Katrina devastated the south, gas 6 $ a gallon

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

Greetings..

This nation needs leadership that has the vision of unity and prosperity for its people, rather than perpetuating more cogs for the machine.. the machine will reorganize itself in a more productive and efficient manner if given the opportunity.. but, it is constantly maintained as an out-dated model..

"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary...."

Be well..

there are several very good reasons for having cogs. firstly, it insulates sectors of government. second, it increases government expenditures thereby strengthening the economy.

efficient government models leads to more poverty. there are ms econ theses on this.

the protocols may need to be altered. when has there been an event like this on this scale to deal with? there will probably be some reworking of protocols for FEMA and governors' interactions as well as administrative rectification in whatever type of document Louisiana administrational proceeding is derived. but there are also cultural concerns about time which may have played a part: in louisiana when you say "i'll give you 24 hours for you to respond" means to louisiana people, "tell me your decision tomorow", not "don't make me ask you tomorow", or "you have until tomorow to tell me but i want it as soon as you can".

the governor was not prepared to deal with this problem. her people were not either. I may be innorrect, but i thought the government of Louisiana was essentially fuedal. meaning that the local parrishes had to contact a regional representative before requests could be made to the governor and that it would be inappropriate to jump the order or mobilize where it was not neccessary. the parrishes would have to report thier damages before the governor could respond with aid. this also affects the speed at which the national gaurd and reserves may be called up: these are two organisationally different bodies in terms of who can request thier assitance.

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

YuanZhideDiZhen: In simple terms, the smaller governmental agencies (i.e.: Parrishes, counties, states, etc...) were overwhelmed, some non-existent.. the micro-view could not encompass the disaster.. most of the federal government was standing like deer in the headlights.. but, the highest office and its inner-workings are charged with making the hard decisions, with picking up where others cannot function.. they did not do their jobs.. and to suggest that red-tape and protocol are somehow acceptable excuses for inaction will lead to further abandonment of responsibility.. pat them on their heads and tell 'em it's okay, it's okay to watch Americans die while we try to get permission to save them.. cripe, i can't believe anyone gets stuck here, IT'S NOT OKAY..... don't make excuses, admit the system failed and FIX IT...

Be well..

[FuXnDajenariht]

it seems like all some people are concerned about is making sure the president and the white house remains blameless for not giving a d@mn .... he only decided to wake up when he saw his approval rating starting to drop down towards the earths core. tho it was probably karl rove who had to explain the situation to him first.

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

FuXnDajenariht: surprising how little we hear of Karl, lately, huh?
But, let's not derail the real issue.. accountability and revision..

Be well

[MonkeySlap Too]

And here I thought you were going to bring up Karl Marx, boob.

[MonkeySlap Too]

Sorry, bob.

But then again...

[FuXnDajenariht]

well i like boobs as much as the next guy but im definitely not one, cuz i dont see why i would bring up karl marx either.

mmmm....booooob

[SPJ]

The levee is repaired after 1 week.

news

[SPJ]

Here is the link to the songfact.

put a little love in your heart

I was born in Keelung, Taiwan. It is a seaport in the northern tip of Taiwan. I was alway close to the ocean.

In the late 1980's, I resided in Jackson MS as a graduate student. I frequented N.O. It was my second home. Or home away from home.

In the early 1990's, I moved to Orange county, So Cal. I am close to the ocean.

And then I worked in Southern Jersey, I frequented Atlantic city and Jersey shores.

In 2001, I moved back to south Orange county. I am close to Laguna beach.

Sorry, I have deep feelings about the south.

In the face of the largest disaster that ever hit the country---

I could only find comfort in the 1969 song.

Prayer go to the people in the area.

---

[LingChuanPai]

Hi to all,
Just letting you know i'm ok. I live in a town north of New Orleans called Hammond. We stuck it out for the storm at my GF's house. To watch huge oak trees up root ang large pines snap in half from the winds, was truely a site. We didnt have flooding...tho there is massive damage to power lines and trees that block the roads. To saw the least its a huge inconvienience to wait in line for gas or food and no tv or electricty (i'm writing from work...a hospital)....but hey my family and I are alive. Lots of devistation going on.
LCP

[FuXnDajenariht]

great to hear that man! best wishes to you and your family.

[MonkeySlap Too]

Here's a post from a training brother of mine, who is also a very senior LEO in Baton Rouge:

"As a fellow native of the area for 30 years, and an investigator currently working for state government, the post is spot on except for the numbers. New Orleans is around 80% black as many refused to be counted in the census and had no residence or official identification to be counted. Further, all of the offcials and leaders of the area are black. Again, despite the racial inferences and notes, the only "racially charged" matter is others who know nothing about the area coming down inserting a racial theme of injustice who are themselves racist and ignorant of the facts. The area is/was absolutely corrupt and has been since inception in the 17th century. It was founded upon the ideal by the French. The Governor was in over her head but is beginning to see the light. The initial rescue efforts were devoted entirely to saving lives, and had no other resources for further housing or food. This exacerbated the issues. The crime is overwhelmingly black on black in N.O. The rescuers are overwhelmingly white. Is anyone foolish enough to wish to make this a race issue?

Initial looting, pillaging, raping and murder were by those who were abled bodied and carrying pipes, knives and bats in large gangs. If you did not have a firearm during the first couple of days for protection, or were part of the lawlessnes yourself, you were a victim-- plain and simple. There were no firearms available until pawn shops and retail stores were looted, but much violent crime occurred. Attaching violent crime to firearms is the argument of the naive, idiotic and willfully ignorant. The only citizens who have not been taken advantage of were those who were armed and ready. Many of those who were not are dead."

[MonkeySlap Too]

Now, my opinion is simple;

1.) This is not a race issue, it is a class issue.

2.) The 'champions' of the underclass - the democratic leadership of the state failed thier duty to thier constituants.

3.) Biloxi, which got hit much harder, does not have the same problems, because the governor there took the rigt steps from the get go.

4.) If the state of NO wasn't so corrupt, and the people so willing to engage in crime (well before the current crisis), and had respectable leadership, things would be a bit better.

5.) The feds have issues here too, but the issues are much deeper than 'OOh that bad, bad GWB' - which I'm so sick of hearing everytime somebody ****s that I'll probably miss it when he does f@ck up. Why is the left so emotional and whiney? Can you imagine how bad it would be with John Kerry? We would probably surrendered La to the French...

There are people in need of help. I've donated funds, and sent some spare medical equipment I ended up owning.

What will you be doing to help?

[Ou Ji]

How dare anyone make this issue political!

Blaming the president for these failures when clearly it was "the democratic leadership of the state".

[insert party line rhetoric here]

[SevenStar]

Since this tragedy has occured, I've met literally hundreds of people from new orleans who are in town while they are waiting for the devastation to clear up. I've met several who lost everything - it's sad indeed. In an attempt to help, the club I am doing security at is giving a few of them jobs, and also putting them up in a hotel that is run by the owners of the club. our bjj coach has some friends who fight from that area and biloxi we may put up at our school for a while.