Subj : Re: Um...no comment? To : alt.tv.farscape From : John Iwaniszek Date : Fri Sep 02 2005 01:12:04 From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape Jim Larson wrote in news:Xns96C4AE229AE323v234oiwofui3284af93@130.133.1.18: > John Iwaniszek wrote: > >> Jim Larson wrote in >> news:Xns96C4ACC6C8063v234oiwofui3284af93@130.133.1.18: >> >>> RR wrote: >>> >>>> In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one >>>> of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush >>>> administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent >>>> to pay for the Iraq war. >>>> >>>> A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how >>>> New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but >>>> the Bush administration ordered that the research not be >>>> undertaken. >>>> >>>> After a flood killed six people in 1995, Congress created the >>>> Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, in which the Corps >>>> of Engineers strengthened and renovated levees and pumping >>>> stations. In early 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency >>>> issued a report stating that a hurricane striking New Orleans was >>>> one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S., including a >>>> terrorist attack on New York City. But by 2003 the federal funding >>>> for the flood control project essentially dried up as it was >>>> drained into the Iraq war. In 2004, the Bush administration cut >>>> funding requested by the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army >>>> Corps of Engineers for holding back the waters of Lake >>>> Pontchartrain by more than 80 percent. Additional cuts at the >>>> beginning of this year (for a total reduction in funding of 44.2 >>>> percent since 2001) forced the New Orleans district of the Corps to >>>> impose a hiring freeze. The Senate had debated adding funds for >>>> fixing New Orleans' levees, but it was too late. >>>> >>>> The New Orleans Times-Picayune, which before the hurricane >>>> published a series on the federal funding problem, and whose >>>> presses are now underwater, reported online: "No one can say they >>>> didn't see it coming ... Now in the wake of one of the worst storms >>>> ever, serious questions are being asked about the lack of >>>> preparation." >>>> >>>> By Sidney Blumenthal >>>> Salon.com Wednesday 31 August 2005 >>>> >>> >>> (You're trying to make Iwa explode, right?) >>> >> >> (I've been tracking the flood conrol budget cuts for a few days.) > > (Watch this get next to no coverage in the general media.) > Actually, I think that it has been covered on MSNBC, CNN, a little on PBS, and one of the dinosaur networks (CBS?). Also, WAPO and the NYT I think mentioned it. The FEMA gutting won't get covered, and it has everything: Cronyism, mission redirection, budget cuts, and partisanship at the expense of competence. It's a real passion play just waiting for the right star to sign. = .