Mayor of New Orleans speaks out

[Poster X]

(CNN) -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin blasted the slow pace of federal and state relief efforts in an expletive-laced interview with local radio station WWL-AM.
The following is a transcript of WWL correspondent Garland Robinette's interview with Nagin on Thursday night. Robinette asked the mayor about his conversation with President Bush:
NAGIN: I told him we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice. And that I have been all around this city, and I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we're outmanned in just about every respect. (Listen to the mayor express his frustration in this video -- 12:09)
You know the reason why the looters got out of control? Because we had most of our resources saving people, thousands of people that were stuck in attics, man, old ladies. ... You pull off the doggone ventilator vent and you look down there and they're standing in there in water up to their freaking necks.
And they don't have a clue what's going on down here. They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn -- excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed.
WWL: Did you say to the president of the United States, "I need the military in here"?
NAGIN: I said, "I need everything."
Now, I will tell you this -- and I give the president some credit on this -- he sent one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done, and his name is [Lt.] Gen. [Russel] Honore.
And he came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving. And he's getting some stuff done.
They ought to give that guy -- if they don't want to give it to me, give him full authority to get the job done, and we can save some people.
WWL: What do you need right now to get control of this situation?
NAGIN: I need reinforcements, I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man. We ain't talking about -- you know, one of the briefings we had, they were talking about getting public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out here.
I'm like, "You got to be kidding me. This is a national disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans."
That's -- they're thinking small, man. And this is a major, major, major deal. And I can't emphasize it enough, man. This is crazy.
I've got 15,000 to 20,000 people over at the convention center. It's bursting at the seams. The poor people in Plaquemines Parish. ... We don't have anything, and we're sharing with our brothers in Plaquemines Parish.
It's awful down here, man.
WWL: Do you believe that the president is seeing this, holding a news conference on it but can't do anything until [Louisiana Gov.] Kathleen Blanco requested him to do it? And do you know whether or not she has made that request?
NAGIN: I have no idea what they're doing. But I will tell you this: You know, God is looking down on all this, and if they are not doing everything in their power to save people, they are going to pay the price. Because every day that we delay, people are dying and they're dying by the hundreds, I'm willing to bet you.
We're getting reports and calls that are breaking my heart, from people saying, "I've been in my attic. I can't take it anymore. The water is up to my neck. I don't think I can hold out." And that's happening as we speak.
You know what really upsets me, Garland? We told everybody the importance of the 17th Street Canal issue. We said, "Please, please take care of this. We don't care what you do. Figure it out."
WWL: Who'd you say that to?
NAGIN: Everybody: the governor, Homeland Security, FEMA. You name it, we said it.
And they allowed that pumping station next to Pumping Station 6 to go under water. Our sewage and water board people ... stayed there and endangered their lives.
And what happened when that pumping station went down, the water started flowing again in the city, and it starting getting to levels that probably killed more people.
In addition to that, we had water flowing through the pipes in the city. That's a power station over there.
So there's no water flowing anywhere on the east bank of Orleans Parish. So our critical water supply was destroyed because of lack of action.
WWL: Why couldn't they drop the 3,000-pound sandbags or the containers that they were talking about earlier? Was it an engineering feat that just couldn't be done?
NAGIN: They said it was some pulleys that they had to manufacture. But, you know, in a state of emergency, man, you are creative, you figure out ways to get stuff done.
Then they told me that they went overnight, and they built 17 concrete structures and they had the pulleys on them and they were going to drop them.
I flew over that thing yesterday, and it's in the same shape that it was after the storm hit. There is nothing happening. And they're feeding the public a line of bull and they're spinning, and people are dying down here.
WWL: If some of the public called and they're right, that there's a law that the president, that the federal government can't do anything without local or state requests, would you request martial law?
NAGIN: I've already called for martial law in the city of New Orleans. We did that a few days ago.
WWL: Did the governor do that, too?
NAGIN: I don't know. I don't think so.
But we called for martial law when we realized that the looting was getting out of control. And we redirected all of our police officers back to patrolling the streets. They were dead-tired from saving people, but they worked all night because we thought this thing was going to blow wide open last night. And so we redirected all of our resources, and we hold it under check.
I'm not sure if we can do that another night with the current resources.
And I am telling you right now: They're showing all these reports of people looting and doing all that weird stuff, and they are doing that, but people are desperate and they're trying to find food and water, the majority of them.
Now you got some knuckleheads out there, and they are taking advantage of this lawless -- this situation where, you know, we can't really control it, and they're doing some awful, awful things. But that's a small majority of the people. Most people are looking to try and survive.
And one of the things people -- nobody's talked about this. Drugs flowed in and out of New Orleans and the surrounding metropolitan area so freely it was scary to me, and that's why we were having the escalation in murders. People don't want to talk about this, but I'm going to talk about it.
You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will.
And right now, they don't have anything to take the edge off. And they've probably found guns. So what you're seeing is drug-starving crazy addicts, drug addicts, that are wrecking havoc. And we don't have the manpower to adequately deal with it. We can only target certain sections of the city and form a perimeter around them and hope to God that we're not overrun.
WWL: Well, you and I must be in the minority. Because apparently there's a section of our citizenry out there that thinks because of a law that says the federal government can't come in unless requested by the proper people, that everything that's going on to this point has been done as good as it can possibly be.
NAGIN: Really?
WWL: I know you don't feel that way.
NAGIN: Well, did the tsunami victims request? Did it go through a formal process to request?
You know, did the Iraqi people request that we go in there? Did they ask us to go in there? What is more important?
And I'll tell you, man, I'm probably going get in a whole bunch of trouble. I'm probably going to get in so much trouble it ain't even funny. You probably won't even want to deal with me after this interview is over.
WWL: You and I will be in the funny place together.
NAGIN: But we authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq lickety-quick. After 9/11, we gave the president unprecedented powers lickety-quick to take care of New York and other places.
Now, you mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through, a place that is so unique when you mention New Orleans anywhere around the world, everybody's eyes light up -- you mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need? Come on, man.
You know, I'm not one of those drug addicts. I am thinking very clearly.
And I don't know whose problem it is. I don't know whether it's the governor's problem. I don't know whether it's the president's problem, but somebody needs to get their ass on a plane and sit down, the two of them, and figure this out right now.
WWL: What can we do here?
NAGIN: Keep talking about it.
WWL: We'll do that. What else can we do?
NAGIN: Organize people to write letters and make calls to their congressmen, to the president, to the governor. Flood their doggone offices with requests to do something. This is ridiculous.
I don't want to see anybody do anymore goddamn press conferences. Put a moratorium on press conferences. Don't do another press conference until the resources are in this city. And then come down to this city and stand with us when there are military trucks and troops that we can't even count.
Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here. They're not here. It's too doggone late. Now get off your asses and do something, and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country.
WWL: I'll say it right now, you're the only politician that's called and called for arms like this. And if -- whatever it takes, the governor, president -- whatever law precedent it takes, whatever it takes, I bet that the people listening to you are on your side.
NAGIN: Well, I hope so, Garland. I am just -- I'm at the point now where it don't matter. People are dying. They don't have homes. They don't have jobs. The city of New Orleans will never be the same in this time.
WWL: We're both pretty speechless here.
NAGIN: Yeah, I don't know what to say. I got to go.
WWL: OK. Keep in touch. Keep in touch.

[Blown 472]

And the prez went golfing today.

[AZKC]

I heard this this AM, that is one angry man :mad: . Put him in room with W and I think the guy would probably kick his ass. Or at least it would feel like it after he got his point across :hammer2:

[Tyson Ross]

I think Bush is smart. He flew over it rather than landing and getting his A$$ shot by the gangsters down there. It is mind boggling how they shoot at medical and supply helicopters that are trying to help. :hammerhea

[Captain Dan]

[QUOTE=Poster X]
WWL: Do you believe that the president is seeing this, holding a news conference on it but can't do anything until [Louisiana Gov.] Kathleen Blanco requested him to do it? And do you know whether or not she has made that request?
NAGIN: I have no idea what they're doing.
WWL: If some of the public called and they're right, that there's a law that the president, that the federal government can't do anything without local or state requests, would you request martial law?
NAGIN: I've already called for martial law in the city of New Orleans. We did that a few days ago.
WWL: Did the governor do that, too?
NAGIN: I don't know. I don't think so.
What's up here? Why aren't the mayor and governor on the same page? It would seem they aren't coordinating at all.

