Day By Day© by Chris Muir.

October 25, 2007

Katrina vs. California Wildfire: Double Standard Time

Last night on Bill O'Reilly, I saw a clip of Jamie Lee Curtis ranting that the fact that so many people live in the areas hit by the wildfires is part of the reason for those fires, and that they have themselves to blame. (Never mind the arson investigation.) And George Carlin is saying something similar.

But why is it okay to blame the residents of Southern California for the fact that their homes were destroyed just because they live there, when it wasn't okay to blame the destruction of homes in New Orleans on the residents for living there? New Orleans has been described as a soup bowl. It also sits behind huge levees that hold back the Mississippi River and Lake Ponchartrain, and on the other side there's the Gulf of Mexico. The city continues to sink, and some experts believe it will completely surrounded by the Gulf in less than 100 years.

But it wasn't nice to say "mean" things about New Orleans. Yet the same amount of homes have been affected by fires in California, and now it's time to blame the home owners?

I believe anyone who lives in an area prone to high risks such as wildfire, flooding, hurricanes and so on should be able to do so -- but don't come crying to the taxpayer to bail you out when *gasp* your home is destroyed in a disaster that was bound to happen eventually simply by the nature of the area you live in.

I'm sorry for those who lost their homes in California, just as I'm sorry for those who lost theirs in New Orleans. But lets keep the same standard when it comes time to apportion blame. And let's at least wait until the flames die down.

Oh, and when is Jamie Lee Curtis going to set an example and move away from the Southern California tinderbox? Or is that just another liberal example of "do as I say"?

On another note, it's refreshing to see competent local and state governments dealing with this disaster. No one was left stranded like in New Orleans, there was plenty of supplies and shelter for refugees, and while people like Barbara Boxer were ready to blame the war in Iraq for there not being enough National Guard personnel available, it turns out that 17,000 were ready and available, but aren't needed as of yet. And the feds were there too, ready to step up when needed. (If you watch the O'Reilly video linked above, you'll see Schwarzenegger giving it to a reporter from ABC for "looking" for bad news. Classic!)

One more question: where's the international outpouring of aid and support? Ooh, that's right...no one cares when it happens to us.