Katrina Thread / New Orleans

[ChadTower]

Paige, student loan money is earned.  People who pay them back are charged interest, that goes back into the lending pool and to pay administrative costs, further enabling the lending cycle.

It is people that do not pay back their student loans that screw the lending cycle up.

[paigeoliver]

Paige, student loan money is earned.  People who pay them back are charged interest, that goes back into the lending pool and to pay administrative costs, further enabling the lending cycle.

It is people that do not pay back their student loans that screw the lending cycle up.

I see "borrowed" and "earned" as two distinct concepts. 

The sheer concept of borrowing is based upon getting something you have not earned, but plan on earning later.

[ChadTower]

That is true, though you have earned it when you pay it back.  The legal concept is that you WILL pay it back.  I've paid back probably $50k in student loans to this point and have something like $13k left to go...

[shmokes]

I pay for all of my school.  No scholarships.  Generally no loans.  I just save money throught the semester to pay for next semester.  I'm still only paying about 1/3 of the cost of my schooling.  Every student, regardless of financial position (at least at a public university or community college) has his or her education subsidized by the state.  It's another reason that partying through college, or not working hard to learn and get good grades is completely reprehensible.  The taxpayers are saying, "We believe in you and want to help you better yourself, here's $5k-10k per year."  To turn around and squander your time and not try after receiving an opportunity and good-faith charity like that is lame.

[markrvp]

News reports last night and today say the LOUISIANA state department of Homeland Security would not allow the Red Cross to bring food and water to the Superdome and Convention center because they didn't want to create a "magnet" location for evacuees.

Today the Democrats in congress and the senate are starting a smear campaign against the Bush administration and trying to pry funding away from FEMA and channel it to a "Democrat controlled bureacracy" that doesn't even exist yet.

The Louisiana government is overwhelmingly Democrat including the governor and NOLA mayor.  These are the same Democrats who forbid the Red Cross to help people at the Superdome & Convention Center.

I suspected that all the finger pointing at Bush was Democratic partisan CYA.  It looks like that's true.

It would be really easy for the Feds to point a big finger at Louisiana, but they haven't done that, insisting instead that it is more important to help people who need it right now.

I'm not as concerned with who was at fault last week as I am with who is trying to impede the progress that is being made today all in the name of partisan politics.

[markrvp]

Here is the Democrats latest response to why didn't you evacuate NOLA when Bush told you to before the hurricane hit:

"Well what if terrorists had blown up the levees?  You wouldn't have had time to evacuate before that."

WTF is wrong with people?  Let's help the victims instead of stopping all funding to FEMA as an F.U. to the current administration.

[Dexter]

Let's help the victims instead of stopping all funding to FEMA as an F.U. to the current administration.

Lets help the future victims of this administrations incompetence/indifference by holding those responsible to account.

Remember, FEMA could be responding to a disaster/terrorist attack in YOUR neighbourhood. The time to stop the rot is NOW.

[Dartful Dodger]

But as we know, juniors life before politics involve failed business ventures and run ins with the law, with other people picking up the pieces or sweeping them under the carpet. A life of never being responsible or held accountable for anything. No wonder 'the buck stops here' sign is in the waste paper basket beside his desk in the whitehouse.

All that against him and he still became a great president.  That is cool.

[markrvp]

Cool Dex.

[ChadTower]

You can gather wood all you want, but it won't burn.  It's soaked.

[Stingray]

psik0tik has a trashcan full of charcoal in his basement.

-S

[JCL]

People tried to get with their own resources, were rebuffed. They tried to walk out and were turned back. They tried to create shelter, their efforts were destroyed.

http://www.emsnetwork.org/artman/publish/article_18337.shtml

What the hell were people supposed to do? They aren't allowed o take care of themselves and the government actively hurts them, not helps them.

But blame the victim if it helps you sleep at night.

[Dartful Dodger]

The government tried to warn the people of the danger. It told everyone to leave, but the people refused.

What the hell was the government supposed to do? We don't live in a country that allows our government to knock down the doors and drag innocent people from their homes, and the people actively hurts it, not help it.

But blame the government if it helps you sleep at night.

[markrvp]

People tried to get with their own resources, were rebuffed. They tried to walk out and were turned back. They tried to create shelter, their efforts were destroyed.

http://www.emsnetwork.org/artman/publish/article_18337.shtml

What the hell were people supposed to do? They aren't allowed o take care of themselves and the government actively hurts them, not helps them.

But blame the victim if it helps you sleep at night.

I read that whole article.  Those two paramedics seem to think a large part of the problem was the local law enforcement.  I have also been advocating this position.  If there is BLAME to be handed out, I believe your article supports the position that NOLA government was sorely lacking here.

[Grasshopper]

What the hell was the government supposed to do? We don't live in a country that allows our government to knock down the doors and drag innocent people from their homes, and the people actively hurts it, not help it.

But it seems they can falsely imprison people in a flooded disease-ridden city without food and water for several days.

I'm guessing that when the dust settles there is going to be a massive lawsuit launched against the New Orleans authorities and anyone else responsible for this debacle.

[Stingray]

People tried to get with their own resources, were rebuffed. They tried to walk out and were turned back. They tried to create shelter, their efforts were destroyed.

http://www.emsnetwork.org/artman/publish/article_18337.shtml

What the hell were people supposed to do? They aren't allowed o take care of themselves and the government actively hurts them, not helps them.

