Speechless

Just totally speechless I’m so angry and pissed and feel so powerless. We can send robots millions of miles through the vacuum of space to land on a ball of dirt a mile wide but we can’t evacuate a few thousand people from downtown New Orleans? I feel like Queen Amidala… “My people are suffering and DYING while you discuss this in a committee!!”.

Would it help get things moving if it were a terrorist named Katrina who had blown up the levees instead of a Hurricane? Can we just pretend that happened? I know, the hurricane obviously makes things difficult. I’m just furious – you clear a road to the Superdome, confiscate every bus or personnel carrier in a 300 mile range, drive ‘em in filled with water, food, ice & medicine and pull them out. What's holding that up? What if this HAD been a terrorist attack? Do we not have plans in place to deal with millions of displaced people in this country? Clearly, not.

If the Army can’t do it then get the Disney people over there – they know how to fucking move large amounts of people in a short period of time. In the meantime, you have supplies for setting up refugee camps airdropped to shelter locations to be waiting for those folks to show up. I’m sure local charities would be more than happy to help set them up, or the refugees themselves.

Yes there are a handful of very angry people there with guns. It's understandable. I'd be pissed too. You tell me to go somewhere to be taken care of. I go like a good citizen and they you leave me to rot and die.

Here's what we do. We send in choppers to the evacuation point with the buses to provide air cover. You have a bullhorn. You say “there are 500 busses behind this one. We'll get you out. But in the meantime, we need to get the grandma's and babies out first. Put down your weapons. Anyone holding a weapon will be shot”. Count to 3. Shoot anyone still dumb enough to hold a gun. You have able-bodied refugees offload critical supplies. Note - this keeps them too busy to grab the guns. You get families with kids & old/sick folks on the bus first. Anyone not of those two categories who tries to mob the bus will be shot. Leave supplies with them until it's their turn.

Or if people are so unwilling to open their homes, their churches, their community centers as shelters. You confiscate cruise ships, as one online buddy suggested. We did it in WWI and WWII – if ever there was a natural emergency that justified that kind of act this is it. Carnival says they’re “considering that” but nobody has asked them to do it. What’s so difficult? Supposedly we have the money, supposedly we have the OK from Georgie to use WHATEVER resources are needed. So what’s the hold up?

I think it’s the will to use those resources. I think this administration has an unwillingness to demand companies sacrifice anything for the greater good. It’s the whole “faith based charity” bullshit. Apparently you can’t get your ticket to heaven by paying tax dollars that go toward relieving human suffering and saving lives. They can only be purchased via church-sponsored charities. Run by Pat Robertson.

I hear stories of tons of folks waiting to go in "as soon as they get the word" as soon as it "gets safe". You know what? The quickest way to make it safe is to get those people out. They're not getting any happier, any healthier and sure as hell not any more patient.