Have you ever evacuated when warned by the authorities? Almost every year we get warnings and thousands of people evacuated. I did it myself with my family and friends. However, it costs money to evacuate and many thousands of New Orleaneans did not have the resources to evacuate. Thousands took refuge in the Superdome and the roof gave away. FEMA was supposed to bring them food and water but then heckuvajob brownie was busy having dinner in Baton Rouge restaurants. By the way, where was dickie boy cheney when New Orleans was inundated? he was on vacation... did not even bother to cut his vacation and come back to work. The veep is supposed to help the prez when he needs help and I am sure during a crisis chimp needed some help. PLEASE STOP BLAMING THE VICTIMS OF A NATIONAL DISASTER OF EPIC PROPORTIONS. NEW ORLEANS WAS FLOODED BECAUSE THE FEDERAL FLOODWALLS AND LEVEES BROKE. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? Some people love the land they were born in and enjoys the heritage their neighborhood has to offer. Thousands are living in their gutted homes waiting for a FEMA trailer. They are working to get their homes rebuilt. FEMA is there to help the victims, but they have been utterly useless. Did you know that FEMA paid the same price for new roofs for temporary tarps? This was paid to the big contractors with cozy ties to the chimpboy. The guys doing the work were local roofers who got paid literally pennies while these fat cats licked off the cream.
Tens of thousands of people in the hurricane's path refused to leave. A lot of them that survived and were interviewed said that they rode out hurricanes before. Others that stayed became victims from flooding. Is there any government program that could have changed the stubborn minds of these people? Mayor Nagin refused to evacuate people that wanted to leave by not wanting to use school buses. He wanted Greyhound buses to be brought in from hundreds or thousands of miles away. While sitting around and waiting for those Greyhounds, the school buses sat unused and were flooded. Yet no one will criticize him. To afraid to stand up to him, and instead he has been made a victim. While the levees sat in disrepair, the New Orleans Levee Board spent federal money intended for levees on Mardi Gra fountains and casinoes. By 1998, Louisiana's state government had a $2 billion construction budget, but less than one tenth of one percent of that -- $1.98 million -- was dedicated to levee improvements in the New Orleans area. By Lisa Myers & the NBC Investigative Unit NBC News Sept. 15, 2005 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9342186/ Mardi Gras Fountain: The cost of $2.4 million was paid by the Orleans Levee Board, the state agency whose main job is to protect the levees surrounding New Orleans â the same levees that failed after Katrina hit. Levee Board â a board which, at one point, was accused by a state inspector general of "a long-standing and continuing disregard of the public interest." there's the $15 million spent on two overpasses that helped gamblers get to Bally's riverboat casino. Critics tried and failed to put some of that money into flood protection. Critics charge, for years, the board has paid more attention to marinas, gambling and business than to maintaining the levees. As an example: of 11 construction projects now on the board's Web site, only two are related to flood control.
there was a public housing complex barely affected by katrina that the govt condemned. it could have offered shelter shortly after the disaster but officials refused its residents permission to re enter their own homes. turns out this is veryyyyyyyy desirable real estate close to the city and has been eyed by developers for years. katrina has become a great heist ..... the profiteers are the second greatest scumbags in this country in the last 5 yrs. FEMA's incompetence surprised few.... but i was appalled by their antagonistic rejections of qualified help. FEMA refuses hundreds of personnel, dozens of vehicles - Chicago Tribune, 9/2/05 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-050902daley,1,2011979.story?coll=chi-news-hed FEMA won't let Red Cross deliver food - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/3/05 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05246/565143.stm FEMA fails to utilize Navy ship with 600-bed hospital on board - Chicago Tribune, 9/4/05 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...,1,4144825.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed FEMA turns away state-of-the-art mobile hospital from Univ. of North Carolina - CNN, 9/5/05 http://edition.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/09/04/katrina.sick.redtape.ap/ FEMA won't accept Amtrak's help in evacuations - Financial Times, 9/5/05 http://news.ft.com/cms/s/84aa35cc-1da8-11da-b40b-00000e FEMA turns back Wal-Mart supply trucks - New York Times, 9/6/05 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationalspecial/05blame.html FEMA prevents Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel - New York Times, 9/6/05 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationalspecial/05blame.html FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid - News Sentinel, 9/8/05 http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/editorial/12595873.htm FEMA: "First Responders Urged Not To Respond" Unless Dispatched - FEMA's own website http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18470
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How about this: There is government corruption and incompetence at all levels: fed, state, local etc. But why does everyone focus on the feds? Tons of money locally was misspent on everything but the levees. If the locals had done what they were supposed to do, New Orleans would not have flooded. Like spoiled children playing with daddy's money recklessly. Now they done broke things and expect big daddy government to bail them out. Why didn't the feds oversee the spending? But no one talks about that. Now some 250 billion will be spent on rebuilding N. O.
Do you realize that the levees that failed were federal levees and are supposed to be built by the Corps of Engineers? The federal govt. is responsible for those levees. Ratboy, the public housing in New Orleans have been neglected and villified for a long time. Now HUD has got an opportunity to get their cronies to make some bucks. They are going to tear down these complexes and put in subdivisions and town homes and create mixed housing. So, a lot of poor people will get muscled out of these housing units. These well connected developers will be making a killing, while hundreds if not thousands of families, will be homeless. What a freakin way to make money!!! All these are being presented in an euphemistic wrapper and presented to the public in a way to glorify these evictions. It is a shame.
The New Orleans Levy Board are responsible for where the Federal money will be spent or misspent. The C. O. E. does the building and repair on the orders of the N. O. L. B.
Because we can't vote for Mayor of N.O. but we get to vote for the fed offices. I can't help that N.O. has a corrupt mayor, but I sure hope we don't have a corrupt president. Shifting the blame to the local level only helps to cover up the corruption on the federal level. I think that's the game you're playing.
sweetheart deals for vegas casino moguls..... probably will be govt subsidized under the pretense "we are helping the city". meanwhile these vultures come in and swoop up the carnage for pennies on the dollar and then bring in that great industry GAMBLING !!! you can bet your sweet ass they put money into the levees then.... gotta protect the corporate vultures. if you watch the video above.. it is greg palast and he investigates one of the most prized housing projects.... even goes in one unit with a resident and identifies that all it needs is a little elbow grease. thank god for youtube or we would never see these swine criminals and their dirty work.
No, that is not true. The USACE provides the various "build" alternatives and the Orleans Parish (or the local) levee board sponsor selects which alternative to use.