Stirring up the pot again...

[ryno]

Originally Posted by SmokeG305

if you live in south florida, then you more than anyone else should know how faulty predicting where a storm could strike truly is. therefore, you do like the rest of us, and LEAVE! do not wait on the government to come breast feed you.

You make my point for me. Should I leave everytime a storm is in the Carribean? Should I leave now just in case Ophelia makes a loop? It's impossible to leave everytime a storm gets near. That being said if I lived in NO I would have definitely high tailed it out of there. Then again I have a car and the means to afford a place to stay during the storm. Most of those people live in poverty. Most don't even own a car. And walking wasn't an option. Did you see the traffic jams trying to get out of the city? Even the people with cars were having trouble getting out. I'm tired of hearing people blame the residents of NO for the disaster.

[SmokeG305]

Originally Posted by ryno

Because most of them didn't have a means to leave the city. You act like everybody has their own private jet to scoot out whenever a storm is brewing.

dont put words into my mouth. you talk a lot of shit ryno, im sick and tired of you, i didnt direct the message to you or anything, so shut up and speak when spoken to.

if i knew my family and my life were at risk, i'll do ANYTHING to leave. whether i had the resources or not, i'd find SOME WAY to escape. most of those people stayed back because they didnt expect the storm to "hit so hard", or that they "didnt want to make the huge evacuation lines", or my favorite excuse "it's not going to hit lousiana, it's going to go somewhere else". how many tv stations interviewed those people who werent going to leave and they posted these comments are their responses? PLENTY, and many more that think the same way. so dont come to tell me "they didnt have the resources", because my fucking common sense would provide me with some means of being caught in the storm.

[SmokeG305]

Originally Posted by ryno

You make my point for me. Should I leave everytime a storm is in the Carribean? Should I leave now just in case Ophelia makes a loop? It's impossible to leave everytime a storm gets near. That being said if I lived in NO I would have definitely high tailed it out of there. Then again I have a car and the means to afford a place to stay during the storm. Most of those people live in poverty. Most don't even own a car. And walking wasn't an option. Did you see the traffic jams trying to get out of the city? Even the people with cars were having trouble getting out. I'm tired of hearing people blame the residents of NO for the disaster.

and im tired of people trying to find any way to blame the government for this.

i never said "leave when a storm is still days away", of course you have to at least know something about the trackings of a hurricane, and realize that a fucking hurricane in the carribean could go anywhere, and it's a small chance that it will run over your city.

but if i live in miami, and a storm is set to strike in broward (which for you guys who arent familiar w/ florida, it's the county just above miami-dade) then i know that i should take precautions. how high should the precautions be?? depending on the potensy of the storm. you have to use common sense, stop trying to argue up a stupid point. if a fucking volcano is blasting out rocks and there are tremors that are felt a mile away, IM WALKING MY ASS AWAY FROM THAT VOLCANO! if the volcano is just releasing smoke, and it's usual for this time of the year, then im not going to give it much thought.

[ryno]

Originally Posted by SmokeG305

dont put words into my mouth. you talk a lot of shit ryno, im sick and tired of you, i didnt direct the message to you or anything, so shut up and speak when spoken to.

if i knew my family and my life were at risk, i'll do ANYTHING to leave. whether i had the resources or not, i'd find SOME WAY to escape. most of those people stayed back because they didnt expect the storm to "hit so hard", or that they "didnt want to make the huge evacuation lines", or my favorite excuse "it's not going to hit lousiana, it's going to go somewhere else". how many tv stations interviewed those people who werent going to leave and they posted these comments are their responses? PLENTY, and many more that think the same way. so dont come to tell me "they didnt have the resources", because my fucking common sense would provide me with some means of being caught in the storm.

1, You're posting on a public forum dumbass. You're the one that keeps using capitals (which represents yelling, in case you don't know). You have to expect people to respond to you. You're sick and tired of me because I don't agree with everything that you believe? Tough shit. Welcome to the real world.

