The BBC sums it up pretty well, sometimes you need to be slightly removed from a culture to see it best.

"The uneasy paradox which so many live with in this country - of being first-and-foremost rugged individuals, out to plunder what they can and paying as little tax as they can get away with, while at the same time believing that America is a robust, model society - has reached a crisis point this week."

In other words we Americans value the go it alone rugged, take care of things on your own, never ask for a handout idea very highly. We value individual responsibility so highly that when we see people living in poverty and without health insurance the first thing we do is blame them for their own misfortune. We assume that the poor are lazy, they should be able to help themselves and live the American rags to riches dream. And when they don't live that dream we call them lazy, and when they finally go through the effort to ask for a 'handout' to help them improve their own lives we get upset and say that they are taking advantage of our government. The current Neo-Conservative administration takes this argument to its extreme, while at the same time believing with fierce conviction that America is a robust, model society. The current crisis in Louisiana shines light on the inherent fallacy of this way of thinking.

America as a whole is used to fending for itself, not looking toward the community in times of need. We can see that in New Orleans the federal government expected the affected cities and states to fend for themselves. We can also see that many of the stranded people of the city expected that they had to fend for themselves and use violence to get what they needed to survive. But what shines through all these examples is that expecting people to simply fend for themselves is a terrible policy that leaves an incredible number of people stranded and without hope. This flood simply allows us to see the people, and see that they are victims, rather than debating whether the people exist and whether or not the plight they face is their own fault. Here we can see that the fault lies with our broken system.


PS
The NY Times also wrote a great piece about people being stranded in poverty and how things have changed since 2001. I have archived it here "Life in the Bottom 80%"

I'm very tired, but I'd like to say some things about the disaster in New Orleans, I appologize if my writing is a little mangled but I think I've learned some things about the situation that people may not know, and I think it is important.

The Iraq War has made the situation FAR worse than it needed to be. the first reason for this is that nearly 40% of Louisianna and Mississippi's National Guard is in Iraq . that means 40% fewer of the best equipped first responders.
The second reason is that money that should have gone to the Army Corps of Engineers went to tha war effort. I know some people will call this a conspiricy theory or something but I research things before I go spreading them around as fact, here's a quote from the Times-Picayune.
"Army Corps of Engineers construction projects in the state, including levee and drainage projects in the New Orleans area, will see significant cuts.
The corps' New Orleans District, which stretches across the state's coastline, will get $290 million, a $34 million reduction from the dollars allocated for fiscal year 2005 by Congress, and almost $300 million less than the district says it needs to complete proposed and ongoing construction projects. (the same article said that they needed $63 million just to repair the Levees, they got almost half of that for the whole Louisianna coastline)(2-8-2005 "Bush budget cuts levee, drainage funds")

As many of you probibly already know New Orleans thought they had made it through the storm ok on Monday, then overnight the 2 of 4 levees broke, then everything went to shit. The levees should have been fixed. if our president wasn't parading around the middle east inciting terrorism, while at the same time pushing through tax cuts for multi millionares, the levees would not have broken. the Army Corps of Engineers is in charge of fixing the Levees but unfortunately that branch of the army got its budget cut. The city and state were begging the federal government for funding and instead it got cut, and now the whole fucking city is under water. This is why we have the National Guard, they're a state malittia whose commander in chief is the governor, right now 3,000 of Louisianna's National Guardsmen are watching this disaster on TV from fucking Baghdad when they should be at home helping people survive. so not only is this war costing billions of dollars, the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Civillians, and thousands of military personell, NOW it is costing the lives of thousands of American Civillians on the gulf coast.

And where is the fucking president? he came back to Washington today, how generous, he took 2 days off his vacation and flew back to the capital 3 days after the storm. and now he's on TV and everywhere else trying to make it look like he cares. let's think about it for a second, before today the president spent a whopping 1 minute and 25 seconds talking to the people of America about the Hurricane, and he did so at 9am, at the beginning of a 40 minute speach that was focussed on selling the war in Iraq and comparing it to WWII . The Hurricane happened on Monday, that's 3 days before he got back to Washington, and in that time he spent a pathetic 1.25 minutes talking about what may be the worst Natural Disaster to strike America in a century. I have bad news for any gullible Republicans who think this asshole actually gives a shit about America. He doesent care, he got back to washington today and his PR people ar like "Um, Mr President, you look like a real fucking asshole right now for ignoring this tragedy, we got some speaches and plans ready for your lazy ass and unless you want Americans to catch on to the fact that you don't realy give a shit about them you better move fast." so I looked at the Witehouse website yesterday and it only mentioned the Hurricane in the sidebar, today the 4 top stories are about the Hurricane and there's a big glossy picture of the president standing with his father and clinton looking important.

that's all for now, if anyone finds something about how the bush administration refused to fund Levee construction in the news please let me know I want to know if anyone is covering this story.

