Dennis Hastert, please sit down and shut the fuck up
The AP reports:
It makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that’s seven feet under sea level,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert said of federal assistance for hurricane-devastated New Orleans.
To clarify: if you’re an associate of Dennis Hastert under seven feet of investigators, he will do everything in his power to help you. But, if you’re seven feet below sea level, you’re shit out of luck.
Thanks, Dennis.
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Sadly, a lot of people feel the way he does. Did you read the editorial at the Republican-American? There’s really a sense of your-fault mentality going around. What bothers me is less the assholery, and more the complete lack of common sense… as if everything from Texas through Florida is permanently uninhabitable?
Since rhetoric usually turns people off, I stuck with a more pragmatic response:
“Even if lawmakers decided the city isn’t viable, what would happen with the space? It’s the largest and most easily accessible U.S. River, the most fertile farmland, and rich in natural resources. Guess what? It IS economically viable to have a city there, even if this happens once a century.”
New Orleanians are just doomed to suffer these kinds of stings for a while.
He’d rather spend billions to destroy and rebuild Iraq.
It’s not just economically viable, but the loss of New Orleans (particutlarly the port) would have a devastating impact on the economy of the state.
Hey, if Connecticut wants to pay an extra buck per gallon and fifty cents per cup of coffee, plus see the price of all steel components jump up, then they’re free not to help rebuild. And when they complain that they’re paying too much to fill up their H2s, get a triple latte at Starbucks, and buy that new built-in fridge, they can, to put it delicately, go fuck themselves.
And if they ever need help digging out from a “blizzard of the century,” well, “they ought to accept responsibility for what happens to them and their property.”
Yeah, like the Mississipi River doesn’t need a port.
They’ll say anything –no matter how stupid– to keep gas prices high and the military industry rolling in cash.
Bush’s friends and family have always benefited from high fuel prices, and supported any policy that props them up — even global chaos.
Is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness more limited than just within the confines of the United States? Is the government absolved of responsibility for the citizens who choose to live in a desert, or on a faultline, or in the difficult climates of Alaska? Are those who choose to work crab fishing boats in the North Pacific not entitled to help if something happens because they choose to go there? Should people not be allowed to work the flight decks of aircraft carriers given the dangers? If the pursuit of happiness takes you into a potentially harmful situation or location, then is the government obligated to protect you and/or help you or is it purely a cost/benefit decision? Is there an implication in his statement that the citizens aren’t worth the money it’s going to cost to rescue them even - you could argue that this is implied.
I don’t know the answers to any of these questions but his statement smacks of something sinister. Granted the footage on television doesn’t paint a pretty picture, but I’ve said since I was a much younger man, that everyone should experience New Orleans at least once in thier life. I hope I still feel that way a year from now. although, if New Orleans drifts into myth and legend, I already have more than enough wonderful memories of that city to last me several lifetimes.
I’ve spent the last 4 days glued to CNN. I called Doctors Without Borders to see if they were collecting for Katrina. The answer was no. Evidently, there are some borders that will not be crossed. I don’t blame Doctors Without Borders because our country has been so blessed. I do, however, wonder if our foreign policy and Bush’s pride will keep people from the world community from helping us….Pay backs a bitch. Will our Nato or UN allies help? Will Bush be too arrogant to accept it if it’s offered? Will millions of Europeans dig deeply into their pockets?
This fiasco shows a country that is ill prepared for any crises. We need to get our troops out of Iraq - ALL of them to save the lives of our citizens (and because they don’t even belong there). Why can’t food and water be dropped by helicopter to the people on the overpasses, in the dome and in the city proper? While I don’t believe racism is involved because the majority of New Orleans is black, It is obvious that in this case poverty is a death sentence…..all of this punctuated by the poor behavior of the criminal class sniping emergency personnel should make us look in the mirror and ask ourselves who we are as a people. It ain’t too pretty.
daryl
I thought he was referring to rebuilding it 7 feet below sea level (the way it was) not that rebuilding New Orleans was futile.
Hastert is absolutely correct.
New Orleans should sell all housing project lands to the highest bidder. It will mean cheaper housing that people can actually own and not be slaves to the government next time around.
No, he back tracked to that, as all republican crazy people do after they say something outrageous, but originally he meant that New Orleans is on its own, and that no Federal aid should help rebuild it - especially if it’s to be rebuilt in it’s current location.
He also suggested bulldozing the place down.
He’s a prick, safe in his nice warm home.
There’s no safe place to live in this world, nature will get us all eventually - I live in Alaska, sever winters, earthquakes and volcanoes are our chosen dangers.
Others choose to live in hurricane areas, others in flood zones, others in the desert, etc.
The government has not been voted in to decide where we can and cannot live, it’s voted in to protect and provide for it’s citizens.
Personal gain is not part of the deal, nor are personal agendas.
Their job is to do what we want, not what they want.
Once again, as an Illinois resident, I get to shake my head over things coming out of our politians mouths. As has been stated, there are several other cities in this country whose viability could surely be questioned.
Denny–”major port” mean anything to you?? I have family there I haven’t heard from, like so many others. Perhaps not the time to be saying something like this??
By the way, I didn’t know ‘assholery’ was a word, but I like it!!
I’m from the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ve been watching the horror in New Orleans with such rage. Hastert’s comments sent me over the edge. I’ve never been to New Orleans but it’s in my soul. My parents were there in the 60’s and adored it. I always wanted to see it. I’m in tears constantly watching this wonderful city being destroyed. I’m calling my senators both state and congressional to beg them to help. I’m calling Hastert’s office to scream bloody murder at the lack of compassion and care his statement expresses. This is insane!
Hastert asked a simple question: Does it make sense to rebuild a city 7 feet below sea level? In the simplest terms the answer, when just answering the question is, NO. Does anyone REALLY know what the man was asking? What if he had asked “Does it make sense to rebuild a city BELOW? or ABOVE sea level? Obviously the answer is ABOVE sea level!! You folk are so myopic in your thinking that you justify a looter, a “criminal” in every sense of the word, who steals shoes or jewelry or guns because they are “just getting back for years of feeling oppressed”, but you won’t give the same benefit of the doubt to someone solely because you dismiss and disdain anything someone not of your political party has to say, whether it’s truth or not.
Tim - I don’t know where you’re from BUT there are natural disasters in every state. Illinois has killer tornadoes and heat waves and residents stay and expect federal help. The blue states pay plenty in taxes to help less wealthy states recover from disasters. I expect no less for New Orleans! Hastert’s comments are mean spirited and nasty.
Well Susan, for your information, my last name is FAUCHEAUX….can you GUESS where I’m FROM!!!? If you’re STILL in doubt, I was born in Houma, grew up in Grand Isle and in Westwego and as an adult lived in Mid City until 6 years ago, when I decided I would leave. Yes…LEAVE…a place that was predicted and talked about to have a disaster by hurricane each and every year of my ENTIRE LIFE!!!! Now, as for Hastert, you still don’t seem to want to answer his (or my) question.: Does it make sense to build a city underwater? Yes or No?…….Of course it doesn’t…..So, let’s rebuild it A-B-O-V-E water. (Susan shakes her head, realizes what Tim and Hastert just might be trying to say and thinks, “Wow, what a novel idea!?!”)(Tim snickers and thinks “but the Japanese thought of it first and oh, my gosh, they made it work!!”). P.S.: I now live in the Great State of TEXAS, in Austin….the Greatest City on the Planet.
