New Orleans, an American tragedy

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 5:47 pm

the scope of the disaster which has struck new orleans is nearly beyond comprehension. new orleans is gone. bodies in the streets. looting out of control. the hospitals and prisons must evacuate. the streets run with human waste and raw sewage in 100 degree weather. disease is inevitable. there is martial law. there will be no power for many weeks. each day brings new horror. no water. no food. no way to survive. people with nowhere to go. no commerce. no jobs. children thirsty and hungry. families separated. lives torn asunder. some forever. there are disoriented poisonous snakes everywhere. uncertainty and fear. hostility and frustration. just watch an hour or so of cable news and your heart will be rent. my cousin, a miami firefighter who lost everything in andrew, is going up there with a boat to assist in ongoing rescues. the human toll will not be known for a long time, if ever. the environment will be reclaimed one day by mother nature, but these lives will never be reclaimed.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 3:23 am

Exactly Scrat. I think the whole gulf coast got hit pretty hard with this one. One question I would like to ask.....Where are all the offers of help and aid that the rest of the world offered to Indonesia? Guess they figure the big americans can help themselves. Even though I know we can, I still find that upsetting somehow. The southern states that were decimated by this storm are soooooooo poor! Tourism is also THEIR main income! For example all the beautiful plantations in Louisiana alone! The french quarter and the river boats! :-1 Why is it that noone feels the need to help US out? But they sure do expect america to foot the bill for the rest of the worlds disasters, natural or otherwise! :-5

Bothwell · Post by **Bothwell** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 5:46 am

Heard Diane Sawyer interview with the President on BBC, she did ask some pretty pointed questions as to why with 24 hours notice more essential supplies were not closer. The answer appeared to be that it was the levees breaking that caused the flooding and no one expected that, which did actually seem a fair point to me.

Raven I think your question is a good one, my guess is that the friends of the USA have probably already offered help in whatever way they can, it's difficult to see what say the UK could offer but I am sure Mr Blair has spoken to Bush.

I am keeping my eye on the lawlessness situation, foprget the criminal element who would let their family go withjout food or water when all they had to do was bust a window in the nearest supermarket. We are talking about humans going back to basic needs here, water, shelter and food.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 6:23 am

Exactly Bothwell. I went through hurricane bonnie. When all the power goes down, all the stores shut. All you have are the supplies in your house. If you live in an area where those things are common, you know to fill all empty containers, bathtub and washing machine with clean water, have a ton of batteries, get candles and non-perishable food and plan on being without even the most rudimentary services for about a week. You put all important documents in plastic water-proof containers, and pray a tree doesnt crash into your house.

Thats just for the ones that are 1-3 grade. 4 and 5 are mandatory evac ones. But you are totally s-o-l if flooding is the issue. You lose everything. All you can do is get yourself and all your pets out of the way of the storm. America, for all it's supposed wealth, has an amazingly poor population. In the aftermath of these things, people do what they have to, to survive. Because thats what it comes down to.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 6:33 am

Thats a good thing then! There is nothing worse than thinking that noone gives a damn whether you live or die.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 6:35 am

looting for food is different than looting for TVs and stealing ALL the guns from walmart. now the evacuation of the superdome is suspended because of shots fired at rescue helicopters! i have no sympathy for that crap. a national guard person trying to help was shot. a cop was shot in the head. those types are hurting their own neighbors and fellow refugee families. they are criminals and scum.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 6:40 am

The whole city is under water!!!!:-2 Just got some new footage on the news here! JESUS!

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 7:27 am

Raven wrote: Exactly Scrat. I think the whole gulf coast got hit pretty hard with this one. One question I would like to ask.....Where are all the offers of help and aid that the rest of the world offered to Indonesia? Guess they figure the big americans can help themselves. Even though I know we can, I still find that upsetting somehow. The southern states that were decimated by this storm are soooooooo poor! Tourism is also THEIR main income! For example all the beautiful plantations in Louisiana alone! The french quarter and the river boats! :-1 Why is it that noone feels the need to help US out? But they sure do expect america to foot the bill for the rest of the worlds disasters, natural or otherwise! :-5

I heard this morning on newsradio that Great Britain and Germany have offered aid to our country but thats about the only ones!

Clint · Post by **Clint** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 7:59 am

DesignerGal wrote: I heard this morning on newsradio that Great Britain and Germany have offered aid to our country but thats about the only ones!
The offers had the caveat attachedÃ¢â‚¬¦Ã¢â‚¬if requestedÃ¢â‚¬. We have to ask.

