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Please sign in to post or comment.  Random thoughtsPosted by Channing-100Proof on April 16, 2006 - 7:09 PM Here a few things that crossed my mind this weekend. They don't really deserve their own posts so I combined them. Call it my "blog briefs" The evolution of country Ladies and gentlemen, I have a new guilty pleasure song. When I saw this video on CMT and I said, "I like it." When I saw it performed on the Country Music Awards I said, "I LOVE it!!" The song, Honky-Tonk Badonkadonk, takes everything that people hate about rap videos and crams them into a county western song. Abundance of alcohol? Check. Bevy of bling? Check. Infectious beat? Check. Scantly clad women dropping it like it's hot, shaking what their mommas gave them and/or backing that thang up. Check, check and check. If you watch this video with the sound off you would swear that it is from a Jay-Z album or a remake of Sir-Mix-A-Lot's popular booty anthem, Baby Got Back. After seeing this video I think I am going to make a career change and become a county western singer. Look for my songs, Corn-Fed Hooters and John Deer Rear, in stores soon. All jokes aside, I actually like this song and I am not afraid to admit it. As soon as it hits the karaoke scene, I am all over it. ***** Lindsey's new look I saw Lindsey Lohan on Saturday Night Live this weekend and I think she has actually put on a couple of pounds. Apparently she got that jumbo pot of red beans and rice I sent her. I hope this starts a trend among anorexic. looking actress and celebrities. This could be the beginning of the end for the Need to Eat a Cheeseburger club. ***** WTF!!!!! I am a Louisiana native and I admit it every chance I get. I represent my home state everywhere I go and I like to think that I do a good job of it. That's why when I read about what some people back home were about to do I was ready to kill. Officials in St. Bernard Parish were actually considering hiring Michael Brown's consulting firm to help the parish recover from Hurricane Katrina. (Sources: 1, 2, 3) This is the same Michael Brown that screwed up the relief efforts when the hurricane hit. The same Brown said he needed time to eat when a FEMA regional director emailed to tell them that thousands of evacuees were gathering in the streets with no food or water and that "estimates are many will die within hours." These people were actually considering paying this moron to help them get through the "red tape" to get from FEMA. Brown was actually scheduled to meet with parish officials last Thursday to present his plan. Thankfully Brown and the parish President pulled the plug on this INCREDIBLY bad idea before it got too far along. Let me say this now, and feel free to call the FBI if you want to, the only reason Michael Brown should be invited back to Louisiana is to receive a world class a$$ whippin' from the residents of New Orleans and surrounding areas. Everybody from the swampland to the projects should be allowed to get a few kicks in. I honestly hope that the entire thing was a setup and the parish residents were planning on beating him up good and proper. If you want to forgive him for messing up that's your business, but don't reward him for it. My state has gotten a bad reputation lately and hiring this guy would have made it look even worse. For a minute there I thought that I was going to have to tell people that I'm from Texas. Submitted by mgroothand on April 17, 2006 - 9:44 AM.
Admitting that you're from Louisiana took a lot courage and I commend you for that. I spent a lifetime (one year) in NE Louisiana and was finally emancipated to the US once again. The next-door parish was so corrupt, in every way imaginable, that the state police refused to enter there after dark, there was no local "gendarmerie"..... Submitted by Channing-100Proof on April 20, 2006 - 7:41 PM.
It's not that bad. I am from South Louisiana and while we had our share of issues it was a pretty good place to live. There was always a festival celebrating something (frogs, rice, crawfish, etc.) and the food can’t be beat. Email: channing100proof@gmail.com Submitted by thew969 on April 19, 2006 - 7:53 PM.
I agree with motengator22. There have been many comparisons made between New Orleans and Florida when it comes to hurricanes. Some people claim that if it had been Florida, the relief would have been better. This is absurd. The reason Florida residents do not complain is because they are educated enough to EVACUATE when told to do so. New Orleans residents (the ones who stayed behind) wanted someone to come and lift them onto a bus out of town because they feel they are owed this. The fact is that those who did not evacuate (and were able) were simply too ignorant to listen to warnings and then want to blame others. Money is not the reason behind the slow response. Laziness is. Look at the behavior of those so-called "unfortunate" residents. These people were fighting and killing each other for handouts at shelters, and committing fraud to get even more aid they did not deserve. There are still evacuees lving here in Augusta on MY TAX MONEY and my only advice to them is get off your butt, get a job, and quit being a bum. Submitted by Channing-100Proof on April 20, 2006 - 7:38 PM.
