Letters to the Editor

• Backwards Thinking

  [Read the article: Flooded and forgotten]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  I don't think that is an issue at all that the country or the government does not "care" enough about the plight of these people. I think it is more of an issue of limited resources and (in the case of New Orleans) a reluctance to commit money until the levee and property situations are sorted out. No one wants to throw money down a rat hole - and sorry - but history proves this to be true - there are way too many rat holes (mostly of local political organizations) in this area that always seem to make money disappear instead of being spent where it should.

  There is not an infinite supply of repair crews, construction agencies and similar types of personnel in teh US. Since (obviously) some repair is being made in the area - the crews are being rationed by price. Or more likely - being rationed because there is no open checkbook to rebuild the areas. It would be interesting to document the reasons why insurance companies are not paying - agaist the assertion that "they offer too little". Sorry - there have been too many "eating dead people" stories in the news for me to believe much of similar nebulous assertions from this area.

  For the New Orleans case - the question is - "what is the plan?" You have a city that is below the river level - and you had a clear admission by the Corp of Engineers that the levee design in the area failed because the existing design simply did not cover the stress levels at the base of the drainage canals. Who in their right mind would want to build in such an area until the base problems are fixed. And you better ask the NO Levee Board what THEY are doing about it - since they control the pursestrings. You also have all the damaged areas inside the city with wreckage that can't be cleared due to threat of lawsuits. If this is not a case for Kelo - what is? Seize all the property, demolish it and open the area up for the highest bidder. Maybe then you would get some takers.

  But fundamentally, you need someone in charge - and that, in my book, does not mean Washington - it means people from the state with firm plans and a LOT of oversight. When the LA congressional group made their plea for all the billions after Katrina and Rita hit - no one listened because it was just a "throw money at it plan" - much like the one with all the fraud by FEMA. Who wants that to happen again?

  Feeling sorry for people makes you feel good - but rarely gets things done. You need to thing where you want the place to be - then think backwards on how to get there for a while. When you get the plan written - call us - then we can talk money.

  Permalink Saturday, July 1, 2006 10:09 PM

• Not Worse, But seeking a new Equilibrium

  [Read the article: Did the invasion make things worse in Iraq?]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  The problem with Iraq, or the Middle East is that everyone wants instant solutions. They are not going to happen, since most every country there is the equivalent of a bottle of well shaken soda - when you pop the top, you have a high chance of getting soaked with the contents.

  Iraq has been festering for the last 75 years - since the Sunnis were installed as the overlords by the British after the Shia revolts following the collapse of the Ottoman empire. Saddam and oil made the situation worse, because the money allowed dreams of glory to be realized - resulting in the wars in the area between Iran & finally Kuwait. But the main thing was that the Sunni minority was able to brutally rule over the majority Shia and minority Kurds - and the killings and displacement have made resentments that do not easily fade.

  When the US invaded and removed the Baathist government , the cap came off the bottle, and we are still seeing the effect of the release of pressure on the situation. Sunnis desperately trying to regain conrol initially with customary brutality, and now, the ascendent Shia and Kurdish populations seeking out and taking revenge for all the real and imagined slights of the past. Couple that with an incursion of foreign "jihadis" with no tolerance for anything other than their version of hell (supported of course by the neighboring countries with everything to gain by a failure of the new Iraqi government) and the toxic mix is still swirling in the can - and seeking an equilibrium state.

  Bush wanted to change the equilibrium in the middle east, by toppling the most visible leader in the region and pushing the idea of self determination. If anyone thinks that there would have been change without that push - tell me which police state has been toppled by the people lately- Syria? North Korea? Burma? Not a chance, people. The ones that have tried are dead.

  Where fault is due (and there is plenty to go around) , is the total lack of understanding of the tribal nature and motivations of the people in Iraq - as well as the brutality that many there are capable of displaying. Couple that with the ability of modern arms and explosives to let a small group of people hold a population hostage and you have a real mess. But with all that said - there are signs that the Iraqi people are slowly coming to terms with the idea of political give and take - and that bodes well for the lomg term, at least until an new equilibrium can be reached.

  The greatest failure is the inability to see that this process takes years ...not just the few heady weeks after a liberation. It took the United States two times to get it right at first - the Articles of Confederation and then the Constitution. The Iraqis are working on their version and the bright spot, if there is one, is that they are seeking a government and not a strong man to lead them. That has got to be an improvement, in anyone's book.

  Permalink Wednesday, July 5, 2006 06:17 AM