One year after Katrina
(Hat tip to MoveOn.org)
One year ago today Hurricane Katrina made landfall. For many of us, it was a moment of clarity: "this is what government looks like when it's run by people who don't believe in it."
A year later, dead bodies are still lying in abandoned homes, garbage has yet to be collected from New Orleans streets and countless residents have no home, temporary or permanent.
But instead of addressing the continuing disaster, the administration is on a public relations blitz to rewrite history. There are two things we can do together to help make sure that America remembers Katrina.
1. Watch "When the Levees Broke" on HBO. Spike Lee has put together a beautiful documentary that captures the full experience of Katrina in a gripping and powerful way—you don't want to miss it. It's screening on HBO tonight and all this month, and since a lot of folks who want to see it don't have HBO, ColorofChange is encouraging folks to watch together. If you can help someone who doesn't have HBO see it click here.
2. Write a letter to the editor. The administration's media tour is designed to whitewash the government's terrible response to this disaster. Let's not let them get away with it. The opinion pages are the most popular pages in the newspaper—if they're flooded with our letters, we can help shape public opinion.
Here are some points that should be covered:
Katrina shows that the Bush administration is unable to keep us safe. The failed response and the fact that things got as bad as they did in the days following Katrina showed all of us that 4 years after 9/11, the government still can't keep us safe.
Katrina reminds us that poverty in America is real. President Bush vowed then to learn from Katrina and renew a commitment to fight poverty in America. This is promise he has either broken or forgotten.
Katrina underscores the need for change in America. During Katrina, the people who needed the government most were the ones who were forgotten. As progressives, we believe we're all in this together. Katrina's aftermath was a terrible reminder of why that basic idea is so important.
As progressives, we don't believe in a sink or swim nation—we believe we're all in this together. And Katrina's a terrible reminder of why that basic idea is so important. Together, let's make sure it doesn't happen again.
posted by John Good @ 7:31 PM
34 Comments:
Wow. That is one of the most inaccurate things I have ever read.
No wonder most people think moveon.org is whacky...
Mike Sylvester
I actually have to post some of the blantant inaccuracies in this piece from moveon.org:
1. The piece says "A year later, dead bodies are still lying in abandoned homes." Really? I remember the main stream media claiming tens of thousands of deaths on New Orleans. That was completely untrue. If there are dead bodies then all of the people down there on the government dole should go out and bury them.
2. The piece says "countless residents have no home, temporary or permanent." The Federal government has spent between 60% and 80% of the total damage done by Katrina so far. Many residents used this money to go to strip bars, file for divorce, buy beer, and who knows what else. Give me a break. Anyone displaced needs to get a job! It is not complicated.
3. The first talking point this insane piece recommends is "Katrina shows that the Bush administration is unable to keep us safe. The failed response and the fact that things got as bad as they did in the days following Katrina showed all of us that 4 years after 9/11, the government still can't keep us safe." Of course the government cannot keep us safe. It is your job to keep yourself you and your family safe. If this event would have happened in Fort Wayne we would have done better... The Federal government did a poor job, Louisianna did a worse job, and New Orleans did a shameful job.
4. "Katrina reminds us that poverty in America is real. President Bush vowed then to learn from Katrina and renew a commitment to fight poverty in America. This is promise he has either broken or forgotten." Wow, it is hard to respond to that. The War on Poverty has wasted trillions of dollars. The war on poverty started in the 1920's. Poverty today is almost exactly the same as in the 20's.
Good grief.
Let me summarize this piece for you.
The government should be bigger and it should control everything. Until that happens we are not safe, and, oh by the way, Bush sucks.
Moveon.org is such a joke when they write garbage like this.
Mike Sylvester
Fort Wayne Libertarian
garbage has yet to be collected from New Orleans streets and countless residents have no home, temporary or permanent.
Mike,
I just KNOW you're smarter than that. . .
1. I KNOW there are still dead bodies in homes and buildings, because many areas STILL have not been accessed.I KNOW people are still homeless because aid NEVER REACHED them. Did some people squander FEMA checks? Of course! But not the majority of them. I know there's still garbage in the streets, and moldy homes and buildings. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has NO excuse for this situation AN ENTIRE YEAR LATER!! If this had happened in Fort Wayne, an entirely different scenario would have unfolded.
2. Anyone displaced should get a job?? What about the job they had? What about their destroyed home, still molding after A WHOLE YEAR?? Where do they live? How do they get to a job? I PRAY that you are never in a dire situation like this, because you are in for a RUDE AWAKENING!
