Katrina Victims

[ingallsra]

How do you feel about the situation in Louisiana/Mississippi?

[StewiesMom]

I feel very badly for all of those people. I think this incident just proves that the government is a joke.

[MeganS]

whats coming up as stars? i've been wondering what was going on with all the stars!

anyway, i don't think they're doing well at all. i know its rough, but they weren't prepared, they just have to be ready for this kind of thing and they weren't. i feel so badly for all the families that lost their homes/ belongings, or anyone who knows someone who's lost or down there. my prayers are with them all.

[StewiesMom]

I guess it was temporary cuz it went away ???

[MeganS]

Originally Posted by StewiesMom

I guess it was temporary cuz it went away ???

oh, ok thats weird.

[kara]

I think Kanye West hit the nail on the head on the telethon concert when he said "George Bush doesn't care about black people". Bush has absolutely NO leadership qualities. He sat in a class room for 7 minutes and did absolutely nothing while our country was under attack on 9/11, a five day later response to this catastrophe was right in par for his poor response time.

[Annadoodle]

You know...It is kind of bad that so much finger pointing is going on when folks don't know the entire story~

I agree...the response could of been sooner...but you also have to understand...LA has to ask for help in order to get the help....at least from a Military standpoint.
Our military goes where its told...no questions ever asked. Their very own National Guard said they had it under control.

Not to fault anyone...but this does still reside a LA issue. They truly wanted to be able to take care of their own...and tried...but the degree of devastation was far to huge for them.

I live here at an Army Base..that had 82nd airborne soldiers loaded and ready to go...and word came down to not send them...we were told the national guard in LA had it covered ...plenty on the ground..and no room for soldiers from another state to be without being in the way....

Its not from lack of not wanting to respond...or help...its communication lack...and the state of LA trying to take care of its own...but that didn't happen fast enough...

So..yes...yesterday...those same soldiers re-loaded and flew out of here...right now a 30 day stay is what we were told..but also told it could be a bit longer...
My son also goes to college at The Citadel...and they are stopping classes for a few weeks and sending the Cadre for the clean up for two weeks...

American's pull together...they truly do...

The initial word on the amout of help needed wasn't placed out to the degree that was needed.....For what ever reasons...I think its lack of truly knowing because most of us have never been though this degree of devastation...

We are a good country...We have a good president...We have wonderful people who live here...and care...

I think its time for the media to not concentrate so much on the bad...but focus on some of the good that has happend....Amazing ...amazing stories of outreach and hope...

Even if those helicopters were there that next day in force...we would of had loss of life... No one anticipated that levee breaking...but it did...and we all cry for that....Help is there...help will continue...
I'm very proud of the outreach going on.

Just wanted to share my thoughts since I'm around some of the military side of things.

[kara]

Originally Posted by Annadoodle

You know...It is kind of bad that so much finger pointing is going on when folks don't know the entire story~

I agree...the response could of been sooner...but you also have to understand...LA has to ask for help in order to get the help....at least from a Military standpoint.
Our military goes where its told...no questions ever asked. Their very own National Guard said they had it under control.

Not to fault anyone...but this does still reside a LA issue. They truly wanted to be able to take care of their own...and tried...but the degree of devastation was far to huge for them.

I live here at an Army Base..that had 82nd airborne soldiers loaded and ready to go...and word came down to not send them...we were told the national guard in LA had it covered ...plenty on the ground..and no room for soldiers from another state to be without being in the way....

Its not from lack of not wanting to respond...or help...its communication lack...and the state of LA trying to take care of its own...but that didn't happen fast enough...

So..yes...yesterday...those same soldiers re-loaded and flew out of here...right now a 30 day stay is what we were told..but also told it could be a bit longer...
My son also goes to college at The Citadel...and they are stopping classes for a few weeks and sending the Cadre for the clean up for two weeks...

American's pull together...they truly do...

The initial word on the amout of help needed wasn't placed out to the degree that was needed.....For what ever reasons...I think its lack of truly knowing because most of us have never been though this degree of devastation...

We are a good country...We have a good president...We have wonderful people who live here...and care...

I think its time for the media to not concentrate so much on the bad...but focus on some of the good that has happend....Amazing ...amazing stories of outreach and hope...

Even if those helicopters were there that next day in force...we would of had loss of life... No one anticipated that levee breaking...but it did...and we all cry for that....Help is there...help will continue...
I'm very proud of the outreach going on.

Just wanted to share my thoughts since I'm around some of the military side of things.

I have nothing but ABSOLUTE respect and forever gratitude for every military person, past , present and future. Without them I would not have the very freedoms I am thankful for every single day. Those men and women that stand ready for whatever is asked of them, they are real heroes. My grandfather died serving his country, my uncle is in a wheelchair for the rest of his life after serving his country, and thankfully one of my best friends just returned safely home recently from serving his country. I completely understand that they can only do what they are told. I am sure that everyone there is thankful that they are there now. I keep both the tragedy victims as well as the military in my thoughts and many thanks everyday.

[vms1177]

I agree.I believe that it is so easy to point fingers. I believe that responding to this could have been faster. However I am not jumping on the George Bush bashing bandwagon either. Maybe being and staying neutral at times can make me look like a fence sitter, but oh well. However I know (for myself) when i jump to conclusions quickly i am only getting part of the story. I also remember that the media reports what they want you to see and we do not see the people that were rescued in a timely fashion. However we sure see lots of people that were not.



