Anybody who blames Bush for this is just pot-shotting.
Here's the thing that's frustrating for a resident of New Orleans. The rest of the nation gets a curtailed story. They see soundbytes, clips, opinions and editiorials by other non-residents who only have a piece of the picture, and this conglomeration of partial understanding cements the firm belief in people's minds that they understand exactly what the story is.
Then it gets politicized, because the liberals attack Bush on it, and the repubs respond to defend Bush, and though it's warranted, their defense further politicizes the issue and makes things even muddier, if you'll allow me that untimely reference to mud. Everybody down here is sick of mud and his nefarious friend, stench. Those two are constantly hovering over your shoulder in N.O., and eventually you stop looking to find where it emanates from as you get around town.
So now the issue is a hot potato, which dehumanizes it and diminishes the heart-wrenching aspects of it. Spike Lee comes out with a documentary about it focusing exclusively on the race issue, as if white people didn't sustain devastating losses. He follows a tangent line of intentional levee breaks, designed to flood out black people, to a point that is stretched miles away from issues that should be being discussed.
God forbid the story of looting and rampaging is told; who knows what the nation will think of us? Even the local media will now deny that the city was pretty much overrun by gangs and thugs, though they were certainly reporting that it was right after the storm and ample evidence exists to prove it. God forbid somebody tell the story of what, during that brief period of martial law, law enforcement did to upwards of 2,500 thugs who won't be missed by anybody who can do anything about it.
This unholy gumbo of bastardizing, half truth-ing, and political side taking (that chooses sides first, then finds low-hanging evidence to support whatever decision it is that keeps all the party lines in our heads from crossing ) is not a delicious New Orleans gumbo. It's a concotion from elsewhere in the world, from all places not New Orleans, and it does no justice to the physical, financial, and emotional damage with which all New Orleans residents have learned to live casually.
Well, some have learned to live with the strain. Others have gone out the window. The local suicide rate is up 300%, according to the stats. And that doesn't include "soft suicides" of people who just stop taking their meds. The murder rate is up too, as local drug dealers fight over smaller territories. The city is pretty violent right now, but it's nothing that the residents can't live with - what's a little more violence than we're used to compared to the pressing issues each of us is personally dealing with?
The frustration is caused by the rest of the nation pidgeon hole-ing New Orleans. They put it in a tidy little package away in their brain, dismissing it because the New Orleans they see on the news isn't worthy of their empathy and it certainly can't help itself. Not a real news flash, but the media totally sucks balls. There isn't ONE guy out there in all media who does real reporting anymore. Or if there is one, he certainly can't get anything printed or on the air. It's got to sell, baby. Ratings and whatnot.
And it just sucks. Our dirtiest laundry is constantly aired, and the reason it sucks so bad is that everybody should know how cool New Orleans really is. It's very hard to explain. There is a vibe here you don't get anywhere else. It washes over you, and comforts you in a thick and gooey way that makes you really happy to be in your own skin. The local landscape, architecture, and weather have something to do with it, the people, music, and food have a little more, but the history is what makes this place so unique. People, buildings, and the rest come and go, but local history and tradition run very deep around here. It won't wash away, be wind blown, or get flooded out. This vibe isn't created by the intent of the residents; it occupies this place and we just move around in it temporarily.
It's so cherished that people are fighting really hard to rebuild it with just about zero help from local government. Either because of incompetence or just general political malaize, nothing comes from the top down. Despite the permament cloud of uncertainty hanging dark and brooding over everybody's heads, shit is coming along.
So what if Entergy is gouging us with crazy energy prices even though the company is providing shitty service? So what if the city's water pipes have over 17,000 leaks in them from sitting in salt water for 3 days, and the severely diminished firefighting force can't get water? So what if business can't find employees? So what if retailers aren't open late because they can't find help and customers are sporadic unless the business is a bar? So what if you can't insure your new house with private insurance because all the companies refuse to write new policies, while at the same time they argue with each other over whether your storm damage was caused by wind or flood, while you wait for somebody to cut you a check?
So what if there is still no coherent plan to rebuild the marsh, which is a simple job of diverting fresh water and controlling oil companies' destruction of it? So what if there is no definitive date on the completion of new levees?
People are rebuilding it. It's unfortunate that the nation will never know the great story of the spirit and will of the residents here who are people you'd be proud of and admire, not the ones who are playing the blame game and make us ashamed to live in the same country as them.
What a dick!!! he has been sitting on federal clean up funds for months now!!! He is comparing a natural disaster to a terrorist attack? 
