Thread: Corrupt, carefree city reaps what it sowed

Originally Posted by dg806

Unfortunately, as the federal government assumes more and more responsibility over the lives and futures of residents of cities and states, those entities lose the capability and the responsibility to fashion remedies capable of meeting their local needs, conditions and resources.

I agree with this, but herein lies the problem. The Federal gov't is either going to take full responsibility and control, or none. A little confusing, but here goes. I think everyone shares the blame in this disaster. If it is up to the cities and states to fashion remedies for disasters such as this, which I believe they should with mild help from the government, why can't cities and states fashion remedies to other problems they may face (Abortion, gay rights, etc.)? I am sure the author of this piece would not mind in that.

Originally Posted by dg806

Like I have said time and time again, fend for yourself!


OMG. . .Bob Barr?

Corrupt, carefree city reaps what it sowed
by Bob Barr
special to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, September 07, 2005 at 9:00 AM


Although the floodwaters in New Orleans have begun to recede, the problems they leave in their deadly wake will present challenges for decades to come, challenges that in much the same way changed the character of our nation when the Mississippi Delta was deluged in the great flood of 1927.

The New Orleans that lay in the path of the floodwaters of the mighty Mississippi River in 1927 was, like its modern incarnation, steeped in corruption, deep and pervasive. It was, in some measure, this man-made infliction that held back steps that could have avoided — at least in part — the devastation visited on the city in 1927, and it is corruption that plays a role in the dark present and murky future of the city.

Perhaps no response to the flooding speaks so eloquently, or painfully, of New Orleans' problem than the remarks by its police department leadership that its officers — overworked and "traumatized" by the ordeal of the previous week — deserved a weeklong Las Vegas vacation. The N.O.P.D. is possessed of a long-standing and apparently well-deserved reputation for corruption and incompetence. Yet in this latest crisis, it seems to have outdone itself.

Wow - the wingnut spin machine is in full operation. This was predicted just a couple of days ago. Hey...at least these guys were working. The Prez gets more vacation than the men-in-blue, and he just hugs a few people, prays a lot, and rides his bike.

Not only did many police officers not show up for work during the flood, but some reportedly even joined in the looting that rocked the city. The response of the department's leadership? To whine and complain that others (read "Washington") were not doing enough to save the city its officers were sworn to protect. Such an attitude should scare the dickens out of those contemplating a return to the city following its dry-out. It telegraphs that it will be business as usual in the city.

Somehow I think Barr would be singin' a different tune if this was Atlanta. Seems to me that the APD and the feds combined struggled to arrest the wrong person at those Olympic Park bombings.

Perhaps even worse, the city leadership appears ready to refuse to assume responsibility for its own safety and instead place the future of New Orleans in the hands of the federal government.

Ironically, the seeds of this attitude — that it is the job of the federal government to protect all of us whenever there is a disaster manufactured by man or God — while prevalent throughout the America of this 21st century, was born after the great flood of 1927. Today, it has come full circle in the city of its birth.

You mean the federal government DIDN'T get help to San Francisco in TWO days following the 1906 Earthquake?

At the time the Mississippi overflowed in banks in unimagined quantities in 1927 and caused massive flooding in the Delta region, there was little infrastructure — federal, state or local — to address measures to prevent future calamities. Into that vacuum, led by a then-obscure bureaucrat named Herbert Hoover (a Republican, in further evidence that history possesses a wry sense of humor), stepped Uncle Sam. Seizing the opportunity to aggrandize economic and political power in a region long wedded to the independent spirit of Southern farmers and entrepreneurs, Washington promised to solve the problem.

In return for surrendering control over their own affairs, the residents of the Mississippi Delta, and especially the residents of its gem, New Orleans, had a huge burden lifted from their shoulders. No longer would they have to worry about the folly of their actions; they could party and pretend the waters of the mighty Mississippi, lurking just over the nearest, reassuringly high levee, would be taken care of by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Uncle Sam would henceforth be their benefactor and the target of their blame.

Had they retained at least some measure of responsibility for the consequences of their own actions, those and subsequent generations of Louisiana's public servants might have realized the aging levee system hidden behind the rows of bars and unfinished highways was nothing more than a Potemkin Village, affording only the illusion of safety.

Now, facing a crisis much worse than that faced by their predecessors in 1927 due to subsequent expansion of New Orleans into more reclaimed lowlands, local officials spend their time complaining and making plans to send their employees off on vacation.

Government leaders in Washington are more than happy to assume responsibility for Hurricane Katrina and other disasters, for out of that comes the power to control dollars, events and lives.

Barr, who was a congressman from Georgia, never seemed to mind federal control of the city of Washington, D.C. - especially when Congress could dictate legislation.

Unfortunately, as the federal government assumes more and more responsibility over the lives and futures of residents of cities and states, those entities lose the capability and the responsibility to fashion remedies capable of meeting their local needs, conditions and resources.

I agree. One thing we could do is just let the state get disaster relief on its own from those 90 countries who offered assistance instead of having to wait for people to come back from vacations. We could also get the feds out of the business of blocking help from other states and cities.

The lessons of history appear once again to have been forsaken in favor of expediency. For the city of New Orleans, which fell into decline after the flood of 1927, this may be déj�* vu all over again.

—Former congressman and U.S. Attorney Bob Barr practices law in Atlanta.

I gotta admit this is a good one, dg. . .but I sure hope Charlotte has a foolproof disaster plan.

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

I agree with this, but herein lies the problem. The Federal gov't is either going to take full responsibility and control, or none. A little confusing, but here goes. I think everyone shares the blame in this disaster. If it is up to the cities and states to fashion remedies for disasters such as this, which I believe they should with mild help from the government, why can't cities and states fashion remedies to other problems they may face (Abortion, gay rights, etc.)? I am sure the author of this piece would not mind in that.

Ohhhh ...yes he would.