built trailer parks, an approach that even many Republicans say would concentrate poverty in the very fashion the government has long sought to avoid.
A similar struggle has occurred over how to provide healthcare to storm victims. White House officials are quietly working to derail a proposal by leading Republican and Democratic senators to temporarily expand Medicaid. Instead, the administration is pushing a narrower plan that would not commit the government to covering certain groups of evacuees.
There's plenty more in the piece.
Just for the sake of discussion, and I'd be particularly eager to hear from TPM's right-leaning readers on this one, isn't the idea of giving rent vouchers to refugees rather than stacking them up in mobile housing projects something that folks on both sides of the aisle should be able to agree on?
On the hand, who gets to build and fit out the gazillion standard issue mobile homes? Halliburton residential? I guess that's the answer.
-- Josh Marshall
Posted by: Christy at September 23, 2005 03:50 PM
Bobby Kennedy Jr is great. Too bad that so many people do not care about environment on a day to day basis, but only when it becomes the thing to do to oppose Bush.
May be I am naive to ask this question, but I figured I'd ask rather than staying ignorant.
Posted by: Mass at September 23, 2005 03:38 PM
Changed my mind since this morning.
They ALL need to go. =]
No disrespect but I would rather focus on helping the victims of Katrina and Rita, and 2006. I have dream candidates too, but 2008 is a long way off. Let's put our blame, anger and energy where it should be. That is at this criminal and incompetent administration period.
Sandalow is one the best reporters we have. Check this out:
Katrina thrusts race & poverty onto national stage
Bush and Congress under pressure to act
Marc Sandalow, Washington Bureau Chief
Friday, September 23, 2005
Washington -- Searing images of destitute African Americans huddled on rooftops, freeway overpasses, and the floors of the Superdome and New Orleans Convention Center will remain vivid, for many Americans, long after the Gulf Coast is rebuilt.
Hurricane Katrina's winds ripped away barriers that kept one city's poor out of sight and, for most people, out of mind. As the world watched, the deadly storm thrust the nation's enormous economic disparities into plain view.
President Bush touched on the issue in his address to the nation last week and again at a prayer service at the National Cathedral. First lady Laura Bush talked about it in an interview this week. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have spoken forcefully about it on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Much as pictures of hoses and German shepherds turned on protesters shamed the nation into confronting racial prejudice in the 1960s, the image of impoverished hurricane victims waiting in vain for government help is forcing a national conversation on race and urban poverty.
"This is an important moment,'' said William Julius Wilson, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government who has written extensively on race and poverty.
Were it not for the natural disaster, "the tendency would be to question why 'those people' don't get their act together. The tendency would be to focus on individual shortcomings,'' Wilson said. "Katrina was an outside force everyone understands. There was great sympathy for the victims. (Americans) don't usually have the same feelings of sympathy or empathy if you just focus on the conditions of poverty in urban areas.''
As another storm barrels toward the Gulf Coast, there are already signs of lessons learned. Hundreds of buses have evacuated residents of Galveston, Texas, too poor to afford their own cars or transportation, a precautionary measure New Orleans didn't take.
Yet it remains a question whether New Orleans' calamity will become a turning point in the nation's attitude toward its urban poor, or another fleeting moment of concern. Riots in Detroit, Newark and Watts in the 1960s and the post-Rodney King riots in 1992 prompted a similar outcry to remake the inner city, but little action.
"One can always hope, but I worry this will be a repeat of that experience,'' said Alan Curtis, president of the Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation, which finances anti-poverty programs. "After the 1960 riots, there was a lot of talk and a lot of commissions, but there was no real sustained action.''
As political leaders and the news media turn their attention to the plight of the poor, there is wide disagreement over what to do. Bush has promoted his "ownership society,'' with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, while Democrats advocate an expansion of the social safety net with more spending on health care, education and job training.
