I Heart NOLA
Oddly enough, it’s the 2nd anniversary of Katrina, and I watched All the King’s Men last night.
One thing is for sure, Huey P. Long was corrupt as hell, but he would have been a much better leader than Blanco through this diaster.
What’s left to say about Katrina? The post that I wrote two years ago still captures my shock. New Orleans reflects decades centuries of corrupt leadership, briberies, and a growing reliance on the government. It’s amazing to see how parts of the Gulf with strong communities have rebuilt, but the Big Easy is still recovering.
My grandparents used to live near a levee in Metarie. One Thanksgiving, I remember my grandfather explaining the levee system to me. They were proud that it was based on an 18th century project and fervently believed that the levees could never break. They joked that the SuperDome was the only thing built above sea level in the city.
A few months after Katrina, we were having lunch with my grandmother, and she reminesced about Hurricane Camille. While they were similar hurricanes, the results weren’t comparable. Within a few weeks, New Orleans was back to normal. Communities banded together and sorted out the mess. They didn’t wait on the mayor, the governor or FEMA. Neighbors looked after each other, picked up trash, and rebuilt homes.
Katrina did have an interesting effect on news. It was one of the first times that blogs were used for primary news. Some of the brave bloggers who stayed in the city where the only ones relaying news to the outside world. They were much more helpful than Shepard Smith or Geraldo holding babies and crying over Bourbon Street.
A blog at Politico this week ran a story on Louisiana politics. Could we be lucky enough to get rid of the Landrieu family in politics?
