ONE Vote '08: Save Lives, Secure Our Future

Trouble viewing this video? Click Here.

Technorati tags: TheOneCampaign, poverty, one.org, Matt Damon, Bono, news, activism

New Orleans: Leaving the Poor behind Again!

Bill Quigley writes:

"People are making serious money in this hurricane but not the working and poor people who built and maintained New Orleans. The poor, the sick, the disabled, the prisoners, the low-wage workers of New Orleans, were all left behind in the evacuation. Now that New Orleans is re-opening for some, the same people are being left behind again...."

Eased out of the Big Easy

Jesse Jackson writes that we're learning that when Bush promised to remove the legacy of racism in New Orleans, he meant he'd remove the poor who were victims of that racism.

A Flood of Fraud

Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman write:

"There's no question that post-hurricane relief and reconstruction in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are going to pose many genuinely difficult challenges. But some things seem pretty simple. For example, it's a dumb idea to have cruise ships house evacuees and then pay the cruise lines four times what they would charge vacationers...."

When does it end?

$574m cut proposed in food stamp program | The Boston Globe

Wanted a leader for America

Noam Chomsky writes:

"AS THE survivors of Hurricane Katrina try to piece their lives back together, it is all the clearer that a long-gathering storm of misguided policies and priorities preceded the tragedy.

Government failures at home and the war in Iraq found a confluence in Katrina’s wake that graphically illustrates the need for fundamental social change, lest we suffer worse disasters in the future.

[...]

The human toll of Katrina is incalculable, especially among the region’s poorest citizens, but a relevant number is the 28-per cent poverty rate in New Orleans — more than twice the national rate. During the Bush administration the US poverty rate has grown, and welfare’s limited safety net has been weakened further...."

Growing Gulf Between Rich and Rest of US

Holly Sklar writes:

"Guess which country the CIA World Factbook describes when it says, 'Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20 percent of households.'

If you guessed the United States, you're right...."

Blood on Their Hands

Bob Herbert (The New York Times) writes:

"...Make no mistake: government officials have blood on their hands. Men, women and children - some of them handicapped, some of them elderly or already desperately ill - were condemned to horrible suffering and, in many cases, agonizing deaths. Human beings were left to drown in their flooded homes, in hospitals, in nursing homes and in the street. The American people deserve to know why...."

Compassion Litmus Test

For any president, senator or member of Congress who proclaimed moral outrage at the poverty exposed by Katrina, here's a chance to show you really care.

Markets, Climate And Katrina

Joseph Stiglitz (TomPaine.com) reports:

"Last January, after the tsunami, in response to widespread calls for an early warning system, I observed that the world had been given an early warning on global warming. The rest of the world has begun to take heed, but Bush, having ignored warnings about Al Qaeda’s plans prior to 9/11, and having not only ignored the warnings about New Orleans levees, but actually gutted funding to shore them, has not led America to do likewise...."