You've got some real "rugged individualists" for friends! You're right, a snowstorm's damage doesn't compare to Katrina: the raw sewage & environmental hazard, complete loss of people's homes and all utilities, loss of police, surrounding communities preventing refugees from entering their towns at gunpoint, etc., etc. It's hard to "work or die," or rather, just die, when you're neck deep in water, and the only place you an your neighbors can seek refuge is your roof.
Also, I imagine it's difficult to loot in 4 feet of snow when the roads are out.
George Bush didn't go to NOLA either. He did a flyover.
Your buddy has an axe to grind, and he picked a bad example to do it with.
"The world does not owe you a living," but your government does have an obligation to come to your aid during emergencies and "acts of God." Otherwise, what the heck is gov't for? Even diehard conservatives say govt's main job is protecting the people. Why have we spent $400 billion halfway around the world in Iraq, if not to protect Americans back home? (And I'm 110% positive your friend support the Iraq war). So, to turn around and say "screw you, you're on your own" to Americans in distress seems mighty hypocritical, or at least illogical.
I would have no problem if FEMA came to Coloradans' aid, if they needed it. And if they really did need help, I'm sure they'd eventually ask for it. And if they asked and didn't get help, I'm sure they'd criticize the gov't, just as NOLA residents did.
Incidentally, Boston (42 N), Detroit (42 N) New York City (40 N) are all at a higher North latitude than Denver (39 N), so I'm not sure what he means about "90% of the world's social problems evaporating" above 48 degrees North Latitude. Well, I do know: he means once you get into the sparsely populated, mostly white U.S. Northwest, you have fewer social problems.
Obviously the damage wrought by Katrina was worse, but still ...
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: (name and e-mail deleted)
Date: Jan 23, 2007 7:08 PM
Subject: Fw: Weather bulletin: Denver
To: Undisclosed-Recipient
WEATHER BULLETIN
Up here, in the " Mile-Hi City ", we just recovered from an
Historic event--- may I even say a "Weather Event" of
"Biblical Proportions" --- with an historic blizzard of up
to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees
in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of
motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated
scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands.
And now we have braced and are involved with #2 in less than 2 weeks!
FYI:
George Bush did not come.
FEMA did nothing.
No one howled for the government.
No one blamed the government.
No one even uttered an expletive on TV.
Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit.
Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else.
Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else, either.
CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not visit - or report on this
category 5 snowstorm. Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.
No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House.
No one looted.
Nobody - I mean Nobody - demanded the government do something.
Nobody expected the government to do anything, either.
No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews
and No Geraldo Rivera.
No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to
be found.
Nope, we just melted the snow for water.
Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow
engulfed cars.
The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't
ask for a penny.
Local restaurants made food and the police and fire
departments delivered it to the snowbound families.
Families took in the stranded people - total strangers.
We fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or
Coleman lanterns.
We put on extra layers of clothes because up here it is
"Work or Die".
We did not wait for some affirmative action government to
get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a
welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.
Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never
fallen this early, we know it can happen and how to deal
with it ourselves.
"In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets
north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the
world's social problems evaporate."
It does seem that way, at least to me.
I hope this gets passed on.
Maybe SOME people will get the message. The world does Not
owe you a living.
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