| ©Random Thoughts &Opinions ....from a true renaissance man By Neville R Waters |
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Random thoughts and opinions from a true renaissance man…Current
events can sometimes outstrip the timeliness of this column as I was
prepared to write about the failures of the Bush Administration’s Iraq
War policies with “War…What is It Good For?” by Edwin Starr as the
theme song, Hurricane Katrina blasted thro the Gulf Coast…& added
to the political woes of the current administration. I do intend to blast
the MF, but first the tragic circumstances wrought by this natural
events can sometimes outstrip the timeliness of this column as I was
prepared to write about the failures of the Bush Administration’s Iraq
War policies with “War…What is It Good For?” by Edwin Starr as the
theme song, Hurricane Katrina blasted thro the Gulf Coast…& added
to the political woes of the current administration. I do intend to blast
the MF, but first the tragic circumstances wrought by this natural
disaster are heartbreaking…the images
(mostly of New Orleans) are horrific and
saddening because there appears to be a
helplessness that bespeaks to the lack of
organized planning and response by the
government which is in place first and
foremost to provide basic protection for its
citizens…rather than expending resources
to pursue some ill-fated, misguided, fuzzy
(mostly of New Orleans) are horrific and
saddening because there appears to be a
helplessness that bespeaks to the lack of
organized planning and response by the
government which is in place first and
foremost to provide basic protection for its
citizens…rather than expending resources
to pursue some ill-fated, misguided, fuzzy
objective of expanding democracy to those who have no
understanding of what democracy means, the Bushies should be
helping OUR PEOPLE!!! Those with the most needs are, of course,
those with the least voice…how many political contributions were
made by those left stranded…what was their level of voting
participation…do they even know the names of their political
representatives or the governor…I love Gov Blanco, but I gotta
coupla issues with Mayor Nagin…I mean you calling out folks which is
cool, but wazzup with all them school buses parked under water
when you know some of your folks got no means to evacuate…those
school buses shoulda been full days ahead of the storm and the
Superdome shoulda be prepared as a shelter with proper services,
water and facilities…the “system” doesn’t work for the general
populace… let’s be frank when the Bush campaign manager Joe
Allbaugh hires his college buddy Michael Brown to run FEMA even tho
he lacks the qualifications does anybody point to affirmative action as
a culprit for that agency’s poor response to Hurricane Katrina…true
democracy is a farce…the more overriding system at work in this
country is capitalism…I ain’t sayin she a gold diggah…thus it takes
money to gain access…ahhh, I hear the O’Jays singing money,
money, money in my ears…whoops, I digressed for a moment…it ain’t
necessarily wrong, but it ain’t necessarily what the framers of the
Constitution had in mind… the need for a strong central government
was driven by a recognition that a federal government rather than
individual states was the most efficient means of protecting its all of
citizenry of the country and not just those with means…majority
rules, minority rights was the mantra of that time…but the democratic
system has morphed into something that Thomas Jefferson likely
would not recognize. Democracy requires a literate public that
participates in the process…we cling to this concept while in reality,
political campaigns are run based on what demographic is gonna
vote and who is not gonna participate…& yet WE take on the
imperialistic attitude that WE know our democratic system is best for
others…WE know the best way to run another country because WE
are never wrong…that’s some silly, naïve, arrogant shit that has
made this Prez a weak leader around the world…he has squandered
the international good will and support that the 9/11 attacks had
engendered…he has no clue what to do in Iraq…& make no mistake
about it Iraq is more unstable and more of a haven for terrorist
activity today than it ever was under Saddam Hussein…he was a bad
guy, but he was contained & the cost for his removal is high and
growing daily…& lest we forget as Bush & his cronies have seemingly
conveniently forgotten - Osama bin Laden is still hangin around…I
wonder if Osama takes a five-week vacation on his ranch while his
legions continue to fight…which again lest we forget was where the
Prez was at the time of Hurricane Katrina. What will Bush be
remembered for…Kanye West may have offered an insightful (if not
totally accurate) sound bite that will follow them both for
years…George Bush doesn’t care about black people…I would modify
that sentiment to say that Bush is unaware of black or poor
people…& as an aside I don’t think Kanye was so calculating that he
made the remarks as PR for his latest recording Late Registration…he
may or may not be the smartest person in pop music as the cover of
Time magazine proclaimed recently, but I think he was expressing his
sincere feelings…now back to Bush bashing (oooh it feels so good to
knock him out the box)…Bush is simply out of touch which is reflective
of his administration’s approach to Iraq…whew, I done whipped this
horse to the point of feeling like a broke down slave. His efforts to re-
build New Orleans will have a more lasting legacy than the supposed
war on terrorism which cannot be won through armed conflict...
