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September 30, 2005
Giving Props to City's Solid Waste Department & HPD
With Hurricane Rita, the Houston area escaped with a near-miss. To be sure, there were problems - total gridlock on the highways, motorists out of fuel and stranded, and a totally shut down city for 3 days. Tragically, these difficulties even proved fatal for some of our citizens.
Houston was largely inconvenienced by Rita, and it's interesting to note some of what happened:
- We did not receive mail for several days -- whatever happened to the U.S. Postal Service mantra of rain, sleet, or snow? Apparently non-hurricane doesn't apply.
- Gas stations and grocery stores were down for days. The stations ran out of gas, some of the stores lost power and their food spoiled, but pre-storm business closings occurred largely because they had no employees around - understandable.
- TSA airport screeners didn't show up for work. Last time we checked, airport security is an essential emergency service -- can you say 9/11?? Houtopia ended up down at the George R. Brown with screeners flown in from Dallas and a bunch of great Houston volunteers doing the job. Our two cents -- fire those screeners who didn't show up to work last Thursday and Friday.
On the flip side, two things stood out in the wake of Rita:
- Our garbage was picked up exactly on time. Apparently, a certain, shall we say, unbalanced Council Member read the riot act to Solid Waste Department Director Buchannan over a perceived lack of service in her district. We've heard precisely the opposite from everyone else -- garbage collection has resumed without a hitch. Kudos to Mr. Buchannan and his department.
- HPD was everywhere. Police presence was amazing throughout the storm window. Only a few incidents of looting seem to have occurred, no doubt due to strong policing throughout the crisis. Cheers to Chief Hurtt and his officers.
Posted by houtopia at 02:54 PM
September 28, 2005
Laugh Line of the Day -- "I've Done Nothing Wrong"
Well, yesterday's rampant speculation that more indictments were coming from Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle in the Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee (TRMPAC) matter was realized today.
The big one, of course, was the indictment on one count of conspiracy of U.S. House Majority Leader and local Member of Congress Tom DeLay.
Predictably, Mr. DeLay decried a partisan witch hunt by Austin DA Earle, who is an elected Democrat. Never mind that Earle has prosecuted far more high profile Democrats (including himself) than Republicans during his tenure. The yowling right wing victim siren is at full volume.
Cries of partisanship ring pretty hollow from Mr. DeLay, who has been vengefully and vindictively partisan throughout his reign in Congress. What's the matter, the Hammer can't take his own medicine? Sounds more like the Whiner to us.
Less noticed, but perhaps more interesting was today's piece in the Washington Post concerning the arrest of three suspects for the 2001 slaying of Gus Boulis, a man who sold a casino cruise line to also-indicted lobbyist and DeLay chum Jack Abramoff.
The three men arrested, who look like extras from the Bada Bing! on a Sopranos episode, appear to be mob associates who were on the "consulting" payroll of Mr. Abramoff's business partner Adam Kidan. Watch this one. Word is Abramoff has been willing to talk about DeLay but has so far been rebuffed by the Justice Department. Maybe a murder investigation will change Justice's mind.
There is so much unethical and likely illegal behavior by Mr. DeLay that is already well known. For him to categorically state that he's done nothing wrong is simply laughable.
Poor Tom...
Posted by houtopia at 07:29 PM
September 27, 2005
Back In the Swing After Rita, and Where To Begin...
After several days off blogging, and as Houston's surreal environment slowly normalizes, there is much to ponder. Traffic dies down, power returns, and Houstonians try to get back in the swing, but certain things make that difficult.
Of course, it is tough to resume regular life when so many of our neighbors to the east have been devastated by two huge storms in a matter of days. Life in East Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi has been horrendously affected. But the behavior of some public officials adds to the oddity of the situation.
Consider the sage words of our good Governor Rick Perry. When asked on an Austin radio show about motorists running out of fuel while trying to escape the Houston area late last week, he replied: "I told folks they needed a full tank, but apparently some of them didn't listen." Perhaps Governor Good Hair is aware of an automobile that can run for 22 hours without running out of gas, other than his mouth.
