katrina, my gov, and an opinion (658 hits)
Category: NewsRating: 0.4 on 16 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by <nyxozian.at.hotmail.com> (View user info) at 2005-09-03 05:10:06 EDT
Bottom Line our government has gotten caught with their pants down once again. It almost seems that all the lack of useful, productive work that could be done in New Orleans is due to them wondering if this is really happening. Do we not have emergency plans in place for this sort of disaster. I mean what the fuck, the city is surrounded on 3 sides by water and is 12 ft below sea level. How can you not plan for this type of disaster?
(1) if the national weather service is saying that a cat 5 hurricane is going to practically destroy NO and the surrounding areas why wouldnt the federal government begin a mandatory evacuation, I dont mean, hey you might want to leave your house its going to be bad, but instead the national fucking guard is hear to make sure that you and your family leave in a peaceful manner and seek appropriate shelter. Is the government allowed to come in and make you leave? It would seem that in this case (below sea level) that the government would at least make an attempt to preemptively stop needless death. I understand that a lot of people were poor, disabled, or had other viable reasons that held them back from leaving. This is where are government should have stepped in and helped in the first place. The people that could have left but stayed made a stupid decision. They put thier lives at risk (and families) during the storm and then thier own, people that needed help, and the rescuers lives at risk after the storm. It is hard to leave behind everything you own, i know, but you cant assign a material value to your life, or the people around you.
There are times when your government should step in and govern.
Also, what the fuck is the purpose of looting a 35 in color tv. There's no electricity, probably no cable, oh and your house is more than likely flooded with 12 ft of water numb nutz. I fully support the people that went into the stores looking for food, water, clothing, shelter. These are basic needs and since our government cant take care of these you have to do what you have to do. However, the pieces of shit that are stealing TVs DVD players and other useless shit at a time like this need to be shot. There's no way to condone this, Hey my family starving, but in 6 months we got a phat tv to watch, bullshit. The reason NO degenerated into "lawless hell' was impart due to the lack of government )city state and federal) oversight. Basically no one is there to enforce order. It is sad that order must be enforced, but it is true. People rarely behave on their own.
In the end we must help the people devastated by this storm. Many people have died. some of them were bad, but a lot were good too. We shouldnt punish the good people who need are help because there are lowlifes that dwell and await opportunity. Compassion and help should be given to these people because it is within your power to do so. Simply saying that they do not deserve help because the are poor black niggers says alot more about you than it ever will about them.
User Reviews
Submitted by toi (user info) at 2005-09-06 12:43:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
What about being in prison as a reason for being unable to leave?
I saw footage of the prisoners all perched up on walls ankle-deep in water.
How the fuck did the police forget to evacuate the prisoners.
Obviously you did not see the follow up story to that. Prisoners getting evacuated before people getting picked or hospitals being evacuated up was a BIG story on the news one of the nights last weeks.
Submitted by matrix2681 (user info) at 2005-09-03 19:50:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-09-03 14:24:21 (#)
Ranking: 2
That's a retarded statement. This was a NATIONAL EVENT! This was not localized to New Orleans. We needed leadership from the top, and it FAILED us. We needed an organized evacuation. We needed our president to order National Guardsmen and army personel into the area to secure it and evacuate people before the storm hit, but he didn't.
The mayor of New Orleans did everything in his power to warn people to get out of Dodge. It's not his fault if they don't listen. He can't force them to leave if he doesn't have the means to.
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No, if he had the means to make a general evacuation mandatory, he had the means to get the people out. Remember--I'm not talking about the people who chose to stay, I'm talking about the people who couldn't leave. New Orleans has busses and trucks underwater now that could have been used to evacuate the citizens. Think about it: What would be easier, mobilizing vehicles before a disaster that are already on-site, or mobilizing vehicles after the damage is done from who knows where? Also, which would be cheaper, gassing up and bringing vehicles from hundreds of miles away, or using the ones that are right there already, making it a one-way trip?
Take for example 9-11. Giuliani made sure to use every available resource to make sure jobs got done and was recognized worldwide for heroism. They had NO warning and more people died, and more destruction and loss of morale was caused than Katrina could ever have done, and in a fraction of the time.
The Mayor in this case should have more wisely used the resources available to him. That's what his job is. That's why we have mayors in the first place--because taking care of individual cities is too much for any president to focus on. I'm not saying that Bush *shouldn't* be helping out, since that's the only option now, I'm simply saying that the problem could have been handled at a much lower level before it became federal.
