Thank God for Kanye

[Milly]

Finally, we have someone like Ali!

[firedemon]

Kayne West is a complete idiot

[Lucius Bolivar]

Kayne West was right. Anyone who can't see that must be blind.

[Gomezticator]

While I'd like to say that Kanye's statement was simple minded, baseless and/or ignorant, it really wasn't. Look at the victims of past hurricanes: they were mostly white, and aid swooped in almost immediately. Now look at Katrina: victims in Gulfport and Biloxi, which are predominately white, got aid immediately after. The victims in New Orleans, primarily poor and black, were left without significant aid or being evacuated for over four days. The president posed for a couple photo ops and left.

I'm not sure that's a coincidence.

[firedemon]

New Orleans is 68 percent black. I know this because I am from there. The majority of the downtown area is surrounded by projects, Iberville,Lafitte, and also other low income housing. Cnn and other news stations that had top coverage focused mainly on Poydras and Canal street, this is where the majority of the people went after the storm hit. So the coverage was basically all in this area. Did you guys forget about Metarie? Metarie is the direct suburb of New Orleans to the west, it is almost all white. I had friends stuck in Metarie text messaging me wondering where the troops were, where the food and water was.
There was no power there as well. The problem here is that Gov. Katheleen Blanco did not have enough resources ready for immediate help after the storm hit. Everyone knew the storm was coming including the feds. It was very hard for troops and fema to get in the area and do their jobs properly because of flooding, looting, etc... But the biggest problem here is what all of you are missing. The ignorant people of New Orleans, the lower class that has never had a chance to advance because of the pathetic education system. Crime has always been a huge part of this society and none of this shocks me at all. The corps of engineers tried to repair one of the levees yesterday and they were fired upon by thugs with assault rifles who were in exchange killed by police. This is nothing more then a national tradegy and for those of you who blame Bush are blaming him for the same reason that you blame him for every move he has ever made. You are democrats and you will never be satisfied regardless the outcome on anything he or his administration ever does. But please remember this "W" still the president. FUCK OFF SEATTLE!

[segal]

But please remember this "W" still the president. FUCK OFF SEATTLE!
There's no way we <i>can</i> forget that W is still president. His unparalleled incompetence impacts us every day.
You were doing so well there, making informative points... till the end. Then you reverted back to the old, useless, liberal-baiting firedemon. Would you please kindly move back to NOLA? The city could probably use your help.

[Lucius Bolivar]

There was no power there as well. The problem here is that Gov. Katheleen Blanco did not have enough resources ready for immediate help after the storm hit. Everyone knew the storm was coming including the feds.

That's why Governor Blanco was begging the Feds for assistance before the storm even hit. (http://www.newschannel6.tv/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=8601) Too bad they ignored her.

It was very hard for troops and fema to get in the area and do their jobs properly because of flooding, looting, etc...

That's not true. Troops didn't even try to get into the area for days, because they were never sent. It's become increasingly evident that the "danger" of looters was a hollow excuse. (http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news3/latimes138.html) Flooding and looting did not prevent reporters and others from getting into the city. (http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001054586)


The corps of engineers tried to repair one of the levees yesterday and they were fired upon by thugs with assault rifles who were in exchange killed by police.

It is becoming more apparent that particular story was very likely untrue. (http://whyareweback.blogspot.com/2005/09/who-really-knows-who-shot-who.html) I am sure it is not the only lie we have been told about this tradgedy.


This is nothing more then a national tradegy and for those of you who blame Bush are blaming him for the same reason that you blame him for every move he has ever made.

Bush is to be blamed for failing to heed the numerous warnings beforehand, and failure to act and allowing hundreds if not thousands of Americans to die, a situation similar to 9/11. Sadly, almost every move he makes is worthy of criticism and blame.

You are democrats and you will never be satisfied regardless the outcome on anything he or his administration ever does.

Democrats are certainly not the only persons criticizing the president for his horrible mishandling of this situation, prominent members of his own party and even many of his usual obedient talking heads have spoken out against the Bush administration’s failure to act before and after the hurricane.

[poochiekafelnikov]

kanye is a poor man's prophet and a nifty lil marketing tool

[bdunbar]

[QUOTE=Lucius Bolivar]That's why Governor Blanco was begging the Feds for assistance before the storm even hit. (http://www.newschannel6.tv/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=8601) Too bad they ignored her.



That's not true. Troops didn't even try to get into the area for days, because they were never sent. It's become increasingly evident that the "danger" of looters was a hollow excuse. (http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news3/latimes138.html) Flooding and looting did not prevent reporters and others from getting into the city. (http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001054586)


I only point out - from the point of view of a former Marine - that there is a huge diff between reporters wandering around an area and an organized body of troops.

The reporter - with a team of a half-dozen for TV, solo for a print or radio reporter - is only taking along enough log support for the team with him. The reporter need only worry about feeding his team, and gas for a single vehicle. He isn't there to rescue people, provide water, evacuate anyone.

The troops, if they are going to actually perform the mission expected, need a logistic base of support - a place to refuel, eat, sleep, and a way to get refugees out of there, or care for them on site. This can be very basic, but it needs to be there.

So, sure there were reporters on scene before anyone else. But their role was limited to their job - telling everone what is going on. Actually helping the people who needed it - that takes time to spool up.

[Lucius Bolivar]

The troops, if they are going to actually perform the mission expected, need a logistic base of support - a place to refuel, eat, sleep, and a way to get refugees out of there, or care for them on site. This can be very basic, but it needs to be there.

