Miranda Ord – 9/11/05

This page was last updated on September 14, 2005.

Government failed; Miranda Ord; Beaver County Times; September 11, 2005.

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“Ashamed, humbled, horrified, and disheartened are the words to describe how I feel about the situation in New Orleans. I am shocked that it is this horrible.

“These are our own dying. Why? Our government failed them and us. Where is our security and good will?”

[RWC] By “our government,” Ms. Ord means President Bush. You’ll note that nowhere in her rant does Ms. Ord acknowledge any responsibility of local and state government.

“What good is freedom and democracy when your children and elderly are dying from lack of water? The poverty level that prevented the majority of these people from escaping should have never been.”

[RWC] Poverty didn’t keep anyone from getting out of New Orleans. The city had a plan to evacuate everyone but chose not to follow the plan.

Regarding “dying from a lack of water,” we now know this appears to be a gross exaggeration. While it’s a shame when anyone dies due to a natural disaster, it now appears the death count thankfully will be far lower than original “estimates.” While some Louisiana politicians threw around an estimate of at least 10,000, the current number of confirmed dead in LA is about 423 and most of New Orleans houses have been searched. The final death toll will certainly be greater than 423, but it appears it won’t be the horrific toll some feared.

Regarding a lack of water, we now know the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security (not affiliated with the federal DHS) prohibited the Red Cross from delivering food, water, hygiene supplies, et cetera to New Orleans because the LA DHS didn’t want to give citizens any reason to stay.

“The money spent on Iraq should have been spent on them and other Americans in need.”

[RWC] Louisiana and New Orleans are run by Democrats and have been “forever.” Why didn’t they spend their money on the poor?

“The poor Louisiana National Guard is not able to help their own mothers and children. They are stuck in Iraq watching their families die on television.”

[RWC] Sorry, but about 2/3’s of the Louisiana NG was in Louisiana at the time Katrina hit. As part of normal rotation, about 3,700 of the LA NG in Iraq are already on their way home.

“Bush slashed the funds to fix the levee system. His administration gave the wetlands to the developers, causing the increase in storm surge. I have a hard time even considering him a man, and this is our president. He is a killer. Our government abandoned its own people.”

[RWC] The levee system wasn’t broken before Katrina. It was designed to deal with a category 3 hurricane and this was known for decades. In any case, the levees that failed did so after the hurricane, not during. Finally, the Army Corps of Engineers considered the failed areas “completed construction.” To date, no one knows what caused the levee failures.

Regarding “Bush slashed funds,” this is untrue. During President Bush’s five years, the Corps of Engineers spent more in Louisiana than during the last five years of the Clinton administration. Further, the Corps of Engineers spent more on Louisiana than any other state.

Regarding the wetlands, give me a break. Environmentalists have been complaining about the wetlands for decades. Ms. Ord would have us believe the wetlands were OK the day before President Bush took office and he immediately set about destroying them.

Finally, Ms. Ord sinks to name-calling. How sad.

“As the town is slowly evacuated, I agree with the opinion of the citizens of New Orleans that it was too little too late.

“The president and his cronies need to be held accountable for this. I wish this was the election year.”

[RWC] As I noted above, at no point did Ms. Ord mention the local and state leaders.