Let 'em Eat Cake


Well, what a fine way to "celebrate" the anniversary of a national tragedy:

Thousands of families receiving free rent from the federal government after evacuating homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina could lose that help and be out on the street as early as this week as a series of deadlines approaches stirring a mounting anxiety about the future of the multibillion-dollar housing program.

Katrina dislodged so many people from their homes that shelter and housing assistance offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency expanded to an unprecedented scope. Those programs are winding down in stages, creating a balancing act between the needs of the displaced beneficiaries and the desire of the federal government to return them to unsubsidized housing.

Meanwhile, they might be unsightly, ugly--and maybe even full of toxic fumes--but temporary housing in the form of thousands of FEMA trailers STILL sit at an airstrip in Hope, Arkansas, adding insult to injury:

Thousands of mobile homes collected to provide temporary homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina still sit unused at the Hope Airport more than a year after the storm ravaged the Gulf Coast, leaving thousands homeless.

"I really think it's a crying shame for so many people to be displaced and not have a place to stay," said Peter Smith of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, who now lives at Texarkana. "Very few people are back in New Orleans right now, and it's simply because they have nowhere to live."

The trailers, plus travel trailers recently added to the collection, were intended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be shipped to the Gulf Coast for use by storm victims. The agency said various restrictions on where the trailers could be placed stalled deployment, including a prohibition on placing them in flood plains. Some were sent to northeastern Arkansas to aid tornado victims last spring.

Of course, the OBVIOUS answer is for Washington to HONOR the committment Shrub made in Jackson Square, and again referred to yesterday...for anyone needing a refresher, here's the transcript.

Da Po' Boy and Bayou St. John David followed the money, and noticed where it HASN'T gone, namely, to the folks who need it. Perhaps Smirk-Chimp should, oh, I don't know, use his authority as Chief Executive (yeah, yeah, it's actually Big Time's government, but)...anyway, maybe he should be making sure that the money actually ARRIVES.

Because Gret Stet'ers, among other things, are highly independent and self-motivated. If the government would simply honor its promises, the country would see real progress. Instead, the inaction and run-around from Washington continues to feed into false myths about our so-called poverty, corruption, and/or laziness.

I call bullshit.

Last night Spike Lee's Katrina documentary ran in its entirety on HBO. Alas, I don't have that channel on my television, but as a consolation, LPB ran two very well produced documentaries chronicling stories from both Katrina and Rita survivors. One, called Washing Away, will reair Sunday, September 3rd, at 4:00pm Central Time. It's worth seeing.

The other, American Creole, doesn't yet show a reair date, but if you see it on the schedule, by all means watch or record it.

Here are links to websites for both programs (you can also purchase DVD's).

Finally, here's another perspective on one year after the deluge: Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky were caught in the aftermath after attending a paramedics' convention. A year ago, they chronicled their experience here.

How many more "anniversaries" is it going to take before you can genuinely call it "progress?"