ack, I've been attacked by a freeper.

[pookieblue]

I was on another message board and posted my feelings on the New Orleans disaster...

here is what I wrote...

Hello gang…

I’ve always told myself, that someday I will go to New Orleans. I’m such a fan of history and historical places. I knew that New Orleans is full of history. Or should I say, was?

I’ve been watching the news pretty much non-stop for the last week. And it just makes me both angry and sad at the same time. I keep thinking that all this did not have to happen. All those lives that were lost. All those who lost everything. A city in ruins.


It just breaks my heart, seeing those images on the television. The anger and sadness in the reporters’ voices. I’ve seen a few actually break into tears. It is just so hard to imagine that something like this could have happened here in the US. That the rescue efforts would be… I don’t know how to put it… in shambles. The mayor of New Orleans is understandably angry. We were hearing a lot of lip services from the Fed and State officials, but yet there thousands of people still stranded in New Orleans without food or water. And FEMA would not allow Red Cross in to help those people. How many people died from the lack of water and medical care? Why did it take a week for those people to get help? Why did they cut the funding to repair the Levees, when everyone was saying that if a major hurricane would hit New Orleans, they would not hold? This was being said for years. And now, it’s too late. The more that comes out about this, the angrier I get.

I remember talking to my uncle (who works in the Pentagon) and another family friend (who works with FEMA) when I was visiting family up in Pennsylvania. They were telling us that combining FEMA and Homeland Security was a big mistake. I really didn’t think much of it at the time (this was back in June), because I thought, well this is the US. And I know that we would always be able to take care of our own if something were to happen. I just had no clue. Or at least I didn’t want to have one. But last week was a big wake up call.

Anyhow…

I’ve read reports of everyday citizens and celebs going down to help on their own. There is a story of three college students, who forged an AP pass, loaded their car up with water and other supplies and drove down to New Orleans. Drove into the town on their own. They handed out water and supplies. They also drove two families out of New Orleans.

Stories of everyday people helping out their fellow man.

And this is from a story I read online, a first hand account from a person who was there.
“we witnessed were the real heroes and heroes of the hurricane relief effort: the working class of New Orleans. The maintenance workers who used a fork lift to carry the sick and disabled. The engineers, who rigged, nurtured and kept the generators running. The electricians who improvised thick extension cords stretching over blocks to share the little electricity we had in order to free cars stuck on rooftop parking lots. Nurses who took over for mechanical ventilators and spent many hours on end manually forcing air into the lungs of unconscious patients to keep them alive. Doormen who rescued folks stuck in elevators. Refinery workers who broke into boat yards, “stealing” boats to rescue their neighbors clinging to their roofs in flood waters. Mechanics who helped hot-wire any car that could be found to ferry people out of the City. And the food service workers who scoured the commercial kitchens improvising communal meals for hundreds of those stranded.

Most of these workers had lost their homes, and had not heard from members of their families, yet they stayed and provided the only infrastructure for the 20% of New Orleans that was not under water. “

I just wish that I could have done more. I wish I could do more. But in any case, it puts my problems in perspective doesn’t it? Everything that I worry about seems to petty right now.

It’s just so hard to imagine that a place like New Orleans, home to millions of people (I think), is now a city in ruins. Will they be able to rebuild. Will they even want to? In any case, if they do, it will never be the same. Could we have saved the city? I don’t know. But we should have been able to save more lives… the lives that were lost after the storm. We should have, but we didn’t. We (as a nation) have failed them in their time of need.

Damn I’m starting to sound like a politician or something. Perhaps, I need to go to school and become a reporter. Or perhaps the next Molly Ivans or something. I don’t know. I just want to do something as I said. Make a difference in this world. I need to stop saying, “maybe Someday” and say “Today, I will.”

Oh well. Sorry for mini rant here. Just trying to write it all down…it’s all so hard to process.



And here are just some snippets of his reply:

<<<<The way I see it.....