Submitted by nyxmar (user info) at 2005-09-03 17:07:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
We knew that Katrina was a cat 5 hurricane at least 5 days in advance, we knew it its probable track would hit NO. We knew that NO was especially vulnerable because its surrounded by water. We knew that the power grid wouldnt hold up, and therefore the pumping stations that keep the city from the water would fail. We knew that the levies where only designed to resist a cat 3 hurricane.
Knowing all this, the government (all of them) should have evuacated the area more forcefully. This would have greatly reduced the amount of rescues and stranded refugees. That would have let focus our resources on different matters such as levees and power. Nothing can or will be done until the people are taken care of.
Oh, something else, NO is now a toxic soup bowl, where do they plan on pumping the contanimated water? do they have a plan for neutralizing toxins, just wondering, after all it would be stupid of them to pump contanimated water into relatively clean ecosystems.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-09-03 14:39:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by ConorJS (user info) at 2005-09-03 14:24:50 (#)
Ranking: -1
Hey man, if the only shit you could get your hands on was a TV because some other bastard got the food already, you'd do it to.
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No, I'd be helping people get the fuck out of there, if I had to lead them myself and walk out. What good is a fucking TV gonna do when the entire city is in ruins?
Submitted by ConorJS (user info) at 2005-09-03 14:24:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
Hey man, if the only shit you could get your hands on was a TV because some other bastard got the food already, you'd do it to.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-09-03 14:24:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by matrix2681 (user info) at 2005-09-03 14:18:06 (#)
Ranking: 0
Here's how it should have played out:
1) The Mayor of New Orleans issues a mandatory evacuation. Everyone who is able or wants to, leaves the city.
2) The Mayor then mobilizes public transportation specifically for getting the people who want to, but can't, leave on their own, i.e.: elderly, invalid, hospital patients, whoever. Basically picking up the remainder of whoever wanted to leave. Also, a few people who have the ability may volunteer to go around and pick up a few people in trucks or something (things like this have been known to happen during a crisis). Any mode of transportation is viable--semis, school buses, public buses, trains, anything, whatever. It's getting hit with a wall of water anyway. It's a one-way trip, smoke em if you got em.
3) Anyone else who is left can fend for themselves. They had the chance--an entire WEEK to get out of town while seeing thousands of other people evacuate and they decided against it. Whatever.
They had a week's notice, with no hope of somehow avoiding this storm. Instead, probably more money is being spent airlifting supplies and survivors than would be required if just a few days had been used to make sure *everyone* was out. Now, though, he would rather shift blame to Bush to take the heat off himself, and other people are making this into a racial issue by playing the "You Hate Blacks" card.
As far as my opinion goes the actions of the Mayor--complaining about the aid not getting here fast enough--suggest that it's his fault that New Orleans is in the state it's in now, not Bush's.
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That's a retarded statement. This was a NATIONAL EVENT! This was not localized to New Orleans. We needed leadership from the top, and it FAILED us. We needed an organized evacuation. We needed our president to order National Guardsmen and army personel into the area to secure it and evacuate people before the storm hit, but he didn't.
The mayor of New Orleans did everything in his power to warn people to get out of Dodge. It's not his fault if they don't listen. He can't force them to leave if he doesn't have the means to.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-09-03 14:18:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
A-fucking-MEN
It's times like this that's the REASON we have government in the first place. It's the REASON we have army, national guard, coast guard, emergency medical services, police, congressmen, senators, judges, presidents... If they can't step up for something like this and get thier fucking hands dirty and stop talking about it, then what ARE they there for????
All the things we pay taxes for, and our government can't even organize an evacuation with 4 days' notice? It's a travesty that simply cannot be ignored, and cannot be allowed to happen again. The days of our government being lax with its civil responsibility to the people it represents are over.
They'll send a fucking SWAT team in to take your shit down if they think you're a threat to them (see David Koresh) but they send noone when the shit is about to hit the fan and people's lives are at stake.
In the words of Zach de la Rocha, "we gotta take the power back."
Submitted by matrix2681 (user info) at 2005-09-03 14:18:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Here's how it should have played out:
1) The Mayor of New Orleans issues a mandatory evacuation. Everyone who is able or wants to, leaves the city.
