Two years after Katrina tore apart Gulf Coast
As a native of New Orleans who moved to Denver after Hurricane Katrina, it’s interesting to hear criticism of the recovery effort. What many pundits miss is that New Orleans was “broken” before Katrina. Despite government funding, decades of misappropriation and neglect left the levees and city infrastructure in a sorry state. The crime rate, abysmal public schools, and weak economy certainly did nothing to attract new residents or businesses to the area.
While the president, governor and mayor all bear some responsibility for these past two years, the citizens are responsible for some of the seeds sown long before Katrina. For decades New Orleans elected populist, corrupt, counterproductive politicians. The quaint laissez faire attitude grew into a leadership void and general apathy towards civic progress.
To move forward, a multitude of very unpopular decisions must be made to correctly rebuild the city and reverse the decline already underway pre-Katrina. The time for assigning blame is past. Effective leadership is required, backed by community support and individual effort as well.
While I feel some guilt for my departure, and terribly miss my family and friends in New Orleans, I do not miss the city itself, or its ignorance, crime, poverty, racism and corruption. New Orleans has greater challenges than just the physical rebuilding. Thank you, Denver, for welcoming my family.
Dickson Griswold, Denver
…
During President Bush’s latest visit to New Orleans, he kept promoting the “progress” the recovery was making – that same word he keeps using about Iraq.
Now I suddenly realize both how bad things really must be in Iraq, and also why things are still so bad in the wake of Katrina.
Any more of Bush’s brand of “progress” and we’ll all be moving back into caves.
Pete Klammer, Wheat Ridge
Ten years after the death of Princess Diana
Re: “The Diana cult still disappoints,” Aug. 30 Cal Thomas column.
I was unhappy to read Cal Thomas’ column on Princess Diana. Thomas is being faux naive if he really thinks that it is surprising that people care more about the beautiful than the plain. This isn’t news. The love of cuteness is one reason why infant animals have large heads and big eyes relative to their body sizes. This appearance makes it more difficult for adult male animals to kill them, and such cuteness is thus a positive survival value. This is also why teen girls tilt their heads to the side when being photographed; they are mimicking the weak neck muscles of infants in order to appear cuter.
The reason Diana was so popular was not because she was cute, but because she put a human face on the royal family, a face that people could relate to. Was she shallow? Probably. Was she self-absorbed? Perhaps. She did, after all, come from an upper-class family, and the English upper class is known for nothing if not narcissism and self-absorption. Her family was partially responsible for the Windsors becoming the royal family, back in Georgian days. That didn’t save her from being heartily disliked by the Queen, who has always presented a glacial countenance.
The part of Thomas’ article that really set me off, however, was the gratuitous slur he aimed at pagans. Referring to “false gods created by pagan peoples” has nothing to do with Princess Diana. Suppose a columnist of yours referred to “a false god created by Christian people.” Would you have printed such a slur? I honestly doubt it. Thomas’ statement is typical of the type of arrogant, smug garbage that we have become used to coming from the so-called Christian right. It has no place in your newspaper.
Chris Murphy, Lakewood
Help with medication costs
Re: “The price of wellness,” Aug. 22 news story.
Your article highlights the challenges too many uninsured and underinsured Americans face everyday. People like the Lucero family deserve access to the prescription medications they need, and they should know that help is available now.
More than two years ago, America’s pharmaceutical research companies created the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA), a central clearinghouse that connects individuals to more than 475 patient assistance programs that offer prescription medicines, for free or nearly free.
While we continue to work with policymakers and private-sector groups to find ways to improve health care coverage for all Americans, we are already helping millions of patients in need obtain their prescription medicines. People who need help should call 888-4PPA-NOW or visit to see if they are eligible for assistance.
So far, more than 4 million Americans have benefited from PPA and we look forward to helping many more in need.
Ken Johnson, Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Washington, D.C.
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