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Ran across a particularly well written article on the continuing “victimhood” status of New Orleans.  The article starts like this

Hurricane Katrina was an interesting tragedy to me.

On one hand, the loss of life was staggering. It was one of the most unexpected natural disasters of our time, and it left thousands upon thousands of people dead, injured, or homeless. But on the other, there were people who didn’t leave – knowing that a Category Four storm was headed their way, to a city below sea level, and thought that they could just ride it out. The local government did nothing to plan for the emergency that was sure to come, leaving low-income residents stranded when they could have used the hundreds and hundreds of buses that were left in bus barns to get those people out. Mayor Nagin did nothing to prepare for the inevitable. And on top of that, the best idea they could come up with for what to do with the surviving residents was to throw them all into the Metro Dome and wait.

And then the insanity really began.

There were conflicting reports from inside the stadium, which itself was badly damaged from Katrina, of rapes and murders and robbery. Journalists said it happened; police investigators concluded there was no evidence of any of this. The levees broke and things got worse. There was looting not seen since the Los Angeles riots in the early 90s. FEMA descended, along with the Army Corps of Engineers, upon New Orleans to start rebuilding. Often they were greeted with violence and threats. And somehow, all of this was of course George Bush’s fault – his attempt to “wipe out” all the underprivileged black people in New Orleans.

And it gets better….worth the read.  Because if you don’t, you obviously don’t care about the plight of minorities or something.  I dunno, I’m not real familiar with how to talk “victim”.

Proof that our government has WAY too much money…

After Katrina, teams of planners recommended that broad swaths of vulnerable neighborhoods be abandoned. Yet all areas of the city have at least some residents beginning to rebuild. With billions of dollars in federal relief for homeowners trickling in, more people are expected to follow.

Moreover, while new federal guidelines call for raising houses to reduce the damage of future floods, most returning homeowners do not have to comply or are finding ways around the costly requirement, according to city officials.

"It's terrifying: We're doing the same things we have in the past but expecting different results," said Robert G. Bea, a professor of civil engineering at the University of California at Berkeley and a former New Orleans resident who served as a member of the National Science Foundation panel that studied the city's levees.

That's right, the city that is below sea level.  The city that is virtually guaranteed to get destroyed again.  They are rebuilding it.  With your tax dollars.  Not only that but they are even rebuilding the lowest parts.

Half of the residents haven't even returned to the city.  There is plenty of room, they wouldn't even need to rebuilt the low-lying areas.  Take your federal money and rebuild in an area where Spongebob isn't gonna move in next door in a few years.

I'm only slightly disgruntled that I'm paying to rebuild a city that's just going to be destroyed again.  I'm pissed off that isn't even being rebuilt correctly.   It used to be that we built things in this country to last, now we build them just because we can.

Anyone remember what happens when you subsidize something?  That's right, you get more of it.  So now we're subsidizing idiocy.  Guess what morons?  Mother Nature doesn't give a shit about political correctness or diversity.  She's the ultimate unbiased participant.  Of course, she also tends to patterns.  If it flooded once, it's likely to do it again. 

Of course, if they had any sort of leadership down there, we might not have this problem.  Unfortunately, the same idiots that think it's okay to rebuild in the same place also voted in their idiot mayor Nagin.  I suppose one explains the other.  I read recently that New Orleans was slowly sliding into the Gulf.  Any way we can use some of that federal money to speed up the process?

ENOUGH!!

I get it, Katrina was a year ago. Iraq’s National Assembly also signed the text of their new Constitution a year ago yet I don’t see anyone broadcasting that 26 hours a day.

New Orleans is still a shithole, I get it. But on the other hand it was before Katrina as well.

It still hasn’t been rebuilt, I get it. On the other hand when most of the population was shipped to cities that aren’t corrupt, has jobs, has a functioning police force, and is at least above sea level, well…..why would they want to come back and rebuild??

