and over at new orleans metroblogging...

the debate on how to deal with armed thugs gets ugly.

believe me... the worst of humanity will come out of this on the white collar end as well. there will be insurance fraud, people posing as fake charities, and (with people's possessions strewn all over the place), identity theft. unscrupulous people come in all colors, backgrounds, and education levels. it's only a matter of time before more of these human termites start coming out of the woodwork.

but for now, i would have to agree that using force to stop criminals who are raping women (and small children) and murdering innocents with impunity is a necessary policy. actually, that's normal policy. i don't know why there is a debate on this topic. it's just sad that these scumbags are taking away resources from already beleaguered law enforcement units who were searching for and rescuing survivors, people who are still stuck in their attics with no way to get out. and many of these people will die as a result. so really, for every one of their direct "victims," there are several other victims of their actions as well. i don't think it is inhumane at all to shoot them.

meanwhile, across town, guests at the ritz-carlton hotel are locked inside with no food, and the buses that were promised to evacuate them have not been allowed in the city by FEMA. and at another luxury hotel, guests who pooled $25,000 together to charter buses had their buses commandeered by the military to evacuate the infirm and destitute. and these "luxury hotels" are pretty much just sweatboxes at the moment.

nature really is the great equalizer. right now, everyone remaining in the city is pretty much equally fucked.

meanwhile, bush says that "the results are not acceptable." pardon me, mr. president, but you're commander in chief. thanks to barbri, i know a few things about what you can and cannot do. in times of national crises, executive powers are broadened. that's right... you have broad power over the military. you can pretty much make them do anything. now give some orders, chief. do yer job.