|
pinkpleasures -> RE: "Acts of God" Riddle (9/2/2005 12:09:54 PM)
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: Mercnbeth
quote:
I'm kinda surprised that no one has resurrected this thread in the light of the hurricane.
Interestingly, god was used by both the sides of the political and moral battle. Initially someone from the left noted that Mississippi, and Alabama were harder hit because they were "Red-States", and New Orleans "spared" with the late right turn because it was a "Blue-State". Then when the flood hit after the levees broke, it was god "punishing" the City because of a Gay Parade scheduled there.
Wondering if I should be worried about a 8.0 Earthquake when I attend the Folsom Street Fair in SF at the end of the month.
It is the lack of leadership causing most of the suffering in New Orleans. The "usual suspects" are all fighting for TV time. Politicians (local & national), environmentalists, minority "leaders", evangelists, FEMA; they all are positioning while people die.
It's more evident than ever; we have NO leadership in this country. They couldn't conduct a public opinion pool quick enough to determine what they should do. As a result they do nothing! Once the first shot was fired on the medical relief groups Marshall Law should have gone into effect.
The effect of this disaster will be long term and far reaching. The first domino has fallen, and the rest are ready to fall. Fifteen percent of our domestic oil and gas supply was wiped out. Already lines are forming at gas stations in the southeast. Hurricane season isn't over. Right behind that, we have winter coming. Yet, the rest of the country, especially here in LA, goes about their daily routine blindly naive. Just this morning after 15 minutes of "Tragedy Coverage" the local news sent it over to it's buxom weather girl (the one that does the Sunday NFL weather) who giggles embarrassingly while reporting "If those people would have only come here - the weather will be in the 70's and clear ALL weekend for the big Labor Day Holiday!"
What's this have to do with god? Damn if I know! But I'm so pissed off at seeing the lack of action, so angry at decisions being made come at the end of public opinion polls, so amazed that we allow people to rationalize that the looting and mayhem we are witnessing is the fault of everyone else EXCEPT the people actually doing the looting and mayhem. The logic of stealing a DVD or TV in an area with no food or water, let alone electricity to plug in the damn thing. But the Black Caucus, Jessie Jackson, and Al Sharpton, resplendent in the $3,000 suits, would use the occasion to blame and point fingers to insight. Leadership would have been better illustrated by just saying, STOP killing each other! STOP putting yourself in a position to be killed by looting goods that you don't need, can't use, and won't feed your hunger or quench your thirst.
If that's perceived as a racist comment, than the core point is illustrated - It's NEVER the fault of the person doing the act, it's the situation he/she were put. Without self accountability there is NO civilization. It goes back to the post I made a few pages back. If religion serves any purpose it is to create an environment of responsibility without daily oversight. Well I think we are witnessing the consequence of that concept breaking down. I don't think it would be any different in the white-ist part of Idaho. Without fear of consequence, humanity resorts to it's primitive "survival of the fittest" savage mentality.
Lack of leadership is what provided the opportunity in this case. And of course $$$ comes into the picture. Let's look at some very recent history regarding the city of New Orleans. But environmentalists keep in mind, for every one foot in height of a levee it takes three feet of wetlands in width. I'm sure some blind salamander types would have bit the bullet. Anyway...
quote:
Both the Bush and Clinton administrations proposed budgets that low-balled the needs. Local politicians grabbed whatever money they could and declared victory. And the public didn't exactly demand tax increases to pay for flood-control and hurricane-protection projects.
Just last year, the Army Corps of Engineers sought $105 million for hurricane and flood programs in New Orleans. The White House slashed the request to about $40 million. Congress finally approved $42.2 million, less than half of the agency's request.
Yet the lawmakers and Bush agreed to a $286.4 billion pork-laden highway bill that included more than 6,000 pet projects for lawmakers. Congress spent money on dust control for Arkansas roads, a warehouse on the Erie Canal and a $231 million bridge to a small, uninhabited Alaskan island.
How could Washington spend $231 million on a bridge to nowhere -- and not find $42 million for hurricane and flood projects in New Orleans? It's a matter of power and politics. Alaska is represented by Republican Rep. Don Young, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, and Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, a senior member of the all-important Senate Appropriations Committee. Louisiana's delegation holds far less sway.
Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/nationworld/articles/1808947.html
It would be an interesting debate if the people in American desire a Hitler-like figure to just take charge. That type of authoritarian figure fills the "law & order" vacuum. The pragmatic decisions will be cheered. "We need lower gas prices." - Nationalize the oil industry and fix prices. It's a VERY dangerous time. L & M, One of the points we disagree is the need for a "Plan". I feel Kerry's loss was due to only solving half the equation. The deficiencies he pointed out regarding Bush and his regime may have been correct, but his lack at detail on the solution was what made him come up short.
Man - WHAT A RAMBLING RANT! And I don't feel any better at all!
God? DAMN them ALL !
Edited, because I was ranting faster than I was spelling and grammering.
quote:
The logic of stealing a DVD or TV in an area with no food or water, let alone electricity to plug in the damn thing. But the Black Caucus, Jessie Jackson, and Al Sharpton, resplendent in the $3,000 suits, would use the occasion to blame and point fingers to insight.
Sir..and miss...there are good people in politics as well as other maligned professions who seek to alleviate suffering and bring order back to a devastated area. There are also the evil; the dim; the opportunists. After Hurricane Andrew, a lot of people packed up their pickups and drove to the devastated area, and stole people's insurance checks with no more than a promise to return the following day and begin putting a roof on a house.
The Insurance Commissioner at the time, Tom Gallagher, brought the forces available to bear on the problem of insurance fraud; looting; lack of supplies; etc. Those of us under his command worked like dogs for months. A great deal was learnt from that disaster but i do not see this wisdom being applied to New Orleans, which has not even a source of law and order.
And Sir...and miss...i would not cobble together the Black Caucus with either Jesse Jackson or -- Gawd forbid -- Al Sharpton. African Americans do have legitimate, reflective, thoughful leaders, such as Bruce Gordon, current president of the NAACP.
http://www.naacp.org/about/leadership_president_corner.html
The aftermath of the storm on New Orleans will depend a great deal on the activities of the government...we can only hope that the government is persuaded to act for the people, and not those who seek to profiteer.
pinkpleasures
|
|
|
|
