Posted on 09/03/2005 4:37:24 PM PDT by forty_years
With all due deference to my colleague, Donnel Jones, it is not “over for the Bush Administration.” Maybe it is natural during a national crisis for emotions to run so high, but this blame-game has gotten out of hand. Granted, Donnel is not blaming Hurricane Katrina on Bush as so many wacky leftists are, but to conclude that this is the conclusion of Bush’s efficacy, or that this spells a certain change in who holds the House and Senate; this is just over the top.
Katrina is the “worst natural disaster in modern American history”. Could anyone have been fully prepared for an event of this magnitude? On the other hand, why was New Orleans – long known as a prime target for destruction by a hurricane – so ill-prepared for… a hurricane. And what the hell are people thinking, building up a massive urban/suburban sprawl 10 feet below sea level, hiding behind an outdated levy system? Is this the thinking: "We'll build wherever we wish -- let FEMA (the American taxpayer) foot the bill when the next hurricane comes?"
Katrina made landfall Monday, and luckily did not hit New Orleans dead on. On Tuesday, people were already breathing a sign of relief, saying the worst had been avoided. By Tuesday evening, the levies started to break. By Wednesday, people really started to understand the magnitude of the disaster. Today is Saturday. Let’s see. That gives us 2-3 days to start a massive disaster relief operation. Can you say “retroactive criticism?”
The United States is a federalist republic – a federation of states. Have we already forgotten states’ rights? Have we forgotten James Madison writing for The Federalist?:
In the first place it is to be remembered that the general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws. Its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any. The subordinate governments, which can extend their care to all those other subjects which can be separately provided for, will retain their due authority and activity. Were it proposed by the plan of the convention to abolish the governments of the particular States, its adversaries would have some ground for their objection; though it would not be difficult to show that if they were abolished the general government would be compelled, by the principle of self-preservation, to reinstate them in their proper jurisdiction.
Local authorities are first and foremost responsible for maintaining order. Is it Bush's fault that New Orleans police officers have "turned in their badges, refusing to risk their lives to try to right the city"? In our great nation, we don’t send the national army in to invade a sovereign state at the drop of the hat. If we do, it certainly takes just a little bit of time to call up the men, equip them – take care of all the logistical details – before they do come in.
Is it Bush’s fault that New Orleans, Orleans Parrish, and the State of Louisiana were woefully under-prepared for a hurricane that everyone knew was going to hit? According to Reuters:
Virtually everything that has happened in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina struck was predicted by experts and in computer models, so emergency management specialists wonder why authorities were so unprepared.
"The scenario of a major hurricane hitting New Orleans was well anticipated, predicted and drilled around," said Clare Rubin, an emergency management consultant who also teaches at the Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management at George Washington University.
Computer models developed at Louisiana State University and other institutions made detailed projections of what would happen if water flowed over the levees protecting the city or if they failed.
In July 2004, more than 40 federal, state, local and volunteer organizations practiced this very scenario in a five-day simulation code-named "Hurricane Pam," where they had to deal with an imaginary storm that destroyed over half a million buildings in New Orleans and forced the evacuation of a million residents.
New Orleans levy system was a disaster waiting to happen. Is it Bush’s fault the city neglected its own flood control infrastructure? According to John Rennie of Scientific American appearing on PBS:
GWEN IFILL: Was there anything avoidable in this circumstance or was this a catastrophe waiting to happen?
JOHN RENNIE: Unfortunately, this really was a catastrophe that was waiting to happen by almost every measure. Back in 2001, Scientific American published an article on this subject.
Because the levees themselves needed a lot of work, it was obvious that eventually some sort of disaster could occur. But also the lands involving -- the marshy lands surrounding New Orleans have also degraded so fast that they're a kind of natural buffer that would usually help to protect the city against them, and in fact have done that in the past. But they're disappearing very, very fast and, unfortunately, with every year, they leave city more and more exposed to the raw power of the ocean and hurricanes like this.
GWEN IFILL: I read in that Scientific American article that you mentioned that the city was actually losing an acre every 24 minutes, an acre of wetland was going away.
JOHN RENNIE: That's right.
Today, thousands of troops are policing New Orleans, evacuating people, and providing security – 3 days after we knew something truly awful was happening. The TV talking heads are already praising the good job being done. It was only Thursday that the Senate deemed it necessary to rush back from vacation and approve a $10.5 billion disaster relief bill. The House wasn’t supposed to act until Friday. When sound bytes rule, opinions change in seconds. Where's the consistency? Where's the stamina and the level-headedness? Ratings rule, no matter what. And who can resist a political cheap-shot; a good mud-slinging?
