"Gene Kearns" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 2 Sep 2005 08:29:34 -0400, "*JimH*" wrote:

.....care more about finger pointing and making this hurricane disaster
political in nature than trying to offer help (financial or otherwise) I
have this to say to you:

Shame on you.

Generally, I agree with you. However, this news.... news of how the
Corp of Engineers and the USCG have been ridiculously under funded has
often been repeated here. This is the concrete proof that some of us
have dreaded, but predicted.

I can only imagine that if I had lost a loved one in this disaster, I
would be VERY vocal with respect to money diverted away from the
defense and protection of American Citizens within the continental
borders.... and I don't think I'd be too selective about who helped me
be heard.

Politics aside, any representative of government that allows the
American commercial shipping lanes to silt up, crucial infrastructure,
(such as the oil supply) to be unprotected, and the USGC (who has
plucked literally thousands of people from the flood waters) to leave
port in rusting and leaky ships is, IMHO, criminally negligent and
guilty of dereliction of duty.

In time, I suspect that we'll find that funds were spent for pork or
the wrong thing and the levees went unfinished, low-ball contracts
bought poor capacity and quality pumping apparatus, and that
engineering studies were not funded that would have mapped the future
projects to enhance protection of the "oil coast" region.

Another matter seems to be the inability of FEMA to give adequate
help. If this is the best they can do at home, what sort of help did
the tsunami victims *really* get? I started out pretty disgusted with
our inability to guard our own borders now this seems to point out
that we *REALLY* need to get our house in order.... and I don't care
*WHICH* political party does it...... BUT IT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

Maybe we SHOULD strike while the iron is hot. All I know is that, as a
nation, we can do one hell of a lot better than this.

--

_ ___c
\ _| \_
__\_| oooo \_____
~~~~|______________/ ~~~~~
~~~ ~~~~~~
~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~

Grady-White Gulfstream, out of Southport, NC.

http://myworkshop.idleplay.net/
Homepage*
http://www.thebayguide.com/rec.boats
Rec.boats at Lee Yeaton's Bayguide


Gene, I agree yet disagree.

The first priority is to unite in the relief and recovery effort. No amount
of finger pointing will contribute to those efforts.

Once the situation is under control and the dead are recovered then the
blame game should begin. Until then it serves no purpose.

And yes, we will find fault at the local, regional, State and Federal levels
and folks must be held responsible for their lack of action or ineptness.