Thursday, September 29, 2005

Oh Joy!!

I am so happy I could almost cry!!

Today, Republican Majority Leader Tom Delay was indicted on charges of suspicion of intent to commit consiracy to violate the McCain-Finegold attack on the free expression of free political speech, and association with conservatives, and (perhaps the most serious of the charges against him,) being an effective conservative leader.

I personally am all for investigating him, and if he is found guilty, I want him punished every bit as severly as congressman Bill Janklow was.

But here is something else that I hope that this leads to.

I want every single congressman and senator investigated just as intensly as Tom Delay has been investigated. If there is corruption in our Government, I want it uncovered, and dealt with.

And I am hoping against hope, that if Tom Delay is found guilty, he will appeal it all the way to the Supreme court, (with all of our new, Bush appointed, Conservative Justices...) and the stupid McCain-Finegold act can be struck down, and the stupid Texas District Attourney, Ronnie Earl can be disbarred, and removed from office.

This is gonna be GREAT!!

Monday, September 26, 2005

The National Wage...

I want all of you to imagine this for a moment.

What if tommorrow morning, at 10:00 AM, the President called a press conference, and announced that in the interest of economic fairness, the Congress and Senate have passed the "National Wage" bill, and he is now going to sign it into law.

From now on, everyone from the CEO of GM, to the janitor at Burger King will make $75,000 per year. No one will make more, no one will make less. And all fortunes amassed by people like the Walton family, and the Hiltons, and even the Kennedys or Heinz-Kerrys will be confiscated, and applied to the national deficit.

What a wonderful world it would be, right?

I mean, there would be no more "Rich", or "Poor"...Only Americans. No more class envy. We would all be able to afford the same house, the same car, the same boat, land, TV, lifestyle.

Money would no longer be an issue, right?

Complete economic equality for all Americans.

Right??

WRONG.

I can think of no more horrible scenario for our country than that.

The first thing that would happen is that no school teacher, doctor, dentist, nurse, lawyer, bus driver, truck driver, newspaper reporter, secretary, company executive, garbage collector, septic tank pumper, tire changer, cashier, dog groomer, policeman, fireman, shoe salesman, construction worker, mechanic, personal assistant, housekeeper, fast food worker, ditch digger, etc, etc, etc...would show up to work tomorrow.

I know I wouldn't.
I would become a professional musician. (I mean, if I was guaranteed the same income as if I were still driving a truck, Whether there was a market for my music or not, this is a no-brainer.)

There would be no need for anyone to go to college anymore.
If you could make just as much money slinging a mop, then why become a brain surgeon?

For that matter, why even finish high School?

And God help you if you, for whatever reason, needed to see a doctor. There wouldn't be any.

There wouldn't be any lawyers, either.

By the same token, you wouldn't be able to get a job as a janitor, either. Businesses would no longer hire people who did not generate $75,000 per year. They just wouldn't do it.
And if they wanted a janitor, there would be 800,000 applicants to choose from.

They wouldn't hire truck drivers either.

They might hire one or two, and force them to do the work of eight or ten, until they quit to go look for a job as a video store clerk or something.

I mean, the money would be the same.

Why do the extra work?

And what would housing cost if every worker on a jobsite had to be paid $75,000 per year?

What would a car cost?

What would a hamburger cost?

Okay, now.
Consider this point. If it makes no sense to set a National Wage, or a Maximum Wage, then why does it make sense to set a Minimum Wage?
You are not helping the poor by raising the minimum wage, or even by HAVING a minimum wage, you are only depressing the buying power of whatever money they DO have.

Economic equality is an myth. It is an unattainable concept.

To pursue the goal of absolute economic equality in America would destroy our whole economy, and lower the standard of living to poverty levels nation wide, for everyone.

The only economic system that has ever been devised that leads to prosperity is Capitalism.
And for Capitalism to work, you must have rich, and poor, and everything in between.

It is the only way.
Like it or not.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

I See Dead People...

The wife and I just got home from Tampa, where we visited the Museum of Science and Industry. They are currently displaying the "Bodies" exhibit.

You may have heard about this exhibit. It is a collection of actual human cadavers that have been specially treated with a "cellular polymerization process", in various stages of dissection and in poses that portray real life activities, and arranged to display the various major systems of the human body.

There was some controversy surrounding this exhibit shortly before it opened in Tampa. The Florida Anatomical Board held hearings as to whether the exhibit was appropriate. The Florida Anatomical Board regulates the disposition and treatment of cadavers in the state of Florida, regardless of their origin.

These cadavers came from China, and there was some concern about whether the cadavers were obtained legally, and whether the creators of the display actually had obtained permission from the families of the deceased for the cadavers to be used in this way.

The Florida Anatomical Board decided not to allow the Exhibit to be displayed.

MOSI ignored the ruling and opened it anyway.

I enjoyed it, and the wife was absolutely riveted. It was truly amazing, and I learned a lot, but I must admit that it left me with a somewhat uneasy feeling.

I could not shake the thought that, as interesting as this exhibit was, these were actual human beings. They were people. They were born, were cute babies, were loved by their parents, grew up and most likely had children of their own. They got hungry, got thirsty, got their hearts broken by someone when they were sixteen. They hated their jobs, they loved their jobs.

And now, they are standing naked in an exhibition hall in the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry, with their skin peeled off, and the muscles which used to move their arm when they brushed their teeth cut loose from their arm bone, and plasticized so that it sticks up in the air for hundreds of people a day to look at.

"Ooooh!...Aaaah!..."

Another thing that bothered me about it was that the cadavers, in addition to being naked, were, for lack of a better description, anatomically correct. The most crowded portion of the whole exhibit was the section on the Reproductive System, and they left nothing to the imagination. (Which was absolutely the right way to do that, given the context of the display. I understand that this exhibit was created in the interest of education, and anatomy is what was on display.)

I just couldn't help but think about how the former occupants of those bodies would feel about having their business out there on display in front of God and everybody like that.


This is an extremely popular exhibit. It was very crowded (to the point of being annoying,) and there were a lot of very young children there. I heard, (and admittedly MADE) several inapropriate comments, which would have horrified me, had someone made a comment like that about MY private anatomical details, however pitiful or impressive they may be.

I am sure that they would have had an opinion about that as well.

The most disturbing portion was the "Fetal Development" section. They displayed human fetuses, each in their own little glass case, at various stages of development. At twelve weeks, the human fetus is a tiny little person, with little fingers and toes, eyes, nose, and mouth, and the fetus that was on display was sucking it's thumb. I can't imagine that anyone who has seen this exhibit could support the practice of interrupting the development of that little person, for any reason.

Overall, it was a very interesting and enjoyable event, and if the "Bodies" exhibit comes to a town near you, I heartily recomend that you check it out.

Just consider yourself warned, up front, by Tug.

It will make you think, and some of the thoughts it inspires will make you uncomfortable.

Friday, September 23, 2005

May Justice Be Served.

The trial is over and soon the sentence will be handed down.

One news article that has largely been lost in the ad-nauseum news coverage of the "Perfect Storm", (The one that it was hoped would blow the President away...) was the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings regarding the fate of the desperate and heinous criminal, John Roberts.

He was accused of being a Conservative, of not talking about his skills as a husband and father, of withholding documents which could be spun so that they might seem incriminating, of believing in the U.S. Constitution as written, of being unwilling to use a position on the Supreme Court to right social wrongs or impose his personal policy beliefs into law, of thinking that Abortion might possibly be wrong, and (perhaps the most serious of all of the charges against him,) of being nominated to the position of Cheif Justice of the Supreme Court by George W. Bush.

The Judiciary Committee found him guilty as charged, by a vote of 12 to 5.

His fate is now in the hands of the full Senate.

If found guilty of these charges by the full Senate, he could be sentenced to serve time on the Supreme Court of the United States for the remainder of his natural life.

And may God have mercy on his soul.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

This Can't Be Good...

There is a scandal brewing.

A BIG one.

Not a Democrat or Republican scandal, but an American one.

