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Redstar
Member
07-08-2005
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:34 am
Don't even get me started on the fact that Bush waited until Wednesday to cut his vacation short. I agree with the New York Times editorial: "In what seems to be a ritual in this administration the president appeared a day later than was needed," the Times said. "And nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday -- which seemed casual to the point of carelessness -- suggested he understood the depth of the current crisis."
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:37 am
Fruit, everyone I know here is trying desperately to do 'something' to help. We all know how easy it could have been us. We are at sea level, 50 miles from the Gulf built on the bayou...what's the saying? 'there but by the grace of God go us'. All the churches have mobilized. My church fed 300 evacuees yesterday, expecting over 500 today. When I was dropping off some food and coffee, there were at least 20 suburbans lines up filled with clothes to donate. My kids' school district and I am sure the others in town are making plans to educate the children. I know the owner of the Houston Texans Bob McNair just pledged a big amount of money. Here's some articles... All Hurricane Katrina evacuees will be allowed to take shelter at Houston's Astrodome, Local 2 reported Thursday. Harris County Judge Robert Eckels said no refugee will be turned away from either the Astrodome or any other shelter in the Houston area. http://www.click2houston.com/news/4924019/detail.html Houston Hospitals Take In Patients From New Orleans Bayou City Help Pay Back For Crescent City's Tropical Storm Allison Assistance http://www.click2houston.com/health/4923741/detail.html San Antonio is helping out too.. San Antonio To House 25,000 Louisiana Refugees http://www.click2weather.com/weather/4924504/detail.html
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Reader234
Member
08-13-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:37 am
From what I understand President Bush senior got a lot of flak from not goin in during Andrew (not sure of these facts) so President Bush not junior has asked for dad's opionion, that is why Prs Bush appeared on Good Morning America. GMA showed a really strange Bush smiling at inappropriate times, was he trying to work on his image, or was it the guillotene (sp?) Syndrome, when an over abundance of emotions are tried to be kept down, you will have some people laughing or smiling inappropriately. I do believe Bush is trying to work on his image thru this disaster, but because water still isnt there 5 days later, people are standing around not knowing what to do or who is in charge, anarchy, guns, safety is now compromised... Does anyone start thinking of those horror movies? (Kurt Russel... not water world... )
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Max
Moderator
08-12-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:38 am
Scott McClellan does his job well. He's handling critical questions very smoothly with the company line. Naming statistics about how meals and water and tarps have been "moved to the region" but ignores that no one has RECEIVED any of that. And just keeps repeating that it's a major catastrophe with a major response and that "first and foremost" saving lives and sustaining lives is the priority. But he never really addresses the fact that assistance is NOT getting there.
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Reader234
Member
08-13-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:40 am
Yes Texannie, I'm also getting those reports, and seeing dozens of Texans there with open arms, they are showing Houston TX churches that are housing people... but because of the gun issue in NO, they are now having to step back and rethink that open arms policy, they are concerned with everyone's safety... At the astrodome today they talked about searching everyone for weapons before giving them a welcome basket and a shower, and then a cot on the field. They are also showing the police walking around the field greeting people, and I've seen a few get up and give a hug to those officers.
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Reader234
Member
08-13-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:41 am
Briefing at 1:30 from FEMA, there'd better be water there by then, or I see a few reporters getting upset - they are seeing deaths in front of them
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:41 am
Perhaps Carnival had a change of heart, but yesterday they were adverstising cruises out of Galveston for $99 a person cause they had to move the ships from NO to here.
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Reader234
Member
08-13-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:44 am
I am also tired of seeing the same images from 2 days ago, I cant tell what is happening now, because they keep looping old video!! Did you hear the response about making a difference between looters of guns and looters for basic needs, food, water, shoes ... no distinction... (can you say, mistake?!)