having been to New Orleans…the parts away from the French
Quarter…reveals a very poor city…I was surprised and appalled that
people were living in shacks…well, when the city is rebuilt what
becomes of those who used to live in such abject poverty…will they
return to their hometown…will they be able to afford to return…will
they be given new homes in much better condition…what will be the
price tag to return…what will become of this opportunity to recreate
one of what was formerly one of America’s great cities…a place that
gave us great music…Harry Connick Jr, the Marsalis family, the Neville
Brothers, Fats Domino who needed to be rescued and the now
deceased Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown…not to mention Master P
…well, I guess I tried not to mention Percy Miller, but he was a major
source of assistance…& the food…yes, FAB food was the norm. We
gotta hold the power brokers accountable to ensure that the good
times roll again…thank you for your time this time until next time.
understanding of what democracy means, the Bushies should be
helping OUR PEOPLE!!! Those with the most needs are, of course,
those with the least voice…how many political contributions were
made by those left stranded…what was their level of voting
participation…do they even know the names of their political
representatives or the governor…I love Gov Blanco, but I gotta
coupla issues with Mayor Nagin…I mean you calling out folks which is
cool, but wazzup with all them school buses parked under water
when you know some of your folks got no means to evacuate…those
school buses shoulda been full days ahead of the storm and the
Superdome shoulda be prepared as a shelter with proper services,
water and facilities…the “system” doesn’t work for the general
populace… let’s be frank when the Bush campaign manager Joe
Allbaugh hires his college buddy Michael Brown to run FEMA even tho
he lacks the qualifications does anybody point to affirmative action as
a culprit for that agency’s poor response to Hurricane Katrina…true
democracy is a farce…the more overriding system at work in this
country is capitalism…I ain’t sayin she a gold diggah…thus it takes
money to gain access…ahhh, I hear the O’Jays singing money,
money, money in my ears…whoops, I digressed for a moment…it ain’t
necessarily wrong, but it ain’t necessarily what the framers of the
Constitution had in mind… the need for a strong central government
was driven by a recognition that a federal government rather than
individual states was the most efficient means of protecting its all of
citizenry of the country and not just those with means…majority
rules, minority rights was the mantra of that time…but the democratic
system has morphed into something that Thomas Jefferson likely
would not recognize. Democracy requires a literate public that
participates in the process…we cling to this concept while in reality,
political campaigns are run based on what demographic is gonna
vote and who is not gonna participate…& yet WE take on the
imperialistic attitude that WE know our democratic system is best for
others…WE know the best way to run another country because WE
are never wrong…that’s some silly, naïve, arrogant shit that has
made this Prez a weak leader around the world…he has squandered
the international good will and support that the 9/11 attacks had
engendered…he has no clue what to do in Iraq…& make no mistake
about it Iraq is more unstable and more of a haven for terrorist
activity today than it ever was under Saddam Hussein…he was a bad
guy, but he was contained & the cost for his removal is high and
growing daily…& lest we forget as Bush & his cronies have seemingly
conveniently forgotten - Osama bin Laden is still hangin around…I
wonder if Osama takes a five-week vacation on his ranch while his
legions continue to fight…which again lest we forget was where the
Prez was at the time of Hurricane Katrina. What will Bush be
remembered for…Kanye West may have offered an insightful (if not
totally accurate) sound bite that will follow them both for
years…George Bush doesn’t care about black people…I would modify
that sentiment to say that Bush is unaware of black or poor
people…& as an aside I don’t think Kanye was so calculating that he
made the remarks as PR for his latest recording Late Registration…he
may or may not be the smartest person in pop music as the cover of
Time magazine proclaimed recently, but I think he was expressing his
sincere feelings…now back to Bush bashing (oooh it feels so good to
knock him out the box)…Bush is simply out of touch which is reflective
of his administration’s approach to Iraq…whew, I done whipped this
horse to the point of feeling like a broke down slave. His efforts to re-
build New Orleans will have a more lasting legacy than the supposed
war on terrorism which cannot be won through armed conflict...
having been to New Orleans…the parts away from the French
Quarter…reveals a very poor city…I was surprised and appalled that
people were living in shacks…well, when the city is rebuilt what
becomes of those who used to live in such abject poverty…will they
return to their hometown…will they be able to afford to return…will
they be given new homes in much better condition…what will be the
price tag to return…what will become of this opportunity to recreate
one of what was formerly one of America’s great cities…a place that
gave us great music…Harry Connick Jr, the Marsalis family, the Neville
Brothers, Fats Domino who needed to be rescued and the now
deceased Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown…not to mention Master P
…well, I guess I tried not to mention Percy Miller, but he was a major
source of assistance…& the food…yes, FAB food was the norm. We
gotta hold the power brokers accountable to ensure that the good
times roll again…thank you for your time this time until next time.
| More Random Thoughts August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 |
Fats Domino being rescued
E! Online photo
E! Online photo