190 replies to this topic

[Brett911]

pre and ex post facto pics

http://www.globalsec...ans-imagery.htm

[TheCourtJester]

OK...for wel over a week teh top story on teh news was that a storm would be hitting New Orleans. It was a class FIVE. And that was teh news HERE...I'm sure they heard about it way sooner than WE did.

My question : Why didn't people leave sooner? ESPECIALLY when the city was under sea level.

Next question : Wh would you want to live in a place near the coast that was below sea level?

Next Question : Does anyone else think that reporters are the scum of the earth? They'll FILM the people holding a "Help Me" sign, but won't go and, you know...HELP THEM? The news anchors see to be jumping with GLEE at this whole thing. Whichever news station has more reporters out there will boast that they have the "best coverage" and "pain teh best picture." News about it was on all afternoon at work...and one of the reporters ask teh most d**ks**t question I've ever heard... "How many BEDS do you have there?" While the guy he was talking to was explaining the relief efforts (and where you could donate). Te reported INTERRUPTED the guy AGAIN to ask "Yea, well how many BEDS do you have there? We're trying to paint a picture of what it's like to be there."

The LOOTERS are the only poeple I can say are worse than that. There's a fine line between scavenging for food and breaking into a shop to jack a TV. Those people should be stuck in a box with the reporters and swept out to see. Why are they doing all that crap when people are DROWNING or TRAPPED in their homes?

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

My question : Why didn't people leave sooner? ESPECIALLY when the city was under sea level.

I wondered the same thing, and have seen several kinds of answers in news covereage. There were tourists whose flights were cancelled and who couldn't get rental cars (one man and his wife paid a cabbie $1,000 to get them to their destination). There are many poor people in the areas hit who couldn't afford to stay in hotels out of the area, some not even owning cars, so they felt they had no choice but to ride it out. Some tried to get out, but couldn't get gas. Some thought they had more time to try to leave, and continued making efforts to board up and secure their homes -- only to find out too late it was too late to leave. Then there were many who just thought they'd ride it out like other storms that weren't as serious as news reports led them to believe they'd be.

[UncleVinny]

Just a clarification - the levees surrounding New Orleans did not break, so much as failed due to lack of repair - the construction in these areas was not completed. The funding for the levee repairs was cut to a trickle, many claim, as a result of tax cuts, the war in Iraq, and costs for homeland security.

http://www.editorand...t_id=1001051313

"When flooding from a massive rainstorm in May 1995 killed six people, Congress authorized the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, or SELA.

Over the next 10 years, the Army Corps of Engineers, tasked with carrying out SELA, spent $430 million on shoring up levees and building pumping stations, with $50 million in local aid. But at least $250 million in crucial projects remained, even as hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin increased dramatically and the levees surrounding New Orleans continued to subside.

Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security -- coming at the same time as federal tax cuts -- was the reason for the strain. At least nine articles in the Times-Picayune from 2004 and 2005 specifically cite the cost of Iraq as a reason for the lack of hurricane- and flood-control dollars."

[cybertrano]

It's Bush's fault again.

[Dave Burrell]

That bureaucracy for ya..... this news does not suprise me.

My wife and I were talking about this last night, wondering what GW is going to do to help out our own citizens here in the USA....thinking about all the $$$$ going to Iraq and abroad and how it seems we can't even take care of our own...time will tell.

I'd hope (if it hasn't been done already) that GW declares a national disaster emergency and sends the national guard down there to help out - but are there any left to send or are they all in Iraq?

Looks like things are getting crazy in New Awlins....the looters are running wild and there's an entire infrastructure breakdown....they need some serious help and last I heard the mayor recommended everyone leave the city.

[Dave Burrell]

It's Bush's fault again.

Can't be entirely his fault, I doubt he was even aware that project was going on....lets just hope the pres does everything possible to send help down there ASAP.

if the blame lies anywhere - its within congress and the bureaucrats in Louisianna who let this slip as a priority.

[cybertrano]

You hatred for Bushbabe will cause you guys to get heartburns, headaches, depressions to the point that you will abuse your family, your dogs, your cats. It ain't worth it baby. Take your vacation and enjoy your life.

[nhardy]

It's sad to see so many people in need, yet there are those idiots who decide to take advantage of a disaster and loot and run wild in the streets.

Unreal

[ngilbert]

I'd hope (if it hasn't been done already) that GW declares a national disaster emergency and sends the national guard down there to help out - but are there any left to send or are they all in Iraq?

I know the National Guard is there now, though these are the NG that the Governors dispatch. Also the Army Corps of Engineers are working on shoring things up, FEMA and the Coast Guard (obviously) are helping, and the Navy is there - not just ships but apparently there are SEAL rescue divers in NO now (wait'll the looters get a load of them).

There's most definitely a federal relief effort underway. From CNN:

"Bush announced that he has created a Cabinet-level task force to coordinate hurricane relief efforts across federal agencies, headed by Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff.

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Michael Brown, will be in charge of the federal response on the ground in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The White House also announced Wednesday that Bush has asked his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and former President Bill Clinton to spearhead an international relief effort for hurricane victims, similar to the effort they undertook for victims of last year's tsunami in South Asia.

Bush said the federal government's first priority is to rescue those still trapped and provide medical assistance. FEMA, the Coast Guard and the Department of Defense have sent resources to help with the search-and-rescue effort, he said.

The federal government also will use more than 400 trucks from the Department of Transportation to bring food, water and supplies to those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed, and plans are being made to provide housing, education and health care for the displaced, he said."

Also, kudos to the people of Houston for taking in the refugees.

[Al Waysrite]

This is not the time to place blame on Bush, Congress or anyone else. It's a time to help so quit typing about who's to blame and donate or at least pray!

[john]

Bravo! Great post.

This is not the time to place blame on Bush, Congress or anyone else.  It's a time to help so quit typing about who's to blame and donate or at least pray!

[bishmasterb]

Next question : Wh would you want to live in a place near the coast that was below sea level?

FEMA

Ok, so that's not the only reason. But it helps to know that you'll get "free" disaster relief should anything bad happen.

[Chad Vander Veen]

I blame...nature! It was nature's fault!! and Bush too, of course. He controls nature.

[cybertrano]

Best post I have seen in my life.

This is not the time to place blame on Bush, Congress or anyone else.  It's a time to help so quit typing about who's to blame and donate or at least pray!