Anderson@Large

Homies Protest FEMA

Though FEMA has extended the deadline for victims of Hurricane Katrina to “transition from” (read: get the hell out) subsidized hotel rooms in 10 states, thousands of evacuees throughout the Katrina Diaspora may be kicked to the curb (and here) 10 days before Christmas.

In New York City, for instance, 487 Katrina victims, including 115 children, are living in seven hotels. In the nation’s capitol, hundreds of survivors could show up at the White House’s door looking for some compassion and a place to stay. But as B.B. King might say, “Ain’t nobody home.”

So this morning on Dec. 14, the Hip Hop Caucus and others are taking to the street in front of FEMA headquarters to demand an extension of the deadline to “stop paying hotel bills for many victims of Hurricane Katrina and come up with a proper plan for people to return home.”

Talk to the Hand

President Bush would do well to ignore Sen. John Warner’s advice to hold regular “fireside chats” to try to build support for his Iraq folly (and here). Such broadcasts wouldn't exactly be must-see TV. Hell, they wouldn't even be reality TV.

Bush is scheduled to speak in Annapolis tomorrow. He’ll likely rehash his stale script that “as Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.”  Then as now, the president’s vow to “stay the course” is as appealing as leftover turkey.

Top This

I trust you didn’t forget to give thanks to FEMA on Thanksgiving for its response to Hurricane Katrina, which the agency considers this year's top accomplishment:

The response to Hurricane Katrina was FEMA’s largest response in its history. The aid given within six weeks of landfall included almost $3.8 billion for more than 1.24 million households. More than half a million people visited 100 Disaster Recovery Centers that had been quickly created across the Gulf Coast. Working through the American Red Cross, FEMA supported the nation’s largest-ever sheltering operation, with more than 273,000 evacuees at the peak. In addition, again working with the Red Cross, FEMA paid to house more than 600,000 people in emergency hotel housing. Almost 70,000 temporary roofs had been put on damaged homes through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, more than 16,000 manufactured homes or travel trailers had been placed on site, and 20 million cubic yards of debris had been picked up.

But FEMA gets no thanks from Mississippi Congressman Gene Taylor:

FEMA continues to be able to mess up a one-car funeral -- we don’t begin to have enough money for major reconstruction. We’re going to have a lot of defaults and bankruptcies.

The federal response, from highways to housing to trailers, is completely unacceptable.”

Piling on, the Washington Post editorialized:

New Orleans today is a city of contractors, low-wage workers from elsewhere and a small number of “natives” living in the relatively undamaged higher-altitude wards. Even if they have homes, most of those residents still have no easy access to hospitals or to schools. Large chunks of the city are without electricity, gas or water, and large numbers of homes are still uninhabitable.

FEMA’s performance (and here) brings to mind the old line: “But other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”

Happy Thanksgiving

Before I head out to get ready for tomorrow, I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to read my blog.  I want to give a special thanks to those who have contributed to my tip jar (look to your right).  Thanks for showing me some love.

I’ll talk with you next week.  Have a safe holiday.

Homeless for the Holidays

Georgia's on my mind.  I'm in Atlanta attending a briefing on hurricane relief and recovery efforts.  With a Dec. 1 deadline looming (and here) for FEMA to cut off payment for hotel rooms (here and here), 150,000 victims of Hurricane Katrina face eviction.

In Atlanta, FEMA is subsidizing between 6,000 and 7,000 hotel rooms that are home to thousands of evacuees who are now at risk of being homeless for the holidays.  Mayor Shirley Franklin has asked for an extension until at least the end of December.  Unless there’s a change in FEMA's policy, there will be a second wave of displaced black folks.

Regrettably, Americans have a short attention span so I hope tonight’s Frontline will refresh their memories about the plight of those who were left behind less than three months ago.

A Real Murtha for You

As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I want to get a jump on the festivities and give thanks to Rep. John Murtha for speaking truth to power:

The war in Iraq is not going as advertised.  It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion.  The American public is way ahead of us.   The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time for a change in direction.  Our military is suffering.  The future of our country is at risk.  We can not continue on the present course.   It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interest of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf Region.

President Bush’s claim that setting a deadline for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is a “recipe for disaster” is as phony as that turkey he served the troops two years ago.  To defend his failed Iraq policy, Bush is throwing out rationales in the hope that something sticks:

If they're not stopped, the terrorists will be able to advance their agenda to develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate Europe, and to break our will and blackmail our government into isolation.

Murtha has captured the hopes of millions of patriotic Americans who want to show their thanks to the troops by bringing them home alive.  A decorated Vietnam veteran, Murtha has had enough of the gobbledygook.  So, he stuck it to the chickenhawk with five deferments and told him to stuff it.

The majority of Americans have had a bellyful of Bush and his mission impossible.  Like Murtha, they’re fed up and want an exit strategy (and here).

Fear and Loathing at Wal-Mart

If you get a chance, you should check out the new documentary, “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.”  It's probably being screened in a church or living room near you.

I saw the film last weekend at the Community Church of New York. Though I've never shopped at Wal-Mart (no surprise there), I was motivated to get involved in the movement to stop the behemoth (and here) when I heard Leo Scott boast: “The Wal-Mart model works.”

Yeah, it works if you can get taxpayers to subsidize employee health care and other benefits (and here).  But as Robert L. Borosage of the Campaign for America’s Future recently observed:

Wal-Mart is the model ‘low-road’ corporation in the global economy. Its efficiency is celebrated, but its exploitation is caustic. But Wal-Mart doesn’t merely follow the low road; it drives its suppliers and its competitors into the same race.

Across America, people are starting to realize the stark reality: Wal-Mart’s triumph is the defeat of middle-class America. If Wal-Mart sets the pace, Americans will pay the price, in declining wages, rising health care costs, longer hours, worse workplace conditions and rising personal taxes to offset soaring corporate subsidies. America, as we know it, can’t afford Wal-Mart.