As to the killing, looting, pillaging, shooting, and raping being carried out by some of New Orleans’ inner-city residents: that certainly is not George Bush’s fault. This out-of-control behavior lies at the feet of the Left-Wing’s Great Society; the Great Failed Entitlement Program, if you will.
What have the leftists taught America’s inner-city residents? “It’s not your fault. You’re not responsible for anything. Steal from the rich and give to the poor (as long as it’s not my bank account). We’ll drag everyone down to the lowest common denominator. We’ll give you money to have more kids out of wedlock. We won’t prosecute you for your crimes. We’ll patch up your third gunshot wound and send you back to the projects to get a fourth and fifth one.”
Since the white liberals feel guilty about living their comfortable lives, cannot stand to bear the sight of the poor, they lash out in all sorts of strange ways at the society in which they live so comfortably. The white liberals, and their non-white confederates, have ruined our schools, judiciary, and social programs. The end result has been several generations of spoiled brats who feel justified in killing, looting, pillaging, shooting, and raping. “You owe us,” is what some of these riff-raff have told the TV talking heads in New Orleans this week.
Don’t believe me? According to WorldNetDaily:
In a broadcast yesterday, Air America radio talk radio host Randi Rhodes repeatedly urged listeners in the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast to go out and loot, insisting the poor should be allowed to steal goods at will.
The leftist host, who has sparked controversy in the past for advocating the assassination of President Bush, said hurricane victims should avoid discount centers such as Wal-Mart and focus their looting on higher-end stores in order to get good quality products, according to Ned Rice, a contributor to National Review Online's weblog "The Corner."
Remember that Air America is the response to what the left-wing sees as “Corporate America’s” right-wing domination of the media.
Hurrican Andrew didn’t topple Clinton – neither did Whitewater or Kosovo. Iran/Contra didn’t topple Reagan. Katrina won’t disable President Bush. In fact, it will strengthen him as people digest the disgusting orgy of violence being carried out by New Orleans’ criminal element. If anything, Katrina will push Americans further to the right, thank God.
The Republicans will hold the House and Senate in ’06. They HAVE to. The U.S. has been pushed to the brink of destruction by the “social engineering” wrought by the left-wing. While I empathize with my colleague Donnel’s concerns about keeping the far Right at bay, I will rather take my chances with them rather than allowing the Left to destroy our great nation from within.
http://netwmd.com/articles/article1156.html
Hurricane Andrew happened during President Bush 1. #41.
Bush 1 was President during Anrew. Get your facts straight.
The Clinton administration was in office during the years of cleanup for Andrew.
Andrew happened on August 24th. Clinton came to office on the 20th of January. By the time he got there the fed response had already started many months before. As much as I don't like Clinton, he cannot be included in that article. So I hope the Clinton mention is deleted very quickly.
The criticism wasn't over how the feds handled the clean-up. But over the lateness of their arrival. Of course then, Florida had a dem Governor who was late in asking for help from the feds.
Excellent points made in this article, however.
The left is so ready to pile on an blame Bush for anything at the drop of a hat, they lose a litte more credibility each time. More and more people are hearing them and going Huh?
yup!
A few days back one of the "newsies" on TV noted that there was a weather analyst out there who had determined that a superwave 250' high had hit part of Mississippi. His conclusion was universally ignored although he could point to the damage to the top floors of a building that high.
Everyone else was satisfied to limit their discussion to 5' storm surges.
A five-footer will tear up jack, kill people, and leave the area it hits in a totally devastated condition.
Later, they started talking about 10' storm surges, and just yesterday they'd gotten up to the 25' storm surge level.
As impossible as that seams, a 25' storm surge will not only tear up jack, it will remove all signs of previous habitation except for concrete slabs.
This morning a couple of "newsies" accompanied by experts in hurricanes were mentioning 40' storm surges. The weather guys agreed that such things were virtually unknown, but if they could happen, then that's undoubtedly what the experience of the Mississippi and Alabama coastal areas had been.
This is what New Orleans missed. If they'd been hit with a 40' storm surge we would not be rescueing anybody, and none of the aid to city residents would be late. Several of the Eastern suburbs still clammoring for any aid would have no one available to clammor.
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