<p>northstarmom:
</p>
<p>Welcome to Bush’s America, huh?</p>
<p>WYOGAL - very well said!!! Kudos</p>
<p>“mini and Carolyn:
You may be right, but doesn’t it seem sort of soon to be expecting that plans for “low income housing” for 200,000 people would be in place?”</p>
<p>You’re missing my point. Unlike others, I DON’T particularly fault FEMA or Homeland Security (other than in not providing buses BEFORE the Hurricane hit - if you are going to urge people to leave, you need to provide the resources by which they can do so.) </p>
<p>I’m looking toward what happens now, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now. The “emergency” period will pass, and I think folks are doing the best they can, even if they planned badly. But you can bet (or at least I can, based on experience) that the Hyatt is already plotting its future, the Convention Center is, the Port is, but few folks are going to spend the time (no less money) on these 200,000 inhabitants WHO AREN’T COMING BACK. And, no, I don’t think it has anything to do with Bush particularly, and, again based on experience, I can’t imagine the Democrats doing anything different.</p>
<p>Anyhow, it’s a testable hypothesis: check back with me in four months and let me know who’s building low-income housing.</p>
<p>Interesteddad, you are incorrect about the airport. I have seen helicopter video of both airports as of 2 hours ago and there is not enough clear runway to land a jet of any size. And even if there was, how would you get the transportation there to unload it and to a place where it was useful?</p>
<p>Mini and NSM, can’t you say SOMETHING constructive for once? And NSM, you are dead wrong. I caught c-span with a phone interview of a NO city official–they had buses out roaming neighborhoods on Saturday picking up people and taking them to the superdome. Some people refused to go, it’s that simple. </p>
<p>IT ISN’T RACIAL. PERIOD. This is in YOUR mind. New Orleans is like Baltimore–75% of the population is black, so it is realistic that most of the casualties in a disaster of this size are black. So are most of those rescued, and so are most of the looters. GET A LIFE!!!</p>
<p>It has been nearly 4 years since 9/11. What this shows is that we are, as a nation, still not prepared for major disasters. What if three or four cities were hit with small nuclear or dirty bombs, or some bio-weapon? It appears that people would be left on their own for sometime. It is rather sobering to think about. Perhaps more needs to be done to preposition supplies around the country and for better planning to respond to the unanticipated.</p>
<p>I lived in Santa Cruz, California during and after the 1989 Quake. Probably not a more “liberal” city in America. Right after the quake, Hispanic farmworkers were quickly evicted from homes they rented in the southern part of the county, to make way for wealthier, displaced white ones (at higher rents.) The owners of the houses collected funds from FEMA in two ways: one for house “damages”, and one through the subsidized higher rents for the displaced folks. Homeless camps – 100% Hispanic – were set up (I know all about this because my publishing house raised funds to support the folks in the camps.)</p>
<p>The cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and San Francisco sued the American Red Cross. The Red Cross (under Elizabeth Dole) took more money out of California alone following the quake (forget the rest of the country) than they spent on relief services. Following the suit, the Red Cross agreed to return 12% (!) of what they raised to the affected communities, but not for emergency relief (the emergency was long over.) Santa Cruz turned around (with its then “socialist” mayor) and built with its Red Cross booty, get this, a 5-story parking garage. The only low-income house complex in town (a 9-story single occupancy hotel) was declared “uninhabitable”, and was replaced by a spanking new Ramada.</p>
<p>
Good question, and the reason we have soldiers fighting jihadists over there instead of here. I doubt we’re prepared for every eventuality. But the inundation of a city below sea level is certainly one of the most difficult eventualities in terms of relief.</p>
<p>So by your logic, 25% of the refugees should be non-black…we will see, from what I see on tv, 25% of those waiting are not non-black, seems overwhelmingly black and elderly</p>
<p>Of the ones I watched on TV- I saw blacks, children, babies and elderly people and other minorities</p>
<p>The truth will be told soon enough</p>
<p>And why is it so important for us to get a life when we are concerned that a segment of the population was left behind</p>
<p>ANd with the President wanting those stealing food and water to be punished harshly, yet they have little food or water, well, I see that compassionare conservatism looming its head</p>
<p>It’s not that the people are taking food and water, but that they’re also breaking into stores to steal luxuty items, mobbing hospitals for painkillers, and firing on the National Guard and rescue helicopters. I think most people would agree that these, at least, should be punished.</p>
<p>WYOGAL - they actually DO have 1 runway open - they have shown several planes landing yesterday - actually major airlines - bringing stuff in and also have transported some out as well. There is a military presence at the airport as well - some of which has actually come off a ship that is the gulf.</p>
<p>In general…
The river is another story - there has been alot of damage - the channels lack markers - are full of debris - not navigable - the River was closed to transport on monday - nothing up/nothing down - has now been opened only to minimal draft types of boats - there are ships on the way tho that will take a few days to get into place - they don’t move too fast. Basically with only 1 road available - and tenuous at best - the only other mode into NO is by air - which certainly has limitations - rescuing a few people with each flight those birds make vs the thousands remaining to be rescued.</p>
