New Orleans...5 months later

BRPORSCHE · 02-20-2006, 06:27 AM

I was in New Orleans yesterday for a mardi gras parade. This was my first time back to the city since before Katrina. I hate to say this but the city seemed pretty darn empty. No one was at the parade and traffic was only minimal. Pretty interesting thinking if where I was driving was under water and just looking on the houses for water marks. Boats still lying in the medians of roads, Blue tarps everywhere. Almost felt like a ghost town. I just thought that after 5 and a half months they would have something done. Doesn't seem like anythign at all has been finished or even started. Lets just hope it is a whole different story with the levee system.

Louisiana Politics: No one is better.

Jims5543 · 02-20-2006, 06:39 AM

Do you think it is any different in Florida? A good friend visited from New York 2 weeks ago and was startled to see all the damage still visible from storms that hit 18 months ago. We still have roads closed here that were damaged by the storms of 2004.

I predicted Katrina would destroy NO when I saw all the damage and flooding on TV. I know how long it is taking to get things done here and we do not have nearly the damage. The politics and red tape are astounding. Plus, you now have government contracted work being done. These folks are in no hurry to get onything done, there is no sense of urgancy just an opportunity to cash in.

Example: Trash removal. If I was smart I would have closed my business down, bought a dump truck and front end loader and headed to NO. I would make more in a year removing trash than I could in 5 years running my business.

The magnitude of the damage in NO requires outside governmental help. That is a backbreaker for business owners and home owners. It will take years to get that city back on track.

Mulhollanddose · 02-20-2006, 07:36 AM

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim Cesiro
The magnitude of the damage in NO requires outside governmental help. That is a backbreaker for business owners and home owners. It will take years to get that city back on track.

It's sad, really. The delta region is so much more strategically important to the US than any place in the ME, yet just the reconstruction money that's unaccounted for in Iraq would provide all the cleanup and a fair part of the necessary reconstruction of NO and surrounding area.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/file_on_4/4216853.stm

I think our priorites are misplaced.

Hugh R · 02-20-2006, 09:48 AM

I've been in NO several times in the last five months and the tens of thousands of flooded houses and vehicles is amazing. You drive for miles past block after block of empty houses. A friend who works there thinks in five years it will be a better city because those on welfare, unemployed for the most part won't come back.

gaijindabe · 02-20-2006, 09:59 AM

Plenty of low skilled work available. And plenty of low skilled unemployed sitting in motels and hotels hundreds and thousands of miles away. A man made disaster is always worse than the natural one..

Mulhollanddose · 02-20-2006, 10:02 AM

Keep them dumb, keep them dependent, encourage them to breed, brainwash them into thinking they are victims -- rinse, repeat...The Democrat party.

targa911S · 02-20-2006, 11:10 AM

Geezz .....Mull are you really Rush Limbaugh

Jims5543 · 02-20-2006, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mulhollanddose
Keep them dumb, keep them dependent, encourage them to breed, brainwash them into thinking they are victims -- rinse, repeat...The Democrat party.

I think it is more government than any particular party. Look at Florida in 2004 Jeb was in over his head. The place was a mess. A local talk show (I was at ground zero of Jeanne and Francis) got Jeb on the phone. He thought he was going to give a touchy feely happy interview. The interviewer asked him point blank if he felt Florida was as ready as he said they would be on TV. He said yes, then it was pointed out we had sewage flowing in the streets and we needed generators to run the lift stations (something no one thought of before the storm) and the state was dragging its feet getting them there. He was asked again if he was ready. He politely excused himself and hung up. I bet CNN didn't cover that story.

Until you have lived through the bull***** you cannot fathom what hell on earth is. Gvernment in general has its collective head up its @ss. I feel pity for anyone having to depend on Government after a storm. I quickly realized I was on my own. My co-workers and I formed a team that could overcome anything and we did.

I laughed when I found out dudes with dumptrucks were pulling in $10,000-20,000 a WEEK hauling off the hurricane trash on FEMA's bill. Your taxpayer money at work.

Florida Power and light is still at defcon 5 with its employees raking in overtime so they can milk the federal money for all its worth.

Bellsouth is doing the same.

Democrats? WTF!! It's ALL of them no single party is to blame GOVERNMENT is.

kach22i · kach22i's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by techweenie
It's sad, really. The delta region is so much more strategically important to the US than any place in the ME, yet just the reconstruction money that's unaccounted for in Iraq would provide all the cleanup and a fair part of the necessary reconstruction of NO and surrounding area.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/file_on_4/4216853.stm

I think our priorites are misplaced.

Quote:

Almost $9bn (£4.7bn) of Iraqi oil revenue is missing from a fund set up to reconstruct the country.

The BBC's File On 4 programme has learnt that out of over $20bn raised in oil revenues during US-led rule, the use of $8.8bn is unaccounted for. .

More waste, I'd rather see it wasted or gone missing here in the USA. Worst case is someone cruising around in a yacht on our tab - not planting bombs to blow our troops up with.

