New Orleans

Can someone tell me why the first businesses to reopen were strip clubs after the hurricanes? How about why the only things that seem to be reopening this week are a handful of restaurants and more bars? I guess its kind of good that one of the bars, Igors, also has a laundry in it. Wash and slosh! Woo hoo! I think the Big Easy might be a little too easy. Where was the Vampire Lestat while this lawlessness and looting was happening. He could have saved the day!
The police chief resigned this week. That's probably not a bad thing. His officers were right in there with the looters during this whole mess. One video clip showed two officers shoe shopping while looters raped the Walmart right in front of them. Then there is the use of brand new Cadillac Escalades as patrol vehicle by some of the local PD. The Chief claimed that they rescued the vehicles from looters and that they only used them as patrol vehicle to keep them out of the hands of the bad guys.
Then there is former FEMA Director Brown; This freak claims no responsibility for any of the post hurricane mess. I fully believe that he had issues getting the Mayor and the Governor to cooperate. After that his position becomes very shakey. FEMA did more harm than good after the fact. In Mississippi they actually set up a distribution point miles from where the damage was and expected the victims to come to them. I hope they fix that agency quick. We can't afford this big a chink in our armor.
I think that one of the groups that pisses me off the most is the Senate. They basically pressured Bush into taking action on the 9-11 Commissions recommendations. Now they are upset because the the President actually followed the commissions advice and put FEMA under Homeland Security. Who are his loudest critics? My homestate's current Senators, Kerry and the lady killer Ted Kennedy. It makes me sick to say I'm from that state.

Caught Between

There is no win or lose;
No right or wrong;
No better or worse
Only Comedy and Tragedy
And we are caught between.

The Day After

Rita made landfall early this morning in Lake Charles, LA. It caught some people who live on the LA coast by surprise. The storm surge should have been greatest in Texas but it didn't hit there so...

We lucked out in Baton Rouge. There was some wind and alot of rain. The rain is suposed to continue for several days because the storm isn't moving very fast. It could have been far worse. The storm lost some stregnth when it turned and became a Cat 4. It then lost more strength when it neared Texas and picked up a bunch of dry air. When it made landfall it was only a Cat 3.

Stormin

The winds have kicked up. So far my power has remained on. I hope it stays that way. I think this is less than what we in Baton Rouge got from Katrina. There are more small tree branches outside than for Katrina though. Rita is supposed to make landfall west of here just over the Texas Border. The storm has already dropped to a level 3. Hopefully this is the worst that we'll get here.

Here is something interesting... Among the first businesses reopened in New Orleans are strip clubs on Burbon ST. The local strippers are doing their part in the relief effort by taking their cloths off for the local emergency workers and military. You gotta love it.

The bad news for New Orleans is the new levee breaches that have reflooded the ninth ward.

Katrina Round 2

Another storm roars through the Gulf towards its eventual landfall. This time it will be somewhere in TX or Western Louisiana. Again my area, Baton Rouge, will feel some of the affects. It is still unclear how much though. I think Texas is doing a much better job of getting ready. Also more people seem to have left the area than in the case of New Orleans. For our economy's sake I hope it is more toward western Louisiana than Houston/Galveston. There is less there to affect and it would put many of our refineries on the good side of the system. Wish us luck and send us your prayers.

What's In a Name?

Refugee: n. One who flees from home or country to seek refuge elsewhere. (Webster's New World Dictionary)

Seems like some people are trying to rewrite the dictionary in order to be politically correct. Some people do not like the term refugee because they seem to think it should only apply to someone who is forced out of their home country. Some people have even implied that the word is being used in a racial context. Give me a break. Refugee and Evacuee are both valid terms for persons displaced by Hurricane Katrina. A refugee is some one who seeks refuge (safe haven.) There is nothing racial about the term. Why should a bunch of politically correct yahoos steal another word from our language because they don't like it?

Unreal

Looks like FEMA is pretty messed up. The director and many of the upper level execs have no emergency management background. There are now allegations that they also failed to plan. This is pretty evident. We've had FEMA in Baton Rouge since just before the storm. They finally got an office in the affected areas of Mississippi almost 3 weeks after the storm.

Then there is New Orleans; The mayor appears to be jumping the gun. He wants people to start moving back in within the next couple of weeks. The water is putrid, power is spotty and the pollution is probably off of the scale. Not to mention that everyone wants to rebuild the city but no one seems to be talking about preventing the problem from happening again. The levee system is still weak. Wake up people. We are still in hurricane season. Storms are still forming and they want to move people back into that area. Stupidity seems to be the word of the month.

Organizational Behavior

I'm taking the last class that I need for my Associates Degree. Its so hard to get motivated for it. I'm about 1/2 way through it but with everything that is going on my focus has been off.

I still want to complete the BS degree but I think that I might take a semester off to recover some. The storm has taken an emotional toll on everyone around here; The evacuees as well as the local residents. They are letting more people move back home to the Gretna area. That's on the Westbank across from New Orleans. I think that it will help bring some sense of normalcy.

Anniversary

Friday, September 13th, 1985.

I got on to an airplane and headed off to Great Lakes for bootcamp. 20 Years; I didn't think I would make it. Its strange. So much seems like it just happened yesterday. Other stuff feels like it happened a lifetime ago.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

"And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong!" George W. Bush 13SEP05

Wow, one politician actually admitted that his agencies have done something wrong. Now if we can get the state and local agencies to admit they screwed up we'll be getting somewhere. I still think the local governments are far more culpable in this tragedy. I've said all along there is blame all the way up the ladder. I respect the President because he has actually sat down and said this is our blame to take. I have no respect for Mayor Nagan who continually points fingers at the State and Federal Governments nor Governor Blanco who seems to be curiously silent at this time.

