And Don’t Want You To Try To Sell Me.
The TV stays on about 23 hours a day here at my house. I like to sleep with the TV set playing in the background.
I enjoy turning on The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, or some other channel that doesn’t broadcast any reality shows—and snoozing comfortably for hours.
EXCEPT…early in the morning and almost all of late night Saturday/Sunday when the companies operating these networks choose to sell their souls to the DEVIL—airing hour long segments of stupid, mindless “infomercials”.
AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh! Not another INFOMERCIAL…
I absolutely HATE waking up to some smiling, pseudo-photogenic idiot that is trying to sell me something I don’t want or need. One of these products, for instance:
A Little Giant Ladder—you’ve seen this ad featuring the giant, 450 pound, pear-shaped buffoon at the home improvement show demonstrating the severely overpriced ladder that contorts into 27 different dangerous looking shapes and forms. You can have one for only $359.99 plus shipping and handling.
Anything with giant rubber bands, fiberglass bows, shock absorbers, or counter weights, designed to work on my “abdominal muscles.” I don’t care if Chuck Norris or Chuck E. Cheese endorses the device, I don’t want one and I’ve nearly damaged my TV throwing the remote control at the picture tube.
Any “Hair System,” “Hair Club,” or other device, program, religion, cult, scheme, or method of altering or attempting to hide the effect of gravity and age on the number of active hair follicles that exist on the top of my ever aging, ever graying skull. I have this theory that the bodies of human male’s have a fixed number of hair follicles, determined at birth. In my case, gravity is causing an increasing number of follicles to slip off of my head and take up residency on my nose, my chest, my back, and my posterior. Like the comedian Galliger says, if things keep progressing at the current rate—if I live to age 60, I’ll be combing a spot in the middle of my ass…
I most definitely don’t want to buy a package of information telling me how to earn a small fortune placing tiny classified ads in every newspaper between here and Timbukto. Has anyone actually been stupid enough to buy into one of these programs? If they have, they wouldn’t dare admit it in public.
I don’t want a collection of books and videotapes outlining any “system” designed to allow me to purchase millions of dollars worth of investment real estate with no credit and Zero dollars down. The two rental properties I already own are enough trouble, and I had enough problems closing a 100% cash deal—“zero down” has got to be an impossibly hard pain in the ass. Again, I wonder how anyone can be this stupid?
I don’t believe that there is really much money to be made installing public Internet terminals in truck stops and strip clubs here in coastal Georgia. As usual, the ad touts that there is no selling and no technical skills required—all you have to do is be able to fill out a bank deposit slip. Hah! If these machines were actually the cash cows that they are promoted to be in the TV ads, why don’t the manufacturers and resellers spend all of their time installing them in every McDonalds and coffee shop nationwide and collect the massive profits for themselves?
And finally, while we’re at it, let me emphatically state that I absolutely do not want to ask my physician about prescribing any drug advertised on TV in an ad that doesn’t tell me what condition or illness the drug cures in the first place. Why could I possibly want to ingest a drug that makes any part of my body stiff for four hours while I walk around my neighborhood with a stupid grin on my face?
Friday, September 09, 2005
Thursday, September 08, 2005
They Can’t Have It Both Ways
I told you I smelled a rat in the woodpile...
If you’ve been listening to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagen and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, you’ll find that they still can’t quite get on the same page regarding the ongoing evacuation of the flooded downtown areas.
Nagen has authorized the NOPD to use force, but Blanco yesterday basically said “umm, noooo, we don’t really mean force FORCE…”
I’ll remind you that this crap is happening twelve days AFTER President Bush called the governor (Saturday before the storm hit) and asked for a mandatory evacuation.
And remember Nagen’s cursing and screaming tantrums about there not being any relief supplies at the Superdome and Convention Center last week? Well, it seems he was right to be screaming, but he should have directed his wrath toward Governor Blanco.
You see, FOX News’ Major Garrett is reporting that it turns out that the Red Cross had supplies pre-positioned before the storm and wanted to deliver them before the levees broke, but was denied access on Monday and Tuesday after the storm by the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security.
Radio Journalist/Blogger Hugh Hewitt interviewed Garrett about the breaking story, and the transcript was published last night over at Radioblogger.
Here’s a sample:
HH: Joined now by Major Garrett, correspondent for the Fox News Channel, as well as author of The Enduring Revolution, a best seller earlier this year. We talked about that. Major Garrett, welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show.
MG: Hugh, always a pleasure. Thanks for having me.
HH: You just broke a pretty big story. I was watching up on the corner television in my studio, and it's headlined that the Red Cross was blocked from delivering supplies to the Superdome, Major Garrett. Tell us what you found out.
MG: Well, the Red Cross, Hugh, had pre-positioned a literal vanguard of trucks with water, food, blankets and hygiene items. They're not really big into medical response items, but those are the three biggies that we saw people at the New Orleans Superdome, and the convention center, needing most accutely. And all of us in America, I think, reasonably asked ourselves, geez. You know, I watch hurricanes all the time. And I see correspondents standing among rubble and refugees and evacuaees. But I always either see that Red Cross or Salvation Army truck nearby. Why don't I see that?
HH: And the answer is?
MG: The answer is the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security, that is the state agency responsible for that state's homeland security, told the Red Cross explicitly, you cannot come.
HH: Now Major Garrett, on what day did they block the delivery? Do you know specifically?
MG: I am told by the Red Cross, immediately after the storm passed.
HH: Okay, so that would be on Monday afternoon.
MG: That would have been Monday or Tuesday. The exact time, the hour, I don't have. But clearly, they had an evacuee situation at the Superdome, and of course, people gravitated to the convention center on an ad hoc basis. They sort of invented that as another place to go, because they couldn't stand the conditions at the Superdome.
HH: Any doubt in the Red Cross' mind that they were ready to go, but they were blocked?
MG: No. Absolutely none. They are absolutely unequivocal on that point.
HH: And are they eager to get this story out there, because they are chagrined by the coverage that's been emanating from New Orleans?
MG: I think they are. I mean, and look. Every agency that is in the private sector, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Feed The Children, all the ones we typically see are aggrieved by all the crap that's being thrown around about the response to this hurricane, because they work hand and glove with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. When FEMA is tarred and feathered, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army are tarred and feathered, because they work on a cooperative basis. They feel they are being sullied by this reaction.
HH: Of course they are. Now Major Garrett, what about the Louisiana governor's office of Homeland Security. Have they responded to this charge by the Red Cross, which is a blockbuster charge?
MG: I have not been able to reach them yet. But, what they have said consistently is, and what they told the Red Cross, we don't want you to come in there, because we have evacuees that we want to get out. And if you come in, they're more likely to stay. So I want your listeners to follow me here. At the very moment that Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans was screaming where's the food, where's the water, it was over the overpass, and state officials were saying you can't come in....
snip, snip......
HH: I also have to conclude from what you're telling me, Major Garrett, is that had they been allowed to deliver when they wanted to deliver, which is at least a little bit prior to the levee, or at least prior to the waters rising, the supplies would have been pre-positioned, and the relief...you know, the people in the Superdome, and possibly at the convention center, I want to come back to that, would have been spared the worst of their misery.
