September 2, 2005
Commentary - Our Tsunami
:More than one Southern politician has referred to Hurricane Katrina as “our tsunami.â€? For all of us, this should be both a reminder and a challenge. The reminder is that those that had their lives destroyed and turned upside down by last year’s tsunami still have not received all the promised aid and support. Both President Bush (1) and Clinton have written op-ed pieces asking for America to live up to its commitment to those that suffered in Southeast Asia. We should be reminded this week and over the next couple months to years that these disasters take lots of time and commitment in response. We should then be challenged to live up to our commitments to the people of Asia and to the people of the Southern United States. In neither case will our commitment or their need end when we the horrific images stop flowing daily on the news.
(Filed under: Natural Disasters, Hurricane Katrina, Commentary)
Commentary - Presidential Leadership
:President Bush remarked during the 2000 campaign that natural disasters our “a time to test your mettle.â€? During what Bush, himself, calls “one of the worst natural disasters in our country’s history,â€? it is clear we have a President without much “mettle.â€? Wednesday, he delivered what the New York Times called “one of the worst speeches of his life.â€? I listened in disbelief as he listed the supplies that are being sent to Louisiana and Mississippi and the people he has put in charge of different aspects of the mission. I was surprised when he took the time to explain what a MRE was. And I was absolutely disappointed in his inability to show any sympathy or empathy. For a man that prides himself on being a discipline of Christ, there wasn’t even a prayer for the victims and their family.
Bush has been here before. It took him twenty-minutes of listening to a children’s book and hours of circling the Earth before responding to the 9/11 disaster. And maybe waiting to return to Washington for two days after the Hurricane Katrina struck (and fitting in a speech praising efforts in Iraq while people were dying in the south) was beneficial for him. Perhaps he can rebound and respond well. After all, the Federal Government is mobilizing the largest response effort in our nation’s history.
But I am not very certain in his leadership/emotional abilities. Thursday, in an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, she pushed him to show some sympathy. He was asked what he would say to those that do not believe the relief is getting to them fast enough. It was a softball question with an answer readily available of how he understands their frustration and pain and is working as hard as he can to provide full relief. He got incredulous. He said that people have to understand these things take time and that they need to wait. The man just simply lacks any sympathy or empathy (or at least can’t show it). And this fatal flaw of the President shows he lacks the mettle to be the leader and President that this nation needs.
(Filed under: Natural Disasters, Hurricane Katrina, Bush Administration, Commentary)
Commentary - The Power of Mother Nature
:Once again, the natural world has shown its strength and again we will be forced to consider (and then ignore) what needs to be done. While I hesitate to blame anyone or anything for a natural disaster, a storm of such magnitude was always possible (they seem to happen every few years) and once again we were not ready. New Orleans, as we have learned over this last week, is almost completely below sea level. And it has been falling further annually (3 feet in the last 100 years). Human impact is huge. The levies, flood walls, and dams throughout the Mississippi system has ended the silt dump at the Louisiana basin, which has offered, for millenias, natural protection from hurricanes. Yet, efforts were not taken. In fact, Congress had been working to cut funding to projects to rebuild the Louisiana Bayou before leaving on recess.
This weekend, I will travel to the North Carolina outer-banks. I feel bad about the trip – I am supporting an industry that is simply going to cause a horrific tragedy. The islands off the American coasts is nature’s way of protecting the land from the storm. In the last one-hundred years we have gone a long way to destroying that natural system. By protecting beaches, we have destroyed the natural cycle of moving islands that will eventually protect us all from a violent hurricane.
With changing climatic conditions, we will see more violent hurricanes and other disasters. We must provide the resources to rebuild when they happen. But more cost effective (and better for the environment) would be to provide more proactive measures, such as replenishing the Louisiana bayou with silt lost to dams and allowing North Carolina islands to shift, which could protect us and our way of life. Without this change in thought and behavior, New Orleans will not be the last city to be completely submerged or rebuilt.
