Katrina Live Thread, Part XIV

Various ^ | 2 September 2005 | Various

[madison10]

Reagan would have not ever allowed it to get to this point.

The world wasn't such a PC place when Reagan was President. PC-ness has created/is part of the problem.

[Dolphy]

I tend to disagree with that assessment. We'll see....

I'm in Michigan and it's not playing well at all with those I know of all political stripes. It driving people to a deep indifference. There are so many things at work, including so many biases about the south.

[Arizona Carolyn]

Shep needs some rest. I suggest that if you had watched this many people with babies and old people suffering and saw no one coming to help them, you'd break down, too...

Geraldo has a new baby... I'm certain he's thinking about how he would feel if one of his children had to go without formula, much less water.

[Blogger]

Shep is not hysterical. He is angry and frustrated. There's a difference there too.

[WoodstockCat]

are you personally familiar at all with the terrain, available roads and bridges into New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the shape they were in at say 8 am on Wednesday morning?

[Lady Heron]

Someone on WDSU is saying that if we can get troops into Iraq in 24 hours, how come we can't get them into NO as fast.

Somebody should remind them of all of their belly aching during the build up to the Iraq war....How many times did we hear "its taking to long!".

[ShellieGOP]

Drat! I'm in Northern California. Rain check. Cheers!

Well, I'm in Sacramento, come on over.

Santa Cruz County here. The CONSERVATIVE part.

:)

[A Citizen Reporter]

It's obvious to me that most don't want their help. Like the superior officer to the ranting police captain.

You are the one defending Geraldo. At the very least, I would prefer that the reporters not become part of the story.

[mabelkitty]

Put him in the front door.
Light a candle or flashlight behind him, and folks will run away from your home thinking he's a linebacker!

[Mo1]

But if you don't have the pressure from those reporters, the people won't feel their needs are addressed at all.

Bringing attention to people that need help .. like Bill O'Rielly was doing is one thing

Completely losing composure for the cameras like Shep and Geraldo did is a completely different matter

[RushCrush]

Did you actually SEE Geraldo? or not?

[theophilusscribe]

I definitely fall into that category. No idea what the "youngsters" are listening too. :o)

[Diddle E. Squat]

I'm in Middle America... People are more upset that gas is >$3/gallon. And right, the press isn't going where things are good, because there's no story in that. Shep needs therapy. Bad.

And I'm in Texas, where we are actually taking these poor in and caring for them, instead of bitching about how tired one is of a reporter telling the uncomfortable truth and pleading to speed up the rescue of thousand and thousands around him. People have literally died before his eyes, this is multiple times worse than 911 and a still ongoing disaster. Does that not qualify as dramatic?

Maybe Shep needs therapy. Maybe you need a soul.

[nhoward14]

Talking heads on WWL stream are going out of their way to assure everyone there are good people from N.O. and that the entire city is not full of thugs.

Even if it is only 1%, that 1% they want to gloss over are sure making things terrible for everybody.

[Rumierules]

Shep and O'Reilly were talking about favoritism and racism. No doubt that there is a lot the former and perhaps some of the latter.

But think about this from the perspective of the police or the initial National Guard. They know they are overwhelmed. Their resources were and still are, to a lesser degree, puny in comparison to the needs. So, they likely respond to specific requests that are manageable . . . "Hey, come gets few dozen people with these medical needs, this many elderly, etc."

Those doing the rescuing and transporting want to, at a minimum, be reasonably safe. They also want to arrive and be somewhat welcomed. Say a bus arrives and can take 40 or so. It is certainly helpful if a group of 200 people voluntarily prioritize who will go instead of mobbing the bus. I believe favoritism may be given to those who are creating some order, making their case to those with resources, and welcoming them rather than blaming them.

[Cboldt]

Uh... no... the convention center was never set up as a shelter site. People just started showing up there.

I would not be surprized, given the state of official channels of communication, that some people were told by LEO or others who "seemed to know the scheme" to go to the Convention Center.

Today, people started showing up at I-10 site, in busses and in military vehicles, and the "peopel in charge" could not figure out why that was happening.

So, some fluid stuff happens - and the rescue and relief operation should be able to react to a mile or two shift in location of a mass of people.

[Dolphy]

I will never, ever forget hearing Shep Smith say "New Orleans dodged the bullet".

He's also the first one I heard report, before real chaos set in, that there were hundreds of people with no place to go, no direction, no information...and that they were all black.

[RushCrush]

Go for it! I certainly won't get in your way. Good luck!

[uncitizen]

Does anybody know if the DUmmies over at DU have anything to say about the mayors "school bus vs. Greyhound" remark?

[REDWOOD99]

God Bless Texas D.E.S.!