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Wayward Episcopalian's Journal
Crossposted from MyDD.com. The big news this week is obviously the tragic assassination of Benzair Bhutto, so I should probably make this weekly campaign blogger post about Pakistan. Joe Biden has been warning for years that it is the world's most dangerous nation, was pushing Musharraf to offer Bhutto more security, and has proposed the most detailed and forward-thinking policy for dealing with Pakistan. But this is also the final week before the Iowa caucus. As such, I'll just direct you to the Pakistan post I made yesterday, and focus on an even larger issue: why, in my heart of hearts, I support Joe Biden for president. Fourth months ago, I made my first frontpage post, laying out the five basic reasons I support Joe. Those five reasons haven't changed in the months since, but two other things have. One is that Biden has had made many more impressive speeches, interviews, and debate wins. Two, as is the case with any presidential candidate, he has released dozens more proposals and plans than had been previously articulated. I find myself in amazement that almost every time he says something new, be it policy or politics, I agree with him. This makes it much harder to write a concise why-I-support-Joe post than before. Where do I begin? How in the world do I cut myself off? I am currently a junior at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. I have respected Biden since I became aware of him seven years ago, in eighth grade. Even with this long-standing respect, my admiration for him has grown exponentially these past four months. This September, I read his memoirs and met him for the second time. Between those experiences and watching him in forum after forum, I have come to realize that not only is he my preferred candidate, he is also is the type of man I hope to be in thirty years - not for his career path, but for his values and honor. Biden is the 99th richest Senator, and has commuted home from DC to Delaware every night since 1972. This has prevented him from developing an inside-the-Beltway mentality, and kept him committed to that which matters most: family. His boys rave about their upbringing, his sister (the boy's surrogate mother) runs all his campaigns, and he can't seem to go ten minutes without quoting a parent or grandparent. Maybe this focus on the family - the real kind, not the Dobson kind - comes from his upbringing, or maybe it comes from the accident that took his wife and infant daughter in 1972 (something he did not openly talk about much until this year, when his publisher convinced him to write about it). Remembering also the 1988 brain aneurysms that nearly killed him, and you see why he has a unique perspective on health care, financial security, and more. Biden has a reputation as a talker, and I can't dispute that, but he's no blowhard, and he's not your typical long-time corrupt salon. His family focus and personal background constantly remind him why the issues he gets paid to fight for matter. And when Biden fights, he fights hard. He is a devote Catholic, and says his faith informs his politics as it shows him you never let the powerful abuse the poor. At the September Dartmouth debate, he said his favorite Bible passages are those where Jesus confronts the Pharisees. This is the Christ I know: fighting for the people, standing up to the corrupt temple leaders and oppressive Roman imperialists. Biden expounds on this in his memoirs, writing that his father taught him never to pick on anyone smaller or weaker than himself. In politics, this means you fight for the little guy, for the middle class. It means you stand up to dictators, to corrupt or incompetent US politicians, and to corporate greed (this is why he has so few major donors). Biden's values have turned into action. He got into politics because of civil rights, earned accolades on the issue from his fellow candidates at the final Iowa debate, and consistently receives the high ratings from the NAACP. Though his long career has included many accomplishments - stopping the Robert Bork nomination, authoring what would become the Clinton Crime Bill, helping write the original FISA bill - he is most proud of helping stop genocide in the Balkans and of writing the Violence Against Women Act. Most of all, he never loses focus. After bringing VAWA from empty subcommittee hearings to unanimous Senate passage, he did not declare victory, but instead continued fighting on behalf of women. He spent years working to strengthen alimony laws, introduced the International Violence Against Women Act in the Senate this year, and has proposed the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network Act (say that three times fast) to improve resources available to victims of domestic violence. When I joined his New Hampshire Steering Committee in February, I knew he was an honest guy, but I didn't know how much of a straight shooter he really was. Funny what the national spotlight brings out in a guy. With Biden, we see the McCain of 2000, Democratic style. He won't go negative on his fellow candidates, but he rarely falls into the trap of parroting conventional wisdom, either. Pundit after pundit has applauded his straight talk and his blunt frankness. We see passion on Darfur, fresh clarity on executive power, blunt challenges to Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson, constant humor, a genuine attachment to the middle class, and above all, candor. I also agree with Biden on foreign policy. I already mentioned his strength on Pakistan. No one has shown more passion on Darfur. He can talk for hours about climate change, energy independence, and foreign oil, and has spent years pushing for a renewed focus on Afghanistan. And there is, of course, his plan for Iraq. I know many progressives would rather pull out yesterday than stick around a few extra months to implement a political solution, but how else are we to prevent the Iraq civil war from escalating to the levels of those in Congo or Sudan? Remember, his plan - a detailed, three-state federal solution - is the only plan to gain a veto-proof majority in the Senate. Some say the plan won't work - but what other candidate is offering such anything else? Others argue that it is arrogant for us to force anything onto the Iraqis. Perhaps, but we don't need to force this solution on them. For one, it is rooted in their Constitution, and two, it can be proposed as the centerpiece of a diplomatic push. If the Iraqis don't want it, they don't have to take it, but there's no reason we shouldn't call a major regional diplomatic summit and offer our concerted help in making it happen.
You already knew Biden is an experienced leader, but I hope you can also see the same role model I do. I hope my faith always guides me, and that when I'm 60, I am also still fighting for the weak and downtrodden, for underdogs everywhere. May I always be so connected to my own children and grandchildren. I pray I never forget the middle class background I come from. I hope I always respect those who disagree with me - that instead of sticking my head in the sand, I'll work with the Hagels, Lugars, and even Brownbacks, too. I hope to be like Joe Biden.
Normally I pepper my posts with YouTubes and new links, and borrow liberally from campaign talking points. They are certainly talking points worth repeating - most recently, the campaign has been arguing that this election is not primarily about change or experience, but about action. Not tonight. Tonight, I am writing straight from the heart. This is a candidate and a cause I believe in. This is a man worth following. He may be a darkhorse, and arguing on his behalf at MyDD and Daily Kos may not make me the most popular blogger, but I don't regret for a single instant throwing myself into this campaign. Those 16 state legislature endorsements only go so far: Joe can win, if Iowans will caucus for him, and if voters in New Hampshire and South Carolina will follow.
I will leave you with two further articles, and as many videos (one short, one long), for your final consideration:
The Concord Monitor: Joe Biden: a pragmatist rich with experience
McClatchy Newspapers: Biden overcame tragedy and became an expert on world affairs
(I'm not too experienced with Democratic Underground and have never quite figured out posting YouTube here, but the videos are here and here.)
Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian. I woke up on the west cost this morning to the horrifying news that Pakistan’s Benzair Bhutto has been assassinated – martyred by bullet at a rally in Rawalpindi. Chaos has erupted across Pakistan, as it did across the US when Martin Luther King was killed. Bhutto was the former prime minister of Pakistan (the first woman to hold the job) who recently returned to the country after an eight year exile. Like President Musharraf, she is a moderate, but she stands for calm and prosperity in a way that he does not. She had hoped to be elected to a third term as prime minister in next month’s elections. Her death, and the deaths of 20 other people at her rally, is shocking and saddening. This must feel to many Pakistanis the way Robert Kennedy’s death felt to many Americans. It could signal the end of hope. This post will briefly explore the crisis in Pakistan, then explain why Joe Biden is clearly the best, and perhaps only, Democratic candidate for president fit to lead on this issue. I hate to be so crassly political about murder, but when the stakes are so high, I feel we don’t have much choice. President Musharraf must take this unprecedented moment to show his country leadership rather than his normal personal ambition and fearmongering. A month or so ago, he declared emergency rule in the country, rounding up lawyers and placing Bhutto under house arrest. He is not off to an auspicious start this time, either: "At the hospital where Bhutto died, some supporters smashed glass and wailed, chanting slogans against President Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf blamed Islamic extremists for her death and said he would redouble his efforts to fight them.
