nklr help! my brother in law wants a bike (and my mother in law ain
-
- Posts: 534
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:02 pm
nklr stupid bush quote of the day
"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." - well
except for CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, (yep Fox too), NOAA, the Louisiana
Governor, the New Orleans Mayor, National Geographic, LSU, The Weather
Channel, Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans Fire, Mrs. Peterson's
kindrgarten class at Fletcher Elementary in Omaha....basically anyone
with a brain (which excludes Dear Leader).
What a pathetic loser, too busy confering how their going to FUCK
AMERICA NEXT to be concerned about a Hurricane 4 OR 5 that's about to
HIT NEW ORLEANS!
-
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2005 10:33 pm
nklr stupid bush quote of the day
I thought this was a KLR group, not a kook democrat blog.... These
levees and pumps were in s*&t condition long before Jan. 21, 2001
mainly because of the historically corrupt and incompetent New Orleans
gov't... If all of these people stated below knew about the problem,
why didn't they do something about it!!!
--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Conall" wrote: > "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." - well > except for CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, (yep Fox too), NOAA, the Louisiana > Governor, the New Orleans Mayor, National Geographic, LSU, The Weather > Channel, Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans Fire, Mrs. Peterson's > kindrgarten class at Fletcher Elementary in Omaha....basically anyone > with a brain (which excludes Dear Leader). > > What a pathetic loser, too busy confering how their going to FUCK > AMERICA NEXT to be concerned about a Hurricane 4 OR 5 that's about to > HIT NEW ORLEANS!
-
- Posts: 534
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:02 pm
nklr stupid bush quote of the day
The Bush administration has been cutting funding for federal disaster
relief funds since 2001 while doubling funding in other areas to pump
up the biggest growth in government for decades.
A report from the Best of New Orleans news website outlines the
details.
"...Among emergency specialists, 'mitigation' -- the measures taken
in advance to minimize the damage caused by natural disasters -- is a
crucial part of the strategy to save lives and cut recovery costs.
But since 2001, key federal disaster mitigation programs, developed
over many years, have been slashed and tossed aside. FEMA's Project
Impact, a model mitigation program created by the Clinton
administration, has been canceled outright. Federal funding of post-
disaster mitigation efforts designed to protect people and property
from the next disaster has been cut in half. Communities across the
country must now compete for pre-disaster mitigation dollars."
The Bush administration's move to merge FEMA with Homeland Security
meant that the two had to compete for funding. Straightforward
projects that would have massively reduced the devastation we are now
seeing, such as raising houses, were cast aside in favor of anti-
terrorism measures.
And since the Bush administration has become renowned for its open
border policies, the argument that the money was directed towards the
real threats facing America is a hollow excuse.
Much of the Netherlands lies below sea level and after the 1953 flood
which killed 1,800 people, the Dutch launched a major flood
prevention program called the Delta Plan. Engineers fortified dykes
and bolstered other water defenses against a future disaster and
there hasn't been one since.
Had a similar project been in place for New Orleans and had Bush not
cut the funding, the misery and turmoil being visited on that area
would have been avoided.
http://tinyurl.com/a3qns
--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "saverinm" wrote: > > I thought this was a KLR group, not a kook democrat blog.... These > levees and pumps were in s*&t condition long before Jan. 21, 2001 > mainly because of the historically corrupt and incompetent New Orleans > gov't... If all of these people stated below knew about the problem, > why didn't they do something about it!!! > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Conall" wrote: > > "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." - well > > except for CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, (yep Fox too), NOAA, the Louisiana > > Governor, the New Orleans Mayor, National Geographic, LSU, The Weather > > Channel, Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans Fire, Mrs. Peterson's > > kindrgarten class at Fletcher Elementary in Omaha....basically anyone > > with a brain (which excludes Dear Leader). > > > > What a pathetic loser, too busy confering how their going to FUCK > > AMERICA NEXT to be concerned about a Hurricane 4 OR 5 that's about to > > HIT NEW ORLEANS!
