People being prevented from walking out of New Orleans

[Eric J in MN]

From Digby via Fox News

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2005_08_28_digbysblog_archive.html#112571033355120776

Now Geraldo comes on and he freaks out, begging the authorities to let people still stuck at the convention center walk out of town. Shep comes back and he says they have checkpoints set up turning people back to the city if they try. (wtf?) They are both on the verge of tears.

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What reason would they have for preventing someone from walking out of New Orleans?

[musette_sf]

1. there is stuff going on

that no one wants anyone to see. I have really bad feelings about what is REALLY going on.

[rodeodance]

2. we have to think of NO as a "secured area"--Military is in charge now.

[Bison William]

3. Makes me think of night of the living dead

I just hope the stormtroopers that are now in place don't decide to handle it the same way.

[Old and In the Way]

4. Controlling the truth.

Like Iraq....keeping the information in and the media out. Obviously, they can't shut down the major networks, but 95% of their coverage is static (the reporter is standing with the disaster as a backdrop) or overhead shots. Their images are not exposing the audience to the raw, unadulterated images of the scene.

The people are going to get out...but I bet all camera's and recording devices with be impounded. They won't stop the verbal stories, but it's far easier to refute the truth when no visual evidence is available to back the claims.

[Silverhair]

8. Take off the tinfoil hat.

Think about what would really be involved in trying to walk out.

You AREN'T talking about a mid-spring stroll in the park.

Anybody that tries to walk out would die. It is that simple.

It sounds to me like you don't know the local geography of New Orleans.

[Old and In the Way]

11. Do you argue that they've managed the truth coming out of Iraq?

The #1 concern of this administration is limiting the PR damage.

I'll take my tinfoil hat off, when you take your apologist's hat off...deal?

[Silverhair]

12. I am talking about New Orleans, nothing else.

An attempt to walk out is suicide. It is that simple. I lived there for six years.

They would have to walk out over I-10 or the bridge over Lake Ponchartrain. The lake bridge is 27 miles long and they would still be in a storm damaged area.

I-10 West is a man miles long bridge over swampland, and would deposit them in a storm damaged area.

And the flood of walkers would disrupt rescue traffic into N.O.

Regarding trying to suppress news by keeping people in, you have to take into consideration that over 30K people have been relocated so far.

Please learn the local geography and weather and you would see that it would make the disaster worse if they were allowed to walk.

I suspect that if they were allowed to try to walk out and started dying in massive numbers from heat exhaustion from the walk, then you would find a tinfoil hat reason for why they were allowed to attempt an obviously suicidal walk.

[Silverhair]

5. An attempt to walk out is suicide.

Sorry, but that is EXACTLY what it is. And the crowds of people trying to walk out would slow the relief traffic.

To get out of New Orleans area would mean a hike in 100 degree weather with very high humidity on concrete with NO shade, for ABOUT 40 to 50 MILES. And that would be with no water enroute. Most who tried it would die.

I lived in New Orleans for six years.

And you need to do more than just get out of New Orleans. What good does it do to leave New Orleans if you only walk to the next hurricane ravaged area? NONE. Remember that the hurricane was hundreds of MILES wide. Do you think that the next community to N.O. is undamaged???? Why do you think people are being taken to Houston? They need to go that far to get out of the storm damaged area.

So you want people to start walking - to Houston???

Do you want them all to die??

[CottonBear]

9. True, but people have waited for 5 days and can't wait any longer to leave

People are willing to walk to Houston if that's what it takes to get out of NO. No one has helped them before yesterday amd many thousands of people are still stranded and dying, not just in NOLA but also in the Plaquemines, St. Bernard and Jefferson Parishes.

[newswolf56]

6. This has filled me with dread ever since it was reported last night.

It could be that the soldiers have merely been ordered to ensure the displaced persons don't go foraging through the countryside. But at the same time I thought of the Warsaw Ghetto -- and realized I have reached a point where absolutely nothing this administration does will shock me.

[CottonBear]

7. The outbreak and spread of infectious disease comes to mind.

The CDC should have been deployed to NOLA immediately after the storm.

Instead, the * administration has the CDC working on bio-terror. I know a large animal vet (working on collection of immunized horse serum to create bio-terror vaccines) who reports to a general in D.C. who reports directly to Cheney.

[whistle]

10. Downtown New Orleans has become Amerika's Warsaw Ghetto

...:wtf: