Demoralised officers give up the fight

The Australian ^ | 09/03.05 | Jacqui Goddard, New Orleans

[America's Resolve]

BY his own admission, things are going badly for Sheriff Harry Lee and his crisis management efforts.

Outside his mobile headquarters truck, two officers grip a stepladder while a third stands on the top rung waving his mobile telephone in the air, searching for a signal.

Inside Sheriff Lee, of Jefferson parish in New Orleans, is sitting at a table, fuming.

He is doing his best to alleviate the biggest catastrophe he will ever witness, but lacks even the most basic of resources.

He cannot communicate with his own officers -- his officers can barely communicate with each other -- because the overloaded radio frequency keeps jamming.

The chain of command for Louisiana's hurricane rescue plan has missing links. There is tension between the numerous agencies involved in the relief effort, and some of Sheriff Lee's deputies are so overwhelmed and demoralised that they are giving up.

"It's not getting better -- it's getting worse," he says. "This is probably the largest national disaster in the history of the US and the co-ordination that should be in effect all these days after the event just isn't happening. It's lack of proper planning and lack of co-ordination. There are plenty of Indians, but no chiefs."

Two kilometres from his command post, a section of Highway 10 has become a giant refugee camp. The evacuees are gradually being taken away in buses and trucks to shelters as far away as Houston, Texas.

But some have started turning up at his door, pleading for food and for water.

Some have not had a drink since Tuesday.

[kittymyrib]

Pick up the land-line, Sheriff. Southern Bell said they were down only a few hours on Monday. I guess we all know now that our cell phone service is NOT reliable in an emergency of this scope. Nevermind that Southeast Asia did much better during the tsunami, with their cell phone service being the major link during the rescue operation. Our companies better find out what's wrong with their systems. To have Mississippi police sending RUNNERS between police stations to pass information is an abject failure and disgrace.

[U.H. Conservative]

You stated that the free market is the best provider of all goods. One would assume that means national defense, if your overbroad generalization is to be taken seriously.

[U.H. Conservative]

Are you seriously comparing what is going on NOLA to a normal market situation?

[U.H. Conservative]

That is simply untrue. Read any of David Hackett Fischer's or David McCulloch's histories of the Revolutionary War. The Continental Army had problems provisioning its men because it lacked hard currency, not because farmers jacked up prices on the soldiers.

[Zack Nguyen]

Some have not had a drink since Tuesday.

Were this literally true they would be dead. I seriously doubt that they could live for four days with no water. This is not Waterworld.

[U.H. Conservative]

Using German equals an invocation of Nazis? Sorry. Feeble attempts to invoke Godwin's Law when it has utterly no application to the argument at hand is an automatic loss.

See Hunter Baker's "Loser's Law" at Southern Appeal for his discussion of the idiotic over use of Godwin's Law.

[U.H. Conservative]

"SINCE KATRINA,NOBODY'S BUYING GAS IN NO!"

No one is trying to run generators? For some reason, I find that hard to believe.

[John Lenin]

Rhetorically, I gotta wonder how this can happen in America.

Obviosuly you have never lived through a natural disaster. Looters and criminals are the first ones to take advantange of the situation.

[hershey]

They'd better start returning fire. They're ceding the city to thugs and killers. Dumb and dumber.

[flashbunny]

Oh dear lord, are you that intellectually bankrupt?

Do yourself a favor, if you don't wish to continue making a complete and utter fool out of yourself here. Pick up a copy of "The Law" by frederic bastiat. It outlines the proper role of government and the benefits of the free market.

Go ahead. It's a short book, and if you read it, you might actually learn something.

[wolficatZ]

Sheriff Joe's Posse and the Phoenix area Firefighter recovery teams (bodies) heading to The Forbidden Zone from Phoenix are all taking satellite phones for communications.

[pankot]

Amen.

[pankot]

Good argument against gun-control. As an ex-cop in a metropolitan area I can guarantee a cop wont always be there in 2 minutes. So you better protect yourself and family.

[dfwgator]

Rhetorically, I gotta wonder how this can happen in America.

Simple. Corrupt, Democratic-controlled state and local governments, the Feds have to overcome nature and them.

[Major_Risktaker]

When I read this article I got so mad I could frigging spit nails...

You will spit Bullets after this report!

Murder and mayhem in New Orleans' miserable shelter

Sitting with her daughter and other relatives, Trolkyn Joseph, 37, said men had wandered the cavernous convention center in recent nights raping and murdering children.

She said she found a dead 14-year old girl at 5 a.m. on Friday morning, four hours after the young girl went missing from her parents inside the convention center.

"She was raped for four hours until she was dead," Joseph said through tears. "Another child, a seven-year old boy was found raped and murdered in the kitchen freezer last night."

Several others interviewed by Reuters told similar stories of the abuse and murder of children, but they could not be independently verified.

If it's not post---Free free to post-it.

[nopardons]

You used German in a way, that it certainly does, noob! The term "uber alles" can have but one connotation and that being Nazi; especially the way you used it.

But I see that you've totally ignored the rest of my post, which refuted your position completely and blew you away. :-)

And to answer your other post to me, no, the people wandering the streets of the French Quarter, looting, staying on the highway, or marooned in attics or on top of their roofs, weren't using generators.

[Lurker]

Granted it's not normal, but do you seriously think that the laws of market economics don't work in abnormal situations?

Nobody could be that naive...

L

[Athwart]

Red [strange thing to have in a Freeper handle , but your heart seems to be in the right place],

Can you give some more background here about Ford's involvement in coercive price controls? I remember Nixon's disastrous price controls, and I remember as a child, feeling a visceral disgust I did not then understand, when the news announced that a child had discovered that a maker of paint for models had raised its price during the price freeze, and made a big fuss. Now I understand that the gooey praise that the newsies were bestowing on that child were cousin to the praise given Soviets who informed on their neighbors.

So, I'm with you 100% on Nixon's disgustingly un-American "wage and price freeze." But your mention of Ford gives me pause. I always liked the guy, not least for his 60+ vetoes of Democrat bills. I remember Whip Inflation Now, but I thought at the time that it was all voluntary, a typical lame but well meaning Ford effort, endearing but not coercive.

So, am I wrong? Was WIN actually coercive, not voluntary? Was Ford really involved in mandatory price controls? I admit I'm hoping you're wrong about this, but if you're right, you're right. Got a link or other information?

[RedMonqey]

Sorry, can't help ya there as I'm working from my memories as an teenager. My own recollection was of Ford taking Nixon's place and he kept Nixon's policies.

I could be wrong.

[antaresequity]

It is a tragic commentary on America, isn't it?

Don't be absurd and bite your lip!

This has nothing to do with America and everything to do with NOLA...MI and 'Bama are not in a meltdown...Only that idiot governor and mayor in NOLA are...

Never in the history of this country has such a despicable display of planning, leadership and reaction been on display...