Think of part of the money as a warranty payment.
Yes some refineries were offline for a short period of time but there was no interuption in overall supply. Care to say that isn't a fact? I would love to see you post something to the effect that supply itself was deminished. Cuz it wasn't for a whole host of reasons that inclue aid by other nations and reserve supplies here at home that were accessed. You know it and I know it so concede that point please.
Three days after Katrina the gas station at my local HEB grocery store was out of gas. It was less than 24 hours, but it had never happened before.
Explain to me how hundreds of gas stations across the country ran out of gas for a short period of time.
Explain why the prices shot up over 50% in some areas. I'lll bet you'll say it was a conspiracy among just about every distributor in the US. In case you didn't take an economics course rising price are in response to demand on a commodity. If there is less "available" the prices rise. Basic economics 101.
The importing issue is a true canard. We imported because stockpiles were becoming depleted. And we paid a dearer price for those imports also.
At least one Strategic Petroleum Reserve location was knocked off line for nearly a month after Rita. The one in Hackberry, LA an area of the state that is still limiting access to anyone other than home or business owners and authorities. This is a low level but undeniable threat to national security.
Supply is dependent upon many factors including quantity, but distribution is also a factor. Most of the refineries did not recieve major damage from the storm. But lack of electricity and lack of employees available made for very difficult distribution. The storm not only affected supply but because of difficulty in distribution it also affected availability which was a worse issue.
The national economy was affected by several months of significantly higher gas prices. The fact that our economy is strong enought to weather this issues is a tribute to its vitality. While it didn't in anyway shape or form cripple the economy it did blunt growth and employment.
Denigrate? I put it bluntl;y that folks got trapped in a place they were TOLD TO LEAVE FROM and you call that denigration? I point out that they made their OWN choice and now want to blame someone else and you call that denigration?
President Bush had to call both Govenor MeeMaw and Mayor Nagin and beg them to both declare a state of emergency and to order an evacuation of NOLA. The evacuation order came about 36 hours before the hurricane hit. The evacuaton plan for the city (even if it had been followed by the mayor) called for 72 hours to evacuate the city. Roughly half the time it would take.
It took nearly eight hours to get Baton Rouge from New Orleans before the storm hit. Baton Rouge is usually about 45 minutes from NOLA. The traffic jams prvented many from leaving. Most gas stations ran dry because of the demand and many people running low on gas simply had to go home or try and find alternative transportation.
Get a map. Notice that you can't go south. Notice you can't go east. Notice that directly north is a very narrow bridge that is some twenty something miles long and one single breakdown or a car running out of gas makes the bridge a death trap. There are limited breakdown areas on the Ponchatrain Bridge. That leaves I-10 as the only practical way out and it became instantly jammed.
Many people did actually try to walk out of the city. There really isn't any place to go that would get you out of the storm's path on foot, but that didn' matter because when they got to the bridge leading into Gretna, the sheriff's department denied them access to the bridge. At gunpoint. In the pooring rain. Ask Shep Smith about that one. It was reported as an act to deter looting.
The airport was shut down due to the wind and rain of the storm, but the airlines kept going as long as they could.
The facts are that while many people escaped the hurricane, many couldn't or wouldn't. Even though the emergency plan called for the use of city and school buses to be used to evacuate those who were unable to do so themselves they were not used.
It is true that many chose to stay behind out of lack or respect for Mother Nature or to protect their property from looters. We all saw that that was a legitimate issue. I don't have much sympathy for anyone on the Gulf Coast who stays behind when a Class Five hurricane is heading your way. That it was a high 3 when it hit was an act of providence.
To say that everyone was there by choice denigrates those who couldn't get out.
Denigration: To attack the character or reputation of; speak ill of; defame.
Maybe you will remember these highlights:
Did any of those that remained when the storm got there make ATTEMPTS to get out of there as they were warned to do? Exactly how do you call them victims? What is it you mean to push when you claim they are victims but people that experience blizzards are not? Both sets of folks know what is possible and one set does something about it and prepares for it while the other set sits on their butts and demands that others do things FOR them.
Or
If people had LISTENED to the warnings to get out of NOLA there wouldnot have been so many dead.....and OH YEAH i thought it was going to be TEN thousand!. I didn't see people walking out of NOLA and that means they didn't REALLY think they needed to leave
I'm sure that the people of NOLA who were trapped by circumstances or the actions or inactions of local government appreciate your feelings over the situation.
Or how about this bit:
That is the REAL victimization sir, the culture of do it FOR me cuz I cannot do it myself! NOLA exposed something all right, too bad some refuse to admit what it actually DID expose.....and it sure wasn't victims of any water related issue.
New Orleans is an old city that has known about hurricanes for it's entire history. To imply that they are stupid or culturally insufficient to take care of themselves is boderline racist. Please note I am not calling you a racist. I am merely pointing out your ignorant conclusions. Most people simply couldn't get out.
When the real damage occured in NOLA, it was after the storm had passed. The levees gave way the next day. The feeling in NOLA was that they had leaned on their deal with the devil and had once again dodged the bullet. Indeed, many people were already on their way back into town. The break in the levees took most inside the town by complete surprise. If you were in the lower 9th it was already too late to get out.
You have denigrated many of the people of NOLA by your implication that what happened to them was their own fault for not leaving. I have demonstrated to you that for most residents of the local parishes this is simply not true. While there are an unfortunately sizable number to whom this applies, you made no disctinction and painted them all with the same brush.
I really don't think you understand how hurricane tracking works. While they are slow moving, landfall cannot be done with pinpoint precision until within about 24 hours of landfall. Even this can be inaccurate. Katrina actually made landfall about 60 miles east of where it had been predicted just 8-12 hours earlier. While 60 miles may not seem like much, that distance is responsible for the majority of damage in New Orleans being water related as opposed to wind damage. If it had moved an even further 60 miles east we wouldn't be having this conversation.
I have refuted every issue you have brought up and I no longer intend to reply to your posts on this subject. I have already avoided finishing my spreadsheets for too long
Was blanco lying when she testified with this statement?
"The Democratic governor told a U.S. House committee investigating the government's response to the hurricane that mandatory evacuations were issued over two days before the hurricane struck so people in the lowest-lying parishes would avoid gridlock that could trap them in the path of the hurricane."