I just returned from Katrina's ground zero --- Diamondhead, Mississippi. It's a few miles east of Waveland, Ms. I went to help recover, and assist my father-in-law. M. is a red state, Fox news republican. Me? Buzzflash is on my favorites--enough said.

But, politics had to be put aside. I have video of what was left. It was as if the entire town was put into a blender and then strewn out over a forest of 30 ft pine trees. We encountered a small military force--basically, un-armed troops in trucks patroling during the day.

While military helicopters buzzed overhead, I managed to pick mementos, a small safe, and a few religous items (Catholic) for my mother-in-law. She cried, seeing these items--her religion is all she had left. Probably very common for most people in the area.

A few times, my father-in-law tried to tell me that Bush was doing a fine job, but, I could tell that he didn't mean it. I could see it in his eyes. He was one of many who were on their own.

I prime example of this: About six p.m., as the sun dropped, we realized that the military patrols had gone, the police were no where to be seen. He and I were deep into the woods among the ruins. We were left alone. I asked M. if he had guns. He did, and we armed ourselves. A few hours before, 2 looters were shot at (killed, wounded, don't know). The thing to remember is that it is quit different when you there, as you well know. The fear is palpable, no matter one's political persuasion. So, he and I were there together as a team, as a unit.

Maybe it was moment of political truce.

And, as I left the area, I knew that my father-in-law had a great deal of respect for me. And I had a great deal of empathy for him.

So there's that small side it.

Mr. President, There are some things that have more recently come to my attention that are unforgivable, and for this I include this letter, which will be mailed every day, sometimes more than once a day, to see to it that some kind of change is at least sought after. Thus far your administration of this great country has been grimly sub-par and I for one have been greatly dissapointed with your choices in running this country. As a citizen I reserve the right to let you know of these things without the fear of persecution, such is the right of any person in our country if they see so fit. So fit is the way I see it and you shall bear witness to what I have to say, no matter how hard it is to get in contact with you. I realize that there are many problems facing you and some of them must be put aside for the greater good, but that does not excuse some of the things that will be listed below.

Sir, there are problems facing this country, and it is not from outside forces as you and your administration would have the American people believing. One such problem is our national security, and for this I must show at least some respect, for you have done a somewhat admirable job defending our country since 9/11, but in so doing you have cost us almost as many lives as where lost on that day in wars in outlying lands. These places may be lead by corrupt leaders, but one such place, Iraq, has a leader that our own country has put into power there. I'm not sure if you know this, but he was put there with help of our own agencies, ie. the CIA and other secretive government organizations. Saddam Huessien was a CIA resource for 40 years, and along with that he was given help by our country, and it took you guys how long to find him?! This is unacceptable, you need to be more truthfull with the American citizens who put their faith in you to solve the problems facing this country.

The soldiers you have sent into Iraq, Afghanastan, Iran, and other countries to fight for our defence had been misled, and we both know it. This men were sent to that country to take from power a man who we put there, sent to find weapons that you so stongly believe are present and have yet t show up, and to kill the so called 'terrorists' that simply fight so that they can have their own country. We fought Saddam, we 'freed' Iraq, but did we really? Our troops are still there, under your order, to 'keep the peace'. All they are doing is showing the Iraqi people that they cannot be trusted to govern themselves. Yes, you did push for elections in Iraq, to find a man that would be able to act as a president and set forth some kind of system for the country to work on. But when a journalist asks a man in Baghdad about the elections and the man has no idea what he's talking about, we have a problem.

Cindy Sheehan is sitting outside your vacation ranch, waiting for you to simply come out and speak with her. Thats all, she wants answers as to why he son had to sacrifice his life for this war of yours, which more and more is seeming like some personal vendetta against the middle east. Why did the 1.868-some soldiers had to give their lives for this? And why are you, sir, taking more vacations in this 'time of war', as you call it so often, than any other president in our history? This is NOT a time of rest, if you are so convinced that Iraq needs to be saved from the 'evil' of taking care of themselves, then why are you so reluctant in doing anything? Why the lies about the wepaons of mass destruction? These are only some of the questions that you need to answer, and I'm and most definitely sure that Mrs. Sheehan has many more for you, whenever you quit with cowering inside your bureaucracy and your meetings and just go outside and talk to the woman.

