New Orleans        Whenever civil rights are expanded, it is a time for applause and attention, and yesterday in Congress by a near unanimous vote the rights of the disabled were significantly expanded.    As always, this bill was a compromise, but for a change it was also a bit of corrective surgery, because the bill …

New Orleans        Yesterday’s blog talked about two problems with getting emergency food stamps to people in the humanitarian crisis that is represented by a mandatory — and potentially necessary and lifesaving — evacuation in the face of a hurricane.  Today I would like to add something to this theme and pile on in another …

New Orleans        In the wake of the glancing blows from Hurricane Gustav and the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans and almost 2 million people in south Louisiana, citizens are still learning about the huge gaps in dealing with a government that is bureaucracy centered, rather than people focused.  The latest fiasco that surprisingly has …