On the topic of looting...

From the Washington Post:

Where Good Times Haven't Rolled
By Eugene Robinson

click on the text below to read the entire article

And so I'll start with a bit of hyperbole, a quote from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "While no one condones looting, on the other hand, one can understand the pent-up feelings that may result from decades of repression."

That's hyperbole, because Rumsfeld was speaking, in April 2003, of the looting that followed the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. No one in New Orleans was brutalized the way that Iraqis were under the murderous dictator. But I do take his point that "pent-up feelings" might provide some insight, so here's where such feelings may be coming from.


I also want to add two links to some free audio from NPR. The two audio clips consist of an interview with Chertoff where his "understanding" of the events on the ground conflict directly with an NPR repoter's accounts. And the second clip is an interview with that reporter which took place right after the interview with Chertoff, where he says thing s like the national guard has passed and visited people at the convention center but no one has returned with any help. This took place on thurs. I suggest a quick listen. It's a very good segment.

1st interview with Chertoff
2nd interview with John Burnett