NBC was showing some real footage from Texas..

[annabanana]

Matt is showing some of the devastation that we haven't heard of before. Thousands of people couldn't get out and are stranded without food & water.

[Stuart G]

1. Without food and water? How can that be? ...Isn't FEMA on the Ball?

Guess who is ultimately in charge of FEMA>>>>>

..............same as before...no change..

[slackmaster]

36. Anyone who relies on government to be quick with food and water in an emergency is naive

It doesn't matter who is in charge of it. After a major disaster, it takes time to get supplies to where they are needed.

People need to stock up on emergency supplies themselves.

[Overseas]

38. FEMA used to be much much better. It definitely does matter who is in charge.

Democrats did a much better job.

Republicans appoint their friends to important positions, such as Bush's Brownie, who do a heck of a job.

Modern Republicans hate Good Government and want to destroy it. Wrecking something like FEMA makes lots of people hate the government and perpetuates the preferred Republican lie that government assistance is useless.

[slackmaster]

39. It is a lot easier to respond to major disasters when there aren't any major disasters

There was a pretty long quiet period between Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and 9/11/2001. The Clinton Presidency.

Coincidence? Consider it so at your own risk.

[Overseas]

40. It's up to you if you want to go along with right wing spin and decide government is bad bad bad.

Sad to hear it, but oh well.

[slackmaster]

41. Sorry if you got that impression, I'm just pointing out a fact

There were no major disasters during the eight years of the Clinton Administration, so it is a little disingenuous to compare FEMA's performance now to a period when it was never called into action in a big way.

[Overseas]

42. Except that he hired an expert and Dubya hired a buddy who had no prior emergency experience.

I'd say that's a huge difference and independent of the disaster count.

[Usrename]

43. There was the worst flooding in history along the Mississippi.

And FEMA was always there, filing claims, within hours. Not days, ...hours. You don't have a clue of how good they ran it.

And there were many hurricanes that hit here. James Lee Witt ran FEMA a whole lot differently. Whenever large-scale power outages occurred, there were always aid stations set up immediatly where you could get ice, and therefore you could use all the food you had in your fridge. It was run in a competent and straight-forward manner. You had to be there.

[Ghost in the Machine]

46. The Killer Flood of 1994 left at least 18 people dead in Georgia including 11 in the midstate.

The Killer Flood of 1994 left at least 18 people dead in Georgia including 11 in the midstate. Several parts of Middle Georgia were isolated Wednesday, with whole towns shut off from the outside world as rising waters threatened levees, dams, homes and businesses.At the end of the day Wednesday, Montezuma resembled a lake. About 500 people were evacuated Wednesday from the downtown area. Seven fatalities were reported in Macon County.

Americus was more like an island. Rising water from 21 inches of rain completely cut off the Sumter County town, even shutting down all four radio stations. Seven drowning victims were taken to the Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus on Wednesday. The victims were trapped in their homes or cars by floodwaters or mud slides.


At day's end, water from the Ocmulgee River threatened to flow over the Otis Redding Bridge, near Interstate 16 in Macon. That could be the death of the bridge, officials from the Army Corps of Engineers warned city officials Wednesday. Corps experts believe the bridge is not structurally sound enough to withstand the rushing water and it may already have been damaged.


Macon's nearby levee broke about 8 p.m. Wednesday, said Macon Mayor Tommy Olmstead. The 30-foot tall, 1-mile long levee runs from the Otis Redding Bridge south to an industrial park and curves inland.

http://www.hollidaydental.com/Levee1994.htm

I went to Montezuma for 2 weeks as a volunteer to help out with cleanup & recovery efforts. FEMA was there and helped out a lot of people...

[fudge stripe cookays]

47. You weren't in the Midwest, I see.

http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/floods/papers/oh_2/great.htm

I think those people who saw nothing but muddy water for MONTHS and sandbagged for hours upon hours upon hours might have something to say about that.

[Hekate]

45. >ahem< California had some major earthquakes, and FEMA did pretty well. Might I point out...

... that hurricanes give PLENTY of warning, and earthquakes do not. Pre-planning is key.

Under Bill Clinton, FEMA became an organization run by trained professionals.

