[Swimmer]

Those levees and dikes have been an issue for the last ten to twelve years and who was president then.

First of all rescuing, feeding, housing, and getting medical care for all the misplaced individuals falls squarely on the town first, the county (parish) second, the state third, and then when all of those options fail as they did so miserably it then becomes the responsibility of the feds to clean up everyone elses mess. I have never seen such a poor example of leadership as I have from the Mayor of New Orleans. Standing in front of the cameras saying how "pissed" he was that nobody has come to help. Using words that had to be bleeped out. He showed just how much of a "man" he was. One third of the cops that he hired screwed and left the city underprotected. They have yet to return to duty and their brother officers that heroically stayed with the people they serve can't wait to see them. You all have to come to grips with the simple fact that people die under these circumstances. Seeing dead bodies laying up against a curbing or sitting in a wheelchair is a hard fact of life. Come with me to a fatal crash sometime. Come with me when I find my brother officers oldest taking his last breath face down on the edge of the road. The affected persons were predestined to this fate for many reasons. Color of their skin aside the most prevelant reason is the economic well-being. They are poor and diseenfranchised and have been in that position long before Katrina came along.

No one can expect any large rescue effort to commence before the LZ can be secured can they? These same disenfranchised people are shooting at their rescuers. People who are not associated with any govenrment agency who drove their boats some from several hundred miles away were shot at. Those resuers were ordered out of the area because they cold not be adequately protected from the snipers. Americans shooting amercians. Armed thugs trying to institute anarchy until they can loot ever last store in the area around their homes.

Lastly, as far as all those people at the dome and the basketball center next to the dome are better off with or without food there than anywhere else. They have to be centrally located so an evacuation when started can be the most effective. I am sure it sucked there. They complained about no food and water, but they did have water. And the news media keeps playing the same scenes over and over giving the viewer the idea that each time things were more worse. And they very well could have been. What you are seeing is the best the government can do. Its like when you call the cops for a problem with your neighbor and they show up in a minute or two and thats reasonable most of the time. And maybe even more than one cop responds, which is even better. Power goes out in my town and I'll get 100 phone calls. I can't do anything about the power being out. Not even give the caller a time frame for it being restored, but the callers think I should. Now fathom the fact that your city or parish was just wiped off the face of the earth and imagine yourself being the officer taking calls in the station. Their is nothing anyone can do until many things are in place and the safey of the rescuers and other person involved in the cleanup can be gauranteed safe passage.

Its unfortunate but people die in these tragedies, sometimes many people, and sometimes their deaths have more to do with themselves initially at least than it does with any other action or force. All we can do is donate and pray for the survivors and the rescuers many of whom of the latter I know.