Katrina 2nd Anniversary

[RedTop]

Some a you peoples just aint be makin no sense is all. know what Im sayin? where dat compassion be? das what I be axin.

[TalonX]

Until you rid the country of the entitlement mentality - that sense that someone owes you something, we will never be all that we can be as a nation.

Think about the people looking for reparations for slavery.... My God.  Ok, if there are any living former slaves, I say we pay them handsomely.   For the decendents?   Forget it.   You have the same options as any IMMIGRANT today.....why do some immigrants get here and own their own motels, or 7-11's, after arriving with nothing in their pockets?  Because they don't have an entitlement mentality.  They are here to work and achieve.

Those who would tell someone they should be paid for slavery are killing the people they claim to represent.    The handouts after a storm are needed.   At some point, they have to stand on their own feet, and most have.  The few with the entitlement mentality will be on the public dole the rest of their lives.

[mrmidi]

Well let me start my reply by saying and thanks to the people here that
do not stereo type people from New Orleans and South Louisiana
after the Natural Disaster that accured, because of the bad apples
and inbreds you only see in the "Media".

And yes I will probablly misspell a few words in this.

And to the idiots that do stereo type, I have one phrase for you but since it has no
place in these forums I'll leave you to your own conclusions.

I lived in Washington Parish 70 miles due North of New Orleans and have and
had relitives in the City none of which lived in section 8 or government housing,
All having and had been paying insurance premiums for 30+ years,
"Sorry but your claim is not covered it was a flood, an act of God"
When in fact it was not the act of God "the hurricane it's self"  that
caused the devistation it was the neglected and improplely built
levee's that failed "Man made dissaster" look up the facts instead
of believing every thing you hear, see, and read in the "Media"
Death, Distruction, and dissaster boosts ratings and sells news papers.
And when you speak of New Orleans and south Louisiana direct your anger
and slander to the ones deserving of it, and not the the area as a whole.
1/3 of the countries natural gas supply comes from or thru there,
Agricultural goods come from the northern states down the Mississippi
River to New Orleans to be shipped out, not to mention the millions of
tons of other goods. There are honest and decent people working
in that area that lost every thing.

As for me here's my story.
Remember I was 70 miles Due North of New Orleans, and only 18 miles
due west of my house winds where recorded at 125 mph.
As a result of Katrina a year and a half later I lost my home to forclosure
had a vehicle siezed and had to close my business.
Was I working? You bet your arse I was working but if the economy
is broken you just can't make ends meet. Materials get jacked up
in price, gas prices go thru the roof and you feel you can't trust anyone,
you didn't know.
So you try your best to fix things your self with what you have.

Did I ask anyone for anything No, did I beg anyone for anything No,
Did I stay in some one elses house and spounge off them No.
I stayed in my own partially un roofed house and survived with
no running water and no electricity for a month straight with my wife.
Neighbors helped neighbors and we survived.
Did I vote for Mr. "Chocolate City" Nagen, or Mrs. "Deer in the Headlights Blanco"? NO
I have moved on and restarted my life from scratch with my wife and my son,
Did I ask you to help me do that? NO
So don't put me and Many, Many others like me in the same sentence
when you condem people from the area.

Mid

[BTW]

There are two types of people in the US, those  that live in spite of government and those that live by government.

The people complaining that the government hasn't rebuilt their lives are the same ones who were flopping over on the overpass instead of trying to save themselves. After 3 generations on welfare, they are conditioned to be totally dependent on government.

I've got to figure how to post pictures. I'll show you what I've been doing the last 2 years. I've rebuilt my garage, gutted and rebuilt 70% of my house. The insurance ran out because the cost of materials soared after Katrina. But my house is comfortable. I'm not going to go in debt over it, so I'll complete the last 30% as I get the money.

There is a sense of pride that wherever I look in this house, I can say, I built that:D  I'm tired, but damn proud!

[Masherbrum]

Originally posted by mrmidi
When in fact it was not the act of God "the hurricane it's self"  that
caused the devistation it was the neglected and improplely built
levee's that failed "Man made dissaster" look up the facts instead
of believing every thing you hear, see, and read in the "Media"
Death, Distruction, and dissaster boosts ratings and sells news papers.

Mid

Interesting.   You're gonna sit here and Blame a Levee System that did it's job?   Sure NO was flooded.   But when you take into account that while they were only Rated to stop a Cat 3 Storm Surge.    Most would rather skirt the fact that while Katrina was a Cat 4 Hurricane, it actually had a Cat 5 Storm Surge.    So when you take that FACT into account and realize that the damage could have been worse, I'd have to say that the levees did their job.

