Hurricane Katrina

[Lindz928]

I think he sounded sincere. I commend him for taking responsibility. /End of opinion.

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by Tickled Pink 2
I think so, too. He didn't say "I'm so sorry we took so long..." or "I'm so sorry I didn't do xyz". It didn't sound sincere - it just sounded like rhetoric. Someone should ask him exactly what he feels his part in this failure was, since he's feeling responsible and all.

I think that, in part, the point was that, since he wasn't involved in many of the specific decisions that went awry, and instead was responsible for oversight/installing morons into office/general cohesion, he's saying that he's taking responsibility for the failure of those things, even though he wasn't the 'trigger man' for much of the poor decision making (and was never meant to be).

In that way, I think it's more important than a by-rote apology (which could be just as insincere), as instead it's at least tacitly admitting that errors were made and that he is ultimately at the top of the blame ladder.


It also could have been rhetoric.

[AKA_Monet]

I nominate this thread as one of the most "Historical Threads" on GC. Especially the personal reflections of GC'ers pre-NOLA-Katrina...

Interesting facts and recollections.

[justabeachbrat]

What has me dumbfound is how badly the alleged rebuilding effort has gone in the whole region.
Both my brothers were history majors and say the "how to do it" is there in the history books.
The TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority, I think) brought dams, flood control and power to rural towns.

Work programs in the depression resulted in major construction projects, and jobs. Two I can think of were the high school in the town I lived for awhile growing up and I believe one of the San Francisco Bay bridges.

After WW2, the U.S. basically led the effort and helped rebuild war ravaged Europe.

Many of the people who worked on these projects, coordinated them, are still alive. Sure, they are old. But that doesn't mean their minds are dead. I have several relatives in their 80s, and they put us young-ins in the family to shame when it comes to book smarts. Mobilize these people, get them out of retirement, away from seniors communities and put their know how to work, before it dies with them. If we can lead the rebuilding of Europe, there is no excuse as to why were can't rebuild New Orleans (one of my favorite cities, although haven't been there since prior to Katrina.)

Many of the prior projects most certainally were political. Time to put politics in a box and get it done. As far as money, if we can fund an apparently endless ongoing war, we can rebuild the Big Easy.

My younger brother's suggestion was for New Orleans to become its own nation, be deemed hostile, get invaded by the U.S. and then have its rebuilding funded by the occuping nation. (He is a tad more political).

A personal aside: One of the grad schools I was seriously considering was the University of New Orleans, and was at the school the summer before Katrina. A family emergency caused me to return home, thus causing me to rethink being that far from California.

I wanted to volunteer to help after Katrina but a charitable agency was not exactly organized as far as getting potential volunteers there, at least in the area of Oregon where I was visiting friends, at the time.

Instead, a friend and I hit Wal Mart and bought up all the crayons (yay, at 10 cents a box), paint in paint boxes, kids paint brushes, paper, chalk, etc. we could afford and fit into my Neon and made individual art kits so kids could paint and draw. We dropped them off at a distribution point for Katrina victims. I think we did about 75. Wished we could have done more.