Kennyboy,

Nobody blamed the hurricane on Bush, genius. We blamed him for a lack of response, for a lack of concern and for hiring a horse breeder to run FEMA.

Republicans understand responsibility when it is unto others. When it is unto self they feign ignorance.

What part of MANDATORY EVACUATION do these people NOT UNDERSTAND! Same thing with Katrina, they were told to do it, yet they didn't. And don't tell me they couldn't, I lived in New Orleans, and I love New Orleans, but I do know the mindset.

I think we will increasingly be able to blame severe weather on humanity as whole.

Bush Admin. was blamed for the lack of preparedness/response, especially since Katrina was exceptionally large and well forecasted. Though, in fairness to all affected/involved, it was an unprecedented catastrophe resultant from flooding, primarily.

Kennyboys you got your facts wrong again. The criticism of Bush was for the slow response to Katrina not that the storm occurred. You tea baggers have to at least make some attempt to be factual. You can't have it both ways

Katrina was well forcasted, but the state and local governments didn't want the Feds to come in until it was too late, and they had waited too long. The state and Locals didn't have the organization set up to get people out in time.

People didn't leave when they should have, and somehow that was the Feds fault.

NO, that is THEIR Fault. The weather reports are out there.

That's like in this story some fools with an infant trapped on a houseboat. A HOUSEBOAT? During a Hurricane? How stupid can you be?

Sorry, I just simply have no sympathy for people who do stuff like this. I DO feel badly for the baby. If he/she survives he/she will have to grow up with those morons as role models.

Part of the problem is human nature, and actual nature. I'm from FL, and we have plenty of "been there, done that, when's the Hurricane Party" kind of folks. They've seen a dozen canes, and they're never as bad as the weather bureau said, UNTIL ONE IS!!! New comers are often better off than veterans in an area. Cause the newbies listen better, and follow directions.

We ALL had the same prob with the TSA color-coded warnings. It would go from "Green to Orange", and nothing seemed to happen. So, we stopped paying attention. Unfortunately, Mother Nature can be a bytch! Five times, nothing bad happens to you..., THEN BAM! You're dead! Human nature vs. Mother Nature!

After reading all the spew form the "concerned tax payers", I propose the following.

Stop all aid to the middle west states "The Tornado Corridor" for they know that every year tornadoes will touch down in that area and we don't suppose to help them for they "know" it.

Stop all aid to the western states for they live in an earthquake area and they know that they're gonna have earthquakes.

Stop all aid to the northern states because they gonna have snow. Stop all aid to those states that have wildfires.

We are going to have a better place to live when there are no place to live.......

Welcome to the Planet Earth guys......

You all blamed Bush, but not he MAYOR of the city, Nagin. Nor did you blame the Governor, Landrieu I believe, for her failure to ask for federal help. Is that because they are both Dems, and Bush is a Rep.? Of course not, you libs are never partisan, it is only the Rep. who are.

Eh, why not? they blamed Bush for the weather.

@Acharleyhorse: For the same reason that you blame Obama for everything and forget about the damned Congress that don't do s##t. The responsibility lands in the POTUS. You are right to blame Obama if you like, but we like to blame Jr. the very same......

Jr. aint in charge no more. and this does not even correlate. this storm is a joke compared with katrina. havent even heard of one casualty so far, which is good.

Course with all the damage and rebuilding i dont understand why they dont move new orleans north somewhre where large portions of the city are not under water. Or at least the areas that are below sea level. make a new subdivision on high ground and let the low lying areas go back to what they were, coastal wetlands. Just sayin.

Course we would have to move washington also. it was built on a swamp. Course thats kind of noticable with the denizens that live there. Both Dem and Rep. LOL maybe we should move some of those anacondas from florida there to thin out the population.

The only one at fault is the people that are'nt smart enough to know that you don't build a house on a flood plane, let alone below sea level.

You were told to evacuate! Now you should be on your own and not expect others to put themselves in harms way!

Arizona has a "stupid motorist" law that charges people for not obeying posted signs declaring "do not enter when flooded". If they need to be rescued, they are charged for the personel needed to rescue them. If these people in LA are under manditory evacuation and do not heed the warnings, they should be charged when the National Guard has to rescue them.

Why is anybody being rescued? I clearly heard Gov Jindal telling everyone to leave. Any subhuman moron who stayed just like they did during Katrina, deserves to drown.

I live on the beach in Florida. When hurricanes hit they tell us to leave. If we decide to stay we sign papers with the police that we are on our own. Why is New Orleans any different? Oh yeah, it's a liberal city and the lamestream media will throw a hissy fit and blame the closest GOP if anything goes wrong. Watch out Gov Jindal! I gauranetee that the press will be all over you very soon!

Upgrades are slated...

It's interesting to see everyone talk about politics, complain about the people who don't heed warnings, and even suggest that people shouldn't be saved because they're not smart enough. Some are even doing the calculations to see how much money people should have to pay to be saved.

I understand that, afterward, there should be accountability. In the meantime, these are living and breathing (for now) humans. Let's show some humanity.

" these are living and breathing (for now) humans"

Wrong Slappy. These are subhumans who deserve to die if they don't do anything to help themselves.

Wrong Bobby. You're the subhuman moron.

Congress DID appropriate the money to fix the levee's. And they were fixed to their original 8 foot height, largely due to a Democratic Congress. The 8 foot height is for that so called 100 year storm. And this is the first storm of the season.

Well, I guess 8 years is the same as the Republican 100 years. Keep denying human caused climate change and keep enjoying the 100 year storms every 8 years.

It has been said for 50 years now that New Orleans is the number one city at risk on climate change. Hmmm, two 100 years storms in less than a decade, duh. Ya think that maybe the walls need to be at least 16 feet?

Bobster-1557895

People do not deserve to die for not helping themselves, you insensitive jerk.

Indymaverick.........wrong, Bush was blamed for putting a completely unqualified "good old boy" rich buddy in charge of a very important part of our emergency system. 0 qualifications, no show job for a rich buddy resulted in deaths and suffering, that is what he was blamed for.

I offer to you this truthful representation of the real issue at hand

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Days_Before_the_Day_After_Tomorrow"

Mark Johnson - did you miss the part of the story that said that the restored 8 ft levees in NO were working fine? That the flooding was elsewhere??

Reading comprehension is an underrated skill.

A Catagory 1 Hurricane is considered "A Storm of the century"? I doubt that. I will grant you that Katrina could be considered as such, but not this one.

I like the idea of having people sign a form if they don't evacuate when ordered to. They are taking on the responsibility for themselves and should not expect to be saved at the last minute when their best laid plans of escape are washes away.

Katrina was a disaster that caught everyone off-guard. It was the largest natural disaster in modern times. One of the reasons there was failure to act was that relief agencies had never dealt with this size of a disaster before and did not have the resources in place to deal with it. Katrina rewrote the book on handling disasters all the way from FEMA to the Red Cross to the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (second largest disaster relief agency - second only to Red Cross), Salvation Army, and local disaster relief agencies. We all learned a lot from Katrina and are better prepared. I wish people would quit blaming the government or Bush or God or anyone else. It happened, we were not prepared, people did not listen to warnings to evacuate ... and now we have all learned and grown from the experience so that we can serve better in the future.

In dangerous areas, people just learn to live with it. They are aware of what is going on. A mandatory evacuation never really happens. Some people just choose to ignore the order and ride it out in their own homes. As for blaming Bush or POTUS, it's just plain ridiculous. 40 years between Betsey and Katrina and the levees weren't strengthened or raised. At least after Katrina, NOLA did do something about the system and it appears to be working.

If the government reallocated the money they send our enemies for 1 week the entire area could be rebuilt assuming that the builders hired had no relationship bond with anyone in government.

"Up to 60 people appear to be trapped, " - i wish they would print the names of these people so that the entirety of the United States can thank them for needlessly putting rescue lives in danger and needlessly spending tax dollars due to the fact that they are morons.

Once and for all you bunch of ignorants, Katrina DID NOT hit New Orleans. It was expected to, then turned eastward and hit Gulfport, Mississippi instead. Yet, the major loss of life and property was in NO. Wonder why that was. Could it be because when the aholes who lived in NO, were told to leave the area because a hurricane was headed their way, did not leave. I say, they deserved to die and lose out. And so far, all they have ever done is cry and complain about their lot in life and how nobody has done enough to help them, yet they never did anything to help themselves. And yet, they were not hit by hurricane Katrina. Theirs was an error by their then mayor and governor. The levees were fine and it was the responsibility of the city and state to make those levees strong enough to withstand a category 5 hurricane. The pumps were not working properly. Wonder why. It was because the money, over a million was given to the state and designted for NO to take care of the pump problem and levee, yet they used that money to make the roads going into NO better so tourist coming to gamble, could make the trip with more ease. Nobody in NO, not the mayor or the city managers, and not the state's own governor, cared enough about the people in the 9th wards to ensure their safety during a major weather blow out. Even the peopel who lived there, expecting a category 3 or 4 hurricane, did not heed the warnings and elected to stay. And have the nerve to continue to insist that it is the government's fault what happened to them. This is what a big government with big hand outs gets you. People who refuse to help themselves and expect someone else to take care of them in all situations. Mostly blacks I might add.

Xina the Awesome,

Yes, I read it. But according to the Republican governor, all the levee's have been rebuilt (Maybe he lied? A Republican would never do that - wink). And they are all standing still, just 4 feet too short.

Research (means reading more than one source of news) comprehension is an underrated skill.

The woman in the picture is barefoot... WTF... they knew the storm was coming and she could not find her shoes? Was she on crack?

I really hate that so many are dredging up the past to politicize this. Must you use the pain and suffering of others to make your political points? Hurricane Isaac is NOT Katrina. However, this is an example of why people should take every single storm, even a "minimal" storm very seriously and evacuate when told to do so. First responders are going to do their jobs and save people who are in danger as long as the winds are not too strong for them to do so. (Obviously there is a point during the storm when the winds are so strong it is unsafe for any first responders or anyone else to go out and save anyone.) Unlike many on here, I suppose, their attitude about people in need from a hurricane is not dependent on their political ideas.

I do see some of your frustration that there are people who build in places that are prone to flooding; however, what you may not realize is that these places do not flood every single year like you may think-it's only when there is a huge disaster like Katrina or Isaac when you actually hear about these places flooding. Please note also that we are not discussing the same areas we were discussing with Katrina like the 9th Ward. And how many years did New Orleans go without flooding before Katrina, after all? (That's why they were so complacent.) It's not like New Orleans floods every year. Meanwhile, parts of the midwest may have flooded more than once during that period. People complained the same way when areas along the Mississippi River flooded last year even though those areas had not flooded for something like 50 years or more. Tornadoes hit certain areas more often than that. And, of course, there are the earthquake prone areas and the areas that are prone to wildfires. People take precautions as best they can (if they are wise) and do the best they can to avoid damage and loss of life. (Ie, in hurricane country, we have shutters and so forth, we stock up water and food and fill our tanks with gas and we evacuate if told to do so-there are evacuation routes-etc; in tornado country, where I used to live, you sought shelter if a tornado was coming.) If we stop people from building in all areas that are prone to natural disasters, they will all either have to come live in your backyard (assuming your area is free of natural disasters) or no one will be able to live in the US at all.

W.B. YEATS._
TO THE SECRET ROSE -

Far off, most secret, and inviolate Rose,
Enfold me in my hour of hours; where those
Who sought thee at the Holy Sepulchre,
Or in the wine-vat, dwell beyond the stir
And tumult of defeated dreams; and deep
Among pale eyelids heavy with the sleep
Men have named beauty. Your great leaves enfold
The ancient beards, the helms of ruby and gold
Of the crowned Magi; and the king whose eyes
Saw the Pierced Hands and Rood of Elder rise
In druid vapour and make the torches dim;
Till vain frenzy awoke and he died; and him
Who met Fand walking among flaming dew,
By a grey shore where the wind never blew,
And lost the world and Emir for a kiss;
And him who drove the gods out of their liss
And till a hundred morns had flowered red
Feasted, and wept the barrows of his dead;
And the proud dreaming king who flung the crown
And sorrow away, and calling bard and clown
Dwelt among wine-stained wanderers in deep woods;
And him who sold tillage and house and goods,
And sought through lands and islands numberless years
Until he found with laughter and with tears
A woman of so shining loveliness
That men threshed corn at midnight by a tress,
A little stolen tress. I too await
The hour of thy great wind of love and hate.
When shall the stars be blown about the sky,
Like the sparks blown out of a smithy, and die?
Surely thine hour has come, thy great wind blows,
Far off, most secret, and inviolate Rose?

Mark Johnson, maybe YOU should do a little research. The levee in question is in Plaquemines Parish and is not part of the system that was rebuilt after Katrina. This is a large storm with only Cat 1-force winds, so people thought they were safe, regardless of how many times parish officials and weather experts said the storm surge could be as bad, if not worse, than what normally accompanies a Cat 3. People complain that the news sensationalizes these storms, but the threat was very real, and you can only do so much if people don't heed the warnings. If you want to find a way to blame this on a Republican, go ahead. You've already established your ignorance so you can't make it worse.

Having said what I did in my previous post, let me add that I have been told by people in evacuation zones for hurricanes that the police told people who refused to leave to just tie a tag around their toes so that their bodies would be easier to identify. (Don't know if they were kidding or not-I'm sure the police wanted to say that, though.) A relative who lived on Galveston Island when Ike hit and DID evacuate as instructed was furious that first responders risked their lives so much during that storm trying to rescue people who did not heed the warnings to leave. You may remember that many, many homes on Galveston were simply gone after that storm. Fortunately, my relative's house was on an area of higher ground-though he still had water in his basement. BTW, for those who have made comments about the race of people who refuse to leave New Orleans as if that was a factor in their decision and as if that made them less worthy to live (for the record I disagree with those comments), I wonder if the people on Galveston Island who also refused to evacuate fit the same profile.

If your are truly saved, I do not believe that you will vote for Obama!!! he's tearing our country apart, just like the former presidents before him.

Sorry, but I don't get how who a person votes for makes them a Christian or not. My understanding is that salvation is by grace not by works.

Ephesians 2:8-9
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

jerry-1795679,

What is tearing this country apart is the Republicans blaming everyone else for everything bad that has ever happened. I'll remind you that since Republicans took over the house in 2010, they have done NOTHING. No jobs bill has passed, no budgets have passed (only temporary hold overs). Since 2010, this House has done 2% of the work of the last time we had a do nothing Congress in 1954.

Bush and Company more than doubled our national debt, paid for the two wars on the China credit card, lost 8 million jobs in 8 years, the rich got richer, the poor got poorer and to put a cherry on top, they tanked the economy. It was like a frat party that trashed the place and when the next years residents move in, they are blamed for the mess.

And now you want to elect a man (Romney) that only raided companies and put them into bankruptcy, hides his money in off shore accounts, destroyed people jobs and livelihood, and his VEEP pick (Ryan) who at age 11 was on SSI all the way through college, in spite of his families fabulous wealth, and out of college goes straight into congress. Ryan has never had a real job in his life and has been on the public doll since age 11. We call that kind of person a "leach".

You think that ticket is going to win? Good luck.

Here are some facts about the Katrina response that people want to forget:

1) The National Guard/Feds staged resources in advance, but legally could not move in until the Louisiana governor asked for federal help. She did not do so for two days.

2) The head of DHS was on record weeks before Katrina saying that any federal response to a disaster or attack would take approximately three days post-event to be en masse, and that people should plan accordingly. If you check your history timeline, it was three days after Katrina that the Guard arrived at the SuperDome.

The failures during Katrina were not solely mismanagement at the federal level, but at all levels. However, it became too easy to simply blame Bush.

The levees in Plaquemines Parish were - until recently - privately owned. The Parish bought them in an effort to raise them since they weren't part of the federal system. Not soon enough, as it turns out.

Haven't the churches taught these people to swim?

Why is the government of smaller government screaming for Federal help?

What a load of s**t.

