Katrina Fallout

It's been a tragic week. The worst natural event in US history. Here is what I have assessed so far:

• The Louisiana culture is "les bonton rolles" - and it is not conducive to dealing with authority and an evacuation.
• The 9th District was as bad as Somalia before the hurricane and it is worse now. That communication was never passed along to the rescuers or the military. FEMA acknowledges they were surprised by the lawlessness.
• Governor Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin should step up in a line of blame that stretches back to 1927. These folks knew there was a potential "worst case scenario" out there. Blanco signed off on a study less than three years ago that acknowledged there were 10's of thousands of New Orleanians who did not have cars in the inner city, there was no way to evacuate the inner city in the event of flooding and the levy surrounding the city would not survive a category four or five storm. She knew there would be thousands of deaths, yet did nothing to set up a disaster plan. They were unprepared and now are trying to blame the Feds. Haley Barbor of Mississippi had no issues. He asked for help. So did Alabama and Florida.
• Blanco was at grave fault for not asking for federal assistance from the National Guard until Wednesday - a full two-days after the hurricane.
• Mayor Nagin is as crazed as the refugees in the Convention Center. he says he is not a drug addict like some of those displaced - he sounds like one.
• Even in America, if you remove social assistance and expect those who have been trained to rely on the Federal Government for everything to survive you will have anarchy.
• CNN and especially Aaron Brown hate America. He revels in the destruction and his ability to attack the President.
• The Senate can move quickly if there is political pressure.

This is indeed a tragic situation. Unfortunately President Bush will be blamed. This was not a Federal issue - this is an issue brought on by a culture of people in Louisiana who thought it would not happen to them. What happened was the result of a strong storm and a 70 year old problem. We all knew about it. We hoped for the best. There was no planning like in Mississippi and Alabama this is chaos and it lays at the feet of those in charge in Louisiana.

I have the utmost respect for those folks who went in to rescue the displaced despite the danger from the contaminated water and the snipers. I respect the doctors and nurses who have been at Charity Hospital in NO since the hurricane and are at the end of their rope. I respect them all - all but the criminals who looted, the criminals who raped and the criminals who are trying to take control of that city like an African warlord. I hope they perish in the flood and the Lord makes them pay for thier chaos.