Bush Aids the Hurricane
by Chris Bowers, Sun Aug 28, 2005 at 06:17:29 PM EDT
"We will do everything in our power to help the people and the communities affected by this storm," Bush said as Katrina bore down on a stretch of coastline that includes New Orleans, a city sitting below sea level with 485,000 inhabitants.
However, when it comes to actually being prepared for situations like this, Bush has done quite a bit in his power to make certain that the government's ability to help local residents has been reduced. First, he helped displace and thin out the ranks of Louisiana's national guard, which typically is deployed to help residents facing natural disasters such as Katrina: America's citizen soldiers of the National Guard and the Army, Navy and Marine Reserves increasingly are casualties in the war in Iraq. And the nation's reliance on the Guard and Reserves is changing them.Currently, members of the Guard and Reserves make up four of every 10 military personnel in Iraq. It's the largest long-term deployment of the nation's reserves in 50 years. And their casualties reflect that.(...)
In no state have those deaths registered more than in Louisiana. Louisiana, along with New York, has lost more guardsmen and reservists - 23 as of July 24 - than any state in the nation, and all but one of those deaths have come in the last eight months.
Not only are these deaths and deployments thinning out the ranks of the National Guard, but they have also hurt recruitment and retention, further thinning ranks: Recruitment is down dramatically, mostly because prospective recruits are worried about deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan or another country. In recent years, Guard members and reservists have served extended tours in Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor and Haiti."I used to be able to get about eight people a month," said National Guard First Sgt. Derick Young, a New Orleans recruiter. "Now, I'm lucky if I can get one."
Retention is down, too, as Guard members and reservists take into account the impact deployments, some as long as 18 months, have on their families and their civilian careers. Guard officers said the retention rate is higher among those who already have been to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Of course, that is not the only way Bush's policies in Iraq have hurt our ability to deal with problems such as Katrina here at home: (emphasis mine) In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding.It would be the largest single-year funding loss ever for the New Orleans district, Corps officials said.(...)
There is an economic ripple effect, too. The cuts mean major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now.
That's not all. As Scott already noted, the oil-loving GOP stripped renewables out of the recent Energy legislation: Working furiously to try to strike a deal on broad energy legislation, Congressional negotiators on Monday killed two major provisions aimed at curbing consumption of traditional fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal.House members rejected an effort to incorporate a plan passed by the Senate to require utilities to use more renewable energy like wind and solar power to generate electricity. They also defeated a bid to direct the president to find ways to cut the nation's appetite for oil by one million barrels a day. (...)
The energy bill has come under criticism from some lawmakers and conservation groups for doing too little to cut into the nation's dependence on foreign oil while increasing oil and gas production. The two provisions dropped Monday were seen by the environmental community as among the few bright spots in the energy bill.
This is a big deal because Katrina could cripple the national oil industry: If Hurricane Katrina holds true to predictions and tracks north through the toe of Louisiana's boot, much of the nation's oil and natural gas infrastructure will be exposed to 140 mile per hour winds, 30- to 50-foot waves, and water current speeds of around 20 knots all the way from the surface to the sea floor."This storm is going to pass through the meat of the oil and gas fields. The whole country will feel it, because it's going to cripple us and the country's whole economy," said Capt. Buddy Cantrelle with Kevin Gros Offshore, which supplies rigs via a fleet of large crew vessels.
Already, oil prices are skyrocketing to record highs. As of this writing, the price of a barrel of oil has risen to an astonishing $69.75. Katrina is going to take a big bite out of the economy, one that will be felt not just by residents of the Gulf Coast, but also by the entire country in the form of rising gasoline prices. By eschewing social investment in favor of handouts to oil companies and a military disaster in Iraq, Bush and the Republicans in D.C. have enacted a series of policies that have significantly weakened the ability of residents in the Gulf region to deal with natural disasters like Katrina.Considering this, perhaps it is fitting that by jacking up oil prices Katrina will probably take a big bite out of Bush's already plummeting approval ratings. As pollkatz reminds us, the price of gasoline is clearly one of the biggest factors influencing Presidential approval ratings. With hundreds of thousands of people displaced, it is at least somewhat heartening to know that Bush is going to pay a price for his destructive policies.
Tags: Republicans (all tags)
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