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Yes, the look of this site is changing...sorry, it will be slow as I'm not on LJ...anyway, a recent couple of posts from there...


Our hearts go out to the victoms of this natural disaster. In the time leading up to and immediately following this horrible tragedy a number of things have gone wrong. For those people's sake I hope they get fixed soon. Problem is that we are playing the blame game without knowing the facts. I've been reading a lot of articles on this subject because, God forbid, something happens in this area I want to know what to expect. We're all human and we make mistakes. The Mayor of New Orleans definitely made some, the Governor as well and even the President's team made some mistakes. When you have an event of this magnitude the best laid plans often get forgotten.

Well, I'm sure we'll all take some lessons learned from Katrina but that is little comfort for the dead. Those who took it upon themselves to rescue their families and neighbors should be held up high. The was one report of a young man that stole a school bus and drove it full of passengers to the Astrodome. Good for him. The PLAN had called for doing just that anyway. I hope he isn't charged...

I know this hurts to witness and we wish we could do more than send money but that really is best right now. They don't need any more bodies down there needing food and shelter. We as a country also need need to play the blame game until we are in a better position to see all the facts and then make moves to correct the problems. Those of you who think Bush delayed aid because of race sadden me. Those of you willing to believe the worst in people when there is no reason to also sadden me. Let's leave politics out of this crisis and agree that mistakes were made but that it's too early to call for people's heads. Let's all listen and learn and withhold judgement until the facts are in. All of them.

Now, since I kow you guys don't read the same news as I do, here are a view facts pulled from a NewsMax article.

* President Bush declared Louisiana a disaster area two days before the hurricane struck the New Orleans area.
* President Bush urged New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to order the mandatory evacuation that was issued on Sunday, August 28.
* First responders to a disaster are always state and local emergency agencies. FEMA is there to supplement the state and local activities.
* The hurricane threatened an area as large as 90,000 square miles covering three states. Immediate relief could not possibly have been delivered to all the places that required attention.
* An AP photo showed a large fleet of New Orleans buses soaking in six feet of water. The mayor apparently had the means to evacuate many of the folks who ended up stranded at the Superdome and the convention center.
* FEMA began its activities immediately, not expecting the magnitude of the flooding, the non-response at the city and state level, and the anarchy that resulted.
* The local and state governments had rehearsed for a different scenario. Disaster drills in New Orleans had taken place, but with a false assumption that the levees would hold.
* Both the law and protocol prohibit the president from ordering military troops into a state without a formal request to do so from the governor of the affected state.

This article tells yet another story about the levies...



I also need to post a link to an article that's long but you won't regret reading it. I have to say I agree 100% with what he's said and while his guestbook is off, please feel free to add your opinion here. And now, Bill Whittle's excellent article

PS Thank you PJammer for bringing this article to my attention.

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