-
- Posts: 534
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:02 pm
nklr stupid bush quote of the day
--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "saverinm" wrote:
Orleans> > I thought this was a KLR group, not a kook democrat blog.... These > levees and pumps were in s*&t condition long before Jan. 21, 2001 > mainly because of the historically corrupt and incompetent New
problem,> gov't... If all of these people stated below knew about the
Glad you asked, In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war. Biblical in its uncontrolled rage and scope, Hurricane Katrina has left millions of Americans to scavenge for food and shelter and hundreds to thousands reportedly dead. With its main levee broken, the evacuated city of New Orleans has become part of the Gulf of Mexico. But the damage wrought by the hurricane may not entirely be the result of an act of nature. A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken. After a flood killed six people in 1995, Congress created the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, in which the Corps of Engineers strengthened and renovated levees and pumping stations. In early 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a report stating that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in U.S., including a terrorist attack on New York City. But by 2003 the federal funding for the flood control project essentially dried up as it was drained into the Iraq war. In 2004, the Bush administration cut the Corps of Engineers' request for holding back the waters of New Orleans' Lake Pontchartrain by more than 80 percent. Additional cuts at the beginning of this year (for a total reduction in funding of 44.2 percent since 2001) forced the Corps to impose a hiring freeze. The Senate had debated adding funds for fixing New Orleans levees, but it was too late.> why didn't they do something about it!!!
-
- Posts: 162
- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 9:47 am
nklr stupid bush quote of the day
Conall wrote:
Actually, the levees were in quite good condition (note that the levees are *NOT* maintained by the New Orleans government -- the levees in question are federal levees, maintained by the Corps of Engineers with assistance from the local levee board, which is appointed by the governor), over the past ten years they'd received tens of millions of dollars worth of repairs including over four million dollars worth in the past year alone (required a property tax hike, which peeved off a lot of people but the levee board has broad taxing authority), but there were known weak points that needed repair. I suggest that you go read the Times Picayune series (it is on the web on their web site) from three years ago. THE VERY LEVEE THAT BROKE AT THE EXACT PLACE IT BROKE was listed as one of the weak spots they found in their computer modeling of the levee system. Everybody knew this. It was in the process of being fixed, and there were giant sandbags stashed nearby to shore it up in case of a storm. It is unknown whether those sandbags were actually deployed. But even if they had been deployed, New Orleans was toast. The water came over the SHIP CHANNEL floodwalls, which are the newest, sturdiest, highest parts of the levee system. Game over. That's a Category 4 hurricane storm surge. New Orleans' levee system was only designed to protect against a Category 3 hurricane's storm surge. The pumps are historically problematic, but they also had received a lot of work over the past ten years. All in all, New Orleans' pump and levee system was as good as it had ever been, within the constraints of its basic design, which had been put in place in the 1940's when New Orleans reached its current size. Unfortunately, its basic design was not capable of handling more than a category 3 hurricane -- a limitation which was known by *everybody*. I mean, it was in the friggin' New Orleans newspaper! I know that the Cheerleader-in-chief doesn't read newspapers (probably makes his lips hurt), but surely he has someone on his STAFF who reads them?!>--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "saverinm" wrote: > > >>I thought this was a KLR group, not a kook democrat blog.... These >>levees and pumps were in s*&t condition long before Jan. 21, 2001 >>mainly because of the historically corrupt and incompetent New >> >> >Orleans > > >>gov't... >>
Like what? Louisiana is a poor state. The levees are sinking (since they are very heavy and are sitting on mud), and it is all they can do to keep the levees high enough to cope with a Category 3 hurricane. There was supposed to be a study to detirmine how to protect against stronger hurricanes, and Louisiana was even willing to match the federal funds with funds of their own, but the federal funds were cut. But that wouldn't have helped either since any action to raise the floodwalls to deal with a Category 4 or Category 5 storm was long in the future.>> If all of these people stated below knew about the >> >> >problem, > > >>why >> >> didn't they do something about it!!! >> >>
