Hurricane Katrina Devastates The Gulf Coast.

[Diomedes]

No, people like me aren't what's with America.

You've had the presidencey, the entire Congress, and damn near the Supreme Court for the last five years.  And things look just great.

[Eagles76ersFan]

3. Where I fault President Bush was his failure in this instance to foresee the possible problems.  Many will say that it was not foreseeable, but as has been stated many times before, just such a catastrophe has been predicted.  I won't blame this on just Bush:  Those levees in LA and Mississippi should have been upgraded long before, whether by the Army Corps of Engineers or by a private group.  But there should be a permanent emergency response plan for natural disasters such as this:  the military/National Guard in total readiness to move in for every hurricane, and move in even if damage at first appears minimal.  Have emergency supplies ready in advance of the storm.  There was a blessed WEEK to prepare for this storm hitting, and even three day after it's first landfall in Florida to prepare for its hitting Louisiana.  Water, non-perishable foods and other needed supplies should have been secured in advance of this storm.  Heck, it should be ready PERMANENTLY.  Stockpile it somewhere.  I know that fruits and vegetables cannot be stockpiled as such, but canned good can.  Stock it, store it, have it ready for just such an emergency.

I won't go as far as some and say that the government's lack of action was either 1) premeditated, or 2) based on class or race.  I don't believe that, in the end, it was either.  I believe that it was based on an ignorance of the power of hurricanes on both the state and national level, of a general lack of prepardness for a natural disaster, and a lack of pre-planning.

WE DO NOT HAVE INFINITE RESOURCES. You want our resources devoted to putting New Orleans on standby? What happens when somewhere ELSE is hit? Our resources are bogged down in a city that doesn't need the help. If we had infinite money and troops and could put troops and equipment on standy on every city that might possibly get hit by the hurricane, I would be all for it. But guess what, WE DON'T. We have limited money and limited troops, and therefore we must act accordingly. The fact that we know the hurricane is a possibility means nothing. A hurricane is a possibility for every city on the east coast. An earthquake is a possibility for every city in California. A tornado is a possibility for every city in the Middle West. A terrorist attack is a possibility for every major metropolitan area. To try to pre-emptively protect against all of these disasters, even though we know they can happen, is impossible.

People keep saying that we saw the hurricane comming. Guess what. WE DIDN'T. When it hit Florida, we didn't see it becoming a category five, we didn't see it heading back to the gulf, we didn't see it hitting Louisiana. As soon as we did, that's when the wheels started turning. To do so any earlier would be a waste of money and foolish, and had the hurricane NOT hit, stupid fargs would be bitching at the government for spending our money without any result.

[Diomedes]

Eagles76ersFan, I'm not reading your posts anymore.  You are so ignorant it hurts; you're wasting my time.  Keep posting all you like, though.  Someone likes to hear the litany of bullshtein and Bush sucking, I'm sure.

On a side note, a personal friend who is a photo-journalist just landed the cover of Time.  Her photo of a woman pushing a woman in a wheelchair through floodwaters is her first major weekly cover. 

[General_Failure]

Bush sucking

Something new to add to the keyword meta tags.

[Geowhizzer]

3. Where I fault President Bush was his failure in this instance to foresee the possible problems.  Many will say that it was not foreseeable, but as has been stated many times before, just such a catastrophe has been predicted.  I won't blame this on just Bush:  Those levees in LA and Mississippi should have been upgraded long before, whether by the Army Corps of Engineers or by a private group.  But there should be a permanent emergency response plan for natural disasters such as this:  the military/National Guard in total readiness to move in for every hurricane, and move in even if damage at first appears minimal.  Have emergency supplies ready in advance of the storm.  There was a blessed WEEK to prepare for this storm hitting, and even three day after it's first landfall in Florida to prepare for its hitting Louisiana.  Water, non-perishable foods and other needed supplies should have been secured in advance of this storm.  Heck, it should be ready PERMANENTLY.  Stockpile it somewhere.  I know that fruits and vegetables cannot be stockpiled as such, but canned good can.  Stock it, store it, have it ready for just such an emergency.

