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NOYB wrote:
"Don White" wrote in message
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wrote:
NOYB wrote:
I Will Rebuild With You, Mr. President
By Donna Brazile
Saturday, September 17, 2005; A21
New Orleans is my hometown. It is the place where I grew up, where my
family
still lives. For me, it is a place of comfort and memories. It is
home.
Now my home needs your help, and the help of every American. Much of
my
city
is still underwater. Its historical buildings have been wrecked, its
famous
streets turned to rivers and, worst of all, so many of its wonderful
people -- including members of my own family and my neighbors -- have
lost
everything.
On Thursday night President Bush spoke to the nation from my city. I
am
not
a Republican. I did not vote for George W. Bush -- in fact, I worked
pretty
hard against him in 2000 and 2004. But on Thursday night, after
watching
him
speak from the heart, I could not have been prouder of the president
and
the
plan he outlined to empower those who lost everything and to rebuild
the
Gulf Coast.
Bush called on every American to stand up and support the rebuilding
of
the
region. He told us that New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast would
rise
from the ruins stronger than before. He enunciated something that we
all
need to remember: This is America. We are not immune to tragedy here,
but
we
are strong because of our industriousness, our ingenuity and, most
important, because of our compassion for one another. We are a nation
of
rebuilders and a nation of givers. We do not give up in the face of
tragedy,
we stand up, and we reach out to help those who cannot stand up on
their
own.
The president called on every American to reach out to my neighbors in
New
Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast. The great people of this
country
have
already opened their hearts in the immediate aftermath of the storm,
and
their tremendous generosity has done more than just provide extra
comfort --
it has saved lives. Now the crisis of survival is over. But the task
of
rebuilding remains, and the president made it clear that every single
one
of
us has a role to play.
Each of us belongs to some group -- a church, a union or a fraternal
organization, or even a book club -- that can make a difference. It is
those
groups that can pool resources and then reach out to their
counterparts
in
the stricken states and ask, "What can we do?" Schools, Girl Scout
troops,
Rotary clubs -- this is the time for every community group to step
forward
to lend a helping hand. We need it.
The president also laid out the federal government's goal for
rebuilding.
It
is unprecedented in its scope and ambition, matching destruction that
is
unprecedented as well. He made the challenge clear: This will be one
of
the
biggest reconstruction projects in history. But he also made it clear
that
we can and will do this. New Orleans, Biloxi, all of the Gulf Coast
will
rise again. And the residents are ready to pitch in and do their part.
I know, maybe better than anyone, that there are times when it seems
that
our nation is too divided ever to heal. There are times when we feel
so
different from each other that we can hardly believe that we are all
part
of
the same family. But we are one nation. We are a family. And this is
what
we
do. When the president asked us to pitch in Thursday night, he wasn't
really
asking us to do anything spectacular. He was asking us to be
Americans,
and
to do what Americans always do.
The president has set a national goal and defined a national purpose.
This
is something I believe with all my heart: When we are united, nothing
can
stop us. We will not waver, we will not tire, and we will not stop
until
the
streets are clean, every last brick has been replaced and every last
family
has its home back.
Bush talked about how we bury our family and friends. We grieve and
mourn.
We march to a solemn song and then we rejoice and step out and form
the
second line. That line is now open to every American to join us in
rebuilding a great region of this country. New Orleans will rise
again.
My
hometown is down but not out, and with the help of every American, it
will
be back on its feet, bigger and brighter than ever.
Mr. President, I am ready for duty. I am ready to stir those old pots
again.
Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.
The writer, a Democratic political consultant, managed Al Gore's 2000
presidential campaign.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've got a great idea:
Let's rebuild the Gulf Coast (estimated cost about $150 billion, and
growing) with the money we're sending to Iraq. We can continue funding
the Iraq war with "faith based contributions" (amount collected from
pirvate charities and churches so far is about 3/4 of one billion). At
the rate we're going, we'll never get enough faith-based contribuitons
to do the rebuild, but we're spending that much in Iraq every 90 days.
So, instead of gutting the treasury to build roads, schools,
hospitals,
etc in Iraq let's use that money to rebuild the Gulf Coast. Bush can
still have his war, he'll just have to rely on
the generous spirit of the American people and faith-based
contributions. :-)
Very good...those who really want the war can pay for it. I'd vote for
that.
And those who don't want the war can reap the likely repercussions:
higher
gas prices and your friendly Islamic terrorist car-bombing in the
downtown
local schoolyard or police station.
NOYB, you are always so refreshingly honest and once again you do not
let us down.
Thank you for admitting that the war in Iraq is primarily about the
price of gas, and a fear that if we don't kill enough of our
unidentifiable enemies fast enough that they will come here and
do the same to us.
Of course!
As for the price of gas: we just had a fabulous demonstration of where
the culprits lie. What was that state back east that temporarily
removed a 16-cent gas tax, (to help bring down the cost of gas to the
public) only to have the refineries *raise* the price of gas 14-cents
in response?
I dunno. I don't listen to the lie-beral news stations. Down here, gas has
come down 25-30 cents per gallon in the last week.
Don't see too many Arabs involved in that one, do we?
As far as the terrorists go; there are far more now than when we
invaded Iraq.
That's ridiculous. A terrorist is a terrorist. Just because he's not
actively engaged in combat at any particular time, doesn't mean he stops
being a terrorist. Terrorists are born and bred in the madrassas. They are
opportunists...just waiting for the right time to strike. It's easier for
them to flood from Syria and Iran into Iraq to blow themselves up around
Americans, than it is for them to get to the US. Of course, the really
hardcore ones we're facing in Iraq would be working to get to America if
they didn't have an easier opportunity over there.
The other benefit (besides luring them in like flies to ****) of having
troops over there is that it gives our intel agencies more bases from which
to operate clandestine operations into neighboring countries.
We have created them faster than we have killed them.
Horsepoop. You don't "create" terrorists...you "expose" them and bring them
out into the open.
Your analogy would be like saying that I "create" fish when I put a chum bag
over the side...and I am suddenly surrounded by yellowtails.
While you might argue, "but they're all in Iraq.....
They're not all in Iraq. But the opportunistic ones are there.
don't forget
that it takes less than 2-dozen of these guys to bring down the WTC,
attack the Pentagon, and crash a jetliner.
Only with help from outside nation-state funding and intel.
Thanks to Bush's policy and
the disinformation that rallied a fearful nation to war there are more
terrorists now than ever before. Even if 98% of them are in Iraq and 2%
of them are in the US, we're in deep krapperoo.
2% are in Guantanamo...not the US. But your side is working hard to change
that!
I think we're all reaping the very real repercussions- and a darn shame
it is, too.