It’s hard to believe two years have gone by.
Two years ago today, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast near Buras, La.
More than 1,800 people in the region died after the resulting floods devastated the beautiful, historic city of New Orleans.
The hurricane and its flooding did more than claim the lives of those victims, however. It marked the end of the innocence for many Americans, not only those in the path of the storm.
Before Katrina, Americans retained much of their faith in the government to protect them from harm.
Sept. 11 rocked that faith, but Americans united in their grief and made it through those dark days, and most believed that steps would always be taken to protect them.
Katrina, however, was different.
All across the United States, viewers watched as the giant storm made its way to the Gulf Coast. Even people who didn’t know much about radar and weather forecasting knew that this storm was different.
The questions are still out there, and it’s still horrible to watch the film footage from the days after the storm.
Nobody thought that they would ever see fellow Americans lined up like refugees. Stranded on roofs. Babies and old people dying in the streets because there was no water or food.
But there they were.
The arguments will continue for decades about who was to blame for those people losing their lives.
The debate over whether taking items from stores was a matter of survival if food was being stolen, or whether it was looting when televisions and such were being carted away will go on.
So will the ugly accusations of racism in the United States — for many of those stranded and who died in the days after Hurricane Katrina were New Orleans’ poorest residents. And they were black.
There were stories of heroism that came from New Orleans. The National Guardsmen and Coast Guard, who came in and plucked survivors from the rooftops, will always be heroes.
However, what will always stand out in minds will be the utter failure of the United States government to help in a real way, when help was most needed.
When President Bush, who had appointed former FEMA Director Michael Brown in 2003, praised Brown shortly after the storm hit, saying "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," everyone knew better.
It was obvious by then that Brownie — or the government — wasn’t doing a heck of a job. People were dying by the hundreds.
The hurricane not only destroyed New Orleans, but was the turning point in the Bush presidency.
After Sept. 11, Americans looked to Bush for hope. After Katrina, many looked at him, rightly or not, as the person who was to blame for the lives lost in New Orleans.
And now, two years later, the tragedy of Katrina continues.
Many of New Orleans’ historic neighborhoods are destroyed, and will not be rebuilt. Others are being snapped up by wealthy developers.
The birthplace of jazz will never be the same again, and many of those people who made New Orleans what it was — a center of unique cultural traditions —are now gone.
And all of that began on Aug. 29, 2005 — just two years ago today.
Section: Editorials Posted: 8/29/2007
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U.S. Sen. John McCain, perhaps this country's most famous former prisoner of war, knows what it's like to be tortured.The Republican senator, who was captured and tortured by the North Vietnamese while serving in the Vietnam War, is the leading supporter of a provision banning inhumane treatment and torture of prisoners in U.S. custody.
Terrorists are "the quintessence of evil," he said on a weekend news program. "But it's not about them; it's about us. This battle we're in is about the things we stand for and believe in and practice. And that is an observance of human rights, no matter how terrible our adversaries may be."
Republicans in Washington D.C. have embraced McCain's stance against the sanctioned use of torture, in a clear stand against the Bush White House.
According to officials, Bush plans to veto any bill that comes through that does not allow the use of torture against detainees, because of concerns that failure to get information from the detainees might lead to a terror attack.
While capturing a few of those people involved in the 9-11 attacks and pulling out their fingernails one by one until they turned in the slime that attacked our country might sound pretty good -- this is still America.
None of us are naive enough to believe that there is not strong handling of prisoners on any level, it should not be sanctioned by our government.
This is the land of the free and the home of the brave, a place where all are innocent until proven guilty.
How do we expect people in other countries to obey international humanitarian law, when the strongest nation in the world just flaunts it?
McCain's right. The sanctioned use of torture is not something that should come from the country for which he nearly died. This is the United States. We should be above that kind of thing.
Terrorists gain ground and power mainly by taking away our freedoms, one by one.
Keep up the good fight, Sen. McCain. This bill is vital to the image of the United States and the ongoing international efforts.
