Just curious?

[Elwood]

Re: Just curious?

John I am glad too hear that your family made it out of town with their vehicle and lives intact and as I said about 20 percent of the folks could not help but be there. The fact that they got out of there even after the storm makes a statment that it was not impossible to get out of there after the storm was over. I will maintain that stupid hurts. The ones that are shooting should meet TSB, if that does not work I will help get a B-52 in there. LOL

Rock on RealTree

Elwood

[Orion_70]

Re: Just curious?

Before everyone starts pointing fingers and blaming federal government, let’s take a look at where the responsibility should be.

1. You have the responsiblity for taking care of yourself, that means evacuating and having necessary supplies: food, water, clothing for at least 3-5 days.

2. The local government has the responsiblity to ensure those who can’t evacuate, have the necessary transportation to get them out of harms way. They also have the responsiblity for providing food, water, shelter and security for those in shelters or special needs . The local gov’t is also responsible for having a viable evacuation plan in case of emergency.

3. The state gov’t has the responsibility to assist the local government, if called upon, to provide shelter, security, food, water. Activate needed National Guard troops. Provide facilities and transportation for those evacuating or means to help evacuate people.

4. The federal government, if called on, should assist the local and state government with :evacuation, food, water, shelter, troops, medicines, etc.

It starts with you, then the local government, state government and lastly the federal government. So quit blaming the federal government. Do people not realize that to call in the national guard they have 72 hrs to report to the armory, additional time of 1-2 days to pcms vehicles, equipment, and load supplies and even more time to get to the devastated areas. Duh, that’s why they say have a minimum of 3-5 days supplies. New Orleans had no viable evacuation plan, they had no supplies stored, no food, no water, just inept local officials who want to point the finger at everyone but themselves, the real problem.

[ParrotHead]

Re: Just curious?

Horst, it’s al a game of “who can we blame”

Factcheck.org is blaming of course, the Bush Administration this morning and for what, you guessed it, global warming. Oh and by the way, if you can’t access factcheck.org, try visiting

edited by buckee [img'>http://www.realtree.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

You gotta be kidding...So the Democrats position is that the levee's were substantial enough to withstand a Cat 3 or higher during 1992 - 2000 but suddenly they were grossly underbuilt when Bush took office?

We may have hit an all time low...Democrats blaming a national disaster on the Bush administration when their previous hero - Clinton - had the power to take care of the problem during his eight years but didn't. Why didn't he do something about the situation? Thousands - perhaps ten times that many - people are dead and the Democrats want to make a hurricane into a political issue.

I don't blame Clinton, and I don't blame Bush Jr, Bush Sr, Reagan or Carter before him. Believe it or not folks, sometimes stuff just happens.

Oh but wait, under Clinton the Kyota Accords were voted down 99-0 but again, what happens before Bush has no direct relationship to anything after Bush. That and everyone has forgotten that there actually was hurricanes BEFORE there was global warming.

What about a warning – yes a warning was sent out and the same fools that ignored it are now either dead or clambering about crying for aid. Drudge reported this morning:

Before residents had ever heard the words "Hurricane Katrina," the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE ran a story warning residents: If you stay behind during a big storm, you'll be on your own!

Yes, the same paper that wrote a letter addressed to President Bush stating that called for every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be fired published a story less than 2 months ago stating: City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give a historically blunt message: "In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own.

Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins "You're responsible for your safety, and you should be responsible for the person next to you," Wilkins said in an interview. "If you have some room to get that person out of town, the Red Cross will have a space for that person outside the area. We can help you."

Course you won’t hear that on Good Morning America will you?

Delays – oh yes, we are now learning that that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco might have had a direct role in delaying the federal assistance in the Katrina disaster. The story is surfacing that at one point George Bush offered federal help, and Governor Blanco, a Democrat, by the way, said that she preferred to wait for 24 hours before she made that request.

It all becomes Bush's fault because the federal government didn't respond fast enough. Much of this is based on a lack of understanding of our system of federalism. By law disaster relief is the primary responsibility of local and state governments, not the federal government. That why you’ll always hear (except in this hurricane) the statement from the media “Governor X will ask President X to declare the area a disaster and offer federal relief.

