We Interrupt Our Katrina Looting Coverage…
We Interrupt Our Katrina Looting Coverage…
The media is in a frenzy over the looters in Louisiana and Mississippi, many of whom were merely searching out basic supplies after being stranded for 36+ hours. The commercial insurance industry, which has tens of billions of dollars at stake in the Katrina recovery, isn’t receiving the same attention. It should.
Standard hurricane insurance coverage protects against damage from wind and rain — but not against flood damage. (Less than half of Louisianans have separate flood insurance.) And yet, today’s New York Times reports…
…Proving wind damage versus flood damage can be tricky, said Donald F. Thorpe, a senior insurance analyst at the credit rating agency Fitch Ratings. He offered a hypothetical case: A hurricane blows off the roof of a home and then 15 inches of rain falls in the living room.
That loss typically should be covered by hurricane protection, he said. But some insurers may refuse to attribute that flooded living room to the absent roof.
And unlike the victims of Katrina, the major insurance companies know how to play the PR game:
“What the insurance companies have learned is that it’s good to pay out money at the beginning, particularly when the TV cameras are rolling,” J. Robert Hunter, insurance director for the Consumer Federation of America, said. “The haggling will probably come a few months from now when you’re trying to get an offer that you think is fair for what you think you’ve lost.”
With any luck, an insurance executive will be be caught pilfering some bread and soda from a convenience store and draw some serious media attention to this issue.
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The insurance industry: giving the used car industry a good name.
August 31st, 2005 at 5:15 pmThe neocons and the GOP have set a good example. They have been looting the country and the world for the last 5 years. The white collar looters always take down the biggest scores and do the minimum time, if any, while the blue collar “looter” gets a bullet for his trouble.
August 31st, 2005 at 5:18 pmThis is turning into one big ripe f..kup. Suppose there were sufficient National Guard Troops ready to go? Would looting for food be a problem? Suppose FEMA was not waiting the last two years for it’s new mission under Homeland Security? Suppose FEMA was not turned back into a “buddy appointment”? Suppose we had a President who was a leader who would take on the Insurance Industry (no, not take them in, take them on, trolls)? Suppose those who are concerned for the looting join the National Guard?
August 31st, 2005 at 5:19 pmWhy is looting bad? Seriously, who cares about the extra stock of pepsi, jewelry, shotguns and ‘made in china’ jeans that people might be taking from stores in NOLA?? Can somebody tell me why?
August 31st, 2005 at 5:21 pmThom
Come on, I can see “finding” food supplies, but looting stores for guns TVs ect. not so good. However, it’s funny how the Neo-media has immediately run the looting angle.
August 31st, 2005 at 5:28 pmIt’s not that looting is okay. It’s that there are about 10 gazillion more important things the media could be focusing on than the photogenic scenes of poor people getting some crap from KMart.
August 31st, 2005 at 5:34 pmPriorities shouldn’t be on TV sets, they should be on people’s lives… if only the MSM would give us a break about the looting! Who cares about stupid merchandise when people are going to be dying from lack of water as each hour passes by?
August 31st, 2005 at 5:36 pm… and the new, harsher bankruptcy rules kick in in October.
August 31st, 2005 at 5:37 pmBush is really acting like a lame duck president!
Equipment and folks that could help in this emergency are in Iraq. FEMA should have been better prepared after 9/11 incident. I keep asking myself days following this disaster? Who the hell is in charge?
Maybe they will pay Haliburton another premium to “fix” the problem.
August 31st, 2005 at 5:44 pmIs it me, or does everyone else get the sense that the governing party (ie Reuplican, trolls) has shat out a continuous barrage of “death to America” policies? How far will it go?
August 31st, 2005 at 5:47 pmAll of that merchandise has been written off already. Do you think Wal-Mart is going to eat that loss? Hardly. We the taxpayers already paid for all of it. If they can use it, more power to them.
August 31st, 2005 at 5:48 pm#11 – I agree. They can’t really use any high end electronics – no electricity. Oh wait, no freakin’ home. Get over the stupid looting. The majority of the people left are poor and couldn’t afford to leave in the first place. I think there are bigger fish to fry. Oh yeah, no stove.
August 31st, 2005 at 5:52 pmI would like to hear the media give us an estimate on the death toll.
Dont assume the stranded people are poor and thats why they are still standing in water. Isn’t it possible that the ATM machines arent working and the banks are closed? Their credit cards are floating down Burbon Street and are of no use either.
These people were caught off guard and only have whatever cash they had in their pockets when Katrina hit.
August 31st, 2005 at 6:05 pmThink the store is open for those who have cash? Do you think the car rental places are open for business?
These people are stranded because FEMA is no longer allowed to respond to disasters without going thru Homeland Security redtape.
If you should be hit by a disaster, don’t expect any help from our government. This disaster is proof that we can’t handle it now that BushCo destroyed our emergency management system.
August 31st, 2005 at 6:09 pmDon’t expect the media to talk about the Bushie failures. I havent heard one word about the levy project being stopped nor the fact that FEMMA is a part of the Homeland Security mess.
August 31st, 2005 at 6:11 pmCrazy how the neo-media reports “there appears to be bodies floating down there RIGHT NEXT TO THAT PERSON OF COLOR LOOTING WONDER BREAD”. But we all know how the clowns of “missing white girl” work. This is in response to shrub’s ain’t sh.t to me lack of leadership. Anything but the truth about the hole’s f..kups.
August 31st, 2005 at 6:15 pmFirst it’s President Bush, now the insurance industry. Why aren’t the “Why can’t we all just get along?” liberals sticking to their usual message?
If Kos is right, and this is worse than 9/11, you really feel comfortable being so political?
August 31st, 2005 at 6:16 pmMikey
Who said anything about “Why can’t we all just get along?â€?!!? We want you gone, period. We have learned from your f..kpuppets that EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL. If you can’t handle the truth…Fishy, fishy, fishy, where has that fishy gone.
August 31st, 2005 at 6:24 pmMichael,
You confuse ‘getting along’ with ‘giving in’. Getting along says people will attempt to use conflict resolution first to solve problems. However when faced with irrational, and illogical zealots like you, a firm boundary and a swift kick of truth and defiance is more appropriate…
August 31st, 2005 at 6:32 pmSee Michael, you are under the impression that the Democratic party is still a bunch of tree hugging hippies. You are dead wrong. Some of us would like to punch ass wipes like you in the face. We aren’t all “Can’t we get along” types anymore. SOme of us are ready to fight.
August 31st, 2005 at 6:39 pmYeah, the looting is bad and in some instances, maybe they should be shot on site to put a stop to it. But then again, when it is done by CEO’s and Executives at Enron and other big corporations it is evidently O.K.
You don’t think those assholes in the oil and gas companies aren’t taking advantage of this disaster through gas hikes and price gouging with the blessing of President Cheney and his energy buddies? I ask you this: which is more pathetic a black woman stealing a pair of shoes and a couple of water-soaked dresses from a Walmart or a bitch like Martha Stewart stealing a few hundred thou from stock investors because she is just plain assed greedy?
Now you tell me again who the looters are.
August 31st, 2005 at 6:40 pmmaybe we should all just sit quietly and do whatever our bush/goverment says….naaaaaaaaaaaaaa
August 31st, 2005 at 6:43 pmhere Mikie…use my reality glasses…
Spot on hank
The neo-media will cover “wonder bread looters” and give a nudge nudge wink wink to gas price gouging and dear leader. This up is down mindset since 2000 is destroying our country.
August 31st, 2005 at 6:45 pmI find it incredulous that some of you folks believe that the devastation from Katrina was caused by President Bush’s policy on global warming or that recovery efforts are hampered by having troops in Iraq. You people are complete f–king idiots and Cindy Sheehan has f–king lost it! She has truly lost all credibility.
