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Now this looks like an accident to me, but I have to admit its alittle wierd. This is the proposed memorial to UAL Flight 93, that crashed after its passengers challenged the hijackers on 9/11. Many bloggers have observed that...

A Hurricane Exposes the Man-Made Disaster of the Welfare State

H/T to a former Navy shipmate for this article e-mailed to me. He offered it without comment, and if you check it out, you'll see that it speaks for itself. (by the way, he's in the Houston area, a lot closer to the action than the Chief is up in South Dakota.)

If this is just a natural disaster, the response for public officials is obvious: you bring in food, water, and doctors; you send transportation to evacuate refugees to temporary shelters; you send engineers to stop the flooding and rebuild the city's infrastructure. For journalists, natural disasters also have a familiar pattern: the heroism of ordinary people pulling together to survive; the hard work and dedication of doctors, nurses, and rescue workers; the steps being taken to clean up and rebuild.

Public officials did not expect that the first thing they would have to do is to send thousands of armed troops in armored vehicle, as if they are suppressing an enemy insurgency. And journalists?myself included?did not expect that the story would not be about rain, wind, and flooding, but about rape, murder, and looting.

But this is not a natural disaster. It is a man-made disaster.

The man-made disaster is not an inadequate or incompetent response by federal relief agencies, and it was not directly caused by Hurricane Katrina. This is where just about every newspaper and television channel has gotten the story wrong.

The man-made disaster we are now witnessing in New Orleans did not happen over four days last week. It happened over the past four decades. Hurricane Katrina merely exposed it to public view.

I'm going to write a personal check for $55 tomorrow, the amount I've received via PayPal for the Sheriff's Relief Fund. I'm also thinking about just matching whatever all of you have donated for my own personal contribution. That should...

Looks like a new blog by someone connected to South Dakota....

Yesterday?s Argus Leader ran a report titled, Hurricane Katrina might stall Thune?s agenda. Introduction:Since taking office in January, Sen. John Thune worked almost exclusively on one issue: making sure Ellsworth Air Force Base stayed open.When the Rapid City base was...

Rush Limbaugh?s points out FEMA?s slow past: U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, now retired, used his political muscle to move military support instead behind [the mayor's] efforts. 'To me, it's a reminder that our country can do much better,' said Charleston...

Earlier I posted on Tim Johnson? remark on the upcoming judicial nominations in which he referred to the mainstream. I received this email: Steve I see Tim Johnson is using the word mainstream again, what does he mean. Is there...

Hugh Hewitt (HT to Power Line):The Fox News Channel's Major Garrett made another appearance on the program this evening, following up on his blockbuster story yesterday. Among other things, Garrett got confirmation from the head of the Red cross --on...

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