"And the state troopers were talking about making arrests"

That is most jarring of several memorable quotes to be found in this dispatch from New Orleans.

I mean, it just cannot possibly be the case that law enforcement officials in Louisiana put out the word to would-be evacuees that seat-belt and child-restraint laws would be vigorously enforced in the wake of a state of emergency. The mind reels. No one could possibly be that stupid.

Indeed, the only official mention of seat belts from the State Police that I can find is a public "reminder" from Troop C to wear them as you evacuate. Still, this man got the strict enforcement impression from somewhere and it helped to keep him from trying to leave the city with his large family. Troubling.