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Nawlins
The presence of the Louisiana National Guard in an all-together more arid location in its greatest hour of need exacerbated an already perilous situation. That said, there is no doubt that this corner of The South, boasting a majority (somewhere between 65 and 70%) poor, black population has suffered from a blend of political indifference and a failure to comprehend the severity of the situation.
Biloxy is flat - match-wood - but so are many Southern and Mid-Western towns in hurricane season. Anyone with a basic grasp of the layout of Nawlins knows that if the levees fail the city is lost. Everyone, that is, apart from the National government and response agencies. The issue was never Katrina's rampage, rather what happened after she left. That said, the mayor stood up 24 hours before the storm hit and said 'get out of town'. You have to say a heck of a lot of folks didn't listen, or in many cases couldn't respond.
Once the inthinkable became brutal, terrible fact, the lack of response from above isn't surprising. The people of Louisiana hold too few electoral votes and little or no economic power. Bush had the temerity to grin as he councilled careful use of gasoline even as the filthy waters swallowed the city.
Consipracy theory? Paranoia?
Imagine this happening in California and the President chuckling through a TV interview.
Exactly.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
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