MORE ON THE HURRICANE IKE AFTERMATH: Here’s some USGS aerial photography. And here are some pics on hurricane damage at the Galveston Railroad Museum. Plus, here’s a photo slideshow of damage.

Houstonian Steven Selbe emails: “Not to pat ourselves on the back (I’m a Houstonian), but, unlike Katrina, we aren’t standing around asking ‘where’s the government to fix everything.’ I would say power is back to about 50% of the area, gas was short but is getting better. We all helped each other to clean up (there is a lot of big debris to be picked up but we are patient) and now having taken the punch Houston is getting back to work (I have been back at work for 3 days despite no power at home).”

And reader David Whidden writes:

I saw that you linked to an old Galveston Daily News article that a reader sent you, but unfortunately it is already out of date. As this article from yesterday indicates, that media blackout has already been rescinded. It turns out that the mayor was actually just really busy and decided that her time was better spent elsewhere. Compare her actions to Ray Nagin and his hour long interview on NPR – which one was really serving their city more effectively?

Since Monday they’ve already restored water to all of the areas behind the Seawall (an 11 mile stretch) and a phased return will be started next week.

Maybe the reason there isn’t much news out of Galveston is that there is a functional city government down there that is making responsible choices, albeit with an occasional mistake, and doing everything they can to get their city up and going again. Life is going to be rough there for a while, but in comparison to the clowns who were in charge in New Orleans, the people of Galveston have done a remarkable job so far. They aren’t whining about what their problems are, they are just solving the problems. And, if they can solve their problems on their own, why would the press write about that?

Yeah, that’s no fun. Reader Daniel Kauffmann writes:

Regarding the lesser coverage of Ike vs. Katrina:

First note that I am a former New Orleans resident. I left in 1991, in part because it was apparent that in the event of the eventual natural disaster, evacuation would not be possible on the short notice that hurricanes give; in part because of the glaring ineptness of the City of New Orleans to deal with routine crime, civic, and economic needs – much less a major problem; and in part because of the mindset of about half of the New Orleans populace, “I have a problem and you must help me.”

I currently reside in the countryside an hour north of Houston. Many of the folks that I work with commute from Houston or points in between. Most of us have been dealing without power (and water if on a well, such as I). One coworker had a large oak tree come through her roof, another had three large oaks that totally demolished her home. Of the hundred or more persons I’ve spoken to since Ike came through, one, ONLY one, has said anything about FEMA or the government having any responsibility to help.

The difference is that simple, Ike is not newsworthy because there are no clamoring masses demanding assistance (and blaming Bush because it wasn’t here yesterday). Folks hereabouts wear boots. Boots have bootstraps, and we know how to use them. Ike has been awful. We’ve simply chosen to deal with it. We are extremely grateful for any and all assistance, but recognize that it is our problem, not that of others.

And reader Anthony Dye offers a similar explanation for the low-key coverage:

My theory: It’s because the Republican Governor has handled the response fantastically. Yes there are shortages here and there, but he learned lessons from Rita and put them into practice. In other words, the disaster is bad news but the response has been a positive for the people affected, for a Red State, and for the Texas GOP. They’re showing what “compassionate conservatism” was supposed to look like, and nobody in the media wants to make a Republican look good right now.

The view from Austin, TX is that everyone is doing everything humanly possible to help, and largely succeeding in delivering that help – even to the thousands of imbeciles who stayed through the storm and had to be evacuated afterwards.

Imbeciles, indeed.

UPDATE: A pack, not a herd. Reader Brandon Haber writes:

More from a Houston resident – I work for Johnson Space Center. A few other NASA folks put together a list of volunteers and people in need, and down here, lots of people had a foot or more of water in their house. They’ve organized roving bands of 8-12 of us, going around to houses and tearing down walls, removing carpet, cutting down trees, you name it. We’ve probably done more for people than FEMA, all organized on the spur of the moment. My hats off to the rest of the volunteers, and many others like them. I’m new to Houston, and the amazing citizen’s response to Ike has just reaffirmed why I love living here. The damage is staggering, but then, so is the spirit of this great city.

That’s how it should work.