Democracy Has Prevailed.

August 29, 2009

Four Years Ago Today

As many of us mourn the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy let's not forget the passing of nearly 2000 Americans on this date.


Four years ago today Katrina made landfall as a category 4 hurricane. Later that same day the levees were breached in New Orleans. This was just the beginning of tremendous devastation made worst nightmare by government inaction and ineptitude.

While Sen. Kennedy, thankfully, died in his bed surrounded by loved ones, four years ago others drowned in their attics or were simply swept away.

Kennedy was a champion of the best of what government could do for the people. The aftermath of Katrina was the outcome of what believing that government is the enemy will get you.
  • Katrina timeline here.

  • Some photos of victims here (which were kept from the public via the Bush Administration and the mainstream media).

  • Proof that the tragedy which Bush officials claimed that no one could have predicted was already concerning little liberal bloggers -- and others -- the day before Katrina hit.

  • .

    7 comments:

    Unknown said...

    "Kennedy was a champion of the best of what government could do for the people. The aftermath of Katrina was the outcome of what believing that government is the enemy will get you."

    I was with you up to that non sequitur.

    Social Justice NPC Anti-Paladin™ said...

    today Katrina made landfall as a category 4 hurricane.
    Wiki says category 3 hurricane.
    If I had wrote that in a comment, Dayvoe would take me to task for sloppy research and called me a liar.
    Progressive like to overlook that the New Orleans Police Department were too busy illegally confiscating Firearms during Katrina.

    Ol' Froth said...

    Non sequiter? I always maintain that when you elect and appoint people to high office who beleive that the government doesn't work, then you'll get a government that cant work, since the people in power are fundamentally opposed to the idea of government being able to perform competently.

    Maria said...

    Seems to be a bit of a question if it was a 3 or a 4.

    From CNN timeline:

    August 29

    • 4 a.m.: Hurricane Katrina is downgraded to a strong Category 4 storm.

    • 7 a.m.: Katrina makes landfall on the Louisiana coast between Grand Isle and the mouth of the Mississippi River.

    • 11a.m. Katrina makes another landfall near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line with 125 mph winds. The storm's daylong rampage claims lives and ravages property in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, where coastal areas remained under several feet of water.



    From your link:

    On August 29, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near Buras, Louisiana with 125 mph (205 km/h) winds, as a strong Category 3 storm. However, as it had only just weakened from Category 4 strength and the radius of maximum winds was large, it is possible that sustained winds of Category 4 strength briefly impacted extreme southeastern Louisiana. Although the storm surge to the east of the path of the eye in Mississippi was higher, a very significant surge affected the Louisiana coast. The height of the surge is uncertain because of a lack of data, although a tide gauge in Plaquemines Parish indicated a storm tide in excess of 14 feet (4.3 m) and a 12-foot (3 m) storm surge was recorded in Grand Isle.

    EdHeath said...

    Ah, but since "progressive" overlook that Katrina was a mere category 3 storm, and that law abiding citizens were deprived of their guns to ... shoot the hurricane ... uh ...

    Look, New Orleans had and possibly still has one of if not the most corrupt police forces in the US. The schools were bad before, the local and state government's were basically a failure. And the hurricane made it that much worse. And the response of the federal government made things even worse. HTTT, if you want to argue that the Bush administration's response to Katrina is some kind of success story, be my guest. If you want to argue that the Democrats deliberately sabotaged the Katrina relief effort, be my guest. But it will always be true that Bush said that about Mike Brown "You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie"

    Sherry Pasquarello said...

    when you hire your buddies for important jobs that they haven't a clue how to handle, like "brownie" horse shows to head of FEMA, well, that's what you get.

    they set out to prove that government is inefficient and they made damn sure that their government was.

    people suffered and died to prove their point.

    they should be ashamed.

    Clyde Wynant said...

    Ed -

    Good points. I have long argued that NOLA was a disaster long before Katrina. The storm just pushed it over the top. When people talk about all the crime in the aftermath of the storm, they almost never compare it to the crime BEFORE the storm...