DUET One of these bickering days the political factions constantly engaging in narrow criticism are going to be forced to realize that no young people will be interested in even aspiring to - some day - become president of our nations.
It was an inspiring thing to see former Presidents George Bush and William Jefferson Clinton working together as a team meeting with survivors of the
Tusami disasters. You have, no doubt, seen them at work again as a team. I watched them along the groups and shaking hands with some, hugging oldsters, accepting pats on their shoulders from some "touchers" and even high-fiveing some kids standing on folding chairs in the background. Those two former heads of our nation really know how to "work a crowd", don't they
I wondered, at the time, how they could do so with such earnestness and sincerity when each of them - Bill Clinton, in particular, must have each been painfully aware of the fact that - at that moment - the opposition party in our nation's capital was eagerly seeking for anything and everything that might be used - or misused to make George Bush look bad in the New Orleans area.
New Orleans ..."The Crescent City",and, more recently, "The Big Easy" -has long been for most of us a place for the enjoyment of living. It was a fun spot of the nation in many ways. It was the capital of the music world as far as "jazz" music was concerned. The "French Village" - unchanged even as it changed nightly striving always to hold its title as national center of night clubs, jazz music and sex sensationally. In he smoothness of the name itself - when said by natives - N.O. has a certain old-fashioned charm, elegance about it which never got transported to Vegas and other fun spot
We are not so mindful of the importance of the commercial port at lower end of the Mississipi system. That's where most of the mid-western harvest of grains find its way to markets all over the world; that's where my coffee and yours enters these United States. It will be a great port again.
During the next few weeks the political clique still in charge in New Orleans will mount a campaign outlined in a speech this morning in Washington. It will accuse George W. Bush of having repeatedly diverted federal funds allocated to repair and maintain levees to other projects.. A paper trail is available which sow what was requested for what project. The levees which broke a week or so ago are not mentioned. If diversions were made in funds, they were made in New Orleans by local political talent.
And, you thought waters of the flood had a bad smell about them!
A.L.M. September 8, 2005 [c471wds]
