Jeb and his hacks FAILED to adequately protect the citizens of

[barbaraann]

Florida who were hit by Hurricane Charley.

First of all, the possibility of hurricanes was obviously not taken into consideration in the development process, particularly with regard to mobile and manufactured homes AND ESPECIALLY THE HIGH PROPORTION OF ELDERLY IN THE PUNTA GORDA AREA.

Secondly, there was obviously inadequate disaster planning and projecting of Charley's path. IF YOU GOOGLE FOR "HURRICANE TURNED TOWARD LAND" you get over 43,000 hits. It is just astounding that officials made absolutely no consideration for this hurricane turning toward land. One particular problem not planned for was the huge number of people with pets who required special needs shelters. Apparently a lot of people stayed at their homes instead of going to a shelter because of their pets.

Thirdly, there has been an inadequate reponse to the emergency. Officials are using darkness as an excuse but first reponders could have been issued NIGHT VISION GOGGLES. Nancy Graves on Larry King Live was SCREAMING about the poor response. She couldn't believe there wouldn't be an emergency FEMA telephone number until today.

Fourth, the mindset of officials is inappropriate. I have heard officials blame "MOTHER NATURE" and say how "she" is unpredictable. Gov. Bush said "you cannot prepare for the unforseen." The President said something like "May God bless everyone in the path of Hurricane Charley." BLESS!!??!!

Fifth, WHY WHY WHY isn't there a way for people to find out where there loved ones are? I heard that people are calling officials for help in finding their family members and the officials just say that they are sorry but they can't help!

I keep hearing "We thought it would hit Tampa." The only thing the Bushes are good at is coming up with excuses when they FAIL and PEOPLE DIE. Jeb and his hacks are busy today making excuses and shouldn't be spending ONE SECOND ON THAT, IMHO. They should be dealing with the huge disaster.

THE DEATH TOLL SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AS HIGH AS IT IS. JEB BUSH IS REPONSIBLE.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Jeb and his hacks FAILED" It will most likely

be blamed on "bad intelligence". I mean... what else is there these days??

[MaineDem]

2. As much as I detest the BFEE

I really can't blame this one on them.

[Tight_rope]

10. Why not...They blame everything else on al-Quida

[Ms. Clio]

16. Hurricanes--terrorist attacks--preemptive wars--all "God's will"

or the mighty Clenis.

[johnfunk]

36. Jeb had an opportunity to greatly improve emergency preparedness...

... and response in the face of such a storm.

He did nothing.

He and his brother -- ignore the biggest threats, coddle the campaign patrons.

Time to get rid of BOTH. And it's time for Democrats to make this an issue in Florida -- and HAMMER that little shit Jebbie.

[Misinformed01]

48. Oh yes you can. Think about it

Think "inadequate funding."

Think "give those high level jobs in FEMA to my friends"

The possibilities of blame here are endless....and correct. This poster is correct. As a former paramedic on a fire department, I am apalled at the response of these people...I can name about 3 people in that area that should be fired immediately-

[patdem]

3. Faith Based Hurricane Preperation...that's a new one!!!

And Cuba only had 4 deaths?? Which one is a banana republic again??? :grr:

[Bullshot]

4. Perhaps Jeb was spending too much time campaigning for his brother

and not enough time preparing for the storm and its aftermath.

Typical misplaced priorities by the Bushes.

[The empressof all]

6. My very anti religion friend just told me......

Charley was just further proof that God is on Bush's side--and nobody else's.

He made it through the storm OK but said the devastation was beyond belief.

[faithnotgreed]

18. wow. as someone who very deeply loves God, i believe just the opposite

though i guess that makes sense in a weird way. what im saying here is not at all to debate with you or your friend. please know that. its just that this topic is on my mind and i am just sharing my feelings. but they are only mine and that doesnt make them right. just my thoughts.....

anyway
i know it can seem like God is on * side sometimes because of what the administration gets away with. beyond words and comprehension for sure. and i have been thinking on this topic for some time, as the news and evidence gets worse and worse with each passing day. everyones frustration on this has been documented many times

in fact, its been so bad that i finally had an "aha!" moment because im just trying to make any sense of what is beyond comprehension:
things are literally so crazy from these people, that its not even plausible that God has anything whatsoever to do with whats going on

i think God may be following little george around but not in the way your friend may think! im wondering if * is going to be headed for a very big fall. i cant know how or when or any of that and its not my place to speculate about specifics.

