The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

[mjak]

It's all politics. Nagin is a deomocrat on paper, but he supported Bobby Jindal for governor, not Kathleen Blanco. And of course, disaster continues to compound while Ms. Blanco engages in a face-off with Bush and Nagin. Shame on them! They need to get together in a room and finally decide to put the people of New Orleans first.

These politicians need to take the fingers they keep pointing at each other and start pointing at there brains then maybe they will remember where they are and start using them.

 

[cynder]

It nice to see some clamness...
It appears one Mississippi official isn't blaming anyone... I found this in a CNN article:

He said search and rescue efforts were not "as fast as we wanted," but he attributed that to the scope of the devastation.

Praise the Lord, someone with some common sense.
________________________________________________________---

Mississippi authorities blame Hurricane Katrina for 154 deaths in the state, and the toll is expected to rise, the state's governor told a House committee Wednesday

Appearing by video from the state capital in Jackson, Gov. Haley Barbour told the House Energy and Commerce Committee in Washington that authorities in his state have rescued about 5,000 people from the rubble.

Some Mississippians -- including Hattiesburg Mayor Johnnie Dupree -- have complained that FEMA's bureaucracy prevented some needed supplies from reaching their destinations.

By Wednesday, the coastal area was firmly under the control of the National Guard.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/07/katrina.impact/index.html

Gov. Haley Barbour is a Republican, Trent Lott lives in his state and Haley is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and founder of Barbour Griffith & Rogers, which Fortune magazine named the top lobbying firm in the United States. A lobbyist to the Republicans hmmm - that means it would be political AND financial suicide for him to criticize, Bush, FEMA, Dan Brown, Homeland Security et al. Don't look for Haley Barbour to say anything that could be remotely considered negative to the current administration. If you look at what LOCAL residents and LE are saying about the "recovery" you will see a different story. Haley will be well rewarded for his loyalty in this, you just wait and see.

 

[JBean]

The governor and the mayor are looking worse by the minute.

well, I am looking at my own governor and mayor now and want to know what our plan is. is it good enough? will they be able to evacuate the southland in an earthquake?

 

[marrigotti]

I think LA would be even more of a mess than SF...imagine the freeways.

 

[mjak]

well, I am looking at my own governor and mayor now and want to know what our plan is. is it good enough? will they be able to evacuate the southland in an earthquake?

Excellent questions. I think this is the kind of questioning that needs to be done so that we can address all problem areas and in the even of a catastophe be as prepared as possible.

mjak

 

[JBean]

Excellent questions. I think this is the kind of questioning that needs to be done so that we can address all problem areas and in the even of a catastophe be as prepared as possible.

mjak

I hate to say it but the information I have gotten so far is not encouraging. I have amped up my personal supplies and added more complex equipment to it to become more self sufficient. but it won't help me if I cannot get to it or my family and my state doesn't have my back.

 

[lorann]

That was very interesting. Their application was much more detailed than the one is signed up for from Mo. I received some information from them today concerning food and health care etc. They also informed me that my name and phone number would be given to the owners so they could contact me.

Feeding and providing vet care was assumed when I started into this. These people also evacuated dogs from the Human Societies. Now, I am getting cold feet. I can rescue a dog from our own shelter, one that I pick. I said I would accept two dogs, small or medium size, puppy to adult. My family is afraid I will get pit bulls or chows. I also wondered if these pets are not neutered or spayed, can I assume I could have that done? If you foster, the costs are to be shared by the owner and the host - that's not going to happen and I can handle that part.

Now, I am feeling guilty and having reservations.

 

[bakerprune64]

"The mayor certainly has ordered that but the governor, and that would be me, would have to enforce it or implement it. We are trying to determine whether there is an absolute justification for that," she told FOX News.

"I think the most important thing driving that decision would be the possibility of disease. If indeed the disease problem is evident, is inevitable, we'll have to move to the next stage," she said.


I think that the absolute justification should be the fact that the officials are saying that the water is unsafe to be in contact with, there are dead bodies rotting everywhere, the air quality is poor, the bacteria levels are 10 times higher than what is considered safe and the lead levels are extremely high. Toxic mold is starting to spawn in the walls, floors, etc. of places that were flooded (even thought they may now be dry.) IMO, the Mayor has the right idea. My counsins who's house was flooded to the second floor, were allowed back in yesterday to take some prized posessions and board up their home. It's just not worth your life to stay and take your chances.

 

[marrigotti]

These politicians need to take the fingers they keep pointing at each other and start pointing at there brains then maybe they will remember where they are and start using them.

