Sleepycatz

Justice

Gross ineptitude and callous disregard are the only two phrases which come to mind in characterizing the federal relief efforts in NO. For the past few days I have watched the news coverage and spoken with colleagues trapped in the NO area, and my feelings are moving more and more towards anger. As we learn more about the failure of our government to protect and serve all of its citizens my frustration and fury grows stronger. It now seems that the DHS kept the Red Cross from bringing relief into NO; that relief delivery was halted for Mr. Bush’s photo op; and that instead of being unaware of the effects of Katrina federal officials had been briefed by NHC the day before.

Given the history of how incompetence in our government has been handled in the past, I am sure we only months away from a ceremony awarding some honor to FEMA director Mike Brown (who was fired from his prior job, overseeing horse shows, for incompetence).

In ancient times we would have called upon the furies to bring justice to those who are untouchable and have offended the laws of humanity. Today we seem to be left with few other options. Those who failed our brothers and sisters in the storm ravaged areas are secure in their political positions; our leader brays about compassion and sacrifice while he pushes through another tax cut for the wealthy. As citizens we have shown remarkable compassion and empathy — we have sent money, and goods, we have opened our homes to those who have lost theirs, we have demonstrated that America is a land of caring neighbors. Why can’t we expect the same from our government?

This entry was posted by steve on Monday, September 5th, 2005 at 1:02 pm and is filed under Injustices, Misc. Ramblings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.