The Reverend Jesse Jackson can suck my balls.

[-=Asmodeus=-]

I am now entirely Pissed of at the way the media is handling the whole hurricane report...

I just saw Jesse Jackson on CNN I think it was and he was trying to blame the lack of Federal help on the fact that it was because most of the victims are Black...FUCK THAT STUPID BASTARD....It has nothing to do with race...He was saying that this country has been down on Black people ever since the boats dropped off slaves...

What kind of bullshit is that???

He was also trying to chastise the media about the whole looting thing by what he said was only showing Blacks doing the looting...Hell most of New Orleans is Black....Its not the cameras fault that when they were shooting they didnt catch any of the white ppl looting...

Why is it in this Day and age that in a time of crisis someone wants to pull up the race card??? EVERYONE DOWN THERE IS SUFFERING...White Black Yellow all the wonderful colors of the world...Yet someone has to pull Racism out of the closet....

So to the Reverend Jesse Jackson SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU RACIST PIECE OF SHIT!!!! I was only upset before but now I am pissed...

[ForrestBlack]

The coverage is racist.

[Amelia G]

It seems really surreal and impossible that the extreme suffering there has not been stopped by now. Jesse Jackson is not my favorite guy, but do you think there is no truth to race maybe playing a part in this crisis going on so long?

I just can't understand how it can have gone on so many days now. I'm not saying the racial demographics of the area are a factor, but what do you think is the reason it is taking so long to send help?

[-=Asmodeus=-]

The coverage is racist.

Please explain...I am listening..

but most of what he is saying is that the lack of aid is because most of the people are black...

[Sex_Kitten]

That's fuckin bullshit, I hate it when people pull that fucking racist card. EVERYBODY is suffering, even the people that live up here in Michigan. The fucking taxes that they're pulling out of my fucking paycheck is going to the victims, NOT just to the fucking black people. Jesse Jackson can go shove his fucking black cock up his fucking ass until his face turns white like Michael Jacksons, because to say that the camera people are racist......is just bullshit, we can't help it if New Orleans is mostly black, that's something that isn't tolerable at all.

[killerkat]

i could only findd it funny,....

there trying to blame it on race,and all that...

that all your see are black people...


N.O. IS MAINLY fucking black people,hahahhahahah.....fucking idiots,man...

[Amelia G]

Anybody? What is the reason it has taken so long to send help when help is obviously needed?

[killerkat]

Anybody? What is the reason it has taken so long to send help when help is obviously needed?

because our gov. is bullshit...


also (im wearing my tinfoil for this) it's taking off the edge to those that are about to impeach our shitty "pres." there's been a real push to impeach over the last months....

[ForrestBlack]

They sent in 18 busses with a heavily armend continget to save the people stranded in the Ritz Carlton. When white people get supplies from a flooded store, they call them survivors. Look who they call looters and who they dont. It's plain as day.

911 is a joke...

[-=Asmodeus=-]

It seems really surreal and impossible that the extreme suffering there has not been stopped by now. Jesse Jackson is not my favorite guy, but do you think there is no truth to race maybe playing a part in this crisis going on so long?

I just can't understand how it can have gone on so many days now. I'm not saying the racial demographics of the area are a factor, but what do you think is the reason it is taking so long to send help?

I cant understand either...I believe there are a lot of factors in this tradgedy....Those who were in positions of authority were caught with their pants down...I dont know how but they were...the amount of damage that was done was not evident at first....The organization of the relief is non-Existent at first....The government sucks because they had to have meetings and vote on the decision to send aid money to the area....The people in the area such as police who are supposed to be helping are also Victims, they are tring to survive and help others....

People want to blame the mayor and the local police for some of the problems but what they forget to think about is that these people are Victims as well....

I am not trying to sound one sided but just from what I am seeing and reading its just extrememly frustrating on how the media is trying to capitalize on this catastrophe....Maybe I shouldnt post while angry...Just venting I guess....

[Amelia G]

They sent in 18 busses with a heavily armend continget to save the people stranded in the Ritz Carlton. When white people get supplies from a flooded store, they call them survivors. Look who they call looters and who they dont. It's plain as day.