Interesting point but I don't think the thousands of people still in the city were 'lazy'. There are poor people in every city in America. People that don't have cars. People that are elderly. Should we just leave them to die? What about nurses and doctors that stayed with their patients, are they lazy? And to some extent, maybe the people in New Orleans were owed a bus. Our government talks about protecting us from terrorists, but what about our other problems? Are our tax dollars only for the war on terror now? Is it too much to ask for a couple of buses and few helicopters? Or, more importantly, is it too much to ask that qualified people be put in charge of agencies like FEMA so that our government can help its people effectively? I am a product of Louisiana schools and I can tell you that we know the meaning of the word evacuate. The vast majority of the New Orleans did just that what but it would be unrealistic to think that everyone was going to make it out. Basically these people were forsaken. You talk about Louisiana people trying to commit fraud. Do you honestly think that people in Florida didn't try to take advantage of the system? As long as there are humans there will be people trying to get something for nothing. That's the problem with people; you have to take the good with the bad. You can't lump the ones that took advantage of the system in with the ones that needed help. Our tax dollars are paying for a lot more than Katrina victims. They are paying for a house for some congressman's girlfriend. They are paying for a new multimillion dollar stadium for some rich spoiled athletes to play in. They are paying for oil companies to get tax breaks even though they are posting billion dollar profits. We pay for more dumb government projects (professional and personal) than you or I could ever imagine. I don't mind shelling out a few dollars for something that might actually help some people. Email: channing100proof@gmail.com Submitted by thew969 on April 20, 2006 - 7:45 PM.
I completely agree that not everyone in N.O. was lazy. My point is that when compared to every other place in the country that has needed aid in a crisis, N.O. residents are the types, as you said, that wanted to sit around and wait for a bus to pick them up. I agree that tax dollars are wasted every day, but I feel showering these people with free money for more than 6 months is absurd. One family of evacuees was staying with a family on my street. They received the $2000 debit cards just like everyone else, and what did they do with them? Bought a plasma tv and plane tickets to visit friends in the midwest. Guess what? They still have no job, no money, and still require "babying" from the rest of us. Submitted by Channing-100Proof on April 20, 2006 - 8:05 PM.
Three things: 1) Are basing you opinion of Hurricane Katrina victims on the actions of one family? All signs point to yes. 2) I agree that we can't support them forever. 3) I don't remember saying that the people were the type that wanted to sit around and wait for a bus to pick them up. I seriously doubt that anyone said, "I could leave on my own but I would rather wait for the government to send a school bus to get me." Email: channing100proof@gmail.com Submitted by Channing-100Proof on April 20, 2006 - 7:33 PM.
Sorry motengator22, I wasn't trying to ignore anyone. It's just that this is one of those issues that invokes some much emotion from people that it isn't worth debating. Their minds are not going to be changed. As I mentioned in a previous blog, Michael Brown is not the only one to blame. The relief effort was screwed up on all levels, federal, state and local. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin made his share of mistakes, some people called for Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's job and President Bush seemed more interested in chopping wood at his ranch than worrying about a category 5 hurricane heading towards his county. I don't care how much advance notice you give people, it is almost impossible to evacuate an entire city the size of New Orleans. There are going to be people that can't (and a few that won't) move. That's why the Super Dome and the Convention center were set up as shelters. People went there for protection and then were abandoned. According to published reports the evacuation was delayed because FEMA wanted to use chartered buses instead of school buses to get people out. It was a nice idea but the buses never arrived. People were suffering and dieing while Brown and his assistants sent emails asking if he could quit and telling people that he needed time to eat. I am sorry but this dude ranks among of the lowest of the low in my book. Why anyone would consider hiring him to help with a rebuilding effort is beyond me. Email: channing100proof@gmail.com Submitted by thew969 on April 20, 2006 - 7:40 PM.