MG: They would have been spared the lack of food, water and hygiene. I don't think there's any doubt that they would not have been spared the indignity of having nor workable bathrooms in short order.
HH: Now Major Garrett, let's turn to the convention center, because this will be, in the aftermath...did the Red Cross have ready to go into the convention center the supplies that we're talking about as well?
MG: Sure. They could have gone to any location, provided that the water wasn't too high, and they got some assistance.
HH: Now, were they utterly dependent upon the Louisiana state officials to okay them?
MG: Yes.
HH: Because you know, they do work with FEMA. But is it your understanding that FEMA and the Red Cross and the other relief agencies must get tht state's okay to act?
MG: As the Red Cross told me, they said look. We are not state actors. We are not the Army. We are a private organziation. We work in cooperation with both FEMA and the state officials. But the state told us A) it's not safe, because the water is dangerous. And we're now learning how toxic the water is. B) there's a security situation, because they didn't have a handle on the violence on the ground. And C) and I think this is most importantly, they wanted to evacuate out. They didn't want people to stay.
snip, snip......
HH: Sure. Does the Red Cross, though, assist in evacuation, Major Garrett?
MG: Not under the state plan in Louisiana. And not very many other places, either, because again, the Red Cross is a responding private charity. It is not an evacuation charity. It does not assume, as you can well imagine, Hugh, the inevitable liability that would come with being in charge of evacuating.
HH: How senior are your sources at the Red Cross, Major Garrett?
MG: They're right next to Marty Evans, the president.
HH: So you have no doubt in your mind that they have...
MG: Oh, none. None. And I want to give credit to Bill O'Reilly, because he had Marty Evans on the O'Reilly Factor last night. And this is the first time Marty Evans said it. She said it on the O'Reilly Factor last night in a very sort of brief intro to her longer comments about dealing with the housing and other needs of the evacuees now. She said look. We were ready. We couldn't go in. They wouldn't let us in, and the interview continued. I developed it more fully today.
HH: And the 'they' are the Louisiana state officials?
MG: Right.
HH: Now any in the 'they'...is the New Orleans' mayor's staff involved as well? Or the New Orleans police department?
MG: Not that I'm aware of, because the decision was made and communicated to the Red Cross by the state department of Homeland Security and the state National Guard. Both of which report to the governor.
HH: Do they have any paper records of this communication?
MG: I did not ask that. It's a good question. I'll follow up with them.
HH: I sure would love to know that. And if you get it, send it to me. We'll put it up on the blog. Major Garrett, great story. Please keep us posted. Look forward to talking to you a lot in the next couple of weeks on this story. Thanks for breaking away from the Fox News Channel this afternoon.
See how long it takes, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, the NY and LA Times, sHrillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Howard Dean to pick up on this reality--like it would somehow change the tone of their rhetoric.
After ll, the TRUTH AND THE FACTS have never gotten in their way before…
Why should the details matter now?
If you’ve been listening to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagen and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, you’ll find that they still can’t quite get on the same page regarding the ongoing evacuation of the flooded downtown areas.
Nagen has authorized the NOPD to use force, but Blanco yesterday basically said “umm, noooo, we don’t really mean force FORCE…”
I’ll remind you that this crap is happening twelve days AFTER President Bush called the governor (Saturday before the storm hit) and asked for a mandatory evacuation.
And remember Nagen’s cursing and screaming tantrums about there not being any relief supplies at the Superdome and Convention Center last week? Well, it seems he was right to be screaming, but he should have directed his wrath toward Governor Blanco.
You see, FOX News’ Major Garrett is reporting that it turns out that the Red Cross had supplies pre-positioned before the storm and wanted to deliver them before the levees broke, but was denied access on Monday and Tuesday after the storm by the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security.
Radio Journalist/Blogger Hugh Hewitt interviewed Garrett about the breaking story, and the transcript was published last night over at Radioblogger.
Here’s a sample:
HH: Joined now by Major Garrett, correspondent for the Fox News Channel, as well as author of The Enduring Revolution, a best seller earlier this year. We talked about that. Major Garrett, welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show.
MG: Hugh, always a pleasure. Thanks for having me.
HH: You just broke a pretty big story. I was watching up on the corner television in my studio, and it's headlined that the Red Cross was blocked from delivering supplies to the Superdome, Major Garrett. Tell us what you found out.
MG: Well, the Red Cross, Hugh, had pre-positioned a literal vanguard of trucks with water, food, blankets and hygiene items. They're not really big into medical response items, but those are the three biggies that we saw people at the New Orleans Superdome, and the convention center, needing most accutely. And all of us in America, I think, reasonably asked ourselves, geez. You know, I watch hurricanes all the time. And I see correspondents standing among rubble and refugees and evacuaees. But I always either see that Red Cross or Salvation Army truck nearby. Why don't I see that?
HH: And the answer is?
MG: The answer is the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security, that is the state agency responsible for that state's homeland security, told the Red Cross explicitly, you cannot come.
HH: Now Major Garrett, on what day did they block the delivery? Do you know specifically?
MG: I am told by the Red Cross, immediately after the storm passed.
HH: Okay, so that would be on Monday afternoon.
MG: That would have been Monday or Tuesday. The exact time, the hour, I don't have. But clearly, they had an evacuee situation at the Superdome, and of course, people gravitated to the convention center on an ad hoc basis. They sort of invented that as another place to go, because they couldn't stand the conditions at the Superdome.
HH: Any doubt in the Red Cross' mind that they were ready to go, but they were blocked?
MG: No. Absolutely none. They are absolutely unequivocal on that point.
HH: And are they eager to get this story out there, because they are chagrined by the coverage that's been emanating from New Orleans?
MG: I think they are. I mean, and look. Every agency that is in the private sector, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Feed The Children, all the ones we typically see are aggrieved by all the crap that's being thrown around about the response to this hurricane, because they work hand and glove with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. When FEMA is tarred and feathered, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army are tarred and feathered, because they work on a cooperative basis. They feel they are being sullied by this reaction.
HH: Of course they are. Now Major Garrett, what about the Louisiana governor's office of Homeland Security. Have they responded to this charge by the Red Cross, which is a blockbuster charge?
MG: I have not been able to reach them yet. But, what they have said consistently is, and what they told the Red Cross, we don't want you to come in there, because we have evacuees that we want to get out. And if you come in, they're more likely to stay. So I want your listeners to follow me here. At the very moment that Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans was screaming where's the food, where's the water, it was over the overpass, and state officials were saying you can't come in....
snip, snip......
HH: I also have to conclude from what you're telling me, Major Garrett, is that had they been allowed to deliver when they wanted to deliver, which is at least a little bit prior to the levee, or at least prior to the waters rising, the supplies would have been pre-positioned, and the relief...you know, the people in the Superdome, and possibly at the convention center, I want to come back to that, would have been spared the worst of their misery.
MG: They would have been spared the lack of food, water and hygiene. I don't think there's any doubt that they would not have been spared the indignity of having nor workable bathrooms in short order.