There are more problems in the world other than the ones you seem to think of so much. If only you would open your eyes and look beyond money, beyond the oil and beyhond your personal problems with Iraq and the rest of the middle east, you would see them. There are problems outside of what you are doing, and yes, this country is helping some of them, but not nearly as much as we should be. When was the last time you sent food to Niger? When was the last time you had the mind to even think about what is happening there? Personally I haven't had the resources to help those people, but you most definitely do. You are a christian, am I correct? Would Jesus ignore the problem there? No, I know for a fact that he would be there, praying with them, doing SOMETHING to help, instead of just throwing money at the problem, which indeed causes a bigger one since the government there is more corrupt than I could even imagine. Why not get off your little throne and help these people? Walk a mile in their shoes if you will, but for the sake of that country help them! Send food, send aid, send medical supplies and people who know how to use them! Spend the money you spend on war on helping people when they really need it, not just when it is convieniant for you and your administration.

These people are hungry and dying, and you have no love for them. They have no help in sight and you sit blind to the problem, feeding yourself more in a day than these people can eat in almost and entire week, and in some cases longer. It disgraces me to be an American when things like this can happen in the world and no one but a few college kids will take notice and make the effort to care.

Right now, as I work on this letter, there are people outside your little vacation home wanting you to come out and see for yourself what America really is. I agree with them ,and there is nothing about what they are saying that is not true. You lied, you cheated in this life and for that you have to take responsibility. There is nothing worse in this world than lying and causing the deaths of others, and that goes for anyone, not just us 'little people'. We are not little, we are not going to be crushed my you sick and twisted machine. They are proof of this, I am, everyone that WILL stand up for themselves against you, and against anything else they feel is wrong is proof that they cannot be crushed.

My life was changed greatly too, most recently, about two months ago my baby boy was born into this world, and I refuse to allow it to be run the way that it has been. If that means that I have to make myself heard, that I have to send this letter to you every day until you either fix the problem or resign, I will. But I refuse to allow my son to be brought up in a world that has been this ridiculously messed by YOU. You and your administration have screwed up a lot of things, and none of them can ever be fixed, but they can be helped. The lives YOU have given in Iraq are lives that have been lost, they will not return. But you can save the lives of the men still here. I'm sure more men will die before you pull our troops out. I know that they will and for that I deeply grieve. There is no way that I could understand the loss of a child, because mine is very young and so far healthy. But if you continue on the path you have been walking, there is more trouble ahead. There is trouble, not from me, no, but from the rest of the world. Already you have Cindy Sheehan and countless others that are ready to make the rest of your life a living hell if they can, and believe me, their conviction and constituion of faith is much deeper than yours, they WILL accomplish their goal.

In this life I have lost my father, not from war, but from a genetic abnormality that allowed him to die, for that I do not blame you. But I DO blame you for the loses of life in Iraq, and all of the other countries you have WRONGLY invaded and destroyed. Do you have any idea what you have done to the Iraqis? If you had the slightest clue you might actually care enough to stop this nonsense and save the lives of countless American troops and Iraqi innocents. YOU put our troops in the killing position, YOU put the Iraqi troops in a position in which they feel they have to kill, and YOU have fucked this country up beyond anything that any president has ever done. I appologize for my bluntness, but you HAVE fucked things up.

I strongly urge you, Mr. President, a title which you are showing that you are NOT worth being called sir, to pull out of Iraq, leave the middle east alone, and do something with your money and time that does not involve killing people. Those lives you have wasted thus far are the most important reminders I can give you, and they WILL haunt you for the rest of your life, I will make sure of that, if nessecary. But I know that Cindy and her supporters will not allow you to forget. I will not allow you to ignore this, and neither will the American people.

As I said when I began this letter, you have some problems to attend to sir, and they will not go away. These problems face the American people, they face Iraq, and they face every other man, woman, and child on this earth because YOU have brought them upon us. This war is not for peace, lets just admit that right now. This war is happening because you think that you need to take out the evil. Well, I have news for you, YOU ARE THE EVIL. You have caused this to befall us, and you have caused so many lives to be lost. The death toll of this stupid, meaningless war is ridiculous and they will not have died in vain. The American people will never forge the man who ruined the lives of so many, and neither will I.

For all of this, you will receive this letter every day.
For all of this, you will loose the respect of your own country.
For all of this, you will pay with your own lack of peace.
Do you hoenstly think that the people that died in the terrorist attacks of September 11 would actually want you to honor their memory by killing countless more Americans? Think about that Mr. Bush.

I know that Cindy Sheehan and the other will make sure of that. Their's is a mission of peace, not yours.

Yours in truth,

1600 acres.
Millions in the bank.
What's the count on evacuees who are being housed at the (now vacant) Crawford Ranch?

He's a "compassionate" conservative Christian after all.

Hell...my sister and a good friend of the family of moderate meanse are opening up their homes...so I figured he's GOTTA be doing the same.

I just thought maybe you'd have an answer on how many Bush is putting up down at the Ranch. I've got a feeling the answer is ZERO.