So please for the sake of what little sanity I have, please please please stop going on and on about New Orleans. It’s a shithole and the rest of the country barely acknowledges it’s existence…except during their annual drunken tit-bearing festival, also known as Mardi Gras.

For those of you who absolutely insist on going on about New Orleans. Here are some facts of life.

The primary responsibility of disaster response is at the local level, assisted if necessary by the state. The feds are more for coordinating the cleanup/rescue attempts after the fact.

When you live at, or below sea level you should expect to eventually be flooded out. Crying when it happens is just silly.

Expecting everyone else to foot the bill to rebuild a city that is absolutely guaranteed to undergo the same disaster in the future is even sillier.

If you live in an area that has ever been hit by a hurricane before, you shouldn’t be surprised when another one arrives. You should be prepared for when that happens. If you are not, this is not my problem.

When you buy insurance, READ THE POLICY. If you don’t, and then after the fact you realize that what you thought was covered is not, it is not a giant conspiracy against you, your race, your city, your class, your whatever-the-hell-social-group-you-want-to-claim.

When you find insurance for very very cheap, chances are it actually covers very very little.

If you buy insurance for event A but not event B, and event A is frequently accompanied by event B, it’s probably prudent to also buy the readily available insurance for event B. When you don’t, it is not the fault of the insurer of event A.

When you live in an area run by inept and corrupt local officials, you should probably not be surprised when even when they received plenty of warning of a disaster they do nothing except complain, cry, make extravagant claims/excuses and point fingers afterwards. This is not MY problem….YOU elected them….again.

Insurance companies do not cover stupidity on the part of the government. Such coverage is impossible as such stupidity is never ending and in some places rampant.

The fact that there is still no reconstruction plan, much less progress on reconstruction, should highlight the problem. If you can’t at least create a plan, should you really be in charge??

For example, the town of Fargo, ND manages to rebuild itself every year just in time for the Red River to overflow and wash it away again. If they can manage that on the permafrost of North Dakota, surely you can manage it in the Gulf.

Playing the victim card is discouraged. This is America. We didn’t whine that colonial rule was unfair, we did something about it. We didn’t fret over the dangers of the frontier, we conquered it. We didn’t complain that the west coast was too far away, we built a fucking railroad. You got a little water….fine, open a water park or something.

Well Mayor Ray “Chocolate City” Nagin has finally admitted he has a problem….after only 53 murders. Which is surprising considering he acted so quickly when Hurricane Katrina was headed for his city. In this case he asked for help from the National Guard almost as fast as he used those buses to evacuate the city. Quite a man of action that Nagin is.

But that got me to thinking…53 murders…in a city that used to have 480,000 residents…although it’s a fraction of that now, last number I heard was 100,000 in January. So let’s say population-wise it’s comparable to Minneapolis. Now granted infratstructure-wise it’s not comparable for fun let’s look at the numbers.

Number of murders in Minneapolis so far?? 27. Cheer up Minneapolis, you’re more than half way there, and then Pawlenty can send in the guard to clean up Klobuchar’s mess. We can even have R.T. Rybak out there in the streets talking about bringing back a “hotdish” city or something. It’s nothing any less intelligent than he normally says.

So we’ve already been told that not only were blacks not disproportionally affected by Hurricane Katrina but now it wasn’t even the poor that were disproportionally affected.

For example, a comparison of locations where 874 bodies were recovered with U.S. Census tract data indicates that the victims weren’t disproportionately poor. Another database, compiled by Knight Ridder of 486 Katrina victims from Orleans and St. Bernard parishes, suggests they also weren’t disproportionately African-American.

Wow….so not only does Bush hate blacks and the poor but he’s also not very good at controlling the weather and killing them all. I mean seriously, what good is miraculously causing global warming in the span of five years if you can’t even control the absolutely normal bad weather.

Lack of transportation was assumed to be a key reason that many people stayed behind and died, but at many addresses where the dead were found, their cars remained in their driveways, flood-ruined symbols of fatal miscalculation.