Next in bizzaro world, were today's remarks to Congress from the stupidist man in America -- former FEMA director and now FEMA consultant Michael "you're doing a great job Brownie" Brown. The pathetic buck-passing from this fired horse show judge, turned disaster management guru speaks volumes about the cronyism that is ruining this administration.
Many felt that once Michael Brown was removed from the position for which he was so clearly unqualified and unable to fill, that it was scapegoating and piling on to further berate his incompetence. No more. This idiot deserves every public ass whipping he has coming. You're about to get jobbed, Brownie.
Finally, after-action reviews begin on Houston's Rita evacuation, and the Chronicle editorial page weighs in today. Many things about the evacuation went well, but the State of Texas' failures to quickly open "contra-flow" lanes and supply gasoline to stranded motorists stand out as lacking. Plenty of time to review what happened, but those simple screw-ups are obvious.
Posted by houtopia at 10:24 PM
September 21, 2005
Folks Are Edgy in H-Town
Well, Hurricane Rita has intensified to a Category 4 storm, with some models now predicting escalation to a Cat 5. The central to upper Texas coast remains its likely target.
This morning, Houston Mayor Bill White and Harris County Judge Robert Eckels ordered evacuations of vulnerable areas, particularly in the southeast part of the county.
Folks here are freaked out. Long lines persist at grocery stores and service stations, as shelves empty of water and canned goods, and gas is pumped dry. The freeways and thoroughfares headed north and west out of town have slowed to a crawl as area residents flee the storm.
All area schools are closed for the rest of the week, and the Mayor encouraged local businesses to spring employees early as well. Shelters are being set up at points north and west, and many Katrina evacuees have been relocated.
There is a mild but palpable sense of panic around here, which is a marked change from Houstonians' usually unflappable reaction to an approaching storm. People are scared and they're leaving, despite the uncertainty of where Rita will land some 60 hours from now.
Posted by houtopia at 02:26 PM
September 20, 2005
Texas Coast In The Crosshairs
Just weeks after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the central Gulf Coast, another big storm is brewing, and this time Texas is in the bullseye.
Folks around here are used to warnings that usually don't pan out, but things feel a bit different this time. No doubt that's largely due to the devastation wreaked on our neighbors to the east, but whatever the reason, folks are nervous. As Rita quickly intensifies toward a Category 3 or 4 storm, there's good reason to be skittish.
A trip to the local grocery store (in central Houston) last night told the tale. All the water and batteries were gone. Local Home Depots have been overrun with Houstonians looking for plywood and other storm supplies. We expect liquor stores are doing a brisk business as well -- gotta be prepared!
The upper Texas coast hasn't seen a big hurricane in 22 years -- Alicia in 1983. It killed about 20 people and did significant damage ($2 billion) when there was far less residential development between Galveston and Houston than there is now.
Of course, Houstonians suffered mightily in Tropical Storm Allison 4 years ago, which didn't pack much wind punch, but dumped an unbelievable 36 inches of rain on the area in a matter of hours and caused catastrophic damage ($5 billion). Parts of our area haven't yet come back from Allison.
A powerful hurricane and the accompanying storm surge has the potential to flood some 600,000 area homes, mostly in Galveston County and in East Harris County. Are we ready? The Chronicle recently asked that question, and the short answer is no, though we're undoubtedly better prepared than New Orleans was.
Of course, none of us here really wants to find out, particularly our guests who fled Katrina and who are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. Stay tuned...
Oh, and a plug for the Chron's SciGuy, who is doing some fine blogging on the subject.
Posted by houtopia at 09:17 PM
September 19, 2005
Bubba Raises Coin & His Voice Over Katrina
Conservatives are in a tizzy over former President Bill Clinton's critical comments concerning Bush 43's handling of Hurricane Katrina, and the increase in poverty since his taking office.
He hardly says anything unreasonable in our judgment, but this will certainly get those Clinton-hating juices going on the right again -- it doesn't take much.
Ron Brownstein covers Bubba's Global Initiative conference, where $1.25 billion was raised to address serious problems in the developing world.
The conference was remarkable for its fundraising success, the use of private sector know-how and capital to address public problems, and the former President's continued star power. To be a fly on the wall there...