I couldn't believe it with my own eyes.

After a week of bumbling and inexcusable hesitation that'd be laughable if it weren't so damned tragic, Bush is to initiate an inquiry into the handling of the aftermath of the hurricane Katrina disaster. Good, you may say...an investigation is set to begin, so that lessons will be learned and that such a shambles is NEVER allowed to happen again. If not, but for just whom is to head the investigation...why, it's George Bush!

Incredible...just incredible.

With such arrogance, this is exactly the same as if Bush is giving the finger towards the groundswell of anger at his own disgraceful handling of the disaster (and that's something he's been caught on camera giving twice already). It's like giving all the guns and keys of a prison to the inmates. It's like letting the accused take on the roles of judge, jury AND prosecution. It's like Bush fucking the people of New Orleans over, and that he can do as he damn well pleases without retribution or accountability. There's a lot of pissed off people out there, and once they hear of this, I can only hope that they all DEMAND that such an inquiry become and remain fully independent and thorough, and will pass the blame and responsibility to where it truly belongs...and if the Bush administration is found to be partly at fault, then so be it.

Because mark my words on this. When such a Bush-led investigative report finally does get published, expect the Bush Administration to come up all smelling of roses, and that they can do no wrong, even as they leave others to take the fall.

And that is something that should not be allowed to happen. The thousands of dead and thousands more homeless demand it.


Here is the letter from Michael Moore -

HOW TO DIRECTLY HELP VICTIMS NOW: Wednesday, September 7th, 2005

Here's How You Can Make an Immediate Difference in Louisiana ...a message from Michael Moore

Friends,

There is much to be said and done about the manmade annihilation of New Orleans, caused NOT by a hurricane but by the very specific decisions made by the Bush administration in the past four and a half years. Do not listen to anyone who says we can discuss all this later. No, we can't. Our country is in an immediate state of vulnerability. More hurricanes, wars, and other disasters are on the way, and a lazy bunch of self-satisfied lunatics are still running the show.

So, in the next few days, I will write to you about what must be done about Bush and Co.

But today I want you to join with me in bypassing the colossally inept and incompetent Bush administration and get help DIRECTLY to the people of the New Orleans area -- right now.

A lot of you have written me to ask what you can do. Many don't know who to trust. Many want to do more than write a check. You are right to think that writing checks to relief agencies will not get water and aid to people in the next 48 hours. Checks will be needed later and can be written later.

I have a way, though, for each and every one of us to do something today that can affect people's lives TODAY.

For the past few days I've been working with a group that, I guarantee you, will get direct aid to the people who need it most.

Cindy Sheehan, the brave woman who dared to challenge Mr. Bush at his summer home, has now sent her Camp Casey from in front of Bush's ranch to the outskirts of New Orleans. The Veterans for Peace have taken all the equipment and staff of volunteers and set up camp in Covington, Louisiana, on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. They are accepting materials and personally distributing them to those in need.

This is where we come in. We need to ship supplies to them immediately. Today they need the following:

Paper plates, paper towels, toilet paper, baby diapers, baby wipes, baby formula, Pedialyte, baby items in general, powder, lotion, handy wipes, sterile gloves, electrolytes, LARGE cans of veggies, school supplies, and anything else to lift people's spirits.

You can ship these items by following the instructions on VFPRoadTrips.org. Or you can deliver them there in person. The roads to Covington are open. Here's how to get there. You can drop them off or you can stay and participate (if you stay, you'll be camping so bring your own tent and gear and mosquito spray).

If you can't ship these items or go there in person, then go to VFPRoadTrips.org and make an immediate donation through PayPal. Camp Casey-Covington will have immediate access to this cash and can buy the items themselves from stores that are open in Louisiana (all donations to Veterans for Peace, are tax deductible).

Each day I will post up-to-the minute information as to what is needed and the progress Camp Casey is making. Please visit MichaelMoore.com often and do what you can to help.

Many other groups are also doing good work. MoveOn.org has set up a system for people to offer rooms in their homes to the survivors.

There is no time to waste. People are suffering and dying. Each of us can do something. There is no other alternative.

Thank you in advance for your help. Tomorrow, we will take care of the other work we need to do about the ideologically hamstrung incompetents in charge.


George W. was out jogging one morning along the parkway when he tripped, fell over the bridge railing and landed in the creek below.

Before the Secret Service guys could get to him, three kids, who were fishing, pulled him out of the water. He was so grateful he offered the kids whatever they wanted.

The first kid said, "I want to go to Disneyland."

George said, "No problem. I'll take you there on Air Force One".

The second kid said, "I want a new pair of Nike Air Jordan's."

George said, "I'll get them for you and even have Michael sign them!"

