[:0][:0]There is an excellent article in the 9/11/05 Washington Post about the massive amount of confusion at all levels of gov’t concerning hurricane Katrina. In the article Amtrak had about 20 cars that they wished to move to higher ground. Amtrak offerred to transport people wanting to evacuate NO, but they city officials declined. So the train headed North empty.
Rob
Sounds like somebody was sleepin on the job, their train of thought died on the hours of service law!
Sorry to say it this way, but the mayor NO was pretty much not qualified to run the city, with the bus issue, handing off to state level, Bu***elling him to get people out and ignoring, the scandals before the event, how the Army Corp was willing to, even had the $$ to do enhancements to the levee but yet the female senator moving money around. I would say these people were let down by the very people they elected.
I would have had those 20 cars FILLED and red tape be ***ed.
This is no big surprise to me and to many…the mayor, Governor and FEMA director were all incompetent, and so far only one has resigned…AHHHH, POLITICAL PATRONAGE IS A WONDERFUL THING…NOT.
I understood that the “empty” movement was used by Amtrak and other railroad employees. But many more could have boarded.
Not only fillled…but sitting on laps too…pile people in there and get them out!
Not to pile on or pass judgement but there is evidence that 9/1 was the day welfare checks were to be distributed and the people wouldn’t leave because they wanted the money first.
monday morning quarterbacking comes easy… There are so many variables, most of which you would have to have been there to appreciate, that it’s almost impossible to say for sure what any of us would or would not have, done.
That’s not to say that the people who were in charge didn’t make big mistakes, but to sit here after tha fact claiming how we would have handled it better, knowing no more than what is being reported by the media , is kinda unrealistic.
Hmm, that makes sense, I have seen Krogers and Walmart on the 1st and 2nd of each month and it’s a zoo. I f what you say is correct, thing of what that says for their mentality. There is a quote in the bible, but better not say it. For it rings so true for that day.
Too bad the Sean Hannitys and Rush Limbaughs haven’t grasped the realization of this, but monday morning quarterbacking is their specialty.
G’day, Y’all,
In my ROTC classes at an essentially-military college, we were told that war zones were not the time or place to think, but to act on pre-practiced motions. They were talking about Vietnam but the instructions carry over to hurricane zones because in both situations, self preservation overrides thoughts of the mission. New Orleans and the other coastal cities should have had their own disaster plans which dovetailed with those of the whole region, the state and the Gulf Coast, east coast, Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest, West Coast, etc… These should have begun at the local level rather than in Washington.
Both the mayor and governor should bear the brunt of the blame, but FEMA should come in for its share, too. But with, what? 200 years of weather behind it? Louisanna should have known a big one would eventually get it and be ready to respond.
Jock Ellis
Cumming, GA US of A
Have you tried to ride amtrak lately? (lol)
You gotta meet them WHERE THEY SAY, WHEN THEY SAY, or it’s “no ride for you”
Here I’ve gotta drive 40 miles out into the cornfields and be there at 11:30 PM, “or else”…No on site ticketing, no baggage checK… etc
I’m only kidding a little when i say with a hurricane on their hands, the local authorities probably saw dealing with the storm as easier than putting up with Amtrak’s personality
Cool! Im AirROTC. Had a similar discussion.
Adrianspeeder
I might add a couple of things:
Haven’t tried riding Amtrak, as the only train(s) through Salt Lake City are at an ungodly time of the morning. Anything the government (state or federal) touches, turns to total FUBAR. [xx(] [xx(]
Actually if they hadn’t brought to light some of the slanting created by CNN, MSNBC and others, we would all be thinking this was about race, and our big bad President. The alternate media is at least one source that will dig deeper then the fluff we get from main stream media. I for one am thankfull for dittoheads and the conservative media.
Agreed!!!
I know you can’t make everyone evacuate, but it seems that people may have taken the storm too lightly or couldn’t get out due to physical handicaps. If Amtrak made this offer to the local government ahead of time and the mayor and others didn’t offer it to their constituants, that is foolish. It bothers me that the media places so much blame on the federal level (Bush) and not on the local government. Do you think people have underestimated hurricanes recently (and not evacuated) because most people have survived them?
Well, I just have noticed how, despite the confidence I have that serious mistakes were made by the local authorities, It’s also becoming more obvious that the finger pointers are only giving one side of the story
Like the now famous story of the 3,000 gallons of much needed water that got turned back by fema, after the news media sensationalized the need for water.
3,000 gallons of water is 12 tons. With the bridges in unknown condition and the knowledge that the levees that did fail because their footing washed away, I think turning the truck back made more sense than having another headline read “Federally directed rescue effort crashes through bridge, driver dead,…death toll now 10,001”
Or, like the guy who said he would have crowded people into the Amtrak train till people were sitting in each others lap… Suppose the train wrecked, who’s head do you suppose they would want for all the extra injuries due to overloading the safe capacity of the car?