DISPARITY

[SteveH]

"What the American people have seen is this incredible disparity in which those people who had cars and money got out . . . and those people who were impoverished died." --
Ted Kennedy - on Hurricane Katrina

"Ditto" -- Mary Jo Kopechne

[Cutterpup]

So the unimplemnted plan by the mayor to bus the rest of the population out of danger just doesn't count? Just because so many people waited for rescue just show the mind set of many people regardless of race, or amount of money they make. For example think of how many people that have money have figured out that they will be working for ever because the social security system will be broke? No one wants to take responsiblity for themselves and that is the problem. Not who has money and who doesn't. Thinking that the government will take care of them they stayed and waited and then after the storm when the leeves broke they releazed that they had to do something for themselves for the first time in their lives for many and they couldn't do it.

Dan

[SteveH]

they releazed that they had to do something for themselves for the first time in their lives for many and they couldn't do it.

Dan,

I'm not shure I agree in total with that statement, because many of them went looting! I even a copy of a video that was on MSN of two women New Orleans police persons participating in the looting.

A couple of years ago we went thru there on vacation and my brother told me before hand "be careful because that is nothing but a den of thiefs", and I believe he is right.

[Joseph]

I cant wait to hear all the bleeding heats from california when it slides into the ocean

Lex Luthor's diabolical plot notwithstanding, it ain't gonna happen. There will be more disastrous earthquakes there to be sure, but all that happens each time is that LA moves a wee bit north and SF moves a wee bit south.

Joseph

[engled]

"What the American people have seen is this incredible disparity in which those people who had cars and money got out . . . and those people who were impoverished died." --
Ted Kennedy - on Hurricane Katrina

Ask Mary Jo Kopechne what she thinks, oh never mind you can't...

[s4son]

"What the American people have seen is this incredible disparity in which those people who had cars and money got out . . . and those people who were impoverished died." --
Ted Kennedy - on Hurricane Katrina

I don't know for a fact but I would think Fats Domino would have the means to leave had he wanted to. I think many people just underestimated the storm and others see it as some kind of macho thing to challenge mother nature. I have seen some on TV that were afraid to leave their homes for fear of having everything stolen. Everyone that stayed was not "impoverished."

Scott F.

[Cindy]

I have to give my 2 cents worth here.
Our church took in 90 of the evacuees for 9 days before they found housing. We had 27 from one family! That family had stayed through the hurricane like many others did. It was over and 22 members of the family including many children had gathered for dinner. The water started to rise so fast that their cars were covered in the road in less than 15 minutes and the water was waist deep in the house in less than 20 minutes. They went to the attic and broke through the roof to eventually be rescued.

All of the people we had were polite and thankful. They worked hard to get rental cars from their auto insurance, insurance money on their belongings and houses that were flooded. One woman owned 3 houses that were completely flooded and she sat smiling saying she was glad to have her family.

As soon as they recieved money from FIMA, they found apartments and moved out. In the first week, several even found jobs and others located jobs to begin as soon as they could find babysitting and housing.

These were wholesome family people who are making the best of a bad situation with the hope that only a strong belief in God can give them.
Certainly there are those who are not good folks but then neither is everyone in my town. We cannot cut down 200,000 people just because of the behavior of a small percentage.

Ok, that was my two cents.
Cindy

[jay]

okay; now who's idea was it to build it here.....?

[Chris C]

The French, I think?!?!?!

[SteveH]

okay; now who's idea was it to build it here.....?

And THAT's another point. When New Orleans was first founded, it wasn't below sea level. It is sinking because it is built on river delta silt with no rock bottom. It will continue to sink and at some point in the future, will not be able to be kept out of the water.

If FEMA would do in N.O. what they did here in San Antonio after the big flood we had in 1998, the problem would be solved for good.

What they did was buy out all the homes AND the land that they were built on, and gave the land to the county with the stipulation that they would be totally cleared and never built on again. The county has made parks out of the land.

By doing this, FEMA has paid the home owners what the damages were and more, AND guaranteed they would never have to pay for flood damages in those areas again.

Hope they do that in the worst areas of New Orleans also.

[Cutterpup]

jay wrote:
okay; now who's idea was it to build it here.....?

The French built the city and the part that they built was above sea level and even after the levees broke was still above water. It was us American believing our engineers that it would be safe to expand the city into reclaimed swamp land that the pumps could keep the water out and everything would be fine. But as the city grew it needed more and more space and we believed the engineers and the city took more and more land. Then MOTHER NATURE decided to remind the engineers and the rest of us that she and only she has the right to change the face of the world.

Dan

[SteveH]

Dan,

If you don't believe N.O. is sinking, read this: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science ... 82151.html

ALL of New Orleans is now below sea level, even the old French quarter. It just got lucky this time.

[asianflava]

What is interesting about that Popular Mechanics article is the date. It was almost 4 years ago to the date.

I read the same thing in Time Magazine. NO is constantly sinking, because the river is confined by levees into a channel. The silt which would normally replenish the land, gets washed out to sea.

[Cutterpup]

Steve I beg to differ with you that

ALL of New Orleans is now below sea level, even the old French quarter. It just got lucky this time.

Because

1. The levees broke on the lake side and flooded most of the city except the french quarter and parts of the central business district (and where the levees didn't break). If all of the city was below sea level, and since the lake drains slowly into the sea it has to be above sea level.

2. Also from the article that you suggested

They don't bury the dead in New Orleans. The highest point in the city is only 6 ft. above sea level,

.

I know I'm just picking on small points but I think what we should do to N.O. is just what Galvaston TX did and raise the entire city above the high water mark by 16 feet. That way it would take a flood of biblical proportions to wet N.O. again. And if that happens I think we are going to have problems of our own.

Dan

[SteveH]

Dan,

Have you ever BEEN to New Orleans? You can stand at the River mall and look at the level of the river and see that the French Quarter and all of the city is below that level.

Raizing all the buildings sounds like a good idea until you look at the size of the city and all the area around it being just marshs and swamps, and the fact that the silt underneath the city will not support the weight...it will just continue to sink.