Look at the email forward I got...what would you say?

[lizlib]

An Eyewitness Account of Katrina's Aftermath:

by Sarah DeLuna

To my friends and family: What I have seen since Katrina:

The poor and the wealthy hurt by the storm.

Black, White, Hispanic, Oriental and Indian all hurt by the storm.

Christian people givin g, giving, giving.

Churches going all out to minister in Jesus' name.

Neighbors going door to door helping one another.

Thugs and hoodlums going door to door looking for someone vulnerable.

Ice and water being fought over as police tried to keep the peace.

People coming up from New Orleans taking over empty houses because shelters are full.

Out of t! own volunteers coming with food and staying for now a week still serving it.

The Churches all over this part of the country doing what Christians do in a crisis.

The Red Cross doing a great job in the shelters.

The Salvation Army doing a great job in the community.

Four Hundred crewmen from everywhere bringing back the power to our homes, churches and businesses.

Lines at service stations a block to a mile long.

National Guardsman patrolling the streets of McComb along with Kentucky
policemen protecting us from the hoodlums and thugs of McComb, Pike County and New Orleans (the most dangerous city in the world before Katrina.)

Drug dealers working outside shelters.

Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel working tirelessly, even
sleeping in the hospital to do the jo b God called them to do.












WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN:

The ACLU setting up a feeding line.

People for the American Way helping in the shelters.

The NAACP doing any work whatsoever.

The American Atheist organization serving meals in the shelters.

Jesse Jackson directing traffic at the gas stations.


Al Sharpton cooking meals for the workers.

I could go on, but you get my message. It's the Christian people with love
and compassion who do the work. The gripers in Congress should come on down and get in line to pass out the water and ice. Are you listening Hillary, Chuck, Teddy and all the sorry loafers we call Senators and Congressmen.


They don't have a clue as to what this life is all about here on the Gulf Coast.

Boy, I feel better now

[rocktivity]

Make a list of what YOU have and have not seen

Bush not holding the line on living wages

Bush not rolling back his tax cuts

Bush playing guitar having birthday cake

New Orleans not having Category 4 levees

etc.

:headbang:
rocknation

[elehhhhna]

4. Cat. 3, evidently. See thoday's news

Kat was a Cat3 when it hit NO

[tanyev]

1. Send them this list.

Local failure caused by FEMA (Nobody saw FEMA there, either)
1000 folks from the Lafayette area with 500 boats head to NO to aid the rescue get turned back by FEMA.

Wal-Mart trucks with food and water get turned back by FEMA. More here

The USS Bataan off the coast of LA ready to help, but underused by FEMA. See also here

Shipments of diesel fuel being turned back by FEMA

firemen from Houston turned away by FEMA

More fire fighters turned away.

Angel Flight South Central seaplanes getting a run around from FEMA

DMAT Teams available but still on call.

Red Cross kept out of New Orleans. Note: this is actually attibuted to the state Homeland Security department. More information on who is responsible for this decision would be helpful. See also here

Northcom ready to act, but not given needed orders.

Mobile medical lab stalled in Mississippi. Doctors and hospitals offering aid but not getting response. This article is a bit confusing as to whether the problem is at the state or federal level or both.

NYT article discusses the controversy and provides additional claims of FEMA interfering generally and some specific examples.

Florida airboaters stalled by FEMA.

Water tanker aircraft for fire fighting and Amtrack trains for evacuation. See here.

Morticians turned away.

Maryland fire fighters blocked by FEMA.

Generators turned away by FEMA in Slidel.

Nevada law enforcement volunteers put on hold.

Wisconsin busses turned back by red tape at several levels

Michigan buses

Aid from Chicago

500 search/rescuers in Dallas hotels waiting

Fire fighters in Dallas. This could be another story about the same previous group. If anyone knows, I'll adjust the post accordingly.

CA cautioned by FEMA to go slow in accepting survivors or it might loose funds.

Long list of foreign aid refused by the federal government. I don't have a reference for this, so if anyone has it, please let me know.

American authorities "to busy" to respond to Canadian offers of aid

http://constructiveinterference.blogspot.com/2005/09/local-failure-caused-by-fema.html

[lizlib]

16. wow

what a great source of information! :)
Its from my sister in law.

