"When the Levees Broke"

I just finished watching Spike Lee’s most recent master work When the Levees Broke on HBO. He did a wonderful job of letting the people, the images, and the music tell the tragic story of Katrina and its continuing aftermath. His eclectic mix of people from all walks of life speaks to all of us and for all of us.

"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government."

- Thomas Jefferson

While Federal, State, and Local officials continue to blame each other for the lack of a coordinated, professional approach to providing help where it was needed most during the Katrina disaster, homeowners in the Gulf must start paying their mortgages or the foreclosure processes will begin.

Think about it; if your city got hit by a natural disaster or terrorist attack, what would happen to you? Assuming you get out, you may be lucky and get a government assisted apartment for a couple months, where do you go from there?

Do you have credit card debt? Imagine losing everything to a natural disaster or terrorist attack and not being allowed to declare bankruptcy? The new bankruptcy laws are what American citizens get from those presently in power.
Remebering Katrina’s Victims

"I heard from my aunt last night that my cousin Denise made it out of New Orleans; she's at her brother's in Baton Rouge. From what she told me: her mother, a licensed practical nurse, was called in to work on Sunday night at Memorial Hospital (historically known as Baptist Hospital to those of us from N.O.).

Denise decided to stay with her mother, her niece and grandniece (who is 2 years old); she figured they'd be safe at the hospital. They went to Baptist, and had to wait hours to be assigned a room to sleep in;
"Make sure you tell everybody that they left us there to die!"

The following report forwarded from noguns provides an unfiltered account of the formal and informal responses to Katrina. Thank God for the kindness of strangers!

Dear Friends,
This first-hand report from New Orleans is an eye-opener. You'll never see this on the national media.

"Love is not that which reveals to us the beauty of another; it is that which reveals to us the deepest beauty within ourselves."
-- Bob Foster, 2002

[Original Message]
Date: 9/6/2005 9:59:49 PM
Subject: want to know what happened in N.O.? First By the Floods, then By Martial Law - Trapped in New Orleans By LARRY BRADSHAW and LORRIE BETH SLONSKY

Two days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the Walgreen’s store at the corner of Royal and Iberville Streets in the city's historic French Quarter remained locked. The dairy display case was clearly visible through the widows. It was now 48 hours without electricity, running water, plumbing, and the milk, yogurt, and cheeses were beginning to spoil in the 90-degree heat. The owners and managers had locked up the food, water, pampers and prescriptions, and fled the city.
Katrina - A First Person Account

Friday, September 09, 2005 2:54 AM
Subject: The Hurricane's Aftermath -
A Firsthand Account

"I just got off the phone with my ex-boyfriend, Terrell, who lives in Biloxi and who is currently between Jackson and Biloxi. I cannot imagine the horror that he is experiencing. He wished that he could show us what is really going on so, for him, I will try to share with you what he says is happening. I have no idea what to do to help, but maybe you can think of ways.
Homeland Insecurity in Mississippi

Almost one year later and much of New Orleans still bears the scars of Katrina. Now is a fitting time to remember the thousands of lives that have been forever changed by this national travesty.
Memories of Katrina on Her 1st Anniversary

Creative Disclaimer

We now hear that the Bush Justice Dept. is attempting to block a court order to end its warrantless wiretap program while the administration is appealing the decision. This sounds like a convict stating he needs to stay our of jail until his appeal is decided. This world is getting stranger every day.

In a related development, I recently received an email with the following disclaimer. Truth is stranger than fiction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WARNING: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice, and certainly without probable cause. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. We have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.

"Remember, all that Hitler did was legal in Germany at the time."
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." ~Theodore Roosevelt, 1918

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." ~James Madison

"Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." ~James Madison

"Yes, we did produce a near perfect Republic. But will they keep it, or will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the surest way to destruction." ~Thomas Jefferson

"A good end cannot sanctify evil means; nor must we ever do evil that good may come from it." ~Wm. Penn

QuestionItNow

With friends like these …

Alan Schlesinger won the Republican Primary Election in Connecticut. Schlesinger has been a loyal Republican for many years. According to his website, " For 20 years, Alan Schlesinger has been serving the citizens of Connecticut at the local and state level ." He is a loyal Republican. Therefore, why has the Bush Administration and the NRCC refused to endorse him?

