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NEW ORLEANS - A man walks next to the 17th Street canal levee, which breached in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Despite the complaints of some New York City residents about Hurricane Irene's "hype," it delivered a lot of very real damage to many Americans (including New Yorkers). Perspective is at a particular premium today, the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's horrific arrival in the Gulf Coast. The news there, also, is troubling.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports on this Katrina-related "near-fail" today:
A new Army Corps of Engineers rating system for the nation’s levees is about to deliver a near-failing grade to New Orleans area dikes, despite the internationally acclaimed $10 billion effort to rebuild the system in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina...
The hurricane and river levees are designed to protect from surge created by a so-called 100-year hurricane, or a storm with a 1 percent chance of occurring. The ratings show that 500-year events, with a 0.2 percent chance of occurring in any year, will overtop the levees and cause significant flooding.
Katrina was considered just below that 500-year standard, per the report. Understandably, Army Corps of Engineers officials anticipate anything negative with the words "levees," "New Orleans" and "hurricane" in them to be received poorly by the public (especially at this time of year). But there is a very specific reason why they're doing this now:
The hope is it will help the corps, local sponsors and Congress to select the most important levee improvement projects from what are likely to be thousands of improvement proposals identified through the inspection process, which will become more important with “an increasingly limited and constrained federal investment on these kinds of projects"...
It remains to be seen whether such a tactic will be effective in today's Washington. Case in point? House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced this morning in an interview that once again, Republicans will insist that any federal aid (this time for Hurricane Irene) will have to be offset by cuts in federal spending. Can the Corps get Republicans to focus on New Orleans' needs when, in Irene's case, their selective adherence to political doctrine is taking precedence?
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SubGenius Reverend / Goddess Susie the Floozie started a whole series of radio shows about Katrina at the time, and she re-played them this year. Here's the first:
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/50544
Caution; VERY SubGenius-y!
I grew up in the village of Schoharie, and my parents still live there... their house is likely totally gone, and if not, unlivable at the minimum. It is absolutely maddening to me that people think just because NYC didn't get hit, New York as a state got off scot free. Thousands of people lost their homes, businesses, farms, livestock, and the waters still haven't fully receded. This was a devastating storm of the highest variety. The Schoharie Valley has not seen flooding like this in recorded history, and though it has very little name recognition, it is the third-most fertile river valley in North America; only the Mississippi and the Ohio exceed it. Some of America's hardest-working farmers are facing total devastation from Irene...
Cantor is treading on dangerous ground. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for Republicans to vote against a bill for aid to the stricken states. I cannot imagine Republicans from the affected states voting against the bill. That vote could end their careers. However, the Republicans are never going to vote for any funds that will go to assist Katrina victims unless the Dems force the issue with the bill for Irene's damages. Personally, I think the Dems should send a bill from the Senate to the House and let the Republicans sit on it, if they dare. There is a lot of antipathy toward the Tea Party and if Republicans assist them and hold up a bill, the Dems will have another issue to use in the affected states and that could cause upsets in the next elections.
Those representing the the republican party have no empathy for anyone, the elite don't need the assistance and own the party. In thier distorted view the majority of voters agree with them or they simply do not care. My greatest hope is they lose by a landside in 2012 and never recoup.
The Senate and House Republicans have taken many votes and stands that may end their careers, but I'm not sure they really understand that. On the contrary, they actually seem proud and expect to be rewarded. The GOP probably will be punished at the polls next year, but I expect Democrats will as well. It's hard to see how things will shake out.
Switching to snark mode, can you imagine Cantor as a doctor? "I can set your broken leg, but I'll have to break the other one to compensate for the effort."
Unfortunately there is a little matter of the Constitution there. It seems that all funding bills must originate in the House, and can't come from the Senate. Would be nice if it could be done though.
Strictly speaking, that's not correct. Article I, Section 7, paragraph 1 says that bills for raising revenue originate in the House. Revenue means taxes. So, unless a new tax were to be proposed to address damage from Irene, either house of Congress could propose a disaster-relief measure.
