Two items caught my attention while watching CNN this evening.
The first had to do with the recent news that Katrina’s victims who are now staying in hotels will be required to vacate those hotels by December first.
Jessie Jackson made an appearance, and basically said that the evaccuees could be housed at unused military bases near New Orleans, opining that they should be housed near their former homes, allowed to work and be housed by the government on military bases, and that money being used to fund the Iraq war could be used to pay the tab.
There were video clips of evaccuees yelling at FEMA representatives, and mention of a letter written by New York City’s mayor asking that the deadline be extended.
Nobody mentioned that this money doesn’t grow on trees, and hotels anywhere, but especially in the Big Apple, are expensive.
I imagine the residents aren’t getting a group rate, and that FEMA, through American tax dollars, is footing the bill for every person staying there, and that bill is probably upwards of $80 a night.
They’ve been there since September.
You do the math.
And don’t forget that, along with New York, there are 40 other states with similar tabs.
Throughout this entire episode, I’ve been completely amazed that, not only are the New Orleans evaccuees acting as if they’re owed, it’s portrayed as completely acceptable behavior by the leftist media.
What happened to the American ideal of working hard, and accepting help graciously?
These people can’t actually think that the feds are just going to keep paying the bill.
I, for one, am growing quite tired of this kind of ingrattitude.
Being a victim of a major natural disaster is no excuse.
The citizens of Louisiana, (especially those of New Orleans), have been raised on the idea that the government is supposed to take care of you.
Welcome to the real world folks.
In the rest of America, that’s not the way it is.
Most of us have to take care of ourselves, disaster or not.
Here’s a thought.
Instead of yelling about what you’re not getting, take a moment to thank the proprietor of the hotel you’re staying in.
He or she is most likely losing business due to your occupying rooms, eating at the hotel restaurant, ETC., and is having to deal with just as much government bureaucracy as you are.
Take a moment also to be thankful for the generosity you’ve received, and continue to receive, from the rest of the citizens of this country.
We’ve been gracious enough to put up with the tantrums, with little to no outcry against them.
Keep in mind that the people you elected to represent yourselves failed to ask for a declaration of a state of emergency, and that, despite this, you have been evacuated, and have been able to live off the generosity of others for months now.
No, the government we have isn’t perfect by any stretch of the word, but part of what has happend is a direct result of corruption within your own local government, which you bear the responsibility for electing.
How long is anyone really supposed to be expected to house you for free?
Indefinitely?
Rest assured that there is no possible way that can be accomplished.
And now, for tonight’s other gem.
In California, at San Quentin, there is actually a man on death row, who, believe it or not, is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
This man is a former gangster, specifically the founder of the Cripts, who has, since his incarceration, written children’s books and been a staunch advocate of peace, and spoken out against gang violence.
That, in and of itself is a good thing.
It means he’s had a serious change of heart, and can be confident that, when he meets his Maker, he will find that he’s earned some eternal reward.
But there’s still the matter of paying the penalty for the crimes (robbing and murdering four people), he was convicted of, by a jury of his peers.
There have been vigils outside the prison, and even the “illustrious” Snoop Dog has written to Governor Schwartzeneger requesting clemency.
If I were the governor, it would be a no-go.
It’s great that this individual has devoted the rest of his life to good causes, but he still has to pay for the crimes he committed.
The fact that people can bring themselves to request clemency for a murderer on such grounds as “Look at what he’s become,” and the fact that the media can report this story in a positive light without recrimination from society in general demonstrates the level of degeneracy our society has descended to.
Anyone who has truly had a change of heart and repented of his wrongdoings would accept the penalty.
I would say I’m surprised the man is nominated for a Peace Prize, but if Yacir Arafat can get the Prize, anyone can.
I can’t help but wonder what the reports will look like when the man is actually executed.
I imagine all his supporters will go into mourning, and, God forbid, we’ll be subjected to op-eds about how corrupt we are for executing a man despite the good he’s done.
If we take the time to remember the people he killed, or, even more abstractly, the fact that four lives were needlessly extinguished, it should put things back in their proper perspective.