Verena

[cacbeary]

I don't think it is time to be finger pointing at all. There are still so many people to be rescued. There will be an investigation just like the 9-11 commission. The Republicans will protect their people, the Democrats will protect their people instead of fixing the problems.

I think everything that could go wrong, went wrong. But our country is rallying in working together to help. Unfortunately everything in this country is sooo politicized.

I understand LA was missing half of their police force & didn't even know it. Some left, some couldn't come to work because of the hurricane damage to their homes & taking care of families, some turned in their badges, etc. I am sure with no electricity or phones, communication was a very big problem. It took a day or two to figure that out as well.

Not every city is fortunate enough to have a Rudy Gulliani either. Could you see Rudy during the 9-11 crisis on TV cussing & yelling people aren't helping enough? He was too busy organizing. I feel everyone is trying the very best they possibly can and are under a lot of stress.

Every city has practiced emergency scenerios. Evidently New Orleans didn't forsee all the problems. George Bush is commander in chief so eventually whatever anyone does, the responsibility will fall on his shoulders. I love my country & whoever is president, will be praying for them to make the right decisions.

When I have visitors from other countries here, I take them to a Walmart or a Target & they marvel. We're far from perfect but I would not want to live in any other country.

[essentialfun]

My sister was sent late night on Monday with the Air Force to the area of the hurricane. They brought supplies from the plane and were going to stay and help out. They were told their help was not needed because LA had things under control. She called me and said she did not know why they were leaving, but they were not welcomed there. They flew to Oklahoma and then back with other supplies and their plane was shot at. I personally do not want my sister killed trying to help people in our own country. They flew back to California. Now today she is going back with more supplies. It is not that the military is not ready to go or that the gov. even are not ready. The leadership where the problem is needed and needs to be stronger. I can clearly say that I felt a great respect for Rudy G. on Sept 11 and after when he handled what no one ever expected. He asked for the help and praised the people who did come. It is very unfortunate what has happened and that state and others are in a world of hurt right now. But facts are not being told. We just see everything on the news and hear stars making comments. It is not all that it appears. People do care and people did and do want to help. They just were turned away at first.

[cacbeary]

Thank you Anadoodle & Essentialfun for the information. It's always great to hear from the armed services. What I love about the Internet is that it is the information highway.

The media is biased on both sides sometimes & I am on the Internet & get information from sources I can rely on & try to figure out what the real truth is. What breaks my heart is when the race card is played in the politics. It causes deep hurts within the country that can never be fixed & really causes a divide.

Please say thank you to your loves ones in the service & let them know I appreciate all they do! I am so PROUD of them & grateful too.

[SWEETPEA]

THANK GOD AFTER THESE FOUR YEARS FINISH THATS IT FOR BUSH . HES BEEN A HORRIBLE PRESIDENT.

[Bella0722]

Hurricane Katrina has dealt a devastating blow to LA indeed, as well as to our country at large. However, this is not the time to be pointing fingers at President Bush. He is not responsible for this disaster, but unfortunately the spin on this disaster will be politicized in an effort to expalin the unexplainable trauma we have just witnessed. The race card is now being played out in the media, when race has not had anything to do with this disaster.


I feel very sad for those who didn't evacuate as they were warned many hours before the hurricane . I especially feel bad for the elderly, children and those confined in hospitals when this tragedy took place. Those are the real victims that were stuck without the ability to evacuate. Others had the choice to leave, but for whatever their reasons, they opted to stay. Most stayed because they had had false alarms in the past and thought that the hurricane would change course and they would escape this tragedy. This is what we call denial, not wanting to accept what is staring at us and what is inevitable. I lived in Kendall when Hurricane Andrew hit Florida many years ago and this certainly brought a lot of memories back. But I certainly don't think the government is responsible for the choices we make as adults. Many of these people made poor judgements and this is why they remained there. I think the American people are tremendously generous and will help their fellow man. And we are seeing the valiant efforts of all our forces in aiding and rescuing and putting their own lifes in danger. We are a great nation of those willing to serve our fellow man when asked.

I think that we don't have all the facts, and thanks to Annadoodle and Essentialfun, we know better what is not being reported. I also agree with what cacbeary said about how fortunate NY was to have Rudy Gulliani after the tragedy of 9/11. He definitely exemplifies leadership which seems to have been missing from the officials in LA. Our country will come together as it usually does as we have seen the generosity of States such as Texas and others absorb the numbers of people that are in need of all types of services. Let's pray for the nation to heal from what could be a divisive issue. And let us learn of the lessons of Mother Nature and to heed the suggestions for evacuation when we are advised to do so.

[StewiesMom]

The people who didn't evacuate were poor and didn't have means of transportation out of the city. If you call for a HUGE evacuation, you need to have hundreds of buses to get people out BEFORE IT HITS and then a lot of this problem would have been avoided. Any idiot could tell you that.

The Mayor of Chicago (an idiot), I know for a fact, would have had every single person out of the city who needed help getting out. Its a thing called foresight and Mr. Prez has none. He's too busy looking overseas and spreading Christianity.

He couldn't allot that extra $20 mil to restore the levys in New Orleans BEFORE tragedy struck. He had to wait until afterward and spend TRILLIONS of dollars.

After Katrina struck, everyone saw how horrible it was. THREE DAYS LATER the president starting paying attention saying that he was finally briefed on the incident. "Hey idiot, could you not see the people DYING on your television or your fly-over in Air Force One?????" I find that v. hard to believe. He had to wait to get briefed on it???

another thing that I find worth thinkinng about is the way that other countries are thinking of this tragedy:
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m15399&l=i&size=1&hd=0