DonBoy

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Tuesday, August 30, 2005

A couple of post-Katrina annoyances

-- The fact that Haley Barbour, who we all saw way too much when he was head of the RNC during the 1990s, is Governor of Mississippi. It's as if ten years from now we'd hear the words "Senator Karl Rove" in casual conversation. (At least it's not "Senator Oliver North".)

-- The fact that anti-tax overlord G. W. Bush said this:

The federal, state and local governments are working side-by-side to do all we can to help people get back on their feet, and we have got a lot of work to do. Our teams and equipment are in place and we're beginning to move in the help that people need. Americans who wish to help can call 1-800-HELPNOW, or log on to RedCross.org, or get in touch with the Salvation Army.

So I guess collective action, and the funding it takes, do have a place after all. Helping people after what may turn out to be the worst natural disaster of our lifetime sure sounds like a core government function to me, but Bush is unashamed to plead for voluntary donations. (Plus, as has been pointed out all over, there's that whole business of how the National Guard is largely in Iraq.)

A reminder: Rick Santorum wants to forbid the National Weather Service from making its forecasts freely available to the public, a decision that would hugely benefit the Accuweather company based in State College, PA.

(The word "annoyances" chosen not to trivialize the hurricane, but to keep these things in proportion.)

- posted by Don Porges @ 8/30/2005 02:28:00 PM

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