3. The government does INDEED have a committment to keep us safe, especially when they had information DAYS PRIOR to Katrina about what could happen. They didn't give a shit, cause it was just a bunch of poor black folks. Sorta the same attitude that you are presenting. I'm beginning to think that the Republican Party didn't actually leave you; you're just in denial.
4. There ya have it folks! America's poverty level today is the same as it was in 1929. Thanks for clearing that up for all of us, Mike. MAN, those must be some good meds that you are on. ..
Allow ME to summarize:
Regardless of size (another matter entirely), the government needs to be held accountable for it's actions and/or mis-actions. We have a right to expect our federal government to protect us when possible(such as not ignoring storm predictions issued DAYS prior to said storm), and to provide immediate assistance after a catastophre. The ball was dropped in far too many ways for me to even go into in a comment. I could write ESSAYS on FEMA's various failures and blocking of aid from other sources.This was the WORST failure of the US government to it's people that has ever occurred, in my opinion.
Allow me to further add the following regarding today's photo op:
"Bush Delivered His Remarks... Against A Carefully Orchestrated Backdrop Of Neatly Reconstructed Homes... A Few Feet Out Of Camera Range Stood Gutted Houses... A Tattered Piece Of Crime Scene Tape Hung From A Tree"...
President Bush made a doggedly optimistic appearance today in Biloxi, Mississippi today as part of the White House public relations effort leading up to the one-year anniversary of catastrophic Hurricane Katrina and the government's botched relief efforts.
Facing criticism that his administration has made little progress in rebuilding areas affected by the storm, Bush admitted that the recovery efforts have been slow, but insisted that "things have changed" since his visit a little less than a year ago. Standing in front of recent construction, cameras that recorded the President's speech did not capture the rows of destroyed houses, the beach that is still empty, or the hotels and motels that remain deserted.
Allow me to add further John:
It is NOT The Federal Government's job to clean up New Orleans. Read the Constitution. It is New Orleans job to clean up New Orleans. They have been given and squandered BILLIONS of dollars.
The people in New Orleans need to pick themselves up and get to work. They need to stip crying for more Federal aid.
Mike
And more for John:
Of course I different situation would have unfolded in Fort Wayne John. We would have got LESS Federal aid and we would have mobilized our community and cleaned it up. We have pride in our community and would have repaired it.
I hope that you are smarter then thinking we did not aid them because they were poor and black. YOu have been listening to moveon.org too much if you believe that.
The people of New Orleans lived in a BOWL. It is below sea level. They should have had an emergency plan and got out.
Mike
"The people of New Orleans lived in a BOWL. It is below sea level. They should have had an emergency plan and got out."
There was and evacuation plan...and warnings that were completely ignored and then covered up. Click here.
Mike,
If you wish to know the truth of this matter, just ask someone that lived through not only Katrina, but Rita also. You are so far off the mark, that it goes beyond wrong. I just posted recently about the remains of a Katrina victim being found. So yes, there are still dead out there!
The amount of damage cannot be given its proper perspective with pics and video. The volume of debris is not like anyting ever seen in our life time. A situation that defies mental images. Those levees, are the responsibility of The Army Corps of Engineers. You see, we cannot make levees without the approval of those failed people in charge.
The meme of "they should have gotten out" is a talking point, and wrong. You can find many links on my sight, from people like myself that were right down here at ground zero. The amount of people that left was massive, and the travel was long term. But those that did not have the means to leave, were the ones to pay the price. Katrina was not the fault of Bush, but the lack of response to the greatest catastrophe to ever happen to the country was.
Mike and John,
I had planned on posting on this tonight when I get home later. It is something that is close to my heart also. I was down there during the cleanup for a short period and will explain the rest in my blog. I will post some pics but as Donnie above says they do nothing for seeing it real first hand. It was the hardest thing I have done, being down there and trying to keep my spirit up.
Check later on my blog and I may need to take a couple days to post all that I want. I have stories from the inside of the clean-up that will blow your mind; it made me not able to watch the news on it, because I would end up in tears.
Betty Boob:
Please send me a link to your Katrina infomration, I am always interested in learning more.
I have talked to ONE person who lives in New Orleans. They told me that MOST of the problems were with the City government and with the lack of people who were willing to do the cleanup work.
In fact, they told me they have to hire large quantities of hispanic workers because the local people will not do the work...
