Where is OUR support?

[cygnusx1]

4. Last but most importantly- PRAY!!!!!! Get down on your knees and ask The Holy God to reach down and touch lives. Ask the Lord to MOVE!!!. Ask Him to HEAL!!! Ask Him to DELIVER those in need!! He CAN and HE WILL!!!!!

best comment I have read during these days of despair and anger , this is not a time to start fighting each other , we need to pray God muzzles those who are out of control , and gives inner peace and strength to those who survived ...... God can do it!

 

[diamond717]

What is sad are the stories about the newborn babies being separated from their parents. Some have located the whereabouts of their babies, but I know the stories are mostly grim coming from this disaster area. There are people being helped. I also realize the reporters were helpless during the reporting process, but they did get the story out, and we would not know the plight some people are in without these reports. It is heart-wrenching. Also, we know that the hurricane was horrible, and the worst in history, but we also forget that it was manmade levees that caused a lot of this huge tragedy. Man is to blame for poor planning from before this storm, until the aftermath.

 

[Finella]

I just listened to the infamous Nagin (mayor of New Orleans) interview in its entirety. I won't post a link because, yes, he is angry and he curses and I'm sure CF wouldn't like me to post such things. But if you're inclined, it's worth listening to -do a search for it.

I am angry, too, and blame can go all around, yes, including to the President. Simply because there were warnings for years, there were indications that hurrcicanes in that area could cause all this damage and even worse. I understand that there are limitations to how these people could be brought out of the city because of the nature of the disaster, but then, as Nagin said, you get creative. Surely there's more helicopters all over the country that could be brought down. Surely there's more busses and bus drivers that could be driven to the Superdome to pick people up -- commandeer Greyhound and Trailways busses, anything you can get a hold of. While everyone is being told to be patient, time is very much of the essence. There is NO time left for thousands right now.

Additionally, as Nagin said, there is the very real problem of drug addiction in the city; he suspects what is happening with the violence is that addicts have not had any drugs due to the devastation of the storm and the lack of a fix. So you get people breaking into hospitals and pharmacies looking for anything that can take the edge off the very real physical cravings that ultimately lead to illness -- illness during detoxing from heroin can be life-threatening and usually happens in a medically monitored situation. When people aren't getting the fixes they need, they resort to violence. Add this to the entire emotional and physical exhaustion of the last several days, and it only makes the situation ten times worse. This is not just about the physical condition of the city, it is the compounding effect of lack of social and emotional and physical safety, and the knowledge that your entire community is simply gone.

This is far worse than 9/11 -- in scope, in economic effect, in sociological effect, in geographical effect. We need to tell our government this. And I urge you to call your senators and congresspeople NOW to get some action NOW.

 

[RN4CHRIST]

We are working on that as we post. I say we because it will take a nation getting together to help rebuild this area. I am sorry if I sounded touchy, but I have very good friend that are headed that way or are already down there and when I see the news media totally ignoring the efforts these wonderful people are doing it makes me upset. I am doing what I can by caring for the refugees that are camped out in my area and we gather supplies to help them daily. I am SO grateful for all the prayer that are sent this way. Please Just remember what is going on is bringing focus on an area that has always been economically challenged. I have lived here all my life and have been into areas in the south that are just like third world countries. It is my passion for this region that gives me the initiative to post.

 

[night2day]

Sorry but with appropriate emergency planning in effect a lot of the violence could have been avoided.

If your speaking of Louisiana, look to the LA government. This worst case scenerio was predicted for years. If Alabama and Missisipi, look to AL and MI. Their own local governments were the ones in charge of emergency planning.

As for the rest:

There's no justification at all for people to act and behave as animal. Murder, rape, and other forms of criminal acts are certainly not excused in civilized society and there's no excuse within these areas either.

Otherwise, are you saying people cannot be held responsible for their own actions? That rapists who have been violating children then killing them should not be held accountable for their own actions? That relief workers should be shot at or beaten when they are in the midst of lending aid? Or thugs are excused from murdering innocent civilians?