'This is the work of those terrorists with whom we are engaged in war,' he said in a nationally televised speech. 'I have been saying that the nation faces the greatest threats from these terrorists. ... We will not rest until we eliminate these terrorists and root them out.'…
Musharraf convened an emergency meeting with his senior staff, where they were expected to discuss whether to postpone the elections, an official at the Interior Ministry said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks." First of all, the woman’s body is still cold. We have no way of knowing yet who killed her, unless they actually caught the shooter. To instantly point fingers at the old enemies could very well mean missing a new one, perhaps a radical supporter of Musharraf. Secondly, canceling or postponing the elections would be a disaster. Bhutto’s party still stands, and can carry on her work. To postpone the elections yet again would fly in the face of democracy, and I am positive that it is not what Bhutto would have wanted. It also lends credibility to something another former prime minister said this morning, Nawaz Sharif, whose party will boycott the elections. "Free elections are not possible in the presence of Musharraf. Musharraf is the root cause of all problems." The only credibility Musharraf has this morning comes from the fact that Bhutto was shot in Rawalpindi. The president canceled a rally she was to hold there a month ago, citing security concerns. One man who does have credibility on the subject is US Senator Joe Biden. I hate to turn such a sad event as murder into a political football, but when the stakes are this high – Pakistan is an unstable, nuclear-armed Islamic nation but also a key US ally – I feel I have no choice. Biden is the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a Democratic candidate for President. When Pakistan descended into chaos under Musharraf’s emergency rule in November, the first US politician Musharraf and Bhutto each called was not President Bush, but Senator Biden. Days earlier, just before that crisis began, the Democratic candidates were asked at a debate about the threat posed by Iran. Biden warned that Pakistan poses the real threat, not Iran, and said that we need to be paying more attention. This was not the first time he has shown such foresight – on Sept. 10, 2001, Biden warned that terrorists would attack soon, and possibly from "the belly of a plane." But Biden moves forward, he does not rely upon the I-told-you-so-card. As the November crisis erupted, he released a detailed proposal for dealing with Pakistan, most of which I agreed with. It was certainly a clear and much-needed shift away from the failed Bush strategy. Already today, the Huffington Post has an article titled, “Pakistan Crisis Makes The Case For Biden, Not Bush or Hillary”. Today, not as a candidate for President but as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Biden released a statement about Bhutto’s death and held a quickly assembled press conference in Des Moines, Iowa. A rough, short video is available now, and something longer of higher quality with a sharper image should come out later today. <a href= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20w_km9lQCY >You can view the short video here</a>, and I've put the statement at the end of this post. Biden is the only candidate fit to lead on Pakistan. In August, Obama made some very disturbing and uninformed remarks about Pakistan. As First Lady, Clinton dealt with Musharraf, but only in a social context. She does not have the long-standing political and diplomatic relationships with world leaders that Biden has. Edwards has no foreign policy experience whatsoever, not even the four years as a Foreign Relations Committee backbencher that Obama can claim. Like I say, I hate to turn this kind of an event into a political football, but in times of crisis, competent leadership is needed, and that’s what Joe Biden and Joe Biden alone offers. "This is a terrible day. My heart goes out to Benazir Bhutto’s family, friends and followers.
"Like her father before her, Benazir Bhutto worked her whole life – and gave her life – to help Pakistan become a democratic, secular and modern Muslim country. She was a woman of extraordinary courage who returned to Pakistan in the face of death threats and even after an assassination attempt the day of her return, she did not flinch. It was a privilege to know her these many years and to call her a friend.
"I am convinced Ms. Bhutto would have won free and fair elections next week. The fact that she was by far Pakistan’s most popular leader underscores the fact that there is a vast, moderate majority in Pakistan that must have a clear voice in the system. Her assassination makes it all the more urgent that Pakistan return to a democratic path.
"This fall, I twice urged President Musharraf to provide better security for Ms. Bhutto and other political leaders – I wrote him before her return and after the first assassination attempt in October. The failure to protect Ms. Bhutto raises a lot of hard questions for the government and security services that must be answered.
"I know that Benazir’s followers will be tempted to lash out in anger and violence. I urge them to remain calm – and not play into the hands of the forces of destruction. I urge Pakistan’s leaders to open a fully accountable and transparent investigation. We must find out who was behind this and bring those responsible to justice. And the United States should offer any assistance necessary, including investigative teams, to get to the bottom of this horror.
"The way to honor Benazir Bhutto is to uphold the values for which she gave her life: democracy, moderation and social justice. I join with the Pakistani people in mourning the loss of a dear friend.” Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian.
We've heard a lot in recent years about World War II vets. And that's a good thing. Ken Burns says 1,000 a day are dying, and we need to honor them while we can. But that's also true about World War I vets. An article in yesterday's New York Times said that there aren't 1,000 dying a day because there aren't even 1,000 left - only one American remains who fought in World War I. His name is Frank Buckles, and he's 104. This might be his last Veteran's Day; 10 other WWI vets died in the last year. You may remember from your high school or college history books the grisly mistakes of World War I; how the leaders failed to understand the new technologies, and millions of young men - 100,000 Americans - died as a result. Please take just a moment to read this touching article and honor their memory and forgotten sacrifice and commitment. Thanks. "Over There -- And Gone Forever" by Richard Rubin The passing of the last few veterans of the First World War is all but complete, and has gone largely unnoticed here.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. Almost from the moment the armistice took effect, the United States has worked hard, it seems, to forget World War I; maybe that’s because more than 100,000 Americans never returned from it, lost for a cause that few can explain even now. The first few who did come home were given ticker-tape parades, but most returned only to silence and a good bit of indifference.
There was no G.I. Bill of Rights to see that they got a college education or vocational training, a mortgage or small-business loan. There was nothing but what remained of the lives they had left behind a year or two earlier, and the hope that they might eventually be able to return to what President Warren Harding, Wilson’s successor, would call "normalcy." Prohibition, isolationism, the stock market bubble and the crisis in farming made that hard; the Great Depression, harder still.
A few years ago, I set out to see if I could find any living American World War I veterans. No one — not the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Veterans of Foreign Wars, or the American Legion — knew how many there were or where they might be. As far as I could tell, no one much seemed to care, either.
Bill Richardson is having a field day blasting the four Senate candidates for President for missing the floor vote on Michael Mukasey. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth, for several reasons. One is that it takes 51 votes to confirm a nominee, and Mukasey had 53 - four more "no" votes wouldn't have made a difference. Two, there were 41 no votes, so four more wouldn't have made a difference in preventing cloture, and besides, not even Russ Feingold called for a filibuster. Three, this is the independent-minded Senate, not the pack-mentality House. "Leadership" rarely changes votes, Biden's outstanding efforts on the 1988 Bork hearings being the rare exception. Which individuals do you think would have flip-flopped to parrot Clinton or Obama? Do you really think Schumer or Nelson are that fickle? And if so, why wasn't Richardson on the Hill lobbying harder than ever to show such leadership? Four, I very much doubt that if Richardson were a Senator, he would have made the vote. Dole missed major votes, Kerry missed major votes, Edwards missed major votes, and so on. Richardson would not escape the same trap that all other Senators fall into, and it's quite arrogant for him to suggest otherwise. But above all, it's not really the four Senators' fault that they missed the vote. It's Harry Reid's fault for scheduling a last-minute vote with no regard whatsoever for his party's future leader and nominee (whoever that might be). I'm currently in New Hampshire, and it would be near impossible for me to get to the Capitol Building in DC within the next five hours, even if I had $70 million and my own private jet. Greg Sargent at TPM writes,
According to Senate sources, as the Dem Senate leadership remained in closed-door negotiations with their GOP counterparts over whether to hold the vote, Senators were getting mixed signals throughout the day as to whether the vote would happen by the end of yesterday. The actual notification that there would be a vote didn't come from leadership until at least 6:30 or 7 PM last night -- catching aides on the staffs of the presidential campaigns and on the staffs of other senators off guard.
"I had my coat on and was walking out the door when I first heard about the vote," one staffer said.
The senators were notified that there would be five hours of debate, and that a vote would be happening at midnight, or possibly before, sources said.
Aides to one of the senators running for President said they were surprised at how adamant the leadership was that a vote would be coming so quickly -- with or without them present. One aide to this senator said that his staff told leadership that they couldn't get back for a vote until later in the night.