P.P.S.: By the way, Susan, where do You live?
Tim - I’m from San Francisco which Hastert also commented on…….I wish his statement did reflect what you’re saying but I don’t think it does since he went on to say we’re all stubborn for rebuilding in disaster zones…..
Hey Tim -
What should be rebuilt, besides the city is the levees. They need to be built higher. And also more pumps need to be added.
Look, for ever since New Orleans has been down there, it has been in the cross-hairs of hurricanes. That is what happens when you live on the coast. New Orleans will always be there. Period. But to raze the city and build it higher is absurd and too costly. They need to look at better protective measures and more pumps.
In the end, Mother-Nature will get us one way or another. As for more ferocious hurricanes, if we can end the green house effect and not heat the atmosphere up more, then maybe, just maybe, we can temper-down some of these storms.
But that would never happen, because the politicians are greedy for money - any way they can get it.
Cities are built and grow because there is a demand by people to live there. You cant build a city and expect people to move just because its there. Its worth thinking about what should be rehabilitated and what should be reused and a different way.
“Does it make sense to rebuild a city 7 feet below sea level?”
Does it make sense to rebuild a state that juts out as a penninsula across the path of 3 to 5 hurricanes a season??? If your brother is the president it does!!!!
Does it really make sense to put this city right back where it is? People seem to think that it will be a matter of just fixing the buildings that are currently waterlogged (once all the water is gone, of course) and all will be well. The city is wasting away in its own filth. The water is contaminated with death, gasoline, trash, and sewage. Almost every building that is currently standing in the ENTIRE city will have to come down. Period. The rotting wood, the mold and mildew, and the questionable strength of the ground will make it so.
To entertain the notion of trying to build again, with the integrity of the foundations of the levees at great risk of never really being repaired, is ridiculous and irresponsible. This is pure logic. It’s one of our most beloved cities, and has always spoken of the mix of cultures that define us as a nation, but if they rebuild in the same place, the next big storm will finish everything off.
I have an 89 year old friend who was a refugee from Warzaw, Poland at the end of WW2. Her city was bombed to the ground. A minister in San Francisco sponsored her entry to the US when she had no place to go. Her port of entry was New Orleans. She fell in love with this city. Her first experience was watching a black funeral go thru the French Quarter with a jazz band playing and she knew this country had to be wonderful. She tells me that story all the time. It has a very special place in American hearts. To bulldoze it per Hastert’s suggestion is crazy.
Absurd, Dirk…..ABSURD!!!? Do you KNOW what happens to a structure when it’s been sitting underwater for a couple of days? Even when they have been sitting in only a couple of feet of water for that long, the wood in all of these houses will “wick” the water all the way up and through to the roof!! Almost all of the houses sitting in this water, at the very least, will have to be COMPLETELY stripped of all wood siding, insulation, sheetrock, electrical fixtures and flooring, THEN dried out, re-sheetrocked, re-sided, re-insulated, re-carpeted or tiled and all of the electrical outlets, lighting fixtures, appliances and most roofs will have to be replaced. In other words, in case this is not clear, in order to get the biggest return on investment, THEY WILL HAVE TO BE TORN DOWN TO THE FOUNDATIONS AND BE REBUILT!! All I’m saying is that, to better ensure the future of that investment, maybe, just maybe, it might be worth looking at rebuilding a city, IN THE SAME LOCATION, that is NOT underwater. (I’m really getting tired of people who’ve never played chess….sorry Dirk) P.S.: To Susan: You’re a skilled debater and I DO enjoy the reparte’, thank you.
did it take u.s 5 days to get to tsunami victims?
Thanks Tim - sounds like you love New Orleans….point taken.
I think it’s not going to be a matter of whether we *should* rebuild New Orleans, but whether we can. After the city’s soaked beneath a lake of toxic sludge for a couple months people will pay money to move further away from the stench. The cleanup costs will be incredible, and it’ll be months if not years before the cleanup is to the point that rebuilding can be considered. In the meantime a lot of people will have moved on with their lives and rebuilt elsewhere, making the question moot.
“We HAVE a WINNAHHHH”…step right up Susan and take your prize, you’re the first person to “GET” where I’m coming from. (also, Christy gets a cupie doll for correctly spelling “tsunami” he he)kingfish78734@aol.com
Of course, we CAN, Ketzl, we are the people of America….but your point is well taken. Quote: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t….You’re RIGHT” - Tim
I do think New Orleans should be rebuilt, but simply draining and building anew, with no thought given to mitigating future disasters, strikes me as profoundly stupid. And trying to equate the damage done by hurricanes to that done by tornados, is laughable. A low-grade hurricane dwarfs the worst tornado, both in power and size.
kinda funny that the US government can afford to send thousands of people to die to help out in a foreign country but cant help its own citizens , allowing thousands to be with out food, water and shelter while dumbass president Bush sits in his cushy oval office asking the american people to send cash. I do believe we should all do our part in aiding and assisting the people who cant even have a glass of water, but why not immediately pull out some of the troops from Iraq and assist the people who worked hard paying taxes that is paying for over sea efforts. How can we have more concern in assisting other countries than our own?
I’ve been bouncing back and forth between CNN and MSNBC since Katrina hit. It is beyond my comprehension how we are able to allow our people to die when sustaining life would only be a matter of air dropping water and food. The situation at the convention center in new orleans is horrific. If we cannot help our own people who are know dying because they did what the government told them to do and now the gov’t has left them for dead; then we have no business calling ourselves the greatest nation on earth. I watched a young woman holding her infant child and saying he was so weak and tired and starved that she was having trouble waking him up. Watching this makes me cry out loud. If we have failed at providing the most basic of human necessities for our brothers and sisters on our own soil, we have failed at humanity. I wonder if Bushes buddies in the middle east will donate to the cause.
Unfortunately, this is a discussion we will have to have. While New Orleans should remain a part of our landscape, the question should be at what level? Building a large city like that New Orleans that is below sea level begs for disasters like this. Having said that, I don’t think what we are seeing should be happening. While this storm should have wreaked the havoc that it did, the state and local officials got caught with their pants down. They’ve known for a long time the potential disaster that awaited the Big Easy with the right storm, and they should have had contingency plans in place to deal with those who were unable to get out. For example, why didn’t they utilize all forms of public transportation, including things like school busses, to get people out of the city before the storm hit? The evacuation procedures should have all been worked out ahead of time, but from my vantage point, it doesn’t look like they had any contingency plans drawn up.
Keep praying for the folks stuck down there. God knows they need all the help they can get.
Hastert is an ass. Applying his logic to the rest of the U.S. would render every major city uninhabitable for one reason or another. I wonder how his buddy Trent Lott, who lost his home in Pascagoula, feels about his comments. Why doesn’t Denny tell Jeb that he’s on his own for the next hurricane then? And can someone please slap the head of FEMA, the next time he says that people CHOSE to stay in NOLA! You can’t order a mandatory evacuation and then provide no way to evacuate. Why did Greyhound and Amtrak stop service on Saturday?