Democrat, Republican, the party lines don't matter here. What matters is what's right.
We're encouraging our government to follow McCain's lead and do the right thing.
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Mr. Barack, tear down that bridgeTHERE'S A bridge to nowhere in Bellaire, and pretty much anyone you ask on the streets of that village -- and in Belmont County -- has the same opinion about it.
To roughly quote the late President Ronald Reagan, "Mr. Barack, tear down that bridge."
The Bellaire Bridge was not always the hulking chunk of rust that looms over Bellaire and Benwood. For many years, especially before the I-470 bridge was built, it was the nearest link for shoppers, steelworkers and anyone who wanted to get from Ohio to West Virginia and back.
IT was a toll bridge, so if you paid a quarter or so, you earned the right to easily travel back and forth.
I'm not so old that I forget that bridge. Besides, I grew up in New Martinsville, where we also had a toll bridge over the Ohio River. That bridge is still there, but no tolls are collected anymore.
For several years, the Bellaire Bridge was a viable, important part of the community.
However, time moves on, and progress is made. In Bellaire, that progress came in the form of a modern four-lane highway.
The highway took several decades to complete, taking out many beautiful Victorian-era homes with its growth. It also took out any chance for a new ramp to the Bellaire Bridge.
The Ohio Department of Transportation came to an agreement with shareholders for the bridge, and not long after that, the shareholders came to an agreement with Roger Barack, a Bellaire businessman.
For reasons none of us are too clear about, Barack took over responsibility for the bridge. While at one point ideas for building a ramp to the bridge were bantered about, the ramp never came. The bridge, once a proud link between two communities, began to rot.
It's now going on 15 years later. The bridge is still rotting -- and it's going to keep rotting.
We all know now the news that while U.S. Rep. Bob Ney had requested funding for the bridge to be placed on the Federal Transportation Bill, he's pulled back on that idea.
He blamed the pulling on a malicious local media intent on reporting vicious, incorrect news. The transportation bill was already several millions of dollars beyond where it should be, according to President Bush, so the $1.2 million earmarked is now gone.
I'm thinking the outcry from residents who did not want their tax dollars used to finance the obligations of a private citizen had a lot to do with the decision.
So I'm asking, just what happens now?
Do we wait for the bridge to just keep rotting away? Maybe a barge will come through and knock it off its pillars. Or maybe a good strong wind _ or someone spitting on it _ will be the straw that broke the bridge's back.
I had a great idea the other day. People travel for miles around to see movie memorabilia.
The Bellaire Bridge was the bridge used in Silence of the Lambs. I thought maybe we could market the bridge as a national landmark and make it a tourism destination.
The only maintenance it would need then would be a nice sign and maybe a snack shop. Fava beans, anyone? People will travel from anywhere to see something from their favorite movie. Send those people up to Big Reds field for a ball game, or over to the Imperial Plaza for a little shopping, and you've got a nice money maker.
Then the money it makes can be used to -- you guessed it -- tear down that bridge.
All kidding aside, it's about as good an idea as anyone else has had lately.
I'd just like to know _ what do you think, Mr. Barack?
I've had reporters trying hard to reach you to ask you about that -- and we're waiting for your anwswer. What are you going to do next? Anything? Nothing?
The people of Bellaire -- and the Ohio Valley -- are waiting to hear your thoughts and plans.
We're guessing you'd just like to be well rid of that bridge yourself.
Hey, they moved the London Bridge to Arizona, didn't they? Maybe you can move the Bellaire Bridge out to Neffs.
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WHEN ALL else fails, kill the messenger.
Ever since the politicians from the ancient days, it seems to be a policy that's served well -- and continues to do so.
We just got a fine sample of it this past week, when U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Heath, announced his intentions to run again for office.
For those of you who have been living in a cave for the past year or so, or those who just really don't care about the whole way of life that makes up our politicial system, Ney's once-good name has been tarnished through his associations with lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Abramoff pleaded guilty in recent months to meeting the financial dreams of politicians throughout Capitol Hill by spreading money, luxury trips, skybox fundraisers, campaign contributions, jobs for politicians' spouses, and meals at Signatures, his upscale restaurant in exchange for a lighter prison sentence.
He's singing like a canary, naming names and performing for his captors. And the one name that's been at the top of his hit list has been Ney's.
The charges have been wide and varied -- and I'm sure we're just hearing the tip of the iceberg on them.
The main thing that Abramoff has claimed against Ney is that he's placed comments in the Congressional Record backing Abramoff's efforts to gain control of a Florida gambling company, Sun Cruz Casinos, and also offered language to reopen a American Indian tribe's casino in Texas.
Abramoff said he and his associate, Michael Scanlon, showered Ney with many "favors," including a 2002 golf trip to Scotland, free dinners and events and campaign donations.
Ney hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing so far. However, the black clouds are gathering over his head, and his protestations that he was "duped" by Abramoff, who he says he considered as a friend, are being looked at with skepticism.
While the investigations are going on, Ney has stepped down from his House Administration Committee chairmanship, but still remains a powerful force in Congress.
Meanwhile, Ney's not the only one who was on Abramoff's gift list. Lots of politicians, Democrats and Republicans and all the way up to President Bush, received campaign contributions. Some have given the money back; some have not.
It's a far-reaching scandal that threatens to rival the Watergate break-ins that brought down President Richard Nixon. It's complicated and confusing to say the least, but it is a serious matter.
Despite the scandals, this past week, Ney announced his intentions to run for another term in Congress.
He's still a popular candidate throughout the local area, and many voters haven't forgotten the good he has done for the area.
His list of good deeds are many, even his detractors admit. He's gone against his party's line often when it came to legislation backing steelworkers and industry and when it could keep our workers at their jobs.
He's a staunch believer in the military and its service and a passionate voice for the "working poor."
Ney has literally steered millions of dollars in road construction to this area, not to mention millions of dollars that has helped many a local community with projects that are too numerous to mention.
There's many people around these parts who will tell you that when all else failed, they called Ney and he helped them with their problems.
Whether you like him or not, you have to admit that Ney has helped the local area with its needs.
WIthout the Abramoff matter hanging over his head, Ney would be a shoe-in for Congress.
However, what is leaving a sour taste in voters' mouths is his ongoing refusal to admit that anything is wrong with his accepting anything from Abramoff.
Even when he was announcing his campaign, Ney blamed the whole Abramoff scandal on "the national media."
"I have seen my name savaged by the national media. . . But I am here to make several things clear. Fiction will soon be separated from fact. My name will be cleared. I will be vindicated at the end of the day."
This isn't the first time Ney -- or any other Congressman -- has blamed the media for problems and controversy.
Last year, Ney had added $1.7 million into the Federal Transportation Bill for the demolition of the Bellaire Bridge. However, the addition was withdrawn after many complaints were voiced from people who opposed using federal money to demolish a structure that is privately owned.
Ney complained that "misleading" news stories in local newspapers and a local television statement brought about his decision.
To hear Ney talk, you'd think members of the media meet in their little secret chambers every day, wringing their hands and devising ways to ruin his life.
And since many people get their impressions of life within the media from cheesy movies filled with dramatic people yelling things like "stop the presses," they tend to believe him.
Here's a little inside secret -- it's not like that at all. I don't know about the folks at places like the Washington Post, but there's a lot more that goes on at even smaller papers like ours than constant plots to ruin politicians' lives. We don't meet in little back rooms and form our plots.
In fact, sometimes the most important topic of the day is where we're getting our lunch.
But when a politician is included in a scandal or investigation, yes, we will report it. It doesn't have to be a congressman. If a township trustee is dipping into the creek dredging funds, we'll tell you about that too.