[Poster X]

That's one unsubstantiated shot, compared to hundreds of thousands of abandoned citizens. It's six days since they've had food or water. They might be a little nutty? Even if the shot actually happened there are literally hundreds of other locations that need a food drop and evacuation.

[mirvin]

This guy needs to shut his trap and start being the leader he was sworn to be.
How come it took six days to hear from him??? THis is as much his fualt as anyone elses.
mirvin

[NOCTURNAL]

The storm hit on MONDAY. It is now FRIDAY. Now I was taught the "new" math in public school, but it is only FOUR days to me.
This guy is supposed to be the CEO of New Orleans. The answer to most of his questions is "I don't know". Way to be a leader! Nice cool, level thinking.
When the leader is out of control, how is everyone beneath him going to act???
What ever happened to personal responsibility? If you decided to "ride it out" then you don't deserve much sympathy.

[mirvin]

Yeah, when I say 6 days I'm going back to Saturday....when this thing really started......you know, when the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOLD EVERYONE TO GET THE HELL OUT :hammerhea
mirvin

[NOCTURNAL]

mirvin - I agree with you. My remarks about the days were directed at Poster X.
It seems that Poster X is using it as a jab; to make it seem like the government is sitting on its hands.
Considering that the storm hit on Monday, it has really only been 3 days to provide assistance.

[Sleek-Jet]

So does anyone know when or if the governor made the request??
As I read it in the Federal regulations, that all federal assistance must be requested by the governor to the federal government. I know they declared a disaster area (but that has more to do with funds), but that doesn't authorize DOD resources. The national guard can be mobilized by the state, but regular Army has to be ordered in by the federal government, and that can't happen until the state requests it.

[Poster X]

The storm hit on MONDAY. It is now FRIDAY. Now I was taught the "new" math in public school, but it is only FOUR days to me.
This guy is supposed to be the CEO of New Orleans. The answer to most of his questions is "I don't know". Way to be a leader! Nice cool, level thinking.
When the leader is out of control, how is everyone beneath him going to act???
What ever happened to personal responsibility? If you decided to "ride it out" then you don't deserve much sympathy.
The Mayor of New Orleans is an exemplary leader. He is in the field and doing without sleep and managing the horror on a 24 hour basis. He was told prior to the hurricane that FEMA was prepped and ready for the disaster. He only discovered after the hurricane that Homeland Security and FEMA were nowhere to be seen. All he had was a police force and almost no communication within the city or outside it.
Most of you have seen a major city at rush hour. How would expect a city of millions to evacuate if you multiply that congestion times 50? Leaving your home for days, weeks, months costs money. Evacuation is comparable to a spontaneous vacation. It takes money. Fuel, food and lodging. The larger your family, the more costly it is. It is fortuneate that most of you can afford a spontaneous vacation (or evacuation) but the majority of people in this country cannot. The majority lives from paycheck to paycheck.
Most people of means evacuated the city.

[Morg]

I would need to see the video of the interview & I understand he is frustrated. But It sounded more like an interview with a citizen on the street than the mayor of the city. Sort of shows why things are so screwed up.

[Poster X]

On another note:
The law of the federal government imposing itself into a disaster without an official plea by a legally acknowledged representative of the state is no longer valid since the implementation of the Home Security Act. The President and the heads of FEMA and Homeland Security can act with full autonomy in the event of a crisis or emergency.

[NOCTURNAL]

Poster X -
There have been interviews with people that left N.O. and they indicated traffic was not a problem when leaving the city - meaing that the roads were not at capacity. Saying that people couldn't get out is false. If it is a life or death situation, you take absolute necessities and get the f*%k out of town.
Too many people refused to leave - that is a choice made by many adults - and the result of that choice is theirs to bear.

[Debbolas]

I can't help but think that the description the mayor gave of New Orleans, reminds me of a Hunter S. Thompson story.............just unbelievable.
CNN is showing army trucks pulling up to help the convention people now :coffeycup

[Captain Dan]

I would need to see the video of the interview & I understand he is frustrated. But It sounded more like an interview with a citizen on the street than the mayor of the city. Sort of shows why things are so screwed up.
They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will.
Sounds like a man on the street to me.

[ECeptor]

And the prez went golfing today.
Is this true? If it is I can't believe it...unreal!!!

[Sleek-Jet]

On another note:
The law of the federal government imposing itself into a disaster without an official plea by a legally acknowledged representative of the state is no longer valid since the implementation of the Home Security Act. The President and the heads of FEMA and Homeland Security can act with full autonomy in the event of a crisis or emergency.
I've looked and can't find that in the CFR's.
What I can find is the provision that if a disaster has not been declared, then they have the authority to use any resource needed.
I guess I'm not looking in the right place.

[Poster X]

Poster X -
There have been interviews with people that left N.O. and they indicated traffic was not a problem when leaving the city - meaing that the roads were not at capacity. Saying that people couldn't get out is false. If it is a life or death situation, you take absolute necessities and get the f*%k out of town.
Too many people refused to leave - that is a choice made by many adults - and the result of that choice is theirs to bear.
There has been lot's of conflicting information. Either of us could be right? However, I stand behind the statements I have made. They are based on contacts in the area I have known a lifetime. You must also factor in the fact New Orleans has a large population of poverty level inhabitants. There is no way they could leave given the time restraints and restrictions on public transportation.

[mirvin]

And the prez went golfing today.
Yaeh, It's the pres. fault. No personal responsibility......Nobody's responsible for themselves I guess. Just blame the pres. Wonder where they got that idea....

[Poster X]

I've looked and can't find that in the CFR's.
What I can find is the provision that if a disaster has not been declared, then they have the authority to use any resource needed.
I guess I'm not looking in the right place.
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0646.xml

[mirvin]

There has been lot's of conflicting information. Either of us could be right? However, I stand behind the statements I have made. They are based on contacts in the area I have known a lifetime. You must also factor in the fact New Orleans has a large population of poverty level inhabitants. There is no way they could leave given the time restraints and restrictions on public transportation.
Like I said before, if they weren't disabled somehow, they could have gotten out. It's just easier to make excuses and then blame everyone else. I wonder what would have happened if they had started walking out on Saturday when the government said to.......

[Boozer]

Poster X -
There have been interviews with people that left N.O. and they indicated traffic was not a problem when leaving the city - meaing that the roads were not at capacity. Saying that people couldn't get out is false. If it is a life or death situation, you take absolute necessities and get the f*%k out of town.
Too many people refused to leave - that is a choice made by many adults - and the result of that choice is theirs to bear.
What world do you live in? Apparently not the REAL world.
The fact that the people were given warning to evacuate doesnt mean that every man, woman, and child had a car to get out of town in. It doesn't mean that every man, woman, and child had a place to go.
Many of the people stuck in New Orleans aren't stuck there because they wanted to wait it out. They are stuck there because they had no way to leave and were forced to wait it out.

[Roman 1]

Yeah, when I say 6 days I'm going back to Saturday....when this thing really started......you know, when the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOLD EVERYONE TO GET THE HELL OUT :hammerhea
mirvin
Boozer your as ignorant as some of the idiots that stayed...
Not to sound insensitive but....what the F@#K is wrong with these people that they didn't get hell out of there in the first place! They had a few days notice! :confused:
I have sympathy for those who truely had no means or were bed ridden or disabled but the papers and news show countless cars submerged and healthy people walking around. F@#king pedal your ass out on a huffy if you have to. I read a story where a 70 year old lady walked out 20 miles to avoid the flooding. I've been to New Orleans several times and I get freaked out with that lake right there (above the city) in good weather much less with a cat 5 en route! Obviously the healthy who stayed didn't take the "mandatory evacuation" serious. IDIOTS!
Now the pussy liberals all jump on bush who BTW I watched on cnn an hour ago walking the streets of biloxi (not golfing!) and headed for New Orleans.
I hope the innocent get helped asap but F@#k the criminals that are looting and raping they can die for all I care :220v:
Roman 1

[Captain Dan]

mirvin - I agree with you. My remarks about the days were directed at Poster X.
It seems that Poster X is using it as a jab; to make it seem like the government is sitting on its hands.
Considering that the storm hit on Monday, it has really only been 3 days to provide assistance.
It appears the inner-City poor people form the majority of the people that didn't leave, or didn't have the means to leave, (with the exception of rescue, fire, police and other persons doing their jobs).
I feel really sorry for the people (especially the children) that couldn't get out because they have no means, but at the same time, I feel enraged when I see the same people looting items they clearly do not need, taking up arms against the people that are sent to aide them, and openly complaining that everyone in the US should have been there the day after it occurred with the solution to all of their woes. I'm going to get bashed for this, but these are the same people that have their hand out every day, they are used to that part of it, only the consequences are admittedly more severe.
Disaster preparedness partially falls on the people (and ther local government). We in California are constantly reminded to be ready for an e-quake. Shouldn't people who live in a potential fishbowl also have had a plan, or at least be mentally ready to accept the fact that it takes a few days to come to their assistance on such a grand scale? OR - get out when you are told??

