[Rhodes22-list] katrina anniversary (political) reply to y2k

[Brad Haslett]

John,

You hit on a very salient point, "the foolishness of the people".  If you
live below seal level and in the path of a hurricane that is CAT 5 at sea,
you damn sure ought to be making plans to "get the hell outta Dodge".  If
you choose to stay, a foolish decision, you should at least have some
emergency provisions.  NOLA had an evacuation plan and the means to
implement it but chose not to.  After the first attack on 9/11, the local
first responders, NYC firemen and police, rushed to the scene.  In NOLA
during Katrina, over a third of the police force went AWOL and many of the
rest participated along side the citizens in the looting.  While the Mayor
and the Governor made their very public pleas for the Feds to do something,
having already ignored the President's warnings some 72 hours earlier, the
Coast Guard, Navy, Marines, Airforce, and National Guard were all over the
place.  Perhaps they couldn't see them from their 'bunker'.  Had the press
not been so busy selling soap at the SuperDome they might have noticed that
the National Guard had their headquarters just a few yards away on the 4th
floor of the parking garage.  What is very amazing to me is the response by
private companies before and  after Katrina.  WalMart weather forecasters
predicted a week in advance what was the likely outcome from Katrina and
stationed water and emergency provisions closer to the coast.  Home Depot
did the same thing with generators and emergency building supplies.  My
employer set up the first working telecommunications infrastructure in NOLA
by studying satellite photos of the damage to our existing system and
helicoptering a generator and repairmen to the rooftop of a building.  We
then distributed radios to police and firefighters.  As long as we're
bragging, we were the first resume flights to the area as well.  There were
lots of heroes. I can't speak for NOLA but I listened to dozens of stories
from  MS Coast residents about how the Red Cross and Salvation Army were
first on the scene.  They deserve our financial support.

The governments at every level were found wanting during Katrina at NOLA but
I think a lot of lessons were learned.  The Army CORPS accepted
responsibility for the failure of the levee system. Given the corruptness
the contracting arraignment with the Levee Boards it is amazing the system
lasted as long as it did.  I think the only rational long term response is
to recognize that some forces of nature are greater than man and move to
higher ground.

Brad

On 8/28/07, john Belanger <jhnblngr at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> brad,
>   Amazing you quoted that book, "rising tide". I just caught about 20
> minutes of a program on public broadcasting on that very subject. Thinking
> outside the box is very difficult if all you know is the inside of said box.
> Government tells the people it will be there to defend them from war,
> famine, pestilence, etc., which they believe. It's not a lie, per se, its
> just the sheer size of a event like katrina, that shows the foolishness of
> people. By any definition it was a disaster. And there you have Caps. But
> you will have to put up with my run on sentences, as that has been a problem
> of mine, for a very loooooong time.
>
> Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:
>   John,
>
> Paying people for their losses in NOLA is fine by me. I said from the
> get-go that the Feds should put a value on the homes lost, cut them a
> check,
> and tell folks to enjoy their new life. Barbara Bush got lambasted for
> welcoming Katrina refugees from the 9th Ward to Houston and implying that
> this was an opportunity to do something with their life. Perhaps the
> timing
> was bad, but there was much truth in her statement. Get a copy of "Rising
> Tide", the story of the great flood of 1927. My copy developed "feet"
> several years ago or I'd read it again myself. NOLA and the levee system
> has been a corrupt and broken system for almost a century. The Army CORPS
> are engineers after all, not politicians, and not ecologists. Forget
> history, if a group of individuals, say about four hundred thousand, asked
> the rest of the country to spend a couple of hundred billion to build them
> their own island to live on we'd tell them to go screw themselves. Move to
> Kansas, they've got lots of space! The harsh reality is that Katrina
> revealed the failure of 40+ years of social experimentation with the
> so-called War on Poverty and centuries of local incompetence and
> corruption
> in NOLA. You can empathize with peoples plight but be realistic about
> their
> future simultaneously. The MS coast is different, and yet it's much the
> same. As Reagan said, "government is not the solution to the problem,
> government IS the problem".
>
> Brad
>
> On 8/27/07, john Belanger wrote:
> >
> > I fOuNd iT!
> >
> > Brad Haslett wrote: John,
> >
> > While we're moving to a higher moral ground, why don't you learn where
> the
> > Capital button is on the keyboard? Just because I fed you beer for a day
> > doesn't mean you get off free. Try it! Your argument might command more
> > weight.
> >
> > Brad.
> >
> > PS - If you didn't figure out that I'm an A-hole in a day, you won't
> > figure
> > it out in ten years on 'da list'.
> >
> > On 8/27/07, john Belanger wrote:
> > >
> > > brad
> > > i've heard they are spending 12 billion a month in i/a so i just
> figured
> > > if that money were spent here instead .......you know the line. the
> > problem
> > > is as you stated it...... if it was only a natural disaster then pull
> up
> > > your bootstraps and get on with it..... but because the levees failed
> > the
> > > government is liable, and they have to make things right. its not just
> > > georges problem, its the fact that, finally, the skimmed off money
> that
> > the
> > > system routinely loses to corruption, and waste, has had the
> disastrous
> > > results that almost never occur. every once in a while that happens.
> but
> > the
> > > dishonesty continues. we impeached a president for lying. now it sems
> to
> > be
> > > done all the time. i'm ready for a move to higher moral ground!!
> > >
> > > Brad Haslett wrote:
> > > John,
> > >
> > > Iraq and Afghanistan have absolutely nothing to do with Katrina.
> > NOTHING!
> > > Here is another little secret, Bush 43 had nothing to do with Katrina.
> > > Absolutely nothing. I'll be just as happy as anyone when his term is
> > gone
> > > so folks like you will have to find something else as an excuse for
> > > everything.
> > >
> > > The liberal media can't help themselves from somehow blaming bad
> weather
> > > on
> > > the government and suggesting that if only we spent a gazillion
> dollars
> > of
> > > taxpayer money, all would be well again. How about we think outside
> the
> > > box? Here is a suggestion, BUILD YOUR FRIGGIN HOUSE ON HIGH GROUND!"
> > I've
> > > asked plenty of people on the coast how they rebuilt after Camille and
> > > they
> > > said, "we just did it". One of the reasons the recovery from Katrina
> is
> > so
> > > slow is that everyone is waiting around to see where the next
> government
> > > tit
> > > is going to land and how big it will be.
> > >
> > > If someone has a better idea of how to handle Katrina, I'm all ears.
> If
> > > you
> > > just want to bash Bush, pick another subject with me. There are plenty
> > to
> > > choose from.
> > >
> > > Brad
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On 8/27/07, john Belanger wrote:
> > > >
> > > > brad
> > > > how many houses does that buy in iraq or afghanistan or
> > "_____________"?
> > > > and the home and car price can only be 2.5% of the cost of replacing
> > the
> > > > infrastructure necessary to support a habitable community. i'd be
> > > willing to
> > > > bet that after you put in new roads, gas and electricity, water,
> > sewage,
> > > > traffic lights, (did i forget anything??), you have nothing left for
> a
> > > house
> > > > or car. i also note you said allocated, not spent. there are plenty
> of
> > > > people who have or want a house on the water. lakes, rivers, bay, or
> > > ocean,
> > > > (boat owners come to mind). those who do own property at sea level,
> > know
> > > the
> > > > risks, so did the residents of nola. but the levees failed, and the
> > > > government is liable for damages incurred regardless of whether you
> > are
> > > > talking about state, or federal jurisdiction. one more thing, if you
> > > don't
> > > > treat all people with respect, even if its hard, and you sometimes
> do
> > it
> > > > knowingly tongue in cheek, it will come back to you in spades. ask
> > > yourself
> > > > this one question: when
> > > > a child gets caught in a lie, what is the real reason that it cries?
> > > john
> > > > b
> > > >
> > > > Brad Haslett wrote:
> > > > The airwaves and the press are starting to get busy with the second
> > > > anniversary of Katrina. In case you missed it, Katrina hit the
> > > Mississippi
> > > > Gulf Coast. New Orleans got hit by the remnants, at about a CAT
> > 1level.
> > > > The levee system that we all paid for was supposed to be good to CAT
> > 3.
> > > > Funny how after a hundred years of corruption by the locals the
> money
> > > > didn't
> > > > get spent where it was supposed to have been spent. I'm not
> heartless
> > > > folks, I'm a realist. Here's your clue; this is a big country, live
> > > above
> > > > sea level. The Sun Herald (sunherald.com) ran an article today
> stating
> > > > that
> > > > the $23 Billion (Big B) that has been allocated to the MS coast
> would
> > > buy
> > > > two, as in TWO, $166,000 houses for everyone who lost their home in
> > > > Mississippi. If that isn't enough, there is enough money left over
> two
> > > buy
> > > > the same folks a fully loaded Honda Accord V-6 each, to commute
> > between
> > > > their two $166K houses. Spin this in to "it's all 43's fault" if you
> > > must.
> > > > If I have to listen to one more "I feel your pain" or its equivalent
> > > from
> > > > a
> > > > politician, I'll puke. I'm not sure whether our little company is
> part
> > > of
> > > > the solution or part of the problem, but we sure have had a good
> time
> > > and
> > > > enjoyed the fight so far. Be sceptical about every thing you read
> and
> > > see
> > > > on TV for the next few days concerning Katrina. They have soap to
> > sell,
> > > > and
> > > > two weeks from now, Katrina won't sell soap or shinola.
> > > >
> > > > Brad
> > > > __________________________________________________
> > > > Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
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