The Politicization of a Natural Disaster

I didn't think it could be done. I didn't think there was a way for people to politicize the events of Hurricane Katrina. Once again, I fail to understand the far Left. I wasn't too shocked when hours after the tragedy, the environmentalists claimed that the lack of environmenal restrictions and laws were to blame for the disaster. What shocked and outraged me was the efforts of not only our local liberal talk radio (1530 WCKY), but the folks at the Today show and This Morning were showing clips of how people were suffering and blaming the federal government (Bush) for not doing enough. WCKY talkshow host, Randi Rhodes, called Bush a liar when he said he felt bad for the whole situation. I seriously doubt the leader of a country does not feel sympathy and empathy for those effected by the hurricane. Peter Jennings said this morning that the most polite way to say it was "Our government took too much time to react." It's amazing how our glasses go from foggy to 20/20 following a disaster. Who could have done what, when, and where. Oh, and Bush is to blame. Cutting his working vacation short, Bush told Congress to come back early from the recess to give 10.5 BILLION dollars in federal aid.

Meanwhile, the mainstream media plays clips of horror and shock. The people in New Orleans have little access to news coverage and don't know what people are doing around the nation to help out. The media does little to help the situation by not informing the people they interview and film that people ARE helping out. "Not Enough Aid!" is all we hear. My wife drove an hour to take bottled water, canned goods, and hygiene products to a collection point. They had already sent down two semi-trucks full of aid down to the ravaged area. She said in nine hours, over $62,000 in cash was collected at the southern Ohio collection point. That does not include the piles of food and water stacking over 10 feet high. On a similar note, I called up to my Army Reserve unit to volunteer my services down there. They said I wasn't the first and 11 others had already called offering their assistance.

For now, let's focus on what we can do to help and what is actually being done to help our fellow Americans. Later, we can figure out what could have been done to prevent death and react quicker. A boost in morale is needed from our media outlets - not a blame game.