People have to be expected to be held responsible for their actions regardless. Zero tolerance for lawlessness.

Whether the situation for violence could have been avoided or not is not the issue. People still have a choice to walk away from actiong on depraved impulses. The fact they can't and don't want to is what's in the serious wrong.

 

[wanderingone]

How do you know that? You're probably not even old enough to really remember a natural disaster of similar scale here in the US. Neither am I for that matter.

How do I know that?

Because it's not a matter of being able to remember a disaster of a similar scale, it's a matter of using the education and knowledge we have about disaster situations, be they natural, or man made. Refugees are refugees be they in some other country are here. When we fail to appropriately plan for huge disasters we get anarchy. Proper emergency planning means being able to estimate the number of people who will not have the resources to help themselves along with the number who won't leave even if they have resources and planning for relief and evacuation of those numbers, having your national guard and emergency management teams geared up and ready to go should your damn burst.

 

[wanderingone]

The opposite of what Chrislife was saying. I didn't quote her, too many users posting at the same time.

No, she just wrote that the problems occur due to the looters and criminal gangs whereas Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans, considered them to be a minor problem.

Thanks I wasn't sure what you were talking about Truthfully I;m inclined to agree with Nagin.. maybe not a "minor" problem but not the main reason rescue efforts aren't sufficient....

 

[night2day]

What exactly would you expect a reporter to do...?

The FOXNews reporters and reporters from outlets not of the major mainstream media have at least their eyes open and have pointed out when a person particularly needed serious medical help to the relief workers and authorities.

With so many people and not enough workers able to arrive, it would too easy to overlook some of the individuals by accident...especially if the person needing help doesn't say something. At least some of the reporters aren't merely reporting to the U.S. at large, but also among the very people and the authorities who they're with who need aid in communication between each other.

 

[Kelly]

Salvation Army says they are not sure how much supplies they have left, they need more donations.

 

[EIChief]

We are working on that as we post. I say we because it will take a nation getting together to help rebuild this area. I am sorry if I sounded touchy, but I have very good friend that are headed that way or are already down there and when I see the news media totally ignoring the efforts these wonderful people are doing it makes me upset. I am doing what I can by caring for the refugees that are camped out in my area and we gather supplies to help them daily. I am SO grateful for all the prayer that are sent this way. Please Just remember what is going on is bringing focus on an area that has always been economically challenged. I have lived here all my life and have been into areas in the south that are just like third world countries. It is my passion for this region that gives me the initiative to post.

May God be with you.

I hope that the region will be rebuilt and restored to what it should have been all along. A vibrant growing area with a strong infrastructure.

 

[NothingButTheBlood]

First of all, don't put words into my mouth. I did not say that.

Second of all, if people, other countries, whomever is willing to offer help, why not? Get rid of your pride and think about the people.

It has nothing to do with pride. I simply think the donations from the foreign countries should go through private entities. Not my fault you don't get it.

 

[breezynosacek]

Here is the picture I am getting....Other nations have offered help. The help is here and available from our own nation.

The crux of the matter as stated on the Today Show, is that the media has focused so much on the violence that those who volunteered to drive trucks of food and water ect to the victims are sitting outside the areas that need it most and will not go in because they fear for their lives.

That was stated by one reporter that is actually there. He asked them why they were sitting there stocked with water, food and supplies and one of the drivers comments was, "I promised my wife before I came down here that I wouldn't go in and put myself in danger."

So, I say to all of those cowards, if you ain't got what it takes why did you volunteer in the first place?

I'm not afraid to die and there are a lot of others that would be more than willing to risk their lives to help if they knew how to go about it. Maybe they should have gotten the state militias involved. They aren't afraid of risking their lives. Let em go in there armed distributing food and water.

