It was just a matter of time...
Geno
184 Posts
Geno
184 Posts
Geno
184 Posts
Geno
184 Posts
Comments
Besides, the NYTimes article states they were suprised about the 17th Street levee breaking as it had just been upgraded with "vertical concrete wall several feel thick." And this was the levee that had received the "most attention".
I'm not an engineer (obviously) but I can't imagine any man-made construction would have withstood the wrath of Katrina.
Everyone I know is having a hard time finding the words to describe the storm and its aftermath. Your reaction to the tragedy is to be commended and hopefully it will be duplicated a million times over by all caring people.
Your questions and observations are all good ones and I don’t pretend to have any answers.
I hope that you don't think that I was being rude or ugly by posting the articles -- there are several more out there this morning in a variety of publications. I posted the articles without comment because while one had to know that it would only be a matter of time before the situation was politicized; I just didn’t think that it would happen so soon and while I don't know enough about the situation to have an opinon -- I was anticipating that others might.
Geno
I did not think you were being rude by posting. I, just like everyone else, just feels frustrated. Our corporate office has 8 employees who live in NO and who are now not only without a home, but possibly without a job. (They are all accounted for). Who knows what will happen next. It seems complete anarchy in the city. It's so easy for us to sit back and say "they should have done this or they need to do that". We rely so much on the media and the media has to fill 24hrs worth of programming. It's just agonizing.
A man from California called one of the local radio stations here yesterday. The station spends day and night uniting people who are frantic to find loved ones, and announcing helpful things. The man from California commented on national guard troops from Mississippi deployed in Iraq and asked what we were going to do about that since we needed our own guard on our own coast.
How helpful do any of you think that man's political commentary was?
Now for a political comment of my own. Where are the liberal Hollywood actors who staged for Sunami? Where is Bruce Springsteen and Joan Baez and Barbra Streisand and Jaon Jett and the new wave of Austrailian American-wannabees? Where is Bill Clinton? Where is......what the hell difference does it make. I think I'll go out in the plant and tell somebody not to worry.
Help is on the way. Monday the sheriff's department staged a collection and filled 2 semi's and sent them on their way and yesterday 4 radio stations got together & held a 13 hour marathon and raised over $200,000 and filled 6 semi's and sent them south today. I'm not sure where they're going, but I'm sure it's happening all over the country. Unfortunately, it takes a day or two to mobilize these drives and get the help sent which as we're seeing on TV is too slow.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and everyone who's affected by Katrina.
And the drug traffic will dry up in Miami, Atlanta and Charlotte, since it has been said that all the dope flows through Texas and Mississippi on Interstate 10 and Highway 90. Highway 90 exists no more and interstate 10 is a wasteland in large segments. So, no more dope will be available.
And for those sports fans among you, you can safely bet that the Saints will not lose a home game all year long!
I hope some of the celebrity and sports mega millionaires are stepping up to the plate, and they may be doing so without fanfare. Our small town paper has been running stories of how regular folks are helping, but I know it will take days to really get meaningful help there. The stories of self sacrifice under horrific conditions though do renew one's faith in the compassion and resiliency of most folks. Hang in there buddy!
Yes, the hurricane damage was inevitable. You have a coastal city that's below sea level and gets lots of hurricanes. I've spent half my life living in beach towns, and hurricanes are a risk you live with, like tornados in Kansas or earthquakes in California.
When New Orleans rebuilds, I hope it will take precautions, like stronger levees and filling in low-lying areas. But you can spend billions of dollars and still be vulnerable.
James Sokolowski
HRhero.com
"This is the most catastrophic event I
have ever witnessed. Yes, 9/11 was horrific, but at least homes were not
destroyed. In addition, many of these families have to start over - finding
housing, jobs, and schools. Several of them only have a couple of changes
of clothes and a few toiletry items. I have witnessed so much humanity in
the last couple of days, from churches and individuals providing our guests meals,
toiletry items, toys, and even some room nights for these "refugees". See the
two pictures attached from the bbq dinner that was provided last night in
our gathering room from Valley Creek Baptist Church and Bob Sykes BBQ. I
have personally heard the stories of devastation, loss of loved ones, and
uncertainty when they can return or if they have a home to return to. It is
sobering. Today, I got to witness a reunion of a daughter and
father. Tears flowed."
I am just hoping that the death total is considerably less in the Gulf States than here.
And, if the government ever gets it act together, it is amazing what great things can be accomplished.
Second, who would have thought that water could bring down a city or do more damage than a bombing could!!! I hope dear old Osama is not watching and learning. Who would have thought that if only he had just flooded New York City and Washington DC that it would have been more effective?
Third, there really is a contrast in leadership-Louisianna's leadership compared to New York CIty's leadership. I'd take the leadership in NYC any day.
Those are my humble opinions. God bless all of those in need right now because of Katrina.
Bush has said that Mississippi's governor, Haley Barbour, a Republican has had proper and effective responses, while Louisiana's, a female Democrat, has had 'unacceptable' responses. Who cares who has what label and who cares whether it's called marshal law in the press. Just get it done. Where are the military busses? Where are the busses that Disneyworld could have sent by the hundreds? The New Orleans Greyhound terminal and Amtrak are not 100 yards from the Superdome, so those systems are not useable.
People who have been evacuated to Texas have been on the news saying they have nothing to return to, only what they have on their backs and they're starting over in TX. Where's FEMA? The head of FEMA is press conferencing, so that's where FEMA is.
Gas stations in my town are still empty. The local government in my town just commandeered the Winn Dixie gas islands, they have two tankers offloading now, yellow tape everywhere and have filled the parking lot with police cars, fire trucks and emergency vehicles and nobody else has access to that gas supply. NOW THAT'S EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKING. Hooray for my mayor!
Teenagers are out of school and are still riding around rubbernecking in dad's Humvee, mom's SUV and their girlfriend's ragtop Mustang, wasting gas. I tell you for certain, having eyeballed it, that the interstate is lined with expensive Mercedes', BMW's, Escalades....etc. These people have all the money in the world, but can't get a drop more gas than I can, which is basically none.
The heroes are the power crews from other states. The Omaha power crews are finally getting in my area of the county, chopping their way in. The heroes are the churches who are open for anybody, offering hot food and beds and cold water and counseling. The heroes are the radio disc jockeys who have been up since Tuesday morning organizing websites to find people and telling people where to go for refuge. The hero is a farmer who called a station this morning at 4 a.m. to say he had some land anybody could camp on that would be suitable for anybody hauling animals. The hero is the young girl on the radio who said, "We ain't got much, but our small home is open to at least one other family with kids. I have three small ones myself and we have cots and I can cook for one more family. We got electricity, just no water."
"Life is a Bitch. Charlie Chaplin is a liar."
Hang tough, Don.