The governor and an army of politicans are the headliners for “Disaster Tour 2007.”
They’ve found something in our devastated community that has value for them.
San Diego is a successful disaster—if there is such a thing.
Politicians of all stripes are acting like this is a victory tour and
not the loss of a lifetime of labor and love for many San Diegans.
And then there's the appearance of the great Decider, who will be part of the parade arriving in San Diego for his photo op.

Where better to see a disaster than in San Diego, with a football stadium full of
clean, well-scrubbed evacuees to show how well things went.
Community leaders are lining up to crow about how the system “worked”.
It's a place for the politicos to point to with pride.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the tourism industry doesn’t cook up some ad campaign.

Excuse my cynicsm but these characters are BLOWING SMOKE.
Where do some politicans and the national media get off in making us some sort of poster child for disasters anyway? Let me clue you in, not everything went right. Homes burned down. Lives were ruined.
Our citizens, our firefighters and our police and sheriffs personnel were the heroes, not the polticians taking this opportunity to lay claim to MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
No way.
The government agencies in our community FAILED.
What better proof then that dry brush that fueled the fires that ripped through our communities?
This is not the first major fire but one in a series to hit our region.
Who is kidding who here?

This was a failure of our leaders to provide the basic protection we pay for as citizens.
To make us safe.
And when a serious question is asked, it’s ignored.
That’s why I am angry when the governor ducks a question from ABC reporter Claire Shipman asking him about the lack of firefighting aircraft to help battle the Southern California fires early on.
“Everything is good," he told her. She was just trying to stir things up, he said. “Everything is good.”
Everything is not good,Mr. Governor.
As we all will find as this story unwinds over the next few months.
It will be a chance for all of us to demand that our leaders finally do what we pay them to do.
What we elected them to do.

What’s also upsetting is how the national media are now comparing us to Katrina victims.
Hello, our shopping centers are still open, our water still works, we can still watch the World Series.
Before the media and the polticians get too smug about this “successful disaster” they need to stop and think about how things would be different if it had been a wide-scale earthquake.
I guarantee you one thing, if it had been an earthquake, the politicans wouldn’t be in such a hurry to catch a flight to San Diego.


jwblog@10news.com
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Subject: Fires blog
Well said! Finally someone speaks for the people. I have watched with disgust but not surprise as our local and out of town political amoeba come to spend the first half hour of each appearance thanking each other for the work they have done and the second half hour talking about their future. What I haven't seen or heard is any of them picking up a shovel, a hose, or rolling up their sleeves. They arrive in neatly pressed, expensive suits to yap about each other. I did not see them at the evac centers serving meals, taking trash out, walking horses, entertaining children or comforting people who are living this reality.

Who are the heros? The firemen, policemen and other public servants who have worked around the clock without sleep. They have worked regular shifts and call backs. The heros are the media who have risked their lives to keep us well informed and prepared. The heros include the community of SD who have come out in force to support those in need, like the doctors, nurses, psychologists, teachers, pastoral staff who dropped everything to work at the evac centers. The general population of SD. I have seen people drop off car loads of blankets, water, diapers, food, etc. These kind and generous people were not wealthy. Often it was the working class people of SD who will do without to care for their neighbors.

My hope is that there are more San Diegans who see through this grandstanding and will not be shut up like Claire Shipman was by the governor.
Thanks,
Leslie
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Subject: Boy you got that right

From Barbara Boxer to President Bush, what a joke.
That's exactly what I thought, ie, a PHOTO OP.
They all ought to be thrown out & be replaced by people
who are sincerely concerned with protecting this country,
it's borders, & it's legal citizens & not going to sleep
at the switch when it comes to accepting peace offerings
such as Iran in 2003

Ted Cooper
HB Calif.

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So well said, JW. I thought I was just being cynical and kind of kept my thoughts to myself.... By the way, I was at Qualcom.... so many people there were not even from the burn areas..... I think the politicians did not care because of the photo op.... We ended up taking supplies on our own accord to areas such as La Jolla reservation, Campo etc to get things into the right peoples hands... Unreal... Just thought I would vent...

Kevin
El Cajon


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JW - Great piece - Truthful, concise, and to the point! The United States, thank God, has managed to survive for some 231 years (so far), despite the pandering, usury, greed and party politics of those who would be kings!
Truth (Veritas) may not always make one popular, but it does make one a patriot in my opinion!! "Thank God for truth!!"

RICK