William Rodney Herring

An April 26 mass emailing from Texas Representative Pete Gallego asks recipients to "Donate to help Eagle Pass today." Rep. Gallego writes:

Yesterday, Eagle Pass and parts of southwest Texas were hit hard by terrible storms and a destructive tornado. Today we honored those in the community who have lost their homes and loved ones in the recent storm.

I have a fondness for Eagle Pass. Years ago, the community helped me establish my political career. I was privileged to serve Maverick County for 12 years before redistricting and it is the home of Pete P. Gallego Elementary.

It is always difficult to understand and handle the loss of life especially when it is caused by the sudden andp destructive hand of Mother Nature. With the strong leadership of county and city officials and the helping hand of local and state-wide neighbors, I have no doubt that the community of Eagle Pass will get through this difficult time.

In the wake of this tragedy we are working with the local community, state agencies, elected officials, and the federal government to assist any way we can. Can you help too?

Now, this is generous of the Representative, and I'm all for compassion and charity, but isn't there something really annoying (perhaps irresponsible) about a politician asking individuals to donate to help in a community recovery effort? Isn't it his duty to make sure the state has an adequate Emergency Management Agency to handle such problems?? Isn't the privatization of disaster recovery yet another way of letting ourselves and our government off the hook for thriving on systematic exploitation?

I'll admit I'm especially cynical after the $30M fundraiser/PR/advertising campaign that American Idol and News Corp. orchestrated last night. Thirty-million dollars for people who really need it, of course, is wonderful, as is raising awareness about that need. But the truly radical move would have been to donate ALL the proceeds and to call on the US government to full-on participate in things like debt relief, foreign aid, and domestic aid/relief for all its own citizens.