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Two Weeks Later

HARRY
KI RS BAUM
Columnist

wo weeks
after Katrina
made its dev-
astating landfall, 200
bodies have so far
been recovered in
New Orleans, count-
less souls have been
displaced from the
Gulf Coast, while
government officials
on every level and
politicians of every
stripe scramble for

cover.
Everyone else is to blame, and no one
is to blame.
While driving to East Lansing for the
weekend, I heard the timeline account
of the government's response to the hur-
ricane on National Public Radio.
It was devastating to hear of the red
tape that kept National Guard troops in
other states from entering the city
before all hell broke loose, how
Louisiana's governor wanted 24 hours to
"think" about relinquishing control of
the state to the feds, about how corn-
munication broke down between city
officials and first responders, and about
the lackadaisical response by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) and its unqualified leader,
Michael Brown.
It's two weeks later, and "Brownie" is
gone. On Friday, he received the Peter
Principle —people tend to be promoted
up to their level of incompetence — side-
ways movement to a position where he
can't ruin anything.
"I'm going to go home and walk my
dog and hug my wife, and maybe get a
good Mexican meal and a stiff margarita
and a full night's sleep. And then I'm
going to go right back to FEMA and
continue to do all I can to help these
victims," said Brown, on Friday. On
Monday, he resigned.
Brown is a former Bush political
operative, and found himself at the
helm of FEMA when the U.S. ambassa-
dor to St. Barts position was already
filled.
His rescuing chops were formed as
former commissioner of the
International Arabian Horse
Association, another Peter Principle
move I'm sure — "Give him a role, but
keep him away from the stables."
It's two weeks later, and our president

is just now visiting New Orleans
beyond the airport, and the stories on
the evening news will no doubt bring
up his downward spiraling poll num-
bers.
Who cares. Does anyone think he
cares about poll numbers during his last
term in office? Would you care if your
not-too-distant future was destined for
golf, prayer, working out, clearing brush
on your ranch, sitting on Trent Lott's
newly built porch and more prayer?
It's been two weeks, and the money,
bottled water and diapers keep stream-
ing in from concerned Americans,
which is pretty funny, because last week
I heard those celebrities of conscience
rant to the cameras that 'America
turned their backs on these poor peo-
),
ple.
If Hollywood wants to make a state-
ment, I'd like to offer this idea:
Take 10 percent of what you made on
your last movie deal or television or
recording contract — just 10 percent
— and offer it to relief efforts before
you open your big yap again. We
fawned over Sandra Bullock's $1 million
donations for the 9-11 Fund and tsuna-
mi relief. What has Sean Penn con-
tributed besides political criticism and
the rescue attempt of 40 New Orleans
residents in a small boat already occu-
pied by Penn, his publicist and a pho-
tographer?
What about Kanye West? How much
does he care about black people? Does
the rap performer and producer care
enough to donate a chunk of money or
even something from his new clothing
line?
Where's the list of celebrities, their
salaries, and the percentage of those
salaries that go to charitable causes?
It's two weeks later, and the wealthy
citizens are returning to the higher
ground of New Orleans — where the
electricity is making an appearance —
and the insurance claims will soon pour
in.
The less fortunate "evacuees" are still
displaced around the country, bathed in
the generosity of mainstream Americans
and the temporary warmth under the
news camera klieg lights.
But those lights are always looking for
the next disaster.
Sooner rather than later, we in the
mainstream will find another cause that
needs our help even worse. Then you'll
be on your own. Good luck.

❑

Harry Kirsbaum's e-mail address is
hkirsbaum@thejewishnews.com

So.

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