Another Day of Chaos-
But There Seems to Be Movement
Random Finds and Thoughts.....

First, from Reuters, via Yahoo:

Storm disaster fuels doubts over US terror plans

I have to admit that thought also crossed my mind. What would happen if.....? The relatively slow response, which took until today to seem to make a difference does call into question the idea of "rapid response" in the event of a major terrorist attack. And with Katrina, we had a warning. No sneak attack here. I hope that this is a sadly learned lesson for some important people to learn quickly!

Second, from the Associated Press, via Yahoo:

FEMA Head: Lawlessness Not Anticipated

As far as I can tell in my awareness of human nature, you put thousands of people in high stress, without food, water and comfort, then ignore them for several days as things seem only to get worse... well, what can we expect. I don't care if it is New Orleans after Katrina, Los Angeles of San Francisco when the San Andreas Fault lets go with the BIG one, Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein, or wherever. The possibility of lawlessness should always be anticipated in emergency management planning. To not do so is carless and dangerous.

Next, from an opinion piece by Andrea Peyser in The New York Post, via Yahoo:

PARALYZED BY INACTION AMID APOCALYPSE
...yesterday, there was scarce sign of order on the street, and few to enforce it.

Oh, yeah, there has been a handful of National Guardsmen. Like the one who was observed pushing a man to the ground outside the Superdome after he ignored his order not to return into the fetid building without first clearing a security checkpoint — which was accessible only through a street flooded with deep water.

Promises to send in tens of thousands of guardsmen have been alarmingly slow to materialize. And comes a report from Canadian TV that an elite unit, poised to fly in fresh water and medical supplies, has as yet been refused permission to help by the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.

At the same time, local authorities have taken to commandeering the few working vehicles that refugees hoped to ride out of town. Don't they have vehicles of their own?

This great nation is capable of making order halfway around the globe. We have the resources to launch humanitarian missions in remote regions of the world.

But now, our own back yard is flooded.

It's time to take action. Now

Well, it appears as if that has happened today.