The Shrubbery Can Kiss My Grits
Update: I forgot to mention – for those of you who watch TV, tonight and tomorrow HBO will air the four hour Spike Lee documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. The entire film will be shown in full on August 29th.
So today the Shrubbery tells the press that the Feds have supplied all of the money that’s needed, so it is the local governments that are responsible for the slow pace of recovery on the Gulf Coast.
Well, folks, it will shortly be two years since hurricane Ivan came roaring ashore, and local governments haven’t been able to even finish disposing of the debris because they can’t get a decision from FEMA as to the procedure they need to follow to receive Federal funding for the clean-up.
Ivan hit just before the 2004 election, one of the 4 hurricanes to hit Florida, so FEMA and the Shrubbery made a lot of promises that lasted until after the election. When it finally came time to present bills to the Feds, all of a sudden there were additional requirements and paperwork. Extra layers of management sprang up that seemingly had no purpose other than to slow or stop the process.
Following Katrina and Rita, nothing could be done until the Feds released the flood-zone maps. Without the flood-zone map, you can’t get insurance. Without insurance, you can’t get construction loans. Without construction loans, you can’t rebuild.
The flood-zone maps couldn’t be issued until the Army Corps of Engineers completed the plan to rebuild the levees and floodwalls. There is nothing the local government can do about this: it is all in Federal hands. Things have to be done in order, and the Feds control all of the things that have to be completed before local governments and people can start to take action.
Of course, the Shrubbery can’t be bothered to learn what the Federal responsibilities are when he declares a Federal emergency. His view of his office is that he has all the power he feels like using while having no responsibilities at all.