Come on, Saira. Has anything ANY politician, Republican or Democrat, EVER done anything to improve YOUR life? Or has your life really ONLY been improved by YOU and the people who love you and care about you? Politicians, for the last half-century have been essentially the same: ineffective. Ineffective in making any significant change in the lives of everyday, ordinary people. The only REAL difference in our lives comes from US and how we treat each other and take care of each other and try to make a better life for ourselves. Politicians, no matter what party, have made so little REAL change that it is laughable. Make your OWN way and stop worrying about the “powers that be” and you’ll be happier for it.
Does anyone know what the conditions are in Covington, La.? As much info on the news about all the other areas, I have heard nothing about this town. My brother Ed Hillis & his family live there & I have heard nothing. If anyone has any info about Covington please drop me a note.
they need to rebuild…NO was their own city,,pls let them have it back,,,we do not want/need them to overpopulate what we have here in TX…We already have poverty,no jobs, no food,,,,lets not overdo it here with more than we can handle…PLS REBUILD NEW ORLEANS we must think about our selves here,, its ok to help and support ,,,but help them get the support to get back on their own feet in thei own town
Anyone watch the PBS “Newshour”? I see them interviewing people that have been walking on a highway for a couple of days…cars driving in the background - these folks have not had any food - don’t know where to go but obviously they’re on a road that can support transportation. Where’s the help? Then they go next to Jefferson Parish and an empty food distribution center. The National Guard are there - Red Cross was supposed to have food there yesterday. No one knows where they are….this is driving me nuts. Maybe the rescuers need to check in with CNN and find out how they get their reporters to these places?
I live in metro Atlanta, and have been hearing a lot along the lines of the “what did you expect?” philosophy. I love NOLA and completely understand why any resident would violently oppose the idea of simply “letting it go”. However, I will point out that blame goes both ways — while it’s self-absorbed and counter-productive to blame the people of NOLA for living below sea level, I got a little irritated yesterday watching an evacuee rant and rave on CNN about the Army Corps of Engineers, the state government, and the federal government. Her comments were along the lines of “they could have seen this coming, why didn’t they do more to protect the city?!” My thoughts on her attitude: (1) if “they” could have seen this coming, so could anyone standing BELOW a levee and looking up; therefore the residents of NOLA have been living a calculated gamble for years [– and maybe that’s where the city gets some of its personality!](2) we’ve developed an extreme arrogance in the face of mother nature — no matter how many billions any agency spends on trying to make an area invulnerable, mother nature CAN (and someday will) trump those efforts. Basically, it’s a crap shoot regardless of where you are, but a little more so when living in an area so vulnerable to flooding.
My point? This was/is a natural disaster — a possibility no matter how hard we try to protect ourselves. If the people of NOLA want to rebuild, I say “More power to you!” However, recognize that in doing so, you’re making a choice — weighing the risk vs.your love for your hometown. Go for it, if that’s your decision — but don’t go out of your way looking for people to blame when a hurricane hits a coastal region!
Typical liberals..claim doom and gloom and have to blame someone for EVERYTHING. My god people shit happens, no one is to blame. Since so many of you are blaming..what would you do?? Really think about how you would handle the aftermath and coordinate every little detail. Sorry floks but it takes more than one person to do all of that. Why o why didnt all of the people leave??Poverty prevent them???Maybe no money to travel?? Maybe arogance?? Who knows, all that can be said is we need to pull together and do what we have to do as a nation,,,stop blaming,,,stop whining,,,stop complaining,,,stop second guessing. Do what you can/want to do to help. As for the stupid ass comment about our troops dont belong in Iraq…wrong channel, wake up and stop listening to Fox’s Sam Shepard…he is personnaly trying to incite a riot…yet he wont sacrifice his bottle of water…Get the hell out Sam..you dont belong there either!!
Peace to everyone!
I pray that the good Lord will help, in his devine wisdom, and his will be done, whether or not we can understand it. God have mercy on the poor souls in New Orleans…Amen
i agree with becky,it makes no sense to rebuild below sea level. it is a gamble and its a choice. everyone has got to stop laying blame and start lending a hand in any way possible. the reality of it is that this was/is a very sinful place. maybe God decided to clean it up so it could be rebuilt in a more decent manner.
gh
atlanta, ga
Mr Hastert, like many of his kind, is as insensitive as he is dishonorable. Not only does he dismiss the tragedy, the place, the people and his own personal and political responsibility - but as an Illinois hypocrite given a very brief review of annual Illinois disasters,(see below) most disasters aided by the big government these self-righteous polititians decry.
It’s good he can remind us of the flaccid logic and rhetorically corrupt processes our leaders stoop to, it’s such a contrast to those who roll up their sleeves to help their neighbors.
May it cool, dry and allow for the rebuilding of this most unique of American towns.
cordially,
Larry
+++
Illinois disaster History (FEMA Region V Disaster History)
Year
Disaster Type
DR#
1989 Severe Storms & Tornadoes 819
1990 Severe Ice Storm 860
1990 Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding 871
1990 Tornadoes 878
1992 Flooding 941
1993 Severe Storms & Flooding 997
1994 Severe Storms & Flooding 1025
1995 Severe Storms & Flooding 1053
1996 Severe Storms & Tornadoes 1110
1996 Severe Storms & Flooding 1112
1996 Flooding 1129
1997 Severe Storms & Flooding 1170
1997 Flooding 1188
1999 Severe Storms 1278
1999 Snowstorm EM-3134
++++
Pioneer Press: Gurnee Review, May 27, 2004
Governor declares disaster area
BY ANGELA D. SYKORA
STAFF WRITER
Governor declares disaster area
After touring the flooded areas of Gurnee and Des Plaines via helicopter Wednesday morning, Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared Lake County, along with six Cook County townships, disaster areas.
Water levels pushed up by a series of heavy rain storms in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois led to the highest water level in the Des Plaines River in two decades. The river crested Tuesday afternoon at 11.69 feet, just short of the record 11.95 feet set during the flood of 1986. In Gurnee, the river is considered to be at flood level when it reaches 7 feet.
+++
IRS Grants Tax Relief for Illinois Tornado Victims
IL-2003-37, June 12, 2003
SPRINGFIELD
When any of you witness a guy get shot over a fucking bag of ice, then maybe you can voice an opinion..rebuild nola and get these ppl out of my state..coldhearted, maybe..realistic..yes. But then again, this is Anerica..I think we still have freedom of speech.
It seems a little premature to even discuss how, when, or why we might rebuild the city when the present conditions there are so horrible as to be vulgar. People are dying from lack of basics. Babies lie lethargic in their crying mother’s arms. The elderly are dehydrated and look shell-shocked. Conditions have descended into anarchy with citizens killing, raping, and pillaging their own neighbors. The first pictures of “looters” were of people taking food from grocery stores - to me this hardly seems like looting, it more resembles survival. These people need help and they needed it Tuesday! Our cerebral discussions of the aesthetic grandeur or the physical stupidity of the future rebuilding of New Orleans is simply a way of ignoring the horrifying truth of the human tragedy in progress there NOW! Let’s stop the political “he said, she said” and get our asses in gear in whatever way available to us to get help to those suffering and dying on American soil, in an American city, in view of American citizens, waiting for help from their fellow Americans.
Well said, Phyllis!
Hastert is an ass, but our leaders do need to ask these questions. Wish he had sense enough to put a positive spin on it - “what an awesome opportunity to rebuild one of the greatest cities in the world, better and safer.”
