ProfNet Wire: Government & Law: Impact of Hurricane Katrina
ROUND-UP: IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA (continued)
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**1. DAVID ROSNER, U.S. Marine Corps (reserve) intelligence officer and former combat service support officer, is a veteran of Hurricane Iniki relief operations, the first Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom: "The criticism of the Katrina recovery effort is ill-informed, due to a lack of understanding of the rules and regulations allowing for military assistance. There is also a misconception by the public regarding the logistical capabilities of civilian and military agencies." Rosner has logistics and military intelligence support experience at the tactical (on the ground) and operational (planning) level. He combined both in Operation Iraqi Freedom. As a civilian, Rosner works as a political and military commentator.
**2. BRYAN BYERS, criminal justice professor at BALL STATE UNIVERSITY: "Television audiences may have been shocked to see people looting New Orleans retail outlets -- stealing food, beverages and guns. Such behavior, however, is common when normal social structure breaks down. Under normal circumstances, people go about their lives and conform, accepting that the regular social structure is in place. The situation quickly deteriorates when disaster hits and the daily social structure deteriorates. While some of the people looting are common criminals, the majority may be ordinary, everyday people who are in a panic because food and water are suddenly in short supply."
**3. ROBERT H. NELSON, professor at the UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND and author of "Private Neighborhoods and the Transformation of Local Government": “A homeowners group in Ocala, Fla., recently said evacuees from Hurricane Katrina are not welcome in their community. From 1980 to 2000, half the new housing units built in the United States were in private community associations. Private Community Associations are becoming more powerful and controversial by the day. These associations have private governments that are supplanting traditional local governments in the United States. They are also shifting government down to the neighborhood level. Community associations elect a board of directors by vote of the property owners. They have the power to levy private taxes. These private governments have greater regulatory powers than public governments. The private community association is a revolutionary hybrid in American society that combines elements of traditional local public government and the private business corporation."
**4. CARL S. RICHIE JR., attorney at GARDERE WYNNE SEWELL and Austin Housing Authority board member: "Anticipating the need for long-term accommodations for evacuees, local public housing authorities have been asked to give preference to those displaced by Katrina. However, many LPHAs already are operating with years-long waiting lists. We want to help, but with most of our public housing units operating at near-total occupancy, there simply is nothing available. Emergency Section 8 vouchers have been requested from HUD. With these, special arrangements can be made with local landlords to provide suitable housing options for families, allowing them to move out of the mass shelters and into some sort of normalcy."
**5. HOPE LEWIS, professor of law at NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: "The catastrophe in the Gulf Coast is more than an appalling natural disaster requiring a humanitarian response. It is also a horrific human rights crisis. Responses now coming from federal, state and local authorities, as well as private individuals and groups, are crucial to address many needs. But some are beginning to recognize that basic needs -- food, water, shelter and health care -- are a matter of human rights as well as charity. The admirable and overwhelming outpouring of financial and other support should supplement a firm foundation that makes economic and social human rights as much a priority as the civil and political rights we so cherish and defend."
**6. JAMES COBB, Ph.D., historian at the UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, is an expert in Southern history and wrote extensively about floods and flooding in the Delta, including the big 1927 flood: "What we are seeing in the devastated coastal communities is a fierce localism and attachment to place acting in concert with a traditionally southern fatalism in which the world is seen as a hostile and menacing place from which it is generally wiser to expect the worst. The result is an expectation of struggle as a natural part of life and a perception that life's hardships and struggles are better borne at home in a familiar place among familiar people.�
**7. DAN KNIGHT is an administration of justice professor at SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY in Newport, R.I., and a retired FBI agent. Knight’s students have been approached by at least four local police departments to administer Citizen’s Surveys in their effort to attain professional accreditation, an increasingly important designation in the wake of New Orleans police officers abandoning their jobs in alarming numbers following Hurricane Katrina: “This is an effort to find out what the people think. We also ask a lot of quality- of-life questions -- how do they feel about racial relations? How safe do they feel in their neighborhood?�
**8. STAN SOLOWAY, president of the PROFESSIONAL SERVICES COUNCIL, can answer questions about the government’s special hurricane procurement policies and the role of the private sector in this unprecedented reconstruction effort. The Professional Services Council is the leading advocate on legislative and regulatory policies and practices that affect the government professional and technical services industry. Prior to joining PSC, Soloway served as the deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition reform.
ROUND-UP: SUPREME COURT TRANSITION (continued)
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**1. LEANE MEDFORD, attorney at Dallas’ ROSE WALKER: "Although Senate Democrats are concerned about the Supreme Court shifting even further to the right, they now may not put up a big fight over the nomination of John Roberts. They'll most likely wait to do battle over the next Bush administration nominee. Now that Judge Roberts is in line to replace Chief Justice Rehnquist, you can argue it's pretty much an even switch -- at least from the standpoint of judicial philosophy. But Justice O'Connor has always been seen as more of a moderate. You can count on the Democrats to strongly oppose any nominee for her seat who lacks a similar middle-of-the-road approach."
**2. JOHN MALTESE, Ph.D., political scientist at the UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA and author of "The Selling of Supreme Court Nominees," is an expert in the area of the judicial nomination process. Much of his work has focused on the development of institutional structures and the effect that those structures have had on processes like presidential-press relations and judicial appointments: "Through his two appointments to the United States Supreme Court, President George W. Bush has the opportunity to influence Court decision making for decades to come. If confirmed, John G. Roberts, Jr., would be the youngest person to become chief justice since John Marshall in 1801, and it is possible that he could lead the court for more than 30 years."
**3. JOHN C. NEIMAN, J.D., assistant professor at the UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA School of Law: "John Roberts was probably the MVP among Supreme Court litigators during the year when I worked as a clerk. He had more oral arguments that year than any other private practitioner, and he always did a stellar job. I am sure the justices are pleased that so fine a lawyer is about to join their ranks." Neiman clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy from July 2001 to July 2002.
ROUND-UP: WORLD OIL SUPPLY (continued)
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**1. ALBERT L. DANIELSEN, Ph.D., director of the Bonbright Center at the UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA's Terry College of Business: “The longer-term price increases over the past year for gasoline have been due to the higher price of crude oil. Crude prices have increased about $10 per barrel in the last few weeks. This alone would increase gasoline prices by about $0.25 per gallon. The price spike we are seeing today simply means the marketers (service stations) are making a lot more. The price spike will also probably cause some people to travel less and otherwise conserve on their usage. Maybe more carpooling, but I doubt if it will last. People are already planning to buy smaller and more fuel-efficient automobiles, and I suspect the current scare will convince more of us to drive smaller cars.�
**2. MYRON EBELL, director of global warming and international environmental policy at the COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE, also chairs the Cooler Heads Coalition, which comprises over two dozen non-profit groups that question global warming alarmism and oppose energy rationing policies, and edits the Cooler Heads Newsletter. Ebell has appeared as a guest on numerous television shows, including the "NBC Nightly News," "PBS News Hour," BBC, CNN, C-SPAN and MSNBC. He has appeared on hundreds of radio talk shows, and his writings have appeared in a variety of publications, including USA Today, Washington Post, Human Events and Environmental Law Forum.
ROUND-UP: MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS (continued)
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**1. FLYNN WARREN, clinical professor at the College of Pharmacy at the UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, lived in Saudi Arabia for eight years: "The basic problem with the inability to find peace in the Middle East is that there are too many fingers in the pie and there is a need to meet the demands of too many groups."
**2. ILAN BERMAN, vice president for policy at the AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY COUNCIL, is an expert on regional security in the Middle East, has consulted for the CIA and the Pentagon, and is a frequent guest on radio and television. His writings on international security and American foreign policy have appeared in publications such as The National Interest, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times and Middle East Quarterly and others. Berman is also an adjunct professor at the National Defense University, a member of the Committee on the Present Danger and editor of the Journal of International Security Affairs.
ROUND-UP: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE (continued)
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**1. DALE BULLOCK, founder and president of BONDS LIMITED, a gay dating agency: "Governor Schwarzenegger's decision to veto the same-sex marriage bill flies in the face of a major social trend: that gays and lesbians will enjoy the same legally approved loving and monogamous relationships as their straight counterparts. The world itself is taking the lead in approving such unions and the United States one day will catch up. It’s unfortunate that the governor is not choosing to act as a leader today; however, we feel assured that he will be compelled to be a follower tomorrow."
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LEADS
**1. LAW: JUDGE SAYS ARAB BANK CASES CAN GO FORWARD. MARK WERBNER, attorney at SAYLES WERBNER: "A New York judge has ruled that lawsuits filed on behalf of hundreds of victims of terrorism will be allowed to proceed in Brooklyn federal court. The federal lawsuits say the Arab Bank has helped funnel money to the families of suicide bombers by acting as the administrator of an 'insurance plan' maintained by the Saudi Committee in Support of the Intifada Al Quds. This ruling really paves the way for these American terrorism victims to have their day in court.� Werbner represents the families of Americans who have been injured or killed in terrorist attacks by Palestinian suicide bombers.
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