The reality behind Katrina's aftermath

[Wishbone 0]

This is a link to a great article on Katrina's aftermath.

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46315

[CarolinaTiger 0]

the font on that website is difficult to read.

[Wishbone 0]

Here is the text:

"In his 1935 State of the Union Address, FDR spoke to a nation mired in the Depression, but still marinated in conservative values:

"[C]ontinued dependence" upon welfare, said FDR, "induces a spiritual disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole our relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit."

Behind FDR's statement was the conviction that, while the government must step in in an emergency, in normal times, men provide the food, clothing and shelter for their families.

And we did, until the war pulled us out of the Depression and a postwar boom made us, in John K. Galbraith's phrase, "The Affluent Society." By the 1960s, America, the richest country on earth, was growing ever more prosperous. But with the 1964 landslide of LBJ, liberalism triumphed and began its great experiment.

Behind the Great Society was a great idea: to lift America's poor out of poverty, government should now take care of all their basic needs. By giving the poor welfare, subsidized food, public housing and free medical care, government will end poverty in America.

At the Superdome and New Orleans Convention Center, we saw the failure of 40 years of the Great Society. No sooner had Katrina passed by and the 17th Street levee broke than hundreds of young men who should have taken charge in helping the aged, the sick and the women with babies to safety took to the streets to shoot, loot and rape. The New Orleans police, their numbers cut by deserters who left their posts to look after their families, engaged in running gun battles all day long to stay alive and protect people.

It was the character and conduct of its people that makes the New Orleans disaster unique. After a hurricane, people's needs are simple: food, water, shelter, medical attention. But they can be hard to meet. People buried in rubble or hiding in attics of flooded homes are tough to get to. But, even with the incompetence of the mayor and governor, and the torpor of federal officials, this was possible.

Coast Guard helicopters were operating Tuesday. There were roads open into the city for SUVs, buses and trucks. While New Orleans was flooded, the water was stagnant. People walked through to the convention center and Superdome. The flimsiest boat could navigate.

Even if government dithered for days – what else is new – this does not explain the failure of the people themselves.

Between 1865 and 1940, the South – having lost a fourth of its best and bravest in battle, devastated by war, mired in poverty – was famous for the hardy self-reliance of her people, black and white.

In 1940, hundreds of British fishermen and yachtsmen sailed back and forth daily under fire across a turbulent 23-mile Channel to rescue 300,000 soldiers from Dunkirk. How do we explain to the world that a tenth that number of Americans could not be reached in four days from across a stagnant pond?

The real disaster of Katrina was that society broke down. An entire community could not cope. Liberalism, the idea that good intentions and government programs can build a Great Society, was exposed as fraud. After trillions of tax dollars for welfare, food stamps, public housing, job training and education have poured out since 1965, poverty remains pandemic. But today, when the police vanish, the community disappears and men take to the streets to prey on women and the weak.

Stranded for days in a pool of fetid water, almost everyone waited for the government to come save them. They screamed into the cameras for help, and the reporters screamed into the cameras for help, and the "civil rights leaders" screamed into the cameras that Bush was responsible and Bush was a racist.

Americans were once famous for taking the initiative, for having young leaders rise up to take command in a crisis. See any of that at the Superdome? Sri Lankans and Indonesians, far poorer than we, did not behave like this in a tsunami that took 400 times as many lives as Katrina has thus far.

We are the descendants of men and women who braved the North Atlantic in wooden boats to build a country in a strange land. Our ancestors traveled thousands of miles in covered wagons, fighting off Indians far braver than those cowards preying on New Orleans' poor.

Watching that performance in the Crescent City, it seems clear: We are not the people our parents were. And what are all our Lords Temporal now howling for? Though government failed at every level, they want more government.

FDR was right. A "spiritual disintegration" has overtaken us. Government-as-first provider, the big idea of the Great Society, has proven to be "a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit."

Either we get off this narcotic, or it kills us. "

PJ Buchanan

[tiger88 934]

Amen, Amen, Amen, and Amen!

[texaubie 0]

Yep, I agree with that. Now, how do you solve the problem???

[bammanmr 0]

Yep, I agree with that.  Now, how do you solve the problem???

181905[/snapback]

What's the matter with you. Don't you know that conservatives can only tell you how bad things are, not lift a finger to make them better? I heard it was genetic.

[tiger88 934]

Yep, I agree with that.  Now, how do you solve the problem???

181905[/snapback]

I don't know either, but I'm pretty sure that throwing trillions at the existing problem isn't going to help.

[texaubie 0]

How about a working-welfare program? For those that are able, they could cut grass on public property, wash police cars, clean public buildings, etc. No show at work - no check.

Working for money. What a novel idea!

[Tiger in Spain 0]

How about a working-welfare program?  For those that are able, they could cut grass on public property, wash police cars, clean public buildings, etc.  No show at work - no check.

Working for money.  What a novel idea!

181954[/snapback]

Stellar idea! Minnesota tried this during Governor Ventura's tenure. Democrats and social activist groups fought it tooth and nail.

[Wishbone 0]

I believe that people who receive food stamps or live in subsidized gov't housing should not be allowed to vote. If we can't do that then there shouldn't be any welfare.

