Molly Ivins on NO's Deep Water

Molly Ivins is saying many of the same things others have said, but she says almost anything better than almost anyone else. I've been doing the same thing she talks about in her opening paragraph, taking mental walks through the city we may never see again. Furthermore, Arlo Guthrie is constantly singing "The City of New Orleans" on my mental jukebox, in a kind of ongoing haunting. Here's the beginning, and you can read the rest here: Why New Orleans is in Deep Water.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Like many of you who love New Orleans, I find myself taking short mental walks there today, turning a familiar corner, glimpsing a favorite scene, square or vista. And worrying about the beloved friends and the city, and how they are now.

To use a fine Southern word, it's tacky to start playing the blame game before the dead are even counted. It is not too soon, however, to make a point that needs to be hammered home again and again, and that is that government policies have real consequences in people's lives.

This is not "just politics" or blaming for political advantage. This is about the real consequences of what governments do and do not do about their responsibilities. And about who winds up paying the price for those policies.

This is a column for everyone in the path of Hurricane Katrina who ever said, "I'm sorry, I'm just not interested in politics," or, "There's nothing I can do about it," or, "Eh, they're all crooks anyway

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