Nation Building is harder than it looks

Twelve months ago today, thousands of people were stranded in the New Orleans Superdome, while the ripped roof offered scant shelter, the sweltering heat inside just made the overflowing sewage smell worse. Bodies were left outside in the sun. FEMA’s Michael Brown, interviewed on national radio declared that everything was under control. George Bush, after a flyover in Air Force One proclaimed that Brownie was doing a heckuva job.

The President asked for and Congress allocated $17 billion to the dept of Housing and Urban Development to quickly find suitable shelter and offer reconstruction aid for the 400,000 people left homeless when the Army Corps of Engineers’ poorly anchored levees failed. A large sum of money for a huge job.

This week, the government accounting office released their report on how well HUD is doing their heckuva job. About 100 million dollars have been spent so far. $1.00 out of every $1,700 allocated.

The other 99.4% is still in the government coffers; and 250,000 people still without housing.

I was curious. Why would a government entity dedicated to building housing barely scratch the surface rebuilding after the nation’s costliest disaster? The answer may surprise you, or maybe not; if you look at who our President appoints into high places; and what they do once selected.

Alphonso Jackson, HUD’s executive director and member of the Bush cabinet was speaking a few months ago to a group of real estate and construction firms at a meeting in Dallas and addressed the subject of government contracting. He recounted that a prospective African-American HUD contractor who had made a "heck of a proposal" and was selected upon the basis of that proposal, but upon thanking Alphonso for being selected the bidder mentioned that he did not like Bush.

As a result, Jackson said, the bidder who had criticized Bush did not receive the contract: ""Brother, you have a disconnect — the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn’t be getting the contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president, don’t tell the secretary."

Jackson asked the crowd, "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe."

Hey, the flooded parts of New Orleans were 72% Democratic, so why should a Bush appointee increase the deficit by helping these folks come home?

Tomorrow, 4,800 Trojans will return to school; but fewer than 10,000 of the 60,000 students enrolled pre Katrina will have desks in open buildings next week.

Maybe HUD and FEMA just are incapable of doing their job. Well, that explanation doesn’t wash, after much smaller Hurricane Andrew, where the agency distributed $1.2 Billion;12 times as much in six months; as it handled post Katrina.

Maybe our government has been distracted from Nation building at home with Nation Building in Iraq; obviously there have been conflicting pressures. In the past four years, after the “Mission Accomplished” speech, The Coalition Provisional Authority spent just 2% of the $18 Billion allocated for rebuilding the country, and the hearts and minds of its’ people. “This reconstruction is essential if we are to show Iraqi’s how they can live and prosper under Democracy” so said the Rumsfeld appointee to the CPA. Different agency, same mantra.

By the way, the Dept of Defense managed to spent 81% of the $5.8 billion allocated to ‘helping Defense contractors recover from Katrina damage and to rebuild DoD facilities.

Someday, maybe Iraq and New Orleans will once again have working schools, power plants, hospitals, homes and shops; accompanied by good jobs and a fair chance for a good, safe, stable life. Thinking these pleasant thoughts of the future makes me feel justified in planning to wait in the field with Linus for the Great Pumpkin.

 

Leib Lurie is a Troy Civic Theatre Board Member, Optimist Club member and CEO of phone message service OneCallNow.com. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net

Or see these columns on his blog at www.llurie.blogspot.com

Lurie column - Are we safer?

Are we safer?

The recent revelations from the United Kingdom uncovered yet another plot to destroy the Western way of life, in a Jihad program. This time using a dangerously volatile mixture of hydrogen peroxide and nail polish remover. A similar Al Qaeda program was unveiled ten years ago to take down aircraft over the Pacific. Then it was planned to insert the bomb materials with timed detonators; in the luggage compartment, and for the perpetrators to hop off at a stop-over before detonation. Deadly for the remaining passengers.

This time, the tactic seemed to be one of suicidal martyrdom. Mixing the stuff aboard to create a stratospheric anomaly as rapid de pressurization was supposed to blow a jet out of the sky.

Quick Quiz folks:

Top four answers on the board: Which one has NOT [yet] been treated as a threat by Homeland Security: Snakes on a Plane; Nail polish in the air, Box cutters in coach, C-4 in hiking boots. The traveling public gets more jittery by the day.

Our acting City Safety and Services Director came back from San Francisco on the day the new “liquids are evil” regulations went into effect. He reported panicky passengers returning from Napa Valley with shopping bags of Chardonnay who were made to contribute them to the overflowing trash cans of bottled water and shampoo. What a tragic waste, and I’m not referring to the Prell.

