Post Hurricane Katrina

B_Ray6955

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I have no sympathy for the victims of Hurrican Katrina. quote]

Wow!!! When did your heart get replaced by a block of ice?!?!?! I hope that your compassion is returned to you should you ever have the misfortune of having a tragedy in your future.

<shaking head>

RAY
 

Heather LouAnna

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D_Martin van Burden

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I almost regret having read through this thread. As bad as it hurts to not be in a financial state to help or volunteers for those who never wished a tragedy to come their way, it hurts ten times worse to see judgmental, callous people reacting with indifference. Karma can be a bitch. Don't put that out there in the world or else.
 

B_JQblonde

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Hurricane Katrina is stunning example of the failure of Government, and by proxy , the failed liberal agenda< Government should and can fix everybody's problems>

Failure of liberal social programs to lift people out of poverty.
Failure of local Govt's to shore up levees < this in spite of mountains of federal money sent to NO for this purpose>
Failure of Local and State Gov't to adeaqutely plan for this disaster and evacuate citizens.
Failure of the Fed. Gov't to respond effectively.

It's a big F up and down the report card.
 

SoFla8

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I agree that the Govt failed when it came to Katrina.

However, unless you have been lived in a hurricane disaster area and experienced tha aftermath of a hurricane you shouldnt be so quick to judge.

NO waited 4-5 days for relief after Katrina.
Miami waited 9-10 days after Andrew.

Recently Wilma came through South Florida (Broward county). We had sustained Cat2 winds with gusts into Cat3. I can assure you that the scope of damage following this hurricane was stunning. I honestly fear a stonger hurricane hitting here. Wilma was bad enough! No running water for 2 days, no power for 13 days, mountains of debris, and a gas shortage that got people SHOT!

It's not so simple, fast or cheap to recover from a disaster.
 

LeeEJ

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My experiences with New Orleans and Katrina are very, very limited.

I visited N.O. a year prior to Katrina. What a piece of shit town. Sloppy, dirty, poorly maintained... those were the worst pieces of pavement I have ever driven upon, at least outside of unmaintained farm roads back home. Any money that went into the government certainly didn't get funneled into public works. It doesn't surprise me that they weren't ready for Katrina, and it doesn't surprise me that they were quick to blame everyone else after it hit.

Displaced N.O. residents were staying at a particular hotel in Dallas. One of the hotel's van drivers told us that they caused over a million dollars' damage (yes, $1,000,000) during their stay. Trashed rooms, stolen everything -- if it was bolted down, they still stole it. They even stole curtains and TV sets (which is stupid, because the TVs are built to specifically work with the hotel's in-house cable system and won't work anywhere else). The crime rate in Dallas shot up as well. The hotel driver said that he had no sympathy at all for those people.

The whole thing, IMO, shows the worst in everybody. FEMA is a huge pile of bullshit, having done wholly incompetent things like sending truckers up & down the eastern US for weeks at a time carrying loads of ice. The local government has always been known to be crap, so it's no surprise that they couldn't handle anything. The local residents who shoot at relief workers are ABSOLUTE FUCKING ANIMALS and don't deserve help (fuck them, I'd prescribe the business end of a fucking flamethrower instead of food). The ones who got out and ruin their new hometowns should be sent back since they're not willing to pull up their bootstraps and get on with life.

As soon as people quit trying to PLACE BLAME, and start actually FIXING things, then maybe New Orleans will be successful. Until then, I don't give a shit what happens.
 

Edmond405

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All I have to offer is what I know from first hand experience with two of our dearest friends that lost everything to Katrina and to Rita. But first, I must say a huge AMEN! to my friend, NJ. She's nailed it. Ray Nagin is a complete and total buffoon! (I'm white, but I can say it anyway. White, Black, Red, Green, I don't give a damn. The man is the grossest example of self-serving, back-asswards thinking I have ever seen.) The governor of Louisiana is a total dingbat and the residents have got to be glad she's not running again.