Why is it that in the above comments, some of you insist on displaying just how naive and divisive you are? Your insisting on dividing the country along political lines is the real problem with America. I constantly remind you all that as long as the people are divided so will the government be. A divided government is dysfunctional, and incapable of getting anything done. This makes me wonder if some of you want to see America fail. Up until 2008, our house and senate were willing to compromise and resolve issues. The electing of President Obama somehow brought the worst out of you, and it seems that you would rather see the nation fail rather than see a non white president succeed. The extremist in America decided to send people into Washington, who would sign contracts stating they would not compromise and would not work with the current administration. This has caused serious damage to our country and the living conditions of the people. Our current house and senate is a direct reflection of the mentality of the people. It is composed of people who are just as divisive as the people. Nothing has or will be accomplished, because they are totally dysfunctional and they refuse to compromise. If this is what you want, you're really too ignorant to be a member of a nation with such great potential. Your stupidity is holding our nation hostage, and she can not prosper.

Save the people that ignored evacuation orders? Of course.

Bill them for their rescue? Absolutely.

I do believe that after Katrina, the lowest-lying areas should have been cleared out and allowed to revert to swampland. That would help give the rest of the city more of a buffer for future storms.

"A divided government is dysfunctional, and incapable of getting anything done." (written by Tyrone E above)

I disagree. The only way to achieve sustainable bipartisanship is to divide control of the government, forcing the parties to negotiate in order to get anything done. That pulls policy toward the center, which encourages reasonableness. And the very fact that both parties sign off on any given policy makes the public perceive that policy as more reasonable, which makes it less controversial and more sustainable.

@Tyrone E

Nicely stated. Peace to you and yours!

Well I see this topic has been properly "arm-chair quarter-backed".

Obviously you didn't understand or comprehend my comment, are maybe you just took that sentence out of context, but your comment is included in what I wrote. It is clear that I was speaking of the need to unite for the good of the nation. If I say that division is a problem, that is an indication that I believe in unity. If I state that our government is divided and dysfunctional, that is a suggestion that they need to unite and compromise. If you should read what I wrote once again, maybe you would realize that the things you stated, is exactly what I stated. When I write, it is with the expectation that people can read and comprehend on at least an high school level.

Mark Johnson 2007, what selective memory you have. Obama has been blaming Bush for every problem he's had since he took office. I'm surprised he doesn't blame Bush when he's constipated. Now that he realizes his policies are complete and utter failures, he's trying to blame anyone else that he can. It's pathetic really.

Shouldn't Obama be canceling all his campaign appearances to focus on Isaac? Never mind he will be in Colorado, and Virginia instead.

Apparently Hurricane Isacc is now hitting New Orleans too.

Learn to spell.

And if things go badly in Louisiana, will that be President Obama's fault? Or will that, too, somehow be George Bush's fault?

Dysfunction after Katrina wasn't Bush's fault, either. It was the fault of the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans having a pissing contest over who had control of the situation and what was going to be done.

There is a little thing called "States Rights" that got in the way that time. Apparently the Feds had to have permission from the State Government and had to wait for the pissing match to come to a close before full aid and assistance could be given. Essentially, the State government told the Feds to piss off for some time before getting their heads screwed on right.

Believe it, or don't. Lay blame anywhere but where it belongs, or don't. Makes no difference to me but at least I still know what really happened and why--whether anyone else believes it or not. :-)

DON"T EXPECT REPUBLICONS TO HELP THEY DELIBERATELY SABOTAGE FEMA!

REPUBS HATE FEMA AND DEFUND FEMA TO MAKE THE NATION FAIL AND SUFFER!

Source :http://www.editedforclarity.com/2011/09/13/republicans-block-fema-funds-for-disaster-relief/

Republicans Block FEMA Funds For Disaster Relief

Posted by Leo Soderman on 9/13/11 • Categorized as News,Opinion

We have mentioned before (here and here) about how Eric Cantor has said he will block relief funds without offsetting cuts. He threatened to do it with funds for relief in Joplin, MO after their devastating F5 tornado, and again with Hurricane Irene. Apparently, the outcry about his positions did nothing to change the Republican mindset, and last night they voted to block a FEMA funding bill, never allowing it to come to a vote. Via Raw Story:

A package of disaster relief funding worth $7 billion was blocked from coming up for a vote by Senate Republicans on Monday, drawing sharp condemnation from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) who lambasted the conservative party for abandoning Americans in need.

“Last night, Democrats tried to move forward on a measure that would have granted the Federal Emergency Management Agency additional funding to help communities devastated by natural disasters,” Sen. Reid said in an advisory.

“This ought to be the least political issue going – whether to reach out a helping hand to our friends and neighbors in their time of need,” he continued. “They have lost friends and loved ones. Their homes, businesses and livelihoods have been destroyed by acts of god. Their communities are under water or reduced to rubble.

…

The vote was 53-33, with Republicans uniting against measure that would have brought the aid package to a vote and put a rush on some emergency funds. A 60-vote majority was required to pass it.

“They don’t need help next week or next month,” Reid railed. “They need it now. They need it today.”

He added that because of the increased number of natural disasters this year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has just over $300 million left. President Barack Obama has issued disaster declarations in 48 states since the beginning of 2011.

The funds are so low, Reid said, that FEMA has stopped rebuilding the town of Joplin, Missouri, which was practically destroyed by tornadoes earlier this year. It withdrew funding for the Joplin rebuilding in order to provide food and shelter to the victims of Hurricane Irene.

So – flooding victims aren’t getting the funds, and the people of Joplin are being victimized again, not by an act of God but an act of Senate Republicans. Keep in mind that this wasn’t a vote to deny the funds. It was a vote to deny the funding ever being considered. Maybe they thought that if it didn’t come up for a full vote, they could sweep it under the rug. I have a hunch those folks who have lost homes, businesses – even family members – won’t be so eager to see this swept away without full consideration.

Disaster relief is one of the things that government is best suited for. But as the constant drone from the right tells us, we should have no government. That somehow, these people should be able to fend for themselves when these disasters happen. As Ron Paul said in the CNN/Tea Party Express debate, that’s freedom.

In this case, it’s the freedom to lose everything you own and care about, and not get any help in recovering. I hope the folks in these hard-hit areas remember who pulled the rug out from under them when the 2012 elections roll around.

REPUBS< WHY DON"T YOU EXPLAIN TO THE PEOPLE DOWN SOUTH YOUR REASON FOR HATING THEM!..$$ REPUBS BLOCK INVESTIGATION WANTING NATION TO FAIL AS THEY PLEDGED TO DO!

Source www.examiner.com

Subpoena power in BP oil spill investigation blocked by Senate Republicans

• 2010 Gulf oil spill
• September 27, 2010
• By: Maryann Tobin

Blocking subpoena power in disaster investigative commissions is unheard of. The terrorists crisis, the financial crisis and Three Mile Island commissions all had subpoena power. However, Senate Republicans gave no explanation on Monday when they blocked the Presidential Commission on the BP oil spill from having subpoena power to conduct the investigation. "These guys are in bed with the oil industry" said MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews.

Sen. Byron Dorgan D-ND said, "At a hearing that I was at we had Halliburton, Transocean and BP, all of whom were involved on this rig and this drill, and you know what they were doing is pointing at each other. Well, listen, the only way you're going to get to the real truth and find out exactly what happened is to be able to subpoena all of them and say, look, you have got to produce all of your books and records so that we can inspect them and understand what happened a mile under the ocean out there."

Video: BP oil spill cover up

Protecting BP does not serve the American people, and it will not bring the truth to the millions of people along the Gulf Coast who are entitled to answers. Moreover, it is an insult to the families of the eleven men who were killed the night the Deepwater Horizon exploded. It is difficult to fathom how the Republicans can justify obstructing justice in the BP oil spill, but that is exactly what they have done. The bigger question is, how can Americans let them get away with it?

The move makes little sense, apart from Matthews conclusion which suggests that Republicans have been financially motivated to protect BP from being forced to supply the facts on what caused the April 20, 2010 disaster that killed eleven people, and polluted the Gulf of Mexico with almost 5 million barrels of oil and 2 million gallons of toxic chemical dispersant.

Demar, he probably does blame Bush. Maybe Mooshelle won't let him tell the press when he's constipated and embarrass her anymore that she has to be embarrassed to be married to him.