2. Explain how you would leave if you didn't have a car or any money if you are such a genius. Most of them didn't want to stay. And you yourself said that storms are unpredictable then go on to contradict yourself by saying that they are idiots for thinking that it's going to hit somewhere else. These people aren't just poor. They are living in poverty. Even the tourists had a hard time getting out and many of them didn't. They had no reason to stay. But they were still there when the storm hit.

3. I'm anxiously awaiting your escape plan.

[SmokeG305]

Originally Posted by ryno

1, You're posting on a public forum dumbass. You're the one that keeps using capitals (which represents yelling, in case you don't know). You have to expect people to respond to you. You're sick and tired of me because I don't agree with everything that you believe? Tough shit. Welcome to the real world.

2. Explain how you would leave if you didn't have a car or any money if you are such a genius. Most of them didn't want to stay. And you yourself said that storms are unpredictable then go on to contradict yourself by saying that they are idiots for thinking that it's going to hit somewhere else. These people aren't just poor. They are living in poverty. Even the tourists had a hard time getting out and many of them didn't. They had no reason to stay. But they were still there when the storm hit.

3. I'm anxiously awaiting your escape plan.

1) im sick and tired of you because you FEED OFF CONTRADICTION. you contradict EVERYTHING.

2) no one in this world has "no money", everyone has at least a few bucks saved up. even if its just $50, dont give me that "no money" bullshit. you could always pawn some jewelry and get the fuck out of town cant you? donate some fucking blood, or go to a damn sperm bank, how hard is that?? shit, i'd be willing to have a God damn garage sale in order to earn a few bucks to get out. so stop making so many financial excuses. yes storms are unpredictable, but its only within the funnel that the hurricane center gives you that it varies in motion. if im in the fucking funnel, i know that i have to be aware. its unpredictable in the sense that even though NO was in the cross hairs, it couldve been that it skidded off to the side and entered through alabama instead, and merely ended up brushing NO. unpredictable does not mean that the hurricane would all of the sudden head towards mexico. that would just be ludacris. and YOU know that, so stop talkin shit already.


i cant wait till theres an earthquake in cali, and then we're going to blame the government for never establishing a law that all buildings have to follow strict guidelines. you are amazing, instead of everyone trying to unite under one cause, why do people like you start to point fingers and talk crap. yes, we all know the situation couldve been handled better, but it didnt, and too bad. a situation could ALWAYS BE HANDLED BETTER no matter what.

[raven6mt]

I will repeat once again my position that anyone who depends on the government to do what they can do themselves is asking to be disappointed. The government, any government, is a big, fat, stinking inefficient beauracracy. In its normal day-to-day running it cannot effectively manage the money that we as taxpayers feed into it. How can we expect it to be any better under the stress of a natural disaster?
Even when my first wife and I were poor teenagers barely making ends meet living on our own with only one minimum-wage job, we had an emergency fund of a couple hundred dollars that we never touched, because you never knew when God or fate or whatever would bite you in the ass. And that was when we lived in a desert state! Anyone with half a brain should know that if you live in a flood zone where hurricanes hit regularly, you need to have something saved to take care of yourselves in an emergency. Don't say that the poor can't save money because God gave them brains and the government gives them money in the form of welfare and other handouts. I've seen too many welfare moms puffing on cigs to believe that they don't have any nonessential things they spend money on. If they decide that their smokes or movies or beer are more important than their own safety net, that's their problem.
Blaming the FEDERAL government for any of NO's emergency transportation issues is just nonsense...what do you want, Pres. Bush driving a bus two days before the hurricane hits? If you must blame anyone, blame the city that runs the public bus system, the school districts that didn't fire up their buses to help, or the local companies that run charter services for all of the conventions. The federal government was doing its job when individual Coast Guard choppers were picking 300 people off rooftops in a single night right after the hurricane; that's pretty impressive but noone seems to care about that.

