Lou Dolinar over at Real Clear Politics is asking that question. Why? Because the numbers of dead are in the hundreds not the 10,000 to 25,000 many were predicting. So, how come the death toll was so low, or in other words, who was doing what needed to be done to help save lives?
Largely invisible to the media’s radar, a broad-based rescue effort by federal, state and local first responders pulled 25,000 to 50,000 people from harm’s way in floodwaters in the city. Ironically, FEMA’s role, for good or ill, was essentially non-existent, as was the Governor’s and the Mayor’s. An ad-hoc distributed network responded on its own. Big Government didn’t work. Odds and ends of little government did.
Hmmm, interesting. I wonder if the case can be made for privatizing, to some degree, this kind of thing. Privatize in the sense that a private firm is hired by the city or the state to come in and get things done. Wait, what am I saying. Politicians would still be involved and muck things up. They’d want all kinds of nonsensical conditions imposed like making sure that the people actually doing the rescuing are getting the right kind of sensitivity training prior to pulling the drowning man, woman or child to safety.
During the critical period beginning Monday, rescue helicopters were already reeling in at least 2000 people a day. These independent units comprised dozens of Coast Guard, Air Force, Air National Guard and Army choppers. Various boat-rescue operations by New Orleans first responders saved thousands more-even as the media’s attention was focused on the Superdome, snipers and scenes of looting.
Makes sense to me. The media goes with what is sensational, and which is more sensational, watching looting, snipers and the fiasco at the superdome, or watching Bob being lifted off his roof by a Navy SAR team? Of course, it sort of puts the lie to those who were claiming that nothing was being done. As I’ve noted in comments in a few places the U.S.S. Bataan was flying missions on Tuesday following the hurricane and running SAR operations on Wednesday. Not that you’ll find too much of this on the Left leaning websites.
I recomend reading the whole thing.
Via Debunkers.