If the corruption that will be exposed when this scandal comes to light goes as high as the President, it will not only hurt President Bush, But Clinton as well, and possibly even Bush 41.

It could shake our basic faith in our very system of Government, not just our faith in our elected leaders.

The main stream media is not covering it in very much detail as of yet, they are actively trying to ignore it. If you look hard enough, though, you can get little snippetts and scattered details of it here and there.

But the time will come, and soon, when the media will have to pay attention to it.

We, as Americans, should be paying very close attention to it now.

I am going to call it "Able-Danger-Gate", so in a few weeks when you hear that term, you will know that Tug said it first.

The story, according to Fox news is that the Army's special intel project known as Able-Danger identified four of the nineteen hijackers, as well as Mohammad Atta more than a year before 9/11, and when they tried to report their findings, they were not only ignored, but threatened and told to stand down by their superiors.

They reported to the 9/11 Commission, and they were ignored there as well, and subsequently punished for trying to go public.

The Senate is currently holding hearings on this matter, and the Pentagon is issuing gag orders to stop the witnesses from telling their stories.

I want the facts, All of them, if for no other reason but to keep my imagination from running away with me.

The way I see it is like this. Either this is someone high up in the Pentagon, just trying to save his job, and save face, or the whole Pentagon and Department of Defense are covering for someone further up the food chain. (How much farther up does the food chain GO from there?)

The information that I have seen and heard so far would suggest at the very least complicity between branches of our Government, our media, and the Terrorists of 9/11, and worst case, cooperation.

That's a concept that really, really worries me.

Or it could just be a collossal misunderstanding. It could be nothing.

I don't know what to think.

If any of you can tell me something to ease my mind, I would really appreciate your thoughts...

One thing that I do know is, until all of this is cleared up, we all should put aside our partisan bickering, and idealogical disagreements, and cry out with one voice to our elected officials:

"GIVE US THE TRUTH!!"

Monday, September 19, 2005

Who REALLY Cares?

Well, the city of New Orleans is well on it's way to being fully functional. There is running water in much of the city, (although it has to be boiled if anyone plans to drink it,) and electricity and sewer service are being restored at record pace.

Mayor Ray Nagin is encouraging the citizens of his city to return as soon as they can. And they are.

Bourbon Street has several bars open, and even a couple of strip clubs are up and running, and they are even taking the FEMA $2000 debit cards.

There is one problem, though...

There is another hurricane coming.

Hurricane Rita, which, even as I write this post, is bearing down upon the Florida Keys, is projected to roar up the middle of the Gulf of Mexico later this week, and if it follows the yellow line in the middle of the "Cone of Destruction" from the National Weather Service's website, it will come ashore at Houston, Texas, as a category three storm.

(What do Houston, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana have in common?)

But a slight northward turn would bring Rita ashore exactly where Katrina wreaked havoc a couple of weeks ago.

Even if Rita goes to Houston, she will still bring storm surges, damaging winds and possible flooding to the New Orleans area. There is even speculation that the damaged levees may break again, causing another round of flooding.

That's the BEST case scenario.

Worst case is that another Category three or higher storm could possibly plow right into the same area that was just devastated by Katrina.

The President is urging Katrina evacuees to stay put until more is known about the path of this new storm. New Orleans is a compromised area. It is not a good idea to try to ride out a storm of ANY magnitude in New Orleans right now.

But Mayor Nagin says, "Come On Down!!"

From this I can only reach one conclusion...

Mayor Ray Nagin Does Not Care About Black People.


Update:
My Blogger buddy Mark has informed me that Mayor Nagin has changed his mind, and started telling the people to stay away for a few more days.

So I guess that maybe he DOES care about Black People after all.

Friday, September 16, 2005

The Bill Of Non-Rights

My wife recieved this in an E-mail today. A friend of ours thought that I might want to use it on my blog.

He was right.

I did not write this, although I wish that I had.

There are a lot of things that our government does with our tax money, which have absolutely no provisions in the U.S. Constitution to support them.

I will post more on that subject later (after I have had time to research the subject).

For now, here is the E-mail, copied and pasted straight to my blog. I do not know who wrote it originally, but I have not modified it in any way from the way that I recieved it.

