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Show ORLEANS From page 10 My grant was "adjusted?! Impressive! 99 there wasn't enough time to was "downtown Baghdad." strengthen the lifesaving levees, Thafs an exaggeration, of but where was the comprehen- course, but in both cities U.S. sive disaster response? Where authorities scrimped on orderwere the planeloads of tempo- keepers -- penny-wise poundrary generators and pumps to foolishness at its worst. keep the electricity and water While a few journalistic going? knee-jerkers, such as NBC's And most of all, where were Brian Williams, were on hand the battalions of law enforcers, to pour out their liberal bleedincluding, if need be, troops ing hearts upon the looters from around the country? - v we saw what can happen Nowhere. when people have nothing," he The comparison to Baghdad told his audience on Tuesday two years ago is inescapable. - other reporters offered a Back then, Secretary of Defense more honest and hard-nosed Don Rumsfeld, in love with judgment. On the same day his vision of high-tech warfare, that Williams was describing was unwilling to commit the the thieving criminals of New "boots on the ground" that Orleans as napless victims, The might have kept the peace. AP reported that looters "floatInstead, Rumsfeld waved away ed garbage cans filled with concerns about the collapse of clothing and jewelry down the Iraqi civil society with such airy street in a dash to grab what comments as, "Freedom's unti- they could." Clothing? Jewelry? dy." Back to New Orleans. On Not the first needs of the hunWednesday, a tourist told The gryAssociated Press that the city Moreover, The AP contin- ued, looting "took place in full view of police and National Guard troops." This is governmental malpractice - from the city, the state, the feds. As in Iraq, the government has chosen to scrimp on the key to effective law enforcement: a big, visible presence on the streets. There are times when simple quantity has a quality all its own. Yes, ifs great to have an elite "Starship Troopers" military, skilled at surgical-strike combat. But there are times when we also need a bootheavy corps of Beetle Baileys to be visibly large and in charge of every street corner. And wnafs true for Baghdad is true for the Big Easy. If homeland security is to have any meaning, it should focus on all threats to the home front. This week, the homeland securitizers failed, big-time. Pinkerton is a columnist for Newsday. I started class half-time. I added two classes and they adjusted my grant to full-time. Overnight! (Has to be done the first three weeks of the semester, though.) And, ill want to drop? I just need to add classes during the first three weeks to make up for what I drop. (If I don't, I have to repay some or all of my grant. Immediately.) And, if I add classes the same day that I drop, I could save some cash. _ Impressive! • PURPLE NERGY From page 10 From page 10 to loan oil companies crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and it tried to increase the supply of refined fuel by easing the air-quality requirements for gasoline sold outside California. More insidious is the impact on natural gas, which fuels about 40 percent of the electricity generated in California. Wholesale prices have already jumped 16 percent in Southern California, and those increases are sure to be felt by anyone paying for air conditioning. The disruption of the Gulf drilling platforms and pipelines could mean that less natural gas will be socked away for the winter, when the need is greatest. The country amassed a healthy surplus early this year, but most of that cushion has been consumed by power plants during the unusually hot summer months. There's no quick fix for the looming problems with the supply of natural gas. Because there are so few places to stockpile liquid natural gas -- only five in the United States --we cannot simply import the stuff from a foreign producer to replace what we're losing from the Gulf. Liquid natural gas storage facilities are controversial; a proposal to put one in Long Beach Harbor has drawn fierce resistance. Hurricane Katrina has created far more urgent challenges, of course, which President Bush outlined in his remarks to the nation Wednesday. But one of the problems Katrina has exposed is not just the vulnerability of the Gulfs energy supplies but the need for a comprehensive energy plan that relies on more varied sources of energy. This editorial appeared in Thursday's Los Angeles Times. have a point about expanded stemcell research. What did Republicans do? Eat him up. Former Congressman and Democrat Tim Roemer ran to be the party's chair. F^rt of his platform suggests pro-life voters be welcomed into the party. What did Democrats do? Eat him up. Is the same trend taking place at Utah State? One student in his letter to the editor suggested the Statesman was becoming a bully pulpit. He concluded by saying, "There are better things to say and I am sure such articles are being submitted. I wish the editor would print them" {April 4, 2005). I agree. I wish more articles that do not attempt to bully one side or the other were published. But they are not. And why? No one ever submits them. So write, and stop the Purple People Eaters. Or else they might just steal your vitamins. Ion Cox is a columnist tor the Utah Statesman. Comments can be sent to , jcox@cc.usu.edu. Who Said Going Back to School Isn't Fun? THE FACTORY PIZZERIA OUTSTANDING CRUST • ALL FRESH INGREDIENTS Welcome Back! ICE COLD TAP BEER ALSO WINE BY THEGLASS OR BOTTLE For details about this and other changes in Financial Aid, visitwww.usu.edu/finaid. You can cross copying, collating and binding off your "to do" list. HOMEMADE ITALIAN SANDWICHES •'' , | L - - . 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