911 is a joke...

I recommend footnoting the PE quote in this context.

[Amelia G]

I cant understand either...I believe there are a lot of factors in this tradgedy....Those who were in positions of authority were caught with their pants down...I dont know how but they were...the amount of damage that was done was not evident at first....The organization of the relief is non-Existent at first....The government sucks because they had to have meetings and vote on the decision to send aid money to the area....The people in the area such as police who are supposed to be helping are also Victims, they are tring to survive and help others....

People want to blame the mayor and the local police for some of the problems but what they forget to think about is that these people are Victims as well....

I am not trying to sound one sided but just from what I am seeing and reading its just extrememly frustrating on how the media is trying to capitalize on this catastrophe....Maybe I shouldnt post while angry...Just venting I guess....

Oh, man, do I agree with you on the police thing. We have things like the National Guard partly because locals are likely to be victims too in situations like this, whether or not they wear a badge. They are complaining that 20%-60% of the police force has "deserted" when really they just mean that those are the people who are not guarding the police station and doing similar tasks. Some of them probably fled the city when the evacuation order was given or as soon as the extent of the horror became apparent. They probably lost everything too. Some may be helping family and friends. Some may just be helping in general, going where they are needed and not where they are told to go.

[ForrestBlack]

The South is racist... The recovery effort has certainly had racial elements. And the coverage has portrayed blacks as more of a criminal element. That may even be statistically supportable, but when white people are shown doing the exact same thing, it's called something else. I could quote Lou Dobbs etc, suggesting the problem is hitting the black community in N.O. becasue the mayor is black. People simply would not roll with the suggestion that we shoot people in the street if they were white people. I don't believe that for a second.

Even up to the President smirking while stating New Orleans will rise again. His little confederate in joke. Race certainly is a big issue in how this is being handled. Maybe if enough of the poor population of New Orleans dies of dehydration, disease, or simply being shot like wild dogs, his number of people below the poverty line statistics will start to look better.

[cheinara wraithwalker]

The South is racist... The recovery effort has certainly had racial elements. And the coverage has portrayed blacks as more of a criminal element. That may even be statistically supportable, but when white people are shown doing the exact same thing, it's called something else. I could quote Lou Dobbs etc, suggesting the problem is hitting the black community in N.O. becasue the mayor is black. People simply would not roll with the suggestion that we shoot people in the street if they were white people. I don't believe that for a second.

I don't give a fuck what color they are, if they're shooting at people trying to help and murdering/raping helpless people, then I'd shoot them.

[-=Asmodeus=-]

The citizens of N.O. are going to have to pull together and try to help themselves....AND I DO UNDERSTAND they were completly wiped out...My family lost everything in a Tornado 2 years ago...The area we lived in was totally wiped out by a Class 5 Tornado on the Fujita scale...NOTHING WAS LEFT...Instead of sitting there and whining that we had nothing we got up and helped with the clean up....and we bounced back

NOW I know that what happened to us and what happened in N.O. is barely comparable...But in the same sence it is...These people can sit there and bitch and complain about the government till they die but it wont help the situation they are in...They need to organize the people and get them acitive in helping the recovery...I dont know how this could be done and I am not going to pretend I do...

I cant even begin to imagine what these people are going through....But I dont see how sitting on their ass and bitching at the government is making anything better...The government is finally getting the relief up to speed and it is begining to come together..Yes it was a few days too late but there is nothing we can do about that now...What we can do now is look at how it is shaping up ...

My fingers hurt and so does my head..I am just gonna sit back and see how flammed I get for this thread....

[Amelia G]

I don't give a fuck what color they are, if they're shooting at people trying to help and murdering/raping helpless people, then I'd shoot them.

Okay, I'm playing devil's advocate a bit here, but what if they are shooting at rescue transport which is being brought out for upper class white people while they are watching their own darker complected children die?

I haven't seen any footage which convinces me New Orleans is particularly more dangerous than usual now anyway. A lot of it is probably just demonizing the victims.

