August 29, 2006
What he said
Unless you live in a cave, you already know that today is the 1-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans. Oodles of reading, but if you read just one item, read "Media Race Baiting & Ugly Truths Everyone Ignores" over at Rightwinged.
Posted by bill at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2005
Hurricane porkchop
Anyone who donated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina should read this, a depressing piece by AEI Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy highlighting the pork that, if Louisiana politicians get their way, would be sent to the state, including "many items having nothing to do with hurricane relief." Some personal favorites:
- $35,000,000 for the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board
- $25,490,073 to complete the Sugarcane Research Laboratory
$120,000,000 for a laboratory, facilities and equipment at the Southern Regional Research Center
$34,193,591 to support the research and education activities of the Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
- $19,000,000 for the acquisition of first-responder mobile communications, deployable cellular towers and for equipment necessary for public Internet access in a 100-block area of downtown New Orleans using wireless-fidelity technology.
- $100,000,000 for early intervention, prevention, and disorder treatment for children who are 0 to 5 years of age
- $100,000,000 for early intervention, prevention, and disorder treatment for school age children.
- $100,000,000 for substance abuse assessment, early intervention, prevention, and treatment.
- $600,000,000 for early childhood education
- $160 million to implement the 2005 recommendations of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission related to the Federal city development in Algiers, Louisiana.
Posted by bill at 09:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 22, 2005
Carnival of the absurd
What is is with the word "peace" that compels people parading under it to lose their minds? Via Sweetness & Light, we learn that a South Florida professor is concerned about the necessities in the wake of Katrina:
Do survivors have access to condoms and other forms of contraception?
Are there women who are missing birth control prescriptions?
Send back the Bibles! Make way for condoms!
Posted by bill at 10:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 21, 2005
Paying for It
Faced with the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, President Bush has pledged the support of the federal government in rebuilding much of Louisiana and Mississippi, a pledge that could result in a final cost of some $200 billion to taxpayers. But where will the money come from? White House officials have been vague on the subject. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, are openly considering a range of options, including tax increases. This is not cowardice or ideological backsliding among moderate Republicans, it is the very essence of good government.
During his time in office President Bush has, through his own actions and as a result of events outside his control, been witness to a strange alchemy that has changed the hue of the federal budget from black to red. This is upsetting quite a few people. While the conservatives who fret over deficits seem to be vastly outnumbered by those who spend their time convinced that the marriage of two men will bring about the end of civilization, the former group is still a constituency that Bush might want to hold on to. This is especially true now Bush's declining popularity seems to be affecting the prospects of political allies, such as Rick Santorum.
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September 20, 2005
Katrina conspiracies (mostly: kill black people)
Whoa! Watch this video. Someone fit this guy for a tin foil hat.
Posted by bill at 11:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ray Nagin: The Peter Principle in Action
One has to wonder, if one hasn't already, if Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans was born a twit or whether it's a recent development brought on by the stress of Katrina and having to deal with such a catastrophe in the most corrupt city in the most corrupt state in the nation. He was advised and warned not to re-populate the sprawling, fetid, swamped city but failed to heed. Now, he's done a reversal. It was bad enough that he screwed up the original evacuation but now he toys with the minds and souls of his citizens by giving them false hope and more false recriminations but, of course, he blames everyone else for his ineptitude.
"The Peter Priciple" is an idea that goes back decades and simply posits that people often rise in the corporate structure to the level of their incompetence. Apparently, it applies in the municipal world, as well.
Posted by Gene Blogger at 10:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 15, 2005
The Sad Truth About Katrina--the Enemy Within
After 9-11, New Yorkers and the nation joined together in remarkable fashion and an all-but-universal solidarity. After Katrina, Mississippi and Alabama almost at once began an orderly effort to recover, repair, and reconstruct. Louisiana and New Orleans? A whole other ballgame. The chaos that was New Orleans during the storm became the chaos of New Orleans after the storm. And the nation? The blame game began within hours as liberal politicians began another visceral attempt to bring down George Bush rather than focus on revivifying that sad city. One of the best analyses of that despicable show of petty, vicious, blind partisanship may be read here Read it and weep.
