This is going to be much, much worse than we think...

[givemebackmycountry]

I hate to say it, but I think that's the case.

New Orleans is devestated.

Gulfport, Mississippi is devestated.

Slidell, Louisiana is devestated.

These people...They got...

No telephone service.
No cell phone service.
No electric service.
No clean water.
No food.
No air conditioning.
No refrigeration.
No cars.
No public transportation.
No planes.
No gas.
No nothing.

It's 11:20 Central, and I can't believe that not one of the major networks are live letting us know what's happening.

I can't believe the MONKEY is not live on every TV in the nation, every two hours, telling us what he is going to do, and what we can do to help.

Our country, one of our premier tourist destinations, and the origin of much of who we are in America has been destroyed.

The people who live there are helpless.
There is no place to go.
And however bad things are tonight, they will be that way every night for months, maybe forever if you are poor.

Tens of thousands of our citizens are facing life and death decisions tonight and yet...
"Will and Grace" and "Letterman" airs uninterrupted.

The first forced evacuation of a major city in the United States since the late 1800's, and not one single network is "live" this evening.

That's why I think this is going to be bad, really bad.
The toll of human suffering can only be imagined.
The economic damage can't be estimated.

This is going to be at least as much as what we have pissed away in Iraq.

At least.

This is bad.
And we don't know the half of it yet.

What an ignorant fucking country we are.

[Tace]

1. I Try Real Hard Not To Fuel Panic About This...

but I believe that you are spot on.

[Riverman]

7. Insanity

I was trying to catch some news tonight on the cable channels, there is a weird feeling as if there is a detachment from what is obvious - this mass destruction, that the networks just can't bear to look at. Where is the national call for help! I'm glad to see the banner above on this page for disaster relief info. But, I think people are so demoralized by the economy, the lies about Iraq that there is not national energy, no connection with our own people. The reaction, or lack of it, is more disturbing than actual human toll of misery, it seems. This is more than sad!

[WiseButAngrySara]

49. The media has become very fat, smug and well adjusted to 'detachment'

from the obvious. Mass destruction in Iraq occured after our mass destruction on 9/11. The media pumped and pimped the lie of Iraq. Oooops. Too bad. Someone lied. Many died. They can't bear to look at their own part in all of this.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

55. MSM does seem ...

...unwilling to acknowledge the obvious. They're completely mute on the woefully inadequate federal response. As though they've all received the memo from Bushco to downplay it and just report on the looting. In coming weeks MSM will concentrate almost exclusively on individual stories of triumph over circumstance and heroic tales of sacrifice, to the exclusion any honest coverage of this nightmare disaster and what it means for our nation.

[starroute]

10. It's not a matter of panic

Panic is sudden and abrupt. This is going to be one long, hard slog, for months and even years to come.

As I said to my family earlier today, Americans don't like disasters that they can't handle. They're very good at quick, abrupt disasters -- a few dozen people killed, a manageable amount of debris, no more than a week or so without electricity. The sort of disasters where people can go back and pick up the threads of their lives and resume business as usual.

Americans aren't good at the stuff that's too big for them. They don't take well to being told, "This can't be made okay." They tend to feel contempt for refugees instead of compassion.

What Americans really need right now is to say to themselves: "Shit happens. This is what we've got to deal with. We're going to have to do things we're not used to doing and don't much want to do. We're going to have to pull together and not try to wish the inconvenient victims into invisibility. We may even have to humble ourselves and accept outside aid, because this is going to be bigger than we can handle on our own."

I don't have a lot of faith in most Americans' ability to do this. But perhaps if we at DU start doing it, it might catch on in time to be of some use.

[Kenroy]

18. very well-put...

This is a long-term catastrophe, and I don't know how we'll respond to it.

It would be nice if we had a leader who... well... lead us. Any decent president would've already outlined what ALL Americans can do to help.

[Occulus]

32. 'Tis better to know *exactly* how bad it could be than to stay in the dark

about the possible outcome.

In my mind, I have already written off New Orleans as I remember it on my one trip there in my childhood. That's gone, and likely won't be back for many years. Lots and lots of people very well may simply abandon the area. Many more will be dead. It will never be the same as it was.

And that's just that one city. :cry:

[msongs]

2. and now for a word from our sponsors.............abc news tonight ->

watched the program for the first time in years. some serious coverage and then the commercials for the most inane stuff came on, considering the content of the news they were covering.

superficial, mostly useless stuff.

kinda sick.