Presented for your consideration:

"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal bed-wetters. We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights."

"ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful, do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes.

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from! (lastly....) NOW..

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!!!!

If you agree, share this with a friend. No, you don't have to, and nothing tragic will befall you if you don't. I just think it's about time common sense is allowed to flourish. Sensible people of the United States speak out because if you do not, who will?"

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Jesus? A Liberal?

My blogger buddy and sparring partner ER linked to an earlier post of his that I missed, entitled "Jesus was a Liberal".

After I went back and read the whole thread, I was very sorry that I missed it. A lot of good points were made by all who participated in the discussion, but it pointed out to me the fact that most people in America have lost sight of the real 'big picture".

So, since I missed it the first time, here is my take on this subject, in case anyone is interested.

The problem with this whole discussion is that everyone wants to claim Jesus as a proponent of their own point of view, whether they be Conservative, Liberal, Communist, Socialist, Republican, Democrat, whatever. What we do not realize is the sheer arrogance and sinfulness it takes for us, as mere humans, creations of God Almighty, to try to bend Jesus to our will.

It don't work that way.

Jesus did not subscribe to ANYONE'S political philosophy, no matter WHO you think you are.

We are supposed to follow HIM. Not the other way around. For us to forget that for even a moment is a sin, and we should repent as a group, and ask His forgiveness immediately. (I will now provide a brief moment of silence for this purpose.)








Now...As to what Jesus taught us about helping our fellow man, Yes he taught that.

He taught that WE (individually) should help our FELLOW MAN (one on one) by providing from our OWN RESOURCES (our own personal stuff, whatever we personally had) whatever he NEEDED (the best possible thing for him, our fellow man, not whatever he wanted or demanded), to help him out of his IMMEDIATE situation of need (food, clothing, company, encouragement), and while we did this, we were supposed to witness to him about the message of salvation of Jesus. (Or, more accurately, FROM Jesus.)

He never taught anything about us setting up impersonal Government programs, which rob from the rich, and punish achievement in order to give a meager subsistence to the poor, and allow them to sit and rot in the depths of their poverty, and discourage them from ever trying to lift themselves out of their situation, while simultaneously removing every mention of God, or Jesus, or Religion from the public lexicon.

So no. Jesus was not a Liberal.

However, he never advocated paying your workers the very bare minumum wage you could possibly get them to work for, while charging the very last dime that the market would possibly bare for your product, or taking an "every man for himself" approach to public policy issues, and pushing your own religious or social preferences down everyone's throat.

So I guess he wasn't a pure conservative, either.

So I guess neither side wins this argument. At least not in MY mind.

The very fact that we had the discussion makes me want to get on my knees and pray for forgiveness and guidance for the future of our Country.

I think that we are in SERIOUS trouble, and we don't even realize it.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Conspiracy Theory...

An idea has been gnawing on the corner of my brain for the last couple of days, and I have been debating with myself over whether to post on it, or not.

My last post may have been a little cryptic, and for that I apologize. It was a trial balloon, of sorts. I wanted to find out if anyone else would be disturbed at the idea that someone, who from what I can tell, has no reason to be suspicious of our Government, would distrust our elected officials so much as to state, as fact, that the government only wants to take over with Military Force, and enslave the population.

I guess it didn't bother anyone but me, so I guess that makes me the Kook.

But that's okay. I can live with that. I've been called worse.

You see, it gradually dawned on me over the weekend what was actually attempted by the Louisiana officials when Hurricane Katrina came ashore.

First of all, the Mayor refused to issue a mandatory evacuation order, then the Governor refused Federal help.

Then they emptied the jails.

So now all of the criminals who were jailed in New Orleans were running around in the streets, and there were just enough innocent citizens left behind to provide victims for these criminals.

Then they waited for the President to (illegally) send in federal troops, to restore order.

He didn't.

So the world was treated to a week of News footage of looting, stories of rape and robbery, and gunfire directed at relief workers trying to rescue these poor unfortunate victims from the floodwaters and the criminals, while the Democrats and the Media steadily screamed in the background,
"Why doesn't George Bush DO something??"

