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LunaSea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 04:56 PM
Original message
Stupid, stupid email.......
Seen this one yet?
My SO got this from a friend at work. I thought her response was worthy of sharing.

Subject:

THINK ABOUT THIS FOR A MOMENT
North Dakota News
This text is from a county emergency manager out in the
western part of North Dakota state after the recent snow storm.
WEATHER BULLETIN

Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from a
Historic event --- may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical
Proportions" --- with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow
and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of
motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and
cut power to 10's of thousands.
FYI:
· George Bush did not come....
· FEMA did nothing....
· No one howled for the government...
· No one blamed the government
· No one even uttered an expletive on TV...
· Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit
· Our Mayor's did not blame Bush or anyone else
· Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either
· CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snow storm
· Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.....
· No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House....
· No one looted....
· Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something
· Nobody expected the government to do anything either
· No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera
· No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found
And
· Nope, we just melted the snow for water
· Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars
· The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny
· Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snow bound families
· Families took in the stranded people - total strangers
· We Fired up wood stoves
· Broke out coal oil lanterns or coleman lanterns
· We put on an extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die"
· We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a
welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.
· Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early...we know it can happen and how to deal with it
ourselves.
"In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% most of the world's social problems evaporate."

Her response-

I will note that these people’s cars and woodstoves and restaurants and banks and tires and food and clothing and loved ones are still on the continent whereas most of everything in New Orleans is now out to sea or in Lake Ponchatrain.

Snow is drinkable; PCB’s and god knows what all else that sits in Ponchatrain courtesy of the ranchers and farmers from the Rockies to the Appalachians is not…snow evaporates leaving wetness…the lake and the ocean recede in time leaving debris, filth, sewage, dead animals, tons of mud and who knows what else (like dead relatives in the attic) throughout the ruined areas. Snow rarely ruins fundamental infrastructure like bridges, highways, sky scrapers, subways, sewer systems, water systems….hurricanes and flooding do.

Did this person object to the huge government efforts above the Mason/Dixon line to save people and areas devastated by the worst Mississippi flooding in centuries a few years back? No? Why? How about the ice storm that froze most of the Eastern United States back in the early 90’s? This person probably doesn’t object to the farm/ranch/mineral subsidies I help pay for that keep the upper Midwest from bankruptcy because there is not adequate resource or water to graze huge numbers of prairie destroying livestock. Or the welfare benefits some of this person’s neighbors get in order to subsist when the commodities market deals a blow or a plant closes or there is a drought, so that the neighbor has enough resource not to starve, or climb through this person’s window and steal stuff or worse. How ‘bout that aquifer the upper midwest contaminates and is draining at an alarming rate per year? I guess we’ll be bailing them out sooner than this person suspects.

When was the last time North Dakotans had to rebuild after Sherman made a call on its most important cultural and trade cities or an army burned through most of its farm lands and families? What would North Dakota do if suddenly it had no fair representation in the houses of Congress? Thank God for a senate based on the existence of the state rather than population, huh? How about hefty tariffs on everything leaving its borders to go overseas…kinda cut into the profits on beef tongue to Japan, huh?

I do not have a lot of patience for people in expensive “vacation” or “retirement” homes on the beachfront who cannot get private insurance and then ask taxpayers to rebuild their “dream homes” after the ocean takes them away. On the other hand, no one told the citizens of Manhattan to just deal with it when the towers came down and I am sure insurance claims will be filed as a result of this blizzard and states and localities will collect their “fair share” of what ever is available to “give away” from the deficit riddled government which is writing checks our children’s children will be paying for with more than money to cash for us.

Let us also not forget that approximately one fifth of the Nation’s GDP is tied directly to the city of New Orleans in the form of heavy industry, agriculture, and the shipping its port provides, particularly with regard to the movement of huge quantities of oil and product into the US. Those coal oil lanterns were probably moved up the Mississippi from a big freighter anchored in the port at New Orleans that had come from China…the diesel/gasoline to run those life saving 4 wheel drive vehicles in the snow was made from oil brought to New Orleans from the Middle East in tankers so big that only the port at New Orleans is big enough and deep enough to receive them. I don’t think the nation would lose much but a few missile silos if North Dakota were buried under a glacier. And some really nice people who, I think, are poorly represented by this jerk.

