Is it just me, or do you wonder about the folks who seem to think President Bush whipped up hurricane Katrina & had it released into the atmosphere to kill Americans?

Is it just me or does anyone wonder why the "celebrities" who are carping & criticizing the government don't open their spacious mansions to some of these refugees, & open their multi-million dollar bank accounts & give out of their own pockets?

Is it just me or does anyone else wonder why these celebrities, if they are so concerned, don't get on the front lines & if nothing else start giving out water? The press seems to be carried away when some famous person is rescued from the rubble (Fats Domino) I'm sure their faces would inspire people.

Is it just me, or does anyone wonder why intelligent people would expect that our government could be Johnny-on-the spot so quickly, when this wasn't a 10 mile-wide storm or a tornado, but rather a 200 mile wide demon that actually ripped steel doors down?

Is it just me, or does anyone wonder why the good folk in New Orleans didn't see this thing coming when it was all over the TV, & even the poor have TVs? As a wind-whipped & weary, lifetime resident of Florida, I understand that when one of these things is aiming at you, YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO-YOU BOARD UP & GET OUT OF TOWN.

Is it just me or does anyone else wonder why the good Mayor of New Orleans high-tailed it out of town & left his weather wearied constituents behind, knowing (I heard it 40 years ago) that his city was unsafe; a bowl that sat lower than the sea around it, & likely to flood? In light of that, why wasn't there a plan on the books to quickly bus at least some of the people out? I wonder If New Orleans might have been sitting on their own resources, waiting for Washington to foot the bill for them??

Is it me or does anyone else wonder how & why the people didn't understand that death was on the way when the Mayor left town? Again, even the poorest people have TVs. Part of the answer is stubbornness; having seen a foot of water occasionally, they refused to see there's a difference in a foot of water that will quickly recede & eight feet of water that is filled with feces & dead bodies that's not going to recede on its own.

Is it just me or does anyone else wonder why it took Louisiana's governor so long to declare Marshall-law after the other involved states did? How many lives would that have saved? Not to mention the rapes, & the general rape of the city?

Is it just me or do you wonder why the Mayor has blamed everyone else for the catastrophe when with a little leadership he could have organized a BUS BRIGADE early on & started getting his people out? After all, he could get himself out. When & how did he know it was going to be necessary for him to leave?

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the folks hurt worst by this tragedy, who indeed have lost everything, haven't blamed anyone, much less our leaders in Congress, & our President?

Is it just me or do you marvel at how quickly the call for help was answered when you consider the magnitude of the devastation? It takes time to roll big guns into position. I've watched consistently & I stand amazed at how the country has raised itself out of shock & responded like the great people we all know we are.

Death & destruction is "good TV" & some of the news folk have milked that part of the story way too much. I didn't see one news anchorman who did a thing to try to help the needy people he talked to, when every news organization in this country is a multi-billion dollar operation. Their only interest seemed to be to have the victims continually recite the horror they went through.

A news woman ask a refugee in Houston if "she felt she'd make it through all of this." The refugee told the shocked & chagrined news woman, ( that you just knew wanted to hear her complain), "Praise God, I've already made it through."

Is it me or do you sometimes think that when people criticize & blame the government, they forget that WE THE PEOPLE Are the government? Not only that, the part of that government that will do the most hurting to pay for this, & every disaster, are the middle class.

WE DON'T DRIVE FANCY $200,000.00 AUTOMOBILES.
WE DON'T LIVE IN THE LAP OF LUXURY.
WE ARE AT THIS WRITING PAYING CLOSE TO $3. OO A GALLON FOR GASOLINE.
WE LIVE FRUGALLY TO MAKE OUR BOOKS BALANCE.
WHEN WE WANT TO GIVE, & BELIEVE ME, WE DO, WE DON'T THROW A PARTY LIKE CELEBRITIES DO & MEET WITH OUR RICH FRIENDS TO MOAN, GROAN & GRIPE, WE JUST MAKE OUT A CHECK & GIVE IT.

If the celebrities, some of whom are calling our president a racist, are serious about helping in this long painful struggle, (and some of them are) many could donate a house OR TWO to the homeless or at least sell one & donate the money. These folks have more money than the President will ever have, but instead of dipping into their pockets they have telethons, where they can cry & appear compassionate.

They say never criticize unless you can offer a plan, so here's one;

I'd like to see the press start being more uplifting & do more stories that encourage the country. After all press, it's your duty to report honestly & responsibly, not to try to report in such a way that a horrible situation will be made worse.

Before it's over, every American will feel the sting of this tragedy, most already are. As Abraham Lincoln so aptly put it during his tenure, "if we don't hang together, we'll likely hang separately. "Lets be honest about Katrina!

John Stallings