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fluff

Monkey Turbo
Sep 8, 2001
5,673
2
Feeling the lag
Here's a BBC article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4285298.stm

Two parts caught my attention:
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The couple spent a week and a half in Galveston, but heard that in order to qualify for the help Fema was offering Katrina's victims they would have to get into one of the official relief shelters.

So they travelled up to Austin and moved into a shelter at the city's Convention Centre for three days.

Once there Jane and Raymond were given spare underwear and a box for their meagre possessions, as well as food stamps and the $2,000 (£1,130) cheque that the evacuees are each being given by Fema to help them get back on their feet.

But as far as Raymond is concerned the experience at the shelter was something they both could really have done without.

_______________________________________________
Sumfin wonky here, they didn't need that aid, they were staying with family in Galveston so what the hell are they complaining about? Particularly when they then say: "You know when people in America want to party, to have a good time; they all just love New Orleans," he said. "But now we need their help, they complain about us being a welfare state."

Secondly...
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"Everyone in New Orleans has known for years that the levees would not hold if we took a direct hit," he said. "If we all knew it, how come the politicians didn't?"

Patrick Callahan, who is returning to the newly opened Algiers area of the city, is similarly bitter.

"I have lived in New Orleans my whole life and we always knew it wouldn't even withstand a category three," he said. "We knew that if we ever did get a direct hit it would be really, really bad and that going to the Superdome would be a very bad idea."

"I am just a resident. If the residents knew it, why didn't they?"

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So why did they do nothing about it? It's their bloody city!

I know most here see me as a bleeding heart liberal but I really think that people who can help themselves should leave the aid for those who need it and that if people are aware that their city has problems they have no right to whinge if they are not prepared to get off their arses and do something about it.
 

ridetoofast

scarred, broken and drunk
Mar 31, 2002
2,095
5
crashing at a trail near you...
i totally agree with you

it comes as NO surprise to me that fraud like this had already begun to occur and it will only worse :rolleyes:

if that person 'knew' it was going to fail why the fvck did he stay there his entire life, was someone holding a gun to his head and forcing him to live there???
 

DRB

unemployed bum
Oct 24, 2002
15,242
0
Watchin' you. Writing it all down.
Right now my father-in-laws brother and sister are staying with them. My parents have one of my mother-in-laws sisters with them. We have a cousin and boyfriend with us. Our expenses have increased by a lot. Couple that with the rise in gas prices. Now we are lucky, between my wife and I we have the money to be able provide for them while they figure out what comes next. However, not everyone has that extra money to cover family and friends that have come to live with them. So just because folks are lucky enough to have family to stay with doesn't mean they don't need and deserve the money.

Not everyone is mobile and can pick up whenever they want and move wherever they want It doesn't work like that. Now this might come as a shock but some folks are poor and don't have much in the way of moving around resources. In New Orleans this is especially true.

So please don't make this the residents of New Orleans' fault.
 

ohio

The Fresno Kid
Nov 26, 2001
6,649
23
SF, CA
DRB said:
So please don't make this the residents of New Orleans' fault.
Don't you know? It's ALWAYS the victims fault. Whether they're victims of flood, poverty, rape, you name it, whatever happens to you is your personal responsibility and it's not up to me or the government to bail your irresponsible ass out.
 

fluff

Monkey Turbo
Sep 8, 2001
5,673
2
Feeling the lag
ohio said:
Don't you know? It's ALWAYS the victims fault. Whether they're victims of flood, poverty, rape, you name it, whatever happens to you is your personal responsibility and it's not up to me or the government to bail your irresponsible ass out.
Hey, that's not what I'm saying. Just pointing out that there's this (not atypical) guy who is whinging about local government doiing nothing about something he knew was a problem. He also did nothing about it and as a member of that society he has some responsibility (IMO) to himself and his fellow citizens to stand up and be counted before the horse has bolted. Too many people will whinge after the event that nobody did anything yet they did nothing themselves.

At what point does the individual stop devolving responsibility to the government?
 

