fire and arnold plans to make the poor pay

Trial By Fire
By Marc Ash
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Tuesday 04 November 2003

It's raining now, finally, in Los Angeles. The relief comes not a
moment
too soon for crews fighting an uphill battle to contain several
infernos. To
date, 750,000 acres, 3,700 homes and 20 lives - including that of one
firefighter - have been
lost. The tragedy is a case-study in the dangers of deregulation, or
more
aptly, the absence of any regulation at all.

The sight of human beings literally bounding out of the forests
side-by-side with Bambi and Thumper should provide a clear explanation
for
the origins of this fiasco for even the most Fox-News-deluded among us.
However, leaving nothing to chance,
here's the breakdown in black and white.

The rules for development in the West are simple; Rule number 1:
'Build
first, and ask questions later.' Rule number 2: 'Profit isn't the most
important thing, it's the only thing.' Everyone living in Southern
California has had the experience of driving down a stretch of road one
day,
only to travel the same road the following day, and see 350 homes where
none
had stood the day before. Where did they come from? Who built them? How
did
the builders get permission? How will this overnight community be
sustained?
What will be the impact on existing communities? See Rules 1 and 2
above.

For the record: habitation is not the same thing as development. Yes,
homes can be built in most of the areas in which they were lost this
past
week, and survive wildfires, if they are built "responsibly." Had the
majority of the homes in question been built to withstand a fire season,

they would have done so. Building materials such as stucco, adobe, and
Spanish tile roofing are readily available and would have fared far
better
than the predominant wood-frame plasterboard two-story tinder boxes that

have been front page photo material for the past week. Did the
developers
know this? Did those who issued the permits know it? Did the lawmakers
in
Southern California know it? You bet your life they did.

What I am proposing is blasphemous: traditional building methods,
craftsmanship, investment in the future. This is forbidden fruit, clear
evidence that I am off my rocker. Surely I cannot expect modern
California
to respect building methods that have served mankind for thousands of
years.
The only way is the new way - slash and burn.

If the firefighters had a say in issuing the permits for the
developers,
you can rest well assured that better standards would be adopted
overnight.
The firefighters are the ones whose lives are on the line trying to save

those homes when a fire does approach.

"Free Market" Disaster

The firefighters do have a say but a very limited one. In the end,
"freedom" for southern California businessmen/developers is interrupted
to
mean "cash and carry," regardless of the consequences. If you haven't
seen
the images of the people who
have lost everything standing bewildered in the middle of what used to
be
their homes, betrayed and alone, then look again. You and I stand beside

them, next in line.

Further, in pursuit of your safety, Congress has caved in to George W.

Bush's "Healthy Forests Initiative." The Senate approved a deal brokered
by
Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey, former timber industry lobbyist,

which allows logging
interests to "thin" 20 million acres of public lands -- for your safety,
of
course. Again, the "free market" gets its legislation and its profits,
while
the community gets lip service. The fact is that, as "free marketeers,"
the
logging companies are in it for the profit, and since deadwood and
scrub-brush don't sell very well down at the Home Depot, the substances
that
provided the very fuel for the wildfires will remain the problem of the
state. The lumber that can be sold will be taken out by the "free
marketeers."

Handing over the states natural resources to George W. Bush's logging
interest cronies does nothing to address the cause of the problem.
Experts
say that 9 in 10 forest fires are started by man. That includes both the

accidental and the deliberate. That's pure human malfeasance. Congress
can't
fix that by rolling over for Mr. Bush or his campaign donors. It has to
be
confronted on a local level.

We need better resources for the fire fighters. We need seasonal
reinforcements standing by to bolster existing manpower during the
critical
fire season, and more air craft equipped to fight the blazes from the
air.
These are two very important
items, but the list is long. The fires will return. The "free
marketeers"
won't stop them. It's time to demand that the best interests of the
community be put first, It is time to start paying attention.

Marc Ash is the Executive Director of t r u t h o u t. He can be reached
at:
ma@...

***

Schwarzenegger Taps Riordan and Arduin
The Associated Press

Monday 3 November 2003

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Donna Arduin, a budget official known for
cutting billions in social services in Florida under Gov. Jeb Bush, has
been
named California's new finance director.

Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger also announced Monday that former Los

Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan has agreed to become the state's new
education
secretary. The appointments are the first of more than 150 the new
governor
is expected to make in coming weeks.

Arduin is engaged in an audit of California's budget for
Schwarzenegger --
a project considered critical to creating the new governor's spending
plan.

"I have a great deal of confidence in Donna's ability to bring state
spending under control and find cost savings in the state budget,"
Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

Arduin resigned as Bush's budget director on Monday. In Florida, she
was
known for helping slash money for such things as eyeglasses, hearing
aids
and dentures for low-income residents.

"If she turns out to be a slash-and-burn sort, I'm not sure that will
serve him well, but we'll see," said Senate Pro Tem John Burton, a
Democrat.

Arduin was not available for comment Monday.

Riordan, a longtime friend and Schwarzenegger supporter, was known for
his
aggressive support of public schools during his term from 1993 until
2001.

Shortly after Schwarzenegger announced Riordan's appointment, the
California Teachers Association said that one of its officials, John
Hein,
had withdrawn from the Schwarzenegger transition team.

A terse statement from CTA President Barbara Kerr called the secretary
of
education one of the most redundant officials in state government,
adding
that the post should be eliminated to "free up money that could be spent
on
students."

Later, Kerr said the union had no current problems with Riordan, but
acknowledged it has disagreed with him in the past. In recent school
board
elections, the former mayor and the union backed rival candidates.

Karen Hanretty, a Schwarzenegger spokeswoman, said Hein's resignation
was
puzzling, and that "it is unfortunate that he does not want to
participate
in reforming public schools."

***
-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
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