I’m a lifelong Democrat and I will no longer stand idly by and watch you f–king pinko, leftist freaks ruin our party. Here’s a thought. Take your Cindy Sheehan, anti-war leaning views and start your own f–king party. You people are a joke. You’re out of touch and have no clue. We Democrats who have a backbone our no longer going to let you dominate the conversation. You’re outta here! Hit the road folks. We have work to do!
August 31st, 2005 at 6:51 pmI am also baffled by the relentless coverage of “looting” in the press. Most of the images I saw were of people getting food, water, inflatable mattresses for rafts, and other things essential to their survival. The police should not be harassing looters, they should be helping to break into the Walgreens so that people can safely obtain the medicines they need to stave off sickness and infection. No store is going to be able to sell merchandise that has been floating in sewer water for 4-6 weeks. People need radios and batteries and yes, even clothing. The authorities simply are not there to distribute these items. The entire “looting” story line is a bogus distraction.
August 31st, 2005 at 6:53 pmReal Republican
Troll, we are the progressives. Wipe Georgie’s genetic material off your face before you greet us. You are a fish not a democrat, you see we have backbones and a willingness to call you the idiot republican you are. Fishy, fishy…
August 31st, 2005 at 6:57 pmYeah, Citizen80203, do you suppose any of those looters are part of the 37 million people now living below the poverty rates under the Bush enonomy? Or do you think they are all just a bunch of well-heeled, highly organized criminals who are stealing those clothes and plastic dishes down at Kmart so they can resell them and pocket the dough?
August 31st, 2005 at 6:59 pmHave you noticed that they have not broadcast a single shot of the white folks that were moving around the waterfront in Gulfport when the TV crews first arrived. Those floating casinos were full of money, but since that neighborhood has been turned hugely upscale, the only looters were the scion of the landed gentry. So much for equitable coverage of looters.
The need by corporate media to focus on the evil looters is that when more of these catastrophic events begin to happen those who so desperately seek to in control of their material assets and resources want to feel safer. Chaos and anarchy are the biggest threat to the propertied classes, and those with great wealth. Using the media to reinforce their message of entitled possessionship is just doing business as usual for them.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:01 pmWrong Mr. Fishy. You are the losers of the party and I would like to kindly ask you to leave so we can start to win elections again. You hate the DLC. You hate any talk that pulling troops immediately out of Iraq would be disastrous.
Also, much to your distress. There are much more of us Dems who think folks like you are killing the party. We’re the future. not you. go join cindy and start a party with Nader or some of the other wackos.
Just answer this. Do you agree with Cindy’s assertion that Bush’s global warming policy CAUSED Katrina? Good God man, get a grip!
August 31st, 2005 at 7:02 pmWipe your face real repulican, you missed a spot.
Change your name all you want, we can smell you. Troll again. We are the PARTY, we know you are a republican, suck and swallow somewhere else.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:06 pmI always enjoy it when someone calls me a “pinko” and “commie” and “leftist freak”, especially since my retirement from the military.
Hey, Real Democrat: Thanks for making me remember why I served: so you can practice your freedom of speech but attacks me for using mine. Semper Fi, my friend.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:09 pmWhatever. You avoid the question just like the coward that you are.
What you’re smelling is defeat. You make up less than 13% of electorate. Party’s over, brother. Time for you to move on.
Go join Nader. Real Dems are taking over.
P.S. – Take Cindy with you.
Oh, by the way. Any guts to answer the question?? Doubt it. Coward.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:12 pmNo doubt Leatherneck
We served so chickenhawks like him can troll. WE CAN SMELL YOU FISHY FISHY.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:12 pmJust for the record fish, no bush did not cause global warming he just added to it. As for the war, I’m not for an immediate pull out, just a quick one. You see fish, we will start winning again when we progressives take the party back from the DC DLC crowd. But again, we can smell you republicans from our screens. So do us a favor and join up like many of us, and serve your country fish.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:18 pmHey Leatherneck. Get off your highhorse. I’m a Marine as well. Served in OIF, Desert Storm and Just Cause. And if you served, you prob know that more than 80% of our brothers in arms agree with me, not you.
You have every right to voice your opinion, as do I. Trust me, I fought for this right just as hard as you.
Get in step with the rest of us Democrats and honor the grand heritage of our party leaders, like Truman, Roosevelt and Kennedy.
We disagree, but I do thank you for your service.
Semper Fi
August 31st, 2005 at 7:22 pmHey Fish boy, what you don’t realize is that the DLC IS the future of our party. Again, time for you to exit stage left.
Tell you what, keep supporting Cindy Sheehan and making ridiculous statements and you will further undermine your credibility.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:24 pmLook, Real Democrat, Cindy doesn’t speak for me, any more than Rush Limbaugh speaks for you. As a war-mother, she has the ulimate right to speak her mind and ask questions—more so than me or you.
Now that said, I’ll ask you this. Who are you or anyone to call me a coward? I promised my mom I would try and be a nice boy, like an ivy league puke like your hero, Bush, but f**k it! I wouldn’t piss on your ass if your guts were on fire, asshole.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:24 pmAll right, Semper Fi. Once a Marine and all that. And to be honest, and a former grunt, I would too piss on your ass, my bro.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:27 pmAren’t you a class act? No Marine I know talks such trash, especially about his own.
Damn straight Sheehan has the right to speak her mind, as do I.
Bush ain’t my hero. But neither are left wing peaceniks.
You a Marine? Act like it. Conduct yourself with honor. Bring it.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:29 pmjust read your last post. scratch my last.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:30 pmHey fish republican
DLC has lost the last four cycles. Is it just around the corner? For the record, I’m a moderate. If you are a democrat, don’t ever come in screaming crap it, just pisses people off, we have trolls hitting here all the time. If you are a dem, did the swift boat ads piss you off?
August 31st, 2005 at 7:30 pmDamn straight the Swifties pissed me off! A bunch of liars. Kerry should have hit back harder.
The DLC didn’t lose the last 4 cycles. The Democratic party lost the last 4 cycles. DLC is the future, man. If Dems would have followed their advice they wouldn’t have lost the last 4 cycles.
Here’s what kills me. The DLC MADE our party great again. They helped Clinton win 2 terms. And now you guys want to abandon them!? I find that astounding.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:35 pmCall me a lamebrain, but what the hell is the DLC?
August 31st, 2005 at 7:39 pmAll right Real Democrat
I’ll can the s..t talk. Look, I am a moderate, I just hate f..king losing! I don’t want to abandon them so much as I want to win. Iraq has turned into a clusterf..k with our brothers over there. So what’s the answer?
August 31st, 2005 at 7:42 pmJoe
DLC is the Democratic Leadership Council, orginally a moderate wing of the party. It did help get Clinton into office (although Peroe(?) had alot to do with taht too). My problem with the DLC is Corporate funding and lost elections. Although, I am a backer of Clark who is a DLC member. Check out their website for more info.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:51 pmHey, my apologies for coming into the blog screaming. i just saw Brit Hume make fun of the dems b/c of what Cindy Sheehan said. It just pissed me off. i bet you and i agree on a lot more than we disagree. i’m not sure what the answer is. i’m sick of losing as well. i wish our party could unite. but i’ll tell you, i really do fear that folks like Michael Moore hurt us more than they help us. who knows with IRaq, man. I was there. you’re right, it’s a clusterf**k. and, you’re also right that it’s because Bush and Rummy screwed it up. He will do down as one of our worst presidents.
