[Leica] Re: PAW Week 3 Jeffrey---Nagin

[Engl6914 at cableone.net (Lee England)]

Normally a comment on how New Orleans would be chocolate again would blow me
through the roof.  But in Nagin's case I pardon him because I think he's
been the most effectual character in this whole drama--similar to Guliani in
New York.  Nagin is caught in an impossible position much like the mayor of
Stalingrad was in 1942.  Think back to the shouted statements on CNN about
people getting off their asses and getting some help to New Orleans.  It
took someone swearing at the top of his voice to finally get National Guard
into New Orleans.  Nothing less was going to do it, and he did it.
    When evaluating Nagin and Gov. Blanco one has to remember that state and
city resources are entirely inadequate to deal with something like Katrina.
I learned yesterday Louisiana has lost 43% of its tax revenue base since the
storm.  Mississippi can't be much different.  We might as well have taken a
nuclear strike down here.  If there's someone to blame I'd look higher
toward George Bush.  There's just not enough help coming down here, and
we're stuck with a president who thinks government is a superfluous waste.
It's incredible that the power company in New Orleans, Entergy, has had to
declare bankruptcy and then stay in it.  They have no money to repair the
electrical grid in New Orleans.  If the federal government would help
re-establish the power grid, telephone service, potable water, and then
declare that construction will start forthwith to build levees to withstand
the strongest storms, they wouldn't have to put any more money into the
situation.  Private enterprise would take care of the rest.  It blows me
away that people are living in tents down here when last week a $700 million
space probe launched last week toward Pluto (or one of those planets).

Lee England
Natchez, Mississippi
USA