I see in Insty's "MORE" update that he's trying to pin it on the locals. A. From what I've been hearing, it was national guard, not cops. But that really doesn't matter, anyway, as a version of marshal law was declared along with the state of emergency, and the police were under military rule.
What makes you think it was the Guard? The story has the police chief of Gretna himself confirming the order.
I believe ever other news report about this which I have read has said it was the guard. No sources off the top of my head, and, hey, I could be wrong. I'll google around.
I see in Insty's "MORE" update that he's trying to pin it on the locals.
What is it with this (mostly American) notion that blaming the feds, staters and locals is mutually exclusive?
That has been bizarre. But the White House PR strategy has been to say that Bush did what he could, but was blocked or let down by local officials. So the partisanship is all in the emphasis now.
It's only mutually exclusive when you're trying to get the Feds out from under.
I don't know ogmb, because I haven't seen anyone take that position.
Anyway, after looking around and actually reading the story Insty linked, it seems I may have made inferences and assumed it was the guard. The washtimes story really makes it sound like this action was done by the Gretna sheriffs alone. Which is odd, because they didn't have authority to do that, I think. (Am I right? In a city under marshall law, sheriffs from a neighboring city can't just come in and make their own rules, contra, apparently, the guards wishes?)
So, I'm suspicious of this story. If it's true, I'm going to have a desire to drive to Gretna and kick some sheriffs in the balls.
ogged, LB, have you seen someone take that position, that (Blanco is entirely blameless, it's all Brown's/Bush's fault, or vice versa? I see a whole lot of criticisim of Brown even on pro-Bush sites, and even some Bush criticisim, and plenty of local criticisim on liberal sites.)
I have no idea why I put those parenthesis in. I'm gonna go eat.
I haven't. But is there any doubt that the White House is trying to make local officials seem to be the ones who are primarily culpable? They understand that while responsiblity can be shared, people are more comfortable finding one villian.
The position I've seen from the right is that Bush and FEMA have no or inconsiderable responsibility for screwing up because of the prior failures of Blanco and Nagin. On the liberal side, blame has been spread around all over, with some dissention as to whether Nagin screwed up or whether he didn't have the resources to do anything useful.
I just went back and re-read the commie paramedics' account. They say that Gretna Sheriff Buford T. Justice advanced into New Orleans, told them to "Get off the fucking freeway" and busted up their camp.
Doesn't that violate like 50,000 laws?
There was a pretty amazing story about this on This American Life this afternoon, including two eyewitness accounts.
I listened to the accounts on This American Life, also. The website says they'll have the audio up on the web next week. It left me seething. That Sheriff absolutely belongs in jail.
I'm surprised no one has blogged the wsj story (subscription) about how the rich are being quietly allowed to stay in New Orleans and plan the reconstruction while everyone else is barred.
Billmon blogged it, and I could have sworn Atrios did too, but I can't find that now.
That was a great episode of This American Life. I particularly liked this quote:
Before the flood, New Orleans was the place where Southerners sent their laid-back people who can't or won't get with the program: artists, gay relatives, eternal optimists, funny hat wearers, and intellectuals. I'm one of the above and we're in New Orleans for a reason -- to get away from the Baptists but still get to live in the south where we're from. But where are Southern outsiders supposed to go who are exiled from their place of exile?That describes just about everyone I know who stayed there after college.