The Internet is ablaze with ideas to combat the new threat, and recriminations about whether the hapless administrators are Homeland Security have a clue. So far, it seems that every new idea in terror is uncovered after the fact; and only with some dumb luck before more people are hurt.

Are we spending money on the right things to protect Americans? Under prodding from Rumsfield, Congress allocated $85 million each to build 339 of the latest F-22 fighter planes to have dogfights in the air. None of the terrorists we have been told to fear have fighter aircraft to take part in such a dogfight. Yet DoD and Congress killed $107 million to design a better explosive detection system for airports.

The Pacific bomb threat came on the heels of the explosion of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie; by a bomb in the luggage compartment. International terrorist, Libyan leader Mu‘ammar al-Qadhdhafi, was apparently responsible for funding that deadly escapade. Today, less than 5% of air cargo shipments are inspected, x-rayed or sniffed. While dying of thirst in economy class, the cargo underneath is sloshing around with who knows what?

Last week, I alluded to traveling without the hassle, hustle and frustration of flying in today’s crowded and targeted jets. Our private plane is fast enough to slice seven hours off the ten trip to family in Philadelphia. US Airways, after taking into account a change in Pittsburgh, air traffic congestion and gate delays can make hitchhiking seem like a reasonable alternative. Weather can delay our single engine Bonanza, but compared to the havoc a passing thunderstorm causes in the commercial space, the difference is nominal.

But private planes are not the answer. Smarter policies and smarter security is. Somewhat facetiously, liquids don’t kill people, terrorists kill people. Short term, we should adopt the tactics used by El-Al (the Israeli) airline. They use psychological profiling to stop the types of people that can cause harm, not blind attempts at blockading harmless nail polish remover carried by teenagers or first aid materials carried by grandmothers.

Long term, we need to seriously – very seriously – look at the horrendous reputation our administration has fomented abroad that make these people yearn for martyrdom in coach.

Leib Lurie is a Troy Resident and frequent business traveler. His wife flies their Bonanza, bypassing security and buzzing over Troy. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net

Or see these columns on his blog at www.llurie.blogspot.com

Lurie column aug 16 - A walk in the woods

I packed for a trip Saturday to Minnesota to see a play. The visit would be just overnight, but the journey a long one. I checked my list. Packing toothpaste, shampoo, contact cleaner, chap stick, a few bottles of wine for my sister-in-law. My trusty scout knife, laptop and cell phone. I grabbed some bug spray (The mosquito is the state bird) and sunscreen. Then stuffed in a few bottles of water and a couple of cans of diet lemon-aid to avoid airport prices. These all packed compactly into my new wheeled carry-on bag*.

Off we went. Pulling up at the airport, we found our plane waiting on the tarmac. The pilot was doing her careful examination of wings and wheels for the pre-flight safety check.

I was the 3^rd person on board and there was lots of open space for me, my bag, and all the above accoutrements. The door closed, the pilot taxied out and minutes later we were airborne, nosing above Dayton airspace and bearing Northwest. The glory of flying is it shrinks the world in carefree luxury.

We went to see “A Walk in the Woods” a play about two men, one American the other an urbane Russian. They were the senior arms negotiators in Geneva during the 1980’s, trying to put a halt to the deadly nuclear arms race that was threatening the world with the specter of thousands of mushroom clouds bringing our world to a blazing halt.

The two broke from the stuffy, stiflingly formal negotiating table to seek the clear mountain air and lake views in Geneva. To talk away from an audience and aides in an attempt to get to know each other; and seek to bring the world back from the precipice of mutually assured nuclear destruction.

We were fascinated to become enmeshed in the fears and foibles of these two as they felt the pressure of the world on their shoulders, two men struggling to build a peace, while millions of soldiers, and thousands of scientists worked to dream up new ways of killing people and find new technology or sneaky loopholes in the 13 flawed arms treaties signed before them.

Andre recounted why Russians mistrust everyone; and Americans are so idealistic. Russians (and most Arabs) lived on wide open plains surrounded by enemies; survival and fighting was a survival skill perfected through many centuries as successive hordes of invaders sacked and burned the villages and cities again and again. Distrust of neighbors was warranted, and, using Darwins’ theory of survival, honed to a fine edge by those that endured and rule today.

The United States is protected by wide oceans, threatened over the last few centuries by little but native Americans with inferior weapons. Andre postulated that Americans were still seeking the frontier, expanding their front yards; while those living on the steppes carved out defensible borders and sought to keep what land and assets they had.

The Play was a harsh look at the escalating dangers of unrestrained military build-up in the era of the cold war. A time when air travel was carefree, enemies were clearly labeled with flags and armies and our children lived in fear of Generals with their finger on the button, able to obliterate the world in a few moments; prevented from doing so only because their leaders are just as concerned for their own lives as you and I.

Today, air travel is anything but carefree bliss; as travelers look about in fear of a terrorist with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Our soldiers and allies are worried about inciting faceless, nameless insurgents with Improvised Explosive Devices. Our children live in fear that more generals than ever have their finger on the buttons of death. Their leaders seem more concerned with achieving fame at any cost than in fighting for peace at every chance.

I fear the policies and politics of this century make it less likely we will reach the next one.

The Cold war may be over, but more than ever, we have reason to break out in a cold sweat.

* Leib Lurie avoids the commercial airport mess by having his wife pilot a Bonanza Beechcraft where they need to go without worrying about TSA, x-rays, metal detectors and liquid bans. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net

Or see these columns on his blog at www.llurie.blogspot.com

Lurie column: Volunteering in Troy

Volunteering in Troy

You have seen their logos every time you come into Troy, possibly for years, but probably don’t know what they mean or who puts these funny looking circular signs on the welcome to Troy signs posted at the four corners of the compass.

Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, and Optimist Clubs all post signs next to the Troy logo “Be Kind” and above the well-tended flower bed. Tens of thousands of people drive past these signs every day; yet awareness is low. Most Trojans only see these clubs and their members close-up during the Strawberry festival, when they run children’s games or sell Strawberry Jam, Lemon shake-ups, strawberry foodstuffs and more to help raise money.

These are our Service clubs, all attracting men (most men and women) who want to meet socially for breakfast, lunch or supper once a week or twice a month; learn more about the community, and donate their time to raise money; which is then used to provide donations or services for different causes. I call it the “3 C’s” Cuisine, Camaraderie and Community.

Most of the clubs have a simple formula… Meet for a meal, talk and catch-up with friends and members over an informal, inexpensive meal (our club charges $7.00 for an all-inclusive lunch, with fresh baked rolls, all you can drink, tax and tip). Then the meeting is called to order. Someone will offer a prayer over the meal, and there will be a few minutes of club business, discussion of upcoming events and activities.

An assigned ‘enforcer’ or Sergeant at Arms will then collect 25¢ ‘fines’ or ‘happy bucks’ – where members make a modest donation in order to have the privilege of bragging about special events in their lives. We applaud those with birthdays or anniversaries this week; or congratulate parents and grandparents when the stork arrives, diplomas are earned or milestones celebrated in their families.

Then a guest speaker makes a presentation. This is the high point for me. It usually involves us in the community and opens our eyes to so many things we otherwise wouldn’t experience. What museum is moving from downtown this month? How many beds will be in the new fire station? How many workers did it take to build a Habitat home working round the clock for just 2 days? What is the secret to attracting record numbers of swimmers at the city pool? Where did the Inter-urban trains that ran through Troy go? What types of stuff do the canoeing volunteers who clean up the Great Miami every year find? Have you seen the new floor plan for the $20 million enhancements being built by Troy Schools? Or more selfishly, how can you cut strokes off your putting game? It’s truly a grab-bag; and the variety and depth of the groups we see helping others never ceases to amaze me.

The subjects run the gamut, some are fascinating, others less so, but 20 minutes later, it’s time to recite the organization’s creed and get back to work.

Every week, a speaker informs and excites us about things happening in town. Civic groups, Business groups, government officials, political candidates, faith based organizations, school administrators; or a highlight I have touted on this page, children performing music, arts, drama and honing problem solving or oratory skills.

The Lions club has an International focus on eye care, helping raise money for the blind, and to recycle glasses for those in developing countries who cannot afford new ones; less well known are their generous donations for diabetes awareness and drug abuse prevention. There are 3 million Lions around the world.

The Kiwanis is somewhat smaller, dedicated to serve children, and their name says it all Kiwanis is an old Indian expression meaning ‘we have a good time”.

The Rotary is more business focused. They seek to encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and build goodwill and peace throughout the world. For example a 17 year old Rotary exchange student from Hungary will spend the year in Troy, sponsored by the Troy Rotary club.