(Filed under: Natural Disasters, Hurricane Katrina, Environmental Impact)
Iraqi Stampede
:Nearly a thousand people died on Wednesday when a stampede occurred due to a fear of a suicide bomber on a Baghdad bridge. Shiite worshipers were on a bridge to the Kadhim mosque in Baghdad. Moussa al Kadhim was a 9th Century descendant of the prophet Mohammad, which for the Shiites meant his line was the rightful leader of Islam. He was killed by a group of Sunnis, which continues to fuel hatred and religious strife to this day as it ended the prophet’s line of successors. Fears of suicide bombers led to a mass stampede with people jumping into the Tigris River or walking on each other. Nearby Sunnis rushed to the rescue of the Shiite worshipers, many dying trying to save those that had jumped in the river. It was the singles biggest disaster in Iraq since the American invasion began.
(Filed under: Iraq, Middle East)
Economic Impact
:Over a third of the nation’s oil supply has been potentially knocked off line by the storm causing prices to sky rocket. In Atlanta, prices reached $6.50 before the Georgia Governor vowed to prosecute any gas station that sold gas for over $5 for price gouging. Nationwide prices have risen over $3 a gallon with lines forming, reminiscent of the 1970. It has gotten so bad that President Bush has asked Americans to conserve. But gasoline is only the beginning. New Orleans is one of the major American ports with much of the Midwest’s exports flowing through it. As the weeks go on, prices will rise on many products that used New Orleans as a port causing major economic problems. Not to mention the strain that a $10-25 billion cleanup will cause or as many as a million people displaced internally for the next few months.
(Filed under: Natural Disasters, Hurricane Katrina, Economy)
Federal Response
:The Federal Emergency Management Agency began activating its response before the storm struck by establishing headquarters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and calling their medical response teams. Guardsmen were deployed and hundreds of trucks are being sent to the region to care for the survivors. With the flooding of New Orleans plans were reevaluated. By Sunday, 30,000 troops will be in the area to begin calming the chaos. Finally, the US Senate returned from its recess to pass over $10 billion in emergency relief for the victims. While it is the largest American response to a tragedy ever, the question looms of whether it is too late and whether guardsmen in Iraq have hindered the response.
(Filed under: Natural Disasters, Hurricane Katrina, Bush Administration, Politics)
New Orleans
:In preparation for the hurricane, which was headed straight for the below sea-level city, the city was ordered evacuated and braced for the worst. The storm veered slightly to the right, which may have saved it from the worst possibility but then it got the second worst imaginable disaster. By Tuesday, two levies had been breached and pumps had failed, leaving eighty-percent of the city underwater. By Wednesday a second evacuation was announced as shelter was prepared in both Houston and San Antonio for 25,000 residents each. But the disaster is getting worse due to human action. On Wednesday night, search and rescue operations were abandoned by the police as they began to deal with the looting that was taking place. Reports from Louisiana suggest that the looters are highly organized and armed – medical supplies that had been airlifted into the city turned back due to one hundred looters. And this morning explosions rocked the city throughout New Orleans.
(Filed under: Natural Disasters, Hurricane Katrina)
Hurricane Katrina
:On Monday, Hurricane Katrina struck land as a Category Four storm. The hurricane hit land with wind speeds of up to 150 miles per hour causing one of the worst disasters in American history. In Mississippi, where residents merely braced for the storm and no evacuation was ordered, hundreds are feared dead. In one apartment building, double digit losses. The region is in a word, devastated.
(Filed under: Natural Disasters, Hurricane Katrina)
Week of August 27th – September 1st, 2005
:This week’s report is in the midst of tragedy. Prayers and thoughts go out to both the Southern United States and Baghdad, Iraq where thousands could be dead (in both places). Due to my focus on these events and Labor Day, this week’s report is early and abbreviated.
(Filed under: Uncategorized)
September 10, 2005
Review: The 40 Year-Old Virgin
:(Rated R): Every now and again, each of us will enjoy a movie that is crude that we know we should not be enjoying. The 40 Year-Old Virgin is that type of movie. It is not for the faint of heart. The premise is simple, a forty-year-old scifi geek that has never had sex falls in love. This path obviously changes everyone around the main character. But along the way every sex joke imaginable and every uncomfortable situation he could be placed in is shown. It works because of the cast of characters developed around Steve Carell by the same team that brought us last year’s comedy classic Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy. In fact it is downright hilarious and even a bit heartwarming but only if you can stomach a movie that will make your mother blush. For showtimes or to purchase: The 40 Year Old Virgin
(Filed under: Commentary, Reviews, Movies)
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