Could it be that he is behind Lieberman in the polls? "Schlesinger would pull just 4 percent of the vote in a three-way race with Lieberman, who is now running as an independent, and Democratic primary winner Ned Lamont, according to a poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University in Hamden. His support slipped from 9 percent in July's poll." Associated Press


Even with such dismal poll numbers, what is the historical precedent for a sitting President refusing to endorse his party’s candidate for high office? Interestingly "In 1991, President George H.W. Bush refused to endorse Louisiana Gubernatorial candidate David Duke." – White House Statement


BTW – Duke is a professed and proud Klansman.

Are we to assume that Alan Schlesinger ranks with the Klan, and the GOP is making a statement of American Values by refusing to endorse him?

No, sadly it appears the Administration and Party that demands loyalty of its members does not return the favor when the chips are down.

With friends like this, does Alan Schlesinger stand a chance? Well, so much for twenty years of faithful service.

QuestionItNow

"A Spirit of Tolerance"

"Laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression: in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be a spirit of tolerance in the entire population."

- Albert Einstein
Out of My Later Years

Voices

Separation of Church and State?

I generally do not weigh in on religious issues. First, I claim no expertise in the subject, second, people of faith, no matter the faith are not going to be pursuaded that their faith is not the best one, or that if they stray from it, there will be unwanted consequences in the afterlife.

Since none of us can report their experiences in the afterlife back to the living, there is no way to verify the claim of any person of faith, no matter what the faith that there is, in fact an afterlife. We all have to walk that lonesome highway by ourselves. An article of faith by a Christian, Jew, Muslim or any other religion has to, in my view simply be accepted as something the holder of the view accepts, and I am willing to leave it at that. It is their faith and they are free to believe as they wish. I simply do not apply value judgments that says one religion is better than another.

Nearly all religions subscribe to the concept that there is an afterlife, most juxtapose the dichotomy of heaven for the virtuous and hell for those who are not. Some Christians reject the possibility that non-Christians or Christians who have not passed some test in life (being born again, for instance) will deny one the chance for redemption or heaven for failure to pass this test. Others do not feel that this test is necessary. Who is right? Who has reported back from the other side to either confirm or deny what is the right path. Or is there some other path? I do not know.

The question of what happens if one is not a Christian is often raised by evangelicals. A more fundamental question, I think is what happened to people of faith before Christ lived? The Old Testament records people being taken to heaven hundreds or even thousands of years before Christ walked the earth. If these people made it to heaven, why can’t people of other religions also go to heaven.

If one is supposed to be doomed to the fires of hell if they do not shape up, then the possiblity of heaven must exist for these individuals simply because heaven-hell are both ends of the same stick. By all accounts, people living on Earth in their mortal costume do not make the decision, St. Peter or God or Allah or some other godhead makes the decision. How can any person in the flesh say otherwise?

It is an article of their faith that they do not make the decision, even for themselves. The God of the Bible or Koran seems to have vindictive and tolerant days, does the choice break down into what kind of mood God is in on the day of your passing? That seems silly, but it also seems to be about as credible as other systems of faith. Who is to say?

I will say this. I believe that attempts to tear down the wall between Church and State that are taking place in America today are very dangerous. The assumption of one religion being favored over another in our government and legal system puts the faith of all Americans in jeopardy. If, say, evangelic Christianity gets the upper hand in the establishment of religion in America, what is the consequence for other Christians, say Roman Catholics or Methodists. Or one of the many manifestations of Baptists? An example here is Jimmy Carter is a Baptist, but the religion practiced in his particular church is significantly different than the type practiced by other more rigid conferences who say that the role of women is to be subservient or that the doctrine should be fire and brimstone.

I believe Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus and others would get the short end of the religious/government combination, and the wind could blow the other way when a new president comes in. What would the religion who was in, and is now out do? How would they react? In modern times, the Islamic states where so-called theocracies were implemented, all other religions suffered, some egriously, some by genocide or significant loss of life of other religious traditions. B’hai in Iran, nearly all who disagreed in Afghanistan. In England during the 1500’s to 1700’s period the Crown vacilated between Catholic and Protestant. Forced conversions sometimes followed this change. Sometimes the punishment for being the other religion was economic or social.

Combinations of Church and State, all the way back to the Pharohs and Rome always caused much strife, repression and social isolation. Infanticide during the Pharohs. All kinds of stuff with the Romans. I am sure I could look up other bad combinations of Church and State throughout history. This is why I strongly advocate rebuilding the wall between Church and State in America. This wall is being torn down, and is badly in need of repair.

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