Guess what? The guys who wrote the Constitution felt the same way. Power is fundamentally a states issue, not the Feds. The Kennedy/Johnson era of big government was changed over around the time Reagan came in. Court rulings started leaning back to states having domain more than the feds. This trend has been going on for 25 years. Thus Uncle Sam is NOT the first responder on any number of issues.

As with damn near every part of todays society, responsibility is absent everywhere, and the welfare states we created cry foul when Uncle Sams tit isn't there for them to suck on at every moment.

There is no shortage of funding in this country, the war in iraq is not an issue with relation to the hurricane and resources. We could handle 5 of them along with the war if we needed to. There is so more pork in the budget it would make your head spin. The limited resource argument doesn't work.

"They are hard core limited government/corporate property Republicans who believe the only social good is acheived via capitalist corporations and no public good, apart from defense, is ever acheived by government."

Can you provide an example that contradicts the premise this statement?

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MB-less

Actually it seems quite reasonable. It would explain why the disaster in other areas isn't such a disaster. Maybe other communities/individuals had a plan and knew how to execute it and so they don't need 5 guardsmen with bullet proof vests per citizen to "rescue" them. In cities in VA and Fl I know they have a plan. I know people that were struck dead on by this thing and their houses, barns, trees etc. are gone. They aren't on TV and they aren't dying because they are resourceful people. It is very hard on them but they are surviving and they don't need rescueing. I am not saying that we shouldn't have helped the people in NO much faster than we did. I am saying that it is a lesson to encourage independence and self sufficiency in people.

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72 W114/M130

RedMeat cartoon

If 1/3 of the NOPD hadn't evacuated without permission (the polite way to say, carried their cowardly a$$es out, abandoning the city), there would have been no need to call up NG.

When the NG did arrive, looting stopped. It didn't take many. Just enough to intimidate the bad guys and encourage the normal people to return to good behavior.

Bot

I heard about an incident last weekend on the radio (hearsay?) some of the NG took sniper fire and returned 'heavy concentrated fire' killing all the preps. I'm sure word of that spread quick and it created a 'calming effect' among wood-be apociliptics.

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-Marty

1986 300E 220,000 miles+ transmission impossible
(Now waiting under a bridge in order to become one)

Reading your M103 duty cycle:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831799-post13.html
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831807-post14.html

Maybe its just that people in Missisippi are a more evoled and civilized group and it was never a problem there.....

Seems like wherever you find welfare bums you find looters..

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Clinton is no big hero of mine. He did seem to be pretty well educated and he had a way with diplomacy that was helpful I think.

I'm not trying to say it was all Bush's fault. There is plenty of blame to go around. I don't hear that being denied. What I'm saying is that Bush fell down on his part big time, and the performance of his clue challenged appointments, Brown and Chertoff, who I would not follow into a country club, let alone a disaster, indicate that he's not the greatest judge of character or useful talent.

He ran in '04 largely on the assurance that he could keep us safe. I'm wondering now just what would happen if we did suffer another 9/11 style attack.

Only silver lining so far -- Al Qaeda would no doubt like to kick us when we're down. That they haven't speaks well for our interdiction efforts.

Still, I'm holding my breath a little.

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Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

What did Jesus say, "the poor ye always have with you."

I think he left out, "the scum of the earth, ye always have with you."

Every major city in the world has a sizable criminal class who would jump on a cop-scarce scene like recent NOLA in a heartbeat.

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Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K