The police are responsible for the chaos!

[FloridaPat]

Some military guy on CNN just said the reason for the delayed military help was they didn't think the NO police would leave their jobs. I believe the police start leaving Friday or Thurs at the earliest. He didn't explain why there weren't their Sunda, Tues or Weds.

What liars. This is why I don't usually watch news on TV. Since the Feds have proved to be liars all this week, I don't expect them to start telling the truth anytime soon.

[Spazito]

1. I heard that!!

Man, they have gone from: It's the Governor's fault, it's the Mayor's fault, it's the people who didn't evacuate's fault to the police are at fault. Man oh man, they are reaching lower and lower to try and find scapegoats.

[mondo joe]

2. Fucking idiotic. Even if EVERY police officer stayed in NO, survived and

was active it still wouldn't be enough to manage the entire flood ravaged city.

[kenny blankenship]

3. That's ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

the police were overwhelmed by the situation from daybreak Monday onwards. They had countless thousands of people to rescue, order could not be preserved while 1) all resources need to be concentrated on saving trapped people and 2) thousands of people who aren't trapped need to eat food and drink water when the stores aren't open and the water supply is shutoff/unpotable. They're going to loot to survive and the police aren't going to stop them (nor should they). When the criminal element in the city sees the police are not in control of the streets they are going to go crazy and steal anything not welded to the floor--electronics, drugs and guns. Anything. Then the shooting and killing starts.

That's just one of the lies we'll hear told to cover the Bush Administration's ass.

[Zenlitened]

4. What's really scary is that the so-called experts don't know a thing about

... disaster management.

Anyone who maintains that it is the responsibility of local forces to carry the load is, simply put, STUPID. They have no credibility whatsoever.

That's just not how it works. Local police, fire and EMTs are expected to hang on until reinforcements arrive... that's it. That's why we have disaster management plans in the first place, with emergency chains of command, outside supply lines, back-up communications and all the rest.

Anyone who doesn't realize this, yet claims to have an expert opinionon the matter, deserves to be laughed out of the room.

It's typical of blustering shit-head republicans, though, that they will present the most ignorant of opinions as fact. You can't argue, really, with someone who combines stupidity and arrogance the way these people do. So just laugh in their faces. They're a symptom of all that's wrong inthis country today, and can never be a part of making things right.