Posted on 09/01/2005 2:34:49 AM PDT by Siobhan
Katrina is a huge and historic story. The human cost, the financial cost, the rendering uninhabitable of a great and fabled American city--all of it amazing. A quick look at the good, the bad, and the let's-shoot-them-now.
The governors. Political leadership in times of crisis is a delicate thing. You have to be frank about the fix you're in without being demoralizing. You have to seem confident without seeming out of touch with reality. You have to be human without indulging all your very human emotions. Rudy Giuliani set the modern standard on 9/11, and in a way that is not remarked upon. All his public statements were brilliantly specific. He told you exactly what resources were on their way to do what and where and why; he told you the No. 4 subway had been diverted west and then south until 11 a.m. Saturday; he told exactly which blocks were closed off and for how long; he told you New York would come back and then he told you why and how. His leadership was a masterpiece of specificity. That he had the facts at his command left people feeling: Thank God, someone's in charge, I can take care of me while he takes care of the city. That's what people want in a time of crisis.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
These people are showing the bizarre and regrettable results of the Great Society (War on Poverty). Happy liberals??
New Orleans needs a Rudy.
They're sorely lacking a local leader.
It's hard to tell the difference between some clothes in a bag and six loaves of bread in a bag.
Your tax dollars at work!*
*The photo excerpted fro a Univision Spanish-language article explaining how the US Govt freely gives away food. Citizenship not required.
My preference would be to have our backpacks, plenty of rope, water, a little food, waterproof matches, maybe an axe and a tent, and some firearms. Pack before the storm hit. Life vests wouldn't be a bad idea.
I would have put my family on a forced march (forced wade?) to get outside that city within a day. The dangers from flooding, disease, violence, snakes, and dehydration become worse every day. I rejected the idea of going to that football stadium, because the government wouldn't be able to support the numbers of people there.
The Welfare class: I think I'll steal this jewelry.......... oh yeh, I'm starving and thirsty as h*ll, but I need this jewelry now. Hey Jamal......grab that tv and that radio.
It's much worse than Dodge, Peggy. Dodge City was paradise compared to this sin pad.
If in doubt, search, ask questions.
Again, these people are well trained.
It already has damaged that sense.
Welcome to the age of 'entitlement' and The Welfare mentality. It is right on a big stage right now!
So maybe there were voices of caution. But what I heard was almost giddiness.
Gotta hand it to the one looter, he used the pedestrian crosswalk to cross the street.
"Would they stop if thy knew - I doubt it, they don't care."
That gets a sad "Amen".
In all fairness, great as Rudy was, 9/11 was a minor event compared to the total devastation in the Gulf coast. I say dont shoot the piano player, He is doing the best he can. We have much more to deal with than "what subway train has been diverted". It is also tragic that we must waste police time to deal with looters. I say shoot the bastards and get on with important things.
barbra ann
I have never known Peggy Noonan to be naive. She just showed she is quite naive. These thugs could care less about their nation.
Re your comment that the people of New Orleans and LA need to elect some strong Republican leaders................. let's get realistic. Those thugs and thieves in New Orleans are RATs and never will elect a law and order Republican--you know that! Don't be a Peggy Noonan.
That is like asking the million illegal aliens in Los Angeles to elect a Republican. They will elect a Mexican RAT. Our nation is slowly sinking into a swamp due to kumbaya politics from both the RATs and the Republicans.
Absolutely. Getting New orleans settled down will be like retaking the city.
Because carbs are the cheapest food source to be found, and fried foods are the norm.
Cops should allow anyone to take food, water, and a couple of items of clothes. It is all destroyed anyway and the food will rot. TVs, computers, jewelry, anything else, ka-boom.
Sorry to disillusion you, but there were many concerns voiced about the levees in advance of the storm. There were even animated computer models that were repeatedly shown that demonstrated that N. O. would fill up like a bathtub in the event of a levee break and that the levees on the other side would prevent the water from draining. The estimate was that it would take 6 weeks to pump the city dry.
The "bullet dodged" reports were from uniformed, out of town, media types who thought that because the winds did not blow the city down, all danger was past.
Most of their constituents have no way of hearing any of their plans anyway. And that's just as well considering the governor and mayor in LA.
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