[Amelia G]

I cant understand either...I believe there are a lot of factors in this tradgedy....Those who were in positions of authority were caught with their pants down...I dont know how but they were...the amount of damage that was done was not evident at first....The organization of the relief is non-Existent at first....The government sucks because they had to have meetings and vote on the decision to send aid money to the area....The people in the area such as police who are supposed to be helping are also Victims, they are tring to survive and help others....

People want to blame the mayor and the local police for some of the problems but what they forget to think about is that these people are Victims as well....

I am not trying to sound one sided but just from what I am seeing and reading its just extrememly frustrating on how the media is trying to capitalize on this catastrophe....Maybe I shouldnt post while angry...Just venting I guess....

I agree that people need to help themselves once the crisis has passed and I applaud you for having what it take to pick yourself up again and do so. I've been in pretty sucky circumstances and I built my life back up again. I'm horrified that they are making all sorts of resolutions to raise all of our taxes to subsidize rebuilding the property, but the human beings are being left to literally rot. The thing that makes my head throb is the way the whole area is being allowed to settle into serious disaster and chaos, when it didn't have to be this bad at all.

[killerkat]

Okay, I'm playing devil's advocate a bit here, but what if they are shooting at rescue transport which is being brought out for upper class white people while they are watching their own darker complected children die?

I haven't seen any footage which convinces me New Orleans is particularly more dangerous than usual now anyway. A lot of it is probably just demonizing the victims.

do they normally shoot at camera crews & cops...and the their choppers?.....


i've seen video of the crews and cops getting shot at,only heard reports about the choppers...

[cheinara wraithwalker]

Okay, I'm playing devil's advocate a bit here,

You certainly are. ;P

If they're willing to shoot at people because they're not picking them up, it's still shooting at someone that's trying to save lives. If I was me and my family in a mass of black people, and they were picking up only black people, would you expect me to shoot at the people picking them up? So why would it be okay for them to shoot at me? I'd be pissed as hell, and sad, and depressed, and probably a little crazy in the head, but I probably wouldn't shoot at the only thing that could get me and mine out of that mess. I say probably because it depends on how crazy I was at the time. But if I get to that point, it wouldn't matter who I was shooting at.

[-=Asmodeus=-]

OMG....There was another group complaining that this whole thing is racial...They stated that mostly black people are suffering in this tradgedy...WELL NO SHIT....67+% of the are hit is black....What do they want more Yellow white and other color people to move in to stop mostly black people from suffering next time this happens...Instead of getting onthe news to promote your group how about getting active and just try to help the Millions of people who are suffering from this tremendous catastrophe....

It sickens me to see these groups doing what they can to get some press time instead of doing what they can to help...

[cheinara wraithwalker]

OMG....There was another group complaining that this whole thing is racial...They stated that mostly black people are suffering in this tradgedy...WELL NO SHIT....67+% of the are hit is black....What do they want more Yellow white and other color people to move in to stop mostly black people from suffering next time this happens...Instead of getting onthe news to promote your group how about getting active and just try to help the Millions of people who are suffering from this tremendous catastrophe....

It sickens me to see these groups doing what they can to get some press time instead of doing what they can to help...

I'm really tired of the race card, period. There are blacks out there that give other blacks a bad name, just like there are whites out there that give other whites a bad name. Life is just that. That's how it's been for a while now. My husband works with this black guy that doesn't keep his uniform in order (it's always dirty, he wears his hat backwards with the bill flipped up), NEVER does work when he's told to, and normally walks off the job 2 hours early to let everyone else stay behind. (The sad thing is with the military, you normally don't get more than a slap on the wrist for this, at least under this command. The worst you get is two weeks of "vacation" where you don't go to work, but it's still paid for.) Anyway, since my husband is the guy in charge (Master at Arms) of that shop, he called him out on it (which is encouraged before you report them.) The guy pulled the "Oh, it's because I'm black" card.

...No, it's because you're fucking lazy, and you haven't proven that you're worth a shit around here. Why in the hell did you join the military if you can't hack it?

[Sex_Kitten]

Personally I'd like to sit on my ass and not do anything, but what else can our country do? By the fucking time that we can pull some of our troops out of Iraq ( nothing against your husband being in the military Cheinara) we could be saving some money and using it to help out people in N.O instead of administering a democracy to a country that doesn't want one. I don't know if I'm just being plain stupid and saying the wrong thing, or even if the two is related or not. I just think that it's quite bullshit about how our government handles things in emergency situitations like this. Everybody is running around like a chicken with their fucking head chopped off, instead of trying to help with problem, they're making it worse.

[cheinara wraithwalker]

( nothing against your husband being in the military Cheinara)

Pfffffffft, there was nothing to take offense at.

[Sex_Kitten]

Alright, I just didn't want you to take that as offensive if you did.

[KilLAtomiK]

well he could suck your balls but why would he ?

[-=Asmodeus=-]

Okay, I'm playing devil's advocate a bit here, but what if they are shooting at rescue transport which is being brought out for upper class white people while they are watching their own darker complected children die?

I haven't seen any footage which convinces me New Orleans is particularly more dangerous than usual now anyway. A lot of it is probably just demonizing the victims.

Short simple answer to your devils advocate (Which I love to do when there is a debate)....In a time of crisis...If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem...And right now in New Orleans the problem department is full....

The thugs who are shooting at people (White Black Indian Hatian MARTIAN) I dont care, should be handled with EXTREME Prejeduce...
At this time I think FULL and Complete Marshall Law should be induced to take control of the situation and bring order back. Not to punish the people who are tired, hungry, frustrated, I cant blame them but those who wish to induce Chaos & Anarchy in an already Chaotic situation should be taken out of the equation even if it means that the body count would rise...If killing one person would result in 3 people getting the help that they need it would be worth it in my opinion....

[mmmcherry]

i honestly dont remember hearing about a natural disaster with this much bullshit involved... DAMN...

i swear i fucking hate some people sometimes, dispite the fact that countless thousands of people are helping in any way they can, people tend to remember only the bad shit, instead of the good, and all people are going to remember from this disaster is the idiots looting stores and shit. i can understand taking food when you need it, sure, but why exactly do you need a tv or whatever when you have no more home to put it in??

[mmmcherry]

and i think whoever decides next to play the race card crap should be smacked. hard.

[Morning Glory]

for reals just look at the facts. the majority of people in new orleans are black. the majority of criminals are people that commit crimes. the majority of people that commit crimes are people. therefor the majority of people that commit crimes are black. it's obvious. what's up with all this accusations of racism?

by the way, in case it's hard to tell I am being sarcastic. but this is the kind of shit they do, instead of outright saying racist things, they skew logic so that the only conclusion is one that supports racism. but then of course if you try and call them on it, they will deny it, and say "well you interpreted that as racist.. I never specifically said that."

[Morning Glory]

and it seems pretty clear to me that the people that are saying "shut the fuck up, don't even say this is because i'm black, it has nothing to do with race" aren't black, and aren't people that have been mistreated because of thier skin color. prove me wrong. really. show me one person from the ghetto that's being beaten up by police that says "no, no, this has nothing to do with race or economic status. people just need to stop bitching about it. thank you officer, you're doing a fine job."

or is that it's only well off white people that are making the statement that there is no racism?

[Morning Glory]

I don't know where to put this since there are so many threads about NO, but I think it should be said and it kinda ties into what im saying.

This morning I was wacthing a news station and they had a reporter live at the convention center interviewing people and walking around the place and he was saying "everyone here is totally peaceful. it's perfectly fine for national gaurd to come in. all they want is help, there's tons of people here sick and dying. they are just waiting for help, and whenever they get here it will be fine."

five minutes later I changed to another station and some douche bag rep for the guard was saying "we aren't going to go to the convention center, it's too dangerous there."

[Cafe_Post_Mortem]

You know, Jackson plays the race card pretty quick these days, and it is a disgrace sometimes. On the other hand, one cannot help but notice how much more quickly Florida recieved aid for the last big hurricane. Maybe it is economics, maybe politics, but the aid got to Florida faster and it takes some effort to ignore the race factor.