The fact that there are fewer residents in the whole state of North Dakota than residents in the greater New Orleans metropolitan area also means that North Dakotans have the luxury of isolation from any who are not “just the same as us”. It is easy to condemn “others” when everyone goes to the same churches, works in similar fields of endeavor, and their families go back several generations in the same place. From this note, this person seems to show a population in North Dakota that is as insular and intolerant as any holler in old Appalachia. This person might want to “wash up good”; they may have helped a “Hollywood type” out of a stranded automobile. (Tolerance can be contagious.)

This administration is mortgaging the nation in a useless crusade overseas to finance the reorganization and revitalization of the doomed industry that has as one of its primary functions the burning of fossil fuels in extravagant and wasteful ways. For the 3,979 plus dollars per minute the administration is wasting in Iraq on an unwinnable fiasco that they lied about in order to promote, this nation could put completely energy self sufficient houses around every family South and North of the Manson/Nixon line. But being a good red stater, I am sure it never occurred to the author of this stupid scree to question the real problem which is a nation intent on focusing only on the specks in the eyes of others, and making laws about it for personal and political gain, and spending no mental capital on staying truly informed and forcing its “leaders” to rational, defensible, action based on a long term vision of sustainability in a global marketplace where, soon, the US will not be the richest, strongest, meanest kid on the block.

This kind of poorly thought out, regionalist, racist, “flash back to the civil war” inspired bullshit just pisses me off.

Please, spare me next time you think I might “enjoy” something of this poor quality of rational thinking and loaded with such smug, sanctimonious, self-righteousness.
What tripe; and it ruined my lunch.
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NoodleBoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:00 PM
Response to Original message
1. right on
just took that right wing rag email and shoved it up his ass.
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NMDemDist2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:01 PM
Response to Original message
2. K & N n/t
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Mz Pip Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:02 PM
Response to Original message
3. Will bookmark
to use should I get hit with that piece of crap. Your friend gave a great response. I hope she doesn't mindit being plagerized!

Mz Pip
:dem:
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MsAnthropy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:03 PM
Response to Original message
4. This was debunked on snopes.com
http://www.snopes.com/katrina/soapbox/dakota.asp

It's one of those trashy things that just keeps going around the internet.
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azmouse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:08 PM
Response to Reply #4
8. Thank you for that link.
I have it bookmarked for future reference.
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Caoimhe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:29 PM
Response to Reply #8
15. Always check snopes.. they have so much.
even the right-wingers have a hard time convincing anyone that Snopes.com is a lefty website.

And.. if you get one of these trashy email chain letters... submit it to snopes to debunk. They do a pretty good job. If it sounds too ironic/funny/folksy to be true, it probably isnt true.
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Hissyspit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:57 PM
Response to Reply #4
17. Barbara "One can shovel snow, but one cannot shovel water" Mikkelson
Heh.

Very stupid and manipulative email.
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SteppingRazor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:03 PM
Response to Original message
5. OOOOooooOOOOooooOOO! It cut power to "10s of thousands" you say?
I mean, that sucks and all, but how does that compare to Katrina? In fact, forget Katrina for a moment. How does it even compare to Wilma? 10s of thousands is a drop in the bucket bompared to several MILLION, you self-rifghteous, egotistical bastard.
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rustydog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:06 PM
Response to Original message
6. My reply would be, Blow me loser.
the author needs to read something other than O'Really's lips.
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Union Thug Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:07 PM
Response to Original message
7. bookmarking for tactical use later.
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EarlG ADMIN Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:09 PM
Response to Original message
9. I just added this to the Research Forum
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swimmernsecretsea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:10 PM
Response to Original message
10. Your SO is very articulate, well-informed, and argues points well
You must congratulate him/her for me, please! There are members of the current presidential administration who could not put things as well, although that comparison is odious, it makes me wish that there had been smarter people looking out for the good people of Louisiana, and others who don't have to explain away their negligent behavior.

