Monday, December 19, 2011

After Iraq, Another Dangerous Tour of Duty

Previously, I wrote about the take-over of New Orleans schools by the state of Louisiana. While I strongly favor local control of schooling and other public concerns, I had to acknowledge that this take-over was a response to the fact that New Orleans had reached such a state of civic disorder that it was unable to effectively run its own schools. Now, State Representative Austen Baden, a Democrat from New Orleans, has said that he will ask Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to send troops of the National Guard to patrol the city's streets.

The recent shooting death of a one-year old child apparently inspired Rep. Baden's request. This is far from the first child to die in America's murder capital.  The call for the National Guard is yet one more recognition of the descent into savagery of the city once known as the Queen of the South.

Perhaps the most astonishing part of the city's loss of order may be the critics of its supposed gentrification.  Open warfare prevails in many of the neighborhoods and advocates are concerned that the city might not have enough poor people.

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