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February 10, 2012
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
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Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
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Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 26, 2007
/ 14 Mar-Cheshvan 5768
The un-Katrina
By
Rich Lowry
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
When disaster strikes, there's no substitute for effective government.
Whipped up by 100 mph gusts of the Santa Ana winds and burning so hot that firefighters at times could only stand back and watch, the wildfires in Southern California have burned 700 square miles, devoured 1,500 homes and enhanced the reputations of state and local officials who have handled the crisis well.
Comparing any natural disaster with Hurricane Katrina is unfair. That storm blasted an entire city, knocking out all services in New Orleans, while the California wildfires for all their vastness affect limited areas, and power and telephone service have stayed on. Many people in New Orleans lacked the means to evacuate, which isn't a problem in the upscale communities hit by the fires, where people can get into their Mercedes or Lexus and go.
But the contrast between public officials who have to cope with their own manifest inadequacies as leaders and failures to plan and prepare and those who are competent and engaged is obvious for anyone to see. The day before the California fires started (apparently in an act of arson), back in Louisiana, Republican Bobby Jindal was winning 54 percent in the Louisiana governor's race, succeeding Democrat Kathleen Blanco, who couldn't run for re-election after her on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown performance in Katrina.
The California wildfires will produce no Blancos. Like many big states, California is good at emergency response because it has to do so much of it. Fires are a perennial problem, and the response to them is constantly practiced. In contrast to the post-Katrina chaos at the top in Louisiana, lines of command and control are clear. After the worst fire season ever in 2003, San Diego instituted a "reverse 9-1-1" telephone system that strangely enough for an expensive government system has worked.
It has logged calls to 350,000 homes urging people to evacuate. In the past, people had to rely on announcements on radio and TV that they might miss if they weren't watching or listening, especially late at night. Now, a fire crew alerts the sheriff's department to what neighborhoods are in danger, and homes there receive specially crafted calls telling them to get out and the best routes to take.
The system has saved lives. In the 2003 fires, which were larger, 22 people died, most of them directly from the flames. This year, 10 people have died, but only three directly from the flames. Compared with 2003, several times more people have left their homes for safety, in the largest mass evacuation since Katrina.
San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium filled up with 20,000 evacuees and volunteers. If the Superdome in New Orleans after Katrina was like a ring in Dante's hell, Qualcomm has been like a street fair with bountiful food, and even massages, acupuncture and yoga on offer. California had the advantage of learning from Katrina, as did federal officials who desperate to avoid the mistakes of the past worked to act fast, cut through bureaucracy and coordinate closely with the Red Cross.
Nothing is ever perfect. Critics complain that officials were slow to get fire-fighting helicopters and planes into the air, although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger maintains that it was the high winds that kept them on the ground. Even as the state set aside $850 million this year for fire-fighting, it hasn't funded all the initiatives recommended by a commission after 2003. Whatever its failings, California's government isn't as addled with corruption and incompetence as Louisiana's, and that has made the difference.
Ideally, government shouldn't be big, but it should be energetic, and those (few) things it does, it should do well. Emergency response is one of them. California's response to the wildfires has been a case of "your tax dollars at work" a phrase that, in this instance, needn't carry its usual note of bitter irony.
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© 2007 King Features Syndicate
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