I won't go as far as some and say that the government's lack of action was either 1) premeditated, or 2) based on class or race.  I don't believe that, in the end, it was either.  I believe that it was based on an ignorance of the power of hurricanes on both the state and national level, of a general lack of prepardness for a natural disaster, and a lack of pre-planning.

WE DO NOT HAVE INFINITE RESOURCES. You want our resources devoted to putting New Orleans on standby? What happens when somewhere ELSE is hit? Our resources are bogged down in a city that doesn't need the help. If we had infinite money and troops and could put troops and equipment on standy on every city that might possibly get hit by the hurricane, I would be all for it. But guess what, WE DON'T. We have limited money and limited troops, and therefore we must act accordingly. The fact that we know the hurricane is a possibility means nothing. A hurricane is a possibility for every city on the east coast. An earthquake is a possibility for every city in California. A tornado is a possibility for every city in the Middle West. A terrorist attack is a possibility for every major metropolitan area. To try to pre-emptively protect against all of these disasters, even though we know they can happen, is impossible.

People keep saying that we saw the hurricane comming. Guess what. WE DIDN'T. When it hit Florida, we didn't see it becoming a category five, we didn't see it heading back to the gulf, we didn't see it hitting Louisiana. As soon as we did, that's when the wheels started turning. To do so any earlier would be a waste of money and foolish, and had the hurricane NOT hit, stupid fargs would be bitching at the government for spending our money without any result.

And if there isn't a true emergency, the troops can be pulled out almost immediately.  Better to have them there, though, wouldn't you say?

I've seen enough from these hurricanes to know that there's SOMETHING that must be done to better prepare.  I've already put much of the onus on the individual states.  However, there's got to be some kind of supply chain that is ready to go instantaneously when an emergency does strike. 

And, I hate to say, SOME did see exactlly what happened with Katrina.  Our local weather forecaster, Jim Farrell of WINK-TV, even when we were battening down the hatches for the CAT-1 version of Katrina, said that it was going to go south of us, into the Gulf, and strengthen to a major hurricane over the extremely warm waters (93+ degrees) of the Gulf of Mexico.  This was BEFORE Katrina even hit the Gulf coast of Florida.  If our local guy, with the mediocre resources of a small-city television studio, can predict this storm so accurately, why can't the federal government, with its vast array of resources, be even adequately prepared for a storm it knew would hit SOMEWHERE in the continental United States days in advance.

Have basic provisions (water, non-perishable foods) ready on June 1, the beginning of hurricane season (though early May would be better).  Mobilize the local National Guards a full week before the storm is to hit.  Have the Gulf and Atlantic states (my mom reminds me all the time of the immense flooding in PA caused by Agnes in 1972, so it's not just the south, either) help in the preparation.  It shouldn't take much in the way of our apparently skimpy resources to be adequately prepared.  How come we can so quickly come up with this stuff when it's southern Asia or Africa, but not when it comes to providing for our own citizens?

Why is it too much to ask for basic provisions to be ready when EVERY YEAR, SOMEWHERE, a hurricane hits and causes major damage in the Southeast?  Or mudslides in the West?  Or tornadoes in the Midwest?  Or blizzards in the Northeast?

What happened in New Orleans should NEVER happen in a country as strong, as wealthy, as supposedly humane as the United States.  The governmental prepareness was inept.  The government response was inadequate.  Democrats, Republicans, whoever, should be better prepared than they were to handle this situation.  As catastrophic as the storm was naturally, the way the local, state and national governments mishandled the situation made the damage that much worse.

[Eagles76ersFan]

And if there isn't a true emergency, the troops can be pulled out almost immediately.  Better to have them there, though, wouldn't you say?

I've seen enough from these hurricanes to know that there's SOMETHING that must be done to better prepare.  I've already put much of the onus on the individual states.  However, there's got to be some kind of supply chain that is ready to go instantaneously when an emergency does strike. 

