[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[at-l] Gas Prices-effect on Hiking Plans
Raphael Bustin wrote:.
"The city survived Katrina -- but a human design, neglected through
politics, failed in its function and appears to have left thousands dead
and millions homeless. It boggles the mind"
I just got this from Jan's brother who, by the way is a "rabid"
Republican. It really surprised me as it seemed more like something
that we would send him. Nice to finally agree on something!
*_/Why New Orleans Is in Deep Water/_*
By Molly Ivins
Creators Syndicate
* Thursday 01 September 2005 *
* * Austin, Texas - Like many of you who love New Orleans, I find
myself taking short mental walks there today, turning a familiar corner,
glimpsing a favorite scene, square or vista. And worrying about the
beloved friends and the city, and how they are now.
To use a fine Southern word, it's tacky to start playing the blame
game before the dead are even counted. It is not too soon, however, to
make a point that needs to be hammered home again and again, and that is
that government policies have real consequences in people's lives.
This is not "just politics" or blaming for political advantage. This
is about the real consequences of what governments do and do not do
about their responsibilities. And about who winds up paying the price
for those policies.
This is a column for everyone in the path of Hurricane Katrina who
ever said, "I'm sorry, I'm just not interested in politics," or,
"There's nothing I can do about it," or, "Eh, they're all crooks anyway."
Nothing to do with me, nothing to do with my life, nothing I can do
about any of it. Look around you this morning. I suppose the National
Rifle Association would argue, "Government policies don't kill people,
hurricanes kill people." Actually, hurricanes plus government policies
kill people.
One of the main reasons New Orleans is so vulnerable to hurricanes
is the gradual disappearance of the wetlands on the Gulf Coast that once
stood as a natural buffer between the city and storms coming in from the
water. The disappearance of those wetlands does not have the name of a
political party or a particular administration attached to it. No one
wants to play, "The Democrats did it," or, "It's all Reagan's fault."
Many environmentalists will tell you more than a century's interference
with the natural flow of the Mississippi is the root cause of the
problem, cutting off the movement of alluvial soil to the river's delta.
But in addition to long-range consequences of long-term policies
like letting the Corps of Engineers try to build a better river than
God, there are real short-term consequences, as well. It is a fact that
the Clinton administration set some tough policies on wetlands, and it
is a fact that the Bush administration repealed those policies -
ordering federal agencies to stop protecting as many as 20 million acres
of wetlands.
Last year, four environmental groups cooperated on a joint report
showing the Bush administration's policies had allowed developers to
drain thousands of acres of wetlands.
Does this mean we should blame President Bush for the fact that New
Orleans is underwater? No, but it means we can blame Bush when a
Category 3 or Category 2 hurricane puts New Orleans under. At this
point, it is a matter of making a bad situation worse, of failing to
observe the First Rule of Holes (when you're in one, stop digging).
Had a storm the size of Katrina just had the grace to hold off for a
while, it's quite likely no one would even remember what the Bush
administration did two months ago. The national press corps has the
attention span of a gnat, and trying to get anyone in Washington to
remember longer than a year ago is like asking them what happened in
Iznik, Turkey, in A.D. 325.
Just plain political bad luck that, in June, Bush took his little ax
and chopped $71.2 million from the budget of the New Orleans Corps of
Engineers, a 44 percent reduction. As was reported in New Orleans
CityBusiness at the time, that meant "major hurricane and flood projects
will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to
determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has
been shelved for now."
The commander of the corps' New Orleans district also immediately
instituted a hiring freeze and canceled the annual corps picnic.
Our friends at the Center for American Progress note the Office of
Technology Assessment used to produce forward-thinking plans such as
"Floods: A National Policy Concern" and "A Framework for Flood Hazards
Management." Unfortunately, the office was targeted by Newt Gingrich and
the Republican right, and gutted years ago.
In fact, there is now a governmentwide movement away from basing
policy on science, expertise and professionalism, and in favor of
choices based on ideology. If you're wondering what the ideological
position on flood management might be, look at the pictures of New
Orleans - it seems to consist of gutting the programs that do anything.
Unfortunately, the war in Iraq is directly related to the
devastation left by the hurricane. About 35 percent of Louisiana's
National Guard is now serving in Iraq, where four out of every 10
soldiers are guardsmen. Recruiting for the Guard is also down
significantly because people are afraid of being sent to Iraq if they
join, leaving the Guard even more short-handed.
The Louisiana National Guard also notes that dozens of its
high-water vehicles, Humvees, refuelers and generators have also been
sent abroad. (I hate to be picky, but why do they need high-water
vehicles in Iraq?)
This, in turn, goes back to the original policy decision to go into
Iraq without enough soldiers and the subsequent failure to admit that
mistake and to rectify it by instituting a draft.
The levees of New Orleans, two of which are now broken and flooding
the city, were also victims of Iraq war spending. Walter Maestri,
emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, said on June 8, 2004,
"It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to
handle homeland security and the war in Iraq."
This, friends, is why we need to pay attention to government
policies, not political personalities, and to know whereon we vote. It
is about our lives.
*****Note from Hummingbird****I do blame Bush and his administration for
a great deal of this mess, but this letter says a lot!
Hum