[ryno]

Originally Posted by raven6mt

I will repeat once again my position that anyone who depends on the government to do what they can do themselves is asking to be disappointed. The government, any government, is a big, fat, stinking inefficient beauracracy. In its normal day-to-day running it cannot effectively manage the money that we as taxpayers feed into it. How can we expect it to be any better under the stress of a natural disaster?

So we should just excuse them when they screw up?

Originally Posted by raven6mt

Even when my first wife and I were poor teenagers barely making ends meet living on our own with only one minimum-wage job, we had an emergency fund of a couple hundred dollars that we never touched, because you never knew when God or fate or whatever would bite you in the ass. And that was when we lived in a desert state! Anyone with half a brain should know that if you live in a flood zone where hurricanes hit regularly, you need to have something saved to take care of yourselves in an emergency. Don't say that the poor can't save money because God gave them brains and the government gives them money in the form of welfare and other handouts. I've seen too many welfare moms puffing on cigs to believe that they don't have any nonessential things they spend money on. If they decide that their smokes or movies or beer are more important than their own safety net, that's their problem.

So they deserved to die because of it? How would you have used that couple of hundred dollars to get out of the city?

Originally Posted by raven6mt

Blaming the FEDERAL government for any of NO's emergency transportation issues is just nonsense...what do you want, Pres. Bush driving a bus two days before the hurricane hits? If you must blame anyone, blame the city that runs the public bus system, the school districts that didn't fire up their buses to help, or the local companies that run charter services for all of the conventions. The federal government was doing its job when individual Coast Guard choppers were picking 300 people off rooftops in a single night right after the hurricane; that's pretty impressive but noone seems to care about that.

I'm not blaming the federal government (i.e. FEMA) because they didn't get the people out of NO before the storm. I'm blaming the federal government on the lack and delay in responding after the storm. The response should have been much greater. That's great for the 300 people but what about the tens of thousands others?
When the FEMA director says “I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected.� and it was a Cat. 5, something is wrong.
When Bush claims “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.� when it's been predicted that that very scenario could occur, something is wrong.
When the FEMA director says “I’ve had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they’re banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I’ve had no reports of that.� while looting is all over the nation's TV's, somthing is wrong.

[raven6mt]

So we should just excuse them when they screw up?

I have said no such thing...I even mentioned that mistakes have been made and those responsible should be held accountable. But at this moment when there are still people being rescued is not the time to do it.

So they deserved to die because of it? How would you have used that couple of hundred dollars to get out of the city?

Nobody deserved to die in this tragedy, that is why it is a tragedy. But blaming the federal government for not doing things it shouldn't have to do is unreasonable. Using this disaster as a pulpit to launch political attacks is unacceptable.
Let's see...how would I get out of a city under an iminent flood warning, with just a little cash? Buy a tank of gas if I had a car, rent a car if I didn't, buy a Greyhound ticket, buy an airplane ticket, buy a pair of damn hiking boots if nothing else worked and walk my ass to the next town above sea level. Hit up a friend or neighbor to give me a ride, hitchike, whatever. The possibilities are endless. Common sense should tell you that in an emergency situation like this your life is worth more than any monetary consideration...spend your damn rent money for next month if you have to. Eventually the government will get off its ass and help you in whatever ways it can, such as the $2000 debit cards, unemployment, disaster rebuilding funds, etc. It may not be perfect, you may not be have the same lifestyle you had before and you might be sleeping on a cot in a gymnasium for a while, but it is damned-sight better than drowning in your attic or dying on the toilet when you catch a nasty bug from the water.

I'm not blaming the federal government (i.e. FEMA) because they didn't get the people out of NO before the storm. I'm blaming the federal government on the lack and delay in responding after the storm. The response should have been much greater. That's great for the 300 people but what about the tens of thousands others?
When the FEMA director says “I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected.� and it was a Cat. 5, something is wrong.
When Bush claims “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.� when it's been predicted that that very scenario could occur, something is wrong.
When the FEMA director says “I’ve had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they’re banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I’ve had no reports of that.� while looting is all over the nation's TV's, somthing is wrong.