in fact, i dont usually like to speculate on anyones christianity, because thats not my place and i cant know anyone elses heart, but sadly it takes someone like * to make it tragically clear that he is using God in a uniquely vile way.

and this much i can be sure of:

God doesnt like when we pitiful humans use something so beautiful and pure as His love and His name for our grimy purpose.
not at all.

but i totally understand that people are wondering about God. dont believe and all that. its tough sometimes for me too, but i know we all have free will. and i can no longer think about what possibly is going through *s mind.
like i said, its so literally upside down that i just leave that to a power far far beyond my capacity for love and forgiveness.

[CaTeacher]

24. Why? Did Charley

hit predominately Democratic areas?

I don't know--but I guess that if the hurricane cruised through and ONLY targeted areas that are predominately Democratic in registration--I guess that then a case could be made for mother nature or God preferring *......


Does anyone know if the areas worst hit were predominately Repug or Democratic?

[The empressof all]

40. When he said this he was very upset.

I told him that if I were to believe in such things I would think it was the devil on Bush's side.

His point was that it was a highly Republican Area that was hit and Bush would be able to ride in on his white horse so to speak to the rescue and pump big bucks into the area. Therefore increasing his image with these folks.

[lebkuchen]

8. Cuba has a much higher literacy rate than Florida as well

[Catt03]

12. Charley was 105 MPH going over Cuba

It increased to 145 ninety minutes before it hit land in Florida.

Still, I agree. This needs an explanation

[HysteryDiagnosis]

28. Still, I agree. This needs an explanation

There may actually be one... that we will never hear about.

http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/VirtualClassroom/HAARP/haarp.html
Soon, individuals and groups ranging from university scientists to followers of the paranormal, voiced their criticisms - a few even suggesting that this military technology would not only destroy communications, but might actually manipulate global weather systems and influence ways in which people think and behave. Still, given the esoteric nature of the topic, public expression of this criticism was largely limited to the Internet and letters to the editor of Alaska newspapers.

[merh]

5. Having gone through many hurricanes on the MS Gulf Coast

I know that here, the National Guard was sent in during the hurricanes to evacuate the residents. During Camille, they used the amphibious ducks during the storm to rescue citizens trapped in their homes. They operated through the night and saved hundreds. In the past the National Guard has never waited until the break of day, they have gone in during the storms to rescue folks.

Did they not do this during Charley???

Why not, WTF was Jeb doing?

[fsbooks]

7. Is the Florida National Guard in Iraq?

just wondering.

[lebkuchen]

9. We'll know once the looting starts to take place.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

21. We had looting here in Naples - after they said there were NO police....

n/t

[barbaraann]

11. They are in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia

Here's some info about the Guard and Charley:

http://www.floridaguard.net/read.asp?did=3384

[Cha]

22. I bet they wish they were home protecting Florida

citizens if they are.

[lebkuchen]

13. Jeb just said, "It's important that we organize ourselves quickly..."

The time to organize would have been BEFORE the hurricane, Jebbie.

[deminflorida]

14. Here are some of the things that went wrong....

http://admin.winktv.com/public/x11037.xml

"Bob Carpenter, a Charlotte County Sheriff's Office spokesman, said Saturday that there are 31 mobile home parks in the county that suffered major damage-- some with more than 1,000 units. He said teams have been sent to each park to search for bodies and survivors, but getting into them has been tough.

"We just couldn't get the vehicles in -- there is so much debris," he said."

Where are the military construction crews and search dogs????

"In Florida, three hospitals in Charlotte County sustained significant damage, Sallade said, and officials at Charlotte Regional Medical Center in Punta Gorda said they were evacuating all patients Saturday."

Why were'nt the patients evacuated before the storm???

"The state put 5,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen on alert to help deal with the storm, but only 1,300 had been deployed by Friday night, a state emergency management spokeswoman said."

Why was the Guard not out earlier knocking on doors and telling people to get the hell out?


"At a nursing center in Port Charlotte, Charley broke windows and ripped off portions of the roof, but none of the more than 100 residents or staff was injured, administrator Joyce Cuffe said.
"The doors were being sucked open," Cuffe said. "A lot of us were holding the doors, trying to keep them shut, using ropes, anything we could to hold the doors shut. There was such a vacuum, our ears and head were hurting.""

