pissed off in and abandoned in Texas

[julialnyc]

http://www.dailyadvance.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Rita_Stuck_in_Houston_HK1.html

snipped....


By DEBORAH HASTINGS
AP National Writer
HOUSTON — Wilma Skinner would like to scream at the officials of this city. If only someone would pick up their phone.

"I done called for a shelter, I done called for help. There ain't none. No one answers," she said, standing in blistering heat outside a check-cashing store that had just run out of its main commodity. "Everyone just says, 'Get out, get out.' I've got no way of getting out. And now I've got no money."



Evacuees push their car along Interstate-45 after it broke down in Houston on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005. Thousands of Texas and Louisiana residents are traveling north to escape the approach of Hurricane Rita. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Listen Now: Holly reports that many motorists are putting gasoline in any container available. (requires Real Player)
With Hurricane Rita breathing down Houston's neck, those with cars were stuck in gridlock trying to get out. Those like Skinner — poor, and with a broken-down car — were simply stuck, and fuming at being abandoned, they say.

"All the banks are closed and I just got off work," said Thomas Visor, holding his sweaty paycheck as he, too, tried to get inside the store, where more than 100 people, all of them black or Hispanic, fretted in line. "This is crazy. How are you supposed to evacuate a hurricane if you don't have money? Answer me that?"

Some of those who did have money, and did try to get out, didn't get very far.

Judie Anderson of La Porte, Texas, covered just 45 miles in 12 hours. She had been on the road since 10 p.m. Wednesday, headed toward Oklahoma, which by Thursday was still very far away.

"This is the worst planning I've ever seen," she said. "They say, 'We've learned a lot from Hurricane Katrina.' Well, you couldn't prove it by me."

On Bellaire Boulevard in southwest Houston, a weeping woman and her young daughter stood on the sidewalk, surrounded by plastic bags full of clothes and blankets. "I'd like to go, but nobody come get me," the woman said in broken English. When asked her name, she looked frightened. "No se, no se," she said: Spanish for "I don't know."

Her daughter, who appeared to be about 9, whispered in English, "We're from Mexico."

For the poor and the disenfranchised, the mighty evacuation orders that preceded Rita were something they could only ignore.

[SeattleGirl]

1. Damn it all!

Once again, the people have been abandoned in their hour of need.

:cry:

[Trevelyan]

73. Lautenberg is pissed

http://lautenberg.senate.gov/~lautenberg/press/2003/01/2005923713.html

Why is White House Hurricane Point Man Karl Rove Heading for North Dakota on the Day Hurricane Rita is Expected to Hit Texas and Louisiana?

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a letter sent today, United States Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) asked President Bush why his White House point person for disaster coordination and recovery, Karl Rove, was heading for a political fundraiser in North Dakota on the same day Hurricane Rita is expected to slam into Texas and Louisiana.

The following links are articles that discuss Karl Rove's role as the disaster point person for the White House.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5615598.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/15/politics/15bush.html?ex=1127620800&en=9c89c3f0803834b3&ei=5070

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2005/09/15/BL2005091501098.html

A copy of the original letter sent to President Bush is attached to this release.

September 23, 2005

Honorable George W. Bush President The White House Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush:

The assignment of your Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl C. Rove, as the lead White House official for disaster coordination and recovery efforts raises troubling questions given his partisan political background.

As all know, Hurricane Rita is bearing down on the Gulf Coast even as the nation reels from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. It would be expected that Mr. Rove would be at his post "24/7" during this crisis.

However, as unlikely as it might seem, we have learned that Mr. Rove will be traveling to North Dakota to engage in political fundraising activities. When this fearsome hurricane makes landfall on Saturday, Mr. Rove will be delivering a political speech to the North Dakota Republican Party, and will be featured as a special guest at a fundraising dinner.

I respectfully urge you to remind Mr. Rove of his responsibilities as the coordinator of relief and recovery efforts, and direct him to keep his attention focused on this critical job. There will be plenty of time for fundraising, but for now, putting lives back together and rebuilding communities must take priority over building political
war chests.

Sincerely,

Frank R. Lautenberg

[AspenRose]

2. Here we go again

:banghead: Did we not LEARN from Katrina?????

[Cobalt Violet]

36. But Bush'll offer tax cuts after!!!!!!!

:sarcasm:

[TankLV]

71. Sure - how to take better care of their white repuke "base"!

Any others don't even register on their conscious - unless there's political blame to point at!

