CNN: Victims feel forgotten in southeastern Louisiana (St. Bernard's Psh)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/08/katrina.forgottentown.ap/index.html

The cars were swallowed, the homes shattered and the people left clinging for life. Survivors waited for help, but it seemed like so little, so late.

More than a week since Hurricane Katrina cut its swath along the Gulf Coast, word is only now starting to trickle out from this outlying area of some 66,000 people on Louisiana's southeastern edge.

What's said is filled with anger -- residents feeling even more abandoned than hard-hit New Orleans -- and disbelief. (See video of a largely submerged parish -- 2:35 )

"If you dropped a bomb on this place, it couldn't be any worse than this," said Ron Silva, a district fire chief in St. Bernard Parish. "It's Day 8, guys. Everything was diverted first to New Orleans, we understand that. But do you realize we got 18 to 20 feet of water from the storm, and we've still got 7 to 8 feet of water?"

In the working-class parishes of St. Bernard and Plaquemines, the heavy rain and levee break brought a wall of water up to 20 feet high. Local officials expect the number of deaths to be in the hundreds.

<snip>

On a boarded-up window out front is a blue spray-painted sign: "ABOUT TIME BUSH!"

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. kick

[eleonora]

2. Imagine when these people regain internet access

They will raise hell to Bush and co. We've seen nothing yet.

[RamboLiberal]

4. I hope someone puts together clips of what was being reported

last week by the cable nets with film of Bush flitting around the West like there are no cares!

[eeper69]

8. I hope someone shows lots of pics of the dead too

[Megahurtz]

3. Utterly Pathetic.

I can't believe that Bush just played the guitar and ate cake when all of this was happening!

I seriously feel shocked over his actions (or lack of) and I wasn't even personally affected by this tragedy.

[gratuitous]

5. "In the working-class parishes of St. Bernard and Plaquemines . . ."

Well, that adjective should explain it all -- working class folks aren't Chimpy's base. You know, the "haves" and the "have mores."

[rainbow4321]

6. St Bernard's has to wait days for medications, cars

They're right...this parish seems to be the red headed step child when it comes to getting assistance.

Much of the "we still need this and that" transmissions that have been on the local scanners have been about St Bernards. They ordered a list of vaccinations and antibiotics, and then had to re-order them 48 hrs later cuz they had yet to arrive.

They also could not get their 12 replacement vehicles for their local police. St Taminey's Parish blocked them at a checkpoint and would NOT let them thru. St Bernard had to contact the main EOC and ask them to talk to St. Taminey's people so the cars could get thru...but it didn't happen til the next day.
The whole ordeal took 2 days, multiple transmissions over 2 days to get these cars to St Bernard.

If we can get fucking TANKS to the Middle East, why the hell can we NOT get cars to St Bernard's Parish??

And can't that "floating hospital" that is off the shores of LA coordinate the medication delivery? How hard would it be to have someone manning a radio on the ship, calling ALL the parishes each day, asking "what do you need?" and then send a helo out with the supplies.

Oh, and the generator that St Bernard ordered...again, 48 hour wait, had to ask twice for it.


So, yeah, they are getting screwed.

[JPZenger]

7. A website to make you feel a little bit better.

If you need something to offset all depressing news, here's a little website that shows some of the volunteer efforts across the nation to help.
http://journals.aol.com/reliefnewspics/SeethePhotosYouSent/

[KamaAina]

9. Both St. Bernard and Plaquemines voted 2-1 for King Dumbass**.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004//pages/results/states/LA/P/00/county.001.html

That's at least two parishes the repukes are gonna have to pick up somewhere else!