I've heard reports of people walking down streets shooting people just because of their race (whites shooting blacks, blacks shooting whites). I have no idea how widespread this is, but knowing that racial tensions are still quite high in many places in the south, it doesn't necessarily surprise me. However, it does sicken me to think about how many people out there who are apparently only civilized because of the threat of force. As soon as law enforcement is removed from the equation, things dengenerate into raping, pillaging, and murder. Breaking into a grocery store to feed yourself and your family because relief efforts are unacceptably slow is one thing--breaking into a jewelry store to steal some jewels is entirely another.

Where is FEMA in this? What happened to all that emergency planning we as a nation supposedly did after 9/11? This wasn't even an out-of-the-blue terrorist incident. This was a natural disaster we had more than a week to prepare for. And almost a week after the storm, lawlessness and chaos still reign. It's completely unacceptable.

-- Dave