[malcolm]

ok. I agree jessee jackson is an idiot. When he first started the rainbow coalition and was working with people like martin luther king jr and shit, he was a gopod man and he had something to fight for but nowadays-cultures in america are so mixed that racism is (although still there) getting to be less and less of an issue. when i look at people personally (being a southern born man) I dont see race. when your in the military the only colors you shoul pay attention to are red white and blue and to be honest-the majority of the whole fuckin delta and mid south is black and racist as hell. Jessee jackson and miuchael moore and whats his name who just got a post made are nothing but windbags right now adding fuel to the flames. if they wre really bought something, they would shut the fuck up and help instead of adding more complaints about stuff that really is unnecessery. and the reason why it took so long for emergency aid?
1. the first two days all roads in were completely submerged as reports on the news indicated.
2.emergency aid helicopters were being shot at by gangs in new orleans trying to run the streets.
3.The news reporters from every station around the country were coming in to the damn football collesium and setting up doing doicumentaries and around the clock coverage, hence blocking all wyas into the football stadium.
4. Some kid decided to high jack a school bus and load it up with survivors and asnt alowed clearance into the football field.
5. weapon checks had to be done for when the survivors were allowed in because of murders and ***** that had occured in the football stadium already due to people not being checked for guns and knifes.

If anyone caught news clips before the hurricane hit, youd of seen the president was gettin emergency aid ready for when it hit days before it happened. the man cant make a hurricane not hit its a natural disaster just as much as he cant make food and water magically appear out of thin air and to top it all off the local government had no set plan of evacuation nor emergency aid of their own. they just told every one to get out and had no idea how theyd get the people out who were without transportation or in rural areas.

anyways-im done i wont even bother to read the rebuttals to this long as speach i just made.
and to those who dont like the way things are runned right now in the government I ask you this-DID YOU VOTE? I know I voted for kerry prsonally so if you wanna bitch about bush and didnt even bother to fill out a little piece of paper shorter than a frickin ged, You have no right to complain.
and yes, It is a tragedy what happened, i have been worried for a week bout my sis who lives in lake charles and who has friends in nawlins so. It is a bit concerning here too. shes okay though lake charles wasnt hit but there are survivors there now who were hit.

[Amelia G]

ok. I agree jessee jackson is an idiot. When he first started the rainbow coalition and was working with people like martin luther king jr and shit, he was a gopod man and he had something to fight for but nowadays-cultures in america are so mixed that racism is (although still there) getting to be less and less of an issue. when i look at people personally (being a southern born man) I dont see race. when your in the military the only colors you shoul pay attention to are red white and blue and to be honest-the majority of the whole fuckin delta and mid south is black and racist as hell. Jessee jackson and miuchael moore and whats his name who just got a post made are nothing but windbags right now adding fuel to the flames. if they wre really bought something, they would shut the fuck up and help instead of adding more complaints about stuff that really is unnecessery. and the reason why it took so long for emergency aid?
1. the first two days all roads in were completely submerged as reports on the news indicated.
2.emergency aid helicopters were being shot at by gangs in new orleans trying to run the streets.
3.The news reporters from every station around the country were coming in to the damn football collesium and setting up doing doicumentaries and around the clock coverage, hence blocking all wyas into the football stadium.
4. Some kid decided to high jack a school bus and load it up with survivors and asnt alowed clearance into the football field.
5. weapon checks had to be done for when the survivors were allowed in because of murders and ***** that had occured in the football stadium already due to people not being checked for guns and knifes.

