(no subject)

[dwenius]

I wonder what Bush's approval rating in the South is right about now?

Good stuff over at Tom Tomorrow's blog.

I find it fascinating that an LJ post got interdictor a load of diesel fuel faster than he could take advantage of it.

Uselessly angry about the utter failure in the government's response to the-- let's not forget, expected and predicted-- disaster. That may be me transferring anger about work things to an easy target, but I don't think so.

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[hwrnmnbsol.livejournal.com]

My opinion as a Houstonian, which is a form of southerner, but is pretty far from qualifying me to speak for all submasondixoners:

Lousianna is only a couple of hours away from here. To us, Lousianna is our playground and our vacation spot and the home of our dumber, funnier cousins. Few Houstonians have not made the pilgrimage across the border to gamble, or see the sights, or celebrate Mardi Gras, or hunt, or just kick around funky old Nyawlins.

But, you see, funky old Nyawlins is dead. It may come back in some form or fashion, but we won't recognize it anymore. It'll be shiny and clean and won't have any ghosts floating around. It won't be the place we knew, or thought we knew.

I think most Houstonians are stunned. This loss is personal to us, more so than to many Americans. It has something to do with proximity, but it probably has more to do with our sense of identity. Our identity encompasses many things, and one of them is that New Orleans is one of our cultural centers, and now that center has been destroyed.

Houstonians I have talked to have not yet come around to the idea of finding who to blame. We're still grappling with the problems on the ground. There are tens of thousands of people camped out in the Astrodome. Thousands more are spread around Houston, and they're running otu of money. I just got an email from a church in the Heights that says they've got a couple hundred people on their doorstep and they need supplies badly. Everybody is doing something, or wants to do something. We're still dealing with the immediate.

The reaction to the incompetence of our leadership is therefore somewhat muted. I think some people are grumbling about FEMA, but not many people are even talking about Bush having anything to do with this. That will come later. Eventually there will be reckoning. Just not now.

I will say, however, that I am hearing a very different message from the New Orleans survivors. They are mostly black and poor, and they are very clear in their minds on what is going on. Rich white people allowed their home to be destroyed, and then abandoned them to starvation and anarchy. I would not advise George W. Bush to pay a visit to the Astrodome right now, because even with a large security contingent, I don't think much of his chances to escape alive.

I think the forces of sanity need to not overplay this hand. If they get all shrill about Bush's uselessness, people are going to figure it's just politics as usual and tune it out. But if let the human misery and the high repair bills and the pain at the gas pumps play out, that will eloquently tell the story to the American people. Now, more than ever, Americans can see the uselessness of the GOP's domestic policies just by looking out their front doors.

This is a crummy day for America, but possibly a turning point back to a progressive national mindset. I'm going to keep my eyes on that prize, and it may fuel some personal hope for the days ahead.