There needs to be an informed discussion or discussions about what parts near the hurricane areas the governments will aid to rebuild. Along the Mississippi the government has bought some low-lying areas and moved towns out. The Mississippi floods more often than some area on the gulf or Atlantic coast gets a hurricane but it’s the same principle. At what point do we no longer risk any taxpayer money to have people living in those areas or to have certain risky but nonessential businesses there? Farms, parks, hunting land and wildlife reserves make sense and to the extent we need oil businesses there they should be built extremely well so they survive and do not pollute when they are in hurricanes.
This is a very hard kind of discussion to have, politically, and it’s hard to even think how you’d choose a group to conduct such a discussion. Nonetheless it’s an important topic.

Barack Obama said he’ll work to see that the Gulf will have the type of protections they should have had years ago, etc. I read a comment on CNN that said he was a waffeler, because he promises too much. Don’t understand if this person knows the meaning of waffeler, but it didn’t make much sense to me. He promises what he intends to do, and he will do it, because he is who he is, Barack Obama, who has always had the attitude of “Yes I Can”. Many people don’t know that they CAN, they think that someone else should do it for them.

“While the statement acknowledged previous relief efforts and praised volunteers of all faiths, it cited ‘years of improper stewardship’ and inadequate flood protection as violations of human rights.”
Okay, this is just a little mini-rant here: as a Gulf Coast resident, I say, yes, more flood protection would be nice. Environmental aid would be nice. Less poverty would be nice. The governments and charities should do things that address these problems.
But as a thinking human being, I say that people need to stop calling every little thing a human rights violation! Yes, these are all things the government should do, but not doing them is not the equivalent of Auschwitz, the gulag or even Gitmo! Okay? If the government were tying people to trees in the middle of these hurricanes so they couldn’t escape, that would be a human rights violation. Just not giving them a dyke to help with flooding, at most, irresponsible. If you want people to take actual crimes against humanity seriously, stop throwing such loaded terms around so freakin’ loosely!
…Okay, I’m done now. Other than that little pet peeve, good for these groups, and God bless.

Actions speak louder than words. Let’s see if any of the urging makes any difference in actions. “W” promised help to the folks that have endured Ike. Let’s see if the help for those folks is any swifter than those for Kitrina.

Our planet has a way of taking care of itself. I too am a Gulf coast resident. And I see the inexcussably expensive houses sliding into the sea. We need some sensible building codes, though Florida has been tougher on these than almost anything in the entire Code of Law. We need to acknowledge the critical importance of natural barriers to natural events, like hurricanes. Mangroves, barrier islands, wetland and the Everglades are more than mere inconveniences and obstacles to a better view. There are surely more sensible ways for us to make use of natural design as well as ways to enjoy and thrive in cooperation with the environment. Allowing a few folks who can flash some cash (and then demand the public pay to replace what they foolish placed in harms way) to alter and destroy the coastlines is stupid – literally stupid, asleep, nodding off instead of doing the job.

Joey, thanks for speaking some sense!
We have learned that acts of faith and mercy alone, no matter how profound, cannot provide everything needed for a sustainable recovery,” the statement said.
-Has anyone told “W”? He still seems to think that trying to sound like a “good Christian” and in actuality, abdicating reponsibility, is the thing to do.
Jest, Your point is well taken. Whether it’s coastal NJ, the Outer Banks, Florida, California, etc, where houses have slid into whatever body of water lies nearby, coastlines often face severe weather, and developers should not be given a pass/waiver/variance just because money talks.