Like most, I'm a jumble of emotions and opinions with respect to Hurricane Katrina. I'm sad, angry, frustrated, furious, and just a little bit hopeful as well.
I spent a good part of this weekend watch the news coverage on TV (I dont get any tv at my apt, so I had to go to a friends' house) and read up a lot on Katrina (mostly the discussions on Katrina at Metafilter.)
If anything good has come out of this terrible human tragedy, it's that the lies of the government have been exposed to Americans on American soil. I hope and pray that there is some critical thinking about how this was handled and how we must revolutionize our government. How can anyone think this Bush administration is doing a good job?
I am absolutely, crazy furious that Bush was ranching in Texas, Cheney was vacationing in Wyoming, and Rice was shopping on 5th Ave. and catching Broadway plays, 2 days after this monster of a hurricane hit the Gulf region. Then witness Bush's attitude when he first flew over the devastation in Air Force One, and did his first "photo ops." His attitude was so callous and careless as to be more than heartless- it was profoundly ignorant in the face of a disaster on a scale that we have not seen in the US.
That our politicians have failed us is more obvious than ever. That we are 3-4 days away from anarchy in a major American metropolis, is reality.
I want Michael Brown OUT OF FEMA ASAP. That guy doesn't deserve to clean the floors of FEMA, let alone run the place. There are many, many others to be releived of their command, but start with "Brownie." That man should be indicted for criminal negligence and put away for life. His incompetence cost lives- untold human lives.
Other than donate to the Red Cross, I'm at a loss as to what to do. Being in Japan, I'm already disconnected from the US to a large extent.
I'll link to a few pieces that resonated with me:
The Bursting Point - New York Times (I'm not a fan of Brooks per se, but this was very well done.)
The Rebellion of the Talking Heads - Newscasters, sick of official lies and stonewalling, finally start snarling. By Jack Shafer (finally some humanity from the news reporters...)
The New Yorker: Atchafalaya (Long but wonderful 1987 John McPhee on the Army Corps of Engineers vs. Louisinana floodwaters.)
The Thin Line Blew - How a hurricane turned citizens into criminals. By William Saletan
UPDATE: The NYT cites Brendan Loy as the first person to call for an evacuation of New Orleans. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but it is quite eerie to look at Brendan's posts warning of the hurricane and the possible devastation.
A 'Weather Nerd' in Indiana Sent a Warning to the Mayor - New York Times
Brendan is also calling for Michael Brown's firing.
Although it was by no means certain on Saturday and Sunday that Katrina would hit New Orleans, the threat of it doing so was as severe as a hurricane threat can ever be, given the limitations of our current forecasting technology. If Katrina on Saturday and Sunday did not amount to something more than a "typical hurricane situation," then there is NO SUCH THING as something more than a "typical hurricane situation" at 24-48 hours out.)This is completely and utterly outrageous. If the director of FEMA really thought on Saturday and Sunday that Katrina would, if it followed the predicted path, be a "typical hurricane situation," and that "the water would drain away fairly quickly," then he should be fired on the spot for being ignorant and incompetent to the point that he has no business working as a low-level functionary at FEMA, let alone as its director. And if he didn't really think that, but is just saying it in order to spin the political fallout from the hurricane, then he should be fired on the spot for being a dirty, filthy, stinking liar.
Either way, Michael Brown must go. This man has no business running FEMA, especially not at a time like this. My God.
Unbelievable.
Brendan Loy's website has been phenomenal. It's good to remind everyone that:
1. The breach in the NO levees didn't happen until late Monday night/early Tuesday morning, twelve hours after Katrina passed (http://www.brendanloy.com/2005/08/more-on-levee-breach.html). On Monday afternoon, most people were thanking their lucky stars.
2. As of 10am on Tuesday (http://www.brendanloy.com/2005/08/significant-national-guard.html), the Coast Guard and National Guard (yes, the Federal Govt) was already set in motion. That is less than 12 hours after the levee breach, less than 24 hours after the storm hit, and just about 48 hours after the mayor declared a mandatory evacuation. The US Navy was on the way by Tuesday night (http://www.brendanloy.com/2005/08/us-navy-to-rescue.html).
...
Sure, any massime, immediate mobilization of tens of thousands of soldiers to dangerous, damage strewn area the size of Great Britain (remember, Katrina's fury centered on Mississippi) seemed, from the safety of the couch, disorganized and painfully slow. Nobody likes to watch TV and see dead bodies floating around and here stories (unconfirmed stories) of rape and murder.
I just don't think we can sit here and, just 7 days after the worst natural disaster in US history, say that the response has been a complete failure. By what benchmark? Unfortunately, the President doesn't have a hurricane-dispenser laser at his disposal, nor can be beam out of harm's way the people who stayed in NO.
The flood waters stopped rising on Wednesday around noon (http://www.brendanloy.com/2005/08/bowl-is-now-filled.html). By later that day, the first refugees (from the NO superdome) had reached the Houston Astrodome (http://www.brendanloy.com/2005/08/random-kindness-of-strangers.html). Can we really call that "horribly slow"?
Yes, any day of delay meant some of the people remaining in NO died. That's sad. Nobody feels happy about that.
I would just suggest that we can't expect perfection from any human institution, whether it be the NO government, Louisiana govt, or federal govt. Each did--and IS DOING--their best, and all in all, I think it's very impressive the progress they've made in less than 7 days.
As for Bush's culpability, I would just note that Mississippi, which 1. got the worst of Katrina's brunt and 2. has a Republican governor, has not had nearly the problems that Louisiana is suffering from.
It's VERY EASY to sit at a computer after watching TV (which naturally focuses on the horror stories) and criticize an administration (you already dislike); it's a lot harder to work and organize and get things done.
I found your weblog via a link on Flickr. Somebody has organized a photo auction to benefit victims of Katrina (http://www.flickr.com/groups/katrina_auction/) and I thought that since your jellyfish image is so popular maybe you could put a copy of it up for auction.