Why no help?

[mountainmotor]

Without quoting some of the quotes , I read it as part of the problem was that the Govenor did not tell the National Guard , who was stationed 30 miles north before the hurricane hit to GO . Some say it was communication troubles from lack of power but I doubt it .

The military cannot and does not rely on the electricity that powers the VCR's in war and if the capitol building did not have a brace of batteries to use incase of nuclear war ect they don't have their shidt together .

Was the Govenor's indesiveness just one part of the problem after the water ran into the city ?

I'd not send 6k National Guardsmen into a category 4 storm and get them killed thats for sure but I'd get them in as soon as possible after it was clear enough for them to not be killed in doing it .

 

[frisbee]

I don't see it as a race issue but i'm sure alot of people do . I would consider it a poverty issue. I do believe that if they were rich people they would be a little bigger priority.

 

[Aughtsix]

Interesting - I don't consider it a race issue or a poverty issue.  Never have.  When someone is dying I don't care what color they are - I care why.  Is it a direct or an indirect result of something they've done or failed to do?  In other words, how much responsibility do they carry for their death...

Kevin posted something I consider very pertinent to this situation.  We've (Americans) become so used to assigning the burden of the responsibility for our wellbeing to someone or something else for so long that I wonder if we've lost the ability to stop and ask the question - what's my responsibility in this?  When standing at one of those overlooks is it my responsibility to stay away from the edge?  Or is it someone else's responsibility to put a guardrail there to protect me from my own stupidity?  Then, if I do fall, who should pick up the pieces?  

Guardrails.

The whining mayor of New Orleans, rather than pointing the finger of blame to others, should open up a can of nads, man up and take responsibility for absolutely and completely dropping the ball.  Next should be the Governor of Louisiana.  Lastly should be those who failed to take responsibility for their own safety.  They got too close to the edge and they fell off.  Too bad so sad.  Now it's their responsibility to pick up the pieces.  If help comes, great, but they have absolutely no room to whine about when, where and in what form it comes.  They knew the cliff was there, they knew where they were in relation to it and they knew there was no guardrail.

Does any of this imply that I believe we shouldn't help those folks down in the sweep of the hurricane?  Heavens no.  I believe we as a society carry some responsibility to help the helpless - those disabled, sick and elderly who are simply unable to carry their burden.  But what of their families?  Friends?  Church communities?  

I can't accept the notion that someone up in Minnesota was watching the news predicting the sweep of the hurricane and thought to themselves "Well, my 'ol disabled dad down there will be fine.  I'm pretty sure he can find something that floats..."

Add to this the human garbage hindering relief efforts and I'm having a very hard time feeling sympathetic.

As usual, YMMV.



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[cache]

hurricane coming... people that can flee do so.

hurricane coming... those that need shelter go to the superdome.

hurricane gone... lets survey the damage.

hurricane gone for a day... major flooding, rising extremely fast...
CAN YOU SEND HELP? maybe helicopters(which they did), but no way to send in ground support.

prepare for the worst.... THIS TAKES TIME to get the necessary supplies, equipment, etc.....

lets say it is 3 days past now.. finally things have been organized as much as possible to help over 100,000 stranded people in an area STILL FLOODED!



----

now tell my why you think this could have been fixed in one damn day?!?!?!?!

 

[cache]

the folks we should be mad at are all the hundreds of news crews at ground zero that did nothing to help these people. they could have brought supplies... but then they would probably be dead now. sad.

 

[Relsek]

hurricane coming... people that can flee do so.

hurricane coming... those that need shelter go to the superdome.

hurricane gone... lets survey the damage.

hurricane gone for a day... major flooding, rising extremely fast...
CAN YOU SEND HELP? maybe helicopters(which they did), but no way to send in ground support.

prepare for the worst.... THIS TAKES TIME to get the necessary supplies, equipment, etc.....

lets say it is 3 days past now.. finally things have been organized as much as possible to help over 100,000 stranded people in an area STILL FLOODED!



----

now tell my why you think this could have been fixed in one damn day?!?!?!?!  

You seem to think along the same lines as I do, but since I didn't put is so nicely and most everybody knows I'm white, I'm considered a racist.

 

[cache]

thats not true. but when you put it like that, how can someone not think your racist? hmm?

 

[frisbee]

the folks we should be mad at are all the hundreds of news crews at ground zero that did nothing to help these people. they could have brought supplies... but then they would probably be dead now.   sad.

