Archive for September 2005

It’s amazing to me how many people have become disaster preparedness and response “experts” over the past week. Katrina illustrates a lot of things, but there’s two that bear mention right now. Building a city several feet below sea level, right next to the sea, is pure folly. It’s double folly when the system of levies are insufficient to hold back the waters in a major storm. As I’ve been saying: governments are not omnipotent, regardless of how disappointing such news is to the tens of millions who have no conception of the scale of this disaster. The first point is obvious. It’s certainly arguable that when New Orleans was built, there was not a great understanding of such matters and what the potential for ruin could be. But that’s no excuse for about the last hundred years, especially after the 1900 total destruction of Galveston, Texas. And the responsibility for this lies with every adult individual and business that inhabits the place. It’s certainly not the responsibility — and need not be the concern — of people living in mile-high Denver. The second point is what no one seems to be getting. The proportion of this disaster and sheer…

My greatest frustration in life is having to deal endlessly with endless numbers of people who go through life harboring fantasies of all sorts. It’s frustrating, in part, because in many ways I have a hard time faulting people too much. It would be fine if I could just dismiss virtually everyone with a look of contempt and some abrupt utterance. But I can’t, because we’re all taught from day one to believe in falsehoods and fairytales, ghosts and goblins; to put faith in things that don’t exist; and to stake our very lives and well being on the unearned authority of “authorities.” Sure, it’s cute to have kids believing that Santa Claus is really coming to town, that Bunnies really decorate and hide eggs on Easter, and that fairies leave us their spare change when we lose a tooth. I’m no psychologist, but I just have to wonder sometimes if that seemingly innocent and charming stage of life ultimately does us more harm than good. My point in all of this is that the events surrounding Katrina illustrate something very profound, and virtually nobody is getting it. I’m seeing articles today that this has been a very costly week…

Oh I get tired of people who literally cannot think past basic facts and the simple logic 101 that connects them. Observe, from the comments here: The governemnt has failed miserably and that is a fact. It is based on economics and race as much as anything. Exerting energy to bring in machinary for a photo-p in front of the levees when the nergy exerted fro such could have maybe saved a few lives is inexcusable and just an example of the total disregard of this administration for the welfare of it’s constituancy. There is blamehowever to be pp-lace on the natino as a whole for it’s lack of attention to it’s government. Letting slide the over-abundance of typos, Cooper says that “The government has failed miserably and that is a fact.” That, of course, depends upon your values and standard for judging values. See, I could be the first to agree that the government has “failed miserably,” but that would be an odd way of putting it. Suppose someone steals from me, but promises to “help the poor” with some of it. Am I to be surprised that he either doesn’t “help the poor,” or tries to and botches…

So, when is somebody going to ask the question? It’s been difficult to not notice that the vast majority of those stranded and destitute in New Orleans are blacks. And though whites are looting too, I’ve not seen many in all of the video clips over these last few days. Two nights ago, MSNBC showed closeup looting of a Wal-Mart while two armed and uniformed New Orleans police officers (black females) were not only allowing it to happen, but were right in their looting with their own shopping carts. I’ve since heard that well over 100 police officers have turned in their badges, and I have to wonder how well all of this might correlate with affirmative action hiring on the New Orleans police force. And before you even start, these statements haven’t a thing to do with racism. Plenty of blacks had the presence of mind and self-responsibility to see to their own well being as best they could during this nightmare. Plenty of blacks have the self-respect necessary to refrain from looting and plenty of whites have lacked such self-respect. What I’m talking about is culture. I’ve been saying it over and over, and I’ll keep saying it….

With plenty of bad news to go around, two cousins, each age 17, deliver some good news and inspiration.