But, this source says, the leadership told this Senator's staff that they could not promise to hold the vote for his return. Leadership said that the vote would happen at the end of debate whether or not this senator got back in time for it, this source tells us. So this senator gave up the effort to return for the vote.
So basically what happened here is that leadership was adamant that the vote take place by midnight last night. And the senators running for President, who were scattered far afield, either couldn't make it back in time for the vote, or decided that it wasn't worth returning. The thinking apparently was that Mukasey's confirmation was assured, and they were already on record against him. As Robert Gibbs, a spokesman for Barack Obama, put it last night: "He's already announced his position on it. I don't think the vote will be close."
None of the other senators' campaigns has commented on record about this.
As for the possibility of a filibuster, it was never likely that anyone other than Dodd would have gone through with it at any rate -- again, because all the Senators can say that they're on record against him. Even if any of them had been willing to filibuster, it seems clear that the timing of the vote was such that it was unlikely that any of them could have gotten back to the Senate floor in time to do so.
Meanwhile, it still remains unclear exactly why the leadership suddenly declared at 6:30 P.M that there would be a vote -- and that it would have to happen by midnight at the latest. Update 3:26pm: Richardson's attacks are here (the source for my "field day" comment above): http://action.richardsonforpresident.com/p...
As wonderful as it was to watch HRC finally get challenged last night, we must not take our eyes off the main prize: a Democratic White House. For the sake of the country’s future, it is important to remember what we’re up against. Romney and Thompson certainly have their faults, but it is Rudy Giuliani that scares me the most. He’s as arrogant and hawkish as our current president, surrounds himself with neocon advisors, bullies anyone who disagrees with him (be it about taxes or about pet weasels), distorts the facts in his speeches, and lacks any real foreign policy experience. In case you missed it, here’s the best one-liner of last night, 25 seconds in and aimed straight at Rudy. Below the fold you’ll find the Giuliani campaign’s response—it’s the most childish statement you’ve ever seen from a campaign, so I suppose we should thank him for a good morning laugh. I've always had a hard time wtih YouTube at DU (this is also at DK), but you can watch the video here. Here's the transcript:
I'm not running against Hillary Clinton. I'm running to lead the free world. I'm running to lead this country. And the irony is, Rudy Giuliani, probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency...
(Laughter)
... is here talking about any of the people here.
(Applause)
Rudy Giuliani -- I mean, think about it. Rudy Giuliani -- there's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11. I mean, there's nothing else.
(Laughter)
There's nothing else, and I mean this sincerely. He is genuinely not qualified to be president. Here's a man who brags about how he made the city safe. It was the Biden crime bill that became the Clinton crime bill that allowed him to do that.
They wipe it out. He remains silent. The 9/11 Commission comes along and says the way to keep your city safe is to do the following things. He's been silent. He's done nothing. And now he's talking about he's going to go in and he will demonstrate to Iran, he's going to in fact lay down the law.
This man is truly not qualified to be president. I'm looking forward to running against Rudy Giuliani. The Giuliani camp’s juvenile response: As the pundits work to figure out who won the debate tonight, its pretty clear Rudy Giuliani was the real winner. It is increasingly apparent Rudy is the one the Democrats are most worried about running against in the general election.
Senator Biden’s comments were of particular interest. The good senator is quite correct that there are many differences between Rudy and him. For starters, Rudy rarely reads prepared speeches and when he does he isn’t prone to ripping off the text from others. And, Senator Biden certainly falls in to the bucket of those on the stage tonight who have never had executive experience and have never run anything. Wait, I take that back, Senator Biden has never run anything but his mouth.
Such a desperate attack from Senator Biden is to be expected considering I — Katie Levinson — have a better chance of becoming President than he does. The official Biden campaign response, from Communications Director Larry Rasky, was, “We are well aware that former Mayor Giuliani will attempt to drag this race into the mud where the Republicans like to wage their campaigns. It’s pretty obvious that they can’t defend themselves on the real charge that Mr. Giuliani walked away from the cops and firefighters who were waiting for the 9/11 Commission to be enacted and the Biden crime bill to be restored.” Rasky’s press release is good, but I think my favorite response to Rudy is a comment on the New York Times’ Caucus blog from Helen in NYC, who said, “She, Katie Levinson, has a better change of becoming Giuliani’s fourth wife than a President.” But jokes aside, if Rudy has to reach back 20 years to find something to attack Biden with, and if that something isn’t even really true (the plagiarism accusations were false, see below), then you the Republicans are scared of Joe Biden. He’ll be one tough cookie come the General, and I understand why he’s looking forward to running against Rudy. BTW, this isn't the first time Biden's slammed Rudy. From the September debate here at Dartmouth, and a full nine months ago. (Links are YouTube; video is embedded in the DK version of this diary.)</p> I have good things to say about all six of our viable candidates, but I think it’s clear which one has the best national security credentials and which one is best prepared to take on the Republicans. If you want to help put Biden’s experience, plan for Iraq, passion for Darfur, and strong domestic vision in the White House, please add to his Iowa momentum and https://secure.ga3.org/03/joebiden ">support his current online fundraising drive. Moving on from partisan politics and debate analysis, I should correct what Rudy’s child labor said about “ripping off the text from others.” Charges of 1988 plagiarism follow Biden around like stink on a mule, but the plagiarism story is proof that 2004’s Swift Boat Veterans for Lies were hardly anything new. Biden always quoted Kinnock on the stump, but forgot to make the citation during an Iowa State Fair debate because he'd spent the previous few days working on the Bork hearings instead of properly preparing for the debate. Just once, he forgot to say "As Kinnock said," and readily admits in his autobiography that he made a mistake in not gathering the reporters afterwards to say, "Hey guys, I messed up." It only became a scandal when Dukakis campaign manager John Sasso leaked a tape of the slip-up: reporter after reporter refused to print the rubbish, until Maureen Dowd took the bait and ran a hack job. The result? Dukakis *fired* Sasso, but by then most folks had already bought the MSM bull hook line and sinker. Dukakis, Sasso, Dowd, Biden, and others all confirm this story. Unfortunately, a Biden communications aide also slipped some RFK quotes into stump speeches without Biden’s knowledge (the issue was dealt with), and an old Biden law school paper that only quoted one source was dredged up (though he always cited that one source, never ripping off material; the school ethics board cleared him), so a *myth* was born. Please, don’t be gullible; don’t buy into the MSM’s drivel or Rudy’s lies. I should also point out that this “scandal” dates back almost 20 years, to before Biden’s life-altering brain aneurysms and “long slog back to credibility.” Given the challenges we face in today’s world and the fact that people change with time, a non-scandal from a different era should not be an issue. Like I say, if that’s the best Rudy’s got, then Biden’s going to be in great shape come the General Election.
As wonderful as it was to watch HRC finally get challenged last night, we must not take our eyes off the main prize: a Democratic White House. For the sake of the country’s future, it is important to remember what we’re up against. Romney and Thompson certainly have their faults, but it is Rudy Giuliani that scares me the most. He’s as arrogant and hawkish as our current president, surrounds himself with neocon advisors, bullies anyone who disagrees with him (be it about taxes or about pet weasels), distorts the facts in his speeches, and lacks any real foreign policy experience. In case you missed it, here’s the best one-liner of last night, 25 seconds in and aimed straight at Rudy. Below the fold you’ll find the Giuliani campaign’s response—it’s the most childish statement you’ve ever seen from a campaign, so I suppose we should thank him for a good morning laugh. I've always had a hard time wtih YouTube at DU (this is also at DK), but you can watch the video here. Here's the transcript:
I'm not running against Hillary Clinton. I'm running to lead the free world. I'm running to lead this country. And the irony is, Rudy Giuliani, probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency...
(Laughter)
... is here talking about any of the people here.
(Applause)
Rudy Giuliani -- I mean, think about it. Rudy Giuliani -- there's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11. I mean, there's nothing else.
(Laughter)
There's nothing else, and I mean this sincerely. He is genuinely not qualified to be president. Here's a man who brags about how he made the city safe. It was the Biden crime bill that became the Clinton crime bill that allowed him to do that.
