Posted on 09/02/2005 5:23:21 AM PDT by OESY
...Of all the bad news from New Orleans, the most disturbing has been the reports of spreading disorder, with looting, marauding gangs and even sniper fire at helicopters and rescue workers. Americans sometimes expect their government to do far too much....
One reason for the New Orleans breakdown is the size of the calamity, whose growing severity caught nearly everyone by surprise. Louisiana National Guard troops that were deployed initially for rescue and relief efforts weren't available for the more basic duties of public security. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is also geared to providing relief, not order, and only yesterday did the federal government begin to focus on the potential anarchy. Among our political leaders, only Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour seemed to appreciate the genuine risk of disorder, with his early warnings that looters would not be given the benefit of the doubt.
By the way, the allegation that enough National Guard troops aren't available because many are deployed in Iraq doesn't hold up under scrutiny. The Louisiana Guard has something like 3,500 men and women deployed in Iraq, but that leaves another 8,000 or so troops available for post-Katrina duty, and neighboring states undamaged by the hurricane have still others who could be called upon. All told, the Pentagon now estimates that 30,000 National Guard troops will be deployed along the Gulf coast, and another 3,000 regular Army soldiers to pursue the armed gangs on the loose. Our advice is: Do whatever it takes.
One frequent reaction...: New Orleans is typical of Third World countries, something that was thought could never happen in America. This happens to overlook a fair chunk of U.S. history... including riots and violence. But it is also a sign of complacency born of prosperity and the resilience of our legal and civic institutions....
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
I find it necessary to have just one firearm...
(...strategically hidden in each room of the house.)
For the first time in my life I am thinking of buying a gun.When the Moslems hit NYC again Im sure I'll have to defend myself against the bling bling ganstas around here.
PS anyone know about gun ownership laws in NJ ? I dont have a clue but I'm seriously thinking of it .
From what I keep hearing from people who have actually been to NO, the place had a crime problem to begin with.
There have already been too many rapes.
For those that had to put up with her, Gov. Edith Bunker-Blanco seemed stunned long before the hurricane ever hit.
My brother and his wife rode out the storm in their home in Bay St. Louis. When it was over, the structure was there, but everything else was gone. They are alive, and grateful for it. My sister and her husband evacuated from Ocean Springs to Hattiesburg, and I'm glad they did. Their house is gone. I don't know how big the surge was, but their concrete block house on Belle Fontaine road was taken by it. Their oldest son and only daughter live in New Orleans, and did leave just before the storm. They now can't go back, but they're safe.
My brother in law is a priest, and stayed in his Parish. He stayed in his second floor office and said that he could hear the water rushing past. At one point, he closed himself in the vault! He was behind the RR tracks in G'port, and was sure the surge wouldn't get past it because it didn't when Camille came through. Well, he learned he was wrong, but Thanks be to God, he's ok.
My just younger sister and her husband live at our Fish Camp in Gautier, but rode out the storm at the courhouse in Pascagoula. She said at one point their building was like an island with all the water in downtown Pascagoula. Thankfully, when they returned home, the camp was OK!
The only one we haven't heard about is my baby sister who lives in Gautier with her teenaged son. My younger sister went by her house before the storm and her car was gone, so we're hoping she went up to H'burg or to Jackson to be with her niddle son. Unfortunately, phone service is spotty, so folks can't communicate, even across town. My older brother in H'burg has been trying to get to my older sister, who is in H'burg, too, to let her know her house is gone, but he can't even get across town to do that, and he can't reach her by phone. It is a tough situation all around, but my family is Blessed that everyone is alive and unharmed.
Honey, I live in MA, the ONLY state that didn't have ANY red counties in the last election! The town I live in actually had two precincts that were majority Bush, but I'm used to the stupidity of Democrats, because I'm surrounded by them. I also know that the majority of people in this country don't feel the same way, regardless of what the media wants to portray.
What happens when a kindergarten teacher leaves the room?
These words are the sound of a hammer hitting the head of a nail...
BTTT AND BTTT!
Yes, we have food, water and ammo here in L.A. too. Do the numbers -- there are fewer policemen than there are citizens. Will they come to MY house first?? Perhaps they'll be busy with something even more important....
Please let me know if your family here needs any help. I'd be glad to do what I can.
Did you see where the Diocese of Jackson has "adopted" the Diocese of Biloxi? I am hoping that our parish is organizing some sort of relief effort to help the afflicted folks on the Coast. I am going to call my parish church today to see how I can help.
If you don't mind, please FreepMail me the name of your brother-in-law (the priest). Also, would you mind if I alerted pinged some other MS Freepers to your post? I am sure they would like to hear that your family is safe.
Thanks, hon, freepmail on the way.
Finnaly someone with some productive ideas."
Another...use Michael Moore's fat behind to close the leavy break.
... but how do you keep the toxic waste from spreading ?..
>>
Even the "third world" did not respond to their disaster with such depravity.
<<
Putting aside that many of the tourists and victims of the Tsumani were part of the sex tourism industry that flourishes in that part of the world, and thus they have a "civilized" form of depravity, you are correct.
I would be careful before trying to prove too much with the chaos in New Orleans. The citizens of NYC, for all their faults, were generally well behaved during the evacuation of lower Manhattan that followed 9/11 as well as during the subsquent power blackout.
But just as important, New York City government did not fail to function, as was able to keep order. Indeed, NYC set the standard by which Madrid and London dealth with their own disasters. Clearly New Orleans city government is just as third world as the news footage suggests.
But it goes higher than just the city. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the first National Guard units to render aid were from Arkansas. Where is the Louisana Guard?
I hope the voters who are left clean house.
There were reports of both.
There also was not 24 hr coverage of same.
It will be interesting to see if even the most idiotic liberal will call for more gun control after this tragedy...
I'd buy stock in arms manufacturers right now. I expect an explosion in sales. The veneer of our "civilization" is a lot thinner than it looks.
Jimmy Christmas!
That's a lotta guns!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.