I'm long overdue for posting an entry. Even though I've been back almost a month from our Edmonton trip I never found time to write. Go to our newlywed blog for comments on our fantastic wedding and honeymoon! It was difficult to get motivated to work upon our return home. Within ten days Hurricane Katrina his south Florida and, despite only being a category 1 storm, it packed a wallop! A few people died near us due to falling trees. We lost power for 55 hours and it was a bit scary. Almost 1.5 million people were without power (half the population of Alberta!). Sadly the damage was minimal compared to what the storm did to the Gulf a few days later.
I'm now going to get on my soapbox about the aftermath of the hurricane. It was unbelievable how unprepared all levels of government were unprepared for providing relief - complete incompetence and it's just another example why Bush and his cronies should be thrown out of office. Stories are leaking out daily about how FEMA staff emailed the head of FEMA and Homeland Security Friday morning August 26 stating that a disaster was imminent in the New Orleans area. No replies came from the top bureaucrats and a minimal number of disaster people were sent south. The same time, if not a few days earlier, the head of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, called the FEMA head and others stating that Katrina would increase to a category 4 or 5 and cause massive destruction. This storm was *The Big One* that everyone, especially in New Orleans, in the GULF feared! The National Weather Service sent out bulletins essentially saying to people *get out of there now!* 80% of New Orleans residents did or rather those who could. Most who were left behind were poor Blacks and no one tried to bus them out. Instead they were crowded into the Superdome and Convention Center and the rest is history.
Newsweek rhetorically asked *Do you feel safer after the government's painfully slow reactions to Katrina's aftermath?* All the bureaucratic re-shuffling and spending billions on the fascist sounding Homeland Security Department pretty much did NOTHING to prepare people for the storm. And there were days for planning! Imagine, god forbid, if a large bomb explodes, tunnel collapses somewhere with no warning! How would the homeland people and FEMA react?
Katrina's aftermath also reared the issue of race and poverty in the so-called greatest nation in the history of humanity. I'm an American but I get sick and tired of hearing that American is the greatest, wealthiest, most powerful county in the world but the nation's infrastructure is falling apart. You quickly scratch the surface and there are millions of people with no health care (that includes middle class who can't afford to insure their spouse and/or kids), rising debt and widening gap between rich and poor. Did the government also respond slowly because the hardest hit people were poor minorities? I say yes but that isn't the only reason. The Republicans are now *re-visiting* the law Bush signed to substantially toughen the bankruptcy law. Katrina has displaced tens of thousands of people and who must start all over again from scratch. They have no choice but to declare bankruptcy. Yes, consumer spending in the West is a large culprit for living way beyond one's means but record numbers of bankruptcy cases are because American who need medical attention are literally bankrupted by getting surgey. I have co-workers who are lower-middle class like me who can't afford healthcare for their child.
I don't know how King Bush can keep the government afloat with doling out tens of billions to the Iraq fiasco and spend more on the Katrina cleanup PLUS continue to issue tax relief to people. This story puts some things in perspective. BTW I never received a cheque for his second round of tax refunds. I can't help but think that the storm requires as much navel gazing, domestically at least, as 9-11. I am actually sick of hearing about the poor victims of 9-11. It was a tragic day and many questions weren't answered but many vicitim's families were compensated and there was a commission. Guess what? Haliburton has another fat contract for reconstruction in another Gulf region! How can Bush, Cheney and Rove get away with this crap? The American people did vote Bush back into office last year so only the people can blame themselves. Katrina, I think, has far more implications for discussing the state of the state at a far greater cost morally to this county than 9-11. This time Bush can't use a bullhorn at ground zero and tell people it's okay. I wished someone had dropped him at ground zero at the Superdome and tried using his folksy charm on the mobs of people!
So Katrina has further polarized America with racial issues, security and disaster relief issues and economic issues. It is very disturbing and depressing. I guess I'm harping on these points because Darcy and I are leaving south Florida next year for a place not set in stone yet. So much to think about how we want to live our lives in peace and harmony. Of course everyone deserves that but we feel it's a chance to start from scratch. Lies I learned in Library School is a sobering but very accurate view of the state of our profession. I take responsibility for my actions and have no regrets about going to library school. But I have worked hard as a librarian in the past five years and feel I can't get ahead. Meanwhile Darcy has floundered in her job with few meaningful duties to perform. So, sadly, we're not upbeat about finding meaningful work in our field. I keep going back and forth about returning to school or finding a job in a related field.
Last bit of news is that I have been experiencing tremendous pain and discomfort with sciatic. It was bothering me a bit before our wedding but really flared up that day. It was tolerable during our honeymoon but I went downhill upon returning to Florida. I've been seeing a chiropractor for three weeks and treatments have stablized my pain. The doctor wants me to have an MRI done to get an accurate sense of possible nerve and deep tissue damage. So I've hobbled around like an old man and can only do chinups and a few yoga stretches for exercise. It's been very depressing for me as my life has become quite sedentary. I have BlueCross BlueShield that provides a $1,000 deductible for hollistic medicine. So it's hard for Darcy and I to cheer each other up and both be in a calming mood. I guess this is the first test of our marriage!
posted by Michael at 12:44 PM
