Byrd urges America to "come home."

[Jessica]

Sorry if this has been posted - Byrd's floor speech from earlier today. It's quite long, but well worth it.

"Chapter 3, Verses 1-8 of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible begins, “To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” It is time for a national debate, and its purpose is our country’s future.

Sometimes it takes a catastrophe to put events into perspective -- to shake us and sharpen our clarity of vision. The wrath of Katrina, tragic and devastating for thousands, must certainly have caused many thinking Americans to consider anew the proper priorities for our country. Who among us has not wondered if the efforts to rescue and evacuate Gulf Coast residents suffered because too many National Guardsmen have been detailed and detained in Iraq? What thinking American has not pondered why we had such a painfully slow response to a behemoth storm which we knew for days would likely turn New Orleans into a cauldron of despair. Is there anyone in our great country that did not feel the painful outrage of the citizens of New Orleans and Louisiana and Mississippi as they waited for days without food and water or knowledge about loved ones?

(snip)

I call upon the leaders of this country to come together and to work together to repair our storm- ravaged Gulf Coast and help salvage the lives of its victims, but more than that. I call upon the Congress to inventory our homeland with an eye to the future. Let us look around America and target our deficiencies. Let us work with state and local communities to shore up our weaknesses. We must react in a crisis, of course, but, for God’s sake, let us finally understand that we must also anticipate the future, and be unafraid to commit the resources to make us strong at home. The lesson of Katrina most surely is that an ounce of prevention is worth several tons of cure. And we need to also learn that we cannot long remain a world power if we continue to let America crumble from within. The alarm bells are sounding and we must answer the call. This is no time to play for partisan advantage. This is certainly not the season to circle the wagons and hunker down. We need not stretch our brains to write new talking points or invent new excuses. And please, oh please, let us not resort to the trusty bureaucratic ruse of simply reorganizing government agencies once again.

It is time for real leadership. It is the season for true humility. The Bible says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” For years we have been getting it wrong in Washington, but if we have the will, we can begin to get it right. The American people deserve leaders with the honesty to take responsibility for failures, and the wisdom to change when change is so obviously and urgently needed. May God grant us the grace.""

http://byrd.senate.gov/speeches/2005_september/priorities.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Thanks for that

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URGENT yet easy! Hold the government accountable for Katrina's aftermath
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4736062

Save the gulf, then save the nation! http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

[halobeam]

2. That was excellent. A worthwhile read.

Something I wish our president would have said and meant it. We do need real leadership. We are lost without it.

[Jessica]

4. Exactly ...

Bush may say many things, but usually with insincere, callous conviction. We need strong leadership ... I agree.

[Snotcicles]

3. I love that old bastard n/t