As for those that are on the puter today, many of you with money may not realise this because you take your wealth for granted but, there are those of us who were recently doing OKAY. Not well to do, but having our needs met.

Since the gas prices have risen so high, many of us are having to choose to pay for gas and electric or food. Heck of a choice ain't it? We're having to look into producing ethanol because if prices continue to rise, we won't even be able to afford to go to the grocery store to get groceries.

We bought $60 worth of groceries to last us this month and if it wasn't for God's provision we wouldn't have that.

How we are going to heat our home this year is another question. Last year our furnace broke and we couldn't afford to fix it or buy the oil to burn in it.

This year, our finances are stretched even tighter so we may not have a phone or internet this winter.

But I will tell you what we can provide for those victims, but nobody seems to want YET. Is clothes. We have been blessed with more clothes than we can wear. Nobody wants them. We can't afford to ship them but they are here.

I spoke to an elitist, racist, pig this morning on the phone and hung up on him after he stated that the reason those people are in that position is because they were too lazy to get up off the couch and leave. That he would provide a place for a couple of the to live "But they aren't going to sit on the couch eatin' chittlins all day watching TV, if they come up here they are going to have to work!" I told him, that I hoped they wouldn't need to stay at his place and hung up on him. I was so outraged that I couldn't even tell him what I thought of his arrogant attitude.

To make matters worse, we asked a local pastor if their church was getting together any supplies for Katrina relief. "No, The red cross is doing it." Grumpy uncaring unmerciful self-centered and he's always like that.

I want to puke over their attitudes. My husband is on disability because of congestive heart failure. If we had lived there, we could very well have been one of those victims because we couldn't afford to evacuate. I could be sitting on a bridge with my dead husband's body at my feet because he couldn't get his medication.

 

[skeptic86]

The FOXNews reporters and reporters from outlets not of the major mainstream media have at least their eyes open and have pointed out when a person particularly needed serious medical help to the relief workers and authorities.

I think this bears repeating...

 

[night2day]

Perhaps you are right. Bush even had to cut his vacation one day short to visit the region.

People in New Orleans are a violent bunch, anyway, who would be committing crimes even if assistance had been available within a reasonable amount of time.

Having more corncern in politicizing rather than the situation itself speaks volumes.

 

[bostonlass]

I just listened to the infamous Nagin (mayor of New Orleans) interview in its entirety. I won't post a link because, yes, he is angry and he curses and I'm sure CF wouldn't like me to post such things. But if you're inclined, it's worth listening to -do a search for it.

I am angry, too, and blame can go all around, yes, including to the President. Simply because there were warnings for years, there were indications that hurrcicanes in that area could cause all this damage and even worse. I understand that there are limitations to how these people could be brought out of the city because of the nature of the disaster, but then, as Nagin said, you get creative. Surely there's more helicopters all over the country that could be brought down. Surely there's more busses and bus drivers that could be driven to the Superdome to pick people up -- commandeer Greyhound and Trailways busses, anything you can get a hold of. While everyone is being told to be patient, time is very much of the essence. There is NO time left for thousands right now.

Additionally, as Nagin said, there is the very real problem of drug addiction in the city; he suspects what is happening with the violence is that addicts have not had any drugs due to the devastation of the storm and the lack of a fix. So you get people breaking into hospitals and pharmacies looking for anything that can take the edge off the very real physical cravings that ultimately lead to illness -- illness during detoxing from heroin can be life-threatening and usually happens in a medically monitored situation. When people aren't getting the fixes they need, they resort to violence. Add this to the entire emotional and physical exhaustion of the last several days, and it only makes the situation ten times worse. This is not just about the physical condition of the city, it is the compounding effect of lack of social and emotional and physical safety, and the knowledge that your entire community is simply gone.

This is far worse than 9/11 -- in scope, in economic effect, in sociological effect, in geographical effect. We need to tell our government this. And I urge you to call your senators and congresspeople NOW to get some action NOW.