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Same as happened before katrina

but there was no one on the ground reporting it.

They had been warned - if they stayed, it's their own fault.

Right. We learned so much.

Are there fleets of busses taking out those who have no transportation? Is AMTRAK running special trains down to the gulf to carry away evacuees? Is the National Guard running truckloads of people out? Are people being told they can't evacuate with their pets?

What the fuck is going on there?

[Castilleja]

7. I think this is an example of evacuation not being the

absolute solution to a hurricane. It is just not logical to expect to get every single person out of an area. It is a simplistic idea. Even under circumstances where you have a vehicle and somewhere to go, you may break down, run out of gas, move so slowly that the storm catches you out and in your car on the road. Our city and apparently everyone else has latched onto evacuation as the final and only solution as they do not have shelters within, at least, our city anymore. You are apparently expected to get about halfway to San Antonio where they have something set up. Down here, however, I heard about buses being used and people being allowed to take their pets with them.

[Karenina]

It is the INTENT of the *misadministration

to KILL OFF as many "useless eaters" as possible. They have stated it in their manifesto. IT IS POLICY. How can anyone not get that especially after Katrina? :shrug:

[ozarkvet]

16. The Final Solution, Part II (n/m)

[rockymountaindem]

24. Whatever

That's such an overused comparison it's becoming meaningless, unfortunately.

[shanti]

26. did they actually say

"useless eaters"....(not that i'd put it past them).

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

29. You're absolutely right. nt.

[SemperEadem]

63. that is what I say, too

the * admin is all about culling the 'useless' population so that there is no longer a tax burden.

[AspenRose]

4. KICK, dammit

:kick:

[pacalo]

5. Thank you so much for this.

The Texan officials boasting that they were going to do things better than Louisiana was in poor taste. Those looking in from the outside sometimes lack the empathy needed to understand the situation.

I hate to say it, but despite the boastful words of Texan leaders, we're going to see much of the same panic & lack of coordination/organization that they saw fit to criticize about my state.

[txindy]

28. You know why those officials criticized your state, right?

Because our governor in TX was sucking up to his hero, Junior, and trying to make it appear that what happened in LA was due to Blanco and not Junior. As if. :eyes: Gov. MoFo also wants Junior to back HIM for re-election and not throw his support to little Scotty Mc's mommy, Carol Keeton etc. etc. etc. Strayhorn. (Hard to keep up with all of her marriages, unfortunately.)

It's no surprise to any of us here in Texas that the useless twit we have in the governor's mansion is incompetent. Your governor has guts. Ours has hair spray and barrels of styling gel.

[pacalo]

31. Bless your heart, txindy.

I saw it pretty much the way you did. Thank you for saying it.

And stay safe! I hope your area is far from where the hurricane hits. Even though my area suffered only wind damage, a lot of the areas around us that we depend on were affected. For several weeks after the storm, stores have had limited supplies & the lines have been extremely long -- all due to evacuees coming in from the more damaged areas. It's like living in the Twilight Zone.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

45. Can I just say

I've been keeping up with a lot of your posts today and you are, like, my hero?

You in Houston? PM me and we'll get together when this blows over.

[txindy]

48. Me?

"Hero?" Me and my smart-alecky keyboard? LOL

I'm out in the Hill Country, well west of I-35. We'll be dry up here, but cut off if, as expected, the usual areas here flood. Our main concern is the electricity. The cable we fully expect to lose. That goes off when a squirrel sneezes.

[SemperEadem]

64. Ah, west of SATX?

I lived in Bexar County about 22 years ago...

[Garbo 2004]

53. Yeah. And if truth be told I doubt any major metropolitan area in the US

is prepared to fully evacuate its entire population in relatively short order.

A few years ago after the popularity of one of the summer blockbuster disaster movies, I recall reading an article where an emergency management type said the dirty secret is that no one expects to be able to evacuate 100% of the population of a major US city in an emergency. I seem to recall the guy said they figure maybe 60% optimum depending how much advance time they had.

So if NOLA did indeed evacuate 80% of its population that's an accomplishment. The thing is, they expected the feds to start coming in within the next day or two at most.

Instead the Feds acted as if there had never been a significant hurricane disaster before in which Fed assistance was required. Like they had to reinvent the wheel. And Repub Govs acted smug, including Barbour whose own state was hurting from delayed Fed relief. Politics.