Now, on to what I think (not that you asked): Our friends lost everything. They came up where we are to escape, decided to stay and are SO glad they did. There is nothing to go back to in New Orleans for them or many of their friends from there. It is true that a great many people have been displaced and seem ill prepared to engage in their own recovery. How do I feel? Too bad. They have had plenty of time to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, put on their big girl/boy underpants and charge forward. The root of the problem is that the majority of the people who are still displaced (and bitching the loudest) were dependent on the government before the hurricanes anyway. The state and federal governments have done a HORRIBLE job of teaching them how to take care of themselves. In fact, Nagin and his ilk, the state of Louisiana and much of the federal gov't have kept too many people dependent in order to secure the votes they need to retain power.

What do I know? From our friends, money has been and is still available for small business loans and mortgages, moving expenses, reconstruction, etc. What isn't available as readily? A handout - gone are the VISA check cards with the the $2500 for whatever you want to do. What is in place? More accountability and that is not what most people want. It is sad that so many people who called New Orleans home can't go back to life they knew - change is hard. It is sad and tragic that so many lost so much (even if it wasn't much it was theirs). But they lived. And live they must. It is time to do what must be done: teach them how to live on their own and deal with what has happened. And it is time to quit making it a race issue. It is a human issue. AND, it isn't just New Orleans.

That's my peace and it may not make much sense, we had wine with dinner and my motor got to running. I do know that I don't know ALL of what has occurred with the fallout from the hurricanes. But, I know what I know from our friends. And it is amazing what people are NOT taking advantage of in the way of assistance because it isn't a direct hand out.

Hope all are well and on the road to a better day.

Ed
 

Full_Phil

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---In fact, Nagin and his ilk, the state of Louisiana and much of the federal gov't have kept too many people dependent in order to secure the votes they need to retain power---
Ed

This is one of the phenomena in today's society where people like Blondie are right---the utter failure of government to teach, prepare, and assimilate the jobless underclass. It can be argued, however, that in many ways, our economy is similar to the days of The Great Depression as we have 1) a significant underclass and a monied class with an inordinate percentage of the country's wealth, and 2) job are scarce and disappearing in relation to population. Government stepped in then and pulled us back from the brink. Today, our present government takes the position that we must defend christianity, oil, and our transformed style of capitalism. Enlightened government could do a great deal, but we turn our backs on areas where we outshone the world (free and uncensored education), and the creation of jobs through capitalism as opposed to sending them to other countries. Both parties have lined the purses of their leaders and their supporters' coffers in the process. People like Nagin are a product rather than a cause,only he happened to be one of the more tragic examples.

I work in the same organization with a woman whose sister also lost everything in Katrina, except her jewelry which she placed in an airtight container in her swimming pool. She lived in an affluent area and came from old line wealth that was as right (in politics) as rain. Refinancing is available for those who over-qualify in the money to support it and the intelligence to apply for it. There is no govermental effort that's worth anything to help those who don't have the above "talents".

Government could establish a national budget to do many wonderful and needed things. We'd have to give up a lot of the fabric of our society in the process---war, defense, maintenance of the two-tier economic system, wealth earned through money changing as opposed to earning it with sweat and energy. What a concept!
 

B_JQblonde

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Government could establish a national budget to do many wonderful and needed things. !

It could , if it ever had much of a track record of doing good things witha big national budget. It doesn't.

When? WHEN are you liberals going to give up the pipe dream that the 'government ' can fix all social ills??

If only we just spent a little MORE and had the right people running things. Huh?
 

Shelby

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These are just a few of the unique treasures this amazing place has given us. I pray that it finds its way back.
 

8inthesouth

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I am also in calcasieu parish were rita did a lot of damage, it's been almost 2 yrs and our parish is still hurting. A lot of businesses have closed and a lot of jobs lost, not to mention very slow rebuilding of homes. I totally understand what southern stud is talking about. I live about 15 miles north of cameron, La. that was totally wiped off the map.
 

Principessa

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I work in the same organization with a woman whose sister also lost everything in Katrina, except her jewelry which she placed in an airtight container in her swimming pool. She lived in an affluent area and came from old line wealth that was as right (in politics) as rain.

I never would have thought to put my valuables in my pool. :eek: :confused: