[GCFL-discuss] FW: New Orleans prediction

[Discussion of the Good, Clean Funnies List]

I don't find the prediction scary, because it is a simple and obvious
conclusion based on known facts. It is true that the city of New Orleans
partied away, but responsibility doesn't rest solely on the city. The
Mississippi River, even Lake Ponchartrain, are bigger than one city can
or should deal with. The whole Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi river basin
depend on the Port of New Orleans to export their harvests, and some
other products. (That is why the U.S. wanted to buy it from France in the
first place -- and why the U.S. armed forces put such a priority on
restoring order along the Mississippi Valley during the Civil War.
Farmers in the midwest had to get their produce to market.) Our whole
country tends to put off spending a good deal of money on preparation,
until we pour out ten times as much after something disastrous happens.
Katrina is nothing compared to the impact of a quake on the New Madrid
fault, which hasn't happened since 1815, and is geologically overdue.
Every bridge across the Mississippi north of Iowa is going to come down,
and most other bridges on smaller rivers, and a good deal of every city
from St. Louis to New Orleans. Nobody wants to spend money to reinforce
the bridges, until they all fall down, and all have to be rebuilt.

I have some doubts about reference to levees among discussion of the
religious implications of Katrina. I suggest reading The Wittenburg
Door's article, Interview With God on Larry King Live about the Tsunami.
I think the URL is www.wittenburgdoor.com/larryking.html
If I have that wrong, drop everything after the .com and do a search on
the site for "tsunami." It really says everything that needs to be said
about God's involvement.

But it is true that Louisiana has been described as "one half is under
water, and the other half is under indictment."

I had some experience with FEMA after a couple of earthquakes in
California. There are two things I would say they can be faulted for:

1) The impact was predictable. They should have had supplies and national
guard units positioned about 100 miles in from the coast BEFORE it struck
land.

2) There is no way one bureaucracy can deal with everything at once.
FEMA's efforts to centralize everything under itself need to be relaxed.
Yes, coordination is desirable, but not when it snuffs out initative. It
ran a bell when someone from the water bottlers association said they had
offered several truckloads to FEMA, and were turned down, but when they
called local mayors in the impact zone, it was accepted immediately.
Likewise, a team from my area tried to go volunteer, but found there was
a great deal of paperwork they "had to" go through, and that they
"weren't needed." The team included several doctors. I would bet that if
they bypassed the "official line" and contacted the mayor or president of
any parish in the New Orleans area, or of Biloxi, they would have been
eagerly invited. I can't believe that there is a surplus of doctors in
the impact zone.

Siarlys