They wipe it out. He remains silent. The 9/11 Commission comes along and says the way to keep your city safe is to do the following things. He's been silent. He's done nothing. And now he's talking about he's going to go in and he will demonstrate to Iran, he's going to in fact lay down the law.
This man is truly not qualified to be president. I'm looking forward to running against Rudy Giuliani. The Giuliani camp’s juvenile response: As the pundits work to figure out who won the debate tonight, its pretty clear Rudy Giuliani was the real winner. It is increasingly apparent Rudy is the one the Democrats are most worried about running against in the general election.
Senator Biden’s comments were of particular interest. The good senator is quite correct that there are many differences between Rudy and him. For starters, Rudy rarely reads prepared speeches and when he does he isn’t prone to ripping off the text from others. And, Senator Biden certainly falls in to the bucket of those on the stage tonight who have never had executive experience and have never run anything. Wait, I take that back, Senator Biden has never run anything but his mouth.
Such a desperate attack from Senator Biden is to be expected considering I — Katie Levinson — have a better chance of becoming President than he does. The official Biden campaign response, from Communications Director Larry Rasky, was, “We are well aware that former Mayor Giuliani will attempt to drag this race into the mud where the Republicans like to wage their campaigns. It’s pretty obvious that they can’t defend themselves on the real charge that Mr. Giuliani walked away from the cops and firefighters who were waiting for the 9/11 Commission to be enacted and the Biden crime bill to be restored.” Rasky’s press release is good, but I think my favorite response to Rudy is a comment on the New York Times’ Caucus blog from Helen in NYC, who said, “She, Katie Levinson, has a better change of becoming Giuliani’s fourth wife than a President.” But jokes aside, if Rudy has to reach back 20 years to find something to attack Biden with, and if that something isn’t even really true (the plagiarism accusations were false, see below), then you the Republicans are scared of Joe Biden. He’ll be one tough cookie come the General, and I understand why he’s looking forward to running against Rudy. BTW, this isn't the first time Biden's slammed Rudy. From the September debate here at Dartmouth, and a full nine months ago. (Links are YouTube; video is embedded in the DK version of this diary.)</p> I have good things to say about all six of our viable candidates, but I think it’s clear which one has the best national security credentials and which one is best prepared to take on the Republicans. If you want to help put Biden’s experience, plan for Iraq, passion for Darfur, and strong domestic vision in the White House, please add to his Iowa momentum and https://secure.ga3.org/03/joebiden ">support his current online fundraising drive. Moving on from partisan politics and debate analysis, I should correct what Rudy’s child labor said about “ripping off the text from others.” Charges of 1988 plagiarism follow Biden around like stink on a mule, but the plagiarism story is proof that 2004’s Swift Boat Veterans for Lies were hardly anything new. Biden always quoted Kinnock on the stump, but forgot to make the citation during an Iowa State Fair debate because he'd spent the previous few days working on the Bork hearings instead of properly preparing for the debate. Just once, he forgot to say "As Kinnock said," and readily admits in his autobiography that he made a mistake in not gathering the reporters afterwards to say, "Hey guys, I messed up." It only became a scandal when Dukakis campaign manager John Sasso leaked a tape of the slip-up: reporter after reporter refused to print the rubbish, until Maureen Dowd took the bait and ran a hack job. The result? Dukakis *fired* Sasso, but by then most folks had already bought the MSM bull hook line and sinker. Dukakis, Sasso, Dowd, Biden, and others all confirm this story. Unfortunately, a Biden communications aide also slipped some RFK quotes into stump speeches without Biden’s knowledge (the issue was dealt with), and an old Biden law school paper that only quoted one source was dredged up (though he always cited that one source, never ripping off material; the school ethics board cleared him), so a *myth* was born. Please, don’t be gullible; don’t buy into the MSM’s drivel or Rudy’s lies. I should also point out that this “scandal” dates back almost 20 years, to before Biden’s life-altering brain aneurysms and “long slog back to credibility.” Given the challenges we face in today’s world and the fact that people change with time, a non-scandal from a different era should not be an issue. Like I say, if that’s the best Rudy’s got, then Biden’s going to be in great shape come the General Election.
Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian. Attending school in the northeast, as I do, limits one’s ability to fight for Katrina recovery issues. Fortunately for me, the northeast means New Hampshire, giving me the rare opportunity to talk to presidential candidates about New Orleans and the pace of recovery there. To take advantage of this opportunity, I have spent the last several months grading the top candidates on their hurricane recovery proposals, and revising those grades when necessary. Today, it is necessary to revisit and revise the grades I originally gave Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Chris Dodd. This post contains original analysis, as well as accounts of personal conversations with several candidates, and original audio of my conversation with Dodd. I. An Explanation II. John Edwards III. Barack Obama IV. Chris Dodd V. Summary of Previously Reviewed Candidates (Biden, Clinton, Richardson) I. An ExplanationWhen examining a candidate’s hurricane recovery proposals, I pay attention only to what they have said or done as a part of their presidential campaign. Every candidate put out a press release (or ten) immediately following the storm and voted for the right recovery measures at the time, and most visited the city shortly after the storm, but the initial storm and resulting recovery issues are separate disasters. The recovery plan John Edwards put out in late 2005 was important in late 2005, but given that-then unforeseen needs and crises have since arisen, it is no longer relevant. I am looking at these people as candidates, not as prior office-holders or, in Edwards' case, activists. The question is, what are they doing NOW, and what are they proposing for the future? As such, I base my reviews on whether a candidate has put forth a comprehensive plan for the region, what that plan includes, if the plan is highlighted on their webpage and/or in their campaign speeches and interviews, whether or not they show an understanding of the root cause of recovery problems (red tape, incompetence), their knowledge of details (like the Road Home program, ACOE accountability, and specific recent FEMA mistakes), and how they answer direct recovery questions (do they actually talk about recovery, or do they just change the subject to talk about Bush’s initial response). So keeping that in mind, here are the revised grades for Edwards, Obama, and Dodd, as well as links to my reviews of the other three major Democratic candidates. Disclosure: I am a strong supporter of Joe Biden, who is third on my list of Katrina candidates, behind Clinton and Edwards, neither of whom I will consider voting for in the primary. My expertise on Katrina issues comes from having spent several months in New Orleans last year volunteering in the Lower Ninth Ward and following the issue closely ever since. II. John EdwardsI originally gave Edwards a C- over D+. Many of his supporters flamed me for ignoring his early focus on Katrina, but I viewed his call for volunteers as a wonderful example of cultural leadership, not political leadership. I argued that he did not discuss Katrina in his interviews, speeches, or online; that he did not criticize Bush for ignoring recovery in the SOTU address; and that his Lower Ninth Ward campaign kickoff offered only rhetoric and no policy proposals. I admired his passion for the issue, but said at the time, “We know how Citizen Edwards feels, but we don’t know what President Edwards would DO.” As most Kossacks know, Edwards finally rectified this problem at the start of his “Road to One America” tour. His webpage says,
Edwards announced a three-part plan for rebuilding the city: (1) rebuilding infrastructure—housing, schools, and hospitals—that is built to last so that people have something to come back to, (2) creating jobs to bring them back , (3) making the city safe from storms—with levees that can withstand another Katrina, and strengthening public safety to keep residents safe from crime.
