I'm getting a little bit flamed out about of this Katrina Blame Game crap. Most of the critcisim is from partisan and uniformed malcontents who would blame Bush for their toilet overflowing when they themselves stuff it full of crap.
So consider this an informed rant.
I've spent the better part of the day examining some of the reports and data in the days leading up to the storm.
The verdict:
1. The Mayor and the Governor of Louisiana are idiots. Worse than that, they are proud idiots - the most dangerous kind.
Knowing full well what was coming towards them they acted up to the last minute as if Louis Armstrong would decend from the heavens and with his mighty cheeks blow the hurricane away. People are dead because buses (over 400 of them) sat in a parking lot. History has never witnessed such ineptitude. Both should be tried and jailed.
Not to mention (Ok, I will) that packing people into a stadium with no more than vending machines (that operate on electricity) for food and water is no only idiotic, it's criminal as well. The Mayor under emergency directive could have had a local Walmart, Kmart give up it's entire inventory to feed the people inside. That's the purpose of an emergency directive.
Being afraid to "call the shot" because you fear "lawsuits" from businesses if the storm misses is - well, gutless. Call the shot - pay the piper later. Freaking coward.
2. Outside of a few really good reporters on different networks, by and large the MSM are idiots. They began this "blame Bush" meme even before facts were known - simply to take a cheap political shot at the President in a time of crisis. Pathetic.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, the history here is that the Federal Government had to move in only after it was determined that the local and state government were totally incompentent. They had to be relieved of duty.
Once that was accomplished, the resultant move of materials and equipment into the area of operations was nothing more than outstanding.
If you look to the left at my bio you'll see one of my military specialties while in the Army was logistics. For the uninformed (usually means liberals and media) that means "beans, crap paper and bullets". My job was to move material to where it needed to be. contrary to popular and uninformed opionion that doesn't hop on a dime. The force of the reponse once the idiot Governor Blanco was moved to the side shows me that it was waiting for her to simply ask for it - she didn't, the Government relieved her of her duties and went to work.
+96 hour response is outstanding, freaking unbelievable!
Look at what has happened since the Goverment came to town:
Lives Saved (rescues performed) – 49,800
People housed in shelters – 141,500
MREs provided (meals) – 22.5 million
Water provided (liters) – 53.3 million
Plus..
Citizens Evacuated 35,000
Shelters constructed 499
National Guard personnel 35,000
U.S. Coast Guard personnel 4,000
FEMA responders 5,000
In two words...
Freaking outstanding!
Good work!
How many did Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd of the NY Times feed today?
Thought so...
UPDATE: Paul over atWizbang tells it like it is!
Filed under Katrina disaster relief new orleans emergency response
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