I thought I would never see the day when even Fox News would air the raw and genuine truth. Yet here it is (download the quicktime video), as two reporters on the ground, in emotionally distressed testimonies, corroborate one another's stories live on the air, against feeble attempts by studio anchor Sean Hannity to put it in "perspective".

People are trapped in the Superdome without food and water. The government is keeping them trapped there. It will not even let them out. Troops guard the checkpoint at the bridge. Geraldo Rivera, with tears in his eyes, picks up a nearby baby and holds it in front of the camera. "There's so many babies here.... Where are the buses? Let them WALK out of here. Let them walk the hell out of here. Thousands and thousands of people who have despearte needs, SIX DAYS LATER."

Shepard Smith, from the nearby bridge, describes the checkpoint that has been set up at the bridge. "They've locked them in here... They watched people being killed around them, and they watched people starving, and they watched elderly people not get any medicine. And now they know it's happening, because we've been telling them repeatedly. They have set up a checkpoint at the bottom of this bridge that takes you from New Orleans into Gretna. It's the only way out. And anyone who walks up out of that city now is turned around. You are not allowed from into Gretna from New Orleans. The government will not allow you to do it. It's a fact."

The nagging question continues to be, Why?

Yanthor and I were discussing this a bit the other night. Is this merely a staggering example of bumbling bureaucratic incompetence, or, as some other bloggers have been saying, is the government intentionally doing the unthinkable? Causing the death, by neglect or otherwise, of members its own populace?

Ran Prieur offered the following speculation as to their movitation:

But look at it from the perspective of the rulers. If you evacuate the people, you have to take care of hundreds of thousands of "useless eaters." On the other hand, if you seal them in until they go mad, and then kill them, then you don't have to take care of them, you create a spectacle for the whole world showing people becoming barbarous without you ruling them, you get the public to sympathize with the use of the American military to kill Americans, your soldiers get accustomed to killing their own citizens, and you send the message to all Americans: We own you. Even if they don't do it this time, they're thinking about it. As I said nine days ago, The tactics the Empire has always used in the colonies, it is now bringing home.

Yanthor said he disagreed, and upon further questioning (and Yanthor, correct me if I'm misinterpreting your comments), said he doesn't think the government rulers ever intentionally conspire against the people they are ruling.

I asked, "What about the Patriot Act? How do you explain that?"

He said he thought that in that case, Bush and Congress did it, not because they wanted to erode people's freedoms, but so they could have something to wave around and say, "See, we put measures in place to protect you. You can't blame us for not trying if there's another terrorist attack."

While I think it's true that there are congressmen who voted for the Patriot Act for that reason, I see consistent patterns throughout world history (not just in the U.S.) of tyrannical leaders doing everything they can to take away the freedom of common people. There is also precedent to suggest that when they think they can get away with it, they are capable of mass murder and genocide.

On Rigorous Intuition today, Jeff Wells writes:

In the end, there is no understanding evil. There is only opposing it.

People shake their heads, "Why would they do this?" Because they can't fathom a reason they deny it's happening, and disbelieve the witness of the tightness in their chests.

When Polish Jews first entered the Warsaw Ghetto, they knew they'd been through Hell, but they thought they'd come out the other side.

This is happening, America, to your brothers and sisters. Don't think it isn't because you can't understand it.

Coming this week, count on it: the "pacification" of New Orleans.

Oddly enough, before watching that Fox News video, I wasn't convinced that the government was intentionally allowing these people to suffer and die. It just seemed like a huge stretch. But now, I'm leaning more toward the conspiracy theorist angle. If it were just lack of aid being delivered, that could be explained away by mismanagement. But how else do you explain soldiers being ordered to stand in the way and trap people from trying to get out of those deadly conditions?

It reminds me of a plotline from Apocalypsopolis.

Previous actions by this government give me plenty of reason to distrust them. Still, the degree of it is stunning. Perhaps the most surprising part is that the evidence, in an unfiltered, unscripted moment, got out on Fox News.

My cynical half strongly suspects that in the coming days, there will be some major media whitewashing going on, not only in Fox News, but other outlets, to "clean up" the story, 1984 style.

Of course the government still loves you! There were merely some 'logistical problems', and 'mistakes were made.' But to make sure it doesn't ever happen again, Congress has passed a new measure requiring all persons, age 0 to 200, to report to the Ministry of Homeland Security, where your retina will be scanned, your fingerprint taken, your blood and urine tested for anomalies, and you will then be issued a brand new Citizen's Pass, which you are required to carry with you at all times, so you can be located and administered aid in the event of a flood, earthquake, hurricane, or terrorist attack. Remember: We're working hard to protect you from harm.

Believe it, people. This is the direction we're heading.