Once again, I accept that people made mistakes and I am not trying to defend the President or the government from any fair criticism that is constructive in nature, i.e. works to fix the problems. But negatively attacking him for political reasons while he is still trying to help is ridiculous. Wait a little while and then have open season on him and all conservatives if you must.
Yes, it was predicted that the levees could break under a Cat 4 hurricane. And yes there were proposals made that could have fixed it. But the lawmakers, who represent the people, at both the state and federal levels, decided that other priorities were more important at the time. The president didn't.
The mayor of NO issued a mandatory evacuation of the city prior to the hurricane hitting. There is no stronger preventitive measure that could have been taken except, as I mentioned earlier, to use available resources to hasten the evacuation and perhaps to increase security and availability of foodstuffs at various shelters. All of which are responsibilities for local government, who should have known better than anyone what could happen. My earlier comment about 300 rescued was per helicopter, not total so the federal government did play a large role in rescuing those that were stranded by the storm, regardless of reason.

[dholly]

Originally Posted by Kalmairn

What bothers me more about this is that most of those people died *after* the storm, some by result of a bad choice (stay at home) or planning, others by result of the poor emergency management reaction.

K-

Kal - maybe, but how will we ever know how many may in fact have died as the result of poor emergency management reaction? No question that the first ever M-A-N-D-A-T-O-R-Y city-wide evacuation order was issued, so I suppose some might argue that 100% of the fault lay squarely on the shoulders of those who chose to stay for whatever reason REGARDLESS of the emergency response.

***Rant to nobody in particular***

It wasn't exactly a city secret just how deadly Katrina was expected to be until the moment of impact. The majority of those who ignored the evacuation order were ambulatory; they were not sick, feeble or incapacitated. They simply balanced the cost of leaving and decided that they could 'ride' another one out, as they had so many times before. Problem is, unlike the previous hurricanes, this one was clearly big and direct enough to cause deadly damage. Unless you think all the people who stayed are as dumb as rocks, you have to agree with Gard - if folks however poor and underprivledged understood the life & death situation and really wanted to leave, yet were for whatever reason unable to take advantage of whatever public evacuation transportation (however limited) was provided by the N.O. city officials, for the love of God be enough of a thinker to take matters into your own hands to save yourself and family while you can. Better yet, be a hero and help a fellow citizen[s] in need! And, I would even submit it was likely quite doable without threatening or harming another person in the process.

But, sadly, it is a fact of life that for some it will always be easier to sit on their ass and expect public assistance. Not everybody is a leader of course, but I'm already sick of the un-informed knee-jerk and/or partisan criticism of how these people were failed. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, however, for all those inclined to criticize WHOEVER for their initial and immediate response to this disaster I have a couple of questions:

1.) Millions of people affected, 500,000 in N.O. alone, a total of 90,000 square miles devastated and 20,000 dead in 3 states are all figures the human brain cannot easily comprehend or accept. It is simply unfathonable to grasp the enormity of this disaster and the logistics involved in mounting any meaningful immediate response. Certainly, there will be shortcomings identified in executing the NRP as designed after 9/11, and clearly it needs to be re-engineered for such large-scale emergencies.

But who here really believes there could ever be the necessary resources, private OR public, to respond immediately to everyone affected in such a large scope disaster? That is simple ignorance. How many rescuers do you think need to respond to such a situation to even have any impact? To have the equivelent of only five rescue personnel per square mile -hardly an effective response to such devastation- you need nearly a half million rescue workers... more than the entire population of the city of N.O.! How you gonna get them, not to mention all the support equipment and relief food, water, etc. into those totally cut off areas in a timely fashion? I want to hear YOUR logistics plan.

