Nero Fiddles
Was this a moment unfairly captured? No. Experts had forecast an imminent possible disaster days ago. And from the start, other elected officials -- Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, for example -- began urgently working to save American lives. Bush chose instead to continue making public speeches before hand-picked audiences pushing his political agenda for Medicare and trying to spin his unpopular war in Iraq. -- Bob Harris
The poorest 20% (you can argue with the number -- 10%? 18%? no one knows) of the city was left behind to drown. This was the plan. Forget the sanctimonious bullshit about the bullheaded people who wouldn't leave. -- "Ned"
Entire teams are working on nothing but evacuating the hospitals. All four of the major hospitals are beginning to flood. Critical patients have to get out or surely they will be lost. -- Anonymous New Orleans rescue worker
Long story short, I could use some help understanding this. This isn't some third world country. This is a densly populated chunk of the United States. The second that hurricane passed by, the Atlantic Fleet should have been parked offshore with water making ships and hospital ships and helicopters and amphibious vehicles. This whole operation has gone to hell in a handbasket. Actually, it didn't go anywhere. It started there.
I simply can't believe I'm seeing something like this happen in the United States. I really can't. -- Chris Randall
And don't let anyone try to claim this couldn't've been predicted.
posted by Management at 9:10 AM
3 Comments:
Lake New Orleans is rising.
Now that the mayor of New Orleans is describing bodies floating in the water in such number that rescue workers are merely pushing them aside, yes, now we see news reports of a president willing to cut his vacation -- the longest in presidential history -- two days short.
But this was the U.S. president, this morning, during what is likely the GREATEST NATURAL DISASTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY:
Here's what was happening at that exact moment, not far away:
Was this a moment unfairly captured? No. Experts had forecast an imminent possible disaster days ago. And from the start, other elected officials -- Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, for example -- began urgently working to save American lives. Bush chose instead to continue making public speeches before hand-picked audiences pushing his political agenda for Medicare and trying to spin his unpopular war in Iraq.
And here's the U.S. president, yesterday -- while the disaster was unfolding, the morning after the storm hit, days after experts had forecast the LIKELY DESTRUCTION OF AN ENTIRE AMERICAN CITY:
Nero.
I can think of no other apt comparison.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Email attributed to NOLA rescue worker; economics of disaster
My friend Ned Sublette passes along an email attributed to a rescue worker in New Orleans. Ned says:
The poorest 20% (you can argue with the number -- 10%? 18%? no one knows) of the city was left behind to drown. This was the plan. Forget the sanctimonious bullshit about the bullheaded people who wouldn't leave. The evacuation plan was strictly laissez-faire. It depended on privately owned vehicles, and on having ready cash to fund an evacuation. The planners knew full well that the poor, who in new orleans are overwhelmingly black, wouldn't be able to get out. The resources -- meaning, the political will -- weren't there to get them out.
White per capita income in Orleans parish, 2000 census: $31,971. Black per capita: $11,332. Median *household* income in B.W. Cooper (Calliope) Housing Projects, 2000: $13,263.
The email attributed to a rescue worker reads:
There are dead animals floating in the water, pets left behind. Surely people thought they would be back to collect the pets. Not so. The rescuers smell like gas when they come back in; there's gas in all of the water that consumes the area. Fires are burning all over the place. Our teams are tired and they are thirsty and they are hungry. And they have a place to sleep and water to drink and food to eat. I can only imagine how the people without these "luxuries" are feeling right now.
Each night will be a race against time. When night falls, people can't get picked up from roofs, the rescuers can't chop into people's roofs to check the attics for anyone alive or for anyone dead (sadly, there are dead). At night we can't see power lines we can't see obstacles, we can't see any of the things that will bring down a helicopter or pose a danger to boats rescuers.
One of the teams came in today after having been out for hours at a time. One particular rescuer went straight to a corner and collapsed into tears. I went directly to him and just held his hand. What else could I do? I said nothing. He said it all. They lowered him 26 times and he pulled 26 people to safety. He wants to be back out there but there are mandatory rest periods. His tears are tears of frustration.
Entire teams are working on nothing but evacuating the hospitals. All four of the major hospitals are beginning to flood. Critical patients have to get out or surely they will be lost. Generators cannot run forever; that's just the way it is. There are limited facilities to take those that are rescued and those that need to be evacuated. Anything that leaves by air leaves by helicopter. There are no runways for planes that aren't under water. Only one drivable way in and out.
Water everywhere and more keeps coming. Until they can do something about the three levees that are broken, more water will come and more water will kill. The water poses major health threats. Anyone with even a small open cut is prone to infection. Anyone who touches this water and touches his eyes, nose or mouth without find a way to "clean" himself first will be sick with stomach problems before long. It's bad and it's getting worse. It's not going to be anything better than devastating for days or weeks at best.
I wish I could tell you that I'll check in again soon. I can't. I don't know when my next message will get out. We'll be leaving where we are within just an hour or so.
Image of flood victim in New Orleans from nola.com shows "rainbow effect" of fuel and oily contaminants on flood water surface. (Thanks, Melissa)
So, I'm trying hard to be non-partisan about this. I really am. I wouldn't normally use an opportunity like this to score points on the administration. But I don't understand a couple things here. (And I'd like to point out that I'm not being sarcastic at all.)
Point: The first thing I don't understand is why there isn't a line of Chinooks and Sea Kings bringing food to that god-damned dome, and taking people away. The sky should be black with them. There should be a line of helicopters from Atlanta to New Orleans.
Point: Why is FEMA, the one Federal agency that was once beholden to no one, and able to tell everyone from the Army on down what to do, now under control of the Dept. Of Homeland Security? Now, instead of being able to order goverment agencies to comply under their logistical control, they have to ask. As a result, the Coast Guard and National Guard, which used to have to drop everything at their behest, are now kind of operating on their own with no logistical advice.
Point: Why are the national guards of, say, North Dakota and Utah still sitting in their houses watching CNN?
Long story short, I could use some help understanding this. This isn't some third world country. This is a densly populated chunk of the United States. The second that hurricane passed by, the Atlantic Fleet should have been parked offshore with water making ships and hospital ships and helicopters and amphibious vehicles. This whole operation has gone to hell in a handbasket. Actually, it didn't go anywhere. It started there.
I simply can't believe I'm seeing something like this happen in the United States. I really can't.
EDIT: I believe I've figured it out. This photograph was taken today.
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