are you overextended?
That is a term that I use, politely, to describe the predicament that we, the population of, as well as the political entity that is the United States are in right now. I cite the war in the mideast as well as the political climate here at home, the economy in general, the new "energy crisis", and the fallout from Hurricane Katrina.
Where do I start?
Let's consider the situation in Louisiana and Mississippi. There will a lot of finger-pointing and scapegoat creating in the coming months, so I will not delve too deeply into that at this point, but I am shocked that the region was apparently so ill-prepared for this event. Was this a matter of complacency, faith in the economy and federal government to recompense for losses, or did the people just have too much on their collective minds to take substantive preventive measures in the days and hours before the storm?
After it hit, and when the extent of the havoc was beginning to unfold, the reaction of the people was simply incredulous. Apparently, some exercised a bit of common sense by moving to what were believed to be safe havens, while others simply waited for someone to bail them out. A third group saw it as opportunity, imposing a situation of anarchy on the area and using it as a cover to loot and plunder. At one point, there was even sniper fire on victims and rescue workers in the area, prompting the federal government to send it battle-hardened troops to secure the area. Battle hardened? These troops were recently in the mideast and were exposed to dangerous situations, but why is that necessary here? Those agencies charged with managing emergency situations such as these were caught completely off-guard, and a few higher ranking officials only "learned" of the situation three days after the storm tore through the area. What were they thinking, what were they doing, and when were they doing it? This is not a welfare effort, it is what this these agencies are in business for.
Let me move on, I am rambling.
The economy was already circling the drain before the cost of fuel went through the roof. The sudden rise in fuel prices, and the subsequent hit dealt by the above mentioned storm has put individuals, families, businesses and all other entities on very slippery footing. Many people feel that they are already stretched to the limit, the additional pressures have merely pushed them that much further towards the edge, (whatever or wherever that might be). I believe that this pressure brought about a sense of systemic failure in New Orleans and that led to the anarchy that now rules that city.
The war in Iraq may almost be over. If it is, we have lost. Though we may stay on for a while, the public, and therefore the Congress will not support the effort as it is now, a plan that is not a plan and without strategy. Further attempts at pacifying the insurgency are futile in the absence of a coincident plan to make secure the general population of Iraq. (That effort used to be referred to as the battle for the hearts and minds of the citizenry). There is no confidence in the President and his cabinet. The conflict may continue, but the White House will pay a heavy political toll for each and every day that it drags on, as will the opposition party for every day that goes by without them presenting a better plan, (besides simply pulling out). This is the time for leadership, not nit-picking or rhetoric, and it is nowhere to be seen, on the right or left.
I was able to catch some of the Al Franken show this past week, and was both impressed and depressed by it. The show was well thought out,and moved right along. Trouble is, it dealt with issues in a hindsight mode. The criticisms that I heard were really well spoken, and lacked much of the usual shrillness that often accompanies political discourse. The thing is, it was all forensic. The show, Mr Franken, and the guests did a good job of pointing out how we got to the point where we are in Iraq, but without acknowledging that, in fact,that we are there, and what should be done from this point. Anybody can see that. Many do not, but it is not because the data is not there. What we need from Air America and other pundits are specifics on what we can do, and what those steps will accomplish.
The Doonesbury strip that appeared on Sunday, Sept 4 was worth reading. Gets right to the heart of a particular issue, (not to mention echoing my own sentiments).
Where do I start?
Let's consider the situation in Louisiana and Mississippi. There will a lot of finger-pointing and scapegoat creating in the coming months, so I will not delve too deeply into that at this point, but I am shocked that the region was apparently so ill-prepared for this event. Was this a matter of complacency, faith in the economy and federal government to recompense for losses, or did the people just have too much on their collective minds to take substantive preventive measures in the days and hours before the storm?
After it hit, and when the extent of the havoc was beginning to unfold, the reaction of the people was simply incredulous. Apparently, some exercised a bit of common sense by moving to what were believed to be safe havens, while others simply waited for someone to bail them out. A third group saw it as opportunity, imposing a situation of anarchy on the area and using it as a cover to loot and plunder. At one point, there was even sniper fire on victims and rescue workers in the area, prompting the federal government to send it battle-hardened troops to secure the area. Battle hardened? These troops were recently in the mideast and were exposed to dangerous situations, but why is that necessary here? Those agencies charged with managing emergency situations such as these were caught completely off-guard, and a few higher ranking officials only "learned" of the situation three days after the storm tore through the area. What were they thinking, what were they doing, and when were they doing it? This is not a welfare effort, it is what this these agencies are in business for.
Let me move on, I am rambling.
The economy was already circling the drain before the cost of fuel went through the roof. The sudden rise in fuel prices, and the subsequent hit dealt by the above mentioned storm has put individuals, families, businesses and all other entities on very slippery footing. Many people feel that they are already stretched to the limit, the additional pressures have merely pushed them that much further towards the edge, (whatever or wherever that might be). I believe that this pressure brought about a sense of systemic failure in New Orleans and that led to the anarchy that now rules that city.
The war in Iraq may almost be over. If it is, we have lost. Though we may stay on for a while, the public, and therefore the Congress will not support the effort as it is now, a plan that is not a plan and without strategy. Further attempts at pacifying the insurgency are futile in the absence of a coincident plan to make secure the general population of Iraq. (That effort used to be referred to as the battle for the hearts and minds of the citizenry). There is no confidence in the President and his cabinet. The conflict may continue, but the White House will pay a heavy political toll for each and every day that it drags on, as will the opposition party for every day that goes by without them presenting a better plan, (besides simply pulling out). This is the time for leadership, not nit-picking or rhetoric, and it is nowhere to be seen, on the right or left.
I was able to catch some of the Al Franken show this past week, and was both impressed and depressed by it. The show was well thought out,and moved right along. Trouble is, it dealt with issues in a hindsight mode. The criticisms that I heard were really well spoken, and lacked much of the usual shrillness that often accompanies political discourse. The thing is, it was all forensic. The show, Mr Franken, and the guests did a good job of pointing out how we got to the point where we are in Iraq, but without acknowledging that, in fact,that we are there, and what should be done from this point. Anybody can see that. Many do not, but it is not because the data is not there. What we need from Air America and other pundits are specifics on what we can do, and what those steps will accomplish.
The Doonesbury strip that appeared on Sunday, Sept 4 was worth reading. Gets right to the heart of a particular issue, (not to mention echoing my own sentiments).
posted by eccentric recluse at 5:17 PM
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