Give until it feels GOOD

Today as I waited for my cars oil change and inspection I got the greatest gift in the world. I got to listen to the guy behind the counters view of Hurricane Katrina. This person may not realize it but he has a captive audience everyday to listen to his views, and also an audience that for the most part will not disagree because they want to get out of there as soon as possible. So there I found myself listening to his every word and laughing at the parts I found funny, but mostly disagreeing with everything he had to say.
His main premise was why did these people not do anything to help themselves? And why do they expect the government to send money and do it yesterday? He also rambled about all the misuses of the debit cards that have been handed to these people. He mentioned that some women took her $2,000 card and bought $1400 purse. While I think that is outrageous, I also know that most are not using that pittance of money in that manner. We can not and should not revoke all the help that is being offered because a few people may waste some of the money. Yes, there will be waste, but the money will do much more good. We do not get to decide who we think is worthy and who is not at this point in time. We, as Americans, have failed these poor people for decades and now we must help. The their not willing to try and help themselves attitude is so far from the truth that I am tired of libertarians and republicans constantly stating it. The real truth of the matter is that they have been at such a disadvantage for so long that they know no other way. They have very little chance to get out of the situation that they are born into. We like to think that the rags to riches story happens everyday here in the land of opportunity, but really the story that happens everyday here is the rich to richer story and poor to poorer. As for the preacher from the beginning of our story, I know that he works extremely long hours and earns everything that is in his paycheck, but that does not give this white male the right to think that he knows what hard times are and that everybody should be able to find a job and help themselves. We as Americans like to count what we give and hold it over people forever. We like to remember everything nice that we have ever done but not remember our faults.
At this time of extreme need and that is only going to get worse we can not keep counting the gifts we give. We must give then forget and then give again. A recent sermon I read states this- The old adage, "give until it hurts" is based on a negative understanding of our motivations for giving - "give until it feels good" recognizes the joy of "passing on" a gift from a full heart. It is time people to as the movie states “Pay It Forward.” Help these people and do not put limits on your help, then as soon as you are able help again, because just because the media leaves does not mean the work is over. So give until it feels good and then as the New Yorkers say “forget about it!”

Capito stands with Bush not the Truth.

Corporate Capito has shown that she is not for really finding out who was to blame for the debacle that was the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. She voted against an independent investigator. Even though I believe that the aftermath was botched at all levels state, local, and federal. She seemed inclined to vote to make sure that her boss*, President Bush, does not take his portion of the blame. Yes, Mr. Bush did say that he would take responsibility but that is not the same as saying I am to blame for the failures of FEMA and Homeland Security. He could have stated that he failed the American people when he appointed Michael Brown, a long time friend, as the head of FEMA. Instead of a qualified individual, he appointed a crony with no experience at all with disaster relief. He could have stated that the Department of Homeland Security, his baby, has failed the American people since cities do not have proper evacuation plans in place incase of disasters. Instead he is calling for these now, 4 years after 9/11, and after numerous threats from terrorist. Apparently the threat level going up and down does not mean anything to Homeland Security since they are not ready to respond to a mass evacuation situation anyway.
It is time to get rid of anyone who votes to protect their party over West Virginians and Americans. Corporate Capito has yet to go out on a limb and state her beliefs on any issue that might cost her votes. She routinely states I am looking into the issue and listening to my constituents when really she is looking into which corporations will be affected most and who donated to her campaign. We are in need of real leadership in West Virginia not someone watching the polls and watching where the money is.

*I really thought we (the people of the 2nd Congressional District of WV) were her boss but you would never know it by her voting record.

Please Call 1-877-Leave-Texas

I don’t know if it was just me, but I saw the President’s speech tonight and his head looked huge. I think it was because he had just come from Chevron plant and realized that his investments in big oil were not hurt at all. The day he is going to give a speech full of rhetoric about helping the poor and marginalized of our society he visits Chevron to make sure everything is ok there first.
None of the political analyst afterward mentioned the fact that it seemed the President was doing a little too much preaching and too little actual planning. I think he definitely was reaching out to his right wing fundamentalist base but not his actual conservative base. I guess it is good to know that all those who died are in this president’s version of heaven. Oil fields as far as the eye can see, rivers running black with Texas tea, and the rich people on one side of the world and the poor people on the other.
He also addressed his mother’s concerns about “all these people maybe staying in Texas.” He asked for all displaced people to call in and register. He stated that the federal government will give you money to get the fuck out of Texas. Hell we will even promise you land, of course it is swamp land, but you have never owned anything before so what do you care.
As I assume you can tell I am a bit skeptical that this administration really cares about these poor, displaced, hurting people. I think this is nothing more than a President trying to rebuild his own image, by trying to act compassionate. I hope I will be proved wrong but as soon as the cameras leave I think he will return to the war mongering, oil whore that he really is. (And probably return to vacation after all his was cut short)

Bush doing the best he can! ???

