What happened to this country?

[fstedy]

  This video link I just saw was very disturbing. What has happened to our sense of right and wrong, I can see the people of NO taking life essentials but what goes on here is outrageous. Take a look at it and have your eyes opened. 

LINK DELETED

[beenthere]

Disgusting for sure. But put ones'self in the position of growing up on welfare, being fed and clothed and housed for years. Then a storm comes and wipes these supports away and you start feeling abandoned, and the pressure to get what you want takes over, but your competition doesn't accept you taking it from them.  So violence breaks out, and there is no one with a gun barrel at your head to tell you it aint gonna happen. How would we cope with that situation?  I don't know and don't wanta find out either.
I don't like it one bit, but we watch the able-bodied ner-do-wells sit by doing nothing for themselves (hey get a shovel and a broom and clean the place up would at least be doing something!) and the swat teams shown riding around with 12 'guards' in one vehicle......

All that are trapped in NO are not worthless, IMO, and need a way out. It won't happen overnight.

My BIL has an apartment (2nd floor) in the French Quarter, as well as a home in Hattiesburg, MS.  He left NO on Sat. and went to Hattiesburg, filling up with gas, stocking groceries, and being DanG scared when the storm hit. Lost a roof and garage and all utilities. A friend had power so he has been there since the storm. No word from him until this morning when he called to say he was okay, and it was the first phone call he could make. He is taking extra sheets and towels and housekeeping things to the Center to give to those who are without. And he has been working all week cleaning up downed trees in his neighborhood. Actually having a good time getting to know other people around him better.

As to "what happened to this country?" question, the potential for trouble like this has been there all along, I think. The conditions haven't been right for trouble, but those conditions are right now.  People, and especially me, would not want, nor tolerate, being herded around like cattle or pigs. No DanG way anyone would have coaxed me into that SuperDome with all those people. I would have hung onto a lamp post and taken my chances outside first (that is if I didn't have a way to get out of town before it hit...). 

Seems we can take this in stride, and not 'blame' anyone but Katrina, except 'she' has shown us we have a 'weak' spot to address in the future. Hopefully some 'mentality' to do things for oneself instead of the 'welfare' way will be generated from this. I expect not, but I do have hope.

As for rebuilding NO, I think it will happen only if the tourists go there and spend their money to either partake or to see the 'rebuilding' if it happens. Without the tourist dollar, it won't be rebuilt just for living and housing welfare people, IMO.

[Furby]

It's a good thing I'm on limited internet access right now because I'm REALLY PO!
I watched Night Line last night, and almost every thing I saw was, "why aren't they taking care of me" " I'm supposed to be in a shelter, this is a H*!! hole" and " I would be better off in my home then out here". Uh lady.......YOUR HOME IS TOTALLY GONE!!!

DanG, these people need to get a clue!!!!
One woman was complaining about no buses coming to pick them up. I'm yelling into the TV for her to get off her sorry butt and start walking!!!

Even the congress man was saying where's the food from the feds that WE promised these people.
Heck it was the local people in charge that made the call for them to go to the Dome and promised them food, assuming the feds would cover their butts.

[DanG]

Furb, was that the woman that had a child with a burn on his hand?  She ticked me off, too.  Young, and able-bodied, she waited at home for 2 days before the storm, for Social Services to send a car around and take her sorry self to the shelter.  Now she's complaining again that the Gov't isn't taking good enough care of her.

I get the notion that some of you are getting your first glimpse of what we have put up with down here since Lyndon Johnson created the "Great Society."

I just can't believe that humans can be that helpless.  I'm just glad we don't have smellovision!  Have these people not heard of buckets?  They could have dipped water out of the street to flush those toilets, or at least used the buckets for potties and hauled it outside!

All the while, Jesse Jackson is standing there in his thousand dollar suit waving his race card around. 

[mike_van]

I have not heard one person in N.O. say " I've lost my job"   

[Gilman]

I think a good portion of these helpless victims need to watch some of the Kennedy speeches, and listen.

