Oil companies are profiting from high prices engendered by the synergy of demand and chronic worry about terrorism, both of which are increasing robustly.
Meanwhile bankrupt airlines are falling financially like autumn leaves in Vermont due to fear of terrorism and high fuel prices.
Obviously the oil companies need to buy the airlines and provide jet fuel at manufacturer cost.
The higher the fear and demand the less airlines make but the more oil companies make. It’s perfect.
“Live” as in hand grenade.
Post Katrina, many countries have offered aid to the Unites States.
This has to pose a deliciously difficult dilemma for our leaders. If they refuse the aid they look arrogant. Acceptance of the aid will send a message of weakness and vulnerability, with an uncomfortable frisson of third world desperation.
How will they spin this?
DHS chief Darth Chertoff once again sunk his own talking points in a rough sea of contradiction today.
He proposes on the one hand that DHS is not at fault for being slow out of the gate because the hurricane was so unpredictable in course and power.
On the other hand he states that citizens of New Orleans should have known they had to get out of the city.
In order for both things to be true the citizens of New Orleans must have much better weather monitoring and prediction equipment than the Department of Homeland Security and its faithful sidekick FEMA.
Despite the fatal illogic of this, Chertoff never comes close to going off message. Scott McClellan better make sure his resume is up to date.
I think I have my answer from the previous post. If only all those people at the convention center had the below press release! How irresponsible of them. Maybe someone should forward this to Chertoff.
From The Blackwater USA homepage :
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 01, 2005
BLACKWATER JOINS HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORT!
This morning (September 1, 2005), Blackwater USA joined the ongoing relief effort in the Gulf Region devastated by Hurricane Katrina by dispatching a SA-330J Puma helicopter to help assist in evacuating citizens from flooded areas. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Erik Prince stated, “At this time, all
Americans should band together and assist our countrymen who have been struck by this natural disaster.”
The following services are available:
Anyone having a security or evacuation request may call (252) 435-2052/2488.
All requests shall be prioritized and acted upon as quickly as possible.
Last night, during our approximately twelve hours a day of hurricane news viewing, we saw a very telling moment.
A camera crew was interviewing a surprisingly well-heeled and relaxed family. They had been visiting New Orleans so their son could look at a college, clearly Tulane, when they became trapped by the hurricane.
The mother seemed unconcerned for her pocketbook, and the family, surprisingly, didn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry.
It turns out they were about to be taken out of the city by members of a “private security company.”
This made me wonder how that was arranged. Did one of the parents call their law firm/investment bank employer and ask them to arrange to hire whatever part of Blackwater USA isn’t in Iraq to extricate them? Or are well-armed private security company SUVs just cruising around NOLA like some kind of post-apocalyptic taxi service? Or maybe their hotel arranged it as some sort of high-end airport shuttle?
Thought provoking in any case.
Michael Chertoff has his talking points. Unfortunately for him they make no sense.
He asserts with the dogged repetition of a press secretary that the hurricane and the flood are two separate and unconnected events. If you buy that then he hopes you’ll buy the idea that no one could have predicted the two things happening in conjunction.
As part of this odd formulation he even says that the levee breach was just like a nuclear weapon going off in conjunction with the hurricane. (I guess a volcano or attack by space aliens would work here too.)
The problem with this logic is that flooding is an integral part of most hurricanes, and nuclear weapons are not.
Indeed, massive flooding of the below-sea-level city was predicted years ago in great detail by The New Orleans Times Picayune, National Public Radio, and even the federal government.
So, Chertoff, I may eventually be convinced that everything that could be done was done, but not that this situation wasn’t anticipated.
More likely, since the correct logical starting assertion was that this situation was predicted, I and many other disillusioned Americans will continue to be furious at the inadequate response.
Can everyone try really hard to ask themselves how they’d feel if the shoe were on the other party’s foot?
How would you feel if the Katrina situation were the same but Clinton were in charge?
I’m pretty sure I’d be just about as furious.
How about you?
The photo ops of the First Gentleman and First Lady comforting Katrina victims made me wish I were a political cartoonist.
Here’s the pitch, in case you know one:
George and Laura are at a Coney Island-style amusement park with their heads through the head-holes of a large board for the taking of a novelty photograph. On the front of the board are painted their own headless selves in the poses of victim comforting we’re sure to see depicted on the front pages tomorrow.
Too harsh?
Once upon a time an administration bungled a post-war occupation resulting in social chaos and death. When the 4th estate started asking hard questions they were accused of treason. Criticizing a war president is bad.
Once upon another time the same administration bungled a post-hurricane occupation resulting in social chaos and death.
But here’s the important difference: it’s open season on emergency managers up to and including the highest level of the executive branch because a hurricane doesn’t have the get-out-of-impeachment-free card that a war has.
Watch CNN and prepare to be amazed. I even heard conservative Paula Zahn stick it to Michael Chertoff last night when he admitted ignorance of the New Orleans convention center situation until sometime yesterday when it was too late for a lot of people.
Guttering Dawn 