Clint · Post by **Clint** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:03 am

lady cop wrote: looting for food is different than looting for TVs and stealing ALL the guns from walmart. now the evacuation of the superdome is suspended because of shots fired at rescue helicopters! i have no sympathy for that crap. a national guard person trying to help was shot. a cop was shot in the head. those types are hurting their own neighbors and fellow refugee families. they are criminals and scum.

What is it going to take to keep order? You know these people first hand unfortunately. Who are the "scum"? What are they trying to accomplish by their actions?

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:13 am

Clint wrote: What is it going to take to keep order? You know these people first hand unfortunately. Who are the "scum"? What are they trying to accomplish by their actions?they are the criminal element who are taking full advantage of anarchy and misfortune to engage their 'normal' proclivities...they figure they won't be jailed or prosecuted. the pentagon has ordered 10,000 more troops in and given them LE powers to help the police who are outnumbered and overwhelmed. there aren't enough human sorrows, the scum have to increase the misery expoentially. i can only hope they reap what they sow.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:26 am

Well, Clint, I am requesting relief efforts of other nations, does that count?

Here is another "thought" that occurred to me, Bush said yesterday in his speech that he asked the pilot of Air Force One to fly him (a detour) over the Gulf States on his way back to Washington DC so he could see the damage. OK BUSH, WASTE MORE GAS! JUST LOOK AT THE NEWS COVERAGE IF YOU WANT TO SEE IT YOU CORN SUCKING REDNECK IDIOT!

I know there are people out there who dont share my thoughts on Bush, but its simple, if we are facing gas shortages why waste it? Even the darn president can save on gas. An airplane eats more fuel than an SUV.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:01 am

MIAMI -- Florida law enforcement personnel dispatched to Mississippi to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have found the police there so devastated that many officers have no patrol cars.

Florida officials are checking throughout their own state to see if any agencies have patrol cars they could donate to their Mississippi counterparts. Nearly 500 Florida law enforcement officers have been dispatched to Mississippi to help with search and rescue, humanitarian and patrol efforts.

"We found that many of the law enforcement personnel there are victims themselves. They have no place to go. Their vehicles have been destroyed, their homes have been destroyed," said Tom Berlinger, a spokesman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management. "In some instances, they need as much help as the general citizenry."

The Florida teams include more than 200 state law enforcement members, 173 sheriffs' deputies and 42 municipal police officers, Berlinger said.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:25 am

flopstock wrote: Ya know I don't particularly want to sleep with the guy...lol, but what would you have thought and more importantly said about the guy - if he had flown directly back to washington , having been that close to it and not at least done a fly by? I mean come on now. Sometimes you have to let it go, really. This is one of those times IMO.:-6

I would have thought, "great job, he is hightailing it back to DC (after yet another vacation) to take care of business. And furthermore, like I said, its simple. Waste gas, or dont waste gas? Whats the difference in looking at the thousands of pictures out there or wasting thousands of gallons of gas? Maybe you havent felt the effects yet, my sisters and father just filled up at $6.00 a gallon. Maybe then you'll change your mind.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:44 am

flopstock wrote: You aren't seriously trying to say that the detour is why they paid 6 dollars a gallon..are you? lol - I'd be more likely to change my mind if i was riding my bike to work and not cutting my grass. When's the last time I rode my bike to the gym to work out, for gods sake? Or to buy a pack of cigarettes?

Don't get me wrong here, if i thought i could legitimately zing him or any politician, i'd be doing it. But a fly by, over a devasted part of the country, by the president of the country...nope, not the time.

BTW...do not travel over this holiday weekend. Think how much gas we'll save, as a nation, in one weekend. I don't plan to...of course I also won't have to see any relatives, so it's doubly positive.

No, the effects that Katrina has on the gas prices: it being $ 6.00 because of that. They are affraid of shortages and he is wasting gas in his plane is what I am talking about.

I do everything I can to save gas: i.e. only drive to work, own a car as opposed to an SUV, walk to the store (its 1 mile). Not travel on any weekend actually.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:57 am

I haven't heard from my family that evacuated to Florida / California from new Orleans, but as reported before I know they are safe. The last thoughts they had were about returning to see if their home was OK but i guess with the evacuation that won't be possible for a long time.

As i was driving home from work I was listening to the radio (BBC Radio 5 live) and they were talking to a guy in Mobil Alabama. The picture he was painting was heartbreaking and this poor guy could hardly speak for the emotion of it all. It's small comfort, but our thoughts are with everyone affected...we all hope for some better news for the homeless and needy. does anyone know if there will be any kind of relief requiring funds/donations.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 10:17 am

what horror....i am seeing (on cable news) an apartment building on fire (people have been using grills in their homes to cook) there are screams for help coming from the building... and fire equipment cannot get through.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 10:41 am

JAB wrote: How is he wasting gas when flying over New Orleans is on his way back to DC?

