Molly Ivins writes an inspiring column on AlterNet called a "Flood of Bad Policies." It leaves a lot of room for debate and serious thought. But the point she drives home is that ”government policies have real consequences in people’s lives.” Gee, you think for a minute we can all back off from spouting our ideologies to realize that the policies in place by the officials we elected have gotten us to where we are today? Ms. Ivins opens the door for many questions that demand an answer from government once the dead are counted and the victims have been taken care of. And, be assured, this is not a problem attributable to one political party over the other. We all bear some of the blame.
Here at BlogCritics, we’ve seen a diverse set of opinions going from the verbal crucifixion of President Bush to blaming homosexuals and sinners for God’s wrath. OK, boys and girls, leave your ideologies at the door. We have some serious problems to handle and it requires the assistance of every American. I dig the argument that people were warned and should have fled New Orleans. That’s all well and good if you’re not living under the poverty level and have to choose between a loaf of bread and your electric bill. It’s all well and good to flee if you’re not living from check to check and usually starve in the last week of the month in anticipation of the First. There’s no doubt that more people could have and should have been evacuated but that is not the issue today. This is America, my friends; things like this aren’t supposed to happen. Another thing that we fail to realize in our insistence on being superior is that we cannot tame the forces of Nature. If another hurricane at Category 3 came now it would be more than devastation to the Gulf. It would be a catastrophe that would exceed the eruption of Ancient Vesuvius. It would be a cataclysm that would make the recent tsunami look like kid’s play.
While America rallies around the victims in getting them the medicine, food, clothing and housing they need, the governments at all levels will be charged with the daunting task of what to do. This isn’t only about New Orleans. There are all those small communities in the back woods along the coast that have been decimated. It’s about a thriving city like Biloxi that is now more paralyzed than Baghdad. Mississippians have endured a lot over the years. Many times they’ve been the bastard children of America. Well, folks, it’s time for us to pay our child support. While Alabamans weren’t hit as hard, they are suffering nonetheless. And on top of having to take care of their calamity, they’ll be looking to help Mississippians, Louisianans as well as their own. This isn’t just about the petroleum industry. There’s the shell fish industry to be concerned with. There are the farmers of the Mid West who depend upon the Port in New Orleans to get their products out as they make their way down the Mississippi. This isn’t a local disaster, it’s a national one and we had best pay attention to it.
Article comments
1 - Michael J. West
AMEN
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
Like the headline says, I will pin the blame squarely on Silas Kain.
3 - Silas Kain
Thank you, Matthew, I accept full responsibility.
4 - Matthew T. Sussman
Poseidon is quite jealous of you right now.
5 - Silas Kain
Not really, I slept with him in his youth. Neptune was furious.
6 - Silas Kain
Oh boy, I just read an interesting piece about the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act which goes into effect October 17th. Now, at the risk of being branded a traitor, please, for the love of God and America, urge Congress to postpone implementation of this bill TODAY. For the most part I do not have a problem with this bill but right now is not the time to add yet another layer of insult to the poor and downtrodden. Haven't the Hurricane victims been been through enough? Congress and the Federal Government have shown how inept they have become. This is not about state and local governments. They tried to get assistance long before this happened and the documentation is there. This is a total and cpomplete breakdown of Federal proportions and no one, I repeat, no one is blameless.
7 - Silas Kain
Compassionate Conservative House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) failed to preside over Congress today in debating allocation of funds to FEMA. According to CNN, he was attending a political fund-raiser in Indiana for a fellow Congressman. If this report is, in fact, true I would expect that people would urge the beneficiary of the fundraiser to turn over every penny to the relief effort. This is one citizen who will not leave any stone unturned until it is determined who the Congressman was who had the event. Any Indiana people out there who can tell me who the legislator was?
8 - Steve S
Silas, I'll track down a report for you, but over the last several days, Bush was on vacation, Condi Rice was seeing broadway shows and buying shoes, and where the heck is the VP?
I saw an interesting article that speculated that the administration does not want the federal government to step in, they want local governments to do it, then when it's done, they can say 'see, we don't need a big government'. Meanwhile, look what's going on 'on the front lines'. I'll see if I can track that article down.
I don't know if I believe it or not, but it's an interesting read.
9 - Silas Kain
Thanks, Steve. Borrowing from an old boyfriend's motto, Semper Fi!!!!!
10 - Steve S
Here is the article.
Here is the Kos version.
Here is a summary of world opinion. Stunned at our handling of the situation.
All worth a scan.