I hope we do get to the bottom of this. There are many people who believe this was a racial issue. I don't think so. I think that there is also blame in those who didn't leave if they had the opportunity. I've even seem some of these people accept that blame. After they started finally bussing people out of New Orleans one of the refugees was interviewed. She said,"Welcome to the bus of fools. I should have left ..."

What is making me shake my head right now are those on the coast of North Carolina that aren't leaving during this current storm. It may not be a strong storm but it doesn't take a strong storm to do damage when you are on the outer banks.

Ratings

The sick pursuit of ratings has hit a new low. These vultures who call themselves reporters have been down in the storm damaged areas trying to get footage of the body removals. CNN actually filed a lawsuit to gain access.

You guys have hit rock bottom in my book. You are no better than the Paperazzi that watched Princess Diana die. How would you like to be the relative of one of these people? How would you like to see your loved one's corpse plastered on network TV for everyone to see? "Look Mommy! It's Grandma."

Just when I thought you might be heading down the right path you do this. Don't Go There! You actually started to spread the blame from Mayor Nagan up through the Governor to the Federal level. You actually got my respect. Now you've lost it and then some.

Loss of Choices

I'm seeing supply and demand in action. Its crazy. So many people have moved into the area and gotten apartments that you can't find any vacancies. The house prices have risen as much as 40%. People are purchasing these houses sight unseen in some cases.

The little city of Baton Rouge has grown too rapidly. The current infrastructure cannot keep up with the large influx of people. I'm not just talking about public services like fire and police; Even the phone system is tied up. Its rare that you can make a long distance call during the day. You always get the little message, the lines are currently busy. Pleas try again later.

You wouldn't believe the traffic problems either. My ride to work has increased from 20 Minutes to over 40 on a bad day. Coming home is worse. It takes me anywhere from 30 minutes if I leave early to 1 1/2 hours if I leave too late to miss the rush hour.

Many locals are saying that they wish it would go back to the old way. I don't think it ever will. I do not think that it'll ramain as big as it is but it'll definitely never go back to 200K either.

Death

"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

John Donne

Redcross
Beware of Phoney Katrina Aid Scams

I have said many things about extreemist Muslims over that past few months. It gives me hope to see the aid that has been offered by many Muslim Countries out there. It helps me to realize that they are not all like Osama and his groupies. The European Union, Nato and many other countries have offered aid as well.

The Request

Here is a copy of Governor Blanco's request for aid. Many people are using this to say that she did request aid from the Federal Government. I read it over. She did request aid; In the form of money and debris removal. No request for troups, no request for aid in rescuing people. This is the letter that went out prior to Katrina even making landfall.

Stuff

Report!

I think this link sums it up.

Blame

And the Buck Stops Nowhere. The people who didn't leave the city when warned blame the President. The mayor blames everyone but himself. The Governor blames the Federal Government. Round and round she goes.

Lets see. 1st- Governor Blanco issued an evacuation order for the outlying Parishes, IE ST. Bernard more than 48 hours in advance. People didn't leave. Who's to fault here? You can figure it out.

2nd- Mayor Nagan waits until less than 24 hours before the storm to issue a mandatory evacuation order. I've said before that this wasn't smart, however, many people still didn't listen. Here the blame is probably best left split. I will admit some people may not have been able to leave. I think the numbers should have been much smaller though.

3rd and what I consider most important, you have a city that is mostly below sea level, built next to the ocean. You have documentaries and studies telling you what would happen if a Category 4 hurricane were to hit New Orleans. There is no plan in place to cover the obvious consequences of a broken levee. Who's to blame here? Lots of blame here. You could probably go back 100 years and find people to blame. Most recently it could probably be shared by the Federal, State and City Governments.

I hate to see people blaming the National guard on TV though. These guys have been working non stop since Tuesday. They have been flying out there rescuing people trapped in flooded neighborhoods again and again. Mayor Nagan wants to know where the National Guard has been. I'll tell you where. They have been either working in the case of the Air National Guard or waiting for direction from someone in charge in the case of the National Guard. Who gives these people their marching orders? I'll give you a hint, her name means white in Spanish. You guessed it in one. The Governor.

By the way, the Navy had ships in route since Wednesday, even before the State asked for it. That's another thing. When should the President have gotten involved? When Governor Blanco asked for him to, that's when. He does have the power to do it before but that is usually reserved for States whose government doesn't know what going on. Apparently President Bush misjudged Louisiana's government. Apparently he thought that they could handle this or at least ask for help.

You know what else ticks me off. Several States offered the use of their National Guard Units prior to the hurricane actually making landfall. I'm not sure what the process for this is, I do not know if the Federal Government has to get involved in this or the State can just accept the help. It didn't happen though. The only out of state units that I saw until a day ago were from the Texas Air National Guard.

I think that we can all agree that there is plenty of blame here. Instead of trying to figure out who is more to blame let's figure out what we will do to prevent this tragedy in the future. I believe we need to concentrate on building New Orleans up; Bring ground level above sea level. Second we need a plan to cope with any future contingencies. Third, a mandatory evacuation is a mandatory evacuation. Anyone who does not want to leave needs to sign a waiver of release saying that they accept full responsibility for any consequences resulting from not heeding the warning.

This may be a bit harsh. I don't mean to sound insensitive to the suffering. I'm just venting my anger at the whole situation. I hate passing blame. I think it is more productive to learn from the experience and figure out how not to repeat it. Maybe this is just a pipe dream.

My prayers are with all of the evacuees and all the families that have lost loved ones in this tragedy.