Easy-for-me-to-say-as-I-live(d)-above-sea-level, but I think the next NOLA map will look more like 1900 than 2005. I think we need to leave it up to the engineers and architects to figure out how to build from there.
Of course, as explained by Clinton’s former adviser Sidney Blumenthal http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,372455,00.html , plenty of engineers and experts warned us about the dangers, only to have funding cut to pay for the war and tax cuts.
I doubt our leaders will ever listen to the experts. Certainly wish I had listened better. Also wish Clinton had listened to his own advisers before appearing on TV today acting like a jerk saying no one could have predicted this.
hope to see you soon back in NOLA - Peace and be safe!
I’ve seen more reporters than I can count describe New Orleans as if it had been wiped off the face of the earth. It’s understandable, I suppose, that people believe this crap, although this blog by itself has the information to debunk it.
This link is to a very large file: a satellite image of New Orleans taken on Wednesday, at or near the height of the flooding:
http://www.globexplorer.com/disasterimages/images/new_orleans_msi_aug31_2005_dg.jpg
Note that the French Quarter, Marigny, and Bywater are all completely dry, as are much of the CBD; you can see the dry area running off the map to the south, towards Uptown.
There is also a good topo map on this blog, available here:
http://neworleans.metblogs.com/archives/2005/08/flooding_predic.phtml
Anyone who hasn’t been hypnotized by the trash on CNN, Fox News, etc. can look at these two maps and figure out the rest for themselves — the question of “razing” New Orleans is asinine and irrelevant; the most historic and culturally valuable parts of the city are largely intact.
The only mud I’m personally prepared to sling in terms of blame, I’ll phrase as a request: If anyone cares to defend the Bush Administration’s funding (or non funding) or wetlands restoration projects in SE Louisiana, please hold forth, I’m sure it will be fascinating.
I haven’t seen Hastert’s comments verbatim; if someone could post the ORIGINAL remarks, or a link to them, I’d like to decide for myself whether he’s got a bad sense of timing or is genuinely a half-wit and a prick. Without the original comments, I don’t see the point of even trying to decide, considering how accurately and carefully the media has covered everything else related to Katrinia.
The idea of either raising areas below MSL or just not bebuilding on them begs the question: Is this comparable to building in beachfront areas where hurricanes are not just possible but likely? If so, fairness demands that we consider policies that apply the same incentives and/or penalities to building in one place as in the other.
Of course, that would cause just a leeeetle bit of trouble with good ol’ Florida. What are the chances of THAT happening?
And in any case, New Orleans would (IMHO) deserve more leeway than many beachfront areas, since its location as a strategic port and oil industry hub increases the pressure for “safe” land on which to build. Your average beach house is only “strategic” to the person whose ass is sitting on the beach in front of it.
One more thing: The idea that God sent Katrina as some sort of vengeance for New Orleans’ sinfulness is beneath contempt. Go away. Or, if you don’t want to go away, enlighten everyone as to why, say, Gulfport bought the farm because of all the sinners in NOLA, while the good people of, say, Atlanta got off easy.
I know, it’s all a big mystery. I agree — so quit making halfwitted remarks about divine revenge and do something useful.
Finally, a request: If anyone can tell me how much water the area in Arabi just north of Judge Perez took (my grandfather’s house, on Anne St.), I’d be grateful.
Hang in there, folks. New Orleans has more soul than anyplace else on the planet, and you’re all the reason why.
My family is interested in helping a young minority, African American family, wishing to relocate after the hurricane. The job opportunities are good for minorities in this area of southern Missouri.
We have an extra room with a full sized bed and also a toddler bed if needed. We only wish to help them rebuild their lives. We are not affiliated with any religious organization nor are we rich by any means. We are just a younger couple who feel for those who have lost so much and we just want to help a family, we do not wish to profit in anyway.
Contact me at chronichippiechick@yahoo.com
The issue at this point in time is not the details of whether/how to rebuild New Orleans, but what the esteemed Speaker’s comment reveals about his attitude towards this whole disaster. I think the insensitivity and “foot in mouth” quality of his statement suggest that he somehow just doesn’t view the current humanitarian crisis there as a real priority, and that it may have even been invited by those who “chose” to live in New Orleans.
I admit this is somewhat hyperbolic on my part, but one nevertheless has to wonder why he chose to focus on this issue given the enormity of the humanitarian/security crisis we have in New Orleans. The President and Congressional leaders should have little else on their minds in the near term save the following: how to efficiently and expediently deploy the truly mind-boggling resources of the United States government to meet the economic and security needs of the areas hardest-hit by Katrina as they begin the process of recovering from this disaster. Period.
If that means pulling troops back from Afghanistan and Iraq, fine. If that means figuring out how to suspend Posse Comitatus temporarily, fine.
But the heart of the matter is that many, including Hastert, seem to not view this as a “homeland security” issue — I’m left thinking that their perception is that only terrorist attacks merit a “homeland security response,” even though it is blindingly obvious that the ultimate effects of a natural disaster can be far worse than a terrorist attack.
I know it sounds crazy, but I truly believe that had Al-Qaeda been responsible for destroying the New Orleans levees as opposed to a natural disaster, the federal relief response would have been far more robust and less dithering. It’s all about the prism through which one views events. Terrorist attack = placement within the context of the Global War on Terrorism (or whatver we’re calling it these days) = little or no effort spared on the part of the federal government to address the source of the problem or its effects. By contrast, I sometimes get the impression that natural disasters are viewed differently, as somehow less of a priority on the homeland security scale. Something that can hopefully be left mostly to state and local governments to handle. I confess I find that peculiar.
Hastert doesn’t remember from school that people thought Chicago should be abandoned after the great fire.
Jeff, I think you’re right. If it were terrorism, aid would have been much faster. But I think it’s not just the context of the War on Terra; it’s also because more white people would have died.
After three hours of cable news channel-flipping tonight, I’m convinced that the only man who gets it is Keith Olbermann. Aid is slow coming because the victims we see dying are poor and black. To many white Americans in all 50 states, they’re barely above animals anyway, and the stupid “looting” stories (”Oh look, they’re stealing TVs and jeans”) only help confirm this in their minds. The victims who are dying there are just dumb, savage, and immoral negroes who were too lazy or ignorant to evacuate, and of course they’re settling into their baser instincts.
If Natalee Holloway were drowning in the flood waters, maybe we’d have gotten the Guard there on Tuesday instead of Thursday.
There is an awesome website http://www.icanhelp.theacolyte.org
it has offers of free housing,transport, and much more. please spread the word… thank you
Seamus, you are probably right about the race issue. One has to wonder if CNN needs to zero in on the face of a white baby boy in order to make people ACT (i know they feel bad, but make them ACT).
Also, I appreciate the politics on this blog. So often people don’t want things to “deteriorate” into politics. The real problem, however, is that so many of us don’t know where our lawmakers stand on these issues. The only way to keep the NOLA situation from happening again is to USE politics (however liberal or conservative you may be).
