DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT THE RABBI AND THE FLOOD?

I've made it no secret here that I have a deep admiration for President Bush, not only as a president but as a man. We seem to get the leaders we need at specific points in history who possess the temperment and vision to deal with whatever crisis that may confront us at that time. I think that President Bush is the right man at the right place at the right time.

He's also a man that takes his job seriously but takes himself less so. He often displays a very keen sense of humor, at times treading in areas that only a man such as himself would feel comfortable. I think this is one of those times:

(via Scott Johnson at Powerline)

President Bush spoke to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington yesterday on the occasion of the group's twentieth anniversary. The White House has posted his speech here.

The speech provides some important insight into the president's thinking at this time. Apart from the substance of the speech, I want to pause over the special quality of the man making this joke before this audience:

At Tulane University, the Director of the Chabad, Rabbi Rivkin, brought teams of students to New Orleans, and southern Mississippi, and other communities hit by the storm. He called in folks to help. He didn't say, head away from the storm; he said, let's take it right to the middle of the storm area to help people. They helped rescue stranded people; they distributed bottled water and self-heating kosher meals; they cleaned up and helped salvage homes; they provided spiritual support for those who lost loved ones. And one of those rescued from New Orleans put it this way: In the days after Katrina hit, Chabad saved lives." (Applause.)

Rabbi Stanton Zamek of the Temple Beth Shalom Synagogue in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, helped an African American couple displaced by the storm track down their daughter in Maryland. When Rabbi Zamek called the daughter, he told her, "We have your parents." She screamed out, "Thank you, Jesus!" (Laughter.) He didn't have the heart to tell her she was thanking the wrong rabbi. (Laughter and applause.)

Pretty funny stuff.

DUTCH TV: THE VAST WASTED-LAND?

I can't say what I know what to make of this story from the Netherlands:

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -The host of a new Dutch talk show plans to take heroin and LSD on the air in a program intended to reach young audiences on topics that touch their lives, producers said Wednesday.

The show, scheduled to premiere on late-night television Oct. 10, is called "Spuiten & Slikken," or "Swallow and Shoot Up."

It would seem to be just another example of the interminable "reality TV" craze that seems to bear out Andy Warhol's prediction that "in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes". Personally, I don't care much for reality TV, but that's just me.

I must say though, that "Spuiten & Slikken" does have a rather disgusting sound to it. It sounds like a condition that would be immediately followed by the "Dry Tortugas", no?

GLOBAL WARMING......ON MARS

Oh man, it's worse than I thought.

New gullies that did not exist in mid-2002 have appeared on a Martian sand dune.

That's just one of the surprising discoveries that have resulted from the extended life of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which this month began its ninth year in orbit around Mars. Boulders tumbling down a Martian slope left tracks that weren't there two years ago. New impact craters formed since the 1970s suggest changes to age-estimating models. And for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress.

The evil Bushitler regime expands it's realm of environmental calamity. First the Earth, then the solar system, eventually the entire universe!

CELL PHONES ON AIRPLANES
Ban Them!

A story caught my eye that 2 European airlines will be testing the use of cell phones during flight. Not only do I think that this is a misbegotten idea, I think every airliner should be equipped with a jammer that prohibits the use of cell phones within the aircraft, whether it's on the ground or in the air.

As a flight attendant, this is a subject near and dear to my heart.

I'm no Luddite, I love the technology that makes it possible to be in touch with anyone on the face of the earth by virtue of a tiny instrument weighing no more than an ounce or two. Personally, I can not imagine living without it and I literally feel naked when I don't have it with me. Travelling throughout the country for days at a time, it is no luxury-it's a necessity.

That said, I believe that there are some people that cannot be trusted to exercise common sense as to when and where they use their phone. An airplane is a very confined environment where the concept of "personal space" is temporarily suspended. One is forced to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, often in a fully loaded plane, sometimes for hours. In this type of environment, one should expect some level of level of decorum (not to mention personal hygiene, which is another discussion altogether-ugh!) from one's fellow passengers. That level of decorum does not include engaging in am incredibly loud conversation (why do people think they have to scream?) on a cell phone that can be heard by dozens of their fellow passengers.

