A Lesson Of What Love Is Not

Yesterday I urged everyone to rally behind President Bush and cease criticism of him.

Unfortunately, I have read disturbing news on the Internet indicating that everything we saw the President do, in terms of comforting people and overseeing progress, was staged.

Not only was it all staged to look real, the President's decision to stage "progress" and make himself look like a decisive leader actually hampered relief efforts.

The Times Picayune reported that:

Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush’s visit to New Orleans, officials said.

“We had arrangements to airlift food by helicopter to these folks, and now the food is sitting in trucks because they won’t let helicopters fly,” O’Shea said Friday afternoon.

The food was expected to be in the hands of storm survivors after the president left the devastated region Friday night, he said.

The women we saw him comfort were not from the Biloxi area, but had come from outside of the area and were neither in need of food, clothing or shelter.

According to a German reporter, Christine Adelhardt who reported live from Biloxi:

"Two minutes ago the President drove by with his convoy. What happened here in Biloxi during the day is really unbelievable. All of a sudden the rescue troops finally showed up, the clean-up vehicles; we didn't see those over the last days here."

She indicates that she witnessed this in an area that had no urgent need and in which no people were around because they had all gone to the city center. Yet that is where all the clean up vehicles and "help" showed up, for the purpose of putting on a show as backdrop for the President, to be filmed for the cameras.

"The President is traveling with a press convoy, so they get wonderful pictures saying the president was here and the help will follow. The amount of this catastrophe shocked me, but the amount of set-up that happened here today is at least equally shocking for me."

ZDF News reported that the president's visit was a completely staged event. Their crew witnessed how the open air food distribution point Bush visited in front of the cameras was torn down immediately after the president and the herd of 'news people' had left and that others which were allegedly being set up were abandoned at the same time.

And this from Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu. Apparently the crew that was working so hard during President Bush's photo op left and apparently never came back:

"But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe."

"Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast - black and white, rich and poor, young and old - deserve far better from their national government."

New Orlean's Mayor Nagin also stated that he still believes the situation is being poorly handled. "We're still fighting over authority," he said. "A bunch of people are the boss. The state and the federal government are doing a two-step dance. "I told the president, 'I'm into solutions. If the state government can't take responsibility, then you take it.' ... I think it's getting better, but the pace is still not sufficient.'"

I post this with great sadness and disappointment, realizing the President has not looked into the eyes of the suffering, but just into the eyes of the cameras, for our benefit.

See a list at the following blog which has pulled together links and substantiation.

They...by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. Romans 16:18

Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel. Proverbs 20:17

A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire. Proverbs 18:1

He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. Proverbs 17:5

The lesson to us all is this:

We must be real.

We must be engaged with real life.

We must become informed about a politican's real values - based upon his works - before we vote for him.

Let us continue to pray for those on the Gulf Coast and open ourselves to be active tools for God's love and compassion.

If you are able, please donate to the Red Cross and consider offering any spare rooms or empty housing you may have to those displaced by Katrina.

Bless you.