August 31st, 2005 at 7:53 pmNo worries man, brit hume can piss anybody off. We probably do agree on a lot. We do have a big tent and we seem to piss each other off a bit, but better than walking in lock step like the repugs do. Gotta go, but Semper Fi from a GW1 grunt!
August 31st, 2005 at 7:59 pmMoore isn’t hurting us. Simple mindedness that paints a whole population with the most extreme view possible is hurting us. Political dirty tricks are hurting us. Hateful ideology that says liberals are anti-American is hurting us. The very fact that no one can define what a liberal is is hurting us. We are at once portrayed as hand-wringers afraid to fight, and tyrants who crush freedom. People will always say stupid things. You’re not going to stop that. What we need to stop is the politics of Karl Rove’s dirty tricks, and re-start a real debate on issues and policy. If the political process is driven by honest debate and a well-regulated marketplace of ideas, I don’t care who wins. But when it’s all whisper campaigns and dirty tricks, we get people like Dubya.
August 31st, 2005 at 8:05 pmFor more on how the people of New Orleans have become collateral damage in the class war, see:
“New Orleans Pays the Death Tax.”
August 31st, 2005 at 8:19 pmReal Democrat, I think you will find nearly all of us here are on the same charts. I just like to see Bush and Company squirm for a change and the attacks go against them, as they (Limbaugh, O’Really, Hannity, DeLay, Rove, etc) have hammered against the democrats on talk radio and TV day and night for years. And the more they are boxed in with bad decisions and problems, the more they attack and try to shift the blame. Cindy is sticking it to them for now, but I agree we must be careful not to alienate those of us in the middle who remember the Jane Fonda protestors of the 60’s while we were off fighting in the Nam. And I couldn’t agree more with you more about the center of the Democratic Party, which I do not believe lies with the Pelosi/Dean crowd. The future party leadership lies in guys like Ford (D-TN) and the Obama’s of the world. Like your interaction here and input. Sometimes the rhetoric can get out of hand.
August 31st, 2005 at 8:22 pmA lot of looters stole not only food, but stuff like Nike shoes. That’s not acceptable.
And some people have looted people’s jewelry and valuables, and some even robbed people.
Dot minimalize what some people have done just because they’re poor.
August 31st, 2005 at 8:52 pmYou’re right Lyle
Stealing Nikes is a terrible thing. Burning down the nike store would be better.
Hey and how about OReighty’s show just now. People screaming into his correspondents microphone that people are dying back there – pointing to the waterless abyss that is new orleans, and where the f’k are the feds
And OReighty looking kind of blanched even for a white man, saying everything’s going to get better there – everything’s going to get better there
kind of like what’s her name wishing to go back to kansas after that badass dream in oz
August 31st, 2005 at 9:03 pmFirst it’s President Bush, now the insurance industry. Why aren’t the “Why can’t we all just get along?†liberals sticking to their usual message?
If Kos is right, and this is worse than 9/11, you really feel comfortable being so political?
Comment by Michael Derravo — August 31, 2005 @ 6:16 pm
We can all get along. After we bash your heads in a bit first.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:06 pmWhat’s the difference between Hurricane Katrina and Prez Bush?
August 31st, 2005 at 9:06 pmKatrina is the greatest “natural” disaster to hit the US (Prez Bush)
Prez BUsh is the greatest “unnatural” disaster to hit the US (cmw)
Thank you
You heard it here first folks
I find it incredulous that some of you folks believe that the devastation from Katrina was caused by President Bush’s policy on global warming or that recovery efforts are hampered by having troops in Iraq. You people are complete f–king idiots and Cindy Sheehan has f–king lost it! She has truly lost all credibility.
I’m a lifelong Democrat and I will no longer stand idly by and watch you f–king pinko, leftist freaks ruin our party. Here’s a thought. Take your Cindy Sheehan, anti-war leaning views and start your own f–king party. You people are a joke. You’re out of touch and have no clue. We Democrats who have a backbone our no longer going to let you dominate the conversation. You’re outta here! Hit the road folks. We have work to do!
Comment by Real Democrat — August 31, 2005 @ 6:51 pm
False flag troll alert! Bash this guy’s head in and do the knee caps too. It will slow him down so we can come back and bash his head in some more.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:10 pmJoe 5pack
August 31st, 2005 at 9:12 pmA good use for real democrat would be as an evacuation flotation device
This is turning into one big ripe f..kup.
No, George Bush selected as Pretzeldent by the SCOTUS in 2000 was the beginning of one big fvck-up. Get the bats, torches and pitchforks (and whatever else you are packing) it’s about to get even uglier and someone has to pay.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:13 pmNew Name For Chimpy: The Civil War Pretzeldent!
August 31st, 2005 at 9:15 pmAs Bush flies over tsunami disaster new orleans he was heard to mutter “there’s no place like home” “there’s no place like home” as he stroked his little dog. :)
August 31st, 2005 at 9:15 pmNah, let’s use Real Demo here as one of the objects that we use to help plug up the broken levee in New Orleans. Seems to be a better use of someone who’s brain obviously has shut down (if it worked before)…….Not all Dem’s are the same and not all Rep’s are the same. The faster you get this into your heads, the faster ‘We the People” can get our country back
August 31st, 2005 at 9:16 pmCNN reporter to FEMA head
“Sir, what exactly does FEMA stand for”
“FEMA, well it stands for Feeble Excuses Management Asses”
I noticed Bush really enjoyed saying the word “assets” during his 5 pm speech today. He said “assets” probably 5 times, each time with more lip relish. He just learned what it meant too.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:19 pmEmma
August 31st, 2005 at 9:20 pmThe people united can never be defeated
THe new street signs welcoming all to New Orleans say “Welcome to New ORleans, Baghdad by the Gulf”
August 31st, 2005 at 9:21 pmCNN Larry King live show -just in
correspondent reports live from New Orleans to Larry that people are walking around looking for food – they are hungry – the correspondent’s description is that it’s “prehistoric”
It’s prehistoric to this correspondent that people in the US could be walking around looking for food.
What freakin lala land world do these correspondents live in. Like Real Democrat they need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the real world of suffering, no health insurance, no money, no food, no protection, no big politcal party to take care of you, no rich baptist church to protect you as long as you can tithe 10,000 a year. No alma mater to suck from, no daddy or mommy business to get big salary for doing nothing from – just military, or work in the casinos, or walk the walk baby
The media are freakin royalty, along with the govt, FEMA, Prez, they are clueless as to what reality is like.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:30 pm#24 Of course you are writting this from Iraq, right?
August 31st, 2005 at 9:30 pmFake Democrat, it is a fact that Bushie cut the funds to shore up the levy that cracked in 5 places and killed thousands of people and destroyed New Orleans.
I for one will not argue about your military service because as a Bushie supporter you are a known liar. You are a Real Chickenhawk.
Don’t blame FEMA cmw. FEMA was forced to become an arm to the Dept. of Homeland Security. They can no longer respond to a disaster without going thru the idiots that allowed 9-11 to happen. Thats the reason for delayed response.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:33 pmWhen FEMA was forced to become an arm of the DHS many FEMA workers quit their jobs in protest.
I told you he was one beer shy of a six pack. No wonder
Call me a lamebrain, but what the hell is the DLC?
Comment by Joe Sixpack — August 31, 2005 @ 7:39 pm
I told you he was one beer shy of a six pack. No wonder we are in this mess.
Aren’t you a class act? No Marine I know talks such trash, especially about his own.
I think someone left the lid off this jarhead.
Bush ain’t my hero. But neither are left wing peaceniks.
The majority of Americans aren’t “left-wing peaceniks”.
