Where is our FOCUS?
| By Bluejacket - Sep 8th, 2005 at 12:01 pm EDT |
I am truly and completely horrified by what I am seeing in New Orleans.
And the impact of the hurricane is pretty bad as well.
The week had not even ended before the finger pointing began. Congress had not even sent a penny to the gulf coast before the hacks on the Right and the Left were at each others throats, trying to find some political capital to pull out of the waters of New Orleans. Hell, I am not even sure Katrina had gotten out of the state before the spin started.
What the hell is wrong with us? This is the example we send to the world?
There are tons and tons of people to point fingers at. We could not have gotten to that after we had gotten everyone out of the city, maybe patched the levee, figured out where we stood in this whole mess, THEN moved on to the mudslinging and finger pointing?
The mayor of the city was blaming the federal government the moment the media got there. Should the federal government cut funds for public improvements for the levee? No, especially to fund a miserable war. Did New Orleans suddenly float into a hurricane zone? No, so they have had plenty of time to fix and shore up levees. On that same note, there should have been an evacuation plan for that city YEARS ago, which included the rich and the poor alike. At least the poor. They have fewer resources to get themselves out of the city, and potentially nowhere else to go once their things are destroyed. And I doubt they have homeowners insurance. Or own a home.
As far as the levee being inadequate to hold back a Category 5 hurricane? Since 1928, only three category five hurricanes have been recorded. Of those 23, only 3 have hit the United States, two of which hit Florida. Here is a list of all the recorded category 5's recorded, and where they hit land if they were still a category 5. That is a pretty rare event.
Should the levees been better constructed? Sure they should have. In the 1960's, three category 4 hurricanes came within 10 miles of New Orleans. Camille passed in 1969, and for 36 years, nothing was done to increase their strength. Or if it was, it was not adequately kept up. Poor levee funding is not a new issue, either. To blame the siphoning off of money on the Iraq war is a bit short sighted.
The Administration deserves as much criticism as we can lay on it for a delayed response to ANOTHER catastrophic event, a disorganized and underfunded security department to handle catastrophic events, and going shoe shopping. Does anyone else hear a fiddle?
Yes, we should take the federal government, the state of Louisiana, and city of New Orleans to task on all of the missteps that lead up to this. But not now. Not while bodies are still floating in what was a thriving American city. Not while we are trying to get food and clean water to people in the gulf. Not while hundreds of thousands of people are trying to rebuild a life.
And the impact of the hurricane is pretty bad as well.
The week had not even ended before the finger pointing began. Congress had not even sent a penny to the gulf coast before the hacks on the Right and the Left were at each others throats, trying to find some political capital to pull out of the waters of New Orleans. Hell, I am not even sure Katrina had gotten out of the state before the spin started.
What the hell is wrong with us? This is the example we send to the world?
There are tons and tons of people to point fingers at. We could not have gotten to that after we had gotten everyone out of the city, maybe patched the levee, figured out where we stood in this whole mess, THEN moved on to the mudslinging and finger pointing?
The mayor of the city was blaming the federal government the moment the media got there. Should the federal government cut funds for public improvements for the levee? No, especially to fund a miserable war. Did New Orleans suddenly float into a hurricane zone? No, so they have had plenty of time to fix and shore up levees. On that same note, there should have been an evacuation plan for that city YEARS ago, which included the rich and the poor alike. At least the poor. They have fewer resources to get themselves out of the city, and potentially nowhere else to go once their things are destroyed. And I doubt they have homeowners insurance. Or own a home.
As far as the levee being inadequate to hold back a Category 5 hurricane? Since 1928, only three category five hurricanes have been recorded. Of those 23, only 3 have hit the United States, two of which hit Florida. Here is a list of all the recorded category 5's recorded, and where they hit land if they were still a category 5. That is a pretty rare event.
Should the levees been better constructed? Sure they should have. In the 1960's, three category 4 hurricanes came within 10 miles of New Orleans. Camille passed in 1969, and for 36 years, nothing was done to increase their strength. Or if it was, it was not adequately kept up. Poor levee funding is not a new issue, either. To blame the siphoning off of money on the Iraq war is a bit short sighted.
The Administration deserves as much criticism as we can lay on it for a delayed response to ANOTHER catastrophic event, a disorganized and underfunded security department to handle catastrophic events, and going shoe shopping. Does anyone else hear a fiddle?
Yes, we should take the federal government, the state of Louisiana, and city of New Orleans to task on all of the missteps that lead up to this. But not now. Not while bodies are still floating in what was a thriving American city. Not while we are trying to get food and clean water to people in the gulf. Not while hundreds of thousands of people are trying to rebuild a life.
!
Comments are closed for this post.