We'll run the headline big and a picture of the person so nobody will forget what that man or woman looks like. We'll present it as fairly as we can, and when we call the politician to get his side of the story and he refuses to return our calls, we'll tell everyone that too.
We're the ones that try to get voters the answers that they need to make their decisions. It's a job we take seriously, and our desk drawers filled with heartburn and headache remedies prove it.
And when we make a mistake, as humans can do, we'll tell you that we did -- and we'll take it to heart and do all we can to make things right again.
Sometimes it's just tough to be the messenger. Most of the time, though, I can't imagine anything else I'd rather be.
Ever since the politicians from the ancient days, it seems to be a policy that's served well -- and continues to do so.
We just got a fine sample of it this past week, when U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Heath, announced his intentions to run again for office.
For those of you who have been living in a cave for the past year or so, or those who just really don't care about the whole way of life that makes up our politicial system, Ney's once-good name has been tarnished through his associations with lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Abramoff pleaded guilty in recent months to meeting the financial dreams of politicians throughout Capitol Hill by spreading money, luxury trips, skybox fundraisers, campaign contributions, jobs for politicians' spouses, and meals at Signatures, his upscale restaurant in exchange for a lighter prison sentence.
He's singing like a canary, naming names and performing for his captors. And the one name that's been at the top of his hit list has been Ney's.
The charges have been wide and varied -- and I'm sure we're just hearing the tip of the iceberg on them.
The main thing that Abramoff has claimed against Ney is that he's placed comments in the Congressional Record backing Abramoff's efforts to gain control of a Florida gambling company, Sun Cruz Casinos, and also offered language to reopen a American Indian tribe's casino in Texas.
Abramoff said he and his associate, Michael Scanlon, showered Ney with many "favors," including a 2002 golf trip to Scotland, free dinners and events and campaign donations.
Ney hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing so far. However, the black clouds are gathering over his head, and his protestations that he was "duped" by Abramoff, who he says he considered as a friend, are being looked at with skepticism.
While the investigations are going on, Ney has stepped down from his House Administration Committee chairmanship, but still remains a powerful force in Congress.
Meanwhile, Ney's not the only one who was on Abramoff's gift list. Lots of politicians, Democrats and Republicans and all the way up to President Bush, received campaign contributions. Some have given the money back; some have not.
It's a far-reaching scandal that threatens to rival the Watergate break-ins that brought down President Richard Nixon. It's complicated and confusing to say the least, but it is a serious matter.
Despite the scandals, this past week, Ney announced his intentions to run for another term in Congress.
He's still a popular candidate throughout the local area, and many voters haven't forgotten the good he has done for the area.
His list of good deeds are many, even his detractors admit. He's gone against his party's line often when it came to legislation backing steelworkers and industry and when it could keep our workers at their jobs.
He's a staunch believer in the military and its service and a passionate voice for the "working poor."
Ney has literally steered millions of dollars in road construction to this area, not to mention millions of dollars that has helped many a local community with projects that are too numerous to mention.
There's many people around these parts who will tell you that when all else failed, they called Ney and he helped them with their problems.
Whether you like him or not, you have to admit that Ney has helped the local area with its needs.
WIthout the Abramoff matter hanging over his head, Ney would be a shoe-in for Congress.
However, what is leaving a sour taste in voters' mouths is his ongoing refusal to admit that anything is wrong with his accepting anything from Abramoff.
Even when he was announcing his campaign, Ney blamed the whole Abramoff scandal on "the national media."
"I have seen my name savaged by the national media. . . But I am here to make several things clear. Fiction will soon be separated from fact. My name will be cleared. I will be vindicated at the end of the day."
This isn't the first time Ney -- or any other Congressman -- has blamed the media for problems and controversy.
Last year, Ney had added $1.7 million into the Federal Transportation Bill for the demolition of the Bellaire Bridge. However, the addition was withdrawn after many complaints were voiced from people who opposed using federal money to demolish a structure that is privately owned.
Ney complained that "misleading" news stories in local newspapers and a local television statement brought about his decision.
