U.S. coming apart at the seams

[odannyboy]

While we are continually being reminded of how we are all threatened by terrorists (our government spent a year and a half convincing us how we were threatened by Saddam Hussein) and we continue to pour money down a giant rathole called Iraq the basic services of the United States continue to deteriorate.

Further proof of the negligence and ignorance of those running the country.

WASHINGTON — A pipeline shuts down in Alaska. Equipment failures disrupt air travel in Los Angeles. Electricity runs short at a spy agency in Maryland.

None of these recent events resulted from a natural disaster or terrorist attack, but they may as well have, some homeland security experts say. They worry that too little attention is paid to how fast the country's basic operating systems are deteriorating.

"When I see events like these, I become concerned that we've lost focus on the core operational functionality of the nation's infrastructure and are becoming a fragile nation, which is just as bad — if not worse — as being an insecure nation," said Christian Beckner, a Washington analyst who runs the respected Web site Homeland Security Watch (www.christianbeckner.com).

The American Society of Civil Engineers last year graded the nation "D" for its overall infrastructure conditions, estimating that it would take $1.6 trillion over five years to fix the problem.

"I thought [Hurricane] Katrina was a hell of a wake-up call, but people are missing the alarm," said Casey Dinges, the society's managing director of external affairs.

British oil company BP announced this month that severe corrosion would close its Alaska pipelines for extensive repairs. Analysts say this may sideline some 200,000 barrels a day of production for several months.
Then an instrument landing system that guides arriving planes onto a runway at Los Angeles International Airport failed for the second time in a week, delaying flights.

Those incidents followed reports that the National Security Agency (NSA), the intelligence world's electronic eavesdropping arm, is consuming so much electricity at its headquarters outside Washington that it is in danger of exceeding its power supply.

"If a terrorist group were able to knock the NSA offline, or disrupt one of the nation's busiest airports, or shut down the most important oil pipeline in the nation, the impact would be perceived as devastating," Beckner said. "And yet we've essentially let these things happen — or almost happen — to ourselves."

The Commission on Public Infrastructure at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, said in a recent report that facilities are deteriorating "at an alarming rate."

It noted that half the 257 locks operated by the Army Corps of Engineers on inland waterways are functionally obsolete, more than one-quarter of the nation's bridges are structurally deficient or obsolete, and $11 billion is needed annually to replace aging drinking-water facilities.

President Bush, asked about the problem during a public question-and-answer session in an April visit to Irvine, Calif., cited last year's enactment of a comprehensive law reauthorizing highway, transit and road-safety programs.

"Infrastructure is always a difficult issue," Bush acknowledged. "It's a federal responsibility and a state and local responsibility. And I, frankly, feel like we've upheld our responsibility at the federal level with the highway bill."

But experts say the law is riddled with some 5,000 "earmarks" for projects sought by members of Congress that do nothing to systematically address the problem.

"There's a growing understanding that these programs are at best inefficient and at worst corrupt," said Everett Ehrlich, executive director of the CSIS public infrastructure commission.
Ehrlich and others cite several reasons for the lack of action:

• The political system is geared to reacting to crises instead of averting them.
• Some politicians don't see infrastructure as a federal responsibility.
• And many problems are out of sight and — for the public — out of mind.
"You see bridges and roads and potholes, but so much else is hidden and taken for granted," said Dinges of the Society of Civil Engineers. "As a result, people just don't get stirred up and alarmed."

But a few politicians are starting to notice. In March, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., joined Sens. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Tom Carper, D-Del., in sponsoring a bill to set up a national commission to assess infrastructure needs.

That same month, the CSIS infrastructure commission issued a set of principles calling for increased spending, investments in new technologies and partnerships with business. Among those signing the report were Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

"Infrastructure deficiencies will further erode our global competitiveness, but with the federal budget so committed to mandatory spending, it's unclear how we are going to deal with this challenge as we fall further and further behind in addressing these problems," Hagel said in a speech last year. "We need to think creatively."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...fragile26.html

[KBay84]

Dan, I think you are wrong to assume that it's only this presidency's fault. Using that logic, are you telling me that while Clinton was ion office, everything was in tip-top shape?

This is a definate "all hands cooperate and fix it" deal, but don't go dumping it on Bush. States get federal funding todo things, but, like the N.O. leevee, if the money isn't spent on what it is given for, then what?

