Plus ça change

Plus ça change, plus ça reste.

Here's a little news brief to file away in your mental archives until the next disastrous California fire:

Much like the warnings in New Orleans the century-old dikes in New Orleans needed additional money to shore up the levee system that keeps the city dry, Washington has again cut spending to remove dead and diseased trees in the San Bernardino National Forest. All this despite urging by the U.S. Forest Service and local leaders to stay the course.

Officials in the nation's capitol are gambling the worst-case scenario will not come to be, fresh on the heels of the 2003 Old Fire that ravaged our area.

A few weeks ago, Washington rolled the dice once again and only included $5 million next year to remove the bark beetle infested trees that still dot our landscape. The total money allocated to reduce hazardous fuels for the nation's most urbanized forest is down $25 million from the 2005 allocation. [Emphasis mine-CK]

The only thing more predictable than Gulf Coast Hurricanes and Oklahoma tornados are California wildfires.

Sure, California has that earthquake thing going too, but unlike THE BIG ONE, wildfires in California happen year after year after year, though with varying degrees of damage.

So, next month or next year, as Californians watch their forests and houses burn, think back on our national leaders, whose priorities are funding an unnecessary war, giving tax cuts to the rich and doling out corporate welfare and porkbarrel pet projects.

And to be clear, I'm not simply Bush-bashing (this time, though he and his fellow Republihacks deserve a large part of the blame). Spineless, corporation beholden Democrats are to blame as well.

One point made by Katrina's news coverage has, in fact, been the contrast between the hapless government response, and the courageous, quick, and generous response of the American public. One wonders when we will ever cut the corporate purse-strings which bind our national leadership and elect leaders that accurately represent the best that can be America, rather than its worst.