Weather Bulletin--Denver

[Wet Blanket]

I recently was sent this by an old acquaintance.

WEATHER BULLETIN--DENVER

Up here, in the "Mile-Hi City", 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 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 snowstorm. 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.
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 snowbound 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 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 a person gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world's social problems evaporate."

It does seem that way, at least to me.

Maybe SOME people (Like New Orlense and Wash. DC freeloaders) will get the message. The world does Not owe you a living. The Government and Tax $ are not your insurance company.

If you pick at any one thing long enough you can find what you want.
It will be ugly from being picked apart.

(Name Withheld)
Writer, Poet, All 'Round Uppity Woman
(Address Withheld)
Birmingham, AL

I am not printing the name or address of the lady whose signature appeared below the message, but I did find her email address buried amid all the forewards, and I contacted her to see if she'd take responsibility for all or part of the message. (I have since found a shorter and earlier version of the same message on ULRP: here. ) I went ahead and told her what I thought about the message, and I also shared my thoughts with the old friend who was sweet enough to deposit this piece of crap in my inbox.

I find this message incredibly offensive in about a half-dozen ways, but I'll withhold comment here until I see if there's any interest and until I make sure that this hasn't already been discussed on these boards. (I did do a search, but was it perhaps discussed on the old boards?)

[Ryda Wong, EBfCo.]

I got this submitted as a letter to the editor on Friday. And, today, it showed up in my inbox as a forward from my dear grandparents (whom I love, but really wish some higher power would have prevented them from ever discovering the internet and email), with this slightly different intro:
"Priceless. Think about this for a moment.
Denver News
This text is from a county emergency manager out in the western part of Jefferson County after a snowstorm.
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."

It the goes into the same annoying racist screed.

As someone who actually WENT through this snowstorm, I'm quite offended by this. Sorry, folks, but what happened in New Orleans and what happened here are quite, quite different. To compare the two is, well, quite laughable.

Not to mention, FEMA and other govt. orgs did mobilize to provide assistance for the Coloradoans affected. And it was covered (and still is being covered) by the major news orgs.

This email is just sad.

[Ryda Wong, EBfCo.]

FYI, this was my response, sent to a reply all on the email from my grandparents:

To all,

Please be aware, as someone who actually lives in the area, that we, in no way, can compare the damage and inconvenience we experienced, to the devastation and loss of life that resulted from Katrina.

Yes, things did get mussed for a few days, and we are all heartily sick of the snow. Yes, area grocery stores did experience depleted goods for a bit. Yes, a small part of the population lost power for a few hours. I myself spent 8 1/2 hours on a bus, a commute which usually takes 45 min. Some people had to sleep in a mall or at a friend's house for a night. Some cars were damaged.

The cattle on the plains will probably represent the most damage. You might have to pay a bit more for steak and hamburger over the next few months. However, FEMA and the National Guard are there, and are trying to rectify the cattle situation.

We have clean water, electricity, food, medical assistance, and things are quite normal, except for some commuting delays, stuck cars, and some slips and falls.

We were not in a situation in which we had to evacuate a city, but could not, because we didn't have cars. We were not in a situation in which the engineering flaws that had been known for over a decade had been ignored, and resulted in a flood which trapped people with no food, no water, no power, no homes, rotting bodies, and starving children.

Those affected by Katrina experienced something quite horrible. Those of us in Colo experienced something annoying, kinda funny, and quite fascinating. And, btw, we've gotten plenty of media coverage and attention, far more than we ever needed.

In addition, no public official ever wrote nor said what appeared in this email. No public official would be that callous and conceited.

Please be aware that we in Colorado cannot even begin to compare this snowstorm to what happened in New Orleans, nor would we.

God bless,

Ryda Wong
Denver, Colo.

[AnglRdr]

I used to live in Southeastern Colorado (Las Animas, between La Junta and Lamar), so this past round of storms has grabbed my interest. The Pueblo Chieftain wrote a scathing editorial about the state's response to those who are still in need of assistance.

Sounds to me like perhaps the governor should have called in federal assistance.

All I can say is that I completely agree with you, Ryda. I am a bit north of Denver, but we got PLENTY of snow up here too. Even so, it was nowhere near the devastation that New Orleans and other areas that were affected by Katrina went through. I'm sure some trees fell, and there was some damage to some houses, but their entire city was wiped out. Quite a difference. I still have my home and so do all of my friends and family. We were just trapped inside for a day or two. We have a big storm or two every year. We're used to it.

[Wet Blanket]

The thing is rife with spelling and punctuation errors, for starters, but that's the least of its offenses. Let's see: Poor people are lazy whiners who have no desire to change their lot in life. A blizzard that causes a few unfortunate deaths and some minor property damage is exactly the same as the unprecedented destruction of nearly an entire American city that kills hundreds (their bodies, in some cases, littering the streets). People in cold climates are morally superior because they plan for their disasters. If those stupid people in New Orleans had planned ahead, they wouldn't have found themselves sitting on rooftops waiting for someone to come rescue them. We won't come right out an say it, but it would appear that the more white people a city has, the better it is.