The majority of Americans have better things to do than invade countries that pose no threat to us but sit on top of one of the largest oil reserves in the world. What does pulling out of Iraq have to do with unconditional surrender or total capitulation? Not a damn thing. Next time, vote with your brain, not your balls. You are more afraid of appearances and what people might think. Fvck em! There is no point in being in Iraq. We cannot achieve the mission. Go to level the country and decimate the population? Anytime, anywhere. The Marines and the armed forces of the U.S. are not “democracies R’ us”. Never were. Never will be. Bush never believed that shit anyway. You were lied to, fool. Deal with it. If you have to take another black eye, like Viet Nam, don’t blame Cindy Sheehan or the non-existent “peacenik left”. They didn’t send troops into a made up war in the wrong country for the wrong reasons for the second time in 50 years. Now if the two of you jarheads really are in the mens dept. of the navy and you don’t know who Gus Hasford was…
“The South is a big Indian reservation populated by ex-Confederates who are bred like cattle to die in Yankee wars. In Alabama there is no circus to run off to, so we join the Marines.â€
Gustav Hasford
Shame on the both of you and go sign this petition.
http://www.petitiononline.com/gustavha/petition.html
He’s the real Pvt. Joker, USMC
http://www.gustavhasford.com/home.htm
http://www.gustavhasford.com/
August 31st, 2005 at 9:35 pm#25 Bill, right on. What do people think these people are supposed to do for food and water when our govt does nothing for days to help. So what if someone scored a few pairs of levi’s. Without a home or a job (I’m sure thousands cannot report to work as work no longer exists) whats a few pair of levi’s, its the least these commi cops can do for these people.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:37 pmOK Looting is bad. But, if you didn’t have any food, clothing or shoes for you and/or the kids what would you do? There are more important things right now to be concerned about than bashing people who have lost everything.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:37 pm#21 Hank I just read your post and you said it better.
#25 You’re right too! People are too quick to judge others.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:39 pmIt sounded like Bush learned a new word today — “assets.” Do you think he knows what it means too?
August 31st, 2005 at 9:43 pmWow! Is he smart!
Looting is what Bushco and the neocons have done to this country and the world in the last 5 years. The poor people in NOLA are just scavenging stuff that will be garbage in a few weeks. It’s not even comparable to the looting that Bushco has managed. Bushco and the GOP are the real looters. When the TV covers that I will be righteously amazed.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:44 pmFEMA is doing the best they can considering the management they have to report to. They have historically done a good job – for government work – but with Bush’s reorganization of everything domestic -everything’s a crap shoot.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:45 pmLarry King LIve on CNN just listed 3 phone numbers to call to donate money to New Orleans disaster relief.
One of them was Operation Blessing. I recognized that term. It’s Pat Robertson’s fundraising campaign started long before Katrina disaster. So Larry King is funneling donaters to Pat Robertson, the latest terrorist.
call the number yourself and ask if it’s true
800-436-3648
I called it and asked the woman “why would i trust Robertson to give money to disaster victims when he calls for the assassination of PResident Chavez.”
She had no answer.
I asked her if she could see the conflict there.
She said she had no opinion.
SO much for Christians.
Screw em. they are a bunch of freakin phoneys with their hands out grabbing every dime from the suffering masses to line their sanctimonious pockets.
I think this constitutes looting – it’s the “white” type of looting
August 31st, 2005 at 10:03 pmLooting while white baptist
Your absolutely correct Marie. Before Bushie forced FEMA to be an arm of the Dept. of Homeland Security, they could respond immediately.
Now they have to ask for permission from morons to respond.
August 31st, 2005 at 10:03 pmLWWB – Looting while white baptist
August 31st, 2005 at 10:04 pmGood job cmw. Thanks for exposing the criminal Pat Robertson.
August 31st, 2005 at 10:06 pmSusan
August 31st, 2005 at 10:08 pmI was shocked when i saw that phone number on thte screen with the name Operation Blessing next to it. It shows these criminals have no fear of the law. They think they control things. But “finally the tables are starting to turn. Talking about revolution. Oh Yeah” Tracy Chapman
Sorry, kids. Here’s the deal on FEMA:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_08/007014.php
August 31st, 2005 at 10:13 pmIts not a good time to be asking people to give money when gas prices continue to soar.
I really don’t think any donated money will actually make it to the victims anyway and I will not be swindled.
My mayor is asking that we all send a minimum of $100, pretty demanding aint he?
Sounds harsh but oh well, let the pugs do the donating this time.
August 31st, 2005 at 10:16 pmJoe 5 pack
August 31st, 2005 at 10:18 pmhow long will the BUshco incompetents be allowed to destroy this country – we are now a third world country – Bush in just a few short years has managed to turn New Orleans into Baghdad 2. Wherever BUsh goes, disaster follows.
Just wait til the lawyers get hold of some victims of the post-hurricane flooding of the parishes in and around New Orleans due to army corps of engineer debacle on the 17th street canal – the 200 million dollar upgrade that was supposed to make the canal invulnerable – and that was the first thing to break AFTER the storm passed, and then it flooded thousands of homes and killed countless people AFTER the storm had passed
That 17th street canal was fought by the neighborhoods around it for 10 years. They tried to fight the army corps of engineers to stop maintaining it, cause nobody used it except rich people moving from the lake to the mississippi river –
can’t wait for the lawsuits
August 31st, 2005 at 11:00 pmRight on, Susan. That’s what I said on another blog. Anti-Christ or just a jinx. It looks like he rates about one major disaster a year.
August 31st, 2005 at 11:47 pmGod, he’s still got over 3 yrs left!!! Put your head between your knees and kiss your a** goodbye!!!
#59
Do you read the thread before you post. You would see that Real Democrat has realized that we aren’t just a bunch of whackos and then you say something as stupid as
“Nah, let’s use Real Demo here as one of the objects that we use to help plug up the broken levee in New Orleans.”
If RD is a Marine then you are definitely a mental case. I was not a Marine, but I was in the US Army and I know that anyone that has served in the military deserves or respect. Leatherneck and he had a fight then realized they were on the same team and you spew this type of garbage.
Get a grip.
Us “tree hugging liberals” think that since Bush was able to come out and tell everybody to evacuate New Orleans, knowing it was going to be the strom of the century, he could have started those ships on there way on Monday, rather than taking time to finish “My Pet Goat”
September 1st, 2005 at 1:36 amEverybody, chill on Real Democrat.
Read post #45 please.
“Hey, my apologies for coming into the blog screaming. i just saw Brit Hume make fun of the dems b/c of what Cindy Sheehan said. It just pissed me off. i bet you and i agree on a lot more than we disagree. i’m not sure what the answer is. i’m sick of losing as well. i wish our party could unite. but i’ll tell you, i really do fear that folks like Michael Moore hurt us more than they help us. who knows with IRaq, man. I was there. you’re right, it’s a clusterf**k. and, you’re also right that it’s because Bush and Rummy screwed it up. He will do down as one of our worst presidents.
Comment by Real Democrat — August 31, 2005 @ 7:53 pm”
He thought he was coming to an extremely left wing site and discovered a bunch of people asking valid questions.
Let us not act like the right wingers and attack somebody without fining out if they have been told the truth, know the truth or can learn the truth.
If after we have talked with them and they still continue to spew partisan BS, like NED, Lyle, Blue State Red, etc. let’s jump their asses, but Real Dem seems to get it now.
Let’s not become them. Let’s not sink to their level. We are better than that.
As the Marines said above Semper Fi.
September 1st, 2005 at 1:45 amThe insurance companies went into overdrive, because some of them are going to be paying big time. Not that claims will be huge but that there will be hundreds of thousands of them. That’s only for the people who had insurance. Like the article stated, flood insurance is totally separate from a person’s homeowners or a business’. It is purchased through a company or companies that specialize in flood insurance through the federal government. This is in addition to your other ins. If you’re in a flood area, your agent should be telling you, you need to purchase a separate flood policy. If you choose not to, then, you hope it never happens.