To hear Ney talk, you'd think members of the media meet in their little secret chambers every day, wringing their hands and devising ways to ruin his life.
And since many people get their impressions of life within the media from cheesy movies filled with dramatic people yelling things like "stop the presses," they tend to believe him.
Here's a little inside secret -- it's not like that at all. I don't know about the folks at places like the Washington Post, but there's a lot more that goes on at even smaller papers like ours than constant plots to ruin politicians' lives. We don't meet in little back rooms and form our plots.
In fact, sometimes the most important topic of the day is where we're getting our lunch.
But when a politician is included in a scandal or investigation, yes, we will report it. It doesn't have to be a congressman. If a township trustee is dipping into the creek dredging funds, we'll tell you about that too.
We'll run the headline big and a picture of the person so nobody will forget what that man or woman looks like. We'll present it as fairly as we can, and when we call the politician to get his side of the story and he refuses to return our calls, we'll tell everyone that too.
We're the ones that try to get voters the answers that they need to make their decisions. It's a job we take seriously, and our desk drawers filled with heartburn and headache remedies prove it.
And when we make a mistake, as humans can do, we'll tell you that we did -- and we'll take it to heart and do all we can to make things right again.
Sometimes it's just tough to be the messenger. Most of the time, though, I can't imagine anything else I'd rather be.
--------
AMERICANS ARE often accused of having short memories, but I'm still often amazed by just how little we remember.
After all, it's been less than five years since terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Less than five years since the brave passengers of Flight 93 forced yet another terrorist-held airplane into crashing before it could wreak even more havoc in Washington D.C.
It's been less than five years since we all sat in horror and tears as we watched our nation's capital and its largest city, held in the grip of fear, even if it does seem like a lifetime ago.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, there's the beautiful city of Dubai.
It's part of the United Arab Emirates, and according to travel guides, it's quite a progressive place. Its oil money is spent in modernization and it's a beautiful tourism destination, complete with discos and beaches and low crime rates and every thing anyone could want. It's open and modern and amazing, the tour guides say.
Those same qualities, other experts believe, are ones that lead Al Qaeda operatives to come and play and plot.
Here in 2006, why do I have so much concern about a city that's part of a country that by all accounts that has admittedly taken steps to fight terrorism?
Well, Dubai was also the last stopover in the Middle East for the terrorists who headed to America to sacrifice themselves in the name of a bloody Jihad.
Citizens of places such as Saudi Arabia can come to Dubai without visas. The Saudis involved in the Sept. 11 attacks, according to U.S. government experts, came through Dubai during the time between April and June, 2001 on their way to the United States and flight school.
According to a government report, quoted in USA Today back in Sept. 2004, the hijackers traveled in groups of two or three, leaving from Dubai and arriving at airports in Miami, Orlando or New York City.
It's also been determined that the money used to finance the Sept. 11 terror attacks was funneled through Dubai.
Now let's fast forward five years, to 2006. In a small article by The Associated Press this past week, it was reported that a deal has been brokered that will turn over control of the London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to the Dubai Ports World.
And yes, Dubai Ports World is owned by the government of Dubai.
The London company owns ports throughout several parts of the world, or at least it did until Monday, when British shareholders approved its sale to Dubai Ports World -- which goes by DP World in official communications.
Here's what's really shocking. The London company, which until the sale was described as the world's fourth-largest operator of ports, ran commercial operations all over the world -- including shipping terminals in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.
That's right. Dubai, the same country that allows terrorists to come on in and fly out of its airports, without so much as a security check first, is now in charge of port terminals in six of the United States' most prominent metropolitan locations.
Let me repeat those places again. New York. New Jersey. Baltimore. New Orleans. Miami. Philadelphia.
According to The Associated Press, U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he spoke to senior White House officials, whom he declined to identify, and urged them to review national security concerns about the purchase.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States reviewed the transaction and did not object, The Associated Press reported. The committee, run by the Treasury Department, also includes officials from the departments of Defense, Justice, Commerce, State and Homeland Security.