Hmmm, so even though Bush obviously hates blacks, the poor, and anyone that isn’t a stockholder of Halliburton, it wouldn’t have mattered if a certain governor of the year and hero mayor had planned their evacuation better? Interesting….wonder why we never heard that theory previously? I guess the media was too busy reporting none-existant cannibalism and mass rioting to get around to that part.

*sigh*

In an attempt to boost its stalled economy, the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans is starting the nation’s first free wireless Internet network owned and run by a major city.

Just a thought, but how about you work on building a city, before you try to build an economy for it. I mean I know you need something to buy with all those FEMA credit cards (read: my tax dollars) but how about a levee or a dam or a roof or something instead.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a blogger, I snack on bandwidth. Got a bit of a sweet tooth for it you might say. When on the road I love scanning for unprotected wireless networks I can use.

At the same time I’m not calling for a wireless network in my home town which was NOT recently washed away in a hurricane. I mean they can’t even open a textbook without raising my taxes, so wireless internet is a bit lower on the priority list than say….oh, drinkable water, for instance.

That will be slowed once the state of emergency is over - that date has not been determined - to 128 kps in accordance with state law, which restricts government-owned Internet service.

Yup, nothing improves quality like government regulation.

Hmmm, two big hurricanes. Two amazingly different results

Mass looting vs minimal isolated looting resulting in arrests
Ten thousandHundreds of deaths vs 2 deaths (so far)
Mass panic vs annoying inconveniences
Lawlessness vs relative peace

Damn, now what would explain the differences???

I mean in Texas we had state and local officials cooperating to organize a mass evacuation including using local resources available to them. They had a plan, they followed it the best they could, and other than a traffic jam, Texas appears to have weathered the storm pretty well.

In Louisana, we had state and local officials bickering until the last minute at which point they united just long enough to blame the feds for not recognizing their incompetence fast enough to save their people. Cue the crying and screaming for help. They had a plan, it was ignored. They had resources, they were left to soak.

There has to be a difference there….but hell if I can spot it. Damn it, I hate when that happens.

I guess it’s one of those things we’ll never know. Ranks right up there with who won the 2000 election and who killed OJ’s wife. Another eternal mystery to add to the books.

Mayor Nagin had thought it was okay for people to return to New Orleans. FEMA and the White House said “The hell it is!!”. [Ed: That is an faketotally true quote]

Although Nagin eventually came to his senses. He says that Rita has made it unsafe for citizens to return just yet. Since Rita isn’t supposed to hit the Gulf Coast I’d guess it has more to do with the lack of running water, emergency services, electricity, etc than Rita. But it makes sense.

What really threw me for a loop was this quote:

Before announcing his decision to suspend re-entry, Nagin was firm in his position that New Orleans residents and business owners should be allowed back in to survey the damage.

“If he’s suggesting I’m pushing a little hard, I am. The citizens of New Orleans deserve the opportunity to see what they have left and what they can salvage,” Nagin said.

“I’m a little surprised the admiral came out publicly on this,” he added. “Maybe since I’ve been away a day or two, maybe he’s the new crowned federal mayor of New Orleans.”

He thinks Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen has crowned himself the new federal mayor of New Orleans?? Wow, someone has a bit of a confidence problem I think.

But then again his comments makes sense. After all, he’s bought a house in Dallas, has enrolled his daughter in school there and hasn’t been in New Orleans for days. Since most cities require the mayor to live within city limits (or at least the same state) I suppose he’s getting a little paranoid about getting kicked out of office.

Not that he didn’t do a wonderful job with Katrina. I mean seriously. That whole evacuation thing went just swimingly (pun most certainly intended).

—-

And then of course there is the wonderful Sen. Mary Landrieu. She’s been a real treat lately. An absolutel jewel…I mean who doesn’t get tears in there eyes from this

Appearing on ABC’s “This Week” four days after Katrina’s floodwaters swamped New Orleans, Landrieu complained: “If one person criticizes [Louisiana], or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me - one more word about it after this show airs and I - I might likely have to punch him - literally.”