11 - Silas Kain
Thank you, Steve. I have checked all of it out. I am close to bursting a blood vessel now. This memo about the estate tax and Katrina from Grover Norquist proves that this government is heading down the road of moral bankruptcy.
Around the world, journalists are declaring "Anarchy in the USA" and "Apocalypse Now." Folks, our standing in the global community was already on a foundation of quicksand. Let's get these victims taken care of. And once that is done, let's demand a revolution in America.
12 - Justin
Good post Silas.
13 - Bob A. Booey
Bambenek, Mark the Sensible, and I blame the "mud people."
We must go to war to defend our way of life against those who would blow it away! How can we let the "mud people" come out of the Mississippi delta and destroy our mainstream traditions!
Senator Al Barger secretly agrees with us but has to couch it in junior-high South Park-speak. "Oh yes, Miss Such-And-Such, you are drowning I see? Indeed. May Rand save your irrational soul, how dare you blame it on Bush! Did I mention I'm not GOP? Mmkay?"
Dave Nalle is turning red from joy and you can see the vein popping out of his neck from his outrage at the savages looting and destroying our way of life! His political tumescence is impressive. YELLOWCAKE??!!!! I'm OUTRAGED!!!!!
RJ's measuring his political tumescence to see if it matches up while muttering things under his breath, such as "I thought you all ran faster than that."
Did I leave anyone out?
That is all.
14 - Bob A. Booey
Oh, and Dave Nalle also believes we need to wean people off of emergency aid because the only way local responders and the mayor of New Orleans will learn to reform their corrupt, wasteful use of tax dollars is to figure it out themselves, starving people and medical emergencies be damned. I think Dave has some impressive research he found from one fascinatingly kooky African economist in a German newspaper.
We should dismantle FEMA as well as all international bodies like the UN IMMEDIATELY! What have they done for US (by which I mean mainstream America) lately? Nothing. It OUTRAGES me!
Mark the Sensible and I, quite rationally, agree with Ayn Rand that liberal guilt, empathy, and sympathy are the LAST thing we need at a time like this.
That is all.
15 - Bob A. Booey
We need more John Bolton and more of the virtue of SELFISHNESS at a time like this. Altruism is the cardinal sin! CHARITY IS SLAVERY! Break your bonds, Brothers. Free yourselves from compassion or responsibility toward other men, for the love of Rand!
That is all.
16 - Silas Kain
I really need a joint.
17 - Natalie Davis
Don't bogart that thing, hon.
18 - Steve S
Silas, here is an update regarding the estate tax.
Frist and the Republicans are going to try and push it through. It's estimated that when it goes through, donations to charities will drop considerably. The article uses the year 2000 as an example and estimates that charities would have received 13 to 25 BILLION less in one year if the tax is repealed.
Now picture if Katrina had happened, and the government response was as it is, 4 or 5 days late, and the charities had billions less.........
19 - Silas Kain
Thanks, Steve, this is very sad. The "haves" get more and the "have nots" continue in their decline. Census figures also show that poverty was up for 2004. I can't wait to see the 2005 numbers after this calamity.
20 - Dave Nalle
Wow, that's good news, Steve. Nice to see someone in the GOP sticking by their guns on at least one important issue.
The criticism you link to is, of course, completely bogus, because the motivation in all that charitable giving is the immediate Schedule B deduction, not the long-term estate tax deduction. You want more money for charity? Lift the cap on Schedule B deductions. I know a lot of people who would gladly give everything they pay in taxes to charities instead of the federal government.
As for the estate tax in general, repealing it is designed solely to establish tax fairness, because as it stands now people are bing taxed twice on the same money. Lifting this element of that burden would have a major boosting effect on the economy as well.
Dave
21 - Natalie Davis
America, America, God shed his grace on thee...
The day becomes increasingly nauseating.
22 - Silas Kain
Delivering on my promise, it was Indiana Congressman Mark Souder (R-3rd Dist) who was the man of the hour today. House Speaker Dennis "Bulldoze New Orleans" Hastert attended the fundraiser before returning to Washington in the late afternoon to backpedal on his comments from the day before.
A Fort Wayne native, Congressman Souder is an Evangelical Christian who has been a member of Congress since 1995. He is assigned to the following House Committees: Education and the Workforce; Government Reform; and Committee on Homeland Security.
23 - Temple Stark
BC Asst. Politics editor Lisa McKay chose this for a pick of the week. Click HERE to find out why.
Thank you. EE Temple
24 - Silas Kain
Special thanks to Lisa for making this one of her picks of the Week. I take that as a great honor.