Another Interesting Take on Katrina - Author Unknown

In 1927, a major unnamed hurricane struck the city of New Orleans . It was actually more powerful than Katrina. The scope of damage was much more severe because this particular hurricane actually hit the city. Katrina missed it by 25 miles. The interesting difference is the response the government gave in 1927 to those hurricane refugees, compared to the refugees of Katrina, err- I meant "survivors" ---(sorry Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson). How much aid did the government dispense at that time? Zero, nada, not one dime. And you know how much aid the army offered? The only aid from the army came in the form of loaning the city of New Orleans tents and camp stoves. Ironically, later, the army sued the city for reimbursement. So what was the big difference here? It was the attitude the people had towards the government at that time, compared to the attitude that Katrina's victims have. The 1927 "survivors" expected nothing from the government. 80 years ago, people understood that the government was there to "protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Today, Americans expect the government to "provide life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." That's a major difference. And now, a week later, when the government failed on all three levels of local, state, and federal to provide for their needs, Americans were sorely disappointed. Reverend Jackson and reverend Sharpton spend their opportunities arguing about semantics."They shouldn't be called refugees, they should be called survivors" Unfortunately, they missed the boat. It was a perfect opportunity to deliver a very basic m! essage to their people. Fact, if you are poor and uneducated in America, this is what happens. Fact, if you depend on the government, you will be sorely disappointed. Fact, if you are poor in America, there is no reason for you to be uneducated. Its free! 12 grades. And if you really apply yourself, there is enough grants and assistance out there for higher education, which will raise you above the poverty level. And no longer will you depend on the government and be disappointed. Its unfortunate that this lesson will be missed by most of the "survivors". A couple of other points should be brought to light. G. W. has asked the congress for 50 billion dollars worth of aid for the "survivors" and clean up of the city. Interesting isn't it? one million people displaced and out of work in that city, sitting all da! y in shelters, waiting for the next handout. Of course, the thought never occurred to anyone that just maybe, "hey, we should give all these folks jobs filling sand bags to plug the levees and clearing trees." (Wonder how many of them would want government aid if they had to work for it?) And finally, they haven't hardly begun the task of picking up dead bodies, and already the finger pointing has started. The congressional hearings and probes will go forever. Millions will be spent on a wasted diatribe of a bipartisan "witch hunting expedition"- all of which will be nonsense. If you're a democrat, you are going to blame the president. If you are a republican, you are going to blame the mayor and the governor. This is another case in point of how th! e government will once again fail its people, they could have spent the millions educating the poor and misplaced citizens of New Orleans so that they could go out and get a new and better life, instead of wasting it on useless blame investigations.

One of the sweetest sites I have found in a while

Today I found a sweet web site. In fact, every since I got home from work, I have been playing around with what I printed off. The site is called papertoys.com. Check it out! It is full of paper models of cars, buildings, etc. Just today I put together models of the White House, Wrigley Field, a school bus, and part of the World Trade Center. The coolest thing about this site is that all of the models are absolutely free, no memberships, nothing. All you have to do is print the model out on your printer and make it. I would suggest finding some card stock paper, but everything I built I just used regular printer paper. I hope you find the site as enjoyable as I did.

How Much Can A President Really Do?

I found this article in the Kokomo Tribune today and I really feel that this guy is right on in his thinking.

