The Mayor Misses The Bus
Hundreds and hundreds of them were left to take on flood waters instead of passengers. Yet another criminally negligent public official. And the guy was sitting right there in Flood Central. Absolutely disgusting.
I just voted in a special election (by absentee ballot, which I always do these days, for convenience and so I won't miss an election). As I drove off to mail my ballot, I was thinking about people who come to America from countries with oppressive regimes, and how passionate they are about the right to vote -- versus some of our natural-born citizens who, if they even vote, just go right down party lines, never giving too much thought to what a candidate is really all about.
I'm not saying we always have such great choices -- I can't even begin to tell you how I loathed Kerry -- but perhaps that's part and parcel of people not caring about democracy, taking it for granted because it's been around as long as any of them can remember.
I think you're going to be seeing more stories like this one, unfortunately. The Mayor and the city had a complete evacuation plan in place beforehand, but chose not to implement it, despite pleas by his staff. Then we have the Governor, who (along with the Mayor) dithered over ordering a mandatory evacuation of the city, even though she had received a phone call from Bush imploring her to do so over 24 hours earlier.
Bush and his administration did poorly, no question about it - but a lot of local and municipal officials are going to be taking heat over the coming months regarding this disaster. Contrast this with Haley Barbour's performance in Miss., where he got almost everyone out of immediate harm's way almost two full days before the hurricane's landfall there. With the initial storm surge of over 30 feet, the loss of life there would have been catastrophic.
Dmac at September 5, 2005 7:30 AM
The mayor is already going on the blame game offensive here - hey, it wasn't his fault all hell broke loose! He's just the mayor!
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_09.html
Dmac at September 5, 2005 8:34 AM
Also, why weren't the Superdome and the convention center upgraded to true shelters by New Orleans long ago?
I understand that NOLA couldn't have upgraded the levee system without federal aid. But knowing the city's vulnerabilities and knowing how many people would have no means to flee a hurricane, shouldn't the local leaders have created a plan B? Like adding generators, supply stockpiles, and extra bathrooms to the dome and the convention center to make them true shelters? If the city could afford to renovate the basketball arena for the Hornets, surely they could afford such upgrades.
The fact is that there has been a leadership vacuum in NOLA for a long time now - I know this first hand from having lived there for awhile. Nagin's rush to lay blame at the feet of everyone else is typical and self-serving.
Jason Ginsburg at September 5, 2005 10:13 AM
I had been so disturbed by the conditions and behavior at the Superdome and Convention Center...fights, rapes, deaths, animalistic behavior...of course, all out of desparation.
But the thought that I've been running through my head is: Where were the natural leaders who spent their days walking around the Superdome and Convention Center gathering volunteers to move the dead bodies to a central location...designating waste areas...pooling resources...protecting each other from atrocities and attacks.
Maybe I've just seen too many survival shows or heard of too many "human spirit prevails" true stories.
I still cry over the babies dying.
heide in florida at September 6, 2005 6:40 PM
Well, I did read about one six-year-old with a bunch of toddlers he was taking around -- all separated from their parents. But, perhaps, when people have nothing they become like animals.
Amy Alkon at September 7, 2005 8:00 AM
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