Foo - Too little too late in new orleans.

This is NOT a political thread. Just trying to show some of you what's going on down there. I'm sure some of us have seen these clips before.

http://www.overspun.com/video/MTP.AaronBroussardX.wmv
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Hannity-Colmes-Smith-Rivera-freak-in-NO.wmv

When I was a kid in school, we had fire drills. IF there's a fire, get the kids out., Everyone line up, out we go, two by two, etc. I'm not saying the city of NO should have practiced evac'ing the city, but I"m really surprised there wasn't a plan, neighborhood level and block level, heck use the school buses for the public schools, only the whole family gets on, make 5-10 trips and you get all the kids and their families on that bus route, to high ground. IF that happened in my neighborhod, and we were poor mostly non car owners, ok, we have the local fire station, the local police, the local schoolteachers, there's a high school a couple of streets over, maybe each public school in each area becomes the gathering point then the school bus fleet is used to bus ppl out. Simple! That was the plan when I was little, it was drilled into us, the **** hits the fan, (it was put in more genteel terms) the thing to do it go up to the local elementary school and we'd meet up there (or I guess the idea was, at least someone would be there to take care of us).

Doesn't surprise me one bit. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. So much for the "seamless" system we we're supposed to have under the "Homeland Security" dept. It's absolutely appalling that it's taken so long to get help in there.
Personally I think it's great that even Fox (I'll use the real name this time as they earned it) News is finally broadcasting the truth. I have newfound respect for Geraldo Rivera and it was great to see Shepard Smith telling it like it is. This is the most "fair and balanced reporting I've yet to see from Fox.
The Aaron Brousard interview was heart wrenching. It would seem that FEMA is the crux of all the problems

Geraldo is nothing more than a self promoting a$$ clown. His reports are so obviously staged it's shameful. Almost every segment he has done, shows him "helping" people. He isn't helping anyone but himself.

Politics + hollywood + a chance to shout racism + a chance to critcize Bush - What more do they want. I am not sure what is more disgustting, hearing about katrina on the news 24/7 and telling people to donate, watching the thousands of people who refused to evacuate ***** that they lost their homes, or were killed, or watching politicians and hollywood attempt to capitalize on this or use this as yet one more reason why "bush shouldn't be in power".

Politics + hollywood + a chance to shout racism + a chance to critcize Bush - What more do they want. I am not sure what is more disgustting, hearing about katrina on the news 24/7 and telling people to donate, watching the thousands of people who refused to evacuate ***** that they lost their homes, or were killed, or watching politicians and hollywood attempt to capitalize on this or use this as yet one more reason why "bush shouldn't be in power".

Wow, those are some pretty big generalizations. What is all this about Hollywood and politicians capitalizing on events? Geez, man, something horrible just happened, and people want to know about it. This natural disaster killed a lot of people, mostly the elderly, infirm and poor, many of whom *couldn't* evacuate. You seem to have no empathy for those who are less fortunate, even though they may have been elderly, or had no vehicle or other means to leave. And what is wrong with asking for donations for our fellow citizens in need?

The reason so many people on *both* sides of the political fence are demanding an inquiry is because the damage and initial response were made worse directly as a result of decisions made by this particular administration over the past five years - rolling FEMA under the Dept of Homeland Security and changing their priorities, reversing Clinton's protections for wetlands, cutting funding to the New Orleans Corps of Engineers, sending local National Guard and their high-water vehicles over to fight a war in the desert instead of keeping them where they belong. All of these decisions were made in spite of a report by FEMA in 2001 that a major hurricane hitting New Orleans was one of the top 3 disasters likely to hit this country.

Complaints about these decisions were raised repeatedly, in the years PRIOR to the disaster by those who knew what could happen, but to no avail. The point is that decisions and policies by ANY administration HAVE CONSEQUENCES THAT AFFECT PEOPLE and if they cause the unnecessary death of thousands of civilians in our country, then there sure as H*** ought to be a lot of questions, a thorough investigation, and some accountability.

All of these decisions were made in spite of a report by FEMA in 2001 that a major hurricane hitting New Orleans was one of the top 3 disasters likely to hit this country.


Why don't we worry about any of the other hundred cities, Houston, Corpus Christi, any city in Florida. Why would we worry about "New Orleans" specifically and not every other city. The whole of florida could and does get pwnt every year by Hurricanes.

I personally see it as a chance to rebuild a city. It is amazing how the only time people ever look back and say "well we were talking about this but <insert accountable person> denied us xyz " is after something has happened. People that do so - that is all they can do - point fingers.

It was a tragedy. Its a tradey that can happen to any city along the coast. Its even more tragic that so many people decied to make it worse by rioting and shooting and rescue efforts and all of the other **** that was going on down there. Pointing fingers and blaming other people does as much as political or racism.

In the end it's done. Nobody can turn back time. You can only rebuild.