Where was this mayor's contingency plan? I'm a moron and I knew this could happen...he's the MAYOR of the city and again....where is the warehouse full of food and water that he stored? Where is his plan? Was his plan to not show up at all in his city but rather go on talk shows? This guy is unbelievable and should be fired immediately.

 

[skeptic86]

Having more corncern in politicizing rather than the situation itself speaks volumes.

Indeed it does...

The FOXNews reporters and reporters from outlets not of the major mainstream media have at least their eyes open and have pointed out when a person particularly needed serious medical help to the relief workers and authorities.

 

[wanderingone]

Where was this mayor's contingency plan? I'm a moron and I knew this could happen...he's the MAYOR of the city and again....where is the warehouse full of food and water that he stored? Where is his plan? Was his plan to not show up at all in his city but rather go on talk shows? This guy is unbelievable and should be fired immediately.

Exactly... the man is not including himself in the failure to plan and being one of the people who helped cause the chaos around him.

Emergency planning has to start locally and be in sync with federal agencies. It seems like a bunch of beginners is handling this disaster... well I think he is a beginner.. who are his advisors and who are the regional people from FEMA and H/S for this city... they all need to be re-trained in emergency planning and relief efforts.

 

[Billnew]

As far as violence, looting and other criminal activity,
1;The age old tradition is looters will be shot on sight.

2;Anyone firing or doing violence to relief workers should be shot on sight.

3.Anyone hendering relief workers should be chained to comon area, until such time they can be taken to jail, if they resist, then #2 would be inforced.

While their greed and violence is playing out people are dying.
They take up man power that could be saving people to transport the criminals out of the area. Another corpse would not add to the problem, but doing this might actually
save more then the waste of life that is looking for self gratification.

Drug abusers could be causing some of the violence, see above. Why they do it is of no concern. When people are safe then we can worry about someone that can't follow the laws of our country, and his need for a hit.(very few drugee's got hooked without knowing it was against the law.)

 

[RN4CHRIST]

Okay, I have posted on another thread about this same thing. Are any of you from this area? I AM!!!! I have lived here all my life! I know what kind of economy we come from! We are among the poorest states in the nation!! I have been into areas of MS and LA that are as poor as third world countries. Now when a major disaster hits they want to know why major planning wasn't done. It has been to the best of our abilities but there is a major deficit in funds. We have to choose between emergency preparedness and welfare for our poor, funds for our schools and medical care for our uninsured. Now hindsite is 20-20 and now we see what has happened. But I need to give you some info from the front lines!!! Do you think 2 days is enough time to evacuate at least 1 million people.? That is about how much time we had. I have friends in that area. They packed up and got out as soon as they could but were stuck in traffic for 10 hours!!!!! That was just to get 300 miles. The roads down here are not that big. 4 lanes is a big highway to us. Now we are trying to get in aid. Also the roads south of Jackson, MS are littered with debrid and power is still down in alot of area. Please realize that it takes gas to run a transport vehicle and power to run a gaspump!
The news media want you to think all has gone to h*** in a hand basket. Yes it is bad but there are thousands of dedicated medical, fire, emergency, and military people that headed that way immediately! They are working around the clock to get society restored down there. Yes people are dying, But people are also surviving and overcoming. I see these people every day because they are coming to my hometown to have a safe haven. There are refugee camps all over my town. We here what is going on from them and our friends that are down there give us reports daily.
Please remember. Our focus should not be on assigning blame. Our focus should be TO GET OFF OUR BUTTS AND HELP!!!We need to focus on raising money and supplies to help them.They have lost everything so they NEED everything!!
Most importantly PRAY!!!! Pray for God to Heal!!, Pray for God to MOVE!!! Pray for God to HELP!! Pray for God to show us what to do!!! JUST PRAY!!!!

 

[Oliver]

You can attack the facts if you like, but these are simply quotes from the leadership of the countries presented. I don't need to make this stuff up.

Really, then you'll have no problem providing the source and the context.