Posted on 09/02/2005 5:38:49 AM PDT by yankeedame
CRACKING DOWN ... TOO LATE
Yesterday afternoon and last evening I did what I have been doing most of the week ... I sat in front of the television watching the devastation and the dual nature of man unfold in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf coast.
I'm not there .. so I can't say with any certainty just what is or is not transpiring in the New Orleans war zone. I think that most of you will agree that the appearance is that the response has not been swift enough nor strong enough. It seems that were getting much more television face time with FEMA and Homeland Security officials than were are actual action. We keep hearing is what these officials are going to do. They go on television and tell us that they're conducting the biggest disaster relief project in the history of this country. Gonna, gonna, gonna. But we still see the video of Katrina victims huddled in groups all around New Orleans ... with no officials in sight.
A story came through last night from a New Orleans hospital. Doctors and nurses who had been on duty there since the hurricane struck have been moving patients to higher floors as the looters invade the floors below them. These hospitals have helicopter pads on the roofs. These are hospitals, dammit. Why aren't helicopters landing troops on the roofs of these hospitals to find these predatory looters and kill them?
Do you realize what we are seeing here? We are seeing a preview of how the federal government would handle a massive terrorist attack on a large American city. We're seeing a preview of how the federal government is going to react when -- not if, when -- Islamic terrorists manage to launch a devastating attack on a major American city. We had warning on this hurricane. Days of warning. The Muslim terrorists have already issued their warnings ... do you think we're ready?
The looters. We can't lump them all together. There are those who are looking for food and water, and those who are looking to steal anything of value they can get their hands on. There is not one among you who would not break through the door of a grocery store or restaurant to find food or water in a situation like this. Shoot them? Not good. But clearly officials were too late -- much too late -- in showing that the random looting of businesses and stores would not be tolerated.
Aren't we all a bit tired of hearing the Governor of Louisiana tells us all how she is now ready to crack down on the lawlessness in New Orleans. She's been ready to crack down for days. Have you seen it on TV? Police say that they weren't arresting people because they didn't have any place to put them. One of the first responsibilities of government in times of disaster is to restore order. This means that you stop people from preying on other people. If some looters had been shot and killed on day one -- not at grocery stores, but at clothing, appliance or jewelry stores, or in the casinos or at an ATM -- if a looter had been shot the first day, we would have seen a lot less violence.
Maybe things are changing .. finally. Now we have the Louisiana governor saying of the newly arrived National Guard troops: "They have M-16s, and they're locked and loaded ... I have one message for these hoodlums: These troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so if necessary, and I expect they will."
In 1906 a devastating earthquake hit San Francisco. The mayor at that time was one E.E. Schmitz. Mayor Schmitz issued a proclamation. Perhaps you would like to read it:
Let's take a look inside the Super Dome. They wouldn't let the media in. Why? Did they know what as going to happen there. You can't walk around in the Super Dome at night because you'll step in human waste. Women are being dragged into restrooms and raped. Fires are being started. Gunshots have been reported. Fights are commonplace. On day one helicopters could have landed outside the Superdome loaded with armed National Guardsmen with orders to treat predators harshly. Didn't happen. They searched everyone before they entered the Super Dome. No guns allowed. This left innocent people unable to defend themselves. Does it sound trite to say that an armed society is a polite society? Would the predators have been so eager to drag women off to rape them in the bathrooms if they thought that there was someone nearby with a gun that would step in?
We are reaping the results of a liberal culture that seeks to make excuses for violence and criminal activity.
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HEY JESSE! AL! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?
Several listeners emailed this question, so I thought I would pass it on. Has anyone heard from Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton? Have any of these great and exalted black "leaders" issued a statement asking for their brothers in New Orleans to stop the violence? Just asking. If you've said anything, I haven't hear it ... and I'm pretty much glued to the media on this one.
Note to Neal:
** Have any of these great and exalted black "leaders" issued a statement asking for their brothers in New Orleans to stop the violence?**
In your dreams!
This illustrates how incompetent the governor is.
Nowhere in her statement above does she exhume _any_ authority or issue a direct threat to the lawbreakers.
