Double-Crossed

Just so you know, the Red Cross is not being allowed into New Orleans.

I saw this on one of the progressive boards before I retired last night, and hoped that it was untrue, given the horrible state in that city and the fact that people were dying in the Superdome, a supposed rally point, because of lack of supplies. Yet with this morning, I found the Red Cross had posted this FAQ, facing up to the matter. They are not being allowed into the city, as that might encourage people not to evacuate.

Its the old saying - give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Make him wait five days for a fish, and maybe he won't need that fish after all. And you save yourself a fish.

So, does this mean we shouldn't be helping because we have yet again screwed up? No. According to the Red Cross, an area of 90,000 square miles in the American Gulf is currently a disaster area. That is an area larger than that of Minnesota. As large as Pennsylvania and Ohio combined. There is a lot of misery to go around, and hopefully we can get our freaking act together before the rescue attempt kills more people than the storm itself.

And now another story is showing up on the progressive and lefty blogs off BBC Radio. Northern Command military forces were in position to help before Katrina made landfall, but could not move in until they got an OK from the White House.

Man, I hope this one is untrue.

More later,