I woke up to this from the Washington Post: an article headlined Cost of Rebuilding New Orleans’ Levees Triples. The lede is as starkly simple as a sucker punch.
The Bush administration said yesterday that the cost of rebuilding New Orleans’s levees to federal standards has nearly tripled to $10 billion and that there may not be enough money to fully protect the entire region.
Of course we all knew this was coming. We all knew that this administration’s incompetence, combined with their callous disregard for human life, would all but ensure that the levees in south Louisiana would not be repaired in time for the upcoming hurricane season.
Update [2006-3-31 11:59:31 by furryjester]:I found out this morning that my congressman, Tom Davis, was going to be at an event just a short walk from my office. So I went down there to speak with him about this. He assured me that, despite what this article says, he’s sure that the levees are going to be rebuilt with Category 5 hurricane protection.
Um.
Yeah.
So I’ll be looking forward to seeing Tom Davis stand up to the president and insist that the levees must be rebuilt “higher and better” just as Bush said they should.
Any day now.
And of course there are those who will try to blame Louisiana’s leaders, especially Governor Blanco. They can start explaining to me how she is supposed to pull $10 billion out of her ass… right… NOW!
“This monumental miscalculation is an outrage,” said Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). “This means that, just two months before hurricane season, the Corps of Engineers informs us they cannot ensure even the minimum safety of southeastern Louisiana. This is totally unacceptable.”
Unacceptable doesn’t begin to describe it. Criminal. Loathsome. Morally bankrupt. I haven’t got the words to describe what this proves about those bastards leading our country; even if I resort to profanity, that’s not enough.
I take this personally. I grew up in Lousiana. My family is there. My friends are there. My people are there. I may have made a home elsewhere, but these are my people, every last one of them, black white brown and orange. And this administration doesn’t care if they live or die.
This administration isn’t willing to spend a fraction of what’s being spent on this misadventure in Iraq, to protect the lives of my family and friends, American citizens all, on American soil.
But what to do?
Ever since last August, whenever I’ve read the stories of Katrina and her aftermath, I’ve been furious – but worse than feeling furious is feeling helpless. And I felt that too.
I’m going to refuse to be helpless any longer.
This weekend I’m going out canvassing. And every door I knock on, I’m going to tell the person who answers that I am supporting Democratic candidates this year (including Andrew Hurst for the 11th District of Virginia, currently represented by Reprobate Tom Davis) because this administration and this Congress does not care if my family drowns, and I want leadership that will protect American citizens – truly protect them – from imminent threats.
These Republicans can dress up in flight suits all they want. They have just made themselves irrelevant.
I would ask you all to join me. Find a candidate who understands that levees are not a luxury, but life or death for thousands and tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of people. And go knock on some doors. And make some phone calls. Please do this. Please do it for me and for my family.
Update [2006-3-31 11:59:31 by furryjester]: I found out this morning that Tom Davis was going to be at an event just a short walk from my office, so I went down there to talk to him about this. We had an amiable conversation in which he assured me that, despite what’s reported in the Post, he’s sure the levees will be rebuilt and strengthened to withstand Category 5 hurricanes.
So I guess I can look forward any day now to hearing of him standing up to the president and insisting upon the levees being built “higher and better” … as the president himself promised.
So that more people don’t die.
Any day now.