Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
One of America's greatest cities is lost. The Big Easy, for all intents and purposes, is gone. It's done, history. Looking at footage of the devastation there, it's hard to imagine that it will ever be back to what it once was; or indeed, if it will ever be back at all. The more I think about it, the more I realize what an enormous loss this is. The Gumbo Shop, Antoine's, Tujague's, Storyville, Pat O'Brien's, Jean Lafitte's, The Court of Two Sisters, Acme Oyster House (God! Acme Oyster House!!), Commander's Palace, Emeril's, The French Market, K-Paul's... Mardi Gras. Bourbon Street. Jackson Square. The Jazz Festival. The St. Charles streetcars. Anne Rice's house in the Garden District. Canal Street. Riverwalk. Tulane. Loyola. Dixieland jazz. Zydeco. Jax Brewery. Marie Leveaux's.
And so much more (and that's not to mention the destruction in Mississippi and Alabama). All of it is now under water or otherwise ruined. It's lost, and the number of dead has yet to be calculated. Most people estimate that the number will be in the thousands, but it will be weeks before we know. Up to a million or more people are now refugees, many of them left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. What will happen to them? No one yet knows.
You'd think that an administration that claims to be so worried about preventing terrorist attacks might -- just might -- have some kind of contingency plan in place for a disaster on this scale. After all, what if all this destruction had been caused not by a hurricane (which should have been anticipated and planned for in the first place), but by a bomb or some other kind of attack? Wasn't there a plan in place to help rescue and remove people as quickly as possible? Apparently not. Just this morning, Preznit Out of Touch with Reality told Diane Sawyer, "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." This quote is right up there with Condi Rice's testimony to the 9/11 Commission when she said, "No one anticipated the kinds of strikes that took place in New York and at the Pentagon."
Bush isn't the only one who is clueless on the matter. Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff made this comment today: "The critical thing was to get people out of there before the disaster," he said on NBC's Today program. "Some people chose not to obey that order. That was a mistake on their part."
Gee, Michael, do you think maybe that's because there are a lot of poor people with no access to transportation there? Or would that idea even occur to someone as out of touch as you are?
At least one victim says that "President Bush ain't doing his job." He isn't, and there is plenty of evidence for that point of view.
This is a president and administration that is as clueless as it is heartless and cruel. In fact, some of the blame for the extent of the damage lies squarely at the feet of these mismanagers. It was the Bush maladministration, after all, that drastically cut funding for flood and disaster preparedness in Louisiana, simply so they could more easily finance their huge tax cuts for the wealthy and fund the ongoing bloody debacle in Iraq. (And speaking of that -- how many National Guard troops that would otherwise be available to help out right now are instead in the Middle East risking their lives for Bush's lies and Halliburton's obscene war profiteering?)
And just where has Preznit Lucky Me, I Hit the Trifecta been while this disaster has unfolded? We get reports that he cut his vacation short by a whole two days. Whoa. Easy there, cowboy. We read about him sharing a birthday cake with John McCain, or getting presented with a guitar after his ridiculous speech in San Diego in which he compared the war in Iraq to WWII. (And, presumably, himself to FDR. Here's a memo, Dumbfuckya: FDR was only physically handicapped; he was intelligent and compassionate and a great president. You, on the other hand, have not one ounce of empathy for anyone or curiosity about the world around you, you are mentally and morally handicapped, and you are exponentially, logarithmically the single worst president this country has ever had the misfortune of having to endure.)
Thanks for nothing, you bastards. You clueless fucks.
Naturally, the loudmouth "Christian" wingers have plenty to say about the devastation, too: they believe it's God's retribution for abortions and homosexuality. What is it with these small-minded hate-mongers? Before the hurricane struck, we had Pat Robertson openly calling for the assassination of a legitimately-elected foreign leader, and the ever-vile Fred Phelps and his gang of gay-bashers protesting at the funerals of American servicemen. Have they even read their own book? I'm not a Christian (not by any stretch of the imagination), but I do know something about the tenets of the religion they claim to adhere to, and it looks nothing to me like what they advocate.
I have to admit, I'm still just a bit in shock over the whole thing. I know a few people in the area, and as I was writing this, I received this letter from a young woman who lives in Louisiana:
"I'm ok. I'm at work right now. We're scared. They've closed down downtown because of riots at the Rivercenter where the refugees are. I had my ex husband pick up Kaileigh because it's not safe for her to be here. Her daycare is a shelter right now. 4 people were shot in Denham Springs over gas. That's where i'm from. My friend is bringing me my gun so that i can have it with me on the ride home."
I can't even imagine what it's like to be living on the Gulf Coast right now. The thought of feeling like you have to have a gun with you to travel safely is chilling.
Unless you're in a position right now to go to Louisiana or Mississippi or Alabama and volunteer, about all we can do is hope, pray if you do that sort of thing, and donate any kind of time, money, blood or supplies that you can.
***UPDATE*** Look here for concrete evidence that this disaster has been exacerbated by the Bush maladministration and its mismanaging ways (tip of the Generik cap to lil_amish Teresa for that).