But here's the part that absolutely burns me:

"In my many travels, I have noticed that once a person gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world's social problems evaporate."

You know what makes 90% of the world's problems evaporate? MONEY. A little googling confirmed my suspicions: Denver has a far higher average per capita income than New Orleans and Washington, DC. In fact, Colorado is the richest state in the US. Money makes it a lot easier for those folks in Denver to buy snow tires and emergency generators, and it'd probably enable them to get on their feet pretty quickly if they had to flee their destroyed neighborhoods and start over somewhere else. The Katrina refugees that settled in my Alabama city (and yes, some of them were still with us) should have had the foresight to be richer; that would have made it a lot easier for them to be self-sufficient when completely uprooted from their homes and jobs.

The writer is correct on one point, though.

If you pick at any one thing long enough you can find what you want.
It will be ugly from being picked apart.

The longer I pick apart this email, the uglier it seems.

[Amigone201]

Up here, in the "Mile-Hi City",

Is that anything like the "Mile-High City?"

we just recovered from a Historic event---may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions"

No, you may not. There were no snowstorms in the Bible, and if there had been, they would have made a lousy story if they only did this amount of damage.

--- 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.

Okay, I'll give you that most of that is true, but what's a "lethal snowbank?"

FYI:
George Bush did not come.

That's because they couldn't land Air Force one.

FEMA did nothing.

No one asked them to.

No one howled for the government.

Look, lady, I don't know if you thought this through or not, but who do you think is driving those snowplows? Who do you think is coordinating the relief effort?

No one blamed the government.

That's because they didn't do anything wrong.

No one even uttered an expletive on TV.

That's because people like you made it illegal.

Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit.

That's because there were no racial issues.

Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else.

Now you're just repeating yourself to make your original claims sound more impactful. I'm not buying it.

Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else, either.

Sigh...

CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snowstorm.

Now that's just a lie. I saw coverage of the storm on every station. You also didn't mention CNN and MSNBC, but they also covered it.

Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.

Nobody did in New Orleans either.

No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House.

You sure about that? Even the people who lost their houses?

No one looted.

If this is true, it's because they were too busy being snowed into their homes.

Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something.

You keep saying that. It doesn't make it any more true just because you insist it more vehemently.

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, you're right. Larry King and Oprah did not show up. That's because this isn't the type of story they cover. In fact, Oprah really isn't a news reporter at all. Anderson Cooper is, however, and he did report on it. I have no idea who "Bill O'Rielly" or "Chris Mathews" are, but I have heard of "Bill O'Reilly" and "Chris Matthews," neither of whom routinely cover storm stories. Bill, however, will show up at a disaster scene at the first sign of someone trying to denigrate the oppressed Christian whites.

No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found.

Again the airport was closed. Why would Hollywood actors show up, anyway?

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.

They didn't? Are you positive? I have no doubt that there's going to be a few stories of someone getting exploited by someone after this is all over. Why don't you wait and see before stomping your foot and declaring the issue finished?

Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snowbound 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 extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die".

Good for you. I'm glad you were able to get through it. But since your point is, apparently, that the Katrina victims were a bunch of lazy, mooching black people sitting around waiting for handouts, I'm sure you'll recoil and apologize when you find out how much work they've done, both black and white, won't you?

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.

Ah, the crack at welfare. Though this has nothing to do with either your situation or New Orleans, you still feel the need to bring it up.

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.

Good for you. If the government hadn't dropped the ball at every stage of the game during Rita and Katrina, New Orleans would have known "how to deal with it" too. Of course, since the disasters were completely different in nature and in scale, who are you to pass judgement on whether or not someone should call for help from the government?

"In my many travels, I have noticed that once a person gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world's social problems evaporate."

That's because when you're above 48 degrees North Latitude, you've left 90% of the populated world behind you.

Oh, and Denver is not above 48 degrees North.

It does seem that way, at least to me.

Well, considering your bitter, angry, selfish view of the world, I'm not surprised that you miss some things.

Maybe SOME people (Like New Orlense and Wash. DC freeloaders) will get the message. The world does Not owe you a living. The Government and Tax $ are not your insurance company.

And what will it take to give you "the message" about trying to spell something correctly? Seriously, your grammar is atrocious.

I don't know anyone who thinks that the world owes them a living, or that the government is an insurance company. However, since we pay taxes to FEMA, it would be nice if they could, you know, do something once in a while, maybe when a disaster strikes?

Or are FEMA officials not classified as lazy freeloaders because they're not poor and black?

