Our dear Mr. Brooks, from the New York Times is dreaming. (Again) Brooks starts with a comparison of 911 vrs New Orleans and misses "poorly" (pun intended).
"On Sept. 11, Rudy Giuliani took control. The government response was quick and decisive. The rich and poor suffered alike. Americans had been hit, but felt united and strong. Public confidence in institutions surged."
I'm not sure where Brooks standards of "poor" are but I seriously doubt many poor people perished in Manhattan that day, so his next paragraph becomes moot, but I will continue for the sake of his lunacy.
"Last week in New Orleans, by contrast, nobody took control. Authority was diffuse and action was ineffective. The rich escaped while the poor were abandoned. Leaders spun while looters rampaged. Partisans squabbled while the nation was ashamed."
Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, responding to criticism that the federal response has been slow and inadequate, said the destruction of communications lines and transportation routes made it very difficult to determine exactly where help was needed and to get workers and supplies there.
"Our biggest problem is communications," he said, noting that cellular phone towers were all knocked out, making it nearly impossible for citizens in need to call for help. "We have to know where to drop (supplies) and what to drop."
While the people with the means of transportation exited (with the advice from authorities), there was obviously no plan in place (by any local or state government) to assist in the evacuation for those who had no means. All those school buses locked up in a yard would have gone a long way in assisting the poor. Again, the lack of communication seems to be the vital point in contributing to the disaster.
But let's get back to Mr. Brooks B.S. :
"Over the past few years, we have seen intelligence failures in the inability to prevent Sept. 11 and find W.M.D.'s in Iraq. We have seen incompetent postwar planning. We have seen the collapse of Enron and corruption scandals on Wall Street. We have seen scandals at our leading magazines and newspapers, steroids in baseball, the horror of Abu Ghraib."
Hey David, did ya forget to mention over twenty million people who have been suffering for decades in two countrys have been liberated? And is it troubling for you to report that this administration took us from the perils of 911 to one of the stongest economic rebounds in the history of this country? The "scandals" at our "leading" mags and newspapers continues in your current article.
"It's already clear this will be known as the grueling decade, the Hobbesian decade. Americans have had to acknowledge dark realities that it is not in our nature to readily acknowledge: the thin veneer of civilization, the elemental violence in human nature, the lurking ferocity of the environment, the limitations on what we can plan and know, the cumbersome reactions of bureaucracies, the uncertain progress good makes over evil. "
Mr. Brooks thinks these challenges and disasters will bring this country to it's knees and the only solution (he wishes) is for a wholesale change from the top down. I disagree. His "ivory tower" mentality will continue spew this doom and gloom that only a progressive liberal society can repair. The "blame Bush" crowd will fall on deaf ears when the average person (rich and poor) rise up the the challenges that face us ahead. The entire gulf region will be rebuilt for obvious reasons; prosperity (by getting in and getting our hands dirty), the generosity from those who give and expect nothing in return, and our heritage and history demands it.
Again Mr. Brooks and the left have underestimated (and attempted to undermine) the power and resolve of the people of this country. This is still America David. Americans will overcome, improvise, rebuild, and rise again to the standard of living we have all become accustomed to.
The size of the pocketbook or the color of our skin will not matter to most of us. Only the opinions of a few, (like this one) will hamper our recovery. "The Bursting Point" is in your brain
David, not mine.
1 comment:
Thanks for the e-mail tip. I'm doing everything I can to avoid discussing the politics of Katrina over on Wizbang, so I hope you'll understand if I just tackle it here.
First, I have to make a correction: New Orleans had a plan to deal with Katrina. A wonderful plan, put together at great expense, that covered most of the contingencies.
Unfortunately, the dog ate it. Or the mayor left it in his other pants. Or it got lost in the mail. Regardless, it was completely ignored -- check out the literally hundreds of buses abandoned and flooded in lots documented in damning detail over at www.junkyardblog.com.
Now, one part of Brooks' piece jumped out at me. He cited "suicide bombers," "Beslan," and "the price of oil." Gee, what could all three factors have in common? Could Brooks be saying that source of the biggest problems and threats in the world is Islam?
Mr. Brooks has quite a laundry list of calamities he's trotted out. No wonder we're all so depressed and angry. But he left out so many other problems, such as persistent acne and the heartbreak of psoriasis.
And what does he propose as a solution? As far as I can tell, he just wants to sit back and go "tsk, tsk" and excuse those who let the bad news get to them and act out. Big help there.
What a senseless waste. Brooks' entire piece could be reduced to "things stink." And both your and my responses could be condensed to "The New York Times has published another asshole."
J.
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