News-Record.com

Who's the idiot that posed this question?

We're rolling every possible resource ASAP--govt and private.

Every state & federal agency is going 24/7.

Every civilian relief agency is doing likewise.

Every decent corporation of any size is coordinating relief efforts--food and cash--for their employees who are asking for ways to help.

Our local TV and radio stations are coordinating relief efforts as well.

This is the biggest tragedy our nation has ever seen.

It can't be fixed in a day.

The people on this blog should know better than anyone that this world isn't perfect. Sin, devastation and death do exist. We are living in a fallen world...and it will be that way until God brings it all to an end and creates the new Heaven and Earth.

Until that time, I thank God that there are people in this nation who, when hard times strike, will pull together and act, taking care of one another regardless of costs.

Many, many, countless people are doing something to help.

What are you doing besides trying to stir up hard feelings in an already miserable situation?

Gary, shut up. And stop thumping the Bible while you throw insults at other people.

It's a fair question, Nancy. I think part of the problem is that much of our national guard force is deployed in Iraq and so, the folks who would normally be around to enforce peace and order aren't there....also, Congress cut the Army Corps' budget so the flood prevention program in New Orleans stalled. So, to sum up, it's a combination of poor planning and shortsightedness.

I am disappointed Nancy. The question was out of bounds and smells of "yellow journalism".

I agree with "govtwriter." The evidence supports what that person has written.

As for "yellow journalism" mrproduce, one can find what one wants. However, supportative evidence may not allow such.

There is a fear and panic running rampant through the people of New Orleans. I am saddened to see the vast looting. However, I would not say that myself or anyone of us might not do any different in the same situation. I hope that NONE of us has to EVER find out.

Right now, contact the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC.org), The American Red Cross, or any other of the vast array of agencies that are helping to coordinate relief efforts. That is the best way to prevent "yellow journalism" mrproduce, stay quiet and help out!

"We're rolling every possible resource ASAP--govt and private."

As of Thursday?
That would make it how many days later?

"The question was out of bounds and smells of "yellow journalism."

And when was the last meal, no, the last cup of water, you had?

And oh yeah, I'll just let the doctors, the mayors, the governors of those areas, respond to your other questions... (see original post).

What is/is not going on in terms of relief efforts is truely bizarre. The quotes from the FEMA director border on disturbing. For some reason it appears everything is going in slow motion. It is almost surreal; people that survived the storm are now dieing. People that just need water are dying.

govwriter, the dang levy's in NO have been sinking for years. In 1969 the city of NO and the State of La had a taste of what a bigger hurricane would bring if the levy's were not fixed. Not a dang thing was done then and has not been done since. I was stationed there , so I guess I got a bit of insight on that problem. To say that the budget cut for the ACOE last year had any thing to do with the break that was caused by years of neglect is ridiculous.
The only "poor planning" and "shortsightness" occured over and over and over for the last 36 years

I am sure that the Mayor who is screaming ,"where are the buses" took no thought of taking the city buses, the school buses, as would have been within his rights as mayor in face of a disaster. He could have assigned a few cops and forced out the ones who stayed because of stubborness (the mayors words not 'mine)and then taking care of those who had no other way out.
He needs to look at his own lack of planning before he starts pointing the finger of blame. The Mayor is resonsible for having a plan in effect for such things , not the federal government, next in line comes the State and then finally the Feds.
Let's just continue on while you have me on a roll. The mayor failed to take control of the situation concerning looters on the day one. He is in charge of law enforcement, not the federal government. The Governor of the State is in control of the National Guard and is responsible for mobilizing them, not the Federal Government. The mayor's first call, as soon as it was know that the "hit" was coming should have been to put the "evacuation plan of the city of NO into action" that's his job. The second call would have been to the Governor requesting that the Guard be sent to NO to help with rescue and evacutation immediately, not after the storm had hit. He then could have used his police force as law enforcers but then that is too easy. If he had ordered his police force to take whatever action needed to stop the unnecessary looting he might have lost votes in the next election. The way it looks not there may not be a next election for this mayor any how. Calling on the police to do the job they are there for is not the "politically correct" thing to do evidently. NO Marine Ways which is one of the largest barge building companies in the US, had many barges available and they could have been used in the latter stages to help in blocking the break in the dikes. I believe that in StLouis, where there is a branch office of this company, barges were used to be sunk and block the water from flowing into that city a few years ago.
Blame the Feds all day long but remember before the storm struck, the FEDS told the MAYOR of NO and the GOV. of La that this was coming and that it was bigger than anything they had seen before. Remember , the Mayor failed and the Gov failed to implement any plan even when they knew it was coming.

I'll share this, I didn't write it but it sums up the situation well, I think:

"When flooding from a massive rainstorm in May 1995 killed six people, Congress authorized the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, or SELA.

Over the next 10 years, the Army Corps of Engineers, tasked with carrying out SELA, spent $430 million on shoring up levees and building pumping stations, with $50 million in local aid. But at least $250 million in crucial projects remained, even as hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin increased dramatically and the levees surrounding New Orleans continued to subside.

Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security -- coming at the same time as federal tax cuts -- was the reason for the strain. At least nine articles in the Times-Picayune from 2004 and 2005 specifically cite the cost of Iraq as a reason for the lack of hurricane- and flood-control dollars.

The federal government has, in short, demonstrated an utter lack of foresight. Bush was giving specious pro-war speeches and dodging Cindy Sheehan when he should have been helping local governments prepare."

P.S. Mrproduce from the various subjects we've both commented on, it's clear that we don't agree on many issues, but I do want to say that you are never ugly in your responses/comments to me and I appreciate that. Thanks.