Getting A Hand From Uncle Sam

I assume most of my regular readers are conservatives or masochistic liberals. Not being able to compose these ditties on my regular computer, which is likely being carried off from my "secured" vehicle as we speak, I am sure quite a few English teachers are having a ball printing these updates out and doing their worst with red ink pens as they peruse over my writings in the raw.

In any case, this column/update is addressed to those fellow conservatives out there who likely lost property during the hurricane (if you live in St. Bernard, this is not so much a probability as much as it is a certainty.)

You are highly encouraged to visit the FEMA.gov website and file, or at a bare minimum, explore, your options concerning disaster relief.

Now this is no time to be philosophical about the prefered restricted powers of the Federal government nor is it appropriate to quote from Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan. Just do it.

The Federal government, like Don Farnuci of Godfather II, wets its beak into our pockets every paycheck and then goes for a second course on April 15 if it's not satisfied with the first course. Consider it like a "tax refund" in exchange for the utter destruction of a lifetime's worth of memories, accumulated possessions, etc.

This would be an ideal time to log on to the FEMA site since most people are not even thinking about it right now and unless you absconded to somewhere like New York City or Athens- Greece, not Georgia, you are already bored to death of alternating between the Weather Channel, FoxNews, and CNN.

The process is fairly simple and takes about 20 minutes. If you feel guilty about seeking some of your own money back, feel free to right things with your conscience by tithing part of it at a later date to your house of worship (tax write-off) and the Club for Growth.

On a good note, it appears that the waters are receding in St. Bernard (from 10 ft to 5 ft of water) and that just maybe people will be able to go home to collect what little is left and then shove off again for another vacation in such exotic locales like Jackson, MS and Alexandria (not the one with the pyramids) until the parish is inhabitable. Rats and snakes will be a major problem as God's less appreciated critters began moving in as the waters rose.

Boat and helicopter are the only means of transportation throughout St. Bernard.
Also I have been able to reach all family stuck in Chalmette thanks to a blessed 35 minute hole in what has been days of constant "all circuits are busy" signals.

On a not so good note, the water is still pouring into the city due to the gash in the now-world famous 17th Street Canal levee (tourists From Osaka will one day pose for pictures in front of it.) The lake waters have been leveling off a bit so the water in the city should not be rising at too alarming of a rate.

The looting in New Orleans is still all the rage though Governor Blanco has finally dispatched State Troopers to New Orleans to help curb these urban reenactors of Gen. William T. Sherman's "Georgia tourists"

As of yet, my suggestion of placing the heads of looters on pikes along Canal Street has yet to be implemented, though I do look forward to reading of the arrest of some of our dim-witted criminals who will inevitably attempt to return the stolen goods sans receipt to the local Wal-Mart for a "cash-money" refund. It turns out that the gun department of a New Orleans Wal-Mart was ransacked as well, which is very disturbing indeed since I doubt the purloiners of these goods intend to use the stolen firearms for pheasant shooting.

I don't blame the cops for the lack of aggressive tactics in combating the looters but rather on their superiors who refuse to let the men and women on the beat take appropriate measures against these modern day Visigoths.

Paris Road, "higher ground, under water"

Guess who lives (or used to) in the apartment with the house rammed into it

More Devastation of St. Bernard Pictures

Day 4: Chaos In The City

New Orleans used to have a good reputation in terms of civil order. Sure crime was as bad there as it was in Gary, Indiana, Detroit, and Washington, DC, but riots and mass pillaging was not something synonymous with New Orleans.

Part of that might have to do with the Saints, as in major cities across the country, whenever the victorious team won the SuperBowl or NBA Finals, looting, burning, and all sorts of needless destruction would take place, all in the name of expressing joy over the success of a professional sports franchise. Since the Saints have never come close to testing this theory out locally, people just assumed that when the local team did finally make good (right about the time the devil catches the flu), New Orleans would be just like Dallas. Well in 2004, the LSU Fighten' Tigers won the national football championship while playing in the Sugar Bowl. Tiger fans were gleeful, happy, and more than a few inebriated...but there was no wanton destruction.

