Are conservatives as wise as they think they are?

[Democrats_win]

My father always said that they shouldn't let people rebuild after a hurricane. He was referring to single "dream" homes that had government subsidized insurance needed to rebuild. In that instance my father was wise. He would build his house on a firm foundation away from hurricanes.

I'm sure that many can remember their father's wisdom. Now, conservatives emulate their father's wisdom and say New Orleans shouldn't be rebuilt.

I don't need to tell you that there are ways to protect huge cities from hurricanes. ABC showed how Holland spent $8 billion to protect its cities from the worst hurricanes. New Orleans will cost over $100 billion to rebuild or replace.

Its not only a matter of the human spirit to conquer nature, but also our refusal to accept anything but the best of ourselves. Port cities are excellent locations to help us compete with the rest of the world. There's no question New Orleans must be rebuilt.

Oh, if we insist on conservatives being wise, they are: penny wise, pound foolish. After all, their clown president took money from repairing the levees to spend on the war for oil. Even the dumbest republicans know that you go to war with the oil you have which must be protected just in case you don't get the oil you want.

That's why our gas is so expensive today--due to the lack of wisdom.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

1. Short answer - no.

The major thesis of conservatism is that private enterprise can do a better job than government. How many times has this been disproved in our very recent past? Private enterprise as a substitute for government works only in a very limited sense for the connected few who profit from the enterprise at the expense of the people as a whole. Like:

ENRON gaming the free market in utilities
Countless companies screwing their employees with their pensions
The insanity of the cost of healthcare
Ditto the cost of Education

I have always felt that the really BIG stuff should be part of government:
Defense, Utilities, Healthcare, Transportation, Environment, Natural Resources, Social Safety Net (SS, Medicare, Disability, etc.) are my big 7. I waffle on Education.

One thing the war in Iraq and Katrina have informed me about - the ZILLIONS of dollars the average citizens of this country contribute for the profligate squandering of those in charge whose ONLY concern is the feathering of their own nests and the nests of their family. You and I look like we have mange because our feathers are in other nests.