HURRICANE KATRINA AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
Currently more than 60% of the US public says the federal government has been inadequate in dealing with the disaster. It brings up the question: what if instead of a hurricane, it had been a highly-contagious biological weapon? Or any other major terrorist attack?
4 years after Bush responded to a terrorist attack in progress by sitting in a corner and reading a book for semi-literate children, the Republicans who dominate the White House, Senate, and both houses of Congress have presided over a disaster marked by ignored warnings, delayed and incompetant response, and a completely out-of-touch sense of priorities.
In order to stop the suffering, repair the damage, to prevent a second destruction of New Orleans, or another badly-managed disaster or attack elsewhere, drastic changes are required. Here are a few off the top of my head:
1. Demand that the oil industry reduce its profits in order to lower gas prices. Contrary to Bush's claims, the real price gouging isn't being done by small businesspeople - it's being done by the Republicans in Big Oil. Threaten to cut their pork payments, to use antitrust laws to break up their monopoly, to tax their profits, to sign the Kyoto treaty, to ignore their lobbyists, anything. Only 20% of Americans approve of Bush's handling of gas prices. This calls for drastic change.
2. Begin a major initiative for energy independance NOW. Ignore what Big Oil has to say on the matter. We need research into high-tech replacements for oil, we need hybrid vehicle research and incentives, public transit, etc.
3. Fire Mike Brown, head of FEMA, who was hired only because he was a frat buddy with the last head of FEMA, who was hired only because he lead Bush's 2000 campaign. Fire all incompetant, crony-hired officials.
4. Deal with the lack of funding for reconstruction and prevention by ending the push for yet more richest-1% tax cuts, and/or getting rid of pork spending and no-bid contracts to Bush cronies. This will require a total turnaround in republican priorities.
5. End the republican policy of shooting the messangers: stop retaliating against officials for providing constructive criticism. Mike Parker was fired as head of the Army Corps of Engineers for criticizing administration budget cuts. No doubt lot of other people with similar warnings about unprepareness for future problems have been frightened into silence. The same problem was rife before 9/11, it obviously has not been solved.
6. To get the National Guard back home, come to a decision in Iraq: either use Wes Clark's strategy to win, or get out. Sometimes a bad decision is better than no decision at all, and "stay the course" is nothing but indecision.
7. Reverse Bush's decision to allow destruction of the wetlands around New Orleans, which are needed to absorb the blow from waves. Fire the chairman of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality, who rejected a study from conservationists predicting exactly what would happen.
8. Ease or scrap the Republican bankruptcy bill, which will cause even more suffering among the already poor victims.
9. Set an example. Donate blood, let some of the homeless live at Crawford for a while, and ask for donations from the oil companies who are set to make such a big profit from the rise in gas prices. We've seem million dollar donations from Hollywood and musicians, what about all the right-wing talking heads and televangelists?
10. Thank the world for their donations and offers of assistance by having an actual ambassador to the UN - not John Bolton - and by signing the Kyoto protocol, at the very least. Supporting the International Criminal Court, the bans on landmines and child soldiers, etc. would also be good ways to say "thank you".
11. Fire Condoleesa Rice for shopping for thousand-dollar shoes while the people she's paid to lead are starving and dying.
12. Instead of spin, apologize for the budget cuts that hurt flood control according to the Army Corps of Engineers. Fire the current head, who is nothing but a crony appointee and a yes-man, and replace him with someone qualified.
Currently more than 60% of the US public says the federal government has been inadequate in dealing with the disaster. It brings up the question: what if instead of a hurricane, it had been a highly-contagious biological weapon? Or any other major terrorist attack?
4 years after Bush responded to a terrorist attack in progress by sitting in a corner and reading a book for semi-literate children, the Republicans who dominate the White House, Senate, and both houses of Congress have presided over a disaster marked by ignored warnings, delayed and incompetant response, and a completely out-of-touch sense of priorities.
In order to stop the suffering, repair the damage, to prevent a second destruction of New Orleans, or another badly-managed disaster or attack elsewhere, drastic changes are required. Here are a few off the top of my head:
1. Demand that the oil industry reduce its profits in order to lower gas prices. Contrary to Bush's claims, the real price gouging isn't being done by small businesspeople - it's being done by the Republicans in Big Oil. Threaten to cut their pork payments, to use antitrust laws to break up their monopoly, to tax their profits, to sign the Kyoto treaty, to ignore their lobbyists, anything. Only 20% of Americans approve of Bush's handling of gas prices. This calls for drastic change.
2. Begin a major initiative for energy independance NOW. Ignore what Big Oil has to say on the matter. We need research into high-tech replacements for oil, we need hybrid vehicle research and incentives, public transit, etc.
3. Fire Mike Brown, head of FEMA, who was hired only because he was a frat buddy with the last head of FEMA, who was hired only because he lead Bush's 2000 campaign. Fire all incompetant, crony-hired officials.
4. Deal with the lack of funding for reconstruction and prevention by ending the push for yet more richest-1% tax cuts, and/or getting rid of pork spending and no-bid contracts to Bush cronies. This will require a total turnaround in republican priorities.
5. End the republican policy of shooting the messangers: stop retaliating against officials for providing constructive criticism. Mike Parker was fired as head of the Army Corps of Engineers for criticizing administration budget cuts. No doubt lot of other people with similar warnings about unprepareness for future problems have been frightened into silence. The same problem was rife before 9/11, it obviously has not been solved.
6. To get the National Guard back home, come to a decision in Iraq: either use Wes Clark's strategy to win, or get out. Sometimes a bad decision is better than no decision at all, and "stay the course" is nothing but indecision.
7. Reverse Bush's decision to allow destruction of the wetlands around New Orleans, which are needed to absorb the blow from waves. Fire the chairman of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality, who rejected a study from conservationists predicting exactly what would happen.
8. Ease or scrap the Republican bankruptcy bill, which will cause even more suffering among the already poor victims.
9. Set an example. Donate blood, let some of the homeless live at Crawford for a while, and ask for donations from the oil companies who are set to make such a big profit from the rise in gas prices. We've seem million dollar donations from Hollywood and musicians, what about all the right-wing talking heads and televangelists?
10. Thank the world for their donations and offers of assistance by having an actual ambassador to the UN - not John Bolton - and by signing the Kyoto protocol, at the very least. Supporting the International Criminal Court, the bans on landmines and child soldiers, etc. would also be good ways to say "thank you".
11. Fire Condoleesa Rice for shopping for thousand-dollar shoes while the people she's paid to lead are starving and dying.
12. Instead of spin, apologize for the budget cuts that hurt flood control according to the Army Corps of Engineers. Fire the current head, who is nothing but a crony appointee and a yes-man, and replace him with someone qualified.
Never again! Take Action!
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