1) The mayor of new orleans is an idiot..... Where the hell was the "disaster plan" for this city? How was he planning to evacuate it? They told people who could not evacuate to report to the superdome without even considering how the hell they would get them out of there. Why the hell wasn't the city better prepared to handle this? This was NOT a "sneak" attack that caught them off guard..... The city is, and I believe always was, located on the gulf coast..... Hurricanes hit the golf coast..... But I suppose the "getting mad" and "swearing" in front of the media worked for him..... It took the attention off of him..... That's what he wanted. This is HIS city, HE is responsible to insure that there are adequate disaster evacuation, response, and recovery plans in place. It is NOT the state or federal government's job to do this for him. I guess that the president's fault......

2) The governor of Louisiana is close to being an idiot too..... Another person that's whining and pointing fingers...... Again, the state IS on the gulf coast..... Why wasn't it better prepared to handle what happened. Where is the state's emergency response plan to help it's local communities handle emergencies? And by the way, the last time I checked, the Louisiana National Guard still had "Louisiana" as part of their title..... It's the state's national guard, it's their militia..... That's in the US constitution..... It is the responsibility of the Governor's office to activate and mobilize these troops, not the federal government..... Why wasn't it done? I guess that the president's fault too......

3) The news media are ALL f^cking idiots..... They're just trying to get ratings..... Trying to break the "big" story first.....

4) This is NOT a communist country, the federal government does not go in and take over operations that are supposed to be handled by state and local government's unless they are asked, or in this case, it becomes obvious after several days that the state and local government's cannot take care of themselves.

The fact of the matter is that no one was prepared for this..... That's obvious..... And instead of pointing fingers "up hill" they really need to examine their obvious lack of planning or adequate response..... But it’s easier to whine and pass the blame I guess…..>>>



Right now I'm just to angry to respond really I only said this

I know that people just dont want to hear it but sorry... The Fed's goofed up.
city is gone. years and years of history are gone. thousands and thousands of people are dead. Babies died in their mothers arms from the lack of food. Some senior citizens in a home drowned in their beds when the staff abanonded them. People died needlessly due to the freaking red tape and politics. Too many people died to the poor planning and slow reaction. Too many.

and again I will say this.... this goes to prove (as Newt G. And Wes C said) we are not prepared for a major attack. We need to learn from our mistakes NOW are we are doomed to repeat them in the future.

We depended on our nation to protect us. Can we still??


Here I was sharing my grief over the tragic loss of thousands of lives and the loss of a great city. And he wants to "defend his president." I only posted part of what he said....he went on and on attacking the Mayor... but Defending Bush.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. I say let this piece of shit rot in his own misery. Ignore him. n/t

[nookiemonster]

2. There comes a time,

when you cannot get through to them. Despite your valiant efforts, they will not change.

Until, they, themselves, realize what the hell is going on, it's a losing battle.

Props to you for your courage, but it's a sad reality.

As far as debunking all of this FReeper's talking points, you should see posts shortly.

I'm lazy. Sue me. lol

:)

[AValdoux]

3. I don't go to my usual boards anymore

I'm appalled by some of the comments made by people in the OT post regarding NOLA. Most of my favorite boards deal with soaps, pets, etc. Now that I see the true personality of some of these people I have no desire to talk to them anymore. When we are squabbling over Erica Kane's lovelife or which fish food I use, their snide comments don't mean that much. When they refer to other human beings as trash to be cleaned out, etc I can't talk to these people anymore.



AValdoux

[pookieblue]

4. yeah it amazes me sometimes how

some people just have no compassion. None. I've seen my cats show more compassion then some freepers...:mad:

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. I had to give up the romantic times boards for the most part because

I got such a headache from the "you libbies" crowd. There were plenty of other left-leaning folk, mind you, but the vitriol from the right was just too much.

[Kota]

5. After 9-11 this country defended and supported Bush, he used

it to rush into Iraq. We need to be questioning this administration and not let them use another tragedy to further their agenda. Every time I talk to someone who supports this administration or Bush I remind of this.

[LittleClarkie]

6. Play alittle game: What if the President was a Dem and the governor

and mayor were Republicans.

