This email is floating around. While it's totally unfair in comparing Texas and Louisiana in terms of their handling of hurricans (after Katrina, people were taking these things more seriously) but the general reality is still pretty accurate IMO.
:: A Tale of Two States
2 States, 22 Observations
Things noticed while watching media coverage of the
recent
hurricanes:
1. Texas: Productive industrious state run by
Republicans.
Louisiana: Government dependent welfare state run by
Democrats.
2. Texas: Residents take responsibility to protect and
evacuate themselves.
Louisiana: Residents wait for government to protect
and evacuate them.
3. Texas: Local and state officials take
responsibility for protecting their
citizens and property.
Louisiana: Local and state officials blame federal
government for not
protecting their citizens and property.
4. Texas: Command and control remains in place to
preserve order.
Louisiana: Command and control collapses allowing
lawlessness.
5. Texas: Law enforcement officers remain on duty to
protect city.
Louisiana: Law enforcement officers desert their posts
to protect
themselves.
6. Texas: Local police watch for looting.
Louisiana: Local police participate in looting.
7. Texas: Law and order remains in control, 8 looters
tried it, 8 looters
arrested.
Louisiana: Anarchy and lawlessness breaks out, looters
take over city,
no arrests, criminals with guns have to be shot by
federal troops.
8. Texas: Considerable damage caused by hurricane.
Louisiana: Considerable damage caused by looters.
9. Texas: Flood barriers hold preventing cities from
flooding.
Louisiana: Flood barriers fail due to lack of
maintenance allowing city
to flood.
10. Texas: Orderly evacuation away from threatened
areas, few remain.
Louisiana: 25,000 fail to evacuate, are relocated to
another flooded
area.
11. Texas: Citizens evacuate with personal 3 day
supply of food and water.
Louisiana: Citizens fail to evacuate with 3 day supply
of food and
water, do without it for the next 4 days.
12. Texas: FEMA brings in tons of food and water for
evacuees. State
officials provide accessible distribution points.
Louisiana: FEMA brings in tons of food and water for
evacuees. State
officials prevent citizens from reaching distribution
points and vice versa.
13. Louisiana: Media focuses on poor blacks in need of
assistance, blames
Bush.
Texas: Media can't find poor blacks in need of
assistance, looking for
something else to blame on Bush.
14. Texas: Coastal cities suffer some infrastructure
damage, Mayors tell
residents to stay away until ready for repopulation,
no interference from
federal officials.
Louisiana: New Orleans is destroyed, Mayor asks
residents to return
home as another hurricane approaches, has to be
overruled by federal
officials.
15. Louisiana: Over 400 killed by storm, flooding and
crime.
Texas: 24 killed in bus accident on highway during
evacuation, no storm
related deaths.
16. Texas: Jailed prisoners are relocated to other
detention facilities
outside the storm area.
Louisiana: Jailed prisoners are set free to prey on
city shops,
residents, and homes.
17. Texas: Local and state officials work with FEMA
and Red Cross in
recovery operations.
Louisiana: Local and state officials obstruct FEMA and
Red Cross from
aiding in recovery operations.
18. Texas: Local and state officials demonstrate
leadership in managing
disaster areas.
Louisiana: Local and state officials fail to
demonstrate leadership,
require federal government to manage disaster areas.
19. Texas: Fuel deliveries can't keep up with demand,
some run out of gas on
highway, need help from fuel tankers before storm
arrives.
Louisiana: Motorists wait till storm hits and
electrical power fails.
Cars run out of gas at gas stations that can't pump
gas. Gas in underground
tanks mixes with flood waters.
20. Texas: Mayors move citizens out of danger.
Louisiana: Mayor moves himself and family to Dallas.
21. Texas: Mayors continue public service
announcements and updates on
television with Governor's backing and support.
Louisiana: Mayor cusses, governor cries, senator
threatens president
with violence on television, none of them have a clue
what went wrong or
who's responsible.
22. Louisiana: Democratic Senator says FEMA was slow
in responding to 911
calls from Louisiana citizens.
Texas: Republican Senator says "when you call 911, the
phone doesn't
ring in Washington, it rings here at the local
responders".
What if state and local elected officials were forced
to depend on
themselves and their own resources instead of calling
for help from the
federal government? Texas cities would be back up and
running in a few days.
Louisiana cities would still be under water next
month. Republicans call for
action, Democrats call for help. What party will you
be voting for in the
next election?