The night Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, President Bush flew a birthday cake to John McCain in Arizona!

While people are drowning and dying, losing there homes, their whole lives, losing family, jobs, ..everything.... Bush made his most famous speech ever. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear johnnyyyyyyyy.....Happy birthday to you!. Oh boy cake and ice cream. From there Bush flew to Cailifornia to a campaign party........

Republicans the party of no, the party of Obstruction the party of BUSH!. Rove and Romney just hired 18 of 25 of their advisers from the Bush regime. Why would we want that failed group of people destroying the country all over again for war profits and greed.

They crashed the economy once...ONCE IS ENOUGH. DUMP BUSH?ROVE ROMNEY!

Vote Obama/Biden 2012

Just to remind people that Katrina was a WEAK storm and was forecasted to be WEAK. It was only after it ran over 3 Warm Core Rings that added fuel to it, making it bigger, and turning it into a Cat 3. Had it not been for the warm core rings the damage would have been minimal. Everyone thought it was going to be a much weaker storm at the time and it unexpectedly gained in strength right before it hit.

Some of you refuse to accept the fact that our entire government is dysfunctional, and we are responsible for that, because we elected them. It seems that you can't stop talking about political parties. Every time we blame the other party, we divide the nation just a little more, as we make those in opposition stand their ground more so. We should be discussing the fact that both sides are incompetent, and we elected them. Then we can decide what we are going to do about it. It is my belief that if you support either party, you are foolish. The entire government belongs to cooperate America. If you love your country, throw them all out and elect a government that will compromise and get things accomplished. What's more important, your personal political views, or the state of your country. Personal feelings, likes and dislikes, and racial views has no place in politics. Ensuring the well being of our nation should be your primary objective.

How are you going to charge these people for their rescue, most of them are already on welfare?

No shoes, no problem, they are probably on their way to the "people's store", like last time.

Right wing, left wing, Republican, Democrate, don't matter, they do not have the interest of the American people!

They are in there to make $$$, off the dumbies! Muslim, Mormon, it doesn't matter! it's all fixed anyway, it's NOT who votes, it who COUNTS the votes!!!

"For the love of money is the root of ALL evil..."

JCB-1236504What part of MANDATORY EVACUATION do these people NOT UNDERSTAND!

"Mandatory" Evacuations are not ordered until a Hurricane is CAT3. That is the policy anywhere that has Hurricanes. CAT 1 & 2's are normally not that much of a problem unless they are very slow moving storms. Its rare that this type of flooding occurs on a CAT 1 & 2. Do you evacuate when you see severe whether move in, damaging winds, hail, flash flood warning, which is basically what a CAT 1/2 hurricane is? No, I am sure you dont. So why should they be any different then you?

IWonder-932455

"How are you going to charge these people for their rescue, most of them are already on welfare?

No shoes, no problem, they are probably on their way to the "people's store", like last time."

There are those biased, ignorant people who refuse to believe facts. You are so desperate to blame minorities for sucking up the funds from social programs. The facts are clear, the majority of funds from social programs are distributed to white Americans. Nevertheless, you can't seem to move beyond your ignorant, stereotypical views. Ignorance isn't cute. However, based on your picture, I'm going to attribute your unwilling to change to the old saying, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks."

clb- from paragraph 5 above:

The area had been under a mandatory evacuation order, but only half of the 2,000 residents reportedly had left ahead of Isaac's landfall Tuesday.

Low lying areas don't care what catagory the storm is, they'll flood depending on how much water is coming in from rain/storm surge. An area is also more likely to be evacuated if there's limited access roads that could get congested if everyone suddenly tries to get out when the water starts rising.

What would New Orleans have looked like this morning without all that "socialist" government spending on new infrastructure?

The GOP is the epitome of the old saying, "Penny wise, pound foolish."

President Bush's response to Katrina was delayed by the then Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco who would not even allow the American Red Cross in. In addition, President Bush waited until things were more settled to land in Louisana because AirForce1 and a President would have taken resources away from those who needed those resources. Unlike Obama who just lands whenever he feels like and holds press conferences that requires that all relief efforts are put on hold while him and his staff set up so he can give press conferences with all response personnel behind him so he looks like a man of authority, when those response personnel should actually be left alone so they continue working to help victims not help Obama look good (which he does not no matter what he does).

Total BS, they were on television begging Washington for assistance. However, if you insist, you can live your shallow life in the land of deceptions and falsehoods. Don't allow little things like facts to interfere in your private little world.

Well tyrone, only you are singling out a race, while I said nothing of the sort. Neither did I say anything that is not true. If you want to yell at a racist, there seems to be one as near to you as the closest mirror.

Sommer L'Hoste posted this photo on Facebook from her mother-in-law, Linda L'Hoste, requesting help. She and 40-50 others are stranded on the Mississippi River levee at the ferry landing in Braithwaite, Plaquemines Parish, Highway 39. "They are completely surrounded by water awaiting rescue," she writes. "Please get the word out that they need help."

Do not send assistance! You were warned 4 days ago to get the hell out of there! 7 years ago wasn't enough for you? Why spend hard earned taxpayer money rescuing idiots?? Let them suffer!

@journaljournal

Isaac. Check your own spelling.

My only comment, did anyone else notice that NBC's storm tracker ( map by pitiful bing) didn't have New Orleans marked ? They might as well be yahoo.

Tyrone E.

Total BS, they were on television begging Washington for assistance. However, if you insist, you can live your shallow life in the land of deceptions and falsehoods. Don't allow little things like facts to interfere in your private little world.

Do you mean like these facts?

Friday, August 26, 2005At 1:00 AM EDT,

maximum sustained winds had decreased to 70 mph (110 km/h) and Katrina was again downgraded to a tropical storm. At 5:00 AM EDT, the eye of Hurricane Katrina was located just offshore of southwestern Florida over the Gulf of Mexico about 50 miles (80 km) north-northeast of Key West, Florida.

Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco declared a state of emergency for the state of Louisiana.[1] The declaration included activation of the state of Louisiana's emergency response and recovery program under the command of the director of the state office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to supply emergency support services. Following the declaration of a state of emergency, federal troops were deployed to Louisiana to coordinate the planning of operations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).[2] 922 Army National Guard and 8 Air National Guard are deployed.Saturday, August 27, 2005By 5:00 AM EDT,

Hurricane Katrina reached Category 3 intensity.

At 5:00 PM EDT, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced a state of emergency and a called for a voluntary evacuation. He added that he would stick with the state's evacuation plan and not order a mandatory evacuation until 30 hours before the expected landfall.

Governor Blanco sends a letter to President George W. Bush asking him to declare a major disaster for the State of Louisiana, in order to release federal financial assistance.[5]
In response to Governor Blanco's request, President Bush declared a federal state of emergency in Louisiana under the authority of the Stafford Act, which provided a, "means of assistance by the Federal Government to State and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to alleviate the suffering and damage which result from such disasters,..."[6]

Sunday, August 28, 2005
Katrina was expected to make landfall overnight

President Bush declared a state of emergency in Alabama and Mississippi,[10][11] and a major disaster in Florida,[12] under the authority of the Stafford Act.

Monday, August 29, 2005At 5:10 AM CDT (1010 UTC),

Hurricane Katrina made its second landfall as a strong Category 3 hurricane near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana, with sustained winds of more than 125 mph (205 km/h), although Category 4 winds may have briefly affected the area.[13] Katrina also made landfall in St. Bernard parish and St. Tammany parish as a Category 3 hurricane for a total of three landfalls in Louisiana.[citation needed]

Governor Blanco ordered 68 school buses into New Orleans from surrounding parishes to begin evacuating any survivors that remained in the city. 6908 Army National Guard and 933 Air National Guard were deployed (7,841 total). Governor Blanco and the National Guard stated that they could "handle it".

President Bush declared a major disaster for Louisiana, Mississippi,[20] and Alabama,[21] under the authority of the Stafford Act.

I've come to the conclusion that I read the comments on NBC articles just to keep reminding myself that the US has been overwhelmingly filth-polluted by pure evil that has not one iota of caring or compassion for its fellow humans.