And, I hate to say, SOME did see exactlly what happened with Katrina.  Our local weather forecaster, Jim Farrell of WINK-TV, even when we were battening down the hatches for the CAT-1 version of Katrina, said that it was going to go south of us, into the Gulf, and strengthen to a major hurricane over the extremely warm waters (93+ degrees) of the Gulf of Mexico.  This was BEFORE Katrina even hit the Gulf coast of Florida.  If our local guy, with the mediocre resources of a small-city television studio, can predict this storm so accurately, why can't the federal government, with its vast array of resources, be even adequately prepared for a storm it knew would hit SOMEWHERE in the continental United States days in advance.

Have basic provisions (water, non-perishable foods) ready on June 1, the beginning of hurricane season (though early May would be better).  Mobilize the local National Guards a full week before the storm is to hit.  Have the Gulf and Atlantic states (my mom reminds me all the time of the immense flooding in PA caused by Agnes in 1972, so it's not just the south, either) help in the preparation.  It shouldn't take much in the way of our apparently skimpy resources to be adequately prepared.  How come we can so quickly come up with this stuff when it's southern Asia or Africa, but not when it comes to providing for our own citizens?

Why is it too much to ask for basic provisions to be ready when EVERY YEAR, SOMEWHERE, a hurricane hits and causes major damage in the Southeast?  Or mudslides in the West?  Or tornadoes in the Midwest?  Or blizzards in the Northeast?

What happened in New Orleans should NEVER happen in a country as strong, as wealthy, as supposedly humane as the United States.  The governmental prepareness was inept.  The government response was inadequate.  Democrats, Republicans, whoever, should be better prepared than they were to handle this situation.  As catastrophic as the storm was naturally, the way the local, state and national governments mishandled the situation made the damage that much worse.

I suppose we could have had 10,000 National Guard troops loaded with enough food and water to feed 100,000 people for 3 weeks, waiting in a parkinglot in TN. Of course, dont forget the medical supply teams and the search and rescue squadrons that would be there too. Oh, and we need to have a couple thousand busses on deck as well, someone's going to need to transport all those refugees. So we have all of this equipment, the people to support it, and the troops numbering close to 15,000, waiting in TN or TX for the go ahead order. It's a nice idea but it is far from realistic. If this could of been done, don't you think it would have?

[Diomedes]

the interdictor is remarkable reading.  this from 11 a.m.:

A lot of tankers have been going by. I'm not sure what's in the plain, nondescript silver ones are carrying -- could be fuel, could be water for the rescuers and relief effort.

Also, like you I've heard the rumors of cannibalism, but I have no confirmation from any of the police.

The city really does look like a ghost town. It's so bizarre to see streets which are normally highly trafficed having such a limited flow of vehicles. And at night it's weird to see all these high rises with no light coming from the buildings. No street lights, no traffic lights, the clock on the Whitney Bank building on Poydras and Camp -- a widely recognized feature -- is stopped. The debris is still everywhere. Cars abandoned all over the place. Abandoned and trashed. And the quiet. Aside from the occasional vehicle, this place has no sound. Every piece of glass that used to be a high rise window which hits the ground can be heard blocks away.

I wonder how things will be different in this city when this is all behind us.

Update: On cam, way down the street, you can see what appears to be an armed military foot patrol. First one I've seen.

[TexasEagle]

Like SD said, they had the option to leave. There were public busses taking people out that didn't have a way to leave. I fail to see how the government can be blamed for this? They told the people that if you stay, you might die and that you should have food, water, and meds. Now, if you were poor and couldn't obtain food or water, then why the farg would you not leave?

No, people like me aren't what's with America. What's wrong is the bleeding-heart armchair administrators like you who criticize Bush and his administration because you and the rest of the liberal corksuckers out there think that we live in a People's State that is set up to provide omnipresent protection.

Like a prototypical Bush supporter when you get cornered on your bullshtein spin you dance around the issue when not outright ignoring every point. I'd rather be a "bleeding-heart" that gives a shtein about the country I live in than a Bush scyophant  that can't do anything but wave the flag and ignore any valid criticism like a child holding his hands over his ears going "la-la-la-la". But that's ok, Bush is doing great as President, the economy is booming, gas prices aren't sky rocketing, big business isn't ruling the country and we're winning the wars on drugs, terror and in Iraq. Is it too late to join the GOP, I think I've seen the light?