Them and the jacka$$e$ that are shooting at the help.

 

[larrycivic]

I just cannot fathom how the government knew that this storm was coming and they were caught with their pants down. I believe they should have been ready for the worst-case scenario. Instead, it is 4 days latter and the FEMA man in charge has no idea what is going on.

I think in my opinion Bush dropped the ball on this. I ultimately believe that Bush should bare the responsibility with the mess-ups down there, along with the rest of the government.

Flame away

on a side not how do i get smiley faces to show up in my posts?

 

[frisbee]

Here take some anyway!

 

[Aughtsix]

I just cannot fathom how the government knew that this storm was coming and they were caught with their pants down.  I believe they should have been ready for the worst-case scenario.  Instead, it is 4 days latter and the FEMA man in charge has no idea what is going on.  

I think in my opinion Bush dropped the ball on this.  I ultimately believe that Bush should bare the responsibility with the mess-ups down there, along with the rest of the government.  

Flame away

on a side not how do i get smiley faces to show up in my posts?

I just can't fathom how those in the affected areas knew that this storm was coming and they were caught with their pants down. I believe they should have been ready for the worst-case scenario. Instead, it is 4 days later and they're whining for the Feds to come pick up the pieces of their utter failure.

In my opinion President Bush should be applauded for not taking these incompetent imbeciles to task for their failure and calling for their resignations. I ultimately believe that the government officials in the areas involved along with those who could have evacuated but chose not to should bare the entire responsibility for their failure and the end result of it.

 

[Aughtsix]

Ah, perspective is a wonderful thing...

 

[BrianKesler]

I know that there are plenty of people there who do need help, but its hard to go into somewhere to help when you have idiots shooting at police and the military helicopters who are there to help them. The same people doing the shooting are probably the ones doing the most complaining.

 

[cache]

I just cannot fathom how the government knew that this storm was coming and they were caught with their pants down.  I believe they should have been ready for the worst-case scenario.  Instead, it is 4 days latter and the FEMA man in charge has no idea what is going on.  

I think in my opinion Bush dropped the ball on this.  I ultimately believe that Bush should bare the responsibility with the mess-ups down there, along with the rest of the government.  

Flame away

on a side not how do i get smiley faces to show up in my posts?

Bush declared a state of emergency before the hurricane hit.

That puts all power in the hands of the state government, ie: governers.

 

[RandomNickname]

I just cannot fathom how the government knew that this storm was coming and they were caught with their pants down. I believe they should have been ready for the worst-case scenario. Instead, it is 4 days latter and the FEMA man in charge has no idea what is going on.

I think in my opinion Bush dropped the ball on this. I ultimately believe that Bush should bare the responsibility with the mess-ups down there, along with the rest of the government.

Flame away

on a side not how do i get smiley faces to show up in my posts?

Bush declared a state of emergency before the hurricane hit.

That puts all power in the hands of the state government, ie: governers.

Not so much, not any more.

With the Department of Homeland Security being put into effect, basically all major catastrophes, including that of natural disasters, fall under DHS jurisdiction.

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp

"In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America's families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS."

 

[cache]

I just cannot fathom how the government knew that this storm was coming and they were caught with their pants down.  I believe they should have been ready for the worst-case scenario.  Instead, it is 4 days latter and the FEMA man in charge has no idea what is going on.  

I think in my opinion Bush dropped the ball on this.  I ultimately believe that Bush should bare the responsibility with the mess-ups down there, along with the rest of the government.  

Flame away

on a side not how do i get smiley faces to show up in my posts?

Bush declared a state of emergency before the hurricane hit.

That puts all power in the hands of the state government, ie: governers.

Not so much, not any more.

With the Department of Homeland Security being put into effect, basically all major catastrophes, including that of natural disasters, fall under DHS jurisdiction.

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp

"In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort.  The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America's families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS."

as I said.. before it hit.

 

[Turbo-Torch]

thats not true. but when you put it like that, how can someone not think your racist? hmm?

Can you point out what he said that is considered racist?

I read all the posts last night and didn't notice anything at that time. I re-read them again and still don't see anything, other than one that was edited.

Was there something he took out in that post or do I need to stab some holes in my heart in order to get it bleeding enough to understand the racist connotation?

