September 7th, 2005
Michael Moore on Katrina
Bush’s many detractors haven’t wasted a moment in dissing him over the response to the New Orleans disaster, but I wondered how long it would take Michael Moore to surface. As it happens, it took a few days - almost as long as the Bush administration took in acting on the disaster - for him to come out with guns blazing. For him, not only is Bush responsible for the state of the US and a cipher of stupidity, he can now cause whole cities to flood.
However, another missive from Moore appeared today and far from being another anti-Bush rant, it offers practical advice on how people can help immediately. Moore cites the campaign by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of an American soldier killed in Iraq. She made world headlines last month by camping outside Bush’s Texas ranch to protest against the war and heading up the Bring Them Home Now campaign. Sheehan has upped camp and headed for Covington, Louisiana where she and her supporters are offering direct help to survivors of the floods.
Moore also suggests that anyone wishing to help can ship required items to the area or make a donation via Paypal. He points to the work of Moveon.org who have set up a system for people to offer spare rooms in their homes for survivors to stay in.
We’ve all seen how red tape and bureaucracy can hold up aid getting to stricken countries in the past, so these suggestions sound like more immediate ways to help those in need, instead of just writing cheques that won’t help people in the next couple of days.
September 7th, 2005 at 11:36 am
PayPal is a rather bad choice since they have frozen at least one account where they raised money to Katrina victims. Mor information here.
September 7th, 2005 at 11:50 am
Not only is paypal not necessarily the best option.. but why should anyone contribute to an avowedly political organisation like MoveOn.. when they could contribute to a charity directly involved in the relief effort like the Red Cross?
September 7th, 2005 at 11:55 am
Moveon.org don’t actually have anything to do with the Paypal end of things. Whatever they are as an organisation, Hurricane Housing is still a proactive approach to providing shelter for survivors.
September 7th, 2005 at 2:26 pm
My apology, Sinéad, I had mis-read the reference as suggesting that contributions be made to MoveOn rather than just directing offers of housing to them.
That said, there are less obvious party-political organisations involved in co-ordinating housing for those affected.. for example the New Orleans Times-Picayune has a series of forums for anyone wanting to help.
September 7th, 2005 at 3:16 pm
Good stuff Pete, thanks for that.
Off topic - did you get to see the McGahern programme last night?
September 7th, 2005 at 4:13 pm
Ermm.. on TV? No.. I didn’t realise there was one on.. but I listened to the Rattlebag show.. and put a direct link to the archived programme up on Slugger over the weekend in case anyone missed it.
He’s doing a hell of a lot of publicity for Memoirs.
September 7th, 2005 at 4:15 pm
It was an Arts Lives special, screened earlier this year but repeatd on RTE last night. I have to say, I thought it was a beautifully made programme, very haunting, and a real insight in to the way a writer sees the world. I really enjoyed it. Missed Rattlebag but will listen back to it.
September 7th, 2005 at 4:35 pm
Hmm.. Arts Lives… I wonder if it’s archived online..