Msongs
www.msongs.com

[NEOBuckeye]

3. "Keep Shopping"

That's all Bush really has to say. That's what he said in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Coming in at Planned and making The Bottom Line this Quarter. Isn't that all that really matters in America anymore?

[uppityperson]

4. yup. I can't sleep. fuck

welcome to the world, usa. Oh yes, no decent government providing services we can't afford to provide individually. fuck.

[Pallas180]

5. You left out that the roads, highways and bridges are gone -

not just underwater - broken - gone - just pilings showings...so
they're cut off - no way to get out anyway.

On edit - the railroad tracks are gone too.

I understand 4 warships/? navy ships are coming tomorrow - maybe they'll transport the people out who are left there.

Cause there's no other way out.

Did you hear the airplanes left on Sunday morning empty? -refused to stay even though the weather was still good for flying and stranded all those tourists who had tickets out? The governor of Louisiana Blanco? reported it. She looks like she's about to cry and sounds as if she has no idea of what to do.

those should be criminal charges against the airlines.

[donheld]

17. They also left out

Most of the homes and jobs are gone.

[Stephanie]

23. the refineries are gone and the oil platforms are gone

and yes what the airlines did is criminal

[DoYouEverWonder]

54. They already had to cancel 100's of flights today

because they don't have enough fuel. Karma's a bitch.

[norml]

6. NYT: Disease and Coordination Vie as Major Challenges

Health Concerns
Disease and Coordination Vie as Major Challenges

By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN and KENNETH CHANG
Published: August 31, 2005

As they rushed medical equipment and experts to the Gulf Coast, federal officials warned yesterday that the public health consequences of Hurricane Katrina were likely to be enormous and long term.

Skip to next paragraph



OIL PRICES The cost of a barrel of oil soared above $70 as the damage to offshore platforms became apparent.

PUBLIC HEALTH Officials warned the health consequences were likely to be enormous.

WHITHER NEW ORLEANS People are wondering what will remain of the city, physically and psychologically.

MILITARY RESPONSE Five Navy ships and eight maritime rescue teams were ordered to the Gulf Coast.

HOW TO HELP A partial list of relief organizations and other information available on the Web. The officials said they were particularly worried about outbreaks of disease spread through sewage contamination of drinking water, spoiled food, insects, and bites from snakes and other animals.

Scores of people have already died by drowning or other causes, two by carbon monoxide poisoning from the use of gas-powered generators in poorly ventilated areas. An additional nine people are being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, federal health officials said at a news conference in Atlanta, home of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rescue workers searched for the injured and disabled yesterday in an effort to prevent additional fatalities, and, trying to head off outbreaks of diarrheal disease, used helicopters to deliver food and safe drinking water.


snip


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/national/nationalspecial/31health.html?hp&ex=1125547200&en=faf8c7f1460f830a&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[Mr Rabble]

8. I feel the same way. This is the first thing that...

really has me worried about price shocks triggering the collapse that we all KNOW is coming.

I think it might be sooner rather than later.

[Missy Vixen]

9. Someone we care about lives in TN

We spent the weekend with her. Sunday afternoon, she was glued to the Weather Channel and quietly commenting on what was happening.

She told us that if Katrina ended up being even slightly as bad as what it was initially forecast to be, more people would die from the heat index (and no power, water, ice, etcetera,) after the hurricane than did during the event. She spoke at great length about storm surges as well.

We were so damn relieved to see e-mails from her this morning on lists we all frequent, (in other words, she made it home safely,) but we are sick to know that we may never get the true story of what's currently happening in New Orleans, Gulfport and Biloxi.

Julie

[Cleita]

11. Before you panic, remember other cities have

borne serious and devastating damage from floods, fires and earthquakes and yet they have gone on to be rebuilt into even better cities than before and still retained their original flavor.

Look at the cities destroyed in Europe in WWI and WWII and yet they came back bigger and better. Don't be so pessimistic.

I know that it's gonna be really hard to pry the money outta the chimp's clenched fists, but get someone to give him a kick in the rear and his hands will open.

[Kenroy]

22. The problem is

it's going to be a very hard sell to rebuild a city below sea-level in a hurricane zone.

It doesn't make sense to do so. It's a catastrophic loss, but it will be very hard to convince people of the sanity of rebuilding New Orleans.

[Cleita]

24. Sometimes it doesn't take logic to do this. Sometimes it is

soul and I think NO is loaded with soul. I hope the natives documented a lot of the city's historical sites. Then it has to be rebuilt and rebuilt like it was.

[Kenroy]

25. You may be right

and then, 1 or 5 or 10 years from now when it's destroyed again, maybe we'll learn.

