Posted on 09/02/2005 5:40:24 AM PDT by Dog
The governor and mayor both did a lousy job. The feds have now addressed the problems in getting food and water to the people of N.O., for which we are all greatful.
Rudy did a magnificant job after 9/11, and so did President Bush.
>>The nanny state/welfare mentality - it's always someone else's job. What part of MANDITORY EVACUATION do these fools in the media not get? The people on the coast were warned, told to leave, and chose to stick it out thereby endangered themselves and their families. That would be considered neglect when parents put their children in danger.<<
I understand taking a calculated risk and staying behind, but I cannot believe these people didn't take even the most basic short-term preparations, such as filling empty milk jugs, 2 liter bottles, whatever they could find, with clean tap water and caching some canned goods. They had two to three days advanced notice.
It doesn't take a college degree and high income to think "Hmm, maybe I should fill some of these empty malt liquor bottles with tap water...just in case." A mixed case of canned stew, beans, and the like can be purchased for less than $20. Most of these people aren't that damned poor, unless they have drug and alcohol habits to feed (priorities, you know).
I expected some people to have no means of preparing, but it appears that NONE of these people took ANY short term preparations. I've been in one of the worst ice storms of the 20th century, a tornado, and several severe weather systems. I know for a fact that enough water and canned food can easily fit into a 13 gallon Hefty trash bag to support a family of four between two and three days (longer with a little rationing). I also know for a fact it doesn't take a helicopter or a swift water rescue team to carry said bag up a flight or two of stairs, onto the roof, or several city blocks away to higher ground.
As someone noted, its the insidious culture of the ghetto; someone will spend millions of tax dollars to airdrop us food, water, and televisions. They damned well better...or we'll act a fool just as soon as we can find a TV camera!
It would never even occur to them that they might have to provide for themselves for up to a week, because they live an existance rooted in pervasive dependence on others to provide for them. Someone else is responsible to make sure they have water and food if there is a major disaster. They just cash checks, pick-up food stamps, and go to the grocery store. Everything else is quantum physics.
I saw a report that by Wednesday morning Coast Guard aircrews had already plucked 2400 people off roof tops. Pretty amazing.
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And dropped many off at the Convention Center, I have heard. But no one told authorities to get food and water there, or, told the people to reach up to the Superdome to get food and water.
The CG were doing a fantastic job, yet all the media presstitutes will focus on is the lack of drinking water; never on the lack of command and control and organization.
meant to write = walk up to the Superdome
They should try surviving in a blizzard that shuts everything down for 2 weeks or being on constant alert for tornados....you get used to preparation for extremes.
Mine's in and playing - even as we type! ;-)
Can you turn it up so I can hear it? LOL I haven't listened to our tapes in years and can't for the life of me remember where I put them.
Excellent!!!
I am not disputing what you are saying... Yes, they did know it...Yes, they should have had a preplanned evacuation plan... Yes, they did know that one day this would happen.
But did they actually believe that this was the day. No, they didn't. For if they really believed that the levees would break and NO would die in a single night, then they would have handled things differently.
It was expected in theory and unexpected in reality. It is the reality I'm talking about and not the theoretical.
Example: I could die every time I get behind the wheel of my car. But, do I expect to die every time I get behind the wheel... No. Proof... I keep getting behind the wheel.
>>They should try surviving in a blizzard that shuts everything down for 2 weeks or being on constant alert for tornados....you get used to preparation for extremes.<<
Yep, and the preparations needn't be elaborate. The most unsophisticated and inexpensive preparations can make a world of difference.
Imagine if only 50% of the people stranded in NOLA stowed four gallons of tap water, 12 cans of food, and some utensils. Throw it in a suitcase, large duffle bag, or sturdy trash bag (double and triple bagged if need be), in case a quick exit or moving to higher ground is needed. 30 minutes and $10.00!! What kind of difference would that have made?
Nope, no need. The National Guard will spend millions upon millions of tax dollars to airdrop us food, water, and anything else we might need...or else.
Personally, I think the response was freaking heroic - unprecedented! They evacuated at least 50,000+ people from a filthy sh-t hole of a city with almost no passable roads in or out, 6 feet of water in most places, thousands plucked from rooftops by helicopter, several hundred hospital patients and hundreds more people with critical needs, 500+ city busses operated on a daily basis sitting useless under water due to Nagin's incompetence, in five days! Plus the all the other assistance urgently needed between NOLA and Biloxi, which was hit much harder than NOLA with numerous communities completely leveled.
But to watch the news and the pundits, millions of people received the impression that Katrina landed on New Orleans then died out, resulting in no serious damage elsewhere. If I was under the impression that New Orleans was the only area suffering greatly and in dire straights, I sure as hell would question who bungled the response so badly that it was taking so long to get these people help.
Even packing a boat and a few rations would have been better than waiting for the government to come to the rescue. They were told to prepare for 3-5 days, and it took about that long to get through to them. It would have been much less if they had a plan from the beginning. Getting out of the city would have been a wise plan to start, and it didn't take a genius to figure that out.
Nope, didn't see it, but I did run across an article from 2004 reporting that a Pew Research Center survey found fewer than 10% of reporters, journalists, and editors from national news organizations identify themselves as conservative (7%). The article opens by suggesting if people want to see a rare and endangered species, they might have better luck at the newsroom of their favorite newspaper or TV station than the local zoo.
That might explain why, although the total area that lay completely devastated is at least 20x the size of New Orleans, 9.9 out of every 10 hours of hurricane coverage was on the desperation in New Orleans due to the "failed federal response", not negligent piss-poor planning and execution by local officials.
See: Louisiana SuperDome @ Wikipedia
The stadium was used in 1998 during the less extreme Hurricane Georges as a shelter. The building had no problems related to the weather but the human element resulted in looting and there were difficulties supplying the 14,000 people living temporarily in the dome with necessities.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Superdome
Given their own salaries, I hope they are generously giving money to organizations that give relief. (sure)
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