<p>I-I-I—don’t even know what to say—I’m so ANGRY! Where is our national will? Why are we allowing the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi to languish in destruction----almost half a year later? Why are thousands of FEMA trailors parked in vacant lots while untold numbers of people live in tents set on top of E-coli infestation? Why is it that the Alito confirmation hearings were the only thing that mattered to Congress over the past few months? Sorry for this rather disjointed and halting post, but I’m still in a state of shock over what I saw. What can we do?</p>
<p>Vote Republican…hehehe and then ask these questions.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you’ve noticed, hazmat, but Congress is comprised of both, Republicans AND Democrats. Neither side of the isle has been breaking its collective neck to address this issue. Congress has moved on! This is to our absolute SHAME! We should all be ashamed! Again, I ask, what can we do?!</p>
<p>hazmat? I must be dense because I don’t get it</p>
<p>ANyway, and is this in the news much…nope… thousands missing or dead…tens of thousands still homeless…more living with relatives</p>
<p>many jobless, and according to Bush in his SOTU address, no wait, he didn’t say anything about our own countries recovering in this disastor</p>
<p>The REPUBLICANS set the agenda, they rule the committees, they decide what they want to talk about, they decide where the money goes, and to whom</p>
<p>Steriods in baseball got more investigation than FEMA and the HLS did in this mess</p>
<p>Look at the leadership at the local, state and national levels… and VOTE THEM OUT!</p>
<p>I’m watching it now in the central time zone. Where did all the money we donated go? We dug deep as did a whole lot of other Americans. It doesn’t appear to me that it went to the most beneficial places.</p>
<p>Just because Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House, it doesn’t render the Democrats powerless, CGM. I know you take every issue solely as an opportunity to bash the current administration and Republican majority, but try not to be so rabidly partisan for a change. Blame placing accomplishes almost next to nothing, especially when there is SO VERY MUCH of it to spread around. Congress responds to the collective constituency. If the majority of Americans are concerned about something, and voice it in no uncertain terms, even the Republican congress would have to address that concern. But the majority of Americans, at least until the airing of this program, have had no concept of how bad things remain on the Gulf Coast. But once we’ve been made aware, it seems to me that we have a responsibility to DO something. (What happened to all that MONEY we raised for “KATRINA RELIEF” anyway?) What if we all wrote the President and our Congresspersons and DEMANDED that they begin to seriously address the human and economic impact of this disaster?</p>
<p>The local governments either won’t allow the trailers or there are no utilities to hook them to. They (FEMA)won’t just park a trailer illegally without utilities.</p>
<p>Poetsheart, I didn’t see Oprah, and I make no excuses for FEMA, but no one who lives on the Gulf Coast is genuinely surprised that reconstruction is not moving faster. They were still cleaning up from Ivan in Pensacola when Dennis came this past summer (does anyone other than us even remember Dennis??) - and the Ivan destruction is nothing, NOTHING, compared to Katrina.
People with resources are waiting for the flood maps and the lawsuits and the levee work to begin. The poor are waiting for flood maps and the government to make decisions about subsidized housing. Things are moving faster in MS - I don’t know what they showed on Oprah, but the MS flood maps have come out, and some folks can decide whether to rebuild or sell out. A LOT of people are waiting to see which way the wind/flood lawsuits turn out - if it looks like the insurance companies will have to pay up, then the rebuilding will start in earnest.</p>
<p>Why are the FEMA trailers sitting there? Some incompetence, some NIMBY. FEMA requires (rightly so) that you have electricitiy and water to hook up to - that’s still not on in some areas. Some local governments outsdie the worst areas have been resistant to allowing groups of FEMA trailers - afraid they will become permanent trailer parks.</p>
<p>Large areas of NOLA have building permits frozen - someone I know had moved permanently from NOLA just prior to storm, and had an empty house in NOLA East up for sale. All her damage is wind and roof. She can’t get a building permit or an insurance settlement because everything is frozen, she’s getting behind on mortgage payments (not that the mortgage company could money from the insurance any faster).</p>
<p>It is a mess, but honestly don’t know how much better it would be.</p>
<p>^^
Well said. Having lived on the Gulf Coast for most of my life in Texas and Louisiana, through everything from Camille to Rita, I can say it really does take a long time. One summer, we evacuated our FL vacation rental because of Opal; one year later we returned to find the devastation was still very apparent in places. And this is an area where virtually every one is insured and business development conditions ideal.</p>
