Katrina disaster relief

A note on who owns the New Orleans levee system: It's the Army Corps of Engineers. See this Washington Post article (you have to subscribe, but it's free). The article provides some very interesting insights into cooperative federalism (you remember, the marble cake type): FEMA, by law, has to pay 75 percent of Louisiana's reconstruction costs (or at least the amount that's not insured). The amount is negotiable, though, and may well be higher: NYC got 100 percent of reconstruction after Sept 11.

Another interesting tidbit: The Army Corps of Engineers has to rebuild the levees and flood walls only as they were before the catastrophe. Now, we know that they have to be stronger than that...

Keywords: American National Politics; Federalism.

Andrew Card on C-Span's Q&A

This is a very interesting interview. First, you get an idea of how the White House is run, who is involved, and how they (or at least Card) view/present their work for the prez. (Card keeps repeating the phrase, "I am working at the pleasure of the president." A bit like Jeeves.) Second, Card is quite a talker - the sheer amount of words that he throws at you makes you dizzy. This guy is definitely wired. You can read the transcript, watch the video, or download the podcast here.

Keywords: American National Politics; Presidency.

Welcome

As a wise man said, a blog is the nerd's gold chain. But hey, nerds are cute.