"The White House can stop this deal ultimately, and I've asked them to go very slow and look at it very carefully," King told The Associated Press.
Let's just hope that President Bush does just that, and ends this madness now.
Because, since terrorists can apparently get through the airports of Dubai so easily, who's to say they can't get through port terminals owned by Dubai just as easily?
Ports, again, that lead to our largest metropolitan areas.
I know that money talks, and often speaks more loudly than reason. It's said the Dubai company paid nearly $6 billion to buy the British company. That doesn't matter. No amount of money should have been enough.
Let's just pray that the United States doesn't pay for this sale with the blood of our citizens.
After all, it's been less than five years since terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Less than five years since the brave passengers of Flight 93 forced yet another terrorist-held airplane into crashing before it could wreak even more havoc in Washington D.C.
It's been less than five years since we all sat in horror and tears as we watched our nation's capital and its largest city, held in the grip of fear, even if it does seem like a lifetime ago.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, there's the beautiful city of Dubai.
It's part of the United Arab Emirates, and according to travel guides, it's quite a progressive place. Its oil money is spent in modernization and it's a beautiful tourism destination, complete with discos and beaches and low crime rates and every thing anyone could want. It's open and modern and amazing, the tour guides say.
Those same qualities, other experts believe, are ones that lead Al Qaeda operatives to come and play and plot.
Here in 2006, why do I have so much concern about a city that's part of a country that by all accounts that has admittedly taken steps to fight terrorism?
Well, Dubai was also the last stopover in the Middle East for the terrorists who headed to America to sacrifice themselves in the name of a bloody Jihad.
Citizens of places such as Saudi Arabia can come to Dubai without visas. The Saudis involved in the Sept. 11 attacks, according to U.S. government experts, came through Dubai during the time between April and June, 2001 on their way to the United States and flight school.
According to a government report, quoted in USA Today back in Sept. 2004, the hijackers traveled in groups of two or three, leaving from Dubai and arriving at airports in Miami, Orlando or New York City.
It's also been determined that the money used to finance the Sept. 11 terror attacks was funneled through Dubai.
Now let's fast forward five years, to 2006. In a small article by The Associated Press this past week, it was reported that a deal has been brokered that will turn over control of the London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to the Dubai Ports World.
And yes, Dubai Ports World is owned by the government of Dubai.
The London company owns ports throughout several parts of the world, or at least it did until Monday, when British shareholders approved its sale to Dubai Ports World -- which goes by DP World in official communications.
Here's what's really shocking. The London company, which until the sale was described as the world's fourth-largest operator of ports, ran commercial operations all over the world -- including shipping terminals in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.
That's right. Dubai, the same country that allows terrorists to come on in and fly out of its airports, without so much as a security check first, is now in charge of port terminals in six of the United States' most prominent metropolitan locations.
Let me repeat those places again. New York. New Jersey. Baltimore. New Orleans. Miami. Philadelphia.
According to The Associated Press, U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he spoke to senior White House officials, whom he declined to identify, and urged them to review national security concerns about the purchase.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States reviewed the transaction and did not object, The Associated Press reported. The committee, run by the Treasury Department, also includes officials from the departments of Defense, Justice, Commerce, State and Homeland Security.
"The White House can stop this deal ultimately, and I've asked them to go very slow and look at it very carefully," King told The Associated Press.
Let's just hope that President Bush does just that, and ends this madness now.
Because, since terrorists can apparently get through the airports of Dubai so easily, who's to say they can't get through port terminals owned by Dubai just as easily?
Ports, again, that lead to our largest metropolitan areas.
I know that money talks, and often speaks more loudly than reason. It's said the Dubai company paid nearly $6 billion to buy the British company. That doesn't matter. No amount of money should have been enough.
Let's just pray that the United States doesn't pay for this sale with the blood of our citizens.
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