I adore New Orleans. I've shed countless tears over this. But unless MAJOR changes are made, it's pure foolhardiness to rebuild it. It's sinking.

[Cleita]

31. We have so much engineering know how these days,

I see no reason why it can't be rebuilt and safer than ever. Look at what we have accomplished in earthquake building technology in California? Some of our recent quakes have been really hard ones. Yet we have had little loss of life and damage. Yet the same magnitude quakes in other parts of the world have resulted in absolute destruction and deaths in the thousands.

The last earthquake we had in my area resulted in two deaths and yet the same magnitude quake killed six thousand people in South America years before.

[Kenroy]

40. There's a big difference

between building a strong building and building a strong city.

We can make buildings that can survive earthquakes. How do we make a city that survives 20 feet of water? That's technology we don't have yet - and probably never will.

[Cleita]

41. Necessity is the mother of invention so they say.

And we do have to have earthquake cities besides the buildings, all the freeways, waterworks, sewers, etc, all have to be earthquake proof.

[Kenroy]

45. Believe me, Cleita

I don't WANT to disagree with you on this.

But I do. It makes no sense to rebuild a city at the cost of tens of billions of dollars below sea-level between a huge river and a huge lake, in a hurricane zone.

Nobody would settle such a city today- it would be folly. It's there for historical reasons (and the geography was different when it was founded).

As much as I adore the city of New Orleans, I just don't see the sense in rebuilding it where it is. It WILL be destroyed again.

Hell, my other favorite city is Amsterdam, but I doubt people would build THAT city today, especially in a hurricane zone.

It's heart-breaking, but we should be smart and avoid this SAME heartbreak and loss of life in the future.

[Cleita]

56. I am trying to put a positive spin on this and

like historical Venice, Italy, many are probably going to try to rebuild because it's where their hearts are. I hope actually that it happens with modern technology behind it to make it hurricane and flood proof.

[politicat]

52. Pompeii. London. Rome. Venice. All rebuilt.

All in bad risk areas.... one on the side of an active volcano, one at the convergence of a few rivers and not far from the ocean and at sea level to boot, one on swamp land and one actually in the sea.

Unless the Mississippi changes course, New Orleans will be rebuilt because it is economically viable to be there. Too much goes through the Mississippi to waste the port.

Perhaps this time when they rebuild, however, they'll consider stilting the buildings and revamping the pumping and levee system. Now's their chance.

[hatrack]

58. Pompeii? I don't think so . . .

Not until the 1700s, anyway.

[melody]

35. If Clinton were in office, things would be surmountable

I think that's what is so soul-killing about this whole thing - we know Bush is going to do next-to-nothing. When LA was hit by the Northridge Quake which did such damage to the infrastructure, Bill Clinton immediately sent in the Army Corp of Engineers and many other forces to confront the situation. We were back up and operational in an amazingly short period of time.

But with Smirky the Chimpface Boy in office? Not a chance.

[Cleita]

39. This is a big problem. I hope the authorities involved are

up to some major arm twisting to get what they need.

[Lindsay]

12. Why is it

that so many of us see these things so clearly, and those who control the resources do not?

Edwards was right - we do have two Americas. One concerned with the bottom line, the other concerned with human lives.

Damn, I am so tired of the selfish bastards.

[cbear70]

61. frustrating , isn't it??

I agreed with Edwards as well... two americas... very sad.

[SammyWinstonJack]

62. So you answered your own question

"One concerned with the bottom line,..."

[KoKo]

13. I remember the news about Punta Gorda/Fla. in last years hurricane

that wiped out that area being reported on all day and night for several days on cables...and it seemed to me the networks covered it, too.

Both cables covered it all day but then tonight they went to their line up...but without all the extra coverage they gave today. I'm surpised that the networks didn't do a special about it tonight.

What happens tomorrow...do they stop covering it. The whole area on the gulf is devasted with NO's people locked in their city with no protection and 30,000 in the Sumper Dome (according to CNN earlier today from a report from a Nurse whose former Military who was in the Dome. Said all the rescued folks were being brought there plus more folks when the water started to rise today, came in.

Yet, the news tonight seemed to focus on Looters. What is going on...it's kind of :scared: This is a huge story....why would they not focus on it and those people who need help plus all those who evacuated and are worried sick to death probably about what they left behind.

I just don't get the motivation for the media to not be more thorough. Where are the interviews with those sitting in motel/hotel rooms all over the East Coast who need to know whats going on?

