[Jeff Head]

My thoughts on this horrific disatser and tragedy.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Bookmarked! Sending to lots of friends, particularly the ones I KNOW are NOT PREPARED. They need the advice the most.

[Freee-dame]

good advice

[shezza]

Ping-a-ling

[N8VTXNinWV]

WOW! Thank you.

[B4Ranch]

I recall that the people who took refuge in the Superdome were told to bring three days of food and water with them to the Superdome. One lady showed up with half a bottle of diet Coke, when questioned about where her three days of food and water were, she replied, "The Red Cross will take care of us."

FEMA was never designed to be an instant response relief system but the Mayor of NO and Governor of Louisiana didn't appear to know that.

This is an email I sent to Geraldo and Shep after their emotional report about the people who were stuck on the Interstate without any "directions for four days without food or water".

Geraldo & Shep,

I saw your emotional reports about the people suffering their way through Katrina. You guys aren't fools. This isn't your first disaster.

Why didn't you tell the young men who had shoes on their feet to go out and find food and water for the elderly, the women and children? So what if they have to walk 10 or 20 miles to keep the babies and moms fed? Fifty young men could have gone to the food stores and instead of looting for Nikes sneakers, watches or electronics, loot for subsistence materials to keep their own families alive. Carry the materials back to the needy in shopping carts or in back packs, whatever is necessary.

Tell the people that hot water heaters have 30 or 40 gallons of drinkable water in them. Wipe the bathtub with Clorox and fill it with water before a city loses it's water pressure, don't bitch about not having anything to drink if you can't think 12 hours ahead!

I think either of you could have made a serious contribution to the recovery effort if you had used your heads and given these people directions on how to stay alive. I do hope to see a better performance from you both during the next hurricane.

Sincerely,

"The Red Cross will take care of us."

When I hear remarks like this I fully understand why this lady expected the Red Cross to take care of them. She is a part of society that the government has taken care of from the moment she was born. Her mother received monthly checks from the local and state welfare agencies, she receives them now also. Never having held a job or had a mortgage, self responsibility was not a part of her upbringing nor is it a part of her character today.

There will always be people such as her who demand that we take care of them and why shouldn't she expect us to? After all we have done it all of her life. What makes the fact that a hurricane was approaching any different? Do we really expect that she is going to know how to take care of her kids during a disaster? Come on, get real!

The law states that when a mandatory evacuation is called it is the city or states responsibility to make sure that everyone who cannot provide for themselves must be provided for by the officials. That is just a fact of life today.

I laughed when Jesse Jackson started on his rant about "they are not refugees". Can someone explain to me just what these people are who do not have a home or a job to return to are? They left the city to take refuge in a safer place. People who could, evacuated the city on their own, those who couldn't were provided refuge by the officials.

[The Red Zone]

Can you suggest some alternative weapons if gun is problematic due to legal disability of someone in household and too great a risk of getting caught. Crossbow and a lot of arrows?

[Toadman]

Excellent post.

Ping!

[bvw]

Well and good. Like the incorporation of general reading -- novels, biography, history -- in the go-bag. Also a notebook and pens/pencils.

Still, the lessons aren't done yet. What lessons will come out of Baton Rouge, out of Houston? So many displaced at once! The long-term effect, the midterm effect. Weeks, months and years from now?

One lesson I suspect is the importance of getting people BACK to their property, to their community, asap. To rebuild, to rebuild, to rebuild. To rebuild the necessities (clearing and cleaning, temp housing, roads, water, sanitiation, to rebuild the basics (structures and houses, school buildings, shops), to rebuild their lifes and comforts (jobs, community).

[jw777]

Excellent.

[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

Good synopsis. FEMA literature has long stated that families need to be prepared to be on their own for 3 to 14 days. Thus, no one can realistically state that the federal government was slow to respond.

[NorseWood]

Thanks Jeff,

I actually spent part of the Labor Day weekend replenishing my emergency preparedness supplies. I have a number of 5 gallon water bottles that I periodically refill with fresh water. I also have several large garbage cans full of canned food and other necessary supplies. We realized that some of the food items had been in storage for too long and we rotated these into our regular food preparation items and will replenish the emergency kit with new food items. Remember too to keep fresh flashlight batteries in your supplies. I keep the supplies in several locations in case I can’t get to one but another would be accessible. Since I live in earthquake country, in addition to supplies in the automobiles, I have a backpack under my desk with supplies that would sustain me for a period of time.

[Born Conservative]

The specter of those who decided to stay, and who were partying in the path of this storm on live news coverage up to the time the storm began to come on shore, will remain etched in our memory for the rest of our lives.

Check this out. I posted this on 8/28/05:

 

Bourbon Street is still hopping at 9pm local time considering there's a Cat 5 Hurricane on the way...

[radiohead]

Required reading for all Americans.

[the irate magistrate]

This begs comment:

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[the irate magistrate]

Jeff,

Please respond to this.

Thanks,

Mike

***************

Jeff –

I enjoyed your article about Hurricane Katrina. I edit JeffersonReview.com and would like to put your article in next week’s issue if that is alright with you. Please let me know. Thanks.

Resa

Theresa Fritz Camoriano

Camoriano and Associates

8225 Shelbyville Rd.

Louisville KY 40222 U.S.A.

http://www.inventky.com

resa@inventky.com

[Double Tap]

Ah, come on. All you need to survive is a good, accurate rifle and plenty of ammo. You can get anything you need with that!!!

I'm kidding, I'm kidding!!!

Seriously, good post. But I've been prepared like this for years. Only thing I need to add is Squantos water filtration kit. I never seem to think about that for some reason. Taking clean water for granted can get you dead.

[La Enchiladita]

Hey, Jeff, don't forget a transistor radio and flashlight in the 96 hour kit, matches too. In southern Calif., it behooves us to have heavy duty shoes nearby and even a hard hat. Thanks.

AS for guns and ammo, I have yet to enter that realm either.

[LibertyRocks]

Bump

[Shazbot29]

Did I miss the part about buying a gun and being proficient at its use?

[spanalot]

AMEN