I believe that channing100proof needs to read some more facts about Hurricane relief. New Orleans is by far not the largest city that has needed evacuation. Again, this goes back to the fact that the type of people that stayed around were those types that rely on everyone else in the world to support them and take care of them. Think of the devastation that has plagued Florida over the years and tell me that New Orleans residents were not the main cause for the slow evacuation. This is not meant to sound critical, but it is annoying that there are people in the world that are unwilling to take care of themselves, and when something happens, they want to blame everyone BUT THEMSELVES! Submitted by Channing-100Proof on April 20, 2006 - 7:57 PM.
I never said it was the largest city to be evacuated. I just said that it is too big to expect a total evacuation. Most of the people that were left behind probably did not have a way to evacuate, fast or slow. They did what they were supposed to do if you can’t get away from a hurricane, seek shelter. Did you see some of the people on the news stuck at the SuperDome? I saw elderly women, poor families without cars and confused people that just didn’t know where to go. I saw kids that could grow up to be more than types that rely on everyone else in the world to support them and take care of them. These were not welfare families waiting for a free meal or unemployed people looking for a government check. These were human beings that needed help. Can you honestly say that they didn’t deserve that? Email: channing100proof@gmail.com Submitted by simplysweet on April 21, 2006 - 12:15 AM.
Hello everyone. I am a lifelong resident of the great state of Louisiana. I have read your comments and I would like to provide you all with a little bit of knowledge. We can debate the issues of evacuation verus non-evacuation all day long and it won't bring back the many lives that have been lost. The people who did not evacuate the city of New Orleans were much more intelligent than most of you are giving them credit for. They did what they've done for many of the hurricanes that hit prior to Katrina. They used past experiences to determine what they should do in the present, which is what most people do in their everyday lives. During the previous storms these people remained safe and alive, and if you were to look into Hurricane Katrina you would find that they would have remained safe this time if it were not for the inadequate levees that were built by the Corps of Engineers. Until the levees breeching and being topped over, the areas in which those who were not able to evacuate the city, for whatever reason, were safe. They'd only suffered the normal damage that anyone who lives on the Gulf Coast endures. Those persons in other parts of Louisiana and parts of Mississippi did not endure the same catestrophic damages becasue they were not sitting in the gumbo bowl of a city that New Orleans just so happens to be. With this information, that happens to be factual in mind, perhaps some of you will be able to broaden your horizons and opinions regarding the lives that have been lost and devestated through an act of nature, and not a purposeful intent to loose live, property, family, and friends. I don't think that some of you realize the actual level of poverty in the city of New Orleans. All everyone tends to konw about it Burbon Street and the French Quarter, when unbeknowst to them if they were to walk several blocks in a couple of directions they would find themselves in the midst of housing projects. Areas set aside by the government for those who can not afford housing on thier own for what ever reason. New Orleans, unfortunately is full of housing project. A majority of the persons living in these project, unfortunately do not have private transportation. The city of New Orleans has provided them with an adequate public transportation system. So, I ask of you, did you expect them to walk over the Lake Ponchatrain Bridge and keep walking until they crossed over the boarder of Texas? Or would it perhaps have made more sense to go to the shelter of last resort that was provided by the city and had served as a more than adequate shelter during past storms? Do you think perhaps they should have stolen cars and gas? If you have any suggestions that are actually realistic perhaps you should present them to FEMA or the Office of Emergency Prepardness to be used in furture storms. It is always easy to judge others when we are not in their situations, but remember when you point one finger at someone else, three more are pointing back at you. Submitted by thew969 on April 21, 2006 - 9:55 AM.
Implying that it was smart to judge whether or not to evacuate on past storms is absurd. These people obviously had either radio or tv, despite the level of poverty, and they should have heeded the well-advanced warnings of experts who said that this would be the strongest Hurricance to hit the area. If this is the case, then I am correct, people stayed by choice. Submitted by beepbeep1029 on May 07, 2006 - 11:06 AM.
I THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD JOBS IN THE FIRST PLACE AND SHOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN PROVIDING FOR THEMSELVES JUST LIKE I HAVE TO DO EVERY DAY. WHY IS IT CONSIDERED ALRIGHT FOR THEM TO HAVE BEEN FREELOADING IN THE FIRST PLACE?? Submitted by simplysweet on April 21, 2006 - 9:06 PM.