September 1st, 2005 at 2:59 amI won’t be surprised if many people discover, they do not have the extra coverage. Many areas in these states are extremely rural, and the people can barely support themselves without worrying about any insurance. This are the ones who will suffer the most. Between Hurrican Andrew, and the World Trade Center, insurance companies are now starting to pick and choose who and what they will insure. Some companies have actually pulled out of states that have high risk, such as Florida. Originally, insurance co’s. took the risk, that was part of their job. Nowadays, you take the risk. Many don’t realze insurance is geared for disasters like Katrina. Any other type of claim is going to put you into a high risk catagory, put you in jeopardy of losing your ins., or raise your premiums. Was it Reagan who deregulated the insurance companies?
Well, maybe the money from the tax cut for the weathly, should be given to the people of Katrina. It’s going to take a long time to rebuild some of these places. I vote to give what money is saved by the weathly, in the tax cut, to the people of Katrina.
Correct me if I’m wrong here, but I’m starting to get the idea that not all military guys are republicans.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:23 am“I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this”
- Bush (on ABC), outlining HIS priority as a massive evacuation and humanitarian relief operation goes on…
September 1st, 2005 at 9:47 am#74 cmw — thank you for informing the rest of us about Robertson’s Operation Blessing.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:48 am#80…right on susan, here is what I saw with my own eyes….I was helping clean up after a tornado in Udahl Kansas, the Red Cross was SELLING coffee and food while the Salvation Army was giving it away FREE. While in the USMC I talked to many Korean vets who had a deduction from their pay for BLOOD from the Red Cross.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:15 amDon’t give them a CENT!…let the Bushies donate!!
check out this pack of LIES…http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/01/news/bush_gas.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes
September 1st, 2005 at 10:47 amMaybe one of the people who has been looting the insurance business could donate a few sodas and chips to the poor people in N.O.
For example, the head of AIG took back the $2 billion he tried to move over to his wife. Let’s see $2 billion divided by $1.50 for a bag of chips and $3.00 for a dozen sodas, equals….
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1420202.stm
September 1st, 2005 at 11:18 amAIG link is this one.
http://www.forbes.com/facesinthenews/2005/06/29/0629autofacescan07.html
The other was Bush’s first disaster in office when a US spy plane was captured by China and they got all the advanced technology.
It’s been downhill ever since.
Another one at the start of Bush’s term was when political donors from the oil industry playing in a US Navy sub that killed a bunch of Japanese students. The media has now forgotten the USS Greenville incident.
http://www.the-catbird-seat.net/Greeneville.htm
There’s a list at democrats.com on the theme that everything he touches turns to crap.
http://www.democrats.com/
September 1st, 2005 at 11:26 amI was waiting for someone to speak up about the Red Cross. I never donate to them just because of them charging for food and coffee. I thought an organization that is there to help victims, and accepts and encourages donations should NOT CHARGE THE VICTIMS FOR THEIR SERVICES.
I have a few gripes about the Salvation Army, but THEY DON’T CHARGE FOR THEIR SERVICES. So I do donate to them.
Good work wised up!
September 1st, 2005 at 12:21 pmyikes
September 1st, 2005 at 1:57 pmThrough all film footage and recent stories in the news it has crossed my mind that the NAACP should fly helicopters and deliver the needed supplies. Good luck and God speed.
September 1st, 2005 at 3:23 pmDid any of you see Tucker Carlson on Tuesday? He was frothing in a white supremacist type of way. Fox had wall to wall KKK. They even blamed Cindy Sheehan.
September 1st, 2005 at 5:03 pmYeah, the American Red Cross is especially evil. Their ranks are full of CIA jackals. Most of the international Red Cross isn’t too bad.
September 1st, 2005 at 5:05 pm#80 – Yeah, we Pugs will keep on donating – like we usually do – aren’t tax cuts great!! They even help collect MORE tax $$ than Dems expect!! HEE-hee11
September 1st, 2005 at 7:04 pm#99, yeah I doubt the tax cuts affect you at the McDonalds drive thru.
September 1st, 2005 at 11:10 pmby the way, nice name…. wouldn’t use it around the repugnican rallies though.
September 1st, 2005 at 11:10 pmWithout souding racial, would somebody tell me why are there only african americans seen in these pictures. What happened to all the white people of NOLA. Why are these african american people in such a bad shape and why are they the only ones stuck in this disastor? These pictures really look like images from some war torn african country.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:45 amwow this site say 36 hours like its a life time and looting like were talking about food and water. yes by all means break your grocery stor down to get proper food, and any other needs but why are these people stealing boxes and boxes of shoes, not boots not necasities but 5 pairs of shoes, and make sure to get your plasma screen tvs dvd and what ever you can grab out of the best buy. why should we send national gard in when neighbors neglect each other to go rip of honest comanies. dont be fooled by this site that smokes screens the real looting. wheres the out cry on the dehumanization, instead of the out cry on the poloticians flood the mississippi finish it off. pls send me your response becasue i know that your so upset with me
6650 montreso
alta loma ca, 91737
and dont tell me how you wish i would be put in some kind of natural disaster situation for my opinions, if my area was under intense flames 2 1/2 years ago and we did fine with no reilef from out side state, and i do mean intense
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:34 pmWhy is it everytime a disaster happens or the light is being shined on the black or people of color whatever is politically correct. They SCREAM its because of our race!! They need to quit living in the past. This is 2005 people!! I guess the natural disaster just hunted the black people down. I guess you are gonna blame Katrina hunting down the black man.
September 3rd, 2005 at 8:59 amThe white folks left. Most of them had cars. I’m sure there were plenty of middle class blacks who left in cars as well. But the poor blacks got left behind, having no means to escape. That’s why we see mostly blacks there in NO suffering/looting, whatever. Unfortunate but a fact of life. I think stealing tvs, dvds, jewelry and other non essentials is stupid and wrong but to suggest that people should be shot on site or killed for property taking denotes the backwardsass priorities in this country. Property is more important than human life apparently. Things can and always are replaced. Lives cannot be. Many of the so-called “honest” companies and shops being looted have practiced highly dishonest business practices for many years with absolute impunity. Many companies don’t pay taxes, cheat on employee overtime and wages, engage in slave labor practices in other countries, downsize or cut employee pay and benefits and increase pay bonuses at the same time for those at the top, cut corners on quality assurance, inflate prices on products and services beyond what is needed but refuse to pay out what they owe (insurance companies I’m looking at you) and engage in price fixing (dvd manufacturers and movie corporations)and in all manner of financial skullduggery. But I guess that’s ok since they are companies. I’m more concerned about the majority of the people who are suffering in Mississippi and Louisiana – most of those people are not concerned with jewelry and guns and non essentials.
September 3rd, 2005 at 5:32 pmLet them loot plasma TVs and brand name clothes, call it a day and get their ass out of there. But shooting at rescue troops to buy time to loot and rape is a different story. They must be gunned down.
September 4th, 2005 at 7:35 amWho gives a damn about TVs, jewerely or money they steal? There are SNIPERS shooting at rescue troops! Think about that. Looters are likely to turn self-defensive and try to shoot their way out. Yes, there are people who are merely looking for food and clothes, and there are people who actually enjoy this anarchic state and wish to prolong it. And you can’t ask the troops and police force to make politicaly correct distinction on the spot. In that sense, all looters are major chaos element that impedes rescue operation. They must be removed quickly. People who are waiting to be rescued will DIE because of these bastards.