When four hurricanes hit Florida last year the disaster response was local, not federal. By law the federal government steps in only when the state government requests it. Do we know when Governor Blanco stepped in to ask the federal government for help? 24 hours after the hurricane hit? Maybe more than 24 hours?

Kind of puts a damper on the Bush blame gang doesn’t it?

Compares to 9/11 – oh yes you’re hearing it now and will hear it for a long time but folks, this comes now where in the same vicinity of 9/11. A hurricane is something nature produces from a low pressure system, Islamic terrorist are something produced by evil hatrid of Americans.

The Rich are to blame. Well, if the poor are the only one’s to be effected then you can bet that rich are to blame. All weekend long we heard about what we didn't do for the poor in New Orleans. Why isn't someone talking about what the poor didn't do for themselves?

What we saw in New Orleans was, in some part, the poor demonstrating the very behavior that made them poor in the first place, and the behavior that keeps them poor. We saw a complete lack of self sufficiency and sense of responsibility.

These people deserved help before Katrina hit and it should be obvious to everyone with at least 20 percent brain capacity that the Mayor of New Orleans did next to nothing to make sure that the poorest citizens had a way out. But somewhere along the line someone has to recognize that the so-called poor do have some responsibility for their own lives and their own safety.

The only real facts remain that a hurricane hit the Gulf Coast and many lives will be lost because of it.

The only real fact remains that the state of Louisiana isn’t now capably of handling a catastophy, nor was it ever and it probably won’t ever truly be capable of it.

The only real fact is that the President of the United States has sent relief to those affected the most and will continue to send relief. Other organization like the Red Cross, FEMA, the National Guard, several local and state police departments and even the US Navy have sent relief and will continue to send relief.

And the only real fact is that there will continue to be those that have no political agenda to assist anyone or anything in this country so they’ll have to prey on those in the worst cases to try and panhandle their causes.

[ZooBear]

Re: Just curious?

[ QUOTE ]

I firmly believe that the city of New Orleans should NOT be re-built. This will happen again.....and it may happen before the season is over with!!!

Wanna know something scary??? Imagine what the situation would be if the levee on the Mississppi River side broke too?????

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. If you live in a city 8' below sea level you are doing so at your own risk.

[bigbuckdown70]

Re: Just curious?

[ QUOTE ]

Send in the Marines!

[/ QUOTE ]

that might be hard when their all over seas

we can take care of all these other contries

but cant even give some water to people in need

in our own country

dont know whos screwed up but somebody is

[horst]

Re: Just curious?

thanks for the replies guys, , PH, yours was very insightfull and I tend to agree with a lotta what you said.

Im watching the news last night and it finally dawned on me how stupid some people can be.The waters turning toxic, its hot, the city stinks, and people are actually refusing to leave.Theres nothing there to stay for and if thier in a flood zone its eventually gonna kill em.

Nursing homes, hospitals, mental facilities, none of these places where the people were in the worst shape were evacuated.Thats clearly a local problem, the city and administration of these places shoulda had a game plan.

they mayor himself reportedly placed 400 tourists at the front of the line at the Superdome, in front of people who had been there for days, for a bus ride out.These tourists were high and dry at the Hyatt to start with, why did they get priority?Yet the mayors screamed the loudest about rescue delays and racism.Another local problem.

Governer Blanco didnt request assistance right away, much less before the storm.As I hear it when the power was knocked out, communication lines were cut off and she had no idea how bad it really was in New Orleans.Which cost the people more time before she asked for assistance.Im betting when it comes out it was much longer than 24 hours before the call went out.Another state problem.

People were walking out only to be turned back into the city by police, because people in surrounding areas were afraid of the fallout after the shootings and looting started.personally I couldnt have sent anyone back into that mess but it wasnt my call to make.More local/state miscommunications that cost people thier lives.

