While preparing to receive 500 of Katrina's victims and assist them in rebuilding their lives, we've endured our own windy visitor pounding our outer banks for 8 days. Ophelia was a destructive nuisance rather than a killer, but she exacted her own peculiar and cruel damage by taking out the Crab Shack, the best restaurant on Salter Path, as well as the fish markets supplying it on Atlantic Beach and numerous other businesses, homes, and marinas.
But with Bush safely secured in his fiscal bubble and surrounded by his handlers, Karl Rove had his priorities in order. Having prepped Bush for his Cabildo moment in NOLA, Rove headed here, of all places. To shore up our battered residents who've withstood Ophelia's winds for the last 8 days? Nah. He had a more pressing challenge: raising money for the RNC. I had no idea they were harder up than Katrina's or Ophelia's victims!
A small item, appeared in our daily, the News and Record, which I immediately sent to Dan Froomkin. Froomkin, as many of you know, continues to provide the best information on the interweavings of the Katrina/Rove/Bush Administration p.r. campaign. (Hat tip to Dan for asking the N&R to post a link!)
The low-key coverage no doubt stemmed from the possible perception that such an event's timing would seem to be in such poor taste. Hosted by Bush donors and fundraisers Louis DeJoy and Aldona Wos, Rove assured those attending that the full story of Hurricane Katrina would come out. According to Marcus Kindley, Guilford County's Republican Party Chairman, Rove told them to "hang in there."
Words of comfort at a time of need. Indeed, Orwellian leadership at its best. Prepare yourselves. The winds of Karl are going to turn this storm back on itself.
Meanwhile, across town and in direct conflict with Bush's televised fiscal fantasy moment, Ralph Reed headlined at Guilford College's Year of Spirit and Spirituality series, focusing on speakers from across the faith community. (Bishop Desmond Tutu, Bill Moyers, and Karen Armstrong are also scheduled.) Reed is still trying to peddle one of the religious right's main planks:
Lest you cross Greensboro off entirely as hopelessly lost, however, we do have a couple of encouraging items for those still attached to terra firma and reality.
First, for all those wingnut bloggers misusing facts and sources out there, UNC-Chapel Hill has fired a student communist for misleading sources and using quotes out of context in a column arguing for racial profiling of Arabs for national security. Let that be a lesson to you.
And finally, another fundraiser is planned in town for this Saturday. This time a Katrina benefit unique in its title and emphasis: "Hurricane Benefit and Anti-Racism Speak-Out." Scheduled from 1-6 at Faith Community Church, the event will include music, food, and an open microphone.
Hmmm, I wonder if Karl and Ralph will still be in town?