HH: Now Major Garrett, let's turn to the convention center, because this will be, in the aftermath...did the Red Cross have ready to go into the convention center the supplies that we're talking about as well?
MG: Sure. They could have gone to any location, provided that the water wasn't too high, and they got some assistance.
HH: Now, were they utterly dependent upon the Louisiana state officials to okay them?
MG: Yes.
HH: Because you know, they do work with FEMA. But is it your understanding that FEMA and the Red Cross and the other relief agencies must get tht state's okay to act?
MG: As the Red Cross told me, they said look. We are not state actors. We are not the Army. We are a private organziation. We work in cooperation with both FEMA and the state officials. But the state told us A) it's not safe, because the water is dangerous. And we're now learning how toxic the water is. B) there's a security situation, because they didn't have a handle on the violence on the ground. And C) and I think this is most importantly, they wanted to evacuate out. They didn't want people to stay.
snip, snip......
HH: Sure. Does the Red Cross, though, assist in evacuation, Major Garrett?
MG: Not under the state plan in Louisiana. And not very many other places, either, because again, the Red Cross is a responding private charity. It is not an evacuation charity. It does not assume, as you can well imagine, Hugh, the inevitable liability that would come with being in charge of evacuating.
HH: How senior are your sources at the Red Cross, Major Garrett?
MG: They're right next to Marty Evans, the president.
HH: So you have no doubt in your mind that they have...
MG: Oh, none. None. And I want to give credit to Bill O'Reilly, because he had Marty Evans on the O'Reilly Factor last night. And this is the first time Marty Evans said it. She said it on the O'Reilly Factor last night in a very sort of brief intro to her longer comments about dealing with the housing and other needs of the evacuees now. She said look. We were ready. We couldn't go in. They wouldn't let us in, and the interview continued. I developed it more fully today.
HH: And the 'they' are the Louisiana state officials?
MG: Right.
HH: Now any in the 'they'...is the New Orleans' mayor's staff involved as well? Or the New Orleans police department?
MG: Not that I'm aware of, because the decision was made and communicated to the Red Cross by the state department of Homeland Security and the state National Guard. Both of which report to the governor.
HH: Do they have any paper records of this communication?
MG: I did not ask that. It's a good question. I'll follow up with them.
HH: I sure would love to know that. And if you get it, send it to me. We'll put it up on the blog. Major Garrett, great story. Please keep us posted. Look forward to talking to you a lot in the next couple of weeks on this story. Thanks for breaking away from the Fox News Channel this afternoon.
See how long it takes, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, the NY and LA Times, sHrillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Howard Dean to pick up on this reality--like it would somehow change the tone of their rhetoric.
After ll, the TRUTH AND THE FACTS have never gotten in their way before…
Why should the details matter now?
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
There’s A Special Place In Hell…
For People Like This
The southern US is blessed with an ever growing population of large raptors. Here on St. Simons we have Ospreys, Red Tailed Hawks, and a number of Bald Eagles. Populations of Owls and wild Turkeys are also frequently seen wandering the large Live Oaks and Pine forests here in south Georgia.
In case you’ve never seen one, an Osprey’s and a Bald Eagle’s nest looks like a giant brush pile in the very top of a tree, often situated close to water. Bald Eagles are known to be strong enough to steal entire 2x4’s from construction sites to include in their nest structure. If you are fortunate enough to have these bigger birds in your back yard or otherwise nesting on your property—you’d have to be blind to miss the signs of their presence.
That's why I have absolutely no sympathy for this moron developer that got caught cutting a tree on his property that contained a bald eagle nest.
"A Fort Myers developer has agreed to pay $356,000 in penalties for cutting down a tree containing a protected bald eagle's nest while building houses in Collier County in 2003, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
“Stock Development was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of taking a federally protected bald eagle nest. A U.S. magistrate judge sentenced the company to one year of organizational probation and ordered a $175,000 fine.
As part of the agreement, the company also will pay a total of $181,000 in restitution to several wildlife protection agencies.
According to court documents, company officials knew the tree had an eagle's nest in it when a construction supervisor ordered it cut down in November 2003.
The birds and their nests are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.”
I’m a big advocate of property rights, but balking at saving one tree??? Give me a break here.
The irony is that most people pay extra to have things like eagle’s nests in their neighborhood or yards.
What was this idiot thinking?
The southern US is blessed with an ever growing population of large raptors. Here on St. Simons we have Ospreys, Red Tailed Hawks, and a number of Bald Eagles. Populations of Owls and wild Turkeys are also frequently seen wandering the large Live Oaks and Pine forests here in south Georgia.
In case you’ve never seen one, an Osprey’s and a Bald Eagle’s nest looks like a giant brush pile in the very top of a tree, often situated close to water. Bald Eagles are known to be strong enough to steal entire 2x4’s from construction sites to include in their nest structure. If you are fortunate enough to have these bigger birds in your back yard or otherwise nesting on your property—you’d have to be blind to miss the signs of their presence.
That's why I have absolutely no sympathy for this moron developer that got caught cutting a tree on his property that contained a bald eagle nest.
"A Fort Myers developer has agreed to pay $356,000 in penalties for cutting down a tree containing a protected bald eagle's nest while building houses in Collier County in 2003, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
“Stock Development was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of taking a federally protected bald eagle nest. A U.S. magistrate judge sentenced the company to one year of organizational probation and ordered a $175,000 fine.
As part of the agreement, the company also will pay a total of $181,000 in restitution to several wildlife protection agencies.
According to court documents, company officials knew the tree had an eagle's nest in it when a construction supervisor ordered it cut down in November 2003.
The birds and their nests are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.”
I’m a big advocate of property rights, but balking at saving one tree??? Give me a break here.
The irony is that most people pay extra to have things like eagle’s nests in their neighborhood or yards.
What was this idiot thinking?
An Uninvited Weekend Guest
Prior to my visit to the hospital earlier this month we had made plans to fly to Pittsburgh this weekend for Pat's family reunion. My fragile health, combined with the approach of Tropical Storm Ophelia, has caused us to have a change of plans.
It looks like she (Ophelia) is going to slowly drag up the Florida coast, hanging 75-100 miles offshore, then pausing offshore here in south Georgia to gain Hurricane strength. The current computer models indicate a chance that an area of high pressure will develope over the southeast and will push the storm back eastward offshore.
Ophelia
Following my own advice, I'm heading to the grocery store now to pick up some extra drinking water and a few staples before the wild eyed hoards start ravaging the place. Maybe I'll buy a couple of cart loads of bread and milk just for the heck of it.
Talk to y'all later...
It looks like she (Ophelia) is going to slowly drag up the Florida coast, hanging 75-100 miles offshore, then pausing offshore here in south Georgia to gain Hurricane strength. The current computer models indicate a chance that an area of high pressure will develope over the southeast and will push the storm back eastward offshore.
Ophelia
Following my own advice, I'm heading to the grocery store now to pick up some extra drinking water and a few staples before the wild eyed hoards start ravaging the place. Maybe I'll buy a couple of cart loads of bread and milk just for the heck of it.
Talk to y'all later...
