Re: OT United Nations Offers Help...

In rec.arts.tv.soaps.cbs on Sat, 03 Sep 2005 22:10:26 GMT in Msg.#
<mbpSe.1094$pt.651@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Patricia Wadley
<mjw0@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I just had this discussion, for about four hours with my best friend.
> She absolutely despises Bush, but she is more upset about what the Mayor
> of NO and the Gov. of Louisiana didn't do.

I don't see that. I didn't know anything of them or their team as of 2 weeks
ago & am fans of theirs, and their team, today. Not saying anyone is perfect
or anyone is imperfect, just giving my current appraisal as someone who
lived through Camille in Picayune & has been following a huge number of
sources almost constantly since before. Why so many sources? Because some,
quite naturally, are going to turn out to be untrue or exaggerated. You
might have noticed me here earlier catching up a post from days ago about
prisoners taking hostages & if anyone ever saw verification of it ... I have
not found ANY other source reporting it & can't find anyone else who did -
at the time or since. I draw a conclusion based on that.

> The levees have been "poised" to go for a long time. The one that
> broke, however, the "one" that caused the resulting flooding of the city
> was one of the brand new ones, which was built to prevent the flooding.
>
> I do not have a clue as to what is really going on, because most of the
> info that is coming out of NO is spotty and based on "sound" bites.
> Maybe it is the Historian in me, but I find it difficult to form a
> complete picture and KNOW what is going on because I read it in a letter
> by someone who is upset.

Total & complete pictures? Of course, that's for later. Valid pictures? They
can be drawn.

> As I pointed out, people in this country are mad. And they have a need
> to blame someone.

As I pointed out, people got mad for cause over specific things. They have a
need to see things work, to see America not seem like a 3rd world country &
to not watch people die needlessly & destruction at a surreal level to be
'unresponded' to.

> I have learned, through hard lessons, that just because someone said it
> happened, doesn't mean it happened.

I'm surprised you didn't know it going in.

> It means that something happened.

Maybe. Maybe not.

> Did a hurricane hit NO. Yes. Was the slow response of rescue because
> Bush is a ***.

Who cares? That's not an issue of concern. What is of concern is that he is
incompetent & is detached from real people to a dangerous level & has
reorganized in a way & made other changes that have had specific negative
impact on this crisis in more than one way! People who know him privately
seem to find him a nice person & a good friend. Fine with me. Has nothing at
all to do with his abilities as a leader or his ability to govern.

> Was the failure to evacuate the city a nefarious
> plot by white people?

Basically, the evacuation of the city - as carried out by the locals - was a
success. That the majority of the people got out of the city in time is
miraculous. Now, it's complicated by the fact that the storm's impact went
so far so bad & one of the best directions for people to go was INTO where
the storm landfall was the worst.

> Are only white people being saved, which is the
> reason why there was no quick response?

Reasons of incompetence can be logically shown. You have to go from what's
the problem - who was left behind & in what circumstances - to look at the
other side of the coin - the poor, the elderly, the ill, the disabled,
workers & people involved with those people, trapped tourists & some
stubborn people who had Camille Syndrome. Can lessons be learned? Yes. Will
they have relevance to classism, elitism, economics & race? You betcha.

> Is the reason the relief is
> slow is because the head of FEMA used to be president of the Arabian
> Horse Association?

If that is related to his competence or lack thereof, possibly so. That's
the only reason to bring that up - credentials, ability to do the job, etc.

> Would everything have been handled differently if Kerry was president?

Absolutely.

> Are the Democrats more wonderful and generous?

Traditional Democrats & traditional Republicans are more apt to want
government to actually work effectively. The current Neocon Republicans
apparently are not. Again, motivation is not as important as actually doing
the job & doing it well.

> Is the relief slow because Republicans are all mean spirited religious dictators?

Some of the Neocons absolutely would prefer a theocratic dictatorship, by
their own statements & writings & policies, etc. Does that have an indirect
relationship here? I'm sure it does, and I'd be happy to discuss that with
you someday if you like, but, I don't really think that's the point of a
discussion about immediacy, efficacy, responsibility, tragedy, etc.

> Evidently.

What is evident, finally, to many people right now is not to others & vice
versa.

> I am so saddened by the invective that should be turned into positive
> responses and to offers of help.

Invective? I am seeing a great deal of constructive discussion. The
invective that I have seen, a minority here if you ask me, is tough to see.

> I am especially saddened by the hatred that is so rampant in this
> discussion. I think of you all as very dear and kind people. That
> doesn't mean that you don't have anger, it just means that I never
> thought I would hear such mean things.
>
> my2cents
> p
> staring off into space and missing what was lost

Most people aren't saying mean things. Most people aren't expressing hatred
either. I hate B&B and AMC right now. I don't regret that. But, I don't hate
anyone here. Trolls & spammers I usually ignore & that's not hatred. I have
been shocked & appalled at a few posts & in two cases at the poster it was
coming from. Other than that, ... But, I do hate to see more fuel added to
issues of race & of economic differences & more polarization in some camps.

--
Donna B 8^> Yahoo Messenger: shallotpeel <*>
.