Some really couldnt get out and had nowhere to go if they did.Call it what you want but povertys a problem everywhere.Trying to walk out of a hurricane as some of you said might sound like a good idea, but if you cant afford lodging anywhere your still screwed and will more than likely be riding the storm out on the side of the road.How far inland did this one come?I really do feel for these people, they didnt have much to start with and have a lot less now.

Others just asked for it, they stayed when they coulda left.I feel no sympathy for them.One of you said stupid hurts, and that pretty well summed it up.Not only that but them being stuck in there just slowed things down, its easier to rescue a couple thousand that had to stay than to rescue 10,000 that coulda left.Again, a local problem that added to the body count.

Federal response time did suck, like it or not.But it wasnt all on the federal level.Ive changed my opinion repeatedly throughout this thing but Im thinking right now the whole system crashed, or never existed to start with.I cant blame Bush, but something obviously needs to change down there.

And last but not least, the media once again amazed me with thier one sided journalism and trouble making.i watched countless interviws on different channels where they would interview a black person, and pretty much force them into making statements about racism.The person wouldnt even be intending to play the race card and the media would badger them with the same question till they would do it.The media was among the first to start pointing fingers at the Bush administration as well and they never let up on it.Why do we let them people into places like that

[oldksnarc]

Re: Just curious?

[ QUOTE ]

When 90,000 square miles is totally destroyed... where do you start the rescue effort first? When all roads are virtually impassable for two days either underwater or buried in debris, how do you get supplies to an area. Do you attempt air drops into an area of snipers and looters?

When you have an isolated area of 20, 000 screamers, looters, and snipers, who gets the most TV coverage, and while the cameras are on, they begin to faint, stagger, and fall over, that brings out the Reverend Jesse Jackson - hollering racisim, who gets the coverage.

People seemed to forget, that storm didn't just quit after it hit New Orleans! Other parts north and east of there were hit hard also, so that created at least another full day before rescue attempts could be started.

You don't see just a whole lot of coverage from Mississippi or Alabama, because they aren't screaming, looting, and sniping - so it isn't NEWS WORTHY to put them on TV.

A bus loaded with evacuees rolled over yesterday, because the driver was attacked by a black assailant who demanded to get off!

Now the relief is coming, and those SuperDomers are still not happy, still wanting, and still screaming. Wait till they are told to leave out of there, and you'll be hearing/seeing a lot more of the same. Many people being evacuated to Houston, San Antonio, Austin, are already saying that they are not going back!

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. Where do you plan to start when you don't even know for sure where in a 6-700 mile are it's going to hit and hit hardest. And, do you put your resources and assets and relief in harms way?

And then we're going to spend federal dollars (our dollars) to put it back to normal - good money after bad. Take the levees down, turn the affected area into a national preserve and rebuild upriver or a little further in-land or someplace it won't happen again.

If it was a race issue we wouldn't have helped the Muslims, Asians or Africans affected by the Tsunami.

[Reloader]

Re: Just curious?

[ QUOTE ]

The mayor of New Orleans seems to be the most vocal, but he was supposed to be the one running the city, wtih no disaster plan in place and no recent upgrades on those levees i wish he would just shut up, hes as much if not more to blame than anyone here

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree completely.

The local governments in Florida for instance are the ones that respond to the disasters for the first several days before the feds get into it. in new Orleans they, at worst joined the looting and at best did nothing productive. I heard one report that many police and fire personel simply turned in their badges and walked away from the mess.

The media keeps comparing this response time to the 9/11 attack. In 9/11 the response was from the local police and fire personel who didn't turn and run...they worked, many literaly to the death, to save lives. The mayor of NY took immediate charge and began coordinating the efforts. Then later the feds got involved and the country came to their aid. And that was completly unforseen.

In New Orleans the mayor had forewarning of possibilities and threw up his hands and did NOTHING! The majority of local police did nothing or worse. Everyone involved that should have started the recovery effort just added to the chaos.

I am certified for light search and rescue(CERT), advanced first aid(American Heart Asssociation), and am a Nationaly Certified Counselor with disaster relief and crisis counseling training. I say that just to explain that I do have some understanding of how disasters should be handled...I am not just a "monday night coach".