Posted by houtopia at 05:35 PM
September 16, 2005
Hints of the Rove Reconstruction to Come
There has been remarkably little attention paid thus far by the press to the White House's disclosure that political operative, policy novice and college drop-out Karl Rove will oversee the Hurricane Katrina reconstruction effort.
Given what needs to be done, this makes perfect sense of course, as long as we're talking about the right reconstruction project. Rebuilding what has fallen, housing the homeless, employing the jobless and caring for the sick may not be part of Mr. Rove's bailiwick, but that's hardly why he's there. Rebuilding his boss's decimated poll numbers and tarnished image (while likely tearing someone else's down) will be Karl Rove's Great Society.
After all, Mr. Rove is a man skilled at character assassination, whisper campaigns, and the doublecross. A modern political Sun Tsu in need of a personal trainer and a Kleenex. Mr. Rove is already hard at work at what's important, making George W. Bush look good and somebody else look bad.
Consider last night's latest extended photo-op in Jackson Square. No reporters allowed, no questions, no New Orleaneans in sight. Of course, those folks were likely basking in the short-lived return of electricity to the area. The lights stayed on in the French Quarter just long enough for some high-flying rhetoric from Bush 43, and then it was back to darkness. Now that's post-Katrina progress.
Or consider this little item that emerged today. Mr. Rove has wasted no time in putting those taxpayer-funded civil servants at the Department of Justice on the job trying to scapegoat environmental groups for the levee failures in New Orleans. It's good to know the White House is focused on what's important, instead of playing the "blame game".
The physical, emotional and spiritual rebirth of the central Gulf Coast may be a while getting going, but the president's rehab is well underway. And Karl Rove is just the man for the job.
Posted by houtopia at 03:59 PM
September 15, 2005
Rove's Running the Reconstruction
As the nation prepares for President Bush's "day late and dollar short" speech tonight from New Orleans (most folks around here will probably be watching the Astros/Marlins game instead), plans for the Gulf Coast reconstruction effort are beginning to take shape.
There is one detail that should give everyone pause: Karl Rove is in charge of the reconstruction. You've gotta give the White House points for consistency.
Never mind that Michael Brown, the recently departed head of FEMA, was widely criticized for being ineffective in a job for which he had no qualifications. Never mind that this White House has consistently replaced career professionals across departments with unqualified political appointees.
Reality has never slowed these guys down, so why should it now? Mr. Rove, who is a brilliant political tactician, doesn't even have a college degree ("heckuva job Brownie" is at least an attorney), much less any significant public policy experience or one iota of disaster management background. Given the total incompetence displayed by government to date, putting Rove in charge sounds perfect, right?
Mr. Rove's assignment is very telling indeed. For while he has absolutely no background to qualify him for the immense task of actually getting recovery going on the central Gulf Coast, as mentioned, he does have skills.
Spinning, blaming and framing will be executed with ruthless efficiency and effectiveness in the Karl Rove Katrina clean-up and rebuilding effort. Soaring, patriotic images of the president "working hard" will abound. Unpleasantness, whether painful facts, angry survivors, or scenes of death and destruction will be swept under the rug. Complaining Democrats will be effortlessly pilloried and marginalized -- they're so predictable and lay down so willingly anyway. Make no mistake, Mr. Rove's job is the political reconstruction of George W. Bush -- New Orleans is gravy.
With Mr. Rove in charge, the White House will censor the body bags, "investigate" itself, and throw billions in hush money at New Orleans. A lovely little whitewash, all in the name of protecting what's really important -- eliminating the estate tax, privatizing Social Security, and for God's sake, keeping those gays from getting married.
Reality? Not a problem. The press? You're kidding, right? Democrats? OK, you're definitely kidding.
Maybe, maybe not.
Posted by houtopia at 02:04 PM
September 14, 2005
Newsflash: Healthcare's Really Expensive
With the disaster on the central Gulf Coast, turmoil in Iraq and the Roberts confirmation hearings, it's easy to forget anything else is going on in America. Aren't we due for a new celebrity trial?
Today's Washington Post runs the results of a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll on the cost of healthcare in America. The picture ain't pretty.
