First Hand Account from NOLA

[Ghost of]

Would it happen in Minny or Seattle? Maybe, maybe not. Those are both far more affluent towns than New Orleans, with (I hope) less corrupt governments.

yeah, they're less corrupt. Jesus, that song from the Simpsons about New orleans has never seemed more apt(if one puts aside the tragedy itself.)

[Ancalagon the Black]

Because like it or not, if a bunch of white people in their forties(the 'friendly' thin being a qualification excluding 40 somethign Hells Angels, I assume) walks down a street at night, I'm not fearful like I might be with a group of 20 year olds(of any race, frankly.)

So "forties" and "friendly-looking" would do it, right? I can't imagine Wynton Marsalis attacking me on the street, for example.

[Ghost of]

So "forties" and "friendly-looking" would do it, right? I can't imagine Wynton Marsalis attacking me on the street, for example.

Well, true. But in the context of people who believed they were threatened on that basis--I admit, I didn't go through the entire article that began the thread.

And yeah, , the 'white' part seems unnecessary if age and 'demeanor' are non-threatening. I can only imagine that once you feel your race has become a factor, that it will come out in your language.

But Wynton is a killer, dude. He hates people from the subcontinent most of all. Calls 'em "faux coloreds."

[DeaconBlue]

Who goes ANYWHERE on a tourist visit wothout renting a car? Seriously, who? I know of absolutely nobody in their 40's who would travel for a vacation and NOT rent a car.

All Im gonna say is that if I flew to say New York City for instance then most likely Id be traveling by cab while I was there.I don't see why theyd look at NO any differently. Yes its possible they rented a car while in NO but it is by no means a forgone conclusion.

[chomerics]

All Im gonna say is that if I flew to say New York City for instance then most likely Id be traveling by cab while I was there.I don't see why theyd look at NO any differently. Yes its possible they rented a car while in NO but it is by no means a forgone conclusion.

Instead of NY City, a city with a massive public transportation system, say you went to Houston. Would you rent a car if you went to Houston?

[tex]

From NBC Meet the Press Aaron Brousarrd / Tim Russert interview

Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard announced on WWL-TV Saturday Night that residents would be allowed back in the Parish on Monday, but must re-evacuate by Thursday. Broussard had promised earlier in the week that residents would be allowed back on Monday, and seems to have managed to cut a deal with the feds to allow this happen.

Earlier reports on this site have shown that FEMA has barred rescue teams from entering New Orleans. And now the feds are dragging people out of the city by gunpoint. And back in Jefferson, Broussard explained on NBC's Meet the Press this morning that FEMA is making war even on local authorites.

RUSSERT: You just heard the director of homeland security's explanation of what has happened this last week. What is your reaction?

BROUSSARD: We have been abandoned by our own country. Hurricane Katrina will go down in history as one of the worst storms ever to hit an American coast. But the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will go down as one of the worst abandonments of Americans on American soil ever in U.S. history. Whoever is at the top of this totem pole, that totem pole needs to be chainsawed off and we've got to start with some new leadership. It's not just Katrina that caused all these deaths in New Orleans here. Bureaucracy has committed murder here in the greater New Orleans area and bureaucracy has to stand trial before Congress now.

"Three quick examples. We had Wal-Mart deliver three trucks of water. FEMA turned them back. They said we didn't need them. This was a week ago. FEMA, we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. When we got there with our trucks, FEMA says don't give you the fuel. Yesterday - yesterday - FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards and said no one is getting near these lines"

Broussard ended the interview pleading for help with the moving story of how Jefferson Parish Emrgency Director Walter Maestri's mother died in a nursing home after being promised rescue repeatedly for five days. No wonder he said earlier this week that Jefferson Parish would be better off right now if it were its own country.

Earlier in the week, Maestri explained how FEMA broke signed agreements to have sufficient assets on the ground within 48 hours of an emergency. FEMA assets are blatantly wreaking havoc and making war on the people of Southeast Louisiana. As residents "temporarily" stream back in tomorrow, they should bring with them generators, gasoline, weaponry, and weeks or months worth of provisions. Sherriff Harry Lee needs to deputize every able-bodied male of Jefferson Parish who returns to patrol key infrastructure and keep an eye on all federal thugs who may be provocateuring, sabotaging infrastucture or withholding supplies.

----------------------

U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., issued the following statement this afternoon regarding her call yesterday for President Bush to appoint a cabinet-level official to oversee Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts within 24 hours.

Sen. Landrieu said:

“Yesterday, I was hoping President Bush would come away from his tour of the regional devastation triggered by Hurricane Katrina with a new understanding for the magnitude of the suffering and for the abject failures of the current Federal Emergency Management Agency. 24 hours later, the President has yet to answer my call for a cabinet-level official to lead our efforts. Meanwhile, FEMA, now a shell of what it once was, continues to be overwhelmed by the task at hand.

“I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had water-tanker aircraft available to help douse the fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA has yet to accept the aid. When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate significant numbers of victims – far more efficiently than buses – FEMA again dragged its feet. Offers of medicine, communications equipment and other desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to be ignored by the agency.

“But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast – black and white, rich and poor, young and old – deserve far better from their national government.

“Mr. President, I’m imploring you once again to get a cabinet-level official stood up as soon as possible to get this entire operation moving forward regionwide with all the resources – military and otherwise – necessary to relieve the unmitigated suffering and economic damage that is unfolding.”

Today’s aerial tour of the 17th Street levee will be featured tomorrow on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Later, Sen. Landrieu will also appear on CBS’s 60 Minutes.