Today's Wall Street Journal absolutely blasted both Blanco and Nagin.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007219

 

[concernedperson]

Did they like Brown? Just a thought.

 

[marrigotti]

Did they like Brown? Just a thought.

I posted a link. Read and decide for yourself.

 

[concernedperson]

I think I am lost in a sea of obscurity. I feel that not enough value is placed on human lives. I am, as well as others doing the blame game. We are missing a bigger picture. Even though their lives weren't what we would want it is their lives, their pain, their destruction. The little things we feel are inconsequential are double in importence to them.It isn't even about what is your life worth, it is about what made you worthy. I did world war 2 or I was in Vietnam or I have 5 children or I created a garden near the cemetary or I was there when Antoines celebrated their 80th year or I ate red beans and rice at Mother's. It is all part and parcel to what makes a city sing and their loss and devastation is in my heart. So sorry for being dramatic but this isn't an easy answer.

 

[Dara]

Did they like Brown? Just a thought.

I'm looked up about Bob Williams and the first hits were for his Evergreen Freedom Foundation and Media Transparency. This is what the latter says:

When is a think tank not a think tank?

In the case of the Olympia, Washington based Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF), it’s when a group that purports to be public interest policy organization turns out to be a private interest law firm for a few contributors.

Evergreen, which enjoys 501 (c) (3) nonprofit tax status, claims in its literature and on its web site to be a "public policy research organization" – a local think tank claiming support from some 2,500 donors. On it tax returns, Evergreen describes its mission as "educational research and analysis." Newsletters and fundraising mail tout Evergreen’s advice to Washington state legislators on budget and tax issues, reducing growth management regulations, and privatizing public services, including schools. The tidy mission of a public policy group, however, is merely Evergreen’s public face.

In truth, Evergreen has built its revenue base and committed much of its expenses on a seven-year public relations and legal campaign to curb the Washington Education Association’s (WEA) use of dues for political purposes – the country’s most sustained and targeted "paycheck protection" campaign. Much of Evergreen’s work -- and its subsequent expenses and its fundraising – is tied to legal complaints in the courts and in Washington state’s Public Disclosure Commission. Evergreen carries on an agenda driven by its president, former Republican state legislator Bob Williams – an unsuccessful gubernatorial and congressional candidate -- and executed by Evergreen’s staff of active Republican political operatives and insiders.

Just adding to the mix of info. Evaluate for yourself.

 

[marrigotti]

Sorry, I am not following you.

 

[Dara]

Sorry, I am not following you.

Are you addressing me?

If so, what's to follow? An article was posted. I was curious about the author. I found his own website and posted the link. I found a blurb about the foundation and posted a snippet with the link.

 

[concernedperson]

Sorry, I am not following you.

Where is your heart?

 

[Liz]

Can you imagine if you're holding up in your home trying to save what you can and you don't want to leave and then you hear first that you're going to be physically forced out of your home, then you hear, nope, the mayor got trumped by the governor - no one knows what the hell is going on!!!! Someone who knows what they're doing needs to step in and tell them all to shut the hell up until some FINAL DECISIONS have been made!!!!!!!!~!

I think this is a big part of the big problem from the get-go!

Besides the fact that this is a castrophe of epic proportions, there's been NO LEADERSHIP, NO COMMAND, NO CONTROL and NO COMMUNICATIONS.

Or at least very damn little!

 

[bulletgirl2002]

Like it or not - these dead people are the real "reality" TV. The truth hurts like hell, and it often isn't pretty either. Without the photos of Vietnam would we have known the "reality" of that war?
I understand respect, but where was the "respect" when these people were drowning in a flooded city, or dying in overcrowded, unsanitary shelters with no food, water or toilets? Is respect then found going without fanfare into an unmarked grave without a name?
If it was MY family member I would welcome the media photos. I would hope that at least the death of my loved one had meaning and would perhaps help save future victims from the same fate. Hiding them from public view makes their death meaningless in the big picture of what went wrong.
The pictures of dead bodies lined up like cord wood, left rotting in the water or abandoned in a gutter are just what people NEED to see, because they are the reality of Hurrican Katrina. We should be sickened and offended. We should be angry.

I don't want to see them....I know they exist and that is enough for me. I am sickened and offended without the visual.

 

[bulletgirl2002]

I have never donated in my 47 years, but this Friday I am going to do so.....and I am taking a friend that doesn' t drive who is B+ ( a rare type I think)

 

[marrigotti]

Are you addressing me?

If so, what's to follow? An article was posted. I was curious about the author. I found his own website and posted the link. I found a blurb about the foundation and posted a snippet with the link.

No, Dara, I was not addressing you. We must have been posting at the same time.