I wonder if that person in the photo was one of the people shot by the cops or euthanized by doctors?
Any reports of that happening in New York?
Michael Steele just lied his butt off. He just claimed the GOP wants to use a scalpel instead of a chainsaw when cutting spending. He said they should look at each program separately when deciding what to cut.
They have NEVER said that! Obama has said that. They have NEVER said that.
Why shouldn't Michael Steele lie his butt off? Look which committee he led!
Michael Steele is just a 'homeboy' who is trying to remain relevant. Give Rachel and MSNBC the onus for boosting his street cred. The bottom line is the guy is still a shill for the Neo-cons and will always walk that fine line between a half - truth and a lie. More to the point, he and all Republicans are merely 'talking-points' propaganda machines.
Good bye Cantor. Your ignorance is way to much for people to handle when they are handling yet another storm. They are not interested in anything you have to say and the money will be there for aid whether you like it or not. So vote NO and you can stand in line with a lot of the unemployed when Virginia finally figures out you do not have their interest at heart and you don't care. You get your paycheck and benefits off the backs of hard working people in every state and all you can do is run your mouth. IDIOT
I always say that Eric Can't-do-anything looks like Harold Ramis's evil twin.
As a fan of the show, and this blog, I am saddened and frustrated that there is not more attention being paid by the national media to upstate NY, Vermont, and Massachusetts from this storm. Katrina was terrible, but so was Irene. Thousands of people are facing total devastation right now. Politics seem petty and trite. What Cantor is or is not saying right now is PEANUTS. Half of New England and New York just went thru a total worst-case-scenario storm in the last 24 hours. Why have the national news media abandoned us??? We are in the weeds up here!!
Instead of a trade-off of hurricane relief and an equal amount of spending cuts, I suggest that hurricane relief could be balanced with one of the following:
1. closing tax loopholes
2. elimination of subsidies and tax breaks only available to the wealthy
3. reductions in congressional budgets, salaries, and perks
4. voluntary donations from the wealthy who feel their taxes should be raised
I'm sure there are more ideas, if someone would really try to look for them instead of just spitting out the easy answer: CUT!
An additional source of funds could come from the hugely bloated Pentagon and military budgets! How about letting the tax cuts terminate.
New Orleans, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Alabama, and Florida greatly benefited from emergency grants. It saddens me that politics played too big a role in some cases for that aid and a lot of areas wiped out have made a comeback. Mississippi's Point Cadet in East Biloxi, home to many fisherman has had a lot tougher time. The Ninth Ward in New Orleans and many parts of East Orleans are like ghost towns.
At least we didn't have that aid held hostage. I hope the people from North Carolina to Vermont get the aid that is needed as as quickly as possible. It shouldn't be held hostage to gain political points for Cantor and others.
So, how do the Virginians of Eric Cantor's 7th District feel about his nickel and diming, now that they've been struck by an earthquake and a hurricane in rapid succession? What will Uncle Eric take away in order for his constituents to get Federal Disaster Relief funds? What's the likely trade-off?
I have the feeling that even Cantor will be tossed on his proverbial arse, come November 2011. What mystifies me is that none of the TP crowd seems to care. Is it because they have so much money behind them they think that they don't need to do a thing about the campaign except run ads? Or is something truly evil in the works between now and then?
Let's create a phenomenal jobs bill to create modern sewage and highway systems. Let's create a magnificent infrastructure for all the Eastern States, Louisianna, and Mississippi. Let's do it right this time!
The Netherlands has had the flood protection system for years, and St. Petersburg recently opened one. It would be advisable to build one around the Louisiana coast, but unfortunately, millions of people will call that a waste of money.
There is one thing we, perhaps, need to start wrapping our minds around. As global climate change continues to exert its inexorable will upon humanity, private insurers will start eliminating certain types of coverage and raising other rates well past affordability. In other words if we can't afford almost a decade of historic fires, droughts, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes, how are we going to afford TWO decades? Shouldn't we be contemplating the possibility that hurricanes in Vermont will become the norm?