[BajaMike]

The Mayor of New Orleans is an exemplary leader. He is in the field and doing without sleep and managing the horror on a 24 hour basis. He was told prior to the hurricane that FEMA was prepped and ready for the disaster. He only discovered after the hurricane that Homeland Security and FEMA were nowhere to be seen. All he had was a police force and almost no communication within the city or outside it.
Most of you have seen a major city at rush hour. How would expect a city of millions to evacuate if you multiply that congestion times 50? Leaving your home for days, weeks, months costs money. Evacuation is comparable to a spontaneous vacation. It takes money. Fuel, food and lodging. The larger your family, the more costly it is. It is fortuneate that most of you can afford a spontaneous vacation (or evacuation) but the majority of people in this country cannot. The majority lives from paycheck to paycheck.
Most people of means evacuated the city.
Poster X..."The Mayor of New Orleans is an exemplary leader"....are you joking??
The mayor of New Orleans is an f-ing moran. I used to live in that town. He doesn't know what the gov of his state is doing??? They don't have back-up generators and backup communications for his police and fire department??
He can't provide security to the ambulances trying to take patients out of Charity Hospital?? He can't take water to the staff and patients at Charity Hospital??
It's not his job to blame the feds for his problems, he should have been able to handle most of the problems for a few days until the feds can get in there. He should have bussed people out before the storm...they had about 48 hours...
The National Guard is rolling in now (from Arkansas and other states)....where was the Louisiana National Guard??
That mayor, and the gov, are a disgrace!
:idea:

[Poster X]

The mayor wasn't in charge before the hurricane hit. FEMA was. The Lousiana National Guard is in Iraq.

[BajaMike]

And the prez went golfing today.
He didn't go golfing, he's flying over the region right now.
:confused:

[mirvin]

It appears the inner-City poor people form the majority of the people that didn't leave, or didn't have the means to leave, (with the exception of rescue, fire, police and other persons doing their jobs).
I feel really sorry for the people (especially the children) that couldn't get out because they have no means, but at the same time, I feel enraged when I see the same people looting items they clearly do not need, taking up arms against the people that are sent to aide them, and openly complaining that everyone in the US should have been there the day after it occurred with the solution to all of their woes. I'm going to get bashed for this, but these are the same people that have their hand out every day, they are used to that part of it, only the consequences are admittedly more severe.
Disaster preparedness partially falls on the people (and ther local government). We in California are constantly reminded to be ready for an e-quake. Shouldn't people who live in a potential fishbowl also have had a plan, or at least be mentally ready to accept the fact that it takes a few days to come to their assistance on such a grand scale? OR - get out when you are told??
You are EXACTLY right Dan. No one is going to bash you , expept maybe BLown or his alter ego PosterX:D
mirvin

[BajaMike]

The mayor wasn't in charge before the hurricane hit. FEMA was. The Lousiana National Guard is in Iraq.
FEMA was in charge?? I thought you said the feds couldn't come in until the locals asked for it? The mayor is in charge of his city, his police force, his fire department. It's his emergency prepardness that is the problem.
And less then 50% of the Louisiana National Guard in in Iraq.

[Boozer]

Poster X..."The Mayor of New Orleans is an exemplary leader"....are you joking??
He should have bussed people out before the storm...they had about 48 hours...
:idea:
I wonder why that didn't happen?? Catergory 5 storm is on it's way. There's enough time to get buses moving and get people out of there.

[mirvin]

The mayor wasn't in charge before the hurricane hit. FEMA was. The Lousiana National Guard is in Iraq.
The mayor wasn't in charge.....HUH???

[Mrs. Bordsmnj]

And the prez went golfing today.
I heard he went to the Gulf to check out the destruction, not golfing!! :hammerhea He went GULFING if you want to get technical. :D

[Sleek-Jet]

I wonder why that didn't happen?? Catergory 5 storm is on it's way. There's enough time to get buses moving and get people out of there.
By some accounts, the Mayor waited to long and then didn't have the resources to evacute people in time.

[BajaMike]

The mayor wasn't in charge.....HUH???
That's the only thing P-X got right......he wasn't in charge of his own city.....nobody was.....oh, except maybe for the looters.... :confused:
:eat:

[Boozer]

Now it's all a matter of shoulda, woulda, coulda. The only person who's going to know what really happened and what really should have happened is ShockwaveBob.
My thoughts and prayers are with the the people who need the help.

[mirvin]

Now it's all a matter of shoulda, woulda, coulda. The only person who's going to know what really happened and what really should have happened is ShockwaveBob.
My thoughts and prayers are with the the people who need the help.
Yeah, where is SWB??? THis is all so boring without him :D
mirvin

[Poster X]

You can displace blame to the city, it's citizens and it's government. Let them all die if it somehow that empowers you, or justifies your intellect? I'm not here to place blame and haven't. I have merely answered questions as they were posed to me. It is my nature to aid when I see it necessary. Not disciminate based predisposition. I posted the interview because I felt it relevant to the events that will no doubt change the world. Mass death and the literal dismantling of one of Americas most interesting and strategically important cities is no humorous matter to me. Have a nice day.

[572Daytona]

As usual lake pirate (er I mean poster X) is skewing fact to support his bush bashing viewpoint.
For those who care here's the National Response Plan of the DHS in full
http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_FullText.pdf
In there it outlines the responsibilites of the state and local government:
When State resources and capabilities are
overwhelmed, Governors may request Federal assistance
under a Presidential disaster or emergency declaration.
Summarized below are the responsibilities of the
Governor, Local Chief Executive Officer, and Tribal
Chief Executive Officer.
Governor
As a StateÂ’s chief executive, the Governor is responsible
for the public safety and welfare of the people of that
State or territory. The Governor:
â–* Is responsible for coordinating State resources to
address the full spectrum of actions to prevent,
prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents in
an all-hazards context to include terrorism, natural
disasters, accidents, and other contingencies;
â–* Under certain emergency conditions, typically has
police powers to make, amend, and rescind orders
and regulations;
â–* Provides leadership and plays a key role in
communicating to the public and in helping people,
businesses, and organizations cope with the
consequences of any type of declared emergency
within State jurisdiction;
â–* Encourages participation in mutual aid and
implements authorities for the State to enter into
mutual aid agreements with other States, tribes, and
territories to facilitate resource-sharing;
â–* Is the Commander-in-Chief of State military forces
(National Guard when in State Active Duty or Title 32
Status and the authorized State militias); and
â–* Requests Federal assistance when it becomes clear
that State or tribal capabilities will be insufficient or
have been exceeded or exhausted.
Local Chief Executive Officer
A mayor or city or county manager, as a jurisdictionÂ’s
chief executive, is responsible for the public safety and
welfare of the people of that jurisdiction. The Local
Chief Executive Officer:
â–* Is responsible for coordinating local resources to
address the full spectrum of actions to prevent,
prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents
involving all hazards including terrorism, natural
disasters, accidents, and other contingencies;
â–* Dependent upon State and local law, has
extraordinary powers to suspend local laws and
ordinances, such as to establish a curfew, direct
evacuations, and, in coordination with the local
health authority, to order a quarantine;
â–* Provides leadership and plays a key role in communicating
to the public, and in helping people, businesses,
and organizations cope with the consequences of
any type of domestic incident within the jurisdiction;
â–* Negotiates and enters into mutual aid agreements with
other jurisdictions to facilitate resource-sharing; and
â–* Requests State and, if necessary, Federal assistance
through the Governor of the State when the jurisdictionÂ’s
capabilities have been exceeded or exhausted.