Why were these old people not evacuated to safe shelter before the storm?

"Spared the worst of the storm was the Tampa Bay area, where about a million people had been told to leave their homes. Some drove east, only to find themselves in the path of the Charley. "I feel like the biggest fool," said Robert Angel of Tarpon Springs, who sought safety in a motel. "I spent hundreds of dollars to be in the center of a hurricane. Our home is safe, but now I'm in danger.""

Why were people not told don't go east into the path of the storm. The general storm path was known for at least a day in advance.

[barbaraann]

15. Thanks. It's good to see some truth from the local media.

I wonder how many Floridians will catch on.

[ajmstpete]

20. Jeb

Jebbie was just on TV saying things are going to be better in these communities after the clean up than before. WTF? People that live in manufactured homes and trailer parks live there because in most cases, they cannot afford to live in a foundation based house. We live in St Petersburg in a non evacuation zone, it barely rained here yesterday. We prepared our house and pool area for two days, thankfully the storm missed us. But I can guarantee that any hurricane that comes up on the Gulf Coast we will be prepare exactly as we have done this week. They totally missed on the landing point on this one until it was almost too late to do anything and hundreds of thousands of people are paying for it. Storm predicting is not an exact science, but the government should be able to acknowledge this also. There is not excuse for not having a wider zone of Florida being evacuated IMHO. I have been watching the news all morning and have not seen any NG out, most are still deployed to Iraq, gee, who would have thought that the purpose of the National Guard was to protect their home state and not satisfy Bush and his hard on for war. I predict that people here are going to be pissed at Jeb and W and express their anger this November, but this could just be wishful thinking on my part.

[Cha]

25. Hey, Welcome to du, ajmstpete!

I love St Pete and am glad ya'll are okay.

Thanks for the report and wouldn't it be strange if a hurricane in 2004 brought the wrath of the People of Florida against the bush boys like it did their pappybush in '92?!

[patdem]

29. Yes...now jeb can build homes for rich folks on the misery of the poor

seems those bush's* can take advantage of any and all misery be it 9/11 or hurricane Charlie??? :grr:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

30. >>live there because in most cases, <<

they cannot afford to live in a foundation based house.<<

Mobilehomenation. The answer to giving tax breaks to the wealthy and the short end to the taxpayers. Isn't it "grand"?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

31. >>but this could just be wishful<<

>>thinking on my part.<<

Oh no... this will be kicked around for weeks and weeks... especially in here. Oh Lucy... you've got alot of explaining to do....

[ajmstpete]

34. wishful thinking

Let's hope so. They are already talking about another storm that might follow the same path. It's only August early in the tropical storm / hurricane season hopefully, this will be our one and only tragedy. I don't want anyone to think that I want death and destruction just so people vote the Bush boys out. It's very early in the aftermath, but there was poor state wide pre-planning, the Tampa area was very well prepared and warned for days, people were told to go east and to go to places like Orlando. I really think they (BFEE) enjoy watching us scurry like ants. It's so much easier to control people when they are frightened.

[newyawker99]

39. Hi ajmstpete!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Moderator]

38. deminflorida

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.

DU Moderator

[kerry-is-my-prez]

17. In Naples, they announced that there was NO emergency services.

and basically not to even bother calling 911. They said that there would be NO police service. THEN surprise, surprise there were reports of looting shortly after this announcement.

[Cha]

26. Naples Florida is where the Liberal Guy James Show

is from..I hope all is okay with him.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

35. He posted here earlier. He's now in Ft. Myers- he got booted out of Naples

n/t

[Cha]

41. I've been checking out BeachBuckeye's threads..

and I was confused last night when I read he was broadcasting from Ft Meyers. Having thought he was in Naples..thought maybe in Naples ..satelites from Ft Meyers..not knowing that part of Florida,well.

Why did he have to leave Naples?

[Bimini_Twisted]

19. I'm no fan of either Bush but If this storm had hit us in Tampa the

death toll would have been much higher. I survived Andrew in Miami in 92 and was all set and provisioned here in Tampa for a direct hit. Anyone that knows anything about Florida will tell you that we were blessed that this storm went right through cow country.