Under George W. Bush, all of the Civil Service agencies were hollowed out. All of them. The average person will not become aware of this until (as with FEMA) major disaster strikes. Right now we are experiencing a series of disasters -- a gathering storm, if you will -- with the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies once charged with keeping us safe and healthy.

Just thought you would want to know.

Hekate

[XanaDUer]

2. Are these white people?

if so, i wonder if neil boortz will castigate them as losers who sat on their fat asses when a hurricane was bearing down on them?

[malaise]

5. Don't hold your breath

The truth is that many in the Bolivar peninsula could not leave because the one road out was flooding from early Friday morning. Many people trying to leave had to be rescued.
It's easy for us to say people should leave, but imagine (as one couple said) being at work Thursday and hearing that a storm is coming. The wife packs up stuff and waits for her husband to come off his shift so they can leave. By the time they can leave early Friday morning, the road is impassable.

Shouldn't employers have been told to send home workers on Thursday. Don't officials know which roads flood big time in any community.

Lots of people had no way of leaving. Others were old and needed assistance. This is just another version of NOLA, but don't expect the Neil boortz's to draw the parallels becuse that would only expose his 'igrant' racist mindset.

[MiniMe]

9. The storm surge hit much earlier than predicted

And that's what trapped some people.

[krkaufman]

44. That's bad disaster planning on the part of FEMA, the state and the city. n/t

[tekisui]

3. There is major censorship and story suppression going on there.

Reporters we told not to photograph "certain things". It was quite strange, on Friday, it was ALL Ike, When it hit, it got very quite.

[Breeze54]

4. They meant bodies ... floating...

:(

[raccoon]

25. After Katrina there were pictures of that on the Internet. I'm sure no

MSM outlet showed any, though.

[JoDog]

7. Do you have a link

or source to the directions given to the reporters?

And you're right, it was all Ike, all the time before it hit, but now, no coverage at all.

[tekisui]

8. I read it a few places before it hit.

This is the only thing I found with a quick search, I don't know the validity of this site, though.


Unfortunately, up to 90,000 Texans who live in mandatory evacuation areas may have decided not to leave. Officials indicate many have called for help but, as residents have been told repeatedly, at this point help won’t arrive until after the storm subsides. Officials have asked the media not to photograph “certain things” in the aftermath.

http://patterico.com/2008/09/12/hurricane-ike/

[JoDog]

10. Poster on dailykos

has been looking into this. Apparently, the FAA has imposed a no-fly zone over Galveston and the Boliver Penninsula.

http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/14/22830/8407/27/598996

The first wave of rescuers:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/us/15galveston.html?pagewanted=1&hp&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1221498251-8P4CkTt4wkG3HSY/WEPy8g

[crickets]

12. KOS: "What is FAA Headquarters in Washington DC doing issuing a No Fly Order

for a small strip of otherwise deserted shoreline in Texas?"


Good question. The answer is pretty obvious--they're trying to hide the ugly aftermath. The real question is whether it will work. I think the situation is too big to hide and it's going to blow up in their faces, making them look even more petty and incompetent.


Who At The FAA Caved Into Policial Pressure (34+ / 0-)

That excuse for the no fly zone is total b.s.

What at the FAA caved into the White House?

There is absolutely no reason for that restriction. The professional helicopter and fixed wing pilots that work for the media fly in close proximity to each other and to search and rescue aircraft all the time.

If anything, one would think that the "authorities" would appreciate and welcome additional eyes in the air to help look for survivors.


And another good point:

this is a situation where pool coverage (9+ / 0-)

could easily be arranged if they are indeed concerned about too many copters and such getting in the way of search and rescue efforts. News organisations have routinely pooled their efforts in such situations in the past when it was actually needed for safety reasons. They could, for example, simply allow the AP or UPI in and no one else, as pretty much everyone gets their feeds and can use their stuff.
Speaking as an ex-journo, this smells...

[malaise]

27. We picked this up since Saturday

It stinks - coverup!

[RoyGBiv]

11. This was said at a news conference ...

I can't find a link to a video where this was originally said.

Watch this, though. Reporter confronts Rick Perry, from Channel 13 in Houston:

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=6391343

OnEdit: That link is wrong. Can't figure out how to link directly.

The correct video is in the list. It is labeled Wayne Dolcefino confront Gov. Perry.

