Peace On That

So, some conservatives called for the National Guard to shoot looters on sight. Isn’t that something? I can understand the need to restore law and order in a time of crisis, but I can also understand someone lifting a few necessary items to survive when all breaks lose in a city. Yes, there were some people snatching televisions and other unnecessary items, but is any “item” worth a human life? I don’t think so.

But lets look at the looting that took place in New Orleans and compare that to the looting of our US government. In the recently passed highway bill, $26 billion were set aside for pet projects in the districts of influential Congressmen. Think about how much that is. We spent $20 billion for the reconstruction of Iraq. Our government is spending more money on pork projects than it is on rebuilding an entire country. President Bush is asking for $52 billion for the relief effort in the Gulf region.

If you look at what some of the projects on this list, you will find that had we spent this money on the levees and securing the wetlands in New Orleans, it is possible we could have saved a lot of lives and structural damage.

If that is not bad enough, the former head of FEMA, Joe Albough is lobbying FEMA for contracts on behalf of Halliburton. The revolving door of Government worker to lobbyist is nothing new, but the fact that our President and Vice President is connected to the companies that are getting these contracts makes it more insidious.

So, when we start calling for the execution of men and women stealing food and water or even radios and televisions, lets keep it in perspective to the looting that is taking place under the guise of our government at work.


>>The Looting <<
$48,000,000 Replace and reconstruct South Capitol Street/Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge (DC)
$40,000,000 PATCO Rolling Stock acquisition and/or renovation for use on line between Lindenwold and Locust Street (Philadelphia, New Jersey)
$16,800,000 Construct a tunnel as part of the Bremerton Pedestrian-Bremerton Transportation Center Access Improvement project (WA)
$2,880,000 Delta Ponds Bike/Pedestrian Path (OR)
$2,800,000 Construct bicycle/pedestrian path and facilities in the Central park area of Madison (WI)
$2,800,000 West Ridge Nature Preserve, Chicago (IL)
$2,750,000 Renovate and expand the National Packard Museum and adjacent historic Packard facilities (Warren, Ohio)
$2,500,000 Bury the power lines at India Point (Rhode Island)
$2,480,000 Construct bike/pedestrian paths, Chicago (IL)
$1,800,000 Construct a visitor interpretive center at the Gray Fossil Site (Gray, Tennessee)
$1,000,000 Construction and improvements from Rt. 60 to Mariners Museum and the USS Monitor Center (Virginia)

There are more than 6,000 projects like this. View some more here.