Now F*uck Bush

[LittleApple81]

23. cow country? I thought people died. And if Tampa was not prepared

it was not because of lack of warning. I am glad that death numbers are minimized, but I don't like to be happy that somebody in "cow country" got killed so my property is protected.

[XanaDUer]

32. Charley did not go through "cow country"

Orlando is one of the most densely populated areas in FL.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

51. IMHO, I think you know very little of Charley's path across Florida.

[Joanne98]

27. the BFEE knew they could make alot of money off the disaster

What was Jeb doing yesterday? He was locked in a room with his Cuban Mafia buddies working out no-bid contracts and HUD scemes. If fact I seem to remember something about Jeb and the FL HUD ending up in a FRAUD investigation. Jeb can even make money of the dead. Remember the funeral scam W was involved with in Texas. Where the BFEE was selling the same graves over and over again. The Bush family LOVES death and detruction, that's when they makes the most money. We should start a thread predicting how Jeb will spend the 16 billion dollars.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

33. Remember the funeral scam W was involved with in Texas.

Not only in Texas.... sorry to report.

http://www.hereinreality.com/funeralgate.htm

Funeralgate - GW Halted Investigation into Corpse Abuse
... This was a big Texas scandal for our president at the ... made at two cemeteries in Florida caught the ... internal documents they say show Menorah Gardens & Funeral ...

www.hereinreality.com/funeralgate.htm - 24k - Cached - Similar pages

[timtom]

37. High Death Toll

I certainly don't mean to trivialize the loss of even one human life, but the reports I've seen so far vary between 2 and 3 deaths (as compared to Hurricane Andrew's 65 deaths, which were considered low, themselves).

So, while there was massive destruction, the death toll was amazingly low for 145 mph winds.

[MaineDem]

42. Pretty sure that number will rise dramatically

I thought there were only about 27 fatalities with Andrew. That's what I read this morning.

[timtom]

46. You're right.

And it was pretty lame of me to post these figures. As soon as I did, I realized that the death toll would go higher.

As to Andrew, I looked at the figure that represented all related deaths. The direct result count was 27 on the site I googled.

So much for being in a hurry to post.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

52. The authorities haven't even gotten into some of the worst hit areas....

...and the official toll is already at 13 dead. Here's an article you must have missed:

<http://www.palatkadailynews.com/articles/2004/08/15/news/news02.txt>

Excerpt:

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) -- A "significant loss of life" was reported Saturday at a mobile home park that was in the path of the eye of Hurricane Charley, the worst hurricane to hit Florida in a dozen years.

....snip....

"It's Andrew all over again," he said. "We believe there's significant loss of life."

Sallade did not have an estimate on the number of fatalities and said it may take days to get a final toll.

There are 31 mobile home parks in the county that suffered major damage, some with more than 1,000 units, said Bob Carpenter, a Charlotte County Sheriff's Office spokesman. He said teams were sent to each park to search for bodies and survivors, but getting into them was difficult.

[madfloridian]

43. Just watching CNN, Punta Gorda does NOT have water yet.

Shouldn't someone be there with just basics like water?

[louis c]

44. I've been thinking about this all day

and you put into words exactly how I feel.

I said today, "How could so many elderly not be evacuated from such a vulnerable area?"

If hurricanes are unpredictable, shouldn't prudence dictate your decisions?

I hope the truth about the Bush Family's ineptitude is finally laid bare in this debacle.

You're right, they are only good at two things, excuses and photo ops. Over the next few days, I'm sure we'll get plenty of both...........again.

[Cha]

45. Here's a Canadian newspaper's report..

snips~
At least 15 people were confirmed dead. As a weakened Charley churned into the Carolinas and was downgraded to a tropical storm, newly sunny skies revealed its destruction in Florida, where emergency officials pronounced it the worst to wallop the state since hurricane Andrew tore through in 1992.

The Category 4 storm is expected to cost Florida "at least several billion dollars," said Loretta Worters, spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute.

Ten deaths had been confirmed in Charlotte County, said Wayne Sallade, the county's director of emergency management but no exact death toll was available.
"It's Andrew all over again," Sallade said.

