Quote: "What's happened in New Orleans this week has been a complete disgrace. The American government should be ashamed of itself for callously allowing the poorest, sickest and most vulnerable people to starve, dehydrate and die in the stricken city. Questions are now being asked in the blogosphere and the press about why a federal response has taken so long, but so far the stuff I've seen coming out of the American government and press about rebuilding remains deluded. " You know who should be ashamed are the american cattle being herded into these types of beliefs by the media. It was a hurricane! The 'planning' came in the form of levies, which unfortunately gave way. There is not much you can do for such a disaster. Another was EVACUATION, in which these people had plenty of warning and time to leave. The argument for that is "well.. they've been through so many hurricanes that they just didn't take this one as serious as they should have" My answer: Better safe than sorry. If you think the 'inconvenience' of a false alarm is worth your life then that's your decision and you need to take responsibility for it. Or how about the excuse "Some of them didn't have a way out" My answer: ... c'mon. Get serious. How long did they have? No car?? Start walking. I doubt there were 0 good samaratins heading the same way who might have offered a ride, given the chance to do so. How dare you even suggest being ashamed of the government for ... how did you put it... "callously allowing the poorest, sickest and most vulnerable people to starve, dehydrate and die in the stricken city." How about being ashamed of the people of New Orleans who are taking advantage of such a travesty and raping the women, looting the stores for greed, and shooting at their rescuers! The army national guard was there to start rescue efforts as soon as it was safe for them to do so.. or so they thought. Then the corruption in New Orleans spread to drive them away! And you want to blame them? For what?! For not forseeing this and having urban warfare combatants ready and waiting behind the front lines? How could you expect something like that? Your own countrymen, who you signed up to risk your life for, betraying you. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, I am saying that the all-mighty media DOESNT give you the whole story. There are so many factors to consider when deploying any kind of rescue mission. It is obvious that no one in here has served in the military or actually listens to their friends and family who are in the military or you would understand this. I live in Alabama and just because I am not 6 feet underwater doesn't mean I haven't witnessed first-hand quite a bit of the destruction hurricanes can cause. In the other southern states, events like this brought us together to help each other and keep each other's morale up. Instead, this time Americans have latched on to only the negative blame game that makes them lose sight of the truth and made the situation worse. Shame on you, if you are feeding this ignorance and you still call yourself a patriot.