@ 08:04 PM (84 months, 25 days ago)
In trying to explain why they cut New York City's terrorism funding by 40%, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a report that said "New York has no national monuments or icons." Which makes you wonder just what the folks at DHS are smoking. Must be some powerful stuff!
In response, Democratic Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Republican Representative Peter King have joined forces, sending a postcard to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff. The postcard has a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge on the front, and a note from Sen. Clinton and Rep. King which reads: "Dear Secretary Chertoff: Just a quick note from one of New York's many national monuments and icons. Wish you were here! Hillary and Pete."
The good folks over at Raw Story have posted a picture of the postcard that Clinton and King sent to Chertoff:
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Clinton_GOP_Congressman_to_Chertoff_Wish_0601.html
@ 04:22 PM (84 months, 25 days ago)
Well, we've often heard George Bush talk about an "ownership society" and many of us have wondered just what that meant.
And now, I think we have the answer! It means you will literally be ON YOUR OWN!
So I was watching ABC News Tonight, and they were talking about this new hurricane season. And they said some cities and states are taking a hard line approach.
For example, the state of Florida "hopes to scare people out of their complacency" (per the ABC News Report). They are running television ads that feature actual 911 calls of people calling for help in the aftermath of the hurricane, only to be told that officials can't send anyone out to help them. (One woman tells the 911 operator they are going to die in their house if they don't get some help).
Likewise, the new FEMA Director David Paulison is telling the public they need to be ready to get through the first THREE days after a hurricane without any help. Huh?
This is it, ladies and gentlemen! The new ownership society is here!
Have we not learned anything from Katrina?
Of course people need to do all they can to prepare for any major disaster. But the hard reality is that not everyone has the means to evacuate before a hurricane hits. It's called "the working poor."
Not everyone has a car that they can fill up with gas, to get out of town just before a hurricane strikes. And not everyone has the means to stock up on bottled water and an excess supply of medication to get them through the first few days after a hurricane.
Yet, it's these vulernable people that are being forewarned that they are own their own in the aftermath of a hurricane.
A few months ago, government officials told us that we can expect to be on our own in the aftermath of a bird flu outbreak. That I understood, because many people (including some health care providers and emergency officials) would also probably be quarantined after a bird flu outbreak.
But why is it that we think we don't have the wherewithall to get to the most vulernable of our citizens, after a hurricane strikes?