DRB

unemployed bum
Oct 24, 2002
15,242
0
Watchin' you. Writing it all down.
fluff said:
Hey, that's not what I'm saying. Just pointing out that there's this (not atypical) guy who is whinging about local government doiing nothing about something he knew was a problem. He also did nothing about it and as a member of that society he has some responsibility (IMO) to himself and his fellow citizens to stand up and be counted before the horse has bolted. Too many people will whinge after the event that nobody did anything yet they did nothing themselves.

At what point does the individual stop devolving responsibility to the government?
Yeah I figure he should have gone out there with his shovel and started reinforcing the levees himself. Some problems are too big for the individual, even groups of individuals and become the responsibility of the government. It is obvious that every level of government knew there was a problem. At what point would some guy bitchin' about it change anything.
 

ohio

The Fresno Kid
Nov 26, 2001
6,649
23
SF, CA
fluff said:
Hey, that's not what I'm saying.
Sorry, I know. That wasn't really directed at you. Just general anger this morning towards current conservative thought. "Compassionate conservatives" my ass...
 

fluff

Monkey Turbo
Sep 8, 2001
5,673
2
Feeling the lag
DRB said:
Yeah I figure he should have gone out there with his shovel and started reinforcing the levees himself. Some problems are too big for the individual, even groups of individuals and become the responsibility of the government. It is obvious that every level of government knew there was a problem. At what point would some guy bitchin' about it change anything.
I don't know, but I do know that doing nothing doesn't help and that leaving the problem for someone else means you should not bitch about them not fixing it. One of the ideas of democracy is that you have the power to run for office to fix things that need fixing. He lived there all his life and claimed that he always knew it was a problem 'so why didn't the goverment'? The government is made up of people, he is one of the people, he could try.
 

DRB

unemployed bum
Oct 24, 2002
15,242
0
Watchin' you. Writing it all down.
fluff said:
I don't know, but I do know that doing nothing doesn't help and that leaving the problem for someone else means you should not bitch about them not fixing it. One of the ideas of democracy is that you have the power to run for office to fix things that need fixing. He lived there all his life and claimed that he always knew it was a problem 'so why didn't the goverment'? The government is made up of people, he is one of the people, he could try.
So we can't complain about government when it does something or doesn't do something we don't like unless we have run for office?

Then you need to shut up about all US policy as I know that you haven't run for office here. I'm pretty sure that you also need to pipe down about UK policy unless you've run for office there.

First its you have to vote to bitch, now its you've got to run for office to bitch.... Next comes if you don't win.....
 

fluff

Monkey Turbo
Sep 8, 2001
5,673
2
Feeling the lag
DRB said:
So we can't complain about government when it does something or doesn't do something we don't like unless we have run for office?

Then you need to shut up about all US policy as I know that you haven't run for office here. I'm pretty sure that you also need to pipe down about UK policy unless you've run for office there.

First its you have to vote to bitch, now its you've got to run for office to bitch.... Next comes if you don't win.....
I can't run for office in the US. But that's not the point. We're talking here about someone not taking any responsibility for their own neighbourhood.

Whilst I may not have run for office I have lobbied local government and I have attended local government meetings representing other residents of my area. I have also lobbied my local MP as well as other members of parliament including Tony Blair.

Edit: Running for office was an example of actions he could have taken. There are many others, if he took some I am doing him a disservice, many people just whinge.
 

DRB

unemployed bum
Oct 24, 2002
15,242
0
Watchin' you. Writing it all down.
fluff said:
I can't run for office in the US. But that's not the point. We're talking here about someone not taking any responsibility for their own neighbourhood.

Whilst I may not have run for office I have lobbied local government and I have attended local government meetings representing other residents of my area. I have also lobbied my local MP as well as other members of parliament including Tony Blair.

Edit: Running for office was an example of actions he could have taken. There are many others, if he took some I am doing him a disservice, many people just whinge.
Neighborhood? If we were talking about the drug dealers on the corner or the vacant lot overgrown with weeds or the fact that I didn't agree with the downtown parking policy.... I'd be right there with you.... But the New Orleans levee system is a completely different animal.