I can not tell you how many times I have been on the PA, giving a pre-flight safety briefing, only to be literally drowned out by some loud-mouth engaging in a cell phone conversation. Not only is that person not listening, they are also prohibiting those around them from hearing what I'm saying. To call it rude does not even begin to descibe this sort of boorish behavior. I take my job seriously, even if some passengers do not. I want everyone to know where the exits are in the event of an emergency evacuation. I want everyone to know how to operate the oxygen mask in the event of explosive depressurization of the cabin. The next time you're on an airplane, consider the fact that you are in a pressurized aluminum tube, travelling at 500 MPH at 35,000 feet. At this rate of speed and at this altitude, small problems become big ones very quickly. If you want to ignore the safety briefing, you do so at your own risk. The person beside you however, may well not share your indifference.

The worst offenders? Business people. Pompous asses who seem to insist upon discussing their business on cell phones as though it were some display of their importance. Not only am I not impressed, but neither are their fellow passengers who have to suffer through their loutish display of self-aggrandizement.

Many restaurants have simply banned the use of cell phones and even where they are permitted people have begun to get the message that their use in certain venues is somewhat socially unacceptable. In a venue such as an airplane, where that "personal space" that we value so highly is at a premium, it should be no less so.

"OCCUPIED NEW ORLEANS"?

I couple of weeks ago, I proposed (with tongue planted firmly in cheek) that we consider pulling our troops out of New Orleans.

Now, Cindy Sheehan (with her head planted firmly in her, shall we say, rectal canal) is saying the very same thing:

"George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and Iraq, and excuse his self from power."

Maybe Cindy needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of her all around failed freak show, pull her head out of her rectal canal and excuse herself from the public eye.

NEW STRATEGY?

Rumors are rampant about a possible surface-to-air missle attack against an America West flight from New York to Phoenix. It's only a rumor, but a disturbing one. I'll be watching this one closely, as should we all.

UPDATE: It would appear that it was nothing but a flock of birds. I'm sure the "black helecopter" crowd will suspect a coverup, but as for me, I will accept this explanation. It is, however, a chilling scenario and one with which I would hope that someone is dealing in an aggressive manner.

NEVER FORGET

~

"Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom -- the great achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time -- now depends on us. Our nation -- this generation -- will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail."

George W. Bush
Sptember 20, 2001


"The war that began for America on September 11, 2001, continues to call on the courage of our men and women in uniform and the perseverance of our citizens. The past 4 years have brought many challenges and sacrifices, yet we have much reason to be thankful and hopeful about the future. America has become more secure as terrorists have been brought to justice, two of the most brutal and aggressive regimes have ended, and freedom has spread in the Middle East and around the world. In the months and years ahead, we will continue to defend our freedom and lay the foundations of peace for our children and grandchildren."

George W. Bush
September 11, 2005

When no one is especially happy, there's a good possibilty that your on the right track

Is the Bush foreign policy one of isolationism or imperialism? One thing is certain, he is certainly changing the world, weilding power and influence more than any president in modern times. He also seems to not only defy his critics and sometimes his political base, but also the very definitions we traditionally use to label presidential foreign policy.

The invaluable Victor Davis Hanson takes a look at how President Bush may not only be changing the world, he may also be creating a new "ism" to define his approach:

For all the national angst over Afghanistan and Iraq, historians will come to appreciate that sometime after 2001 the United States embarked on a radically
different, much riskier, and ultimately more humane foreign policy - one of both
pulling in our horns while at the same time promoting risky democratic reform in
targeted areas.

Such a complex and hard-to-define change explains why conservative realists are chagrined by its Wilsonian traits, even as leftist isolationists are equally furious that it is imperial. Mainstream out-of-power Democrats don't like what we are doing because of George Bush, while traditional Republicans stay the course mostly because it is now the party line.

But examine the policies of the last four years in some detail and the current charges about empire, hegemony, imperialism, and all the other common invective increasingly make little sense.

He concludes:

In some sense, the United States is reverting to its isolationist past by wanting to downsize in South Korea and Europe, convinced that our presence is only resented -and that if Germany cannot be trusted after 60 years, or if after 50 South Korea cannot take care of itself, then there is not much more we can do anyway.

