lkh_lashouts | Sep. 12th, 2005

Now that the

lkh_blogfeed is up - I wondered how long it would take for people to start leaving comments on the feed, either because they think that LKH will read them (*laffs*) or just because they felt like it.

Well, after LKH's babbling about Katrina and loss of personal freedoms and...okay, that's when my eyes glazed over and I started to wish I has porn on my not!porn (read: work) filter because I don't have it in me to wade through all this stuff.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/lkh_blogfeed/7445.html - but I don't know how long the link will be up there (rss feeds don't have a permanent archive) - so this post sparked off the following comment:

I support freedom of speech. But I also support facts, which is why I have to dispute what you wrote in your latest blogfeed.

The lack of attention to those stranded has been argued countlessly since the recovery of New Orleans began. It is a common misconception that it is the Federal Government's fault that it took so long for help to arrive; in truth, it is the Mayor of N.O. and the Governor of L.A.'s fault.
In a published pamphlet to N.O. citizens in the beginning of the year, the Mayor told citizens that they were on their own in the event of a hurricane or other natural disaster-- even those with no means of transportation. After the hurricane destroyed the city, the Mayor cried to the newspapers, asking why Bush didn't commandeer 500 Greyhound buses to rescue the refugees in N.O. He himself, before the hurricane, stated that he had 500 buses at his disposal, if needed, for an evacuation.
The President called the Governor immediately after the hurricane hit, asking permission for the federal government to enter N.O. (the Feds. can't enter a state without the Governor's permission) The Governor asked him for 24 hours to "decide". What did she have to decide? How many people to let die before rescuers can go in? Similarly, the Mayor of N.O. begged the Governor to declare a Mandatory Evacuation of N.O. when environmentalists declared the floodwaters "too toxic for human exposure". She, again, asked for more time. I'm sorry, but I don't think humans should be allowed near toxic waste. I just don't think it's safe. And, in the end, she didn't declare it-- allowing hundreds of citizens to stay in their homes to breathe in the toxic air.
Why did these two local officials allow the majority (aka the poorest and the most debilitated) of N.O.'s citizens to suffer? They didn't think the hurricane would be that bad. And, if it ended up being bad, they could just go to the Superdome.
I'm sure that they didn't anticipate (and I don't think they should have) the degradation of humanity that occurred after the hurricane-- looting, rapes, and murder-- but I think they should've anticipated the potential death toll. When the Mayor called for an evacuation, he should have evacuated the people who couldn't get themselves out-- and, the Governor should have made it mandatory so the stubborn citizens wouldn't kill themselves.
Not to mention the levee system that Fed. Money went to-- about ten years ago, the L.A. government decided that it would withstand a hurricane. So, they redirected their levee money to aid the tourism business-- the casinos and resorts.
At this time of human suffering, we should be doing all we can to help the citizens of N.O., not blindly pointing fingers at "who did it". I'll tell you who did it-- human nature. Who didn't stand up to her? The governments in New Orleans and Louisiana.
And I'm very disappointed in you, Ms. Hamilton, because you are in the eyes of your readers. If you're going to spout off a political rant, at least put a disclaimer: "This rant is purely opinion and are not fact-based".
One more thing-- you don't have to be a supporter of Bush to see that he's not at fault. You just have to hate him to automatically blame him.

*bes amused*

The Ivory Tower newsfeed - not fact-based since...was it ever?

>:)=