People keep refering to those thieving looters, killers, rapists (rapists of children!) as animals. Anybody here have a dog? Do you consider your dog in the same league as those "things" running amuck? Hell, I rate them lower than the insect kingdom. Sure the yellowjackets that I battle around my back deck every few days will attack and even try to kill in swarms, but I did read somewhere they help keep the mosquito population down so that's one redeeming quality.
What are the redeeming qualities of the SCUM taking jewelry, guns and plasma TV's? How about those taking shots at police officers and rescue workers? Take and take from society and then when tragedy strikes lets go all out and take the motherload!

 

[RandomNickname]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_emergency

"A federal emergency declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to exercise its power to deal with emergency situations; federal assistance also become available to areas that are declared to be in a state of emergency. For FEMA, emergency declarations are different from the more common disaster declarations done for hurricanes and floods.

In the United States, the chief executive is typically empowered to declare a State of Emergency. The President of the United States, a governor of a state, or even a local mayor may declare a State of Emergency within his or her jurisdiction. This is relatively rare at the federal level, but quite common at the state level in response to natural disasters.

Typically, a state of emergency empowers the executive to name coordinating officials to deal with the emergency and to override normal administrative processes regarding the passage of administrative rules."

The power goes to FEMA (DHS, since FEMA now comes under that department), not the state. State officials MAY be declared as "coordinating officials" but that does not put them in charge.



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[mjn]

Interesting - I don't consider it a race issue or a poverty issue.  Never have.  When someone is dying I don't care what color they are - I care why.  Is it a direct or an indirect result of something they've done or failed to do?  In other words, how much responsibility do they carry for their death...

Kevin posted something I consider very pertinent to this situation.  We've (Americans) become so used to assigning the burden of the responsibility for our wellbeing to someone or something else for so long that I wonder if we've lost the ability to stop and ask the question - what's my responsibility in this?  When standing at one of those overlooks is it my responsibility to stay away from the edge?  Or is it someone else's responsibility to put a guardrail there to protect me from my own stupidity?  Then, if I do fall, who should pick up the pieces?  

Guardrails.

The whining mayor of New Orleans, rather than pointing the finger of blame to others, should open up a can of nads, man up and take responsibility for absolutely and completely dropping the ball.  Next should be the Governor of Louisiana.  Lastly should be those who failed to take responsibility for their own safety.  They got too close to the edge and they fell off.  Too bad so sad.  Now it's their responsibility to pick up the pieces.  If help comes, great, but they have absolutely no room to whine about when, where and in what form it comes.  They knew the cliff was there, they knew where they were in relation to it and they knew there was no guardrail.

Does any of this imply that I believe we shouldn't help those folks down in the sweep of the hurricane?  Heavens no.  I believe we as a society carry some responsibility to help the helpless - those disabled, sick and elderly who are simply unable to carry their burden.  But what of their families?  Friends?  Church communities?  

I can't accept the notion that someone up in Minnesota was watching the news predicting the sweep of the hurricane and thought to themselves "Well, my 'ol disabled dad down there will be fine.  I'm pretty sure he can find something that floats..."

Add to this the human garbage hindering relief efforts and I'm having a very hard time feeling sympathetic.

As usual, YMMV.

I think you have hit it right on.

I have listened to Mayor Nagin, and read what he has said. It appears to me that he hasn't a clue.

Nagin; "Except for a few 'knuckleheads' those (looting) folks are justs trying to find water and food to survive"

Since when do you find water and food in a jewlery store? A liquor store? These azzjacks that stayed behind are common thieves!

Nagin; "the outbreak of crime and violence is just drug adicts that have been cut off from thier supply...and are looking to take the edge off thier jones"

WTF?? Man, there must be a WHOLE LOT of crackheads down there. Oh, and it makes great sense to shoot the poor bastid that is trying to help you! Nagin should be yelling at his own people! They are hindering thier own rescue!!

The best thing I have heard is that soldiers are instructed to shoot anyone that hinders the rescue effort. Yes, many of the folks in that area are poor. But do poverty and lawlessness go hand in hand?

The looters, those taking advantage of this situation to steal, rape and kill....they are slime. The absolute filth of the earth.

It sickens me to know that these people are of my own country. I hope our soldiers see lots of these worthless individuals......and feed them to the gators.

 

[RandomNickname]

Man, there must be a WHOLE LOT of crackheads down there. [/QUOTE]

You ever been to New Orleans?

Let's just say...it ain't rare.



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