But blame the victim if it helps you sleep at night.

Thank you for posting that article. It was well worth the time it took me to read it.

-S

[ChadTower]

There go my theories about people not evacuating on foot.

[Stingray]

Mine as well.

-S

[ChadTower]

Who still wants to claim that the largest failures were not local authorities now?

They were taking food FROM evacuees and not allowing them to build their own shelters... all to avoid media attention.

[ChadTower]

Also worth a read, discussing rebuilding New Orleans.

[Stingray]

There are some good points being made there. I can't imagine why the poorest people would want to go back. Provided they are able to find employment and housing in the area where they were evacuated, there wouldn't be a lot of reason to return. If the poor neighborhoods were as bad as that article would lead you to believe (I have seen no reason to think otherwise), why would anyone want to go back after establishing a fresh start in a new city?

-S

[shmokes]

There go my theories about people not evacuating on foot.

And here you thought it was just a black thing....

[ChadTower]

And here you thought it was just a black thing....

Show us where I said that.

[markrvp]

On CNN just now, Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told a female CNN reporter that she should be on the Bush payroll.  The reporter was asking some tough questions about why the Democrats were all blaming Bush, calling for the resignation of FEMA's director in the middle of a disaster, and basically ignoring all the Democrats who were at fault in Louisiasana.

CNN is historically anti-Bush and pro Democrat, so when the Democrats are accusing CNN of being on the Bush payroll, it would appear they have lost all perspective on everything.  If they want the White House and/or congress back they need to get a grip in a hurry, bring forward their own POSITIVE plan for action, and quit blaming even their own media allies for all their own mistakes.

[shmokes]

Wow...that sounds like a great plan MarkVP.  Majority party, here we come!

[ChadTower]

With the survivor accounts coming out now, it's starting to look like the local authorities simply refused to implement any type of plan that did anything other than keep the evacuees where they were in order to keep them out of the clean areas.

[shmokes]

And here you thought it was just a black thing....

Show us where I said that.

I think this is just a black thing...

[ChadTower]

I just ran a string search on every page of this thread.  The only person who has used the phrase I think this is just a black thing is shmokes.

[shmokes]

   LMAO

[shmokes]

The weirdest part is the suspicious date/time of your quote above.  How did you do that?

[markrvp]

Wow...that sounds like a great plan MarkVP.

[Dartful Dodger]

From a woman with a battery powered radio we learned that the media was talking about us. Up in full view on the freeway, every relief and news organizations saw us on their way into the City. Officials were being asked what they were going to do about all those families living up on the freeway? The officials responded they were going to take care of us. Some of us got a sinking feeling. "Taking care of us" had an ominous tone to it.

If this was a scene in a movie this would be funny.

That story was well written.  It didn't take long for that part of the US to become a 3rd world country. 

The bad guys are threatening you with guns and the people that are suppose to be the good guys are threatening you with guns.

It's a bad way to learn why some of us are fighting to keep our right to bear arms.

[JCL]

The government tried to warn the people of the danger. It told everyone to leave, but the people refused.

What the hell was the government supposed to do? We don't live in a country that allows our government to knock down the doors and drag innocent people from their homes, and the people actively hurts it, not help it.

But blame the government if it helps you sleep at night.

Do you have a reading comprehension problem? People tried to get out and were kept in by government forces!

[ChadTower]

Local government forces.

[Dartful Dodger]

The government tried to warn the people of the danger. It told everyone to leave, but the people refused.

What the hell was the government supposed to do? We don't live in a country that allows our government to knock down the doors and drag innocent people from their homes, and the people actively hurts it, not help it.

But blame the government if it helps you sleep at night.

Do you have a reading comprehension problem? People tried to get out and were kept in by government forces!

That story happened after the hurricane. 

Two days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans....

It's the first line of the story, since I don't have a reading comprehension problem I was able to comprehended that the people in this story didn't heed the governments warnings.

They also couldn't defend themselves when the local police started firing over their heads.

[shmokes]

If only more of the NO refugees had guns. 

[Dartful Dodger]

If only more of the NO refugees had guns.

[shmokes]

I see what you mean.  That's terrible.  If only that man had a gun, perhaps he could have defended himself and gone on raping that little girl.

[JCL]

The government tried to warn the people of the danger. It told everyone to leave, but the people refused.

What the hell was the government supposed to do? We don't live in a country that allows our government to knock down the doors and drag innocent people from their homes, and the people actively hurts it, not help it.

But blame the government if it helps you sleep at night.

Do you have a reading comprehension problem? People tried to get out and were kept in by government forces!

That story happened after the hurricane.

[DrewKaree]

When you sneak into Yale on a legacy admission and are set for a life of privelidge and wealth when you leave reegardless of performance, Partying through college isn't cool, it's just failing to EARN your place there and respect your good fortune.

When you claim someone snuck into Yale and ignore the very real problem you have that BOTH candidates in America for President in the last election went to the same school and had similar grades and priveledge, it pretty much lets us know that either you would have hated ANY presidential candidate who won our last election, or you just have an intense hatred for the one who DID win, and seek any opportunity to badmouth him, even if your ignorance is found out.

Link to another "biased" report that shows Dexter cares little about anything but finding some way to badmouth Bush here.