2) The Mayor then mobilizes public transportation specifically for getting the people who want to, but can't, leave on their own, i.e.: elderly, invalid, hospital patients, whoever. Basically picking up the remainder of whoever wanted to leave. Also, a few people who have the ability may volunteer to go around and pick up a few people in trucks or something (things like this have been known to happen during a crisis). Any mode of transportation is viable--semis, school buses, public buses, trains, anything, whatever. It's getting hit with a wall of water anyway. It's a one-way trip, smoke em if you got em.
3) Anyone else who is left can fend for themselves. They had the chance--an entire WEEK to get out of town while seeing thousands of other people evacuate and they decided against it. Whatever.
They had a week's notice, with no hope of somehow avoiding this storm. Instead, probably more money is being spent airlifting supplies and survivors than would be required if just a few days had been used to make sure *everyone* was out. Now, though, he would rather shift blame to Bush to take the heat off himself, and other people are making this into a racial issue by playing the "You Hate Blacks" card.
As far as my opinion goes the actions of the Mayor--complaining about the aid not getting here fast enough--suggest that it's his fault that New Orleans is in the state it's in now, not Bush's.
Submitted by TheGirlWithoutATitle (user info) at 2005-09-03 13:30:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
A mandatory evacuation is not mandatory. Mandatory evacuation is where you leave, and if you stay, then the government makes you sign forms so that they can identify your body, as well as a contract that says "I the undersigned hereby agree to [the fact that if I call for help, no help will come] as long as we both shall live etc. etc."
Submitted by vettesrule88 (user info) at 2005-09-03 12:15:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
stopping before i finish... there WERE mandatory evacuations dumbass
Submitted by DCWoody (user info) at 2005-09-03 08:32:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
What about being in prison as a reason for being unable to leave?
I saw footage of the prisoners all perched up on walls ankle-deep in water.
How the fuck did the police forget to evacuate the prisoners.
Submitted by Chinaski (user info) at 2005-09-03 08:13:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Read "Lucifer's Hammer" by Larry Niven and his butt-buddy.
Submitted by mastershake (user info) at 2005-09-03 06:32:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
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Submitted by Stabkill (user info) at 2005-09-03 06:16:14 (#)
Ranking: 1
Why can't AIDS spread among our poor as quickly as it does in Africa?
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The more of your stuff I read, the more I like. Brutal honesty, I dig that.
Submitted by Stabkill (user info) at 2005-09-03 06:16:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
crying crying...lawsuit lawsuit...racial bias this....black welfare worthless bums can't help themselves blame everyone else for the shit life they have...blah blah blah....There are alot of people doing nothing but crying and not helping.
Of course, that starts with that bottom end person helping themselves and these people are incapable of that.
Why can't AIDS spread among our poor as quickly as it does in Africa?
Submitted by mastershake (user info) at 2005-09-03 05:33:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I don't understand why more wasn't done. It's been a long time since the place had been hit with a bad hurricane like this, so I can see why it wasn't a real priority. I can give this a pass.
The mayor came out one day and said everything was fine, the next day he is screaming bloody murder that he needs help. I think he is a fucking disgrace, and his head should be on a stick. You need to check things out before you sound the all fucking clear.
Why didn't the cops have boats, or some such shit. You live below sea level, shit happens. GET SOME FUCKING BOATS you fucking waterheaded retards. All blame for this falls right on the city/county/parish government.
All those folks at the superdome, you know they are hungry, tired, and despondant. How hard would it have been to air lift a few pallets of water and food there? After you see the shit going down, how hard would it be to do the same to the high ground. Drop tons and tons of food and millions of bottles of water. That is just common fucking sense right there. Plenty of blame to go around on that.
Okay, you have the murder capital (or damn close) of the US, and you don't have the goddamn sense to guard the guns at WAL-MART? That's just fucking stupid.
Now, looking back alot of shit could and should have been handled better. It's a goddamn disgrace. And from what i can see now, I'll be damn surprized if riots don't break out. You still have a few hundreds if not thousands of folks locked down at the convention center. and they are NOT ALLOWED to leave. That's silly.
Yeah, I agree it's not a good time. Alot of blame can be passed around, and it will be.
damn...rambling on you jack ass. I'll shut the fuck up. Good post.
Submitted by c1ndy (user info) at 2005-09-03 05:11:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good good, more hurricane posts please.