I stumbled upon this quote from George Orwell

"The great enemy of clear language is insincerity."

"When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink."

so next time you hear Byron Brown speak, remember that one, and vote for someone who's trying to rock the boat.

There is a vary interesting display downtown today and tomorrow that adresses the Human cost of the Iraq War. it's called Eyes Wide Open and it was created by the American Friends Service Committee. it feartures a pair of boots for every soldier killed in Iraq. the one that is in Buffalo today and tomorrow represents the number of National Guardsmen killed, some 280 people. it's striking to see, it helps give us perspective on the number of people that those "casualty figures" actually represent.

I urge everyone to go see it tomorrow, it will be in Lafayette Square in Downtown Buffalo from about 9:00am - Dusk.

Here are some pictures that my girlfriend Molly took at the one today.









More Images in My Flickr Blog

Just some recent pictures of mine.

I'm testing how I can post pictures on this site. so don't mind me, :)

Some people had mentioned how dissatisfied they are with our government and the war in Iraq, and mentioned they'd like to become more involved. Well... I'm here to help. I've been traveling to Washington for protests, finding alternative sources of news, and helping organize events locally since before the war in Afghanistan. if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them.
For starters here's some info about an upcoming protest in Washington DC. If you've never been to DC for a protest you should do whatever you need to to get you ass on the bus. It's extremely empowering to be around so many likeminded and determined people. Though it won't make president Bush immediately realize how stupid this whole thing is, it'll do a lot for you and the others that care about what is happening in the world, including those around the world who are losing faith in american Democracy.

Here's the info:
[size=m]
Massive Demonstration to End the War in Iraq[/size]
September 24th in Washington, DC
Buses from Buffalo -- $40 per seat (Extremely Cheap)

Reserve Your Seat on the Bus -- Call 894-2013 Today!

After years of sustained effort by our movement, decision makers in
Congress and elsewhere have finally realized that something must be
done to end the Bush administration's disastrous war against Iraq. With
the recent introduction of the bipartisan "Homeward Bound" resolution, it's
clear that opposition to the war has begun to move from the streets into
the halls of Congress.

It's more important than ever that the peace movement continue to
demand an end to the war. United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), the
nation's largest antiwar coalition, has called for a massive demonstration
in Washington on September 24th to demand that our representatives
stand up to George Bush and do what it takes to bring our troops home.
As a member of UFPJ, the Peace Center will be sending buses from
Buffalo to the rally in Washington.

For more info on the rally, see unitedforpeace.org . To reserve a seat
on the bus, call the Peace Center at 894-2013.

"A campaign is being launched this week by a host of groups including
Progressive Democrats of America, Peace Action and others to demand
an exit strategy from Iraq. A central part of these efforts is a new
petition which lays out a way to get out of Iraq and will be
presented to Congress in mid-September."
(description from Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation 8/16/05)

This statement is one of the most concise and well worded arguments for why we need to get out of Iraq now. it covers so many problems in so few words. it lays out the reasons and provides the bedrock initiatives that would lead to a dignified end to the occupation. I wanted to share this with people, so I'm posting it here.
Enjoy.

[size=m]A Petition for an Iraqi Peace Process[/size]

"For Mr. Bush, questions about an exit strategy in Iraq have become
especially delicate as a crowd of anti-war protesters has expanded at
the edge of his ranch, rallying around Cindy Sheehan, the California
woman whose son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004."--New York Times,
Aug. 12, 2005.

Like our friend Cindy Sheehan, we are tired of waiting for our troops
to come home. We are tired of the bloodshed, tired of tax dollar
waste, tired of torture cover-ups, tired of contractor scandals,
tired of deceit and fabrication. We are tired of elected officials
with profiles in compromise rather than courage.

It is dishonest to admit there were no weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq, only to invent new reasons for inflicting mass destruction on
that country.

