Posted by
Team Turk on Saturday, September 09, 2006 12:02:55 AM
“One day after Hezbollah discontinued bombing Israel, Hezbollah was passing out $12,000 checks in Lebanon. [And] we couldn’t do it in New Orleans.” (Congressman Emanuel Cleaver)
Are you kidding?
When answering ridiculous comments such as these, one has three options. You can say nothing, as the ridiculous comments speak for themselves. You can laugh, as they deserve that reaction. Or, you can give the Congressman’s comments the response they so richly deserve.
Prior to Katrina, the United States government had not engaged in terrorism. They had not killed innocent civilians for twisted ideology. Nor had they expressed hatred against a group willing to make peace. These were the actions of Hezbollah.
The government response to Katrina was poor. However, it does not warrant comparison to a terrorist organization. We did nothing to provoke Katrina. It was a meteorological occurrence. Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others. They then condemned Israel, even as they killed civilians themselves.
Congressman Cleaver’s statement was ignorant. It was not worthy of a United States Representative. It was not worthy of a petulant child. The Congressman should not only be ashamed of making it. He should be ashamed for thinking it.
As I said, I had three options. Normally, I would dismiss the Congressman’s rant as a typical liberal attack. Not on this occasion. America deserves better than his hateful discourse. The fifth district deserves better than Congressman Cleaver.
Raymond Smalley