The Nation has a collection of very telling quotes from the last two weeks:
“It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us.” –Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, quoted in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 8, 2004.
“I want the folks there on our Gulf Coast to know that the federal government is prepared to help you when the storm passes.” –President Bush, Monday, August 29
“It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed.” –House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Wednesday, August 31
The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