There was plenty of advance warning to set this stuff up. And we're talking about a city on US mainland soil here - not an operation in some foreign mountain range. A ton of support was available to go in, and was either kept out or waiting on executive order. Our military can operate very quickly when needed, they have been able to respond to other disasters much faster. There is no excuse for the response time. Even former president George HW Bush and Florida Governer Jeb Bush have since been critical of the slow response.

It doesn't take that much preperation to simply get bodies in there and start pulling people out of nursing homes and hospitals.

"NorthCom started planning before the storm even hit. We were ready for the storm when it hit Florida because, as you remember, it crossed the bottom part of Florida, and then we were plaining, you know, once it was pointed towards the Gulf Coast. So what we did was we activated what we call defense coordinating officers to work with the state to say okay, what do you think you’ll need, and we set up staging bases that could be started. We had the USS Baton sailing almost behind the hurricane so that after the hurricane made landfall it’s search and rescue helicopters would be available almost immediately. So we had things ready. The only caveat is, we have to wait until the President authorizes us to do so. The laws of the United States say that the military can’t just act in this fashion, we have to wait for the President to give us permission."

- NorthCom Lt. Commander Sean Kelly, September 3rd

[firedemon]

Okay Seattle here you go. New Orleans which is a complete mess right now and will be for a long long time is actually extremely lucky. Now that the mass of uneducated people have been shipped to Houston and so on the city can now drain the water and rebuild for the future. So how should they rebuild? Let's start by tearing down the housing projects that surround the downtown area, most of you up in these parts of the woods probably didn't know about the decline of Mardi Gras for the past 10 years now did ya? The crime got so bad that tourists were afraid to come there. We still had a large number of people but anyone from N.O. can tell about the drop off of this world known festival. Not only did murders occur frequently during mardi gras but also for Jazz fest and new years. Now, while most of the crime was black on black genocide anytime a white tourist was robbed or shot everyone would hear about it. It's very sad the way that the lower class lived in New Orleans and the ignorance showed after the storm. Welfare recipients looking for another hand out. If America continues to give the poor handout after handout then ultimately there will be no solution. Education is the only answer, up here you really don't understand because this is an extremely educated city. See, notic e my run on sentences and poor grammer, yeah ya right, I'm from New Orleans, but I got money I got a car I got a job and got George W Bush.
Good job George! You can hate him all you want but you're wasting your energy 'cuz he beat you and that idiot Kerry. Remember election night in Capitol Hill when you idiots thought Kerry won? That was so fucking funny.
Anyway let me end this run on sentence by saying, thanks Seattle now you got me.

Firedemon

[bdunbar]

There was plenty of advance warning to set this stuff up. And we're talking about a city on US mainland soil here - not an operation in some foreign mountain range. A ton of support was available to go in, and was either kept out or waiting on executive order. Our military can operate very quickly when needed, they have been able to respond to other disasters much faster. There is no excuse for the response time. Even former president George HW Bush and Florida Governer Jeb Bush have since been critical of the slow response.

I confess I do not have a handle on what the timeline was. It was my impression that there was a delay activating the Federal response, which has to wait for the communities to ask for it.

Pointing fingers in this regard should probably wait until we've at least stopped pulling bodies out of the rubble.

As for advance warning - yes. But the storm struck a wide swath. Exact preperation had to wait until the thing had struck. If they'd been pointed at (say) site X as the locus of damage and it hit site Y then there would be more wheel spinning while everyone got turned around.

It doesn't take that much preperation to simply get bodies in there and start pulling people out of nursing homes and hospitals

No, it doesn't. But if all you do it pull them out to let them die of exposure or malnutrition because, you know, you just sent people haring off without a plan .... well damn that's criminal as well. Plus your rescuers are going to need rescuing if you can't feed them.

[firedemon]

See Mr. West I don't think you realize how bad your music effects the black community. While you're showing videos with girls in bikinis and holding c-notes in your hand these little kids are looking at you thinking this. Either I gots to be a Rapper or a professional athlete, ain't no doctor ain't no lawyer ain't no teacher. Just gimme da loot.

death to hip hop

fire demon

[firedemon]

Jimi Hendrix would agree

[Gaines]

Who the flyin fuck is kane west and why the fuck should i give a fucking fuck

[Lucius Bolivar]

If America continues to give the poor handout after handout then ultimately there will be no solution.

America continues to hand out and hand out at the expense of us the hardworking taxpayers, but it's not the poor that are the expense. Our country is being bled dry by vampiric leeches, of which most don't even pay taxes, and are a far more real and immediate threat to national security than any communist, terrorist or foreign intelligence agency. They are the corporate socialists that threaten to undermine all the democratic governments of the world, and they have bought their way into our government to the very highest levels and we can all see the results. Taxpayers footing the bill for these people is a lot more expensive that what would cost to feed and house some poor people.

In any case, are you suggesting that because there were poor people in New Orleans, that the federal government should not have undertaken rescue efforts? Are you suggesting that if a disaster struck a city that had more wealthy citizens, that they would deserve to be saved from death more than people with less money?

[firedemon]

as they should in a dog eat dog world.

[Brodeo]

Is Corporate Welfare still ok? Cause I'd hate for America's CEOs to go hungry.

[firedemon]

hate the game

[Brodeo]

My dad can beat up your dad.

[firedemon]

that's the most intelligent comment of the day