New Orleans / Katrina : Who's to blame -- and Terrorists Jumping With Glee
Rescue worker:
"One of the teams came in today after having been out for hours at a time. One particular rescuer went straight to a corner and collapsed into tears. I went directly to him and just held his hand. What else could I do? I said nothing. He said it all. They lowered him 26 times and he pulled 26 people to safety. He wants to be back out there but there are mandatory rest periods. His tears are tears of frustration."
There are two disasters going on here, a natural disaster with what appears to be an almost incomprehensible lack of planning on the part of the localities, compounded by an equally incomprehensible lack of response by the Federal Government.
And the second disaster is the National Disaster, and it's an equally big problem for us all:
We're the richest country in the world, we have some of the smartest, best-educated people in the world. And we knew, and our government knew that New Orleans was essentially a huge bathtub just waiting for the water to come in. And yet, strategically, what did we have? We had an inordinately large percentage of our national oil reserves and refining capacity sitting right in the middle of the fyookin' bathtub! Is that a national security issue, or am I talking Greek?
I can't blame anybody for Mother Nature sending Katrina over New Orleans. But I sure as hell can blame the U.S. Government for being so incredibly stupid as to allow our country to exist in such an indefensible energy position for so many years without anybody doing a damn thing about it.
I sent some money to the Red Cross, that's all I can do to help right now. Those people in Congress, the President and his Cabinet and all their predecessors who didn't have the foresight to do anything about our energy situation all this time ought to be paying double. We're all going to be paying for our incredible stupidity for the next 20 years, in higher gas prices because it takes that long to bring on refining capacity, while the terrorists in the Middle East are jumping with glee. And we will still be dependent on foreign oil! Are we EVER gonna get the message here?
It's a pretty simple equation, supply and demand:
DEMAND: You want to drive your gas-guzzling SUV to work, and you are the only person in it? YOU GOTTA PAY THE PRICE!
SUPPLY: If you don't want to be dependent on oil to run your society, you need to find other ways to power it!
The current balance between supply and demand is called --- surprise --- "Gas Prices".
Hey, you've had THIRTY YEARS to figure out this crap, folks! How about it? What is it, Quantum Physics or something? Shame on you, U.S. Government! Shame!
Stupid asses!
"One of the teams came in today after having been out for hours at a time. One particular rescuer went straight to a corner and collapsed into tears. I went directly to him and just held his hand. What else could I do? I said nothing. He said it all. They lowered him 26 times and he pulled 26 people to safety. He wants to be back out there but there are mandatory rest periods. His tears are tears of frustration."
There are two disasters going on here, a natural disaster with what appears to be an almost incomprehensible lack of planning on the part of the localities, compounded by an equally incomprehensible lack of response by the Federal Government.
And the second disaster is the National Disaster, and it's an equally big problem for us all:
We're the richest country in the world, we have some of the smartest, best-educated people in the world. And we knew, and our government knew that New Orleans was essentially a huge bathtub just waiting for the water to come in. And yet, strategically, what did we have? We had an inordinately large percentage of our national oil reserves and refining capacity sitting right in the middle of the fyookin' bathtub! Is that a national security issue, or am I talking Greek?
I can't blame anybody for Mother Nature sending Katrina over New Orleans. But I sure as hell can blame the U.S. Government for being so incredibly stupid as to allow our country to exist in such an indefensible energy position for so many years without anybody doing a damn thing about it.
I sent some money to the Red Cross, that's all I can do to help right now. Those people in Congress, the President and his Cabinet and all their predecessors who didn't have the foresight to do anything about our energy situation all this time ought to be paying double. We're all going to be paying for our incredible stupidity for the next 20 years, in higher gas prices because it takes that long to bring on refining capacity, while the terrorists in the Middle East are jumping with glee. And we will still be dependent on foreign oil! Are we EVER gonna get the message here?
It's a pretty simple equation, supply and demand:
DEMAND: You want to drive your gas-guzzling SUV to work, and you are the only person in it? YOU GOTTA PAY THE PRICE!
SUPPLY: If you don't want to be dependent on oil to run your society, you need to find other ways to power it!
The current balance between supply and demand is called --- surprise --- "Gas Prices".
Hey, you've had THIRTY YEARS to figure out this crap, folks! How about it? What is it, Quantum Physics or something? Shame on you, U.S. Government! Shame!
Stupid asses!
very well put!
ReplyDeleteHurricane Katrina has brought destruction hitherto unseen in the USA. Potentially worse than the hours of the hurricane's assault on land, has been the widely criticised response by authorities to the human need in the hours and days of the aftermath.
ReplyDeleteWhen one considers the USA's ability to send mighty forces halfway around the world, to ingratiate itself on the day to day workings of foreign governments and to impose its will on the unwilling, the impotence in their ability get it right at home when they are needed is similar to many businesses inability do deal with certain business aspects.
WHAT? I hear you ask, has this got to do with business....
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with all due respect I would like to correct the usage that US is the richest country in the world. Basis GDP-per capita, US is the third richest country in the world
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction. Boy, did you miss the point.
ReplyDeleteWell put Peter. What use is your federal government? Do you really have one? It should now be apparent to Americans that the rich fat toadies running the show don't give a damn about the American people and are more interested in shirking duty and deflecting blame.
ReplyDeleteTo all us observers it looks as though your country is coming apart at the seams. Will it fall apart like the USSR of old or will it explode along with the rest of the world in a Wagnerian Goetterdaemmerung orchestrated by BushCo?
The rest of the world is watching in stunned amazement that Imperial America is a bumbling Goliath. How is it possible that Cuba suffered no casualities during Category 5 Ivan while America, all mighty America, languishes like the cesspool of New Orleans? So many questions.
My hearts go out to all the people who suffered and died as a result of this criminal negligence.
Mark.
Oh, yes we HAVE a Federal Government. And the primary basis for its "bumbliness" is simply that we have permitted (nay, even encouraged) it to mushroom into a monstrous bureaucracy far beyond the wildest nightmares of our founders.
ReplyDeleteI cannot comment on Cuba, I'm not sure I get the connection. What I do know is that New Orleans was dead in the path of Katrina, everybody knew it in advance, and the performance was dismal.