author is (whom is obviously afraid to sign his work), just couldn't resist taking a few potshots at the war through the hurricane.
Watching helplessly from afar, many citizens wondered whether rescue operations were hampered because almost one-third of the men and women of the Louisiana National Guard, and an even higher percentage of the Mississippi National Guard, were 7,000 miles away, fighting in Iraq. That's an even bigger loss than the raw numbers suggest because many of these part-time soldiers had to leave behind their full-time jobs in police and fire departments or their jobs as paramedics. Regardless of whether they wear public safety uniforms in civilian life, the guardsmen in Iraq are a crucial resource sorely missed during these early days, when hours have literally meant the difference between evacuation and inundation, between civic order and chaos, between life and death.
But it's already a very costly game of catch-up. The situation might have been considerably less dire if all of Louisiana's and Mississippi's National Guard had been mobilized before the storm so they could organize, enforce and aid in the evacuation of vulnerable low-lying areas. Plans should have been drawn up for doing so, with sufficient trained forces available to carry them out.
Let's look back through history. Florida has had three, four? hurricanes, just this year. How many cases of looting and anarchy did you see? I don't recall any, although to think that nobody stole anything after a natural disaster is probably a little naive. But the fact is, there was order and control there. And guess what? They have National Guard soldiers in Iraq as well. So I'd have to say that the entire gist of this article has just fallen flat.
Of course I'm sure that they can then turn around and argue that this disaster is worse than anything Florida faced, but I'm not so sure that will hold water either. Except for the massive flooding, I've seen Florida sustain some pretty bad damage. But even the flooding doesn't excuse what's going on.
The looting started the day that the rain stopped. There was no time for societial deteroriation due to lack of leadership. If people were starting to loot NOW, I might be inclined to agree with that. But when you go out and start stealing stuff the minute the rain stops falling, you're just looking to steal stuff. Especially when that stuff is name brand clothes, TVs, radios and other non-consumables. You liberals need to get used to the fact that, try as you might, you simply can't blame a natural disaster on Bush. He didn't cause it, he couldn't stop it, and he is now reacting to it. That's about the best you could ask for out of anyone. So pull your head out of your backside and realize that there are people of the United States that need your help. Not your preaching about how Bush is evil. Try pulling together and let's see what we can do. We did it after 9/11 and I'm sure, if you try hard enough, you can put your Bush-hate aside and join us in rebuilding the lives that have been devistated by this.
Posted by: Howie at September 02, 2005 10:07 AM (D3+20)
2
The NY Times could just as easily make the argument that the reason it is so bad in NO, is that it is a city infested with Democrats. That argument would be just as wrong. Do you suppose the large amounts of methamphetamines these clowns are ingesting is affecting their ability to thing reasonably or is it more likely just a case of liar, liar, pants on fire.
I wish I had a subscription, so I could cancel it.
Posted by: Defense Guy at September 02, 2005 10:36 AM (jPCiN)
3
You're right, Drew. The looting and lawlessness started before the physical condition of New Orleans got as bad as it would. And I'm sick and tired of the blame being put on the federal government. What about the local government's preparedness? Unfortunately, too many were too trusting that the good side of people would shine through. Instead, what we see is the result of a history of a lack of policing in a town that has always been known to look the other way for petty crimes such as prostitution and basic lewd behavior among other things. This is the sort of atmosphere that draws the less desirable faction of our society. And these are the people who are inclined to fall further into criminal activity with less provocation.
You'd think that all these years, with so much money pouring into a city from visitors from all around the world, enough of it would have found its way to offering more opportunity for its citizens. Instead it's been used as indiscriminate charity which has kept them poor. There's no good reason or excuse why so many in such a city should be so poor.
It's a crying shame that the decent people of New Orleans have fallen victim to those animals when people really need to pulling together instead of praying on one another.
Posted by: Oyster at September 02, 2005 10:47 AM (fl6E1)
4
When Katrina went through Florida a few days before it hit New Orleans, it was little more than a tropical storm. By the time it got to the Big Easy, it was right at the line between Category 4 and 5. The damage here is even worse than in Hurricane Andrew in 1992, in which there WAS widespread looting.
I can understand doing what you have to do to survive, but many of these looters weren't taking food and water. They were taking jewelry, electronics, big-ticket items. Where are you going to plug in that flat-screen HDTV and what do you think are you going to watch?
