My comments, for what its worth:
1) Without helicopters, the situation in New Orleans would have been 1000 times worse. perhaps 5,000 people were rescued by helicopter (the USCG said 2,000 in one day). This is a triumph of the first magnitude, and I am proud to see Black Hawks and J Hawks running back and forth.
2) There were reports that helos had been shot at, on one day, and that was taken to the bank by the news, the public and ppruners. Now we hear that 75 machines are working continuously over the city, but no bullet holes are reported. My belief is that all things are exaggerated by this situation, including shot reports. As I recall, when flying over Alabama in 1972 instructing, every now and then a nice red-state redneck farmer/hunter shot at us for sport, and about once or twice a year a hole developed in a helicopter.
2) The looting occurs everywhere when civil order breaks down, and is especially possible where people are desparate. It looks like that when I see English football matches. IIRC, the fans that murder their rivals while drunk and vomiting are lilly white British citizens.
3) Once the dust settles, we will hear 1,000 tales of nobility, sacrifice and courage. That is because I have a belief that the normal human condition is like that, 1% selfish, 99% noble. But we enjoy lubricating ourselves with tales of how bad others are, so we wallow in the misery. If you want to gauge what I am saying, see the units that just came back from Iraq, and horsed up to help their fellow citizens, or visit
www.hurricanehousing.org and see the 25,000 Americans who have volunteered to open their houses to victims, rent free. They currently list 83,000 beds that are offered. (bsousa and SASless, be careful not to touch that site, it is at Move-On, the liberal.communist/pinko/Darwinian/hunanist site!)