Good read on who should be blamed for New Orleans

[kajo]

Check this out. I have been thinking the exact thing.
opinion journal (http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007219#top)

[Mike]

I agree.

Assistance should have been requested before the hurricane even made landfall. It was obvious what was going to happen.

[hecull]

Though I agree with the opinion in the editorial, I really don't care right now who's at fault in the slow response of support for these people. There will be hell to pay, in time, for those to blame for the response.
What I'd like to see, is these citizens being taken care of. By media reports, they are getting there, but it's only the tip of the iceberg.
I strongly encourage everyone to donate what they can to the American Red Cross etc. The Federal, State and local governments will do what they can, but the real help comes from the Red Cross, Salvation Army and others who need funding from us. If there was $50 given for every American, there would be a pool of 14.75 billion available for them. Remember, the aid package of 62 billion and the earlier 10 billion also has to cover the military and bureaucratic costs. I’m not sure how much that means actually goes to help the people rebuild their cities and their lives, but think about the old cliché of $300 hammers and you get the point. Big government money doesn’t necessarily help the individual rebuild THEIR life.
I’ve seen what Isabel and Floyd did here in Hampton Roads, and I’ve seen what Hugo did years ago to North and South Carolina and they were nothing compared to this storm. I also closely know people who lost a whole lot in those storms and even with FEMA aid and insurance, they still suffer today.
Please, donate what you can. If you don’t have the funds, volunteer. Keep in mind a lot of your local volunteers are working on this tragedy leaving local gaps, so even volunteering locally in effect, can help those affected by this.
Thanks,
Kyle

[TURNER]

the people to blame are the poeple who thought it would be a good idea to live below sea level

[kajo]

hecull - I agree with you that we should donate all we can. a minimum of 71 cents of every dollar donated to the Red Cross goes directly to victims, If they collect more than is needed for a particular disaster, it goes into a reserve for future emergencies. I am a certified CPR/First Aid instructor and help out on the phones on occasion and our local office had 86 calls for injured or missing family members of military personnel do to the storm as of saturday morning when I stopped by to see if they needed any help.

[rccrawler]

You know what the sad part is, 95% of the coverage is of New Orleans. What happened to MS and AL? What assistance is going there?

I'm with Turner here, get idea of living below sea level and living hoping the levy would not break. Don't get me wrong, my heart and prayers go out to those in need at the moment. It's like those people hear at the beach and along hatteras building million dollar homes along the shore. Hell yeah, they look great and have great views. But hurricane alley. Common on. Don't complain your house is destroyed because of ma nature.

And donate donate donate. Like Kajo said, a good portion actually goes to the victims.

BTW, I agree with the article. All the finger pointing goes to FEMA, the federal govt, and Bush. I think FEMA and the federal gov't did a good job so far. It's not easy to mobilize a force to handle this amount of desivastion the 'cane in hours. It takes days. I think all the first responsers did a great job in their efforts to help the victims.

[VaTaco1]

Great article. I have to say, it opened my eyes to what exactly takes place during a disaster.(chain of command)
More of the major media outlets need to start telling this part of the story

[trailtoy]

3, 2, 1... let the scapegoating begin! Bush fired the head of FEMA today. It's all downhill now.

[RayMc]

My wife's sister used to live in New Orleans...and is now in Richmond with us...she said that very little was done by the local gov. to help the people who weren't able to leave, meaning no car, and no money....

[fourwd1]

the people to blame are the poeple who thought it would be a good idea to live below sea level


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