So, go ahead FEMA and Bush Bashers, all you backseat drivers; go ahead and give it a try. I'll even help you out... here's the short list of who you'll need to call:

• Emergency Management Resources
  
  Donations Management Team
  Emergency Operations Center Management Support Team
  Evacuation Liaison Team
  Incident Management Team
  NIMS Integration Center
  Mobile Communications Center (Has Mobile fire/law!)
  Mobile Feeding Kitchens
  Rapid Needs Assessment Team
  Shelter Management Team
  
  EMS Resources
  
  Air Ambulance (Fixed Wing)
  Air Ambulance (Rotary Wing)
  Ground Ambulance
  
  Fire/HazMat Resources
  
  Brush Patrol, Firefighting
  Crew Transport
  Engine, Fire
  Fire Boat
  Foam Tender, Firefighting
  Fuel Tender
  Hand Crew, Firefighting
  HazMat Entry Team
  Helicopters, Firefighting
  Mobile Communications Unit (Fire/Law)
  Portable Pump
  Strike Team, Engine
  Water Tender (Tanker)
  
  Health & Medical Resources
  
  Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) – Basic
  DMAT – Burn
  DMAT – Crush Injury
  DMAT – Mental Health
  DMAT - Pediatric
  Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT)
  International Medical Surgical Response Team (ImSurT)
  NDMS Management Support Team
  Veterinary Medical Assistance Team
  
  Law Enforcement Resources
  
  Bomb Squad Explosive Team
  Law Enforcement Observation Aircraft
  Mobile Field Force Team (Crowd Control)
  Law Enforcement Aviation – Helicopters (Patrol Surveillance)
  Special Weapons SWAT/Tactical Team
  
  Public Works Resources
  
  Air Conditioner/Heater
  Air Curtain Burner – Above Ground
  Air Curtain Burner – In Ground
  All Terrain Cranes
  Chillers & Air Handlers
  Hydraulic Excavator (Large)
  Hydraulic Excavator (Medium)
  Hydraulic Truck Cranes
  Lattice Truck Cranes
  Concrete Cutter
  Crawler Crane
  Debris Management Monitoring Team
  Debris Management Team
  Generator
  Wheel Loaders: Large
  Wheel Loaders: Medium
  Wheel Loaders: Small
  
  Search & Rescue Resources
  
  Collapse Search & Rescue Team
  Mountain Search & Rescue Team
  Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) Task Force
  US&R Incident Support Team
  Water Rescue Team

Oh, and you DO realize that you need to provide all these resources for EACH of THOUSANDS of communities affected, right? NOW I ASK YOU... how do you coordinate these resources when a large part of the National Response Plan (FRP) depends on state and local level 'point men' who are themselves lost in a disaster of this magnitude? Not that it matters much, because all of the required infrastructure they would need to utilize is wiped out as well. Gadzooks! Who ya gonna call, FloodBusters?!

What really irks me the most is when people say this was 'preventable', when those who chose to remain and died in many cases did absolutely NOTHING to prepare. If only they had the foresight to put up a few days water or food, they might be alive. Surely, these people weren't so poor that they couldn't stockpile WATER? Wtf... Uncle Sam gotta come over and put some water in your jug TOO?!. *sigh* Man, I dunno, maybe there's some validity to the box of rocks theory after all.

Personally, I don't realistically think there will EVER be an effective plan guaranteed to rush 24hr aid to everyone in such a 'mega-disaster'. But, of course, I expect a best efforts response. And I too just know in my heart of hearts America woulda, coulda, shoulda done a better job SOMEHOW. So I am not defending or dissing anyone in particular... yet. Rather than hopping right on the Blame Game Train, I feel we would all be better served learning how and why the FRP was designed, then making a determined effort to understand which specific shortcomings directly led to identifiable failures. What went wrong, and also what went RIGHT? It would be SOOoo much more constructive than broadly criticizing or simply bashing FEMA and/or Bush. Or blaming racism, as if the logistics could magically change because of skin color. That kind of inappropriate and uneducated finger pointing will not lead to the substantive changes necessary to prevent a repeat of this event. Something ALL Americans deserve in advance of a nightmare scenario wherein millions of Americans in major metropolitan areas are simultaneously targeted by terrorists.