Tim, you are entirely missing Saira’s point - this is one of the most critical duties that a government should perform - to protect and serve the people in times of natural disaster, invasion, etc. forget about the “bring the troops back” part of it, not every soldier is deployed, there should be a sufficient # of troops already here to step in. you are correct that FEMA, LA natl guard, and US natl guard have fallen way short of the mark in their performance, but incorrect in the attitude that we should not expect any better. Not only have govt officials failed miserably so far in the rescue / order restoration departments, the media is also failing the people of nola by not delivering a loud rebuke to the responsible government agencies, and by not strongly demanding immediate government action. instead, they are feeding you a bunch of lame excuses. you are also correct that people should rely on themselves when the government fails to peform it’s duty to protect the lives of its citizens. that’s why the good, able bodied, and armed people of new orleans should organize themselves into citizen patrols to protect themselves and other citizens until the government restores order. this is life and death, and people need to band together and protect themselves and each other until order is restored. as a wise philospher said: “the only way evil can prevail is if good men do nothing”.
It is my understanding that overdevelopment of the outer wetlands around NOLA may have had some impact–I simply don’t know?… With this in mind, and a chance for a fresh start, maybe it’s time to look at how to put some things in place that will NOLA rebuild more safely–and we should all pray quickly in respect to the poor there. NOLA it is reported, is a city where there are a lot of poor people. Please pray, and pray hard and daily for the folks down there.
OK, YOU BUSH LOVING states…yes LA MS AL FL….the question is, now that you got past your “gods, guns, gays”, issues that fooled you into voting republican, HOW DO YOU LIKE HIM NOW! Now that gas is outrageous, now that NO is underwater…..(yes the cutting of funds to rebuild and strengthen the levy system, for the Iraq war is part of the reaon the city is underwater)your homeland security is holding the purse strings and they DO NOT want to spend it on drunk and sinners, this is a Christian coalition prayer answered, destroy the modern day sodom and gomora, cleanse the country!
Will you vote republican next time over something as insignificant as gun control, gay marriage, or the damn 10 commandments on a wall. If you would, they should drop you off in downtown new orleans at midnight, idiot!
I’m from MO and I went thru the 1993 floods here. I was lucky that I was only evacuated for about 2 weeks because of an explosion risk (propane tank farm –51 - 20000+ gallon tanks within 1/2 of my house).
Let me tell you, it sucks being out of your home and evacuated. Don’t like waiting? You’re SOL, since that’s all you could do.
Thank goodness, my friend took me in so I could get to my job in under 3 hours a day (and it was 10 miles away) and my brother was living outside an evac zone, so he took my dad and handicapped siblings. I feel so bad hearing about those sick people who are dying because of lack of O2, etc., because I know how hard it was to get rerouted even with a lot of the area not flooded.
If any pols are reading this board, please get a grip. Help these people, don’t just shoot at them. Remember they’re going to need help for a long time.
BTW there was a telethon last night in STL that raised $5 million in about 4 hours. Pony up folks. If you did it for the tsunami, double that for these people. Charity begins at home. My CC donation is on its way. Peace to all.
The city was going to be sunk eventually - thats just tough luck. rebuild on higher ground and sell NO as a tourist spot like Venice to pay for the new city. Plus, make sure those scum who are the ones most responcible for the current crisis drown.
to compare florid to new orleans is pure follishness florid is not built under sea level this has a disaster they have all warned about for years and it will happen again if it rebuild they have been lucky for years and as for blaming the feds for this u better look at the local govt first for one thing tht mayor has been missing in action u see him on tv u dont see him with the people who are suffering nyc didnt riot because rudy took control of the situation he didnt blame anyone he just took control of the situation from the get go this mayor lost control completely he not doing his job u cant move aid in with out communication that was a priority u cant move aid in with no security those people moving the aids deserved to be protected too this is a natural disaster that we can all learn from instead of pointing blame they should be working together like we did in nyc and like they did in olkahome we didnt riot in eithor places we worked together and that is what needed here instead of damm back seat quarterbacking and this is for the reporters bitching what are they doing if they can get that close why arent they helping or bringing water to some who dont have it
The Netherlands is 16 feet under sea level, and with their hydraulic sea walls, they have no problem.
Why not use New Orleans as temporary quarters for incoming Third World Refugees. With the deplorable conditions, they’ll feel right at home!
Speaking of kicking a man when he is down,this is a living example. When the Gulf is threatened along with refineries why not raise the gas prices over $3.00 a gallon overnight!! Why is it that making a profit comes before taking care of our neighbor.It kind of makes you wonder if the war in Iraq is over oil refineries!! Where is the love of mankind??The government couldn`t wait and see what the outcome was going to be after Katrina,they had to raise the prices through the roof!!At this rate nobody could get into nor out of New Orleans!!!
There’s no reason to spend my tax money to rebuild a city for criminals, vagrants, and wellfare babies. I say wall the city off and come back in a couple of months. When everyone’s done killing and raping each other, drop a couple of daisey cutters to clear out the debris, then return the land to the bayou. That terriroty belongs to the wildlife and natural econsystem, not filthy man-animals.
First let me express my condoleances to those who have lost friends and family or are going to lose them before the US Govt. gets the people out.
New Orleans is a city worth rebuilding! It is a city with history, not to mention it is the place hundreds of thousands of people call home.
Giving up is ridiculous. On the night of January 31st 1953 the south of the Netherlands was hit by a storm that caused major flooding and 1835 people lost their lives. Did the government give up the area as too dangerous? NO! They decided we will not have this ever again. Nowadays, the Dutch coast is protected from such storms. The same can be done in the New Orleans area. Millions of people live below sea level in the Netherlands. We don’t ask them to leave either.
Bush’s admin did indeed cut funds. But funding has always been limited. Bush is only a part of the problem. Dumping it all on his admin is nonsense. Is the federal govt handling this poor? That would be an understatement. But I seriously doubt any other Republican or Democrat administration would be doing any better with this task. It’s a show of how our government as a whole is so incredibly dysfunctional.
Hastert’s worst offense was his timing on the comments, not the comments themselves. Folks really should read the full quote instead of reacting to someone else’s interpretation. Make no mistake, the rail, port and petrochemical assets in and around NO can’t simply be relocated, so rebuilding of some kind will take place. The fact is, it would be irresponsible to simply rebuild without taking corrective steps — maybe a smaller town, maybe Dutch- or British-style flood gates, maybe elevating ‘ground’ level.
Here’s some more reality you won’t want to deal with: a lot of the folks didn’t leave on purpose — read the TP story about the guy who wanted to stay and prove his inner strength.
The majority of those still in NO aren’t known for being well educated or taking responsibility for their own behavior anyway — they want society to deliver solutions to them, not climb up the ladder — a refugee’s complaint on TV that they had to eat MREs at the SuperDome (gosh, good enuf for our troops but not good enuf for a welfare mother?) or the TP story about the 19-yr-old refugee with 4 kids between the ages of 4 and 6 months? None of this takes away from the unbelievable delay in getting supplies in, or their worth as humans to be save. But it sure as hell puts things into perspective when wondering what’s going to happen to them over the medium-to-long term — find a home, find a job, the stuff most bloggers would take for granted if this happened to them.
You want to blame elected officials for the NO human disaster? Ok, why weren’t sheriffs out forcing the economically disadvantaged into city buses beginning SAT night before the hurricane hit? You can say what you want about funds diverted to the Iraq war — because of red tape and local political shenannigans, a single shovel wouldn’t have been moved yet if Santa delivered a pile of money due.
So now I’m ranting — becoming the old man who shouts at the network evening news — but my point is that the idiot positioning of blind ideology is a waste of time. People had better be willing to view reality (as in, the kind you actually feel, not just hypothesise over) in order to get over this thing. Hopefully the $100B+ pricetag on this disaster (nevermind the hit to productivity, shipping, fuel, etc) will force some clear thinking.
