Connecting The Dots

I'll broach an issue that I haven't yet seen pointedly addressed in the Blogosphere -- though I don't know why.

Katrina v. Southern Fornicalia:

Have you, in casual pondering not yet wondered (and I know you have) why the massive difference between the two catastrophic events? In terms of both reaction of the local populace and reaction of emergency services? And the ways local and federal bureaucracies have responded?

I proffer: it is the difference between night and day, victim and hero, training and free will.

Competence v. complete incompetence. Expectation & entitlements v. self determination. Corruption v. exposure.

Katrina:

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco is no leader. A white female, she provided ZERO leadership from the get-go. She was excellent at pointing fingers in absentia and post-event. From Wikipedia, a generally left-leaning site:

Governor Blanco did make a request to the Federal government for additional National Guard troops (to supplement the 5,700 Louisiana National Guard troops available in Louisiana at the time).[52]

However, the necessary formal request through the Federal National Guard Bureau was not made until Tuesday, a full day after the hurricane hit and when much of the city was already under water. Blanco also failed to activate a compact with other states that would have allowed her to bypass Washington in a request for additional troops. Even if an earlier request had been made, the logic of mobilizing troops from outlying areas, such as Arizona or California is regarded as questionable by many, given the closer proximity of Federal U.S. First Army troops under the direction of Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré.

To the extent that the lax security situation in New Orleans delayed or prevented humanitarian aid workers from entering the city safely in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, state officials can be held accountable.

And then enter Mayor Ray Nagin; or should I say, exit Mayor Ray Nagin. The CHOCOLATE Mayor. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Or, when the going gets tough, the spineless set their family up in Houston.

From Houston's Clear Thinker (where the bulk of N.O. refugees landed -- and then Houston's crime rate elevated markedly):

The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his/her emergency operations center.

The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved.

We all saw the video, we saw the endless FoxNews, CNN, C-SPAN, ABC, CBS, NBC coverage.

Southern California:

Where isthe outpouring of money for this disaster?

I submit this:

The two incidents revolve around:

• Entitlements v. reality;
• Government provisions v. reality;
• Training v. a lack therof

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Louisiana: a corrupt state and local government;

An expectation of the populace to expect certain levels of performance from the federal gov't;

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And that's all I need to say about that.

BZ