There are problems in New Orleans and with the re-building effort. They are large problems.
The problem IS NOT A lack of Federal money. The Feds are mindlessly throwing TENS OF BILLIONS of dollars into the effort.
The problem is a complete lack of planning and organization by New Orleans and Louisianna.
Do not get me wrong, FEMA is a joke and should be disbanded. FEMA is a terrible idea in the first place. Each State should maintain its own relief organization and should fund it with their own taxes. The National Guard should be used for this purpose...
I would rather use The National Guard to deal with re-building then sending them to Iraq...
Mike Sylvester
Mike
Mike,
I can't explain how this get's me going or wound up....I can't talk enough about it. I'm one that wants action and this was not happening down there. But I was trying to stay out of it so I did not create problems for them getting work down there. Believe it or not I stirring up stuff would affect them more then they were already having problems. I will explain in my blog what we and my family seen first hand and how they were treated.
All I can say for a short note - there was people down there to work and set for weeks to months and was not able to work. They kept checking in and did not have work for them. Then there are the rules that changed from day to day if not person by person.
Oh, no.....boy am I wound up now. I will do more on this when the boys go to bed tonight. Being wound up and having 3 energetic kids don't go together.
Donnie and Betty - Thank you for the information from "people who are/have been there".
Mike - I am encouraged that you are open to learning more about this. Have you had a chance to look around Donnie's site? He is LIVING this and has lots of good and accurate info. . .
Betty - Looking forward to checking your post out.
Mike - For a Libertarian you need to read the Constitution again. I could not find New Orleans even mentioned.
This time last year I was a regular poster at Moxiegrrrl.(I had a falling out w/her later). There were many comments just like Mike's. Everyone that made such comments that had a blog of their own I visited. Not one put up a link to help people. Gee, I wonder waht Mike put up back then?
Peace. It's possible. Helping each other would go a long way.
Hi John - Over at Cathie in Canada she put up a post about how Bush may get a personal slush fund of 450 million.
It's good to be King.
Peace.
Human:
I did NOT give a single dime to help Hurricane Katrina victims. I do not need to. The Federal government has given a higher percentage of funds for this disaster then any other disaster in the history of this nation.
I give my charity money to those who cannot provide for themselves; not for people on welfare who refuse to help themselves...
John:
I have not checked out "Human's" blog. I am not interested in learning more about it from him.
I AM INTERESTED IN HEARING MORE FROM BETTY or from anyone that sounds both reasonable and credible. Betty fits this bill in my mind; I have read a lot of her posts and she seems like an informed and level headed person...
John if you find some credible sources let me know. I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT THEM. Note: Moveon.org is not a credible source just like Karl Rove is not a credible source...
Moveon.org wants us to beleive that if Bill Clinton was President New Orleans would already be completely rebuit and fewer people would have died. This is such a fantasy that I wonder about anyone who thinks that way or beleives that to be true.
Mike
Mike,
Human is not Donnie. Donnie is the Katrinacrat, a former Republican and marine who resides in New Orleans. Hard to describe him as "not credible" in my book. His blog is in my links. . .
I have not checked out "Human's" blog. I am not interested in learning more about it from him.
I AM INTERESTED IN HEARING MORE FROM BETTY or from anyone that sounds both reasonable and credible. Betty fits this bill in my mind; I have read a lot of her posts and she seems like an informed and level headed person...
Oh, and I guess you'll just hafta wonder about me then. Because, although I had honestly never thought about it before, Clinton WOULD have had this fixed. Last year. AND people WOULD HAVE BEEN EVAC'D before the storm ever hit.
Amen to that, John.
Thanks PT, sorry for not acknowledging you above, busy and rather passionate thread!! ;)
John Good:
Where is this Donnie's blog? Which link is i?. I would like to go and read it...
As far as Clinton:
You have got to be pulling my chain. I do not know a single person who believes either of your points.
Please make a post on the front page of your blog and ask your liberal readers if they believe as you do. Please. I have got to know this...
I would bet you that Jeff Pruitt would not agree with those two statements...
Of course Clinton would not have evacuated New Orleans. The very idea is absurd. He would have been too busy with Monica AND no President would order a city evacuated AGAINST the will of both the Mayor and the Governor. The very idea is absurd and unconstitutional.
Of course Clinton would not have fixed anything in New Orleans more then Bush has so far. I do think that Clinton would have made it more of a National priority. I think I would agree with you that Clinton would have been better at mobilizing charities and non Governmental relief efforts then Bush. I also agree that Bill CLinton would have travelled there for a whole bunch of photo operations; however, I doubt that would help rebuild much.
