December 2, 2005
SO THE DEMOCRATS ARE INDEED THE ONES HURT:
Storm victims praise churches (Audrey Hudson, December 2, 2005, THE WASHINGTON TIMES)
Louisiana residents gave churches higher marks than government agencies in responding to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and most prefer that the federal government control rebuilding funds rather than local officials, according to a Louisiana State University study.
On a scale of one (not effective) to 10 (very effective), residents gave churches the highest mark of 8.1, and New Orleans city agencies and state agencies received the lowest rating of 4.6. [...]Nonprofits overall received the second-highest relief rating with 7.5, as did the religious-based Salvation Army, slightly ahead of the American Red Cross' 7.4 rating. Insurance companies scored 5.2.
As for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) -- whose former director, Michael D. Brown, lost his job over the agency's response to Katrina -- and the federal government, which was criticized for its handling of the natural catastrophes, Louisianans gave them better scores than they gave both the state and New Orleans.
In a less backwards region, like Mississippi, you'd expect local and state government to beat the feds, otherwise the order is what you'd expect in America. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 2, 2005 7:22 AM
the federal government, which was criticized for its handling of the natural catastrophes, Louisianans gave them better scores than they gave both the state and New Orleans.
No, it was McChimpy's fault!
Posted by: Kos Kid #44352 at December 2, 2005 8:03 AMAs I've said before, the main mistake Brown and Bush made, especially both coming from Texas, is not realizing the state next door had a government that was a corrupt swamp of incompetent geeks dating back at least to the Hury Long era. While you couldn't actually come out and say that then, because it would offend too many locals (who would have to see for themselves what the problem was before they would agree), FEMA should have been prepared for the fact that Louisiana couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time when it came to hurricane disaster relief efforts.
Posted by: John at December 2, 2005 8:52 AMNo more insulting words to LA could be written, than to call MS "a less backward region". It will be Blanco's legacy (and Ray Nagin's, too).
In 2-3 years, the MS Gulf Coast will be brand new (to a large degree, and assuming no more monster storms). LA will still be fighting over why the base of the levees turned to mush.
Posted by: jim hamlen at December 2, 2005 9:11 AMIt's too bad that according to this poll, the public doesn't distinguish much different between the Salvation Army and the Red Cross. They're worlds apart. The Salvation Army is the master of efficient use of its funds, while the Red Cross is the mistress of public relations.
Posted by: erp at December 2, 2005 9:45 AMWhat erp said. SA's overhead is about the lowest around.
Posted by: Gideon at December 2, 2005 11:28 AMOn a scale of one (not effective) to 10 (very effective), residents gave churches the highest mark of 8.1, and New Orleans city agencies and state agencies received the lowest rating of 4.6.
One nice thing about being conservative is not being surprised by news stories like these.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at December 2, 2005 5:05 PM