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by KBay84

Dan, I think you are wrong to assume that it's only this presidency's fault. Using that logic, are you telling me that while Clinton was ion office, everything was in tip-top shape?

This is a definate "all hands cooperate and fix it" deal, but don't go dumping it on Bush. States get federal funding todo things, but, like the N.O. leevee, if the money isn't spent on what it is given for, then what?

Agreed. Our infrastructure has been substandard according to some for decades now. Our bridges have needed attention for decades now.

Correct on the federal funds being given to states and some of it not spent as it wasw supposed to be.

[odannyboy]

Originally Posted by KBay84

Dan, I think you are wrong to assume that it's only this presidency's fault. Using that logic, are you telling me that while Clinton was ion office, everything was in tip-top shape?

This is a definate "all hands cooperate and fix it" deal, but don't go dumping it on Bush. States get federal funding todo things, but, like the N.O. leevee, if the money isn't spent on what it is given for, then what?

Let me highlight perhaps the most glaring difference between President Bush and President Clinton:

President Clinton had an EXCELLENT record with FEMA because of who HE APPOINTED as its director. I urge you to Google this for further information. I believe the name is James Lee Witt but I might be wrong. When hurricanes strucks Florida and floods occurred in the U.S. we reacted quickly, and smartly. What happened in New Orleans is a relief effort with no leadership, no sense of direction, no skill whatsoever by those at the highest levels of decision making.

Under Pres. Bush, we had a crony who, by contrast to the President, seemed almost capable in comparison. We had a President who diddled and dawdled and today remains oblivious to its effects on the Gulf Coast. And this is only an indicator of one of many potential problems. Our govt. is not prepared for another. No lessons learned, no mistakes admitted.

Oh yea, and Clinton balanced the budget. Oh yea, and took care of the military instead of grinding it up in Iraq.

Yea, I LOVE it when people bring up Pres. Clinton. His record compared to Bush's? Where do we begin.

Let's talk.

[Caldric]

The pipeline is based in politics. Right now the State and Big Oil are haggling over the gas pipeline and people are not getting their way. I am no expert on all the pipeline stuff but I would not be surprised if it all was not retaliation against the State. BP is pissed because they did not get their tax break and now with Gov. Murkowski being fired, we like to say fired here, and they have little hope of getting the State to flip the bill for their profits.

Come to think of it we just booted the current governor down the road on the 22nd when he only got like 17% of the votes in the primary.

That is somewhat off topic but it is also on topic because you are not getting the full story only what fits the doom and gloom. I think the United States does a decent job to keep this entire infrastructure going that we have. New Orleans was a disaster waiting to happen and was ignored, can not blame it on Bush or Clinton. People expect too much from a president and put things on them that don’t even come under their realm of power.

FEMA should never have been part of any other government agency though. It is against the foundation of the agency and only hampers it. I think the whole Homeland Security is about the biggest screw up we have created in a long time. Did not need to build a huge bloating agency we only needed to empower the ones that already existed. It was knee jerk politics.

[odannyboy]

Oil aisde, I am talking about something NO ONE can ever know is coming, and I'm not talking terrorism. I'm talking Mother Nature. Today on the History Channel they had a lot of interesting programming on "Mega Disasters", and in 1938 around 700 people died in a hurricane in Manhattan. They could get hit again, only this time it would be MUCH worse. More built up means lots of folks being stranded by water and no power? Man, thats big time and it would affect the whole country. The strongest part of a hurricane is the right angle of the counter clockwise path. Were it to hit from the south it would wrack extreme flooding thoughout Manhattan because this angle hit a bowl shape. You think Katrina was bad? It would be nothing in comparison.

And we aint learned a damn thing from Katrin a, except every man, woman and child for themselves.

FEMA is a reflection of the White House

[Snowden]

Oh yea, and Clinton balanced the budget. Oh yea, and took care of the military instead of grinding it up in Iraq.

Clinton hated the military and made no secret of it, telling his personal guard so to their faces. He really did that, Dan. If he took care of the military it was a side effect to something else.

I've been worried about the rest of this for some time though - back further than Clinton. We've seen massive blackouts in some of the cities in the northeast - the deregularization of the electric boards (or whatever) has been disastrous, apparently. I imagine that is very recent, isn't it? But all our services have been let ride for decades it seems to me. Possibly this is partly because of rapid growth in urban areas.