What would be the reason to lie about the number of dead?

[fed_up_mother]

Look - for those of us who were here, evacuation plans went very well. The people of Houston were told to hunker down so we could let the folks on the coast leave unimpeded. This worked quite effectively.

I've been the first to complain about FEMA being unorganized and slow to respond, but frankly, I don't understand what would be the point of the powers that be lying to us about the number of dead WITH THE EXCEPTION of not having adequate plans, perhaps, for the elderly, disabled, and poor. However, I'm not sure that's a foregone conclusion. In fact, the poor in Galveston tend to live in the city proper, which was protected to a large extent by the Galveston seawall. Anyway, buses were bringing people to the mainland from Galveston, and last I could tell, there was no shortage of buses with long lines of people trying to escape. Furthermore, rescuers risked their lives until the very last minute trying to get folks out who decided to stay or waited too late to leave.

I do think that the casualty figure is going to go up fairly substantially, but I don't think this is a conspiracy in the making. If anything, the powers that be should be screaming from the rooftops that people need to evacuate next storm. Let this be a lesson for all involved - the individuals who need to evacuate, and the government officials who need to improve evacuation procedures - especially for those folks who can't leave on their own.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. FEMA/Bush don't want people to know how many died because it will remind them of Katrina.

[sandnsea]

The lie has been that black people are too stupid

to evacuate and therefore all the problems in New Orleans were their own fault.

If you don't understand why Republicans don't want that myth challenged, then I can't help you.

[iamjoy]

2. I Don't Think They're Lying

But, I think they hold to a certain standard of proof before reporting confirmed dead. This standard sometimes seems to fly in the face of everything logic and our senses would tell survivors and witnesses.

[lapfog_1]

3. Lessons learned would simply look like the ultimate in cynical attitude

if they start fishing 100s of bodies from the bay (or already have).

Fishing a few dozens to hundreds of bodies would dominate the news cycle for weeks (leading up to the election) and would make Ike look exactly like a repeat of Katrina. The repukes are in charge of this one from top to bottom and it simply won't matter that people ignored warnings.

[sandnsea]

9. People don't "ignore" warnings

For the most part. People have a variety of reasons for not leaving, the two that come to mind first is all your money is in food and sitting in your cupboards, and if the hurricane isn't bad you need to get back to work or you won't be able to buy food next week. Until they help low income people, even if there is NO hurricane, they won't get poor people to evacuate.

[EFerrari]

4. The press is cooperating with the government's request

that they not film casualties. They said so, straight up, on the air. It's not a conspiracy because it's not a secret. They told us exactly what was asked of them.

Perry said, straight up and on the air, that he would not discuss the subject.

Federal, state and local officials have limited media access from the get go, starting on Saturday morning.

You don't have to believe anything. You can observe it.

What the numbers will be, who knows But, there is no doubt at all that your government at every level is infringing on your First Amendments rights and with unknown consequences to you and to the area.

[fed_up_mother]

5. First off, there were many, many helicopters in the air during search and rescue

phase. That's the main reason why "officials" didn't want a bunch of media copters in the air. It's dangerous.

Now that S & R has slowed down, the media is in the air and has taken aerial photos of the devastation. Furthermore, i don't think it's wrong to ask them not to photograph bodies. It's standard procedure that next of kin notification is made before the media releases information on any victims - even car crashes. Unfortunately, this is a tragedy on such a large scale, there seems to be a point where the media should be allowed to photograph, because it could be months before notifications are even attempted.

[pocoloco]

6. Besides that, they have never lied before!!!

[fed_up_mother]

7. Sigh. Not everything is a conspiracy. We're starting to look like fools.

Just wait. The truth will come out, and it will be bad enough.

[EFerrari]

8. Government repression is pretty much always called "for our own good". n/t

[conscious evolution]

11. Wrong

S&R helicopters fly low and slow.News helicopters can fly much higher to get the video they need.
All the FAA needs to do is put out a Notice To Airmen instructing news crews to maintain a higher altitude.No pilot is gonna risk his liscence so a videographer can take shots that can be taken from a higher altitude.
The same thing happens everyday in large cities.Whenever there is an incident such as a high speed chase the news helos stay way above the police choppers.
The no fly rule put in place is meant for censorship and only censorship.

[KharmaTrain]

10. Beaumont Isn't New Orleans

While I'm disturbed by reports I do see coming out of the huricane inflicted areas, this storm, as bad as it was, was a lot different than Katrina. It affected a wide area...not just Beaumont and Houston but Beaumont & Port Arthur and all the way to St. Charles, La. The storm surge into Galveston Bay devestated a lot of low lying areas...and the residents were warned that this could be the case. Sadly, people die in hurricanes and the damage of Ike appears to be widespread and thus it will take a long time to get a real handle on what's happened. It's also been a logistical challenge for FEMA to put resources. Yesterday, I saw the lines in Houston for food...but there's also still a need to supplies to hundreds of other locations. While eay to blame FEMA...and there's room for fault, it's the whole Homeland Security infrastructure that has repeatedly failed as it's too big to deal with localized emergencies...too many moving parts that are hard to coordinate. FEMA needs to be given its independence again...not having to be micromanaged up and down a chain of inefficiency.

The biggest problems with Katrina were man made. It wsa a substandard levy system, poorly planned response to evacuating the elderly and poor, political infighting that turned into a media war while people drowned...and then there's the slow recovery that still scars the city. While Houston took a big hit, the city will bounce back...and the sea wall at Galveston helped prevent a total devestation...the damage from the storm is the focus here...compared to four days after Katrina where a majority of New Orleans was still under water.

Some seem to want to make political points here by any political screw ups...or assign them. Time will tell, but right now the focus still is on figuring out how bad things are and to get basic services back that will start the recovery.