Costs continue to go up steadily (just over 9% this year), as does the number of uninsured, which is now estimated at 47 million. Employer-provided coverage has dropped, down to 60% offering coverage, from 69% five years ago. Fewer than half of firms with under 10 employees now provide healthcare. Those businesses that do provide coverage are increasingly having to pass more cost on to their employees, as premiums skyrocket.
The average cost of insuring a family in America is now just under $11,000 a year. About the only good news is that this year's rate of increase is smaller than the previous couple of years. How comforting.
There is now an increased interest is "consumer driven" coverage, where deductibles are high, and money for routine costs can be accumulated in a fund. The idea is to encourage shopping and decrease unnecessary expenses.
All we know is that the current system isn't working. Costs continue to explode, meaning there are more and more people without coverage who are forced to use indigent care or just go broke and hugely in debt when they get sick.
Politicians bathe in lobbyist money and have done very little to date on this (or any other) issue. Please do something.
Posted by houtopia at 12:07 PM
September 12, 2005
Anatomy of a Failure
While turmoil continues in those areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the search for what went wrong has already begun.
To be sure, nature did the bulk of the damage to the central Gulf Coast, but human error has unquestionably added manifold suffering, and very likely deaths, to this tragic situation.
Yesterday's Times takes a thorough first cut at analyzing government reposnse, or lack thereof.
One awful fact stands out: Despite widespread knowledge of numerous government and press reports and warnings about the dangers of a large hurricane striking New Orleans, the badly needed evacuation and disaster management plans for the city remained unfinished when Katrina struck. Specifically, the transportation and law enforcement portions of the plan were incomplete, which proved deadly.
The piece also concludes that FEMA underestimated the storm, and was slowed by squabbling with state officials in Katrina's immediate aftermath.
But FEMA's greatest failure, according to former Bush administration Homeland Security official Richard Falkenrath, was its inability to anticipate that the state and local capabilities would be so badly compromised. This failure was perhaps a result of having FEMA run by inexperienced political appointees, rather than career emergency management professionals like James Lee Witt, who was widely praised for heading FEMA during the 1990s, and who has now been retained (tragically too late for many) to assist Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco.
Katrina's aftermath will be written as a sorry chapter in American history, with ample blame at a number of levels. But whatever one thinks of state and local response, the feds flunked this test badly. Given our concerns about possible future terrorist attacks, Americans should be worried.
Posted by houtopia at 12:37 PM
September 08, 2005
Hurricane Victims Say The Darndest Things
Dick Cheney gets a little taste of his own medicine in Katrina-ravaged Mississippi today.
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Posted by houtopia at 05:23 PM
The Real Rick Perry Is Back
After enduring two regular, and four special legislative sessions of Governor Good Hair, where next to nothing was accomplished, a decidedly unflattering portrait of him and his job performance had been painted in our minds.
So we were pleasantly surprised by his initial response to Hurricane Katrina. Texas welcomed thousands of our neighbors from the central Gulf Coast, and various local communities have compassionately and competently cared for them -- far better treatment than they got at home.
All of Perry's political faults -- petty mean-spiritedness, a tin ear, total lack of ideas and commitment to good public policy, to name just a few -- had temporarily receded to the background. In short, we were willing to give him a bit of credit for stepping up in a difficult situation.
Until we read this. As the good Governor travels the state shaking the trees for Katrina relief funds, it turns out he is promoting his own charitable organization, the OneStar Foundation, which just happens to be run by the former head of the Texas Republican Party.
Just a tad self-serving, perhaps? A bit unseemly, maybe? Yesterday, Houston Mayor Bill White announced he was suspending his campaign operations to focus on this extraordinary situation (and his regular duties), and his election is in 60 days, while the GOP primary is 7 months away.
Quite a study in contrast. It's nice to know the real Rick Perry is back.
Posted by houtopia at 09:33 AM
September 07, 2005
Da' Mayor Puts Politics on Hold
At a time when federal and Lousiana state officials are engaged in a frenzied (and revolting) effort to saddle the other guy with the blame for government's disastrous lack of response to Hurricane Katrina, Houston Mayor Bill White is sticking to the city's daunting task at hand -- absorbing thousands of Katrina evacuees into our community.
Despite the fact that City of Houston election day is only two months away, Mayor Bill has cancelled his campaign kick-off scheduled for tomorrow -- Thursday, September 8th -- to focus exclusively on dealing with these pressing duties.