Wow…and she is just so thankful for all the help she is being given. This is truly a person who appreciates help in all forms.

Sen. Mary Landrieu refused on Friday to withdraw or apologize for her threat to punch President Bush if he criticized Louisiana officials - despite Bush’s magnanimous speech Thursday night and a federal downpayment of more than $60 billion dollars to rebuild her state.

“I do not take it back, I don’t apologize for it. I said I would punch anybody, including the president,” she told the Chicago Tribune.

How sweet.

I mean I’m sure nothing going on down there is the fault of the Mayor Nagin or Gov. Blanco. I mean the fact that other states were hit just as hard yet don’t have near the problems doesn’t indicate a thing.

As long as you appreciate our help guys.

Now if you excuse me, Sen. Landrieu is knocking on my door. Screaming something like “I’m gonna kick your fucking ass!”. But I’m sure that’s just a figure of speech.

Ok, here’s a game for all of you whom wish to politicize ANY part of the disaster known as Katrina. If you can rationally address more than 3 points of this excellent article by Ben Stein, you win. It includes tidbits like this:

When the city government simply ignores its own sick and hospitalized and elderly people in its evacuation order, is Mr. Bush to blame for that?

There are plenty more in there for you to choose from. If you “air chair first responders” (term borrowedstolen from Michelle Malkin) can tackle three of them, you demonstrate that not only are you a self-righteous prick, but you also can spin better than any spider.

I’d like to close with the conclusion of the above mentioned article:

Is there any problem in the world that is not Mr. Bush’s fault, or have we reverted to a belief in a sort of witchcraft where we credit a mortal man with the ability to create terrifying storms and every other kind of ill wind?

Where did the idea come from that salvation comes from hatred and criticism and mockery instead of love and co-operation?

Good job Steiny

First of all, and most importantly, please donate to whatever charity spins your wheel. I’ve provided a banner above to help you if you’d wish to donate to the Red Cross. That banner will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

I’ve got nothing really insightful to present you today. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around all that is happening. It started with confusion as to why there were still people in the city, and hasn’t gotten better. It simply incomprehensible to me that a majority city can just be wiped out so easily.

For those of you that wish to politicize this disaster. This is not the fault of anyone. Nor is God casting down punishment on anyone for any gay pride parade, or whatever event your pinheaded mind can come up with. Nor is global warming causing a parade of hurricanes to descend on us. For those of you that fall into one of the above categories, fuck you. Be gone, and silent.

For the rest of you still with me…

Probably the biggest thing that boggles my mind is of course the lawlessness in the city. Armed gangs of thugs roaming the city, preying on people whom are already victims. It puzzles me because I simply cannot understand the frame of mind that would be required for such action.

Some have sought to justify the looting. I’m sorry but I can’t. Even for food and water. If you are fit enough to break into a store and haul a cart stuffed the the brim with goods, you are fit enough to make it to the nearest evacuation point.

At the same time part, a voice in the back of my head asks me if I would do the same thing. I would like to think no. But never having been in that situation, I can’t say it for certain. Sure as hell I wouldn’t be interested in big screen TVs. Then again, sure as hell I would have prepared for this (it’s the Eagle Scout in me) and if I hadn’t already left the city, I’d be sitting at home, with a stockpile of food….with my gun in my lap.

I’m also a bit dismayed at the apparent lack of anyone willing to enforce any sort of order. Reports of lawlessness in front of National Guard troops and cops just boggles my mind. I mean seriously, what are you there for? Either make yourself busy rescueing people, or enforce some sort of code of rules.

Dare I say it, it appears as if there is not real entity in control. Neither FEMA, nor anyone else seems capable, or even willing, to establish control over the situation. From what I’ve read and heard, it appears to be indepedent groups of volunteers (and bless them all) who are taking action as they see best, with little coordination with other groups.

I’ve been trying to come up with a way to discribe the situation and at the moment “clusterfuck” comes to mind.