Ben DeSoto/Houston Chronicle Jesse Jackson, center, U.S. Rep. Al Green left, and U.S. Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee hold a press conference before touring the Astrodome.
Posted on 09/05/2005 2:04:37 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Ben DeSoto/Houston Chronicle Jesse Jackson, center, U.S. Rep. Al Green left, and U.S. Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee hold a press conference before touring the Astrodome.
Joining two of Houston's most prominent black legislators in slamming the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said today that evacuees shouldn't be shipped to distant states and shouldn't be referred to as "refugees."
Jackson said he appreciated the willingness of states as far away as Utah and Minnesota to take in evacuees but suggested such plans take them too far from their families and the homes that must be rebuilt.
"It's a long ways from home," he said. "It's a long way from where they have lived, where they were acculturated."
If evacuees are living thousands of miles away, he said, they can't be in on the jobs and economic opportunities that will arise as their communities are rebuilt. He proposed using military bases in Louisiana, such as the mothballed England Air Force Base in Alexandria. Evacuees could live in dorms and tent cities.
Jackson said evacuees from the Gulf Coast are not refugees, a word he believes suggests subhumans or criminals.
"It is racist to call American citizens refugees,'' he said.
After touring the Reliant Astrodome today, Jackson blamed the federal government for many of the problems evacuees now face. The government should have assisted New Orleans with evacuation efforts before the storm struck and has been far to slow in its wake to rescue those left in the city and provide aid, he said.
"As the waters subside, the death toll could be astronomical, of frightening dimensions, because we've been so slow to act," Jackson said
U.S. Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee, D-Houston and U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, also said the Federal Emergency Management Agency left New Orleans unprotected.
"This was a test case, and we failed," Jackson Lee said.
Jackson also lambasted the Louisiana office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, saying it should have let the Red Cross into New Orleans immediately after the hurricane passed one week ago.
Homeland security officials told the Red Cross not to enter the city because they were trying to get residents out, not encourage them to stay, because most of the city was still under water, and because armed gangs of looters were in the streets.
Marsha Evans, president of the American Red Cross, said today the agency was ready to go in. Its volunteers understood the danger and were willing to do their jobs, she said.
"The decision not to let them in was not sound," Jackson said. "The danger was exaggerated."
The federal government has been taking criticism from all quarters in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune, in an open letter, called upon Bush to fire every official at FEMA.
"We're angry, Mr. President,'' the newspaper said in an open letter.
If criticism of the federal government has been sharp, Jackson and other political leaders were happy to praise the efforts of Houston and the state of Texas, where one quarter of a million of Louisiana's refugees have landed.
"I'm so proud of Houston," Jackson Lee said. "This city has done a wonderful job."
"...Is that a word?"
Yes. Try using a dictionary to avoid display of ignorance: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=acculturated
How uncharacteristic of the Rev to allow others to do the work and spend the money required then step up to the podium to spew rhetoric for personal gain./sarc
Who is he going to try and place the financial squeeze on now?
...Is that a word
Acculturated.
Accul*tur*at*ed
1. Leading to Jessie Jackson's wallet
2. Leading to Jessie Jackson's penis
3. Leading to Al Sharpton's wallet and/or penis
4. Leading from William BJ Blinton's penis
Yes indeed and Praise the Lord!
Do you mean:
(1) Why is Al Green in the photo?
or
(2) What is Al Green doing to his nose?
Answer (1) It's a great photo opportunity, and (2) He's messing up his great photo opportunity.
www.rushlimbaugh.com
(near the bottom of the page..."These People Aren't Refugees")
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
I hope my 103 has weight...
Uh, isn't the history of LA that of refugees from the West Indies and Acadia?
"I deny the allegations....and I deny the allegater" - J. Jackson
Sometimes a person just wants to take a stick to that Judas goat Jesse Jackson, cheerfully leading 'his people' to the abbatoir of welfarism!
One who is quoted as stating "The B-1 missile" is shown to be far from being capable of English language protocol.
Jesse talks about these people 'rebuilding their houses'. I'd be curious just how many of those people who are being evacuated actually OWNED their homes as opposed to renting. The poorest folks were likely living in the projects or renting, they didn't own anything that they would need to rebuild. Frankly if they were living in the projects, this outpouring of help might be just what they need to break that cycle and make a new start.
If you heard his broadcast...he said essentially the same thing as Jesse...that to be a "refugee" you have to be seeking refuge in another country. Rush said these are American citizens...therefore, cannot be refugees.
Anyone seeking refuge is a refugee, Mr. Jackson. Just as anyone who actually studies to be a "Reverend" can be a "Reverend", not just because you preach a lot.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
LOL Priceless Mr. Jeeves (o;
Personally, I think many of them are trying to get as far away as possible from where they were "acculturated." Judging by the interviews, a lot of them clearly want to get a taste of a different culture. Good luck to them!
Actually, we just might!
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