HURRICANE CHEER - IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN

Hurricane season is upon the East and Gulf Coast residents. The Houston Chronicle and other local papers up and down the coast have included the hurricane tracking charts in Sunday papers, and published the usual hurrricane preparedness brochures. Gulf Coasters usually face hurricane season with a certain degree of equanimity but after Katrina and Rita last year, there is a slight edginess amongst the populace.

Human beings are very adaptable. Coastlanders and their hurricanes may be somewhat compared to West Coasters and their earthquakes or the Mid-staters and their tornados. . After a big hit there is considerable hullaballoo but then folks settle down and it's back to business as usual. People bury their dead, attend their injured, rebuild and go on with their lives.

Only this time it is different. The devastation to the coastal areas from the double whammy of Katrina and Rita has not been repaired and rebuilt. The Gulf States continue to be in a state of disrepair and are not ready to endure another massive hurricane. New Orleans, as one of the nation's major ports and the destination of much shipping down the Mississippi, is an important U.S. city and yet her levees have not been rebuilt to withstand another big blow, much of the city itself is still devastated, parades and open night spots aside.

New Orleans is known to the general public as a tourist hot spot, but that is of no importance to the nation as a whole. Her real importance is her vital position as a major port of shipping and international commerce. The nation cannot afford to lose New Orleans, yet the city languishes as Haliburton and KBR grow ever richer on profits from contracts there, just as in Iraq. Once again, we see the priorities of our White House: neglect of a very important port city vs. profits for cronies and the continuing of an illegal and unjust war.

As New Orleans receives the most publicity and aid (such as it is), small towns and rural areas languish in ruins all down the coast with virtually no assistance to speak of. Mr. and Mrs Small Town America are ignored. Are they not human beings who have suffered great losses also? Are they not citizens worthy of attention and aid? Just more victims of White House neglect and skewed priorities. Small and relatively poor, they are of no consequence.

What the bloody hell is wrong with this picture?

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WE SHALL ALL FEEL SAFER AFTER A STORM
According to an article in today's Chronicle, Gulf Coasters are more or less on their own after a major storm ( a fact of which we are all too aware), much in keeping with Bush's "You're On Your Own -his YOYO policy - and must protect themselves and salvagable property as best they can.
Signs posted after a damaging storms often read, "You Loot, We Shoot" and armed citizens stand guard.

Several years ago an unusually powerful family of tornadoes wreaked havoc in some Houston and environs' neighborhoods. Normally the tornadoes in our neck of the woods are not to be compared to those in Tornado Alley. A reporter interviewed a gun toting homeowner standing guard over his demolished home and was politely derisive of his stance. He retorted, "Me and my family have lost nearly everything I've worked for all my life. I'm not gonna let some (bleeping) scum bag come in here and loot what little is left. It's all we have left and I intend to keep it." The reporter asked if possessions were more valuable than a human life, and he retorted, " That human life makes a choice to steal from people who are wrecked, so he can face the consequences. HE decides if his life is worth it."

Good point of debate for pro-gun and anti-gun advocates. The pro-gun advocates say no one should lie down like bleating lambs before merciless human predaceous hyenas. The anti-gun advocates say that no material goods are worth a human life. I've heard a great many impassioned speeches on both sides.

The Chronicle headlines say, "In storm, you can keep gun" (1-B, June 5, 2006) "Gun-toting Texans can relax about one concern this hurricane season. The state has no plans to disarm residents in the wake of a big storm. ...Residents conducted armed patrols to make sure that homes and businesses were secure...State troopers going into the damaged area [after Rita] assisted the patrols, rather than stopping them. The locals know much better who belongs in their neighborhoods than a DPS trooper..."

Much was made after Katrina about the televised taking of goods from stores. Looting or survival? Color or race is immaterial. Taking big screen TVs, furniture, electronic equipment, computers, etc. was definitely looting. Taking food, water, survival supplies, bedding, etc. was merely survival. People must eat, drink, keep warm, maintain cleanliness and hygeine in a city whose infrastructure is destroyed. My cousin's home in Gulf Port, Miss. suffered roof damage and broken windows. Upon returning, she said she didn't mind all her pantry food missing, bedding and clothing, but she was irate about her TVs, VCRs, DVDs, Computers, stereos, appliances, washer and dryer being ripped off. The former could have been taken for survival sake. The latter was looting, theft, greed, pure and simple.

Happy Hurricane Season! Happy Global Warming! 'Tis the Season.