Demoralised officers give up the fight

The Australian ^ | 09/03.05 | Jacqui Goddard, New Orleans

[Bittersweetmd]

" Also it was John Calvin who taught the "total depravity of the human heart"."

THE LORD TAUGHT THAT THE HEART WAS WICKED. Lets give credit where credit is due. Calvin merely emphasized and expounded upon what Jeremiah the prophet spoke and also David. Jer 17:9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Psa 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, [and] seek God.

Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one. I'm touchy about giving the Lord the credit first and than the Reformers.

[Lurker]

"I simply remember a day when conservatism was not used as a fig leaf for profits uber alles."

When was that exactly? I've been walking this earth for nearly 50 years and I can't remember a time like that.

People like you scare me. You really do.

When the hell did making a profit become 'evil'? And when exactly did how much profit someone made become any of your business? Who made you the arbiter of what constitutes a 'public good'?

Maybe it's just the thought of someone making 'too much' profit that bothers you. Well, don't worry; Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton feel just the same...

Hey UH, what about the guy who owns that gas station, have you thought about him and his family? Do you think he might have realized that the cost of the goods to take care of his family might just be about to spike upwards? I'm not saying it's happening, but lets do a hypothetical here.

Mr. Gas Station owner in Jackson MS notices that most everything to his south is wiped out. He also realizes that local resources are going to be stretched to the limit and that prices on basic goods are going to rise. In anticipation of this fact he raises the price of a commodity he already owns so he can cover the increased future costs of taking care of his family.

Geez, man think for a minute will you?

Conservative my Aunt Sally...your position is anything but.

L

[flashbunny]

Ignorning the past and the basic laws of economics is complete and utter stupidity. It is incompetence and unitentional malice disguised as compassion.

The free market, in any circumstances, is the best and ultimate rationer of demand and supply, a balancer of needs versus wants.

[Alberta's Child]

Check out the latest financial reports from these big oil companies. They are averaging net revenues that represent about 6%-7% of their gross sales. These are record profits, mind you -- and their return on investment isn't much better than they'd get on a 30-year mortgage that is fully collateralized by a real estate asset.

[U.H. Conservative]

Profit is not evil. Profiting from people who are literally dying is.

Have you read Cavuto's book? He tells several stories of businessmen who sacrificed their personal profit for their communities in times of disaster. Is Cavuto some crypto socialist?

You're right. Mr. Gas Station man is an American hero. The Republic was built by such men who, upon seeing disaster strike their neighbor, realized that that was the time to jack up prices.

[nopardons]

Profits..."conservatism is being used as a fig leaf for profits uber alles"?

Go back to DU; DNC talking pints, and ancient ones at that, are not welcome here.

And just WHO is profiting from Katrina?

Yes, there has been some gouging, re gasoline prices, but there was pnaic and hysteria, by the general public, which drove up prices in a few places. But you must remember that there is the law of supply and demand; not to mention the fact that those in the oil business are in it to make a profit and are not charitable organizations.

[U.H. Conservative]

So do you support a privatized army and police force?

[A CA Guy]

Short wave radio?

[JLS]

If the leaders of NO and LA expected the federal government to take care of everything, why were they collecting tax dollars and federal money? Did they think that money was just there to make them feel more important or to pass out to cronies???
_______________________________________________________

I lived in NO for a couple of years and yes they they did.

[America's Resolve]

Nothing personal :)

Not really though. I grew up in a city of 350,000 and as a professional consultant, I travel to big cities all over the country.

You're right about us being insulated though. After my wife and I got out of the US Navy though, we made a conscious decision to live in the rural Iowa countryside. Got six beautiful acres in the heart of the heartland :)

And I tend to look for the dark side in people, then I'm pleasantly surprised if I dont find it.

But I guess that 300,000 people sitting on their asses waiting for someone to take them by the hand and lead them out of a dying city is foreign to me. Thank heavens :)

Godspeed

[Squantos]

HUA !.......:o)

[flashbunny]

"If there are anti-price gouging laws then, as a simple matter of fact, price gouging is a crime."

Wow, thanks for the rules are rules analysis there. You don't often get such profound pearls of wisdom as "if it's against the law, it's a crime". Maybe you should look into writing fortune cookies.

" As to forcing people to make deals, yes, I suppose that people can choose to starve or die of thirst."

That's it. You don't get it.

If somebody drives 1000 miles to sell a truckload of bottled water for triple their normal cost, because the increased price offsets their additional costs for gas (hey, they're being gouged, too!) and time (takes a long time to drive that far)...are the people who have money but no water better off being able to buy that expensive water? Or would they be better off with anti-gouging laws, where the evil capitalists may not make enough money to cover their expenses, so they decide not to buy that truck load of water and spend their time and money getting it down there?

But hey, as long as you feel better about having anti-gouging laws, like you're making a difference, who cares if people die or get worse treatment than they otherwise would? At least they're saving a few bucks!

And that's what really matters in a time like this - saving money, not providing the most efficient use of time and resources that a healthy, free market provides.

Sheesh. It's just like talking to a liberal. As long as you have good intentions, who cares what the results are?

[U.H. Conservative]

"And just WHO is profiting from Katrina?"

Uhh, I think you answer that yourself one sentence later when you admit "there has been some gouging, re gasoline prices."

[Lurker]

I've been taking FEMA Emergency Management course over the internet for the last several months, and I'm a 'civilian'. Granted I did join our local CERT team, but we're still civilians.

I've learned about everything from how to set up an Incident Command System by the book, to Hazardous Materials, to Radiological Emergencies, Shelter Management, Volunteer Management, and Household Preparedness over the net.

There is no charge for these classes, and they only take a few hours to complete. You even get a nice certificate a few weeks after you complete a course.

Hell, in my town ever first responder is required to take at least the NIMS course. Now, it may be coincidence but I see that course is temporarily offline for some reason. I suspect demand has something to do with that.

FEMA is probably running some crash courses for people who should already know this sh**....

Sorry to spout off in your general direction, but reading this goobers comments really chaps my hide.

L

[wardaddy]

hey I like Iowa

back in my long haired daze....70s

Iowa City was fun...babes too!

[flashbunny]

"So do you support a privatized army and police force?"

I'm sorry, what the HELL does that have to do with anything?

Why do you anti-free market people have to constantly change the subject once you get slapped down on your original lame arguments???

My goodness, if you're incapable of taking on the subject at hand, don't enter the fray. For pete's sake.

[Trampled by Lambs]

"Unfortunately, it's not getting better folks, its getting worse."

I've been away from FR this evening but have been watching the cable news (CNN since Fox is only showing repeats of earlier evening shows as usual) and the picture they seem to be painting now is that things ARE improving finally... Still pretty bad but relatively calm and getting calmer.

Have I missed something?

[Lurker]

Is it just me or did the stupid level go up drastically around here recently?

L

[Lurker]

Profiting from people who are literally dying is.

Cancer patients are dying aren't they? I guess making a profit on cancer drugs is immoral. Hey, if I don't get water, I'll die right? It's therefore immoral for my local water utility to run a profit and by God we better shut down Hinckly and Schmidt.

Those bastards are making a profit on water!

Don't even get me started on farmers....if we can't buy their food, we'll all die! How dare they try to run a profit by threatening me with death if I don't pay their prices.

Are you evening reading the crap you're posting before you hit the button?

L

[America's Resolve]

This is from about 4 pm this afternoon.

They just got (at least in theory) two of the larger hospitals evacuated.

No thugs have been disarmed or killed yet.

Oil tank explosions this morning.

If it's getting better, it's not noticable yet. Course, I'm 2000 miles away :)