Political Quotes

“The tragedy that hit Oklahoma earlier this week--killing innocent people and children and destroying homes, businesses, and schools--just reminds us of how vulnerable we are to the forces of nature. It wasn't the first time the wind blew in Oklahoma. In fact, that same community had been victimized by a tornado years ago. If we go back in history to the 1920s, the State of Oklahoma faced what we have now characterized as the Dust Bowl. I didn't know much about that, but I read about it. I kind of knew it destroyed lives, farms, and many people had to pick up and leave. They moved to California and other places. I ran across an excellent book written by a man named Tim Egan. Tim is from Seattle, WA. I don't know him personally, but Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell know him. He writes for the New York Times and also writes excellent books. He wrote a book called ``The Worst Hard Time,'' which tells the story about the Dust Bowl. What happened, as I understand it, was there was speculation on wheat during World War I. There was a scarcity of wheat because of the war in Europe. People in the United States saw the prices of wheat going high, so they started planting. They planted on fragile ground. As a consequence, they were churning up the ground to plant the wheat and were not mindful of some serious possibilities that the topsoil would blow away. One thing led to another and it became a natural disaster--the Dust Bowl.…”