"Acceptable losses : The 739 people killed by Chicago's 1995 heat wave were the victims of a mayor who believed in running his city like a business"
How things have changed. In the last two weeks the MSM have crucified the Bush Administration about the Katrina disaster, even though the problems were due more to the Democratic apparatus in Louisianna than any other reason.
Yet ten years ago there was another disaster, the MSM for the most part ignored.
In 1995, during the Clinton administration, during the summer of '95, 739 people died in a heatwave in Chicago.
"We're not talking about an era before air conditioning. We're talking about a modern American city, seven years ago. To put this in perspective, Klinenberg tells us that that's more than twice the number who died in the great Chicago fire of 1871, and more than 20 times the number who died in Hurricane Andrew. And it tops the casualties of the Oklahoma City bombing and the crash of TWA Flight 800 combined.
In terms of lives lost, the 1995 Chicago heat wave was one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in recent American history. Yet how many of you outside of Chicago have even heard of it? I certainly hadn't before reading Klinenberg's book. And part of the reason for that lies in the way we think about heat, a line of thinking reflected in the judgment of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and many of his city officials that the heat wave was an act of God, and that the deaths were unavoidable. However, an even more ominous attitude than simple complacency about hot weather was in effect during the deadly '95 heat wave: It was a classic case of how deciding to run a city like a corporation can put citizens' lives in danger."
Where was the MSM in 1995? Where was the outrage? Where were the recriminations, the pictures of the bodies, and all of the other things we saw the last two weeks?
Not during a Democratic Administration - no, no, not on your life.
The American Media; A National Disgrace.
Filed under Katrina disaster relief new orleans emergency response FEMA
Subscribe by Email
Follow Updates Articles from This Blog via Email
No Comments