I'm through with you and your nonsense.

[TexasEagle]

the interdictor is remarkable reading. this from 11 a.m.:

They were interviewed (by phone) on MSNBC earlier today.

They didn't get too much into what they've seen or anything (MSNBC promoted the blog though) mainly just talked about why they stayed and such. They're going to be getting some extra business out of this I'm sure.

[Diomedes]

Has Bush put the White House flag at half mast yet?  Who makes that call?  I mean, who tells the nation to do it?  I submit that it's time to lower all the flags.

[Diomedes]

The plot thickens.  Let's see if the NRA and the ACLU don't find themselves in bed together over this one:

Police shoot to death at least six in New Orleans

By BREAKING NEWS
Updated: 5:01 p.m. ET Sept. 4, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - Police shot eight people carrying guns on a New Orleans bridge Sunday, killing five or six of them, a deputy chief said.

Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said the shootings took place on the Danziger Bridge, which connects Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River.

He said he had no other details.
This breaking story will be updated.

[Rome]

I miss NB.

[PhillyGirl]

Has Bush put the White House flag at half mast yet?  Who makes that call?  I mean, who tells the nation to do it?  I submit that it's time to lower all the flags.

I was thinking about that yesterday while in the car. I was wondering how the flags were still not at half mast? I was also pretty disgusted and got tears in my eyes.

Eagles76ersFan...your posts could possibly be some of the most delusional and ignorant ones I've seen on this forum before. You rank right up there with the self-banned NoneBetta. You're actually trying to argue with fellow Republicans who are Bush supporters, only THEY can see that there is fault...you, for whatever reason, are so far gone, you can't see it. HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE IT?

[PhillyGirl]

I'd like to re-iterate the fact that Michael Chertoff is a douchebag.


Thank you.

[Geowhizzer]

I suppose we could have had 10,000 National Guard troops loaded with enough food and water to feed 100,000 people for 3 weeks, waiting in a parkinglot in TN. Of course, dont forget the medical supply teams and the search and rescue squadrons that would be there too. Oh, and we need to have a couple thousand busses on deck as well, someone's going to need to transport all those refugees. So we have all of this equipment, the people to support it, and the troops numbering close to 15,000, waiting in TN or TX for the go ahead order. It's a nice idea but it is far from realistic. If this could of been done, don't you think it would have?

I don't think that it is unrealistic to:

1.  Have 10,000 National Guard troops on STANDBY (at their home bases), ready to deploy as soon as it is safe to do so after the storm hits.
2.  Have ready supplies centrally located somewhere (Tennessee may be a good place, not too far from any part of the South, but far enough away that a hurricane won't actually ravage that part of the nation.  Restock it every spring.
3.  Have some sort of action plan ready to go, in conjunction with the state governments of the Gulf and South Atlantic states, that encompasses:
      a) when to evacuate the able-bodied and how to coordinate evacuation of both the poor and disabled/elderly in the event a major hurricane is approaching
      b) what the governments can do to prevent the flooding catastrophe that happened after the storm in New Orleans
      c) A plan to get those troops on standby to the areas in need as soon as possible, WITH SUPPLIES, in the shortest possible amount of time

Again, I don't think that Bush was up there saying, "Nah, let the people suffer somemore.  I've got a barbecue to go to tonight!"  However, I believe that the goverment was needlessly tardy in sending troops and supplies because of poor planning and resource management. 

Who knows how many lives could have been saved if needed personnel and supplies had reached Louisiana on Tuesday or Wednesday instead of FRIDAY or SATURDAY?  The delay, with proper planning, was avoidable.  That just adds to the tragedy.

And again:  The TROOPS can be on standby at their home bases.  Send as many as the results require, but have the troops ready to leave IMMEDIATELY to prevent what happened in Louisiana from occurring again.  The supplies should be stored and ready to move at a central location- perhaps a "first response" unit.