People are drowning,soiling themselves,starving,forced to drink sewage...

[Tyranny_R_US]

and where FEMA,the national guard,the army,red cross,savation army,army corp of engineers,coast guard,air force,cheney.the military,the peace corps, etc WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?

[XNASA]

1. So much for.....

Homeland Security.

[kick-ass-bob]

2. At least our president is having fun:

[jsamuel]

3. "Let them eat cake"

[starroute]

25. We need a quick side-by-side graphic

Like the Pet Goat/Fall of the Towers one.

Who's good at that sort of thing?

[ncrainbowgrrl]

Oh my god.

Has he no decency?

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. In a word, NO!

:puke:

[kick-ass-bob]

22. This has sent me over the edge.

On the 29th, while possibly the worst hurricane in recorded history hits the US, the president eats cake celebrating a Senator's birthday.

I'm so mad, my head could explode.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

42. Ok, make that 2 "compassionate conservatives" celebrating each other

while people were going through hell.

This is SICK.

[uppityperson]

11. Come on now, he's cutting his vacation short by 2 days

He's leaving Crawford to go back to DC 2 days early. Poor man. Leaving the Herricane for DC

[kick-ass-bob]

17. oh yeah. I forgot. I take it all back.

:sarcasm:

[Boo Boo]

37. Yup. President AWOL, yucking it up out here in SoCal

while people are dying in NO.

What a moron.

[barbaraann]

4. Seriously, I think they're on their phones with their brokers.

And someone is going to make a killing on puts.

[expatriot]

5. Bush and corporate media to blame.... for shame....

[Squatch]

6. LOL

:rofl:

[Booster]

7. I think you're being really unfair in throwing in Oprah with the others.

I'd be willing to bet her Angel Network will do far more for the people than Bushco will. I think I can guarantee she isn't playing golf in San Diego will Rome burns.

[Tyranny_R_US]

9. *will* is one thing these people need help now I'll remove her name

because the best she can do is donate which I will commend her for.

[Booster]

26. Thanks. I was not panning your good post, cause the rest of them

are guilty as sin, but since Oprah came from the area being devastitated, I'll bet there's monetarial help on the way now in a big way.

[Kenroy]

8. They're on the way...

the area is largely inaccessible by road, the airports are under water, etc. etc.

The Red Cross, FEMA, the Salvation Army... I'm confident they're doing everything they can. But there's no easy way to just swoop in and fix things. That's why they're called disasters.

[Don Claybrook]

10. Why has there been no FEDERAL announcement about displaced

persons?

They already should've announced camps / temporary living quarters--something. I think that they should've had the planning in the works by Sunday afternoon at the latest, when it became evident that someone along that stretch of coast was going to take a serious pounding.

I give no quarter to these criminal fuckers in the Bush administration. So far, they're reacting abysmally.

[rodeodance]

19. because Homeland Security is non functional. we do NOT have a NAT-

ional disaster plan and if we do --where is it?

[Eloriel]

38. Oh, that's not fair. They're PLENTY functional, giving contracts to

all their rowdy friends -- Giuliani's new group, etc. They've got their priorities straight, fer shure.

[Kool Kitty]

54. Very good question.

I even heard Jack Cafferty say on CNN, "Oh, by the way-where is the President?" I hope this useless fuck enjoyed his cake. I'm sure the hungry people displaced and destroyed by this hurricane would have loved a piece. What is wrong with this man?

[Raksha]

48. The planning should have been done months or years ago.

>>They already should've announced camps / temporary living quarters--something. I think that they should've had the planning in the works by Sunday afternoon at the latest, when it became evident that someone along that stretch of coast was going to take a serious pounding.<<

New Orleans has known for years that a major hurricane would cause catastrophic flooding. It was just a matter of WHEN.

[Tyranny_R_US]

12. They had a week to organize and they didnt makes you sick doesnt it?

[Guyfromkansas]

32. A week?

Um a cat 1 hurricane hits florida. Suddenly hits 4 and heads to NO they had 2 days tops. I dont like bush but really hows this is fault? He declared it a disaster zone before it hit. I mean some perspective this is one of the worse all time hurricanes to ever hit american land and it turned into that power house rather suddenlyy. The goverment told poeple to get out got as much stuff as orgnized as possable. Its ovbious some of you guys dont understand the logistics behind large scale operations 2 days isnt enough time to prepare everything. Not to mention how inasnely hard its to reach places who have 9feet of water around.


