A Brief Comment on the Gulf Coast Hurricane

Someone who shall go unnamed recently had this to say about the Hurricane Katrina disaster: "It's fortunate that journalists were there to report on the event."

It's a interesting comment, coming from someone that leans to the left-side of the political spectrum. I've been following the coverage from the so-called "journalists" down in the Gulf region, and I can say that I am simply disgusted by what I am reading. Not just about the horrific conditions that the victims are facing, but the inevitable finger-pointing by these reporters in the direction of President Bush--as if he were the reason why the brand-new concrete-reinforced dikes in New Orleans were breached during the storm.

Prodded on by their Democratic allies, these reporters are looking to blame the President for the disaster, with reasons ranging from the diversion of Louisiana National Guardsmen to Iraq, to recent cuts in funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, which assists in the upkeep of the New Orleans dike system. They'll even go as far to say the "Global Warming" is responsible for the storm, and that the Bush Administration is therefore to blame for the disaster and resulting chaos in the city of New Orleans. The lowest of the low, The New York Times, will somehow mention that President Bush was on vacation at the time Hurricane Karina reached land, and that he only cut short his trip when he learned of storm's deadly aftermath.

Never mind the fact that storm preparation and planning are the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and local authorities, not the Federal Government, and that the system of dykes and levees around New Orleans were only rated to sustain a Category 3 hurricane (not the Category 4 that Katrina was). New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, a Democrat, was clearly unprepared for the severity of the storm, a problem which was compounded by his administration's failure to completely evacuate the city. Let us also not forget that the Louisiana National Guard, over 2/3 of which are still in the state and NOT in Iraq, remains under the direct control of the Governor Kathleen Blanco, also a Democrat, and whose most important unit, the 225th Combat Engineer Group, is also still in the region.

Hurricanes are a fact of life for the Gulf region, and they have been ever since people settled the area. For the past one hundred years, there have been scores of devastating hurricanes as recorded by the National Hurricane Center, with hurricane season peaks (Categories 4 & 5, the most destructive) in the 1930s and 1940s. That's 70 and 80 years ago, folks, when hurricanes were at their worst in the region.

The facts are not important to these people. All they want to do is damage the image of the President in order to further their leftist political agenda. Through their twisted reporting and carefully aimed barbs at the President, they might well achieve their goals.

For the record, my first reaction to the disaster was, "Thank God for the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and other groups like them." I most certainly did not think about the reporters, and neither should anyone who cares about providing relief to those hurricane victims who need it most.