2.) Ultimately, are YOU a giver or a taker? Are you simply a bump on a log, or are you willing to fight for your life. Would you fight for another's life, or would you like them to fight for yours? Will you choose to be dependent on others, or be as self-sufficient as possible? Are you full of hot air or do you want to be a part of the solution, not the problem? Like Mayor Nagin said: "Get off your asses". JOIN A LOCAL FIRST RESPONDER OR VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION IN YOUR COMMUNITY TODAY! Thank you, my life may depend on it.

***End Rant***

[SmokeG305]

Originally Posted by dholly

***THIS ONE'S FOR YOU RYNO***

It wasn't exactly a city secret just how deadly Katrina was expected to be until the moment of impact. The majority of those who ignored the evacuation order were ambulatory; they were not sick, feeble or incapacitated. They simply balanced the cost of leaving and decided that they could 'ride' another one out, as they had so many times before. Problem is, unlike the previous hurricanes, this one was clearly big and direct enough to cause deadly damage. Unless you think all the people who stayed are as dumb as rocks, you have to agree with Gard - if folks however poor and underprivledged understood the life & death situation and really wanted to leave, yet were for whatever reason unable to take advantage of whatever public evacuation transportation (however limited) was provided by the N.O. city officials, for the love of God be enough of a thinker to take matters into your own hands to save yourself and family while you can. Better yet, be a hero and help a fellow citizen[s] in need! And, I would even submit it was likely quite doable without threatening or harming another person in the process.

But, sadly, it is a fact of life that for some it will always be easier to sit on their ass and expect public assistance. Not everybody is a leader of course, but I'm already sick of the un-informed knee-jerk and/or partisan criticism of how these people were failed. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, however, for all those inclined to criticize WHOEVER for their initial and immediate response to this disaster I have a couple of questions:

1.) Millions of people affected, 500,000 in N.O. alone, a total of 90,000 square miles devastated and 20,000 dead in 3 states are all figures the human brain cannot easily comprehend or accept. It is simply unfathonable to grasp the enormity of this disaster and the logistics involved in mounting any meaningful immediate response. Certainly, there will be shortcomings identified in executing the NRP as designed after 9/11, and clearly it needs to be re-engineered for such large-scale emergencies.

But who here really believes there could ever be the necessary resources, private OR public, to respond immediately to everyone affected in such a large scope disaster? That is simple ignorance. How many rescuers do you think need to respond to such a situation to even have any impact? To have the equivelent of only five rescue personnel per square mile -hardly an effective response to such devastation- you need nearly a half million rescue workers... more than the entire population of the city of N.O.! How you gonna get them, not to mention all the support equipment and relief food, water, etc. into those totally cut off areas in a timely fashion? I want to hear YOUR logistics plan.

So, go ahead FEMA and Bush Bashers, all you backseat drivers; go ahead and give it a try. I'll even help you out... here's the short list of who you'll need to call:

• Emergency Management Resources
  
  Donations Management Team
  Emergency Operations Center Management Support Team
  Evacuation Liaison Team
  Incident Management Team
  NIMS Integration Center
  Mobile Communications Center (Has Mobile fire/law!)
  Mobile Feeding Kitchens
  Rapid Needs Assessment Team
  Shelter Management Team
  
  EMS Resources
  
  Air Ambulance (Fixed Wing)
  Air Ambulance (Rotary Wing)
  Ground Ambulance
  
  Fire/HazMat Resources
  
  Brush Patrol, Firefighting
  Crew Transport
  Engine, Fire
  Fire Boat
  Foam Tender, Firefighting
  Fuel Tender
  Hand Crew, Firefighting
  HazMat Entry Team
  Helicopters, Firefighting
  Mobile Communications Unit (Fire/Law)
  Portable Pump
  Strike Team, Engine
  Water Tender (Tanker)
  