Bravo!
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BJW Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:11 PM
Response to Original message
11. thx for sharing
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ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:11 PM
Response to Original message
12. North Dakota, please return all the federal funds you have ever received
for anything.

You obviously have things under control, and don't need our money.

Maybe we can find other areas that need it more.

And, please don't insult us by asking us for help ever again. Obviously, you have things under control.
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BJW Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:13 PM
Response to Original message
13.  FEMA IS HELPING ND--Disaster Declared
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The Velveteen Ocelot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:14 PM
Response to Original message
14. Good response.
I also note that the writer of the original e-mail neglected to mention the 1997 Grand Forks flood, during which 60,000 people had to evacuate their homes and several blocks downtown caught on fire. Almost every house in the city had some water damage, and many people lost their homes entirely. And guess what: FEMA and other government agencies provided a huge amount of help, both logistical and financial -- but this was back when FEMA, under James Lee Witt (and Bill Clinton) actually knew what it was doing. To suggest that the tough, resilient, self-sufficient (read: white) people of North Dakota are able to fend for themselves in a disaster without the help of the government while those lazy, slacker (read: black) southerners can't or won't is the worst kind of not-too-thinly veiled racism, and it is pure BS, as the 1997 flood proved.
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zbdent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 05:30 PM
Response to Original message
16. Another point - "Snow walls"
Is there such a thing as snow walls, which could block the blizzard?

Did George Bush cut funding for the non-existent snow walls, despite the begging and pleading of the congresspeople to set up snow walls which could withstand a category five snowstorm?

Didn't think so . . .
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dogfacedboy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 06:04 PM
Response to Original message
18. Surely written and distributed by stupid white trash.
Probably the "anti-government militia" types that you don't hear of much any more. I think Oklahoma City and 9/11 scared those pussies back under their rocks. Besides, the people where these storms occurred are used to surviving these things.
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dweller Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 06:06 PM
Response to Original message
19. you are one lucky fella!
brilliant response, a :thumbsup: to your SO!

dp
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The Doctor. Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 06:07 PM
Response to Original message
20. What an idiotic comparison...
There is no comparison here whatsoever.
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Berry Cool Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-06-05 09:33 PM
Response to Reply #20
21. And there shouldn't be one.
As Snopes pointed out, the whole e-mail is a fiction. There was no North Dakota storm (or at least this e-mail doesn't refer to any real North Dakota storm). The whole thing was concocted out of pure air, as a means of implying "White Midwesterner from the North = tough, self-reliant and good; Poor black from the South = lazy, government-dependent and bad."

Sheesh.
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The Doctor. Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-07-05 01:15 PM
Response to Reply #21
25. I have a funny feeling I'm going to see this in my mailbox
Edited on Wed Dec-07-05 01:28 PM by Dr_eldritch
Care of my Republi-sheep parents or my fundie friends.

My fundie friend is a very sweet, brainwashed girl who sends me these things all the time.

{on edit}

And LOW and BEHOLD!!!

I check my email after posting this and find;

"Sorry everyone for sending ya a forward, but I think our troops deserve the few
minutes it takes to read this! May God Bless them all and bring them home
safe!!

Blessings, Janey*"

"This touched me because my son is in the Army now, and will probably be deployed during 2006 or early 2007 .... There are a couple of my buddies on here whose son's are already over there ... my thoughts are with you as I already worry and he is not even there yet ... but I am really proud Martin...
luv Zel xxxx

If you read this, you WILL forward it on. You won't be able to stop yourself.
The Military
The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either.



