Ice storm misery and deaths

The governors, mayors, churches, local Red Cross volunteers and friends and neighbors have handled last week's devasting ice storm blamed for 55 deaths and the cold and misery of thousands, to say nothing of the loss to the economy and taxes of those states due to closed businesses. When we were at dinner Friday night we ran into friends from our old neighborhood whose daughter and 3 grandchildren had come "home" from another state that was still without power. A good reason to keep a full gas tank in cold weather since gasoline pumps need electricity.

The Democratic governor of Kentucky has, of course, praised President Obama even though I don't think FEMA has come through yet, and I doubt that Obama has visited the devastation. If Bush were still in office, we'd be hearing a different tune--Kyoto failed and therefore the temperature extremes and ice; the Guard was all out of the country, yada yada. Ah, hope and change. You've gotta love it.

Remember, it's up to the locals to ask for help from the federal government and to have their local emergency plan (and busses) in working order. That was the big mistake of Katrina, not a President vacationing in Texas. NOLA had an ineffective mayor and the state a poor governor.