Concern for New Orleans, and fellow Buzzers

---

jeret said:
i live in houston TX and it is horrible haveing so meany people hear, i was on my to Astroworld today and the line to get in was long cuz its free to the new orleans people

---

Uh hello...The park is closed all weekend long.

I go by the Dome every single day. The traffic has not been bad at all. If your not in the volunteer lanes, the other lanes are traveling as normal.

While it's true thousands of people are roaming the streets around there, they have no home to go to....

GET OVER IT

I suspect you dont live in Houston but one of the outlying suburbs...or you were not raised here.

Your attitude is not the Houstonian way! We are much more caring than worrying about a theme parks hours right now! *** Edited 9/4/2005 2:32:17 PM UTC by Markieb***

jeret, Just go to the Reliant Convention center, take the escalator to the second floor and sign in as a volunteer. Thats how easy it is to get involved. I have done it as have thousands of others. Standing out in the sun processing new arrivals might not be as fun, but it is way more effective than sitting in a line for a park that isn't even open.

---

superman said:
.....Will racial issues play a role?......

---

Is a frog's butt water tight?

Jeret you are pitiful! I can’t believe you said that. Nobody else is complaining about how many people are in their city. Please forgive the people from New Orleans for having some fun at an amusement park to keep their minds off what has happened to them. It really sickens me to see that you can’t stand having them there for such a short time and for such an important reason.I really hope that it will all turn out good eventually and that people can find their family members. It sucks that this kind of thing happens to people.

Jeret, this is just a temporary inconvenience for you, but will change their lives F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

Something that you hopefully will never have to experience. If you do though, maybe then, you will understand the pain they are feeling from the uncertainty and the loss.

Have a little bit of respect for these people, if you can't give anything else.

---

Antuan said:

---

superman said:
.....Will racial issues play a role?......

---

Is a frog's butt water tight?

---

Precisely! :(
Played a role from the very beginning, when people were evacuated TO the Superdome and Convention Center instead of FROM those buildings. Food, water, blankets, etc. should have been "at the ready" a mere few hours' drive north of the anticipated landfall. Evacuation from the Superdome and Convention Center should have begun ASAP when the weather was clear enough to drive there safely. And the safety of EVERY citizen is supposed to be our TOP priority...

But our National Guardsmen and Reservisits were already busy... :(

Truly, this was NOT something outside the domain of "Homeland Security"....and while volunteerism is to be commended, we should be able to feel SECURE in the knowledge that our government (Local, State AND Federal) will do *whatever* is necessary to alleviate the suffering of ALL its citizens in times of catastrophe...

Very well stated, Gator.

I've lost a lot of respect for our government because of this fumble, and I didn't have much to begin with.

Maybe the topic of race was planned. The media is controled by the White House. Divide and conquer.

Our Government is becoming more and more Fascist every day. Will someone Impeach this guy, already?

I woudn't say it was planned dexter. But this is a grim reminder that as a country, we have a long way to go.

I got a voice mail from Peabody today. I haven't been able to call him back, as the lines are totally tied up, BUT he did say that he and Lauren are back in their town NW of New Orleans. Their home hasn't sustained major damage, and is liveable, but they won't have power for weeks, so in some ways, it's not liveable. They will still be getting married near the 24th, and will go on their honeymoon as planned.

He won't be able to post anything for some time, due to the power issues, so he asked me to post this message for him.

I'll pass on all good wishes to him as they come. He loves the community here, and thanks everyone for their prayers. They worked.

Hey folks, mostly a lurker but thought I"d check in. Glad to hear Peabody and the others from the area are ok for now. Much love and good wishes sent your way. I was looking for an excuse to join Coasterbuzz "for real" and Jeff gave it to me by offering the cost of admission to Katrina victems. Money has been tight in our family this year, but I was happy to throw $20 to join a site that I have enjoyed for many years and more importantly help out some folks who have way worse issues to deal with than being a bit short on funds.

