Locke and Load

Hurricane Rita vs. Hurricane Katrina

Order. That is the marked difference in the scenes from Rita and Katrina. Orderly evacuations, orderly protection of property, orderly restoration of services, and an orderly return to homes will soon follow. What is the reason for this? Is it because FEMA and President Bush learned their lesson? Is it because the military was involved early? No. It is due to the competence and diligence of local officials, who had a plan and executed it. It is also due to a phrase that liberals react to like "state's rights", and that is "personal responsibility". People took steps to take care of themselves and did so early.

The Federal Government is good at a very few things. In the realm of responding to disasters, one is logistics, due to massive resources and a first-class military that can spring into action when necessary. The other is throwing obscene amounts of money at any problem. If you are expecting (or, worse, depending on) more than that when the shit comes down, don't be surprised when you are standing on your roof waiving your arms.

posted by The Man @ 1:57 PM