If anyone caught news clips before the hurricane hit, youd of seen the president was gettin emergency aid ready for when it hit days before it happened. the man cant make a hurricane not hit its a natural disaster just as much as he cant make food and water magically appear out of thin air and to top it all off the local government had no set plan of evacuation nor emergency aid of their own. they just told every one to get out and had no idea how theyd get the people out who were without transportation or in rural areas.

anyways-im done i wont even bother to read the rebuttals to this long as speach i just made.
and to those who dont like the way things are runned right now in the government I ask you this-DID YOU VOTE? I know I voted for kerry prsonally so if you wanna bitch about bush and didnt even bother to fill out a little piece of paper shorter than a frickin ged, You have no right to complain.
and yes, It is a tragedy what happened, i have been worried for a week bout my sis who lives in lake charles and who has friends in nawlins so. It is a bit concerning here too. shes okay though lake charles wasnt hit but there are survivors there now who were hit.

Malcolm, please don't say you won't read responses to what you wrote. If you expect people to take your words into account, you should be willing to find out what they have to say as well.

A couple of yahoos supposedly shooting at emergency helicopters were NOT the reason it took five days to really start bringing help. I don't know what the reason is. I believe in America and I believe in the might of our military and the wealth of our resources. So I don't understand how so many people were left to perish and rot.

I find it implausible that the National Guard would refuse to go somewhere because there was civil unrest. Whether or not people were riled up at that point, what do you think the National Guard's job is? If they don't want to do their job, they shouldn't be taking our tax dollars.

That weapons checks thing is bullshit too. New Orleans is dangerous under the best of circumstances. In this sort of situation, the number one thing I would pick up is water and number two would be a toss-up between food and a gun. The National Guard is supposedly too pussy to come protect me? The police and military are stretched to thin to protect me? You can be damn sure I'm going to be armed.

[Sex_Kitten]

and to those who dont like the way things are runned right now in the government I ask you this-DID YOU VOTE? I know I voted for kerry prsonally so if you wanna bitch about bush and didnt even bother to fill out a little piece of paper shorter than a frickin ged, You have no right to complain.

I agree, I think it's bullshit that people can bitch and complain about gas prices and New Orleans etc... Not to draw the line in the sand with democrat/republican.....but who are the fucking people that voted his ass into office??? Who decided to be gung - ho about shipping people over to Iraq to a government that doesn't want a democracy?? and there are people DYING because of your stupid fucking descision?? Republicans are bitching about the fucking gas prices when they're the people that voted him into office. I could bitch about Bush all day, but I don't feel like starting a forum fight because of the republican/democrat thing.

[ForrestBlack]

I am actually really aghast that the powers that be have trained people into believing that these sorts of situations SHOULDN'T be politicized (particularly if they reflect poorly on the current administration.) We live in a democracy, an informed public debate is the foundation of our society. If a government official or agency appears to have done a poor job, it should be questioned. It's not unpatriotic. It's the core of BEING patriotic. Sure, action is important and should be a higher priority than debate, but this new notion that we can't hold leadership accountable for damn near anything is totally counter to our nations principles.

We need the Mayor Ray Nagin's expressing outrage, we need the Lt. Gen. Russel Honore's kicking ass and making thing happen, we need the top level officials answering the hard questions, and we even need people like Michael Moore, Reverend Jesse Jackson, etc. to stir debate so that we can all make up our minds about what is working and what is clearly not.

[Tequila Zaire]

I ask you this-DID YOU VOTE? I know I voted for kerry prsonally so if you wanna bitch about bush and didnt even bother to fill out a little piece of paper shorter than a frickin ged, You have no right to complain.

Now that's just silly...you have a vast number who don't vote for presidents, mayors, etc. for reasons that range from "The candidates are all idiots" to shady voting procedures that manage to make some states "non important". It's not a perfect system by any means and it may shock you to know many people don't trust EITHER party in any case and want nothing to do with the situation. When it's "tool #1" vs "Tool #2" and you're gonna get fucked over by both the same way...the hell is the point?

[Tequila Zaire]

I am actually really aghast that the powers that be have trained people into believing that these sorts of situations SHOULDN'T be politicized (particularly if they reflect poorly on the current administration.) We live in a democracy, an informed public debate is the foundation of our society. If a government official or agency appears to have done a poor job, it should be questioned. It's not unpatriotic. It's the core of BEING patriotic. Sure, action is important and should be a higher priority than debate, but this new notion that we can't hold leadership accountable for damn near anything is totally counter to our nations principles.