I agree it makes no sense to rebuild NO the way it was. You are only inviting disaster again. The parts of the city that are several feet above sea level should be rebuilt, but the rest of the city should move away from the Gulf, not towards it. Perhaps rebuild the city near Lake Maurepas. Move it further inland.
If you rebuild it exactly as it is, I do think it is a waste of money. The city sinks several inches each year, putting it further and further below sea level. The ocean level has been rising an inch or two each year, and coastal erosion moves the Gulf a few feet closer each year. Because of these factors, the city will be unlivable in a 100 years anyway.
It means that we will pay $25 billion to rebuild a city and then have our great grandchildren go through this again in their life time, except next time it will be much, much worse.
Davo,
I doubt New Orleans had the resources to force evacuations and provide transport, shelter outside the city. The Fed Gummint is the only group with those resources.
It is easy to be critical when you are looking on and not involved in the game come on america let us quit the blaming and get to work getting things right. nothing is gained from slinging mud but there sure is ground lost. can you see people like ben-laden wringing his hands in joy at what the states are going through right now and all the back biting that is going on come on let us pull all in the same direction.
The feds don’t get a pass, the locals don’t get a pass — at least the buses they had could have been used for the oldest/poorest. And aside from working military bases (which are being downsized BTW), the feds don’t really have secret vast parking lots full of supermachines that can deliver millions of pounds of food/water/troops across hundreds of miles of destroyed roads in a moment’s notice.
People like pointing to the tsunami response — carrier groups already in the area provided limited response (delivering MREs and water) from supplies on hand. Last I saw there wasn’t a CBG on station nearby NOLA.
No excuses for anyone, and frankly I need someone to explain the factual reasons why it has taken this long to get food/water/troops into NOLA, but in this case the US is not providing support — it’s supplying everything — search, rescue, food, water, shelter, relocation, economic assistance, the works. No small task for prior, relatively smaller disasters, much less this catastrophy.
It seems to me that a) nobody was really prepared for something like this and b) not sure if anybody really can be prepared for something like this.
If people said looters among those hurricane
I have to agree with you Jeff! These gas prices are absolutely rediculous! Exxon’s earnings last year were $45 billion and they have a gull to raise gas prices in one of biggest times of need. Its perposterious to say the least.
I’d love for the political debate in this country to get more civil. Using the crass language in Joe B.’s posting is a step in the wrong direction; plus he seems to not understand Hastert’s point. Saying that New Orleans should perhaps not be rebuilt is NOT to deny people aid! Yes, aid has been too slow, but everyone in government wants the suffering people there to be re-located and given clean clothes, water, food, etc.
Regarding the rebuilding, the worst part of Hastert’s comment — which he later rather timidly disowned — is the timing of it. Now is not the time for politicians to talk publicly about rebuilding. However, I have to question why billions of tax dollars — and probably hundreds of billions — should be spent to send people to the same flood plain that’s a magnet for hurricanes. Why not turn it into one big wetland?
If it’s rebuilt, they should at least fill in the bowl to bring it up to sea level. Sound far-fetched? It’s been done before. After the 1871 fire in Chicago, the resulting rubble was spread out over the previously swampy downtown to raise the street level 10 feet or so, with the result being the foundation, literally, of a town that became America’s second largest city (now third-largest). Maybe something similar could be done in New Orleans.
Other measures could include building taller and much stronger levees with pumps that sit ON TOP of the levees to avoid being swamped themselves. Remotely activated generators could run them when electricity is out.
Whatever is done, we need to think long and hard about the manner in which N.O. might be re-built. Hurricanes are more frequent these days, and sending people back to the same below-sea-level, poorly protected plot of land to be pummelled by another hurricane in a few years simply won’t do.
Hastert is a buffoon. Those who stayed in New Orleans, did so because they had no means to do so, whether by their own means, or from the gov’t.
I live in Phoenix, and during July and August we had 32 people die fromn the heat. The governor, mayor, and city council all stepped up, and took action. Police and fireman handed out water; the homeless were taken to shelters. Even shelters that normally aren’t open during the day, opened their doors. See, we know we have to expect this, and when the heat comes, like it did this year, 40 plus days of 110 plus, we did what had to be done. Busses should have been mobilized as soon as they saw the hurricane coming. For that I blame Nagin, but I respect his comments, and he put the blame where it lay, at the fat white republican politicians who care more for their wars and whatnot. But what I find interesting is that with all these anti-bush comments, how the hell did they remain red states? You can place legitimate blame on Bush, but also blame yourselves for voting for him as well.
This was taken from a local web site posting:
In my opinion, looting, pillaging, rape, murder and civil unrest is viewed as a “birthright”. It is a way of life. Everytime, every single time, it’s the same segment of society who engage in civil unrest They piss and shit on everything around them whether they own it or not and then they move on. Like locust they destroy their environment and migrate to another environment. When you look down into the sea of people in New Orleans, you will find a large segment of the population that is and has always been dependent on it’s government to care for them. Now in this time of utmost chaos they are once again needing to be cared for by a government. Their dependence on government created an economic situation that did not allow for them to evacuate. True there are some who miscalculated the storm, and those who truly did not have the economic means to evacuate even though they work hard every single day. These are not the segments I refer to. Some chose to stay out of defiance because they were told to leave. Some chose to stay because of the party that would ensue afterwards. If you recall the looting began before the storm had completely subsided. It was first come first serve. The looting goes far beyond the need for survival. It is an opportunity to acquire the possessions they never had, free of charge. They never had because they were dependent on government instead of being dependent on themselves. Everyone was told to bring 3 days worth of food and water for their entire family to the superdome. The dependents used up their welfare and food stamps on purchases of spoilable food and had already consumed it. Who would have anticipated that the storm would hit at the end of the month before the next round of welfare checks and food stamps would be issued. The dependents never plan ahead. The spend their dependency checks and consume it in short order. Like locust they consume everything around them and rape the landscape, rendering it uninhabitable. Unless someone comes behind them and rebuilds, the areas will stay that way. Their are those in absolute need and take this government assistance as a temporary “jump start” to a new life or to a life changing event. Then there are those who make it a way of life, a “birthright”! In third world countries the poor are identified by the images of underweight people who are nothing more than a rack of hair and bones. In our country, many of our poor are so fat they can’t move. Free food makes that possible. They show up at the evacuations centers, with devestation and death all around and instead of being thankful for crackers and water, they are insulted and want justice. Mothers go out to loot and bring their children to learn the looting skill like a mother cat teaches her young to hunt. When the flow of food and support becomes overburdened, really overburdened after a few weeks, the dependents, like locust will swarm the communities that they are in to consume everything in their path. Price gougers only serve to speed the process by causing the money to run out in a shorter period of time. During the swarm, the price gougers will be the first targets. 