Then along came Katrina...

The city, though under martial law, has been a den of lawlessness as people who once sought shelter under the tattered cover of the Superdome have gone on a rampage, breaking into Canal Street stores and Walmarts across the city. One report had even some men in uniform joining in the free-for-all while their more ethical comrades tried to reason with the thieves.

There is also a prison riot in Orleans Parish in progress where the family of a deputy has been taken hostage. As of right now, there is little difference between New Orleans and Port-au-Prince after one of its seasonal revolts.

Some of these criminals even had the nerve to freely give their names and speak to reporters covering the scene. One screamed that "after years of oppression it's time to take what's ours." Others claimed that they were also seeking their just desserts.

Call this writer cruel, but his idea of just desserts for these looters is a load of shot racing their way.

I've bene able to catch footage of the chaos on Canal Street as a heroic police officer waving a street sweeper chased after those making off with stolen property, forcing them to unload their goods in the water before letting them scamper off free, which at a minimum deprived them of their ill-gotten merchandise.

The first stories of looting dribbled in, and were followed by extensively broadcast news that the police were more concerned with saving people than stopping looters, possibly the most grievous error to be announced to the public, for the deluge of human vermin swished through the water to take in their plunder.

Had the police been more "selective" in their statements of priorities, the indirect "green light" they gave to the mass thieving might have been avoided. While killing people over a color television is a terrible trade, order by all means must be restored and the only way to stop the wilding that is overtaking New Orleans and endangering the lives of tens of thousands of innocents is through force and not equivocation and meely-mouthed "pleas".

If the city government is reluctant to order their cops to aggressively end the mass theft that has already sent one officer to the hospital with a bullet in his head, then the state police should be ordered to step in. If Governor Blanco chooses not to follow in the strong-worded statement by neighboring Mississippi Governor Barbour of Mississippi that looters will be dealt with "ruthlessly", then stepo aside and let the National Guard do the job.

While rescuing people is the highest priority, protecting the public from a scourge that is as unreasonable as the racing water is equally important and of the highest priority as a show of force by the authorities will discourage others from joining in the retail thievery.

Some people have qualified "bad looting" from "good looting" by categorizing the former as ripping off jewelry and DVD players while sanctioning the latter as simply doing what is necessary to secure food and water. The problem is that ethical looters are about as hard to find right now as a dry spot in St. Bernard Parish.

Besides, I've seen pictures of people walking off with grocery carts with enough food to feed themselves through the NFL's bye week.

If people whose moral compasses are so out of whack that the only thing that keeps them from commiting a crime is facing the consequences of being apprehended, then firm measures must be taken.

Stealing without fear of punishment will only encourage and enbolden the most deplorable souls into breaking into private homes, putting people are risk of being murdered in addition to drowned.

Civilians who have tkaen advantage of their Second Amendment rights prior to the storm have armed themselves and are prepared to exhange gunfire with those who wish to make off with their property...or what little they have left of it. While this might make for good anecdotes to be cited by the NRA on the need to fight gun control laws, my immediate concern is that by failing to act tough on the looters, far more violence might take place.

Looters of all assortments must learn that they are gambling with their lives when they act against others, which might dissuade some from partaking in the madness.

Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco must request military backup from the Federal government and give their blessing, secret or overt, that deadly force should be used in suppressing the crime wave that is terrifying people in the area and making those around the country wathcing the chaos that less likely to send a disaster relief donation for a city that is being represented by the media as being overrun with savages.

"White Flag" At 17th Street Canal; Wipeout Of New Orleans?

The government has thrown in the towel in their attempt to contain the rushing water pouring through the gaps on the 17th Street Canal levee. This has prompted a massive evacuation of the entire eastbank of Jefferson Parish and New Orleans. Projected flooding in previously unharmed sections of New Orleans is at 9 feet.

According to a message posted at WWLTV.com, the deluge is expected to manifest within the next 9-12 hours. After Crescent City residents near the river, where the land is highest, breathed a sigh of relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, these same people could find themselves gasping for breath with the surge of flood waters invading downtown and uptown.