September 4th, 2005 at 7:59 amI was in New Orleans and could not get out as of saturday morning,no flights out,train station closed, not enough buses to get a seat and no car. I went to the salvation army and was stuck there for five days while helicopters and airboats peopled by the press just traveled around us oblivious to our plight. And believe me,we were shoulder deep in the water trying to get them to stop. They didn’t offer us water , food or even a look of concern. After two days without supplies,we were forced to break into the walgreens down the street and “loot” water,food and medicine for the 50 women and children in our group. If we did not resort to this, we would have died of at least thirst, of this I am certain. I also saw people (black and white) taken non-essential items such as electronics and cigarettes. I don’t agree with those idiots,but surely you can understand how most of us had no choice. No one was lifting a hand to help us. I am one of the lucky few who had family to go to,in my case my Mother In Chicagoland. I was finally airlifted by copter from the roof on Friday morning and after a long trek by trains I finally made it home on sunday. What I saw down there I will never forget and I would not wish it on my most hated enemy. My heart goes out to all who are still there. In closing I will say on the matter of looting,if Mayor Nagin and Governor blanco are so worried about lootin,they should have done their jobs and insured an escape route for all those who do not own cars. At the very least,they should not have let all the airlines,greyhound and amtrak scurry away two days before the storm without making sure that people were on those vehicles of escape. At the very least,they should have used their fleet of 500 city buses to get everyone to high ground while there was still plenty of time,rather than pointing fingers of blame in every direction other than where it belongs…in their own laps. Looting? stuff? big business? What about lives? They turned us american citizens into refugees in our own country!!!!
September 5th, 2005 at 9:07 pmJoe, I am so sorry that you and all of our other fellow countrymen in LA and MS had to endure such tragedy. My heart and prayers go out to you, your family, and your neighbors. Thank you for being one of the few people to acknowledge that EVERYONE (to some degree or another) had to “loot” in order to survive, and not just poor black folks.
We as a society have GOT to step up to the plate. We can do that by first and foremost, demanding that those who failed us be held accountable at every level of Government. Then we must heal. That means that we MUST begin to have honest dialog about our dysfunctions, and then be willing to change our attitudes about one another. Everybody has some sort of dysfunction or another! White folks, black folks…..and Michael Jackson! But seriously, we failed each other, and that is not acceptable by any means. We failed each other by not demanding a government that looks out for its own first and formost. We failed each other by not questioning our government about what they do, and how they do it. We failed each other by allowing the media to behave like a prime time TV show, instead of a portal for information and the discovery of unbiased truth. When we point a finger, we’d better keep in mind that there are three more of our own fingers pointing right back at us. Can we start by taking care of each other? Ya damn right we can, as evidenced by the outpouring of help being given to the people who were trapped in this tragedy. Here in Louisville Kentucky, there are lines of people trying to donate clothes, food and money. We have almost 2,000 people in from No so far, and we are expecting up to 10,000. IN KENTUCKY, can you believe it! More help is being given by everyday Americans (who are struggling to keep their own heads above water in this screwy economy) who are donating money, food, clothes and time, while the government STILL hasn’t managed to get off of their thumbs!!
September 6th, 2005 at 9:41 am“Why is looting bad??”????
The food, the clothes, the water, the flashlights and batteries – are understandable.
The TV’s, the Playstations, the burning of the buildings? Out of line. The POLICE in UNIFORM on CAMERA?!?!?!?! Stealing HIGH HEEL SHOES?~! Give me a freaking break.
September 7th, 2005 at 1:09 amCheng, I think everyone here has already agreed that there is a distinct difference between CRIMINALS who STEAL items and CITIZENS who TAKE WHAT THEY NEED TO SURVIVE. Again, I ask, how can people such as yourself be so hung up on THINGS and not hung up on the real problem? You cannot quantify the value of a life….period. I don’t know what station you were watching…probably FOX…but I saw police moving out of the way so that people could get into stores and get food, water, medicine, baby formula and food, diapers, and anything that floats. Since you seem to be so hung up on crime and the things that criminals do, I must ask you, what do you do within your community to help prevent, educate and deter crime and criminal activity? Do you work with children to give them an alternative to the streets? Do you volunteer to help feed the hungry? Have you organized a neighborhood watch program? If the answer to any of those questions is “NO,” then I must ask you to stop judging the situation and the people in the situation, get off your butt, and do something more than complain! Morals and values….the Bush regime keeps repeating those words like they hold the copyright to them. The definition of morality, according to Merriam Webster is, “a doctrine or system of principles or rules of conduct.” How has the government, both Democratic and Republican, but especially Republicans, conducted themselves during this ordeal? They were slow to react, had little or no foresight, and were completely unorganized. Since Republicans seem to wield this word around like swords, they might want to be a little more careful before they cut themselves by thine own hands. Merriam-Webster also defines values as, “something (as a principle or quality) intrinsically valuable or desirable ” In other words, values are something that can be measured. Survivors of this tragedy valued the lives of their families and loved ones over the value of a damn pack of diapers or a bottle of water. Bush and his regime value the mighty dollar over the wellbeing of the people that they serve. You, Cheng, and others like you who care more about stolen property than the destruction and chaos that has taken over NOLA, seem to also value merchandise over the livelihood of the people who are trapped in that hell. Please….give ME a freaking break!!
BTW, I don’t know how I posted my previous comment 2x’s. Sorry, not trying to be a blog hog!
September 7th, 2005 at 10:02 amThankyou kimberly for your kind words and for so eloquantly pointing out many of the problems in our “super power” society. You must also realize that the great thing about this country is that everyone has an opinion. You can tire yourself out arguing with people who can only point out subjects of race or criminal bent. The main thing is that there are people such as yourself who can see the important issues that stem from the aftermath of a trajedy such as this. There are quite a few indiviuals who are not looking at the large scope of human suffering and lack of government accounability (local and federal),rather,they would rather scope in on the small number of individuals who continue to live as they always have,by taking advantage of situations in a criminal manner. The main point is that there is a lot of misery down there,and we as a country have a lot of repairing to do. Food for thought.
September 7th, 2005 at 2:38 pmJoseph Annaruma
to DKG, listen,oh nevermind,somehow I think it is too late for you.
September 7th, 2005 at 10:10 pmThank Kimberly & Joe. One thing that I think would be most beneficial to changing the attitudes of the poor folk, is to have the black leaders in this country, to quite coming out and everytime something happens, plays the race card, and shouts about them being on the lower rung of the class ladder and we must stop leaving them out of …whatever.
September 9th, 2005 at 1:14 pmHow does anyone expect these people to change their lives and their attitudes, if the people that are supposed to represent you, keep telling you that you’re poor??? Or because you’re black you’re poor? I don’t think that’s of any benefit to anyone, except maybe these black leaders that took longer than Congress to speak up (not all of them, yes, I agree). It just seems that instead of really helping these people into really thinking and trying that they can have a better life, every time they open their mouths, they put down “the poor”….. you get my drift
Oh, and the private insurance companies are now saying that it’s going to be hard to tell the difference between what the hurricane destroyed and what the water from flooding destroyed. Here we go already – let’s seem how many people don’t get the money to help rebuild their lives, because the insurance companies say it’s water damage – how many don’t have FEMA flood insurance
September 9th, 2005 at 1:16 pmBrian, I would say that I rest my case because you proved MY case rather well. Unfortunately, I don’t think you get the big picture! So let me clarify a few points:
September 12th, 2005 at 2:22 pm1. No one is living in the past. We…I am looking at what is going on right now. If you don’t think that racism, prejudice, and bigotry exists, then you are very unaware of what is going on around you….currently….right now… in the present. Nothing that I have previously posted was in reference to the past. I am talking about the here and now. “But I’m not racists, my best friend is black,” Yeah, yeah, we’ve all heard that before. How you treat someone when they are in your face is called humanity. I am glad that your neighbor’s kids can play with your kids. How you talk about, think about, or judge someone’s actions when you are in the privacy of your own home is called “attitude.” The attitude of white folks….and please don’t misunderstand, I never said all white people…some white folks, and particularly those who are in positions of power, have not changed since the 40’s and 50’s. Not a single bit. When assumptions are made based on a racial profile, you’ve screwed up, right there. Assuming that poor people are lazy, drug addicted welfare recipients when you have not done a damn thing to get to know that person, or anyone like them, is pure prejudice. When you assume that a person is less educated and, therefore, could not possibly have gotten the job without the help of Affirmative Action, that is purely racist. When you assume that a person is going to steal just because an opportunity arises and he or she happens to be black, that is not “victimization”, that is reality. THESE THINGS HAPPEN, THESE ATTITUDES EXIST, NOW, TODAY, IN THE YEAR 2005!! Ask your neighbor.