I have heard the call for not blaming President Bush for the botched aftermath of Katrina from someone whom I respect and admire this week. He states that it is a time for love. It is a time for the human heart (a force that is much stronger than any hurricane) to open and show compassion for the victims of Katrina. He believes that President Bush, and the administration are maybe doing the best they can. While I agree that when the human heart truly opens and when people are united that anything on earth can be accomplished, and I would even agree that President Bush and the administration may be doing the best they can, I do not agree that they should not be held accountable for their failure to deliver adequate support to the most vulnerable of Americans. I think it is time Americans realize that the best this administration has to offer is just not good enough.
This Administration offers no apologies for any failures. Failures that include:
1. Taking political advantage of a unified America after 9/11 to attack a sovereign nation.
2. Using coerced and fraudulent intelligence for making the case for war.
3. Not planning for the occupation of Iraq, causing the deaths of American military personnel.
4. Not capturing Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan in 4 years after Bush said we will get him.
5. Recklessly running up the National Debt and forcing our children and grandchildren to suffer the consequences.
6. Not believing in Global Burning and continuing to pollute our environment so Bush and his oil friends can reap record profits.
7. Continuing to grow the gap between the poor and rich in our country and abroad.
8. Allowing other rogue countries to develop nuclear weapons on their watch.
9. Not forcing the issue when it comes to getting America off foreign oil.
10. Offering up nothing but slogans and jargon instead of real plans.
(ie. No Child left behind, Clear skies initiative, Healthy Forrest act, Pro-life)

It is time that Americans who voted for Bush realize that they voted for nothing but empty promises and rhetoric. It is time for real transparency in government.

When reporters ask Bush about the resignation of Michael Brown yesterday, Bush stated that he did not know anything about it and that maybe the reporters knew something he didn’t. That is the problem in a nutshell. This President does not know what is going on around him. He remains in the dark far to long about all matters important to this nation, unless of course it has something to do with the religious right. This has been an absentee administration and it is time someone is held accountable.

Time for Blame Game

Written by EB-R

Now is not the time to not question the powers that be in the United States of America. We are being told to wait until an appropriate time, well we did that after 911 and by the time the hard questions were ask, President Bush and his PR machine had designed clever answer for why he dropped the ball. This time I am sorry but I feel as though questions need to be answered now and someone needs to be held accountable for our dismal response to those suffering after Katrina. I thought this country was moving towards a more solid homeland. I thought that if we were attacked that someone would come to our aid. I think one only needs to read some comments made since this disaster to understand where the average American falls on President Bush’s priority list.
“Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott’s house – he’s lost his entire house – there’s going to be a fantastic house. And I’m looking forward to sitting on the porch.”-George Bush. Thank God that Trent Lott is going to have a nice house and porch and I am relieved that the President will have somewhere to sit and relax. “Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well.”-FEMA Director Michael Brown (a friend of the Bush’s). This quote was made on September 1 and well before FEMA had really even made a dent in the problem. President Bush decided to show his support with a “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” This same day on NPR, Michael Chertoff responds to a question about the problem in New Orleans with, “I have not heard a report of thousands of people in the convention center who don’t have food or water.” Anyone with a TV knew that there were people dying in that convention center.
Regardless of the money spent on studies that showed that over 100,000 families did not have means (cars) to evacuate the city of New Orleans, the Republican Party and this president just didn’t seem to get the crisis developing. The Republican Senator from PA, Rick Santorum, summed up by saying, “I mean, you have people who don’t heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving.” Do they even look at these reports?
Now is the time to ask the hard questions and I, as well as every other American that voted, deserve some answers. Mr. President, please let us know before you leave for Mr. Lott’s porch.

Global Warming Just Not Strong Enough Term

I’ve been gone for a week and the Bush administration has shown their agenda for taking control of the country.

The Democratic voters of 2 red states have been wiped out by a steroid hyped “global burning” hurricane and now Bush gets another Supreme Court appointment.

I give up.

Will the Democratic leadership step up and challenge this absentee administration?* My answer is I do not think so. Heaven forbid we use the Republicans inability to plan against them. The Democrats will be accused of playing politics in a time of national tragedy. Unlike Bush and the Republicans mentioning 9/11 every chance they got in the last election cycle.

*It takes 5 days to respond to a hurricane that had been predicted for 2 weeks. I guess Pat Robertson prayed this hurricane to hit the poor, black, democratic voters.