<p>In NOLA in particular, there is conflict about what will actually be rebuilt where. Developers pushing big plans for the ‘new’ New Orleans vs. more civic-minded people who want to provide housing for the poor who would like to return home vs. the weary ‘average Joe’ taxpayer who thinks it stupid to build anything on the low side of a levee. I can understand why it would take so long to sort out.</p>
<p>It took me four months just to get landscaper to re-plant a yard and do some shrubbery trimming. Same for getting a new tile floor. Right now we arethree months into getting a sewer line replaced. Construction projects all take time. I can’t imagine what it is like trying to find a contractor down there–even if you have the permits and $$$$.</p>
<p>They FEMA should have had water and electricity running already, but since we can’t get it done in IRAQ why would we expect it here</p>
<p>If this was a bomb, we would be )%#)*$ with the follow through of the Federal Government</p>
<p>Guess poor people don’t need clean water and power and a roof</p>
<p>“Guess poor people don’t need clean water and power and a roof”</p>
<p>They do - but not necessarily in that corrupted and rotten hell hole of a city!</p>
<p>I have not watched the Oprah show, but I am sure that it is good to reawaken the public opinion about the current needs of the displaced. Those people are not dealing with Republicans and Democrats but with a dysfunctional government. FWIW, this is a subtle reminder why the government subcontracts most of the work that needs to be done: federal and state employees have no cue oh how to get things done. Heck, they cannot even decide what is needed and control what they buy. Blame the politicians all you want, but the reality is that the career employees are pretty much the same, regardless of who is in the White House. The levels of sclerotic and lazy management have been built many years ago. The overhauling of the Homland department just provided the perfect excuse. </p>
<p>There is no excuse for failing to aid the displaced, but that does NOT mean we should rush to dump billions in that rotten to the core area without scrutiny. Our efforts should be concentrated on making the life of displaced people better … outside New Orleans, and help the ones that are still there leave. Without a comprehensive plan that addresses all issues, we are just setting the same people up for another disaster. </p>
<p>Katrina’s little cousins won’t read the papers next year and they will strike again, probably with greater force. Does anyone really believe that the levees will keep the water out next time? On the other hand, our country has the means to help people stay out of the area and start a better life. Right now, we are not helping.</p>
<p>PS CGM, does the government provide you water and electricity? Have you ever heard of the term Public Utility Companies? Do you expect the government to seize them?</p>
<p>Oprah = Moral Panic de Jour</p>
<p>Bill<em>h</em>pike, you’ve been listening to Rush, haven’t you?</p>
<p>Coup d’ Oprah…so what is she going to do? How will she cure our ills? I am always interested in the charismatic influence that Oprah has and the results that may come of it?</p>
<p>I have to agree, is it wise to rebuild in an area that will probably be devastated again and again with the visciousness of these hurricanes/ have the levees been fixed, bettered, anything? is it wise to expect to be bailed out more than once, or for insurance companies to ever insure anything there again? I know it was one of our greatest landmarks but perhaps it should remain like atlantis. the tragedy is how the people were treated. I would hate to see that again, but you will if they insist on rebuilding and re-populating. but I don’t live there, and perhaps have a very skewed perception. I am on the outside looking in, and my area doesn’t flood.</p>
<p>In Miss. areas that were not in the flood zone flooded. Roads, electricity, phones and water have to be completely rebuilt before anything can be strted on homes. FEMA trailers are in trailer cities all over the place and while funcitonal, not pretty. This is for the rich and the poor. It will take several years to rebuild the infrastructure - people’s finances are in ruins and many, many are moving elsewhere - in the tradition of our country. Starting over elsewhere is not a totally terrible thing - certainly it is hard, not everyone is capable of doing it. But with the numbers of people impacted, many will leave, many will stay. But the area will never be the same again. It took 10-15 years after Camille to recover and Katrina was much worse. There was no Oprah or FEMA in 1969. A facinating book about the great flood of 1927 - Rising Tide by John Barry. It’s not like the Gulf area and New Orleans were never hit before. It is tragic and we will have further tragedies resulting from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters.</p>
<p>I have a question for Cangel. I had other activities last night and couldn’t get back to post, so I apologize for the delay.</p>
<p>In viewing damage in MS, there was discussion that the reporter and her crews were not allowed on certain sites because of ecoli contaminated soil. Based on your experience in the past, how long will it be before the soil is safe again? Physical cleanup is a major pain. Biohazards can’t be helping.</p>
<p>xiggi, “rotten and corrupted hell hole of a city”? It may not be your choice of places to live, but it was home for many. Blanket condemnation is not necessary.</p>