As for blaming an "improperly built" Levee system, I call BS.   New Orleans Residents chose to live BELOW Sea Level, and the City itself LONG exceeded capacity.    

"Man Made Disaster"?   LMFAO, you must be Farrakhan.    You chose to live there.    You had an idiot for Mayor, that was RE-ELECTED, and chose to park school buses.    I'm sorry but I refuse to believe it was a "Man Made Disaster", when in fact it was the mindset "It won't happen to us."

As Maverick said, Mississippi got hit worse than NO, but NO and it's minions, are cockblocking them by crying the loudest.

[SkyRock]

Originally posted by Masherbrum
Interesting.   You're gonna sit here and Blame a Levee System that did it's job?   Sure NO was flooded.   But when you take into account that while they were only Rated to stop a Cat 3 Storm Surge.    Most would rather skirt the fact that while Katrina was a Cat 4 Hurricane, it actually had a Cat 5 Storm Surge.    So when you take that FACT into account and realize that the damage could have been worse, I'd have to say that the levees did their job.

As for blaming an "improperly built" Levee system, I call BS.   New Orleans Residents chose to live BELOW Sea Level, and the City itself LONG exceeded capacity.    

"Man Made Disaster"?   LMFAO, you must be Farrakhan.    You chose to live there.    You had an idiot for Mayor, that was RE-ELECTED, and chose to park school buses.    I'm sorry but I refuse to believe it was a "Man Made Disaster", when in fact it was the mindset "It won't happen to us."

As Maverick said, Mississippi got hit worse than NO, but NO and it's minions, are cockblocking them by crying the loudest.

Jay, I have to disagre with you on this one.  Katrina, no matter how you look at it, devasted good hard working people and loser do-nothings alike.  It was/is definitely the Governments job to oversee their structures to try and prevent these types of situations.   What happened in NO is an injustice to humanity.  Many paid their taxes and insurance and owned those homes only to have Katrina, the government, and the insurance companies  screw them in their worst time of need.  
Yes, there are the bad apples, but usually, and I speak from experience, most of the people who live in these types of neihborhoods would rather be selfsufficient than not.  




TalonX,  how do you feel about big companies getting subsidies??  Do you think that subsidies are any different from welfare?  Which is higher, the money the govt. spends on welfare, or the money the govt. spends on big company subsidies?  

I'd be willing to bet, one could take the govt subsidies given to Allstate and Travelers in one year, and rebuiled every house in the ninth ward.
 
Just  a tidbit of info here,  2005(the year Katrina hit) was the most profitable year on record for insurance companies.




Mark

[Masherbrum]

My blame isn't on the citizens, it is on the one's who choose to "remain blind".    

IMO, rebuilding NO to have this happen again is lunacy at it's best.   It WILL happen again, and throwing money at it is pointless.  

Rebuild the Port, build housing for the Port Authority and have Mardi Gras elsewhere.    

Mark, homeowners insurance does NOT cover Floods.   It is a separate premium.     I was just replying to what I had quoted and still stand behind it.    Had those Levees NOT done the stressed job that they had, the entire city would be in the same predicament, regardless of being "slightly higher above the ground".    

The Mayor, Governor, and FEMA were inept.   The Insurance Company has NEVER been "about the helping of the public", they have ALWAYS been about "screwing the public".

[lazs2]

I think it is useful to see the real results of katrina...

We need to review the tapes of the looting and killing and rapes... the tapes of the NO "police" looting a walmart.. maybe a few speeches by the NO mayor would be helpful.

As for the insurance...  I think that if the insurance companies are not paying out then it is insurance companies that need to be invesitgated.   If you bought cheapo flood insurance that did not cover hurricanes then you need to suck it up.

I am sure that many people had good insurance and that they got compensated for at least the value of the damage.  

The rest of you need to see what kind of insurance they had and get that next time.

The dregs that left NO were criminals everywhere they went.  that is why no one wanted them.

My cousin lived there and his house was flooded and he had no trouble finding a place to stay and no trouble with his insurance company and... he never found a need to loot walmart for sneakers and track suits.

lazs

[Yknurd]

Originally posted by SkyRock
Jay, I have to disagre with you on this one....  It was/is definitely the Governments job to oversee their structures to try and prevent these types of situations.
Mark

Bull.

Someone wants to build a house on a volcano.

