Sir
As an American, I am stunned by Nature's chutzpah in editorializing on the performance of the US government in response to Hurricane Katrina (“Small-minded government” Nature 437, 169; 2005). And as a patriotic citizen, I am gratified by the boldness of your statement and the insight of your critique.
I hope that our domestic technical publications and professional societies will join Nature in calling clearly for reform. In particular, the politically motivated abolition in 1995 of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment was a costly mistake. The present disaster shows that ignoring warnings by technical professionals does not make problems go away.
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Nature's Editorials are written by editorial staff. As in this case, writers include US citizens and others who have lived in the United States for years — Editor, Nature.
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Chaiken, A. Katrina revealed need for reform. Let's not forget it. Nature 437, 814 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/437814d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/437814d
