Posted on 02/19/2006 4:47:56 PM PST by anymouse
I was born on Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans so you can't get more New Orleanian than me.
The failures of government during and after Hurricane Katrina were at every single level. Last year, Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the mayors of New Orleans and surrounding parishes had a trial run with Hurricane Ivan. It was a disaster even though the storm did turn eastward. Gov. Blanco especially blew it then and she blew it this time when the city of my birth was demolished. Mayor Nagin sent thousands of people to the Superdome and the Convention Center knowing that there was not food or water there. People were murdered, Sent to the NY Times, Washington Post, and all the talking heads on TV....raped, robbed because of the failure of the local government.
When the history of this horrible nightmare is written, you are going find that there were COLOSSAL failures by local and state governments. Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi, declared a State of Emergency/Martial Law and asked for federal help a full day before Gov. Blanco would allow the feds in. There should have been 4,000-5,000 buses waiting in Lafayette to go right it and get many of my friends and people I said "Good Morning" to everyday. Many of whom have likely died.
And, don't tell me this is about race because if you say that then you have NEVER been to New Orleans. Blacks, browns and whites work, dine, go to Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and Saints games together. My secretary is an African-American and I was so scared for her and her family. I was as afraid for them as for my own, which by the way, are still there. Many of my family members are veterinarians and, despite my cries and pleas, they stayed behind to care for those animals. They have worked around the clock. Sometimes, even doing surgery with the only illumination provided by a flashlight. Now, they are in boats all over the City rescuing pets so that there owners will agree to be evacuated or because they were simply left behind.
I am almost 40 years old and I have heard about this worst-case scenario since I was a very small child. The City was protected by 19th Century levees. Did a white or black, republican or democrat fix it? No.
I had to put my young sons on a plane to Atlanta Sunday so they could go to school and have some stability. It is the first real time that we have been separated and I am unsure as to when I will see them again. Many families are grieving and have been separated. These families are of all colors and political stripes.
Until you have walked in our shoes, keep your criticism of only the President to yourselves because there is a lot of blame to go around. Ask Former Governor and current convict Edwin Edwards what happened, what he did to prevent this disaster... I think that he is in a Federal prison in Texas unfortunately following in the footsteps of too many of our politicians.
Perhaps, if our politicians had been more concerned about the safety of Southeast Louisiana than bribes and graft, New Orleans would be the old, beautiful city that she was and will eventually be again.
I am sick and tired of people sitting in DRY brownstones or penthouses in NYC or Washington, DC telling me that Bush is responsible. I KNOW who is responsible. I have lived in New Orleans too long and have seen too much. We actually have two New Orleans Police Officers on Death Row because they created their own cartels and murdered witnesses to crimes and rob and murdered innocent shop owners.
I am tired of the finger-pointing and the words coming out of the mouths of people who have absolutely NO CLUE as to what has been going on for years. I want to go home, but some serious restructuring of the governments on every level needs to be done. People say, "Why didn't Bush just go into New Orleans and take control?" the answer is called Federalism. The Governor must request national assistance and our clueless governor did not do this in time and, as a result, thousands of people died and even more lost everything that they owned.
Denise M. Dorner (LSBA #21565) General Counsel Virgin Oil Company, Inc. Virgin Offshore U.S.A., Inc. 909 Poydras Street Suite 2200 New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
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Boustany has done a great job too.
I was registered as an Independent one time. That was a joke.
The Great Society. Did LBJ steal Louisiana's own Governor Huey Long's ideas of his Share the Wealth program and Every Man A King?
Vitter and Jindal. What were they doing in the days before Katrina in order to protect the citizens? What were they doing immediately after Katrina? Serious question. All I remember is clips of them doing the same thing Nagin and Blanco were doing - blaming the Feds.
Our favorite city, New Orleans.......it broke our hearts that we didn't feel safe enough to go there in January on our annual trek to the Southern states. Thank you Blanco, Nagin and Landreau! Maybe this will change peoples minds about who they put in office from here on.......the author was right......look at the example Haley Barbour was.
Ironically you would have been safer in N.O. this year than you would have been in decades. So far the murder rate is 7. For the year! Heck, before Katrina that number would just have represented a busy weekend.
How well I know. They're all in Houston.......but as long as they off each other (gangs), I'm OK with it. I failed to mention we were worried about the sanitary conditions also.
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