Archive for Katrina
9/11, Katrina, and the BP Oil Spill: The Inconsistency of Compensation
The by-now predictable, tedious, and irresponsible Republican bulwark against raising or eliminating the criminally low liability cap that would leave claimant against BP out in the cold really has me frosted. And it’s gotten me thinking about how we compensate people for loss in front-page cases: September 11; Katrina; and this BP oil “spill.”
Let’s talk [...]
Katrina Invades my Post-Christmas Funk
The weather couldn’t be worse here in North New Jersey, where we’re staying. Pelting rain has melted most of the snow, and the remaining stuff is the worse kind of mushy slush. We have to drive back to Philly in few hours, and only (1) a nap; (2) liters of coffee; and (3) two dormant [...]
Is Mary Landrieu Defensive, or Right?
Probably both.
Today, in advance of the Senate’s strictly partisan vote to proceed to debate on the health care reform bill, 1 Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu attempted to do what might have seemed impossible: She not only defended the $100 million in earmarks gifted to her state, but actually called herself “proud” of having asked for [...]
U.S. Government: Compensate Katrina Victims
The recent news that a federal judge has ruled the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and by extension, the U.S. Government, liable for at least some of the preventable disasters associated with Hurricane Katrina should lead the government to do what it should have done long ago: Provide generous, long-tail assistance to help the residents [...]
Court Rules Army Corps Committed “MR. GO” No-No
This just in: Federal district court judge Stanwood Duval Jr. has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars to Katrina victims, payable by the U.S. Government because of the negligence of the Army Corps of Engineers.
The government — the same government, by the way, that awarded billions of dollars to the surviving family members of those [...]
Zeitoun — One Katrina Family’s Story
In the compelling Zeitoun, Dave Eggers (best known for “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius”) has created a piece of advocacy journalism that deserves to be read and discussed. I plowed straight through the first 200+ pages on Sunday night, stopping only when I simply couldn’t stay awake. Then I finished it last night, after [...]
America Betrayed
Hurricane Katrina was a bit player in the disaster that befell New Orleans; a Category 1 hurricane (there, although stronger elsewhere), it was able to swamp the city only because of an egregious, decades-long failure on the part of the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure that the levee system protecting New Orleans was sound.
This [...]
The Limits of Marriage Equality
What is marriage equality for, anyway?
Is it for gays and lesbians to gain access to the many benefits of marriage?
Is it for us to be recognized as full and equal citizens, with the benefits best seen as a welcome “side effect”?
Maybe it can stand for something much broader – equality not as an excuse for [...]
First Post
Here’s the problem with starting a blog: Since most of us who consider doing so are blog readers ourselves, we’re acutely aware that the challenge is daunting. There are more blogs out there than you can shake a cyber-stick at, and reading too many in any sufficiently short period of time leaves the indelible impression [...]