Posted on 09/02/2005 5:38:49 AM PDT by yankeedame
CRACKING DOWN ... TOO LATE
Yesterday afternoon and last evening I did what I have been doing most of the week ... I sat in front of the television watching the devastation and the dual nature of man unfold in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf coast.
I'm not there .. so I can't say with any certainty just what is or is not transpiring in the New Orleans war zone. I think that most of you will agree that the appearance is that the response has not been swift enough nor strong enough. It seems that were getting much more television face time with FEMA and Homeland Security officials than were are actual action. We keep hearing is what these officials are going to do. They go on television and tell us that they're conducting the biggest disaster relief project in the history of this country. Gonna, gonna, gonna. But we still see the video of Katrina victims huddled in groups all around New Orleans ... with no officials in sight.
A story came through last night from a New Orleans hospital. Doctors and nurses who had been on duty there since the hurricane struck have been moving patients to higher floors as the looters invade the floors below them. These hospitals have helicopter pads on the roofs. These are hospitals, dammit. Why aren't helicopters landing troops on the roofs of these hospitals to find these predatory looters and kill them?
Do you realize what we are seeing here? We are seeing a preview of how the federal government would handle a massive terrorist attack on a large American city. We're seeing a preview of how the federal government is going to react when -- not if, when -- Islamic terrorists manage to launch a devastating attack on a major American city. We had warning on this hurricane. Days of warning. The Muslim terrorists have already issued their warnings ... do you think we're ready?
The looters. We can't lump them all together. There are those who are looking for food and water, and those who are looking to steal anything of value they can get their hands on. There is not one among you who would not break through the door of a grocery store or restaurant to find food or water in a situation like this. Shoot them? Not good. But clearly officials were too late -- much too late -- in showing that the random looting of businesses and stores would not be tolerated.
Aren't we all a bit tired of hearing the Governor of Louisiana tells us all how she is now ready to crack down on the lawlessness in New Orleans. She's been ready to crack down for days. Have you seen it on TV? Police say that they weren't arresting people because they didn't have any place to put them. One of the first responsibilities of government in times of disaster is to restore order. This means that you stop people from preying on other people. If some looters had been shot and killed on day one -- not at grocery stores, but at clothing, appliance or jewelry stores, or in the casinos or at an ATM -- if a looter had been shot the first day, we would have seen a lot less violence.
Maybe things are changing .. finally. Now we have the Louisiana governor saying of the newly arrived National Guard troops: "They have M-16s, and they're locked and loaded ... I have one message for these hoodlums: These troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so if necessary, and I expect they will."
In 1906 a devastating earthquake hit San Francisco. The mayor at that time was one E.E. Schmitz. Mayor Schmitz issued a proclamation. Perhaps you would like to read it:
Let's take a look inside the Super Dome. They wouldn't let the media in. Why? Did they know what as going to happen there. You can't walk around in the Super Dome at night because you'll step in human waste. Women are being dragged into restrooms and raped. Fires are being started. Gunshots have been reported. Fights are commonplace. On day one helicopters could have landed outside the Superdome loaded with armed National Guardsmen with orders to treat predators harshly. Didn't happen. They searched everyone before they entered the Super Dome. No guns allowed. This left innocent people unable to defend themselves. Does it sound trite to say that an armed society is a polite society? Would the predators have been so eager to drag women off to rape them in the bathrooms if they thought that there was someone nearby with a gun that would step in?
We are reaping the results of a liberal culture that seeks to make excuses for violence and criminal activity.
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HEY JESSE! AL! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?
Several listeners emailed this question, so I thought I would pass it on. Has anyone heard from Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton? Have any of these great and exalted black "leaders" issued a statement asking for their brothers in New Orleans to stop the violence? Just asking. If you've said anything, I haven't hear it ... and I'm pretty much glued to the media on this one.
Are you sure that Homeland security doesn't handle natural disasters even if they disable a strategic port? Why did Mike Chertoff spout off? Why is Mike Chertoff coordinating the Homeland Security response to NO? You better tell Mike Chertoff he's doing someone else's job.
FEMA is under the Department of Homeland Security- so yes they do handle natural disasters.
Same thing as the "peaceful Muslims" not condemning the fanatical Muslims.
She's hoping that they will make the decision for her. It has two benefits for her. One, she gets to continue to be incompetent and useless; she doesn't have to make a decision. Two, it is potential fuel for her political fires. She would get to point at the federal government, Bush in effect, as the killer of her citizens.
She has yet to assume command. She goes on tv, blubbers, tells people the water in NO is fine, demands apologies; she just doesn't lead.
President Bush, facing blistering criticism for his administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, said Friday "the results are not acceptable" and pledged to bolster relief efforts with a personal trip to the Gulf Coast.
"We'll get on top of this situation," Bush said, "and we're going to help the people that need help." He spoke on the White House grounds just boarding his presidential helicopter, Marine One, with Homeland Security Department secretary Michael Chertoff to tour the region. The department, which oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been accused of responding sluggishly to the deadly hurricane.
Finally, a hurricane thread with some reasonable, non-name-calling posts.
You have FM.
Last weekend I watched his show (cuz he is SO dang entertaining) and it appeared that he was jealous of Shep for being the one in the path of the storm.
hitlery would be ordering the thugs to shoot the police on sight
thanks for this sobering post.
ping
Right. Individual accountability in government is some thing I see far to little of. It seems like everyone is a "nameless govt. official." Heads should roll after this debacle.
From what I've been gathering the last few days, NO's Police Department was combat ineffective before the storm. I've even seen video of the police joining the looters. I doubt anyone anticipated the feds would have to take over the whole show.
Where do you THINK they are? They're on the TV blaming Bush for the plight of the poor people of New Orleans. I haven't heard them say a damn thing about the thugs of their own race who are preying on the vulnerable.
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