Katrina Live Thread XII

Various ^ | 31 August 2005 | Various

[cgk]

LOL!

Thanks... I really needed that laugh. :)

[GreyWolf]

That could be a real concern. Imagine TV images of mostly white troops shooting black gangbangers being beemed all over the nation. Could we see a replay (or worse) of the Rodney King verdit riots in cities nationwide?

That will never happen. You can bet your boots that every one of those troops was hand picked to fit a certain criteria. And being light complected ain't one of them!

[mhking]

Are other states helping with the refuges?

Medical patients are being sent to hospitals in Alabama (Birmingham and Huntsville) and here to Georgia (particularly several hospitals here in the Atlanta area). The Red Cross and FEMA are both staging some of their operations here.

[uncbob]

Bush is gonna take a hit on this, I believe. There are already the accusations that federal money was diverted away from improving NO's levee system for other purposes, likely the war.

How about for the 15 or was it 25 billion for AIDS in Africa

[Lady Heron]

Make it a community project for each city...the churches and other organizations in each city can take care of one family each and get them on their feet.

[Diddle E. Squat]

I hate to inject politics into this. But take a look at the the Dems and the media are already trying to do on this. then tell me what you think would happen if we had news footage of Apaches and Cobra helicopters ordered by Bush to fly over NO shooting people.

You are stuck in the '90's. For most of the American public, the days of idealistic utopianism are either over or ending as this disaster unfolds. The message being seen and heard by the public this morning is that there are enormous numbers of persons needing to be saved, but rescue efforts are being held up by lawless thugs and gangs. Any excuse-making we might have seen for the latter from the public has evaporated, they want rescues. Thus most want shoot to kill now, to get the rescues started again. No tears for 1000 thugs when 100,000 need to get out.

[mwl1]

I am not second guessing, nor am I faulting the Bush Administration. My only comment is that the feds have apparently been one step behind any understanding of the level of incompetence of the state and local govt in Louisiana.

[cgk]

They are outstanding - always. In the Northridge quake they were the ones who gave my daughter and me water and blankets and a teddy bear when we couldn't go home yet.

[Cboldt]

We have to give them plenty of liquid fueled lanterns too. Don't forget the lanterns.

Lots of precious evacuation time being lost today, due to the thugs of NOLA.

[MMkennedy]

I knew it was a mistake for the LA governess to make the false dichotomy between "rescuing people" and "stopping looters." As someone from any developing nation will tell you, shooting or in some way detering the looters IS a vital and necessary part of "rescuing people." If you don't stop them forcibly the looters will begin to kill and you wind up exactly where NO is right now. Anarchy.

[dawn53]

True, but New Orleans is not necessarily representative of most American cities, maybe of some large metropolitan areas, but not most cities.

I posted earlier, that I found a website that said NO was the 3rd most stressful city in America to live in because of violent crime...and this was before the hurricane.

[Dems_R_Losers]

Apparently the levees are the responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers, and they are already whining that their budget has been cut so much by Bush that they did not perform any maintenance on the levees in the last year. The Corps is the most self-aggrandizing and wasteful agency in the entire government. By the time this is over, the Corps is going to be saying they have been operating with quill pens, abacuses, and candles for the last five years.

[Smogger]

The sad tragedy is that people who might want to help these people will start having seconds thoughts when they realize what they might be letting into their homes and cities.

Most of the criminals and predators will stay behind. You can't get on a bus with guns and loot. I would like to add that these predators PLANNED to stay in the CITY and LOOT IT THE ENTIRE TIME. This isn't SPONTANEOUS looting. They should be shot on sight.

[oceanview]

unfortunately, the governor doesn't share that view.

[phoebe]

Years ago my husband told me to prepare for marauding bands of thugs if ever there were a major disaster. We are on a farm and he said we'd be a prime target. So, we are very prepared! Our Farm is like a fortress, yet looks like a pleasant, sleepy little farmstead from the outside, lol!
Thank Goodness, after seeing this mess.

[cgk]

Updates as they come in on Katrina

10:49 AM CDT on Thursday, September 1, 2005

Tom Planchet

10:48 A.M. - Davis: Schools will not open until at least October 1.

10:47 A.M. - Davis: Looting still prevelant.

10:46 A.M. - Davis: A couple thousand people still in shelters. More shelters may open up as times goes on.

10:45 A.M. - Davis: Water, food and ice available at the Target parking lot on Highway 21 in Covington, and the old Wal-Mart on Gause Blvd. in Slidell.

10:41 A.M. - Kevin Davis, St. Tammany Parish President: Cleco has 1,400 crew members working to establish power in some areas of the parish. Davis said he needs between 15,000 and 40,000 temporary housing units.

[r9etb]

Well THey knew her name "Dora"

GMTA, but you were first.... ;-)

[EX52D]

I was thinking the same...and I don't like feeling like this. So much despair...

[cgk]

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Urgent plea from St. Bernard ParishThursday, 10: Polly Boudreaux, clerk of the St. Bernard Parish Council, issued an urgent plea Thrusday morning for help for the devastated parish. Boudreaux, breaking into tears during a telephone interview with WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge, said the parish is wiped out. "We're just been absolutely devastated,'' she said. Much of the parish remained underwater, she said, and efforts to get news out have been unsucessful. And many residents still needed to be rescued. "St. Bernard has been rescuing St. Bernard for days,'' she said. She said little outside assistance has been able to reach the parish. "We are not seeing it. We need help,'' she said, her voice cracking. Boudreaux said shelters set up at Chalmette High and St. Bernard High School for people not able to evacuate Katrina, were underwater and heavily damaged. She said those staying at Chalmette High, over 1,000 people, had been evacuated to an area at the St. Bernard Port. Food and water is having to be rationed, she said. She was not clear on where those at St. Bernard High had been moved. She said parish government officials are holed up at Chalmette Refinery. The parish government building is underwater. She said parish officials have made pleas for help from the outside. "It never came,'' she said. "We just never saw it.'' "Everybody is in need. Everybody has just been wiped out.''

[been_lurking]

Interesting, out of all the government funded agencies, you single out the military for your rant. Why is that?

Could your rant not also apply to every other government funded employee? Why are you not concerned about the lack of response by all the other government agencies. Combined, all other government employees outnumber the DOD by 10 to 1.

If you think Tyndall AFB or Eglin AFB have the type of resources that are required in this emergency, then you simply don't know what you are ranting about.