"Yes, given our screwed up, socialist system, we can blame, within that system, Governor Blanco for incompetence"
Definately a lot of blame there.
"the Congress for cutting funds for New Orleans flood control"
New Orleans flood control is a local issue. If it's too large of an issue for the local area to handle, then it should be a state issue.
There's no reason that there should have been federal dollars funding flood control in New Orleans.
"FEMA for slow response"
FEMA moved resources into place even before the hurricane hit.
However, disaster relief for New Orleans and the State is the responsibility of New Orleans and the State. In the case where the state resources are not sufficient to deal with the task. The governor has the authority to call up the national guard.
In a huge disaster like this we all need to pull together as a country and lend a hand. However, the infrastructure in LA has been destroyed. It takes a lot of time to move stores of food and drinking water into place when the infrastructure is wiped out.
The States need to be prepared. They can't assume that the federal government is going to take care of things. The federal government doesn't even have the constitutional authority to step in and take care of things.
"but the real cause of the disaster is the people of New Orleans and the entitlement mentality that infects them."
Bingo!
"They preferred rolling the dice year after year on whether their city would live or die to actually doing anything to ensure that it wouldn't die - beyond looking for an open nipple on the Big Sow in Washington."
New Orleans is an area with a lot of wealth, yet they did not take steps to provide for their own safety and have resources available in the event of a disaster.
The reason sufficient help is slow in comming is that LA wasn't prepared.
Careful; you're poking truth into the eyes of the PC.
Then why do we have DHS? Why do we send literally 50% on the dollar of our cash to these people?
Its not only the people that are to blame for not moving etc, but the governments on all levels to which we send our $$$$ are useless.