Which way do we go after the hurricane?

Re “Bush Pledges Aid for ‘Long Haul,’ ” Sept. 10

Under presidential authority, George W. Bush quietly suspended the Davis-Bacon Act, which mandates that federal contractors observe the prevailing wage in the hiring of workers. The result will be that the pork-laden reconstruction contracts doled out to the administration’s buddies will guarantee even higher profit margins. Why pay $9 an hour when you can snag desperate jobless and homeless victim-workers for minimum wage?

Bush and his cronies appear to envision the United States as consisting of only an investor class. Everyone else is viewed as expendable.

HOWARD PRINCE

Garden Grove

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Re “No gain from just blame,” Opinion, Sept. 10

The Democratic Party has a golden opportunity to take over the national agenda. While I wholeheartedly agree with Rosa Brooks’ ideas, she overlooked the issue of healthcare. The healthcare “system” we have will bankrupt us as well as result in more needless deaths if we do not apply the reality-based thinking she proposes for our foreign policy. Through compassion for the less fortunate, respect for the environment, effective energy policies and healthcare reform, we can again be the greatest nation on Earth.

As Donald Rumsfeld said in 2003, “Stuff happens.” How we deal with the stuff will determine our future.

DEBRA MATHENEY

Bakersfield