What I don't get is recipients of government assistant who are repugs. I don't understand and never will. My sister in law has lived off the government for 6 years now and yet she sends me stuff like this???
I know one who lost her daycare benefits because she got a driving car-but she had to make payments and it was valued over $3K.
And she voted for chimp

Stuff like blindly following drives me nuts!

[The Stranger]

20. What about Franklin Graham saying New Orleanians are Satan worshippers?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. Reply: Please name your political leaders that are cooking meals,...

directing traffic, or helping in any way.

[electropop]

9. Al Gore brought in 2 planes and rescued 200 hospital patients.

That'll piss off your "friends."

[calico1]

11. Right. And he didn't seek publicity for it either. n/t

[calico1]

15. Oh, another thing you may want to add is

all those Hollywood "elite" that went down to help like Julia Roberts, Sean Penn and Mathew McConaughey. Oprah gave $10,000,000 of her own money too.

[sniffa]

3. orientaLs?

:eyes:

i haven't seen:
'americans for tax reform'
the NRA
the heritage foundation
the moraL majority
haLLiburton

i couLd go on and on

[RoBear]

8. Best response to this garbage.

The other day I got an email from a friend who is really rather liberal that spoke of purported nastiness by those receiving care from one who allegedly was there. Wanted to vomit. WTF is the difference if they accepted it graciously?

[blondeatlast]

27. Last time I looked, my Punjabi hubby was Asian. Good catch! nt

[hobbit709]

5. The problem with the people

that send this kind of drivel is their minds are made up without any facts to confuse them. I had a fundie send me this about 3 weeks ago. There's no use in trying to refute this. I just delete crap like this without dignity of a comment to the sender.
P.S. Interesting that the version I got had a different name under the title.

[Taxloss]

6. The atheist organisations don't have the vast infrstructure

of local bases that Christian churches do; it does not have the ability to mobilise people; nor does it have the authority to mobilise people. Furthermore, it does not have the fundraising capacity of Christian churches - and it submits the correct paperwork for taxation, unlike Christian churches, so it would be an inadequate filter for fundraising. What's more, it encourages private, personal conscience, not ritualised giving, so atheists would not flaunt their charity, and many secular charities ARE aiding relief.

This email is extraordinarily bigoted.

[MindPilot]

26. Just cruise over to atheists.org to see what the un-stupid are doing

Meanwhile at the Westboro Baptist Church's site, you'll find this:

"Thank God for Katrina
New Orleans, symbol of America, seen for what it is: a putrid, toxic, stinking cesspool of fag fecal matter."

[vademocrat]

7. Tell her Michael Moore is down there -

here's part of his email he sent yesterday - full details on his website www.michaelmoore.com. He & the Veteran's for Peace have been doing wonderful work -

0/4/05

Friends,

My staff has been down in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast for nearly a month now setting up and running our own relief effort with Veterans for Peace. The overwhelming response from so many of you has directly affected the lives of thousands of people. Here's what we've been able to do with your help:

** Over 500 tons of food, water, clothing, medical supplies, baby products, feminine hygiene products, cleaning supplies, power tools, and a boat and trailer for reaching those still flooded by water have been distributed directly to those in need

** Over 10,000 aid packages have been sent by you via UPS and FedEx to our camp and distributed

** Over two million dollars in donations, food, water, and supplies have been sent and distributed

** Tractor trailers, dozens of 20 foot trucks, six school buses, and other vehicles arrived loaded with supplies. Most stayed on to help distribute donations


Maybe tell her to think for herself...:shrug:

(edited to add email info)

[smoogatz]

28. Great stuff--that will no doubt chap the ass of good Xtians everywhere.

[radwriter0555]

36. Karl Malone brought in his logging co crew to clear lots and debris for

poor people, and wouldn't work for the rich ones who wanted to pay him;

[radwriter0555]

37. Oprah Winfrey has set up a fund with 10 MILLION dollars... Robertson

has donated how much from his pocket again?

[radwriter0555]

38. HEINZ Charitable Trust has anted up 2 Million bucks of goods and services

now... how much has HALLIBURTON donated?

[calico1]

10. I know there were reports indicating that

the stories of looting, raping, etc, were greatly exaggerated. I don't have a link but I know that was in the news. The list provided on this thread of all the help turned away is excellent. You also might include all the foreign help that was turned away, the British c-rations that were burned, etc. Oh, and you may want to remind this person that "Oriental" is not used anymore. Its kinda like saying "colored" isn't it?

