Letter Of The Day

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the nation is realizing the reality of what has happened to our country.

As we witness the looting of stores in New Orleans, mostly for food, medicine, water and clothing, the looting not being discussed is the looting that occurred years ago: The looting of the treasury by the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress.

As Bush and the Republicans depleted the surplus left by President Clinton, as well as cut funding to essential services while providing billions of dollars in tax relief to the wealthy, the reality of their policies are being played out before our eyes.

As American taxpayers are spending billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq, Bush can’t find the time or the means to provide water to those suffering in New Orleans.

While Republicans like Congressman Tom Latham of Iowa regurgitate “Stay the course in Iraq for as long as it takes,” Republican House Leader Dennis Hastert of Illinois expresses doubt on spending money to rebuild New Orleans.

Listening to some Republican talking points, one is left with the impression it’s the fault of those suffering for not leaving. Their fault because they have no car or transportation? Money for a bus ride; money for a hotel out of the danger zone? Family to take them in?

The truth is, their fault was believing that our government was going to respond to the impending threat by sending the National Guard and transportation to get them out. Oh, that’s right. There is no Guard — it’s in Iraq.

What is happening to our country, what has happened to our nation is shameful, a tragedy that goes beyond Hurricane Katrina.

To paraphrase Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, “Our national crisis is managed by the ‘president’ we got, not the ‘president’ we want.”

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