Joe Ricard · Joe Ricard's Garage

Who really gives a rat's ass about New Orleans. The only district affected was the 9th ward. Probably needed and enima anyway.
Do you know that New Orleans now has the lowest crime rate of any city in the U.S.
Did you know that the city's who opened thier doors to the evacuee's all experienced a dramatic rise in the crime rate?
HMMM makes you wonder.

What about the city's to the east that ACTUALLY did experience complete and total DEVISTATION!!!!!!!!! Bay Saint Louis, Waveland all the way to Pascagoula.
I live in Gautier, my house was flooded, I have nearly completed my rebuild of my house. BY MY SELF nearly out of my own pocket. I did not wait for a Government hand out. I rolled up my sleeves with my Nieghbors and we collectively went from house to house doing it alll ourselves.
I am back in my house this week as "we all feel sorry for the people in New Orleans that were not smart enough to get the heck out of the way of the biggest storm in recent history.

Sorry for the RANT ...... I'm done now.

gaijindabe · 02-20-2006, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Ricard

I live in Gautier, my house was flooded, I have nearly completed my rebuild of my house. BY MY SELF nearly out of my own pocket. I did not wait for a Government hand out. I rolled up my sleeves with my Nieghbors and we collectively went from house to house doing it alll ourselves.

Sorry for the RANT ...... I'm done now.

You Sir, are allowed to rant!

turbo6bar · 02-20-2006, 01:28 PM

Louisiana is one messed up state.

Good on ya, Joe Ricard.

Jims5543 · 02-20-2006, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Ricard
Who really gives a rat's ass about New Orleans. The only district affected was the 9th ward. Probably needed and enima anyway.
Do you know that New Orleans now has the lowest crime rate of any city in the U.S.
Did you know that the city's who opened thier doors to the evacuee's all experienced a dramatic rise in the crime rate?
HMMM makes you wonder.

What about the city's to the east that ACTUALLY did experience complete and total DEVISTATION!!!!!!!!! Bay Saint Louis, Waveland all the way to Pascagoula.
I live in Gautier, my house was flooded, I have nearly completed my rebuild of my house. BY MY SELF nearly out of my own pocket. I did not wait for a Government hand out. I rolled up my sleeves with my Nieghbors and we collectively went from house to house doing it alll ourselves.
I am back in my house this week as "we all feel sorry for the people in New Orleans that were not smart enough to get the heck out of the way of the biggest storm in recent history.

Sorry for the RANT ...... I'm done now.

You learned what I learned. Those depending on the governmant are still waiting for help 5 months later.

Congrats to you for standing up and getting done what needed to be done. We did the exact same thing here. My business lost its roof. We rolled up our sleeves and got up and running 2 days later. All out of my own pocket. I cannot fathom rebuilding a home. I lost 10's of thousands loosing my business.

As far as the crime thing goes.. Yeah is does make you wonder doesn't it. Oops! That is not PC though, stop talking about that.

livi · 02-20-2006, 02:49 PM

Being the land of opportunity, I would expect some wealthy, private entrepreneur to just buy the whole of New Orleans for scrap money and recreate something nice out of the mess.

Come to think of it - lets buy it and rename it the Pelican State.

Note, I am not making fun of a tragedy. Just find it curious that the richest country on the planet seems to have abandoned its own.

Tervuren · Tervuren's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by livi
Being the land of opportunity, I would expect some wealthy, private entrepreneur to just buy the whole of New Orleans for scrap money and recreate something nice out of the mess.

If it got hit once, why would a super rich person invest tons of money into a place that could easily get ripped to shreds again?

livi · 02-20-2006, 04:13 PM

Good point. Just give it up as waste land then ?

targa911S · 02-20-2006, 04:17 PM

The Gulf takes a few meters every week or so if they just let it go it will cease to exist soon. Nature will take it's course. they should just condem it and walk away. Leave it as a legacy to the politicians and mother natures power.

livi · 02-20-2006, 04:21 PM

Cayman reservation..

speedracing944 · speedracing944's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Ricard
Who really gives a rat's ass about New Orleans. The only district affected was the 9th ward. Probably needed and enima anyway.
Do you know that New Orleans now has the lowest crime rate of any city in the U.S.
Did you know that the city's who opened thier doors to the evacuee's all experienced a dramatic rise in the crime rate?
HMMM makes you wonder.

What about the city's to the east that ACTUALLY did experience complete and total DEVISTATION!!!!!!!!! Bay Saint Louis, Waveland all the way to Pascagoula.
I live in Gautier, my house was flooded, I have nearly completed my rebuild of my house. BY MY SELF nearly out of my own pocket. I did not wait for a Government hand out. I rolled up my sleeves with my Nieghbors and we collectively went from house to house doing it alll ourselves.
I am back in my house this week as "we all feel sorry for the people in New Orleans that were not smart enough to get the heck out of the way of the biggest storm in recent history.

Sorry for the RANT ...... I'm done now.

Up here in Madison Wisconsin there was a 14 year old kid who was a Katrina refugee. He held a lady at knife point and raped her on a bike path. Send them back please!