Posted on 09/04/2005 8:52:51 PM PDT by Jacob Kell
Excellent graphics. Is it alright to reprint elsewhere?
I agree with you, about everything you've written.
Criticising the head of FEMA (Brown) seems entirely too rote for my comfort...the ink isn't even dry on the emergency supply boxes and yet the public statements by the local (Mayor, Governor) are more than enough to prove them irresponsible AND responsible because of that, and yet trying to blame the head of FEMA and so automatically just seems hysterical at this stage, to my view.
Malkin is very wrong about this and looks suspiciously too prepared with her opinion about this.
Yeah, I've consistently been posing the rhetorical question (here, elsewhere) as to why there was no process to implement a "mandatory evacuation."
Allow me a moment here: most people respond to that notice and pack up the car with the kids, the pets, the inlaws if they have them living with/near, and two weeks' clothing and emergency snacks, water and necessary paperwork/documents and then, if they have enough time, call ahead to make temporary housing plans. And then they leave.
On the other hand, no major city is without the handicapped and elderly and extremely impoverished (or even moderately incomed who don't own/use private transportation), such that there is surely awareness that they number many thousands in cities as large as New Orleans. And New Orleans, especially, with it's larger than usual percentages of needy living within the city limits.
Not like the Mayor of N.O. and the governor of the state is not acutely already aware of those numbers of most needy and/or unable persons in failing any response to a "mandatory evacutation."
Such that, even if there was no preset plan for mandatory evacuation of those thousands who could not act on their own behalf, there SHOULD HAVE been and COULD HAVE BEEN a process put together quickly to get as many of them out of the city...with the Governor's intervention, they could have been, literally, driven north to many among many other towns/cities with gymnasiums, schools, city centers, even motels and hotels the state could have paid or otherwise brought into the mix so as to help/assist in such a terrible emergency.
Instead, the mayor and Governor did nothing. They hesitantly agreed to the evac only one day before the devastation appeared, had notice of the intensity of the destruction bearing down on them, and did nothing more than make a public speech and return to safe housing with meals, helpers and communcations for themselves and theirs.
It seems to me that it is INHERENT to their JOBS, their positions by which their oaths are sworn, that they were to make whatever arrangements possible under those circumstances to get people out of harms way, who were not able to save themselves.
I did see a lot of disabled, frail and newly born among the stranded but I also saw a large number of well nourished and very fit persons. Such that, there were also a lot who remained behind who seem to have made that choice not by inability to depart but by determination to remain.
In which case, those are a different sort...but for those who were/are frail, incapable of leaving on their own, too young, too elderly, too ill, incapable of forming a plan, whatever, they should have had a means provided for them by which they were transported out of the City.
All the other rural areas and small towns, they certainly also have their numbers of similar persons, but New Orleans, ESPECIALLY, is/was a central housing area for very needy people, retired and infeebled.
The ONLY negligence I see already identified in this terrible tragedy is LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. Mississippi and Alabama, contrarily, are recovering...no folks from there leering into cameras yelling about the federal government, the President.
Obviously, New Orleans and some in the state elsewhere are people who are using this devastation to blame rather than assist.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1475914/posts?page=191#191
From among the most important 'time-line' stats:
-- It takes 72 hours to evacuate New Orleans.
-- The state of emergency was declared on Friday. Katrina was forecast to make landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 storm as of Friday (08/26/05) at 7:00 PM CDT.
-- (I'm adding this now): Katrina was reclassified Category Five Friday night (08/26/05).
-- The voluntary evacuation notice was given Saturday (08/27/05) afternoon at 2:30 PM CDT.
-- The mandatory evacuation order was given Sunday (08/28/05) at 9:30 AM CDT.
-- The storm hit the Louisiana coast on Monday (08/29/05) morning at 6:00 AM CDT.
AND, this article...Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin made it known in a joint public statement on 08/28/05 that they'd already been contacted by President Bush (saying, "he called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacution of low lying areas prone to flooding...").
Both Governor and Mayor told Bush they'd think it over, hadn't made any decision, would get back to him, whatever...
I'm impressed that a newspaper in New Orleans found enough dry paper to actually publish an edition.
Jabbar Gibson, at 20, has more sense than Mayor Nagin.
At least he knew how to use a bus to evacuate poor folks before a hurricane.
Please do, copy and post them anywhere and everywhere!
"The ONLY negligence I see already identified in this terrible tragedy is LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. Mississippi and Alabama, contrarily, are recovering...no folks from there leering into cameras yelling about the federal government, the President.
Obviously, New Orleans and some in the state elsewhere are people who are using this devastation to blame rather than assist."
Good reply and I agree with your evaluation. That being said, it is now all of our responsibility to help these people that need our help. Our government, is after all, "we the people."
What a pack of lies,which obviously pleases Editor & Publisher, eh?
Utter rubbish and you're the only person on here who would make such a statment.
But, then, you hate all things Bush and American, don't you?
It's time for people to just shut their mouths and stop the blame game. No one could have imagined the magnitude of this storm.
Well, actually, that's not true because people DID perceive and predict the potential for damage by this storm and the vulnerabilities of New Orleans, especially.
It's really a case of people not acting upon the truth.
Our society has an obligation to now help the struggling and suffering and hardly anyone would argue with the huge scope of existing need, or in trying to provide for it, but the issue as to awareness of the potential for this problem, it's been being said was liklely to happen for a long time.
And, there were warnings days ahead of impact that this particular storm was Category 5 and because of that, posed doom to the coastal areas.
Nice work.
I've seen the pic of the school bus lot but this is the first I've seen the metro bus lot.
If the mayor had an ounce of honor he would have already resigned.
FEMA should not exist. The Office of Civil Defense should be reinstated, and FEMA eliminated.
What's more amazing is the MSM has not asked him one question about the 400+ unused city buses.
You wrote my post. There is NO WAY any family member of mine would have been in the middle of that without clearing
a space, protecting the weak, helping those adjoining our little plot. The welfare state has certainly created people whose basic human instincts have been destroyed. I pray for all those beautiful little kids--SO touching to see them.
Does that include the Times-Picayune?
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