Hope is not a plan

Mr. Bush--

In your weekly radio address, you said this:

"All Americans can be certain our nation has the character, the resources, and the resolve to overcome this disaster. We will comfort and care for the victims. We will restore the towns and neighborhoods that have been lost in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. We'll rebuild the great city of New Orleans. And we'll once again show the world that the worst adversities bring out the best in America."

This is all true. Our nation does have the character, resources and resolve to overcome this disaster. Your ill-timed vacation and sick fascination with covering yourself and enriching a small group of allies curtailed our nation's response. The people on the ground did their jobs, when they were allowed to. Ordinary Americans, myself included, have donated to the effort to save lives. But because of your thoughtlessness, hundreds have died who could have been saved -- who had rescuers ready and able to save them, if only you'd led the way.

It is true that we, ordinary Americans, will comfort and care for victims -- even the relatives of those who died because you refused to act or listen, and have crippled our nation's emergency response.

We will restore these towns and neighborhoods, many of which might not have been lost had levees been maintained as they should. We will restore them even though many of their residents are dead, and many more have had their livelihoods destroyed. We will do this, of course, without any expectation of help from you. Unless we are, perhaps, already quite wealthy and due for a tax break.

The worst adversities do bring out the best in America -- at least, in the true Americans I know. So far, it has brought out the worst in you. Instead of strong, decisive leadership, you have given us craven weakness trying to hide itself from blame. You preach sacrifice then make sure that you and your friends need never face that sacrifice.

You're going to have many years after your term expires to consider your career as President. Your father can look back at his time and say that he did the best he could. You can never do this, but you have a few years left to try and come as near as possible. Perhaps you could ask your father for advice; right now, I have to assume you don't, for he was never the kind of all-encompassing failure that you have been.

You have only a few more years to get it right. Buckle down, actually listen, learn and think and make a positive difference.

I didn't vote for you, but I damn well pay your salary. So figure it out and get it right.

Sent today. Still angry. Donated money to the Red Cross yesterday.

NPR reported yesterday that cities receiving hurricane refugees should treat them as new permanent residents.

San Francisco's supposed to receive about three hundred refugees.

Here's an email from one of my relatives in Scotland about this mess:

New Orleans disaster

Your message about the shambles of the reaction to the hurricane damage confirms the dreadful scenes being watched on television by the rest of the world. The awful first impressions of the pathetic rescue attempts at State and Federal levels were that more emphasis was placed on protecting property than on caring for the people -- looting can be condoned when people are thirsty and hungry, after all, stealing unusable items is of little consequence, particularly when there is no power or gas supplies available. Care of the masses should be the prime purpose of any government and a five day delayed fly-over by the president is hardly a sign of dedicated commitment by the executive.

CNN is reporting on a report given by the Department of the Interior to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The respondent from Interior says that FEMA turned down a reasonably substantial offer of rescue assistance:

The Interior Department offered FEMA 500 rooms, 119 pieces of heavy equipment, 300 dump trucks and other vehicles, 300 boats, 11 aircraft and 400 law enforcement officers, according to a questionnaire answered by a department official.

Agencies are, of course, an aggregate and not an individual. I wonder who at FEMA turned down Interior's offer? Was it Brown in a mindless downcheck, or some harassed (and potentially incompetent as well) second-tier official assigned as the interagency flack?