[BajaMike]

572Daytona...excellent post!
There is good reason to place blame when people are dieing....P-X just wants to place the blame on Pres Bush.
When you have a disaster, self-sufficiency is a must...you can't be waiting around for the feds to rescue you. You take care of you household first, then your neighborhood, then your city, then look to state and federal assistance.
In case P-X missed it, read it again:
Local Chief Executive Officer
A mayor or city or county manager, as a jurisdictionÂ’s
chief executive, is responsible for the public safety and
welfare of the people of that jurisdiction. The Local
Chief Executive Officer:
â–* Is responsible for coordinating local resources to
address the full spectrum of actions to prevent,
prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents
involving all hazards including terrorism, natural
disasters, accidents, and other contingencies;
â–* Dependent upon State and local law, has
extraordinary powers to suspend local laws and
ordinances, such as to establish a curfew, direct
evacuations, and, in coordination with the local
health authority, to order a quarantine;
â–* Provides leadership and plays a key role in communicating
to the public, and in helping people, businesses,
and organizations cope with the consequences of
any type of domestic incident within the jurisdiction;
â–* Negotiates and enters into mutual aid agreements with
other jurisdictions to facilitate resource-sharing; and
â–* Requests State and, if necessary, Federal assistance
through the Governor of the State when the jurisdictionÂ’s
capabilities have been exceeded or exhausted.

[Poster X]

I never said anything about President Bush? You neglected to mention in your cut and paste that in the event there is a national crisis Homeland Security has FULL autonomy over state governments. You are skewing the topic a bit. I only want to see political affiliations put aside and the people of the Gulf Coast helped. I think the reaction time by FEMA and Homeland Security are tragic but I never blamed Bush. I think he was as stunned as anybody by the disorganization. I'm sure he hoped for better?

[Poster X]

Here is what the Patriot Act says about your cut and paste. Keep in mind President Bush declared the entire Gulf Coast a disaster area BEFORE the hurricane even hit in order to expedite relief. Once he did that it came under Homeland Security jurisdiction.
Emergencies & Disasters
Preparing America
In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America's families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS.

[NOCTURNAL]

Boozer -
I do currently live in the real world. I know that obesity and laziness is a problem in America today, but for Christ's sake, if death is coming your way, get off your ass and put one foot in front of the other. The Superdome was not at capacity (as far as I know) on Sunday night.
How is it that after the storm, these people were able to wade through water to get to the Superdome, but were unable to do the same thing two days prior?

[mirvin]

I never said anything about President Bush? You neglected to mention in your cut and paste that in the event there is a national crisis Homeland Security has FULL autonomy over state governments. You are skewing the topic a bit. I only want to see political affiliations put aside and the people of the Gulf Coast helped. I think the reaction time by FEMA and Homeland Security are tragic but I never blamed Bush. I think he was as stunned as anybody by the disorganization. I'm sure he hoped for better?
PosterX....You dilliberately posted info that was meant to place blame on the Federal Government. How do you do that without blaming the boss???
THere's lots of blame to go around here but most of us believe it has to start with personal responsibility......
mirvin

[572Daytona]

I never said anything about President Bush? You neglected to mention in your cut and paste that in the event there is a national crisis Homeland Security has FULL autonomy over state governments. You are skewing the topic a bit. I only want to see political affiliations put aside and the people of the Gulf Coast helped. I think the reaction time by FEMA and Homeland Security are tragic but I never blamed Bush. I think he was as stunned as anybody by the disorganization. I'm sure he hoped for better?
You are correct about Homeland Security having the autonomy once a disaster has been declared but the Federal Government still is bound by the provisions of the Stafford act before this can happen, to whit see page 91 of the aforemention PDF file:
2. Immediately after an incident, local jurisdictions
respond using available resources and notify State
response elements. As information emerges, they
also assess the situation and the need for State
assistance. The State reviews the situation,
mobilizes State resources, and informs the
DHS/EPR/FEMA Regional Office of actions taken.
The Governor activates the State emergency
operations plan, proclaims or declares a state of
emergency, and requests a State/DHS joint
Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) to
determine if sufficient damage has occurred to
justify a request for a Presidential declaration of a
major disaster or emergency. Based upon the
results of the PDA, the Governor may request a
Presidential declaration and defines the kind of
Federal assistance needed. At this point, an initial
assessment is also conducted of losses avoided
based on previous mitigation efforts.
You may not have directly said anything negative about the president but the NO mayor certainly did and you believe that he's an exemplary mayor. Personally I think there are breakdowns on both sides of the fence here, but true leaders don't look so quickly to blame others for the situation that they are in. All I see in the Nagin is a desire to salvage his political ass by blaming this on the feds, not a true leader IMO. If Bush had come there and said this was all the local and state governments fault I would feel the same way about him. But if you noticed, he sacked up and admits that their response wasn't acceptable.
What I find disgusting is what I see as the left already using this as political fodder even before the crisis is over. All of these people on TV complaining about what is being done, could just have easily spent that time and money and effort heading down there and lending a hand themselves.

[Racer277]

I keep remembering back to Rudy G on 9/11.
His calm words and concern for the people of his city helped to maintain order, protect citizens, and allow people to get their jobs done.
That is the position of management.
This idiot (N.O. Mayor) is causing harm, just as the ahole newscasters are...

[Poster X]

I still do not get what your Bush rhetoric has to do with me? This was a test of Homeland Security. It failed. It probably only cost tens of thousands of lives and about 100 billion dollars? Now Bush can fix it and you can take credit for it. Feel better? <--- there, I said something about Bush so you can justify whatever spin you wish to put on the topic. I have to go. Maybe another ten thousand or so will die so you can sleep tonight feeling superior to their choice of cities or their financial means or their inability to walk 40-50 miles in 107 heat index? ;)

[riverroyal]

dont forget,,,newyork has some of the stongest labor/constuction unions left in this country,they really stepped up and made 9/11 what is was.Im not say new orleans or miss dont have the means to get things done,but you cant compare NY to those areas,its like a different world,,,,,i will stop,i could go on forever on this :hammer2:

[BajaMike]

I keep remembering back to Rudy G on 9/11.
His calm words and concern for the people of his city helped to maintain order, protect citizens, and allow people to get their jobs done.
That is the position of management.
This idiot (N.O. Mayor) is causing harm, just as the ahole newscasters are...
Exaxtly...the mayor should be working to calm his citizens and ask for their help....encourage them to take care of themselves and help the children, the elderly, the sick, until assistance can arrive. You can live several days with food and a week without water.
Encourage them to assist the rescuers, not fight with them and shoot at them.
Encourage calm....not stir up political animosity.
:boxingguy

[Trigger]

Boozer -
I do currently live in the real world. I know that obesity and laziness is a problem in America today, but for Christ's sake, if death is coming your way, get off your ass and put one foot in front of the other. The Superdome was not at capacity (as far as I know) on Sunday night.
How is it that after the storm, these people were able to wade through water to get to the Superdome, but were unable to do the same thing two days prior?
They sure have enough energy to run around and steal and rape etc... With 2 days notice they could have walked out of that city and set up somewhere else. Sitting on a side of a road where there is power, food, water, ect.. and where help can actually be given to them is better than siting on the side of the road in the middle of a destroyed city with no water, food or power. Come on and accept your own responsibilty to take care of yourself. just because the government has been giving you handouts your whole life is no reason to sit around and wait to die and then if you do survive blame it on someone else for not carrying your load as well as their own. Fact is, all people had notice to leave Rich, poor, black and white. So the rich could drive away in a Mercedes, but with days of notice the public trasporation could have been used, bikes and he!! ever try walking!!!!! In the 3rd world countries woman and children walk for hundreds of miles to find shelter or safety with no shoes!!!! This is plain old laziness. There are those who could not get out (hospitals, nursing homes, etc...) that I feel for, but those that chose to stay rather than get off their lazy a$$es and walk to safety chose to die. Why should any of our forces or volunteers risk their lives to save people who are to lazy and choose to die. If we have to rebuild and repopulate New Orleans, I would want to do it with those who care enough and are intelligent enough (not to mention not flat out lazy) to leave when told to. Screw the ones stealing, raping, and murdering. Let them die. They are just a drag on our system. The world would be a better place without them in it. Save the unfortunate ones and leave the scum to kill each other off.