While it may feel good to blame Bush, the fact is that for the past ten years New Orleans has been trying to get funding for a study as to how to survive a Category 4 hurricane. No matter who was President, they couldn't get the money out of the Feds. It certianly didn't help that funding was gutted over the past 3 years in order to fund the Mess in Mesopotamia, but inadequate funding is a long-term issue. What the Bush Administration *CAN* be blamed for is the piss-poor federal response. FEMA was gutted in order to pay for the Department of Homeland Security, and now is incapable of responding to natural disasters of this sort. I watched an interview with the Mayor of New Orleans, who was looking very, very tired. Now, this dude is a very cool cat, tired is generally all he looks no matter how hostile the audience. But the interviewer played him the clip of President Bush issuing his checklist of stuff sent by the Feds to help out, food, water, blankets, etc. and he became almost visibly upset, saying something along the lines of, "Where is it, then? We don't have it here. We have no food, no water, we're dying here." FEMA hasn't even provided the evacuation busses that they typically provide. The Governor of Louisiana has been reduced to begging for SCHOOL BUSES to handle moving the evacuees, issuing a state order that all school districts and all sheriff's departments provide at least two school busses with two armed deputies each in addition to the drivers in order to handle an evacuation that obviously wasn't getting done by FEMA. But Louisiana is a poor state, and just doesn't have the resources to handle a disaster that affects 1/5th of its population. They require federal help -- and aren't getting it, except for token amounts that aren't getting where they're needed. One wonders what would have happened if the people left behind in New Orleans had been white and rich, rather than poor and black. One wonders whether Dear Leader would have personally swooped into New Orleans in Air Force One and rescued his good buddies and pals in that case, as part of his No Billionaire Left Behind plan for America's future. I watched video of black leaders wondering this same thing, including one who wondered whether it was a conspiracy to eliminate the poor black population of New Orleans in order to save money on welfare (for the record I don't think so, I think it's just typical Bush Administration incompetence... I can cope with the Bushie's policies, but the incompetence rankles). It's a desperate situation, and the Moron in Chief saying "well, nobody ever thought the levees could break"... man, that is just wrong, SO wrong, of COURSE levees designed for a Category 3 hurricane would break when subjected to a Category 4 hurricane, everybody knew it from Mrs. Miller's kindergarten class on up to, well, obviously not on up to the head of FEMA, who apparently is as incompetent as everybody else Bush appoints, from a National Security Advisor who ignores a memo entitled "Bin Laden detirmined to strike inside America" because it doesn't give the terrorists' friggin' flight itenerary, to a CIA chief who sees phantom weapons of mass destruction where there aren't any and gets the Medal of Freedom as his reward for this massive incompetence. Didn't think that a Category 5 hurricane would overwhelm levees designed to cope with a Category 3 hurricane? Dolt. Dolt Dolt Dolt Dolt Dolt. Sh*t. When this is all over, tens of thousands will be dead -- and most of them will have died *after* the hurricane, because the Federal Government has become so incompetent, so inept, so divorced from reality, so incapable of governing its way out of a paper bag, that they didn't realize that a category 4 storm hitting a city designed to weather a category 3 storm would be a disaster.... I'm just glad that Fats Domino survived. For now, anyhow. But unless they get food and water to the Superdome and Convention Center...>Glad you asked, In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New >Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But >the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 >percent to pay for the Iraq war. > > >
-
- Posts: 154
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 10:17 am
nklr stupid bush quote of the day
Question for ya...
If so many anticipated it...why wasn't something done
about the levees LONG BEFORE the hurricane ever
materialized???