The Optimist Club is my home turf, we help kids in Troy with a dozen events and projects during the year, many are noted in my column during the year.

My insurance agent invited me to a free lunch 15 years ago. I went for lunch, and stayed for the rest. Any of the clubs will be happy to welcome you for a free lunch. Why not experience it for yourself? Call the Troy Chamber at (937)339-7809 they’ll have a member of one of the clubs invite you to their next meeting.

 

Leib Lurie is a Troy resident and Optimist Club member. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net

Or see these columns on his blog at www.llurie.blogspot.com

Oy Vey what a mess

Oy Vey, what a mess

Being Jewish in the Midwest is a lonely role. Miami County has fewer than 200 Jewish families. (In New York City, more than 10% are Jewish. During trouble and strife in Israel, many of our friends and neighbors go out of their way to ask us what we think of the situation over there.

The situation in short, stinks. There are no good options and few reasonable alternatives.

Israel was created after World War II as a refuge for the sorry few survivors of the Nazi Holocaust. A period when six million Jews were starved and killed in concentration camps as Hitler’s ‘final solution’ to a perceived threat to the Germanic lifestyle by a civilization that contributed so much by so many. (Hundreds of Nobel winners, thousands of inventors, Thespians, and Writers)

The everlasting deadly dance to eradicate Jews did not stop with VE day and the creation of a free Israeli state. It has continued and festered between Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, and radical political groups they support, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and others who have sworn to wipe Israel off the face of the planet. The anti Zionist movement (Arab opposition to a free Israeli state) started almost as soon as the UN created Israel in 1948. Fomented by Arab leaders who, like dozens of dictators and military leaders before them found it convenient and easy to blame their woes on someone else.

The Zionists who built Israel built factories, research parks, Universities, schools for everyone. The average Arab has a 8th grade education, the average Israeli 16 years. The average unemployment rate in Israel is 8.9% (lower for Jews) vs 19% in Lebanon and 20% in Syria. These numbers and facts are behind much of the feeling of disenfranchisement that drives the conflict.

The Israelites had good farms, because they built complex and efficient irrigation systems in the desert. The Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian Arabs had failed agricultural systems and repeated sweeps of famine; so their leaders would point to the lush, Israeli settlements hacked out of the rock and sand and tell their people that the water was stolen from Arabs.

Whether the hatred is secular, driven by government and civil Sheiks, or religious, driven by Moslem clerics and vocal extremists, the result is similar; ongoing, constant pain and hatred that grows every day; flogged from a perceived dull awareness to red hot flames of passion.

Armed conflicts have erupted with almost clockwork like repetition. Arab invasions of Israel in 1956, 1967 and 1973. Israel retaliation has been swift and yet met with surprise and angst. How dare they fight back?

In 1982 repeated rocket launches from Lebanon taunted Israel to invade.  A corrupt and failed government made the situation worse. 300,000 Palestinian refugees fought to take over the government and invade Israel again. Syrian troops were sent in (invaded) to ‘help’ the struggling Lebanese dictator. After years of armed conflict, the Lebanese government restructured and took over; Israel pulled back with the understanding that Syrian troops would withdraw physically, and pull their financial support for the Hezbollah rebels. Over the past 6 years, a form of peace descended, But the financial and military support for Hezbollah continued unabated. Syria is claimed to have sent 12,000 rockets to the border; specifically to attack Israel.

Earlier this month Hezbollah guerillas invaded Israel capturing several soldiers. In the fight that followed, the stored rockets started launching. And the undeclared war started spiraling out of control again. That’s where we are today.

A small free state fighting off militant guerillas funded and supplied by supposedly legitimate regional governments. In recognition of civilian collateral damage, Israel pulled back six times before in the past 50 years after being invaded and attacked; leaving the other side to rest, re-arm and renew their vengeful crusade once again.

If Detroit was shelled from Canada by armed insurgents, the retribution would be swift and without restraint. Since no government in the Arab world has agreed to help stop the spiraling violence. Israel has promised to disassemble the military strongholds of the attackers itself.

Having the collective memories of six million brethren killed by sworn enemies is a powerful incentive to fight for survival; and eventually, lord willing, lasting peace.  

  

Leib Lurie is a New York Native and Troy Resident You can reach him at editorial@tdnpublishing.com

 

Or see these columns on his blog at www.llurie.blogspot.com