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Max
Moderator
08-12-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:44 am
You know, I rarely watch Fox News, but last night I wanted to get a different viewpoint from CNN (since CNN was pretty much only talking about looting), so I turned it on and caught part of Bill Reilly. Now, me and Bill would NOT get along politically and usually listening to him for ten minutes makes me pretty darned angry, but here are some things he suggested that I think might be pretty good ideas.
quote:Any person or company exploiting the situation should be immediately identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This includes looters. No justification for taking TV sets. That should get you a harsh prison term. Every American should immediately cut back gasoline and oil consumption right now. Don't drive unless you have to. Watch the thermostats in your house. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman (search) should inform American oil companies not to profiteer. In fact, I think their profits should be cut back by 20 percent to spare America's pain. Any oil company that does not voluntarily comply with that should be exposed. President Bush should ask OPEC to drop the price of oil $15 a barrel tomorrow. It costs OPEC about $4 a barrel to produce and market the crude. They're getting $70 a barrel on the open market. Do the math. This is a gouge. And finally, Americans should help the Red Cross and other legitimate charitable organizations as we did in the tsunami disaster. Also, one more thing. Hotel owners in the South should make vacancies known to the authorities and not price gouge. After all, we're not OPEC here.
link I'm sure there are problems with all these suggestions, and none of them address a lot of the immediate problems of the people directly affected by the disaster, but it still sounds like some good ideas to me at this point. But then, once I have my coffee, maybe I'll feel differently.
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Fruitbat
Member
08-07-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:48 am
Max, did you hear this guy answer the question about water?!! He said they had deployed x amount of meals and water but the priority was to those who had been displaced. That food and water is headed to Houston, not the people dyhydrating in NO. The reporter who asked the question just let that go. Tex, I know. There are many helping. I meant the big guns. The ones who can bring ships and tankers full of water to those, now dying.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:48 am
Regardless of the reports of violence coming from NO, I couldn't imagine the city of Houston trying to bring in that many people without the police being involved.
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Fruitbat
Member
08-07-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:50 am
I am shocked to hear such sense coming from Reilly, myself. Thanks.
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Reader234
Member
08-13-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:50 am
and Texannie, they have prisons to put people that break the law... NO does not...
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Reader234
Member
08-13-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:51 am
I heard that too Max, I keep flipping from MSNBC< CNN< and Fox...
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Reader234
Member
08-13-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:52 am
and knowing its a Labor Day weekend, people have plans, now what? Gas is $3.49 a gallon here near Chicago, my ds 20 planned on visiting his gf, I dont know how to explain that life has changed dramatically, from this point on.
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Max
Moderator
08-12-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:52 am
Scott McClellan is a prime example of why I am glad I am no longer in the world of corporate communications. I do not know how spin-meisters such as him can sleep at night. Heck, I had issues just with putting "spin" on internal communications stuff for a software company; no way I could do it for something like this!
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Max
Moderator
08-12-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:54 am
And what is this crap he keeps saying about "prepositioning of resources prior to Katrina"? What resources? Where? If they were so "prepositioned", why aren't they able to give more help now?!?!?!? Of course, he has to throw in the "this is not a time for finger-pointing" line since most of the finger-pointing is directly at the White House!
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Max
Moderator
08-12-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:54 am
"Flood Control has been a priority of this administration from Day One." WHAT???????? Funding was CUT, you pawn!
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Fruitbat
Member
08-07-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:56 am
Max, listening to this guy is driving me crazy. I am also shocked the press is not calling him on this gibberish spin.
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Fruitbat
Member
08-07-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:57 am
I KNOW!!!!!!!!! I want to squish his face really, really hard.
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 9:58 am
That's why I feel very happy staying in the world of fluffy, consumer entertainment PR, Max. If I had to go corporate, I couldn't do it, to be honest.
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Max
Moderator
08-12-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 10:01 am
I'm glad I work at home and my neighbors are gone during the day. Otherwise, they would probably think something was wrong with me, because I keep screaming at my TV while this guy is talking. The press folks are TRYING to get hard questions in, but the way the process works, it's just not that easy. If you piss off the White House folks, you lose your seat in the press room. You have to be careful or you won't be able to report anything. It's really a racket. Oh, thank God, CNN cut away from it since it was getting repetitive!
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Fruitbat
Member
08-07-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 10:01 am
Oh dear god. It is not time to set up fund raisers, it is time to drop water into the city. I have to turn this off. I have a headache.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 10:02 am
Reader, I am sorry, but I must be missing your point.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-31-2000
| Thursday, September 01, 2005 - 10:02 am
This is just so heartbreaking, i can hardly stand to watch anymore. When a CNN reporter talks about the refugees at the convention center, thousands and thousands, and there is not a single aid worker. No one. No police. No National Guard. No food. No water. And he says he watched people hold a man while he died of a seizure. And then he says he saw a baby die in front of him. How can we not be angry at this? How can we not blame our government for being too slow, too dense, too cold-hearted to have done something earlier? I am not so proud to be an American today.
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