Now the Texas Gov is on the spot and all he does is blame the population for not leaving 4-5 days before the storm. Anyone else recall evacuations 4, 5 days ahead of a hurricane whose path is not yet clear? Earlier is better of course, but I don't recall that such an early call for evacuations is standard op procedure (not that I previously paid all that much attention to timeframe when such things happen). Post Katrina of course, it's another matter. Perhaps the Floridians and other Gulf folk here can say.

[ewagner]

6. What we didn't learn

is that poverty limits choices....and

when it comes to matters of health and safety...it's the role of government to make sure everyone's health and safety is protected.

[Garbo 2004]

54. Poverty, age, infirmity and other circumstances. I recall one couple

in NOLA who were going to stay at the Superdome because the wife had to work and the husband didn't want to leave without her. So they and their small child were standing in line at the Superdome. Of course they could not anticipate the hell hole it would become and that help and evacuation would not arrive for 5 days.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Here we go again. More cleansning. :^(

[Pirate Smile]

9. Have they opened up any shelters in or around Houston? Do they plan

to?

[Pirate Smile]

18. I just heard on the news - There will be No shelter of last resort.

[sunnystarr]

70. That's because they're going to hide the victims

If they can't be seen by reporters in a shelter then they can dehydrate and starve without the rest of the world knowing about it. These people make me so sick!

[kestrel91316]

51. Apparently if your area was under mandatory evacuation orders,

you are NOT supposed to be there, so OF COURSE there will be no shelters, and no refuge of last resort like the Superdome either. You were told to get out. If you didn't, well then you are just on your own.

That will teach those pesky poor people to disobey the law, now, won't it?

[SomewhereOutThere424]

10. Dumbfounding...

This should be plastered all over the united states, before the hurricane hits. So SOMEONE can rescue the people and even their animals this time.

I'd never think they'd pull this twice...

[Pithy Cherub]

11. Aw HELL! When will America learn that not everyone is a HAVE!

Evacuation plans are built around the Haves, not the Havenots and those who need the most protection. x(

May special blessings flow and extra Divine protection to those who have been so mistreated through these tragedies!:grouphug:

[Window]

30. And, therein, lies the problem.

Peace

[NNN0LHI]

12. But I seen Governor Rick Perry smoking and joking live with Tweety not...

...more than 20 minutes ago. They were patting each other on the ass about what a great job FEMA was doing. Whoda thunk?

Don

[mandyky]

13. Bush is getting a mulligan and so is the media

Will the media dare tell stories like this on the TeeVee? They damn well better or we be fucked!

[DIKB]

14. In my mind

I see some conservative who is gleefully happy that these "Damn Mexicans" are sitting right in the hurricanes path, and have no way to get out in time. These poor people can't do much to help themselves, and I just know some freeper/bushbot who blames immigration for all the problems in this country is yucking it up.

Why wouldn't they be ? They've proved time and again, most notably in Iraq, that BROWN people don't count. :grr:

[Stinky The Clown]

15. Another case of not reading the damned newspapers?

Let's see how the Dear Leader team spins this story this time.

The republicans and their appointees are flat out, no shit, honest to god, no hyperbole KILLING us.

For them, its all political. No humanity involved.

I absolutely HATE the motherfuckers who stole my country.

[Cocoa]

17. "no one ever predicted so many people would flee a hurricane"

how long before we hear that...

[jbnow]

20. yet bush when asked

what would be different with Rita made a snide comment about the people in Texas understand the need to evacuate and are getting out.

That infuriated me on to counts. He doesn't get that those trapped like abused animals in NOLA understood the need, they had no means.
And was he not hearing there was no gas, no water available in Houston.There will be people trapped there as well who would like to get out.

smug little idiot boy.

[TankLV]

72. That little freeway ride was a pretty sight, wasn't it?

I mean, it worked so well, right?

[AnnInLa]

19. You're not going to believe Fox News

Am evacuated to Baton Rouge, and in this house, (niece and hubby) they watch Fox, so I am a captive audience. Fox report from Houston showed deserted freeways, and said, "this town looks like a ghost town, the evacuation was successful. The plan to open all lanes of traffic to help the flow was successful." I had just been watching CNN in my bedroom and had seen the real story. HOW in the hell does Fox lie like that and get away with it? Don't the sheeple ever watch anything but Fox. I'm not talking about slanting the news, I'm talking about an outright LIE. Even my niece's hubby laughed about it.

[Garbo 2004]

55. Shit, the 11 pm news is here on the West Coast with a live shot of the

traffic leaving Houston area. Clear??? Oh I don't think so....