Y'all *think* you live in this indestructible bubble & nothing will ever happen to you b/c you're just so much smarter than everyone else. It's only the *stupid* ones that get in the way of natural disasters & therefore they should just die.

Are y'all listening to yourselves? Or just too enamored of bloviating?

A Category 1 storm is the equivalent of a blizzard....you see folks evacuating for those? You see evacuations being ordered in regular old heavy rainstorms that are predicted to have peak gusts at a Cat 1 level or has a flood watch in effect?

I know it's hard for y'all to wrap your heads around it, but some folks will always get trapped. Like the ones mentioned that are trapped at a ferry crossing & were death-wished by a *compassionate* commenter.

You do understand what a *ferry crossing* indicates, right? It means there's no road out.

Those folks were dependent upon the ferry coming back from the opposite shore to fetch them, & it couldn't. Sounds like anyone at a ferry crossing is attempting to evacuate.

All of Plaquemines (where the worst of the flooding is, & it is not part of New Orleans but south of the city & always takes the initial hit when a hurricane lands in Louisiana, learn some geography) is connected by bridges &/or ferry.

Or those folks on the houseboat....you do understand it's actually safer to be on the water? Yeah, sounds crazy, but it's true. It's safer to ride out a hurricane at sea. Unfortunately for the houseboat denizens, that 12-ft storm surge likely got to be too much for their craft.

Just a few days ago y'all were sneering at disaster areas being declared in advance of landfall, claiming state governors had their hands out for fed funds, saying they were all overreacting, it's not like it's the same type storm as Katrina, it's only a Cat 1, no big deal.

Ever stop to think armchair quarterbacking from outside the potential danger zone might've had an effect on those inside it, confirming their opinions that, in light of Katrina, everyone was indeed overreacting, & there was no need to run from a Cat 1?

Know where the Florida Nat'l Guard is atm? Wrapping a *protective cordon* around the RNC in Tampa. Yeah, that's important in the midst of a hurricane, putting downtown Tampa on lockdown to pander to one man's ego trip. The FNG isn't doing what it's supposed to in a hurricane, simply b/c these antiques can't figure out how to nominate a candidate online & forgo the party & strip clubs. Your tax dollars at work....doing nothing important.

Ever stop to think you're single-handedly confirming the stereotype of the ugly American for citizens of other countries who read our news? Yeah, there's a whole big world outside your insular bubbles, but unlike y'all, they're actually interested in what goes on in that world & they do look at American sites.

Y'all are making a *Romneyshambles* (y'all go ahead & Google that if you don't know what it means) of our country every time you comment. It's embarassing. The US doesn't need more black eyes abroad.

Like, when Katrina hit, the rest of the planet had more compassion for it survivors than Americans did, & offered foreign aid to us. Bush turned it down. Remember than next time you're having a rant about the deficit & think about how many billions lower it could've been had the US simply allowed other nations to help us out when it was offered for our numerous natural disasters.

We don't live in bubbles. And for the ones that *think* they do, we can see thru yours. It's not pretty. Evidently there were quite a few American parents who never taught their offspring the basic tenet of *if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all*.

Y'all should be grateful you still have power to get online & trumpet your opinions, & that it's not you mired in this mess. If it pumps up the collective ego to knock others down & wish death * destruction upon them....well, you do realize how sad that looks....right?

So where is Barry? Out playing golf again?

Guarantee he'll be grabbing the limelight shortly for how well planned this hurricane went.......

Steve....how well planned this hurricane went?

Damn it! Obama's planning hurricanes again isn't he?

Ol' Bobby "Flip Flopping" Jindal...doesn't just want a federal handout, but he wants it expedited! So is it less government you want or less government money? Which is it? Sounds like he expects help from both, but only when it suits him.

Well scar, make up your mind..it's either a hurricane or a Cat1 type closer to a snowstorm with no need for all the alarm. Or is it a huge hurricane when you can use it to make republicans look bad? The truth is, the media has blown this storm out of proportion to sell issues and impress corporate sponsors on their websites.

Know where the Florida Nat'l Guard is atm? Wrapping a *protective cordon* around the RNC in Tampa. Yeah, that's important in the midst of a hurricane, putting downtown Tampa on lockdown to pander to one man's ego trip.

Total BS, they were on television begging Washington for assistance. However, if you insist, you can live your shallow life in the land of deceptions and falsehoods. Don't allow little things like facts to interfere in your private little world.

That was actually the Mayor and people of New Orleans. They begged for assistance while the Governor and staff were busy telling Bush to piss off and that they had a handle on everything. The problem is that, without the State giving permission and officially asking for assistance, the Feds could do nothing in this instance. A city government cannot call the Feds in without the permission of the State government. That is where the main breakdown occured. The State and City governments could not agree as to how to proceed for several days. That resulted in a delay in the Feds getting in to provide the requested assistance. But, you won't read about much of that in material provided to the public by the mainstream media.

Check further into the details and you will find what I have. Watch the conspiracy sites and those with a bent toward hating George Bush at all costs, who had the maintream media actively working to get the public to hate George Bush--per the instructions of their masters, the so-called Aspen Cabal. You won't get accurate or complete information relying on sources that way.

The remaining levee was probably the only "high ground" to flee to.

Both Mikes, my question is: Why did the people living in low lying areas not evacuate when they were told to? Stupid is as stupid does!

Once again, the stupidity and stubbornness of people shows up again. People decided not to listen to the warnings. It's on their own heads.

Because humans are inherently stupid. Look at those kids on the news sitting on a bench by the Lake waiting to drown. The idiots who go out surfing. The people holding parties on the beach. Don't ask me. Ask them.

Many people think..."it would never happen to me."

They think they have more power than Mother Nature. She wins more often than not.

There's that "T" word again. THINK! We live in a world where we are regenerated after each computer game; we are not taught to think critically (let alone think at all); consequences to our actions become someone else's fault; we don't know the learning/teaching power of pain; we allow mismanagement and poor planning to happen on a regular basis; and we mentally distance ourselves from obvious outcomes--to the point of denial.

Use above listed ingredients. Throw in one hurricane. Mix thoroughly. Bake at Categories 1-5. Equal survival of the fittest (or luckiest). Serves the whole human population.

I for one think- you ignore a MANDATORY evacuation order- hey you're on your OWN!. E.M.S. is NOT coming to save your stupid A**.

Why did the people living in low lying areas not evacuate when they were told to?

Obviously you have never lived in southern Louisiana. The general mindset seems to be "Ain't no gub-mint sumbich gonna tell me what to do." And when help comes, it will be criticized for taking too long.

Darwinism.

I think its silly that you have your NEWS anchors out in a hurricane. They don't have to be there to know what is happening. You are putting their lives at risk! it is horrible and make me not want to watch your station

@Raleigh Dolly: How come that people lives in areas where tornadoes touch down every year????

How come there are people who lives in areas where earthquakes shakes the land every year?????

How come that people live in areas that gets under 10 ft of snow when every winter comes?????

Maybe because it's called "human nature" and the belief that we can beat "mother nature" leads us to live in those areas.

hernan, people live in the places you specified because that is where they live. There is no place on Earth large enough to accommodate everyone that is immune to EVERY NATURAL DISASTER. You could just as well ask why is the sky blue, it would be just as intelligent a question.

People have settled in various areas because of (sometimes perceived, usually real) benefits they can reap from that location. Farming in rich soil areas, fishing and aquaculture along the coasts and rivers. Forested areas have trees that can be harvested, supplying wood to construct buildings. Other locations have valuable mineral deposits.

A good question; WHERE do You live? Is that location safe from ALL NATURAL DISASTERS or severe weather? How does the cost of living there compare to other parts of the country/world?

Probably the people on the levy were going to have a darwin party and wait out the storm, then the water rose too far so they then evacuated their house. course if the waters rising then the safest or at least highest place would be on the levy. read about some whacko in a house boat or something. Hey its american we have the freedom to be stupid. Maybe this time the mayor used the school buses before they ended up in a lake. and so far i have not heard of one fatality. Course this is a cat 1 not a cat 5 like katrina.

The reason why N.O. residents didn't evacuate with this storm is because Houston told them to stay away, not welcome.