In other aspects, we are readjusting, taking the pulse of Japan and India and offering them closer ties if they wish - to allay their worries about radical Islam and Chinese expansionism, but in a way far more subtle than John Foster Dulles's globe-trotting.

By the same token, the United States intervened in Iraq and Afghanistan in the long-term hope that its terrorists and oil-dollar weapons would no longer be threats, and that by constitutional reform there, we could eventually lessen our military presence in the region.

Thus the odd spectacle of Iraqi and Afghan reformers worried that we will not stay long enough, even as the Pentagon is worried that we have stayed too long. The Saudis, Palestinians, and Egyptians are angry that we are too disengaged from them and too intimate with Iraqi, Afghan, and Lebanese reformers. Meanwhile, Muslim Brotherhood types and other Islamists say we are too cozy to autocrats even as they mobilize to subvert the elections we alone are promoting - while the fearful autocrats damn us as too naive and too readily caving in to radicals masquerading as democrats.

I don't know what we should call all of this. But so far, no foreign-policy expert has come up with a non-partisan and intellectually honest diagnosis.

Perhaps it is a Zen-like mood we are in, of gradually allowing others to come to the fore, albeit with a warning "Go ahead, make my day, and see if you can do any better on your own."

With the smoke of gunfire yet in the air, the marshal is backing slowly out of the crowded and creepy saloon, but staring down outlaws and with six-guns still drawn.

I implore you to read the whole thing, you will not be disappointed.

SEPTEMBER 10

As some of you may know, I'm a flight attendant. I'm on a 4 day trip now and will be back home in a couple of days, but now I'm enjoying the end of a long overnight. It's almost time to jump in the shower and get ready to head to the airport.

Tomorrow, I will be working two flights; one terminating at Washington Dulles and one originating there. If your flying tomorrow in or out of Dulles, I'll be the guy wearing an American flag tie with his uniform. Understand that I don't just wear it on 9/11, I wear it every day. I wear it proudly, and some of you regularly comment approvingly and that gives me enormous hope for our country.

I'll be interested to view the mood of passengers that are travelling by air on the fourth anniversary of that fateful day and I'll be watching to see what it will be. Personally, I'm not especially wary of working on 9/11 + 4, on the other hand, that was the day that transformed the unthinkable into the thinkable and rest assured, I will be thinking it.

I will be mindful of sullen, young middle-eastern men who board the aircraft, and I see many on a daily basis. Profiling? You betcha. No, there will be no discrimination practiced in any form or fashion, but their presence on my aircraft will be duly noted. I will treat them with the same cheerful attitude that is the case with all of my passengers, even though it is often not returned. Their movements, their demeanor and their mood during the flight will be subtly, but closely monitored.

If you're flying tomorrow, remember what day it is. Remember the passengers and flight crews of those four flights and say a silent prayer. The best memorial to them lies in your heart and soul. By all means, say a nice word to your flight attendant for at some level he or she is thinking the unthinkable while trying to pretend it is just another day. It is not.

"CRESCENT OF EMBRACE"

Flight 93 Memorial Unveiled

Let's see, we are going to construct a memorial for American citizens aboard United Flight 93, who died at the hands of Muslim terrorists on 9/11. Brave people who, as a result of their deaths saved countless lives. Possible designs are solicited and submitted. People who deliberate about such things, deliberate.

And the winner is........a red crescent. A RED FRIGGIN' CRESCENT?

By and large, it's lovely idea. The wind chimes, the trees, the black slate wall that marks the crash site where the victims now rest. I like it a lot. It's all very lovely, right up to the point that it's a Red Friggin' Crescent.

I know that it would appear that I bear some malice toward Islam. And, quite frankly, if one were to think that, one would not be far from the truth. This is not to say that I hate all Muslims (I am so tired of having to stipulate that). I do think however, that from Islam sprang forth the murderous ideology that lilled 3,000 Americans on 9/11 and continues to kill Americans to this day. It is an ideology that continues to murder and maim innocent people worldwide for no other reason other than that they are not Muslims. It is an ideology that also continues to murder Muslims whose only crime is not being the right kind of Muslim. These facts are simply inescapable. I could go on and on, but I've posted extensively on this subject, feel free to check the archives.

