Honestly, people.  I’ve been watching the news, and receiving enough alerts from random leftist protest groups, to choke my brain with Katrina krap[sic].  I’m getting pretty sick and tired of it.  WAIT!  Before you go off saying “It’s just another conservative trying to keep Bush from being blamed,” I ask you to hear me out.

It doesn’t really matter who is to blame.  What matters is that it happened, people need help, let’s stop bickering and help them.

So far we’ve blamed:

• FEMA
• The old FEMA director
• The new FEMA director
• Cheney
• Bush
• The Mayor of New Orleans
• The Governor of Louisiana
• A handful of congresspersons and senators
• The entire Office of Homeland Security (and I have yet to figure out, exactly, why)
• The NOLA police department
• The Coast Guard
• The Army Corps. of Engineers (after all, they built the levees)
• and a handful of other people.

Is that list long enough?  While we’re at it, why don’t we have some fun and blame the people that lived in NOLA.  We can even blame God.  Since we’re blaming God, we have to blame the Religious Right’s spokesperson for God, Pat Robertson.  Actually, we have to go a step further and blame the guy with the direct line to God… Let’s blame the Pope.

Think I’m crazy?  Well, I think you’re crazy for caring about where blame lies, instead of helping people.  Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, New Orleans is not the only place that got hit (hard) by the storm.  It’s just the only one people seem to care about, now.

Let’s stop placing blame.  All that’s getting you is a slow-down in getting people help.  Oh, it’s also taking up a lot of funds.  Every inquiry, hearing, etc… done in “investigation” about this, takes up more government funds that could (and should) be spent on helping the people affected.  Hmm, oh yes, it’s also pissing off the people who can get the help.  That’s not what you want to do.

Stop blaming people, and start concentrating on getting help to those affected.  Once all of this is long over, you can start worrying about whether or not Bush was enjoying a vacation, and playing stupid, when Katrina was coming.  You can stop worrying about whether or not the Mayor acted inapropriately by allegedly not asking for assistance, early enough.  You can stop worrying about whether it was a whim of the weather, and a few SNAFUs happened, and things didn’t go off without a hitch – before you remember that nothing goes off without a hitch on that scale.

Stop it. Stop it. Stop it!!!  Go help people.  If I hear one more word out of your mouths about who is to blame in all of this, I swear I’m going to start passing out some duct tape… one piece, to each of you, place gently over your mouths – and then driven into place with a sledgehammer.  GO. HELP. THEM.  Worry later (if ever) about who’s to blame.  After all, it’s not really important.  What’s important is rebuilding the lives of the people who lost every darn thing they own.

(Why am I so expressive about this?  I was nearly in the same boat.  If hurricane Rita had not shifted course at the last minute, my house would have been directly in the path of the storm.  A good friend of mine was in the path.  He lost his home, and the majority of the trees and out buildings on his land.  He doesn’t give a flip if anyone was to blame for Rita, or anything else.  He just wants some help getting his life back.  I’m sure the folks in NOLA (and the rest of the affected areas) feel the same way.  Think about that when you’re writing your next petition on Katrina.)

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