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

12. This email is very un-Christian and mean.

I can tell that and I am not even a Christian myself. It's just a bunch of straw-man arguments that point hateful fingers at other people. I would tell the person to stop forwarding such trash to me.

[blondeatlast]

18. Spot-on, friend.

When God's people are drowning, God's not going to smite those that are getting their hands dirty, even if they are missing church to help. Or have never been to one in the first place.

[blondeatlast]

13. Non-Christian people giving, giving, giving.

Schools, clubs, loose collections of humanity banding together to help out with car washes, bake sales, and volunteering to collect doantions.

City of Phoenix firefighters being turned away by FEMA even though they were asked to assist. (I work for the City of Phoenix).

Al Gore knee deep in muck rescuing people and helping to clean up without a camera crew and first responders straight out of Central Casting.

FWIW, I am deeply Christian, but I saw plenty of atheists and agnostics and Jews and Wiccans and Pagans and Muslims helping out any possible way they could think of.

[ucmike]

14. whenever i get these from my mom.....

i respond, 'i don't mind when you send me news links to stories that back up your views, but don't send me poorly written email forwards. thanks.'

[MindPilot]

17. Fuck these self-righteous Christian assholes.

My ATHEIST girlfriend gave up her HOUSE to a family of Katrina victims. Her whole fucking house. Rent-free. For as long as they need it.

She's staying with me, still paying her mortgage, gas & lights water PLUS helping me with my expenses. How many CHRISTIANS are doing that, huh?

Have I mentioned today how much I hate these people?
:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[The Stranger]

19. What about Franklin Graham saying New Orleanians are Satan worshippers?

[The White Tree]

21. Tell her about the NEA

The National Education Association - once called by a Bush administration official a terrorist organization. My wife works for their member services center and they are currently getting killed with phone calls. The reason: They are offering direct aid to students, teachers and school employees affected by Hurricane Katrina.


<http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2005/nr050921.html>

The funds provided by NEA will help displaced students buy school supplies, textbooks and in some cases, clothes. In addition to the goal of raising $1 million in aid, NEA assistance includes setting up a toll-free helpline for school employees affected by the hurricane and creating the NEA Adopt a School program to match donors with schools and classrooms in need of assistance.

[blondeatlast]

22. Please let us know how you will respond to your friend.

I think you've gotten mostly very thoughtful examples of why the e-mailer is quite mistaken.

[lizlib]

31. what i've done so far...

Last night I responded with I call bullshit on this. Please look at the forwards I get and sent the photo 'story' about the days after the hurricane and thier 'first response' was with guns etc...
Then I said if stuff like this pisses you off maybe you should think twice before you forward stuff to people. Christians don't have all the answers. As an agnostic American I have donated the money I had to an organization I support but you wouldn't acknowledge that because its not your church. (do you need a bigger one?)

then later on I sent her the michael moore email but I'm not done...I also hit reply all.

I'm still boiling..

[Leeny]

23. Say it ain't so

Just because they didn't see something doesn't mean it isn't happening.

[meganmonkey]

24. I can provide a real specific example of non-Christians....

going WAY out of their way to help out.

Seven of my friends jumped in their recently purchased old school bus, filled with water, food, and money donated by friends (also non-Christians) to support them on their trip.

They spent a couple weeks down there, bypassing the system to distribute food and supplies. They worked out of a supermarket that had been turned into a warehouse. One friend cooked meals at a makeshift kitchen for everyone from nat'l guard, police, firefighters, and other volunteer aid workers. They took abuse from FEMA, and other aid orgs who I shall not name who call themselves Christian....

They kept at it until their bus broke down and they couldn't move supplies anymore.

Goddamn heathens :eyes:

I even have a link, unlike that email...

--------------------------

7 load bus with food, water and head to Mississippi

Seven Michigan men drove to the Hurricane Katrina disaster area in a school bus loaded with food, water and other basics, the Ann Arbor News reported Saturday.

The men -- six from Ann Arbor and one from Fremont -- bought the bus earlier this year for camping trips. But now, it's in Gulfport, Miss., where the men are volunteering at a closed supermarket where relief supplies are collected and distributed.

Frustrated that goods often weren't getting from the supermarket to people in need, the men loaded their bus with supplies and drove into devastated communities. They've made deliveries to people in apartment buildings, churches and other sites.