The deadline to file for city races is 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, and the Mayor is not expected to face any serious opposition. We applaud his dedication to doing this enormous job right, and the leadership he has shown during this extraordinary time.
Posted by houtopia at 03:08 PM
September 04, 2005
How to Help
Volunteer (in Houston)
Posted by houtopia at 02:01 PM
Pride and Shame
In the aftermath of perhaps this country's greatest disaster of any kind, we are pulled in opposite directions -- pride at the amazing generosity and compassion shown by individual Americans, businesses, religious organizations and other states and municipalties; and shame at the disgracefully inadequate and incompetent response from our federal government.
Here in Houston, while pitching in at the George R. Brown Convention Center yesterday, our city's response -- people showing up to volunteer, donating mountains of food, water, clothing, medicine -- was truly humbling.
Living as we do in a hurricane-prone area, having suffered through Tropical Storm Allison just a few years ago, and the personal connections so many of us have to the affected area, Houstonians have answered the call, with kindness, good nature, and determination to do what we can to help our suffering neighbors. It's been a great effort, and one that will need to continue for many weeks to come.
Simultaneous is the incredulity and humiliation that the United States government, the apparatus of the richest, most powerful nation in world history, could so let down its own citizens during their greatest hours (now days) of need.
The feds simply dropped the ball. They were late moving, and that undoubtedly cost lives. Secretary Chertoff of Homeland Security and Mr. Brown of FEMA, neither of whom have the relevant background or experience for two such important jobs, have acquitted themselves as clueless and totally incompetent. Four years after 9/11, our country now seems to be less able to handle a disaster (natural or man-made, much of the fallout is the same) than before.
Then there's the President. Also slow to end his vacation and act, his staff has failed him here. His sniveling, spineless political advisor, Karl Rove (who may well also be a traitor) is doing what he does best, blaming someone else for the failures and staging meaningless photo-ops to prop up his boss. Never mind that there's real work to be done.
The bottom line is that FEMA has been gutted of its ability to respond to such a crisis, a crisis our own Army Corps of Engineers and others predicted for years.
This White House loves to talk about personal responsibility, as long as some other person is responsible. These are the guys that returned honor and dignity to the White House, remember? Pass the buck, blame Clinton, blame anybody else -- so honorable and dignified.
Meanwhile, thousands of Americans are dead, a great city and adjacent coastline are destroyed, huge operations continue in Iraq and Afghanistan, we're in debt up to our eyeballs, and these guys want to further cut taxes. Such patriots. Next vacation, let's send them all to the Superdome for some R&R.
Posted by houtopia at 01:31 PM
September 02, 2005
Nice Photo-Op
The "impromptu briefing" of President Bush in Mobile, AL, by the head of FEMA, the two affected Republican governors, and others just broadcast on every network and cable news was a joke.
The governors spent most of the time praising the president and FEMA's efforts, and then simply repeating very general information about the situation that's been known for days, even by the President.
They even brought in one of the Coast Guard rescue swimmers (as always, a bit shorter than Bush -- can you say Napolean complex?) for a grin and a handshake.
Conspicuously absent was anyone from Louisiana. Wonder why? Oh yeah, people are still dying there.
This was a piece of staged, political bullshit designed to bolster the public image of the federal government and its leader, which have both failed miserably in this effort so far, and the whole thing should be offensive to every American.
Can someone please get on with indicting Karl Rove, so people who actually care about public policy and service can bend the President's ear?
Shame.
Posted by houtopia at 10:37 AM
September 01, 2005
Bush's Challenge
In an excellent piece in today's Times, David Sanger analyzes the political risks and opportunities presented to President Bush by the unfolding catastrophe along the central Gulf Coast.
This is not a time for partisanship. All Americans need the president to successfully manage this crisis that will, in one way or another, impact the entire country.
But federal response has been slow to date, as evidenced by the dire straits many victims are in, and by the growing lawlessness in New Orleans, which is severely hampering search and rescue efforts.
Troops and supplies have simply been too slow in coming, and we fear some may needlessly die. The response to Katrina must be massive and immediate, and the president must lead it.
Posted by houtopia at 10:55 AM