Now the whole cutting his 2 day vaction short and making a bit deal of it kind of funny. Prolly should of allready been in washington when he annouced it was a national disasterr zone.

[OhioChick]

13. We should be watching their National Guard

making rescues there........but where are they?

Scratch that.......I know.

[Cleita]

14. Last news I heard said there is no place for them to set up

operations.

[johnnie]

15. Are you being serious?

The hurricane is done there, but the devastation continues. This isn't the movies, all these groups have to load up and get there.
There are a hell of a lot of people there risking their lives to help save people. A lot of those people probably haven't slept in 48 hours.
And there's this:
Governors in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida had summoned a total of at least 7,503 Army and Air Force National Guard troops to state duty to provide services ranging from law enforcement to debris removal and providing portable generators for electric power,
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050830/ts_nm/weather_katrina_dc

And this:
Emergency teams working in sweltering heat evacuated hundreds of people from flooded New Orleans neighborhoods, where many had fled to their attics or rooftops. Some could be heard frantically calling for help, officials said.

"We've pulled literally hundreds of people out of the waters," said Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco.

"We believe there are hundreds more out there," she said, adding "We've got hundreds and hundreds of houses inundated with water in eastern New Orleans."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1505&ncid=1505&e=1&u=/afp/20050830/ts_alt_afp/usweather_050830160640



I can probably go on. The people you are calling on need ways to get into the city. They need to pack supplies and get things together.

[Tyranny_R_US]

18. They had about a week to "pack supplies and get things together"

and what about the people in the superdome its a mess down there they are just not doing enough even though they have the resources.

[rodeodance]

20. utter chaos seems to me.

[johnnie]

21. A week?

They only knew it was coming on Friday.
The Red Cross team from here was packing stuff on Sunday and are probably on their way. Of course all these people just can't go into the areas willy nilly. They will need to make sure that it is safe to enter the areas.

[Tyranny_R_US]

23. "willy nilly"

I see where this is going I've argued with people like you before obviously nothing is going to change your "compassionate conservative" POV so I'm ending it here.

[johnnie]

27. What?

Why aren't you off your dead ass and running there saving people? I guess you are too busy bitching about why everyone else isn't doing it.

[Guyfromkansas]

40. Eh?

what so they had more than 2 days? I guess you missed all the news on the tv abuot the alabama and miss. national guard getting supplies and such around the days before it hit. There was no week to plan for this. The states did as much as they could with the time they had. Dont see how he was being a compassionate conserative but yeaaa.

[tx_dem41]

41. Always good to end it when you're losing. n/t

[slackmaster]

31. I'm convinced that people are getting softer and softer

As they get used to living in comfortable urban environments they become ignorant and complacent about what it really takes to take care of yourself when the shit hits the fan.

[mshasta]

34. they did not have a week......

some of them they had only 24hrs...

[Xenotime]

24. All politics

This is all politics. They waiting for the "go ahead" from some suit so they can look good. So he can say, "I did this. See what I did?"

These people shouldn't just wait around they need to take matters in their own hands and just get the job done. They could take rafts to the Superdome and get them all out.

[slackmaster]

28. For fuck's sake, it's only been a day and a half since storm made landfall

They're getting there. It's not easy to move people and things in when the flooding is still going on.

This is why I resolved many years ago not to count on the NG or the cavalry or the Red Cross or Captain America coming to my rescue in the wake of a disaster. If more people did a better job of preparing themselves - by acquiring some VERY INEXPENSIVE items like bottles of water, cans of soup, basic emergency supplies for 2-3 days - nobody would be drowning, soiling themselves, starving, or forced to drink sewage.

:eyes:

I know not everyone is going to be able to do this and be ready for every disaster, but there are a lot of people who have prepared themselves very poorly or not at all, just assuming everything is going to be OK, that God is going to come to their assistance, or that our government can bail them out of anything in short order.

[Desertrose]

33. People started evacuating last week....what about those with no money for

supplies.


Frankly, I am amazed at the lack of compassion on this board.

But I suppose I shouldn't be....

[johnnie]

36. Where is the lack of compassion?

Just wondering what you mean.

[slackmaster]

39. Supplies only cost a few dollars per person per day

How much is a can of Campbell's soup and some crackers?

Frankly, I am amazed at the lack of compassion on this board.

I have compassion out the yin-yang, but I expect people to take SOME responsibility for themselves.

