An open letter to Big Dub

    I got this through leisure guy, whom was linking it from Steve Gilliard, specifically right here, and the original original: http://www.livejournal.com/users/mijan/27168.html. I did mention leisure guy, right? The links on the right side will be updated one of these days, when you read the next personal post you may understand why I haven't done it yet. Follow the livejournal link for the pre-letter rant, but here is the letter in total. (Posted with permission implied by her use of the phrase "pass it on".) --r-







Your citizens are dying, and I personally hold you responsible for their lives. As the president, you are a public servant, NOT a king. Your job is to serve the people of the United States of America and to uphold the Constitution, not to preach your Biblical beliefs and to play golf. I'm sorry the hurricane disrupted your vacation. It must be awful for you, but I assure you, it's far worse for the victims.

Today, you addressed the nation, and admitted that you made some mistakes - that everyone involved in the relief effort made some mistakes. That's not good enough. Apologies won't bring back the people who died needlessly. As the highest authority in the land, you can't afford those sorts of mistakes. "Oops!" is not an answer. You were supposed to do something, but you didn't until it was too late for many of them, and more are going to die. Their blood is on your hands. There are still people living in filth, sleeping in the streets, crowded into crumbling buildings, stranded on rooftops, dehydrated, sick, dying, and desperate for just a bottle of water and a bit of food. These are American citizens - your highest priority... but you are incapable of understanding their suffering because you've been so sheltered all your life, you can't even comprehend the sensations of true hunger, thirst, or desperation. You've never had to worry about your next meal, or of having a roof over your head. And when you left New Orleans, after hugging a few people while surrounded by cameras, and you flew back to Washington, DC in the comfort of your helicopter, WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR DINNER? I'll bet it was delicious, wasn't it?

Oh, and by the way, how much money are you going to donate to the victims of the hurricane, Mr. Bush? How much money is going to come out of your personal bank account? You're independantly wealthy, and could live comfortably on JUST the pension from your presidency for the rest of your life. Children are giving their lunch money. What are you going to give? How much do you really love America?

The American people don't want your lies, excuses, and apologies anymore. How many mistakes can you make before you stop making them? How many more people have to die for your stupidity? Should we just wait for the next major disaster to strike, just in case you do better next time? We don't want a "next time", Mr. Bush. We don't want your promises of a better tomorrow. We want your resignation.

~Michelle J. d'Entremont
2LT, US Army Reserves
Engineer Corps

(I have no fear of publicly using my name for this. Pass it on. These are my words, and I stand behind them with my name, rank, and convictions. And if it ends up on CNN, with my name, and Bush reads it, even better.)