Also watch the one with Nick Lampson.

[intheflow]

28. Here's the direct link to the Dolcefino question:

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=6391294

Quite damning--the reporter almost got Perry to admit the Federal government is behind the media blackout.

[RoyGBiv]

32. Thanks ...

Dolcefino is a bulldog, a real journalist.

ABC13 has been on this since Saturday. I was watching the station live when the news anchor was getting very irritated at the "pool" helicopter coverage they were allowed to use after the FAA mapped out the no-fly zone. The feed was superimposing graphics labeling areas incorrectly, e.g. while flying over areas west of I-45, the graphic indicated they were flying over Galveston. At one point he stopped really trying to give commentary and was just pointing out landmarks and making clear for viewers that what they were being shown was not accurate.

[intheflow]

33. Wow, I'd really like to see that video clip.

Is it on the affiliate web site?

[RoyGBiv]

35. Unfortunately, no ...

I thought it was significant at the time and ran over to the computer to see if I could capture a stream but got no joy. I Just happened to see it during one of the periods of time I was watching yesterday.

Since they ran this 24/7 starting Friday, I'm sure there's tons of stuff along these lines that went down the memory hole.

[EFerrari]

16. I heard it from the anchors on Houston Ch 11. It was very creepy.

And DirecTv has shut down that feed today.

[dogday]

20. We are getting the first good video out of Bolivar and Crystal Beach

Man, most of the houses are gone... I am afraid the death toll will rise....

I am in Houston watching the locals here...

[EFerrari]

22. I'm streaming Ch 13. The DirecTv feed is gone. n/t

[dogday]

24. They are showing it as well...

Most of Bolivar and Crystal are gone, still don't know how well High Island faired, or Orange, and Beaumont... Have not heard about them.. The caskets are floating in Orange Texas...

Before the storm, we heard 40% stayed behind... I haven't seen too many survivor stories at all...

[EFerrari]

26. See? Skeletor has depopulated this hurricane. n/t

[EFerrari]

21. Looks like they were told not to talk to survivors, either.

Remember that's how we got a lot of information during and after Katrina?

They're just showing endless footage of broken stuff.

[krabigirl]

30. Agree - very creepy. We get Tv5 Monde (French channel). Lots of stories about it on French news.

The images were frightening. When we turned to American news channels, there was absolutely NOTHING about Ike. WTF is going on here???

[bdamomma]

34. total blackout by our contemptuous media.

[Breeze54]

6. All the morning shows have been showing it all night and when the sun came up...

and they've been going after Palin like rabid dogs too! :woohoo: They're showing the SNL bit over and over and over and they aren't saying very many flattering things AND have been pointing out all her LIES!! Listing them! I'm loving it. ABC did have a reporter voice over that kept with the meme comparing Obama to her and how bad he's doing (Give me a break!) but not CBS or NBC.

[discopants]

13. How things change when a hurricane hits after the GOP convention.

[slampoet]

14. "They should have left" -----Just an excuse for ELDER ABUSE and leaving the disabled to die.

[EFerrari]

18. Skeletor is simply projecting his irresponsibility over the people

it's his job to protect. What does he care -- he's retiring at the end of the year.

[blossomstar]

29. Most couldn't afford to travel

Same as in Katrina. It takes a LOT of money to fill up the tank with gas $5 gal. and travel to who knows where for how long, plus they're already behind on bills from paying the high prices to get to work & back already for the past year, not to mention the price of food! People just don't understand living paycheck to paycheck till you've done it. It's that simple.

[SalviaBlue]

15. WOW. Willfully ignorant is still IGNORANT. nt

[dgibby]

17. CNN, Too

CNN has just started showing aerial shots of Bolivar Peninsula. Devastating!

[EFerrari]

19. So, where are the interviews with the survivors?

:shrug:

[Liberal Dose]

23. Too bad the RNC wasn't still going on. Then all the rethugs would be rushing in to help. nt

[bdamomma]

31. do americans really want more of the same.

and bushie is going to Texas tomorrow, will he say this part of the world?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

37. Things are VERY bad in Crystal Beach. Very bad.

There are many people that have perished and the relief efforts will need to be extended far beyond what was initially slated.

All those poor people... :cry: