Flooding

Like most of you I have been anxiously watching and reading about the flooding and devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi. Philly Future has links to places accepting donations. Matt at the Tattered Coat has been gathering information as well. Attytood and Blinq both have very good posts on Katrina and the aftermath. Read the Attytood post careful and think about it as you read the last part of this post, on local flooding issues.

As I watch I think of my own, very limited experiences with flooding. One of the more dramatic stories in my family's mythology is of another hurricane and a relative in the path of the storm who put his very pregnant wife in the bathtub (he was told it was the safest place if the house collapsed), and gathered his three other children close to it. The baby was named after the hurricane.

My father died the year of a big flood. We stayed with my mother since, at the time, my father lived close by. Mr. Jane’s parents lived a 20 or 30 minute drive away but we were unable to visit them because the bridge had washed out and it would have taken us about 3 hours to get there. A woman I used to work with lost her husband in the flood. His truck was washed off the road. Rescue workers could see it but could not get to it for months until the water went down.

I was in San Francisco a few years ago for a conference and turned on the evening news only to see reports of deaths in Willow Grove due to massive flooding. It is scary to be that far away and see disaster so close to home.

Philadelphia is built along two rivers. We don’t often think about this. For those who are new to the area, here is a short history of recent floods. The city government even has a “what to do” flooding page on its website. Here’s a link on finding out if you need flood insurance. Flooding is not covered in standard homeowner’s policies. Here is a link on flooding in New Jersey. Someone has provided a link to an analysis of PA laws regarding flooding (not sure if this is current). This past spring, Yardley updated some of it's ordinances on flooding.

Here are more links on local flooding:

The 1955 flood

Hurricane Floyd

Eyewitness account of flooding on Lincoln Drive

Flooding in Upper Moreland

Philadelphia airport closed, evacuations

Why am I providing these links? Flooding affects everyone in this region. How prepared are we? While our attention is focused on the issue, try to remember to ask your elected officials next time you see them for their views on watershed management, reforestation, development in flood plains, and regional planning. If they don’t know what you are talking about, vote for the other guy. We will hopefully never see the kind of catastrophic damage that the Gulf Coast is having, but we are not immune to raging, overflowing waters, either. Will Bunch talks about Louisian funds being moved from levy repair to security measures and support for the war. I wonder what's going on here.

What Dems Need to Do

There is a very interesting dicussion going on over at Joe Hoeffel's site (www.joehoeffelandfriends.com). The topics is what the Democrats need to do to reconnect with the American people. I've been chiming in and hope many of you will also.

East is East and West is West

Capitol Ideas has found the real reason why Pennsylvania politics are so dysfunctional. The government buildings are facing the wrong direction. I'm so glad someone has figured this out. Now we just need a Keystone version of Abbie Hoffman and his gang to levitate the building, like they did the Pentagon so many years ago. While it is dangling in mid-air maybe we can shift it around.

Updates

Here are a few updates on recent postings:

Earlier this week I mentioned in passing that Joel Rice, a longshot candidate for Philly city council has a blog. Young Philly Politics has an extended posting on this young man. We need a few more people willing to tilt at windmills.

I've noted earlier that Greg Vitali was being penalized for coming out against the legislative payraise. The Inky this week had another story on that. Someone left a comment on a earlier posting here to say their legislator, Jim Casorio, was also being penalized.

Also this week I posted a note on Patrick Murphy being on AirAmericaradio. As is my usual practice when I say something nice about a politician, I sent an email to him (or to the email on his website) to let them know. (It is very hypocritica,l but when I bash someone I never say a word to them. Color my belly yellow.) In the past someone at the person's office or campaign has been quick to respond. Joe Hoeffel. Greg Vitali. Both quick, both very gracious. So I sent a note to Murphy's campaign. So far nary a peep. I also investigated Chuck Pennacchio's web site. It is very well done with lots of issue materials. Extremely thorough. There is a page that asks you to list your blog and they can contact you with information. I filled out the form and clicked submit but it came back to my email as undeliverable. That isn't good.

The Patriot Act and Libaries

Susie Madrak and the Tattered Coat have been blogging about the Patriot Act. I have a few things to say on this myself.

It isn’t the first time the FBI has been looking over people’s shoulders in the library. Like many students, when I was in college I had a part-time job on campus. In my case it was in the library. While I was there the FBI had a program called the FBI Library Awareness Program (here and here). Library workers were to keep an eye open for foreigners wanting to look at certain items. The area I worked in was regarded as low risk so we didn’t think about it much. No one was comfortable with it.

Most libraries don’t keep records of who has checked out what book once the book has been returned (another nifty reason to turn things in early and avoid those pesky overdue fines), so there isn’t that much to be found out by trying to grab someone’s library records. Plus, law enforcement has not needed circulation records to nail people who are up to no good in our public libraries. After all, merely checking a book out of the library is no indication that you have read it, as everyone who has checked out more than one book knows. Traditional police methods have been sufficient to convict at least one woman of murder based on her fingerprints on a particular page of a library book (here and here).

What offends me most about the library sections of the Patriot Act are the way critics of it are treated, specifically the words used to describe librarians with questions. Forms of “hysterical” and “easily led,” are what the Attorney General’s office under John Ashcroft used (here and here). Think about those words. Are doctors hysterical and easily led? Architects? Accountants? Not usually. Would teachers be “hysterical” and “easily led?” Nurses? Homemakers? “Hysterical” is a woman’s word, not only in origin (“wandering womb”) but also in implication. Men may become outraged or angry but they are not hysterical. Children are easily led. Grownups are not. Librarians are overwhelmingly female and Ashcroft’s office chose their words accordingly. That strikes me as slimy.

The freedom to read and learn is a cherished American virtue. Personally, I am grateful for the breadth of material found in our public libraries. At a tender age I checked out “The Wonderful Story of How You Were Born,” a book which cleared up a number of early adolescent misconceptions. Had I suspected the library might be required by law to tell the FBI (or worse, my mother) I had that book, I might still be in the dark about some basic biology.

Quality of Life on IssuesPA

The IssuesPA.com site has pulled together some interesting data on the demographic future of PA and related issues, including quality of life. It is a little hard to navigate but well worth it to find some interesting bit.

Nonpartisan? Unbiased? I Don't Think So

Last night I received a call from a young woman who wanted me to join an organization. There are no membership costs and they would never ask me for money. The organization was energy-related and they wanted to send me information from time to time on energy-related issues in an unbiased nonpartisan way so that I could contact policymakers and legislators if I wanted. I asked her where the organization's funding came from if they didn't plan on asking members for money. She said it was funded by electric companies and the coal industry. I thanked her kindly and said I did not think the information I would receive would be nonpartisan or unbiased and declined to join. It's kind of scary when you think about it.

New PoliticsPA Layout

The PoliticsPA website has changed their layout. It still has 4 columns but they have been rearranged somewhat and the color scheme is different. I noticed a few more candidates have started blogs and have listed them there. James Babb, a candidate for the state house, and Joel Rice, candidate for Philly city council (both look like longshots to my uneducated eye), have blogs that weren't there last time I checked. It would be great if more politicians did this. We have Joe Hoeffel locally. The mayor of Washington, D.C. apparantly has a blog now (via Philly (dragonballyee), who wonders what a John Street blog would look like). As noted in my previous posting on Casey, we're lucky to get an issues page on the campaign website.

PA-08 on Air America

I don't know why I get emails from congressional candidates if I don't live in their district, but this was received recently:

Tune in to WHAT-AM 1340 or log onto http://www.airamericaradio.com/ today at 5:30 P.M. to listen to Patrick J. Murphy, Democratic Candidate for the 8th District of Pennsylvania. Patrick will call into Air America's Randi Rhodes Show today at 5:30 P.M.

I hope someone can listen and report on this as I will be in transit, without radio or computer access at that time.

More New Yorker

In the August 8 &15 issue of the New Yorker, there is a lengthy (p. 42-49) profile of Harry Reid, the Senate Minority Leader. On p. 42, there is a quote from a local law prof:

[John] Robert's view of precedent is likely to be an important issue during the upcoming confirmation hearings. Earl Maltz, a conservative and a professor at the Rutgers University School of Law at Camden, says that what Roberts told Reid [he would be reluctant to overturn precedents] could be "very significant," because it runs counter to the "originalist" approach of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, who believe that the constitution should be strictly interpreted, according to the original intent of the Founding Fathers; on that premise, some previously decided cases, including Roe v. Wade, would be ripe for overturning.

My goodness, first it's an invasion of New Yorkers seeking "affordable" housing and now all this press attention. What could be next?

K-Street Project and Santorum

I'm behind on the New Yorker again, working my way through the August 1 issue. On pages 42-53 there is a story by John Cassidy called "The Ringleader" on Grover Norquist, a leading Republican conservative activist. Note this passage on p. 51:

In recent years, he [Grover Norquist] has also been involved in the K-Street Project, an audacious attempt by Republican leaders on Capital Hill, including Tom DeLay and Senator Rick Santorum, of Pennsylvania, to turn the busy thoroughfare where many corporate influence peddlers have their offices into an affiliate of the Republican Party. Republicans have warned lobbying firms not to hire any Democrats or contribute to Democratic causes if they wish to influence legislation. In 1999, Americans for Tax Reform began posting on its Web site information about which candidates and parties individual lobbyists have made contributions to, and Norquist started echoing the DeLay-Santorum line, calling for even secretaries to be Republicans.

