Post-Gazette Editorial – 8/30/06

This page was last updated on August 30, 2006.

Katrina, plus one / The recovery is still an American disaster; Editorial; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; August 30, 2006.

One of the things you won’t read about in this editorial is the media’s role in the problem. Remember the bogus stories about murder and rape gangs terrorizing the Superdome and the city as a whole? The editorial failed to note some of these baseless stories delayed civilian efforts because no relief agencies were going to send their people into the equivalent of a war zone.

Please read the Popular Mechanics article “Now what? The Lessons of Katrina” for more on this topic.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“A year ago, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. In Louisiana nearly 1,600 people were killed. Billions of dollars of homes, property and businesses were submerged under high water, muck and debris.

“New Orleans, the ostentatious gold tooth in the bright and shiny mouth of the South, was largely destroyed. A horrified nation watched in disbelief as the Federal Emergency Management Agency stumbled every step of the way in response to the crisis.”

[RWC] This appears to be a racially insensitive comment based on a stereotype. Lest we forget, New Orleans is/was predominantly black and a common stereotype is a black person with at least one gold tooth.

“Because it couldn’t get bottled water to people who needed it or buses to the Superdome, any boast the Bush administration once harbored about its ability to get things done drowned in the deluge. If the White House couldn’t handle the aftermath of a predicted storm, how could it handle the next unpredictable terrorist attack?”

[RWC] The PG should have used a different example

Within a few days of the incident we learned the Red Cross attempted to deliver food, water, hygiene supplies, et cetera to the Superdome and the Convention Center, but the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security (not affiliated with the federal DHS) denied the Red Cross access. The Louisiana DHS said it didn’t want to make the Superdome and the Convention Centers “magnets” for evacuees. This is only one example of FEMA getting bashed for the actions of local and state government.

There’s one other point. The Superdome and the Convention Center weren’t even included in the New Orleans hurricane plan. There should have been no one at those locations.

“The world media converged on Louisiana and the Gulf region looking for answers that are still slow in coming. Once frustrated television reporters began openly snarling at robotic politicians overseeing the relief effort, the finger-pointing began in earnest.

“Was the disaster the fault of a weakened system of levees and urban dikes? Or should we blame a political system that holds black lives and poor people in low regard?”

[RWC] Should the editorial have asked if we should blame “a political system that holds black lives and poor people in low regard?”

Here’s why I asked.

First, the governor of Louisiana – Kathleen Blanco – is a Democrat. In fact, only two Republicans – 1980-1984 and 1996-2004 – have been elected governor since 1877.

Second, Mayor Nagin is a Democrat and New Orleans has a history of Democrat mayors. Even worse for the PG, Nagin is black as have been his predecessors since the late 1970s. Worse still, according to CNN, most of the city power structure is black. I say the fact that the leadership of New Orleans is black is bad for the PG is because the PG wants us to make the response to Katrina a racial oppression thing. That’s a lot harder to do when you know New Orleans’ leadership is black.

Given the above, New Orleans should have been a Democrat/liberal utopia showing the rest of us the benefits of liberalism. Instead, Katrina uncovered the lie of liberalism.

“Were hundreds of deaths the fault of Mayor Ray Nagin for not ordering a citywide evacuation earlier than he did? Was the relief effort bungled because of turf battles between Louisiana’s governor and the White House?”

[RWC] The editorial failed to note the White House did everything but beg Mayor Nagin to order an evacuation at least one day earlier than he did. Remember, President Bush declared Louisiana a disaster area two days before Hurricane Katrina hit.

Regarding the “turf battle” comment, President Bush urged Governor Blanco to mobilize the National Guard but she chose not to. Indeed, CNN caught Governor Blanco admitting she made a mistake by not calling in the National Guard in a timely manner.

You probably noticed the editorial didn’t tell us the political affiliation of the governor and mayor, both Democrats.

“With five days of warning, how did FEMA establish such breathtaking benchmarks in incompetence? What did President Bush, who showed up to pray in New Orleans yesterday, mean when he told FEMA head Michael Brown that he was doing ‘a heckuva job’ while thousands of people wallowed in their own filth?”

[RWC] That “people wallowed in their own filth” comment is another example of the bogus reporting we saw. While floodwaters are usually rank and you certainly wouldn’t drink it, the idea the water was a “toxic soup” turned out to be another Katrina myth.

Note how the editorial asks “how did FEMA establish such breathtaking benchmarks in incompetence?” but never asks the same question of the state and local governments. Lest we forget, state and local governments are responsible for first response, not FEMA. Indeed, FEMA has no first responder personnel. The best first responder unit was the Coast Guard.

“A year after Katrina became a synonym for heartless bureaucratic bungling, New Orleans is still in shambles. Half of the city lacks electricity. Half of its hospitals are still closed. Much of its white middle class and wealthy elite have returned, but most of its black residents remain dispersed around the nation, possibly for good.

“Who lost New Orleans? That’s what we’d like to know. Somebody needs to answer for it.”

[RWC] In case you didn’t guess, “somebody” really means President Bush.

Let’s look at what the editorial is really complaining about. Let’s say a tree falls on a neighbor’s house and your neighborhood gives the homeowner money to fix his house, but your neighborhood doesn’t actually arrange for the repairs or perform the repairs. This is what the editorial is complaining about. We’ve given Louisiana and New Orleans more than $100 billion, but the locals aren’t doing their part.

Did you notice the editorial didn’t mention Mississippi? In case you wondered why, it’s because Mississippi is doing much better at recovery – though it still has a long way to go – and the governor happens to be a Republican.

Another group is not mentioned. That’s many of the citizens of New Orleans themselves. Apparently they had no role in their predicament and have no role in recovery. They are simply to wait around for someone to take care of them. Yet another result of liberalism.