*****
Louisiana
And so much more (and that's not to mention the destruction in Mississippi and Alabama). All of it is now under water or otherwise ruined. It's lost, and the number of dead has yet to be calculated. Most people estimate that the number will be in the thousands, but it will be weeks before we know. Up to a million or more people are now refugees, many of them left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. What will happen to them? No one yet knows.
You'd think that an administration that claims to be so worried about preventing terrorist attacks might -- just might -- have some kind of contingency plan in place for a disaster on this scale. After all, what if all this destruction had been caused not by a hurricane (which should have been anticipated and planned for in the first place), but by a bomb or some other kind of attack? Wasn't there a plan in place to help rescue and remove people as quickly as possible? Apparently not. Just this morning, Preznit Out of Touch with Reality told Diane Sawyer, "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." This quote is right up there with Condi Rice's testimony to the 9/11 Commission when she said, "No one anticipated the kinds of strikes that took place in New York and at the Pentagon."
Bush isn't the only one who is clueless on the matter. Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff made this comment today: "The critical thing was to get people out of there before the disaster," he said on NBC's Today program. "Some people chose not to obey that order. That was a mistake on their part."
Gee, Michael, do you think maybe that's because there are a lot of poor people with no access to transportation there? Or would that idea even occur to someone as out of touch as you are?
At least one victim says that "President Bush ain't doing his job." He isn't, and there is plenty of evidence for that point of view.
This is a president and administration that is as clueless as it is heartless and cruel. In fact, some of the blame for the extent of the damage lies squarely at the feet of these mismanagers. It was the Bush maladministration, after all, that drastically cut funding for flood and disaster preparedness in Louisiana, simply so they could more easily finance their huge tax cuts for the wealthy and fund the ongoing bloody debacle in Iraq. (And speaking of that -- how many National Guard troops that would otherwise be available to help out right now are instead in the Middle East risking their lives for Bush's lies and Halliburton's obscene war profiteering?)
And just where has Preznit Lucky Me, I Hit the Trifecta been while this disaster has unfolded? We get reports that he cut his vacation short by a whole two days. Whoa. Easy there, cowboy. We read about him sharing a birthday cake with John McCain, or getting presented with a guitar after his ridiculous speech in San Diego in which he compared the war in Iraq to WWII. (And, presumably, himself to FDR. Here's a memo, Dumbfuckya: FDR was only physically handicapped; he was intelligent and compassionate and a great president. You, on the other hand, have not one ounce of empathy for anyone or curiosity about the world around you, you are mentally and morally handicapped, and you are exponentially, logarithmically the single worst president this country has ever had the misfortune of having to endure.)
Thanks for nothing, you bastards. You clueless fucks.
Naturally, the loudmouth "Christian" wingers have plenty to say about the devastation, too: they believe it's God's retribution for abortions and homosexuality. What is it with these small-minded hate-mongers? Before the hurricane struck, we had Pat Robertson openly calling for the assassination of a legitimately-elected foreign leader, and the ever-vile Fred Phelps and his gang of gay-bashers protesting at the funerals of American servicemen. Have they even read their own book? I'm not a Christian (not by any stretch of the imagination), but I do know something about the tenets of the religion they claim to adhere to, and it looks nothing to me like what they advocate.
I have to admit, I'm still just a bit in shock over the whole thing. I know a few people in the area, and as I was writing this, I received this letter from a young woman who lives in Louisiana:
"I'm ok. I'm at work right now. We're scared. They've closed down downtown because of riots at the Rivercenter where the refugees are. I had my ex husband pick up Kaileigh because it's not safe for her to be here. Her daycare is a shelter right now. 4 people were shot in Denham Springs over gas. That's where i'm from. My friend is bringing me my gun so that i can have it with me on the ride home."
I can't even imagine what it's like to be living on the Gulf Coast right now. The thought of feeling like you have to have a gun with you to travel safely is chilling.
Unless you're in a position right now to go to Louisiana or Mississippi or Alabama and volunteer, about all we can do is hope, pray if you do that sort of thing, and donate any kind of time, money, blood or supplies that you can.
***UPDATE*** Look here for concrete evidence that this disaster has been exacerbated by the Bush maladministration and its mismanaging ways (tip of the Generik cap to lil_amish Teresa for that).
*****
Louisiana
What had happened down there was the wind had changed
Cloud rolled in from the north and it started to rain
It rained real hard and it rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
The river rose all day, the river rose all night
Some got lost in the flood, some got away all right
The river busted through clear down to Plaquemine
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
Louisiana, Louisiana
They’re tryin’ to wash us away
They’re tryin’ to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They’re tryin’ to wash us away
They’re tryin’ to wash us away
President Coolidge come down in a railroad train
With a little fat man with a notepad in his hand.
President say, “Little fat man, isn’t it a shame
What the river has done to this poor cracker’s land?”
Louisiana, Louisiana
They’re tryin’ to wash us away
They’re tryin’ to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They’re tryin’ to wash us away
They’re tryin’ to wash us away
They’re tryin’ to wash us away
They’re tryin’ to wash us away
-- Randy Newman
posted by Generik at 9:04 AM
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