Take care down there Peabody! And if you and the wife to be need a hurricane safe zone for a honneymoon, Seattle is pretty nice this time of year. :)

-Robert Escher

Thank god his house wasn't distroyed.

Have they had an estimate latley of how many people could have died?

HOly crap Lauren's parents house just got power!!! (thanks to underground lines) YAY! So we have water, gas, power, and phone here, but no cable.

Our house, while 100% ok, will likely be 2-3 weeks till power is back, but we have water and phones there too.

We're probably getting married this Sunday, and will have a second wedding in a few months when all friends and family can fly in, we can wear the tuxes and dresses, and have the "big" ceremony and party afterwords. It will just be more like a reaffirmation of vows, etc. And thanks to Delta changing the flights to out of Houston, we still get to have the honeymoon.

But, we were spared everything....how can we complain at a time like this, you know? So we don't get to have a big party (wedding)....over 10,000 people are likely dead accoding to Louisiana State Univ.

I wish you all could see the devistation around here in person..it's unreal. This area (Mandeville/COvington) is really ok, but the city and MS is like a nuke went off!]

I'll try to keep in touch, everyone!

First of all, in any disaster it is up to the local government to have a plan in place, whether it be city or county. I know our mostly rural county does.

It was the mayor (who happens to be African-American) and his various department heads who should have had a comprehensive plan in place. It should be the mayor or someone from the city who directs aid once it gets there to the exact places it's needed. I don't care if that person is black, white, green or has purple stripes, the mayor is supposed to know his city the best. Think of how Giuliani, no matter whether you like him or not, took control in NYC after 9/11.

I read somewhere that dozens of school buses were sitting under water in different garages in the city. Why weren't they used last weekend to get as many people out as possible before the storm struck?

The next step up is the state and the governor. Now, almost 10 days after the storm approached the coast, I have no clue of who the governor of Louisiana is. Although I was informed that it's a woman, after I was referring to the governor as "he." But that's the point, she's been invisible during this whole ordeal. It's the governor who calls up the national guard. And don't say they're all in Iraq either. Other states have had disasters in the past year and a half, and they've been able to mobilize their guards.

It's also the governor who requests, or should request, federal help. Because I have worked with them on occasion with very, very simple projects, I know that both the Corps of Engineers and FEMA are large, lumbering bureaucratic monsters. It doesn't matter who the president is or which party controls which house of Congress. They take forever to set things in motion, which is unfortunate in a disaster like this.

If you believe the Feds are responsible for being able to react to every possible disaster in every part of the country, call your representative's office or your regional FEMA office and ask what the federal evacuation plan is for your town or city. See who they refer you to.

Thanks for checking in with us, Jeff!

-Tina

glad to hear everything is OK w/ you guys :)

-- alan jacyszyn

---

RatherGoodBear said:
First of all, in any disaster it is up to the local government to have a plan in place, whether it be city or county. I know our mostly rural county does...etc, etc.

---

I agree entirely. That's a great post. I think the federal government is catching WAY too much crap over this.

I preach personal responsibility all the time and it applies here as well.

Look out for yourself and you'll be fine, rely on others and you never know what the outcome will be.

*** Edited 9/5/2005 6:12:29 PM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

Peabody & Lauren, while I don't think I've met you, I am so glad that your home (and family) has been mostly spared from this tragedy. My continued prayers go out for you & everybody affected during this horrible time.

Now off go & get married & love & appreciate your blessings. Congratulations!

RGB & LG: I *strenuously* disagree with your general tone. Admittedly, there *should* be some plan in effect by the city. But the state and most importantly the feds are the ones with the resources to deal with the situation when "Things go bad" (TM).

It is especially troubling in this instance since the feds themselves stated that a major storm hitting New Orleans was the second most deadly threat to our homeland; second only to a dirty bomb/nuke going off in NYC.