Scenario A:
Government says, "No.  It's not safe".  The person screams, "The government is telling me how to live!!  Ah, Big Brother is controlling my life!!  I pay taxes, I'm a free person.  Bush and Cheney are evil!!!!!1111"

Scenario B:
The government build a lava deflection system of canals and gives the green light to build the house.  After years of government sustenance (i.e. welfare) and paying no taxes, the volcano erupts on an unprecedented level (unprecedented not because it couldn't happen, it just hadn't happened before).  The family in the house (they've been busy procreating even though they can't feed just themselves and live on the government tit) claim the government should have done more to prevent the catastrophe and they are victims.  Not just victims of circumstance or bad luck but victims of an unjust government that only looks out for rich, white people.

Either way, the government is wrong and the people are victims.

[SkyRock]

Originally posted by Masherbrum


Mark, homeowners insurance does NOT cover Floods.   It is a separate premium.    

I know the levee debacle in NO is a different case, but in most cases, from loisiana to alabama, the insurances did not pay for water damage that was blown into the houses, not flooded!!!!!  In a year where they recorded record profits, they denied almost every claim that had to do with water.

[lazs2]

yet... the insurance companies have paid out millions in flood and water damage claims in NO.

Seems to me that whoever regulates insurance in that state is to blame for a lot of the problems.   certainly it is not me.

I did not choose to live under the ocean level in a hurricane area.

I did not choose to get no insurance to cover me.

I did not riot or loot in NO.

I did not vote in the democrats who run that city and state and who, it seems, are insane.

I did see the tapes and stories of how the animals who live in that city reacted.

I did see the tapes of the NO police looting and I did see the officials take firearms away from law abiding citizens so that they could not protect themselves.

I want nothing to do with the people of NO.

lazs

[SkyRock]

Originally posted by Yknurd
Bull.

Someone wants to build a house on a volcano.

Scenario A:
Government says, "No.  It's not safe".  The person screams, "The government is telling me how to live!!  Ah, Big Brother is controlling my life!!  I pay taxes, I'm a free person.  Bush and Cheney are evil!!!!!1111"

Scenario B:
The government build a lava deflection system of canals and gives the green light to build the house.  After years of government sustenance (i.e. welfare) and paying no taxes, the volcano erupts on an unprecedented level (unprecedented not because it couldn't happen, it just hadn't happened before).  The family in the house (they've been busy procreating even though they can't feed just themselves and live on the government tit) claim the government should have done more to prevent the catastrophe and they are victims.  Not just victims of circumstance or bad luck but victims of an unjust government that only looks out for rich, white people.

Either way, the government is wrong and the people are victims.

govt-state, local, and federal
You miss the reason we pay taxes.  Those levees were under the care of the government, and therefore the government is responsible.  Now, if the government wants to avoid seeking taxes from places where it does not want to do it's job, then maybe we will have an answer to the levee lunacy in NO!  
The government oversees and has authority to deny the building of any house for many different reasons.  Those neihborhoods were built under the watchful eye of the government and were taxed as well.  There has never been any doubt about the possibilities for dissaster considering the levees, yet time and time again, monies were not allocated to raise and support the levees......I guess that money was being spent on other things..........maybe 100 times the amount of money that would have been needed to secure the levees was spent on big insurance subsidies.................... .....enough said!!!  

[lazs2]

LOL.. the federal government allowed people to build there?   It was federal land?

Sooo... no matter how dangerous a place... if the government builds any protection...such as levees... it is the fault of the government if a hurricane... no matter what strength... knocks it down?

Those levees had survived countless lesser hurricanes.   I say that if you live there and don't have insurance then it is entirely your fault.

If I have a vote then I would vote that the levees that the feds own all be bulldozed and that it be posted everywhere that there is federal land (former levee sites) that anything past this point is a dangerous flood plain.

If people or state government wants to build a levee... let em...if people want to live there with crap insurance and crap government watchdogs on insurance... let em.

I waived flood insurance on my home.  It was my choice and It may bite me on the butt some day but I am willing to take that chance.   after all..  I can always loot and whine if things go badly.

lazs

[Yknurd]

Again, Mark, I say Bull.

It's not the job of the government to protect the stupid people from themselves.

In fact, I want a government, nay, a nation, where the stupid people are allowed to freely hurt and kill themselves without ANY governmental interference.

[RATTFINK]

levees

The levees for YEARS (40+ yrs.) have been known to giveaway if there was any threat of a Hurricane of substantial power like Katrina.  It was also known that the city would be under water if a hurricane was to hit & yet the Mayor did nothing. And to top that the people of LA. Re-elect him. [shrug]

I’m not saying the government shouldn’t have fixed the levees along time ago as they should have, before Bush (people have blamed Bush for the levee break).