New Orleans
The Anchoress has two good pieces on the failure of local and state govt (thanks for the intro, neo-neocon). And Neo-neocon addresses the failure to prepare. View from 1776 discusses the moral failures of NO. Right Thinking has a little debate with the reflex Bush-bashers. Vilmar agrees with us - don't rebuild. RWNH covers the territory - the Bush-bashing, the immature blame-game, the racism issues, and mainly, money-raising to help out. And of course Michelle is on top of things.
My humble opinion: Despite total incompetence, ignorance, stupidity, and corruption of the local hack, low-life politicians, and unprofessional police (one third abandoned their posts, and many joined in the looting) no-one can quickly manage a natural disaster on this scale. Even if they weren't such losers. That's why they call it a "disaster." If it were manageable, it would be called a "problem." This is beyond a "problem." This is the nature-imposed destruction of a city, with a local response which was an embarrassment, both practically and morally. And why didn't Bush know they were too incompetent to handle things? Don't know. He should have been told they were incompetent losers who would pass the buck and give him the blame for their failures. Still, he was the guy who told the gov. to order evacuation, but she had no plan to do so even though everyone knew this would be a problem, for decades. And the mayor - forget it - what a pathetic grandstanding, alligator-tears, manipulative schmuck who evades responsibility for his shortcomings and errors like a seasoned politico-sociopath. I'm surprised he didn't bring out a dead puppy or dead ma or drowned grandma to the cameras, to emotionally strong-arm people in an amateur political way in a pathetic effort to save his political life. Who took care of 9-11? Guiliani and Pataki. Who has taken care of all of the hurricanes in Fla? Jeb. What is the purpose of local and state govts, if not to protect their folks? Hello. Well, I guess this isn't New York City. It's Amateur Hour. No local heroes here - too bad. They had their chance-of-a-lifetime to be national heroes instead of whining crybabies, and they flunked the test of life. And they know it, too - hence their immature blaming to conceal their shame: that's usually what blaming is all about. Well, the nation is now on the job, and those local "officials" should get out of the way and hide themselves in disgrace. Including the NO sleazebag cops and sleazebag politicians. Get out of the way. The grown-ups are arriving, now that these people have made a mockery of the concept of federalism and the notion of state and local responsibility. Because of local corrupt politics and idiot politicians, it is Bush's, and OUR, problem now.
But fear not - we will pick up the slack. For donations, we still prefer the Salvation Army - always first to arrive and last to leave. Still annoyed with the Red Cross. The $ is flowing in like a hurricane's flood. $5 or $100 - it all helps people, regardless of their characters.
And thanks, Editor Bird Dog, for unleashing me. You may need to kennel me up when you return, with a good whack with a newspaper, if you get any of them anymore.
Read our tasteless (post-hurricane, but pre-flood, satire) here, (which is coming true), and our piece on Send Money, Don't Rebuild, here.