2. As for the claim that I am helping to perpetuate the false cycle of supposed classims or racism by living in the past, not true… not in the least. I am in the social services industry. I used to be a case worker for foster children, now I train foster parents. I am in the thick of it…every single day. I see the difference between how the system treats poor white folks and poor black folks. When a son of one of the “good ol’ boys†gets in trouble, he is not taken out of his home and placed in foster care or stashed in a residential facility. But if your poor, and your kid is having troubles, you’d better pack his bags, cuz the state is takin’ his ass….quickly!!! Yes, we have the NAACP, and the Congressional Black Caucus. Those organizations were needed and came about during a time when racism was blatant. And you are correct, everyone would be up in arms if white folks had similar organizations…..BECAUSE THERE IS NO NEED FOR THEM, other than to perpetuate a feeling of superiority. And let’s be honest, that is the real issue here!!
3. I have a hard time understanding how a rational person (Emma, think about this for a sec!) says that we, meaning black people, use the “race card†as if this is a contests. What do we win if we “play†the race card? What..sympathy? No black person that I know of has EVER wanted to be pitied by a white person. We just want to be treated fairly, given the same opportunities, and not be harassed by the police when we drive around town in a Lexus! Damn, that’s it! The same things that most white people take for granted!!! When FEMA lists a major hurricane in NO as the #2 potential disaster to hit the US, yet no evacuation plan was ever important enough to be made, a simple question begs to be asked….â€Why wasn’t it important?†Another question, “Would a plan have been made if we were talking about Rhode Island (where FEMA DOES HAVE A PLAN FOR EVAC.), or Vermont (again, FEMA has a plan), or….hummm…..Idaho (yup, FEMA has a plan for them, too)? But when it came to the lower class, lower income, people of the south, who are mainly black and Latino, NO PLAN WAS EVER GIVEN A SECOND THOUGHT!!! When it comes to the portrayal of so called “lootersâ€, the people who were looking for food and clothes were thrown in the same basket as the criminals who were looking to make a quick buck. No one EVER called the leaders of Enron, MCI WorldCom, or those greasy maggots who ran the S&L scams back inn 80’s looters. Why? When I start seeing equal treatment in this country to EVERY citizen, then and only then will I stop talking about this!!
oh, by the way, Brian, I realize that the people of Shri Lanka are of color. What I was refering to was our International policy that has always neglected the many nations of Africa, but favord other nations because of what that nation could provide us!! Africa and Africans are seen by most of us in the US as inferior, even by some black folks. So don’t trip!
September 12th, 2005 at 2:26 pmOK, my last post. Brian, perhaps the journal entries of this psychologist can express the thoughts that I wrote above more articulately. Anne Gervasi is a licensed psychologist who went into the Civic Center to talk with some of the victims of Katrina and the families. She is also the author of at least on book. Here is the site that posted her journal entries:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104×4683757
and here is her entry (it’s long, but good info.!):
There are so many words that come to mind. As a scholar I am thinking
Diaspora, social displacement, systemic disruption, mass trauma,
pandemic and unbelievable chaos. As a clinician, I am looking at
something that we have never been trained to handle in this country–a level of victimization and its resultant psycho-social ripples that
mandate a whole new field of clinical practice-mass victimology. Katrina kicked the top off of a racist and social termite’s nest that has been growing beneath the ground since Reconstruction. These were deeply religious people who have lost God and for that matter, faith and hope. Hope has been replaced by magical thinking that augurs a second and more terrible level of social disruption and anger not far down the road.
Over and over, I kept hearing a framing of self that puzzled me until I realized that this is how it must have been for blacks after
Reconstruction. Over and over, people said, “everyone has been so
wonderful, thank you, thank you.” When I said, “there is no need to
thank us, you are our fellow citizens and we want to help you–American to American,” there would be a long pause as if the idea of being the same never struck them before.
They are angry and it is growing. The system failed them. For that
matter, there is no system because all the safeguards and preparations that we thought were in place aren’t there. I have been begging anyone who would listen over the past two years for a program in mass victimology to prepare for the next tragedy after 9/11. Now it is here and the lack of organization, science, and preparation are going to result in terrible consequences for us as a nation.
Imagine sending people who have been assimilated into the most stable
demographic population in America into cities and towns all over the US who are as unprepared as the victims to understand their sense of
dislocation and their support needs. The lower Gulf States have a
language, a history, a social dynamic, a faith, a societal structure,
and a ritual system unlike any other in America. These people have lived in and been acculturated to this system for generations. When the dust settles and the mud dries, we are going to see all over America, a nation that will lose patience with the needs of a foreign refugee population. Abandoned once again, the fury and the trauma that have been momentarily quieted by the outpouring of empathy and support post-crisis, will arise larger and more terrible than we have been equipped as a nation to handle. I hear it now, over and over, in the survivor stories, in the loss of self, and the need to reclaim dignity and power.
Right now, numbness is being replaced by magical thinking. “People want me here–here is better. I think I’ll stay here.” What is going to happen when reality sets in? The bulk of people who are planning to stay don’t understand the system here. Even though we abut borders, we are a vastly different nation. At least we are southerners. What is going to happen to the thousands being sent to Connecticut or Illinois or New Jersey? They are being offered free apartments, furniture etc, by generous and well meaning people who haven’t thought the long term consequences through very well. A lot of the apartments are in areas where they won’t have transportation or jobs. What is going to happen six months down the road when the magic wears off and the help slowly fades? How about the holidays for a people who thrive on ritual,tradition, and celebration?
The trauma they are experiencing is so profound that we have no cultural term or machinery set up for it. The dead and nameless bodies by the thousands rotting in the water, arriving dead on the buses with them, or dying next to them in the shelters are a huge festering wound that no one dares mention. This is a true Diaspora the likes of which we haven’t seen since Reconstruction. The immediate needs that are being addressed ignore the greater traumas yet to be spoken. No governmental system can survive the number of wounded and disillusioned people that we are going to see sprouting up all over America. Something far greater and more organized has to be done.