[riverroyal]

the people of NY worked tirelessly for months,most without pay,from the heart,,,,watch the news,you think any of those people will work for free,most dont work for pay!

[rmarion]

This guy needs to shut his trap and start being the leader he was sworn to be.
How come it took six days to hear from him??? THis is as much his fualt as anyone elses.
mirvin
Ditto................
He could have nip this in the butt on the first day...............does he know what a f-n phone is???????????? instead of waiting for support from the Pres............. he is not a leader, and was OVERWHELMED

[Trigger]

Ditto................
He could have nip this in the butt on the first day...............does he know what a f-n phone is???????????? instead of waiting for support from the Pres............. he is not a leader, and was OVERWHELMED
He's as lazy as the scum that stayed behind. Leader of the lazy.
And then blame all the misfortune on someone else. Heaven forbid you actually look out for yourself in an emergency.

[riverroyal]

i was watching the news on this catastrophy and the pres was landing in san diego to talk about the anniversery of WW2,,,,,i was in shock when the local news broke in to show him landing,,,,i dont know what he could have done,but it just looked bad,average joes like me were trying figure out why he was here with so much more important things happening,,,,i support any pres,im a american,but his image has been hurt

[BajaMike]

I still do not get what your Bush rhetoric has to do with me? This was a test of Homeland Security. It failed. It probably only cost tens of thousands of lives and about 100 billion dollars? Now Bush can fix it and you can take credit for it. Feel better? <--- there, I said something about Bush so you can justify whatever spin you wish to put on the topic. I have to go. Maybe another ten thousand or so will die so you can sleep tonight feeling superior to their choice of cities or their financial means or their inability to walk 40-50 miles in 107 heat index? ;)
Poster-X.....I agree with you....Homeland Security (and Pres Bush) failed miserably on this first major test of the DHS. Far more resources (National Guard and regular military) should have been in there sooner, and water, food and transportation should have been there on a massive scale within 2 or 3 days.
My main disagreement with you was your statement saying "..."The Mayor of New Orleans is an exemplary leader"...."

[Poster X]

Meaning no disrespect to the great Rudy Gulliani or the tragedy of 9/11 the Mayor of New Orleans experienced a far greater crisis. He didn't have the luxury of a phone, electricity, ability to move about the city, a podium or a microphone nor the motivation of sudden patriotism. No mayor in history has experienced such a tantamount undertaking. History may judge him but no one will ever be able to experience such a hideous tragedy by comparison. At least, you should hope not.

[NOCTURNAL]

Poster X -
Considering that it is only 80 miles to Baton Rouge, I don't think that 40-50 miles is anywhere near reality.
Once again, you exaggerate (see: lie) to try to make your point.

[riverroyal]

my point was more of its tough to get people from that area to help,i hate to say it but most people ,must meaning population demographics,are a bit lazy.Large contractors such as Bechtel,Penhall,big players will be on the way.

[Poster X]

How about, walking from the shores of New Orleans to the next safe city that could accomodate you would be quite an undertaking? That better?

[Racer277]

Meaning no disrespect to the great Rudy Gulliani or the tragedy of 9/11 the Mayor of New Orleans experienced a far greater crisis. He didn't have the luxury of a phone, electricity, ability to move about the city, a podium or a microphone nor the motivation of sudden patriotism. No mayor in history has experienced such a tantamount undertaking. History may judge him but no one will ever be able to experience such a hideous tragedy by comparison. At least, you should hope not.
No, I remember the first few minutes of the tragedy. He didn't have any of that stuff. he was in the middle of it, and he calmly told people to leave, helped them to leave, and told them what direction to go.
His calming authority did his city a service.
Now this ranting idiot could (as was stated) be any moron off the street that decided to stay and is now crying for help.

[BajaMike]

Meaning no disrespect to the great Rudy Gulliani or the tragedy of 9/11 the Mayor of New Orleans experienced a far greater crisis. He didn't have the luxury of a phone, electricity, ability to move about the city, a podium or a microphone nor the motivation of sudden patriotism. No mayor in history has experienced such a tantamount undertaking. History may judge him but no one will ever be able to experience such a hideous tragedy by comparison. At least, you should hope not.
Sorry to disagree with you again, but he should have had a phone, he should have had electricity, he should have had mobility, and there are radio stations broadcasting in New Orleans from outside the city.
I used to ran an ambulance service in New Orleans. I had an office on high ground, with generators, all managers had satelite phones, and we had vehicles that can go through fairly deep water.
Acadian Ambulance Service, a private service in New Orleans, had communications throughout the week, until looters stole thier backup generator. They were moving 500 patients a day from New Orleans hospitals, until they had to pull out thier ambulances and helicopters due to gunfire and hijackings. They requested security from the police department and couldn't get it.
The New Orleans Police Department has about 20 amphibious ex-army vehicles, that can go anywhere.

[Poster X]

You're probably right. He deserves to die. The people of the Gulf Coast deserve to die. Put a fence around it and call it "The Love Canal Part Deux."

[Racer277]

Your PM's are full,
Here's my reply:
Well, we'll see.
I think a few oil companies could use a good gouging right now. :D
Good job on the ski. Sorry I dawdled on it....

[BrendellaJet]

What world do you live in? Apparently not the REAL world.
The fact that the people were given warning to evacuate doesnt mean that every man, woman, and child had a car to get out of town in. It doesn't mean that every man, woman, and child had a place to go.
Many of the people stuck in New Orleans aren't stuck there because they wanted to wait it out. They are stuck there because they had no way to leave and were forced to wait it out.
No cars eh? Then fuQing walk!

[BajaMike]

You're probably right. He deserves to die. The people of the Gulf Coast deserve to die. Put a fence around it and call it "The Love Canal Part Deux."
Nobody here said or feels anything like that.
:hammer2: :eat:

[riverroyal]

go fix that right now,,,im outta here ,leaving for havasu in 1 hour,pulled some bills off my money tree for gas,hittin the road,,seeya

[ShutYaPieHole]

He didn't go golfing, he's flying over the region right now.
:confused:
Flying over at 20,000' an 500 hundred miles an hour. He better not blink he might miss something.

[BajaMike]

Flying over at 20,000' an 500 hundred miles an hour. He better not blink he might miss something.
He's in a helicopter at 500 feet.
:lightsabe :messedup:

[Schiada76]

And the prez went golfing today.
NO SHIT!!!!!!!!!! Golfing?????????
That dumb focker should be down there with a mop and a bucket! :rolleyes: :hammerhea

[Seadog]

Poster X is not willing to listen to reason. This may not have been a banner day for FEMA, but they had as much resources as could be expected situated in areas that were considered as close as possible to the eye without placing them in danger. I think most were around Baton Rouge. When the storm went through, it looked like New Orleans had been mostly spared, and the assets were sent primarily to Biloxi, Gulfport and Mobile. No one had a clue as to what wwas happening in New Orleans until Tuesday. And it wasn't due to that pathetic excuse for a city leadership letting people know. They wasted millions of federal money that was to go to emergency preparedness. They had no mobile communications other than police walkie talkies adn only one chanel to use. They could not talk with the state police or anyone else.
If the so-called mayor had his stift together, he could have worked with the governor beforehand and arranged for buses to haul people out before the storm hit. They didn't because they did not have their act together and because then it would have cost the city and state money, instead of the federal government.
By law, the federal government cannot authorize efforts before the fact. It is up to the local government to hold things together until state and federal help arrives. The general rule is that the community provides initial police, fire and rescue operation, which includes evacuation. The governor immediately activates the National Guard and sends available resources to the area. Only after the community and the governor officially requests it, can the federal support get involved.
Even if the city had communications and requested the help immediately, which they did not, you still cannot mobilize that much additional assets in a few hours. You had the incompetents leading the untrained and unprepared at the city level. And now these low lifes are trying to blame everyone but those truly at fault. If I was in New Orleans right now, I know who I would be hanging from the Superdome. Of course, then the media would start acting like it was a racial act.

