Saturday
(0)Not a direct quote, but it pretty much sums up the comments from a Louisiana politician in this interview with Anderson Cooper (wmv file). Cooper, quite rightly, calls her on her bull - but not nearly as harshly as he should have. (Again, trying to perpetuate the objectivity myth is doing our media no favours here.)
By many accounts, thousands of people are dead. The survivors are, in their thousands, newly homeless. By many accounts, some survivors are being raped and beaten, and many of them are starving and dying of thirst, their corpses being eaten by rats in the streets of America. Yet all this politician can tell us is how wonderful her fellow politicians are. If you do not think statism is a sickness of the mind, watch this video.
Link via Bitchypoo
Damn, that just made me want to smack her and shout "SHUT.THE.FUCK.UP!"
Yes, it was sickening to hear her fawning over a bunch of worthless politicos.
Posted by sark at September 3, 2005 05:16 PM
Absent the state - who was going to rescue the living and collect the dead? Absent the state, who was going to stop the looting. murder and rapes? Absent Gen Honoré, who is going to order large scale rescue missions, restoration of law and order and an immediate/temporary plan for a way forward, who would have the resources to do this? Absent the state, which particular freelance merchants are going to be in control of chaos on an unimaginable scale?
There is a role for the state - a tiny role in everyday life - but in gigantic cirumstances like this, to imagine that the private sector sitting around in committees, without tanks, helicopters, convoy trucks, logistics, trained military would be as efficient as the US government is absolutely ridiculous.
National emergencies are one of the two or three instances in which government is appropriate and necessary.
Posted by Verity at September 4, 2005 04:29 AM
Absent the state - who was going to rescue the living and collect the dead?How about the volunteers being turned away or ignored by FEMA and the supposed "authorities"?
If anything the big story here is just how much "the state is not your friend". From blocking evacuation, to cooping people up, to joining in the looting, to wrecking volunteer relief, the state has been the guy pouring petrol on the fire while beating back the firefighters.
Your loyalty is misplaced at best.
Posted by Julian Morrison at September 4, 2005 05:00 AM
Comment deleted: Not off-topic but still banned
Posted by Millard Foolmore at September 4, 2005 11:49 AM
I agree that there is a role for the state when the shit hits the fan... and that does not make the performance of the Senator any less nauseating. Clearly the situation has not been well handled and so seeing this woman trying to show how praiseworthy the efforts of the political class are strikes a very discordant note.
Posted by Perry de Havilland at September 4, 2005 11:51 AM