Anyway...

I heard this morning that a guy shot his sister to death over a bag of ice! I don't condone looting or the lawlessness that is becoming so prevalent but I also can't imagine the desperation that a lot of these people are feeling.

Ummm New Orleans is not on the way from Texas ro Washington DC

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 10:47 am

LadyCop! Forgive the ignorance, but can you clue me in to what "Marshall Law" is? Thanks!

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 10:52 am

DesignerGal wrote: LadyCop! Forgive the ignorance, but can you clue me in to what "Marshall Law" is? Thanks!got your pm...it's not ignorance to ask a question! martial law is when government troops (national guard, military police)take over law enforcement and the public must comply. for the sake of security and public safety. (in a nutshell).

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:13 am

it is being reported that in the past hour police and national guard have been fired upon in one area. that at night it is mob rule, gangs with AK47s are robbing and raping. that three people were murdered last night. the poor people merely trying to survive are being terrorized.

mominiowa · Post by **mominiowa** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:29 am

We had a couple from Iowa there - When they were told to evacuate they went- got their stuff from the hotel and hailed a taxi...The guy wanted 1000$ to take them to the Airport.they went back into the hotel and waited it out- they are alive but now can not get out - they wandered downtown only to be told they had to be locked in the hotels by 6 pm.. One is a cop in Cedar Rapids and she is a Specialty Nurse - both of them have offered to help but they have been told to stay away from everyone and keep to themselves for their own safety..Can you imagine? trying to help and being told "save yourselves" so we are not responsible for your death too...My heart breaks..I almost can not stomach to watch it anymore..and the sad thing is..the water is still coming in...Those poor babies and small children they are showing on TV - praying for a drink of water or to be rescued...It is just so sad....:-1

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:30 am

lady cop wrote: it is being reported that in the past hour police and national guard have been fired upon in one area. that at night it is mob rule, gangs with AK47s are robbing and raping. that three people were murdered last night. the poor people merely trying to survive are being terrorized.

OH MY GOSH! This is absolutley unspeakable! My mouth hit the floor when I read your post. LC. How coould anyone be so hateful? Its like the Devil himself has possesed these people. Whats the latest on the military going in? I think I heard 10 thousand troops. Is that right? Is blood donation a priority as it was during Sept 11th? How many people are still left in New Orleans? 300,000?

Are the guns coming from looted Pawn Shops? I didnt think Wal Mart sold AK47s.

Jives · Post by **Jives** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:36 am

Man I love living in New Mexico....no hurricanes, tornados, tidal waves, earthquakes,

Wait a second.....there's been a wreck in the parking lot and a student was hit by a car...I gotta go...

911 · Post by **911** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:40 am

I saw a picture on the news of the front page of the New York Post of a mans feet wrapped in cigarette cartons and strapped on his feet with rubber bands. Don't get me wrong, I know people are poor, but where are his shoes? This wasn't like an earthquake where they had no warning. He left the house without his shoes? OK, maybe he lost them in the water or he walked them plum off or. . . or. . .sheesh, I don't know.

These people had every opportunity to get out and refused to do so. But the government is to blame for those people left there. If someone could not get a ride, could not afford a bus ticket to Anywhere, USA, could not walk north or hitchhike; then the city, county or state should have had buses ready before the storm to get those people out.

How do you live in a city like New Orleans and not have a better evacuation plan? Gulf Shores follows their evac plan to the letter everytime a hurricane threatens and they don't wait until the last minute. The Governor of AL opens I65 northbound on both sides to get people out. It runs northbound from the coast to Montgomery and it is smooth sailing for evacuees.

Anyone found brandishing a weapon should be shot on the spot. I believe in protecting yourself and even carrying a weapon but not to shoot people over food and water.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:56 am

AMEN about the government getting those people out in the first place. We should have those busses lining up BEFORE the hurricane hit land. It would have been much easier, maybe they thought it wouldnt be that bad, but a city below sea level, shaped like bowl? Between the MIssissippi River and that huge ass lake Ponchartrain?

I want to scoop them all up and cook them a big dinner. My heart goes out to all of them. I hope the Lord holds them in His hands in the coming days and they get the relief they need.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:00 pm

breaking news....a hospital has suspended patient evacuations due to being fired upon by snipers. time to shoot to kill.

911 · Post by **911** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:04 pm

Seriously now, when you steal a 43 inch flat screen TV in a city with no power and you have no home, what do you do with it? Who's gonna buy it from you? Are you going to tote it around on your back while you look for a bus to take you to TX?

Let's get real here. These people are crazy and some didn't leave just because they knew there would be looting and they wanted in on the action.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:06 pm

LC, where are you getting your news? Do you have a scanner or is this something I can tune into?

