I think we can officially say that New Orleans is a train wreck. Everytime I read the news on it, it's worse. The President says the results of the relief efforts are not acceptable, and he's right.
I want to say thank you to the Texans for stepping up in such a big way to take in so many refugees, both human and animal.
In Mississippi, things are going to work out much better:
[Mississippi] Gov. Haley Barbour said he knows people are tired, hungry, dirty and scared — particularly in areas hardest hit by Katrina. He said the state faces a long and expensive recovery process.
"I will say, sometimes I'm scared, too," Barbour said during a briefing in Jackson, Miss. "But we are going to hitch up our britches. We're going to get this done."
Mississippi will get up and dust itself off. New Orleans looks down for the count right now.
UPDATE
Read what the Fat Guy has to say about this. I've been pondering his post for a while now. It made me think of how horrible Dunkirk would have been if private citizens had been excluded from taking their own little boats to France and rescuing soldiers:
On May 25th, 1940, along the English southern coast an armada of small private vessels was gathering. Any boat capable of carrying troops was collected. Fishing boats, passenger ferries, car ferries, pleasure craft, sailing boats and even a Thames paddle steamer was there, over 700 in all. Many of these had not been to sea before and some were not designed for the sea as they were (flat bottomed) river boats .
For five days, fishing boats, yachts, tugs and other little boats braved the bombs and strafing runs of the Luftwaffe to rescue 200,000 British and 140,000 French troops. Some boats made three or more journeys on their own amid dive bombing and strafing by the Luftwaffe. Unlit and unable to comprehend, or respond to naval signals by night, they risked being sunk by their own side.
Now how come we can't get these people off these roofs?
Much more over at Michelle's.
Posted by floridacracker at September 2, 2005 09:09 AMDon't worry, after the politicians get finished talking about everything, the news casters find another story, the majority of refugees find out that they can really live somewhere else and get free almost everything and the Corp of Engineers finishes screwing up that area even more than they have (with the help of corrupted LA officials) they will rebuild NO into something it has never been, a city with good city services, a city with good housing for the poor and elderly, a city with good streets, highways and such.
But, then the corruption and politicians will start to destroy it once angain. It will be a race to see if they can destroy it before another storm does.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
Dag, Ray. We did a whole lot better in Banda Aceh than how're we're doing in NO. FEMA's saying they only cottoned on Thursday about how it was in the Superdome. The director of FEMA keeps finding new ways to suck. When they opened the doors they should have known how it would be if they didn't stick tight to it. I'm still thinking of the fellow in the story of when they first opened the doors. The fellow that breezed through the checkpoint because he was carrying just a fresh-baked apple pie and a paperback novel. He said, "I'm good." He's not so good now, I reckon.
I haven't watched this on TV one bit. The news sites and the pics are plenty.
A big reason that private craft aren't being used must be the liability risk. Can you imagine what the lawyers would do to you if you took your little motorboat in there, picked up some people, and then somebody fell out and drowned, or, God forbid, one passenger shot another? You'd be sued up to the eyeballs and your life would be ruined.
IMHO, lurking behind a lot of the changes for the worse in the good ol' USA these last few decades are the LAWYERS.
Posted by: Baron Bodissey at September 2, 2005 01:58 PMgot to agree with the Baron on this one, fellow Cracker. Here's from my post yesterday on the subject:
(someone had asked the RC why they couldn't use private homes for victims)
"A Red Cross volunteer told me on the phone that they have to use their own shelters for liability reasons."
Ah, yes. How could I have forgotten? The Lawyers. They wait, like Death, for such opportunistic moments. Can't you see the liability suit ads now? "Did FEMA fail to help you?" Trust the lawyers. They'll be making big bucks from Katrina.
BTW, I'm going to use another credit card to make my donation to use up all your jewelery money. You'll get the receipt shortly. Can't be having bejewlwed women running around in the palmetto scrub.
Posted by: dymphna at September 2, 2005 02:42 PMThese guys are taking people in
http://www.katrinahousing.org/
via-- http://www.news-press.com
Posted by: Cindy at September 2, 2005 02:51 PMDid you know Bush asks for mandatory evacuation during a phone call to Blanco?
http://tinyurl.com/8w4c2
Posted by: Papa Ray at September 2, 2005 09:54 PMYeah, I blogged it, Ray. It was at the press conference with Nagin, Harry Lee, and the Governor:
http://www.florida-cracker.org/archives/002296.html
"Ahh. President Bush called the Governor and told her to make sure there's a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. He made the decision for these ditherers."
Posted by: Donnah at September 2, 2005 11:22 PM