NOW who's to blame...

Say, for instance, it was Clinton in office.

Magically, it would be a Federal issue. Wouldn't it.

[AllegroRondo]

8. The proper response

Here is the voice of George W. Bush himself, in the proclamation issued in his name, over his signature on Saturday, August 27, 2005:

"The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing. The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures"

Bush goes on to say: "Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency."

So - 2 days before the hurricane hit, Bush put FEMA in charge of ALL DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS. Where were they? What part of ALL dont they understand?

[LSK]

9. #4 is a blatant lie - post this please

The Governor of Louisiana requested help on August 28 (http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf)
in accordance with the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (http://www.fema.gov/library/stafact.shtm ). This act gives the President authority to act to save lives:

"§ 5192. Federal emergency assistance {Sec. 502}

1. Specified

In any emergency, the President may--

1. direct any Federal agency, with or without reimbursement,
to utilize its authorities and the resources granted to it
under Federal law (including

personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, and managerial,
technical and advisory services) in support of State and
local emergency assistance efforts to

save lives, protect property and public health and safety,
and lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe;

2. coordinate all disaster relief assistance (including
voluntary assistance) provided by Federal agencies, private
organizations, and State and local

governments;

3. provide technical and advisory assistance to affected
State and local governments for--

1. the performance of essential community services;
2. issuance of warnings of risks or hazards;
3. public health and safety information, including
dissemination of such information;
4. provision of health and safety measures; and
5. management, control, and reduction of immediate threats to
public health and safety;

4. provide emergency assistance through Federal agencies;

5. remove debris in accordance with the terms and conditions
of section 407

6. provide assistance in accordance with section 408

7. assist State and local governments in the distribution of
medicine, food, and other consumable supplies, and emergency
assistance. "

[johnnie]

10. I posted an article this morning

And I also kicked it a little later. It sank both times without a reply.

It was written in 2003 and it talked about New Orleans and their homeland security plans. Like most areas around the United States the National Guard and other reservists from other military branches are a major part of the evacuation plans. Obviously, because of the bullshit war in Iraq, most of them are gone and were gone when the hurricane hit. One main reason that the city couldn't do much more than they did is because they had most of their emergency personnel over in another country.

Tell the person to do some real research and quit listening to idiots like rush and reading stupid emails for their information.

[pookieblue]

11. I replied back with the info and this was his answer...

<<<
Regardless of when or how FEMA reacted to the event, the root cause of this whole mess is both the local and state governments.

If the local and state governments were so prepared, why did the Mayor of New Orleans wait until August 28 to issue the order to evacuate the city? He was contacted several times by the National Hurricaine center warning him about the severity of the storm. The last phone call was at 8:35pm August 27 when the center called just to make sure he "really" understood what was going to happen...... Why did he wait until the next day to evacuate..... And why did the center feel that he did not understand the severity of the situation in the first place?

The majority of those poor souls would not have been on their rooftops or stuck in shelters with no food or water in the first place if their local governments had really done their jobs.

There is NO plausible excuse for it..... But now the federal government is and will take the heat for it.

If you use and abuse your car until it finally stops running, do you blame not having a car on the mechanic who took 4 days to fix it? The root cause is that it was abused to the point that it stopped running to begin with.

BTW, I too was watching the news coverage when the storm was hitting..... One live report was from a hotel somewhere "outside" of the city of New Orleans (I forget where) where the reporter specifically stated that the mayor of New Orleans was in that hotel "trying hard" to keep updated on what was happening, but the phone lines were down. He was being kept "up to date" through news casts and sporadic cell phone communications.....

You have to read between the "headlines" that the media is feeding you..... >>>>>


I just love his "you are a little dumbass" comment at the end. I guess he thinks that all Dems are just too stupid to think for themselves. Especially since I said that I had been watching the news AND reading the news stories online.

Now my question, I've seen the interviews where the Mayor was still in New Orleans...where the hell is he getting that the Mayor was working outside of the New Orleans???