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Congressman/woman/Senator______________
The sorrow & outrage with which I wrote to last week regarding what was done to the people of New Orleans has not subsided. I doubt that it ever will. I am a witness to what was done to the people of New Orleans. I sat in the same front room tonight and watched the speech by Mr. Bush as I sat in two weeks ago and watched dying people ask why their government would not give them a lifesaving drink of water.
How refreshing it was to listen to Mr. Bush acknowledge the mere existence of the ever growing numbers of the poor in our nation. How refreshing it was for a representative of the republican party to speak about the tragedy of Katrina & post-Katrina and not blame the victims. Lord knows that all of the republican voices and the voices of the Bush administration that have blamed the victims of Katrina for their own misery, deaths & despair are burned into my memory. I can only hope that your memory serves you as well.
My hope is that, in addition to short term & long term assistance for the people affected by Katrina, particularly those in New Orleans, and the redress of the legislative policies that hinder impoverished citizens, you will also keep your eye on what Mr. Bush had hidden deep within his speech. Mr. Bush spoke about drawing more power to the Executive Office & the military. I found this very chilling. Mr. Bush also used the horror of 911 to take from us many of our civil liberties in the name of keeping us safe. We are witness to the fact that we are less safe, and we now have fewer of our civil liberties.
This administration has a history of hitting us while we are down. I am in no mood to watch as they further destroy our nation while they pretend to be our saviors. I have seen this act before. Please, I am begging you, keep this administration on a short leash.
Please, demand these things:
* short & long term assistance for the victims of Katrina & the Bush administration.
*do not allow the wealthy to take New Orleans away from the average citizen.
*an independent investigation into why American citizens were dying in an American city while being treated as though they were “enemy combatants”
*no more no-bid contracts. Period. Halliburton out.
*do not allow the bush administration to further empower the Executive Office. The military should not be given broad rights to act on American soil.
Respectfully,
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Editing & suggestion welcomed. What does your letter look like?
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