But that's Faux......

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Deja Vu

so how many will die?

[wellstone_democrat]

22. Shut up! My Asshole Gov. says there is no problem

So, you should not say there is a problem or else you are criticizing my fine state of Texas which cannot be criticized. Ever.

Gov Perry and our President say that everything is fine. Therefore: everything is fine. Those people probably *wanted* to stay or they are illegal aliens which means that they are invisible to the Governor so he can't help not seeing them! They should not be there! There are enough cars if you are American

Yes friends! That is indeed the slant of the conversation this afternoon when someone brought up the CNN coverage of traffic jams. "If these people had planned their lives better, these things would not happen to them!" If they had planned better, they'd be living out here in the Permian Basic with Jesus and all his Christian saints that I live with

(kill me now...)

[Iris]

27. Yeah. These people are just suffering the rightful consequences

of being part of the "entitlement society"!


(At least that's what my boss would say.)

[rateyes]

32. You can tell you boss for me...

Fuck off! What a prince of a boss you have.

[Iris]

40. the sad thing is, I don't even think she knows what she's saying.

[rateyes]

41. She needs to climb out of her ivory tower she

obviously has been living in most of her life and get a reality check. I can't stand to hear, as Ann Richards put it, people "who were born on third base, and think they hit a triple," speak in condescending tones toward people they have no clue about.

[Iris]

43. Sadly, I don't think that's her story. I think she is just incredibly

ignorant - comes from a very ignorant background - and has managed to fake her way into a decent position. She works in higher education but gets most of her "information" from various and sundry emails forwarded from dubious sources.

[rateyes]

44. Sounds like she needs...

better reading material.

[Iris]

47. I agree. Believe me, I try.

[Garbo 2004]

56. And when she retires she'll get to be a part of that "entitlement

society." Won't she be surprised when folks like her dish out to her what she used to dish out to others?

[Iris]

67. You know what's really sad?

She's been treated badly by members of her church (Episcopal) because she is married to a woman.

But she has no empathy for anyone else. She is one of the most selfish and emotionally immature people I've ever met. I am really amazed at how well she's worked the system for herself but it's mostly by repeating catch-phrases and appearing to "walk the walk" all the while never staying in one place long enough for anyone to realize how ineffective she really is.

[yowzayowzayowza]

23. In 5 miles of Hwy 59 South...

I saw at least two dozen FAMILIES on the side of the road for want of gas. How could you plan this level of evacuation w/o regard to fuel supplies? IMHO, there are alot of areas that don't need mandatory evacuation orders, like Sugar Land. Seems like some chicken-shit elected officials covering their asses! Methinkz many of these folkz evacuation would have been better off at home.

[txindy]

25. It's deja vu all over again.

Gov. MoFo and his superior 'planning'.

[Ilsa]

33. Unbelieveable. And yes, they are spreading the propaganda

that everything is running smoothly in Texas. Too many mayors are Rethuglicans.

Turns out though, that they may be safer where they are if they have decent shelter. The people on the road are exposed to the heat and carbon monoxide and may not make it to wherever they are going.

As for us, as of this morning we decided to stay put in Victoria County as the cone of probable landfall moved northeast of us. It feels like a ghost town, no shops, no stores, no grocery stores open. Curfew starts in an hour or so.

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. take care and stay safe

[rateyes]

34. If it comes in to Houston...

although I don't wish hurricanes on anyone...but, if it has to destroy parts of Houston, It wouldn't bother me much to see it level Poppy Bush's, Delay's, Judge Paul Pressler's, John Bisagno's, Ed Young's and a few other RW Houstonians places.

Wonder what those good Southern Baptists would say about God's wrath then?

[TexasLady]

35. We are seeing the effects all theway up to Ft Hood too

I just got back from the grocery store. No bread. No water. NO milk(someone said it all comes from Houston.) I bought the last chocolate milk. It was either that or some organic milk for 5.99

No tuna, no peanut butter. All the way up here in central Tx. Gas lines are five to ten deep per gas station, and several have the bags over the regular. My son works at a convenience store, so I worry all the more about him working there now. Combined with near 100 degrees and its a soup for disaster in Tx, so fuck what good hair perry-potato-head says..

So I cant imagine what must be happening to Houston and nearby area. This aint fun folks. And to top it off, our A/C compressor just went out. The effects of this hurricane are stretching out pretty far. Im really thankful to have what I do right now.

