By the Bureaucracy, For the People

A few things to consider:

*Most of New Orleans and other sections of the Gulf Coast are underwater (hate to point out the obvious).

*Most of New Orleans and other sections of the Gulf Coast are underwater.

*Rescue efforts are in full force with an estimated $2 billion being spent daily... nine days after the Big Easy ascended to sea-level.

*Tens of thousands of "underprivileged" folks were left without food or water for six days, and many more continue to wait.

*The bureaucracy of it all is so colossal that rescue teams more than likely needed thirty rubber stamps just to get off the ground with a chopper. (This may not have been as much of an issue if the "levy breaches had been anticipated" and proper planning had been in place).

*Condi Rice was checking out "Spamalot" on Broadway, and buying shoes while thousands waited in attics, filth-ridden superdomes, and apparently "unknown" convention centers.

*Dubya is looking forward to sitting on the front porch of Sen. Trent Lott's house after it is rebuilt.

The rest of us watched various officials explain how there were thirty-million pounds of ice and x amount of water being sent to some undisclosed location. All that mattered was that it was being sent there-- nevermind the fact that virtually nobody in the media were seeing any of this ice, or hardly any of this aid, during the first few days of Katrina's aftermath. Thousands of people were literally locked in the superdome with no electricity and concrete bathrooms-- day after day, wondering, waiting, and not allowed to go anywhere.

If one thing is clear to me about how this is being handled, it is that rescue efforts should be focused on. We hear this as a temporary rebuff to criticism: don't focus on blaming people, focus on rescuing people. Well this seems rather obvious, don't you think? No shit we need to focus on rescue efforts. Obviously something went horribly wrong with regards to immediate response efforts-- and as usual, many inquiring minds would like to know why.

My first inclination (an inclination, I should note, that came to me before various folks realized it could serve as a perfect scapegoat) was to consider the wealth of bureaucracy involved. I recall some character (yeah. can't remember.) commenting on NPR about how badly the coordination had been between state and federal officials. In any case, I'm sure it wasn't an easy task by any means. No doubt there are numerous protocol and strict guidelines to follow in such an undertaking. And no doubt this slowed things down. But my initial inclination only takes me to the point at which enormous groups of people are left, and, as stated earlier, restricted from leaving to search out wherever all this "ice" was going.

In the end, I really can't speak on much of this, as I am not privy to the answers. Why there wasn't a plan, or attempt to prevent this disaster, why Louisiana's federal funding has been cut in recent years-- why, immediately after the levys breached, the media seemed to have more access to New Orleans than the national guard. I don't know. Who is it that decides whether white and wealthy individuals take rescue priority over masses of black people? (I am not positive that this happened, but it is one of many things that would explain the delay) These have to be tough decisions-- hastily made on a dime and indicative of certain value systems. And so they show their colors.