After attempts at repairing the punctures via helicopter bombing with sandbags in the breaks at the17th Street Canal levee failed to abate the draining waters of Lake Pontchatrain, New Orleans is now prone for the coup de grace. The French Quarter, Uptown, and downtown New Orleans will soon join Gentilly, the lower 9th Ward, New Orleans East, St. Bernard, and eastern St. Tammany in feeling the pain of the most terrible catastrophe ever to occur in Louisiana history.

The extra water will further complicate rescue efforts by authorities in boats possibly leading to families having to spend another 48 hours in their attics or on top of their roofs.

The people of Louisiana are not out of the swamp yet in the Katrina Saga.

Of note, I have launched a weblog with the St. Bernard picture on it along with the posts I have sent. The address is KatrinasWrath.blogspot.com. In the mean time, please continue to offer petitions to Providence for the deliverence of New Orleans and its residents from this scourge of nature.

An Appeal To Heaven

Prayer to St. Jude, patron of lost causes

O most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone.

Make use, I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly the people of southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama who are in physical danger and have lost property, and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever.

I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.

Amen.

The late great St. Bernard?

The government complex and civic center, both structures of three stories, are visible at the top. The white buildings in the center-bottom are apartment complex. This is central Chalmette, the parish seat of St. Bernard- which prior to Katrina's visit was home to an estimated 70,000 people.

Day 4, Part 2: New Orleans On The Brink

Originally I was planning to do daily updates on the storm but breaking news has compelled me to do a mid-day update as the fate of the city of New Orleans itself is in the balance at this very moment.

Governor Kathleen Blanco has declared a mandatory evacuation of everyone...including the evacuees who are huddled in the Superdome, from New Orleans. The domed stadium has suffered two tears in its partially unpealed white painted roof, has been without power for many hours and is the temporary home for over 10,000 refugees. A reported suicide took place in the Superdome when a distraught evacuee hurled himself off the balcony to the concrete floor. As of now, the water in downtown New Orleans is estimated to be between 2-3 feet deep.

Despite the spate of looting, police and others charged with keeping the peace are focusing their manpower of saving lives and not chasing after the bipedal vermin that is plaguing places of commerce. More later on that subject.

The breaking of the 17th Street Canal levee on the Orleans Parish side has flooded the city with unprecedented water. Now the portions of the city that had been seemingly spared by the merciless hurricane are now at risk of being totally covered with water from the brackish Lake Pontchatrain.

Water in New Orleans has been declared unpotable due to the severing of the city's primary water main as the water levels in downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter continue to rise.

Government workers are furiously trying to close the gashes in the 17th Street Canal dike, though it is unknown when the hole will be patched. The fissure has the potential to destroy uptown, downtown and the French Quarter, which had experienced little water damage from Katrina.

The historic Vieux Carre, which in English means "Old Square" is the historic heart of New Orleans. Established by the French decades before the birth of the United States, the city was destroyed by a massive fire in the 1790's when the Spanish were the governing authorities of Isle de Orleans (the New Orleans area east of the Mississippi River and south of Baton Rouge) and all of the expansive Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi River. The Spanish received New Orleans and western Louisiana as compensation for Madrid's loss of Florida to the British after the French and Indian War.

All structures were destroyed save for the Ursulines Convent, which still stands in the heart of the Vieux Carre. The Spanish rebuilt their colonial possession, hence the area known as the French Quarter consists almost totally of Spanish architecture. Since then, the French Quarter has endured two invasions (the British failing at the end of the War of 1812, the Federals succeeding at the beginning of the Civil War), yellow fever epidemics, and a host of other floods and powerful storms.

Could one of the most historic neighborhoods in the world now fall victim to a levee break?

As of now, it appears the cradle of historic New Orleans could share in the catastrophic misery that has been experienced by her neighbors.

Keep praying. More miracles are needed for the city that care forgot.