Back to the subject at hand. This design is wholly inappropriate. Whether from ignorance or oversight, it is simply inappropriate. That people who died at the hands of monsters, intoxicated by a strain of noxious Islamic ideology should be memorialized by the very symbol of the faith that spawned that ideology is inappropriate in ways that boggle the mind.

Symbols mean things. If they didn't, we wouldn't construct memorials.

Hunger strikers pledge to die in Guantanamo

More than 200 detainees in Guantanamo Bay are in their fifth week of a hunger strike, the Guardian has been told.

Statements from prisoners in the camp which were declassified by the US government on Wednesday reveal that the men are starving themselves in protest
at the conditions in the camp and at their alleged maltreatment - including
desecration of the Qur'an - by American guards.

Do you think we could divert the food they're not eating to people on the Gulf coast that really deserve it?

THE LORD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES

(via Instapundit)

NEW ORLEANS - When their homes began to sink in Katrina's floodwaters, elders in the quarter here known as Uptown gathered their neighbors to seek refuge at the Samuel J. Green Charter School, the local toughs included.

But when the thugs started vandalizing the place - wielding guns and breaking into vending machines - Vance Anthion put them out, literally tossing them into the fetid waters. Anthion stayed awake at night after that, protecting the inhabitants of the school from looters or worse.

"They know me," he said. "If a man come up in here, we take care of him."

In the week after Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast, Anthion and others created a society that defied the local gangs, the National Guard and even the flood.

Inside the school, it was quiet, cool and clean. They converted a classroom into a dining room and, when a reporter arrived Monday, were serving a lunch of spicy red beans and rice. A table nearby overflowed with supplies: canned spaghetti, paper towels, water and Gatorade, salt, hot sauce, pepper.

At its peak last Wednesday, 40 people called the second and third floors home. The bottom floor was under water. Most of those taking up residence at the school were family, friends and neighbors of the poor, forgotten niches of this community.

As the days passed, most chose to be evacuated by the Coast Guard who, they said, came every day to help ferry out the elderly and sick, and to leave water, food and clean clothes for whose who preferred to stay.

By Monday, just 10 diehards remained at the school.

Disillusioned, maybe. Disoriented, perhaps. Determined, without question.

In the week after Katrina devoured the Gulf Coast they ate, slept and bathed here, aided by the Coast Guard supplies. Men slept on the third floor, women on the second, using blankets and cots they brought from home.

It all worked out according to the plan of Allen Smith, 55, a Persian Gulf war veteran known to the group as "Sarge." Before Katrina pummeled the area, he advised neighbors to seek shelter in the school.Sarge said he knew the school he had once attended would be safe and at least the third floor would remain dry.

That's what happened when Hurricane Betsy devastated New Orleans in 1965. Sarge, who was 15 at the time, joined his family and about 200 other people who used the school for shelter.

"I just took the idea from them," said Sarge. "And it worked."

So as Katrina made its approach on New Orleans, they gathered blankets and canned food, bleach and cleaning supplies, a radio and a good supply of batteries, and began moving their stash to the school. They decided to rely on the building's supply of paper towels and toilet paper.

In the days after the storm, the Samuel J. Green school also served as their base for helping others in the neighborhood.They waded through filthy water to bring elderly homebound neighbors bowls of soup, bread and drinks. They helped the old and the sick to the school rooftop, so the Coast Guard could pluck them to safety by elicopter - 18 people in all.

All the while, they listened to radio reports of the calamity at the Superdome and the Convention Center. They heard that evacuees were dying and left to rot. There were reports of looting, gunshots, rapes, and no food or water. "There was no way we were going down there, to be treated like that," said Sarge.

Life at the school seemed far more civilized.

Clad in a white apron and plastic gloves, Greg Avery, a 53-year-old photographer on normal days, scooped hot beans onto a plate. Sierra Smith, an 8-year-old boasting a head of perfectly combed ponytails, handed them out to her neighbors with a smile.

She had been Avery's helper all week - between card games of Old Maid and Crazy Eights with her grandmother.

As we spend months and years sorting out what went wrong, I certainly hope that we spend at least as much time focusing on what went right - and why. Humanity does not spring from government, it springs from within ourselves.

