"This is America? This is an outrage."- Page 4

[Greg-4now]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 1:45am

(Yawn)...not irritating you?? You're such phony p*uck. You spew the same rhetoric over and over again. I've only been here a week and you're already boring me. I know, you need to think the way you do, to feel good........about you.

Go take your Xanax so you can start feeling better again.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 1:51am

Are you referring to me? If you are, I'm intentionally ignoring you.

--------------------------

Since this thread began with Anderson Cooper, here's the transcript of tonight's 360 DEGREES program, for those who missed it.
ANDERSON COOPER 360 DEGREES - Special Edition: Hurricane Katrina

[Greg-4now]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 1:53am

Unforgiveable.

Grow up Namo! What have you done to help??

Want to do some good? Meet me tomorrow at the Red Cross office on Amsterdam and 66th. I'll make a $500 donation in your name.

[Greg-4now]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 1:54am

No Blue Wizard, I am not. I'm appologize if you thought my comments were directed at you.

[etoile]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 1:55am

Where the hell was the local and state emergency management? That's where the initial responsibility needs to be focused. They dropped the football, then the feds fumbled for an interception.

You're right, Greg, every municipality is required to have Emergency Management in place. They're required to train, supply, and be at the ready. They have municipal aid agreements and reciprocity with neighboring communities/states...or they should. It's up to them to contact and coordinate. Seems they didn't, or at least not very well.

I know firsthand of EM units thousand of miles away waiting for the word on how to assist. They were scrambling their resources, supplies, & personnel the night of the hurricane. Still waiting.

When a mayor declares a mandatory evacuation his Emergency Management best be prepared to implement it. We all saw the size of Kitrina growing in the Gulf. He had days to prepare. You call for a mandatory evacuation and you send the vehicles door to door to see it takes place. And you arm those evacuating with ARMED National Guard or law enforcement. Let's not forget that New Orleans has notoriously been know for having one of the highest crimes rates in the country. Just days before they had been again singled out as one of the few cities in the past ten years with an ever growing homicide rate. While other cities saw their homicide numbers shrink New Orleans lead the country with record high numbers. In fact, per capita they were 10 times...repeat 10 times above the national average. Numbing. Telling. How do you choose to live in a community like that unless you have no choice? But the locals in government knew all this. They knew the violence that permeated the streets on a good day. They couldn't foresee the future violence? And for heaven's sakes the last thing you concern yourself with at times like this are crimes against property. How the F do you focus on looters? It's only property...contaminated, spoiled, soiled property. The only crimes you concentrate on are crimes of violence...against another person.

Priorities were/are out of whack on every level.

Updated On: 9/2/05 at 01:55 AM

[Greg-4now]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 2:03am

Etoile - one report said the first orders were to ignore the lawbreakers and the looters and save lives first.

You make one really good point - many parts of New Orleans is a dangerous place on a good day. How could they expect thecops to handle this???

[etoile]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 2:11am

What was the governor thinking? He had to have known it was a matter of where and when to place the National Guard. And before anyone again starts with talk of the NG in the mideast...if you don't have the men within your state, and it seems he did, you then coordinate with other states.

Leadership is and was lacking in all directions on all levels.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 3:07am

An excerpt of an article (link below):

-------------

On Thursday, several outlets -- including NBC, Fox News and CNN -- showed video of people who had died not during the storm but in the days following the hurricane. They included pictures of two people covered in sheets who had passed away outside the convention center in downtown New Orleans, where tens of thousands of people waited for food and water. One, in a wheelchair, held a note with next-of-kin information.

At the same time, networks passed on showing the full picture of what had happened, particularly at the convention center. NBC News photojournalist Tony Zumbado captured video of the dead and dying that was so graphic that neither NBC News nor MSNBC would air it.

"I thought I'd seen it all, but I've never seen anything like this," Zumbado said on "NBC Nightly News." Zumbado told MSNBC anchor Alison Stewart that there were dead bodies everywhere, including two babies who had died of dehydration.

------------------------

The death, desperation and hopelessness...it's unimaginable. I know some here are saying we shouldn't blame the levels of government, but really: were these people realistically expected to wait four days for help??
Networks won't retreat from graphic coverage

[Peter]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 3:32am

I'd like to know just what it's going to take to make the Bush supporters WAKE UP? You'd think his delayed handling of this fiasco, and every single other crisis this country has faced in itself would light a bulb with these people. I'm not so optimistic.

This goes beyond political affiliation. Bush is just not a LEADER. For all his faults, the same couldnt be said about Reagan. For the first time in history, this country is not only the world's bully, but a total embarrassment. Our "leader" was busy golfing and pushing his useless social security bill when he should have been in New Orleans. He shows little in the way of empathy, or compassion.

We're now involved in a costly war based on a lie. Funds were diverted away from restoring the levies in New Orleans to Iraq. Thousands of American soldiers and Iraqis have been, in effect, murdered by our "leader". Yet people still support this idiot. Check any of the other message boards and you'll see the right wing out slugging. I'm really beginning to think theres nothing this man could do to lose their support.

But why would they desert him? This Administration could be the worst in our history, but they certainly are good at manipulation and they know how to woo the redneck community with their carefully choreographed televised speeches....like the one featuring the mothers supporting Bush who have sons fighting in Iraq. This country is being run by committee..once they all get back from their vacations, expect to see a lot more of Georgie on tv, giving one of those carefully choreographed speeches in New Orleans with the common people. His committee will rescue the day..and his ratings will rebound. Its enough to make me want to puke.

Someone PLEASE change the channel. This Twilight Zone episode is getting old.
Updated On: 9/2/05 at 03:32 AM

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 3:40am

Good post, Peter. And sadly, I think you might be right: despite his shameful handling of this disaster, Bush may ironically still come up on top of this, with a good photo-op and bombastic rhetoric.

A prayer to the people in New Orleans tonight. May they get through the night safely.

Updated On: 9/2/05 at 03:40 AM

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 8:00am

Peter, that was quite exceptional. If I wasn't nearly numb that is exactly how I would feel. You can see it already, almost any mention of the administration's mishandling of this disaster is called "liberal bile" and sometimes even blamed on a Clinton.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 8:54am

Did anyone listen to Mayor Nagin's radio interview on CNN? Amen to him for telling it like it is, rejecting the BS that's been fed to the public for the last few days, and giving a verbal lashing to those responsible. He appears to be reaching out more so than the Governor, and you could sense the emotion and anger in his voice, especially at the conclusion of the interview, where his tears blocked his words. Although I'm too cynical to truly believe this will make a dramatic impact on the travesty we've been witnessing, it's slightly comforting to know that an authority is willing to call a spade a spade, without any political filiblustering. (Good morning Gov'nuh and Dubya!)

[Plum]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 9:30am

I didn't see any Atheist charities sending help.

I was referring to this administration's tendency to cover itself in the cloak of Christ even as it continually forgets that whole "give to charity" and "help the poor" thing. But while we're at it, yeah, most charities were founded on a religious basis. That doesn't exactly mean they're evangelical or Christian-only. Hello? Habitat for Humanity? This Jew never had problems donating or working for them.

Anyway, as someone on LJ said, you can play a game with the news headlines now. Is it Iraq or New Orleans? But if the government had taken, say, 2 days to get in, I doubt even half of the current lawlessness would be occurring. Instead we're on what- day 5? And we have things like 15,000 displaced persons at a convention center going without food and water because FEMA didn't know they were there. This, in the age of communications? I know it's been said about 625 times in this thread, but- unbelievable.
Updated On: 9/2/05 at 09:30 AM

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 9:35am

I want to point out something about New Orleans (and, if I have time, I'll go google some facts to back this up).
Thing about Louisiana is this: it's one of the few states that has a majority of citizens under the poverty level.
My tiny hometown there consists of about 15,000 people, over 60% of whom are below the national poverty level.
New Orleans, according to most population reports, has about 485,000 citizens, the majority of whom are ALSO under the poverty level.
These are people who live in shanties practically (if any of you ever visited New Orleans, you'd know the quality of life down there if you don't make $60K a year or better is absolute crap), depend upon living close enough to work to walk or depend upon the horrific public transportation system.
So, with a city that has little to no funding (the tourism dollars are pretty much all that keeps that city propped up, but much of it also goes to the rest of the state - see above poverty statement), they cannot operate under extreme duress to evacuate their residents.
To say that Mayor Nagin or Governer Blanco (oh, by the way, Etoile, the governor's a woman: Kathleen Blanco, the first female governor elected there...and she's a Democrat! Go figure) have dropped the ball is a bit unfair. Again, having grown up there, I'm rather acutely aware of the severe lack of fundings for anything that isn't absolutely essential.
I just listened to a radio address not a half hour ago where Bush says this is unacceptable and he's going down there.
Now. How many days after this hurricane is this? 4? 5? THAT is what is unacceptable.
We don't hesitate to throw our weight around in other countries but our federal government can't pay attention to its own backyard? Frightening.

