Hurricane Katrina

I wouldn't be offended (frustrated yea), it's most likely they simply had no way to logistically get 'goods' to those who need it. That takes time, money, and planning. We can see that the whole rescue response in this situation is seriously fubar.



MoveOn has setup a hurricane housing web site to help find survivors places to stay...
http://www.hurricanehousing.org/

It's possible they might be willing to help connect anyone willing to send donated goods to those who are hosting displaced families.

 

A friend of mine just sent me a video clip of 2 police officers looting a Wal-mart. Watching that pissed me off so much. I mean they are police officers and they had a shopping cart that they were filling it up with merchandise.

 

i just wanted to say how proud i am to be a part of this forum during this time, its so nice to see people concerned and doing what they can to help these poor people. on behalf of all of them, i just wanted to say thanks for contributing, and for those who could afford to send money and items, you rock. you just probably saved many lives, and thats a hero in my books.

 

I've heard this too from a few days ago...POLICE have also been quiting, so it's quite possible they simply decided to go awol. If you read back through the blog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/ you'll see that the local police are falling apart.

 

The response level to Katrina in New Orleans is absolute bull$hit! People are dying at a staggering rate... I just watched Bush say that people should send money to help these people... Why don't you use our f-ing tax money that is being used overseas (Iraq) on this domestic catastrophe! When 9/11 happened rescue and help was there like flies on $hit, but it is taking days to save and help these people in New Orleans! I don't want to make this a racial thing, but it is hard to not see the vast amount of people that are truly being affected (overwhelming black and poor) by this and the lack of response to the situation! What makes those lives more important than these.

I urge those that are in the surrounding (unaffected) areas to open your home... these people need a place to stay more than even money. Imagine being one of 25,000 people that will be living in the astrodome for 3 months+. I live in Seattle, but I'm am more than willing to open my home to a family from there in need of desperate help.

All of you should check out this interview on CNN with the mayor of New Orleans (http://www.cnn.com) it's very moving. It's the link on top home page that reads: "Watch: Mayor to feds: 'Get off your asses' "

 

I agree CGO...it's astounding the lack of response NO has received from the government.

I've started a thread listing all of the major charitable groups, plus a link to http://hurricanehousing.org which MoveOn launched. I've read that they received listings for 34,000 beds in the first 24 hours it went live.

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=26965

 

It's always the kids, the poor and the elderly that get fucked! The people that need assistance most don't have access to it!

Meanwhile many people are still getting huge tax cuts! F'n bogus!

Looting?! You know who's doing the real looting? ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and Chevron!

I know some people will slam me for saying this, but I think it's pretty obvious that if the people stranded in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana were disproportionately white, they wouldn't be left to sink like this!

 

It's very sad because it's true Rob. I am never one to play the race card, but.....

 

HA HA! Yeah, suck it you poor bastards!

http://www.maconareaonline.com/news.asp?id=11861

 

It's good to see that some people aren't ignorant to what's happening in real life!

 

I think its a question of bad leadership in NO than a question of race.

Um Mayor. The people that are currently stuck in NO were dirt poor and had no means to get out during the mandatory evacuation:



Why weren't these buses deployed? Get as many out as possible at least.

 

N.O. is an EXTREMELY corrupt city, I will not argue the leadership issues, but, you have to admit, if that had been someplace like Beverly Hills, California or some other high profile playpen for the rich, those people would have had atleast some help within hours of the hurricane ending. Hell I could have understood a 48 hour window, today is day 5 and they are just now helping those people, it's crap.


I am adding to this because I understand there has been SOME help to them over the last few days, but, the level of assistance is incredibly insufficient and downright digusting.

 

Just to put the "racist" complaint to rest:


Here are the 2000 census's racial breakdowns of the populations of those five Louisiana parishes, along with Mississippi's coastal counties, which suffered a direct hit:

Parish or county White Black
Jefferson, La. 69.8% 22.9%
Orleans, La. 28.1% 67.3%
Plaquemines, La. 69.8% 23.4%
St. Bernard, La. 88.3% 7.6%
St. Tammany, La. 87.0% 9.9%
Hancock, Miss. 90.2% 6.8%
Harrison, Miss. 73.1% 21.1%
Jackson, Miss. 75.4% 20.9%

 

I really hate people who pretend that racism doesn't exist!

Please post the population numbers (not %'s), lorien! And post the %'s of people stranded!

 

I cannot divine information that is unknowable, nor can anyone assume that the slow response time is because of race or anything else. Incompetent leadership on the city and state level is the most likely cause - and I think showing itself rather obviously the past few days.

 

Lorien have you looked through the pictures of the superdome? Have you watched the news, have you seen the N.O. convention center? flip those numbers around for those in N.O. and you might be close. The predominantly white population got out, leaving behind in their wake predominantly black, poor people who could not help themselves. Census numbers are great, but c'mon man, we are talking about as of right now.

 

incidently black members of congress are pretty pissed.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/02/black.lawmakers.ap/index.html

 

As I posted previously; one has to wonder why the mayor - knowing that the people who were stranded were dirt poor and had no way to leave - did not dispatch buses, national guard or something to force these people out of the area - and simply open up the metrodome instead. It was a boneheaded move to begin with.