Report from New Orleans

Thx Sishir.

I saw the 60 minutes feature on NOLA and came away with the impression that NOLA could not feasibly be restored to its former self. That it would take years to build levees, how Katrina accelerated the general sinking of the city, mold, etc., etc.

What is your opinion about the feasibility of NOLA's future? Are politicians just afraid right now to admit the truth - that NOLA cannot be restored and will only exist in a much smaller form? - the the city would become an island anyways in 80 years?

 

Why should the tax payers keep footing the bill to let these people rebuild in exactly the same place only to be destroyed again in the not so distant future?

 

*sigh*

Galveston came back little by little after the Storm of 1900. It never recovered fully, but came back to where it could support itself.

If private interests (ie. Port companies) want to rebuild it, let them. It is not the Gov't nor my responsibility to refurbish a town. Period.

FEMA should be taken away period. Let Charities help out Natural Disasters.

Complaints about the pace of recovery? Please. I guess nobody remembers how long it took FEMA to take care of Allison, and that was before 9-11, when FEMA was exactly in place as it had been.

Rumors about floodwalls being deliberately dynamited is talk for crack-pots and ignorants. Look at any floodplain for New Orleans, and it becomes very obvious why certain places flooded while others didn't.

 

that's ridiculous. first of all, all fema money isn't free, my dad got a loan from fema to help build his house after allison, he has to pay it back. secondly, charities are for instant relief, fema is for long term recovery. you can't expect the red cross to help people rebuild homes.

of course fema won't be building homes in N.O. if people don't come back. and people won't come back if there are no jobs, so I don't see why that's even a concern of yours.

 

Apparently you're not watching the news. These people not only expect FEMA to rebuild their lives for free, they want it done yesterday.

 

I'm just in awe, Sishir. Good for you! We've given some money, and some clothes and such, but what you're doing is what's needed the most... getting in there and doing something hands-on. My respect for you was already high, but it's really shot up now. Far out!!

The Feds have really dropped the ball. I know the state and local authorities have as well, but they weren't all that hot before this happened, and have had that rep as long as I can remember. The Feds need to step up, and they seem to be more confused than anything else.

This is an unprecedented disaster, yet all we hear about now is trying to make the Patriot Act permanent, the freakin' President of the United States authorizing the Department of Defense to spy on Americans in their own country, and more partisan BS spewing from the mouthpiece of the White House. New Orleans and the Gulf area need priority, money, and leadership from the top. I don't believe they have it.



Keep D&D Civil.

 

Why should New Orleans and the Gulf area get a higher priority than Allison, or Hugo, or Ivan?

Doesn't make sense to me.

 

Deckard just likes to take pot shots at the President. Notice he didn't supply any real facts to back up his endless b!tching. Remember it's always easier to b!tch about something than to come up with quality solutions.

 

because their whole city was wiped out. how many people after those other storms had no jobs to go back to that. its a little easier to pull your self up by the boot straps when you have a job.

 

As evidenced by your endless diatribes about liberals.

 

Oh, I have plenty of solutions to take care of the liberals. Sadly none of them are legal in this country.

by the way - I love how you like to step in and attack me when I'm not even talking to you.

 

Natural disasters of that magnitude take a LONG time to fully recover.

DD

 

"Bush is the very definition of the Peter Principal. He was fine as Governor of Texas, as it is one of the weakest positions of governor in the United States. The man has been so far over his head since he was elected that it's frightening. Despite that, he has some of you embarrassing yourselves supporting him, while he destroys our nation's credibility abroad, spews lies about being "a uniter, not a divider," as he goes about being the most partisan President in generations, weakens our military with his voluntary war, while cutting taxes during that war, accuses his critics as being unpatriotic when they disagree with him, as he has his surrogates call them traitors, and has record deficits that our children and grandchildren will be paying the price for generations from now, while corporate America has a veritable cornucopia of largess dumped in their laps, beyond their wildest dreams of avarice."


That's me from another thread, texxx. "Real facts?" The country is littered with them. One real fact is that you, and those like you, support this guy regardless of what he does. People like me are critical of Democrats, Republicans, whatever the hell Nadir is... in short, I will dish out equal opportunity criticism if I think the subject warrants it. All you can do is "call for real facts," when they are staring you in the face, as you run away from providing any of your own, and take shots at people who deeply love their country, and are appalled at seeing it ruined by the lunatics in charge of the Republican Party.

I know many Republicans in "real life," who voted against Bush in '04, have become highly critical of the Bush Administration and the leadership of the Republican Party, and have nothing in common with you and your pals here. And, unlike you, they have been ardent Republicans since 1980, most of them, and dearly loved Ronald Reagan. They see absolutely nothing in common with Reagan and the Bush Administration. I doubt that you were old enough to vote then. Open your eyes and look around you. Your "guy" and his buddies are bent on destroying what is good about this country... what has made the rest of the world admire us.

I don't think you are a real Republican. I don't know what the hell some of you are, but you follow no Republican creed that I know of, not if you follow this man in the White House. He has the National Security Agency and the Pentagon secretly wiretapping tens of thousands of Americans, without obtaining a lawful warrant from a judge, who are available 24/7 to do just that. He is running the greatest deficits in our history. He has overseen a gigantic increase in government spending. He's curtailing your freedoms, and you seem blissfully unaware of that. He has weakened our military, while severely damaging our international standing with both our allies and the rest of the world. Those who used to look up to us now wonder what the hell has happened to the United States.

I don't consider you and your ilk Republicans at all. I am at a loss to attempt to describe just what political persuasion you and your friends adhere to.



Keep D&D Civil.

 

Actually, one big criticism of government relief was that funding for either Hugo or Ivan was larger initially than it was for New Orleans.

Second, priority is based on magnitude. This hurricane was the worst natural disaster in modern history. There simply hasn't been anything like this EVER and consequently demands greater funding and a greater priority from the government. This isn't a question of valuing the New Orleans community more but rather allocating money based on need.

Finally, your argument about charities is somewhat flawed. While I would want that to be the case, charity donations simply arent large enough to deal with this crisis. I worked for the Red Cross during the initial weeks after Katrina and there were just major shortages left and right. People just don't give enough and there's no way charities could help support hundreds of thousands. Your alternative simply means that a majority of those who are without homes go on the streets and become homeless. It would simply create a new underclass of people with no where to go and nothing to do. Unfortunately, ONLY the federal government can provide the aid necessary to deal with crises of this magnitude.

 

What group? Might be one I know.

 

Post more updates Sishir Chang. I sometimes forget the humanistic aspects, like 1st hand accounts or actual experiences, in debates and greater thinking.

Any experiences you wish to share would be very helpful

 

[Red Speak]It's like bailing out Savings and Loan or Chrysler. NO is an economic hub that would benefit the country at full capacity.[/Red Speak]

Private industry will not rebuild the town its former glory if they know that the Fed won't come in an pitch in dollar for dollar....

 

b****, piss, and moan.

 

It's obvious, like the Iraq war and occupation, that New Orleans is now a managed campaign event for this Administration instead of a problem that needs solutions. They want to do just enough to keep the press from biting them. At some point in the near future, America needs to count the cost and decide what she wants to spend on New Orleans and the evacuees. This is a tough decision that needs leadership, which neither side of the isle has right now. Because of the election cycle that will swing into full motion early next year, I'm afraid it could be 2009 (new president) before we start making hard decisions on New Orleans. It's limbo city until then.