Posted on 09/13/2005 6:41:29 AM PDT by drpix
(Review of Book by by Eric Klinenberg)
... postmortem of the {1996} heat-related deaths of a staggering 739 Chicago citizens -- typically lone seniors concealed in brick-oven apartments -- during a blazing July week. Klinenberg, an associate professor of sociology at New York University, and a Chicagoan, moves beyond the customary medical inquiry of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which identified death risks after the stifling weather -- including (not surprisingly) an inaccessibility of air conditioning.[2] postmortem of the heat-related deaths of a staggering 739 Chicago citizens -- typically lone seniors concealed in brick-oven apartments -- during a blazing July week. Klinenberg, an associate professor of sociology at New York University, and a Chicagoan, moves beyond the customary medical inquiry of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which identified death risks after the stifling weather -- including (not surprisingly) an inaccessibility of air conditioning.
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Municipal responses to water shutoffs (prompted by the wanton opening of fire hydrants) and widespread power outages (due to a perennially inept electrical utility) were delayed, because city supervisors failed to recognize early the heat's severity and coordinate a timely emergency public-health plan...
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The symbiosis between the press and the mayor's public-relations machine delayed appropriate coverage of the wave's severity by making the accuracy of the death count an off-point story angle.
I lived in Chicago that summer - I thought it was the summer of '95?
Anyway - the heat was just awful. 105 degrees - and then the power went out; thankfully, I didn't lose power and had central air. I had a ton of people sleeping on the floor on my condo just for the central air.
I'm sure that Daley and his thugs screwed up the response to it. The man is a total corrupt moron who soon will be going to jail.
Please correct 1996 to 1995 in posting heading &
1st sentence of text
Thanks
739 deaths?????!!!! 739? Is that number correct? 739 deaths due to heat? In Chicago? In the 90's???? I don't remember hearing about that.
There are more such, should we call them incidents, far more all conveniently forgotten in the rush to thumb sucking judgment on Hurricane Katrina and her less striking death toll, at least in LA. so far. It seems Americans are less and less able to stomach death in any form unless it involves cars , abortion, or natural causes.
Besides they just became demo rat voters a little sooner and have been voting for 10 years now.
Excellent point!
bttt
That's because Clinton was in the White House. Don'cha know, everything was perfect under Clinton, the MSM told me so.
Mayor Daley originally joked about the heat saying things like "don't wear a fur coat" right up until the body count reached a couple of hundred.
Now we have 'heat emergencies' and public buildings are opened as cooling centers.
L
Bush's fault. Even before he was President he was in control.
And Republicans obviously missed a golden opportunity to blame Clinton for the lack of AC in the poor blacks' appartments and yes, even for the heat wave itself. Of course, that would only have worked if the msm would have played this to the hilt, which they would never do for Republicans. I hope this gets passed on to Drudge and Rush and Sean because that's the only way this interesting comparison will get out.
You know who got most of the blame? Then Republican Governor George Ryan.
I guess that's the point. Apparently, it would depend on who's in charge; "friend" or "foe" of the MSM. Who stands to "take the heat" as it were.
Did this graphically tragic scene cause CCN to sue for the right to "tastefully" film? Did any Hollywood celebs rush to the camera to be seen shedding tears for these victims?
Again, sorry link doesn't work directly! It works only from Yahoo search page. Here's the link to Yahoo search page ... It's item # 9. HERE
The cable networks didnt cover it 24x7 like they would a hurricane because there was nothing to show except every now and then another body being loaded onto an EMS vehicle. But I bet if you go back to the time period of the heat wave, you will find that it led the news virtually every night.
More importantly, what's your point. A heat wave and the resulting deaths is not a federal responsibility. FEMA has no authority in this area. What would you have Clinton do, build an entire new power plant and get it online in a few days? Duh?
Bush shares responsibility for the problems in New Orleans by appointing a bunch of political hacks to the top roles in FEMA. While there is plenty of blame to share and you feel that Bush is being unfairly attacked, I think this is a S T R E T C H! What happened or didnt happen in '95 has nothing to do with the fact that FEMA more often got in the way than it did provide aid and assistance to the gulf during the first week of the recent disaster. The Coast Guard got in there immediately because they are trained to ACT. FEMA's lawyers are buearucrats who are more concerned about making sure that rescue workers are trained in sexual harrassment and have been throughly vetted.
And all the victims in Chicago were black and poor. And it was all Bush's fault. /sarc
The victims of the heat wave of Chicago - '95 were buried in a mass grave. http://www.cnn.com/US/Newsbriefs/9508/8-25/index.html
"The symbiosis between the press and the mayor's public-relations machine delayed appropriate coverage of the wave's severity by making the accuracy of the death count an off-point story angle."
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