Eve
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- Oct 16, 2003
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I watched NBC news last night, and although I generally view the media as biased (and they are), I did pay attention to the message they were sending. I don't agree with them on all lines, but I do concede that the Feds were just as much to blame as anyone else. Basically, the blame lies with EVERYONE from Katrina aka mothernature, to the citizens, to the mayor, governor, Michael Brown, and yes, even my beloved Bush. I do, however, appreciate Bush's stance in that he has admitted there have been mistakes made, now let's see what we can do to improve (which he has) and learn how to do things differently in the future.
SO, WHAT CAN WE DO NOW? HOW DO WE PREPARE DIFFERENTLY FOR THE NEXT BIG ONE?
CITIZENS - If you are going to live in a hurricane prone area which is below sea level, you must be responsible for protecting yourself and your family by being informed and prepared for inevitable destruction. Have a hurricane pack ready in your home. Have an evacuation plan that doesn't necessarily rely on the government. Have a family plan in place, where you will meet and how you will get in contact should phone lines not be available.
NOLA's mayor - When asked who was at fault, replied "Everybody". And, on THAT I can agree. However, when he was asked what he could have done differently, he responded "scream louder". Here I have issue. He could have had a better evacuation plan in place, utilizing school and municipal buses to transport the poor out of Katrina's wrath, rather than just telling everyone to get the heck out of Dodge. I also saw that the mayor had participated in a hurricane preparation awareness video that was ironically scheduled for release THIS WEEK. A day late and a dollar short, but it may still be beneficial in the future. In the video, they show citizens how to prepare, protect, and escape a hurricane.
STATE - The governor knew this was coming, just as everyone else did. Yet, was just as slow with response as anyone. National Guard should have been deployed long before it was done. The governor should have been the one "screaming louder" to get the leavees up to a functional level. AND, the governor should have reached out to other states for help prior to the hurricane ever hitting.
Also, I saw last night that the state of LA has thousands of sex offenders that have now been spread out to every corner of our nation. I was informed that Florida has a law which requires sex offenders to ride out a hurricane in jail. I think this is imperative to prevent unleashing these bastards on the rest of civilization. We have enough of our own to deal with!
FEDERAL - FEMA has proven to be not quite up to this monumental task. The entire organization has been less than organized. They should have been more prepared and been ready to deploy the moment Katrina hit, rather than waiting days for a half-cocked effort. Although, things have certainly improved, maybe next time we will learn from this and know how to go about things immediately rather than through trial and error.
PRESIDENT - Yes, he cut funding for levee improvement. Now, he will be spending much more on rebuilding NOLA than he would if he had just funded the improvements necessary to prevent much of this destruction from happening in the first place. Let's go ahead and do it right this time. Before rebuilding, let's get those levees functioning and fully operational at whatever the cost.
THE REST OF US - We need to quit our bitching, whining, and finger pointing and learn what we can do to help. Most of us have been helping in whatever way we can, and I understand that we are frustrated at our limitations, but every little bit counts.
SO, WHAT CAN WE DO NOW? HOW DO WE PREPARE DIFFERENTLY FOR THE NEXT BIG ONE?
CITIZENS - If you are going to live in a hurricane prone area which is below sea level, you must be responsible for protecting yourself and your family by being informed and prepared for inevitable destruction. Have a hurricane pack ready in your home. Have an evacuation plan that doesn't necessarily rely on the government. Have a family plan in place, where you will meet and how you will get in contact should phone lines not be available.
NOLA's mayor - When asked who was at fault, replied "Everybody". And, on THAT I can agree. However, when he was asked what he could have done differently, he responded "scream louder". Here I have issue. He could have had a better evacuation plan in place, utilizing school and municipal buses to transport the poor out of Katrina's wrath, rather than just telling everyone to get the heck out of Dodge. I also saw that the mayor had participated in a hurricane preparation awareness video that was ironically scheduled for release THIS WEEK. A day late and a dollar short, but it may still be beneficial in the future. In the video, they show citizens how to prepare, protect, and escape a hurricane.
STATE - The governor knew this was coming, just as everyone else did. Yet, was just as slow with response as anyone. National Guard should have been deployed long before it was done. The governor should have been the one "screaming louder" to get the leavees up to a functional level. AND, the governor should have reached out to other states for help prior to the hurricane ever hitting.
Also, I saw last night that the state of LA has thousands of sex offenders that have now been spread out to every corner of our nation. I was informed that Florida has a law which requires sex offenders to ride out a hurricane in jail. I think this is imperative to prevent unleashing these bastards on the rest of civilization. We have enough of our own to deal with!
FEDERAL - FEMA has proven to be not quite up to this monumental task. The entire organization has been less than organized. They should have been more prepared and been ready to deploy the moment Katrina hit, rather than waiting days for a half-cocked effort. Although, things have certainly improved, maybe next time we will learn from this and know how to go about things immediately rather than through trial and error.
PRESIDENT - Yes, he cut funding for levee improvement. Now, he will be spending much more on rebuilding NOLA than he would if he had just funded the improvements necessary to prevent much of this destruction from happening in the first place. Let's go ahead and do it right this time. Before rebuilding, let's get those levees functioning and fully operational at whatever the cost.
THE REST OF US - We need to quit our bitching, whining, and finger pointing and learn what we can do to help. Most of us have been helping in whatever way we can, and I understand that we are frustrated at our limitations, but every little bit counts.