They say hindsight is always 20/20 and that's exactly what Louisiana officials are displaying as Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin order those who have remained and/or made it back into their homes to evacuate because of another oncoming hurricane.
Mayor Nagin said there will be "500 buses for evacuation, and enough water and military meals for 500,000 people". Why in the world weren't there buses waiting the first time? Well, we could get back into it again, but we all know that the DemocRats in charge blew it big time and then wanted nothing more than to blame the president for their lazy response. The only crime this time is that those two folks are still in a position to handle another potentially tragic situation and that means more lives could be lost.
Knowing just how corrupt the New Orleans city government is, a decision should have been made shortly after the tragedy to oust Nagin. That city doesn't need someone without experience in government. It needs someone who is familiar with how a city should run and especially a city the size of New Orleans.
Nagin was marginally elected because he's black, he has friends in high places and his competition was even weaker than he is. While Nagin should have been worrying about getting rid of corrupt politicians, cops, firemen, and city attorneys, he was more interested in forming a Chamber of Commerce to escalate the number of minority-owned businesses in the city. Just goes to show the priorities of the left and thus more reason for them not to run our country.
Ed/Pub:NB
Article comments
1 - Luke
is there even 500,000 people to evacuate? This just shows even more mis-management, i'll use an analogy to explain my point, 9-11 happens again to some important american landmark, and to stop it happening again the whole country is bulldozed and rebuild upside down (underground) so that planes never have anything to fly into.
2 - Luke
just another example of overkill
3 - RJ
Well, I think every politician is covering their asses a little more than usual after the Katrina debacle...
4 - Luke
I suppose from now on they'll have a stock pile of emergency food that big at all times, but it won't do any good if when a natural disaster happens, all the emergency food was sitting in the buses which got swept away by the water
5 - Joey
Knee jerk reactions abound. At a cost. Sam Donalson on Geo Stephenopolis's show last Sunday, was incredulous towards the idea of rebuilding NOLA. As a seaport, perhaps, but as another city, on the same scale. Hmmmm, throwing good money after bad - or legacies.
That said 20/20 hindsight is a fact. And despite what some folks on this site maintain... those who ARE ignorant of history ARE doomed to repeat it.
Some famous quotes from people to didn't follow the advise of history.
"I know, let's attack Russia" - Hitler
"Cigarettes don't cause cancer" - Bobby Joe Fitchett.
"Gravity is just a theory" - billy
etc.... get the point. Some historical mess ups are well documented and those who repeat them will fail.
Rebuilding a city stuck 27 feet in the mud and surrounded by one of the top 5 MOST POWERFUL RIVERS ON THE PLANET - Could rate right on up there.
6 - Nicholas Smith
I mean honestly, it seems that you are whining for the sake of doing so. I bet you are going to say that Guiliani was a "steady leader" and Nagin isn't. What a load of bull from an obviously partisan guy who would never praise anything a Democrat did. Well, your fellow Republicans (yes, I have the audacity and integrity to not resort to petty name calling) disagree with you. HOw you ask? President Bush's approval rating are in the low 40's and dropping.
So whine while you can. I and the rest of America have bigger fish to fry.
Give Me a Break.
7 - Nancy
This may be moot, anyway: rumor has it Nagin has decided to relocate to Dallas - along with as much of the portable city loot as he can abscond with. Mostly, he seems to be disappointed that the various charities & federal agencies aren't willing to just write out checks & hand them over to him to dispense as he sees fit. They actually want some accounting for the money! That's not the NOLA way of things, heah.
8 - Mr. Unite Us
Actually most Whites voted for Nagin.
Being a former $400,000 year Vice President of Cox Communications he had no problem Communicating with business interest. In two years he eliminated the cities and has the support of most New Orleanians. He supported Blanco's Republican opponent for Governor. That made have very well effected Blanco's decision making.
Nagin rented a condo for his family in
Dallas Texas. Some but not all media outlets have retracted the false story that he bought a house in Texas. Be interesting see if any talk radio host
do the same.
The Army Corp of Engineers are in charge of the levees and oppose the closing of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Canal. MRGO During storm surges it becomes an inlet canal and a hurricane alley right into the industrial canal and into New Orleans. The 1950's promise that locks would be built to prevent storm surge into the city was never fullfiled. MRGO needs is rarely used by ships and needs to closed. The Katrina Storm Surge pushed a large barge through the poorly maintained Industrial Canal levees and flooded. Little was done to repair those leevees before Rita sent a surge up the canal an into New Orleans.
9 - John Bil
Time to write off the big easy?
10 - The Duke
And Rita flooded NOLA again. Good thing the FEDs blocked Mr. Mayor's grand plan of bringing people back in.
Nagin doesn't have a clue.
As for COX cable... never had it, never will.
As for Army COE 1950's promise...
That was the 50's. Certainly by now, one would agree that water is a very difficult force to work against (notice I didn't say work with). Water will win every time. Oh, one may bend water's physical tendancies for a while. But water will win over time.
May be the French gave NOLA away for a reason.