Hastert: Rebuilding below sea level senseless
Hastert: Rebuilding below sea level senselessIt makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said of federal assistance for hurricane-devastated New Orleans. Hastert, in a transcript supplied by the suburban Chicago newspaper, said there was no question that the people of New Orleans would rebuild their city, but noted that federal insurance and other federal aid was involved. "We ought to take a second look at it. But you know we build Los Angeles and San Francisco on top of earthquake fissures and they rebuild too. Stubbornness." There are "some real tough questions to ask," Hastert said in the interview. "How do you go about rebuilding this city? What precautions do you take?" Asked in the interview whether it made sense to spend billions rebuilding a city that lies below sea level, he replied, "I don't know. That doesn't make sense to me." Hastert later issued a statement saying he was not "advocating that the city be abandoned or relocated." "My comments about rebuilding the city were intended to reflect my sincere concern with how the city is rebuilt to ensure the future protection of its citizens and not to suggest that this great and historic city should not be rebuilt," the statement said.
After Centuries of 'Controlling' Land, Gulf Learns Who's the Boss
The Gulf Coast has always been vulnerable to coastal storms, but over the years people have made things worse, particularly in Louisiana, where Hurricane Katrina struck yesterday. Since the 18th century, when French colonial administrators required land claimants to establish ownership by building levees along bayous, streams and rivers, people have been trying to dominate the region's landscape and the forces of its nature. As long as people could control floods, they could do business. But, as people learned too late, the landscape of South Louisiana depends on floods: it is made of loose Mississippi River silt, and the ground subsides as this silt consolidates. Only regular floods of muddy water can replenish the sediment and keep the landscape above water. But flood control projects channel the river's nourishing sediment to the end of the birdfoot delta and out into the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico. Although early travelers realized the irrationality of building a port on shifting mud in an area regularly ravaged by storms and disease, the opportunities to make money overrode all objections.
Even in America, civil order is more fragile than we think.
One frequent reaction we heard yesterday is that the disorder in New Orleans is typical of Third World countries, something that was thought could never happen in America. This happens to overlook a fair chunk of U.S. history, some of it relatively recent, including riots and violence. But it is also a sign of complacency born of prosperity and the resilience of our legal and civic institutions. This battle of New Orleans should remind us that civic order, even in America, is more fragile than we like to think. After this week and amid the continuing threat of terrorism, our political leaders at all levels are going to have to think harder about how to maintain order in the next crisis.
posted by Unknown @ 11:11 AM
7 Comments:
Sissyblue-
My husband is a emergency responder. They have a word for certain places that people build their homes, such as flood plains, heavily forested areas with only one way in/out, etc. They call it the "stupid zone".
The entire city of NO is a stupid zone. It makes more sense to relocate to a more defensible position, given that hurricanes occur on a yearly basis. Keep the port facilities, but have the citizenry move to higher, and safer ground.
Hastert was, is and always will be a flaming idiot.
With that being said, bordergal's husband is right -- NO is a "stupid zone." The problem is that there are several things that could have been done over the years to mitigate the current situation, but no one wanted to spend the money or effort. NO will be rebuilt, but I bet it will be a lot smaller.
Scoopster,
Horrible. I hope these stories get out, and we have something on hand beyond "Bush was deliberately letting black people die". I wondered why the refugees just didn't organize and keep the Superdome clean, have search parties for supplies, dig makeshift toilets, etc. Even in bad circumstances, working together can help alleviate suffering. This helps explain why conditions were so atrocious.
Maybe having NO cleansed in a biblical sense is not such a bad idea in the long run (not that I am happy about the loss of life, far from it!). From what I've seen of the local and state authorities, police department (with sincere apologies to those who DID do their jobs under horrible conditions) and many of the citizens, it was a highly dysfunctional city. Maybe the breakup of the old power structure will help erase the old pathologies.
bordergal, the refrain of "Bush was deliberately letting black people die" is coming from two angles: professional and political race-baiters (the usual suspects) and those who are trying to deflect the blame from where it really belongs (the political leadership of NO, which is mostly black).
You wonder why the "refugees just didn't organize and keep the Superdome clean, have search parties for supplies, dig makeshift toilets, etc.?" The reason for that is the most of those refugees have been sucking at the teat of government welfare for much or all of their lives -- they have no clue how to take care of themselves, much less each other. NO is one of the last vestiges of the Democratic-style welfare state that is so loved by the previously mentioned race-baiters and their ilk. This mentality of not being able to "do for oneself" and to expect the government to handle everything is found in poorest man on the street up to the mayor of NO.
All you have to do is listen to what the mayor has ranted about the last few days. He spends a lot of time whining and complaining about what other people and agencies are not doing when, in fact, much of what is not being done is in reality his responsibility. He is whining because someone else is not doing HIS JOB!
Even in bad circumstances, working together can help alleviate suffering. This helps explain why conditions were so atrocious.
Please ignore that last small paragraph. It was a cut & paste scrap I didn't erase.
Edward Abbey said in Desert Solitaire that people living in cities are easy to control. They are also targets of choice for natural and manmade disasters.
It sounds like Holland, being dependent on its dike system is particularly vulnerable.
I've listened to the Mayor. He was not impressive. Nor was the Governor of Louisana. Nor was the Senator from Lousiana (both women, I am sorry to say). One person I know of who did show initiative (the young man who put 100 people on a bus and drove it to Houston) is under threat of legal action for using the bus for saving lives rather then leaving it there to be flooded. With idiots like that in charge, no wonder everything went to heck in a handbasket.
Thekaffir-
Emergency planning responsibility resides at the local level, then up to the state, which has to REQUEST federal assistance. One of those checks and balances to keep a powerful central government from taking over a state.
The locals and state level both performed poorly (for example, Gov Blanco turned down offers of Ntl Guard from other states). Compare Lousiana's response with 9-11, and the quality of their police and FF with NO.
The kid who took the bus deserves a medal, and should be trained as a first responder due to demonstrated coolness under fire.
The rest of the rag tag bunch should be given the boot. It's time for the Big Easy to clean house, in more ways then one.
It's a sad commentary on how little leadership and politics have in common.
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