Great move -- let's pick on secretaries and office workers and try to deny them jobs unless they belong to a particular party. This is a tactic I would find reprehensible by any political organization.

Pat Robertson Said What??!!!!!!!

Every time I see something like this I hope Robertson has finally and completely "jumped the shark," yet his followers seem to find him infallible. No Christian church, of any denomination, that I have ever attended, has, at any time, voiced or supported such views. Nor have any of the uniquely Christian sacred works I've read (currently finishing a study of the book of James, a terse, uncompromising "to do" list) voiced or supported any such views.

The man needs to review the red letter words in his Bible. Calling for the assassination of anyone, including corrupt political leaders isn't in there.

Missing Monday

PoliticsPhilly has a new Missing Monday post. Please take a look and see if you recognize this woman.

PA in Fast Company

Just finished the Sept. issue of Fast Company. Two PA-related tidbits:

1) In an interview with Greg Daniels, the man in charge of the America version of the BBC's "The Office," he says this:

One of our actors went to the town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, with video equipment ot interview people who worked at different paper companies for research. It turned out to be very similar to what's on our show. (p. 37)

2) "The Fall and Rise of David Pottruck," on the former CEO of Charles Schwab. Turns out he went to U Penn and was captain of the wrestling team (p.60). Last November he guest lectured at Wharton (p. 61). (article pp. 56-62)

[Disclaimer: Neither I nor anyone I know or am related to is employed by or benefits personally from this publication. I often buy it on the newstand but currently have a limited free subscription exchanged for some not likely to be used airline miles.]

Santorum Security Behaving Badly (Again)

The Disenchanted Forest has a rather alarming story about in-uniform but off-duty Delaware State Troopers behaving badly while providing security for Rick Santorum. Barnes & Noble are likely to suffer from the bad publicity. I certainly wouldn't go to a book signing there now.

Lotoyia Found?

Both Pax Romano and Ol' Cranky have reported on Philly Future that a body has been found in Chester and suspicions are that it is Latoyia Figueroa. News report here. An announcement is expected around 10:00 a.m. today.

Wireless Philly

A Smoke-Filled Room reported on the city's wireless bidding process. The Wall Street Journal also has an article on that subject today (p. B3). It reports that customers will get the service free for the first year while th winning company builds the wireless network, after that the standard monthly fee will be less than $20, with lower fees for the disadvantated and lower-income residents. The two finalists in the bidding are Earthlink and Hewlett-Packard. The WSJ says a third company, Intel, is helping set up pilot wireless programs in 13 cities to "improve the communications of meter readers, building inspectors, police and fire companies."

PA GOP in the News

I previously blogged on InformedPA.com, the conversative organization formed to keep the legislative pay increase in the public spotlight. Seems the state GOP is turning on its young, based on this letter. (via PoliticsPA and GrassrootsPA)

Both A Smoke-Filled Room and Keystone Politicsreported earlier this week on a Philadephia City Council staffer's suggestion that hourly legal work for hearings on take-out beer licenses be given to lawyers who "do favors for their political parties, represent people in court pro bono, and represent the politicans and community groups pro bono." I'm all for rewarding pro bono work but this seems open to misinterpretation and misuse. The staffer who suggested it was Aaron Finestone, a Republican ward leader. That must be a common name for Philadelphia Republicans, going by this.

Another Missing Monday

The Disenchanged Forest has another local missing person photo and description. Please take a look.

PA-08 websites / transcripts

Earlier today or late yesterday both Young Philly Politics and The Tattered Coat had postings on the PA-08 race, specifically on Patrick Murphy, who appeared on Hardball last night with Chris Matthews (transcript here). Matthews is the brother of GOP Montco commissioner Jim Matthews and since PA-08 includes a spec of that county I think it would have been nice if he mentioned that, as it may be perceived as a conflict of interest.

For those interested, the three declared Democratic contenders for the race are:

Ginny Schrader (www.ginnyschrader.com/)

Patrick Murphy (www.murphy06.com)

Paul Lang (www.electlang.com)

Lang is the only one whose website actually includes much issue-related material. None of them outline much community service to the area and none of them speak to local issues in any detail. I know it is a federal race but local issues are still important. Murphy's page looked the sleekest to me. Lang's has a blog that has been going for a few months.

We watch. We wait.