"Smoke and Mirrors..."

Smoke and Mirrors Defines The Current New Orleans Fiasco...

With all of the back and forth between DC and New Orleans, you would think that at last New Orleans is on a fast track to recovery…

….Nothing could be further from the truth!.

Yesterday, we heard the EPA spokesmen hedging smartly about how because the New Orleans mayor took the first step in calling for an evacuation, EPA had no say in when it would be safe to go back to New Orleans. Instead, according to the EPA in the most convoluted language possible, the real responsibility fell on the shoulders of the Mayor and the local politicos. . This is despite all of the disclaimers from the EPA about how there are toxins all over the place, contaminated mud containing toxic oil deposits, etc, etc. Yet, it is clear with its clever maneuvering, EPA shunned responsibility in this manner. One would anticipate that this will play heavily when the profusion of law-suits start flooding in. No pun intended..

I’ll let you ponder that a moment, while I pose the really big issue: Why would New Orlean’s population come back and rebuild if they don’t know whether the government is going to commit to rebuilding the levees in a way that will stand up to a hurricane of the Katrina type? It would make no sense. And if nothing else, New Orleans people, despite their love of their homes and their City, are not stupid!

With Bush running back and forth between DC and this beleagured city promising all kinds of things including a big cash infusion, the fact of the matter is that nothing has been settled. And until the big questions are settled, the people of New Orleans cannot come back. This means indirectly one of two things: That the government is reconciled to providing aide to them until the issues are resolved, or the more likely outcome that once the aide runs out, everyone is on their own. And the government simply washes their hands! Either way, it could spell either a financial disaster or a human disaster. What’s particularly troublesome is that these people have already been battered and we’re getting ready to batter them again. On the huge scale of fairness vs. unfairness, this rates a shocking ten for a lack of understanding from the compassionate Washingtonians who have avoided responsibility for their actions or inactions in this matter..

So, right now, a courageous few are trying to get their lives back together and a handful of people who can afford to do so are rebuilding their homes from the bottoms up. Even though, it may turn out that they have not avoided the real problems of living in a toxic area that even the EPA doesn’t want to commit itself to discussing. And even though much of the rebuilding costs are coming right out of the pockets of those who were not protected by insurance.

This smacks of cowardice at the highest levels and forces one to ask: Are we planning to either ignore or abandon New Orleans at its time of need? And, if so, what does that auger for the rest of America if they face a similar threat from forest fire, flooding, or other natural disaster. Increasingly, it is beginning to seem as if the compassion ends before the checks are drawn and that we, as taxpayers, who have bought into a contract with our government assuming that they would provide the necessary level of protection for its citizens, are in the end pretty much on our own! How do you like those apples, Republican voters?
Les Aaron
THE BIG BLUE BLOG: http: lesaaron.blogspot.com