Her statement _should_ have been, "there are now National Guard troops patrolling the streets, and I have issued orders for them to shoot to kill if necessary to bring about order".
I suspect she is emotionally UNable to give such a command, and as such, is unfit for the office she holds.
I would further contest that this is a more-than-common problem when women are elected or appointed into positions of high authority (I know I'm gonna get flamed for making that observation). They simply are too "caring" to assume the "hard-male" stances needed in extreme emergencies.
Of course, _some_ women are notably different: Margaret Thatcher, for one. They didn't call her "The Iron Lady" for nuthin'....
As an aside, for all we conservatives hate Hillary Clinton, _she_ would not be hestitant to issue orders to "shoot to kill" in such a situation. I suppose we're going to find that out after 2009....
- John
Can silence be consent?
Or is it just easier to sit around waiting for a news crew to come around and scream "Help Us".
A lack of will combined with sheer incompetence.
you put it succinctly
good question
For a strategic port that handles the most tonnage in the USA, New Orleans' abysmal disaster management shows that Homeland Security is nothing more than a box of crayons. What a total waste of time, manpower and money that has been expended in the Homeland Security Agency... makes you realize we've been ripped off and must take our safety into our own hands.
Bush is at fault for trusting the bureaucracy. I believe he initially resisted the creation of Homeland Security Agency, but libs who seek a government solution to everything prevailed. But Tom Ridge was put in charge, and either he duped Bush or Bush didn't pay sufficient attention to what exactly was going on. I can't blame Bush for NO, but I do blame him for the total waste that is called The Department Of Homeland Security. The moral of this story: Government should lead (it can't), follow or get the hell out of the way.
Homeland Security doesn't handle natural disasters.
Mayor Nagin ain't gonna like it. The more raping, looting & murdering that goes on, the more he'll have to blame someone else for.
And his consituents will lap it up.
While we're thinking about what should have been done, if I were a manager of a store that had firearms and/or ammo on display, I would've made sure those items were secure long before the storm hit, even if I'd have had to take them home.
They should have their own capability, anyway. City police and State troopers normally have several helicopters each.
Roger that Star* ~ my wife and have been having a very passionate conversation about the situation this morning ~ thank God there is an eight mile long convoy on the way.
The lack of communication is the biggest disaster ~ too much dependence on cell phones. In the old days there were always short wave radios in cars, etc. Of course, we've never had a disaster of these epic proportions with so many diverse problems.
We'll handle it!
I blame the people of NO, their mayor, their parish presidents, and their governor for being unprepared.
Sadly, it seems the people of NO, their local government, & state government prepare much better for Mardi Gras, than they did got this major storm, that everyone knew would come one day.
(Yikes need more coffee, let me try this again)
Sadly, it seems the people of NO, their local government, & state government prepare much better for Mardi Gras, than they did FOR this major storm, that everyone knew would come one day.
You're not alone. I made an oops too:
Gov. Blanco seemed stunned that the federal government was not immediately on the scene.
Outstanding!
Exactly right. How about she says, "I am ordering the National Guard to establish order in the city. I authorize and encourage the use of deadly force to accomplish this mission."
In June of 1976 the Grand Teton Dam collapsed sending 80 billion gallons of water into the community of Rexburg, Idaho. Two thirds of the city was destroyed. Was there any rioting? No. Looting? No. In fact, when the Red Cross and the Federal Government did respond to this major disaster, they found that they were barely needed. The city had organized themselves to respond to the disaster. The predominately Mormon community came out and helped each other, to recover what they could, to provide relief for those left homeless, and to keep order. In fact, those who responded to the disaster actually got schooled by the community and the LDS Church in how to deal with a major disaster.
Compare what happened 3 decades ago in Idaho to what is happening in New Orleans right now and it is that much more sickening. I've been pondering lately how thin our civilized society is and how it may break down easily under stress. I had no idea until this hurricane tore through New Orleans and the surrounding area just how thin a veneer our civilization is in some areas of the country. Areas of the country that were dark blue on the map of the last presidential election.
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