Scarletwine said:
From NBC Blog
am duty-bound to report the talk of the New Orleans warehouse district last night: there was rejoicing (well, there would have been without the curfew, but the few people I saw on the streets were excited) when the power came back on for blocks on end. Kevin Tibbles was positively jubilant on the live update edition of Nightly News that we fed to the West Coast. The mini-mart, long ago cleaned out by looters, was nonetheless bathed in light, including the empty, roped-off gas pumps. The motorcade route through the district was partially lit no more than 30 minutes before POTUS drove through. And yet last night, no more than an hour after the President departed, the lights went out. The entire area was plunged into total darkness again, to audible groans. It's enough to make some of the folks here who witnessed it... jump to certain conclusions.
It is impossible to over-emphasize the extent to which this area is under government occupation, and portions of it under government-enforced lockdown. Police cars rule the streets. They (along with Humvees, ambulances, fire apparatus, FEMA trucks and all official-looking SUVs) are generally not stopped at checkpoints and roadblocks. All other vehicles are subject to long lines and snap judgments and must PROVE they have vital business inside the vast roped-off regions here. If we did not have the services of an off-duty law enforcement officer, we could not do our jobs in the course of a work day and get back in time to put together the broadcast and get on the air. As we are about to do.
• Sept. 15, 2005 | 10:40 p.m. EDT
I'm not sure why the military is still there. I'd think the Nat'l Guard would be able to take over.
Good heavens. This is frustrating.
Immediately after the hurricane, you were complaining that our military helicopters WEREN'T being used in rescue operations (when in fact they were).
You complained that the help wasn't being sent down there (when in fact, living here in Alabama, I saw state National Guard units from various states heading down there).
You attempted to link "the Feds" to St. Bernard Parish law enforcement officers shooting dogs.
You complained about the "Blackwater" boysbeing a federally contracted unit, but what I have found indicates that they were contracted by both the state and possibly the Feds, but also likely by private companies as their security detail primarily involves protecting communications infrastructure and petrochemical facilities. Do you think these privately owned facilities should be left exposed and unguarded?
When a Coast Guard Vice Admiral was appointed to head the FEMA response to this disaster, you complained that "Now it's truly a militarized zone" (when in fact the Coast Guard is a specialized unit of the military which technicially operates now under the Department of Homeland Security moreso than under the Department of Defense, and they are highly specialized in hurricane situations).
And right now, you are posting from a blog that the NOLA area is under "government occupation." Guess what: The Mayor of NOLA, on September 7, ordered a forced evacuation of the 10,000 or so people still lingering, because there was no electricity, water was still in much of the streets, most buildings were uninhabitable, etc. Plumbing and electricity are gradually coming back up, but the infrastructures that run these systems must be tested or they will pose continuous risks to the residents and relief workers. No one is supposed to be there right now; there is no reason for them to be there. There are no services right now. People will gradually be allowed to move back in on a ZIP Code basis starting next week.
YES, police cars "rule the streets" of NOLA right now, as they do most of the time. Who should be ruling the streets? Lucky Dog hot dog vendor carts?
True: Police cars, humvees, ambulances, fire apparatus, FEMA trucks, official "looking" SUVs are generally not stopped at checkpoints and roadblocks. But if these are emergency/relief vehicles, why SHOULD they be stopped at roadblocks? They're supposed to be there! And, yes, if I drove my "unofficial" SUV down there, I would expect that I should have to prove what business I had in the roped-off area.
Do you just want random civilian vehicles to be allowed to roam around down there and check things out? What if some curious civilian who has no business down there gets injured by a ruptured gas line while fooling around in a rodblocked area? Should they be entitled to punitive damages against whomever was irresponsible enough to allow them to slip by and get into that area?
What is the right answer for you? It is obviously much more complex than competent government. There really is no win.
~U2Alabama