UPDATES BELOW and EDITING Text to do something, anything with that first sentence.

One of the biggest jokes in the coverage of New Orleans during and after Katrina were the people pushing the meme that the massive crime wave following Katrina was merely hype by an overactive media. Yea yea yea...we didn't find stacks of bodies in the Superdome, but there is a wide gulf between not finding stacks of bodies and stating there was no crime, see my post The Myths about Katrina Myths. It is a gulf into which our Police Force and arrogant political officials will gladly step into in order to cover their asses. Anyone remember the lengths officials went last year to cover their asses? Going so far as to make disappear the evacuation plan which had been availible to the public on the City's Website?

For a time Dear Mayor Nagin was himself the source of the most sordid of the tales last year. Then he remembered that after Katrina was over he just might need to have a viable tourism industry. Oops everyone and their mother started backpedaling on the crime statistics. All of a sudden we had reports that there was absolutely NO crime in New Orleans except some scattered looting. Even that was forgiven as what anyone would do in those circumstances as if everyone would break into a Walmart wearing New Orleans Police Uniforms and fill up on VCR's and DVD Players.

The right side of the blogsphere rushed into the void to defend President Bush who was being maligned, unfairly as usual, as the center of all evil by the usual suspects. What they forgot or perhaps didn't even know is the New Orleans Police Department is under Federal investigation for falsifying crime statistics in order to show some progress.

Which brings us back to the present as New Orleans exposes its criminal side with that horrific shooting in a way that even the most creative apologists cannot hide. This is why so many of us in Louisiana thought it was hilarious that people were actually buying into the crap that there was no crime in New Orleans during Katrina. That would have meant that one of the top cities in crime would have all of a sudden reformed without the benefit of a police force since while many of them were doing the best they could it still wouldn't account for the absence of crime.

For a terrific first hand report of what was going on this take by a New Orleans Police office in the very heart of the trouble should hold lots more water than the mealy mouthed attempts following the disaster to paint a rosy picture.

FOXNews.com - Mayor Wants Nat'l Guard to Patrol New Orleans After Deadly Shootings - Crime: "Today is a day when New Orleanians are stepping up. We've had enough,' Nagin said. 'This is our line in the sand. We're saying we're not going any further.'Nagin said the weekend's slayings were unspeakable and he would not allow criminals to take over at a time when it is trying to rebound from its worst disaster. He said he had spoken to the governor about his request for as many as 300 National Guard troops and 60 state police officers to patrol the city."

UPDATED: It is worth noting that a request for National Guard in Mississippi was dismissed by the Commander of the National Guard in that state. Apparently in Louisiana when you want to play politics the National Guard will go along. That is depressing.

Michelle Malkin is jumping into the story.

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