Timelines and kitty cats
Here’s a timeline of Kartina events. It seems a little biased but the information appears to come from accurate and reliable sources.
It’s odd to see this timeline because, I was in New Orleans until Wednesday morning and had very little contact with the outside world from about 3:30am Monday Morning (Sunday night) when the power went out until I was in the Baton Rouge airport Wednesday afternoon. I was shocked at the first aerial footage I saw - it was like a slap in the face.
On another note, my roommate’s cats are still at our apartment and this is starting to concern me. If anyone knows of someone in town or heading into town that could throw some food and /or water up to the balcony for them, it would really be appreciated. I’m not going to post the address here but email me and we can talk about it.
I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m completely conflicted about these ‘holdouts’ not wanting to leave the city. On the one hand, the people that were evacuated after the storm didn’t exactly have a fine time of it and I have to admit that early Wednesday morning since I was safe in my undamaged apartment with plenty to eat, the cats for companionship, and a bicycle to get around town; I had to give some serious thought to leaving. Staying just seemed so much easier. On the other hand, I did leave. I left partly because my water stopped working and because Tuesday night was a much, much different situation than Monday night. But the biggest factor, by far was instinct. I sensed that there was an open door to get out of town and that it might not stay open long. I was a little afraid of the kind of situation I could find myself in a week later if I didn’t be decisive. It being a week later, I can honestly say I believe I made the right decision at the right time and I’m very pleased and very lucky in the way has all worked out for me.
And finally, I’m still disappointed in the limited discussions about the drug problem in New Orleans and its impact on the lawlessness and some of the more disturbing things reported from the city. Maybe the problem will become more diluted as people are shipped out around the country to try and start over. Maybe by the time it’s reasonable to return to New Orleans, most of those drug-addled junkies will be in jail other places or otherwise removed from the public domain. And I’m beginning to wonder who will return first, the migrating drug fiends or the more responsible citizens? And what are the implications of that? Will the complexion of the city and the old social dynamics return or will a whole new thing emerge. I, for one, can’t wait to find out. It may determine whether I continue to call New Orleans home.
Related posts:
Nagin is a bullsh*tting, incompetent punk [adjective: Slang: Of poor quality; inferior] whose only qualifications for the job is that he’s as corrupt as the rest of the local government.
Blanco is a bullsh*tting, incompetent punkess [adjective: Slang: Of poor quality; inferior] whose only qualifications for the job was the (D) next to her name on the ballot.
I lived in the Gulfport/Biloxi area for four years from 2000-2004. I’m more then familiar with that whole area and New Orleans as well.
New Orleans is a turd bowl reeking of sh*t, piss, vomit and decay. Oh… did I mention this was before the hurricane.
The corruption of New Orleans local government and police force rivals the best (worst??) that Mexico has to offer (I lived on the Mexican border as well for 5 years).
I am all for spending federal funds (our tax dollars) to help in the aftermath, whatever it takes. However, I don’t want one thin dime of my taxes going towards any rebuilding of that turd bowl city. Not one dime.
Common sense says don’t build below sea level in hurricane prone areas. By the way, don’t forget to thank the French for New Orleans (and also thank them for the couple of tents and cots their donating now).
I applaud House Speaker Dennis Hastert for having the gonads to say publicly what I and many others feel about rebuilding that turd bowl city.
It would take many Billions of dollars, possibly 100’s of Billions to rebuild. It would surpass the Big Dig in Boston for the amount of corruption, scams, cost overruns, thievery and once again, incompetence.
And after all that waste of money the following week could bring another Cat 4 or Cat 5 hurricane.
I say NO!
Give the Big Easy the Big “Final” Rest.
A tarot card reader sets up in Jackson Square. see http://www.abqtrib.com, click on Top Stories, “Memories Give Tattered Streets Life”.
from Santa Fe
ps Jack, and all others who got out: maybe I should be wearing my “I Don’t Know Anything” t-shirt, but I for one think you did the right thing. Who knows from what about the future, whadda they say, one day at a time?
A. Patriot :
Well, despite the fact that your comment seems to be a complete non sequitur [noun: A statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it.] you may have a point about not rebuilding the city. Of course, I’m curious as to whether this is more of a personal feeling or a more pragmatic decision. It seems to me that you just don’t like the city. I guess a good way to tell what your decision is based on would be this scenario: If a major earthquake destroyed most or all of San Francisco would you also not be in favor of rebuilding that city because “Common sense says don’t build” on a major fault line? Of course, even if you say yes, which would at least make your logic consistent, then there is the possibility that all we’ve proven is that you have homophobic as well as racial issues (but that would be pure speculation at this point).