911, the riots in California, The aftermath of earthquakes, Hurricanes and other disasters are all catastrophes for many and opportunities for others. The mayor of New Orleans is responsible for disorganization and chaos. He is responsible by default because he is the leadership. The difference between how other mayors, and governors have handled their disasters and how the mayor of New Orleans has handled his is apparent. The scope of the disaster is far greater but the response is generally the same but on a larger scale. He made predictions on how long it would take to get things back to normal long before he had a handle on damage assessment. The federal government is slow to move. It must assess the situation, appoint people to be in charge to handle situations, divide responsibilities, pass laws, meet with congressional leaders, identify needs, set priorities and overcome any logistical issues. When it gets moving it moves with determination and overwhelming force. It takes a long time to get it moving. In my opinion 5-7 days is about right. All of the complaints that have come out of new orleans about the federal government not responding is the exact same thing they said for Hurricane Andrew, 911, Tsunami relief and the list goes on and on. We should know this when a disaster hits and plan accordingly. The local governments & state governments must mobilize first and define the problem areas through assessments and respond with resources using their initial plans until the slow moving federal government can get mobilized. All of that falls to the local government of New Orleans and secondly the state. In the first days FEMA did not take control, I mean absolute control, when martial law was enacted. FEMA and the local governement of New Orleans shared control. Until now nobody knew who was in control. Now with things out of control because of the lack of his leadership the mayor of new orleans wants to blame everyone else. The black caucus has mobilized in his defense to help point the blame. It is all they can do to prevent being blamed themselves. It is designed to merely divert your attention away from them. The secondary disaster that you see unfolding in New Orleans is the disaster I have come to expect. They loot, rape, murder and burn everything in sight. They destroy their own homes, stores in their community and set fire to it all. They know that the federal government will build it back better than before. The stores will come back and the neighborhoods will come back and it will be loaded and cocked for the next disaster opportunity for a repeat, and the cycle continues. Unfortunately, you have alot of good, deserving people caught up in it. Resources have to re-directed to deal with gunfire and crime and people cannot be rescued because the situation is too dangerous. Behind the scenes under the cloak of the disaster, you have thugs who are settling old scores, husbands drowning wives, mothers drowning unwanted children and others who are using the disaster to their advantage. They are the same people who are looting, raping and destroying an already injured neiborhood. There is a tragedy of biblical proportions unfolding and we can expect the tragedy to spread in all directions for hundreds of miles. The evacuee’s fleeing the disaster will find themselves fleeing other evacuee’s in despair. Their support system, the one they have depended on all of their life is in disarray because of this historical disaster. They will handle it the only way they know how. By force. The same thing has been happening for many years all over the globe. The only difference is the type and scope of the disaster. Look here and the third world countries and you see the same reactions in every case. Some on larger scales than others. There is a chain of events unfolding that I can see as plainly as the nose on my face. These chain of events will also be “a never before in American History” event no less significant than what is unfolding before our eyes. The dependent evacuee’s need to see progress and hope. Not division and hopelessness. If they see hope and know that their needs will be met, the same needs that have always been met by someone else other than themselves then they will not swarm us. If progress is not made in leaps and bounds then we will witness the destruction and unrest from the locusts that have migrated to other areas. There is a book somewhere that speaks of the swarms of locusts and we have always presumed that it speaks of an insect with the ability to inflict widespread damage. I believe these insects are in fact people. In each one of our neighborhoods we can see the quite migration of the locusts waiting to swarm when disaster strikes.
If you agree or disagree it is something to ponder.
The site is from a Louisiana Parish that has taken in evacuees. From friends who live there they are having their share of problems.
Want to see Looting? Watch the looting Haliburton or KBR or Blackwater does with all the money that is voted to relief. Who will get the food distribution contracts? The rebuilding contracts? The port-a-potty contracts? The tent city contracts. The security contracts. You think you have seen looting? I heard a General from the Army corps of engineers say “We contract all of our execution out to private companes”. Be afraid … be very very afraid. You could be next. And to all of my neighbors here in the midwest … just think … The great Lakes … The Mississippi river … and The New Madrid faultline …. hmmmm … Never say never!
I have an idea. Let’s outsource our Government to a third world slave labor country. I bet they would do just as great of a job. Hell they can fill a McDonalds order in Iowa from a Pakistani call center in 45 seconds. I bet they could have gotten water to NOLA just as quick. Just an idea.
The reason it took so long because their were too many people trying to tell each other what to do. No body to do the dirty work. No one wanted to be held responsible. They all kept passing the buck, not to get blamed for the screw ups.
The goverment deligates job to organizations. Organizations blame the government. Government blames the organizations.
People blame their local leaders and the Federal Government.
Who is to blame. They all are. The should have handled this better. FEMA and The Red Cross should have been better organized. The City of New Orleans should have been better prepared. The
people of New Orleans (who did not and could have left) should have headed the warnings. The federal government should have stepped in and gotten the facts before FEMA and other’s were dispatched.
The small cities around who have taken in the evacuees are to blame for not being prepared to accept over 1,000,000 displaced people. They should have known the would have to deal with the crime increases, shoplifting, car jacking, rapes, attempted abductions of children. (I live in one of these small cities)
The price gougers are to blame for charging people
higher prices.
Who is not to blame!!
No One.
We will all deal with the fallout of this disaster one way or another.
We will all point the finger at someone else.
It is easier to pass the buck than to accept the consequences of our own action.
It is not my fault.
doja, you have a company that is providing a service and being paid for it, employing people, and putting money back into the economy,how is that at anytime or anyplace called “looting”? If you understood anything about economics you would understand that every penny spent in the United States adds to the regeneration of the US economy. You are just a big business hater. Without business we become a third world country where everyone lives in poverty.
I’m just sayin’…..
While debating “rebuilding”, keep in mind that not too many years ago it was noted that levees much further north on the Mississippi River exacerbated the massive flooding that occurred that year and years prior. In fact, FEMA’s aftermath objective was to buy up land along the banks so that homes/businesses/farms would not be rebuilt only to be destroyed by flooding over & over again.
There were also studies brought to light at the time on the rapid erosion of the Gulf Coast and the Florida Everglades and how it was a direct result of upstream diversion & containment efforts. In other words, we were in some part responsible for our own disasters. The coastal areas were at serious risk of simply washing away & despite efforts of local officials, Washington chose not to listen.
And then we moved on to the next natural disaster…. and the next… and the next. And then came a natural disaster by the name of George W. whose spin was that the jury was still out on global warming and scientists were sensationalists and arms of the liberal agenda and Darwin was just a crazy guy who had an amusing theory…. So here we are.
No matter what we do, we can never rebuild New Orleans - its simply not possible. Its heartbreaking but true. We can make a Disney version of it - or we can build it new so that 200 years from now it may resemble what we once had. It will never be the same.
New Orleans was a grand old city rich in architecture, history & mystique but its literal foundation had been washing away for decades. The marshes, wetlands & swamps of the coastal lands served a purpose - they were what allowed for human habitation. They provided a barrier from the gulf waters. The slow curving, slow moving Mississippi and its bordering wet lands aided in absorbing the severity of flooding down stream and helped maintain & support the shallow waters of the coast that prevented massive surges.
The land will always adapt to changes - it will move and adjust and evolve. The structures that are put there can not. That doesn’t mean structures can’t be there - it just means there needs to be forethought & balance.
When the foundation is eaten away from beneath that which it supports, the ultimate result is collapse. This holds true for the unique architecture in the French Quarter, the homes & businesses of New Orleans, entire towns throughout AL, FL, LA, & MS, generations of families. Even the economy of a nation has been shaken. But more importantly, our faith that our leaders have our safety, let alone lives, as their utmost priority has been destroyed. Our assumption that, if nothing else, they would at least provide compassion or pretend empathy has been shaken.
