Nothing says Welcome back like an M16

I'd rather not venture into the political spectrum but Hurricane Gustav made me do it. The storm spared New Orleans a major blow but didn't feel obliged to grant the rest of Louisiana the same courtesy. Millions are still with out power, residential & commercial damages are significant, and food supplies have been interrupted. In the midst of all of this local officials have done a remarkable job making sure that the residents of the city fair better than they did following Katrina. City assisted evacuation points as well as the efforts of non profits in the Metro New Orleans area have done a remarkable job to make sure that as residents rebuild their lives in the city, that emergency preparedness is factored into the process.


My complaint is with the National Guard being used as a peace keep force when the peace was never disturbed in the first place. Not the Guardsmen and women themselves, but with Governor Jindal's office & Mayor Nagin's office believing that in order to maintain order in the city the National Guard was need. These men & women patrol the city with assault riffles and camouflage gear as though it were a war zone. There were 38 looting arrest, the National Guard was not needed for that. New Orleans Police Department has had their officers on 12hr shifts since the threat of Hurricane Gustav 12 DAYS AGO!!! What child needs to be subjected to armed soldiers patrolling the city as they travel to school in the morning? How does one exlplain to their son or daughter that the men they see in Humvees at the gas station are here to protect them when images of similar men & women are all over the national news fighting a war no one understands??




I was naive enough to believe that the governing bodies ever cared about the well being of the victims...