[ReadyontheRight]

...If you guys want to play Democrat vs Republican vs Independent, go right ahead, but I'm really weary of the permanent election season this country's turned into. Honestly, these are politicians you guys are getting so excited about. Politicians. As far as I'm concerned, I don't trust people who want to tell other people how to spend their money and what they can read or see on television and what they can do in the privacy of their own homes.

There's no way I'm going to feel comfortable supporting someone who thinks he knows what's best for the rest of "society" and is willing to use force and the threat of force to make others fall into line...

From the Blog of a courageous guy hole up in NO protecting a data center - I found the Blog on THR. (http://mgno.com/)

Exactly how I feel. The Dems want to tell you how to spend your money and increasingly how to live your life...the Repubs have a large contingent that wants to tell you how to live your life.

[Werewolf]

Putting one's security into the hands of a government whose sole purpose is its own self perpetuation is foolish at best and lethal at worst. The current situation in NO is a perfect example and it may just wake up some folks to the notion that personal responsibility and self sufficiency is what's required to survive in the modern world. Or NOT!

When this is over and all is said and done some will get it - maybe - though my dim view of people in general leads me to believe that the numbers will not be of a magnitude sufficient to make any real difference. More's the pity...

[Standing Wolf]

You've got to admit: government generally does a truly outstanding job of looking after government.

[thorn726]

bumping for the sole reason that guy's blog is awesome, thank you THR for posting it, i have been following the last few days

[Justin]

To be completely honest, I think the rest of that blog entry should be read, too.

and another thing to think about when we start pointing fingers is this. The government is never equipped to handle a crisis like this. There's too much bureaucracy -- initiative-stifling bureaucracy which prevents swift, effective action. I would like to hear from government employees on this. The nature of that bureaucracy is such that you have very specific guidelines to follow for even the most minute tasks. You need approval for just about everything, and the person you need approval from usually needs approval to give you the approval.

It's not as easy as say rounding up 4 of your co-workers and saying, "We've got someone at such and such an address, let's go grab her and get her out of there." Now add a destroyed or disabled command and control center to that bureaucracy and you've got a total and complete mess.

You (as a civilian) don't need "Approved" stamped on 3 different forms before you can run into your neighbor's house and pull them out. I hope this makes sense.

Anyway, I'm sure there's been human error in this catastrophe. How could there not be? But what I'm saying is that I've come to expect poor decision making and a total lack of initiative from government. They can't even balance a budget, at the federal, state, or local levels. I could balance my checkbook and spend within my means when I was a teenager. But I'm not gonna point fingers and get into the blame game. If you want me to blame something besides the storm herself, I blame the nature of government in the first place. It's too big, it's too slow, it's too inefficient, it's too bloated, and it's too intiative-stifling to be effective in normal circumstances, much less in a disaster. It's a systemic issue, more than an issue of individual people in government.


I'd like to think that I could be half so insightful under such dire circumstances. I've been keeping an eye on this blog, as well as their live, streaming web cam (http://old.mises.org:88/NO) for most of this week, and while there's nothing terribly exciting about it (unedited video rarely has much thrilling content) it's been a true lesson in comparing and constrasting how these guys have dealt with this situation versus those you see on the nooze, victims and politicians included.

[beerslurpy]

Law enforcement have absolutely lost their minds. Some guy wearing khaki fatigues and black vests which say Police on them have their faces covered in black ski masks and are touting M4-A1s with front hand grips -- like they're some kind of Delta Force operators waiting to hit the tire house. They're guarding the four corners around the Bell South building for crying out loud. And what, they need secret identities? Come on. You can just tell some of these guys have never gotten out before. Now's their big chance to play Army.

:scrutiny:

[Sewerman]

AMEN Readyontheright!