LESSONS LEARNED
9/11 New York and New Orleans Provide Useful Contrasts

As we approach the fourth anniversary of 9/11, while simultaniously dealing with the toxic swamp that was once New Orleans, contrasts between the two are instructive. At the very least, these contrasts show how far we have come and how much some of us have learned.

First, and most obviously, is the speed at which Bush critics placed the President in the role of Scapegoat-in-Chief. In 2001, it literally took months to place the blame squarely at the door of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This time, the sky had barely cleared before the carping began.

We have learned that some mayors and governors are simply people who fill ceremonial positions, like the King and Queen of Mardi Gras parades, and should not be expected to implement the plans they made for such a disaster or to recognize that disaster when it is clearly apparent to anyone with a television. Mayor Giuliani, Governor Pataki, the NYPD and FDNY saw themselves as first responders and within hours of the attacks they merged seamlessly with the well being of the citizens foremost in their mind. Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco are still in disagreement as to what should be done as to the evacuation of the remaining citizens of New Orleans more than 10 days after the hurricane, but they do seem to speak with one voice when it comes to shifting blame to the federal level.

Unfair you say? Certainly, the situation in New York was confined to a few city blocks while the catastrophe in New Orleans is city-wide. On the other hand, 9/11 was totally unforseen and it happened in a matter of minutes. Hurrincane Katrina was tracked for more than a week bearing down on a city that has been dreading just this scenario for generations. Is it unfair to expect more from the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana than what we have seen?

The difference is leadership-New York had it and Louisiana doesn't. In the wake of 9/11, Giuliani and Pataki were inspiring. In the wake of Katrina, Nagin and Blanco are just depressing, and with each passing day they become more so.

New Orleans should be placed under federal authority, with overall suprvision given to General Honore. He's a native and, most importantly he's a leader. If Nagin and Blanco care more about their people than their political careers (which are pretty much over anyway, or should be) they would step aside and not only allow it, but embrace it. Perhaps Bernie Kerik, former New York Police Commissioner, could be brought in to build a police force in New Orleans that has the trust of the people. Perhaps Rudy Giuliani could be brought in as a consultant in an effort to reform a city government long known for its corruption, and maybe in the process he could teach them something about leadership.

AND ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

It's been a long, tragic week with many more ahead of us as we come to grips with the far reaching effects of this catastrophe called Katrina.

What we need is something to make us smile, or even laugh so hard we shoot whatever we are drinking out of our nose, and our old buddy Sean Penn delivers! (via LGF) You just can't make this stuff up:

Efforts by Hollywood actor Sean Penn to aid New Orleans victims stranded by Hurricane Katrina foundered badly overnight, when the boat he was piloting to launch a rescue attempt sprang a leak.Penn had planned to rescue children waylaid by Katrina's flood waters, but apparently forgot to plug a hole in the bottom of the vessel, which began taking water within seconds of its launch.

The actor, known for his political activism, was seen wearing what appeared to be a white flak jacket and frantically bailing water out of the sinking vessel with a red plastic cup.

When the boat's motor failed to start, those aboard were forced to use paddles to propel themselves down the flooded New Orleans street.

Asked what he had hoped to achieve in the waterlogged city, the actor replied: "Whatever I can do to help."

With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?"

THE TWO FACES OF KATRINA

I've written a lot about Katrina's effect on New Orleans, mainly because I have some ties there. This is not to ignore or discount the swath of utter destruction this storm visited upon Mississippi and Alabama and the resulting loss of life.

Maybe there is an additional reason that I have tended to focus upon New Orleans. I'm not from "Hurricane Country" and the destruction from these storms that I have seen, admittedly, has been restricted to television viewing. I expect to see piles of rubble that were once buildings, upended trees and large boats sitting atop houses or strewn about far inland like so many toys. These are the images that give me a mental picture of the incredible power of a hurricane and the fragility of our physical surroundings. The next day, the sun comes out, the rubble is cleared, the dead are buried and the process of rebuilding broken lives begins.

New Orleans is different. The calm after the storm brought about an excruciatingly slow slide into oblivion. The morning after Katrina passed, the talk was how the ol' Big Easy dodged another bullet. A little superficial wind damage, but nothing more. The I-10 freeway over the lake suffered major damage, but the city was virtually intact. As the day wore on, it became increasingly clear that this was a city that was terminally ill. As New Orleans felt the relief of dodging The Big One once again, The Big One had delivered a mortal blow that was all but unnoticed at first and the city began to die, not with the anticipated bang, but with a whimper. It's all so surreal, so un-hurricane-like.