Each part includes several subpoints, which are building a new veteran’s hospital, improving local infrastructure (from businesses to mental health), increasing funding for housing, creating jobs and fighting corrupt contractors, fighting crime by improving education, and protecting the city by increasing levee strength and restoring wetlands. I do have some problems with this proposal, but an announced plan is an announced plan, and it does generate substantive headlines for the issue. I am revising Edwards’ grade from a C- to an A. In truth, it is more deserving of an A-, but he is the only candidate to talk about restoring the wetlands, and as much I may otherwise dislike his campaign, for this I stand up and cheer, arms waving wildly. My first problem is that his campaign markets the recovery plan as part of his focus on poverty, despite things like FEMA failures, ACOE accountability, and evaporating wetlands all being very separate issues from poverty If the proposal contained more specifics (like creating a 9/11-style levee commission, fixing the Road Home program, putting more cops on the street, etc.), I would raise the grade to an A+. Edwards is a bit late to the party, but I’m no purist – better late than never. III. Barack ObamaI initially gave Obama a C+. When I saw him in Durham, NH, he ducked a question about Katrina recovery, turning his attention instead to national poverty, completely ignoring the separate issue of rebuilding an entire region. Furthermore, at the time, his campaign website contained nothing on Katrina. His supporters squawked at me, pointing out his initial post-storm record, but remember, I’m looking at the campaigns, not the office-holders. More recently, in a speech last week to the Essence Music Festival at New Orleans’ Superdome (viewable below) and in an audio interview at Nola.com, Obama began to hint at an actual recovery plan. He has said that rebuilding New Orleans should be at the top of the national agenda and lets into Bush for not pushing it, but he still seems short on specifics. Now, I agree with him about fighting crime and poverty through education, and it’s wonderful to hear a presidential candidate talk about improving infrastructure across the country (our bridges need much work!). And he’s right, poverty, joblessness, and crime dud exist before Katrina – but such answers do not address the very specific subject of rebuilding an entire region. He did take a subtle swipe at the red tape and incompetence of the Road Home program, and when I saw him speak in Durham he called for a repeal of the matching funds requirement (which has since happened), but those are the only specific details I have heard him tackle. He has not put forward a comprehensive plan like Clinton and Edwards, and he does not stick to the subject when asked about it like Biden does. He includes his Senate votes on Katrina in the poverty section of his website, just like Edwards. Katrina is also the last issue on the poverty page, at the end of a very long read where few will notice it. And of course, these are only past Senate votes, not information about current recovery issues and how Obama would fix them as President. Nevertheless, this is more than we’ve seen from him before, so I’ll raise his C+ to a B-. But he does lag behind. http://www.youtube.com/v/BHvaWdZ7HHQ ( Clinton also spoke at Essence Fest, but she was discussing her already-presented plan, adding nothing new to the A I already gave her.) IV. Chris DoddMy review of Chris Dodd was based on his answer to a question I asked at a New Hampshire town hall meeting in February, and the lack of Katrina information on his webpage. I gave him my lowest grade, a D-, because while he did show he cared about rebuilding New Orleans and understood its importance, he also demonstrated a complete lack of understanding the issue and its details. I spoke with the Senator a second time in April (my apologies for taking so long in writing about it). In between the two meetings (and the second meeting really was more of a conversation, you can watch it below), he had finally traveled to New Orleans, and had paid attention to Senator Mary Landrieu’s recovery hearings. He also held his own hearings into the insurance laws surrounding Katrina. He demonstrated a remarkable grasp of the insurance issues, but that’s all he demonstrated, and it defined the way he viewed the issue. He didn’t seem to know much about the Road Home program, FEMA, the ACOE, etc. Then, at last month’s PBS debate, when asked about Katrina recovery, he talked about the importance of New Orleans, but again gave no specifics. Nevertheless, some details are better than none, and he has seen the devastation for himself, so I will raise his grade from a D- to a C-. I grew up in Willis, TX where a D was no different than an F, so at least Dodd passes now. Here is the “video” of our second conversation. I use quotes because it’s actually a video of our feet – the camera was aimed at the floor, so treat this more as audio. First he talks about insurance, and then I tell him about the Road Home program. http://www.youtube.com/v/Sdzcj_5PGjY V. Other CandidatesA brief summary of my earlier reviews for the other three viable candidates: Clinton’s A comes from the fact that she has introduced the most comprehensive, as well as the first, Katrina recovery plan. She has continued to highlight this plan throughout her campaign, impressing me greatly. Richardson, on the other hand, tried to talk to me more about the initial storm than current recovery, but did offer a few specifics when I pressed him. You can watch our conversation here. Unfortunately, at the PBS debate, he showed us a lack of understanding surrounding Katrina facts – he said we should waive the requirement that local governments match 10% of FEMA expenditures. That was done, however, a month before the debate. He does offer a few more specifics than Dodd, however, so he gets a B-. Biden’s B+ comes from a conversation I had with him. Though he has not offered a comprehensive recovery plan, he did show me a remarkable understanding of the root cause behind recovery issues (red tape, lack of communication, etc.), did not try to change the subject to the initial storm, and was very well-versed on details surrounding NOLA crime and law enforcement. (Disclosure: Though he may rank third on my NOLA list, I will definitely be voting for Biden in the New Hampshire primary next year.) Candidates on NOLAClinton: A Edwards: A Biden: B+ Richardson: B- Obama: B- Dodd: C- All the candidates address Katrina at the third debate (PBS)Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian.
Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans. I had initially hoped to avoid giving this atrocious Hartford Courant op-ed further exposure and publicity, but given that the rest of the Katrina blogosphere is exploding about it, I’ll go ahead and give my take, too. The op-ed in question, “ Politics Aside, New Orleans A Lost Cause,” was written by Robert Thorson, a professor of Geology at the University of Connecticut. He claims that Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster which will happen again, so let’s not rebuild New Orleans. I just wish that one of the Democratic contenders had been forthright, calling the Katrina tragedy a natural disaster, and recognizing that the displaced people are the most visible group of climate refugees since the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s… The brutal geological reality is that people of every color left New Orleans as climate-related refugees. I believe that the real reason New Orleans remains unfixed - without police and fire protection and with vacant hospitals - is because objective visionaries and smart money sees such rebuilding as a risky, if not wasteful war against nature. There is so much wrong with this. Where do I even begin?  First of all, Hurricane Katrina was NOT, as Dr. Thorson claims, just a natural disaster. What happened in Biloxi and Gulfport – that was a natural disaster. What happened in New Orleans – that was a natural disaster exponentially exacerbated by a manmade disaster. It was the fault of the Army Corps of Engineers and the federal government. Had the levees been built to specification and maintained properly, had Congress and the President fully funded the Corps’ restoration project, the damage to the city would have been far less in scope. Yes, some levee failures allowed water to revert to its natural state, but others sent the floodwater on unnatural paths it would not have taken had the city never built in the first place. We can rebuild the city differently than it was built before – we can construct the levees in the same style as the Dutch, and hold the Corps accountable this time around. If we do this, Katrina will not repeat herself. We can go even further by fighting climate change, reducing our carbon emissions, and taking carbon back out of the environment, and thus ensure that even Rita will not repeat herself too often. This was NOT just a natural disaster, and the victims are not just “climate refugees.” (Photo: Dr. Robert Thorson, from his website.) Thorson finishes by writing, My plan has only one point. That we not spend another dime on U.S. properties below sea level - and use that money instead to help sea-level refugees find safer homes elsewhere.  I wonder, just where does he envision these “safer homes elsewhere”? Remember, it’s not like New Orleans is our only coastal city. Everything from Corpus Christi to New York City could get hit by a hurricane – it’s even happened in New Hampshire before. This entire nation faces natural risks. The mountain west has summer fires and winter blizzards, the west coast has earthquakes (and a major San Francisco or LA earthquake IS the next Katrina), the Midwest gets tornadoes, the northeast has its own blizzards, the South sees hurricanes and heat waves, and the whole damn thing suffers through drought. What's Thorson’s solution, that we all move to Alamogordo? If he thinks we can find safer homes, he lives in a fantasy world. It should also be pointed out that not all of New Orleans is below sea-level. “ A recent study by Tulane University notes that 51% of New Orleans is at or above sea level, with the more densely populated areas generally on higher ground.” (Photo: This is St. Andrew Episcopal Church's Chalstrom House, where I lived for three months. It is in New Orleans, and it is above sea level. Photo by my friend Bob Gustafson.) Thorson is also making judgment calls. He is ultimately saying, "We shouldn't spend a dime on these areas because they're in danger." Yeah, but you know something? You get what you pay for. And preserving history, heritage, humanity, and culture in the face of risk is something I'm willing to pay for. In other words, there’s more at stake here than just science, so how dare he speak with scientific authority on non-scientific judgment matters like THAT. He's being quite shortsighted. Another part of Thorson’s column compared New Orleans to Alaskan villages threatened by climate change. The Voice of New Orleans does a pretty good job of refuting that claim in a post called, “Excuse Me, but New Orleans is not Newtok, Alaska.” Other Katrina blogs tackling Thorson’s op-ed include another Voice of New Orleanspost, Thanks Katrina, Your Right Hand Thief, Ashley Morris: The Blog (a professor takes on the professor!), Maitri's VatulBlog, The Chicory, and Gentilly Girl. Pistollette’s postin particular has received a lot of blogosphere attention. She writes, If the Dutch felt the way you do about low-lying areas they'd have no country.
