Below is a copy of a letter I e-mailed to the Post Star yesterday. I think it speaks for itself...
Editor,
In a post 9/11 world one would think that the United States would be better prepared for a national crisis. Hurricane Katrina has demonstrated that we are not prepared at all. It took almost one week for FEMA and the National Guard to respond to the thousands of Americans stranded in New Orleans. One week. American citizens. Stranded without food or water or medical supplies. For one week!
I still have trouble wrapping my head around this. This painfully slow response to a national crisis is unacceptable and the people responsible need to be called to account. Perhaps if our military choppers and National Guard were at home and not in Iraq, we could have responded more promptly. Perhaps if our president had not lied to us about WMDs and involved us in the mess in Iraq, we might have been able to get help where and when it was needed. Maybe if this administration had listened to the scientific community when they warned the government about the effects of global warming, they might have better prepared the country for a catastrophe of this magnitude.
But not everybody in America is suffering. Big oil companies have reported record profits. Say, isn't the war in Iraq about oil? No, that's preposterous. It's about revenge for the attacks against us on 9/11/2001. No wait, it wasn't Iraq who bombed us. I guess it is about oil, George W. Bush being a former oil man and all. I'll bet his rich cronies in the oil business are pretty happy with the president's performance during this latest crisis. At least the ones who don't have family in New Orleans.
George W. Bush and his administration have failed the country at every level. And before you think this letter is just about Republican bashing, I feel that the Democrats have failed us as well. If the Democratic Party had found a spine and opposed the Republicans the way they should have over the past eight years, the world would not be in the mess it is today. I'll say one thing for the Republicans, at least they have a clear message (even if it is a selfish and fearful one).
John Michael Decker
Queensbury, New York
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
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
November 18th, 2005 8:01 pm
The American Majority
Below is a sampling of recent polls on Bush's war with Iraq. Full data can be found at PollingReport.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMERICA DISAPPROVES
CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, November 11-13, 2005
"Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation in Iraq?"
63% Disapprove | 35% Approve
Newsweek Poll, November 10-11, 2005
"Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation in Iraq?"
65% Disapprove | 30% Approve
AP/Ipsos Poll, November 7-9, 2005
When it comes to Iraq, do you approve or disapprove or have mixed feelings about the way George W. Bush is handling that issue?
62% Disapprove | 36% Approve
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll, November 4-7, 2005
"In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is doing in handling the situation in Iraq?"
64% Disapprove | 32% Approve
ABC News/Washington Post Poll, October 30 - November 2, 2005
"Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation in Iraq?"
64% Disapprove | 36% Approve
CBS News Poll, October 30 - November 1, 2005
"Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation with Iraq?"
62% Disapprove | 32% Approve
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WAR WAS A MISTAKE
CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, November 11-13, 2005
"In view of the developments since we first sent our troops to Iraq, do you think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, or not?"
54% Made a mistake | 45% Did not make a mistake
CBS News Poll, October 30 - November 1, 2005
"Looking back, do you think the United States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, or should the U.S. have stayed out?"
50% Should have stayed out | 42% Did right thing
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WAR WASN'T WORTH IT
CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, November 11-13, 2005
"All in all, do you think it was worth going to war in Iraq, or not?"
60% Not worth going to war | 38% Worth going to war
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll, November 4-7, 2005
"When it comes to the war in Iraq, do you think that removing Saddam Hussein from power was or was not worth the number of U.S. military casualties and the financial cost of the war?"
52% Not worth it | 40% worth it
ABC News/Washington Post Poll, October 30 - November 2, 2005
"All in all, considering the costs to the United States versus the benefits to the United States, do you think the war with Iraq was worth fighting, or not?"
60% Not worth fighting | 39% Worth fighting
CBS News Poll, October 30 - November 1, 2005
"Do you think the result of the war with Iraq was worth the loss of American life and other costs of attacking Iraq, or not?"
64% Not worth it | 31% Worth it
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BASTARDS LIED
Newsweek Poll, November 10-11, 2005
"Do you think Dick Cheney deliberately misused or manipulated pre-war intelligence about Iraq's nuclear capabilities in order to build support for war with Iraq, or did not deliberately misuse pre-war intelligence?"
52% Misused | 33% Did not misuse
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll, November 4-7, 2005
"Do you think President Bush gave the country the most accurate information he had before going to war with Iraq, or do you think President Bush deliberately misled people to make the case for war with Iraq?"
57% Misled | 35% Most accurate
Pew Research Center Poll, November 3-6, 2005
"Before the war the U.S. and Britain claimed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. These weapons have not been found. Why do you think they made this claim? Was it mostly because they were themselves misinformed by bad intelligence, or was it mostly because they lied to provide a reason for invading Iraq?"
43% They lied | 41% They were misinformed
ABC News/Washington Post Poll, October 30 - November 2, 2005
"In making its case for war with Iraq, do you think the Bush Administration told the American public what it believed to be true, or intentionally misled the American public?"
55% Intentionally misled | 44% What it believed to be true
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WE DON'T TRUST YOU
AP/Ipsos Poll, November 7-9, 2005
Now I'm going to read you some words that might be used to describe a person. As I read each word, please tell me whether you think the word describes George W. Bush, or not.
Stubborn: 82% Yes | 17% No
Ethical: 47% Yes | 51% No
Honest: 42% Yes | 57% No
ABC News/Washington Post Poll, October 30 - November 2, 2005
Please tell me whether the following statement applies to Bush or not:
a. He understands the problems of people like you?
Yes: 34% | No: 66%
b. He is a strong leader
Yes: 47% | No: 53%
c. He can be trusted in a crisis
Yes: 49% | No: 49%
d. He is honest and trustworthy
Yes: 40% | No: 58%
e. He shares your values
Yes: 40% | No: 58%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRING 'EM HOME
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll, November 4-7, 2005
"Do you think that the United States should maintain its current troop level in Iraq to help secure peace and stability, or should the United States reduce its number of troops now that Iraq has adopted a constitution?"
57% Reduce number | 36% Maintain level
ABC News/Washington Post Poll, October 30 - November 2, 2005
"Do you think the number of U.S. military forces in Iraq should be increased, decreased, or kept about the same?"
47% Decreased | 36% Same | 15% Increase
CBS News Poll, October 30 - November 1, 2005
"Should the United States troops stay in Iraq as long as it takes to make sure Iraq is a stable democracy, even if it takes a long time, or should U.S. troops leave Iraq as soon as possible, even if Iraq is not completely stable?"
50% Leave ASAP | 43% Stay as long as it takes
Post a Comment