Thursday, September 01, 2005
Oh, Woe Is Us, Gloom and Doom, Etc.
I wasn't trying to play Pollyanna with last night's post (see below). I was, however, a little perturbed by Shepard Smith's reporting last night on Fox News. Maybe he was on some heavy downers, I don't know, but he was making it sound like New Orleans is down forever. I disagree. (At least one pundit, however, reads Shep's performance thus far differently. I do agree he was doing well early on, like Monday - maybe the stress is getting to him, and he is on-location and I'm not.)
I think the mayor's "thousands dead" estimate is way high, but it's very much in keeping with his demeanor so far. I saw a headline that read "New Orleans mayor stays cool in crisis" - frozen is more like it. Between Mayor Comatose and Governor Blubberin' Blanco it's no surprise the looters have free reign - there's no freakin' adult supervision (and I'm not the only one critical of Blanco's performance). The cops should've started shooting the looters at the get-go (and whoever's shooting at the choppers getting folks away from the Superdome needs to die, now!), and sportsmen with boats should've been recruited (hell, they're volunteering - organize 'em, dammit!) to do the rescue work. Mayor, Governor - you have a city to save - it's time to square your shoulders, get a stiff upper lip, put down the crying towel, and get your butts on the line and your hands in the work and MAKE IT HAPPEN!
I wasn't trying to play Pollyanna with last night's post (see below). I was, however, a little perturbed by Shepard Smith's reporting last night on Fox News. Maybe he was on some heavy downers, I don't know, but he was making it sound like New Orleans is down forever. I disagree. (At least one pundit, however, reads Shep's performance thus far differently. I do agree he was doing well early on, like Monday - maybe the stress is getting to him, and he is on-location and I'm not.)
I think the mayor's "thousands dead" estimate is way high, but it's very much in keeping with his demeanor so far. I saw a headline that read "New Orleans mayor stays cool in crisis" - frozen is more like it. Between Mayor Comatose and Governor Blubberin' Blanco it's no surprise the looters have free reign - there's no freakin' adult supervision (and I'm not the only one critical of Blanco's performance). The cops should've started shooting the looters at the get-go (and whoever's shooting at the choppers getting folks away from the Superdome needs to die, now!), and sportsmen with boats should've been recruited (hell, they're volunteering - organize 'em, dammit!) to do the rescue work. Mayor, Governor - you have a city to save - it's time to square your shoulders, get a stiff upper lip, put down the crying towel, and get your butts on the line and your hands in the work and MAKE IT HAPPEN!
