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The Disastrous President
 As George Bush might say, being president is hard work. During his watch America has experienced three major disasters: the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York; the ongoing war in Iraq; and the destruction of New Orleans and much of the Gulf States by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the subsequent failure of the levees around New Orleans. This list is not meant to minimize the plight of those who survived landslides and fires in California or the string of hurricanes that hit Florida last year. But, for the sake of argument, let’s agree that the three catastrophes mentioned here have drained the resources of the U.S. like nothing else the country has experienced.
It would be difficult to make the argument that George Bush is to blame for the attacks that befell New York in 2001. On the other hand, there was that briefing he received weeks before the attack, entitled, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.” Still, the two subsequent disasters can be pinned on him either in full or in part. Certainly the Gulf War is entirely his doing. His administration cooked the books, so to speak, to create the need for a war that didn’t need to happen. Without prevarication, it is fair to say that the responsibility for the war rests entirely on his shoulders.
The chaos and loss of life that have come in the wake of Hurricane Katrina can also be blamed on Mr. Bush. There are many reasons why this is true. First, the war he created robbed the country of much needed emergency workers and National Guardsmen who have been deployed to Iraq, rather than left where they are needed, in the homeland, to protect the security of U.S. citizens.
As an editorial in the September 2, 2005 New York Times, “The Man-Made Disaster,” puts it:
“Watching helplessly from afar, many citizens wondered whether rescue operations were hampered because almost one-third of the men and women of the Louisiana National Guard, and an even higher percentage of the Mississippi National Guard, were 7,000 miles away, fighting in Iraq. That's an even bigger loss than the raw numbers suggest because many of these part-time soldiers had to leave behind their full-time jobs in police and fire departments or their jobs as paramedics. Regardless of whether they wear public safety uniforms in civilian life, the guardsmen in Iraq are a crucial resource sorely missed during these early days, when hours have literally meant the difference between evacuation and inundation, between civic order and chaos, between life and death.”
The war has not only robbed the country of necessary human resources, it has robbed every last person of the federal, financial resources needed to pay for these kinds of tragedies. Between the costs of rebuilding New York, the cost of the unnecessary war in Iraq and the numerous tax cuts enacted by George Bush’s administration, the U.S. is already a debtor nation to the tune of more than $3 trillion — and it is still unclear how much money rebuilding Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana will cost.
The second part of this tragedy that is George Bush’s fault is the failure of the New Orleans levees. His administration cut the money earmarked to go to the Army Corps of Engineers to modernize and shore up the sinking levees surrounding the city. Before 9/11, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had already included a hurricane hitting New Orleans on a list of the most likely catastrophic disasters the nation could face. Uncannily, they described how the city could be left under 20-feet of water. Yet, despite this warning, Mr. Bush saw fit to cut 80 percent from the Army Corps budget, money needed to pay for the work that could have prevented this type of disaster. In 2002 the head of the Corps, under threat of being fired for criticizing these cuts, resigned.
In addition, the effectiveness of FEMA itself, now part of Homeland Security, has been undermined by Bush’s administration. As James Lee Witt, head of the agency during the Clinton years said during a Congressional hearing last year:
"I am extremely concerned that the ability of our nation to prepare for and respond to disasters has been sharply eroded. I hear from emergency managers, local and state leaders, and first responders nearly every day that the FEMA they knew and worked well with has now disappeared."
President Bush remarked this week, about the flooding in New Orleans, that no one had expected a levee breach. This is as credible as the claim that Saddam Hussein was reconstituting his nuclear arms program. In other words, it is an utter lie.
The current crisis has taken the spotlight off of the Cindy Sheehan vigil. Sheehan is the mother of an American solider in Iraq who wanted to ask the President one, simple question: why her son had to die. Yet, despite camping out in Crawford, Texas, while the hard-working Bush was taking a five-week vacation — a vacation that was part of cumulative break time longer than any other president in history — Mr. Bush would not answer her question.
What will he do when the relatives of the many who have died and are dying today in the Gulf States want to know why their loved ones have perished? Will the President deny them an answer as well? If his track record is any indication, they will be fed more of the never-ending falsehoods that emerge daily from the White House.
Yes, being president is hard work. Harder still when, as president, you cut funding for every program in America that people count upon — like infrastructure and emergency management — in favor of fighting wars which seem only to enrich a few Republican-friendly corporations.
America has experienced three major disasters since George Bush has become president. That’s not counting the fourth, his presidency itself. It will be years before New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulf Port and other cities recover from this hurricane. But, it will take the country decades to recover from George Bush.
SEPTEMBER 2 , 2005 ©Suzanne Rush 2005
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Them That’s Got
A number of wealthy celebrities have donated large sums of money to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Celine Dion, Diddy, Jay Z and Nicholas Cage have all pitched in $1 million each. Even Hillary Duff got in on the act with a $200,000 donation to the Red Cross and $50,000 to USA Harvest. Kudos to them and to others who have opened their pockets to the needy.
But where are all the other privileged, overpaid actors, musician, directors and CEOs? Certainly several performers, like the band Green Day, singer Harry Connick, Jr. and TV personality Ellen DeGeneres have announced that they will hold or host fundraisers, but what about their own money? It is far different to hold a concert where all you do is waive your paycheck and expect the audience to foot the bill for relief, than it is to kick in your own, cold cash.
Come on people. When you host a fundraiser it sounds like you’re just trying to tie your name to a tragedy for some cheap publicity. Just shut up and write a check already. It is far, more effective. Your example of giving will inspire those who have far less to give to do the same — without having to go to your concert or watch your TV program.
P.S. Make it a large check. This tragedy is not going away when your opportunity for publicity is over. For the victims, it will continue for months and years — and the comfort of knowing a superstar spent two hours performing at a concert on their behalf will be cold comfort, indeed.
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