New Orleans Revisited

I wept and wept uncontrollably, as I listened to the first-hand account of one of the survivors of the Katrina disaster in New Orleans, which started one year ago today. The account spoke of the racist sheriffs who at gun point, either denied them access to neighboring communities above flood level, or who forced them from one shelter to another to avoid any build up of too many people in one place. It spoke about the lack of sanitation facilities, privacy, food, water, medical care and other necessities, that should have been provided, but were not. For five days they rambled about trying to find shelter, food, water etc., while waiting for buses that police officers swore were available, but were not. They spoke about being roused from temporary shelter underneath bridges on the highway, and having their precious little bit of water and food taken away by sheriffs who made them move on.
These are the people who did not leave because the could not. They did not have cars, money and other resources that would have enabled them to leave, like those who left the previous Saturday, when the mayor ordered the city to evacuate. I believe they were deliberately left to fend for themselves, because they were mostly Black and poor, and were also expendable because they were mostly Democratic voters rather than Republican. This is just a bit of the criminality, benign neglect and savagery engaged in by those in high places, while poor citizens struggled to live, and far too many suffered and died unnecessarily.
Will their be an accounting? Will those responsible be brought to justice? Did God witness the suffering and the deaths deliberately allowed? When will they have to pay for their crimes? Will derogatory comments directed at the victims by fascists like Beck, Limbaugh, Savage, Will, Coulter, be recorded and played back as an indictment against them?? ???
I think yes! And as a matter of fact, I stake my life on the certainty of the justice that only God the Creator, can administer. Every single person who suffered, died, lost their possessions and their livelihoods, and who lost their loved ones, will be avenged in due time.

No one will escape - no matter how rich, how powerful, how influential, how smart or how evil!

Insane or Not??

The answer to the question, why White working people, particularly in the red states, vote Republican in spite of the Republican's antipathy to working class issues, is easy to answer.
The Republicans appeal to their racism, xenophobia, prejudices, perceived values, and other fears. This unfortunately trumps any concerns they might have about loss of their jobs, loss of middle class status, and other more important bread and butter issues like educating their children, health care etc. Overwhelmingly they voted for Bush, twice!...and if he could run again, they would vote again for him and his party!

It is said that Insanity, is doing the same thing but expecting different results. This is a prime example.

....'and The Floods Came....and the Damage Stayed!

The anniversary of the Katrina debacle is approaching, and it is becoming clearer to me that the city of New Orleans was the victim of 'benign neglect', and probably criminal neglect as well. The question of who is responsible at the local, state, and federal levels is still being debated, and culpability has been routinely shifted or denied altogether. Thousands have died and the majority of the survivors are still dispersed, because the promises to rebuild have not been kept and the funds to rebuild have not been released. I wonder if what happened was not part of a sinister master urban renewal plan to change the racial demographics of the city, abetted by the certainty that inadequate maintenance of the dikes and levies, would eventually result in the catastrophe that eventually did happen. Meanwhile billions are still being funneled to the Middle East, and most recently, promises have even been made to provide funds to rebuild Lebanon - while New Orleans still waits, and waits, ....and waits!

Unlike the floods of Noah's day, which was Divine punishment sent on the inhabitants of the earth, this flood did not have to happen and the lives lost, could have been saved. Those that are responsible will have to answer to the same God who sent the first flood. The difference is, this time, "..the Fire Next Time" will be their punishment!

'Stay the Course' or 'Cut and Run'?

Some pundits are criticizing Bush for offering no plan for getting out of Iraq, in his speech yesterday. He repeatedly emphasized that he "will not leave before the mission is complete."

What they don't understand is, Bush offers no plan to leave Iraq, because HE NEVER INTENDS TO LEAVE IRAQ! - the mission will never be completed! In fact, the longer we stay there, the more millions and billions, war profiteers like Haliburton make. It is also no accident that large corporations like Haliburton, have made big political contributions to Bush and his party, and are direct beneficiaries of our extended stay in Iraq. The Military Industrial Complex and the Oil Industry are also huge beneficiaries of this war.

Why would they fabricate a reason for invading Iraq??
Why would they be building 15 permanent airbases all over Iraq??
Why would they be building a billion dollar embassy in Baghdad??.....

....if they ever planned to leave???

On Acting White

The controversy over Black kids not wanting to act 'White', where the assumption is that 'acting White' is proper and desirable, and 'acting Black' is undesirable, reminds me of when I was growing up in Harlem, all my role models were Black, including my teachers, doctors, dentists, plumbers, ministers, electricians, musicians.........everyone!

Everything revolved around the values of respectable and accomplished Black folk who surrounded and influenced me and my siblings. We were truly ‘acting Black’ - not White!

In addition, our moral and spiritual values, equaled or exceeded those of the White folks who segregated themselves from us in their nearby neighborhoods and ghettos.

The Wrongs of the Right

I'm no psychologist, but those in the field say, that when a person engages in truculent and vituperative speech, it is the outward and public manifestation of severe, extreme inner turmoil, angst and dissatisfaction with oneself, and with what one is and has become. This might explain the Ann Coulter trainwreck and those that support her/him. Right-wing conservatism is a virulent disease that robs one of human feeling and empathy for 'other less thans', who they can't identify with. This disease has metastasized these past six years, and has bankrupted and corrupted this country as never before.