[tlsmith1963]

37. Here We Go Again...

I seem to remember that this country handled hurricanes a lot better before * became President. This is definitely his fault. And I think he is doing this deliberately. So anyone (Freepers) who thinks we shouldn't politicize this...well, I'm sorry. People are losing their lives because of this clown. I say we politicize this until the cows come home. I was in the big fire in San Diego a few years ago, & I was stuck overnight at work because the roads were all blocked. It was very scary because the fire was close. I only excused Bush at the time because it wasn't too long after 9/11. But there was ineptitude even with the fire back then. What if I had lost my life that night? No, I'm sorry, but too much is at stake. Bush has to pay.

Tammy

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. hey tammy you are in san diego

maybe we could meet, hard to find lib'ruls in this town, though not as hard as it used to be

[BrightKnight]

42. 1.3 million people are not going to find motel rooms!

Not everyone can afford a room. Many of the existing motel rooms are filled with Katrina evacuees. THE STATE MUST SETUP SHELTERS NOW!

Nobody is trying to manage the situation. They could not do it right if they tried. I see more bad government and more excuses.

[reprehensor]

46. Better pour yourself a tall one, Mr President.

You're doin' a heck of a job, Shrubbie.

[BrightKnight]

50. It was Adios MoFo's evacuation "plan." -- n/t

[txindy]

52. And he pulled it off with his usual flair for the ineffectual

How much are we betting that even hurricane force winds don't ruffle that well-shellacked hair of his? Whatever he puts on it should be used to hold buildings together in Category 5 conditions.

[eridani]

49. This is the inevitable result of "self-reliance" and --

-- "I'm absolutely independent, don't need anything from the gummint or anybody else" thinking. Lots of induhviduals in their own private SUV gridlock. Even the privileged are having problems, let alone those with no money.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

57. Watching it on MSNBC it sure

looks like another clusterf**k to me

[dusty64]

58. Sounds pretty much

like another giant clusterfuck, but I 'm not really getting this impression from the corporate media this time. Seems like they are desperately trying to burnish the image of our government in charge and everything is going smoothly, thank goodness those rethugs down there are in control of things..... :puke: :sarcasm:

[Moderator]

59. julialnyc

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.


DU Moderator

[Historic NY]

60. Sadly folks another FUBAR mess in the making...........

another end of the month hurricane and poor people having limited or no means to get out. Imagine the shock that there are more people that live check to check. The "Credit Card President" must be shocked to find "poor" people living in his state. Perhaps he should send "Babs" over to see how they are doing. :mad:

[Im_Your_Huckleberry]

61. same soup, different bowl.

[warrens]

62. oh, jeez, that poor little girl

With any luck, these hurricanes are going to blow these plutocrat republicans out of office for good.

[catrose]

65. I tried to help

So my idea was to find something we could do to help and broadcast it over the blogosphere and save those folks. I started looking...

Greyhound's not selling any more tickets, but 60 buses wait to help evacuate.

I called the bus organizations mentioned by atrios in his Buses article.
They're looking for 1000 buses (article in their latest news). They gave me a FEMA number to call. I did not bother.

However, those 1000 buses might be just to move the Katrina folks. Maybe folks should go to the Reliant Center and the Astrodome. The problem is even bigger than just evacuating Houston.

So I called both the Texas Procurement Office and the State Emergency Center (probably botched those names), but the final word from the emergency center was there's nothing I can do personally now, they're doing everything possible, and we should "Donate to local charities."

I should have let the conversation continue on a side track, but the person was obviously harried and busy with important stuff. She said, "So you're stranded and you have absolutely no way to get out?" I corrected the impression; I'm just someone trying to help with money or efforts, whatever's needed. But apparently they have a script to say to helpless people.

Shelters are being set up all over Texas and apparently Fort Smith AR. If you've got the time this weekend, tell the Red Cross or whoever's running the shelter in your area. If we can't help them get out, we can at least help when/if they arrive.

[savemefromdumbya]

66. friends of ours in Houston are going to sit through RIta

My friends are staying in Houston simply because they didn't want to be stuck in a very long traffic jam out of the city!

[rotting_entrails]

68. I seriously think.....

....Bush is hindering these evacuations so poor (black) people die. Repugs only get 9% or 10% of the black vote anyway. If you can't get it, eliminate it!

[ronnykmarshall]

69. But, but .... Sean said

everything thing is going GREAT!!