I really feed bad for those that are helpless victims though.

[fstedy]

My main problem with this clip was the police officers ( who were probally being paid to help with the rescue operations ) in a Walmart STEALING private property they are bound to protect. I feel sorry for the thousands of displaced people placed in a  desperate situation. Many of them have lived off the system for so long they don't know how to fend for themselves. If I lived in a flood and Hurricane prone area I certainly would have emergency provisions in place for my family.

[Arthur]

fstedy got it right.  If you live in a naure prone area its your OWN responsibility to make sure you are prepared for what may happen.

We get flooded at least 3 or 4 times a year and can be isolated for a number of weeks with no power or contact with those outside the area.  We do not have shops the only facility being the bush fire service.

I am currently raising funds for an emergency heliport on our property as we have the only area large enough with clear access for the bigger helicopters so we will be able to safely rescue medical emergncies.

Most of us have our own generators and store two to three weeks of food and fuel supplies.  Those who get stuck are the new who havent listened to the locals about what is needed.  We do however all club together and help each other and normally just get on with life.

The most dangerous and terrifying event here is the bush fires, stand or run depends on how close the fire is to you and what precausions you have taken.  The heat from the fires and the flamability of the native trees is something that needs to be seen to know how terrifying it is.

I feel sorry for those who rely on officials to help but the officials should realy be teaching what to do to protect yourself not planning on how do the body count.

arthur

[Rockn H]

Did any body see Kayne West.  He was the one scaring Mike Myers last night on the benefit concert.  Because of him they couldn't even air it on the west coast last night.  Yeah, that really helped "his people".

[Tom]

Is that what that guy's name is?   I was really upset that I wouldn't be able to forget it if I didn't know it.   Now I'm going to go to my forgetting chair and make him go away.   Both of them maybe.

[Rockn H]

I'm sorry Tom.   They were just showing the not edited enough for me version, and his name was on the screen when they came on.  I had to do a search myself to figure out who this genius was.

[Tom]

I wonder if he's ever been hurt real bad before?   

[Tom]

Oops!   I didn't mean to say that. 

[J_T]

You can't teach anybody that refuses to want to learn. We always keep a couple mounts of food on hand quart jars work good and some froze some dried Got our own well and I can get water with out electric and have lots of amo so I can keep it   From my experence with the government I would starve waiting on them In good times it can take four hours to get a cop out here an when it snows good luck on most roads .What happens when the squerels don't store nuts Knew a man once that watched his neighbor piling up fire wood in July he was sitting in the shade then in January went and ask the old man if he could borrow some wood . Think that old man repented the rest of that year for what he told that guy

[Bibbyman]

I just can't believe that humans can be that helpless.  I'm just glad we don't have smellovision!  Have these people not heard of buckets?  They could have dipped water out of the street to flush those toilets, or at least used the buckets for potties and hauled it outside!

DanG right! 

As I watched the scenes from the Super Dome the last few days,  I had the same thought in the back of my mind.  Looks like it would be a natural instinct to keep one’s nest clean. 

We were watching Fox News yesterday and they were saying that everyone had left the Super Dome except a small group of Vietnamese that had huddled together.   They panned the cameras across them camped out under an overhang.  Said they refused to leave until everyone else had gone.  “They didn’t want to get in the way.”  When they panned back across the group of maybe 100 people,  I noted to Mary, “Look how their area is clean.”  All around them were mounds of the debris left by the others.

Of the people being evacuated, it looked to me like there was about a third that needed help, another third that could find for themselves if food, water and shelter was made available, and another third that should be saying “How can I help.” 

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah, Mike Myers is the International man of mystery.

His movies are a mockery of the 007 movies.

