Considering it's a "shall-issue" state, I'm thinking there's going to be a lot less looting in Texas than there was in New Orleans. Assuming that both hurricanes are equally destructive, this provides an opportunity for a controlled social experiment.

Give me a break. Ever hear of "hindsight"?

Of course Texas is going to learn from the mistakes of New Orleans. Just as New Orleans would have learned from the mistakes of Texas had the order of the hurricanes been reversed.

That's the stupidist thing I've ever heard. It would take years to describe the number of differences between the two situations that has nothing to do with gun laws.

I think the better experiment was LA vs. MS, although much of MS was flattened, so there wasn't much to loot.

Although I support the right to bear arms the above commenters are correct. You'd be comparing apples to oranges here...but I think you weren't being completely serious so I'll forgive.

Nothing at all. Just like the fact that the most anti-gun cities in America happen to also be the most dangerous, and primarily to minorities. More dangerous in fact than the whole country of Iraq. Hmmmmmm.

It would take years to describe the number of differences between the two situations that has nothing to do with racism.

But that doesn't play to the racial identity audience and their MSM husslers, does it?

The Guard and the army alreadyh in Texas cities WELL before storm hits--of course things will be differentg. Bush did NOT call out the militia as he might have under the constituion, which, if you are not familiar with this part of it, see the New Yorker piece (this week) in Talk of the Town.

Didn't take long for the mostly-looney Left to butt in. They've ignored the numerous articles in the Houston Chronicle that mention what happens to miscreants in Houston. I've been to both cities several times, and I feel much safer in Houston, despite it's much larger size and (presumably) greater number of poor minorities.

Come on now, everyone knows that in Texas we just do it bigger! When we loot, we do it Enron-sized!! What's a few tvs when you steal millions??

Thanks, but no thanks, Fred. I'll consult the Constitution directly.

Many of us don't need the world explained to us by liberal arts majors, writers and 'journalists.' Same goes for having the Constitution 'interpreted' by the New Yorker.

P.S. I'll add lawyers, pundits, politicians and political operatives to the list of uneccessary filters.

LA's a shall-issue state: http://www.packing.org/state/louisiana/ In fact, my VA permit is good there. All the states on the Gulf Coast are shall-issue. You have to go all the way up the Atlantic to MD before you hit a non-shall issue state.

I gotta say, it would be an interesting comparison if it were a valid comparison. (Of course, you couldn't control for hindsight, even if you somehow (in a universe where this could happen) had direct hits on Dallas and DC)

"Of course Texas is going to learn from the mistakes of New Orleans. Just as New Orleans would have learned from the mistakes of Texas had the order of the hurricanes been reversed."

Ummm, no, I doubt New Orleans would have. They apparently didn't learn from Florida and the myriad of large scale hurricanes like Andrew did to them.

They didn't learn from several studies telling them anything bigger than a Cat 3 was going to be a disaster of near Biblical proportions.

And before anyone gets their neck hair up...Avoyelles native here. I lost family in that storm.

That being said I agree the comparison is weak. Texas planning and execution in emergencies has been superior to Louisiana's for years.

Gun laws are about the same in both states. The experiment will be how Blacks respond to lawlessness versus Hispanics.

That being said I agree the comparison is weak. Texas planning and execution in emergencies has been superior to Louisiana's for years.

Compare today's horror trafffic jam on I-290 westbound to the very sucesseful contraflow evacuation of New Orleans and rethink that statement.

Also, as noted above, Houston has already been well looted.

Who needs a controlled social experiment? Three hundred years of North American history tells you that NOLA is the most corrupt and illmanaged city on the continent (slightly "ahead" of Montreal... perhaps there is a pattern here?).

That... compared to Houston, one of the most dynamic and successful cities in America which, by the way, has produce two out of the last three American presidents.

Ever wonder why the oil industry is headquartered in Houston and all the oil rigs are spitting distance from NOLA? Because it doesn't take a greased palm to make things happen in Houston.

As a former Louisiana congressman Billy Tozin said even before the flood, "Half of Lousiana is under water and the other half is under indictment!"

Lots of before-the-fact damage control going on here, methinks!

How long will it be after the impact that the race pimps complain of the preponderance of whites being rescued by the feds?

About 5 minutes.

Houston is a vibrant city that actually produces mineral wealth, goods and services. New Orleans is or was a rundown city that depended on tourists getting drunk and robbed by thieves or police.

Duncan and David- as long as ya'll are being all snarky about Enron, would you mind offering up your opinions on all the federal money that got sent NOLA's way in the last few years that doesn't seem to have been used on levee work?

No comments? No surprise. Take a good look in the mirror, guys. You'll see perfect examples of "part of the problem, not the solution" there.

Duncan,
That very successful evac that ignored hospitals, nursing homes and the very poor. Yeah, it went swimmingly well. 4,000,000 people live in the Houston area plus a couple hundred thousand Katrina victims. Just a few more people than New Orleans. You know what the difference in pictures of the evacuations was? There were BUSES in the Houston picture. BTW, the hurricane hasn't made landfall yet so Houston will have a very successful evac that INCLUDES hospitals, nursing homes and the very poor.

Mitchell,
Are you arguing for stronger role for direct federal control and oversight of federal spending? If so, I completely agree with you - that LA is not a posterchild for good procurement policy is no surprise to anyone.

Bill,
I hope you are right. But the fact remains that NOLA cleared out +80% of its population, along basically one highway, with no AMTRAK or air traffic in about 36 hours. The buses leaving Houston might in fact be contributing to the snarl.

It maybe better to evacuate as many as you can, and shelter the remaining population - so long as you get the supplies in promptly afterward. If the roads are still clogged with traffic when the hurricane hits, you have a catastrophe on your hands.

Duncan -- people are getting out EARLY. Nagin and Blanco waited until 24 hours. So far we've seen about 48 hours prior evac; a little less but landfall is predicted at Fri Eve.

Moving a lot of people out is the only defense against massive hurricanes that flood out areas. There is NO defense against storm surge. Other than not being there.

Which means massive logistics and so on. Early evac is the only solution. Geography is also crucial. Only a few highways out means choke points.

Quote from Duncan Young: "The buses leaving Houston might in fact be contributing to the snarl."

The buses only become a problem when they explode.

I would be shocked if the politicians in Houston tried to confiscate firearms. If they did, I would expect to see some law enforcement actually disobey and I would not be suprised if a few gun owners physically resisted.