No other city rolled out a welcome mat, so there isn't any place for them to go rob, murder, rape and pillage this time.

why should they leave? ... turn on the TV and see Fat AL Roker or Jack ass Cantore standin in the rain telling you to go and how dangerous it is but sanding there anyway. People think if these turds can survive a storm standing outside, I can probobly make it inside. If life were fair the obits would be full of the names of "storm chasers" and the cops I saw driving past Fat Al would have stuffed his dumb ass in the back of a car andhaled him to a low lying jail cell.

Houston was ruined. We left Northeast Florida because of the Katrina influx and what it did to our community! Why would anyone want to extend help to the people of New Orleans? You can see what it did to the areas that did!

If you deliberately ignore a mandatory evacuation order, then need to be rescued, you should be charged for the rescue effort. Taxpayers shouldn't be held responsible for your stubbornness and/or ignorance.

First, Al's not fat!!!!!! This is Cantore's job as a weatherman. They do this because we watch (a lot) - they won't do it if we stop.

@Devildog: I am not blaming nobody. Simply like you stated, people like to live where they live and there are no place in earth that is FREE of those events.

People likes to live where they feel happy, regardless of the dangers that lies ahead. Here in America or in the most remote piece of land on the earth.

The other issue is the human nature that makes us believe that we can beat nature.

I know for those people this is their home. But still, I question the sense of living in a city that is below sea level, right next to the sea (actually, they moved the sea out to live there) and in hurricane alley. Then when a hurricane comes they are all surprised.

Seriously!

Well the dutch have doing it well for hundreds of years.

Unfortunately, Mankind is his own worst enemy. "Look, this volcano is extinct. This is a great place to build a city" So said the people of Pompei.

People fled to the beauty of California, which sits on a major fault line. It's also semi-desert so they've been piping up the water from the ground to serve the growing population and the crops they grow. Now when it rains hard the land is so dry the water just flows off taking the top soil with it and causing massive mudslides. When the rains don't come the trees are so dried out that they burn like matches.

People built homes on the coast years ago, while not considering the erosion from the ocean storms. Every few years you will see a home just being swept away because the owner had neither the land nor the money to move it back.

In Japan some genius thought it was a good idea to build Nuclear power plants in an island chain known for heavy storms and Tsunamis.

And whose bright idea was it to build a city 9ft below sea level without any consideration as to what will happen when a storm hits?

I am sorry, but if you ignore a MANDATORY evacuation order, you should not be rescued. When the police are going through neighborhoods issuing the evacuation orders, they should take DCF with them. If there is a family with children who ignore the warning, then DCF takes the kids and promises to return them if they survive the flooding that is coming their way. That way, we don't have to worry about ignoring crys for help from children who had no choice but to stay with their idiotic parents.

If you are trapped and need to be rescued, you may be rescued in the days after the storm has passed. Then you will be charged for the rescue.

I live in the Tampa Bay area. I know all about evacuations. If they tell me to evacuate, I evacuate. My family is much more important to me than any of my posessions. Let flood waters take most of it and looters take the rest. I don't care as long as my family is safe.

He's especially his own worst enemy when as in this case, there were hundreds of liberals wishing and "praying.. LoL:zZz "praying..? Yes {Praying for this hurricane to make a landfall..

It was all so that the Republican convention would have to be cancelled.

Now that it changed course, it's all about Bush bla bla bla.

There is no question, If you were wishing for and reveling in this, you're an evil bottom-feeding parasite, so full of hate that you're blinded by it.

CONGRATULATION ON HAVING BECOME THE EVIL YOU ABHORR.

: P LoL:zZz

I will tell you one reason many don't leave in mandatory evaculation and that is their pets. STILL too many shelters do not allow pets. When Issac was first headed to South Florida, (where I live), the warning said leave your pet home and go to a shelter. I could/would never leave my dog. THank goodness it did not hit us, but we had very BAD feeder bans for 3 days! A huge storm. I feel so sorry for the people in the Gulf.

Mark, these people have lived there for years, their parent, their grand parents and their great parents and beyond lived there. It's a way of life for them, granted if they were told to leave they should have but just like someone said you never think it will happen to you.

Didn't these people learn anything from Katrina? Authorities don't issue evacuation orders just for the fun of it, they're trying to tell sheeple that its going to get real bad-soon. After what happened during Katrina, any intelligent or sane person would leave as soon as they are told another big big hurricane IS coming right at you. Now more people are having to risk their lives to go in and try to save the fools.

I live on the northern plains. Every year we get a couple of huge blizzards. " No travel" notices are put out by the state, interstate highways are barricaded closed and everyone is told to stock up and be ready to sit tight at home until the blizzard has passed. There are always a couple of fools who drive around the barricades onto closed interstate highways and then get stuck out in the middle of the country. Authorities do try to go get them, but the fool who is stuck has to pay for it all, usually about $10,000 (or more). Now not very many people even chance going around the barricades. Maybe LA should try that with hurricane evacuatons. Tell the people if you do stay inspite of an evacuation notice and we have to come and save you, you'll pay the cost.

Y'all need to read up on the differences between hurricanes and tornados since some of you seem to want to not help the folks in Joplin as opposed to the folks in Nawlins.

Hurricanes are huge; tornados are small (usually).

Hurricanes can be seen coming a long ways off; tornados can drop out of the clouds, destroy your house, and be gone before you can say "siren! what siren?"

Hurricanes come with massive amounts of rain; tornados may or may not have rain with them.

Hurricanes come over water with storm surge; tornados are essentially rapidly rotating wind.

I could go on, but I think you should get the idea. I grew up in Wichita with tornados and live with the possibility today. One of my greatuncles taught me that you can run from a tornado if you run in the right direction. With hurricanes, if you don't evacuate, it's too late to run when the wind hits 100mph because there is no right direction. One of the major problems with the Joplin tornado was that it hit so fast that the sirens were basically useless: it was already there before the sirens went off.

After working in the aftermath of several large tornados, I truly bleed for the victims. But save your lives; don't wait for someone else to do it for you!

God bless those living in the Gulf States and who are so impacted! How much can one human bear?

seentomuch: "If we stop people from building in all areas that are prone to natural disasters, they will all either have to come live in your backyard (assuming your area is free of natural disasters) or no one will be able to live in the US at all."

The difference is that the people in the Tornado Belt of the country immediately set about to help their fellow neighbors and then worked to clean up and rebuild. They learned from the disaster and improved emergency procedures. You also won't see many pictures of previously devastated communities in which the people are still sitting around, surrounded by trash and complaining that "someone else" needs to come and clean their yard and fix their house.

Sally- WTF?! Need to lay off whatever it is you're taking. There is not enough brain cells in your noggin' that isn't fried or WAS NEVER THERE TO BEGIN WITH....... cheeeezus.....

It's really not a good idea to start hurling insults at a moderator w/ the ability to ban you as well.

Jing! Jing!

Given our press, it will still be Bush's fault somehow.

It won't fall on Obama. The press loves him. They will blame it on someone else. If they can't tie it to Bush they'll find another Republican.

Isn't the governor of LA a Repulican? That would be the medias best target. NEVER blame Obama for anything.

The only ones to blame for not evacuating are those who chose not to do so.

The residents in the area where the levee was overtopped should never have stayed behind. For those unfamiliar with that part of the world (and it is quite a ways south of New Orleans) just take a look at google maps and do a streetview. You'd have to be certifiably insane to remain there. Much of that area was destroyed after Katrina, as it was by several storms even before that.

Yes there are many of us who are riding the storm out in other locations, but that's simply because in all honesty it's only a Cat 1 / TS system for most of us and really more like Gustav. That's something that the majority of us can handle despite what the sensationalizing press want others to believe. I am as I write this probably within 5-10 miles of the eye of this storm and obviously still have power and internet...

Gee Thanks: Racist much? Your cover was blown, again, at the all white gathering in Tampa. Nice label, "locals." Funny that we experienced the very opposite. You must attract a certain kind.

That's not being racist, that's fact.

