It's not acceptable.

Dubyah has acknowledged that federal aid to the areas devestated by Katrina hasn't been particularly speedy nor effective. What took so long to figure this out?

I spent a fair amount of time last night watching MSNBC and CNN and things are worse than I thought. I also heard about a lot of other stuff that strikes me as "not acceptable." It seems that the extent of this disaster shouldn't be much of a surprise for those folks who should know better. Apparently it's been known for years that the levees couldn't withstand a category 4 or 5 storm, that some 100,000 of the poorest people probably would not, or would be unable to, evacuate even when told to do so and that there was insufficient transportation available even if every one did want to leave.

I have a question, why weren't adequate National Guard troops activated BEFORE the storm struck? Surely the governor should have known that the manpower was going to be needed. It seems to me that neither the mayor, the governor nor the president took any preparatory steps even after it became clear that the city was going to get hammered.

Now as for the reaction of some of the people in New Orleans, it's a disgrace. CNN reported last night that armed gangs were roaming the streets looting and raping, that rescue and supply vehicles have been fired upon and that many members of the New Orleans police force appear to have deserted. There is NO excuse for this type of behavior. This is at least as "not acceptable" as the lack of preparation and the sluggishness of the rescue efforts.