Citizen Smash posted a letter that should make us all proud, and should have any Navy folks busting their buttons.

From the CNO, it says in part:

At NAS New Orleans I came across a bunch of Seabees working feverishly on the wooden platform for what was going to be a temporary dining facility. It was a contract job, but the contractor was having problems rounding up the necessary manpower and resources. The Seabees didn’t ask permission, didn’t wait for orders. They simply rolled up their sleeves and went to work.

“Hey, they needed help,” one said. “And we know how to do this stuff.”

We do, indeed, know how to do this stuff, and we are doing it exceptionally well. Standing amongst them, I was never more proud to call myself an American Sailor.

It’s well worth your time to follow the link and read the whole thing.

And Baldilocks shares something I’ve not read in very many other places, yet.

“In the name of the Iraqi people, I say to you, Mr. President, and to the glorious American people, thank you, thank you.

“Thank you because you have liberated us from the worst kind of dictatorship. Our people suffered too much from this worst kind of dictatorship. The signal is mass graves with hundred thousand of Iraqi innocent children and women, young and old men. Thank you.”

–President Jalal Talabani of Iraq during his first visit to the White House on Tuesday, September 13, 2005.

If you scroll further down on Baldilocks’ site, you’ll find an entry detailing how Wal-Mart has set up “registries” for the evacuees. Like a bridal registry, the Katrina survivors can register for what they need, and their friends can help them re-stock their lives.

I think Wal-Mart, along with Lowes/Home Depot, is doing a fantastic job of helping out with the recovery efforts. (and yes, I realize it’s in their best economic interest to do so)