The Truth About Katrina

ballz2wallz · 08-30-2006, 02:30 PM

You remember nasty Katrina.

One year ago Tuesday, she violently spiraled into the Gulf Coast, killing more than 1,800 people, destroying 353,000 homes, doing $81 billion in damage, drowning 80 percent of New Orleans and setting off a circus of media hysteria, political finger-pointing, racial recrimination and myth-mongering that embarrassed us before the whole world.

No thanks to the electronic media, the American public was left with a distorted view of what really happened before and after Hurricane Katrina hit.

Remember those initial shocking TV reports? New Orleans consumed by anarchy? Rescue helicopters shot at? People by the score being raped and murdered in the Superdome and convention center?

None of it was true. Looters were common. But violent crime was actually rarer than usual.

How about the government's slow response time? Another myth. Within three days, 100,000 emergency personnel arrived on the scene from state, local and federal sources and rescued 100,000 soaked souls -- making it arguably the largest and fastest rescue effort in U.S. history.

As for the mass evacuation that supposedly didn't work, 1.2 million of metro New Orleans' 1.5 million people left town before Katrina hit. It took 38 hours -- 34 fewer than expected. Most who stayed behind chose not to leave.

At first the media-driven blame game was simple: President Bush and his cronies at FEMA didn't care or respond fast enough. Later the most culpable pols -- New Orleans Mayor Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Blanco -- were fingered.

But the real culprits were not individual politicians but government and bureaucracy. At nearly every step and turn, it was hapless public-sector players that either caused problems or made them worse.

The city government -- congenitally corrupt, broke and clueless -- was ill-prepared for Katrina or became paralyzed in the clutch. Likewise the slimy Louisiana state government, which despite decades of warnings failed to upgrade the levees.

As for the feds, FEMA was a joke long before Katrina flooded New Orleans. So was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has spent the last 100 years messing up the natural flow of the Mississippi and which designed and built the storm walls and earthen levees that failed and flooded New Orleans.

Miraculously, the Corps admitted its incompetence in June, albeit in stereotypically bureaucratic fashion -- by issuing a 6,000-page report that cost $19.7 million.

New Orleans, by all accounts, from Time magazine Spike Lee's HBO documentary, is still in sad shape. Despite billions in federal aid, despite myriad promises and plans, despite the hard work of thousands of good people, more than 113,000 humans still live in FEMA trailers and 60 percent of New Orleans' population lives elsewhere.

The poor city is a skeleton running on federal handouts. Its leaders are still arguing about what neighborhoods to redevelop and how. The Army Corps is still not done repairing the levees, which will need many years and many more billions before they can even stand up to another relatively weak Category 3 like the tragically well-aimed Katrina.

Meanwhile, as the public sector dithers and squabbles and plans its next fiascoes, Mother Nature will be perennially brewing up new catastrophes that could put wounded New Orleans under water again for good.

good to know

lew · 08-30-2006, 02:33 PM

More evidence that government solves and fixes nothing.

Thorgrim · 08-30-2006, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by lew

More evidence that government solves and fixes nothing.

"making it arguably the largest and fastest rescue effort in U.S. history."

I'm sure the private sector would have rescued those 100,000 people?

Let me guess, the "invisible hand" of the free market would have nudged them into the sea

08-30-2006, 02:45 PM

Good post

08-30-2006, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

"making it arguably the largest and fastest rescue effort in U.S. history."

I'm sure the private sector would have rescued those 100,000 people?

Let me guess, the "invisible hand" of the free market would have nudged them into the sea

The private sector did evacuate a bunch of people

Thorgrim · 08-30-2006, 02:50 PM

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

The private sector did evacuate a bunch of people

funny in the article it says 100,000 would rescued by government employees, are you saying the private sector rescued 100,001?

Publius · 08-30-2006, 02:50 PM

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

"making it arguably the largest and fastest rescue effort in U.S. history."

I'm sure the private sector would have rescued those 100,000 people?

Let me guess, the "invisible hand" of the free market would have nudged them into the sea

The private sector took care of most of the evacuation efforts prior to the storm.

08-30-2006, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

funny in the article it says 100,000 would rescued by government employees, are you saying the private sector rescued 100,001?

I'm saying that countless numbers of people were paid to leave. My company paid our employees and FOR THEIR FAMILIES to get the hell out. Told them to stick it on their amex corporate card and the company would pay for it. We paid them the entire time and paid for displacement costs for them. We're not the only company that did it.

08-30-2006, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by Publius

The private sector took care of most of the evacuation efforts prior to the storm.

Thats correct, if people chose to stay thats not a companies fault or the governments its their dumbasses fault fo rstaying.

Scrum · 08-30-2006, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

Thats correct, if people chose to stay thats not a companies fault or the governments its their dumbasses fault fo rstaying.

Or their dunbass fault for not going to community college because they don't have enough money to buy a car.

Fucking people never think ahead. Stay in school kids.

08-30-2006, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent

Or their dunbass fault for not going to community college because they don't have enough money to buy a car.

Fucking people never think ahead. Stay in school kids.

Uhhh they were offered by the government to get out. The federal government told them get out a full day before the state and city wanted to acknowledge the problem. There were trains, 500+ buses including vans all ready to take people out of the city.

Scrum · 08-30-2006, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

Uhhh they were offered by the government to get out. The federal government told them get out a full day before the state and city wanted to acknowledge the problem. There were trains, 500+ buses including vans all ready to take people out of the city.

I though Nagin ordered the busses tires slashed and the drivers shot?

That's the impression you guys give.

Publius · 08-30-2006, 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent

I though Nagin ordered the busses tires slashed and the drivers shot?

That's the impression you guys give.

Different buses.

Scrum · 08-30-2006, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by Publius

Different buses.

I can't tell. They all look the same to me.

08-30-2006, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by Publius

Different buses.

that was the "help disabled reublicans vote" buses

Stylerod · 08-30-2006, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

that was the "help disabled reublicans vote" buses

I remember that!

kinggovernor · 08-30-2006, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

funny in the article it says 100,000 would rescued by government employees, are you saying the private sector rescued 100,001?

the private sector managed to evacute 80% of the actual city population, that is pretty damn good.

kinggovernor · 08-30-2006, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent

I though Nagin ordered the busses tires slashed and the drivers shot?

That's the impression you guys give.

he gives the impression that everyone is a racist but him. Chocolate city N'GA!

ballz2wallz · 08-30-2006, 05:33 PM

if you want a quick summary of what the private sector did to help out in katrina (and then some), look no further than here:

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Katrina: The good, the bad and the ugly

hsmith · 08-30-2006, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

"making it arguably the largest and fastest rescue effort in U.S. history."

I'm sure the private sector would have rescued those 100,000 people?

Let me guess, the "invisible hand" of the free market would have nudged them into the sea

god you never give up.

The private sector did, they also had busses STOLEN from them by the government trying to rescue people who hired them.