No this whole thing was a big steaming bowl of crap and Mayor Nagin, Gov. Blanco, Dir. Brown, Sec Chertoff, and Pres. Bush all need to get a big spoon and take a bite!

---

It is especially troubling in this instance since the feds themselves stated that a major storm hitting New Orleans was the second most deadly threat to our homeland

---

All the more reason for New Orleans to be prepared, I say.

I suppose I make the distinction based on Natural Disaster vs Act Of War

If someone comes in and purposely causes damage, that's the federal government (i.e. 9/11, or a 'dirty bomb' or whatnot).

If 'things go bad (TM)' through the general course of nature, those affected (on both a personal and governmental level) should be ready to deal first and foremost.

That's not to say the feds shouldn't get involved and play the game, but they shouldn't be the first place one turns.

I can see where much of the problems in the wake of the hurricane could have been solved if both the residents and local governments had responded adequately.

It took the feds 5 days to really get the help down there. Sheesh! In that time, everyone should've been the hell out of Dodge.

Instead everyone just kind of froze and then complained that federal help wasn't coming quick enough while overlooking the fact that they and their local government got themselves into the situation in the first place.

Well, then that is where we will have to just disagree. If these residents of New Orleans, these citizens, these taxpayers cannot depend on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to "manage" this "emergency" then they need to have that portion of their taxes refunded and disband the whole freaking thing.

An evacuation of a city cannot be handled by that city alone if for but one good reason, where the hell do they go? It is now also readily apparent that this particular evacuation also goes beyond the capablities of the state, otherwise, why am I finding family members in shelters in Pensacola, Florida and Ft. Worth, Texas? Because is clear, and should have been clear to anyone with some sense, that such an evac would be an extraordinary task.

And to borrow a phrase from the Nixion era: "Follow the money". If you do, you'll find that much of the money that was needed for the construction of more protective levees was instead diverted to tax cuts and the War in Iraq. You can argue that those were also worty projects, but you cannot argue that there has been a serious opportunity cost associated with said decision. This was not the perview of the locals, but rather the feds.

Again, I do not absolve the city/state. How can one call for a mandatory evac of a city and not, at the very least provide a method of evac for the sick and infirm in the hosptitals who you *knew* had no means of transport. How do you not plan for a line of emergency communications? You simply cannot leave such a large group of people without any sense of order and information. And how in God's good name do you establish a shelter without the basic provisions of food and drinking water for those you which to shelter. That was simply despicable!

But the feds also lost any semblence of credibility when Pres. Bush intimated and Sec. Chertoff echoed that nobody could have foreseen the levees breaking. BULLCRAP. The fact that the levees were specifically designed to only withstand a Cat 3 storm by its very nature implys that there is risk of failure with a stronger storm. The 82nd Airbone, known for quick deployemnt of some of the finest trained soldiers we have, werent sent in till Saturday...almost a week later. The President declared a state of emergency in advance of landfall, which is a good thing, but they didnt plan for the worst case scenario. On top of that, they were extraordinarily slow to adapt. Dir. Brown stated that the feds were unaware of the people sheltered in the Convention Center up until Sept 1, even though it had been on CNN/MSNBC/FoxNews for days. WTF?!?

Nope, the way I see it, it can only be explained as indifference or incompetence. Kanye West leans towards the former, I'm still (at this time) leaning towards the latter. But the pounding the city/state/federal officials are taking is only a taste of what is deserved. Perhaps I am a little too close to the situation. Perhaps having spent all day Saturday listening to an 84 yr old woman tell tale of how 50+ years of pictures and such were washed away, listening to the resignation in her voice as she quietly stated that she doesnt want to live in New Orleans again, the place where she lived since she was nine, maybe all of that has gotten to me. But, as Mayor Nagin exclaimed: I'm pissed! And no other adjective really fits...

But I can appreciate your position, even though I 180 degrees on the other side. :)
lata, jeremy