Thew969, even if I were to concede to your point of the warnings of the National Weather System that Katrina was going to be the strongest Hurricane to hit the area, I still ask of you, exactly how were the thousands upon thousands of persons who had no transportation supposed to leave the city? Level of poverty is almost directly negatively correlated (*negative correlation is a psychological term - http://users.ipfw.edu/bordens/social/research.htm) with lack of transportation. As the level of poverty increases, then the level of transportation decreases. Yes, the experts stated that this would be a huge and strong storm, but for quite a while those same experts were still unsure about exactly where Katrina would make landfall. Although I am not a resident of New Orleans, I did volunteer in the shelters after the storm with people who were evacuated AFTER the LEEVEES BROKE (which is key, because the "experts" report that had the levees remained secure, the people would not have perished) and the majority of them did want to leave the city but had no way to leave. Yes, there were people who made decisions to actually stay in the city although they had a way out, but there were many, many, many more who had no transportation to leave the city. Again I ask of you, if you had no transportation, and all of your family and friends were in the same level of poverty as you were, with no transportation, how would you have evacuated the city of New Orleans? Submitted by fabian on April 26, 2006 - 4:48 PM.
Everyone here has made valid points on the Katrina evac. But were any of you there? I was. My Gaurd unit was deployed four days after Katrina hit and what I saw rivaled a war zone. And I've been in one of those to. Our mission was initially to distribute water, MREs and administer medical aid and triage. Most of the hard suffering were either very old or very young and predominately black. We didn't ask ANY of them why they stayed or why didn't they get out in time. The look of shock on most of their faces said enough. The looting really made all of us sick and the media really latched onto that so that was the big story for a few weeks until we could get regular patrols out. But believe me when I tell you, most of the people caught there were victims of circumstances and shouldn't be criticized with blanket insults like being called "lazy". As my captain is fond of saying, "s_ _ t happens". If you want to knock anybody it should be the local, state and federal politicians who mostly looked like deer caught in headlights. Submitted by thew969 on April 26, 2006 - 5:08 PM.
When experts say to get out, and you don't, then you have no one to blame but yourself. It is that simple. I'm glad to mentioned the looting. While some people did need food, the majority looted for other reasons. Further evidence of what I was saying. I'm am terribly sorry it happened, but next time, maybe they will listen. Submitted by onethickdiva on April 27, 2006 - 7:58 PM.
I keep hearing thew969 say get out the city, evacuate...but I havent heard how. If I take away your car and public transportation, how are you going to leave the city? Unfortunately some of these residents live from check to check with little in between. Robbing Peter to pay Paul so how are they buying plane tickets and hotel rooms to another city. Who is to blame? Everyone that was in a position to get city and school busses up and running to assist. What I can agree with you on are the looters but there are bad apples in every bunch. There were robberies and killings taking place before the hurricane so why is it a surprise now. You cant judge a city based on its blemishes but if you did wow I wonder what people think of Augusta?! Submitted by thew969 on May 01, 2006 - 12:41 PM.
Oh I agree completely. I have lived in North Augusta for about 5 years now and I can honestly say that Augusta GA is one of the most screwed up cities in the country. County officials cannot do business without fighting, an obviously corrupt businessman is trying to have an obvious rip-off of a music festival, and the mall is full of 90% punks and idiots that have nothing better to do than cause trouble. A couple weeks ago, at 11:00AM, there was a fight in the mall. I mean that is ridiculous. Back to N.O., I realize that not everyone can afford plane tickets and hotel rooms, but if I am told that I have a decent chance of DYING if I stay, I would catch a bus, ride in the back of a truck, or even walk on my own 2 feet if I had to to get out of harms way. And yes, N.O. was already known for its violence and poverty, so it was no surprise that looting took place. However, this is no excuse. Again, I realize everyone couldn't fly out of town, but even if I were forced to live outside in a strange town for a few days, that certainly beats death! Submitted by beepbeep1029 on May 07, 2006 - 11:14 AM.
THE GOVERNMENT IS ACTUALLY THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY HERE. WHY WERE ALL THESE PEOPLE ALLOWED TO FEED OFF OF THE WORKING PUBLIC. IF THE GOVERNMENT HAD NOT ALLOWED ALL OF THESE PEOPLE TO CONTINUALLY LIVE OFF THE WELFARE SYSTEM AND FORCED THEM TO GET JOBS AND PROVIDE FOR Submitted by simplysweet on May 08, 2006 - 2:24 AM.
