We Cannot
Depend on FEMA
Not entirely, there are SOME things we need to tend to ourselves.

Experience from past hurricanes was invaluable in the recent crisis. Earlier traffic jam experience prompted the authorities to make all lanes of traffic
connecting to the affected areas of evacuation outbound, As a result 80% of the 1.4 million population was evacuated without much incident.

This left those without access to vehicles stranded. There have been voices raised in contempt at the Federal Government for not providing buses in a more timely manner. Only 4 days after the catastrophe this has been a cause celbre in from some talking heads.


The obscene part of this is that some of those who rant the loudest left thousands of municipal vehicles City transport buses, School buses and other vehicles SITTING IDLE, until they were flooded by the rising waters.

They were NOT in this condition during the evacuation!

We CANNOT depend on the Federal Government of Fema in these matters, not entirely. The affected area of the storm is some 90,000 square miles this almost equal to the total land area of Louisiana and Mississippi combined. How many cities are in this country? How many counties?

National Guard Units left prepositioned locations as soon as the wind velocities dropped below 50 mph. They had to CUT their way through blocking debris in some instances. Rather than a source of derision, scorn and contempt these young people are real heros, BUT how many counties and cities are in the Area of Disaster?


Do we want a Federal Government with the Power and the Ability to assume total control of such vast areas in almost no time at all?

When WE should be taking care of these matters? When it can actually BEST be done at the Local level?

If the Libertarian point of view means anything it means that WE should take steps to cease control of our own destinies,

This task is best attacked on the local level. How many vehicles can be called upon in an Emergency to evacuate those without access to them? City buses, school buses, church buses, private buses and vans? Where are reasonable assembly points to gather to be evacuated? What is the probable number of the population that will need this service.

I make an individual pledge to try to start, or determine if this has been addressed in my community.


We have a real opportunity here to start instilling Libertarian values and ideas at the local level.

Now some may stand on purity of principles and maintain that the State should not interfere in the individual whether to stay and die or be evacuated.

I do not live in a pure politically theoretical community. I live in one with a lot of women and children who might be rendered helpless in a situation such as in New Orleans now.

Heinlein said that a Society that does not say "Women and Children First" deserves oblivion (paraphrase from memory) Since the means are at hand I am determined that I will help see to it that those resources are not wasted as they were in New Orleans should they be needed in my home community.


The question is what are YOU going to do? Complain about the Federal Government, what FEMA did or did not do or take care of your own where you live?

Now I am not saying we need to disband FEMA and not call on the Federal Government for aid in a Catastrophe that would be ludicrous.

I am saying letting thousands of vehicles stand idle until destroyed by nature, and then wait for someone else in the Federal Government to take care of everything is even more ludicrous.

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