The president gets it about right

President Bush gave an inspiring speech last night. What was missing was the price tag for all of the rebuilding. Some say $200 billion. That would keep the Libs very happy, especially if that figure encourages the entitlement crowd to return to New Orleans in status quo anti arrangement where black leaders pretend that 45 years and $7 TRILLION of Democrat hand outs have strengthened the black family and Democrats pretend to care about blacks as something more than a reliable voting block. $200 BILLION is a lot of money, even by government standards. It could be money well spent, if what is reconstructed is smaller, stronger and better; if the rebuilding involves real training and work for the huddled masses that heretofore have relied on the Democrat precinct captain to dole out just enough government cash to keep the votes in line; if the private sector is allowed control the lion’s share of the cash; if the legacy of eight generations (including the current group) of corrupt, inept, useless, thieving, loud mouth, Louisiana politicians can be broken to the point that some measurable percentage of the government’s largess actually reaches the projects that it was intended for. Hopefully the $200 BILLION figure is like the Gangsta Mayor’s prediction of 10,000 deaths in New Orleans – that is, way over stated, but then we’re already at $60 BILLION appropriated.

Bush also gets it right with regard to the federal response. FEMA is OK and we have to have the appearance of civilian control, but the military is the only organization really capable of command and control of a situation like Katrina. The military is the only government agency that has the leadership, organization, equipment, communications assets, manpower and supplies already in place to react to a crisis like Katrina. By his encouragement of a larger military role, the president is suggesting that we reinforce the one government agency that actually did its job. FEMA should actually be cut and those assets given to DoD for domestic responses. The long term recovery should be a private enterprise overseen by FEMA.

Last night Bush could not and should not have pointed out that we don’t treat all of our children the same. It’s obvious that the most corrupt state in the union and the most corrupt city in the most corrupt state were not up to the task. We don’t treat all of our children the same. The bright, eager to please first born is given more leeway than mopey rebellious middle child. Such is the case with state leadership. The older children in MS, AL and FL have needed far less help cleaning up their rooms than the spoiled, cry baby youngest child who wrecked his own room in LA. President Bush could not say, “Look things here in Louisiana are horrendous. They were made much worse by total lack of state and local leadership. The people in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida have faired much better under their adult leadership. My biggest mistake was that I did not recognize the depths to which this bunch of bungling boobs could sink in what can only be described as purposeful malfeasance.”