Mike Sylvester
John, it's cool man. I never start something without a roll of quarters in my pocket.
Mike _ So I guess this from your Aug. 31st 2005 post was not exactly true? "Hurricane Katrina has certainly done a lot of damage to The Gulf Coast. My heart goes out to the people living there. I wish them the best and will be donating some money to the relief effort."
So much for your "heart".
And you look like such a nice guy.....
Peace. It's an all together thing.
Human:
If you want me to be more specific I will.
On September 5th of last year I dontated $50 to The Katrina Relief effort.
I planned on donating another couple hundred dollars.
As the news coverage unfolded I decided to send NOTHING more and I actually regreted the $50 donation that I made.
You are right; I cannot say I did not donate a single dime. I donated 500 dimes early on when I thought there were a lot of people who needed my help.
Mike Sylvester
Mike - Donnie is at:
http://thekatrinacrat.blogspot.com/
And no need to post a about my thoughts. Those in agreement are already answering in this thread. See above. . .
Mike - Specific? Just the truth will do.
Not for me. For yourself. Only you can tell which of your statements is true.
Peace.
This is a great thread, but I feel like something is missing...
Oh yeah, I was waiting for somebody to provide the Constitutional basis for the Federal Government "fixing" this.
Ditto farm subsidies.
Ditto oil subsidies.
Ditto S&L bailout.
Ditto Insurance bailout.
Ditto welfare.
Ditto no-bid contracts.
Ditto stem cell research funding.
Jesus, I'm starting to sound like a fscking Limbaugh fan...
Seriously, though...Katrina was an awful disaster, but it's already been proven over and over that the dangers were completely ignored at the state and local levels...and those were people that were actually elected by Louisiana (and more specifically, New Orleans) citizens! I dare say Bush was not likely widely supported in The Big Easy during his two candidacies...
So what I see here is people screaming at the guy they DIDN'T vote for, and basically giving a pass to the creeps they DID vote for, regardless the fact that basically all parties involved took the same approach via inaction.
How does that work? I would think it was funny if it weren't so sad.
Just one more thing, the statement that "Government doesn't work when the people in charge don't believe in it" or whatever, is total BS in this instance. If Dubya the Wonder Weasel didn't believe in government, why is he pissing away all of our money generating gratuitous new heaps and piles of it? I love statements made with built-in fallacy...it's like shooting fish in a barrel.
Like I said before, good thread.
Wow, a long thread here. I'll chime in w/ my thoughts:
First, the city of New Orleans is still a disaster. The president's remarks the other night show once again how out of touch w/ reality he is, whether it's Iraq or New Orleans
"When it's all said and done, the people down here know that I stood in Jackson Square and said, 'We're going to help you,' and we delivered."
"We delivered?" Is he joking? Here are (just a few) some current stats
60% of homes lack electricity
6 of the 9 hospitals are closed
33% of the trash still needs to be picked up
Only 17% of the buses are operational
Less than half of the pre-Katrina population has returned
The govt has spent only 40% of the money it has allocated for rebuilding the city. Only half of the international aid has even been allocated, and that was given to the Methodist Church which has only used about 20% of it and given essentially nothing to evacuees.
Let's not forget the corporate fraud and waste that is inherent in a job like this - there's too much to list here but go to Corpwatch for the details. Here's an excerpt:
"AshBritt's $500 million contract for debris removal amounted to about $23 for every cubic yard of debris removed, according to an NBC News investigation. Ashbritt, in turn hired C&B Enterprises, which was paid $9 per cubic yard. That company hired Amlee Transportation, which was paid $8 per cubic yard. Amlee hired Chris Hessler Inc, which received $7 per cubic yard. Hessler, in turn, hired Les Nirdlinger, a debris hauler from New Jersey, who was paid $3 per cubic yard - less than the cost of doing the work"
Unfortunately, I think the Libertarian party is right when they say that big government wastes money. However, I don't think it has to be this way. Moreover, I refuse to believe that progressive politicians would/should sit back and do nothing.
Do I think a Clinton could've evacuated the city? No.
Do I think Clinton could've rebuilt the entire city by now? No.
I do believe that FEMA would've operated more efficiently under Clinton and because of that the rebuilding process would be further along than it is today.
Also, let us not forget that the local government is a complete joke. One year later and they still don't even have a rebuilding PLAN.
