"The Big Easy" meets "Sin City"= GUILT...
I have to admit that I feel a bit guilty. We landed in Las Vegas yesterday for a trip planned way before Hurricane Katrina was even a thought or tropical low. My partner John and I are here for part business, part vacation. It's just a few days and the hightlight of this visit is a concert by Kelly Clarkson on Saturday, a big favorite of John and me.
On the flight from Texas, our flight attendant announced that in the spirit of Las Vegas we were going to play a game. If you wanted to participate, you had to take out a dollar bill and write your seat number on it. The money would be pooled and a dollar would be pulled from the "kitty" in determining a winner. The great part was that half of the money would go to the hurricane relief effort. The pool pulled in $150.00. This was a small gesture, but a reminder that this disaster has touched everyone. As far as Las Vegas, it's what I expected. I'm more of a nature guy.
The momentum gathering in the criticism of the Bush administration on the initial response to this disaster must continue. As the days, weeks and months go by, many of us will want answers. The information that Secretary of State, Condi Rice was shopping for shoes and Vice-President, Dick Cheney was house hunting in the Chesapeake Bay area while this disaster unfolded is appalling. Cheney's appearance in coastal Mississippi (no more than a photo opp.) had a heckling moment looped on national news channels. The Bush administration has become "fat and lazy", bogged down in a war that has waning approval of Americans. Mr. Bush's initial response to the 9/11 disaster and subsequent hurricane strikes in Florida were expedient and relentless. As the body count rises from Katrina, and the ineptness of the federal government continues, I strongly feel this horrific event will define the Bush presidency.
It is a year to the day today that my father lost his battle with lung cancer. He was a hurricane nerd like myself. Too bad there was a huge lack of such a presence in Washington, D.C. All the information was there: all the facts, all the warnings.There are so many who chose to "roll the dice" on this one, the fate of so many lives becoming a human craps shoot. Too bad that: "What happens in Vegas, really DOESN'T stay in Vegas.
On the flight from Texas, our flight attendant announced that in the spirit of Las Vegas we were going to play a game. If you wanted to participate, you had to take out a dollar bill and write your seat number on it. The money would be pooled and a dollar would be pulled from the "kitty" in determining a winner. The great part was that half of the money would go to the hurricane relief effort. The pool pulled in $150.00. This was a small gesture, but a reminder that this disaster has touched everyone. As far as Las Vegas, it's what I expected. I'm more of a nature guy.
The momentum gathering in the criticism of the Bush administration on the initial response to this disaster must continue. As the days, weeks and months go by, many of us will want answers. The information that Secretary of State, Condi Rice was shopping for shoes and Vice-President, Dick Cheney was house hunting in the Chesapeake Bay area while this disaster unfolded is appalling. Cheney's appearance in coastal Mississippi (no more than a photo opp.) had a heckling moment looped on national news channels. The Bush administration has become "fat and lazy", bogged down in a war that has waning approval of Americans. Mr. Bush's initial response to the 9/11 disaster and subsequent hurricane strikes in Florida were expedient and relentless. As the body count rises from Katrina, and the ineptness of the federal government continues, I strongly feel this horrific event will define the Bush presidency.
It is a year to the day today that my father lost his battle with lung cancer. He was a hurricane nerd like myself. Too bad there was a huge lack of such a presence in Washington, D.C. All the information was there: all the facts, all the warnings.There are so many who chose to "roll the dice" on this one, the fate of so many lives becoming a human craps shoot. Too bad that: "What happens in Vegas, really DOESN'T stay in Vegas.
posted by Matthew Cortez at 9/09/2005 10:22:00 AM
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