New Orleans is NOT the whole state of Louisiana

[SoCalDem]

The news people and the admin act as if once in New orleans, there is NO WAY OUT except via "official" escort or evacuation.

There IS civilization , not all that many miles away from New Orleans.. Was it REALLY necessary to 'export' New Orleans' poor to 13 other states (might be more..just a guess)?

Today I saw row after row of "mobile" housing 'waiting' to be deployed ...but where?..

People of New Orleans have forfeited their citizenship somehow, due to their unfortunate proximity to Katrina. She blew it away , along with their homes, family and security.

All these people really ever 'needed' was a lift out of danger, some water, some food,a working phone, shoes (for those who ended up barefoot) and a TICKET to somewhere THEY chose to go.

OR... are they forbidden to travel freely in their own country now?

Are they reduced to "pet" status...to be corraled/caged/sequestered/chuted to where they are "supposed" to go?

AFTER the storm, most of these people could have easily contacted a family member elsewhere in the state, or in a nearby state. They could have been put on buses to take them out of the immediate area, perhaps to a less devastated area, and with a little money,and working phones, they could have taken care of themselves..

Now the "compassionless conservatives" seem to have started a whole new crop of tax money headed to a bunch of states for their 'care and feeding". Call me a cynic, but I have a feeling that this money is going to be unregulated and will miraculously end up the the republican state committee coffers...just in time for the '06 elections. Probably most of the "evacuees" will try to get back with their left-behind families ASAP, and once out of the caretaker-states, will the state notify DC to stop sending money for the departed evacuees? Not likely.. This is just one more blatant grab for our cash..

Of course, now that they are in so many far away states, their family in other places in Louisiana or nearby states, may have a terrible time trying to get them there..

[dsc]

1. The metro area was about half the state

I do see your point about letting them call family or be transferred to family but Baton Rouge had its population nearly double overnight which is way more than a city can have happen and keep any level of services for its citizens.

[SoCalDem]

6. Lots of NOLA people have family in many places in LA.

Probably MOST of these families would have happily taken in their relatives..I doubt that they are all either in NO or Baton Rouge..I see many towns & cities on the map,and surely the relatives are scattered all over..

And by allowing these folks to bunk with family, they would have actually created a network for them to all contact each other.. Probably most members in a family know the same relatives and their phone numbers..

There are Dads in Houston..Moms in Baton Rouge, and kids in a different place.. Not very "family-friendly"..

[dsc]

7. I believe the problem was

transportation. Once they got on the busses it would have been very inefficient to drive them all over LA and leave them off with family. I think having the families pick them up in neighboring states makes some sense.

[SoCalDem]

8. Except that poor people often have poor family members too

I did not mean that the buses should deliver them all over the state.. just that the buses should have taken them out of the immediate area,to a place where they could have had FEMA (hah!) waiting for them in a warehouse of someplace..even a large parking lot...with waiting cell phones for them to contact family and arrange for transportation to wherever the family was..

While waiting for phone use, they could have had a quick wash-up..some water...some food.. a peek through donated clothes...maybe a nap on a cot in a tent, and then some money to pay for gas for the realtives who would come and pick them up..or maybe a bus ticket to travel where they needed to go..

[dsc]

10. That was assuming FEMA was doing its job

sadly it clearly wasn't. Once it was clear that there would be no trailers, no temporary shelters, or anything else, there really was no great options. Family should have been kept together and given a choice as to direction when possible but otherwise FEMA's ineptitude left the relief agencies no real choice.

[SoCalDem]

13. The sad thing is, that if they could have gotten OUT of NO

there were helpful organizations who were trying to get IN.. They might have actually bumped into each other.. Apparently the red cross was kept out, as were others.... NO was a holding pen and then the poor were leapfrogged over/driven past groups very near their homw..who would have loved to have helped them..and would have helped them better than a bus ride to a different state..totally cut off from any support system..

[serryjw]

2. Silly question........

Where ANY evacuees sent to a BLUE state?

[Meeker Morgan]

9. Sent to a blue state?

Quite a few were airlifted to Chicago.

This was a private initiative by United Airlines, but the government here has been very helpful.

[Tatiana]

15. And Michigan. And Minnesota. And Massachusetts.

Very, very far away from Louisiana :(

[Garbo 2004]

14. Yes. California for one example. n/t

[anarchy1999]

3. Well sweet, you just nailed it to the WALL!

and on that happy note I am taking myself and Mr A to bed!

[Tatiana]

But, but Chertoff said something about the "City of Louisiana...."

I heard him say it on the teevee. I thought that meant the disaster was all Nagin's fault. After all, that would make him the Mayor of the whole City of Louisiana.

[SoCalDem]

17. I think Nagin is less powerful than Mayor Mc Cheese these days

He is mayor of a ghost town..a toxic one at that..one with no infrastructure left..and no money to rebuild one..he4's royally screwed

[melody]

4. Anyone know where Ollie North is?

This whole thing smacks of FEMA's Rex 84 plan. Makes you wonder if they're going to imprison these people for long term. Okay, my tinfoil hat is now removed.

[bluedonkey]

5. My thoughts exactly!

I've been so upset about this!Does anyone track where all the people are?I heard about places where the evacuees are kept in camps like prisoners.They're not allowed to leave!
I wrote the Governor asking what she's going to do about this.

[preciousdove]

12. Nobody knows...

Nobody wants to register with FEMA. Some are registering with the Red Cross. Many got private help either from family, fiends or other kind Americans. We know where a lot are but we don't know who is where. There were over 75,000 registered as missing with the Red Cross last week. Estimates go to 40,000 for the dead.

Help in many devistated MS areas was just arriving today (they are a red state).

I just ran down numbers. If there are only 10,000 dead it will take 37 days to process them (not identify them). If it is 40,000 it will take 5 months, to process the bodies, not identfy them. Houston we have a problem.

[Comadreja]

11. Eliminated a DEM precinct or two

Scatter them around and they are defacto Gerrymandered into the red states.

[SoCalDem]

16. and removed forever as a unified group..

Even if they DO manage to find their way back to LA, they are scattered to the wind.

[tsuki]

18. Well, Sheriff Bubba on the freeway was going to make sure that

the poor did not get into his jurisdiction. Love to know who he was, and why the News is not paying more attention to him. Such a fine, upstanding, Christian man.

[SoCalDem]

19. That's the "disaster" spirit, eh?

Pretty sad when even passage through a place is verboten..Was he afraid some of them would try to steal his "wimmin-folk"??

There's a psecial room in hell for that 'sheriff'.:grr:

[joanne]

20. Some have gone to Wisconsin

Not as many came to Madison as expected.