So, let me start with a disclaimer. I don't have TV right now so all my news is coming from the internet radio station I listen to at work. I also check CNN and MSN and all that. Now to my point.
So I'm pretty sure we've established that I never really liked the president. But this week has sent me into a dimension of pissed off that I can't remember experiencing at another point in my life. I'm disgusted.
There is no reason this many people should have died. NO REASON. This wasn't a surprise attack. We knew this was coming. We knew days before that a hurricane was going to hit the Gulf Coast. So what do you do if you're the Governor of Louisiana? You send a letter to the president four days before it hits, requesting $5million to evacuate. Why? Because you know that 25% of your population lives below the poverty line and can't afford to get out on their own. So, if you're the president, how do you respond? You say no. Then go play golf.
So, let's issue a mandatory evacuation of the city, after everyone who can afford to do so on their own has already done so. But first, let's shut down Greyhound, the airport, and the trains. It's not like they can afford a ticket anyway.
So the storm hits, devastates, etc, just like a good hurricane would do. "Oh no, this is horrible. But don't worry, we'll pull through." But wait, you've slashed the budget for levee repair, maintenance, and upgrade by 80o pay for your daddy's war. Whoops. So they break, flood the city. Shocking.
So now 80 f NOLA is under water. People are sitting on their rooftops and crammed into a football stadium and convention center. No water, no food, no electricity. Then what? If you're the president, you wait a day, then fly over, and go back to your ranch. Then you go to Arizona to plug your new Rx drug plan, and play more golf. Then go to California and schmooze more buddies. Then back to DC after a well-deserved vacation.
In the meantime, what about FEMA? They deny anyone is at the Superdome until Thursday. THURSDAY. I knew the place was crammed on Tuesday evening, because the news media was all over it. So you have independent contractors and laborers volunteering to go down and help rescue. But wait, put them in a staging area and say, "We're gonna wait awhile on this."
So to recap. People are dying, bodies in the streets, rats eating the bodies, those still alive crammed worse than cattle in conditions I wouldn't wish on Osama Bin Laden. Then, four days later, you head down there for your goddamned photo-op. THEN you send in the relief. OH thank God, it's a miracle! Salvation is here.
Fuck. You.
He sat there, waiting for the perfect moment, to get his photo opportunity and let people die. "Oh well we didn't have the resources...." Bullshit. We evacuated lower Manhattan in a matter of HOURS on 9-11. Oh, wait. Those people weren't poor. Or black. Those people matter. This didn't happen in Florida last year. If there were 20,000 blonde white girls in the SuperDome, then this would be a non-issue.
This isn't Somalia. This is the fucking United States. These people aren't refugees, they're Americans. This is unacceptable. And, to be honest, it doesn't matter who the president is at this point. I would hope that citizens wouldn't tolerate this from any leader. This goes way beyond Republican/Democrat. This is a violation of fucking human rights.
Help was asked for a week ago. The governor tried to prepare. The mayor tried to prepare. But the poor city needed help, and the president and his red-tape cronies said no. They are directly responsible for the death of thousands.
Here's where I get childish and petty. But I can't express the amount of my frustration. I will bet money that he doesn't even know how to spell the name of the Pontchartrain. He came in to try and play hero, but this time no one believed his bullshit. The National Guard isn't around? Oh, that's cos we sent them to Iraq instead of more active military. Does no one else see how this entire administration has snowballed into something so out of control? We had better be damn grateful he can't do this for another four years. Am I the only one who sees this? Think back over his presidency. Think of the tragedies, injustice, etc. Now look at it in perspective, through the lens of what we now know. Thousands are dead, Americans and Middle Easterners alike, and it could have all been prevented. September 11th? We trained Al-Qaeda and gave them guns....and by we, I mean Bush, Sr. Look at the big picture. It's sad that we open our eyes only when our own citizens are affected on American soil. Wake the fuck up.