[Seadog]

And talk about not hearing the truth. One idiots says the President is out golfing, which is a blatant lie, and a half dozen act as if it is the truth, even after several posts telling the facts. Typical liberal siht heads. Only hear what they want and then defends their theories as reality. Show them a poll that shows that Michael Moore was cheated in the last election and they will expound on how Bush and the supreme court conspired to take over the country.

[Rev. Williams]

Yaeh, It's the pres. fault. No personal responsibility......Nobody's responsible for themselves I guess. Just blame the pres. Wonder where they got that idea....
That's the way of these people. They've done NOTHING to contribute to society, been an ongoing drain on state and federal funds and now they screem for help from the same government that they've cursed on a daily basis prior to this.
F That !!!
I don't care how poor you are, like MIRVIN said it's about being responsible for yourself. When you know a storm is coming (and they had 3-4 days of knowing) you gather up food, water, clothing, meds and carry it with you if you plan on staying to ride it out! Everyone that is stuck on a house was unprepared!!!! AND THAT IS THEIR FAULT!!! NO ONE ELSE!! Were all these people to poor to walk? The all seem able to walk around at the Dome. They seem strong enough to break into stores, strong enough to run with a TV on their shoulders!! I can understand some of the olderly having trouble, but they are a small small percentage of that 15-20thousand standing around.

[mirvin]

Yep....just like an earthquak here in cali. We have no excuse not to be prepaired for something that is EMINENT. We know it will happen. If we're not ready it aint nobodys fault but ours.
You can't tell me NEW ORLEANS didn't know this was gonna happen. This was known for the last 50 years. They KNEW this was gonna happen. Every years for as long as I can remember they've skated by this.
I'm not trying to blame the people. Dang the people need help. I'm just sick of the people unjustly blaming the government or blaming the rich for something they should have been prepaired for. NO EXCUSES.
mirvin

[Ultrafied]

Why is it always "pussy liberals"? If you don't agree with the president then you are a liberal? The guy is f_cking up. With this, with the gas situation, and everytime someone speaks out, the phrase comes up "pussy liberal". You can be a conservative (which I am), a Republican (which I am) and still believe that the president isn't (and can't) do his job.

[BowTie Rick]

This picture tells a thousand words. The local gov't blew it, not the feds. Buses that could have been used BEFOREHAND (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050901/480/flpc21109012015)

[crf311]

Everyone , as long as there is water in the city it's like the hurricane is still hitting the city. Along the gulf coast the water has come and gone, clean up and rebuilding can start. In the city you still have parts that have 10 - 20 ft. of water. Now, with that said, The mayor finally said something that needed to be said. We need help Right now.

[Schiada76]

This picture tells a thousand words. The local gov't blew it, not the feds. Buses that could have been used BEFOREHAND (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050901/480/flpc21109012015)
Bush wouldn't let them use those busses because they're black! :D

[Water Romper]

As an interesting side note to this mayhemÂ… :cry:
Apparently, the drug problem in New Orleans is/was so bad that when this disaster hit, all the dope fiends are now “commin down” and are freaking out, thus the murders and rapes in the “dome”. :frown:
The violence is rampant due to a large portion of these drug induced a-holes going nutsÂ… :2purples:

[WaTchTheGelCoat]

As an interesting side note to this mayhemÂ… :cry:
Apparently, the drug problem in New Orleans is/was so bad that when this disaster hit, all the dope fiends are now “commin down” and are freaking out, thus the murders and rapes in the “dome”. :frown:
The violence is rampant due to a large portion of these drug induced a-holes going nutsÂ… :2purples:
One big detox center.

[Ultrafied]

One big detox center.
LOL :220v:

[Racer277]

As usual lake pirate (er I mean poster X) is skewing fact to support his bush bashing viewpoint.
:rolleyes:

[Havasu Hangin']

As usual lake pirate (er I mean poster X) is skewing fact to support his bush bashing viewpoint.
572Daytona- you are not as dumb as JBB says you are. Do you think he'll come back as "god" again? :notam:

[Riverkid]

Looks like BlueBird is gonna have a big year...

[Boozer]

572Daytona- you are not as dumb as JBB says you are. Do you think he'll come back as "god" again? :notam:
GOD was not lake pirate.

[AirtimeLavey]

Sorry to disagree with you again, but he should have had a phone, he should have had electricity, he should have had mobility, and there are radio stations broadcasting in New Orleans from outside the city.
I used to ran an ambulance service in New Orleans. I had an office on high ground, with generators, all managers had satelite phones, and we had vehicles that can go through fairly deep water.
Acadian Ambulance Service, a private service in New Orleans, had communications throughout the week, until looters stole thier backup generator. They were moving 500 patients a day from New Orleans hospitals, until they had to pull out thier ambulances and helicopters due to gunfire and hijackings. They requested security from the police department and couldn't get it.
The New Orleans Police Department has about 20 amphibious ex-army vehicles, that can go anywhere.
Good post. Always screws up the liberal/emotional knee-jerk comments, when you use facts and real-world commonsense. :hammerhea
The mayor and governor need to take the majority of the responsibility for this catastrophy. A clear lack of preparation, and a horrifying and f-upped sense of complacency on the obvious impending potential and ultimate disaster. These people weren't facing an oncoming vacation....they were facing a life threatening event. If you want to live, you do what you can when you're warned. After that, it's you're own fault. Tragic for the innocent victims that their city and state gov't weren't competent. Living in a city built liked N.O., you'd think the levies would be more secure, and a strong plan of action for a breach would be in place. You'd also think that post disaster communications would have been better thought out. It's so sad.

[hurleyr]

"That mayor, and the gov, are a disgrace!"
That sums it up.

[Havasu Hangin']

GOD was not lake pirate.
Then who was it?

[Jrocket]

Then who was it?
Look North!

[mikefd024]

The Mayor Of New Orleans Is A Real Piece Of Work, How About A Little Self Accountability In The Situation. Obviously He Has Never Heard Of Local Governments Taking Care Of Themselves Before Things Like This Even Happen. His City Had No Pre Plans For Any Of The Problems That Happened There, His Police, Fire, And Other Agency's Were Not Prepared For Anything Like This. You Would Think That A City That Was 300 Years Old Would Have A Plan For One Of These Levy's Breaking, And Flooding The City. Especially In A Tropical Area That Notoriously Get's Alot Of Rain. Unlike Here In So. Cal Area Where Local Government Take Care Of It's Own Like In 1992 Riots, 1994 Northridge Earthquake, Or Massive Brush Fires We Have Yearly Are Handled At The Most At The State Level, We Don't Talk %$@# About Our President Blaming Him For His City Being Ill Prepared To Take Care Of Itself. Our Local Governments May Need Federal Money, But Not National Guard, To Take Of Us. Maybe I Am Wrong For Thinking This Way, But The General Public Heres This Mayor Speak, And Makes The President Look Bad, Because The Mayor Was Not Prepared. The Media Does Not Help Anything Either Though. Just My 0.2 Cents

[NuckinFutz]

Don't think for a moment the Mayor didn't have a way to communicate. If he is to stupid to have access to a satelite phone during a pre-forcasted disaster, he should be hung. Power comes in the way of generators for communication. A 6000 Honda will run any dispatch radio center for days. Looks to me the mayor didn't plan well and is trying to blame everyone but himself. Yes I feel sorry for the children and the old, but stop blaming everyone else when you cause your own problems.

[Boatcop]

The Mayor of NOLA, so concerned about his "people" and their suffering.
That's why he had rich tourists from the Hyatt Regency escorted (by armed guards) from the Hotel to the Superdome and put on busses before the people who've been there for 5 days.
Not a rumor or tale, but witnessed and filmed by FoxNews' Shephard Smith.
New Orleans has a culture of corruption, mismanagement, incompetant leadership, and all out graft in every faction of it's government.
That culture is why their own population is suffering so greatly now.

[Jbb]

572Daytona- you are not as dumb as JBB says you are. Do you think he'll come back as "god" again? :notam:
bless you all... :squiggle:

[Havasu Hangin']

Look North!
Guys in the north can use an IP from Texas?

[Jrocket]

Guys in the north can use an IP from Texas?
Sure why not,even Tom Brown could....I mean if he wanted to that is.