President Bush Isn't Mayor of America by: Mike Moran
When I voted for Bush last November, I voted for a president of the United States. I didn't vote for a mayor of America. There is a difference. Katrina seems to have gotten a lot of people confused. Could FEMA have done better? Yes, but that could and should be said of every person in leadership. It is totally unfair to put all the blame on Bush and the federal government, but that seems to have happened. After Sept. 11, 2001, America pulled together; we went to churches and prayed. After Katrina some people pointed an angry fist at God and said how could you let this happen. Bush became an easy target as he always is to the media. I will be very surprised if he comes out and tries to divert blame to the governor of Louisiana or the mayor of New Orleans. I will ask where their culpability is. Why is it always Washington that is blamed when evacuations were ordered and buses sat unused, when a governor refused to even send National Guard troops? Do you believe that the federal response to Katrina was faster than the last three hurricanes? It was! A former USAF logistics officer said "The United States military can wipe out the Taliban and Iraqi Republican Guard far more swiftly than they can bring 3 million Swanson dinners to an underwater city through an area the size of Great Britain which has no power, no working ports or airports, and a devastated and impassable road network." Why didn't the Feds pre-position supplies since they knew Katrina was bearing down on the Gulf Coast? You don't want to risk the supplies being destroyed by the storm - that's why! Roughly now, the size of the disaster area is three times the size of Indiana. Imagine every house in our state destroyed. Roads impassable, no electricity, everything south of I-64 under water. The closest usable airports were near St. Louis or Columbus, Ohio. I think they've done pretty good and what is most despicable is to introduce the race card. While it is so predictable from a certain segment of our political area, it is no more distasteful that those kinds of people need to cause divisions in our social fabric. The Jesse Jackson's of the nation need to foist these misconceptions and outright lies on us to advance their positions. Is America giving out of guilt or a sincere desire to help our fellow Americans? You have to answer that for yourself.

Bush Hates Black People Part II

Since I read the article about what Kayne West said concerning George Bush I have thought about it more. Kayne's biggest criticism was and is that the media portrays African American "black" people as being the plunderers and looters and the white people as stealing useful goods needed for survival. Well, after thinking about it I have some advice. "Stop waiting for the government and the media to change their ways and instead point fingers at your own brothers and sisters. " In other words "PEER DISCIPLINE!". This advice is not only for my African American brothers and sisters, but also white, Hispanic, oriental, Arab, etc. If you feel like your ethnic group is being singled out that's because someone of your ethnicity has given them (the news media) something to smear all over the press. If we all do our parts in being tough on our friends and relatives when they are wrong, then there won't be anything negative for the news to write about. Sure, it sounds like a big task, but change starts with you and me first.

"Bush Hates Black People?"

Well, as you have probably heard all over the news, according to Kayne West, Bush hates black people. I understand he has his right to an opinion, but at the same time, that is the kind of racist bull that many African American's complain about every day. If I got on live television and said that Rev. Jesse Jackson hates President George Bush I would be flogged. West, needs to get his facts straight. Bush is not the problem. George Bush is not the only leader involved in the decisions that are being made there in Louisiana, and I KNOW he is not in control of the news media (which is very left winged and liberal, read "The News Twisters" by Edith Efron, who is a liberal) whom Kayne is claiming is showing white people and saying they are looking for food and the African American people are looting and stealing goods. I am not saying that Bush does everything right, I'm just saying don't make this a racial issue. It appears to be a racial issue because there are so many more African American people living in the New Orleans community than there are Caucasian people. Lastly, West, you make a terrible sales person. You're suppose to win your audience over, not tick them off.

Praying For Our Troops

I have a friend who is in Iraq. Hopefully he will be coming home soon. From all of the stories I have heard about his experiences there our prayers have really made a difference. I can't even imagine what it must be like knowing that every time you walk outside you could be the next person killed or wounded by a sniper, land mine, or car bomb. Especially when people you worked with every day are no longer there because they have been killed. The terrorists don't use conventional means of warfare, they do not play by the rules because they have no rules to live by except to disrupt any form of peace and stability. It is their goal in life to make everyone afraid of them so that they have full control. It is sad, they not only fight against our soldiers, but they also kill their own people with no restraint against innocent women and children. I am so thankful to live in a country where most people have moral standards and respect for human life. Thank you to all military personal that protect and defend the homeland everyday by putting their lives on the line. God Bless You and God Bless the USA!
P.S. Were praying for you Nathan. Hang in there!