While wandering around New Orleans during my recent trip there, I found myself in Washington Artillery Park on the river. I stopped to listen in to a walking tour in progress. The tour guide was talking about the history of the park and how it pays tribute to the
141st Field Artillery of the Louisiana National Guard. She described how the 141st was one of the oldest units in the U.S. military and then, almost swooning, she said the unit had continued its great tradition of service by having just been deployed to Iraq. It was about this time I moved on trying not to be an obvious (and non-paying) tour parasite. But here comments stuck with me.
Fast forward to this week. The city of New Orleans, having been spectacularly failed by the state and federal government, is in desperate need of troops on the ground to maintain order in the city. I’m not sure how much the 141st could have helped but being in Iraq they sure can’t do anything. I suspect many members of that unit are now wondering where they really would be doing more good.
BONUS: 100 blog points to anyone who can tell me what the title of this post refers to.
3 comments:
Watching the images on TV makes me ill, but like some perverted voyuer, I can't tear myself away.
P.S. You were expecting me not to answer the bonus? Out of fairness to the others, right?
The title refers to some song, doesn't it? A Stones tune?
I heard an interview with one member of the LA national guard who was in Iraq, he didn't seem to concerned - it was early on in the crisis that unfolded, and he was an early twenty-somthing.
Perhaps by now he has changed his perception of the event as he sees that other states had to be called into his state (they would have been needed anyway) to bring back order.
Now ask yourself this, what would happen if the U.S. right now was hit with a major terrorist attack in a major city?
From what I've seen this last week we might have a real problem dealing with a second event.
Maybe I'm wrong here, but I don't feel we'd have enough responders - not in the organized, and timely sense that we'd all expect to see especially having so much money spent over these last several years on Homeland Security.
I feel less safe than I ever have, because now I suspect that Homeland Security is just another pork barrell project - and get this - this was what we were supposed to give up our rights for - why people are dying in Iraq for - why we're spending money instead of on building up this nation we're letting it fall apart.
Oh my god, the people that voted for this administration twice - this must just be another mind stretch for them.
They have no other way to deal with it than to chant - looters, looters, looters - then roll back into their mindless slumber.
JeromeProphet
www.jeromeprophet.blogspot.com
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