Moving on, I agree the city is dirty and I’ve been repeatedly appalled by the mindless littering that goes on. Turd bowl (which I feel should be hyphenated) though colorful, I’m not sure I would agree. I suspect you lifted the term off a teen chat site somewhere.
As for the accusations of corruption and incompetence in New Orleans, I’m not going to try and defend politicians as they are more than capable of doing that themselves. But I will say that I doubt you have any real reason or experience that would make them statements you could believe. These, I suppose, are little gems of belief that you no doubt picked up from fox news or some other reputable source.
Basically, I don’t think there’s an original thought in your comment, but you do seem to present them in with pseudo-conviction and a healthy dose of bravado. And it does sound like you’ve got it all worked out, so maybe you should be in charge of fema. There may be an opening here shortly so you ought to polish up that resume and start keeping an eye on Monster.com for the posting.
Thanks for reading!
Silverhawk: In hindsight, getting out was clearly the right thing to do, but at the time it wasn’t so clear. My information sources were very limited and no one on the ground then had the volume of information the the people out in civilization had. Thanks for the validation - I hope no one out there regrets evacuating.
Oh, I hope someone will be able to go feed the cats for you!
Hello Jack,
Thanks for replying to my post. I’ll attempt to answer some of your ripostes and add some of my own.
How my original post could be construed as a non-sequitur (I believe you also should have used a hyphen) eludes me. Which preceeding part did not logically flow into the next? I presented the subject(s), identified the problems and concluded with my solution. Sounds logical to me.
As for San Francisco being destroyed… I would be against rebuilding there as well with the same caveat I used in the original post, using federal funds. Not one dime of the taxes I pay. If private funds are used or insurance companies pay (not insurance companies that are then bailed out once again by federal funds) that’s different. That’s freedom. This also applies to New Orleans. Private funds yes, federal funds no. Don’t forget that federal funds are used for flood insurance so any rebuilding would need to be waivered from federal funds so the taxpayers aren’t on the hook again and again. I would apply this waiver to any location in the US that is below sea level.
Homophobic and racist? You seem to be awfully quick to throw those terms out. After re-reading (correctly hyphenated?) my post several times, I was unable to find even one reference to race. I realize the homophobia comment was, as you said, purely speculative.
Turd Bowl, Turd-Bowl…. hmmmm. Well I don’t agree on the hyphenation. A Turd Bowl describes a bowl in which turds are floating (although some do sink). A Turd-Bowl seems to me to be more descriptive of a college football game. The former is more apt rather than the latter (IMHO). I was unable to find any guidance on this in my dictionary. As far as lifting the term off a teen chat site somewhere, I plead not guilty. It’s all mine. I initially started with cess pool and the rest just dropped into place.
I may not be able to reply to your 3rd paragraph regarding the corruption issue. Frankly, I did not understand the 2nd sentence. As for Fox News, I plead guilty. Although you have it reversed. I did not and do not ‘pick up’ my beliefs ‘from’ them. They ‘echo’ many, but not all, of my beliefs. This may give you heartburn and for that I’m not really sorry. It would appear that they also echo the beliefs of a majority of the country seeing as they consistently dominate the all news channels ratings.
As for your last paragraph stating my views are unoriginal, perhaps this is due to the fact that many others feel exactly the same way I do. It’s hard to express an entirely original idea when this is the case. Thank you for saying I have bravado, I think?
I will take a pass on the FEMA position. I already have a day job that provides much more occupational satisfaction. Besides, I’ll bet it never makes it onto Monster.com before being filled. One thing we have no shortage of in government is bureaucrats (see Nagin or Blanco).
Thank you again for your reply. I do so enjoy witty rejoinders and will check back for a new parry.
A. Patriot
Well, fair enough.
Thanks for the laugh guys! A. Patriot, you and Jack are a scream!
I will risk a comment…Patriot, I agree that the parts of NO to be rebuilt should be on higher ground, but I found it to be an extremely charming city when I was there 2 years ago. The Quarter is on relatively high ground and won’t have to be rebuilt much anyway, so it can stay where it is and the Garden District evidently didn’t suffer that much either; it was the poorer neighborhoods that took the most damage and I believe, will ultimately have to be bulldozed, so the housing will be clean and new, and hopefully more diverse than before. This may be a blessing in disguise for all the hopeless people living in those slums in such abject poverty. The light has been shone on it, and as such, I have faith that those neighborhoods will come back better than before.