"We believe there's significant loss of life, he said, adding later: "I would hope that it would be limited to dozens, if that."
He said "thousands upon thousands of people" lost their homesend snips~

More at..
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=f4f4f628-f133-4bab-8475-8b52c91c3475

[T Town Jake]

47. Ummm....

...as much as I might dislike "Jeb," that's idiotic. There are plenty of bad things, off the top of my head, I could plausibly imagine blaming the Bush brothers for. The vagaries of the weather in any given place isn't one of them.

[lil-petunia]

49. Jeba the Bush

was ultimately responsible for warnings. Not everyone has Weather Channel. Not everyone has access to exits, highways, etc. Not everyone, especially the sick and elderly can pick up and move at a moment's notice.

[Misinformed01]

50. Oh get real. Quit defending people that can't do their jobs

The man wanted to be the Gov. of FL, it was his job to make sure that the WHOLE state was prepared for a hurricane. Instead he cut taxes, broke the states budget, cut programs that could help people....and cheered his brother on while the National Guard was sent to Afghanistan and Iraq...so that there are few left here to help cope.

He is one mean spirited ugly son of a bitch, and to weakly say "well, you can't blame him for the weather" is just a pussy response to the fact that he is to be held responsible.

[T Town Jake]

54. "Get real"?...(snicker)...

...well, for starters, I'm not the one who thinks Hurricanes-or tornadoes, or blizzards, or weather events in general (snicker)-are part & parcel of some kind of conspiracy by the molecules in the atmosphere to involve themselves in our political processes...
...for seconders, I don't really give a damn what you think-or say.

[Misinformed01]

55. I said he couldn't do his job

not that he was capable of conjuring a storm.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

53. "Ummmm", indeed. You can certainly blame Jebbie for failing to....

...give a mandatory evacuation order to everyone in low-lying areas along the coast to the south of Tampa-St Pete. Anyone that's had ANY experience with hurricanes will tell you that their exact paths are still unpredictable.

Jebbie screwed up...when is someone going to start asking him hard questions?

[T Town Jake]

56. Ummm...

...see my post #54. Same applies, and I do so hate repeating myself...

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

62. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Misinformed01]

63. Then why are you replying to my posts?

?

[T Town Jake]

64. ...(snicker)...

n/t

[DocSavage]

57. Mandatory

Evacuation orders are great, but you cannot send the sherriff door to door dragging people from thier homes if they do not want to leave. How do you think we would have reacted if that happened?

[Misinformed01]

58. 25 minute warning of hurricane strength winds to

the hospital staff in Punta Gorda.

15 minute warning to the people of Arcadia to expect hurricane force winds.

They DIDN'T get ANY evacuation notice.

The poster that thinks I am thinking Bush is somehow capable of conjuring storms is too stupid to bother with any more. However, people need to understand the massive fuckup here...the massive breakdown in communications.

IF we continue to just weakly say, "oh....it's Mother Nature" then we might as well accept the fact that we are going to be living in a third world banana republic, and just kiss Grandma and Gramdpa adios.

[graywarrior]

60. Wishful thinking in a crisis

That's how we handle hurricane warnings. Hoping...THINKING, This won't happen to ME.
I'm more pissed about the thought of what would have happened if this storm were bigger than it was and actually hit Venice, Englewood, Sarasota. Drive around these areas and a lot of houses are stucco and styrafoam. That's how middle class and poor live,,,IN FLORIDA. Mobile homes are one thing, but these houses are where most of the population lives.
I think we're in for more storms than ever this season. It will be interesting to guage the mood of Floridians who have to deal with constant hurricane warnings in addition to raised terror attacks, the possibilty of eliminating social security (we can't possibly spend any more money that we don't have), the price of food.
Right now, Punta Gord is a war zone. It's kinda like Iraq for the people who live there. Doesn't matter who did the damage. They're ruined and the only help on the way is George and Jeb. What a crock.

[T Town Jake]

61. Yep...that's my point...

...this attempt to turn the happenstance of an Hurricane in Florida (of all places! Surely they've never had such an event down there ever before in their history! /sarcasm) into some kind of political story is not only pathetic...it's down-right FReeperish, IMHO. Sometimes a cigar is only a cigar (as someone once said), and sometimes a Hurricane is only a Hurricane. As is this case here...we should all be concerned about the citizens of Florida struggling to put their lives back together in the aftermath, period. Hurricanes don't vote, as hard as that apparently is for some to believe...