Funny, you guys never complained when federal engineers spent billions to force the Mississippi River route, and thereby bring goods to all you rich, condescending yankees. Plus, you think gas is expensive now? You couldn't afford it if we didn't keep sucking up the fumes in "cancer alley" for you overconsumptive ungrateful brats.
I live here - we have cops, firemen, and hospitals. True, they are understaffed and could use more help, but they are here! Get your facts straight.
I can't believe you compared this situation to some little Alaskan town with 200 people. MILLIONS live in the Mississippi Delta region. You are talking about asking millions of people/refugees to give up their homeland, people, and culture. America doesn't even ask the Palestinians to do that and we actively support the opposition! This is one of the most ignorant and insensitive things I've heard on this topic in a while. Would you ask Amsterdam, Venice, or even low-lying London to just abandon their cities because they are expensive to maintain? I would add to Pistollette’s reflections that Washington, DC was also built on fill, and is slowly sinking. I guess Thorson would have us abandon the Capitol, the White House, the Jefferson Monument, the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian, the Vietnam Wall, the FBI headquarters… Many of these posts are blunter and ruder than they need to be, but their points are well taken. You may reach Dr. Thorson either by commenting on his article at the Courant’s website, or by e-mailing him at profthorson@hotmail.com . If you decide to contact him, please be polite, and perhaps focus on my final point – there is more to this sort of issue than science, and he should take a broader view when making judgment calls about national values. Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans.
Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans. Tomorrow, I shall whine about the Hartford Courant and the National Hurricane Center, but for today, here's an update from the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana's gutting and rebuilding program (the folks I lived with for three months last year and volunteered for this past Spring Break). The note gives on homeowner's story, explains how the Church's rebuilding operation works, and tells how you can help. I am reprinting the update in full. I do not believe this to be a copyright violation, as it does say, "Please forward this note to anyone else who might be willing to help." To my knowledge it is not publicly available anywhere online, so posting it in full is my only way of forwarding it to the DU community. ********************************************************************
4 July 2007
Hello there,
It’s Katie Mears in New Orleans with an update. Thanks to you all, our gutting program has been incredibly successful. We’ve already gutted over 850 houses and are beginning the next phase: rebuilding. As the need for gutting winds down, we're calling folks whose houses we have gutted over the past year and asking if we can help them put their houses back together now. We have already completed rebuilding seven houses since March and will be finished with several more in the coming weeks.
To give you an idea of the kinds of houses we’re working on, I’d like to tell you about a homeowner whose house we’re finishing this week. Ms. Cora is an older lady who lived with her son in a little house in Pontchartrain Park. Her son was evacuated to Boston after Katrina and has been unable to return. Ms. Cora, who has never left the state, hasn't seen him in nearly two years. She's been living in a FEMA trailer in her front yard since January, when she returned to New Orleans from a trailer park in rural Louisiana.
When I first called Ms. Cora in March, I had to convince her to let us help. She doesn’t want to receive charity because she believes that others need it more. She told me she'd been praying for her Road Home federal grant to come through so she could rebuild, but that she was making herself sick with worry about how she would ever be able to manage it all. We decided that you never can tell what form God's help will take, and that this offer might be her answer.
So we started working. We first hired reputable subcontractors – electricians, plumbers and mold remediators – then we sent in our interns and volunteers to insulate, put up sheetrock, paint, lay tile, and install trim, doors, and windows. The Episcopal Diocese paid for the materials and the subcontractors, and Ms. Cora controlled the process, choosing paint, tile colors, light fixtures, everything. Because Ms. Cora is still waiting for her Road Home money, she doesn’t have much of anything to contribute right now. But she and all of our other homeowners agree to pay us back when their Road Home money arrives.
We have created a system that allows our families to take charge of their own recovery—by making decisions about the house and by paying us back, they are not simply receiving charity. The money homeowners repay us goes to helping more homeowners pay for subcontracting as those families wait for Road Home. The problem is that Road Home money has been incredibly slow to arrive. We’re all getting worried about how long it might take, and our Episcopal Relief and Development grant money will only go so far.
I'm writing for two reasons: to let you know how things are progressing, but also to ask for your help. We continue to have large groups of energetic volunteers – over 100 per week – and have 27 trained interns working around the clock. We aren’t limited by how much work we can do, but are limited by how much work we can pay for.
Ms. Cora will be ready to move into her house next week, and we’re already getting started on the next houses. But we’re at a financial impasse. Our work cannot continue without you. Your generosity and dedication to this city have gotten our program this far – please help us take this next big step and bring New Orleans homeowners back home.
To donate, you can mail checks made out to the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana with "gutting/rebuild" in the memo line to:
Gutting and Rebuild
Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana
1623 7th St.
New Orleans, LA 70115
Or you can donate online. Go to www.edola.org and click on the “Katrina Relief fund” link on the right side of the page.
Thanks so much for your time down here and your financial support. My thoughts and prayers go out to you all. I am happy to answer any questions you may have – just give me a call at 504-258-9441. Please forward this note to anyone else who might be willing to help.
If you have any creative fundraising ideas that have worked in the past, please let me know.
Thanks so much for everything and have a happy 4th of July,
Katie Mears
(504) 258-9441
kmears@edola.org
Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans.
Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans. I'm trying to keep tabs on a few of the other New Orleans blogs that are out there. There are far too many for me to look at on a regular basis, so I've selected just a few to slip into my blog reader (I use My Yahoo - how boring and mainstream, I know). Here are a few posts of note I've seen in the last few days, dealing with YOUR personal Congressman and Senators, the state of the city and why it needs to be saved, FEMA trailers and cottages, and - fun fun - zydeco music. Enjoy! Judyb over at Thanks, Katrina has a great post up listingall the Senators and Congressman who have visited New Orleans since the storm. Please check to see if your Senators are among the 57 on the list, and if not, call and demand they hurry down! Their office numbers are available at www.senate.gov . The majority of my readers come from LA, TX, ID, WA, and NH, so I'll give you the rundown on those states: Larry Craig of Idaho has been there but Mike Crapo has not; Maria Cantwell of Washington has seen the lasting damage for herself but Patty Murray has not. Ten states, including NH (Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu), have not had either Senator visit the city. TX and LA are, of course, good to go. Thanks, Judy! You may also remember that when I first started writing about Katrina recovery, I was constantly fuming about the use of FEMA trailers when FEMA could be using cheaper, safer, friendlier cottages. Judyb has another post looking at the current status of those cottages, as well as some pictures. Here's just one of those pictures - yes, this house really is cheaper and safer than a FEMA trailer:  Wet Bank Guide has a great post entitled, " Same as it never was, same as it never was." It's one of those entries that concisely gets not just to the heart of how NOLA is today, but also of why it needs to be saved. Blogger Mark Folse writes, "Here in New Orleans it is not just the unique soul of a Creole and Carribean city clinging to the edge of America, the birthplace of much of American culture that is being saved. It is one of the last stands to save the soul of America. That it has even a slight chance in hell of succeeding is something worth celebrating." Finally, take a look at this fun post from last Friday by David Rutledge from Voices of New Orleans: "America needs more zydeco. It should be pumped into the White House, right into the Oval Office. No one could plan a war with this music playing." David provides a link to some great New Orleans music. Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans.
Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans. I have many problems with and complaints about the blogosphere, but one thing it usually does well is highlight important-but-ignored news items. It was the blogs that pushed Trent Lott’s comments about Strom Thurmond into the news. It was blogs that nailed Dan Rather to the wall. And we all know that it was blogs that highlighted Joe Liebermann’s parroting of the Bush administration on foreign affairs. Sadly, Katrina recovery is not one of the issues the blogs have chosen to save. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are still Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). New Orleans secondary education couldn’t be any worse if the teachers tried. Crime is spiking in certain neighborhoods, and innocent citizens are getting caught in the crosshairs. The city is a poster child for our health care complaints, if we would only chose to focus on it. FEMA wastes our money on inefficient policies. Rebuildable neighborhood after rebuildable neighborhood sits empty, and all we have to do to make it worth it is build the levees to specification. And where are the blogs on this issue? Walking hand-in-hand with the mainstream media (MSM). So I come to you today, hat in hand, pleading. To quote Albert Camus, “If you believers don’t help us, who else in the world can help us do this?”  MSM coverage of Katrina recovery has been woefully lacking. Based on the day-to-day news coverage, you’d never know that recovery has barely started. You’d think the region was back on its feet, in fine shape. Sure, stories about Iraq, climate change, and maybe Scooter Libby deserve more coverage than the Gulf Coast, but what about meaningless early horserace polls, Paris Hilton’s jail time, Anna Nicole Smith’s death, Britney Spears’ hair, missing pretty white girls, and the astronaut diaper? Are these really more important than the hundreds of thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in our own country??? Is this really worth only one thirty-second question in all of six primary debates? Now, I’ll be honest, I’ll give credit where credit is due. Anderson Cooper of CNN, Brian Williams at NBC Nightly News, Tavis Smiley on PBS, and NPR’s Steve Inskeep and John Burnett occassionally broadcast from New Orleans – they don’t do it often enough, but at least it’s something. The New Yorker used to run a New Orleans blog, ending it just last month. The New York Times is the lone source I’ve seen that pays any kind of regular attention to the storm’s aftermath; just yesterday it put a story called, Largely Alone, Pioneers Reclaim New Orleans on the front page. The story begins, “This is the Gentilly neighborhood today, once a backbone of New Orleans and all but given up for dead less than a year ago after flooding from Hurricane Katrina turned it brown and gray and silent in 2005. Gentilly, home to about 47,000 people before the storm and a thin fraction of that now, is not dead. Haltingly, in disconnected pockets, this eight-square-mile quadrant north of the historic districts that line the Mississippi River is limping back to life, thanks to the struggles of its most determined former residents. But they have had to do so largely on their own, because help from government at any level has been minimal, in their accounts. In recent weeks, some residents have reported getting checks from the state’s Road Home rebuilding program, but four-fifths of applicants have not.” Similarly, for a little while yesterday afternoon the taco truck story Katrina brought a wave of Hispanics was one of the top headlines on Yahoo’s! AP Top Stories list. More a racial story than a hurricane one, but hey, attention is attention. But attention is always short-lived, and you have to tune in at the right times to catch even the big stories, like the Iraq supplemental’s Katrina money or the Congressional hearing probing the Road Home program. Recovery is never the top story, often failing to make the broadcast at all. Even the best of journalists turn a blind eye – MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann rarely covers recovery anymore, and half of Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart’s job is to skewer the MSM, so if they don’t cover it he won’t either. The excuse is that readers have “Katrina fatigue” and don’t want to hear about it anymore, but three problems with this excuse jump out at me: One, reader fatigue is nothing at all like the fatigue residents feel. You will not find an energetic Gulf Coast resident, everyone is so exhausted. Two, since it’s been almost two years since the constant coverage, readers and viewers should be over their initial fatigue by now. Three, a desire to avoid overkill hasn’t stopped the MSM from obsessive coverage of missing pretty white girls and celebrity scandals. Sometimes, this kind of a problem can be remedied by reading blogs. I have a number of problems with the blogsophere, but one upside is that it does tend to grab hold of important-but-ignored stories. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina is not one of those stories. Even the progressive left is paying little attention to the lack of recovery progress. I have cross posted dozens of Katrina entries at Daily Kos over the last few months, and have had a grand total of one make the recommended list – the one with lots of pictures. Even when I give my diaries leftist-friendly titles like “The Failure of Privatization in New Orleans,” the Kossacks just don’t come. If it’s not about John Edwards or impeachment, it’s almost like they don’t want to read it. The Rescue Rangers do better than the rec list, but not much. MyDD is also better, but only marginally, and that’s just because it takes five or six recs to get attention rather than dozens. For whatever reason, I tend to get more click-throughs to my blog from the smaller Democratic Underground than I do Daily Kos or MyDD. Now, I’m not complaining about a lack of personal attention. This isn’t about me. I’d be just as happy if someone else’s recovery diaries were making the list in lieu of mine. The problem is, nobody else is writing them! Over at MyDD, there have been 17 diaries tagged “Hurricane Katrina” since May 1. Of those 17, 13 were mine, and a 14th wasn’t really about Katrina. In other words, if I didn’t cross-post my blog to the big boys, MyDD would have gone more than two months with only three Katrina recovery diaries – and that’s a rather important two months, two, given all the money included in the Iraq supplemental. Daily Kos isn’t quite as bad, but I’m not sure I’d give it a passing grade, either. Many of the “Hurricane Katrina” diaries there are just gripes about the many different ways Bush has failed us, and don’t contain any real recovery analysis or news. This post may be written in a measured tone, I may sound objective and analytical, but the truth is, I’m outraged. I’m still angry at Reagan for repealing the FCC regulation charging the television networks with public responsibility. I’m pissed that MSM execs put ratings and money ahead of justice and humanity. And I’m very upset that even the progressive community ignores one of this generation’s largest domestic needs. What Albert Camus said of social justice and Christians applies to social justice and progressives, as well. “Perhaps we cannot prevent this world from being a world in which children are tortured. But we can reduce the number of tortured children. And if you believers don’t help us, who else in the world can help us do this?” (Emphasis added.) To the Kossacks who are engaged in this issue, most of them actual Gulf residents – thank you. Nightprowlkitty, chigh, doctor2ju, and the other dozen or so, you rock. Everyone else, get off your butt. Educate yourself about Katrina recovery – here’s a good list of sources. Call and demand your Senators and Congressperson fix the Road Home program, reform FEMA, improve flagging NOLA education, fight crime, investigate the levee failure, and save the wetlands. It’s not the kind of thing Shrub will veto, so Congress can act. Put pressure on the presidential candidates to propose comprehensive recovery agendas. Look for, read, and recommend diaries tagged “Hurricane Katrina” or “New Orleans” at Daily Kos, MyDD, Democratic Underground, and elsewhere. If you don’t, you will continue to fail this nation in one of the same ways Shrub has, and no one wants that. Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans.
Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans. The Democratic candidates for President briefly discussed Hurricane Katrina during their debate on PBS Thursday night. While it's refreshing that the mainstream media (if Tavis Smiley can really be considered MSM) finally asked the candidates about rebuilding the Gulf Coast, I'm quite disappointed in the way it played out. The question was relegated to the 30-second answer bin, not 60-seconds, and was pretty absurd - should Gulf Coast residents be allowed to return home per UN internally-displaced-person laws? I know the debate has already been discussed, but I just got this up on my own blog, so please forgive the lateness. A brief analysis of the candidates' answers is below the jump. Watch the answers on YouTube (the embed doesn't seem to work here). Talk about a ridiculous question. No one's trying to stop residents from coming back! And who cares about UN laws right now, the UN has nothing to do with this! To be fair, said law does require the government provide a way back for the IDPs, but nevertheless, couldn't they have asked about putting forth comprehensive plans, fixing the Road Home program, reforming FEMA, fixing education, fighting crime, or repairing the wetlands? Thankfully, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Edwards, and Barack Obama stepped away from the question to talk about the broader problems in New Orleans. Clinton highlighted her comprehensive plan for the region, Biden spoke of first responders and hospitals, Edwards talked about himself before saying the recovery czar should report directly to the President, and Obama agreed with Edwards. Bill Richardson tried hard, bless his heart, but one of the things he said was, "We need to make sure that we eliminate the ten percent match." Uh, Governor? Congress did that last month. Way to be on top of things. Chris Dodd just talked about the UN law and the importance of rebuilding, but did not delve into specifics. Dennis Kucinich spoke of a Congressional hearing, which is nice, but no one cares about the third tier. Mike Gravel talked about... um... Iraq, actually... but he's also third tier (which is about six tiers too high, if you ask me). All in all, there's no way an answer to that kind of a stupid question can alter my analysis of the candidates' Katrina plans, which you can read here (outdated, though - I'll be updating Edwards and Dodd this week). Nevertheless, it's a high profile discussion of Katrina recovery, and that's a good thing, so please take six minutes to watch the video above. I'd post the transcript in full, but that might violate copyright rules - you can read it here instead. Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans.
Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans. The Christian Science Monitor reports, "With government money for New Orleans trickling through the pipeline, private foundations, wealthy individuals, and philanthropies are playing a larger role than expected." To those paying close attention to the issue, this is no surprise, but it's still an important article. H/T Voice of New Orleans. Judy B over at "Thanks, Katrina" has some important pictures of New Orleans, specifically New Orleans East, taken in the last couple weeks in her post New Orleans-Still Not Ok. I've put two examples at the bottom of this post, and there are many more at the link. As she says, "Thanks, Katrina. Thanks, Insurance Company. Thanks, Nagin. Thanks, Feds." Finally, some residents are unhappy with the Jefferson Parish government (what else is new) for targeting Hispanic small business owners. Basically, a number of roadside taco trucks have been popping up in Jefferson Parish (New Orleans suburbs) lately, and the parish (county) government is shutting them down, despite leaving similar non-Hispanic establishments alone. The tacos weren't there before the storm, but sno-cones and the like were. I assume the trucks came the same time the Hispanic migrant FEMA workers did. Read this TimesPic article for more info. Judyb, Joe at Blagueur, and Daily Kos diarist laviolet are all fuming over this, and rightfully so. Now, wouldn't this be a good time for a piece of Beebopareebop Rhubarb Pie? Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans.  
My blog, The Wayward Episcopalian, focuses mainly on Hurricane Katrina recovery issues. I updated my blogrolls today to feature almost 30 different quality blogs that emphasize Katrina issues and Louisiana politics. Some I read, some I’m too busy to follow, but they’re all important local NOLA perspectives and appear to be well written, so I recommend checking out as many as you can. Pick three or four to check in on from time to time, and you’ll find yourself pretty well informed about Louisiana politics and recovery issues. The MSM and even our progressive community have paid very little attention to Katrina issues over the past year and a half, so it's important to educate ourselves, highlight the Gulf Coast region, and push it into the public eye whenever we can. Please, link to a few of these blogs yourself, and recommend this and other Katrina diaries! Also, if you know of other good, regularly updated Katrina websites, let me know and I’ll check them out. (Disclaimer: I attend college in NH and live in ID. My New Orleans link is that I spent three months there last fall, volunteering with the Episcopal Church.) New Orleans BlogsAshley Morris: the blogThe blog of a New Orleans college professor and mother of three. The Bishop’s BlogThe Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana, the Rt. Rev. Charles Jenkins, blogs here from time to time. BlagueurDescribed as, “Some stray thoughts from Louisiana on hurricane reconstruction, moral, physical and political.” I found it when he linked to my Katrina analysis of the 2008 presidential candidates. Carnival of Hurricane ReliefHas tracked hurricane relief blogs and news articles since the storm. Daily KingfishCovers recovery news and Louisiana politics. You can set up an account and maintain a "diary" here, like on MyDD and Daily Kos. It represents Louisiana on MyDD's list of progressive state blogs. da po’ blogAnother local blog with many recent good, insightful posts about New Orleans crime. Do check this one out. Fix the PumpsA blog focusing on the pumps and the Army Corps of Engineers. FoodMusicJusticeAs the name implies, this covers New Orleans food, music, and recovery. Lots of YouTube videos. Gentilly GirlDescribed as, “The thoughts and dreams of a New Orleans Native exiled from her home by Hurricane Katrina. It is also my place to defend the rebuilding of Gentilly, the best part of the city.” She's angry, and her writing reflects it. Gentilly ProjectA Dartmouth project, led by the Tuck School of Business’ Prof. Quintus Jett, aimed at helping the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans recover. Go Big Green. Healthcare for PeaceA young recovery volunteer from the Inland Northwest blogs about Katrina news. Sound familiar? Humid BeingsTracks the New Orleans blogs for you. Levees Not WarLiberal-leaning NOLA news site. Levees.orgPushing for a 9/11-style commission on the past and future of the Louisiana levees. Metroblogging New OrleansA collection of NOLA bloggers reflecting on all sorts of local topics. Recent posts include Katrina recovery, the weather, and Bill Jefferson’s indictment. NOLA BloggerNOLA resident on local politics and recovery news. Moldy CityNOLA resident on local politics and recovery news. The New Yorker’s New Orleans JournalAt a time when most national news outlets have decided to ignore recovery issues, the New Yorker magazine has a regular blog devoted to New Orleans. Yay. People Get Ready“Make (leaky) levees, not war.” NOLA resident on local politics and recovery news. Thanks, KatrinaA woman blogs from Slidell, LA. The Third Battle of New OrleansRecovery stuff, lots of pictures and lots of posters. Volunteer OpportunitiesThis is my post from a couple weeks back, listing Gulf Coast opportunities. Please, your help is still needed! Even if you can’t make it down yourself, you can still link to this post on your own blog or webpage and encourage your friends! The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New OrleansThis is, of course, my blog.  As per the Healthcare for Peace description, a young recovery volunteer from the Inland Northwest blogs about Katrina news. Yat PunditA progressive take in Louisiana. Was the MyDD link for Louisiana before Daily Kingfish. Your Right Hand Thief“Laughing hard truths in New Orleans.” NOLA resident on local politics and recovery news.
Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans. Pictures at the original post. It is June now, and the few friends I have left still in high school graduated last night. This can only mean summer is upon us - what are your plans? Is there room for a relaxing work trip to the Gulf Coast?  I've posted this before, but given the arrival of summer, I feel I should post it again. Here is a list of volunteer organizations in the Gulf Coast that need your help. To understand why the need is so desperate, please read this, and peruse these. Think about it - you can help your needy brothers and sisters during the day, hit the Mississippi beach in the evening, and check out the French Quarter at night! What more could you want out of a summer trip? I can't count the times I was told, "Thank God you're here! If it wasn't for you church people and faith-based groups, nothing would ever get done!" (This applies to secular non-profits, too!) If you can't head down yourself, you can still help by recommending this diary, and if you have your own blog, providing link to this post - it's the only way the Gulf Coast region can ever recover. Thank you. Detailed information for contacting the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana's Office of Disaster Response follows these other links. Since I worked with the Diocese for three months, I have more information on it than on other volunteer organizations, though all come highly recommended. Common Ground CollectiveFor more information - My Blog Post on Common GroundACORNHands on New OrleansHands on Gulf Coast(Much of the Dartmouth volunteering is done through the Hands On network.) Habitat for HumanityEvangelical Free Church of AmericaPresbyterian Disaster AssistanceUnited Church of Christ Volunteer OpportunitiesAmericorpsSpecific Volunteer Jobs at Volunteermatch.org Click here for information on specific volunteer opportunities with the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. Opportunities include rebuilding houses (no special skills needed!), helping with the mobile respite care unit (basically a distribution center, which I helped run for several months), community activities at specific churches, helping with various soup kitchen or meals-on-wheels type programs, and traveling with the St. Anna's Mobile Medical Mission (a free RV clinic). The Diocese will provide you with the tools and housing you and your crew need, though you must come up with your own transportation and food. The current volunteer coordinators are Susan Foto ( sfoto@edola.org ) and Darlene Davillier ( ddavillier@edola.org ). Contact them to set up your trip after you've read through the ODR's website. The new Beacon of Hope center at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in the Lakeview neighborhood also has its own volunteer operation.  If you're interested in a long-term internship, Foto and Davillier might still be the people to contact, but you might also try Katie Mears, who runs the gutting/rebuilding program, at kmears@edola.org . It can't hurt to include all three in the "to" field. Interns lead rebuilding crews, live in a house uptown, and receive a small stipend. At then-19, I was the youngest; most are 22-25. Trust me, being underage crimps your social life with such a group. Cross-posted from The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan on New Orleans. Also sent to Daily Kos and MyDD.
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