"Some of them have lost absolutely everything," said Jonathan Lurie, 35, of Ann Arbor.

http://www.freep.com/news/latestnews/pm5963_20050910.htm

[blondeatlast]

25. Move On has coordinated housing for over 250,000 dislocated

people.

Please read the cosponsors at the bottom of the page for their cosponsors--a stellar collection of progressive organizations that have no stake in helping. That's what progressives do.

http://www.hurricanehousing.org/

[MindPilot]

32. Does that include the 109 that FEMA takes credit for? n/t

[smoogatz]

29. The most dangerous city in the world?

NOLA wasn't even the most dangerous city in the U.S. What a maroon.

[The White Tree]

30. What the NAACP was doing

From their web site.

NAACP
<http://www.naacp.org/>

On their front page:

Help Delivered to More Than 2,200 Hurricane Survivors
NAACP Disaster Relief workers, including staff and volunteers, coordinated the delivery of resources and information for more than 2,200 hurricane survivors in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Florida in the last two weeks, including emergency supplies and housing for families and individuals.

[AllegroRondo]

40. They are also getting families back together

by providing free airline tickets to families that were split up during the evacuation.

[zbdent]

33. Say this about Jesse Jackson - he probably would have been

shot by the National Guard as a "looter". Besides, he's supposed to be a spiritual leader, right? His job is not to "direct traffic". For that matter, I didn't see Trent Lott, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannitty, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Dr. Laura, Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan, out there directing traffic, either.

What I did see is that Michael Moore's organization has been doing a lot of work for the Katrina victims, and Ed Schultz actually had brought a family out of the area and got them jobs. And Al Gore got a friend of his to fly a plane down there loaded with supplies and coming back with families. But you don't see that in the "media" either . . .

[spuddonna]

42. Jesse Jackson took 3 buses to New Orleans and helped evac people!

Jesse Jackson wasn't out directing traffic - he was in New Orleans before FEMA was, and had three buses evac'ing people!

He made a press conference statement after his first day of doing this to let people know that they had no problem with 'shooters or looters' and that they just kept finding people in dire need of help.

He decried the criminalization of the poor citizens of NO, and actually did help in person, so this just kind of disinformation just pisses me off.

Quote from chain mail:"They don't have a clue as to what this life is all about here on the Gulf Coast."

Either does the writer of this chain letter apparently! :)

[NoPasaran]

34. Catagory 5 Stupidity n/t

[lizlib]

35. repost

Last night I responded with I call bullshit on this. Please look at the forwards I get and sent the photo 'story' about the days after the hurricane and thier 'first response' was with guns etc...
Then I said if stuff like this pisses you off maybe you should think twice before you forward stuff to people. Christians don't have all the answers. As an agnostic American I have donated the money I had to an organization I support but you wouldn't acknowledge that because its not your church. (do you need a bigger one?)

then later on I sent her the michael moore email but I'm not done...I also hit reply all.

I'm still boiling..


I intend to hit reply all everytime I find something I want them to read to see how long it takes for someone to ask me to stop :)
I don't even know the people on her reply all but know my in laws are some of them. Can't even pay their bills anymore because the economy is so bad yet bush is king.

[Skittles]

39. I would say to you

please take your crap propaganda elsewhere

[Catherine Vincent]

41. That's an email for dummies.

"Christian giving"...as if they are the only ones that gave to the cause. And if you think about it churches are doing what they are supposed to do...give to the community etc. in time of need. If you compare what their duty is as compared to the NAACP, you would look to the church for charity. But as a previous poster noted above, the NAACP did contribute.

[dogday]

43. Know what I have seen?

An email that uses one of the worst catastrophes in our history to try to hurt the Democratic Party.

Does the venom ever stop flowing from the Right? Whoever did this should be ashamed they used Katrina for the purposes of promoting the Right. All they did was show the true colors of these people. That they do not care about the misery and burdens of the poor...

[Sweet Freedom]

44. Just because she didn't see it

doesn't mean it didn't happen

Point out that she never saw anything that supposedly happened in the Bible. Then point out that truly good Christians believe in all of God's children and would never judge them.

Does she even live on the Gulf Coast? ("They don't have a clue as to what this life is all about here on the Gulf Coast.") If she doesn't, then point out that she too doesn't have a clue as to what life is all about on the Gulf Coast.