--- Conall wrote:
http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html> "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the > levees." - well > except for CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, (yep Fox too), NOAA, > the Louisiana > Governor, the New Orleans Mayor, National > Geographic, LSU, The Weather > Channel, Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans Fire, > Mrs. Peterson's > kindrgarten class at Fletcher Elementary in > Omaha....basically anyone > with a brain (which excludes Dear Leader). > > What a pathetic loser, too busy confering how their > going to FUCK > AMERICA NEXT to be concerned about a Hurricane 4 OR > 5 that's about to > HIT NEW ORLEANS! > > > > > > > > Archive Quicksearch at: >
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com> List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: > www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: > www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > DSN_KLR650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > >
-
- Posts: 154
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 10:17 am
nklr stupid bush quote of the day
This problem existed DECADES before anyone named BUSH
entered the White House...How long has New Orleans
been in jeopardy???
Geez....good thing this didn't happen during the
Clinton administration...you wouldn't have anyone to
blame.
--- Conall wrote:
http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html> The Bush administration has been cutting funding for > federal disaster > relief funds since 2001 while doubling funding in > other areas to pump > up the biggest growth in government for decades. > > A report from the Best of New Orleans news website > outlines the > details. > > "...Among emergency specialists, 'mitigation' -- the > measures taken > in advance to minimize the damage caused by natural > disasters -- is a > crucial part of the strategy to save lives and cut > recovery costs. > But since 2001, key federal disaster mitigation > programs, developed > over many years, have been slashed and tossed aside. > FEMA's Project > Impact, a model mitigation program created by the > Clinton > administration, has been canceled outright. Federal > funding of post- > disaster mitigation efforts designed to protect > people and property > from the next disaster has been cut in half. > Communities across the > country must now compete for pre-disaster mitigation > dollars." > > The Bush administration's move to merge FEMA with > Homeland Security > meant that the two had to compete for funding. > Straightforward > projects that would have massively reduced the > devastation we are now > seeing, such as raising houses, were cast aside in > favor of anti- > terrorism measures. > > And since the Bush administration has become > renowned for its open > border policies, the argument that the money was > directed towards the > real threats facing America is a hollow excuse. > > Much of the Netherlands lies below sea level and > after the 1953 flood > which killed 1,800 people, the Dutch launched a > major flood > prevention program called the Delta Plan. Engineers > fortified dykes > and bolstered other water defenses against a future > disaster and > there hasn't been one since. > > Had a similar project been in place for New Orleans > and had Bush not > cut the funding, the misery and turmoil being > visited on that area > would have been avoided. > > http://tinyurl.com/a3qns > > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "saverinm" > wrote: > > > > I thought this was a KLR group, not a kook > democrat blog.... These > > levees and pumps were in s*&t condition long > before Jan. 21, 2001 > > mainly because of the historically corrupt and > incompetent New > Orleans > > gov't... If all of these people stated below knew > about the > problem, > > why didn't they do something about it!!! > > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Conall" > > wrote: > > > "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of > the levees." - > well > > > except for CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, (yep Fox too), > NOAA, the Louisiana > > > Governor, the New Orleans Mayor, National > Geographic, LSU, The > Weather > > > Channel, Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans > Fire, Mrs. > Peterson's > > > kindrgarten class at Fletcher Elementary in > Omaha....basically > anyone > > > with a brain (which excludes Dear Leader). > > > > > > What a pathetic loser, too busy confering how > their going to FUCK > > > AMERICA NEXT to be concerned about a Hurricane 4 > OR 5 that's > about to > > > HIT NEW ORLEANS! > > > > > > Archive Quicksearch at: >
____________________________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs> List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: > www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: > www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > DSN_KLR650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > > >
-
- Posts: 154
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 10:17 am
nklr stupid bush quote of the day
Hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20...
Many valid points...HOWEVER...New Orleans was a
DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN!!!
