Comments on: Just a few questions about the New Orleans situation.

By: hub

hub — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 15:23:33 +0000

Here is Bill Maher on Bush:

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Real-Time-George-Must-Go.mov

By: Kyla

Kyla — Sun, 11 Sep 2005 14:00:09 +0000

Did you see whay Shaquille O’Neal is doing? Shaquille is a very big man - on all levels.

He was at LSU when I was. I always liked his attitude.

By: Kyla

Kyla — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 22:42:35 +0000

I’m donating a 22ft RV for housing a family. Plus I’m giving 2 weeks of my professional vet services to the large shelter in Baton Rouge. (I’ll live in the RV while there, and fly home.)

What are y’all doing?

By: Leslie

Leslie — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 03:45:39 +0000

Some things to think about…

During the initiation of the Iraq war…our WELL SUPPLIED troops air lifted food and water to the displaced citizens of Baghdad while under fire from surface to air missiles. What thug or even the most well armed citizen of N.O. were firing off SAM’s at relief helicopters? But our military couldn’t get aid in because they were under handgun fire…BS!

Following the tragedy of 911, within 24 hours there were photos and names of missing persons placed in NY as well as rolled across the screen of TV. Granted the numbers were much smaller during 911 than that of the Gulf coast, but do you mean to tell me that no one ever thought about taking the names of people coming into shelters? How many thousands were frisked for weapons prior to making it into shelters, but were never asked for a name or the names of family members? Very good disaster preparedness by our government on all levels!

I hear and see the things most overlook in haste…the media, the politicians calling these victims REFUGEES…if you don’t know what the word means, look it up! It cannot apply to American citizens in this situation!

I remember the somber tone of 911…flags lowered to half staff in remembrance of the fallen…what has been lowered for these victims within the past 7 days…NOTHING! The only reason the flags are lowered now is due to the death of a Supreme Court justice…ONE MAN lost…not the many in the Gulf coast.

America…GIVE US YOUR TIRED…we will work then for substandard wages…GIVE US YOUR SICK…we’ll kill them with high medication prices…GIVE US YOUR POOR…they can work for the rich…YOUR HUDDLED MASSES WAITING TO BREATHE FREE…they can stay in the filth and squalor of the Gulf Coast as they breathe the wretched refuse of the teeming Gulf shore…SEND THESE HOMELESS TEMPEST TOSSED TO…Texas…Utah…Georgia…West Virginia, families broken…I LIFT MY LAMP BESIDE THE GOLDEN DOOR…to turn the lock of continued oppression! THE USA!

God…Buddha…Jehovah…Allah…help us all because the US government won’t!

By: Erick

Erick — Sun, 04 Sep 2005 02:54:51 +0000

What isn’t being made clear is that we’re talking about two different disasters that are intricately intertwined.

Preparations for Hurricane Katrina went exactly as planned. 80 percent of New Orleans (I feel bad leaving out Mississippi and Alabama) evacuated before the storm. Many others rode it out in shelters.

Those plans were designed to handle a storm that was out of the area in 24-36 hours and, for the most part, they worked well. There was extensive damage, but immediately after the storm you read about, “New Orleans breathing a sigh of relief.”

Then, the levys broke and the waters rose. Shelter designed to keep people for a day or two (like the Superdome) were suddenly expected to house them for a week or more and they didn’t have the supplies, because no one thought they would be needed.

As always, supplies were ready to roll into the area as soon as the storm passed, but there was nowhere to roll. The roads were gone or flooded and those on the edges of the disaster probably received most of the supplies.

The equipment that is now in New Orleans arrived there in about 72 hours. It hadn’t been requested before the storm because it wasn’t needed before the storm. With 24-hour coverage, it seems slow, but that’s very impressive.

Things could have been done better, but that doesn’t mean that many things were done very well. We’re so cynical a society that in trying to find the worst we have to offer we often ignore the best.

By: M.

M. — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 00:32:57 +0000

“It’s only a matter of time before South Louisiana takes a direct hit from a major hurricane. Billions have been spent to protect us, but we grow more vulnerable every day.” (published in 2003, see http://www.nola.com/hurricane/?/washingaway/)

By: Rashunda

Rashunda — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 00:25:35 +0000

Y’all know something? I was going to attempt to write something profound, but then I listened to NO Mayor Ray Nagin go off the chain during a radio interview. He basically said everything I was thinking. The brother preached. If you get the chance, please, please, please listen to the interview. Just reading the transcript doesn’t do what he had to say justice.

By: zenitra

zenitra — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 18:51:43 +0000

Here we are now, 4 days since 80% of the city of New Orleans was cover with water and the United States Government can only make sure that they send 10,000 troops into the City to guard against looting but they cannot get around the red tape to make sure that the people that are stranded there (4 days now) have WATER and FOOD. The issue of an isolated incident of a helicopter being shot at is only an excuse to do nothing. The media would have you believe that its something in the nature of a war zone but that’s not the case. Sure there’s going to be looting. Initially it was the criminal element of a few opportunist, but now most looting is in an attempt to find what’s needed to simply LIVE until the United States Government can set aside time in its busy schedule to get around to providing aid to the United States tax-paying Citizens of New Orleans. If you and your 3,4,5 month old baby, or 80 year old grandmother have been 90 degree temperatures, without food, water, diapers nor medication for 4 days wouldn’t you try to do what you could to find something to help you and your family simply SURVIVE???? The death toll in New Orleans is rising now, not because of the flood waters but because of neglect and lack of urgent concern and assistance by the Government. When the Mayor of a City has to publically plead with the Government to assist his City and allege that the Government is “playing games”, there is something seriously wrong with the State of Affairs in these United States. If it were not for the assistance of the State of Texas and neighboring states (individually and not at the direction of the US Government), who have sent buses in to bus people to shelters in those States (a slow and sometimes too little, too late process), the death toll would be greater. This is sad and its embarrassing for a Nation that can help everybody else but its own.

This discussion about whether its race or class?? Somebody is in denial!!!! We have all seen disasters hit (red) States like Florida and South Carolina haven’t we???? How long did it take food, water, and shelter to be provided by the United States Government???? FEMA???? Does anyone really have to ask . . . .what’s the difference here??? Get real!!!!

I’d encourage you all to keep the citizens of the States of Louisiana and Mississippi in your prayers and do whatever you can to help. Discussion is good but action speaks louder than words.

By: Cecily

Cecily — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 14:00:28 +0000

Sometimes you can clearly separate the issues of race and class, but in this instance they’re impossibly intertwined. It’s a class issue because well of whites moved to higher ground (well, as high as you can get in NOLA) years ago. Now that the wealthy have abandoned the regions that are most affected, they took the wealth and access to resources with them. Without a tax base that was strong enough to support infrastructure improvements, the poor who now live in those areas were literally stranded years ago, long before Katrina even hit.

By: John V

John V — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 13:11:09 +0000

I have to agree partially — I don’t think it’s racism at all, I think it’s both classism as well as an immense dose of ignorance. As a people, we’re too busy looking at those “other places” where disasters happen and think “Well, that’s over there” or “Well…that’s far away” or “Those people are ‘just’ poor(brown or yellow or insert your own color here) on the other end of the world.” Of COURSE that can’t happen here. Well, welcome to reality. Our government as a whole is made up of people who think the same way and are too busy looking at their own agendas (both abroad and within their ol’ boys club) and sending valuable lives and resources out that now we can’t take care of our own people. Tsunami relief was on the ground in Indonesia and Thailand in under 24 hours *from the United States.* We can’t get to ****ing New Orleans in 5 days?!

As for the Bubba Boudreaux clans…well, they’re quite close to complete anarchy now, but I must admit that if someone is shooting at a relief worker or taking sniper shots into a hospital (that’s the one that set me off)…I’d invite Bubba down for a spell.