Day 4: A Picture Breaks A Thousand Hearts

note: I will attempt to post the relevant picture ASAP

I spent most of yesterday surfing the internet or watching Foxnews and the Weather Channel combing for any visuals of St. Bernard Parish. Almost all of the ariel footage gathered was of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. The best I could find was an inaccurate reference by Bill O'Reilly that "St. Bernard didn't have that many people there so the damage wasn't as great." For the first time in two days I smirked upon hearing that erroneous comment made by the face of American cable news.

St. Bernard formerly had a population of 72,000 residents. Its parish seat of Chalmette, my home town, had a population of 36,000 making it the 14th largest city- at least last time I checked, though unincorporated, in the state of Louisiana. The city of New Orleans, though larger, did not, and for that matter never had, the 1.5 million people the networks claimed. Not that such details mattered at the moment, but I have always taken pride in my home. After all, His Majesty's army got their crimson rears' kicked in Chalmette.

The lack of visuals really annoyed me as my hunger for information grew. Sure I had heard from the sheriff's office late last night that the parish was "gone" but one always holds out hope. And then I finally got to see it for my very own eyes.

What you are looking at is the heart of Chalmette. Where those line of greenish orbs sticking out of the water are fairly tall oak trees that line Judge Perez Drive, the main thoroughfare of St. Bernard and my last personal visuals as I left at 1 AM for Louis Armstrong International Airport.

I would estimate the water to be in excess of 11 feet in this section. The roofs just barely peaking out of the water mark the Chalmette Vista, an area prone to flooding so the damage there might be more pronounced. On the bottom right are two large apartment buildings that appear much smaller than they really are.

If one looks near the top, there is a large white building. That is the the three-story St. Bernard Civic Center. To its left is the St. Bernard Government Complex, where my office used to be when I served as a councilman and my base of operations when I worked previous storms. My office was on the first floor which is totally submerged.

Most importantly, I currently have family in that building as they are essential government personnel and could not leave the parish. I think they are safe judging the sturdiness of the structure and its three-story height. Being familiar with it, I am able to dilenate the second floor even from this distant shot.

Obviously there is no electricity in all of St. Bernard nor do I imagine there is power anywhere south of St. John the Baptist Parish, though a friend of mine in Assumption Parish told me that her electricity was restored.

For what it is worth, the worst is over for St. Bernard. With the breach in the 17th Street Canal levee that is the boundary between Jefferson Parish and Orleans Parishes, New Orleans could receive the deluge aftershock as the waters of Lake Pontchatrain begin to pour threw the crevasse. What was once spared by Katrina could yet fall victim to the cursed storm's legacy.

Day 3: A Total Loss

For 90% of the day I have been furiously calling anyone in New Orleans-St. Bernard for information, without much success.

By midnight New Orleans time, the cell phone transmitters in the area were mostly operational (with the exception of Verizon) and I was finally able to reach a member of the sheriff's office for an update. What he said sent chills down my back.

Almost all of St. Bernard was destroyed by the hurricane. The crevasse in the levee system led to the flooding as did the failure of several pumps in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Thanks to the Industrial Canal, the bane of St. Bernard commuters for almost a century because of its traffic interuptions when ships are traveling back and forth from the Mississippi River and the Intercoastal Waterway, the water had only one way to go: west to St. Bernard.

The Industrial Canal and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, the legacy of the city fathers connected to the shipping interests- hearltess plutocrats who have toyed with the lives and property of St. Bernard and the lower Ninth Ward like the Duke Brothers in Trading Places...the same people who ordered the levees blown in 1927 to show the world that they had the power to amputate entire communities in order to protect their investments in New Orleans, paved the way for the total destruction of the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans and my home parish.

Ironically, the Federal government is in the midst of a feasibility study on the outlet, commonly known as the MRGO, to determine its future. It was through the MRGO that the flood waters that drowned these unfavored parts of the New Orleans area rushed through in 1965. History repeated itself in 2005. If the government needs more items to study, I suggest a visit to St. Bernard, now a virtual lake where almost all of its 72,000 residents are now homeless and have lost their almost all of their worldly possessions.

