On larger, I was also going by "personally estimated dick size."

Oh, the PEDS.

Oh, the PEDS.

Yeah, I remember how bummed I was when the International Standards Institute switched the PEDS to the metric system.

Cindy, I do think those are legitimate questions. I've certainly heard of people running out of gas in the South because there's no electricity to power the pumps.

I do think, however, that the response has not been well coordinated. As noted way upthread, after 9/11 it was made very very clear that when different rescue groups have different communications systems you have breakdowns and problems. It really should have been addressed at a very high level that everybody who would be responding to a major catastrophe should be hooked into the same communication system, which should be run off something other than the local power grid.

Also, it shouldn't have taken this long to get people out of the Dome. Military convoys could've been mobilized from Houston on the first day. And they're designed to bring their own gas, and go over off-road terrain.

here are a certain percentage of folks who are very gleeful to have the complete and utter breakdown of social order. That's all there is to it. It's not that many people, but what you're not understanding is that for some people this is better.

And I think the fact that the cause is something beyond anyone's resonsibility just adds fuel to the fire. If this had been some sort of attack, I suspect there would be less crazy. Sadly, if this was some sort of attack, it would probably be a lot easier to do damage control and disaster relief.

Sadly, Hec is right....

During WTO we had "anarchists" running around downtown revelling in the chaos. Even after the National Guard rolled in they kept trying to start something. They were most of the reason why we had as much violence as we had.

To back up:

You ever play Wisconsin Chubby?

Corwood, the joke goes deeper. I grew up in Wisconsin (Beloit/Janesville) and am not exactly slender. And I did have a carrom board as a kid.

They were most of the reason why we had as much violence as we had.

Per my annoying, but occasionally accurate sib who was there, they're part of it, but by no means all of it, because there were plenty of people in uniform who went more than a touch power-mad during that time and attacked the crowds unprovoked. As I recall, his recount mapped well enough to what I heard coming out of the local news (not the on air stuff, but reports from the station itself) that I believe it.

Who is in charge here? Is there a Giuliani-like figure appearing on the news?

If you've ever seen post-sporting event riots, you've seen Teh Craxxy, just, on a small scale. Think bigger, and no riot police to bop them upside the head, and you have what is happening in New Orleans.

after 9/11 it was made very very clear that when different rescue groups have different communications systems you have breakdowns and problems.

Heck, after Grenada, when the army and navy discovered their systems couldn't communicate, so they both had to call home to Virginia to get through to each other, you would think people would work this shit out. But it's so much harder to learn from someone else's mistake than it is to learn from your own.

The person I keep seeing on the news is Gov. Blanco.