Grab-bag

Larry King used to have a pointless USA Today column in which he would string together the disconnected flotsam drifting through his mind. It went something like this:

The lastest Clive Cussler is a helluva read ... I love a good pastrami sandwich ... "Raining cats and dogs" - what the heck does that mean? ... Ran into Rob Lowe at Tavern on the Green. He says he has no regrets about leaving The West Wing ... Hey, how about them Mets? ...

In the spirit of King's defunct column, herewith my stream of consciousness for today:

My opinion of human nature has never been lower. Looters attacked a children's hospital in New Orleans, trying to storm the building while terrified doctors and nurses called for help. These health care pros were risking their own lives to save others, and this is the thanks they get - an assault by a mob of the living dead, like something out of a George Romero movie ...

At another hospital (at least I think it was a different one), the administrator was near tears during a TV interview as she described trying to work on patients without benefit of running water or reliable electric power. Meanwhile, more of the zombie hordes entered the hospital's parking garage and ransacked the staff's cars. Nice ...

People are looting Wal-Mart and other stores, grabbing electronics and fur coats. Has it occurred to these idiots that if the floodwaters keep rising, their newfound loot is not going to avail them one bit?  Either they will  have to abandon their stolen goods, or they will stay put with their ill-gotten hoard and drown ...

In lighter news, the overhyped Andy Roddick was bounced from the first round of the U.S. Open by an unknown from Luxembourg. Roddick was touted as the next Pete Sampras. He's not. If there is to be a next Sampras, it will be the Swiss player Roger Federer ...

There is only rule when negotiating a New Jersey traffic circle: Gun the motor and pray ... 

News reports say that the thousands (10,000? 20,000? 30,000? No one seems to know) of people holed up in the SuperDome will be moved to Houston's Astrodome via a bus convoy. But just yesterday we were told that the SuperDome was surrounded by high water, making vehicular access impossible. Has something changed? ...

I haven't frequented National Review's blog The Corner in quite a while. Stopped in there today and was dismayed to see at least one post reproducing a reader email that attacks Louisiana's governor for shedding tears while caught on live TV (she didn't know the camera was on). According to the emailer - and, I presume, The Corner - by weeping for her lost city the governor sends a message of weakness, or something. Yeah, right. Now I remember why I don't bookmark that site anymore ...

In another Corner post, John Derbyshire characterizes the Intelligent Design movement as nothing but a bunch of crazy Christians trying to sneak creationism into the schools. As far as I can tell, Derbyshire knows nothing - zilch - about ID, though he seems to fancy himself an expert. His "argument" consists of nothing but ad hominems (although it is odd to see a self-styled conservative using the word "Christian" as a pejorative). But that's not even the point. The point is, thousands of people are dying, a major city is being wiped out before our eyes, and now is not the time to engage in this debate. Sensible people know this. "Derb" does not ...

Regarding the abysmal behavior of the looters, it is politically incorrect to say this, but it is accurate: they are not representative of the broader society. They are the dregs of society. These are the people who were too unintelligent or irresponsible to heed evacuation orders. The intelligent, responsible people left town. Those who stayed behind are the losers whose outlook does not extend beyond their next can of beer. Yes, I know some people stayed because they are too infirm to move. But it's not bedridden invalids who are looting the stores ...

The TV media seem to be unable to get a grip on this story. I am learning more from the blogs than from all the TVcoverage combined ...

Bought a copy of The New York Times today for the first time in, I don't know, maybe ten years. To read about the disaster, of course ...

Blogger/radio host Hugh Hewitt is ridiculing someone who posted a message on a message board saying that hundreds of bodies are being found along the Mississippi coastline. Hewitt calls it fear-mongering and claims the poster has no source for this info. But there is a source - allegedly a paramedic who was rushed to the area. Is the story true? I don't know, but does Hewitt really believe there won't  be thousands of fatalities? The official death toll in Mississippi is 80. If the actual number is "only" ten times that high, it will be a miracle ...

And I'm done looking for miracles in this mess.

Comments

[Michael Prescott]

Not a miracle, but a nice gesture anyway: Stephen King and wife Tabitha, who own a radio station in Bangor, Maine, are running a pledge drive for Katrina relief. Listeners can call in and request any song if they make a pledge, and the Kings are matching the pledges. Story at:

http://www.slublog.com/archives/2005/08/pay_for_play.html

[Michael Prescott]

Very long list of Web links re Katrina can be found at:

http://www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/archives20050828.shtml#102347

[Rebecca]

Unless we're right there, in the flood, we don't see anything unless it is reported. Whether it be by mass media or Joe Citizen, it's reported. So we'll get the individual snapshots. Sort of the car-wreck mentality, you can't help but look.

But while we're busy looking at pictures of destruction and idiot looters, there are millions more stories not being reported, stories that highlight the very best of human nature. These will most likely be the stories of triumph and survival, the ones that circulate after recovery begins, long after.

This sort of goes hand in hand with previous issues on your blog - mass media spin, manipulated hype.

New Orleans was the proverbial frog sitting in the pot of cold water on a hot burner. The levees there were shamefully neglected, as were disaster plans, in favor of political agenda(s) that poured money into other areas. It's not as though no-one knew New Orleans is below sea level, it's not as though other hurricanes have not ripped up the Gulf shores of Louisiana. (When I lived in Louisiana, I had friends who lost everything they owned on Grand Isle due to such a hurricane.) It's just...well, life gets in the way, we have way too much faith and not enough planning.

Then when disaster strikes, everyone is so shocked, the debates begin, the decry against the evils of humanity goes up...it's a cycle perpetuated throughout every natural disaster.

I applaud your post for everything you pointed out. And with regard to looters, I say screw political correctness: they're human pus-bags, and you know what - karma's a real b****.

But don't give up on miracles - they're there!

[Margaret Falk]

At first I was thinking, get a bunch of snipers in there and pick off the looters. But then I thought, well what about the people who have been starving for two days and broke into a store and grabbed some food? Or into a pharmacy for medicine? I know I'd do that. Still, those folks swaggering through Wal-Mart (believe me, I have no sympathy for Wal-Mart--any other time they'd lock those people in overnight as a matter of course) anyway, it's sad and sickening that these people would do what they are doing. No pride, no love of their city, no decency. Get the dangerous ones off the street and prosecute them to the fullest.

But mostly, I'm worried about the families, the old people, the sick people, the little children, and the animals. I'm sad that rescuers are being diverted for law and order. We need the Army!