The third kid said, "I want a motorized wheelchair with a built-in TV and stereo headset!!"

Bush is a little perplexed by this and says, "But you don't look like you are handicapped."

The kid says, "I will be after my dad finds out I saved your ass from drowning!"

Dear Sen. Feinstein,

I am so outraged the treatment our citizens of the South have had to endure since Katrina that I can barely breathe. It is such a failure of the "leadership" of our elected officials that it is mind boggeling. Do you think.we are so stupid as to be blind to the fact that most of these people are not only poor (a far too easy condition to be in these days) but African-American as well. Why on earth did it take so long for the Federal Government to just get the basics to these thousands of people? How could this have happened? What is wrong with the "leadership" of this country? Our own citizens pleading for help....dying in the streets...it's criminal. Our "National Guard" in Iraq instead of here.

I would love to blame Bush and his ilk, I mean administration...but that is far too easy. You, my Democratic representative, are not and have not gone after the utter distain with which this cabinet treats our citizens. Total disreguard is an understatement at best. Billions of dollars!!!!Billions!!!! have gone to a war based on lies, our soldiers sent to Iraq without the most basic military equipment... Killing thousands of innocent civilians in their own homeland. Billions!!! to Haliburton for abysmal performance. The GREED of these people in the adminsitration is nothing short of criminal...let alone the utter lack of ethics, morals and humane understanding of life and people. And the tax breaks for the rich??? Corporation loop holes...being rewarded for taking jobs out of the country...taking full advantage of the opportunities in a nation like no other then acting as if we owe THEM for just exsisting. Since when are employees just a barrier to more profit? No health care, lowest possible wages, "part-time" full-time jobs....loyality to share holders with no regard for the very people that make them RICH in the first place. It's sickening. To pretend Iraq was a threat to the US is just a ploy to upset the region and get our hands on their oil. Isn't Bush's ties to Saudia Arabia and his fortunes a direct conflict of interest with Office of President? Why don't I hear the Democrates in office, in a united voice challange, confront and attack the very basis of the Republican platform. Kerry lost because his campaign sucked! He should never have defended his military record...it stood all on its own and he played right into whatever dirty tricks Rove and his clan dreamed up.... They stole not 1 but 2 elections... oops...getting side tracked...

Why aren't my representatives screaming at the top of their lungs??? No backbone I suspect.

Not willing to put your career on the line for the greater good? Or just plain lazy?. How dare you let them go unchallenged!!!! I don't mean just on Capitol Hill but by spending $$$ on TV air time to dismantle the very group that threatens our Democracy to it's vary core. Hit the streets YOURSELF!. Quit being afraid to act and people will follow. And if at all possible.. I mean really...for God sakes...STOP SPEAKING LIKE A POLITICIAN! NO ONE HEARS YOU! It's one of the reasons Kerry lost. George Bush can barely put two coherant sentences together but he looks human. Stop speaking in sound bites and stop getting all defensive when the right-wing attacks. Go after them with the truth and don't back down. The entire planet depends on America to do the right thing...it's the only way there will be a chance for the survival of the earth. Stand up .... take charge for a change.... and take a risk for this country and its citizens. and... SPEAK LIKE A HUMAN BEING, SOMEONE WHOM ACTUALLY RELATES TO ITS CITIZENS.

By the way, I am a 53 year old, caucasian, single woman....California born and raised...voted every election...personal chef by trade, whom has watched the decline of this incredible country for the average citizen......I remember when a person whom worked a 40hr. week could at the very least support themself. These days you can work 2 full time jobs and still not be able to pay rent, food, MEDICAL and gas/utilities. And we are taxed to death in big and small amounts in unequal proportion to our incomes....everywhere. But when it comes time to slashing the budget the first programs that get hit the hardest are the ones that serve the poor, children, and sick. CEOs make millions while removing jobs, compromising safety all for the sake of profit. It's a disgrace. Rewarding giant corporations that pay their employees wages below the poverty line, informing them how to collect assistance from state and federal agencies because they are still poor enough to do so, is amoral. Period. Tax breaks for the richest 1%??? Unbelievable....but...."you are Blanche...you are in that wheelchair!" true.

Thank you, if you did indeed read this letter, for your time. One of the reasons I have never written to anyone in government is because I have serious doubts that you even have time to do so. I don't have the funds to contribute to campaigns so I know my voice is small. ...but not insignificant.

Hey Eric,

It's time for Louisiana to secede from the union and keep their tax money at home, since they got nothing from Bush, FEMA, and that joke, Homeland Security. I'd be the first to enlist in the Bayou Republic army, just out of spite for that piece of trash, GW Bush.

James