What really disturbed me is the reports of some of the cops actually joining the looters.
I think the ability to keep civil order depends on two main factors: first, the severity of the disaster, and second, the availability of law enforcement resources.
This is the worst natural disaster in the U.S. in a hundred years.
And New Orleans cops have a long standing and well earned reputation for being crooked.
Two plus two.
Posted by: IO ERROR at September 02, 2005 10:49 AM (Emro5)
5
Rather that's "preying".
Posted by: Oyster at September 02, 2005 10:49 AM (fl6E1)
6
Oh, I hate when I forget things. The policy now for the National Guard to deal with looters is "
shoot and kill," according to the governor.
Posted by: IO ERROR at September 02, 2005 10:51 AM (Emro5)
7
But Rusty, anyone can see that Bush Hitler and his gang of war criminals caused this calamity to jack the price of oil.
You are just trying to deflect attention from Cindy Sheehan and her war on Bush Hitler.
Posted by: Filthy Allah at September 02, 2005 10:53 AM (5ceWd)
8
New Orleans is famous for its corruption, crooked politicians, and Mob connections - isn't it like Mafia-City South?
I'm concerend that aid going to New Orleans will wind up like aid to Africa - some bossman type is gonna pocket the majority of it.
Posted by: -keith in mtn. view at September 02, 2005 10:57 AM (lKqPU)
9
Yep, Filty. I just read yesterday that "wasn't it convenient for the neocons that a hurricane hit New Orleans to take the focus off Cindy's plight".
There are some truly despicable people out there.
Posted by: Oyster at September 02, 2005 10:59 AM (fl6E1)
10
I love how the anonymous communist piece of shit author wrote that the victims were almost all black, but neglected to point out that the criminals are almost all black too. This is what blacks do when nobody can stop them; rape, pillage, and kill. Anywhere that there is a concentration of blacks is a defacto third-world country, and nobody can deny this now.
Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at September 02, 2005 11:08 AM (0yYS2)
11
I've been reading a lot of message boards and blogs, specifically black oriented ones, and I'm disgusted. Most responses are the standard tripe; they deserve to loot because they're oppressed, and Whitey's getting what he deserves. Blacks are showing that they hate us and would all go on the rampage if they had the excuse. Let them come, I've got lots of ammo.
Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at September 02, 2005 11:17 AM (0yYS2)
12
There's a whole bunch of things absolutely, outright wrong (lies?) in the NYT accusations; the issue of the National Guard readiness and capability, to whit such crap as:
The situation might have been considerably less dire if all of Louisiana's and Mississippi's National Guard had been mobilized before the storm
Fact: "In June long before the 2005 hurricane season shifted into overdrive, the state military's second-in-command, Brig. Gen. Hunt Downer, told The Times the Louisiana Army National Guard was practiced and ready to handle the big storms."
and as to strength in numbers, FACT:
"Despite prominent roles in the War on Terror, the states report more than the 50 percent strength mandated for homeland missions. Louisiana has 65 percent of its troops available for state missions; Mississippi, 60 percent; Alabama, 77 percent; and Florida, 74 percent, Guard officials said."
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050830/NEWS01/508300352/1002/NEWS
As to the question of preventive action??
"In 1977, plans for hurricane protection structures at the Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass were sunk when environmental groups sued the district. They believed that the environmental impact statement did not adequately address several potential problems, including impacts on Lake PontchartrainÂ’s ecosystem and damage to wetlands." (page 4-of-12)(http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/Riverside/Sept-Oct_04_Riv.pdf)
ALL THIS: Hat-tip McQ at QandO Blog: http://www.qando.net/
...unreported is the fact that this project was initially sunk in 1977 by environmentalist lawsuits. And that nothing has been seriously done since then by any administration. That the project is a 25 year project, and had the work begun in the presidency of Jimmy Carter, its possible it wouldn't have been completed in time for Katrina. But no: it's Bush's fault.
Posted by: -keith in mtn. view at September 02, 2005 12:37 PM (lKqPU)
13
Thank you for that Keith.
Posted by: Oyster at September 02, 2005 12:42 PM (fl6E1)
14
You bet Oyster, I'm just sick of all the stupid lies masquerading as editorial fact, spewed forth by the NYT.