<p>I really feel that there was NO way to really prepare for anything of this magnatude - impossible - and why is the president and federal government completely resonsible for arranging the removal of people - we all have choices - some more than others I agree. This gargantuan storm would have reaked the same type of havoc no matter where it hit - what is sooooo different from all the hurricanes of last year - the potential was certainly there at that time.</p>
<p>And Bush’s America!!! We are a nation - US of A - America - since the time of Washington - one nation - under GOD… Stop blaming a man - a human - for all the problems in this country - ya right - I am a dreamer!!! … </p>
<p>Putting the resources into place does not happen in the blink of an eye - or having them in place where ever there could possibly be a disaster is unrealistic - and hind site is always 20/20 - god forbid an event of this proportion happen to any of us.</p>
<p>CGM - who gives a rats a…s WHAT COLOR these people are - they are human beings!!! At least give them that respect!!!</p>
<p>INTERESTEDDAD - I would like to know just one thing - since you so totally disagree with anything that is being done at this point - if you were in charge - how would you handle this situation - how would you get these people out of the hell they are in and FIX this??? Be specific please</p>
<p>OKay, with all of our satellite capabilty, we can’t navagate a river?</p>
<p>In the blink of an eye, this hurricane was predicted a week ago, it happened on Monday, what blink of an eye</p>
<p>Choices, tell that to the old lady in the wheel chair sitting in the superdome</p>
<p>ANd shouldn’t the ships have been moving last Friday or at least Saturday</p>
<p>What I hear a lot from people is that our governemnt is here to protect us…and I would hope that would mean help as well</p>
<p>And the Feds have a responsibility and the resources, why have a national guard - see the word NATIONAL - otherwise, oh yeah to fight a war</p>
<p>ANd when the President said, well no one good have seen the levees breaking///ummm exucse me?</p>
<p>I thought for the last four years the Department of HOMELAND security, of which we give tons of money, was prepapring to handle this type of thing- if this had been created by man, our response would have been the same</p>
<p>This was not a suprise, we were warned almost week ago, and now they are sending ships, woo hoo</p>
<p>I would have gotten the people out BEFORE, as President, I would have gotten on tv and said we are sending in buses, get ready, we are on our way NOW…just for starters</p>
<p>And you Governors, I am here, ask me and I am here…you need gas, here it is, you need equipment BEFORE hand, here it is</p>
<p>Here are cases of walkie talkies</p>
<p>As soon as the sea is calm the ships will be in port</p>
<p>Here are the places that will take the refugees</p>
<p>Whre was Bush Friday, Saturday, SUnday</p>
<p>Oh, yeah, on vacation</p>
<p>Jeepmom -
“This gargantuan storm would have reaked the same type of havoc no matter where it hit - what is sooooo different from all the hurricanes of last year - the potential was certainly there at that time.”</p>
<p>The failure of the levees in NO was pretty location-specific, and the ensuing flooding made an already dire situation that much worse. From the information a co-worker has obtained, the levees were built by the army corp of engineers to withstand a level-3 hurricane. An assortment of Cassandra’s have been predicting what could happen if the situation were not rectified, but funding was not available at any level to make it happen.</p>
<p>I just heard that NO had been warned for some time that this was a likelihood if there was a major storm. The city had asked for federal help for some years to help with the levees. What they got was a $70 million cut in Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee inspection and repair this past year. They were to receive some additional funding over the next few years for some planning and help in next year’s (this fiscal year’s) federal budget.</p>
<p>So citygirl–every time there is a hurricane warning you are going to force evacuation of 100,000’s of people even though you don’t really know where and when it will hit until just a few hours before?? At that rate Miami would be evacuated twice a year. Guess wrong once and you won’t ever get to do it again.</p>
<p>CTM - you need a course in navigation and risk management as well - you know not of what you say about ships and navigation - you can’t send a ship into a hurricane if you expect it to survive as well. So - ships in to port - what ports were usable?? What do you think you know that no one else does about putting a ship in harms way or into a non-navigable waterway?? The fact there is even a ship in the Gulf right now says alot.</p>
<p>And I can imagine you get people out of the state of Florida every time a tropical depression was spotted coming across the Atlantic?!?!? Be realistic!!! Sure would be nice to have that crystal ball all polished up wouldn’t it - uuummmmm cuz you would have to know well in advance that a cat 1 storm would turn into a cat 4-5 within a very short time - or the very unusual occurance of a cat 1 gaining strength as it traveled over southern FLA - nice to be able plan on mother nature like that. Sure would help tho!!</p>
<p>Our President on vacation - uuummm a working one at the very least - yes - there is such a thing as a working western white house and how could HE predict on sat/sun what we would all wake up to on monday??</p>
<p>You seem to just love to ire the folks with your very limited and drastic ideals - your political opinions are all yours - and you can keep them all to yourself - but the reality of what has happened is far from what even you can grasp.</p>
<p>Maybe NO and the state should put up their own money if the need was so dire. They have received many billions for various flood projects over the years. There is not enough money in the world to fund every need of every city in the US.</p>
<p>OHIO_MOM - I agree with you in that before the breech of the levee’s - when NO initially thought they would be ok - this storm did the same type of damage in the general area that it would have done had it landed just about anywhere else. Consider the outcome had it landed up the Chesapeake Bay area or New York - yes - that is possible and not so different initially.</p>