I was informed by a sheriff's deputy that the water reached ten feet in all of St. Bernard and that very little was spared. The more affluent and those on the lower end of the economic scale lost their homes with the rushing tide coming from the levee breach.

I was also told that there were huricane related deaths in St. Bernard as one person reported seeing the corpse of his neighbor float past him. That ghastly story will likely be followed up with others to come.

All that I now own is what I was able to stuff in my suitcases and place in my car, barring looters swooping upon my modest conveyance like vultures on carrion.

Watching FoxNews I was able to make out sights from their aerial footage of the worst disaster to strike New Orleans in its history. The historic Southern Yacht Club, the second oldest in America, was aflame. The Clearview Shopping Mall in Metairie looked as if it had been bombed. The Oakwood Shopping Mall on the Westbank was totally surrounded by water.

The eastern part of New Orleans was submerged as well. The Chevron where I had filled my car's gas tank up en route to a Louisiana Republican State Committee meeting on Saturday that state GOP leaders refused to cancel, was almost totally under water.

As mentioned previously, it could be a month before power will be restored in south Louisiana. Weather permitting, the waters in St. Bernard should leave within a week's time but the scars inflicted on the parish's psyche will last forever.

Day 2: Katrina's Wrath

As a less powerful Hurricane Katrina exited the New Orleans area in a northeastern direction, she has left in her wake untold destruction and death. Word from City Hall indicates that bodies have been found floating in the eastern part of Orleans Parish, including the upper income Eastover subdivision and the Bywater-9th ward vicinity.

At this time, it is unknown whether there was a death toll at all in my home parish of St. Bernard. Communication to New Orleans and the surrounding parishes is extremely limited and evacuees from the area are learning that while they are able to dial out on their cell phones, they cannot receive calls, likely due to damage and/or the loss of power to the phone transmitters.

Reports have been made that nearly all of St. Bernard Parish, which caught the brunt of the hurricane, is under water and that many families who chose to remain or lacked the capacity to leave have been forced to go to their attic, armed with axes and other tools that can be used to puncture a roof from the inside, because of the flooding.

As soon as the winds die down, rescue boats will begin patroling through neighborhoods in St. Bernard to rescue people stranded on their rooftops. The eventual receding waters will make the parish more accessible, though not necessarily inhabitable. The Office of Homeland Defense has predicted that power might not be totally restored for a month and residents of neighboring Jefferson Parish have been told to boil their water to ensure that it is potable.

This is St. Bernard's second catastrophic experience with a hurricane in forty years and for those with a little gray in their hair enduring a "once in a lifetime" storm for the second time in their lives are contemplating a permenant evacuation from the coastal parish to points north of I-12.

A crevasse at part of the Industrial Canal levee, connects to the Mississippi River, sent water rushing through one of the poorest sections of New Orleans, also causing flooding in western St. Bernard (Arabi, Chalmette).

Though the "Atlantis" predictions spun by the drama queens at the Weather Channel thankfully did not come to fruition, downtown New Orleans was largely spared, with office windows being blown out, tree limbs snapped, and at least one looting near the Times Picayune building.

Because many wisely heeded the evacuation advisories and later orders, fatalities for the area might very well be under 100, though it may be days before bodies are discovered in collapsed residences that are also submerged.

On a personal note, I would like to thank those who have e-mailed me about my well-being. I had family who were not able to leave St. Bernard due to their "essential employee" status with the local government and I hope to hear from them soon. Since what little news dribbling out of St. Bernard is coming from the government complex, this is probably a sign that they are probably ok. Within the next few days, I will hopefully learn if Hurricane Katrina beat the Kelo-era US Supreme Court to my property.

Day 1 Louisiana's Date With Disaster: The Prelude

Between my writing this column and you reading it, I along with hundreds of thousands of people in south Louisiana could very well be homeless and/or without electricity for a month or longer.

It has even been speculated that flooding could be so severe that downtown New Orleans could be submerged in up to 30 feet of water.

Between my writing this column and you reading it, one thousand or more people in south Louisiana could have died via drowning or other related hazzards created by the terrible storm known as Katrina.

