Posted on 09/02/2005 3:55:03 AM PDT by manwiththehands
WASHINGTON (AP) - At every turn, political leaders failed Katrina's victims. They didn't strengthen the levees. They ceded the streets to marauding looters. They left dead bodies to rot or bloat. Thousands suffered or died for lack of water, food and hope. Who's at fault?
There's plenty of blame to go around - the White House, Congress, federal agencies, local governments, police and even residents of the Gulf Coast who refused orders to evacuate. But all the finger-pointing misses the point: Politicians and the people they lead too often ignore danger signs until a crisis hits ...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
I brought this same point up days ago. Mr. Fournier spreads a lot of blame around. My point is this: the pork in our federal budget is obscene. Katrina proved that the money isn't really going to where it needs to go, anyway. This is a moral issue, not a political one.
This was a disaster of biblical proportions. Our politicians are not gods.
Job #1 should have been disaster planning by local and state governments. That's the ultimate failure in this. The incompetence on that has been unparallelled.
I agree -- although looking at the Big Dig and remembering that NO has one of the most corrupt govts in the country... The small potatos that were being requested would likely have had small effect, upgrading the system would have cost far far far more.
All the money in the world wouldn't have prevented flooding from a Cat4/5 hurricane from wrecking a levy built for a Cat3. Imagine if the hurricane was a direct hit. If they wanted to do something it they should have started 20 years ago.
You mean that Gerorge W. Bush has been in office for over five and one half years and he hasn't made Louisiana heaven on earth yet?
Yet another 11 lb. brain that misses the point.
Louisiana is a sovereign state. She has a governor [?] and senators [?] representing Her interests.
Perhaps the "plenty of blame" should be placed directly on their tiny, stooped. shoulders?
Bingo. You win my post of the day award (I've been thinking exactly this for a couple of days). This is obvious to anyone who doesn't believe that the government is a form of God.
Politics played into funding the bridge. However, that was last year's appropriation and had that money all be allocated to N.O. rather than for the bridge, it would not have been spent in time to prevent any of the damage we are seeing.
I'm listening to Russert constantly invoke the Conservative press regarding Katrina -- as if Louisiana were run by Conservatives.
The Today show is pretty damn despicable this morning.
No doubt about that, but it is also FEMAs job to be prepared to step in and take over in cases where the disaster overwhelms the local government and their incompetence in this matter has equalled that of the local governments.
I do. They knew decades ago the levees were sinking and in disrepair, but did nothing. They knew many of the pumps needed to be turn on manually which is impossible during a flood. They knew not to build in the lowest levels. They were asking for a disaster with their inaction and stupidity.
Interviewee: "This is a racial matter!"
Reporter: "This is a painful reminder of the great New Orleans flood of 1927 when black citizens were rounded up at gunpoint."
Interviewee: "They used Black people as sandbags!"
Reporter: "African-Americans are primarily taking the brunt of this hurricane, waiting for the help they were promised from Wahsington."
Thanks. Why didn't I think of that?
My point is the introduction (that first paragraph that sets the tone of an article) asks the question ... "Who's at fault?"
In answer to that question the author then leads off with ... " the White House".
The 'blame habit' is getting old. I think it is another hangover from the Clinton administrations... Duck and cover was ever and always their political style and the country (especially with the encouragement and continuing example of the MSM) became used to the idea that blame COULD and SHOULD be fixed immediately and in all things. Blame cannot and should not be the initial and foremost action of responsible leadership and is not something to be encouraged in public opinion. It serves nothing and in the case of disaster (natural or otherwise) it only adds rancor to already difficult and tragic circumstances but it diverts energy from the immediate issues at hand for victims.
It was NOT W's fault. The blame is soley NO's politicians and residents fault.
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