Posted by: -keith in mtn. view at September 02, 2005 12:47 PM (lKqPU)
15
The NYT never misses a chance to denegrate America. Sometimes they take a chance when there is no chance. This is not one of those times. If the Gov lacked the guts to call out the Guard 8/27 Rummy should have done it on 8/28. NO has a history of riots and violence that goes back over a century. This should not be as big a surprise to anyone in any of the governments involved as they are all pretending it is. There are no clean hands here. City, state and federal governments all failed to do their primary job.
Had this been Cerritos, Cal where there has never been a riot I would except their lame excuse and tale of "caught by surprise". It is not! The tales are just plain Bu-- Sh-t. All sleeping at the switch. Cant fire elected officials but should fire Rummy. Malfeasance of the first order. More American dead than the Muslime attacks of 911. No good excuse. Rummy must go.
Posted by: Rod Stanton at September 02, 2005 12:55 PM (03F0I)
16
Money quote:
The situation might have been considerably less dire if all of Louisiana's and Mississippi's National Guard had been mobilized before the storm
Well, there you go; it's all my fault. Where did I put that crystal ball?
There's no doubt that we will learn a lot about relief response - though I'm wondering why this lesson hasn't been learned yet, given the annual hurricane season and the devastation in NC a few years back, and why a city under sea level isn't more prepared. Nonetheless - this should not affect giving and relief support, or empathy for Katrina's victims. Scapegoating and anti-Bush digs are pathetic, and these people should be condemned for letting their cynicism and politics dictate their response.
There are few places on earth without some cyclical phenomena that can endanger and kill people who live there, from the heatwaves in Paris, the tsunamis in the Asian seas, flash floods in the Southwest, earthquakes in South America, droughts in Africa and hurricanes across the southern and tidewater states. Preparation for disaster can always improve, but response and support from neighbors will always be necessary.
So let's do it with a smile and figure out how we can do better as we go along. These people are already at wit's end, surrounded by death and cut off completely from the normal lives they had just a few days ago. They need a humane response.
Posted by: tee bee at September 02, 2005 01:24 PM (q1JHF)
17
tee bee:
If all the LA and MS national guard had been mobilized and in the teeth of this storm, we might be talking about a catastrophe of monumental proportions because of the thousands of dead and missing national guardsmen caught in the storm.
Instead, we hear the grousing and shin-kicking.
I wonder if there was a time when we could count on national unity, this would be it. And yet there are still people who would much rather score points than pick up the slack and save lives - even by just calling in a donation to help.
Posted by: lawhawk at September 02, 2005 01:30 PM (AcoYr)
18
The NG units did not have to be in New Orleans during the storm. There was plenty of talk about an army base that took some weakened Katrina and did okay. Gov Blanco could have asked to stage the troops there.
This is something that should have been done earlier. It takes at least three days to get a guard unit together. Remember these are weekend warriors.
Posted by: Marcus Aurelius at September 02, 2005 02:03 PM (8NokC)
19
Earthquakes happen out west in California all the time too: Parkfield is a regular laboratory. We also have a problem with dilapidated old levees and under sea-level farmlands in the Sacramento River Delta area all the way down to the SF Bay Area - built during Roosevelt's tenure by the Works Progress Administration, and seasonal rains - and with major Ecoweenie gropups who throw Wetlands lawsuits at any attempt to fix or improve things.
Posted by: -keith in mtn. view at September 02, 2005 02:34 PM (lKqPU)
20
What would have happened if that same hurricane went through New York instead od New Orleans? what would this writter for the NYT do then?
Posted by: sandpiper at September 02, 2005 07:41 PM (O2c+K)
21
lawhawk - good point. I was merely in awe of someone peeved that the future had not been foreseen and prepared for. Not that the future wasn't foreseen. But throwing more bodies into the flood is an even dumber answer than government and personal prescience. I'm still looking for my crystal ball...
Posted by: tee bee at September 02, 2005 08:07 PM (q1JHF)
22
"Whomever this author is (whom is obviously afraid to sign his work),"
Its an editorial. Its the view of the editorial board. Didn't you ever learn that?
Posted by: actus at September 03, 2005 10:21 AM (Z3mEP)
23
So it's an editorial BOARD...not just one guy. So there's like a whole bunch of these f**king wankers at the NYT, not just one.