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:07 pm

GREAT POINT 911, I think we were all wondering what the dumbasses were going to do with the high tech electronics...

911 · Post by **911** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:08 pm

I just heard that Fats Domino is missing. He used to live near the levee and they think he was in the city when it went under.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:08 pm

i use FOX and CNN online. my scanner is strictly local.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:12 pm

I am watching CNN. People are dying in the convention centre....they are just being pushed against the wall out of the way....the news reader is almost in tears. Old people haven't eaten for 3 days....babies haven't either. This is tragic. Bush is telling us that there is lots of help, but the media are not showing this. How helpless I feel here in the UK.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:14 pm

....

AP Image

Fats Domino (photo from 1956)

Fats Domino Missing In New Orleans Floods

POSTED: 1:33 pm EDT September 1, 2005

NEW YORK -- Fats Domino was missing Thursday, days after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, said his longtime agent, Al Embry.

Embry told The Associated Press that he hadn't been able to contact Domino since talking to him Sunday evening by phone.

The 77-year-old R&B legend, whose real name is Antoine Domino, told Embry that he planned to stay at his New Orleans house with his wife, Rosemary, and their daughter.

"I hope somebody turns him up, but as of right now, we haven't got anybody that knows where he's at," said Embry, who has worked with Domino for 28 years. "I would think he might be safe because somebody said he was on top of the balcony."

Checquoline Davis, Domino's niece, posted a message on Craigslist.com Thursday pleading for information. Davis wrote that Domino, his wife, their children and grandchildren "didn't get out" of the second floor.

Domino, who has rarely appeared in public in recent years, has a home in the 9th ward, a low-lying area of the flooded city.

Getting information on possible missing persons has been nearly impossible as phone lines for hospitals and police haven't been working.

Domino has sold more than 110 million records in his long career, including the legendary singles "Blueberry Hill" and "Ain't That a Shame."

His 1950 recording of "The Fat Man" is sometimes called the first real rock 'n' roll record. He was among the first honorees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:15 pm

QUOTE: am watching CNN. People are dying in the convention centre....they are just being pushed against the wall out of the way....the news reader is almost in tears. Old people haven't eaten for 3 days....babies haven't either. This is tragic. Bush is telling us that there is lots of help, but the media are not showing this. How helpless I feel here in the UK.

I am in Virginia and feel helpless. I sent money through Red Cross (Im not rich, so I gave as much as I could) but I want to do more! Just my opinion, but Bush is a ding a ling, I dont listen to a thing he says most of the time. Its sad but whatever he says, his actions say the opposite. Sorry to offend anyone.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:16 pm

JAB wrote: It's a slight detour. If he hadn't flown over to see what it looked like, would you think more of him? Or would you then say he was uncaring?

Someone has already asked me this (scroll back in the posts in this section) and Im finished talking about it. Im on to something new. Sorry.

capt_buzzard · Post by **capt_buzzard** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:20 pm

lady cop wrote: looting for food is different than looting for TVs and stealing ALL the guns from walmart. now the evacuation of the superdome is suspended because of shots fired at rescue helicopters! i have no sympathy for that crap. a national guard person trying to help was shot. a cop was shot in the head. those types are hurting their own neighbors and fellow refugee families. they are criminals and scum.They need more Lady Cops

911 · Post by **911** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:21 pm

LC, did you see the dead man on the bridge? The reporter thought it was horrible that the "cops", as he called them, just rode by without stopping. He stated that military vehicles just passed the man by and didn't pick him up. My question is, where are the people he was with? He died and they just left him there to rot in the heat.

It was in poor taste that a news reporter would refer to law enforcement officers as "cops". Just a pet peeve with me. (I call them that but I'm allowed to!) But for a reporter to do it is insensitive and demeaning especially at a time like this when they need support and protection.

Jives · Post by **Jives** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 6:22 pm

Scrat wrote: I don't exactly know what is going on there in the system but one thing is for sure, the management of this clusterfook is the epitomy of incompetence.

You know, Scrat...as long as I stay out of the political threads, I really like you! I was just thinking the same thing.

I think that the chain of command has run for the hills.

Well Louisiana sure isn't Florida. That seems to be clear. Was this hurricane really so much worse than that big one that hit Florida a few years ago? They seemed to recover quite quickly from that one. ( Of course, we have to get Disneyworld back on line as fast as possible.):o

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 6:33 pm

Is it true that Bush turned down money to update levees before the hurricane even came into question? He put the money elsewhere? Just another point on how "unready" for this we were. THere are plenty of rooms in the white house. Can we put people there? I have 2 bedrooms I can give and I am WILLING to do it!