--- Eric Lee Green wrote:
=== message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - You care about security. So do we. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail> Conall wrote: > > >--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "saverinm" > wrote: > > > > > >>I thought this was a KLR group, not a kook > democrat blog.... These > >>levees and pumps were in s*&t condition long > before Jan. 21, 2001 > >>mainly because of the historically corrupt and > incompetent New > >> > >> > >Orleans > > > > > >>gov't... > >> > Actually, the levees were in quite good condition > (note that the levees > are *NOT* maintained by the New Orleans government > -- the levees in > question are federal levees, maintained by the Corps > of Engineers with > assistance from the local levee board, which is > appointed by the > governor), over the past ten years they'd received > tens of millions of > dollars worth of repairs including over four million > dollars worth in > the past year alone (required a property tax hike, > which peeved off a > lot of people but the levee board has broad taxing > authority), but there > were known weak points that needed repair. I suggest > that you go read > the Times Picayune series (it is on the web on their > web site) from > three years ago. THE VERY LEVEE THAT BROKE AT THE > EXACT PLACE IT BROKE > was listed as one of the weak spots they found in > their computer > modeling of the levee system. Everybody knew this. > It was in the process > of being fixed, and there were giant sandbags > stashed nearby to shore it > up in case of a storm. > > It is unknown whether those sandbags were actually > deployed. But even > if they had been deployed, New Orleans was toast. > The water came over > the SHIP CHANNEL floodwalls, which are the newest, > sturdiest, highest > parts of the levee system. Game over. That's a > Category 4 hurricane > storm surge. New Orleans' levee system was only > designed to protect > against a Category 3 hurricane's storm surge. > > The pumps are historically problematic, but they > also had received a lot > of work over the past ten years. All in all, New > Orleans' pump and levee > system was as good as it had ever been, within the > constraints of its > basic design, which had been put in place in the > 1940's when New Orleans > reached its current size. Unfortunately, its basic > design was not > capable of handling more than a category 3 hurricane > -- a limitation > which was known by *everybody*. I mean, it was in > the friggin' New > Orleans newspaper! I know that the > Cheerleader-in-chief doesn't read > newspapers (probably makes his lips hurt), but > surely he has someone on > his STAFF who reads them?! > > >> If all of these people stated below knew about > the > >> > >> > >problem, > > > > > >>why > >> > >> didn't they do something about it!!! > >> > >> > Like what? Louisiana is a poor state. The levees are > sinking (since they > are very heavy and are sitting on mud), and it is > all they can do to > keep the levees high enough to cope with a Category > 3 hurricane. There > was supposed to be a study to detirmine how to > protect against stronger > hurricanes, and Louisiana was even willing to match > the federal funds > with funds of their own, but the federal funds were > cut. But that > wouldn't have helped either since any action to > raise the floodwalls to > deal with a Category 4 or Category 5 storm was long > in the future. > > >Glad you asked, In 2001, FEMA warned that a > hurricane striking New > >Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters > in the U.S. But > >the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood > control funding by 44 > >percent to pay for the Iraq war. > > > > > > > While it may feel good to blame Bush, the fact is > that for the past ten > years New Orleans has been trying to get funding for > a study as to how > to survive a Category 4 hurricane. No matter who was > President, they > couldn't get the money out of the Feds. It certianly > didn't help that > funding was gutted over the past 3 years in order to > fund the Mess in > Mesopotamia, but inadequate funding is a long-term > issue. > > What the Bush Administration *CAN* be blamed for is > the piss-poor > federal response. FEMA was gutted in order to pay > for the Department of > Homeland Security, and now is incapable of > responding to natural > disasters of this sort. I watched an interview with > the Mayor of New > Orleans, who was looking very, very tired. Now, this > dude is a very cool > cat, tired is generally all he looks no matter how > hostile the audience. > But the interviewer played him the clip of President > Bush issuing his > checklist of stuff sent by the Feds to help out, > food, water, blankets, > etc. and he became almost visibly upset, saying > something along the > lines of, "Where is it, then? We don't have it here. > We have no food, no > water, we're dying here." > > FEMA hasn't even provided the evacuation busses that > they typically > provide. The Governor of Louisiana has been reduced > to begging for > SCHOOL BUSES to handle moving the evacuees, issuing > a state order that > all school districts and all sheriff's departments > provide at least two > school busses with two armed deputies each in > addition to the drivers in > order to handle an evacuation that obviously wasn't > getting done by > FEMA. But Louisiana is a poor state, and just > doesn't have the resources > to handle a disaster that affects 1/5th of its > population. They require > federal help -- and aren't getting it, except for > token amounts that > aren't getting where they're needed. > > One wonders what would have happened if the people > left behind in New > Orleans had been white and rich, rather than poor > and black. One wonders > whether Dear Leader would have personally swooped > into New Orleans in > Air Force One and rescued his good buddies and pals > in that case, as > part of his No Billionaire Left Behind plan for > America's future. I > watched video of black leaders wondering this same > thing, including one > who wondered whether it was a conspiracy to > eliminate the poor black > population of New Orleans in order to save money on > welfare (for the > record I don't think so, I think it's just typical > Bush Administration > incompetence... I can cope with the Bushie's > policies, but the > incompetence rankles). It's a desperate situation, > and the Moron in > Chief saying "well, nobody ever thought the levees > could break"... man, > that is just wrong, SO wrong, of COURSE levees > designed for a Category 3 >
-
- Posts: 526
- Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 1:28 pm
nklr stupid bush quote of the day
Well Said Scott. Well said
Rick A17
scott quillen wrote:This problem existed DECADES before anyone named BUSH
entered the White House...How long has New Orleans
been in jeopardy???
Geez....good thing this didn't happen during the
Clinton administration...you wouldn't have anyone to
blame.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
-
- Posts: 526
- Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 1:28 pm
nklr stupid bush quote of the day
It amazes me how different the people of New Orleans responded to a disaster, than the people of New York reacted. Those people in New York stood together, prayed together, and worked their fingers to the bone together. The people in New Orleans rape, and shoot each other. I Pray they get the help, and money they need as soon as possible, but they got to pull together.
Rick A17
scott quillen wrote:
Hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20...
Many valid points...HOWEVER...New Orleans was a
DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN!!!
--- Eric Lee Green wrote:
=== message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - You care about security. So do we. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Yahoo! Groups Links --------------------------------- Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]> Conall wrote: > > >--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "saverinm" > wrote: > > > > > >>I thought this was a KLR group, not a kook > democrat blog.... These > >>levees and pumps were in s*&t condition long > before Jan. 21, 2001 > >>mainly because of the historically corrupt and > incompetent New > >> > >> > >Orleans > > > > > >>gov't... > >> > Actually, the levees were in quite good condition > (note that the levees > are *NOT* maintained by the New Orleans government > -- the levees in > question are federal levees, maintained by the Corps > of Engineers with > assistance from the local levee board, which is > appointed by the > governor), over the past ten years they'd received > tens of millions of > dollars worth of repairs including over four million > dollars worth in > the past year alone (required a property tax hike, > which peeved off a > lot of people but the levee board has broad taxing > authority), but there > were known weak points that needed repair. I suggest > that you go read > the Times Picayune series (it is on the web on their > web site) from > three years ago. THE VERY LEVEE THAT BROKE AT THE > EXACT PLACE IT BROKE > was listed as one of the weak spots they found in > their computer > modeling of the levee system. Everybody knew this. > It was in the process > of being fixed, and there were giant sandbags > stashed nearby to shore it > up in case of a storm. > > It is unknown whether those sandbags were actually > deployed. But even > if they had been deployed, New Orleans was toast. > The water came over > the SHIP CHANNEL floodwalls, which are the newest, > sturdiest, highest > parts