I'm fed up with the blaming over NO.

[TerryBPP]

All I hear on CNN is the mayor and other politicians complaining about how the situation is being handled in New Orleans. Also, they complain that there wasn't enough planning for this type of scenario.

WTF, its the biggest destructive force ever to hit the US. How do you plan for that? How do you organize and provide needs to a angry mob of rioting, low income people?

[skipdup]

also, how do you predict that many would take to raping and murder? How do you help people when they're shooting at you?

Congressional Black Caucus just hinted the rescue problems in NO were based on race (i.e. Bush doesn't care cause they're black). That makes me so mad I can hardly stand it.

Originally posted by skipdup

Congressional Black Caucus just hinted the rescue problems in NO were based on race (i.e. Bush doesn't care cause they're black).

Anyone who believes that is truely an idiot.

[Vipergrün]

There were some reps from the NAACP on the news last night.....playing the race card all the way. Here are the demographics for the NO area. As you can see there are 2.5 times as many blacks as whites. So, yes, there are going to be more black people affected, no way around it.

RACE AND ETHNICITY
Number Pct
White 135,956 28.1
Black 325,947 67.3

[Rikao4]

Should have done PPI or Pre Purchase Move Here ? insp.
it's below sea level
high crime stats.
few roads in and out
Hurricanes provided on regular basis
pass on this one
oh not to worry Jesse,AL and the posse will have a hay day with this

rika

[einreb]

here's an interesting clip from an interview on CNN with Bubba and GHWB. GHWB sort of dances around things a bit (which is fine), Bubba steps in and spells out what happens and defends GWB a bit. Unfortunately for GWB... he's been a bit akward in his couple of speeches.

http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/005360.php

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

if you live in a swamp, you are going to get wet. anyone see the PBS special on this about a year ago?

i wonder if the cable tv is out?

[TerryBPP]

Doesn't New Orleans have the highest murder rate in the country?

Might expalin the viloence.

[skipdup]

Originally posted by TerryBPP
Doesn't New Orleans have the highest murder rate in the country?

Might expalin the viloence.

Yes

[bryanthompson]

I thought Washington, DC held that dishonor.

Violent Crime
WDC: 1627.7
NO: 1273.2
National Avg: 446.1

Property Crime
WDC: 6433.9
NO: 6403.7
National Avg: 4162.2

http://www.bestplaces.net/crime/Default.aspx

[tabs]

The Mayor is complaining about the lack of PLANNING...if thats the case then he WASN"T do his job...

There was a made for TV movie about this same scenerio 2 months ago....if a TV Producer can think this up and we know they aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer then the Mayor shoulda at least gave it some consideration..

[ckissick]

20 years ago in one of my engineering geology courses at UCSB, the professor talked about NO for awhile, pointing out that it would take only one direct hit by a large hurricane, and the levees would fail, and we would have a large city under water.

I guess the mayor of NO missed that lecture.

[techweenie]

Excerpt:

----------------------
In 2002, the New Orleans Times Picayune published a five-part series on "The Big One" examining what might happen if they did.

SCENARIO LAID OUT

It predicted that 200,000 people or more would be unwilling or unable to heed evacuation orders and thousands would die, that people would be housed in the Superdome, that aid workers would find it difficult to gain access to the city as roads became impassable, as well as many other of the consequences that actually unfolded after Katrina hit this week.

Craig Marks who runs Blue Horizons Consulting, an emergency management training company in North Carolina, said the authorities had mishandled the evacuation, neglecting to help those without transportation to leave the city.

"They could have packed people on trains or buses and gotten them out before the hurricane struck. They had enough time and access to federal funds. And now, we find we do not have a proper emergency communications infrastructure so aid workers get out into the field and they can't talk to one another," he said.

Most of those trapped by the floods in the city of some 500,000 people are the poor who had little chance to leave.
-------------------

[MichiganMat]

Originally posted by TerryBPP
All I hear on CNN is the mayor and other politicians complaining about how the situation is being handled in New Orleans. Also, they complain that there wasn't enough planning for this type of scenario.

WTF, its the biggest destructive force ever to hit the US. How do you plan for that? How do you organize and provide needs to a angry mob of rioting, low income people?

I think a lot of the frustration is with the response. I mean, if this were a terrorist attack (one without 2 days warning), we would be _majorly_ screwed right now. With that in mind, even with the 2 days of warning, the response has been completely anemic:

Condi was off buying shoes
Bush showed up for work 2 days after the attack
The National Guard was non-existent
FEMA still doesn't know which way is up, much less what the people need
And the people of NO, no matter what their race or income, are dying, starving, living like animals, and cannot escape

A lot of tax money was paid out over the course of the last 4 years in the name of homeland security to prepare for unannounced terrorist attacks. This act of God was announced in advance. Is it too much to ask of the people in charge to start mobilizing the rescue efforts when they've been told of a coming catastrophe? What have we been paying for all this time?

[kach22i]

This otta strir thangs up.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?messageDate=2005-09-02
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

That Michael Moore fella sure is funny.

[tabs]

I just turn Micael Moore off....he just likes the sound of his own voice....

[TerryBPP]

Originally posted by MichiganMat
I think a lot of the frustration is with the response. I mean, if this were a terrorist attack (one without 2 days warning), we would be _majorly_ screwed right now. With that in mind, even with the 2 days of warning, the response has been completely anemic:

Condi was off buying shoes
Bush showed up for work 2 days after the attack
The National Guard was non-existent
FEMA still doesn't know which way is up, much less what the people need
And the people of NO, no matter what their race or income, are dying, starving, living like animals, and cannot escape

A lot of tax money was paid out over the course of the last 4 years in the name of homeland security to prepare for unannounced terrorist attacks. This act of God was announced in advance. Is it too much to ask of the people in charge to start mobilizing the rescue efforts when they've been told of a coming catastrophe? What have we been paying for all this time?

How about people helping themselves instead of blaming the government? Join together as a group and create solutions to problems. Instead of panicing and capitalizing on hard times.

[gaijindabe]

My co-worker has "Air America" on. Who is this idiot broad?

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by gaijindabe
My co-worker has "Air America" on. Who is this idiot broad?

Rachael Maddow, She a Bull who loves conspiracy theories. She's filling in for Franken.

It's horrible isn't it

[MichiganMat]

Originally posted by TerryBPP
How about people helping themselves instead of blaming the government? Join together as a group and create solutions to problems. Instead of panicing and capitalizing on hard times.

I whole-heartily agree with your statement, but not for situations such as this.

- I lose my job? I get off my butt and find another.
- My house burns down and I don't have insurance? No prob, I'll handle that.
- Earthquake turns SF and SanJose into an island 10 milles off the coast? I'll steal enough food to keep my family alive, get the medicine we need, help my neighbors survive, etc. After 3 days though, we better see some helicopters, some troops, some buses, and some fresh food and water from someplace.