Instead of what they really wanted.

What they really wanted was a week of footage of federal troops, under the orders of George W. Bush and Karl Rove, sweeping the streets of New Orleans with their rifles in their hands, gunning down young (mostly) black men whenever and wherever they saw them.

Fortunately, the President did not fall for it. He let the local officials have the chance to straighten out the mess, until they asked him for help, through the proper channels, and when it was legal and apropriate to do so, he then sent in the troops to restore order.

But think for just a moment about the political fallout that would have enveloped him if he HAD fallen for it.

If you think that the news coverage of this tragedy has been overblown now, you haven't seen anything like the images you would have been subjected to if the Media had just ONE video clip of a looter getting shot in the head by a National Guardsman, under the orders of the Bush administration.

It would have been 50 years before another Republican won the White House.

The President would have been impeached, and imprisoned, and would have gone down in history as the Racist Republican Butcher of New Orleans.

But like I said, he didn't fall for it. He outsmarted the opposition again, and therein lies their anger.

Now...
I am not yet to the place in my Kookiness where I would actually believe that elected officials in America would indeed hatch out and enact such a plan, but obviously there are people in our Country who WOULD believe such a thing, just not about Democrats. (See my last post...)

But you have to admit, if such a plan were afoot, it could not have been enacted any more smoothly than the events which took place in New Orleans. The only snag was that the President didn't fall into the trap.

God help us if this is actually what was attempted...


P.S....
By the way, as of about 16:00 today, the official death toll for ALL OF LOUISIANA, not just New Orleans, was 279,000. No wait...27,900? No that's not right either.
2,790? Nope.
It was 279.
That's it.
I am DONE listening to the Main Stream Press. About ANYTHING. EVER AGAIN.
If I pay any attention to them from now on, it will be for the purpose of picking them apart, and making them look foolish.
They are no longer informing. They are pushing an agenda, and selling death, destruction, and hopelessness.
And I have HAD IT with them.
All of them.

The New Guy

We took on a new temp driver this week at work.

He is a very well groomed, very well dressed, very articulate black gentleman.

He drives an almost new Acura, with 18" Motegi rims, and a highly customized stereo system. (Judging from the booming noises coming from his car when he arrives at work every morning.)

He has easily spent 100 times as much money on his car as I have spent on mine.

I would imagine that he lives in an appartment complex where he pays roughly twice what I pay on my house and land payment every month. (Judging by the UPC code gate opener sticker on the right side quarter window on his car.)

He makes good money, at least where he is working now. (I started as a temp myself on the job that I have now, and I made more money to take home as a temp than I do now.)

This is not a disadvantaged, poor black man. He is upper-middle class, by anybody's standards.

I overheard a conversation between him and one of the supervisors (A white ex-military career man, from Ohio) on about his second day of work.

Supervisor:" They should have had the National Guard in there (New Orleans) on about Tuesday to maintain order. There's no excuse for the Government to let things get as bad as they got."

New Temp: "Well, I think that they let things go as long as they did just so that they could come in later, and take over, and declare martial law. The Government just wants to take over, whenever they can."

What's wrong with this picture?

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

The Blame Game

"Louisiana Officials Could Lose The Katrina Blame Game..."

"CNSNews.com) - The Bush administration is being widely criticized for the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina and the allegedly inadequate protection for "the big one" that residents had long feared would hit New Orleans. But research into more than ten years of reporting on hurricane and flood damage mitigation efforts in and around New Orleans indicates that local and state officials did not use federal money that was available for levee improvements or coastal reinforcement and often did not secure local matching funds that would have generated even more federal funding."

WHAT?? They didn't even use the funding that they HAD? And they did not secure local matching funds that would have GENERATED EVEN MORE FEDERAL FUNDING?

I thought that the President cut out all of the Levee fixing money from the Federal Budget, thereby ensuring the failure of the Levees!

I thought that he was single-handedly responsible for the suffering and misery in New Orleans!

Could it be that the local officials were incompetent long before Hurricane Katrina roared ashore to destroy New Orleans and expose their incompetence?