[Catherine Vincent]

14. A lot of those people will unfortunately starve to death.

This shouldn't happen in America. I am so worried about all this and feel helpless. It makes my chest hurt. :-(

[Kenroy]

48. As awful as it is...

I doubt people will starve to death. They may drown, but anybody who survives the water will be fed. It will be in a refugee camp, and they'll be there for many months, but they're not gonna starve.

Nonetheless, the response has been atrocious.

[Guaranteed]

15. The NO people are really going to have to pull together if they're

going to save themselves and the city.

If it keeps going like this, there's not going to be anything left.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

44. And a *real leader* would go on national TV and radio

and tell everyone to pull together and share what little they have with their neighbors, no matter what race they are. A real leader would figure out some way to get that message across to people who are cut off (perhaps people who can still listen on battery-powered radios could tell their neighbors?)

[Guaranteed]

50. ABSOLUTELY.

THAT would be leadership.

[lpbk2713]

16. Oh I can believe Smirky's not on the tube giving us his plans

to render aid to NO and keeping us posted.


Yup. I really can...... That's our Smirky for ya.

[gulfcoastliberal]

19. Waveland, MS Bay St Louis MS, Kiln, MS Diamondhead, MS, Pass Christian, MS

Longbeach, MS, Gulfport, MS, Biloxi, MS

All either virtually or totally destroyed. My grandmother lived in Waveland for 60 years. Her house is probably destroyed. NO PICTURES FROM THE WORST OF THE EYEWALL FROM SLIDELL TO BAY ST LOUIS. Even after Ivan, the Pcola News Journal hired a helicopter to fly over the beach and photograph almost everything. Why has this not happened?

New Orleans finally fills up since it is a bowl beneath both a lake and the Gulf.

I-10 bridges destroyed

Hwy 90 Bay St Louis-Long Beach bridge destroyed.

Is this some perverse way to "spur" the economy since they've rigged it so insurance companies pay pennies on the dollar on these kinds of damages? My mom's partner had to pay $50,000 out of pocket to fix their house because the garage level is uninsurable. My USAA insurance hardly paid anything after Ivan and my condo was devastated.

It makes me sick. As soon as I can sell and not take a loss, I'm moving back to Northern California. I've been through 3 major hurricanes in 11 months. Enough is enough.

[Stephanie]

20. A million people are homeless.

The president is relaxing at his Waco compound.

[dejaboutique]

21. this is awful and I can't believe the media is sleeping

looks like no more live news until morning. I would think these newscasters would drool over the opportunity to cover it, it is certainly worth covering 24/7

[Pallas180]

27. Hey, they're in New Orleans too - it's dangerous now at night-

no lights to view anything with...do we need to watch every moment of every tragedy on tv? - people confronting them trying to take their extra gas tanks off their tv trucks...some demanding to know if they have any money.

They're people too - and in just as much danger as any non looter is in the dark, in the deep water in the dark...with snakes, alligators, rats and who knows what as well as criminal types.

And some of them relating what is going on sound and look downright scared.

[norml]

26. LAT: Katrina pushes public health system to brink

Katrina pushes public health system to brink
By Los Angeles Times

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. — Authorities along the Gulf Coast faced the collapse of the public health system Tuesday with water supplies sporadic, electricity shut off, hospitals closing and the threat of more injuries and infectious diseases in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Officials also warned against a variety of imminent problems, including encounters with snakes, alligators and other wildlife displaced by the flooding, and the need to minister to the mental health needs of survivors who have lost nearly all their worldly possessions.

The biggest problem they face is that modern medicine requires large amounts of electricity and there was very little available Tuesday — and for the foreseeable future.

At least 10 hospitals in New Orleans were using generator-supplied electricity, and several have already closed. State health authorities have been transporting critically ill patients out of New Orleans by boat, helicopter and bus, said Dr. Jimmy Guidry, the state health officer.


snip


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/storm/content/nation/epaper/2005/08/31/a9a_kat_health_0831.html

[Pallas180]

33. Generators run on gas. There's no gas left in New Orleans -

this is a dire situation.

they've got to drop food and water by plane, as fast as possible.

[JDPriestly]

28. Katrina will change the public will as much,

possibly more, than 9/11. 9/11 united us then left us fearful and suspicious. Katrina will unite us and leave us determined to work together to rebuild our infrastructure. 9/11 favored Republican values. Katrina will focus Americans on Democratic values.

[Stinky The Clown]

53. I really agree with you on this point

There's no 'enemy' to go after. No one to smoke out of caves.