Its time for us to lay a new foundation. Lets look closely at who we elect from this point forward. They are a reflection of us. If they have their own agenda & appear to the world as worshippers of the almight dollar and we put them there, then what does that say about us?
USE FAN BOATS. use fan boats. the have a very small draft and can carry a lot of weight.
In a perfect world, the citizens of New Orleans would decide what to do, not some politicians sitting in an office. In a perfect world, people would come from all over the country to help evacuate and then rebuild New Orleans and then stay to party- yes, I said party- together when the city was reopened. In a perfect world, people would have a knee-jerk reaction to help out at any cost and not just sit back on their couches watching tv and waiting for the heroes to come in on their white horses and save everyone. It may not make sense to rebuild in that place! I say, if you really love it there and your soul feels at home there, rebuild anyway! It may not make sense to live here where I do now, on a major fault line, but I love the mountain view! In a perfect world, all people would be free to live their bliss and grow where they are planted. Too bad we don’t live in a perfect world. Now, let’s get on with improving on our utter imperfection.
Namaste, Jessa Fee
Mike commented above on contingency plans for NO. The following link shows busses, that wre present before the storm. Don’t tell me that these busses hadn’t a drop of gasoline in them…in a port full of refineries. http://www.junkyardblog.net/images/NO-buses-satellite-wide.jpg
Can anyone tell me what the Mayor’s responsibilities are in case of impending disaster?
My heart goes out to everyone on the Gulf Coast. I lived and worked in Louisiana (Baton Rouge and Shreveport/Bossier City) for 16 years and learned to love the people, area and food. Yes, I was a “damned Yankee” to the native residents of Louisiana,but they accepted my family and I, particularly the ‘coonasses’. Yes! Rebuild New Orleans no matter how you have to do it. Like one previous posting, EVERYONE should experience New Orleans at least once in their lifetime. Good luck to y’all!
hello i just wanted to say that no one should have to suffer what these people in new orleans have suffered. Katrinia hit us as a one but it was nothing compared to what i am seeing on tv and the internet. We visited it last year and it was a magical, beautiful place and my heart cries to the thought it may not exit any longer. The people of new orleans are compassionate and caring and I hope they can get their city back, as to someone’s comments about vagarts and criminials I saw no more of that than we have in miami and ft lauderdale like all cities most people living there are wonderful individuals with a small sampling of individuals being prone to theft, etc.
thanks for posting.
My heart goes out to every NO person in particular too. Rebuilding or not, buildings CAN be re-built. Dead people are just dead though, right? What really pisses ME off is the completely FUBAR federal response. And what REALLY pisses me off is the fact that this could have been avoided by just simply not putting complete morons in charge of disaster preparedness.
Aside from the fact that the current head of fucking FEMA — Mike “dead bodies at the superdome are just a rumor” Brown — couldn’t handle managing a fucking horse-judging association without getting sued and fired, cut his “disaster management” chops as “assistant (fucking ASSISTANT) city manager” of Edmund OK (pop 70,000), and ascended to the position of supposed coordinator of all natural disaster preparedness for the entire fucking country thanks to “Bush campaign manager Joe Allbaugh, an old college friend, invit[ing] Mr. Brown to join him at FEMA, the agency Mr. Allbaugh would soon be heading in Washington”, the fucker is actually and in fact a complete fucking knob.
Here’s a WSJ story from a FUCKING YEAR AGO where a staff reporter basically makes the point that emphasizing terrorist protection over natural disaster preparation will leave cities unprepared for natural disasters (while the reverse prepares for everything). OK, so I can actually forgive Tom Ridge’s “bringing all emergency and preparedness agencies under one roof, Mr. Ridge argues, has been beneficial to everyone: Vital money is flowing to state governments for training, planning and equipment to prepare first responders to deal with all catastrophic events.” He’s a bullethead.
But even a complete moron (you know, a cabinet-level official who couldn’t out-think a WSJ staff reporter with a BS journalism degree and a telephone) could have MAYBE been held in check by a FEMA director who wasn’t equally reality-challenged. CHECK OUT THIS FUCKER’S MASTER PLAN RESPONSE to the idea (a YEAR ago, mind you) that something really bad might come out of spending cash on useless junk for NON-disaster risk towns:
“FEMA’s Mr. Brown now sees a chance to address his critics through action. “I have always told my people that the best thing they can do is just do their job. We have the ability to show everyone what we offer by just responding, and that’s by golly exactly what we’re gonna do.”"
Well GOLLY, I guess they didn’t.
Nice story, actually. Too bad the WSJ isn’t in charge of federal diaster planning theory.
OH WAIT — that would imply a THINKING process, wouldn’t it?
http://www.ww7mst.org/Archive/NYT-FEMA.html
It’s so awesome to see so much support for these people and their wonderful city. What would the USA be WITHOUT N.O? Im not too crazed about politicians no matter what the situation, as most seem to be out only for themselves anyway. And I especially dont know about their backgrounds… but someone said Bush was from New Orleans… if thats the truth, all I have to say about him is “what the fuck Bush?” There would be plenty of military assistance if they werent all sent away to rebuild SOMEONE ELSE’s country. There is so much contradiction in politics that it isnt even worth the time to bitch about, because obviously our opinions on how OUR country should be taken care of BEFORE someone else’s just doesnt matter to our lead politicians. Do they know all this and just give a shit or are they oblivious to all but themselves and vacations. Sorry Bush, noone meant to inconvenience you and cut your month long vacation by 2 whole days.
It’s nice to see all the help… but why don’t Americans try helping out not only after a ‘disaster’, but FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES? As a nation, you guys do MORE DAMAGE TO THE PLANET THAN ANY NATION ON EARTH! Using more fuel and resources, destroying more environment- including screwing around with nature’s DNA not knowing jack shit about the repercussions- i.e Monsanto, being so wasteful in general, not to mention bombing the shit out of and torturing/killing people of other countries. Just fucking oblivious…a Christian nation? How many of you actually READ the bible and understand it? Do you REALLY take Jesus’ message about greed, etc. to heart? You guys need a real wake up call… maybe 1/2 the country needs to be flooded…to save the future of Mother Earth (the ‘dead’ rock with green and blue stuff on it).
I think it’s a good idea to move N.O. to higher ground. N.O. isn’t any more special than the thousands of other cities that have moved after devastating floods. History is full of cities that have moved to higher ground.
American’s can not be so stupid as to say…lets clean it up and moved back in. What the hell for…so you can get wiped out again during the next flood or storm. Your city has for decades done nothing to protect themselves from overflow from the river. Levies, although clever in their building, are prone to failure. Why didn’t your city government raise the height of the levies over the past 25 years. Another two feet would have been sufficient to keep the waters back.
Why spend billions to clean up that toilet of a city anyway. As far as I’m concerned, God wiped it off the face of the earth. The only one’s spared were those who believe in God and were praying for God to spare them.
New Orleans is dead. Why didn’t the mayor use the buses to get the people out? The swamp city was fun. If the people of New Orleans want their city back, then they can go build it. I doubt many of them have ever paid income taxes. Why should I support their lazy worthless asses? I want my tax dollars spent on productive things: health care, education, military, police and a wall on the border with Mexico.
ps: The USA doesn’t need New Orleans when we’ve got Houston!