If you pick at any one thing long enough you can find what you want.
It will be ugly from being picked apart.

That's the first true statement you've made so far.

(Name Withheld)
Writer, Poet, All 'Round Uppity Woman

You got that right. However, I doubt my opinion of your "uppitiness" is as cheerful as yours is.

(Address Withheld)
Birmingham, AL

You mean, you're not even from Colorado? What???

[Hyper Squirrel]

Amigone, you're my new hero.

Quick, someone forward this to Bono!

[BrianB]

Originally Posted by Wet Blanket

(I did do a search, but was it perhaps discussed on the old boards?)

Here's Barbara's write-up on the main site.

Originally Posted by Amigone201

Oh, and Denver is not above 48 degrees North.

You would think if you're going to plagiarize a two-year-old bigoted email you could at least update the "facts."
Brian

[Don Enrico]

"In my many travels, I have noticed that once a person gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world's social problems evaporate."

Good to know that - I'm gonna tell it to my friend Richard, who spent three years serving as a policeman in the (mostly Inuit) community of Kangirsuk, northern Quebéc (now Nunavik), 60° 01′ N, 70° 00′ W. He will be glad to hear that he had to deal with no social problems at all...

Don Enrico

[BrianB]

Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed a letter to the White House late yesterday, requesting federal assistance to help Kansans recover from the effects of the winter storms that hit the state Dec. 28 through Dec. 31, 2006.

United States Senator Ken Salazar today continued to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to give economic aid to ranchers who risk losing their cattle after last month's two Colorado blizzards.

Nobody expected the government to do anything, either.

Bush aids heartland after back-to-back blizzards.
Brian

[Wet Blanket]

Originally Posted by BrianB

Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed a letter to the White House late yesterday, requesting federal assistance to help Kansans recover from the effects of the winter storms that hit the state Dec. 28 through Dec. 31, 2006.

United States Senator Ken Salazar today continued to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to give economic aid to ranchers who risk losing their cattle after last month's two Colorado blizzards.

Bush aids heartland after back-to-back blizzards.
Brian

Ugh, those lazy, mooching Midwesterners. Always with their hands out!

Thanks for those links, Brian. I may just have to send another email to the Birmingham woman who signed the message. I still haven't gotten a response to my first email to her. When I told DH that I'd discovered on Snopes that at least part of the message she'd signed had been lifted from the Internet, his reaction was the same as mine: "If she's going to plagiarize, shouldn't she at least steal something that is well written?"

The Fiance's father started spouting this gibberish at dinner last night. Thanks for giving me my ammunition all ready made! The best part was when he kept insisting "But it wasn't covered on national news!" I looked at him and said, "So cnn.com, msnbc.com, Minneapolis Star Tribune and KARE 11 news (also in MN), don't count as national?" He dropped the conversation pretty quickly after that. When I mentioned it to The Fiance as we were driving home, he started laughing and said, "My dad watching O'Reilly. That's not news, that's an editorial!"

Sigh. I'm glad that man somehow raised three children willing to think for themselves, even though I don't quite know how he did it, since he himself does not think independently.

There is so much in this "letter", but I will just go after ONE that got to me:

No one looted

Maybe your criminals are tougher up there in the snow belt, but wouldn't the 44" of snow and cold and wind, cut down on the whole motivation for looting?

"Hey Doug! We can get a free 50" HDTV if we loot the local Best Buy!"

"Where is it?"

"About a mile down the road. We would have to walk both ways through the 44" of blowing snow AND sub freezing temperatures to get it."

"I think I'll pass. Where's my hot chocolate..."

[finger stutters]

I have to agree with Ryda. Even with the snow we pretty much had no problems here. A few days after the second storm my mom had a fall and we called an ambulance. They had no problem getting out here.

Now I wouldn't mind if someone wanted to give me a $2000 debit card, but I don't in anyway need it. We didn't even lose power, heat, water, or cable... ya know the stuff we really need.

hijack: my mom's fine now.

[Magpye]

From the OP:

"In my many travels, I have noticed that once a person gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world's social problems evaporate."

From Don Enrico:

Good to know that - I'm gonna tell it to my friend Richard, who spent three years serving as a policeman in the (mostly Inuit) community of Kangirsuk, northern Quebéc (now Nunavik), 60° 01′ N, 70° 00′ W. He will be glad to hear that he had to deal with no social problems at all...

Yeah, Don Enrico, I am absolutely with you on this one... I love my home, I probably talk about my home enough to annoy, but as well as being number one in the USA in size, having-pretty-mountains, having-lots-of-cute-animals, having-lots-of-bush-planes, all that nice heartwarming stuff, Alaska is also, year after year, either top of the list or number two or three in: domestic violence, rape, alcohol-related deaths, teen pregnancy, alcohol and other drug-related birth defects...

Life north of the 45th ain't always pretty.