Friday, September 02, 2005

What a country.......

where will all this end. i cant even watch the news its so depressing. new orleans for intents and purposes is gone. it just doesnt exist anymore. the people there just arent being rescued. why does it seem like we airlifted so much stuff to the tsunami victims but we arent doing it there. armed gangs are running the streets. people who were trapped there are being raped and beaten. corpses floating in the water. trucks with hospital supplies are being hijacked. this is like a scene out of a horror movie. this isnt going to end quickly either and its going to affect all of us. gas has shot up 70 cents a gallon here since wednesday. heating oil and natural gas are going to be wildly expensive this winter. gasoline shortages are here. consumer prices are going to rise due to one of our largest ports being closed. in spite of that i'm lucky that i dont live there. my family and i are safe and we have our home.

i dont have any answers....just alot of questions.
1. why wasnt the military brought in earlier to secure that city.
2. would the rescue effort be quicker if most of the people were white.
3. why has our government turned down help from the netherlands to help fix the
levies
4. why did we turn down venezuelas offer of rescue helicopters
5. you can give money to the red cross or whoever but what else can someone do
6. why did we turn down irans offer of 1 billion dollars and 500k barrels of oil at $35/gallon

sorry if my depression gets you down but maybe thats what this country needs right now. have a great weekend

16 comments:

ccw said...

I've been wondering the same stuff. It is so sad to see the images on TV. It does not even look like our country.

Joe said...

My theory is that the government knew that they needed to get those people out of N.O., but since most of them are black and on some kind of government assistance, they decided to cut the losses short and allow these people to die or at least fend for themselves. Remember New Orleans' poverty rate is around 40%. I know that sounds bleak, but it just seems to be my theory.

shoes said...

blade, i'd love to say your theory is all wrong....but i cant with complete certainty

SRH said...

IT does seem to be a bit of systematic negkect on the part of the current administration. When the levees broke, US Navy hospital boats should have been heading to the gulf. Why don't we have a navy aircraft acrriers and helo carriers there right now to evac the people.

boggling

Akv said...

I think everyone has been asking those questions. I personally think that it's time civilians got together and started a convoy of food and water and transport. Fema is burning 500 million dollars a day and they have 2.5 billion left. That is absolutely ridiculous to me. I am struck dumb. We could drop mres throughout Afghanistan and Food and shelter and medical supplies in the first few days to the tsunami victims. It has already been FIVE DAYS. This is beyond what normal humans can survive without water in a hot environment. A plague is going to start from people drinking unclean water. There were reports and studies done since 1998, stating that New Orleans was a catastrophe waiting to happen. And all those politicians you see on the news just pat each other on the back, praising each others efforts. This is truly bipartisan failure of preparedness. It is almost callous. It's as though no one can multitask, they've all been waiting and training for another terrorist attack, which isn't wrong but it wasn't the only looming danger. I think alot more people should be furious about what is happening and not happening. What do you expect when there is anarchy in the streets. People are going to revert to basic survival mode. This is the United States of America. What happened?

shoes said...

as much as i dont like dubya i dont see the democrats jumping to the rescue either. i think partisan politics should take a step back while we help these people

Anonymous said...

My answers:
1. why wasnt the military brought in earlier to secure that city: because they are in iraq
2. would the rescue effort be quicker if most of the people were white: yes, the poor and non-white always suffer more
3. why has our government turned down help from the netherlands to help fix thevlevies: the usa can never admit it needs help
4. why did we turn down venezuelas offer of rescue helicopters: bush hates chavez
5. you can give money to the red cross or whoever but what else can someone do: volunteer
6. why did we turn down irans offer of 1 billion dollars and 500k barrels of oil at $35/gallon: because bush and his buddies make more money with higher prices

Anonymous said...

Point is, if this were the Hamptons, Beverly Hills, or even Miami as expected help would be sent. Why, because people with money can find places to go, they aren't going to homeless for very long. They have enough money to rebuild, or move on. I don't think this has anything to do with race, I think it's a money issue. Why is Bush not accepting the help from other countries? Because he is going to use this disaters as a way to provide jobs for people here in the US. It's going to take years for Lousiana to get back to normal, and that means a lot of jobs are going to be offered to the unemployed.

I'm not even supposed to be here today said...

I feel so helpless. I've donated money... big deal. New Orleans is a national treasure and I don't understand why people are suffering. I heard on the news that rescue attempts were shut down for several hours because shots were fired... as if the "good guys" don't have guns too. I can't even hate on the ones who are making the problems worse... becuase I have no idea how I would respond if I were that desperate and my children were hungry. We all have that animal urge to survive and protect our own.

But we can't let a few bad apples prevent us from saving the others who are trying to be patient and clinging to the hope that help is on the way.

shoes said...

anonymous, first dont come in anonymous. use a name. its really much better. the only thing i disagree with you on is why the military wasnt brought in earlier. mississippi had the fewest reserves home of the three states...62%. lousiana has 78% of their reservists here at home

Akv said...

I think the only issue that Iraq has caused in regard to response is that there aren't enough helicopters for evacuation or heavy lifting to get the rescue and levee fixing done overnight. The reason why Venezuela was refused was that no foreign army may be active inside of the U.S. There are going to be alot of jobs, but there are already way too many people out of work. And the jobs aren't going to go to them, not unless they are hired as laborers to pick up trash and clear out the debris. Donating money and clothing and food and living space and basic household necessities are the best things but who knows when everything will be settled down enough that people will be able to recieve it. It's like a catch-22 almost. I'm just appalled at the way Fema has handled the situation.

Im so angry, Im so at ease said...

I think your country is the only one in the world today to choose an armed solution to a nature catastrophy... It could not happen elsewhere, and if it did the government would fall to pieces in seconds and rich wealthy politicians would have to flee with choppers and lifeguards. Why has it come to this... (not blaming you as your observations are mostly welcomed in other parts of the world...)

shoes said...

well, i'm so angry. i dont think america is the only country this could happen in but it doesnt make it better that we did. i wish the politcians would flee

halcyon67 said...

This country is so backwars when it comes to national tragedies but when it comes to angry mothers and people who are comatose, it is a whole 'nother story.

It seems as if the Bush Administration wants nothing to do with it.

So much for the reconciliation of the Southern Strategy

Angel! said...

One simple explanation:

This tragedy is lucrative to Bush.


It'll take time, it'll take fuckin' long until REAL/USEFUL actions will be taken. And meanwhile, Bush and his filthy rich friends will get richer!

halcyon67 said...

Yea, I heard that Halliburton got the contract to help rebuild N.O. Why not give that to local construction companies? But that would require compassion and empathy. Real compassion and empathy not the bullshit that they serve.

Bush has given several briefings on this, and he has not taken the opportunity to really express any sympathy.

I think he just doesn't care.