Spot on
The NYT wins. In case of disaster in your area do absolutely nothing to save lives, protect property or relieve suffering. Your new assignment is to blame Bush, blame Bush and blame Bush. Got that? Good, together we will build a better America.
bill and hill are calling for an investigation....i hope they get one!!!!!!!!!!! maybe this will come out, but i hope it comes out fast
Great column. Hope it gets widely disseminated.
I'm bookmarking to read more carefully.
I would think there is room for improvement, and lessons to be learned, about the response from all levels of government. And the truly frightening fact is that humans are largely powerless in the immediate face of a natural disaster like this. Certainly I can't imagine, and don't ever want to experience, the force of the wind, rain and water of such a storm. Many of the people who rode it out may indeed be "shell-shocked" on top of everything else.
But it does seem to me that the state and local leaders really failed and fell apart here, and that the MSM predictably jumped at the chance to spin it as a "Bush failed" story.
First, we have to save and help the people down there. then figure out what went wrong and fix it. There will be plenty of time to fix blame later.
Find the facts and let the chips fall where they may. No one should be afraid of the truth.
We should watch out for the possibility of the media trying to "bury" this story if it does not turn out as they have already written it.
I'd say he needs some verbiage to address the soft bigotry of low expectations. It's been 40 years and WE cannot take care of ourselves.
Good post!
It is a lie. New Orleans isn't "the hold of a slave ship". It is the milk farmers fields and barns, where his cows live.
The problem is that the farmer left when the storm came and left his cows to weather the storm on their own.
Build their gallows high
"It did not send in emergency supplies of water, food, blankets, cots, medicines or anything else that would be considered essential. It didn’t even send in port-a-potties. And it left the shelters understaffed or completely un-staffed. There was no organization, no security, no city officials assigned to be in charge.
"There was no provision for the people in the shelters to eat, drink, sleep, be safe or go to the bathroom. And yet the city sent tens of thousands of people to them, directly causing misery and death.
"In the wake of the storm, the city’s public safety response was confused and ineffective. Blaming its failures on communications gaps, the city astoundingly had no electrical back-up for its police and fire radio system. And it apparently had completely ineffective commanders."
City and local responsibilities ignored or neglected.
THAT is what caused much of the death and destruction.
How much food did Hillary eat in the last week that could've been sent to New Orleans? Hillary sits in Hawaii and New York, eating and gaining weight, while thousands of blacks are starving in New Orleans.
Hillary Clinton - democrat racist.
When you staff political, emergency and law enforcement positions, based solely on social criteria, while ignoring qualifications, the results in New Orleans is what you get. The Mayor probably realized his incompetence and what better way to divert criticism that a tirade against the Federal Government (AKA Bush). The ineptitude of the Governor (installed in that position after questionable election results) could not have been worse, even if she'd tried.
This does not, however, excuse the incompetence of Michael Brown or Michael Chertoff, both of whom should be summarily dismissed.
Who is this Lonsberry guy? He's right on! I forwarded this to several people it was so good and summarized it well.
True but President Hillary will make sure Bechtel gets the lions share of the rebuilding contracts after W is gone.
ping
I keep thinking this thought: The mayor wants to send his traumatized police force to Las Vega and Atlantic City? Hmmmm! Why those two places, of all places? Gambling? IS the city picking up the tab? Why would gambling give the police force a sense of rest and relaxation? Besides, it begs the question: How, when did they earn this trip? What did they do? According to news reports, less than half were available for duty and more than half, according to some articles, participated in the looting? WOW! What a deal! When they start advertizing for jobs post-Katrina, this ought to make the job a lot more appealing!
This police force, IF you could call it one, is poorly trained and lacks discipline. There's your answer for what happened in NOLA. I'm certain that many were traumatized, but that just shows you that they were improperly trained.
If the US Congress does call a "Katrina Commission" investigation, may Lonsberry be the first speaker to appear before it!!!
If there is one national leader to blame, I think it should be Jesse Jackson. Having grown-up in the 7th, 8th and 9th wards in New Orleans, just about every neighborhood had people who were respected are were thus leaders. Then came the 70s and Jesse with a movement to nationalize community role models and leaders. He became the spokesperson for the disenfranchised and with his leadership, his congregation has been growing ever since. Where was he to warn them of the impending storm? Where was Sharpton?