[Faron]

Friday night I was watching Fox coverage.   Shephard Smith had been on the scene since before the hurricane hit.  He seemed to me to be on the verge of becoming mentally inhinged.  He unleashed a barrage of complaint about the lack of action in the area he was in, the I 10.  He had no way to know what was really being done, nor the tremendous obsticles that have to be overcome in order to get the job done OUTSIDE NO.  I think he was too close to the story, and had no way to maintain any sense of perspective.  Next up was Geraldo Revaria  He had arrived at the convention center that day from NY.  He unleased an emotional tiraide, crying and carrying on, and of course HE knew exactly what the feds needed to do to help the situition.  In my mind, all Geraldo was trying to do was cut a bigger shine and grab the spotlight from Smith.  Both were examples of lousy reporting, I think, but I felt sorry for Smith.  I just wanted to put a boot up Geraldo's rear. 
        Another report featured a 16 year old boy from NO.  He managed to liberate a school bus from a school parking lot.  HE picked up passengers intil he loaded the bus, then drove that sucker to Houston.  He said he had never driven a bus before, just drove slow and learned as he went.  The passengers pooled their money, and bought fuel along the way. Imagine!  They rescued themselves!  That brings up a question for the NO Mayor, and the leaders of the school system.  Why weren't those school busses loaded with people and driven out of harm's way before the storm hit?  That would have gotten thousands more out, and saved the school system's bus fleet to boot.
   Finally, a caravan of power company trucks left Evansville, IN for the hurricane area.  In Mississippi, they were unable to buy fuel, and ran out before reaching the work area.  A fuel tanker had to be sent from Evansville to supply them.  I offer that as an example of how nothing goes as planned in these situations, and the simplest task takes much longer than it ought to.

[mike_van]

I did get a charge out of Anderson Cooper telling some senator "these people don't want to hear you politicians congratulating each other" as she was saying "I want to thank  this gov. & this sen. & this mayor, & on & on."    Faron, good call on    Geraldo Riveria - what a horse's butt.

[karl]

I don't know if I can even express my disgust with that Kanye(sp) A HOLE without being deleted! I'd like to drop him right in the middle of the mess and let him learn a few life lessons with the rest of his "homies" that have never made a real effort to be independant and take care of their own needs and those of their families. No, I am not being racist- I include anyone and everyone who uses the "system" to cruise through life without doing an honest days work or looking out for those that CAN'T pull their own plow. I WILL admit to hating rap" music ", and can't see what it or all the "bling bling "these morons collect contributes to society.

I am totally fed up with the mindset that the government will provide. Get off your ass and find an honest way to contribute to your life and the lives of those around you!!!!! If you want to use the government (and my tax dollars) use it to get an education and use IT to contribute.!!!

I am very sorry for those who need help(anywhere), especially kids. I want to help them, I DON'T want one G-D nichol going to lazy people that won't even try to help themselves.
I hadn't heard about the young fella taking the bus- if it is true, he is a hero in my view. I am sure there are many who are using their heads and will to help themselves and others- crime and stupidity makes for "better" news coverage though.

If you need food/water/clothes for your family, I have no problem with your liberating it, if your after a bigscreen TV-your body should be found right next to the SOB's that were shooting at cops and rescue people.

How come we hear how screwed NO is so much more than the surrounding area? Yes, the governments(local, state, fed) knew there was a problem waiting to happen and stalled on dealing with it- now there is a much bigger price to pay, another reason for individuals and families and communities to work together for their own good.
IT IS  TIME TO START TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR BEING A HUMAN BEING AND STOP EXPECTING TO BE TAKEN CARE OF BY YOUR GOVERNMENT.

I'd better go now......

[beenthere]

Good insight, and I too, have a problem with the pic of the busses sitting in the water. Give one to everyone who would drive it out of there (the bus drivers probably wouldn't do it).

About the power company trucks leaving Indiana, -- why would they not plan to take all their supplies with them??  They had to know there was a fuel shortage from the news. But guess they had to drive til the tank was empty to find it out for themselves.  duh!  they just add themselves to the pool.  Wonder if they took their 'lunch'?