  Health & Medical Resources
  
  Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) – Basic
  DMAT – Burn
  DMAT – Crush Injury
  DMAT – Mental Health
  DMAT - Pediatric
  Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT)
  International Medical Surgical Response Team (ImSurT)
  NDMS Management Support Team
  Veterinary Medical Assistance Team
  
  Law Enforcement Resources
  
  Bomb Squad Explosive Team
  Law Enforcement Observation Aircraft
  Mobile Field Force Team (Crowd Control)
  Law Enforcement Aviation – Helicopters (Patrol Surveillance)
  Special Weapons SWAT/Tactical Team
  
  Public Works Resources
  
  Air Conditioner/Heater
  Air Curtain Burner – Above Ground
  Air Curtain Burner – In Ground
  All Terrain Cranes
  Chillers & Air Handlers
  Hydraulic Excavator (Large)
  Hydraulic Excavator (Medium)
  Hydraulic Truck Cranes
  Lattice Truck Cranes
  Concrete Cutter
  Crawler Crane
  Debris Management Monitoring Team
  Debris Management Team
  Generator
  Wheel Loaders: Large
  Wheel Loaders: Medium
  Wheel Loaders: Small
  
  Search & Rescue Resources
  
  Collapse Search & Rescue Team
  Mountain Search & Rescue Team
  Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) Task Force
  US&R Incident Support Team
  Water Rescue Team

Oh, and you DO realize that you need to provide all these resources for EACH of THOUSANDS of communities affected, right? NOW I ASK YOU... how do you coordinate these resources when a large part of the National Response Plan (FRP) depends on state and local level 'point men' who are themselves lost in a disaster of this magnitude? Not that it matters much, because all of the required infrastructure they would need to utilize is wiped out as well. Gadzooks! Who ya gonna call, FloodBusters?!

What really irks me the most is when people say this was 'preventable', when those who chose to remain and died in many cases did absolutely NOTHING to prepare. If only they had the foresight to put up a few days water or food, they might be alive. Surely, these people weren't so poor that they couldn't stockpile WATER? Wtf... Uncle Sam gotta come over and put some water in your jug TOO?!. *sigh* Man, I dunno, maybe there's some validity to the box of rocks theory after all.

Personally, I don't realistically think there will EVER be an effective plan guaranteed to rush 24hr aid to everyone in such a 'mega-disaster'. But, of course, I expect a best efforts response. And I too just know in my heart of hearts America woulda, coulda, shoulda done a better job SOMEHOW. So I am not defending or dissing anyone in particular... yet. Rather than hopping right on the Blame Game Train, I feel we would all be better served learning how and why the FRP was designed, then making a determined effort to understand which specific shortcomings directly led to identifiable failures. What went wrong, and also what went RIGHT? It would be SOOoo much more constructive than broadly criticizing or simply bashing FEMA and/or Bush. Or blaming racism, as if the logistics could magically change because of skin color. That kind of inappropriate and uneducated finger pointing will not lead to the substantive changes necessary to prevent a repeat of this event. Something ALL Americans deserve in advance of a nightmare scenario wherein millions of Americans in major metropolitan areas are simultaneously targeted by terrorists.

2.) Ultimately, are YOU a giver or a taker? Are you simply a bump on a log, or are you willing to fight for your life. Would you fight for another's life, or would you like them to fight for yours? Will you choose to be dependent on others, or be as self-sufficient as possible? Are you full of hot air or do you want to be a part of the solution, not the problem? Like Mayor Nagin said: "Get off your asses". JOIN A LOCAL FIRST RESPONDER OR VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION IN YOUR COMMUNITY TODAY! Thank you, my life may depend on it.

***IM DONE RYNO***

[SmokeG305]

dholly - thank you for your informative insight, very well put.




ryno - what happened??? im still waiting for you to respond to me! i dont even think you're going to attempt to argue w/ dholly