[HighRoller]

This douch needs to learn two words;
Ownership
Responsibility
It's HIS town and he's the one who should shoulder the blame for being unprepared. Surely he knew where the town was located, and the fact that they were below sea level. Surely he could have prepared an emergency plan. If he wasn't aware of the uniques opportunities for his town to be wrecked due to its geographic and elevation related considerations, he shouldn't have signed up for the job. Dumbass.

[wrath of cron]

Minor points,..........you build a city below sea level and surround it with a wall..... eventualy the wall will break and the sea will come in. DON'T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO FIGURE OUT. I feel so sorry for the people who worked hard and have lost everything,............but I can't shake the sight of looters and real low lifes. Rudy had no notice of the attacks, this N.O. mayor had days of notice. I am wondering if he truly represents those who voted him in (sorta' like Marion Berry in DC)............Wonder when the assistance from our friends through out the world (especialy the french) is going to show up. Why the gas prices, shit, we own IRAQ they have all sorts oil. Why the hell have so many of our own died in that shit hole if not for the oil (it damn sure ain't a vacation hotspot) G.W. is doing the best he can given the laws, I don't think he realy should be pushing a mop. What would Bill C have done.....shut down the airport while gettin head from some bimbo???

[mikefd024]

I have more respect for the people posting here than ever before. We all rock, to bad we are the minority in thinking this!!!!!

[HighRoller]

Mike, I only wanna know one thing. How the hell did you capitalize every first letter in that post above? You must have a program because that would be a pain :hammerhea in the ass otherwise!!!

[Old Texan]

I have have lurked around this site and others for a while, enjoying the rhetoric and laughs, fine looking ladies, power boats (and other macho machines) and following the daily doings.
Basicly a relief from the job and enjoying what we all love about boats and the water.
Katrina has managed to bring out a lot of the pent up frustrations of general life, the economy, Iraq, and the 2 biggest divisions in our society; politics and moral beliefs (aka religion, et al)
I know New Orleans. I know the north (born there). I know the south (lived there), the west (worked there). I am an old (54 yrs.) hippy, sudo alcoholic, intellectual, party animal, jock, good old boy, self appointed psychologist, and really should be King of the whole damn world.
Don't bad mouth "W". Don't badmouth the FEMA response. Don't take the Kennedy Jr. response and blame MS Gov. and W about Kyoto. Accept the fact that Mother Nature is the real "Man". The term "Shit Happens" first appeared on a Bourbon St. T-shirt. It is a basic fact that tragedy in the form of natural disaster will happen no matter what! Ice Age, Volcanoes, sunamies(sic), on and on. We ain't that bada$$ as we would like to think. Ma rules!!
We have no control.... We desire control, but it ain't gonna happen. Nope, never.
( Ironically as I ramble, Jesse J. is talking his shit on Night Line. Please....)
Our brave Coast Guard, National Guard, local PDs, FDs, EMTs, and all the real heroes are busting their a$$es to get this fixed.
My message: Take control of your government! Push for term limits on all Federal, state and local elected officials. Remove the "Lifetime" appointment of Supreme Court Justices by insisting the Pres. nominates and we the people vote on the appointees. There is nothing more evil and repressing than a life time politician. Believe nothing the under achieving media idiots tell you, remember this is America: you are poor and uneducated by lazy a$$e choice! Personal planning and responsibilty for yourself and your children is your JOB, not Uncle Sam's.
Any big city in the country will not completely evacuate if given 3 yrs. notice, be it hurricane, volcano, earthquake, al Queda, bad pussy, or numerous social disfunctional diseases.
Not to be racial but the damn fools won't listen to Bill Cosby or Charles Barkley. Where is Al Sharpton and the other vocal self serving fools who could perhaps get the dick head junkies of NO to put down their arms and let the people be evacuated. Libs and social "leader/heroes" have no real answers, only bitching complaints.
Enough for now, I'm going to get a good night's sleep and enjoy a peaceful day on Lake Sidney Lanier, GA tomorrow. I've been fortunate enough to think ahead to what I need to survive in the cruel old world. I could live any where, educate myself to earn a good living where I choose, and take care of me and my own. Because I'm white??????????? Naw, because I'm an AMERICAN!!!!
God Bless. It will all work it's way out. Like Jimmy Buffet said, "60 good years, it's not that long a stay"

[Racer277]

Bravo

[CARLSON-JET]

I have have lurked around this site and others for a while, enjoying the rhetoric and laughs, fine looking ladies, power boats (and other macho machines) and following the daily doings.
Basicly a relief from the job and enjoying what we all love about boats and the water.
Katrina has managed to bring out a lot of the pent up frustrations of general life, the economy, Iraq, and the 2 biggest divisions in our society; politics and moral beliefs (aka religion, et al)
I know New Orleans. I know the north (born there). I know the south (lived there), the west (worked there). I am an old (54 yrs.) hippy, sudo alcoholic, intellectual, party animal, jock, good old boy, self appointed psychologist, and really should be King of the whole damn world.
Don't bad mouth "W". Don't badmouth the FEMA response. Don't take the Kennedy Jr. response and blame MS Gov. and W about Kyoto. Accept the fact that Mother Nature is the real "Man". The term "Shit Happens" first appeared on a Bourbon St. T-shirt. It is a basic fact that tragedy in the form of natural disaster will happen no matter what! Ice Age, Volcanoes, sunamies(sic), on and on. We ain't that bada$$ as we would like to think. Ma rules!!
We have no control.... We desire control, but it ain't gonna happen. Nope, never.
( Ironically as I ramble, Jesse J. is talking his shit on Night Line. Please....)
Our brave Coast Guard, National Guard, local PDs, FDs, EMTs, and all the real heroes are busting their a$$es to get this fixed.
My message: Take control of your government! Push for term limits on all Federal, state and local elected officials. Remove the "Lifetime" appointment of Supreme Court Justices by insisting the Pres. nominates and we the people vote on the appointees. There is nothing more evil and repressing than a life time politician. Believe nothing the under achieving media idiots tell you, remember this is America: you are poor and uneducated by lazy a$$e choice! Personal planning and responsibilty for yourself and your children is your JOB, not Uncle Sam's.
Any big city in the country will not completely evacuate if given 3 yrs. notice, be it hurricane, volcano, earthquake, al Queda, bad pussy, or numerous social disfunctional diseases.
Not to be racial but the damn fools won't listen to Bill Cosby or Charles Barkley. Where is Al Sharpton and the other vocal self serving fools who could perhaps get the dick head junkies of NO to put down their arms and let the people be evacuated. Libs and social "leader/heroes" have no real answers, only bitching complaints.
Enough for now, I'm going to get a good night's sleep and enjoy a peaceful day on Lake Sidney Lanier, GA tomorrow. I've been fortunate enough to think ahead to what I need to survive in the cruel old world. I could live any where, educate myself to earn a good living where I choose, and take care of me and my own. Because I'm white??????????? Naw, because I'm an AMERICAN!!!!
God Bless. It will all work it's way out. Like Jimmy Buffet said, "60 good years, it's not that long a stay" sleep well party hardy. nice first post .. welcome aboard R.B.

[HighRoller]

HO-LY SHYT!! I think I've just witnessed the best post EVER on ***boat!!! Now, OT you may say no city can be evacuated quickly, but if you told the residents of Orange County that some chubby girls without plastic boobs or tats were moving in, the place would be empty within the hour.
Seriously....please come back and post more often. What the world needs is more common sense like you just dispensed. God Bless you, and enjoy your weekend sir.

[mikefd024]

Just Use Cap Lock....

[Kilrtoy]

Now, OT you may say no city can be evacuated quickly, but if you told the residents of Orange County that some chubby girls without plastic boobs or tats were moving in, the place would be empty within the hour.
.
Not true, Just tell them you are coming and the whole damn city would leave quicker than that...