of the levee system. Game over. That's a > Category 4 hurricane > storm surge. New Orleans' levee system was only > designed to protect > against a Category 3 hurricane's storm surge. > > The pumps are historically problematic, but they > also had received a lot > of work over the past ten years. All in all, New > Orleans' pump and levee > system was as good as it had ever been, within the > constraints of its > basic design, which had been put in place in the > 1940's when New Orleans > reached its current size. Unfortunately, its basic > design was not > capable of handling more than a category 3 hurricane > -- a limitation > which was known by *everybody*. I mean, it was in > the friggin' New > Orleans newspaper! I know that the > Cheerleader-in-chief doesn't read > newspapers (probably makes his lips hurt), but > surely he has someone on > his STAFF who reads them?! > > >> If all of these people stated below knew about > the > >> > >> > >problem, > > > > > >>why > >> > >> didn't they do something about it!!! > >> > >> > Like what? Louisiana is a poor state. The levees are > sinking (since they > are very heavy and are sitting on mud), and it is > all they can do to > keep the levees high enough to cope with a Category > 3 hurricane. There > was supposed to be a study to detirmine how to > protect against stronger > hurricanes, and Louisiana was even willing to match > the federal funds > with funds of their own, but the federal funds were > cut. But that > wouldn't have helped either since any action to > raise the floodwalls to > deal with a Category 4 or Category 5 storm was long > in the future. > > >Glad you asked, In 2001, FEMA warned that a > hurricane striking New > >Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters > in the U.S. But > >the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood > control funding by 44 > >percent to pay for the Iraq war. > > > > > > > While it may feel good to blame Bush, the fact is > that for the past ten > years New Orleans has been trying to get funding for > a study as to how > to survive a Category 4 hurricane. No matter who was > President, they > couldn't get the money out of the Feds. It certianly > didn't help that > funding was gutted over the past 3 years in order to > fund the Mess in > Mesopotamia, but inadequate funding is a long-term > issue. > > What the Bush Administration *CAN* be blamed for is > the piss-poor > federal response. FEMA was gutted in order to pay > for the Department of > Homeland Security, and now is incapable of > responding to natural > disasters of this sort. I watched an interview with > the Mayor of New > Orleans, who was looking very, very tired. Now, this > dude is a very cool > cat, tired is generally all he looks no matter how > hostile the audience. > But the interviewer played him the clip of President > Bush issuing his > checklist of stuff sent by the Feds to help out, > food, water, blankets, > etc. and he became almost visibly upset, saying > something along the > lines of, "Where is it, then? We don't have it here. > We have no food, no > water, we're dying here." > > FEMA hasn't even provided the evacuation busses that > they typically > provide. The Governor of Louisiana has been reduced > to begging for > SCHOOL BUSES to handle moving the evacuees, issuing > a state order that > all school districts and all sheriff's departments > provide at least two > school busses with two armed deputies each in > addition to the drivers in > order to handle an evacuation that obviously wasn't > getting done by > FEMA. But Louisiana is a poor state, and just > doesn't have the resources > to handle a disaster that affects 1/5th of its > population. They require > federal help -- and aren't getting it, except for > token amounts that > aren't getting where they're needed. > > One wonders what would have happened if the people > left behind in New > Orleans had been white and rich, rather than poor > and black. One wonders > whether Dear Leader would have personally swooped > into New Orleans in > Air Force One and rescued his good buddies and pals > in that case, as > part of his No Billionaire Left Behind plan for > America's future. I > watched video of black leaders wondering this same > thing, including one > who wondered whether it was a conspiracy to > eliminate the poor black > population of New Orleans in order to save money on > welfare (for the > record I don't think so, I think it's just typical > Bush Administration > incompetence... I can cope with the Bushie's > policies, but the > incompetence rankles). It's a desperate situation, > and the Moron in > Chief saying "well, nobody ever thought the levees > could break"... man, > that is just wrong, SO wrong, of COURSE levees > designed for a Category 3 >
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests