orbis quintus

Just got this bit of news from a friend on the Archives & Archivists Listserv:

Members of the staff of The Historic New Orleans Collection were able to enter the French Quarter this week with a State Police escort. Our buildings and collections are high and dry. Much of the material was moved to a generous and accommodating institution in another part of the state.

Because the presence of armed forces is now pervasive, we feel that the museum is extremely secure. We hope to be back in operation as soon as city services have been restored.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all of our fellow citizens affected by Katrina and our offers of assistance go out to all of our colleagues, friends, and neighbors..”

He takes responsibility for the federal government’s failure to respond properly in the aftermath of Katrina.

Great. Now take a cue from your buddy Brownie and resign.

Oh wait… what does he actually say?

“Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government and to the extent the federal government didn’t fully do its job right, I take responsibility.”

This is not a complete admission of culpability. This is just the opening chickenshit ploy to pretend he’s going to fix problems that should have been addressed four years ago. He’s the wrong man for the job. That’s what he needs to admit.

Everyone needs to step up right this moment to demand the independent investigation.