I wrote my congressman and here is his response letter.....

First... this is the email I sent Camp... Following his response (snail mail)... is a copy of the email Carl Levin sent me in response to a similar email I sent him......

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Mr. Camp,

I will make this as short as possible, however I am very upset.

As a US Citizen and a constituent of yours I want some answers.

First, why has this disaster been handled so poorly? I expect you will be asking the right questions and demanding answers from the ones that are responsible for all this incompetence.

Doesn't the Homeland Security department have the responsibility to react to a national emergency in an efficient and timely manner? What did we create this department for? Why has the budget for dealing with such disasters been drastically cut? Why was the responsibility for shoring up the dikes around New Orleans cut? Why was the Army Corps of Engineers removed from this responsibility and the job given to a private company with a fraction of the budget necessary to do the job?

Why are all the National Guard troops in Iraq? They NEED to be HERE!!

Why is Fema not using the help from the city of Chicago when Mayor Daley offered, police officers, fire trucks, rescue teams and supplies? He offered them BEFORE the hurricane and they are STILL waiting for the word to send the help. We need answers now!

I expect you to do your duty as an elected representative to find the answers and do the right thing because it is the right thing to do... not because someone is a Republican or a Democrat! Heads should roll over the incompetence of the those running this effort. Start doing your job and demand answers so we can get this country back on the right track.

A little less worry about gay marriages and whether you can put a statue of the ten commandments on state or federal land and more worry about the real national security issues that we face. A little less with the "terrorist" propaganda and more time and money spent on real domestic issues like global warming and creating more jobs in Michigan.

You have chosen to support this President and now look what you all have created. This is a national disgrace and I will be voting in the next election. I hope with your actions I can say I voted for you.

From a VERY angry constituent


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Dear Mr. Jokinomx,

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about Hurricane Katrina and the devastation and flooding left in its wake. I appreciate hearing from you.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history and left in its wake a horrific trail of destruction. Along with the entire country, I mourn for the many lives that were lost and pray for the millions who will be dealing with the affects of this tragedy for years to come. Hundreds have lost their lives, hundreds of thousands have lost everything they owned, and about one million people were displaced.

Our grief was compounded by the bungled government response to this predicted natural disaster. For three or four critical days, FEMA failed to provide food and water to about 20,000 people stranded in the New Orleans convention center. Thousands more were left stranded for days in their flooded homes without any idea of when help would arrive, and, more disturbingly, supplies that were sent to the Gulf region somehow never got to the victims or were late in coming.

Sadly, many families were separated during the evacuation efforts and approximately 4,500 children were reported missing. About 1,500 of those cases have been resolved, and there are ongoing efforts to reunite families with their loved ones.

As the residents of the Gulf Coast have suffered an overwhelming loss, millions of their fellow citizens have responded by opening their hearts and homes to help their fellow Americans. Evacuees have found temporary or semi-permanent housing in almost every state in the nation, and the amount of food, supplies and money donated has been overwhelming. The international response has also been extremely generous.

The people of the Gulf Coast are resilient and signs of rebuilding are already evident in the region. Over the next several months, the federal government, along with state and local governments, will be working to provide jobs, housing and health care for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by this disaster, conducting environmental cleanup, removing debris, as well as repairing roads and bridges.

Although the President has stated that we should not engage in the “blame game,” it is critical that we investigate the federal government’s response to Katrina. By holding people and institutions accountable for their actions or inaction, we can improve future performance and prevent such mistakes from happening again.

As a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I am reviewing the response to Hurricane Katrina, and we have begun to hold hearings to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the response and recovery efforts. By identifying the failures, we can strengthen our preparedness for any future emergencies our country may face.

While this Senate Committee is committed to a thorough and fair investigation, I believe the creation of an independent, bipartisan commission, similar to that which was established after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is the best way to look into what went right and what went wrong. Unfortunately, on September 12, 2005, the Senate rejected an amendment to create such an independent commission on a party line vote. For the sake of our nation’s security, we need to hold people and institutions accountable for their actions or inaction, and we need to find ways to correct the problems.

I will continue to insist on accountability with respect to the federal government’s initial response to Hurricane Katrina, as well as with the ongoing recovery efforts. The American people must be assured that the billions of dollars being spent on recovery activities are spent in a cost-effective manner for the purpose of rebuilding communities and restoring hope to the people of the Gulf Coast. Contracts need to be awarded in a competitive manner, and government officials and contractors must be held accountable for their performance. We can accept no less.

Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,
Carl Levin

:wtf:

I guess if you call six days promptly. Maybe in the right-wing fantasy world those fanatical nutjobs live in.

He promptly ate cake.
He promptly played the guitar.
He promptly funneled more billions in no-bid contracts to Halliburton.

What more do you want from him? Why, he even ended his vacation a whole 2 days early. Presidentin' is hard work, ya know.

I am with you in not being represented by my legislators (in my case at any level State or Federal).

I KNOW Camp's letter was mass produced.... most likely Levin's was also...

But... Levin's has some thought put into it....

I am fortunate to have Carl Levin as my Senator....he makes up for my congressman.

Anyway... thanks for your comment...

:toast:

.

My congresscritter (Shaw-FL) doesn't even bother any more. Come to think of it, I barely hear from Bill Nelson either. I do get regular (every 2 months or so) letters from Sideshow Mel, but they are usually along the lines of "blah blah blah blah blah blah, oh yeah , fuck you".