Moldy Peaches

No amount of prayer, spirituality - as claimed by artist Santana - or the signing of international anti-global warming treaty could have prevented Hurricane Katrina. No, this was an act of God and a punishing one at that. There are, however, legitimate concerns and criticisms coming from the preparation, coordination and response.

New Orleans has plunged into a state of disrepair resembling Baghdad or Kabul. The city has limited power, almost non-existent law and order and residents are being jerked around. The situation is eerily similar to the collapse of Baghdad and the lack of planning that was there to provide law, order and transistion.

Mayor Ray Nagin has blasted federal, state and local authorities and can you blame him. It is great that legislators have approved massive spending on reconstruction, but they need immediate assistance with rescue efforts, not rebuilding.

There appears to be a complete lack of coordination between federal agencies given what has unfolded in recent days. For days people were warned that the hurricane was coming and that it had the potential to be devastating. And yet, when it arrives there is no plan in place to deal with the thousands of residents that were stranded in the city.

Some critics point to the fact that a large majority of residents simply ignored the warning and chose to stay in New Orleans. Unfortunately, these morons don't understand that this part of the country is among the poorest part of the United States. It is fine to issue an evacuation notice and tell folks to get in the cars and head out of town, but not everyone has that luxury. What if you don’t have a car? What if you don't have a place to go?

Finally, National Guard troops are moving in force into this storm-ravaged city today as state and local officials are struggling to reverse a growing sense of anarchy sparked by reports of armed looters, suicides, rapes, bodies floating untended in stagnant floodwaters, and food and water supplies dwindling for thousands of trapped and desperate residents.

Great emergency coordination lead to thousands being advised to head for temporary shelter in the Superdome. This idea was great as a band-aid solution to get people out of immediate danger, but what to do after that had passed. Apparently, nobody thought that far ahead. Maybe, just maybe, bus them to Houston. Oops, there is only room for so many. Sadly, this is emblematic of the entire lack of coordination between government departments.

The White House reaction has been embarrassing. The Do Not Disturb sign is finally being removed from Crawford, Texas. Thank God that his annual August vacation has come and gone. At least Americans can take solace in the fact that their President is in great physical shape and loves to bike.

In the hours and days after the horrible terrorists attacks on September 11, the administration was consistently reassuring citizens that the situation was under control - the best that it could be given the circumstances - one doesn't get that same sense today.

Speaker Dennis Hastert (Illinois Republican), took the ignorance to a level on Wednesday. In an interview with the Daily Herald, a suburban newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, Hastert questioned whether it made sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city "that's 7 feet under water." He claimed that it looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed.

"Your heart goes out to the people," Hastert told the paper. "But there are some real tough questions to ask. How do you go about rebuilding this city? What precautions do you take? "When the electricity goes out and everything else goes out -- you don't have the pumps to pump it out either. Because it doesn't work either."

Hastert said he thought the issue merited a second look. "But you know we build Los Angeles and San Francisco on top of earthquake fissures, and they rebuild too. Stubbornness," he said. Oops, shit did I say that out loud. Yes. Issue standard misquote. Hours later, that is exactly what happened. Hastert's office later issued what his aides called a clarification of his remarks insisting he was not calling for the city to be abandoned or relocated. Too late, damage done. Real good for morale in the area.