From Nola.com:
By Bruce Alpert
Washington bureau
WASHINGTON -- President Bush will be in New Orleans on Wednesday to observe the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the White House has announced.
It provided no details of the president's itinerary. The visit will be Bush's 13th to the New Orleans area since Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005.
Be sure to read at least a few of the comments to Alpert's story to get an idea of what the folks in New Orleans think of his visit.
In the comments to my post about attending the Rising Tide Conference 2 in New Orleans, Cynthia asked about A Day of Presence:
Massive demonstration on August 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans
Mimi, will you be going?
I did not know about this demonstration, but now I can say for sure that I will not be going, because whole portions of the way into the city will very likely be blocked off, because of Bush's visit. As I noted in this post, our president does not like to see demonstrations of dissenting views. We'll see what happens with the demonstrators if Bush is going to be anywhere near the Morial Convention Center.
One of the writers in the panel discussion at Rising Tide 2 said that the people of New Orleans thought that they had a democratic contract with their government to care for them in a time of great trouble, but they now know that there is no such contract. Those in the rest of the country must know that the same thing could happen to them - they could be abandoned by their government when they are most in need. When I can find this woman's name, I will pass it on.
So. It's Bush's 13th visit. Mr President, the folks in New Orleans need more than your presence. The people of New Orleans need you to honor the democratic contract that they thought they had with their government.
Oh, lucky you (plural). I will pray for NOLA that day... in church this morning, we prayed for everyone affected by Katrina as they try to rebuild their lives two years later.
ReplyDeleteI think this comment at NOLA is pretty good:
ReplyDeleteWhy don't we all just line the streets with our beloved Amercan flag turned upside down in the international sign of DISTRESS!'
Caminante, thank you for the prayers. They are much needed. Among the survivors of Katrina, there is still much DISTRESS.
ReplyDeleteTotally clueless or utterly callous: why not both? I'd be amazed if I hadn't already seen too much of these rats.
ReplyDeleteTwo short ones that I liked:
ReplyDeletewhoop-de-freaking-doo, lets give ole dubya a medal
Maybe I should invite all them to my slab in Arabi!
I do think the upside down flags are a good idea.