Quite a few shoes have been removed from New Orleans shoe stores!

I heard a very brief report that the FEMA director in NO/LA and DHS director for the same area are already sniping at each other.

>>>Quite a few shoes have been removed from New Orleans shoe stores!

You beat me to it!

Reading the news this afternoon, it appears things are continuing to go downhill fast

I hope they stop bickering and get moving on helping those people...political pundits are already projecting a fairly swift ouster of the Republican Congress in the upcoming elections if the storm results in an economic downturn and further domestic hardships. The news is reporting Bush did not even pause his afternoon visit with some C+W singer who was giving him a new guitar as a gift when told of the disaster.

Rep Leader Hastert was just quoted this afternoon suggesting that perhaps New Orleans should not be rebuilt. That will win him lots of friends down south

When the news headlines report things like 'descending into anarchy', it's time for the Gov't to kick into gear and start getting things done. Sunset will soon be upon New Orleans and I imagine things will get very nasty there tonight

This afternoon Expedia's up to date computer will sell you a ticket nonstop from DFW to MSY on AA for tomorrow. Last I read MSY is under water.
Does anyone know when AA acquired the floatplane version of the DC-9?

Though no one is resuming service to MSY, I don't think it's completely underwater:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=468498

Mike

Politics aside, it's a sad commentary that the situation could deteriorate so quickly and so negatively. As for rebuilding New Orleans, it's a fair question IMHO. We already know that it's under sea level; we already know that it's prone to flooding; we already know that it will cost billions to restore and billions to try to prevent a repeat. Not so sure we should rebuild New Orleans purely out of sentimental reasons.

I'd have to agree. I don't know that rebuilding it is the greatest idea either. I was there a long time ago, and with all that water around it, I thought then that it was a disaster waiting to happen with flooding. Tough call whether or not to rebuild, especially if another big ... hurricane could come and destroy the city again.

The place does have a unique history though, and it'd be a shame to see that disappear.

Ah, but the almighty dollar will speak. You don't think that some schmuck like Trump would come in and dump a few billion to restore it? No, it won't take just a few billion, I know. It might be re-named New Trumpleans or something, but as long as there is a buck to be made, New Orleans will be re-built.

It's not. AA actually flew in a ton of bottled water. Then, picked up some stranded folks and some of its own staff and flew them to DFW.

It's old info, but last I heard, the flights that went in and out were done without runway lights or other normal support technology requiring electricity.

Would you ask the same question of San Francisco, or L.A., or Seattle if they were destroyed by an earthquake..? After all, we already know they're near fault lines and prone to earthquakes; we already know that it would cost billions to restore them... and we know it already costs billions to prevent the damage that could be incurred.

Regardless of the political bickering and fingerpointing, I think our government has failed us.

The government hasn't just failed, this exert from http://www.counterpunch.org/floyd09012005.html says it best "The destruction of New Orleans represents a confluence of many of the most pernicious trends in American politics and culture: poverty, racism, militarism, elitist greed, environmental abuse, public corruption and the decay of democracy at every level."

Tonight on Nightline, Ted Kopel was interviewing the FEMA director. The FEMA director was just clueless about what was going on. Earlier in the day, the head of DHS, Mr. Chertoff, was trying to pass-off the usual spin on how aid was on the way, but this time, their spin isn't going to work. News around the Globe is showing how a disaster became, by governemnt inaction, a complete catastrophy. Go to this New Orlenas weblog, http://www.nola.com/weblogs/nola/ind...html#076020the , and read all the desparate pleas for help, like this one - "My best friend, Dr. Holly Loesch, is at University Hospital in New Orleans (Perido & Gravier) with about 1,000 other people (about 300 patients included). At 8am this m\
orning, they were almost out of food and water and they are out of supplies. No one seems to know they are there. There has been no evacuation or even contact with authoritie\
s. They have 1 generator which is by now (7pm) out of gas. People are dying in the hospital due to lack of supplies, etc. There is no helipad on the building and the surroun\
ding streets are flooded, so they must be rescued by boat. The doctors and nurses were required to stay, but they have had NO support from any type of governmental agency. Th\
ese people are desperate!!! Please help me to help them get rescued or to get them supplies!!!!"

Exactly, luckily for the betterment of the worlds culture the Venetians didnt have some of the narrowminded "watch the money" view we now hear in the background when their city was flooded ( multiple times).
But then that city was not populated by citizens of an "opposing political persuasion" were they?

mike

Regardless of the political bickering and fingerpointing, I think our government has failed us.[/QUOTE]


How has the government failed us? They warned everyone in plenty of time, initiated procedures before the hurricane hit, responded with everything they have, sent millions of $ and thousands of people to help recovery. How do you see that as failing us? The failures are the people that refused to leave after days of warning and the ones running around with jailyard mentality trying to steal everything in sight. Sometimes we are required to be responsible for our own actions, and God forbid, help ourselves instead of waiting for someone to bail us out. The government response has been much better than expected.

Have a great day all!