Cynicism and neglect continue to reign in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath.
The feds are ever insistent on getting Lousiana’s Governor to sign over all regional authority to them. Why? It would give them a free hand to bring in whatever out-of-state contractors they want for the $50 billion clean-up and rebuilding effort. It’s about the money.
It would also be a cheap electoral ploy – only a Republican federal government can keep you safe, not a Democratic state government. To this end, a senior Bush administration has lied and said that the Governor of Louisiana refused to declare a state of emergency. Untrue. She did so on the 26 August.
Governor Kathleen Blanco is quite right to be wary of Bush.
Bush…used his weekly radio address to put responsibility for the failure on lower levels of government. The magnitude of the crisis “has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities,” he said. “The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable.”
Due to Bush government discomfort with anyone outside of their country club – including a Democrat female governor – more effort is being spent on taking over command than on cooperation. They talk of invoking the Insurrection Act (ibid).
Lamentable that National Guard and federal troops cannot cooperate in the face of a national emergency. The unfortunate people of New Orleans have been flooded, not launched an insurrection.
Not that insurrection would be out of place here after remarks like those of Barbara Bush (GB 1’s wife):
What I’m hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them.
Unbelievable as this last remark is, there is audio. Living on a cot in an abandoned sports stadium as a step to social advancement? (discussion)
My concern is that the people of New Orleans without flood insurance are about to be permanently disinherited. One can imagine the speeches of G.W. Bush in 2007 after spending $90 billion (overcharged by triple) on rebuilding New Orleans.
After the reconstruction effort, New Orleans is a city that has to pull its own weight. Living in New Orleans is a privilege and not a right. Those people who cannot afford to pay their share of the redevelopment can look elsewhere to carry on with their lives. They proved they were not ready to do their part in maintaining the city before Hurricane Katrina and even taking the basic step of insuring themselves. Why should we believe they are more prepared now? When they are financially ready, they are more than welcome to return to New Orleans. They have no one to blame but themselves if they are not in that position now.
What about Jazz culture? Historic New Orleans in the face of the giant amusement park built in its place?
Local culture and atmosphere? I’m glad you asked. National hotel chains have formed a council with the support of the federal governement to build a Jazz hotel which will house 400 jazz musicians in permanent residency. All members of the council will be able to use these performers on an ongoing basis free of charge. Special monitors are in place to ensure the performers compliance with city and federal regulation and the proper discharge of their duties. Other hotels and bars will be able to hire the musicians at flat rates, paying the wages directly to the the council to fund the living costs of all the residents. Performers with no definite engagement will be sent to the street corners to perform ten hours per day. All tips will be collected by the Federal monitors to finance the New Orleans Debt Fund. There will be even more music in New Orleans now than before the flood!
Feudalism is just around the corner in the United States of America. The latest judicial appointees are the final death knell to the republic. No remedy, no remedy at all.
A literary renaissance is in the cards. In satire. Jonathan Swift cannot help but find a worthy successor in these times.