Posted on 11/04/2005 11:10:43 PM PST by conservative in nyc
Hurricane Wilma, with its 120-mph winds, punched South Florida in the gut.
A record 6-million people lost power. About 15,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in a three-county region, preliminary estimates show, with many of those homes inhabited by the elderly or poor. At least 27 people statewide died after the Oct. 24 storm, most from carbon monoxide poisoning or traffic crashes.
Yet compared to the concentrated fury of Hurricane Charley in Punta Gorda last year, or to the widespread death and devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast in August, Wilma spared South Florida - and especially its suburban residents - from major destruction.
One wouldn't know it from listening to folks here.
"George W. Bush is forgetting about the little people, just like in New Orleans," said Cassie Williams, 51, of Fort Lauderdale. "We need food, we need water and we need checks."
Williams, whose home was not damaged, railed against the system on Oct. 26 - two days after the storm hit - while waiting three hours to eat a lukewarm chicken breast at a Salvation Army center. The complaints - especially coming from people who admitted they hadn't prepared, who had roofs over their heads, who had running water, who even had open supermarkets down the street - raised the ire of talk-show hosts, bloggers and pundits around the country.
"People need to be prepared and they are not because most of them are irresponsible and depending on the government for everything," read one typical post on Freerepublic.com. "When the gov. does not have bottles of water and ice on their footstep an hour after the hurricane they are complaining. Tough. Be responsible and stop the dependance (sic) on others."
(Excerpt) Read more at sptimes.com ...
Yeah, but it knocked out the DUmmie FUnnies for almost two weeks!!!
That's devastation!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1509513/posts
To: cinives
I agree with you 100%. I live in South Florida. I lost my home during Hurricane Andrew and rebuilt. People are just depending on the government for everything. I can understand if your home is totally destroyed with everything in it. But the local officials are not Houdini and they tell everyone over and over to have water, non perishable products, etc., for every member of your family for a few days.
People need to be prepared and they are not because most of them are irresponsible and depending on the government for everything. When the gov. does not have bottles of water and ice on their footstep an hour after the hurricane they are complaining. Tough. Be responsible and stop the dependance on others.
Let them whine.
47 posted on 10/26/2005 8:15:50 AM PDT by rep-always
Look up "Democrat" in the dictionary and Williams' picture is right there.
You're right. It's a mantra.
"Certainly, no one thinks that people who lose their homes during a hurricane should shoulder the burden of rebuilding themselves, or that people should be punished for not preparing better."
This is unbelievable...of course you should shoulder the burden of rebuilding yourself. If you don't have the means, you can purchase insurance. If it is too expensive to own a house with the proper insurance, you can rent. If you lose your job because of a storm, you can move to where the jobs are....people have done this for hundreds of years in this country and now all of a sudden this option is off the table? My father worked in oil and this meant that every couple of years we moved. We went where the jobs were and made the best of it. I didn't always want to move schools again, or learn a new culture and language, but we did it anyway. Looking back, the experience was invaluable because it allowed me to see how life really is in third world countries and gain an appreciation for what we have here. I wish people would look at their relocations as an opportunity instead of a burden.
Let's see. Ms. Williams' house wasn't damaged, so she doesn't need money to fix it. She was waiting in line to get a "lukewarm" chicken meal from the Salvation Army, so she doesn't need money for food. So why does she need "checks"?
And if her house wasn't damaged and she prepared before the storm, why isn't there some food left in the house two days later? Maybe because she didn't adequately prepare in the first place?
And I should feel Ms. Williams because...
I'm in Fort Lauderdale.
What a bunch of babies. We knew it was coming for a week, and still people with low IQ's or government dependents did not prepare.
I put up some shutters, filled the empty bottles with water, bought dogfood for my labs, canned good for myself, and hunkered down.
No power for a week, no water, and I am fine. Drained the water heater for toilet duties, bought a generator, and laugh at those maroons who didn't listen.
You gotta be tough when you are stuck on stupid.
Well, whoever posted those words of wisdom, you're "almost famous". : )
My roof patches applied on 10/25 held perfectly. Today I'm making a 6:00AM run to Home Depot for more tar and to see if I can find any shingles. I'll do a "roof over" on the parts I suspect are weak. I believe we'll be waiting for quite a while for a new roof.
I don't want to rely on a tarp. I've helped my neighbors put them on their houses because their damage is so tremendous and wide spread over their roofs. Mine is over 8 spots or so, maybe 100 sqft ripped off. Their roofs have sheets of plywood exposed.
The roof cement held and we had NO LEAKS in the following days of rain this past week and a half. I can't enourage you enough to pursue long term repairs while you wait for adjustments. Document the damage with photos and get to the suppy store.
So I'll do a roof-over on mine and try to talk the neighbors into doing their own repairs until they can get a new roof. I we wait and more rain comes, it's a hell of a way to treat a nigh half million buck investment. I'm not waiting.
St. Pete Times reads FR hurricane threads
Thanks for the ping! Article authored by Tamara Lush. Wish I had a name like that. :)
Ping to #5.
Our fame spreads near and far!
If only the EDITORIAL board of the St Pete Times were open to the ideas expressed on FR:)
Send him over here for dinner. Will make certain he gets the message. :o)
Thanks for checking in. Appreciate your kind sentiments. Welcome home!
This is a terrific article. Tamara Lush not only has a marvelous name, she also has her head on straight. Good work.
I saw clips on tv of people complaining. I turned the TV off. Perhaps the MSM might consider "showcasing" those who do the right thing, post-storm, next time? It might just set a positive example for others.
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