Then to the helpers and what is happening there. Turf wars have already sprung up. In the name of “I know better than you do,” chaos and wasted energy are multiplying. The Red Cross was initially in charge of certifying the credentials of the helping therapists. After Oklahoma City and the pretenders who arrived there, this seemed like a wonderful clearing house. Everyone who wanted to help had to go through a brief orientation and a thorough checking of credentials. Only licensed professionals were allowed. Driver’s licenses were checked for criminal records. This seemed to be a common sense excellent approach to the question of rapists, pedophiles, and other thugs being denied access to a vulnerable population. Actually, things ran better than I expected at
the beginning. Then in came the physicians who I guess felt that their non-existent coursework in this area qualified them to better run things. Immediate chaos, disorganization, and all sorts of ersatz
“helpers” began running around. They grabbed our current Red Cross
badges and then stopped us from going back on the floor to finish seeing our patients without the new badges, which they just happened to be out of. We had an optometrist with prescriptive lenses but no glasses or readers and no idea when he’d ever see any. We had a deaf booth but no deaf helpers. In the midst of all this chaos, thousands and thousands of the walking wounded mixing with the powerless well-intentioned came the whispered word, pandemic. Lots of people are suddenly getting sick, and we have to have precautions. Don’t eat or drink or touch the patients.
We only have one bottle of disinfectant in the mental health section, so come back here–the length of the Convention Center–after each patient.
“What of the people who are being cycled out of here?” “What are we
sending into the population?” If people are sick and contagious, where are the precautions to separate the vulnerable? What of precautions such as masks and gloves to keep the medical professionals and first responders safe? All the here and now is suspended in the hope that maybe tomorrow will take care of itself and the worst won’t happen.
Those are the question we asked on the first day. NO ONE IS IN CHARGE!!!
Therefore, there is no consistent answer or approach or forethought. I am no infection guru but as soon as I heard on day one that people with no water were forced to drink water with bloated bodies, feces, and rats in it, the thought of cholera, typhoid, and delayed disease immediately occurred to me. What if the fears of disease are correct? People are fanning out throughout America. Where is the CDC?
In the age of computers, we are doing worse than the pencil squibs and the rolls of paper to log in the displaced after World War II. Literacy and computer access seems to be considered as a given for people who have lost it all. Accessing FEMA is through a website. People are in shelters waiting for FEMA to come “in a few days.” “Be patient.” The Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana pumped my hand and replied to my desperate queries about how to help people find their parents and babies, “Be patient–give us a few days.”
The mothers who have lost their children, and there are many, and the children who have lost their parents, have had it with the “be patient” response. The shelters are surprisingly silent. It is hard to find the traumatized mothers because they cry silently. One mother asked how patient I would be if my five-month-old was somewhere unknown for over a week. Over and over, others would ask,” Do you think my baby has milk and diapers?” “Do you think they are being kind to my baby?” And then, so softly that I would have to ask them to repeat, “Do you think my baby is okay?” My response–the convenient lie. Every time I said, “of course”; I prayed to God that it was true.
I am sure that there is a special ring of hell for the media: The
survivor stories end-on-end for the titillation of the public. I heard Soledad O’Brien say something about the still unrecognized need to address the psychological trauma. I sent a response to the CNN tip-line that there were hordes of every manner of mental health professional working 24/7. CNN’s response? Dr. Phil and the stories of the survivors” on Larry King. They went to the guy who lost his clinical license for serious professional infractions to tell the stories? I could see the “entertainer” down there gathering tales of the already exploited so that he and Larry could both pimp their ratings. The real unsung mental health heroes, the counselors, psychologists, social workers and psychiatrists dealing with un-medicated psychosis and severe traumatic responses were represented by Dr. “Keep-It-Real”? We don’t need tabloid help from the media. Scream about accountability and point fingers for those who can’t. Where is the real help from the media? Help us find those babies and parents and missing family. We have a man in one of the shelters who is caring for four kids. They call him uncle. He is actually the cousin of the fiancé of the mother who is probably dead.
The children are silent. They sit and play and weep with open mouths
that can’t scream. Where is the media to scream for them?
Finally, to hell with this “no blame game.” The stories that I know to be true are enough to make me boil. The compassionate foreign doctors who can’t find anyone to validate their credentials, the expensive mobile hospital still sitting parked waiting for federal paperwork to move into Louisiana, the five C130s sitting on the Tarmac in San Diego since the night of Katrina, still waiting for orders to move. Where the hell are the beds? We have some old people sleeping on hot plastic pool floats with no sheets. They are still no showers for people who have walked for hours through fetid waters. Their skin is breaking out in rashes. Still no showers. Where the hell are the DeCon showers bought with Homeland Security money that can shower 30 people at a time. The convention centers have no bathing facilities so the filth and skin reactions are getting worse. What of lice? There are no clothes for the
really heavy and large. I was reduced to writing the women I knew who went to Weight Watchers to comb their attics for “before” outfits. When I arrived with the sack of my gatherings, I had to engage in a full scale battle and puff myself up to all my red-headed doctor fury to get them distributed to the women still sitting there in their stinking clothes.
The survivors are like the Mayor of New Orleans who apologized to George Bush for his anger. “If we tell the way we feel, maybe help will stop.” All the apologists on the air distancing George and his co-vacationers and idiot appointees should be impeached. I liked Nagin when he called it all bullshit. He was right. How about Haley Barbour complaining about the lack of support for his state? Did he so soon forget his past life and what he did to set up this government of spin artists? If they had acted like a government the body count would be less. The aid would be better managed. The days of filth, and feces, and death would have been ended sooner. God help all of the poseurs in charge when these folks finally get in touch with their justifiable rage. Did you see the White House’s logo for the hurricane? George and some asshole in a ball cap
against a background of Katrina waving the flag. They had the energy and time for a nice logo but no time to get the elements of help in gear?
The tragedy is leavened by some moments of farce, the guy who arrived with a case of Gucci shoes in various sizes that he “saved” from his closet. The man wearing twelve expensive watches up his arm. I guess he is a punctual sort. There are the too-poignant-for-words vignettes. I saw a lady sitting on a blanket holding a photo of two children that she had pulled from the water. She kept crying and looking at it. I thought they were her children. She didn’t know whose they were. They were just losses and she mourned them.
Of course there were the criminals, thugs, and mobsters. One of the
greatest indictments of the “spin machine” that is going to come from this situation will be the repeated characterizations of the victims as lawless and criminal. Over and over I heard people tell me about how ashamed they were to be portrayed that way. Ninety-nine percent of these people never were characterized as anything but lawful and good citizens. In their most desperate hours to be reduced to taking food and water to survive and then to be lumped with the television thieves and the shooters is too shameful for most of them to bear. I heard from hospital employees that survived on a cup of watered grits so that the patients could make it. And then I heard had they had to hide the ones that didn’t in closets to keep up the morale of the others.
The people that survived this tragedy and the people who help them all know one truth. The help and the love and the care that has been
extended to them have been on a citizen-to-citizen basis. The churches,doctors, therapists, and ordinary citizens who are giving all they can in time and resources are managing to band-aid at the most elementary level-neighbor to neighbor. The government has failed!!! We are more vulnerable now than before 9/11 because faith in the system is gone. No system can sustain itself as a viable entity when the citizenry are the walking wounded. Victims implode a system from within and expose its decay. This is the beginning of the end unless we can get a drastic change of philosophy and restore the government to a system “by the people for the people.” Right now nobody down here believes we have that.
Anne Gervasi
Euless, TX 76039
September 12th, 2005 at 4:19 pmI am tired of all the wimpering. Why is it always somebody else’s fault. I’ve been through some hurricanes. When they tell you it’s coming, get out. The Federal government was formed to protect life, liberty and the pursiut of happiness, not provide it.
October 22nd, 2005 at 1:01 pmBig new’s report G.W. and Laura sent a check to help. No word how much and to whom. Nice gesture from one of the wealthiest famelies. So far that’s the only good thing I have heard about the Bushes in nearly 5 years. Of course lot’s of what they sent was our’s first, no matter, the south needs all the help we can muster. How about bringing all our troops home to help in this disaster and rebuilding. All of them, now.
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…At that time medical service providers perform this job…
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