Can't Put it any Plainer

My sister received this in an email and asked me to post it--it's an open letter written by a NOLA resident and it nicely encapsulates the feelings of any number of folks who either call the city home--or know folks who do. I'm posting this as I received it, i.e., the lack of capital letters, in my opinion, underscores the urgency as does the style itself:

a slightly different message from what you normally hear from new orleans:

we need your help.
you, as americans, can speak up for us americans down here in louisiana. we need action before congress finishes up and heads back for the holidays and the rest of the country forgets us.

we're screaming down here for the federal government, who built the levees that "protect" new orleans, to step forward and ensure that this won't happen again. we've screamed and screamed and now it's your turn to scream. if america can't stand by all of its citizens in time of domestic crisis, then just what kind of country do we live in?

why is it important? until the feds step in and say, "we're going to make all of america, including louisiana, safe," our city and state are doomed.

the "come back" will be minimal and many thousands of people will choose to live
somewhere else, somewhere safer. and businesses will slowly make their way out the
door and all that will be left is an oddball tourist town with a port and good food.

and new orleans and louisiana deserve better than that.

so write an email to your congressman or congresswoman.
call your senator, state representative, governor.
do it today.

and tell them that new orleans and louisiana are worth saving.

a commitment from our government to rebuild the levees is all we're asking for. we're working hard to right the ship down here but we can't do it alone. we need help from all of you, all of america.

because last i checked, louisiana is still part of the "united" states of america.

thanks for speaking for up for us.
please pass this note on to all who you think can help.