Unrest Intensifies at Superdome Shelter

AP ^ | 9/1/05 | ADAM NOSSITER

[Getsmart64]

Oh puhleese...you have a PhD!!.....hmm..maybe you are lying about that PhD...or you really should go get your money back...

[Lady Heron]

We're not a Christian nation, and historically we have not acted like it.

That has to be one of the most il-informed comments I have ever read. Try reading what our founders wrote themselves about their reasons for the way they set up this country and about their fears if we lost our Christianity and the effect they foresaw it would have on our freedoms. Historically we have acted like a Christian nation over and over and over again, but now that we are loosing our Christian roots things are changing.

[ElRushbo]

I would like to donate some money to the Hurricane victims. Does anyone know of a good charity to give to? I want to give to an organization whose director isn't driving a Porsche and working behind an OAK desk. I want my money to go to the people.

[Getsmart64]

Keep dreaming...no country will EVER be prepared for large scale emergencies....

[HamiltonJay]

No, I don't always yell.. in fact I rarely yell... HOWEVER in this situation, YELLING is more than justified.

It does not take 4 days to coordinate getting WATER to survivors that went where YOU TOOK THEM, AND TOLD THEM TO GO! Its one thing if you can't get to them, but the Convention center is clearly accessible!!!

It doesn't take 4 days to get enough personelle to secure a perimeter around the Superdome and Convention Center!... And in fact, its been about 7 days since there were several days warning BEFORE the storm hit that it was going to be a doozy!

People are going to die in these types of events, no matter what... however the complete INCOMPETENCE of the NO Mayor and LA Governor has lead to far far more deaths that mother nature alone would have caused! They did not take this threat seriously, did NOT have contingency plans and planning in place before hand, and have been completely innept post fact doing the most basic of things!

I do not remotely underestimate the herculean task that needs to be done, but securing beacheads and getting basic neccessities does not take 4-5 days of planning! Airlifting/trucking in troops to secure the 2 sites and then getting trucks of water to them one way or another is an operation that should be able to be started in a FEW HOURS... yet 4 DAYS AFTER THE FACT STILL NOTHING!!

Corrupt governments, incompetent leaders... Army Corps of engineers has a plan of action to repair the levies in HOURS... The state and city have NOTHING after 4 days.

I will NEVER EVER EVER live in a state with a female Governor... she has shown absolutely NO leadership throughout any of this, and the mayor of NO is even worse than her.

There is no doubt, ordering shoot to kill is a serious decision, but allowing a situation like this to further decend into chaos for 4 days, because you don't have the mental capacity, or testicular fortitude to make the call is no excuse for not making the decision.

You lose order, and the death toll is ALWAYS higher in the end! The decision should have been made day 1, when it was clear that the looting was not just folks trying to survive doing it. They didn't take a stand now, and because of that, it is going to be 10 times worse now.

INCOMPETENCE

[Getsmart64]

Please note, I only try to sound elitist to rile folks, but I think there's just a lot of dumb and rude people out there.

So you're saying you like to play games over something as serious as Katrina??...dude...you're sick...

[BlueNgold]

Well then all I can say is that I suggest when all of this is over you move to NO and run for mayor.

[Getsmart64]

I don't know who you are...or what kind of game you are trying to play...well..I do but that isn't a discussion for this board....instead of sitting here thinking you are smarter than everyone else...why don't you do something productive??....and I think you are a flat out liar calling yourself a Doctor and proclaiming to be a "professional military historian"...me thinks that part is in your mind...if you have a doctorate...me thinks you fell thru the the many cracks in todays educational system...how many of your guidance counselors told you they were going to pass you even tho you failed because they didn't want to hurt your feelings of self esteem??...prob on a regular basis....

[Getsmart64]

If they are your family...why didn't you go get them?

[NotchJohnson]

It's all a cycle. They were poor. Their parents were poor. It is tough to get out and teh govt doesn't help.

[NotchJohnson]

So what is the rationalle behind shooting the people to help you? The only explanation would be that they like how things are (crime is everywhere) and they want to keep the gravy train going.

[chris1]

They don't want to offend their core constituency of voters. No Looters Left Behind!.

[Getsmart64]

No...the prez controls the guard....the prez ordered the guard units into Iraq...not the guvs...the prez will not step on a guvs toes in a natural disaster unless he has to..

[Getsmart64]

Ok...just to be in your mindset...if something bigger had happened after 9-11...you would have been asking why DIDN'T we have a Dept of Homeland Security???....how can you prepare for something that you don't know is going to happen??...people live in their own little worlds...'til that day comes crashing down...then it's woe is me..hep me hep me...

[RightWhale]

Yeah, I know. Herbert Spencer had some to say about that. Takes about four generations to get free of it. It's possible in two generations in America if everything goes right. Everything isn't going right in a lot of metropolitan areas and the problem won't go away by itself. I think we can do a lot better than what the Dem machines in those areas have been doing without buying into their philosophy.

[Roses0508]

We volunteered to do so - put them on airplanes whatever - you've obviously never had cajun relatives, have you? They are not easy to move - bulldozers and dynamite might be effective.

None of them were willing to leave. They were very afraid that if they left the house it would be looted. Some have evacuate before and then had to wait for days/weeks until the government would let them back home. If you've lived all your life in a house, living somewhere else seems impossible to a person of that age. I know it doesn't make sense to younger people, but I've dealt with it a great deal lately as my parents and their generation have aged and died.

In fact the Breaugh house survived the hurricane with little damage despite its age - was flooded when the levee breached.

We'd very much like to go search for them now, but have been warned repeatedly that there is no gasoline and that we would not be allowed into those areas - most still have 24 hour curfews.

There is trouble in Baton Rouge also. We are contemplating removing the cousins there - we think we could haul enough gas to make the trip. We are told it is at least 3 hours to the nearest available gas from Baton Rouge.

I don't know where you are from, but storms are accepted as a part of life and since most of the time you suffer only minor damage, you become immune to the threat.

[RightWhale]

It's understandable. There's quite a history there, and in their place I probably wouldn't budge either.