[Plum]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 10:13am

Asia-Pacific nations including tsunami-battered Sri Lanka promised Friday to send money and disaster relief experts to the United States to help deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Now that's a nice story.
CNN

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 10:26am

I was shocked to hear the Mayor's strong words after it seemed every other elected official had nothing but praise for the relief effort so far. He even called for all press conferences to stop until all the resources were on the ground in New Orleans. This quote of his sums it up best....


"They're feeding the people a line of bull, and they are spinning and people are dying," he said."

Updated On: 9/2/05 at 10:26 AM

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 10:27am

Mayor Nagin was much-heralded when he was elected, given his very strong promises to reform New Orleans. He spent a lot of time and effort cleaning up the French Quarter and it was showing.
He's a good man saddled with heavy burdens in that city and, as we're seeing, federal support was negligible.

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 10:48am

Here is some news from my brother in Baton Rouge, my hometown located about 90 miles northwest of New Orleans:

-----------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the outpouring of messages and prayers. I am glad to say that my
family and I are safe and secure.

About Katrina: Everything you see on the news is real, and just as bad as
what is depicted. The need in New Orleans is really too much to take in.
Locally, the LSU Fieldhouse and Assembly Center have become triage and
treatment centers for victims. Every inch of available space on campus has
been given out to businesses, Red Cross, and FEMA. We are registering
displaced students from universities in the New Orleans area over here at
LSU. Our church has opened up its old auditorium (now called the Bain
building) as an evacuation shelter. At last check, there were around 200
displaced folks staying in that room. The church itself was serving a
shelter without power until Thursday morning.

The scope of Istrouma's ministry will be forever altered by this tragedy.
Earlier they anticipated over 100,000 displaced New Orleans residents will
wind up in Baton Rouge, although I believe the number will grow higher.

[diva007]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 12:43pm

I hate to bring religion into this and I don't want to start any new arguments but: Isn't this this exactly how end times begins? Has anyone read the Left Behind Series? People ravaging, raping, pilaging, killing, looting, and the government spinning and patting themselves on the back?

[Plum]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 12:44pm

Then the world has ended several times over. I'll believe it when my Jewish ass is roasting in Hell.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 1:10pm

I'll let everybody else state what is plain for anybody with open eyes and viable critical thinking skills to see and understand for Gay4Life.

Nor will I detail "what I have done," or more accurately what I am doing to help out for G4L, as I do not need his approval. Poor G, he's been here a week and he's bored with me. Might I suggest another site for him? Link below.

Etoile, since all communications were completely knocked out in the Gulf Coast, I think they have to be forgiven for dropping the ball. And at THAT point, the federal government is obligated to kick in. But now we know. That is impossible for the "only we can protect you" administration. And no they can't.

And that should give everybody in the country pause.


The place for loser freepers

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 1:13pm

Plum,

Don't you know you're a Chosen One? You won't roast in hell...cause Jesus loves you and will have mercy on your sinful soul.

[Plum]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 1:19pm

Really? I thought Jews just got a chance to convert, then got to roast in Hell if they refused. For some reason my New Testament knowledge is a bit shaky. :P

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 1:19pm

Jarico had a wonderful idea: Why not send the hurricane refugees to Crawford?

[Greg-4now]

Posted: 9/2/05 at 1:26pm

Namo - you have a sad sad life, don't you?

You can't engage in one debate with me without making it a personal attack. Only ignorant people degrade their arguments down to name-calling; it just means that you have nothing intelligent to say. Have a good day Namo.