Msg. from Sen. Barack Obama, RE: Katrina

[babylonsister]

Here's that message from Senator Obama:



This week marks the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the greatest natural disasters to ever strike our shores. The images of Katrina are still seared in our minds one year later: mothers holding their babies above water, seniors slumped in wheelchairs, and bodies floating down American streets. We vowed then, and still vow today, that we'll never forget.

One of greatest tragedies of Katrina is that our government failed us. The people who are supposed to be there for us when the chips are down failed and forgot the hundreds of thousands of people who needed them the most—and left them to fend for themselves.

Out of all the sadness and despair, we were reminded of one immutable fact: America is great because Americans are good at heart. That's what Hurricane Housing was all about.

It Takes a Nation is the story of Hurricane Housing, and I was honored to write the forward. This collection shows everyday heroes at work and reminds us that the strength of our nation is not our government, but our fellow Americans. It Takes a Nation is a story of hope.

One year later and we're still hearing about survivors pleading with the government for trailers and food stamps. Today, many have already forgotten the tragedy—and how Americans stepped up in the face of massive government failure to take care of each other. The news cycle moved on, but those affected didn't have that luxury.

Hurricane Housing was about more than just donating a roof, the MoveOn community in cities across the country came together to provide jobs, clothing, and healthcare for complete strangers. Out of the disaster, lasting friendships, new levels of understanding, and new families were formed.

From the beginning, the idea that has been at the center of the American experience is that amid a melting pot of races and backgrounds and beliefs, we still feel a responsibility toward each other. That out of many, we are one.

It's what brought together white and black, rich and poor to march together and fight together for civil rights. It's what's caused soldier after soldier to risk their lives to save those people they never met. And it's what sent Americans from all over the country deep into the waters of New Orleans, willing to do whatever it takes to pull their neighbors to safety. And that's what It Takes A Nation is all about.

Thanks for all you do,

–Senator Barack Obama


P.S. You can get the book, read excerpts and see photos from it here:

https://civic.moveon.org/ittakesanation/book.html?id=8606-4911090-nhyjCZhnFLb.iMlI0eLYMg&t=4

[panader0]

1. Barak Obama has a great future in American politics

The level of incompetence before, during and after Katrina IS CRIMINAL, and deserves to be prosecuted. There are still trailers sitting unoccupied, (in Alabama?), thousands of them. The contractors put them in a field, where, after heavy rains, turned to mud The trailers then sank into the mud, twisting their frames and making them useless, impossible to haul. What INCOMPETENCE!! HECK OF A JOB ALRIGHT!!

[babylonsister]

2. I think they got stuck in Arkansas, but I agree; no one with any brains

will forgive this bunch of criminals. They just don't care despite what they try to say to the contrary.