Admittedly, these dire scenarios are an extreme take on what this category 5 hurricane could inflict on life and property in America's most fragile state over the next 15 hours.

Louisianans have often speculted about when the "Big One" would finally hit. New Orleans's reputation as being a city below sea-level is well circulated though not entirely true. The land near the Mississippi River levee, not just the earthen dike, is not below sea level, though Mid City, an ethnically cosmopolitan area of small businesses and upscale and downscale residences pending on what block you are on, is the lowest point in the city, or the bottom of the bowl that is New Orleans.

Though Katrina's full wrath has not yet hit New Orleans proper, it can be anticipated that wind gusts at 125 mph or greater will do considerable damage to many physical structures. The sheets of rain that will inudate the metro area will test the capacity of one of the world's finest drainage systems. But my greatest fear is the storm surge: in the south, the waters of Lake Borgne and the Gulf of Mexico being pushed over what is left of south Louisiana's absorbing sponge of wetlands, which have been greatly depleted due to salt water intrusion that came with the creation of man-made boat channels. With those channels serving as express lanes for a storm surge, the New Orleans area could very well experience its own "Thai Tsunami."

And then there are the unlucky souls who live along Lake Pontchatrain, a large body of brackish water that borders the Ilse de Orleans in the south and the highly populated parish of St. Tammany to the north, who could be the first to lose thier homes in the calamity.

Mother Nature's unmericful fury on south Louisiana will leave in her wake a minor disaster scene under a best case scenario.

Having played (in my younger, less mature days), driven, worked, and performed inspections during hurricanes, I am generally not one who gets overly nervous about these storms. However, I had a bad feeling about this one and decided to leave town, at the request of my family, as there was little I could do otherwise.

Leaving by car was not an attractive option for me personally since my automobile has the tendency to overheat so I used an airline travel voucher I had to book a flight out of Louisiana. The sequence of events are worth noting as thanks to my friends who badgered me umpteen times that the scheduled time would luikely be canceled, I rebooked for an earlier time at 3 AM in the morning and just so happened to snag a seat that had just opened up when I called. Upon safely arriving at my destination, I checked the flight that was scheduled to depart at the slightly later time and saw that it was canceled. As I would have been stuck at the airport for the hurricane had I not been pestered by those looking out for me or had I not put in the booking call at just the right time, I consider my good fortune more of a blessing than a random instance of good luck.

And now begins the 15 hour gut-wrenching vigil for the evacuated and for the unlucky hundreds of thousands who never made it out of the New Orleans area due to being stubborn , occupational mandate, or physical or financial limits, a half-day period of physical survival if the worst case becomes reality.

A little over 190 years ago, the city of New Orleans found itself on the eve of its possible destruction by a different force, on that occasion coming in the form of the British army- the pillagers of Hampton, Virginia and the burners of Washington, DC during the War of 1812. Things looked bleak for the American defenders; a call to arms was made with the able bodied men making their way south of the city to the defensive line at Chalmette while the city's women went to church and prayed for the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor on behalf of the city.

Their prayers were answered when Andy Jackson's force held the the redcoats at bay. The general, though not Catholic, assigned as much credit to the spiritual petitions made to the Blessed Mother as he gave the men he commanded.

At an hour sauch as this, where forces more powerful than man could destroy in one fell swoop a major American city, it would be appropriate that we also seek assistance from a greater power.

I'll check in again at 3 PM CST.

Hurricane Katrina Weblog

This is a rather inauspicious occasion, with my home and those of hundreds of thousands of others endangered by the wind and rain of Hurricane Katrina. Though the storm has long since left the New Orleans area as of this time, the damage inflicted upon south Louisiana continues in her absence. Battered levees in New Orleans have collapsed during and now after the storm and the lives of many are in jeopardy. This weblog was created as an electronic archive on the storm's progress.

Previous updates penned by me will be uploaded as well. Please forgive any grammatical errors, as this is being composed by a south Louisianan sent into exile by the most terrible disaster to strike the Pelican State.