Earthgirl: wow, I never even mentioned race. If you didn't know, blacks, whites, Latinos, and all kinds live there and are "locals". So you remember the po boy sandwiches at the bar on the corner as you drove into the ninth ward (first business that opened) and the parish official's brother that was given the contract, took the money, then had no men or equipment to do the work, and the fast food restaurants with the banners advertising huge sign on bonuses for workers because they couldn’t get anyone to apply, and the heavy machinery lining I-10 that was abandoned by workers frustrated over the fraud and incompetence, and on and on. Is this a trip down memory lane or are you just talking out your arse. Nice job pulling the race card though. Self serving...and predictable.

Gee Thanks - I was one of the locals and I take exception to what you said. Yes there were many that were as you described, but there were many more that were the exact opposite. Many of us got in and did what we needed to do without help from anyone. I'm sick and tired of being lumped together. Perhaps your statement was just as self serving as Earthgirl.

It was crazy hearing how the people acted after Katrina. Raping girls in an open stadium, walking around shooting at rescue helicopters, looting. So many of those people were so used to handouts they didn't know how to help themselves or each other. This should warn all of us about the risks of becoming too dependent on the Government.

Its amazing to see the difference in areas where the culture is one of self reliance and helping your neighbor. The people don't expect Government to come in and save them. They get out and start making things work for them and their community.

Thanks Linof for the clarification. There certainly were those locals that did in fact dig in and get to work. The worrisome thing is the enormity of the group of people that didn't help who had the 'the world owes me' attitude and the things they did. Its rare to hear about locals shooting at the people who are sent to help them.

Gee Thanks, contrast that to Missisippi, which pretty much pulled itself up after Katrina.

I agree you you, don't pamper lazy and stupids from this era, they are not like our old grandfathers...

me1234567891 -

yes it was a large group, but not nearly as large as those of us that you NEVER heard about. The ninth ward was one SMALL portion of what was devastated. It's like the old saying - the squeaky wheel. Well, with the help of the media, they got their chance to be very squeaky!

Let's face it - responsible people don't make for good news headlines! It doesn't fit into the media's agenda.

orleans I was just about to post about Mississippi, you didn't see them crying, and belly aching for government help; they helped themselves. Unfortunately, not a lot of media attention was on Mississippi just New Orleans.

I don't understand, the people who li9ve in an area like this. The article States:

The area had been under a mandatory evacuation order, but only half of the 2,000 residents reportedly had left ahead of Isaac's landfall Tuesday.

Now these folks are without power,most likley water and once again are going to be relying on the government to provide for them. When are people gonna get out of this dependent mind set.

I'm sorry for the suffering but still if your told to evacuate then do it.

Port only? Where do you suggest the workers live? Out of state? What about transport companies, rail workers, warehouses, the services that support those businesses and so on?

Acts of God are exactly that. You can relocate everyone in New Orleans elsewhere, only to have them lose everything (again) to earthquake, tornado, blizzard, drought, flood, super volcano or alien invasion. People pontificate all the time about "why do people live where [insert disaster here] happen?" They did it after the floods of '93. They did it after the big quakes in California.

This was not an act of God. Stop blaming God for every bad thing that happens!!!

God, Mother Nature, butterflies in parks on the other side of the world. Whatever. If your gripe is with choice of wording, then you have bigger issues to think about than a hurricane.

Yes stop blaming everything on a fairy tale that has been changed over and over and over throughout the history of man.

How would you like it if everything was blamed on you? Who cares about this anyway? Someday a CAT 4 or 5 will just completely destroy the city. Idiots they are for living in a place so dangerous.

I'm sure where you live is just as dangerous and susceptible to destruction. Someday an earthquake or tornado or whatever will destroy your city and you for living in a place so dangerous.

especially if one is living seventeen feet below... new orleans is like a fish bowl.

There's Amsterdam, wonderful Venice, and stately London and many more cities that are home to millions that are part of our world. History and tradition v. practicality.

Nick1970, if your God is the same one I was indoctrinated with (unsuccessfully, BTW) in parochial school, that deity is ALL POWERFUL, ALL KNOWING, ALL LOVING and ALL MERCIFUL. If that were true, then GOD is in control of everything that occurs and is capable of preventing bad things from happening. Obviously, God doesn't do this, IMO, because 'god' is a man-made fairy tale without any real existence. Many years ago, I couldn't get satisfactory answers about 'god' from the church, and realized that the shamans couldn't explain things because the entire theology was a fraud.

If we stipulate that 'god' is real, then the Christian 'god' is one evil being. Cruel, vindictive, petty and sadistic. Why else would such a powerful entity cause mass destruction and death for failure to properly worship him/it? How could a 'loving' and 'compassionate' being allow (cause) innocent children to die of horrible diseases every day?

U-Freaking-Rah... nice to see another Marine in the forums with a well assembled brain housing group.

Semper Fi Hell Hound.

this blah, blah blog is living proof there is no God. Otherwise he would indeed intervene and "smite" the racist, republican stronghold which has taken control of our society and worships the almighty dollar and those who have control over most of the money. That being said, we'd better vote like our lives depend on it... because in many cases, now and in the future, it does. The wealthy hate the poor and sadly some of the soon-to-be poor are mistaken in buying into their BS.

DevilDog943 - got much of a chip on your shoulder? Apparently, since God did not do things YOUR way, you decided He doesn't exist. Good luck with that when you stand before Him. "For who are you, oh man, who answers back to God?" Romans 9:20

nope Samantha, you can quote all the scriptures you want, but until you start living according to what your read in that Good Book, you're just as phony as you sound to be. Rest assured, your time will come. Make note that in that same book you will find words to the effect: "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the gates of heaven"

Devil Dog,

God was packaged and marketed like that for control purposes. They had to instill fear in the population, in order to manipulate and extract profits from them. Religion tries to create a concept of the creator that humans can wrap their mind around.... or in the case of liberals, wrap their hate around.

It is beyond the capacity of a human brain to conceptualize God.Either way,

I love the stench of liberal hate in the morning. : P

Whoo-ahh Go read Eugene Sledge's memoirs. When he talks about the "thin veneer of civilization" humans cloak their primordial selves in.... you'll see that in the libtard and repugnican extremists on this site. The libtard extremists have the repugnican ones out numbered like thenSioux had Custer butt*ucked.

Too bad these dirtbags don't actually adhere to the core values of their party, they'd make the world a better place instead of a hate filled cesspool.

PRober - I see NO WHERE in my post where I talked about being rich. Or about money at all, for that matter. How in the world did you come to that conclusion? Geez, talk about reading into things! As well as using the wrong scripture for the wrong purposes. Apparently, you have a chip on your shoulder against God, as well, if you are so easily seeing things written in my post that are not there.

earthgirl,

Amsterdam is the only one of the three you mention that has addressed their problem with technology and it is working -- amazing levy system and pumps. Venice is still sinking and has shown submersion acceleration in the last 5 years (MSN did an article on that less than a year ago), and The Thames drains a geologically stable area which is mostly rock, not silt. London has figured out that if you dredge out only the shipping channels, then the rest of the area is stabilized.

New Orleans has problems because they are trying to maintain a city in a mudbog. The oldest part of the city were built on a little more stable ground, but the Mississippi River sends millions of tons of silt into the gulf every year. Because they dredge to increase the port size, everything surrounding it sinks and settles, so the city is going further and further below sea level and is vulnerable to flooding.

OH.MY.GOD...here come the God vs. Un god rants. sheesh.

No party fails or thrives by being combative towards other parties - that's the bigger education you need to learn. We in the middle can't move on as long as people like you keep dividing us.

PM......Boom! You may be right about New Orleans sinking... along with Venice Italy... and Can't fix Stupid! but as always there are two sides to a story. Sea levels are also rising and a huge percentage of the worlds population lives near sea level. Both New Orleans and Venice Italy are very important cities for economic and cultural reasons. You want to relocate poverty, and crime, and corruption or think that it will go away by abandoning it? Sounds like a typical republican solution to me. Like you say, You Can't fix stupid!

And they will be the first to bitch when some of the"relocaters"move into their neighborhood. Its a fact that crime when up in a lot of the areas that the Katrina victims relocated to.

only the soft idiots aloud predators all kind in his area

wje, kinda like the democrats want to relocate those same elements through illegal immigration?

well they can't give it back to France

Larry: Why don't you start a rumor that New Orleans, and surrounding area is contaminated with a toxic substance. Then you could have the government classify it as unfit for human habitation. That way imminent domain would have low buy up cost or none at all because of health threat. In this country you can make them move and not pay a dime. Legally, maybe not morally but definitely legally.