Each side recognizes there is a heightened audience for the message. The conservative Heritage Foundation issued reports this week on how to help the poor through such favorite Republican ideas as school vouchers. The liberal Center for American Progress drew a standing-room-only crowd in Washington this week by inviting former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate in 2004, to discuss how Katrina exposed the "two Americas'' he talked about during the campaign.
"We know better, but we don't act because we don't want to look,'' Edwards said. "The Superdome made those people impossible to ignore, but we could look down the streets of every city in America and see enough poor and forgotten families to fill all the sports stadiums in America.''
Some advocates say no one should have been surprised by the poor underbelly of New Orleans, an impoverished segment whose counterparts could be found in almost every big city in the country.
"I was taken aback when reporters and others watching this tragedy were saying: 'This is not America,' '' said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland.
"I thought, 'Wait a minute. This is the America I know. This is the America that each and every member of the Congressional Black Caucus knows all too well.' ''
Poverty rates have grown in the United States during each of the past four years, with about 37 million Americans -- roughly one-eighth of the population -- living below the poverty line, which is defined as an individual earning less than $9,827 a year or a single parent with two children earning less than $15,219.
About 1 in 4 African Americans lives in poverty, and the poverty rate for black families headed by a single mother is almost 40 percent.
New Orleans ranks among the nation's poorest cities, with about a quarter of its residents living in poverty before Katrina struck. Louisiana's poverty rate is the second worst in the nation.
Not all of Katrina's victims were poor, and not all of New Orleans' afflicted were black. But the enormous hardship that befell poor blacks prompted Bush to mention their disproportionate suffering.
"This poverty has roots in generations of segregation and discrimination that closed many doors of opportunity,'' Bush said at a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance service a week ago.
"As we clear away the debris of a hurricane, let us also clear away the legacy of inequality. Let us deliver new hope to communities that were suffering before the storm. As we rebuild homes and businesses, we will renew our promise as a land of equality and decency.''
Many African Americans greeted Bush's words with great skepticism, saying there is nothing in his past to suggest a commitment to racial justice.
Ishmael Reed, the Oakland author and poet who has written extensively about African Americans, pointed to Bush's 2000 stump speech at Bob Jones University, where interracial dating was banned, to Bush's refusal to reject South Carolina's flying of the Confederate flag, and to rumors spread by the Bush campaign about Sen. John McCain's fathering a black child (the McCains have an adopted daughter from Bangladesh).
"If the Bush family didn't have such a track record of using racist appeals in campaigns, maybe people wouldn't be so suspicious of the government response to Katrina,'' Reed said. "It's going to take more than words.''
Bush proposed a homestead act to distribute federal land free of charge to poor residents to rebuild; "worker recovery accounts'' to provide $5,000 for hurricane victims to find job training, education or day care; and incentives for businesses to create jobs.
Yet few events have more starkly revealed the feelings of disenfranchisement among African Americans.
A nationwide NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed 7 in 10 African American respondents -- compared with 3 in 10 white respondents -- said the Bush administration would have responded with more urgency in New Orleans if the victims had been in white suburbs, rather than a predominately black inner city. A Gallup poll found only 21 percent of blacks surveyed believe Bush cares about black people.
"The same way that Sept. 11 has changed our perception of ourselves in the world, Hurricane Katrina should forever change the way we look at ourselves at home,'' said Lee, who has offered a plan in the House to eradicate domestic poverty by 2010. "This storm has torn down the curtain and exposed the bitter divide that poverty has wrought on our nation.''
Yet Lee is skeptical that the White House, or the GOP leadership in Congress, will sustain the sort of commitment they showed to combatting terrorism after Sept. 11.
Others believe the images may shake the nation's indifference toward poverty and force political leaders to take notice.
"The recovery and relocation process will take several years, and the press will likely monitor developments. That means people will be thinking about poverty and these poor victims for a while,'' said Wilson, the Harvard professor. "I think Bush is likely to talk about these problems for the rest of his presidency, because the recovery will take that long.