It is dishonorable to fix the facts around the policy.

It is unacceptable to admit that going to war was a mistake, only to
claim that the mistake must be perpetuated.

Because we cannot wait for our government to lead, we shall become
leaders in ending the war ourselves. We shall propose an exit
strategy from Iraq and demand that our government listen and follow.
Because we cannot wait for our government to plan for peace, we call
on civil society to make our government pay attention.

There are simply no military solutions to this bloodshed. The
American military presence, threatening to Iraqi nationalism,
religion and culture, is the main cause of the violent response from
Iraqis. US policies are pushing Iraq toward civil war, with our
government funding and arming Shiites and Kurds against Sunnis.
Nearly half of the Iraqi national assembly has called for the
“departure of the occupation”. The State Department’s own internal
surveys show that a majority of Iraqis feel less safe in the presence
of the American occupying forces. Since the invasion and occupation,
the status and safety of women in Iraq have declined precipitously.

Iraqis themselves are calling for the end of occupation. One million
recently signed a petition demanding the withdrawal of foreign forces
from Iraq. Initial peace talks among Iraqis are already underway. Our
government is deaf to these Iraqi voices for peace.

It is time to shift from a military model to a conflict-resolution
model aimed at a peace process and negotiated political settlement.

We propose the following principles as essential to ending the
war in Iraq:

First, as a confidence-building measure, the US government must
declare that it has no interest in permanent military bases or the
control of Iraqi oil or other resources.

Second, as a further confidence-building measure, the U.S. government
must set goals for ending the occupation and bringing all our troops
home - in months, not years, beginning with an initial withdrawal of
troops by the end of this year.

Third, the US government must request that the United Nations monitor
the process of military disengagement and de-escalation, and organize
a peaceful reconstruction effort. The US must accept its obligation
to fairly compensate Iraqis for damages, assist Iraqi reconstruction,
cease the imposition of privatization schemes, and end the dominance
of US contractors in the bidding process.

Fourth, the US government should appoint a peace envoy independent of
the occupation authorities to underscore its commitment to an
entirely different mission, that of a peace process ending the
occupation and returning our soldiers home.

Fifth, the peace envoy should encourage and cooperate in talks with
Iraqi groups opposed to the occupation, including insurgents, to
explore a political settlement. The settlement must include
representation of opposition forces and parties, and power-sharing
and the protection of women's rights as core principles of governance
and economic and energy development. We believe such an initiative
will reduce, though not eliminate, violence by lessening any
rationale for Jihadist or sectarian conflict.

We send this message to all Americans in civil society, to our
elected officials, and to the global peace movement. We demand that
Congressional hearings begin to define an exit strategy now. We
demand that members of Congress, reflecting the will of the people,
adopt policy and budget initiatives that call for an exit strategy
based on the above principles. We demand a peace envoy, peace talks
with the opposition, reconstruction, the closure of US bases, and the
safe return home of all US troops.

I am updating my Flickr blog I put some more pictures of my Allentown neighbourhood online, Ind I'll have pictures from the Adirondacks online soon.

Congress refused to approve Bush's appointment for UN Ambassador, so what's the solution? maybe we should pick a different person, perhaps someone that isn't so controversial, maybe someone who is representative of americans and their elected officials in washington. Maybe Bush should go to his second or third choice seing as how John Bolton doesen't even have the support of a good number of Republicans, let alone Democrats. The responsable, American, --pride in our fine democratic system which we hope to spread around the globe-- thing to do, would be to appoint someone who is representative of the greatest number of Americans and their ideals. Afterall this person is the face that America choses to represent their collective interests on the world stage.
Obviously the Bush administration is not at all interested in Democracy no matter how many times they use the word to justify their actions. the goal for Bush and his Neo-conservative buddies is... ABSOLUTE POWER!!!!!
Bush "sidestepped" Congress and appointed Bolton anyway. he waited untill the senate was in recess so that they could not vote against him, infact they couldn't vote at all because they're Not There!!!! ... wait a minute let me say that one more time, Our President didn't like the result when he used the democratic means sanctioned under our constitution, so he avoided democracy entirely and forced america and the world to accept his decision whether they like it or not.

From the NY Times

here's one article from Yahoo News

I like this site, but unfortunately I haven't had much time to mess around with it and post much. so to show some love here's a link to my Flickr Photos.


:)