Accountability here is the name of the game. There's a lot of blame to go around and I think too much of it is being laid at the feet of the victims - the residents of New Orleans...
Article I – Section 8 of the Constitution states: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;”.
Pay particular attention to the phrase: “. . . provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States . . . ”.
I’m fairly certain this is why agencies such as F.E.M.A. were originally created. Congress realized that not all states had the financial resources to bounce back from natural disasters. Louisiana and Mississippi are far from being near the top of the richest states.
By the way, Article I – Section 8 is also the basis for income tax. We are paying the Federal government to protect us and aid us when we fall.
Yes, the local government failed. Yes, help from the state was ineffective and frustrating. But the FEDERAL Emergency Management Agency was negligent in their failure to set a rescue mission into motion. All three - local, state and national – were aware of the problems with the levees. All three should have created and executed a plan in the event the levees did break.
I believe Bush’s “heckuva job, Brownie” attitude and the fact he didn’t show up on the ground in New Orleans for nearly two weeks, have an awful lot to do with so many people blaming the Feds. But we still need to point the blame at the state and local levels as well. Everyone failed.
That said, those who are blaming the Feds are correct in your condemnation. Those who are blaming the state or local officials are also correct. And those who would defend any of the parties – you are way off the mark.
People who are displaced by natural tragedies will always have a tougher time getting their life back together. There is family to consider. Lifelong neighbors. Roots.
This is why New Orleans must be rebuilt. And yes, there are some great examples in Europe for how engineers can protect land from the elements.
Enough of my rambling.
Jeff, Robert, and Andrew:
Those are great posts. I think we are BASICALLY in agreement.
All three levels of government failed. They failed as far as the levees go and they are all three still failing in the relief effort. Local, State, and Federal are all too blame. In my mind the local has the most fault, then the State, then Federal. That may be up for debate; but, all three are at fault.
Bush could have done better. He has mindlessly thrown a HUGE PILE of money at the problem. That is not working due to the COMPLETE incompetence of the New Orleans government, the Louisianna government, and FEMA. The waste fraud and abuse is most likely on par with the waste, fraud, and abuse going on in Iraq.
Mike Sylvester
Wow, Rob. We are actually more in agreement on this than I expected we would be (a little scary). However, I interpret your noted citation:
“. . . provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States . . . ”
a little differently than you do, I guess. First off, "Defense" is not in question here, as you really cannot defend against a hurricane (shy of getting the hell out of its way). So what we have now opened is the age-old can of worms on the "General Welfare" issue. Albeit a little crass, I have to say that since most states were not effected by Katrina, the "General Welfare" is not served by dumping gratuitous amounts of money into one city or state, or even a handful of states. I agree that this is the foundation on which FEMA was built, but we have now seen the result of this: Failure. If the Fed can dump enormous amounts of time, money and planning into something that fizzles like a Montel Williams recording project...then we can reasonably say that despite the influx of cash and other resources, the "General Welfare" is still not being served. Now, were the government to ditch FEMA and DHS and regionalize their supposed services, we could rationalize that the "General Welfare" would be better served. There is no reason somebody from Washington DC, with little or no specific knowledge of New Orleans (save a briefing on the plane) should be running operations on the ground during a disaster there. Period. It should have been managed by people with intimate, first-hand knowledge of the city, the state, the citzens, the infrastructure, the evacuation resources...had that been done, this would all be irrelevant conversation. The problem here is that the Federal Government is ineffective when it stretches itself too thin. This is why we have states, counties, municipalities etc.. If the Federal Government wishes to take all of the FEMA and DHS funding, and distribute it to some lean, efficient PRIVATE agencies on a regional level (you know, people who have a vested interest in building successful plans and executing them well...so they don't get fired), then accountability could be restored to the process. With Big Government, ther is no accountability....not even at the Presidential level (we can plainly see this on a regular basis).
K, sorry for getting so windy here, but here's the long and short of it: If you want a comprehensive disaster relief plan, you really cannot rely on someone 2000 miles away to build it for you, nor should you WANT to rely on them to do so. Wanna hear something that you might find scary? If an emergency were to make itself known in Fort Wayne, I would trust Graham Richard, Rusty York, Jim Herman and even the likes of Tina Taviano to implement a good relief strategy WAYYYY before I would trust Michael Chertoff.
It IS the federal government's job to conduct evacuations and disaster relief. But it SHOULD NOT be the government's job, for the following reasons:
1. The government is doing a bad job. Normally if a person does that bad of a job they get fired, the next day. Bush will probably keep his job until January 20, 2009.