2006 and 2008 are foregone conclusions.
THAT is what Ohio taught us.
They will never just give it back.
This criminal admin. is caught now in the traps of its own deceptions, they are going down.
When they do we will need to understand who our leaders actually are. The ones to turn to will NOT be any of the ones weve relied on before.
WHY would we DARE trust untrustworthy people at this point...?
Im with Indy, they ALL need to go.
The clock has been reset to 1776, and that happened at 7:38 pm my time on Nov 2nd 2004.
When the bush falls as he is even now we will have to immediately fill that void. and no half empty half full bullcrap compromise.
Fire them all and start over.
Do I think fire them all is actually an option...?
Try this then..
Fire as many of them as possible. The ones we can PROVE has committed actual CRIMES against us, hand cuff them, put them on trial, and then provide them a decent hanging.
And this from I who am AGAINST the death penalty.
NOT FOR TREASON. If thier crime deserves only prison then CAGE THEM.
WHO will be the NEXT 40,000 left to DIE on our own soil...?
ONLY outrage is what made them act... You can say they would not have REALLY let all those WOMEN AND BABIES DIE right before our eyes... 5 days is DELIBERATE..only your COLLECTIVE SCREAMS got thier no good asses moving.
You can SAY they wouldnt have done it, not REALLY...
THEY DID TRY TO DO IT. They left them there to DIE on PURPOSE.
Playtime is OVER.
From a kos poster... He provides links to 3 key items with regard to election fraud and encourages action...
Stolen Election - Bush vulnerable - Kick 'em Now!
by A Rational Being [Subscribe]
Fri Sep 23rd, 2005 at 07:22:12 PDT
Seeing that Jimmy Carter says that Gore won 2000 ( http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Carter_says_Gore_won_2000_el_0922.html ) and the news about Diebold its time to re-open Ohio's debacle of the 2004 Presidential Election.
Mark Crispin Miller published a powerful indictment of the 2004 Ohio presidential election and the press' complicity, in Harpers Magazine's August issue. Fortunately, Harpers recently posted the full text of None Dare Call it Stolen here http://www.harpers.org/ExcerptNoneDare.html . While I cannot track down the number of Harpers Magazines distributed each month, I know that it is a relatively small number when compared to Time or News Week. (Update [2005-9-23 12:43:51 by A Rational Being]: Subscription is 220,000 Thanks Everybody Knows) That means that only a small fraction of the American population know about this injustice to our country.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/23/102212/765
He urges us to each send a copy of the Harpers article to everyone we know.
the intro from the article:
None Dare Call It Stolen
Ohio, the election, and America's servile press
Posted on Wednesday, September 7, 2005.
What actually happened in Ohio in 2004.
An excerpt from this report appeared in August 2005. The complete text appears below. Originally from August 2005. By Mark Crispin Miller.
http://www.harpers.org/ExcerptNoneDare.html
Check out this site...Lots of good stuff on election reform...
http://www.fairvote.org/?page=1
Can't wait to get to DC tomorrow and check out the Democracy Cell Project table at the Peace Festival! We have a very small contingent from our peace group, but we are psyched about going. I wish I could stay overnight, to see the whole concert, but I'm sure our group will head out around dinner time so we can get home before midnight.
Regarding the blog and tensions, revolution, and what not, instead of kumbaya, I'm hearing John Lennon singing "Give Peace a Chance", with a little "Revolution" throw in.
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/_/viewer.aspx?path=2/2c/&name=Kerry_Lennon.jpg
My knowledge is hampered by my ignorance on this issue, so bear with me... I need questions answered.
Is this picture ID for voting separate from a driver's license or state-issued photo ID? The info on links say many poor people do not even have a driver's license and they can't afford one. If they are part of the working poor, what have they used for their employer's tax forms to prove their identity? How do they cash their employer's checks without a photo ID? If they are part of the working (or non-working) poor who get either food stamps and/orstate medicaid (esp. for their children), what have they used for photo ID when they applied with social services?
Where I live one has to have a valid photo ID, which means a driver's license, or a state-issued photo ID card (looks similar to a driver's license, but different colors on the borders) in order to fulfill requirements for a couple of pieces of ID for tax forms when hired to work for someone (employers additionally accept birth certificates and Social Security cards for ID but one has to have a photo ID for tax purposes, although the employer can't ask for those ID forms until after the person is hired), and for cashing employer's or personal checks, or writing out a personal check at a store. Additionally, if one asks for help from social services, the county requires a mandatory certified copy of a birth certificate and photo ID and Social Security card/number for each member of the family for their files. There are multiple ways one must prove one's existence for varying circumstances, other than appearing in person and declaring one's identity. If not a driver's license with photo ID, then a state-issued photo ID for non-drivers is necessary.
I only had to produce my photo ID (driver's license) once after moving to a different voting precinct, and had to produce a utility bill addressed to me to prove the residence address matched the driver's license which then put me within the local voting precinct boundaries. After that, my name is on the same computer printout at the polling place every election, and I'm only asked if I'm already registered and then asked for my name (and, because there's someone else with the same name in my area, I'm asked which one I am so they can check me at my address off the list as already having voted). I always have my ID with me, but haven't been asked for it on election day after that first change of address because now my name is on the computer printout of registered voters for this precinct.
Is the proposed photo ID for voting separate from either a driver's license or state-issued photo ID??? If so, it's clearly a way of instituting a poll tax and should not be endorsed.
Christy 3:01 PM---LOL
Speaking of Edwards:
"The man is as cute as a white man can get, AND hes speaking with the spirit of Martin Luther King on his delicious lips..."
Interesting Indy that you bring up private motuaries. I posted last week about a private motuary company called SCI that was involved in a big scandel in Georgia dumping bodies in the woods and then getting a $100 million fine. They were the first of many Pioneers Indy at the public trough, awarded a contract in N.O. to start retrieving bodies, by Bush and Cheney's corrupt cronies. Haven't seen any posts here, though I have been a bit preocuupied with a hurricane and may have missed them, regarding Bill Frist and his inside trading of HCA stock. Why not? Our theme for the 2006 election should be to end the Republican Corruption and Croniism and clean up D.C.
If Chuck is out there could you please answer this simple question regarding another FEMA/Perry screwup.
Texas and Houston are the virtual energy capitals of the world. We have enormous refineries in Baytown, Pasadena and Texas City which aside from Bakersville Ca. are the largest locations of refined gasoline in this country if not the world. Why the hell can't Rick Perry and FEMA manage to get gasoline to the hundreds if not thousands of desperate motorists stranded on our highways and in harms way. Its another national disgrace and it has nothing to do with economic class. I filled up my tank, headed to Dallas and we decided to stop 50 miles outside of Houston b/c there was no frigin gasoline stations open anywere's w/i 100 miles of Houston if we should runout in our literally parking lot traffic. No refined gasoline available, None from America's energy capital literally a few miles down the road; what irony. What the hell would we do if there was another type of disaster, manmade instead of natural. Why the hell hasn't FEMA, Rick Perry and Chertoff had the brains to figure out that would happen.Its just like not knowing there would be folks stranded in the N.O. Convention Center but fortunately someone in our local media has spoken up and is now 15 hrs before a hurricane trying to fix it. Once again FEMA morons weren't ready for that problem, they were clueless.
What would these bozos have done during the millenium if instead of Al Gore being in charge of our millenium and computer planning it would have been Bush, Chertoff and Michael Brown in charge of planning the Y2K 1999 pending crisis instead of Al Gore who got zero recognition for his brilliant planning.
And why is it that I leave here for a brief amount of time and see others back to bashing JK and JE, who I plan to nonblindly work to get the '08 nomination? Again didn't we collectively decide to