I don't how many of you have ever had to evacuate due to a Hurricane. But, for those of you who have not, most of the time, it's not very clear as to where the storm will hit until approximately 72 hours prior to landfall, if we're lucky. That being said, where would you walk in 72 hours that would not be in the path of the storm and ensure your safety. Would it be a good idea to be standing in the middle of the highway looking up at the storm as it came ashore, or perhaps would it be a good idea to go to a structure that has been deemed safe by the government. Keep in mind, those persons who did enter the shelter of last resort did not die due to winds, flood waters or direct storm related activities, but instead died because the government on all levels failed to get them food and water once the storm was over. I am getting the distinct impression that many of you are reading these blogs just as some people read the bible. You are taking merely the parts that you would like to attack and interpreting them for your own benefit. Yes, many of the people who stayed behind in their homes perished, and it was their right/responsibility to determine the best course of action. What isn't realized is that many of those people were the working poor. It was recently broadcast on the news that contrary to popular belief, 64% of the people living in the lower 9th ward (the hardest hit area, where the 17th street canal was breached by a "runaway" barge) actually owned their homes. So, yes at the end of the day, many people had a choice, but what society is failing to realize is that many more did not have a choice. Theoretically, if New Orleans has begun a mandatory evacuation of all of it's citizens in the 72 hours prior to landfall there would have been no way for all of them to get out, even with the contraflow of the interstate. Currently plans are being made to use airlines, railways, and bus lines as a method of getting people out. When it's all said and done, the catastrophe of Katrina was due to poor planning on many levels, personal, local government, state government, and federal government. I dare not make excuses for those who could have left but didn't. My overall concern if for those who wanted to leave but couldn't. So, although poverty is not necessarily an excuse, it does limit and constrain the options that a person does have in many of their endeavors. To those of you who blame people for staying on public assistance. Did you realize that middle class income begins at $25,000 per year for a family of four (http://www.factcheck.org/article249.html). If a person makes the current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour (http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/minimumwage.htm), the would make their yearly gross salary for a 40 hour per week job $22,248. Therefore in order for a person to even be considered middle class he/she must have either a two income household, or in the case of a single parent have at least a full time and part time job, which leaves no one to raise the children. Many of these minimum wage jobs do not have health benefits. How many of you could support a family of four, health benefits, and transportation, on $22,248?????? I don't know many people who can support a family of one on that. So with that in mind, yes our government does allow people to remain on public assistance, but it's not exactly doing a whole hell of a lot to make it feasible for people to support themselves without it if they do not have formal training or technical skills. Yes, people should get an education/trade, but that unfortunately is not for everyone, in a perfect world it would be, and the world is far away from being perfect. So just because a person is not college material, do we just throw them away because our government has set up an never ending cycle which makes generational welfare and food stamp recipients the rule rather than the exception? Submitted by beepbeep1029 on May 08, 2006 - 8:52 PM.
IT CAN BE DONE. I AM A SINGLE MOTHER WITH THREE TEENS IN HIGH Submitted by simplysweet on May 08, 2006 - 10:19 PM.
Beepbeep, I agree with you that it can be done. Where there's a will there's away, but unfortunately the will of many has been broken. I brought up the middle class cut off merely to bring it to peoples attention that once you reach "middle class" the majority of assistance from the government does stop. I actually have a cousin who as a college degree, is the single mother of two children and makes less than you do. I guess it angers me that she can get no assistance to help with her children from the government when she is actually working hard everyday. I feel that's why the cycle continues. People who work hard everyday are looked over. Those who decide not to work are often given more benefits and advantages by not working than those who do work. For example, my cousin makes somewhere around $28, 000 a year, and due to the poor public school system she has found the need to place her children in private schools. Support from the fathers of the children, is sporatic, few, and far between. Yet, the government will not assist her in any way because she makes "too much money". I guess I'm saying all of this to say that many of the people who lived in New Orleans fell into that category, and as a result some of them decided to stay with the things that they'd worked so hard for, for so many years. As a result they persished from making the hard decisions at that time. I commend you for your ability to support your family, I just wish society realized exactly how many people just like you are out there in the world, doing what they have to do, to get what they need for them and their families. |
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