'JfJortlanh © bseruer_________ ____________________ September 7.2005 Government Response Failed Hurricane Victims From shoring up levies to responding quickly (AP) — At every turn, political leaders failed K atrina’s victims. They d id n 't strengthen the levees, They ceded the streets to marauding looters. They left dead bodies to rot or bloat. Thousands suffered or died for lack of water, food and hope. W ho’s at fault? There’s plenty of blame to go around - the White House, Congress, federal agen cies, local governments, police and even residents o f the G ulf Coast who refused or ders toevacuate. But all the fin g e r-p o in tin g misses the point: Politi cians and the people they lead too often ig nore danger signs until a crisis hits. It wasn’t a secret that levees built to keep New Orleans from flooding could not with stand a major hurricane, but government leaders never found the money to fully shore up the network of earthen, steel and concrete barriers. Both the Bush and Clinton administra tions proposed budgets that low-balled the needs. Local politicians grabbed what ever money they could and declared vic tory. And the public didn’t exactly de mand tax increases to pay for flood-con trol and hurricane-protection projects. Just last year, the Army Corps o f Engi neers sought $105 million for hurricane and flood programs in New Orleans. The White House slashed the request to about $40 million. Congress finally approved $42.2 million, less than half of the agency ’ s request. Yet the lawmakers and Bush agreed to 1 Look at all they've had to deal with. I'm telling you, nobody ever thought it would happen like this. a $286.4 billion pork-laden highway bill that included more than 6,000 pet projects for lawmakers. Congress spent money on dust control for Arkansas roads, a ware house on the Erie Canal and a $231 million bridge to a small, uninhabited Alaskan island. How could Washington spend $231 million on a bridge to nowhere - and not find $42 million for hurricane and flood Hurricane Katrina survivors Janova Jackson (left) and her sister Marion Young, both from the Nigh Ward area o f New Orleans, read the newspaper at a shelter in Dallas, Texas. The women, who both worked as housekeepers in a sm all hotel in the French Quarter, said their side-by-side houses are gone. (AP photo) projects in New Orleans ? It’s a matter of power and politics. Alaska is represented by Republican Rep. Don Young, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, and Republi can Sen. Ted Stevens, a senior member of the all-important Senate Appropriations Committee. Louisiana’s delegation holds far less sway. Once the hurricane hit, relief trickled into the G ulf Coast. Even Federal Emer gency M anagem ent Agency director Michael Brown, whose agency is in charge of disaster response, pronounced the ini tial results unacceptable. Looting soon broke out as local police stood by. Some police didn't want to stop people from getting badly needed food and water. Others seemed to be over whelmed. Thousands of National Guard troops were ordered to the G ulf Coast, but their ranks have been drastically thinned by the war in Iraq. On top of all this, Katrina is one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit the United States. The best leaders running They responded quicker to the How did the government respond to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina? -T im Kemp, Portland resident The governm ent knew way in advance the hurricane was com ing and should have been better prepared. R elief could have been in place before the damage hit. tsunami and that’s another county. I’m surprised. It’s a shock. We should worry about our own country before somebody else’s. a -D ebbie Moore, mother -Elizabeth Farver, Apollo College student I sat through H urricane Hugo and Alicia. I grew up in south Texas where there was 10 feet o f water in my room. The governm ent got on it and they're doing as much as can be done. We can ’t ju st snap our fingers and have an answer. the most efficient agencies would have been sharply challenged. “Look at all they’ve had to deal with,” former President Clinton told CNN. “I’m telling you, nobody ever thought it would happen like this.” T hat’s not true. Experts had predicted for years that a major hurricane would eventually hit New Orleans, swamping the levees and filling the bowl-shaped city with polluted water. Yet even Bush in sisted that nobody anticipated the breach of the levees in a serious storm. The politicians are doing what they do in time of crisis - shifting the blame. “The truth will speak for itself,” Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said of potential lapses by government. Later, her office blamed the White House for budget cuts. If it’s not the Republicans’ fault, per haps some in Washington would like to blame New Orleans itself. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-lll , questioned whether a city that lies below sea level should be rebuilt. "That doesn’t make sense to m e,” he said. But for anybody living - or dying - in the devastated region, there are far too many villains to name. R obin L ovin, ethics p ro fe sso r at Southern M ethodist U niversity in D al las, said it’s too convenient to blam e one branch o f governm ent when they are all, at some level, failing people. From W atergate to C lin to n ’s im peach ment, governm ental institutions have disappointed the public. I don’ t think the president is too n tuch involved. He’s just taking his time. It’s disappointing. 1 understand that the levee system could’ve been better prepared for hurricanes - that breaks my heart. T hey’re not taking care of it as well as they need to. -T yler Anderson, Quizno's employee -Louise Berg, Portland Community College student • NEW S E A S O N S I M A R K E T I Spread the urtrd! N u t B u tt e r & F r u it S p r e a d T a s tin g T h is w e e k e n d ! S im p le a n d s a tis fy in g . T h e r e ’s s o m e th in g tim e le s s a b o u t th e c o m b in a tio n o f p e a n u t b u tte r a n d je lly th a t a ttr a c ts p e o p le o f all a g e s . W e p a c k p e a n u t b u tte r a n d je lly s a n d w ic h e s in o u r k id s ’ lu n c h b o x e s . O th e rs h a v e P B & J fo r a m id n ig h t s n a c k . S o m e e x tr e m is ts h a v e e v e n b e e n k n o w n to s c o o p s p o o n fu ls rig h t o u t o f th e jar. L u c k y fo r u s , th e d a y s o f c h o o s in g b e tw e e n ju s t c r e a m y a n d c r u n c h y a re lo n g g o n e . T h e re 's a w h o le w o rld o f n u t b u tte r s a n d ja m s o u t th e re to e x p lo re . 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