A Right-Wing Perspective on New Orleans
This could set a dangerous precedent but I said I'd post a Republican friend's response to Blumenthal and the question "How could our leaders have let the New Orleans situation get so of hand?" See below (get ready, you're entering a no-accountability zone.)
Because there isn't enough money on the entire planet to armor the entire Atlantic and Gulf coasts against a hurricane like Katrina. And armoring the entire coast WOULD be necessary ... wanna know why? Because the minute you armor New Orleans against a Cat 5 storm you have to go and armor Galveston. And Houston. And Corpus Christi. And Tampa, Key West and Miami. And Savannah. And Charleston. And Wilmington. And Norfolk. And Baltimore. And Atlantic City. And New York City. And probably Newport, Boston and Portland too.
If you really look at the sources that Blumenthal relies on, the level of his deceptive selective presentation becomes very clear. The US government had spent 10 years (starting back under Clinton, when Blumenthal was helping to run things) and half a billion dollars armoring New Orleans. A quarter of a billion dollars of projects remained, but at the rate the money was being burned (~$45 million per year) that translates into six additional years of projects.
Funding was cut in 2004 ... so we are to believe that a year and a half and $67 million would have protected NO from this storm? That's insane ... if you don't believe me go ask a civil engineer if a year and a half/$67 million would be enough to raise the protection of a sub-sea level city like NO from Cat3 to Cat5.
Because there isn't enough money on the entire planet to armor the entire Atlantic and Gulf coasts against a hurricane like Katrina. And armoring the entire coast WOULD be necessary ... wanna know why? Because the minute you armor New Orleans against a Cat 5 storm you have to go and armor Galveston. And Houston. And Corpus Christi. And Tampa, Key West and Miami. And Savannah. And Charleston. And Wilmington. And Norfolk. And Baltimore. And Atlantic City. And New York City. And probably Newport, Boston and Portland too.
If you really look at the sources that Blumenthal relies on, the level of his deceptive selective presentation becomes very clear. The US government had spent 10 years (starting back under Clinton, when Blumenthal was helping to run things) and half a billion dollars armoring New Orleans. A quarter of a billion dollars of projects remained, but at the rate the money was being burned (~$45 million per year) that translates into six additional years of projects.
Funding was cut in 2004 ... so we are to believe that a year and a half and $67 million would have protected NO from this storm? That's insane ... if you don't believe me go ask a civil engineer if a year and a half/$67 million would be enough to raise the protection of a sub-sea level city like NO from Cat3 to Cat5.
posted by Todd at 4:45 PM
3 Comments:
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Earlier Todd said: "blah, blah, blah, blame, blame, blame, agitprop ... I wonder how they'll explain to their constituents how they allowed New Orleans flooding prevention funds to be cut and for all the pleas by Mary Landrieu over the years for levees to be fortified to go unheeded. blah, blah, blah"
If Todd is so intent on rushing in and laying blame for recent events, perhaps he should consider how much $$$ was spent on armoring New Orleans compared to how much $$$ was secured by Democratic Party scions John Kerry and Ted Kennedy for Boston's "Big Dig".
You know Todd, I was going to just send you an email to you on this ... but after some reflection I decided that since you took this public, I'd keep this public.
I'm greatly amused by how you used the header of this post ("Right Wing Perspective ... blah blah blah") to essentially dismiss my comments out of hand. It says
a great deal about you and what you have become. It's readily apparent that you now view EVERYTHING through a partisan/ideological prism and have lost the ability to step back and view things rationally, logically and dispassionately. You remind me of nothing more than
the obsessive, irrational, angry, hate-filled and bitter ideologues that I went to college with.
Even our long-time, mutual friend Chris has the ability to step back and consider things rationally. And, unlike you, he WORKS in Democratic politics.
What's your excuse, Todd? Hopefully it's something sensible and respectable, like West Coast chicks digging guys who parrot DNC/MoveOn talking points.
So before you decided to dismiss and deride my comments, perhaps you should have considered that I
have:
An MBA
An MBA concentration in Project Management
A Project Management specialty in Federal Government projects
10 years of experience in project management, risk management and disaster recovery planning (IT focus)
An ability to speak competantly and professionally on what's happening in New Orleans without resorting to partisan spin.
Care to let all of us (well, at least me and your spammers) know YOUR credentials, Todd?
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