The Bush Emergency

And nope, I don't mean our President, soon to vacate office.

I mean Bush Alaska. I feel a little guilty about not thinking about what is happening in our Bush communities, aside from the knowledge that their heating oil costs are astronomical.

Yesterday, the Alaska blogs were aflame with the topic, in particular, the plight of the village of Emmonak.

This morning, I did some reading, catching up on some favorite blogs. I am left a changed person. I am furious, saddened, and enraged, all at the same time. It boggles my mind how our Governor can hire staff for PR for her Anchorage office, while our people are chosing between heat and food! We are the wealthiest state in our nation, and we cannot feed our residents?

Governor Palin responded to some recent criticism by starting a new subcabinet which would address rural issues. This was back in October. No one from the Bush is on board and no one seems to know when one will be found, and when or if, any meetings will take place. Instead, she is busy fending off numerous requests for interviews. Bah!

To learn what has me so upset I can barely type, feel free to visit these websites:

http://www.themudflats.net/ One of the best blogs on the net. The subject is on the main page, with plenty of links to other news sources. Mudflatters raised five thousand dollars in a few hours, to send a reporter from another blog (The Alaska Standard) to Emmonak to get pictures and first hand accounts of what is happening there. All of the main stream media has already been contacted, but they likely will not pick up the story until they have better evidence at hand. It is on the Huffington Post and DailyKos, and others so far.

Feel free to become outraged, contact people in state government and let your opinions be heard.

I am beyond livid that our Governor is not recognizing this emergency, never mind responding to it. Maybe too busy getting her latte, perhaps?