I've heard Katrina's destruction on the gulf coast of Mississippi and Alabama likened to a nuclear blast, smashing everything in her path and doing her killing swiftly. In New Orleans, Katrina is waging what could be likened to biological warfare, killing slowly and inflicting a protracted misery on those who are currently survivors. Those survivors, however, may well fall victim to her insidious wrath in the near future. In Mississippi and Alabama, the killing is done. In New Orleans, the killing is still in process.

The two faces of Katrina is something that we will not soon forget.

POLITICAL MALFEASANCE
Politics and Disaster Make for Deadly Bedfellows

When the bodies are pulled from the waters that were once was the city of New Orleans and the long process of reconstruction is finally started, questions will still remain as to the performance of those in whom the citizens of New Orleans and Louisiana placed their trust.

This revealing story from the Washington Post paints a picture, not only of the unfolding human tragedy, but the petty politics that may well have exacerbated it. While the headline trumpets "White House Shifts Blame to State and Local Officials", the story itself tells a far different story:

Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to
wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly
before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal
memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New
Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday.

The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals" said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.

A senior administration official said that Bush has clear legal authority to federalize National Guard units to quell civil disturbances under the Insurrection Act and will continue to try to unify the chains of command that are split among the president, the Louisiana governor and the New Orleans mayor.

Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.

"The federal government stands ready to work with state and local officials to secure New Orleans and the state of Louisiana," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said. "The president will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens of Louisiana."

Blanco made two moves Saturday that protected her independence from the
federal government: She created a philanthropic fund for the state's victims and hired James Lee Witt, Federal Emergency Management Agency director in the
Clinton administration, to advise her on the relief effort.

It's not as though this disaster is a surprise, quite to the contrary. It has been the Sword of Damocles, hanging over the collective head of New Orleans, literally for centuries and it was common knowledge to everyone who lived thcategory catagory 5 Katrina bore down on a direct path for the city, virtually assuring it's destruction, the Governor and state officials were concerned about the political motives of the Bush administration? At the very least, the administration had a plan that may well have saved many lives, whether there was a "political motive" behind it or not.

Now, the administration that urged a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans on Friday, some 48 hours before Katrina hit, is being criticized for "slow action" by the very same people who rejected his offer of assistance?

The physical destruction of New Orleans, given its circumstances and the terrible fury of Katrina, was unavoidable. The still unfolding human tragedy is something that, in my opinion, could well have been at least mitigated had the Governor shown more concern for the citizens of Louisiana and less concern for political appearances.

This is a story that should be watched very closely in the months to come. As the waters recede in the Big Easy to reveal the horror of what has transpired there, the people will demand answers. Those answers, like what lies beneath the putrid floodwaters, will not be pretty.

UPDATE: Don Singleton has written a very extensive post, complete with numerous links on the above subject. His conclusion?

It seems pretty clear that Blanco was doing everything possible to avoid asking for the help that the President is now being blamed for not providing immediately after Katrina struck.

Since 1878 Posse Comitatus has prevented the the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines from operating on US soil. An exception is made for National Guard troops under the control of state governors, and I believe the governors can request military support (such as National Guard troops from other states), but they must explicitly request them.

Does anyone want the President of the United States [Democrat or Republican]
to decide to deploy active duty military, reserves, or National Guard from other
states without the specific request and approval of the Governor of that state?

Indeed, I do not.

QUAGMIRE

As our troops are increasingly in harm's way, shouldn't we consider pulling out of New Orleans? Isn't the real reason for our concern the fact that so many oil refineries are in the region? Haliburton and Bush's oil buddies stand to make a lot of money as a result of our invasion of New Orleans. I mean, New Orleans was a pretty dangerous place prior to our military invasion and it appears that our "invasion" has only exacerbated an already dangerous situation. The "insurgents" are snding us a message and the message is that they do no want us there. Is the free flow of oil from the Gulf worth the life of one American life? What's our exit strategy?

All together now: No blood for oil!