Bottom line, if the levy had not broken, New Orleans would not be anywhere near as bad.
No S**t! I couldn't believe the prez had the balls today to say "No one ever would have guessed that the levy would break." What a load of crap. In 2000, the feds were told that the three most likely national disasters would be
1) A terrorist attack on NYC
2) A category 4 or 5 hurricane in New Orleans
3) An major earthquake in San Francisco
These were evaluated to be the MOST LIKELY....5 freakin years ago. I remember Sen. Landreau of Louisianna making impassioned speeches from the Senate floor BEGGING for funding to be continued for building levys and flood prevention in and around New Orleans...including restoration of the wetlands outside of New Orleans. The Times Picayune ran a series of articles in 2003 about how the funding for the levy projects in New Orleans had been slashed....to now finance the war in Iraq.
Law and order could have been maintained had anyone shown LEADERSHIP. The mayor of New Orleans pleaded with the governor, FEMA, and the White House....but the Prez was in AZ playing Golf and attending fundraising. The governor was telling all that "hey, we told them to get out."....and as for FEMA, the mayor said "I haven't seen anyone. Not one guy."
The affected states not only have 1/3 of their National Guard in Afghanistan and Iraq...along with their vehicles and equipment.
Is this REALLY the best that americans can do at disaster relief?
Ern
PS.... A Heartfelt thanks for all 24 foreign countries that have offered aid and assistance to America for relief in the wake of this disaster.