katrina

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


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On the second anniversary of the day Hurricane Katrina ravaged American homes, devastated communities and shattered lives, it is hard to forget the failure of the Bush Administration in responding to the disaster.

President Bush promised two weeks after the storm that “when communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm.”

That promise remains unfulfilled.

An estimated 189,000 children were dislocated in the aftermath of Katrina. As many as 100,000 children are still displaced.

Cross posted with dKos, Daily Kingfish

I am Gilda Reed and I am running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Louisiana’s 1st District to give my people the representation they deserve. All of us are Katrina survivors. We must have a Democrat who feels the pulse of the people. Republicans have held the seat for 30 years and it is time for a change. Government is supposed to be of the people, by the people and for the people—not a government created by the rich to protect their own interests. Over 90% of our Congress members are millionaires. I have no ill will for rich folks and can properly represent them. However, I do not know too many who have walked a mile in the shoes of my constituents. How can a person empathize when he/she is so far removed from our wants, needs and desires? A few courtesy visits, handshakes and empty rhetoric are not what we need. My people need me, one of their own, to fight for them.

Am I up to the task? You bet I am.

Most of us have used Google Maps, either to find out how to get from point "A" to point "B", or just to take a look at a place we've never been. It seems that some how, the post-Katrina satellite pictures of New Orleans have been replaced with pre-Katrina pictures.

Brad Miller,NC-13, chair of the sub-committee on investigations for the House Committee for Science and Techology wants to know why.

"Google's use of old imagery appears to be doing the victims of Hurricane Katrina a great injustice by airbrushing history," subcommittee chairman Brad Miller, D-North Carolina, wrote in a letter to Schmidt.(chair and CEO of Google, Inc.)

Let’s begin today’s discussion with a quick thought experiment.

What is the single most important thing necessary to ensure the survival of the State of Louisiana?

Improved government administration?
More and better levees?
The success of the “Road Home” project?

I submit it is none of these.

The single most important factor determining the future of the State of Louisiana is mud.

That’s right, mud.

There have been many stories told, and there will be many stories to tell, of how New Orleans and the communities to the southeast struggle to recover from the hurricanes of 2005.

Before I began researching this story, I assumed that pattern would be the same across the entire Louisiana Gulf Coast.

But I was wrong.

(crossposted at DailyKos)

I posted a diary here at the time, but you may have missed it or forgot it, so I’ll remind you:

On Thursday afternoon after Hurricane Katrina hit, House members got an e-mail that the House was convening in special session the next day to pass emergency Katrina relief. The e-mail gave a big wink and nod that we didn’t really need to come, that there would only be a voice vote so no one would ever known whether we showed up or not.

It wasn’t convenient, but I kind of thought it was my job to show up, and Raleigh is only 40 minutes or so flying time from Washington, so I went.

We had a quick debate and a voice vote, and then other members were allowed to speak after the vote. I wanted to express my sympathy for the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, especially since many North Carolinians have suffered greatly from hurricanes in the last decade.

As I listened to what other members said, I changed my mind about what I was going to say. I had heard Scott McClellan say on television the day before that “now is not the time for finger pointing.” And then I heard Republican after Republican say exactly the same words on the House floor, almost like they were not exercising independent judgment, but mindlessly parroting talking points prepared for them by someone else. Almost.

So when it was my turn to speak, this is what I said:

“…Mr. Speaker, I share the anger of many Americans at how shamefully inadequate our government’s response has been. Tens of thousands of Americans are living outside the walls of civilization. They are without food, they are without water to drink, they are without medicine or medical care, they are without effective shelter, they are without the protection against violence that law provides.

“The failures that led to that are not the failures of the last four days; but of the last four years.

“There have been repeated warnings that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast were vulnerable to precisely what has occurred and yet our government was stunningly unprepared.”