Could it be that the President is not to blame for all of this?

(Please go to the links and read the whole articles before you post your comments.)

According to The Drudge Report, only 13% of the American people believe that the President is to blame. 25% blame local and state officials, and 38% said that "No one is to blame."

But someone was responsible, at least for some of the failings, And the President has vowed to get to the bottom of it.

But it won't matter. Not to some people. The mindset of some people in America is "We aren't saying it was the President's fault, We said we were going to BLAME it on him..."

Good luck to you, if you fall into that camp.

The truth will come out.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Responsibility.

Something has been bothering me about the situation in New Orleans.

I have purposely avoided news coverage of the disaster in New Orleans over the holiday weekend for a couple of reasons. One of these is that I have had family staying over at my house, and they are not all right wing Kooks like me. I did not want to get stirred up over something that I saw on television, and offend my guests. The other reason is that I really wanted to enjoy my time with my family, and while the victims of the storm continued to be in our thoughts and our prayers, I could not handle the level of emotional attachment that I feel when I think about how hard they are going to find life to be as they try to pick up the pieces in the coming months. The family members who were here are people who I get to see once every few months or so, and I really wanted to enjoy my time with them. (Selfish, maybe, but I am only human.)

What is bothering me is this question: Why were there so many people who remained in New Orleans, at the foot of those Levees, while a Killer Hurricane roared down on them?

I live in Florida, just north of Tampa, and just barely west of I-75. Hurricanes have been a plague upon me and my family ever since I moved here. I am not a rich man. I do not have a large stash of expendable cash lying around the house.

But I do not play with hurricanes. If I were to hear of a category ONE hurricane coming ashore within a hundred miles of my place, I would flap my big fluffy wings, crow loudly, and disappear in a cloud of feathers. You can rest assured that you will never see Tug on television, wading through four foot deep water, trying to find enough food and drinking water in a flooded out store building to keep Mrs. Tug and himself alive until FEMA can get to him.

It just ain't gonna Happen.

I believe that I am responsible for my own well being. Nobody but me. Not my parents, not my Inlaws, not the Church, not the Federal Government, not the President.

Me.

And as long as I can possibly look after myself, I will never allow myself to get into a situation where someone else has to come and rescue me.

The wife and I ran all the way to North Carolina to get away from Hurricane Charley. We ran to Gainesville, Fl, to get away from Hurricane Jeanne. We didn't have enough money to run from either one, but we did it anyway. To get away from a storm that I believe has a chance to kill me or my wife, I will pawn stuff, sell stuff, write bad checks. Whatever it takes.

So the question. Why did so many stay?

They had no money!

Neither did I.

They had no car!

Why was that? I paid less than $200 for the car that I drive to work. In a year of driving it 120 miles a day, I still have less than $500 in it including mantainence costs. I do not believe that every family who stayed did so because they had no access to transportation. Everybody knows somebody who has a car, or a couple of them. They could have found a way.

They did not believe that it would be as bad as it was!

Okay. The Government and the Media have been known to cry wolf from time to time, I'll give you that. But why take that chance? This is your life you are playing with. I didn't really have a lot of damage from the storms that I ran from either. Am I sorry I ran from them? Nope. Will I run from the next one? You better believe it.

They were sick, or handicapped, and couldn't evacuate!

No, not buying that one either. If they were indisposed, then how were they able to loot, and rob Jewelery stores, and shoot at Cops and helicopters in the aftermath of the storm? Not everyone who stayed was unable to evacuate because of disability, or sickness.

Why then?

I just don't get it.

It seems to me that there are far too many people in the world who live their lives waiting for someone else to solve their problems, when they would not even have these problems if they had made the right decisions in the first place.

Personal Responsibility is the Cornerstone of Freedom. Without it, you are at the mercy of whoever else has the time and resources to mess with you, and you live or die by their priorities, not your own.

Bad decisions bring horrible consequences, as evidenced by the victims of Hurricane Katrina who stayed behind, in spite of repeated warnings.

I am very sorry for all of them.

I hope they get it next time.