Meanwhile, I would like to take all these welfare types and put them in really nice housing projects along the Mexican border. Have the Mexicans deal with it for awhile and see how they like having their country invaded.

[AUJarhead 70]

I believe that people who receive food stamps or live in subsidized gov't housing should not be allowed to vote.

182191[/snapback]

Do they anyway?

[TexasTiger 13,016]

I believe that people who receive food stamps or live in subsidized gov't housing should not be allowed to vote.  If we can't do that then there shouldn't be any welfare. 

Meanwhile, I would like to take all these welfare types and put them in really nice housing projects along the Mexican border.  Have the Mexicans deal with it for awhile and see how they like having their country invaded.

182191[/snapback]

Gee, and I wonder how folks get the notion that Republicans don't care about the poor?

[Tiger in Spain 0]

Gee, and I wonder how folks get the notion that Republicans don't care about the poor?

182251[/snapback]

You mean outside of "Mad Dr" Dean and the rest of the liberal rabble rousers playing this off as a racial, class driven event?

I think what Wishbone was driving at here is the need for incentives to get career welfare riders off their lazy rear ends and into the workforce so they can sustain themselves and not be so dependent upon the government for their survival. Taking away their right to vote is a bit extreme, but they should be put to work to earn what they are receiving for free now.

Welfare was a good idea at the time the idea was conceived, but I'm sure if its creators had a look at the way it's being abused today, they'd be ashamed and would rip up the draft paperwork. There are few reasons that can justify a second or third generation welfare family in this country.

It's not about who cares or doesn't care for the poor. It's about people fed up with being held responsible for others laziness. Is handfeeding these people the answer? I know it is not, and Katrina should be proof that welfare has handicapped those that live on it. The policy of providing unlimited handouts had a indirect, yet significant, hand in what happened in New Orleans.

Simply put, I'm Republican in part because I believe very strongly in personal responsibility. I'm sure others would relate to that as well. I took it upon myself to ensure my family is cared for, I don't depend on anyone else's hard work to pull me along. Unless we do something to curb welfare dependency, this tragedy will be repeated the next time a hurricane or other disaster hits New Orleans.

[TexasTiger 13,016]

Gee, and I wonder how folks get the notion that Republicans don't care about the poor?

182251[/snapback]

You mean outside of "Mad Dr" Dean and the rest of the liberal rabble rousers playing this off as a racial, class driven event?

I think what Wishbone was driving at here is the need for incentives to get career welfare riders off their lazy rear ends and into the workforce so they can sustain themselves and not be so dependent upon the government for their survival. Taking away their right to vote is a bit extreme, but they should be put to work to earn what they are receiving for free now.

Welfare was a good idea at the time the idea was conceived, but I'm sure if its creators had a look at the way it's being abused today, they'd be ashamed and would rip up the draft paperwork. There are few reasons that can justify a second or third generation welfare family in this country.

It's not about who cares or doesn't care for the poor. It's about people fed up with being held responsible for others laziness. Is handfeeding these people the answer? I know it is not, and Katrina should be proof that welfare has handicapped those that live on it. The policy of providing unlimited handouts had a indirect, yet significant, hand in what happened in New Orleans.

Simply put, I'm Republican in part because I believe very strongly in personal responsibility. I'm sure others would relate to that as well. I took it upon myself to ensure my family is cared for, I don't depend on anyone else's hard work to pull me along. Unless we do something to curb welfare dependency, this tragedy will be repeated the next time a hurricane or other disaster hits New Orleans.

182262[/snapback]

This is funny:

I believe very strongly in personal responsibility.

Wishbone takes the extremist's position and you somehow blame Dr. Dean and excuse Wishbone. That's what makes you a Republican. You don't actually believe strongly in personally responsibility. You just like saying that you do. You even convince yourself. Yet your adore a President who has very little sense of responsibility himself. And then there is his VP that Republicans adore so much:

"I had other priorities in the '60s than military service."

Dick Cheney

[Tiger in Spain 0]

Dude, check your house for gas leaks. What I said is welfare reform is needed. Nothing at all extremist about that, unless you are one of those 5th generation welfare riders. Your reading comprehension is a marvel to behold.

As far as your other ignorant cracks against me, I've never drawn food stamps, unemployment, or other government assistance in order to survive. I've made my living by my own two hands, so screw off.

That Cheney quote relates to this conversation in what way?

[Wishbone 0]

I don't think my position is extreme. In fact, it is very practical. I think the irrational extreme position is to allow these inner city blackholes to continue to grow.

[TexasTiger 13,016]

Dude, check your house for gas leaks. What I said is welfare reform is needed. Nothing at all extremist about that, unless you are one of those 5th generation welfare riders. Your reading comprehension is a marvel to behold.

As far as your other ignorant cracks against me, I've never drawn food stamps, unemployment, or other government assistance in order to survive. I've made my living by my own two hands, so screw off.

That Cheney quote relates to this conversation in what way? 

182276[/snapback]

For someone who apparently prides himself on his reading comprehension, you don't read too well. Read my post again. I never said your position was extreme.

[SouthLink02 8]

I think the reality of this storm will soon come to be that it pushed out a lot of what was wrong with New Orleans.

Houston Chronicle had a poll the other day with nearly 80% of those in the Astrodome saying they weren't going back to New Orleans. I rejoiced.