That didn't take long. There's now a movement to impeach Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. I don't think it will be able to gather enough steam to make a dent, but her political standing has definitely taken a hit.
Also taking a huge hit, and an even bigger risk is New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. He's calling for hundreds of thousands of residents to be able to return to their homes within the next 10 days. FEMA's man on the scene, Rear Admiral Allen disagrees.
I have to agree with the Admiral. Mayor Nagin was inept in the evacuation and I don't trust his judgment permitting anyone to go back into the worst hit areas of New Orleans.
Why?
Let's see:
1) The impending Hurricane Rita, which is still classified as a tropical storm, but is projected to be a hurricane within the next 48-60 hours. Its current track has it hitting the Gulf Coast from New Orleans west through to the Mexican border. Any deviation from that predicted track towards New Orleans could put all those people that Mayor Nagin thinks should be able to get back into their homes in greater risk.
2) The folly of the buses cannot be underestimated. The infrastructure is still badly wrecked and up and down the coast people have to batten down the hatches to make sure they can ride out a potential hit by Rita. That means that resources going towards relief in New Orleans will be diverted to deal with the immediate threat.
3) Any significant rain over New Orleans could mean renewed flooding, levee failures, and worsening health conditions for those that try to ride out the storm.
4) The collapse of health care infrastructure in New Orleans. Every medical facility in the city was damaged by the flooding and some facilities may never reopen. Temporary facilities may be sufficient for relief workers and some portion of the population, but letting hundreds of thousands of people back into the city means that the medical delivery system will be taxed to the maximum limits. After all, we're talking about homes that are heavily contaminated with raw sewage, chemicals, and mold. Contact with those elements could lead to serious medical issues, from asthma and allergic reactions to more serious infections.
Meanwhile, there's a growing movement in the blogosphere to cut the pork in the federal budget to pay for the Katrina relief efforts. I would suggest that New York City give back $18 million provided for the High Line park that was included in the transportation bill. Here's my reasoning. This money would go to create a new urban park above the streets of Chelsea. The property isn't going anywhere - the infrastructure is already there and waiting a year or more for the city or state to kick in the funds out of its own pocket will not adversely affect the existing quality of life in the neighborhood. Plus, this isn't a transportation project. It's a park.
UPDATE:
Pundit Guy recalls the movie Jaws and thinks that Mayor Nagin is aware of the dangers of letting people back into New Orleans, but can't avoid seeing the $$$$ floating away by not getting people back into the French Quarter despite the threats. Mayor Nagin is a lot like Larry Vaughn of the fictional Jaws and Rear Admiral Allen is like Capt. Brody who warned the mayor to shut down the beaches until the great white one was caught (and the whole situation makes you wonder whether the feds needed a bigger boat to assist in those early hours, if only to get the state and local officials out of the way).
UPDATE:
Ed the weatherman who provides multiple updates on weather disturbances and tropical storms notes that several simulations predict that Rita may strike Louisiana. Once again, why would anyone listen to Mayor Nagin. Better yet, why isn't anyone at the federal or state level telling Nagin to shut his piehole given the dire situation in New Orleans at this time.
UPDATE:
Solomon's House has more on the levee and flood control in New Orleans (just keep scrolling). It has some interesting insight into the failures and successes.
Technorati: flood aid; hurricane katrina; katrina aid; kanye west; impeach bush; slidell; biloxi; gulfport; pascagoula; nagin; blanco; barbour; porkbusters.
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