This is a perfect opportuinity to revive the American spirit as held by the Democrats. Tough in the face of adversity, but caring in the human sense. No one to be killed. Only lives to be saved or improved.

I have had the same thought you posted scratching around in the back of my head for a while now.

A common goal that doesn't involve bunker busters and bloviating war hawks.

There's hope for this country, still. I really believe it. And this horrible tragedy can well be the catalyst.

[wli]

29. Let the casualty coverup begin!

These neocons are genocidal maniacs.

[seemslikeadream]

30. I have felt this all day

This is much worse than it appears

[Pallas180]

36. Dream check your mail please.

Pallas

[Desertrose]

43. me too seems...this is gonna be a really long haul and I don't think

NO & the gulf coast well ever be the same.

I'm just trying to send as much light and compassion as I can to that area for now.......hopfully in the future I can do more ....sigh....

I don't think many of us really have any idea what this is going to do to our country.

What is with this time period after bushwa gets inaugurated...thank god its his last term.....

[ultraist]

34. They reported that there are people stuck in flooded homes

And they cannot get to them but can hear their yells. Some areas haven't even been checked yet. Hundreds of people on the street with nowhere to go. Dead bodies floating around. Animals trapped in flooded houses.

:cry:

[Anywho6]

37. I'm usually more optimistic...

...but I think that because it's mostly poor and African American people taking the brunt, the Bushies don't see a whole lot of political gain from rushing to the rescue. Jackasses.

I also think they are closely evaluating the economic impact this unbelievable disaster is going to have on the entire country. And they're scrambling to figure out how to save their fortunes.

I am a California transplant from Kentucky and I will always be a Southerner at heart. That heart is aching tonight for those who have suffered and are suffering a nightmare of nightmares.

Peace...

[tedzbear]

38. Don't forget, it's now a lake that stinks.

90 degree F humid heat.

[norml]

42. Floodwaters carry with them a major threat of disease

Posted on Tue, Aug. 30, 2005


Floodwaters carry with them a major threat of disease

BY JACOB GOLDSTEIN AND FRED TASKER

Knight Ridder Newspapers


MIAMI - (KRT) - Flooding in New Orleans could cause major public health problems ranging from diarrhea to West Nile virus, experts said. But on Tuesday, beleaguered medical workers were struggling to keep patients alive.

Contaminated floodwaters can spread such bacteria as E. coli and salmonella, which can be fatal for the very young, the very old and others with weak immune systems, says Dr. Delia Rivera, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Experts said it could be several weeks before the floodwaters - contaminated with toxins including human feces, gasoline and chemicals from industrial sites - are pumped from the city.

Toxic chemicals in the water can cause skin rashes and other ailments, Rivera said.

But while flooding can potentially spread such epidemic-causing diseases as typhoid fever, cholera and leptospirosis, they are not likely to be a problem in the short term because they are not endemic in the United States.

A more serious medium-term risk, Rivera said, might be mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and West Nile virus.


snip


http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/nation/12519009.htm

[lpbk2713]

46. Is the city's sewage plant in the "bowl"?

Or did they have the foresight to build it on higher ground? If millions of gallons of raw sewage gets into the mix, they haven't begun to see how bad it's going to get yet.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

47. I'm with you...The media behavior is downright bizarre.

Maybe they are also just stunned, and don't realize how grim this is.
Or maybe they really are just morons.

I watched Aaron Brown fawn over a photo of a mom hugging her child with their house destroyed behind them. It's a moving photo, no doubt, but he actually said, "I love this photo", as if this is some sweet human interest story, not about thousands of other families in this same situation, homes lost, loved ones lost, devastated, desperate.

Nancy Grace is of course talking about Aruba.

People are acting as if the storm is over, when in fact the horror for many of these cities and counties is only just beginning.

[Francine Frensky]

60. I know! Even to show Miss. when the NO tradgedy is

unfolding literally before our eyes. The tv coverage seems to be that both tradgedy's are equal, when in fact the Miss. coverage is just a bunch of stuff that's destroyed (how many pictures of splintered two by fours do we have to see?). I'd rather see the new orleans *developing* story, which seems more dire.

[OneBlueSky]

51. I hate to say it, but every time some talking hairpiece says . . .

something about the possibility of hundreds of casualties, I cringe . . .

there will be thousands of casualties by the time this is over, imo . . .

[dogday]

57. I am afraid of the number of Dead

they will find. I suspect it will be hundreds at least, maybe more.. There are a lot of people unaccounted for...

[crispini]

59. You are correct.

Kicked and nominated.