Bob, there is/was a town here in Missouri that had that situation. The soil was so comtaminated with dioxon(sp)they evacuated it and put a fence completely around it. Really....you would drive past it on the highway and see this fenced in town.

Worry not. You'll continue paying to rebuild more than Louisiana - like all other natural disasters that hit everywhere else in the country.

my thoughts exactly.

Spoken as if New Orleans is not a major US port for exports.......

Spoken as if Florida is safe from hurricanes and has never needed to be rebuilt......

My 2 oceanfront homes have been hit by 2 hurricanes and 4 tropical storms over the years. I pay for my repairs myself. I have insurance I pay for and I pay the deductibles. It's the subhumans who the rest of us have to pay for. They don't buy insurance or prepare for storms but then expect the good ole US taxpayer to bail them out yet again. At some point, we just have to say: "F_ck em". Yes, I mean let them drown or live on the street.

Sharkey, think about it! That port could be moved a little further upriver and not have all the problems Nawlins has. If you want to pay again and again and again to reclaim land from the seas after every hurricane that hits the Gulf Coast, go for it, baby! In the meantime, contemplate why flood insurance is no longer available for homes that are built (rebuilt over and over again) in the flood plain of the Missouri River.

The true definition of insanity is continuing to repeat the same action again and again while expecting different results.

They're having their own problems with the sea level rising.

What global warming?

They saw the government giving out trailers and welfare after the last storm. Plus free relocation and housing to other States if they stayed for the storm.... But those who acted rationally and left town - got nothing.

Why do you live where you live? Are you telling me you have no floods, tornados, earthquakes, fires etc etc... Tell me where is this place you live I may just want to move there.

Try the mountains of Ecuador

LynyrdSky......there is a difference between having a random natural disaster hit, and living in a place where you know pretty much every year or so one or more natural disasters are going to hit in the same way, with the same results. It is like that saying, " doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is pretty much the definition of stupidity." Not only New Orleans and that area, there are other areas in the country where people live in flood plains and expect the rest of us to bail them out ( literally ) through our Federal tax dollars and subsidized flood insurance. People have been flooded out every few years, we pay to rebuild, and then when they get flooded out again they say " we never thought it would happen again ! " Here is a suggestion, how about no Federal flood insurance or rebuild assistance after they have been flooded out and bailed out once. They should use the money to move somewhere else !

because are stupids, somebody care of them (thats is the real problem) just let Nature take care of them and problem solve !

Baco...was that in English?

LynyrdSkt - I live in Eastern North Carolina. Yes, we do sometimes have hurricanes where I live and a few small tornadoes but I can not imagine the amount of rain we would have to receive for my house to flood. My house is 4 feet above the road. On the other side of the road is a large farm which is 2 feet below the road. On the other side of the farm is a gravel pit that would have to fill with water. We are talking Noah flood here. Had 2 weeks of rai n on and off. Sun came out today and I cut the lawn.

even a sub par tropical storm can be devastating when the speed of the storm is only 8 miles per hour. Some of you people are really uneducated when it comes to Tropical Storms/Hurricanes.

very true Kevin. People don't take just a little bit of time to do research and educate themselves. But hell, this is America, land of the stupid.

Don't think it is the rain that topped the levee. It was the ocean surge. Now what does speed have to do with that oh you two wise meteorologists?

Isn't that what taxes are for? Don't they pay taxes?

Those levees that the ocean surge topped are not the new levees for New Orleans, they are the old levees in the parish that were just repaired. Many are still earthern levees that were "topped off" with plastic and sand bags.

The local parish authorities knew they would not hold, and ordered an evacuation.

Some people either didn't go, or couldn't get out.

Talk to the hand,

It's the length of time the area has the unrelenting winds and rains (since it's moving so slowly) together with the breadth of the storm that is making it more dangerous than a typical cat 1. They did predict this, but many of you were on here last night saying "oh it's just a cat 1, what are they getting so worked up about and causing so much drama, stupid media."

Source: /www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/

and: /www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/ssurge_faq.shtml#2"

And the same goes for you if you live in a quake prone area, tornado prone area and on and on. You make it sound like you live in a place where no disaster can ever take place. Somehow you blame the people for living there as if it is there fault. No common sense in your posting.

LynyrdSky....big difference between a random event and an annual event ! Tornadoes and earthquakes are random and usually hit small, varied places, having a hurricane hit the Gulf Coast is a 100% sure thing, that is the difference. There is no "if" in forecasting a hurricane for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast only a " what time this year and how often "

It's a CAT 1 that's three times the normal diameter. When it stalls, half is over warm water and keeps it continually pumped up and prevents it from dissipating. How would your house hold up under 24 hours of unremitting 72 MPH wind? Go back to school and get a little science education.

Please see my post above on the differences between tornados and hurricanes.

Instead of rebuilding concrete levees around New Orleans, they should have used eminent domain to take over the lowest parts of the city (e.g., 9th ward), condemn all and use it as a landfill to build up a 'natural levee' 30-60 feet ABOVE sea level. That way, once the landfill was through digesting (approximately 40 years), it could have productive use again--sustainably. As it is, New Orleans becomes an increasingly dangerous place as it slowly sinks...

If they had left when they were supposed to they wouldn't be running for their lives now.... I agree with officials that say we'll come out after it's over and your just going to have to wait because you ignored the warnings. Emergency personel have families too and they don't want to have them killed because of some fool.

Emergency personnel choose their jobs, if they are killed in a rescue it is indirectly their own doing.

I want the people to be safe, but at some point, people who choose to live in areas that have repeated floods and hurricanes need to take responsibility for their own choices. Their local and State governments need to act and protect their own people, it is not the job of the Federal Government and the American taxpayer to repeatedly rebuild these areas so people can continue to live in areas that are subject to repeated flooding. Once Fed money has been received in a flood plain, it should be a one time thing and if people decide not to take the money and move, they should be on their own for any future property damage. The Corps of Engineers has become a Federal handout to certain states, they are there permanently. Not just Louisiana, Florida pleasure boating inlets have permanent Corps of Engineers stationed in non commercial inlets so that sport fisherman can run their yachts out any time . This should be a State responsibility, not a Federal responsibility.

Life is full of danger, people live with them all the time.

I'm not sure who ever told you that life would be danger free.

It's why we pay for emergency rooms in the hospital.

The politicians and media pamper the stupids, they need for his support !

it's Barry's fault.....................

Where ever you live, there is something that will get you.....

They would also be smart enough to realize that the levee system for New Orleans is not the one the press is reporting about as failing.......

But that would take rdg comp skills....they just want to pontificate their vaunted opinions.

and they will be expecting another handout

Why doesn't the goverment condem parts of the low lands so that no one can build near the leeves. If you live between two bodies of water you are bound to be flooded at some point and time, wake-up and heed the warnings GET OUT while you can.

And why doesn't government fine those that don't evacuate when told to do so. I'm tired of paying for their rescue and medical care.

Well, yeah, the levees he was talking about haven't been overtopped.

He was talking about reworked levees in New Orleans, and the overtopped levees that are being reported were not part of that improvement project. They have not even gotten to the Plaquemines Parish levees yet.

They were however to be part of a seperate $1.5 billion project to provide upgrades to nearly 60 miles of levees, including 20 miles of a parish-built levee, that have yet to be raised and brought into the federal system. That plan wasn't even finnalized untill August 02, 2012.

Yep, the $15 billion system held but the planners and money people forgot one thing. That water had to go somewhere and it did. Straight up the river to levee systems that hadn't been improved or stabilized. I wonder if the levees were even mentioned during all of this this stimulus funding?

No Bob....likely went to bailout of underfunded public sector union pensions which union heads spent to recall or fight conservative and Constitutional efforts! LOL!

Not impressed- Thanks for the reply but the fact that you even needed to explain it was quite frightening. RefugeeK is probably one that would have stayed behind to host a huriicane party knowing what happened 7 years ago.

I saw an image of King Cnut commanding the waves to halt.

Voted up just for knowing that!