2. No matter who is president and no matter how good or bad job he actually does do, his or her response to the disaster will have a tendency to be unfairly judged by those in other parties. I can't really say for sure what Clinton would have done, but what ever it would have been, you would have had Rush condemn it on the radio the next day.
3. Presidents tend to name people from their own party to important government posts.
Disaster relief is too important of a task to leave up to the government. Private, non-profit organizations such as the Red Cross are better suited to this task. The only thing disadvantage that non-profits have is they cannot always raise the revenue that they need to accomplish the task at hand. What I would propose to correct this is allow a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for individuals who would rather fund disaster relief than have their tax dollars go to the government.
But for the time being, disaster relief is the federal government's job. So I expect it to do as good a job as it can.
It used to be the case that disasters brought people closer together. In the weeks after 9/11, the country came together. Now it seems that disaster drive an already divided country further apart.
I donated $25 to Katrina relief last year, and I do not regret it.
Very good thread. What I find interesting is how many ignored the idea that the fed-gov has no *authority* to spend money in New Orleans- if they did it would be written in the Constitution. The general welfare of the United States angle just does not cut it. And the performance of the fed-gov attempting to do what they are not authorized to do is so poor as to make me laugh that anyone would want them involved, HA.
I regret that U.S. taxpayer money was wasted so stupidly by the fed-gov, if that tax money were in the hands of the people that earned it, much more good could have been done by private entities.
Private corporations are wasting more money than anyone else in New Orleans - see the Corpwatch link in my original post. The government can't just contract private entities to do the job - there needs to be a different mechanism, one that holds everyone accountable. Currently, the govt hands large checks to their favorite donors through "contract vehicles" that excludes nearly everyone from the process.
A govt contractor can waste money just as efficiently as the govt agency itself...
Out of all of the comments and heated discussion on this topic, I feel that the two Roberts have made the most sense.
Mr.Enders and Mr.Rouse, I applaud you.
It does not bother me at all when a corporation wastes its own money. It does bother me when it wastes OUR money. There are several reasons why contractors rip the government off:
1. The government employee awarding the contract is not as careful with taxpayer money as he would be with his own money.
2. The contractor often does not have any competition.
3. When bidding on a contract, contractors will place a low bid, then ask for more money when the project is halfway done. Officials usually fork over the extra money to insure the project gets done on time.
4. Government cantractors are only allowed to make a fixed percentage of their expenses as a profit. So they intentionally spend as much as possible to maximize their profits.
5. The government requires itemized expenses from their contractors. This would be like if I asked Walgreens for a list of the expences involved in manufacturing the batteries that I bought there last night. It's much easier, cheaper, and quicker to make my buying decision based on the listed pricetag and my privious experience with storebrand batteries.
Let me say that I do not like Bush. He voted for Rx Drug coverage creating the 3rd largest unfunded program in America. His energy policy is a disaster. His immigration policy is bad. His over spending makes him just like every other politician who cannot say no. Have you ever said no to your children who wanted something?
New Orleans was a problem waiting to happen. Here is a city built below sea level. Hurricanes are common and they did not prepare for it. They wanted someone else to fix their levies. If you live there, you deal with the problems. It is not the responsibility of the Federal Government to tell you or force you out of your own city when everyone knows there is a storm coming.
Rather reminds me of the joke>
A weatherman informs everyone two days ahead that heavy rains are projected and that flooding could be a problem. A man says, the lord will protect me. Rains begin and the rivers rise. The weatherman reiterates flooding is a good possibility. The man says the lord will protect me. One day later the river is about to overflow and the police drive by telling everyone to evacuate, but the mans says, "the lord will save me." The flood water rise and the water is about up to the mans stoop of his house. A boat comes by and asks the man to evacuate, but the man says no. The lord will save me. The water rises and the man is now on the roof and a helicopter flies over and tries to evacuate the man, but the man says the lord will save me. The water washes away the house and the man drowns. In heaven he asks why lord did you not save me. The lord replied.
I sent you a weatherman who warned you. I sent the police to tell you to evacuate. I sent a boat to your doorstep and I sent a helicopter, but you did not listen.
Is this any different than those of New Orleans? Its below sea level, there are storms, the weatherman warned, the mayor warned, the engineers warned years ago the levies would not hold an still they did nothing.
No federal dollars should be used to rebuild New Orleans!
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