Obligatory Katrina Post

So I guess I'm hopping on the bandwagon.

But with my usual twist, and I'll probably known here after as "that insensitive dick". But that's ok.

There won't really be any direction or structure with this post, just some random storylines I've noticed.

Celebrities who've been affected. I'll be honest here, I have almost no sympathy for these folks. In this part of Wisconsin, it was all about whether Brett Favre had heard from his family. It's not like this storm popped up the day before it made landfall. If you're a celeb or star you put that financial power to use and get them out of dodge. You do the right thing for your family and it's less people for the rescue workers to worry about.

The poor masses. If I lived in New Orleans last week, I'd have been considered in this category most likely. But I say if you only have $20 in your pocket, put it in your gas tank and drive until you run out of gas. Get as far away as you can. Then get out and walk until you have blisters. If you didn't own a car in the first place you still walk. You can walk pretty far in 3 days. I know I can walk 12 miles in 3 hours with a 60 lb rucksack on my back, so my point is you can get somewhere if you really want to. 5 feet up the road is better than the spot you previously occupied. You have to at least try. If Terry Fox can do it, so can you.

Bush Hates Black People. I know a lot of people don't like Bush, and I'll admit that I like Kanye West's music, but this is probably the most ignorant thing I've ever heard. Ever. The response has been slow, and it has been unacceptable, there is no doubt about that. But if you're going to blame Bush, you have an obligation to blame every President, Congressmen, Governor, and Mayor since August 17th, 1969. Hurricane Camille served as a warning that nobody was willing to listen to.

Party Like It's Mardis Gras! If you live in a city that is 12 feet below sea level, you need to prepare for these things. Stock up non-perishable foods, but don't do it 3 days before the hurricane strikes land, you should have been stocked up years ago. Similar in ways that people used to build nuclear fallout shelters in their homes and stock them, you need to have a plan in place well before a disaster hits when you live below the fish.

Where Are The Marines? Some people have no concept of the Posse Comitatus Act. When the natives get restless, you can't just call in all of the available troops to put down civil unrest. That's the state's job. State and local police as well as the National Guard. Of course, the National Guard is controlled by the Governor, not Bush.. but we'll continue to blame him anyway.

My Dog Skip. I know people have a soft spot for their pets. In a lot of cases they are members of the family by extention. But let's get real folks. You can't take your pets into the Superdome and expect things to be peaceful. Hell, things weren't peaceful when it was filled with humans! In situations like this, pets are a very low priority and you need to accept that when you take on a pet.

Those Bastards At FEMA. FEMA has really dropped the ball on this, but they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. It doesn't make much sense to deploy them to the area prior to the damage being done. How much help will they be if they become part of the dead or stranded? Just like the nation wasn't prepared for 9/11, we weren't prepared for a hurricane and levy break. Next time we will be though.

I guess that's enough for now, but you can sort of get a picture for how I feel. It's not that I don't feel sympathy for most of the people there, because I do. Even though I don't think a lot of them did enough to help themselves, it doesn't mean I don't think we should do everything we can to clean it up. Yeah, it's easy for me to say it from the comforts of Wisconsin. I feel like we've become a hand-out nation and it shows. A lot of people didn't leave because they expected immediate help. With our technology and power I guess it's easy to feel that way, but it's just not how I'm wired. I think you always have to take care of number one and worry about the rest later. Now that the damage is done, we'll all pull together and pick up the pieces. That's what we're best at.