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Posted on 08/31/2005 4:24:31 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
The problems confronting a governor in the position of Louisiana's Kathleen Babineaux Blanco are overwhelming.
Since this space so frequently roasts Dems, fairness compels us to say that Blanco, a Democrat, comes across as about as reasonable and authentic as an elected official can be expected to be under the circumstances. Compare and contrast with Dem Sen. Mary Landrieux, who at every press conference seems to focus more on ostentatious emoting than on getting things done.
In any case, the Today show offered surprisingly extended video coverage of looting in New Orleans. Given that 100% of the looters shown were African-American, one might have thought that Today's PC instincts would have discouraged them from running the footage. But for whatever reason Today did, and when Matt Lauer interviewed Blanco, he asked her numerous pointed questions about the looting.
Blanco essentially deflected the questions, offering blandishments to the effect that "we certainly don't like looting," but also making clear that stopping it wasn't a priority.
Frankly, she might well be right: in a catastrophe like this, government must prioritize, and compared to stopping the levee breach and rescuing stranded people, stopping some guy from ripping off a pair of $150 Nikes could be trivial.
Speaking of the levees:
Louisiana and New Orleans are known as some of the most notoriously corrupt places in the USA. Over decades, the government should have had one overweening infrastructure priority: to ensure the levees worked.
They didn't, and now millions suffer and billions of dollars are lost. If the politicians had been honest and spending money on the right things, one must believe they could have created a levee system that would have worked the first time it was really called upon.
Thanks! I checked the Fox News site and they (finally) do have a picture. They're not even close to stopping the flow. It's going to get really bad in the next 24 hours or so. People will stop worrying about ripping off sneakers and TV's and will shortly start killing each other over a bottle of water or a can of beans.
The water is coming THROUGH the levees -- through huge holes. That is hard to show on TV because the biggest leaks are underwater. I did see early pictures, though. However, I don't havea link.
OUTSTANDING FReeper comments bump. Great post. Thanks for the ping.
I remember seeing a doc on how corrupt the NOPD has been for years.
Just to be accurate, yesterday's news footage showed that whitey was in there grabbing too, albeit fewer in number.
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Blanco said that the waters have created a deep hole at the site of the levee breach, so that it is very difficult to fill it. She referred to it as a black or bottomless hole.
I can over look something to drink. Can't you???????
I would agree that this is a disaster of catastrophic proportions. However, the leadership of the the city and the state has been underwhelming.
When you have a cat 5 hurricane heading your way, and your levees are rated cat 3 at best, you don't wait until the last minute to order an evacuation. If you have a large dependent population and visitors, you have at least a plan on how to evacuate those people.
From where I sit, which is distant from the the front lines, there is the appearance that NO is no longer a functioning city with effective leadership. If I were there, the DOD would be a welcome sight.
Those who think that in lieu of strategic planning that they can just give an emotional speech to the locals, need to be held accountable.
They can have all the federal support they might need, but it would appear they can't manage it. Support without a plan is not very useful.
We are seeing the worst case scenario of a major metro area with inept leadership during a catastrophe. Just blaming the weather won't cut it folks.
Yup, I am sure there is lots of that - there always is. However, I would warn us all not to believe everything we see from the MSM is the norm (we need to be reminded?). If it bleeds it leads and looting is bleeding. Tragedy and crisis brings out the best and the worst in people. The media likes to show us the worst.
LOL. You have a pretty high opinion of talking heads, it seems, to make a comparison to the prez. Is there something useful you are looking for Katie to do?
I have no doubt there are white looters, and I am dismayed by the racial overtones in some of the comments here.
But it is a fact that, as far as I could see, 100% of the looters in the Today footage this morning were black, and I was surprised, in light of that, that Today would have featured the footage as much as it did and that Lauer would have asked Blanco the repeated questions he did about stopping the looting.
Tell that to the people at Children's Hospital. The looters were trying to break into the hospital to get drugs. The police and national guard couldn't get out there to protect them.
These looters are animals. They are young able bodied males, yes black for the most part. They should be volunteering to move patients, to do anything to help. They're not. They are undermining rescue efforts. They are certainly doing a dis-service to others of their race.
When looting occured during war in Bahgdad, it was proof Bush didn't have enough "boots on the ground". When looting occurs under Democrat controlled areas during a hurricane, its not important.
Not excusing the looting, but most of the possessions are under eight feet of water and ruined anyway. If the people down there can make use of these things in order to survive then have at it.
(And no I'm not talking about plasma TVs and beer.)
Maybe Trent Lott is the reason that Mississippi is in such bad shape this morning. I wish that Gulf Port and Biloxi and Mobile was getting the coverage that NO is. They are in just as bad a fix.
Sorry if this has been posted before, but as a New Yorker it's only natural that I compare the actions of Giuliani and Pataki to those of Nagin and Blanco - especially in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.
What a sin and a shame that the people of LA are saddled with such incompetence. And for Nagin, in so deeply over his head, to start blaming others is inexcusable.
I'm not much of a Bible guy, but isn't it written that "what ye sow, so shall ye reap?"
Resign.
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