Can I tell you how saddened I am by Hurricane Katrinna and her aftermath? The destruction of so many cities and lives. Including those who aren't talked about who reside in the long shadow of New Orleans. The towns of coastal Mississippi who are STILL waiting for help 8 days later. I am relieved my family members got out. Their homes are destroyed in New Orleans, but they were able to evacuate before Katrinna hit. Ironically, New Orleans was fine in the immediate aftermath of Katrinna. George Bush declared it a federal disaster zone on Monday, BEFORE the levees had even been breached and the flooding began in earnest. What saddens me is the irresponsibility of the media in situations like these. Liberals, whose sole purpose is to promote their own agenda in the face of tragedy. Was everything done right? Of course not. But is it fair to point a finger at ONE man and blame him for all of this? NO!!! So, you hate the president, FINE! But please set aside your agendas, for now, and focus on the real issues! I agree that the Federal Response has been slow. But reality is, we are looking at a devastated area the size of the UK! That is huge. Reality is, there were some major shortcomings at the local and state level of government here. As I heard someone say, it was unrealistic to herd 30,000 people into the Superdome and then to realistically expect them to be evacuated within a few hours. This is a disaster, the likes of which we have never had to deal with. And ALL levels of our government could have done more! The mayor of New Orleans could have provided city busses to evacuate the poor and homeless 2 days before Katrinna hit. He didn't. The governer could have requested 'early response' action from FEMA before Katrinna hit. She didn't. The current administration could have granted the funds for the Gulf Coast restoration project in October of 2004. They didn't. This isn't any ONE person's fault. It shows the shortcomings of a nation. A nation with a great divide between classes. A nation with no national health care. A nation, who until now, has done well to hide her urban poor and homeless behind sleek buildings in huge cities. Reality has been uncovered. The question is NOT who is too blame, but rather, WHAT can we do to come together as a nation?
Those are just my random thoughts.
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