The Big Easy rocked, but didn't roll [Steyn Alert]

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 9/6/05 | Mark Steyn

[Rummyfan]

Maureen Dowd has a Pulitzer. Thomas Friedman has two. Steyn has none. 'Nough said!

[Rummyfan]

Mayor Culpa:

[tarheelswamprat]

It's Mark Steyn. Capital M. Capital S. Don't forget the "y". And if anybody can explain to me why he doesn't have about 5 Pulitzers by now, I'd love to hear it.

Jealousy and envy.

[Darnright]

Those of you on this thread may enjoy the following essay. Caution - this is a long read, but I promise it's thought provoking:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1477848/posts?page=1#1

[redgolum]

A party of sodden citizens, ranging from the elderly to an eight-day-old baby, were desperate to get out, hopped aboard and got teenager Jabbor Gibson to drive them 13 hours non-stop to Houston. He'd never driven a bus before, and the authorities back in New Orleans may yet prosecute him. For rescuing people without a permit?

If he gets prosecuted, I will pony up money for his defense. Perfect statist mentality, defend the looters and the incompetent government, and charge the hero with stealing.

[-YYZ-]

Yes, it would seem like driving every city vehicle possible to higher land before the surge hit would have been a sensible precaution - then those vehicles would have been available for recovery efforts afterwards. As it is a lot of those busses are probably just going to be another problem to be dealt with, now.

[steve-b]

People like Jabbor expose the mayor and other authorities as the idiots they are

That's why the authorities care more about making an example of him than about restoring order.

[VadeRetro]

Best take on this I've heard all week. I wish I could email it to a foaming-at-the-mouth liberal friend who can't stop screaming the current Dem party line at me. Was in Denny's with him last night and the other tables started to complain of his top-of-the-lungs ranting.

I wish I could email it to him but he's never had an ISP account for more than a week at a time and this is not one of those weeks.

[zot]

Thanks for the ping. Mark Steyn sees clearly and writes clearly, with a style like no one else.

[eggman]

I saw Newt on O'Reilly last night. He still thinks like a liberal that the federal government can be the savior.

The poor have been conditioned for years that the government will take care of them. The tragedy in New Orleans is that so much of the rest of the population now thinks it is the responsibility of the federal government to take care of those who not only cannot but will not take care of themselves.

The truth is most of government exists to take care of itself. No matter where FEMA exists within the government its first order of business is always going to be to take care of itself which means that it must create and follow a set of rules. The bigger the bureaucracy the more rules must be followed before taking action.

The response to the hurricane failed not just because the disaster was too big but because the government bureaucracies were too big for the elected and appointed officials to navigate the minefield of rules.

The heroes, the saviors in a disaster, are the ones who ignore the rules and do what must be done to help those in need. There were no heroes in the city, state, or federal bureaucracies. They were too busy trying to save themselves and their agencies from responsibility. We shouldn't expect government to behave any differently next time disaster strikes.

[Forgiven_Sinner]

"There is no one better. People seem to like Ann Coulter because she's a red-meat columnist (who happens to have pretty nice legs) but nobody devastates the Left with more clarity, wit and style than Mark Steyn."

Mark Steyn is a world class sniper who unerringly shoots liberals through the heart.

Ann Coulter fires a 0-0 shotgun at short range at their heads.

The only difference is the amount of blood and the style.

And the photograph: ;)

[irv]

Thanks for the ping. Note that Steyn played this one completely straight: No jokes or biting commentary. Just the essentials. A man of taste, as well as talent.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Outstanding article, thanks.

New Orleans is a party town in the middle of a welfare swamp and, like many parties, it doesn't look so good when someone puts the lights up.

This just sums it up. :-)

[JRios1968]

The fact that he drove 13 hours straight shows that all the rest on the bus were not able to lift a finger to save themselves, they did not even spell the kid while he drove.

Thanks for pointing that out. You're correct...out of so many people, only one had the wherewithal to actually do something, and now the powers-that-be contemplate prosecution for that act of independent thought.

[JRios1968]

Definitely...Ann Coulter on her worst looks a lot better than Mark Steyn...



Then again, I AM a Man. The Ladies just might disagree!