Posted by Gene Blogger at 02:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 14, 2005
Victory in the wake of disaster
I have to admit that I haven't paid much attention to Hurricane Katrina and the ruin of New Orleans lately. Frankly, I was busy moving and I didn't know anyone in the area, so it was just mildly unpleasant background. But after reading this Slate piece I see what a fantastic boon this disaster could be for the Democratic Party. Homeland Security must necessarily involve securing the homeland, and for the first time in four years Democrats can convincingly say that the goal of homeland security might better be served by enacting their preferred policies. Definitely something to watch.
Posted by Audi Partem Alteram at 09:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 08, 2005
Sad, sad, sad
CJ columnist Martin Heilweil forwarded me this diddy, which after a little research I discovered has been bouncing around the Internet for a bit. A must read (much more below the fold):
On Friday night before the storm hit Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center took the unprecedented action of calling Nagin and Blanco personally to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of NO and they said they'd take it under consideration. This was after the NOAA buoy 240 miles south had recorded 68' waves before it was destroyed.
A lot below the fold but I'm trying to imagine what would have been the response had President Bush had wrestled control over the disaster relief from the State of Louisiana and Mayor Expletive. Imagine the outcry - Bush, the left's "fascist," who's been tagged as a "big-government" conservative who is often accused of undermining the Constitution and steering the U.S. toward dictatorship...the President, of course, would have been skewered, patent incompetence throughout local and state governments be damned.
Once again, our country faces a serious issue - what went wrong - and the left seems incapable of participating in a thoughtful, serious debate. Let's see, though, how this unravels.
The story continues:
President Bush spent Friday afternoon and evening in meetings with his advisors and administrators drafting all of the paperwork required for a state to request federal assistance (and not be in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act or having to enact the Insurgency Act). RC: Remember, the US Military is forbidden by the Posse Conitatus Act from doing law enforcement...this is to prevent a Military Coup of our Government.
Just before midnight Friday evening, the President called Governor Blanco and pleaded with her to sign the request papers so the federal government and the military could legally begin mobilization and call up. He was told that they didn't think it necessary for the federal government to be involved yet. After the President's final call to the governor, she held meetings with her staff to discuss the political ramifications of bringing federal forces.
It was decided that if they allowed federal assistance it would make it look as if they had failed so it was agreed upon that the feds would not be invited in. Saturday before the storm hit the President again called Blanco and Nagin requesting they please sign the papers requesting federal assistance, that they declare the state an emergency area, and begin mandatory evacuation.
After a personal plea from the President Nagin agreed to order an evacuation, but it would not be a full mandatory evacuation, and the governor still refused to sign the papers requesting and authorizing federal action. In frustration, the President declared the area a national disaster area before the state of Louisiana did so he could legally begin some advanced preparations.
Rumor has it that the President's legal advisers were looking into the ramifications of using the insurgency act to bypass the Constitutional requirement that a state request federal aid before the federal government can move into state with troops - but that had not been done since 1906 and the Constitutionality of it was called into question to use before the disaster.
Throw in that over half the federal aid of the past decade to NO for levee construction, maintenance, and repair was diverted to fund a marina and support the gambling ships. Toss in the investigation that will look into why the emergency preparedness plan submitted to the federal government for funding and published on the city's website was never implemented and in fact may have been bogus for the purpose of gaining additional federal funding as we now learn that the organizations identified in the plan were never contacted or coordinating into any planning - though the document implies that they were.
The suffering people of NO need to be asking some hard questions as do we all, but they better start with why Blanco refused to even sign the multi-state mutual aid pack activation documents until Wednesday which further delayed the legal deployment of National Guard from adjoining states. Or maybe ask why Nagin keeps harping that the President should have commandeered 500 Greyhound busses to help him when according to his own emergency plan and documents he claimed to have over 500 busses at his disposal to use between the local school busses and the city transportation busses - but he never raised a finger to prepare them or activate them.
This is a sad time for all of us to see that a major city has all but been destroyed and thousands of people have died with hundreds of thousands more suffering, but it's certainly not a time for people to be pointing fingers and trying to find a bigger dog to blame for local corruption and incompetence. Pray to God for the survivors that they can start their lives anew as fast as possible and we learn from all the mistakes to avoid them in the future.
Posted by bill at 08:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thomas Nelson vindicated
Earlier this week James Taranto picked up on the angry reaction of liberal blog commenters to a Tennessee-based Bible publisher's decision to donate 100,000 Bibles to Hurricane Katrina victims. Of course we didn't need this story to understand that blue state liberalism has lost contact with the mother ship, and we already knew that, you know, a Bible might not be a bad thing to have around after disaster hits, and that if someone wants to help and has a truck full of Bibles, no one should insist he donate bottled water or Cheerios. Still, I hope Thomas Nelson sees this and realizes he's helped an awful lot of people. (Via Michelle Malkin.)
Posted by bill at 07:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 07, 2005
Chairman Dean
Howard Dean joins the Bush-hates-blacks fringe. Did we expect anything else?
More on Katrina: Christopher Hitchens tackles the idea that the War in Iraq compromised the recovery in New Orleans; and Mark Steyn is brilliant as usual on his re-take on New Orleans and its response:
Readers may recall my words from a week ago on the approaching Katrina: "We relish the opportunity to rise to the occasion. And on the whole we do. Oh, to be sure, there are always folks who panic or loot. But most people don't, and many are capable of extraordinary acts of hastily improvised heroism."
What the hell was I thinking? I should be fired for that. Well, someone should be fired. I say that in the spirit of the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, the Anti-Giuliani, a Mayor Culpa who always knows where to point the finger.
Posted by bill at 07:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 02, 2005
Searching for "root causes" in New Orleans
"We're poor, we're black, and that's why we're not getting the help." - MSNBC anchor, ascribing a "root cause" to the anarchy in New Orleans. Ahh, yes...the big picture in the Big Easy is being infused with race politics. Could we have hoped for anything better?
Posted by bill at 08:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 01, 2005
A "terrible blow"
If you find Peggy Noonan saccharine or gloppy, don't read her latest. I don't, at least not to the point her writing is unreadable, so I read the article - some observations about Katrina's heroes, victims and politicians. On President Bush she was poignant:
Does he understand that what has happened in our gulf is as important as what is happening in the other gulf? Does he know in his gut that the existence of looting, chaos and disease in a great American city, or cities, is a terrible blow that may have deep implications?
I wonder, too, and not for partisan reasons. Do any of us really know? A must-read, IMHO.
Posted by bill at 08:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Chaos and anarchy!
Chaos! Anarchy! Harsh, chilling words when we hear them applied to the United States. It's hard to conceive and mentally process what's going on in New Orleans and one would hope it's media exaggeration and hype. But I don't think it is. Not even close. Now, I think I can grasp the desperation of these poor souls. What I can't comprehend is the purpose of rioting, looting (Ok, I'll even buy that--for essentials but not for TV's, VCR's, et al.), shooting at rescue helicopters, hospitals, etc. Could it be that what we're seeing are the sad fruits of decades in which governments have created a dependent class--an ENORMOUS, dependent and dysfunctional class of citizens who don't know right from wrong, who can't function as law-abiding citizens when catastrophe strikes, who resort to virtual savagery in the face of extreme adversity?
I believe it just could be.
Posted by Gene Blogger at 02:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 31, 2005
What matters
Michelle Malkin has the skinny on how to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. More here. Tomorrow the blogosphere will do its part - as part of the effort CJ will ask for donations to Catholic Charities.
I've read quite a bit from the left and their opportunistic political attacks and snickering, and I'm tired of it. There will be a time to respond to the left's response, but for the forseeable future I won't partake. Right now it would be almost senseless to do so, and I hope everyone - politics aside - can focus on organizing and contributing to the relief effort.
Posted by bill at 11:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 30, 2005
Spot the Anti-Americanism and other thoughts
As anarchy endangers thousands and our countrymen perish:
Socialist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. :
Now we are all learning what it's like to reap the whirlwind of fossil fuel dependence which Barbour and his cronies have encouraged. Our destructive addiction has given us a catastrophic war in the Middle East and--now--Katrina is giving our nation a glimpse of the climate chaos we are bequeathing our children.
Germany's "Green" Environmental Minister and socialist Jürgen Trittin:
The Bush government rejects international climate protection goals by insisting that imposing them would negatively impact the American economy. The American president is closing his eyes to the economic and human costs his land and the world economy are suffering under natural catastrophes like Katrina and because of neglected environmental policies.
Reality check: this. For God's sake, even the NY Times offers skepticism.
Michelle Malkin has the latest.
Meantime, Cindy Sheehan is looking like an ass, now admitting her nonesense isn't about her son at all, but "galvanizing the peace movement," although I'd hesistate to ask what she means by that.
Posted by bill at 07:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Help the victims
Hundreds are feared dead in Mississippi; and New Orleans is turning into a lake:
(via Eastern US Weather Forums.)
Want to help? Call one of these numbers
American Red Cross (800) HELP NOW (435-7669) English; (800) 257-7575 Spanish
Operation Blessing (800) 436-6348
America's Second Harvest (800) 344-8070
To donate cash or volunteer:
Adventist Community Services (800) 381-7171
Catholic Charities, USA (703) 549-1390
Christian Disaster Response (941) 956-5183 or (941) 551-9554
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (800) 848-5818
Church World Service (800) 297-1516
Convoy of Hope (417) 823-8998
Lutheran Disaster Response (800) 638-3522
Mennonite Disaster Service (717) 859-2210
Nazarene Disaster Response (888) 256-5886
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (800) 872-3283
Salvation Army (800) SAL-ARMY (725-2769)
Southern Baptist Convention -- Disaster Relief (800) 462-8657, ext. 6440
United Methodist Committee on Relief (800) 554-8583
Posted by bill at 03:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 28, 2005
Sickening
I don't usually buy into media hype over hurricanes and such but stories like this are simply nauseating:
"We need to recognize we may be about to experience our equivalent of the Asian tsunami, in terms of the damage and the numbers of people that can be killed," said Ivor van Heerden, director of the Louisiana State University Public Health Research Center in Baton Rouge.
Some 25 feet of standing water is expected in many parts of the city -- almost twice the height of the average home -- and computer models suggest that more than 80 percent of buildings would be badly damaged or destroyed, he said.
Floodwaters from the east will carry toxic waste from the "Industrial Canal" area, nicknamed after the chemical plants there. From the west, floodwaters would flow through the Norco Destrehan Industrial Complex, which includes refineries and chemical plants, said van Heerden, who has studied computer models about the impact of a strong hurricane for four years.
"These chemical plants are going to start flying apart, just as the other buildings do," he predicted. "So, we have the potential for release of benzene, hydrochloric acid, chlorine and so on."
That could result in severe air and water pollution, he said.
In New Orleans, which lies below sea level, gas and diesel tanks are all located above ground for the same reason that bodies are buried above ground. In the event of a flood, "those tanks will start to float, shear their couplings, and we'll have the release of these rather volatile compounds," van Heerden added.
Because gasoline floats on water, "we could end up with some pretty severe and large -- area-wise --fires."
"So, we're looking at a bowl full of highly contaminated water with contaminated air flowing around and, literally, very few places for anybody to go where they'll be safe."
(H/T: Michelle Malkin. Michelle also has links to relief efforts, and Catholic Charities has posted donation info.)
Posted by bill at 10:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
"Preserve as many dems as we can."
I've always thought hurricanes like Katrina must be welcome developments to CNN and Fox News during slow late-August news cycles. They offer a pre-packaged sort of drama only Mother Nature can generate and only news producers can love. Drudge is often the worst offender - his fascination with hurricanes seems almost unhealthy. Despite this, I get the sense that Katrina is the real McCoy (note this National Weather Service release - which I got at Drudge), and that we should offer our prayers and later this weeks, some American charity to the people of New Orleans.
We can also eagerly await the inevitable: an attempt to blame President Bush (probably by reference to Kyoto, etc.) for Katrina. Liberal myopia is always on the menu, but natural disasters expose it. With this in mind I popped over to Kos, at which the site's users are, sensibly enough, offering shelter for Katrina's refugees, but also hint at what soon will be explicit: we can thank global warming and President Bush for the death and destruction Katrina will bring. Then there's this gem (first comment in the former thread), from one of the Kos Kidz: "kick ass idea and not only very generous of you, it makes sense politically to preserve as many dems as we can. And I don't mean that lightheartedly, this could be that serious."
For those of you who'd like to help out the liberal and conservatives victims, here's a link to the American Red Cross.
UPDATE [11:07 pm]- look here - it didn't take long for someone to blame Bush.
Posted by bill at 04:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