[BajaMike]

Mike, I only wanna know one thing. How the hell did you capitalize every first letter in that post above? You must have a program because that would be a pain :hammerhea in the ass otherwise!!!
I Was Thinking The Same Thing....... :2purples: :confused:
How....Or Why Did He Do That??? :2purples:
:hammerhea :crossx: :argue:

[Kilrtoy]

Mike, I only wanna know one thing. How the hell did you capitalize every first letter in that post above? You must have a program because that would be a pain :hammerhea in the ass otherwise!!!
Again There Is A Key Called CAPS LOCK Or You Can Use The SHIFT Button...
I Know Its ROCKET SCIENCE
Try It, You May Like It

[BajaMike]

And "Old Texan"....good first post!!!
:idea: :confused: :smile: :cool: :frown: :devil: :notam: :squiggle: :coffeycup :

[HighRoller]

Again There Is A Key Called CAPS LOCK Or You Can Use The SHIFT Button...
I Know Its ROCKET SCIENCE
Try It, You May Like It
touche...But, he managed to capitalize every first letter of every word in a huge post, so pay attention Dr Rey. Did your brain shrink when your wife's tits grew? Apparently so.

[Kilrtoy]

touche...But, he managed to capitalize every first letter of every word in a huge post, so pay attention Dr Rey. Did your brain shrink when your wife's tits grew? Apparently so.
Actually just patience for idiots shrank...
can you type any quicker im tired of waiting so long for your replys

[BajaMike]

Again There Is A Key Called CAPS LOCK Or You Can Use The SHIFT Button...
I Know Its ROCKET SCIENCE
Try It, You May Like It
Hey, Kilr....caps lock wont cap the first letter of every word....it caps all letters...... :confused:
:devil: :D :frown: :rolleyes:

[hurleyr]

Bravo
I second that. Welcome aboard brother!

[ECeptor]

Not a rumor or tale, but witnessed and filmed by FoxNews' Shephard Smith.
I like Shephard. I think he's a fair newscaster...a rarity today.
He should write a book about all the bulls**t he witness firsthand. He was screaming in the camera last night about conditions, actions, etc. The need some fair, accurate observations of what is happening to have any hopes of preventing it from happening again in the future.

[Racer277]

An interesting source...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Robert Tracinski
It has taken four long days for state and federal officials to figure out how to deal with the disaster in New Orleans. I can't blame them, because it has also taken me four long days to figure out what is going on there. The reason is that the events there make no sense if you think that we are confronting a natural disaster.
If this is just a natural disaster, the response for public officials is obvious: you bring in food, water, and doctors; you send transportation to evacuate refugees to temporary shelters; you send engineers to stop the flooding and rebuild the city's infrastructure. For journalists, natural disasters also have a familiar pattern: the heroism of ordinary people pulling together to survive; the hard work and dedication of doctors, nurses, and rescue workers; the steps being taken to clean up and rebuild.
Public officials did not expect that the first thing they would have to do is to send thousands of armed troops in armored vehicle, as if they are suppressing an enemy insurgency. And journalists--myself included--did not expect that the story would not be about rain, wind, and flooding, but about rape, murder, and looting.
But this is not a natural disaster. It is a man-made disaster.
The man-made disaster is not an inadequate or incompetent response by federal relief agencies, and it was not directly caused by Hurricane Katrina. This is where just about every newspaper and television channel has gotten the story wrong.
The man-made disaster we are now witnessing in New Orleans did not happen over the past four days. It happened over the past four decades. Hurricane Katrina merely exposed it to public view.
The man-made disaster is the welfare state.
For the past few days, I have found the news from New Orleans to be confusing. People were not behaving as you would expect them to behave in an emergency--indeed, they were not behaving as they have behaved in other emergencies. That is what has shocked so many people: they have been saying that this is not what we expect from America. In fact, it is not even what we expect from a Third World country.
When confronted with a disaster, people usually rise to the occasion. They work together to rescue people in danger, and they spontaneously organize to keep order and solve problems. This is especially true in America. We are an enterprising people, used to relying on our own initiative rather than waiting around for the government to take care of us. I have seen this a hundred times, in small examples (a small town whose main traffic light had gone out, causing ordinary citizens to get out of their cars and serve as impromptu traffic cops, directing cars through the intersection) and large ones (the spontaneous response of New Yorkers to September 11).
So what explains the chaos in New Orleans?
To give you an idea of the magnitude of what is going on, here is a description from a Washington Times story:
"Storm victims are raped and beaten; fights erupt with flying fists, knives and guns; fires are breaking out; corpses litter the streets; and police and rescue helicopters are repeatedly fired on.
"The plea from Mayor C. Ray Nagin came even as National Guardsmen poured in to restore order and stop the looting, carjackings and gunfire....
"Last night, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said 300 Iraq-hardened Arkansas National Guard members were inside New Orleans with shoot-to-kill orders.
" 'These troops are...under my orders to restore order in the streets,' she said. 'They have M-16s, and they are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary and I expect they will.' "
The reference to Iraq is eerie. The photo that accompanies this article shows National Guard troops, with rifles and armored vests, riding on an armored vehicle through trash-strewn streets lined by a rabble of squalid, listless people, one of whom appears to be yelling at them. It looks exactly like a scene from Sadr City in Baghdad.
What explains bands of thugs using a natural disaster as an excuse for an orgy of looting, armed robbery, and rape? What causes unruly mobs to storm the very buses that have arrived to evacuate them, causing the drivers to drive away, frightened for their lives? What causes people to attack the doctors trying to treat patients at the Super Dome?
Why are people responding to natural destruction by causing further destruction? Why are they attacking the people who are trying to help them?
My wife, Sherri, figured it out first, and she figured it out on a sense-of-life level. While watching the coverage last night on Fox News Channel, she told me that she was getting a familiar feeling. She studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Chicago, which is located in the South Side of Chicago just blocks away from the Robert Taylor Homes, one of the largest high-rise public housing projects in America. "The projects," as they were known, were infamous for uncontrollable crime and irremediable squalor. (They have since, mercifully, been demolished.)
What Sherri was getting from last night's television coverage was a whiff of the sense of life of "the projects." Then the "crawl"--the informational phrases flashed at the bottom of the screen on most news channels--gave some vital statistics to confirm this sense: 75% of the residents of New Orleans had already evacuated before the hurricane, and of the 300,000 or so who remained, a large number were from the city's public housing projects. Jack Wakeland then gave me an additional, crucial fact: early reports from CNN and Fox indicated that the city had no plan for evacuating all of the prisoners in the city's jails--so they just let many of them loose. There is no doubt a significant overlap between these two populations--that is, a large number of people in the jails used to live in the housing projects, and vice versa.
There were many decent, innocent people trapped in New Orleans when the deluge hit--but they were trapped alongside large numbers of people from two groups: criminals--and wards of the welfare state, people selected, over decades, for their lack of initiative and self-induced helplessness. The welfare wards were a mass of sheep--on whom the incompetent administration of New Orleans unleashed a pack of wolves.
All of this is related, incidentally, to the apparent incompetence of the city government, which failed to plan for a total evacuation of the city, despite the knowledge that this might be necessary. But in a city corrupted by the welfare state, the job of city officials is to ensure the flow of handouts to welfare recipients and patronage to political supporters--not to ensure a lawful, orderly evacuation in case of emergency.
No one has really reported this story, as far as I can tell. In fact, some are already actively distorting it, blaming President Bush, for example, for failing to personally ensure that the Mayor of New Orleans had drafted an adequate evacuation plan. The worst example is an execrable piece from the Toronto Globe and Mail, by a supercilious Canadian who blames the chaos on American "individualism." But the truth is precisely the opposite: the chaos was caused by a system that was the exact opposite of individualism.
What Hurricane Katrina exposed was the psychological consequences of the welfare state. What we consider "normal" behavior in an emergency is behavior that is normal for people who have values and take the responsibility to pursue and protect them. People with values respond to a disaster by fighting against it and doing whatever it takes to overcome the difficulties they face. They don't sit around and complain that the government hasn't taken care of them. They don't use the chaos of a disaster as an opportunity to prey on their fellow men.
But what about criminals and welfare parasites? Do they worry about saving their houses and property? They don't, because they don't own anything. Do they worry about what is going to happen to their businesses or how they are going to make a living? They never worried about those things before. Do they worry about crime and looting? But living off of stolen wealth is a way of life for them.
The welfare state--and the brutish, uncivilized mentality it sustains and encourages--is the man-made disaster that explains the moral ugliness that has swamped New Orleans. And that is the story that no one is reporting.
Source: TIA Daily -- September 2, 2005