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."
Which Jackson speech was better? The one right after the hurricaine warning asking people not to loot, or resort to violence, and to cooperate with authorities?
This man is truly on his own planet. He sees racism everywhere, even in the word "refugee". Now he wants to make sure these people get moved back to the Democratic Louisiana Plantation, where they can have the privilege of voting for Governor Blanco. I hope none of them go back. They're better off not being there. What did the City of New Orleans ever do for them?
After New Orleans is drained and the levees reinforced, developers will build high priced waterfront homes on the land that once was home to New Orleans' poor.
"Have these people asked these FOOLS to speak for them?"
Hey, these are black Democrats, so they presume to speak for the hurricane victims. The black New Orleans residents I saw on TV last week were blaming Mayor Nagin.
"Me thinks Jesse's "girl friend" days are over. ; )"
I'll bet that's not what Jesse thinks.
Jesse suck more.
You freak. You're worried about a word. A WORD! Your socialist program failed, Jesse. Time to grow up.
To achieve that he will require the aid of "alum".
I bet his followers think that.
Where in the hell are these people supposed to go ? This kind of leadership keeps people from thinking for themselves therefore tied down.
I cannot beleive this idiot no wonder our country is so divided !
He sucks the pride out of people. He sucks the life out of people. He sucks money out of big corporations. He sucks the good out of everything. He doesn't need any stupid alum.
And again, for Jesse to suck more, would require the aid of alum....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1247389/posts
"Coal mines encounter shortage of workers . . . . Miners can start at $40,000 to $50,000 but can make as much as $100,000 "
"I am not an expert in this field at all -- I am making an educated guess based on the economics of the situation."
I live in the middle of what is called "Tornado Alley" which stretches from Texas up into Kansas and points north. There is a map I've seen (and can't find now or I'd post it, or a link to it) that shows the historical paths of tornados in Oklahoma since 1899, I believe it is: they often follow the same paths, not exactly but within bands... That May third tornado was followed a couple of years later by another one that went right down the same track, but not for the whole track, fortunately. On that basis, I expect some people would suggest abandoning Oklahoma, too.
No, but great for a laugh.
You possess an insufficient knowledge of alum. Look it up then get back to me.
I just saw, on Hannity and Colmes where the ladies in Houston in the Astrodome were invited to a tea party. They got dressed up in the best they had and went and had a good time. The important lesson here is they were treated like they were somebody. They would never have gotten something like that in the projects in NO. Its going to have an effect on these people. The more I watch the aftermath of this storm the more I realize that alot of these people were victims of people like Jesse Jackson. Just shoved aside and given the bare nescessities and ignored till voting time when they were probably paid attention to and made to feel important for their vote. No wonder they were so quick to vote Democrat. The Democrats gave them a little special attention once every 2 or 4 years. I know the Republican policies are better for them but they don't know that. Now they have a second chance. I hope the kindness they are being shown will have a profound lasting impression on them and get them out of that cesspool of the welfare state for good. Some of these ladies were Sr. citizens so their financial status probably won't change but maybe they can live a life with more dignity and peace somewhere than the life they had to endure in NO.
I sincerely hope so. My niece went to NO and she said it was so dirty and crime ridden. She said they kept the French Quarter up for the sake of tourism but the rest of the city was just plain dirty. Those people don't need to go back there.
I've been very interested to see how the response is (by New Orleans local gov't) to send transportation for their displaced residents - once they've been cleared to return.
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