Bushies Divert More Than Attention

It seems bringing power and water to Hattiesburg Mississippi's hospitals took a back seat to bringing them to nearby Colonial Pipeline. Under whose orders? None other than that Halliburton Hoodwink Artist, Dick Cheney. I guess that's why he emerged from his Wyoming hideaway: the bastard smelled money!

'Diversion' Raises Many Questions
From the Hattiesburg American
September 15, 2005

It was all pomp and circumstance in Collins Tuesday.

A number of federal officials - including Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman, Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta - traveled to Collins to heap praise on workers who labored to restore power to the Colonial Pipeline four days after Katrina ravaged South Mississippi.

But here's the rub: The project was undertaken - at the request of the White House - for the express purpose of providing fuel to the northeast United States. It also delayed the restoration of electricity to rural hospitals - Stone County Hospital in Wiggins and George County Hospital in Lucedale - by at least 24 hours, as well as the restoration of a number of water systems powered by the South Mississippi Electric Power Association.

Moreover, there was a very real risk that the voltage required to get the pipelines flowing would knock out power to Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg. Given the multiple problems Forrest General Hospital was experiencing, the area's looming health care crisis could have become a tragedy if power had been cut to Wesley.

Was the national gasoline crisis so serious that it necessitated restoring pipelines for Colonial immediately?

And did this issue take precedence over the needs of hurricane-ravaged South Mississippians?

Or is this one more example of the federal government's failure to comprehend the height, length and breadth of the challenges confronting our region?

You can't fault the effort of Jim Compton, general manager of the South Mississippi Electric Power Association, and his crew. In fact, what they accomplished - restoring electricity to the substations that power the pipeline, in 16 hours - was extraordinary.

You can't even fault Compton's decision to divert his crews from other projects to the pipeline. Compton said he believed it was "a presidential directive to get those pipelines operating."

But one thing is perfectly clear: The last thing South Mississi needed - especially at the height of the Katrina disaster - was a diversion of any and all available resources and manpower.