As for the financially challenged former inhabitants, at the risk of sounding like Barbara Bush, I’m sure many of them will return to much better lives than they had before, as the do-gooders in Texas and other places will make sure that they have job training they might not otherwise have been given, and because most of the housing will be new, they will end up with better lives than they had to begin with, not to mention better chances at jobs with a future because they will ultimately be replacing the workers who will not be coming back.
KBee: I am very happy you enjoyed the textual sparring between Jack and myself. I hope more is to come. He, I, and probably more then just a few like us are more similar than diverse. I’m also glad that you recieved a good dose of the chuckles.
“This may be a blessing in disguise for all the hopeless people living in those slums in such abject poverty.” You should not have said that… Why? Because you are now labelled as RACIST SCUM.
Sorry, but that’s the truth. Whether it’s true or not is inconsequential.
Take Care KBee,
(Having olfactory flashbacks) Hey, if we get to not rebuild cities due to smell-Brownsville, Texas is toast! Man, when that sewage/industrial smell comes from Matamoros…Brazzaville smells better. Uh, is this below sea level thing going to include Salt Lake city?
I have wondered many of the same things. While I’m confident my own neighborhood will rebound and remain pretty much the same, I wonder about some others. Are the hard-core troublemakers really being moved out to become problems in other cities (have fun, Houston!) or have they simply dug a deeper hole to hide in until some of us get back and become easy targets?
We can expect and appreciate the heavy military presence now in the city to keep our places secure for a while. But their job is not to aggressively seek out and solve a social problem that was well established before they arrived.
On the way back in, my purchases will include ammunition for the hunting weapons I have in the house. They haven’t been fired in a decade, but it’s something I feel would be prudent.
Re: The A. Patriot exchange
Ah, the classic conservative lament about the cruel injustice of the Many having to subsidize (e.g. through higher insurance premiums, taxes, etc.) the “bad” decisions (smoking, drinking, obesity, living in flood or earthquake-prone areas, etc.) made by a Few.
It seems to me that we are all doing that right now in Iraq as countless lives and a grotesque amount of federal cash continue to be spent prosecuting a war that was based on lies and has not made us any safer than we were before.
If our government is willing to devote a virtul bottomless pit of federal money to the ongoing destruction and rebuilding of Iraq, then they can surely help foot the bill for the restoration of an American city - just as long as Halliburton isn’t involved.
Craig: You make a good point - be safe and drop us some info about your trip back when you can.
Craig, don’t forget to get cleaning supplies and clean your weapons as well, if they’ve been unfired that long. You’ll be amazed the crap that can get in the barrel, even in a gun safe.
The guy at http://gulfsails.blogspot.com/ is with some pet rescuers. good luck with the cats.
Jack,
I am taking a unilateral step and calling a temporary political truce. I am not doing this because of any particular change in my opinions or in the positions I have previously stated. I am doing this because I want to focus on an aspect I think you and I agree on. I’m speaking of the animal issues.
I cannot believe that in the year 2005 we still have post emergancy plans that do not address this. I have read many heartbreaking reports of people being forcibly removed from the affected areas while their pets are being left behind to die.
If I were in that position I would fight tooth and nail to either take my dog with me or to be left behind so I could take care of him. He is not just a “dog”, he is a member of my family.
The people still within New Orleans or anywhere else that refuse to evacuate without their pets (family members) should not be blamed. They should be praised, not because they are simply compassionate for animals, but for their love for their family members.
Emergency Plans, Evacuation Orders and all the other Official Bureaucratic bullsh*t means nothing when it forces human beings to sacrifice members of their family because they are of a different species.
Please understand that this changes nothing about my personal feelings of New Orleans and its aftermath. As a matter of fact, I am even more anti-New Orleans after seeing the high-resolution satellite pictures of the Mississippi coast. New Orleans was only flooded, coastal Mississippi has been completely destroyed.
Anyone with pets in any of the area’s affected by Katrina, please leave your contact info here. I will do whatever I can to get assistance to you. I am sure that everyone else on this board will do the same.
Patriot,
Thanks. Don’t get me wrong, I like a spirited debate and once things calm down around here I’ll have more time to think through my opinions and present better arguments.
That said, I can only hope that the plight of the animals in natural disaster plans gets some much needed attention. As far as that goes the disaster plans need a complete overhaul in general. Tough questions will have to be asked and I don’t suspect the answers are going to be easy to find. In the same way that the National Guard, police, and FEMA didn’t seem to be on the same page, I can’t help but thing the various pet rescue agencies could have been more effective had they rallied under one leader and pooled their resources. This may have happened to some degree and I’d be interested in knowing more about that communication effort.
Thanks again and know that I look forward to more abstract discussions with you in the future.
Jack