He's a recent High School graduate;

he was probably an average student,
pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy,
and has a steady girlfriend
that either broke up with him when he left,
or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away.
He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155mm howitzer.
He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now
than when he was at home
because he is working or fighting
from before dawn to well after dusk.
He has trouble spelling,
thus letter writing is a pain for him,
but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds
and reassemble it in less time in the dark.
He can recite to you the nomenclature
of a machine gun or grenade launcher
and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines
and can apply first aid like a professional.
He can march until he is told to stop
or stop until he is told to march.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation,
but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient.
He has two sets of fatigues:
he washes one and wears the other.
He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.
he sometimes forgets to brush his teeth,
but never to clean his rifle.

He can cook his own meals,
mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.
If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food.
He'll even split his ammunition with you
in the midst of battle when you run low.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons
and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life - or take it,
because that is his job.
He will often do twice the work of a civilian ,
draw half the pay
and still find ironic humor in it all.

He has seen more suffering
and death then he should have
in his short lifetime.
He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies,
and helped to create them.
He has wept in public and in private,
for friends who have fallen in combat
and is unashamed.
He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body
while at rigid attention,
while tempering the burning desire to
'square-away' those around him
who haven't bothered to stand,
remove their hat, or even stop talking.
In an odd twist, day in and day out,
far from home,
he defends their right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather,
and Great-grandfather,
he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy.
He is the American Fighting Man
that has kept this country free
for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return,
except our friendship and understanding.
Remember him, always,
for he has earned our respect
and admiration with his blood.
And now we even have women over there in danger,
doing their part in this tradition
of going to War
when our nation calls us to do so.
As you go to bed tonight,
remember this shot..
A short lull, a little shade
and a picture of loved ones in their helmets


Prayer wheel for our military... please don't break it. Please send this on after a short prayer.

Prayer Wheel

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families

for the selfless acts they perform for us

in our time of need. Amen."

Prayer :

When you receive this,

please stop for a moment and say a prayer
for our ground troops in Afghanistan, sailors on ships, and airmen in the air,
and for those in Iraq.

There is nothing attached....

This can be very powerful.......

Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Coastguardsman, Marine
or Airman, prayer is the very best one.
I can't break this one, sorry
This is a ribbon for soldiers fighting in Iraq. Pass it on to everyone and pray.

Thank you,

Carrol Cheatwood
MDBS"


Sure it's nice... and full of denigrations most fundies will miss.
But fundies use these things to say;

"See, war is ok. It is traditional and honorable like this fictional soldier. Therefore we need to be in Iraq using this shining example of honor to bring them liberty and democracy."

:puke:

They want to be brainwashed.
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sybylla Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-07-05 10:23 AM
Response to Original message
22. Excellent response.
I flipped out last week when I received a reich-wing email from my parents, of all people.

Nice Job!
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rmgustaf Donating Member (98 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-07-05 12:46 PM
Response to Original message
23. I am from North Dakota
While it's true we do get hit by bad blizzards and floods, the email writer above is clearly engaging in some sour grapes and exagerration. Grand Forks was hit by a huge flood in 1997, but even then the city wasn't annihilated like New Orleans, and disaster relief was much quicker in arriving. The ND National Guard is fantastic (when it's not crippled by having most of the members shipped out to Afghanistan).

Don't be fooled by the hearty, can-do spirit espoused by the writer above - tons of people are constantly whining about snow removal in the wintertime. There are letters to the editors of newspapers about the snowplows leaving 3 inches of snow on a driveway.

North Dakota does get rough weather, but we haven't lost an entire city yet, and FEMA does come in a lot. We have around a dozen counties declared disaster areas every year due to flooding, and we get federal assistance for them.

We get bad weather and we suck it up. We also suck up federal relief money (and ND farmers get more subsidies than anyone else in the country). So wish us luck, but ignore crap like that email.
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Jim__ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-07-05 01:01 PM
Response to Original message
24. Great response!
The original e-mail sounds like it comes from a freeper. A lot of self-congratulation about how well North Dakato handled a not too unusual situation. The snow storm doesn't begin to compare to what happened to New Orleans. Most people will recognize that immediately. I've known a few people from North Dakota, and the sentiments expresses in that e-mail are not at all representative of what I would expect from these people.
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