We need the Mayor Ray Nagin's expressing outrage, we need the Lt. Gen. Russel Honore's kicking ass and making thing happen, we need the top level officials answering the hard questions, and we even need people like Michael Moore, Reverend Jesse Jackson, etc. to stir debate so that we can all make up our minds about what is working and what is clearly not.

Idealy yes but when you have a clear pattern of such events being used not to raise public debate and questioning but to advance personal careers and agendas (Like ole Mikey and Jesse) it becomes very easy to be cynical. The aftermath of all this will be politicized without much effort by all...but can't we leave that out of the picture for at least the time period needed to keep people from dying? When more effort and time is put in political parties taking pot shots at one another than actually helping...that's a diservice. Debate is fine and well...but like everything it has it's time and place.

Their is no need for people to state the obvious over and over again trying to get their mug on as many channels as possible. At least keep the focus on the people effected directly for now. Use that outlet so they can find family, friends, relocate, etc.

The issues raised by this disaster will be debated for decades to come...and in the case of men like Mikey and Jesse...blatently exploited to no ones good but their own. They've done it before and they'll do it again. I use to respect both men and thought they did a lot of good...but like many of their type, they've become like lawyers chasing an ambulance.

The right questions are being raised and debated...but it keeps falling to the wrong people asking them to speak for all as it where. That does far more harm than good in the long run.

[Amelia G]

Now that's just silly...you have a vast number who don't vote for presidents, mayors, etc. for reasons that range from "The candidates are all idiots" to shady voting procedures that manage to make some states "non important". It's not a perfect system by any means and it may shock you to know many people don't trust EITHER party in any case and want nothing to do with the situation. When it's "tool #1" vs "Tool #2" and you're gonna get fucked over by both the same way...the hell is the point?

Well said.

If the Democrats want to beat the Republicans, they can't do it by trying to be poor charicatures of what they think Republicans are. Both times we got a Bush in the White House, we had PMRC people on the Democratic ticket team supposedly opposing them i.e. Tipper Gore and Kitty Dukakis.

[ForrestBlack]

Idealy yes but when you have a clear pattern of such events being used not to raise public debate and questioning but to advance personal careers and agendas (Like ole Mikey and Jesse) it becomes very easy to be cynical. The aftermath of all this will be politicized without much effort by all...but can't we leave that out of the picture for at least the time period needed to keep people from dying? When more effort and time is put in political parties taking pot shots at one another than actually helping...that's a diservice. Debate is fine and well...but like everything it has it's time and place.

Their is no need for people to state the obvious over and over again trying to get their mug on as many channels as possible. At least keep the focus on the people effected directly for now. Use that outlet so they can find family, friends, relocate, etc.

The issues raised by this disaster will be debated for decades to come...and in the case of men like Mikey and Jesse...blatently exploited to no ones good but their own. They've done it before and they'll do it again. I use to respect both men and thought they did a lot of good...but like many of their type, they've become like lawyers chasing an ambulance.

The right questions are being raised and debated...but it keeps falling to the wrong people asking them to speak for all as it where. That does far more harm than good in the long run.

The problem is that anyone voicing their critical opinion is being characterized as mugging for coverage, pushing their absurd agenda, etc. Every protest, every issues leader, etc. The lesson is, speak up and you will be destroyed, humiliated, and dismissed. Reasonable people see that clearly and no longer bother to voice their reasonable concerns, and the 'yahoos' that are left are used as a symbol of why people shouldn't speak up. I certainly don't agree with a lot of what Mr. Moore says, but maybe in there somewhere, he has a point worth considering, same goes for Mr. Jackson, etc. Obviously people shouldn't take 100% of one speaker's agenda, but I think it's bad for the Nation to characterize those willing to stand on their soapboxes and express their views as somehow disruptive embarrassing unprofessional unamerican clowns.

Do I give an ear to every nutjob with a sandwitchboard and something to say, no, certainly not, but the trend towards abusing these people and dismissing them wholesale, well, it kinda nauseates me.