By Beauty Damned

Travesty

This Hurricane Katrina situation is nothing short of a total nightmare.

Do all you Bush supporting republicans out there feel satisfied that we've spent so much money and spread our troops so thin supposedly avenging the deaths of 3,000 people who died here in New York? Is it all worth it? Was it worth it to view "terrorism" as the number one threat to civilization while totally ignoring the prospect of a devastating natural disaster?

War is so fucking pointless.

They say we're "fighting for freedom," "fighting for peace," "fighting for justice..." it's all such a load of crap. Less wars mean less people die. Natural disasters worry me more than terrorism. Global warming and loss of oxygen in the atmosphere worry me more than terrorism. The depletion of the ozone layer, the mercury in our water, the carbon monoxide in our air, the rape of precious natural habitats and resources, negligence towards the poor and disenfranchised, corporate and government corruption, religious fundamentalism in politics, AIDS, cancer, car accidents, violence towards women and children, and HURRICANES THAT WIPE OUT ENTIRE COASTLINES and thousands of human beings...all worry me more than terrorism.

While all our resources are tied up in Iraq, the people of Louisiana struggle to survive, or alternatively, fail to survive altogether.

Michael Moore brilliantly addresses the president:

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

Darcie called me because she needed to talk about what's going on. We lived in New Orleans a couple years ago. My stay was brief, only a couple months, but she was there for about six months before that. We both developed a deep attachment to Louisiana. It's sad to think that the streets we so freely explored a couple years ago are now flooded, racked with chaos, hunger, loss, desperation, death. I am worried about the dead bodies, the disease, the hunger, about the lack of adequate aid, and finally, about the racism that is ensuing in the media. While white folks "find" food and water, black people "loot" food and water. What the hell would you do? Motherfucker, if I was out there, I would steal food, water and blankets too!!!! I wouldn't think twice about it. We are human beings and we are going to fight to survive. It makes me sick that people are so preoccupied with the crime of looting when the damage to lives and homes and civilization is so profound. Violence needs to be prevented and people need to be rescued, but if shit is getting stolen from retail establishments, I think that pretty much comes with the territory and the media could give it a rest and focus on what really matters, which is helping those who are injured and desperate, and burying those who are dead.

I have been through the projects and outskirts of New Orleans. It's not pretty on a regular day. I can only imagine the suffering that people are facing in Louisiana right now, let alone those who had nothing to begin with.

And may I say that our president, who has presided over and been responsible on one level or another for some of the worst news of my lifetime, has really failed this time around as far as responding quickly. Total fucking schmuck.

Posted by Maria at September 2, 2005 10:49 AM | TrackBack