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| Sep 06, 2005 8:34 pm |
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Katrina - - If ever there were a need for innovation |
Bob Jasper
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No electric power, no potable water, no telephone, no gasoline. If ever there were a combination of factors to bring a modern industrial city to a skreeching halt, Katrina produced just such a 1-2 punch.
Only now, a week and a day later, are we coming to grips with the tragedy and what will be needed to get New Orleans, Biloxi, and the rest of the Gulf Coast back online. If ever there was a need for innovative thinking, this is surely it.
But, when innovation runs into bureacracy, the turf battles begin. One example reported on CNN was of a group of law enforcement officers from a Texas community that headed the call for help from fellow peace officers in New Orleans. They turned back when bureacrats on the receiving end learned they were enroute and withdrew the "invitation". The group had spent 24 hours in frantic preparation to make themselves self-sufficient. They had food and water and shelter packed in a trailer. All they would need was a little dry land and directions to it.
Easy to sit here and point fingers, but I simply do not understand what is going on and why any offer of help would be refused. Of course there needs to be order, but when people are dying and stores are being looted, it would seem that personnel trained in serving and protecting would be a very precious commodity. Now we here how over-worked and in need of vacation the police, fire, and rescue workers in New Orleans are. They have to be sent off to Las Vegas for R&R while the National Guard does their job. Unbelievable!
Just as unblievable as building a city below sea level in a hurricane prone area and allowing people to live there without a tested plan in place for rapid evacuation of everyone.
Bob Private Reply to Bob Jasper (new win) |
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