An Answer To Their Questions
In Their Own Words…
The New Orleans Times Picayune is the largest newspaper in Louisiana. It also has, in my opinion, the coolest name of any paper in the entire country. I hope to someday have my own by-line on an article or editorial published under the Picayune banner.
As the media sniping and cheep shots at President Bush starts to wear thin and die down, the “lamestream” major media is actually starting to do some research to back up the stories they publish under the heading of news rather than just printing hot headed and ill informed rhetoric delivered by various idiots with obvious axes to grind in public.
Believe me when I say that there is plenty of information out there that indicates that the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana knew they had a problem—they just chose to ignore it while they waited for the Feds to pony up the cash, cash that the Levee Boards would then be free to spend as they saw fit. Not necessarily on levee construction either.
Much of this information has been bouncing around the bloggosphere for over a week now—things like The City of New Orleans Emergency Plan that I wrote about last Sunday in my posting titled Tonight’s Reading Assignment and the numerous news articles in the Times Picayune and other media sources dating back into the 1990’s addressing the vulnerability of the existing levee system and the Category 3 design criteria.
The New Orleans Times Picayune is the largest newspaper in Louisiana. It also has, in my opinion, the coolest name of any paper in the entire country. I hope to someday have my own by-line on an article or editorial published under the Picayune banner.
As the media sniping and cheep shots at President Bush starts to wear thin and die down, the “lamestream” major media is actually starting to do some research to back up the stories they publish under the heading of news rather than just printing hot headed and ill informed rhetoric delivered by various idiots with obvious axes to grind in public.
Believe me when I say that there is plenty of information out there that indicates that the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana knew they had a problem—they just chose to ignore it while they waited for the Feds to pony up the cash, cash that the Levee Boards would then be free to spend as they saw fit. Not necessarily on levee construction either.
Much of this information has been bouncing around the bloggosphere for over a week now—things like The City of New Orleans Emergency Plan that I wrote about last Sunday in my posting titled Tonight’s Reading Assignment and the numerous news articles in the Times Picayune and other media sources dating back into the 1990’s addressing the vulnerability of the existing levee system and the Category 3 design criteria.
Here’s an excerpt from part I of the article published June 23, 2002:
“If enough water from Lake Pontchartrain topped the levee system along its south shore, the result would be apocalyptic. Vast areas would be submerged for days or weeks until engineers dynamited the levees to let the water escape. Some places on the east bank of Orleans and Jefferson parishes are as low as 10 feet below sea level. Adding a 20-foot storm surge from a Category 4 or 5 storm would mean 30 feet of standing water.
Whoever remained in the city would be at grave risk. According to the American Red Cross, a likely death toll would be between 25,000 and 100,000 people, dwarfing estimated death tolls for other natural disasters and all but the most nightmarish potential terrorist attacks. Tens of thousands more would be stranded on rooftops and high ground, awaiting rescue that could take days or longer. They would face thirst, hunger and exposure to toxic chemicals.”
Sound familiar? And how about this:
"The debris, largely the remains of about 70 camps smashed by the waves of a storm surge more than 7 feet above sea level, showed that Georges, a Category 2 storm that only grazed New Orleans, had pushed waves to within a foot of the top of the levees. A stronger storm on a slightly different course -- such as the path Georges was on just 16 hours before landfall -- could have realized emergency officials' worst-case scenario: hundreds of billions of gallons of lake water pouring over the levees into an area averaging 5 feet below sea level with no natural means of drainage.
That would turn the city and the east bank of Jefferson Parish into a lake as much as 30 feet deep, fouled with chemicals and waste from ruined septic systems, businesses and homes. Such a flood could trap hundreds of thousands of people in buildings and in vehicles. At the same time, high winds and tornadoes would tear at everything left standing. Between 25,000 and 100,000 people would die, said John Clizbe, national vice president for disaster services with the American Red Cross."
See, these articles prove that they KNEW that they had a problem and they KNEW that they needed to plan to provide a means to evacuate the large inner city population, and yet when the disaster finally came they DIDN’T do anything to help. They just point fingers and issue statements blaming the President.
HOW IN THE HELL CAN ANY REASONABLE, SANE PERSON HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT THE PRESIDENT AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD BEAR ANYTHING OTHER THAN A SMALL AMOUNT OF SECONDARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS SITUATION?
Is it just me?
I Understand Where They’re Coming From
Having grown up near the Gulf Coast of Florida, Hurricanes have always been an area of intense interest for me and my family & friends, occupying a top priority each year in August, September, and October. My decision since 2001 to reside adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico Beach Florida for a year, to live on a 32’ boat in south Florida for a while in 2002, and relocating here to St. Simons Island for the past 18 months has provided me with the opportunity to become even more intimate with the realities of seasonal storm preparation.
Thankfully, Georgia is in much better shape when it comes to hurricane evacuation and recovery planning than almost every other southern state because of our relatively small coastal populations. Georgia, in its infinite wisdom, has elected to purchase most of the coastal barrier islands over the past 100 years and as a result, commercial and residential development adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean has been severely limited or outright prevented.
Tybee Island, St. Simons Island, Sea Island, and Jekyll Island are the only major Georgia barrier islands with substantial development. There are only a few smaller islands that even have highway connections to the mainland, and fewer still with connections via boat or private airstrip. Glynn County, where Jekyll and St. Simons Islands are located, only has a population of about 75,000 people—a fraction of humanity when compared to South Florida or the panhandle resort areas like Panama City and Destin.
The hurricane evacuation routes leading inland here are well developed. Interstate 16 leading away from Savannah even has built in gates on the southbound exit ramps allowing the state patrol to prevent southbound entry to the interstate during an evacuation—allowing all lanes to safely operate serving northbound traffic.
That said, I find the decision to evacuate our home here to be a difficult issue to address. Since our condo is situated only a couple of feet above sea level in sight of the salt marshes, I am certain that the approach of a category 3 storm will cause me to relocate inland, but I face quite a dilemma when it comes to storms of lower intensity. Tropical Storm Ophelia is our latest concern. Will she strengthen further before making landfall to our south near Jacksonville?
In the back of my mind, a major concern is that of obeying the evacuation order, then finding myself stuck in temporary accommodations for an extended time because the “authorities” refuse to allow residents to return to our homes once the storm has passed. I appreciate the “authorities” desire to protect me from hazardous conditions like downed power lines and flooding, but my home is my castle and I feel that I have a right to occupy and defend MY PROPERTY regardless of what some tin hat dictator says to the contrary.
For this reason I have a certain empathy for the holdouts in New Orleans. A heavy-handed blanket order to evacuate, in some instances, could be considered a bit over the top. What if someone has survived the storm and watched the flood waters dissipate (or never was flooded) and is sitting in their property with a generator, food, water, and a boat to use in acquiring new provisions. Should the government be allowed to force them out of their secure situation—a situation that they planned for and paid in advance to ensure?
I say no, but the Mayor of New Orleans obviously sees things differently as he has issued an order for police to remove the holdouts by force if necessary. The problem with this situation is that if they make you leave and someone vandalizes or otherwise damages your property, the government can’t be held liable for your losses.
