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Story Archives: Like daylight and dark


Like daylight and dark
by Sam Hanna, Jr. - posted Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 @ 9:18 pmE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
Days or even weeks will pass before officials determine the extent of the damage Hurricane Gustav delivered to Louisiana. It was apparent to the naked eye, though, that had Gustav roared ashore a category 3 storm, which it was over weekend, instead of a category 1 hurricane when it struck the coast and moved inland we would be in far worse shape in the Bayou State today.

It was apparent to the naked eye, too, Gov. Bobby Jindal was in complete control of the state's efforts to safely evacuate scores of Louisiana citizens from south Louisiana as Gustav cut across the western tip of Cuba and entered the Gulf of Mexico. Once it was certain Gustav would make landfall along Louisiana's coast, there was no need to panic. Jindal and his administration had everything under control.

We in the media felt that to be true in light of being inundated with one news release after another from the governor's office, notifying the press about Jindal's actions at every turn. The word comforting comes to mind, though there probably exist thousands of folks across the state whose feelings and thoughts are far from "comforted" at this time.

It would be within reason to say Jindal has had the luxury of working with a federal government that was leery of the mistakes it made some three years ago when another hurricane—Katrina—pummeled southeastern Louisiana and the gulf coast of Mississippi, claiming some 1,600 lives along the way. Jindal obviously has had the luxury as well of working with other governors across the land who have gone out of their way to make available the resources Louisiana needed—and still needs—to care for its citizens prior to and following Gustav's arrival.

Yet, it was apparent from the get-go Jindal was determined not to act, or appear, remotely like his predecessor, Kathleen Blanco, whose actions during Katrina contributed greatly to her serving just one term as governor. Remember?

While it certainly is not fair to compare the devastation caused by Katrina to the apparent losses the state has incurred and will continue to incur because of Gustav, Jindal's performance during the Gustav crisis thus far compared to Blanco's of 2005 has been like daylight and dark, or comparing apples and oranges. That's putting it mildly.

In the meantime, we should tip our hats to local officials across the state, and the communities they serve, too, for the efforts they have extended in providing food and shelter for hundreds of thousands of Louisianians who recognized Gustav had the potential to do more than level the landscape. Those officials and volunteers in their communities proved once again that we are a caring people in Louisiana who step up to the plate in a time of need. Someone should alert Barack Hussein Obama to take note.

On a personal note, I believe we witnessed a new low in American politics when filmmaker Michael Moore made light of the situation in Louisiana as the Republican National Convention got under way in Minnesota earlier this week.

There "is a God in heaven," or something to that effect, said Moore, noting that Gustav's arrival coincided with the opening of GOP convention.

I am not sure exactly what Moore meant by his statement, which aired on MSNBC in the presence of what we could describe as a left-leaning political pundit, Keith Olbermann. Something tells me Moore may regret comparing a life-threatening hurricane to an event hosted by a political party.

Maybe he doesn't.

If he doesn't, that speaks volumes of Moore, Olbermann and MSNBC in general.

Sam Hanna, Jr. is publisher of The Ouachita Citizen, and he serves in an editorial/management capacity with The Concordia Sentinel and The Franklin Sun, three newspapers owned and operated by the Hanna family. Hanna can be reached by calling (318) 805-8158 or by emailing him at samhannajr@samhannajr.com.
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