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Sept. 19, 2005 A wise man counseled "Tread lightly, the old gray grandmother, have plenty friends in high place." Indeed she does. Former First Lady Barbara Bush has been subject to much criticism because of her recent remarks regarding the Hurricane Katrina survivors. While visiting the Katrina survivors in the Houston Astrodome, the former first lady, Barbara Bush quotes "Almost everyone I've talked to says we're going to move to Houston." Then she added: "What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is they all want to stay in Texas." Although it comes across as being judgmental, it is a valid concern. I wonder how the locals would feel if tens of thousands of Hurricane Survivors decided to move to Greenbrier County, West Virginia. It would be a scary thought. The West Virginia economy could not survive it. It would double the population in a community with an already stressed- out economy. My son mentioned that there are Katrina evacuees in West Virginia. My thought was those poor people. Luckily this does not appear to be the case in Texas where the Houston-Area alone has a population of five million.. According to County Judge Robert Eckels, the "mayor" of Harris County, where Houston is located, the Houston-area economy can easily absorb that many people. "We're a city that grows by 100,000 people a year anyway," Eckels quotes. "It's good to have people move to the city. It's economic activity. It's growth." Many of the Katrina survivors are opting not to bemoan their misfortune and choosing instead to rise to the challenge of starting anew. Granted there are strong family rooted and wonderful Jazz Music in New Orleans. The y are seeing opportunites for better and grasping it. Many of the evacuees come from high crime, blighted neighborhoods in with poor job opportunities. They would have never left had the hurricane not happen. A mother in New Orleans held two jobs and still could not make ends meet. In Colorado, she was offered a job with decent wages, benefits from the start and a career ladder. The schools are cleaner, her children are doing better. and she has a housing voucher with six months free rent. The woman is a fool if she goes back to New Orleans. More than half of the Katrina survivors in shelters across the Nation are opting to stay rather than to return to New Orleans. They are not all uneducated, unskilled workers. They are blue-collar, restaurant, construction, and hotel workers. Some work in gas stations and some were in the shrimping business. These people are not flakes, they will be assets in the various communities that they are relocated in. Mrs. Bush is correct in her assessment "so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them." . Nevertheless, labeling of these folks as "underprivileged" comes across as culturally clueless. I think it was just a thoughtless blunder, I do not think the former first lady is a bad person at all. However, I do have some suggestions, What if George Senior and Barbara offered Dubya and Jeb's old bedrooms to some of the refugees from New Orleans? Don't they have a ranch that needs ranch hands. They could take in a couple of families too. Do ex-presidents ever need interns. Maybe they could send a Katrina evacuee to train as an intern and live with slick Willie. Certainly, Hillary could use an intern or two. If Texas really needs extra income, perhaps the Governor can double the ticket giving quota for the state troopers. Focus on the 18-Wheelers. They need to slow down anyway. Grandma Bush can organize some of the City Kitties. They can all stand on the side of the LBJ Freeway and flash the truckers. The way the truckers will not feel so bad about paying for all those tickets. After all, it's for a good cause. Namaste!!!!!!!! ------------ About the author: Bonijean Isaacs is a freelance writer and Astrologer in West Virginia. Email: inez4liberty@gmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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