Mike In The City, V9
Another busy day. This is going to be brief. I've got a LOT to report in the next installment, but I'll send this off now and write more later.
First off, I am getting lots of inquiries from people who want me to check their homes and stuff. It's just not practical for me to do this, and to those people I say, go ahead and do it yourself. The truth is most of the city is accessible now, and the media reports of closings and checkpoints are greatly exaggerated. I do not want to suggest that anyone go against the dictates laid down by state and federal officials. I will just say that people are getting to their houses fairly easily, despite news in the media to the contrary. Every person I've spoken to who has decided to risk getting turned away, to get to an area that is publicly claimed to be "closed", has been able to get there.
Now realistically, it might not be worth it. The damage in flooded areas is extensive, and I do believe there are many good reasons for the media spewing inaccurate information about how restrictive access supposedly may be, however, there are other reasons why it might be better to wait. Forget about pollution and toxins. Just trying to get into your place, you could get hurt. There is debris everywhere. Cars are getting flat tires from driving down the street. There are no public utility services of any kind in most of the city. Ceilings have collapsed. And the water has warped and destroyed almost anything made of wood. People come into their homes and find their furniture has literally fallen apart. Just trying to get your front door open might require a crowbar and a battering ram.
More and more places are opening. But this is still a tiny fraction of businesses. Winn Dixie is open in three locations in the Kenner area, but having to subject oneself to their ridiculously high prices is more abuse IMO, but when you have a craving for fresh food, you have to put up with it. I don't understand why more businesses are not rushing to open... there's lots of people that need supplies and still not enough outlets. I imagine that most stores' employees are scattered and even if you want to open, you might have to re-hire new staff. But there seems to be no shortage of people who are looking for work in the area.
The "army of contractors" has also started to flood the city. People need to be careful about who they're doing business with and not pay anyone in full up front. I'm also noticing that many seem to be taking advantage of malfunctioning traffic signals and preoccupied police forces to drive through the city like maniacs, ignoring rules and speed limits. More unnecessary dangers.
As everyone complains about FEMA, I have to jump on the bandwagon. After trying to file my claim online ten times, and getting a plethora of ambiguous error messages, I gave up and use the phone. The wait wasn't that bad and the person online was friendly but I haven't been able to find out if I was approved.
I have more contempt for Red Cross, which I haven't seen do s**t in this city as far as I'm concerned, but they seem to have no shortage of people to appear in the media to talk about the "good work" they're doing. I want to see their CEO, who gets $450,000 a year salary trudge around in the muck and help people. Then I'll have some respect for that organization.
---
Choice quotes:
"I don't want to alarm everybody that, you know, New Orleans is filling up like a bowl. That's just not happening."
- Louisiana Republican Senator, Davit Vitter, one day after the hurricane hit the city
---
Factcheck.org has compiled a "Katrina Timeline" based on media and documentation. It appears to be the most factual and comprehensive outline of who reacted how leading up to and after the disaster:
http://www.factcheck.org/article348.html
On most of the New Orleans-based forums, the racist contingent is gearing up for more attacks on Nagin, citing various questionable references, including this:
8:30 p.m. - An empty Amtrak train leaves New Orleans, with room for hundreds of potential evacuees. "We offered the city the opportunity to take evacuees out of harm's way
First off, I am getting lots of inquiries from people who want me to check their homes and stuff. It's just not practical for me to do this, and to those people I say, go ahead and do it yourself. The truth is most of the city is accessible now, and the media reports of closings and checkpoints are greatly exaggerated. I do not want to suggest that anyone go against the dictates laid down by state and federal officials. I will just say that people are getting to their houses fairly easily, despite news in the media to the contrary. Every person I've spoken to who has decided to risk getting turned away, to get to an area that is publicly claimed to be "closed", has been able to get there.
Now realistically, it might not be worth it. The damage in flooded areas is extensive, and I do believe there are many good reasons for the media spewing inaccurate information about how restrictive access supposedly may be, however, there are other reasons why it might be better to wait. Forget about pollution and toxins. Just trying to get into your place, you could get hurt. There is debris everywhere. Cars are getting flat tires from driving down the street. There are no public utility services of any kind in most of the city. Ceilings have collapsed. And the water has warped and destroyed almost anything made of wood. People come into their homes and find their furniture has literally fallen apart. Just trying to get your front door open might require a crowbar and a battering ram.
More and more places are opening. But this is still a tiny fraction of businesses. Winn Dixie is open in three locations in the Kenner area, but having to subject oneself to their ridiculously high prices is more abuse IMO, but when you have a craving for fresh food, you have to put up with it. I don't understand why more businesses are not rushing to open... there's lots of people that need supplies and still not enough outlets. I imagine that most stores' employees are scattered and even if you want to open, you might have to re-hire new staff. But there seems to be no shortage of people who are looking for work in the area.
The "army of contractors" has also started to flood the city. People need to be careful about who they're doing business with and not pay anyone in full up front. I'm also noticing that many seem to be taking advantage of malfunctioning traffic signals and preoccupied police forces to drive through the city like maniacs, ignoring rules and speed limits. More unnecessary dangers.
As everyone complains about FEMA, I have to jump on the bandwagon. After trying to file my claim online ten times, and getting a plethora of ambiguous error messages, I gave up and use the phone. The wait wasn't that bad and the person online was friendly but I haven't been able to find out if I was approved.
I have more contempt for Red Cross, which I haven't seen do s**t in this city as far as I'm concerned, but they seem to have no shortage of people to appear in the media to talk about the "good work" they're doing. I want to see their CEO, who gets $450,000 a year salary trudge around in the muck and help people. Then I'll have some respect for that organization.
---
Choice quotes:
"I don't want to alarm everybody that, you know, New Orleans is filling up like a bowl. That's just not happening."
- Louisiana Republican Senator, Davit Vitter, one day after the hurricane hit the city
---
Factcheck.org has compiled a "Katrina Timeline" based on media and documentation. It appears to be the most factual and comprehensive outline of who reacted how leading up to and after the disaster:
http://www.factcheck.org/article348.html
On most of the New Orleans-based forums, the racist contingent is gearing up for more attacks on Nagin, citing various questionable references, including this:
8:30 p.m. - An empty Amtrak train leaves New Orleans, with room for hundreds of potential evacuees. "We offered the city the opportunity to take evacuees out of harm's way
posted by Wisdom at 6:35 AM
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