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To: carranza2 who wrote (137036)	9/4/2005 11:42:09 AM
From: Constant Reader	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793966

Anyway, I think the blame game is fruitless at this point, at least until hindsight tells us in more clear and less impassioned manner what went wrong. You are right. Let's hope we can do that, although our track record with regard to such investigations isn't good.

To: carranza2 who wrote (137036)	9/4/2005 11:50:08 AM
From: gamesmistress	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793966

I honestly don't think anyone comprehended the scope of the disaster Some items from my morning's reading: - The area affected by Katrina is approximately the size of England. - It may take 6 months to finish pumping out NO and another 3 months for it to dry out. - They are going door to door in NO now, looking for bodies and routing out people who couldn't leave before or still refuse to (and are using guns). - Texas Gov. Rick Perry warned Saturday that his enormous state was running out of room, with more than 220,000 hurricane refugees camped out there and more coming. The consequences are just staggering. On an individual level, people are going to have to decide if they can put their lives on hold until NO is "fixed" (and what will that mean, anyway?) or move on. So many people are helping and giving but I'm afraid the blame game is inevitable.

To: carranza2 who wrote (137036)	9/4/2005 11:57:11 AM
From: Constant Reader	Respond to of 793966

BTW, I ran across this Washington Post editorial from yesterday that could serve as a good beginning for a reasoned discussion once the disaster response is more of a memory and less of an urgency: Left Behind Saturday, September 3, 2005; A30 THE LACK OF National Guard troops because of the war in Iraq; the Bush administration's failure to protect coastal wetlands; the reorganization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency: All have been blamed, somewhat arbitrarily, for the stunning scenes of chaos at the New Orleans Superdome and convention center, for the unprecedented floodwaters in the city, and for the huge numbers of people without food or water. But if blame is to be laid and lessons are to be drawn, one point stands out as irrefutable: Emergency planners must focus much more on the fate of that part of the population that -- for reasons of poverty, infirmity, distrust of officialdom, lack of transportation or lack of information -- cannot be counted on to leave their homes after an evacuation order. Tragically, authorities in New Orleans were aware of this problem. Certainly the numbers were known. Shirley Laska, an environmental and disaster sociologist at the University of New Orleans, had only recently calculated that some 57,000 New Orleans Parish households, or approximately 125,000 people, did not have access to cars or other private transportation. In the months before the storm, the city's emergency planners did debate the challenges posed by these numbers, which are much higher than in other hurricane-prone parts of the country, such as Florida. Because a rapid organization of so many buses would have been impractical, the city's emergency managers considered the use of trains and cruise ships. The New Orleans charity Operation Brother's Keeper had tried to get church congregations to match up car-owners with the carless, and it had produced a DVD on the subject of hurricane evacuations that was to be distributed later this month. Unfortunately, none of these plans was advanced enough to have had much impact this week. Instead the city decided to use the Superdome as a "shelter of last resort." Following that decision, a major mistake was made: Not enough food, water or portable toilets were made available to accommodate the enormous number of people who turned up. No one in the federal, state or city governments appears to have been prepared for the possibility that thousands would be forced to stay there nearly a week. With some forethought, the National Guard troops who arrived yesterday could have been en route before, or even immediately after, the storm. Five days was too long to tell people to wait without supplies. The question now is whether other major U.S. cities have focused on their immobile and impoverished residents to the degree that they should. Much of the emergency preparedness literature that has appeared on the Internet and elsewhere has focused on driving, on evacuation routes and on portable supplies. The events in New Orleans should force homeland security officials across the country to understand that this is not enough: Some thought must also be given to the fate of people who cannot or will not leave. The National Guard and FEMA should anticipate that some will remain behind, and food and water should be set aside for them. If fingers are to be pointed in the wake of this tragedy, this is one direction to point them.

To: carranza2 who wrote (137036)	9/4/2005 12:03:01 PM
From: Rambi	Respond to of 793966

don't think America has let us down to the extent she thinks it has. It did let us down with respect to the speed with which a response was made, but I honestly don't think anyone comprehended the scope of the disaster until folks started shouting and the media highllighted it. And, let's face it, the storm was enormous; only the bare necessities could be handled at first. Anyway, I think the blame game is fruitless at this point, at least until hindsight tells us in more clear and less impassioned manner what went wrong. I have been trying and trying to say this, but it isn't a popular opinion right now! Thanks for saying it more eloquently,. As one of those directly affected, it certainly carries weight.

To: carranza2 who wrote (137036)	9/4/2005 12:13:44 PM
From: D. Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793966

The second is flat wrong: I've witnessed firsthand what Houston is doing for us, for example, and it is absolutely admirable. I suspect other cities and organizations are doing the same SLC has taken in 1000 NO refugees. Locals are putting them up, and getting them all jobs. Derek

To: carranza2 who wrote (137036)	9/4/2005 12:25:54 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793966

Anyway, I think the blame game is fruitless at this point, at least until hindsight tells us in more clear and less impassioned manner what went wrong. It is beginning to look more and more like your Governor was the bottleneck.

To: carranza2 who wrote (137036)	9/4/2005 12:29:41 PM
From: Mary Cluney	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793966

But to my country I want to say this: During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us. You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music. Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us "Sin City," and turned your backs. Well, we are a lot more than all that. And though we may seem the most exotic, the most atmospheric and, at times, the most downtrodden part of this land, we are still part of it. We are Americans. We are you. *Wow, what apiece.* I have been crying a lot. I didn't think I had any tears left. Guess what? There was a lot more left than I thought.