[Mike Daniels]

51. One can have compassion and yet still hold people to account

for not taking proper precautions.

Hell, this board is always trying to claim Jesus as the Big Kahuna of liberals yet for all his compassion he also held people accountable as well.

[bluedog]

29. its up to us

we have to get the reports out to the media about the funding that was cut to aid in Cat %5 hurricanes under bush administration......Fema should have been ready to help these people..........

the federal government should have helped get more of these people out by means of planes buses rail or military trucks and truck caravans.......

this did not "sneak" up on people..there were warnings ahead of time......

If this happened when a hurricane approches....what about when a chemical or bio attack should come through..people will be killed by the masses....

this is uncalled for in our modern world and with the monies going into homeland security...I am just sick about this.

I suggest we all comment to the media ............US unprepared because monies are going to Iraq instead of the US..........

[tammywammy]

52. Do you have a link for Bush cutting funding?

The one article I read here said it was for fiscal year 2006, so that would be next year.

If I missed an article that Congress cut funding for this year, will you please give me a link to it.

Thanks.

[Wcross]

30. People are not "starving".

They may be hungry but to claim they are starving is inaccurate. I may also add- the Red cross is on the scene, FEMA is on the scene. The Coasties are already plucking people off of roof tops. They are bringing in crews from as far away as Cape Cod.
If you are going to bitch about something make sure it is valid. You do realize that they HAD to wait for the storm to pass in order to get started right? Would you have felt better if all the red cross people were blown away with the victims before they could do anything to help?

[Tyranny_R_US]

43. People are starving

What do you think those people waiting in their attics or on their roofs have been eating or drinking for the past 2 days but for the sake of argument how many red cross command posts have you seen on the outskirts of the city organizing, thats right ZERO maybe we'll see them in 4 days but that could be too late for a lot of people.

Also caring for the welfare of my fellow man and being critical of those in charge of that welfare doesn't make me a "bitch" as you put it.

[Wcross]

53. I guess you haven't been paying attention then.

This morning there were 15-20 Red Cross vehicles parked on the highway outside the dome. That sounds like the center of the city to me. There are already utility trucks heading south (I saw them).
People can survive up to two weeks without water and a month without food. They won't be comfortable but they will live.
I am watching the news stations for my information- maybe you have more info than I.
I don't see any reason to fault the rescue effort yet. You also claim to care about the welfare of your fellow man? I also care but I am a realist. How long do you suppose it would take to pick up 1/4 of the city off their rooftops? What would be the point of setting up a Red Cross command post in the middle of a flooded city?
When I start to hear from the victims saying (rightfully) that they were ignored I will listen.

[RaleighNCDUer]

35. Last I heard, FEMA was busy building razor-wire camps

in Wyoming.

[Xenotime]

44. Does FEMA..

have a blank check in disasters like this? If so, you can be these poor people will be gathered and herded like cattle. I can see it now, "Here you need this injection..." when they really don't.

[MoonRiver]

45. FEMA is feasting at con artist Pat Robertson's trough.

After all, that's who they are encouraging people to "contribute" their hurricane relief money to. I can count on one hand the number of hurricane victims who will benefit from Robertson's "charity". But I'll betcha a dollar the fat cats at FEMA are getting a hefty kickback for the free publicity.

[mvd]

46. Conditions deteriorating in the Superdome

Something will have to be done to transfer all of them. But Bush/FEMA/Guard are not to be relied on right now. :grr:

[Xenotime]

49. Right..

None can be relied on. Because they are all under W's control. He's going to hold this to make him look good.

Even if they do send support, you are not going "full support". They will send one plane with a few people on it and the equivilant of a bag of chips.

[mcar]

47. Like South Florida after Andrew

Bush I fiddled while people suffered. It took the emergency operations director to stand in front of national media and say 'where the hell is the cavalry?' for federal help to arrive.

And that was days and days after the hurricane hit.

[Synnical]

50. Yeah, three days later "Where the hell is the cavalry?"

http://www.sptimes.com/2002/webspecials02/andrew/day3/story1.shtml


Andrew had been the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history and the federal government was nowhere in sight.

Then Kate Hale spoke up.

"Where in the hell is the cavalry on this one?" Dade's emergency management director asked at a news conference, her voice filled with exasperation. "They keep saying we're going to get supplies. For God's sake, where are they?"

Within hours, the feds sprang into action. President Bush ordered the Army to send mobile kitchens and build a massive tent city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I remember it well. That lady was practically in tears.