Looting

Published on September 1, 2005 By dabe In Politics

Comments (Page 2)

on Sep 02, 2005

I think what it symboloizes is the tax cut and the Iraq war weakening the anti-flood protection (you can clearly see a sandbag dyke in the background), because the funds from the tax cut and Iraq war should have gone to improving the flood control systems.

stutefish

on Sep 02, 2005

Right, because the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana were totally powerless to manage their own flood control systems.

The situation in New Orleans right now has been over thirty years in the making. It's a cute illustration, but a feeble and unrealistic argument.

Moderateman

on Sep 02, 2005

Reply By: stutefishPosted: Friday, September 02, 2005Right, because the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana were totally powerless to manage their own flood control systems.The situation in New Orleans right now has been over thirty years in the making. It's a cute illustration, but a feeble and unrealistic argument.

how about the dikes were for the most part built in the 30's by7 the WPA under FDR?

but no matter what it all boils down to president bushes fault.. the all powerfull can go back in time 70 years and fix things bush.

Myrrander

on Sep 02, 2005

funding for SE Louisiana Flood Control (established by Congress in 1995) was cut by nearly 50% in the past few years...Corps of Engineers folks who might have been in LA were instead in Iraqistan. That's what the cartoon means. Flood Control = Nonessential to US security; Regime Change 7,000 miles away = Matter of vital interest.

how about the dikes were for the most part built in the 30's by7 the WPA under FDR?

most of the braindead righties go for the "blame Clinton first" route, but we have to credit Elie, he takes the madness to a new level

latour999

on Sep 02, 2005

I'm not saying I agree with it, I'm just trying to clear this up for those who didn't understand the tax cut metaphor.

latour999

on Sep 02, 2005

most of the braindead righties go for the "blame Clinton first" route, but we have to credit Elie, he takes the madness to a new level

Uh, I don't think he blamed FDR. He just said the dikes were built by FDR. Perhaps the problem is that they would be about 70 years old by now.

kingbee

on Sep 03, 2005

the dikes were built by FDR. Perhaps the problem is that they would be about 70 years old by now

eleanor roosevelt would be way older than that...but i don't see how her sexual preference is relevant.

Independent1

on Sep 03, 2005

Right, because the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana were totally powerless to manage their own flood control systems.

Very much so. The Army Corp of Engineers is responsible for the flood control system in NO. This is a federally funded agency. The city and state as well as the ACOE has been pushing for more funding of the system for decades. The current system has been in the works since hurricane Betsy and only approximately 85% of the work proposed back in the 60's had been funded and completed. Many flood control and seaport projects throughout the US are federally funded and come under the auspices of the ACOE.

It's unfair to blame Bush for this disaster, but it is not unfair to criticize him and his administration as well as many members of congress and the senate (Reps and Dems, past and present alike) for allowing inadequate ACOE funds for flood control projects such as SELA. As the cartoon depicts, it is fair game to criticize all who thought and may still think that money was better spent on the Iraq War and tax cuts in lieu of adequate funding for flood control projects such as SELA. I doubt the flood would have been prevented without the ACOE budget problems of the last few years, however it is now obvious that this administration had some poorly chosen priorities.

It's also fair game to criticize certain local LA politicians for inadequate disaster planning. However with NO being the #1 port in the country, SE LA being a crutial area for US oil refining capacity, the flooding of SE LA being third on homeland securities "hitlist",and the existance of many poor communities in SE LA , ......federal assistance for disaster planning should have been a priority to start with.

It's amazing to me that some people are so divided that they want to blame one side or the other, when this is clearly a failure of government at many levels,on both sides of the fence. There are an aweful lot of politicians, republicans and democrats alike that need to go. Four years after 911 and taking a look at the current situation of disaster relief in LA, it looks to me like much of the money budgeted for homeland security has been ill spent.

So in the comic put whatever labels on the sandbags.......In any case the end result is a few hundred million in flood control over the past decade may have saved us the few hundred billion impact we are now about to experience.

ParaTed2k

on Sep 03, 2005

Indepentant1:

That may be so, but the Mayor and Emergency Manager's office in New Orleans is responsible for Mitigation, Preparation, Response and Recovery protocols for their city. Yes, the assets of the area were overwhelmed, that is what makes it a disaster... however from what I've seen so far, his whole plan seemed to be, leave the people to evacuate themselves, and get on television and whine that everyone else isn't doing enough.

If the solution to a problem requires more from everyone else than yourself, it's just an excuse... so far, all I see from his style of leadership is a bunch of excuses with no responsibility for himself.

dabe

on Sep 03, 2005

As I've said, there is tons of blame to go around, and an investigation into the failures may, and I emphasize MAY bring to light culpability. The reason I say "may" is because when the outcome isn't very flattering, there will be attempts at cover-ups, from any level and any person.

Having said that, I agree completely with Independent1's post. This cartoon, as funny or as cute as it may be, points to misplaced priorites BIG TIME.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!