That's encouraging.
Posted by: JonT at September 03, 2005 02:45 PM (Wkn6F)
24
Americans should realize that the rest of the world is looking at them.
Your government just abandonned all the poor people who don't own cars or have enough money to the fate of the elements of Nature. We have much sympathy for all the victims left stranded but we are outraged by the incompetence and cynicism of your leaders. Even in communist Cuba when there is an hurricane (and they have at least a couple every year), everybody vulnerable is sheltered and they have very few victims. Castro himself takes command of the operations unlike your president who prefered to stay in his ranch.
Reading some of the comments here on black people I feel disgusted. It is your government that behaves like a 3rd world country by not taking the necessary steps in time.
Posted by: Michel Meyer at September 03, 2005 04:00 PM (UcEt2)
25
Mr Meyer, get a life . . Let's start with the Mayor of New Orleans who has done nothing but carp and cry . . he has displayed all the leadership of a wet mop . . . His Police Chief is a whining crybaby with absolutely no leadership qualities nor management skills . . this isn't because they're Black, but because they're ignorant assholes who would blame anybody else for their inabilities . . add to that a Governor who sat on her wide ass and didn't call out the N.G. until two days after the sun began to shine . . and the "Poor" people were shooting at the rescue copters . . .
But, I'll be on Mr. bush's Ass in a New York minute if they decide to resurrect that "Ghetto in a Ditch" with my tax dollars!
Posted by: large at September 03, 2005 05:25 PM (Ny1Tj)
26
The non handling and then the subsequent mishandling of the riots and looting is an international disgrace. The Sec Def must go at a min. Homeland Sec should not be far behind, followed by AG. The worst I have seen by the Fed Govt. since Carter was President. If Bush does not tak action and can Don at least 06 will be bad for the GOP. Almost too incompetent to believe!
I almost think I should have voted for JFK - not really. But this is the worst in 26 years.
Posted by: Jo macDougal at September 03, 2005 05:37 PM (LbyCD)
27
New York times editorial - September 1/2005
"While our attention must now be on the Gulf Coast's most immediate needs, the nation will soon ask why New Orleans's levees remained so inadequate. Publications from the local newspaper to National Geographic have fulminated about the bad state of flood protection in this beloved city, which is below sea level. Why were developers permitted to destroy wetlands and barrier islands that could have held back the hurricane's surge? Why was Congress, before it wandered off to vacation, engaged in slashing the budget for correcting some of the gaping holes in the area's flood protection?"
===
New York Times editorial - April 2005
"Anyone who cares about responsible budgeting and the health of America's rivers and wetlands should pay attention to a bill now before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The bill would shovel $17 billion at the Army Corps of Engineers for flood control and other water-related projects — this at a time when President Bush is asking for major cuts in Medicaid and other important domestic programs. Among these projects is a $2.7 billion boondoggle on the Mississippi River that has twice flunked inspection by the National Academy of Sciences...This is a bad piece of legislation."
Posted by: Robert at September 04, 2005 10:41 PM (0C3or)
28
"Among these projects is a $2.7 billion boondoggle on the Mississippi River that has twice flunked inspection by the National Academy of Sciences."
sounds like a bad idea to implement something the experts flunk.
Posted by: actus at September 04, 2005 10:45 PM (QPrcU)
29
Of course those editorials don't take into account that every time someone has tried to do something about the levee system in LA, the environmentalists come out and start suing people until they give up. The levees could have been fixed in 1977 if the enviro-weenies hadn't stuck their noses in the process. When you consider that fact alone, it seems rather ludicrous to blame Bush for not doing something about this.
Posted by: Drew at September 05, 2005 04:50 PM (HQiW4)
30
"Americans should realize that the rest of the world is looking at them."
"Looking" at us? You're kidding, right? I don't care who's LOOKING AT US.
And comparing us to Cuba? You're kidding again, right? Do you think for one minute Castro would announce to the world how many people die in any given circumstance, natural or otherwise? You've got a lot of growing up to do.
What did you do? Read one anonymous editorial in the New York Times, formulate an opinion and race right over here to berate us? How many other blogs did you run to with the same line of crap? What the hell do you now about who failed who?
Large was right, Mr. Meyer. Get a life.
Posted by: Oyster at September 05, 2005 05:38 PM (YudAC)
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