I guess it’s a good thing that Janet Reno isn’t still Attorney General or we might see a re-run of the David Koresh/Branch Davidian Texas debacle. Will the NOPD shoot the holdouts or burn them out if they refuse to leave?
I don’t have a good solution for this situation other than to say…Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
What do you think?
Thankfully, Georgia is in much better shape when it comes to hurricane evacuation and recovery planning than almost every other southern state because of our relatively small coastal populations. Georgia, in its infinite wisdom, has elected to purchase most of the coastal barrier islands over the past 100 years and as a result, commercial and residential development adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean has been severely limited or outright prevented.
Tybee Island, St. Simons Island, Sea Island, and Jekyll Island are the only major Georgia barrier islands with substantial development. There are only a few smaller islands that even have highway connections to the mainland, and fewer still with connections via boat or private airstrip. Glynn County, where Jekyll and St. Simons Islands are located, only has a population of about 75,000 people—a fraction of humanity when compared to South Florida or the panhandle resort areas like Panama City and Destin.
The hurricane evacuation routes leading inland here are well developed. Interstate 16 leading away from Savannah even has built in gates on the southbound exit ramps allowing the state patrol to prevent southbound entry to the interstate during an evacuation—allowing all lanes to safely operate serving northbound traffic.
That said, I find the decision to evacuate our home here to be a difficult issue to address. Since our condo is situated only a couple of feet above sea level in sight of the salt marshes, I am certain that the approach of a category 3 storm will cause me to relocate inland, but I face quite a dilemma when it comes to storms of lower intensity. Tropical Storm Ophelia is our latest concern. Will she strengthen further before making landfall to our south near Jacksonville?
In the back of my mind, a major concern is that of obeying the evacuation order, then finding myself stuck in temporary accommodations for an extended time because the “authorities” refuse to allow residents to return to our homes once the storm has passed. I appreciate the “authorities” desire to protect me from hazardous conditions like downed power lines and flooding, but my home is my castle and I feel that I have a right to occupy and defend MY PROPERTY regardless of what some tin hat dictator says to the contrary.
For this reason I have a certain empathy for the holdouts in New Orleans. A heavy-handed blanket order to evacuate, in some instances, could be considered a bit over the top. What if someone has survived the storm and watched the flood waters dissipate (or never was flooded) and is sitting in their property with a generator, food, water, and a boat to use in acquiring new provisions. Should the government be allowed to force them out of their secure situation—a situation that they planned for and paid in advance to ensure?
I say no, but the Mayor of New Orleans obviously sees things differently as he has issued an order for police to remove the holdouts by force if necessary. The problem with this situation is that if they make you leave and someone vandalizes or otherwise damages your property, the government can’t be held liable for your losses.
I guess it’s a good thing that Janet Reno isn’t still Attorney General or we might see a re-run of the David Koresh/Branch Davidian Texas debacle. Will the NOPD shoot the holdouts or burn them out if they refuse to leave?
I don’t have a good solution for this situation other than to say…Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
What do you think?
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Gilligan's Dead--And I don't Feel So Good Myself
There can't be a single member of the "Baby Boomer" generation out there that hasn't seen every single episode of the 1960's TV show "Gilligan's Island."
I have to admit that my hand still freezes on the remote control today when I pass "the castaway's" image on late night TV...
TV in a simpler time
Things were so much simpler back then.
RIP Bob...
I have to admit that my hand still freezes on the remote control today when I pass "the castaway's" image on late night TV...
TV in a simpler time
Things were so much simpler back then.
RIP Bob...
Admiral “Nemo” Still Talking Trash
It turns out swashbuckler wannabe Sean Penn actually managed to trip over a few stranded flood victims in New Orleans this weekend. Unfortunately, Admiral Penn can’t just do his kind deeds and keep his stupid mouth shut:
"Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Sean Penn, who has been assisting rescue efforts in New Orleans, said the US government did not "seem to be inclined to help".
"We were pulling drowning people out of the water, it's the ultimate distress and human suffering ... dead bodies," he told GMTV.
Penn said he had spent nine hours on Monday searching the water for people and during all that time he saw just three boats carrying US officials.
"There are people that are dying right now and I mean babies and old people and everybody in between - they're dying. There are people dying and (the US government are) not putting the boats in the water, I think that's criminal negligence. I don't think anybody ever anticipated the criminal negligence of the Bush administration in this situation." "
Penn is the worst kind of “do-gooder.” He has to do his charity work in public, under a spotlight. He even brought along a personal photographer on his trip to document his heroics.
What I want to know is why didn’t Admiral Penn just stay home and donate money to the rescue effort? What do you suppose the cost of his trip was? Five thousand dollars would have easily covered the airfare from Hollywood, renting the boats for the day, hiring the photographer, and buying incidentals like motel rooms, food, and gasoline.
Talk about maximizing your Public Relations dollars…
And the sad thing is that a lot of our young people will admire his efforts.
"Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Sean Penn, who has been assisting rescue efforts in New Orleans, said the US government did not "seem to be inclined to help".
"We were pulling drowning people out of the water, it's the ultimate distress and human suffering ... dead bodies," he told GMTV.
Penn said he had spent nine hours on Monday searching the water for people and during all that time he saw just three boats carrying US officials.
"There are people that are dying right now and I mean babies and old people and everybody in between - they're dying. There are people dying and (the US government are) not putting the boats in the water, I think that's criminal negligence. I don't think anybody ever anticipated the criminal negligence of the Bush administration in this situation." "
Penn is the worst kind of “do-gooder.” He has to do his charity work in public, under a spotlight. He even brought along a personal photographer on his trip to document his heroics.
What I want to know is why didn’t Admiral Penn just stay home and donate money to the rescue effort? What do you suppose the cost of his trip was? Five thousand dollars would have easily covered the airfare from Hollywood, renting the boats for the day, hiring the photographer, and buying incidentals like motel rooms, food, and gasoline.
Talk about maximizing your Public Relations dollars…
And the sad thing is that a lot of our young people will admire his efforts.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Setting The Record Straight
I was surprised this weekend when I noticed a mild spike in my blog readership. I assumed that someone had linked to one of my recent posts, and it was only after the blithering words from the comment trolls started rolling in that an E-mail from the lovely proprietor of Capital Freedom Blog tipped me off that Fox News contributor Radley Balco over at The Agitator Blog had linked to my recent rant on Gas Price Gouging. I’m quite flattered to have the attention, and I offer my thanks to Mr. Balco for the recognition and a general thanks to everyone for the comments—good and bad, pro and con.
Part of running a successful blog involves dealing with people with different viewpoints. Some take the time to make well thought out discussions of their criticism, while the majority of the nay-sayers resort to screaming age old insults and name calling.
One commenter actually called me a “partisan hack.”
I nearly laughed my ass off. You see, I might sometimes appear to be partisan, but “a partisan hack” I am not.
The NY Time’s Paul Krugman is a textbook example of a “partisan hack,” I am, at best, an amateur hack, but then the term hack is generally attributed to someone who should know better or is professionally employed (and compensated) in a field and fails to meet recognized standards or otherwise exhibits blatant bias.
I’m just a Mechanical Engineer, posing as a writer, remember?
I think that my own political affiliation, or lack thereof, has been well documented over the past 12 months that I have been writing “What I’d Liked To Have Said.” However, based on some of the recent comments I’ve received, I feel that now might be a good time to have a refresher course on where I’m coming from.
My dad escaped the coalmines of West Virginia to become the first person in his entire family to graduate from college—University of Kentucky, Electrical Engineering, class of 1952. He served four years in the US Army and qualified as a test pilot--continuing his engineering and flying career as a Civil Service employee for nearly thirty years. As a result of his education, he made more than an average living when I was growing up, but I can’t take any credit whatsoever for when and where I was born and the luck I enjoyed living in a household with two parents that loved each other and put our family’s well being first—no matter what the costs.
I was raised a southern "yellow dog" Democrat. George Wallace was governor of Alabama and the schools were segregated until the year before I started kindergarten. I’m too young to remember the day President Kennedy was assassinated, but I do remember the embarrassment of Governor Wallace standing in the doorway at the University of Alabama to block the admission of first black students and I remember the day Martin Luther King was shot dead.
I attended all 13 years of crappy public school with black and white classmates and in spite of residing in southern Alabama, I was not raised a racist or bigot. Ironically, Wilbur Jackson, the first black football player to start at the University of Alabama, attended the same high school I graduated from. I can’t take any credit for that either.
My mother’s family operated a small farm in southern Alabama. Her family never ever owned any slaves, but my grandfather did manage a group of “hired hands” and leased a few small shanties to black share cropper families in the days between WWI and WWII. My grandfather, a WWI infantry veteran, was a hardworking, self sufficient man of very modest means, who died never realizing that the value of the land and the timber growing on it would one day be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to his heirs. I, personally, can take no credit for his good fortune.
Because of my access to our farm, I learned to shoot a gun, fish, hike, camp and generally be comfortable in the woods at an early age. There is nothing like being able to walk outside in the morning and walk away from the house in almost any direction and not leave your family’s property, even if you walk all day long. It’s even more impressive to be able to walk into the woods with the weapon of your choice and shoot until you run out of ammunition--not hearing a word of discouragement from neighbors or government idiots. I guess that most of you Yankees and everyone from NY City can’t possibly understand the kind of freedom(s) I grew up enjoying. I take credit for considering “gun control” to be “the ability to hit the intended target—every damn time.” I've also never pointed a loaded gun at another human in my entire life.
In 1933, the year my mother was born, you could own 3 cars, 2 airplanes, 25 guns, 10 dogs, 3 mules, 2 horses, chickens, 100 head of cattle, a tractor, and the federal government nor the state of Alabama required a license to own or operate any of the above. Further, if you owned enough land, you could drive your car to your airplane hanger, take off, and fly wildly over your pastures while the dogs, chickens, mules, horses, and cows stampeded around in fear at your maniacal behavior. You could then go home, get up the next day, and do it all over again without fear of legal reprocussions.
Not anymore.
Today you have to have a drivers’ license ($25), a pilots license, ($4,000-$6,000), various federal firearms permits ($$$), and proof that all of your animals receive routine veterinary care ($$$) and you can't chase them around with your airplane else the police, the FAA, PETA, and God knows who else will be knocking on your door wanting to haul your ass to jail and/or take your animals away from you.
What total Bull Hockey.
In spite of my continued rhetoric delivered in support of President Bush, I am not a Republican, and I am most definitely NOT a partisan hack. My political leanings work more along the lines of Libertarian, although the majority of Libertarian candidates tendered at the national level are basically unelectable.
Just like decisions relating to attending church on Sunday—I hate it when 100 humans get together and hang a name on a sign over their head because invariably some sanctimonious asshole(s) always insist on imposing their own special caveats on the process. I believe in freedom of religion, not the freedom from religion currently imposed by the federal courts.
I also believe that you should be able to freely, legally smoke dope, pop pills, shoot cat shit mixed with Draino into your veins with a dirty needle, drink corn whiskey, smoke 50 packs of cigarettes each day, have sex with men and women of consenting age, drive your 1964 Plymouth down the highway in deserts of Nevada at 175 MPH, and jump into the shallow end of the swimming pool head first, butt naked. Did I miss anything?
No?
BUT, when you finally wake up and you are dead, dying, paralyzed, have cancer, AIDS, scurvy, cooties, herpies, or your ex-old ladies ex-old man shows up and kicks the living shit out of your stupid ass—I also believe that you don’t have the right to come crying to me or to my representative asking to steal my money in the form of taxes to burry your miserable, flea bitten carcass, buy a cure for what ails you, or to prosecute your tormentor(s).
Live and let live—live and let die…survival of the fittest has a lot going for it in my book.
I have a great deal of criticism to offer when it comes to Bush’s spending record during the past 4-3/4 years, but remember that CONGRESS passes the budget with the presidents’ approval. A line item veto would go a long way toward solving the majority of our problems--that, and term limits for Senators and Representatives.
Our federal government has become a lumbering leviathan that vastly exceeds the structure laid out by our founding fathers. The federal bureaucracy has overrun issues that were originally left to the people and the states, and the recent disaster in New Orleans and the protracted delay in the federal response is a perfect illustration of the impossibility of depending on GOVERNMENT to preserve the safety of individuals in a time of crisis.
Try as they may, the federal machine cannot respond adequately to these kinds of problems and sadly we have become a nation of invalids and half-wits that can barely make it through a day without depending on government to maintain our health, our sanity, or other major aspects of our well being.
It’s a sad day when three quarters of the population can tell you who Michael Jordan is and can identify the finalists on American idol, but over half of high school seniors can’t describe the three branches of the federal government and a similar number of adults can’t identify the names of their own Senators and US Representatives.
No, I’m not a partisan hack.
What I am is a proud, but frustrated, embarrassed, pissed off WHITE MALE AMERICAN that is really glad that I didn’t reproduce (I have no kids) and I worry and wonder how much longer the USA will survive in any form if we let the ”lamestream media” and the “partisan hack” liberals continue to have their way.
One of these days I'm just going to ask: "Beam me up, Scotty…"
Part of running a successful blog involves dealing with people with different viewpoints. Some take the time to make well thought out discussions of their criticism, while the majority of the nay-sayers resort to screaming age old insults and name calling.
One commenter actually called me a “partisan hack.”
I nearly laughed my ass off. You see, I might sometimes appear to be partisan, but “a partisan hack” I am not.
The NY Time’s Paul Krugman is a textbook example of a “partisan hack,” I am, at best, an amateur hack, but then the term hack is generally attributed to someone who should know better or is professionally employed (and compensated) in a field and fails to meet recognized standards or otherwise exhibits blatant bias.
I’m just a Mechanical Engineer, posing as a writer, remember?
I think that my own political affiliation, or lack thereof, has been well documented over the past 12 months that I have been writing “What I’d Liked To Have Said.” However, based on some of the recent comments I’ve received, I feel that now might be a good time to have a refresher course on where I’m coming from.
My dad escaped the coalmines of West Virginia to become the first person in his entire family to graduate from college—University of Kentucky, Electrical Engineering, class of 1952. He served four years in the US Army and qualified as a test pilot--continuing his engineering and flying career as a Civil Service employee for nearly thirty years. As a result of his education, he made more than an average living when I was growing up, but I can’t take any credit whatsoever for when and where I was born and the luck I enjoyed living in a household with two parents that loved each other and put our family’s well being first—no matter what the costs.
I was raised a southern "yellow dog" Democrat. George Wallace was governor of Alabama and the schools were segregated until the year before I started kindergarten. I’m too young to remember the day President Kennedy was assassinated, but I do remember the embarrassment of Governor Wallace standing in the doorway at the University of Alabama to block the admission of first black students and I remember the day Martin Luther King was shot dead.
I attended all 13 years of crappy public school with black and white classmates and in spite of residing in southern Alabama, I was not raised a racist or bigot. Ironically, Wilbur Jackson, the first black football player to start at the University of Alabama, attended the same high school I graduated from. I can’t take any credit for that either.
My mother’s family operated a small farm in southern Alabama. Her family never ever owned any slaves, but my grandfather did manage a group of “hired hands” and leased a few small shanties to black share cropper families in the days between WWI and WWII. My grandfather, a WWI infantry veteran, was a hardworking, self sufficient man of very modest means, who died never realizing that the value of the land and the timber growing on it would one day be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to his heirs. I, personally, can take no credit for his good fortune.
Because of my access to our farm, I learned to shoot a gun, fish, hike, camp and generally be comfortable in the woods at an early age. There is nothing like being able to walk outside in the morning and walk away from the house in almost any direction and not leave your family’s property, even if you walk all day long. It’s even more impressive to be able to walk into the woods with the weapon of your choice and shoot until you run out of ammunition--not hearing a word of discouragement from neighbors or government idiots. I guess that most of you Yankees and everyone from NY City can’t possibly understand the kind of freedom(s) I grew up enjoying. I take credit for considering “gun control” to be “the ability to hit the intended target—every damn time.” I've also never pointed a loaded gun at another human in my entire life.
In 1933, the year my mother was born, you could own 3 cars, 2 airplanes, 25 guns, 10 dogs, 3 mules, 2 horses, chickens, 100 head of cattle, a tractor, and the federal government nor the state of Alabama required a license to own or operate any of the above. Further, if you owned enough land, you could drive your car to your airplane hanger, take off, and fly wildly over your pastures while the dogs, chickens, mules, horses, and cows stampeded around in fear at your maniacal behavior. You could then go home, get up the next day, and do it all over again without fear of legal reprocussions.
Not anymore.
Today you have to have a drivers’ license ($25), a pilots license, ($4,000-$6,000), various federal firearms permits ($$$), and proof that all of your animals receive routine veterinary care ($$$) and you can't chase them around with your airplane else the police, the FAA, PETA, and God knows who else will be knocking on your door wanting to haul your ass to jail and/or take your animals away from you.
What total Bull Hockey.
In spite of my continued rhetoric delivered in support of President Bush, I am not a Republican, and I am most definitely NOT a partisan hack. My political leanings work more along the lines of Libertarian, although the majority of Libertarian candidates tendered at the national level are basically unelectable.
Just like decisions relating to attending church on Sunday—I hate it when 100 humans get together and hang a name on a sign over their head because invariably some sanctimonious asshole(s) always insist on imposing their own special caveats on the process. I believe in freedom of religion, not the freedom from religion currently imposed by the federal courts.
I also believe that you should be able to freely, legally smoke dope, pop pills, shoot cat shit mixed with Draino into your veins with a dirty needle, drink corn whiskey, smoke 50 packs of cigarettes each day, have sex with men and women of consenting age, drive your 1964 Plymouth down the highway in deserts of Nevada at 175 MPH, and jump into the shallow end of the swimming pool head first, butt naked. Did I miss anything?
No?
BUT, when you finally wake up and you are dead, dying, paralyzed, have cancer, AIDS, scurvy, cooties, herpies, or your ex-old ladies ex-old man shows up and kicks the living shit out of your stupid ass—I also believe that you don’t have the right to come crying to me or to my representative asking to steal my money in the form of taxes to burry your miserable, flea bitten carcass, buy a cure for what ails you, or to prosecute your tormentor(s).
Live and let live—live and let die…survival of the fittest has a lot going for it in my book.
I have a great deal of criticism to offer when it comes to Bush’s spending record during the past 4-3/4 years, but remember that CONGRESS passes the budget with the presidents’ approval. A line item veto would go a long way toward solving the majority of our problems--that, and term limits for Senators and Representatives.
Our federal government has become a lumbering leviathan that vastly exceeds the structure laid out by our founding fathers. The federal bureaucracy has overrun issues that were originally left to the people and the states, and the recent disaster in New Orleans and the protracted delay in the federal response is a perfect illustration of the impossibility of depending on GOVERNMENT to preserve the safety of individuals in a time of crisis.
Try as they may, the federal machine cannot respond adequately to these kinds of problems and sadly we have become a nation of invalids and half-wits that can barely make it through a day without depending on government to maintain our health, our sanity, or other major aspects of our well being.
It’s a sad day when three quarters of the population can tell you who Michael Jordan is and can identify the finalists on American idol, but over half of high school seniors can’t describe the three branches of the federal government and a similar number of adults can’t identify the names of their own Senators and US Representatives.
No, I’m not a partisan hack.
What I am is a proud, but frustrated, embarrassed, pissed off WHITE MALE AMERICAN that is really glad that I didn’t reproduce (I have no kids) and I worry and wonder how much longer the USA will survive in any form if we let the ”lamestream media” and the “partisan hack” liberals continue to have their way.
One of these days I'm just going to ask: "Beam me up, Scotty…"
Sean Penn Vies For Lead In "Titanic II"
I personally appreciate it when outspoken liberals put their OWN money and efforts where their big mouths are. Unfortuntely, it looks like Sean Penn needs a little training to augment his seamanship skills--
"EFFORTS by Hollywood actor Sean Penn to aid New Orleans victims stranded by Hurricane Katrina foundered badly overnight, when the boat he was piloting to launch a rescue attempt sprang a leak.
Penn had planned to rescue children waylaid by Katrina's flood waters, but apparently forgot to plug a hole in the bottom of the vessel, which began taking water within seconds of its launch.
The actor, known for his political activism, was seen wearing what appeared to be a white flak jacket and frantically bailing water out of the sinking vessel with a red plastic cup.
When the boat's motor failed to start, those aboard were forced to use paddles to propel themselves down the flooded New Orleans street.
Asked what he had hoped to achieve in the waterlogged city, the actor replied: "Whatever I can do to help."
With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?" "
This is a perfect example of what can happen when people (well intended or otherwise) rush to the scene of a disaster (if you can call what Penn did "rushing") prior to the situation being stabilized. You yourself run a serious risk of becoming a victim.
Hey Sean, there's a thing called "a plug" that most real boaters know to install in the drain hole in the stern of the boat while it is still on the trailer on the boat ramp. There is also something called a bilge pump that helps a good deal when you do manage to take on water...
YOU ARROGANT POMPUS IDIOT...
"EFFORTS by Hollywood actor Sean Penn to aid New Orleans victims stranded by Hurricane Katrina foundered badly overnight, when the boat he was piloting to launch a rescue attempt sprang a leak.
Penn had planned to rescue children waylaid by Katrina's flood waters, but apparently forgot to plug a hole in the bottom of the vessel, which began taking water within seconds of its launch.
The actor, known for his political activism, was seen wearing what appeared to be a white flak jacket and frantically bailing water out of the sinking vessel with a red plastic cup.
When the boat's motor failed to start, those aboard were forced to use paddles to propel themselves down the flooded New Orleans street.
Asked what he had hoped to achieve in the waterlogged city, the actor replied: "Whatever I can do to help."
With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?" "
This is a perfect example of what can happen when people (well intended or otherwise) rush to the scene of a disaster (if you can call what Penn did "rushing") prior to the situation being stabilized. You yourself run a serious risk of becoming a victim.
Hey Sean, there's a thing called "a plug" that most real boaters know to install in the drain hole in the stern of the boat while it is still on the trailer on the boat ramp. There is also something called a bilge pump that helps a good deal when you do manage to take on water...
YOU ARROGANT POMPUS IDIOT...
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Tonight’s Reading Assignment
I’m building up yet another head of steam on the media’s coverage of the New Orleans situation. I’m still working on my rhetorical delivery, but here is some of the material I’m referencing so you can get a little ahead of me.
First there are the procedures contained in the City of New Orleans’ own Emergency Plan—in their own words (emphasis mine):
“III. EVACUATION ORDER
A. Authority
As established by the City of New Orleans Charter, the government has jurisdiction and responsibility in disaster response. City government shall coordinate its efforts through the Office of Emergency Preparedness
The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane.
B. Issuance of Evacuation Orders
The person responsible for recognition of hurricane related preparation needs and for the issuance of an evacuation order is the Mayor of the City of New Orleans. Concerning preparation needs and the issuance of an evacuation order, The Office of Emergency Preparedness should keep the Mayor advised.”
Then there is this news article from 2004 addressing previous problems when the residents were running from Hurricane Ivan and were housed in the SuperDome, including poor behavior by many of the residents.
“Those who had the money to flee Hurricane Ivan ran into hours-long traffic jams. Those too poor to leave the city had to find their own shelter - a policy that was eventually reversed, but only a few hours before the deadly storm struck land.
New Orleans dodged the knockout punch many feared from the hurricane, but the storm exposed what some say are significant flaws in the Big Easy's civil disaster plans…
"If the government asks people to evacuate, the government has some responsibility to provide an option for those people who can't evacuate and are at the whim of Mother Nature," said Joe Cook of the New Orleans ACLU.
It's always been a problem, but the situation is worse now that the Red Cross has stopped providing shelters in New Orleans for hurricanes rated above Category 2. Stronger hurricanes are too dangerous, and Ivan was a much more powerful Category 4.
In this case, city officials first said they would provide no shelter, then agreed that the state-owned Louisiana Superdome would open to those with special medical needs. Only Wednesday afternoon, with Ivan just hours away, did the city open the 20-story-high domed stadium to the public.
Mayor Ray Nagin's spokeswoman, Tanzie Jones, insisted that there was no reluctance at City Hall to open the Superdome, but said the evacuation was the top priority.
"Our main focus is to get the people out of the city," she said.
Callers to talk radio complained about the late decision to open up the dome, but the mayor said he would do nothing different.
"We did the compassionate thing by opening the shelter," Nagin said. "We wanted to make sure we didn't have a repeat performance of what happened before. We didn't want to see people cooped up in the Superdome for days."
When another dangerous hurricane, Georges, appeared headed for the city in 1998, the Superdome was opened as a shelter and an estimated 14,000 people poured in. But there were problems, including theft and vandalism.
This time far fewer took refuge from the storm - an estimated 1,100 - at the Superdome and there was far greater security: 300 National Guardsmen.
The main safety measure - getting people out of town - raised its own problems.”
See, the local and state government KNEW they had a problem as early as in 1998 (during the Clinton presidency,) and they had a small-scale re-run of the problem again last year.
It seems to me that the buck should stop with the Mayor of New Orleans and the Louisiana Governor, NOT PRESIDENT BUSH.
First there are the procedures contained in the City of New Orleans’ own Emergency Plan—in their own words (emphasis mine):
“III. EVACUATION ORDER
A. Authority
As established by the City of New Orleans Charter, the government has jurisdiction and responsibility in disaster response. City government shall coordinate its efforts through the Office of Emergency Preparedness
The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane.
B. Issuance of Evacuation Orders
The person responsible for recognition of hurricane related preparation needs and for the issuance of an evacuation order is the Mayor of the City of New Orleans. Concerning preparation needs and the issuance of an evacuation order, The Office of Emergency Preparedness should keep the Mayor advised.”
Then there is this news article from 2004 addressing previous problems when the residents were running from Hurricane Ivan and were housed in the SuperDome, including poor behavior by many of the residents.
“Those who had the money to flee Hurricane Ivan ran into hours-long traffic jams. Those too poor to leave the city had to find their own shelter - a policy that was eventually reversed, but only a few hours before the deadly storm struck land.
New Orleans dodged the knockout punch many feared from the hurricane, but the storm exposed what some say are significant flaws in the Big Easy's civil disaster plans…
"If the government asks people to evacuate, the government has some responsibility to provide an option for those people who can't evacuate and are at the whim of Mother Nature," said Joe Cook of the New Orleans ACLU.
It's always been a problem, but the situation is worse now that the Red Cross has stopped providing shelters in New Orleans for hurricanes rated above Category 2. Stronger hurricanes are too dangerous, and Ivan was a much more powerful Category 4.
In this case, city officials first said they would provide no shelter, then agreed that the state-owned Louisiana Superdome would open to those with special medical needs. Only Wednesday afternoon, with Ivan just hours away, did the city open the 20-story-high domed stadium to the public.
Mayor Ray Nagin's spokeswoman, Tanzie Jones, insisted that there was no reluctance at City Hall to open the Superdome, but said the evacuation was the top priority.
"Our main focus is to get the people out of the city," she said.
Callers to talk radio complained about the late decision to open up the dome, but the mayor said he would do nothing different.
"We did the compassionate thing by opening the shelter," Nagin said. "We wanted to make sure we didn't have a repeat performance of what happened before. We didn't want to see people cooped up in the Superdome for days."
When another dangerous hurricane, Georges, appeared headed for the city in 1998, the Superdome was opened as a shelter and an estimated 14,000 people poured in. But there were problems, including theft and vandalism.
This time far fewer took refuge from the storm - an estimated 1,100 - at the Superdome and there was far greater security: 300 National Guardsmen.
The main safety measure - getting people out of town - raised its own problems.”
See, the local and state government KNEW they had a problem as early as in 1998 (during the Clinton presidency,) and they had a small-scale re-run of the problem again last year.
It seems to me that the buck should stop with the Mayor of New Orleans and the Louisiana Governor, NOT PRESIDENT BUSH.
