One thing is certain, money speaks louder than cries for help.
Not only do the rich keep getting richer, but when disaster strikes, they are almost certainly the ones who will get the attention. Maybe since "trickle down economics" worked OHHH so well, they figure they would try "trickle down disaster recovery".
After the mess that is south Florida post Wilma it's very obvious that the special attention being paid to the "haves" was no fluke after Katrina..Because it's happening again.
Michael Moore (yes yes.. save your fat white guy jokes for someone else) has an article copied on his website from the Miami Herald (no liberal media jokes necessary...thanks). The article details the hell that has become Miami-Dade & Broward Counties after this storm. A week after the storm there are HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people with nothing left. Some not even a roof over their heads, food or water.
Here is the article:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4724
Again I have to ask that everyone contact whoever they can in the media about this dire issue. For weeks after Katrina we heard about the hell that was New Orleans. And I'm not trying to marginalize what those people went through. But mind you the Greater New Orleans area is very concentrated & has a population of 1.3 Million people. The Tri-County area of Florida that was hit by Wilma has well over 5 Million residents. This story needs to be told & I'd be willing to bet that most Americans have no idea what is happening.
PLEASE contact the media sources I listed in the previous article & ask them to cover this story!
After the mess that is south Florida post Wilma it's very obvious that the special attention being paid to the "haves" was no fluke after Katrina..Because it's happening again.
Michael Moore (yes yes.. save your fat white guy jokes for someone else) has an article copied on his website from the Miami Herald (no liberal media jokes necessary...thanks). The article details the hell that has become Miami-Dade & Broward Counties after this storm. A week after the storm there are HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people with nothing left. Some not even a roof over their heads, food or water.
Here is the article:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4724
Again I have to ask that everyone contact whoever they can in the media about this dire issue. For weeks after Katrina we heard about the hell that was New Orleans. And I'm not trying to marginalize what those people went through. But mind you the Greater New Orleans area is very concentrated & has a population of 1.3 Million people. The Tri-County area of Florida that was hit by Wilma has well over 5 Million residents. This story needs to be told & I'd be willing to bet that most Americans have no idea what is happening.
PLEASE contact the media sources I listed in the previous article & ask them to cover this story!
posted by JD Fermenich at 10/31/2005
5 Comments:
You've forgotten somethings. Katrina Affected 3, count them 3, States, not just New Orleans. Although the media was mostly concerned with New Orleans they completely ignored the other areas affected. Not to mention the fact that a great deal of the things we heard were going on post Katrina are now being found false. I have Family in Miami, An Aunt and Uncle, 3 cousins spread out in Southern Florida, and a friend from High School Living in Fort Meyers Florida. NO ONE is having it easy down there. We CANNOT focus on one small area such as a certain city. The storm affected a lot larger area than that. And don't forget that FEMA is working to Help people affected by 3 storms now, over a very wide area. So I know what's going on in south Florida and it SUCKS. But I am not so positive it could be done any better
I didn't forget that Katrina affected 3 states. I was comparing the statistics of the major metro areas that were affected by the storms. I mean if we're talking about size of the area impacted, Wilma was 400 miles wide & impacted the entire state.
Again, I don't want to marginalize the hardships the people in the gulf coast are going through, I've got friends there & wouldn't wish that nightmare on my worst enemies.
I do have to argue with you that it couldn't have been done better. Florida has been through hundreds of hurricanes, but after every one response was swift & the gaping wounds were patched quickly. I know there are some people still reeling from Ivan, but this isn't the norm. Yet after this storm we are left wondering where is the help Florida had become accustomed to?
Again I have to respond with the fact that fema is stretched out from Texas to Florida. I would have to say that is why the response may not be as swift as either one of us would want. Now if you were to argue that FEMA should have been more prepared I may have to agree with you but then what are their limitations this late in the hurricane season. There are only so many people and dollars to go around.
As you said Florida has been through hundreds of these. There for the LOCAL governments should have things set up for a quick response and the FEDERAL government should be there to help. But my firm belief is that local government is the first line of defense and the federal the last. Any one who counts on the federal government to bail them out every time is a fool. And I don't care Who's running the show. Republican or Democrat. The bigger the government the slower the reaction is bound to be. Pleas don't think I'm accusing you of marginalizing anything. I didn't mean it to sound that way, only to illustrate how swamped FEMA is at this time.
First I want to thank you for the converstation. It's awesome to be able to have civil discourse with someone who doesn't agree with everything another says. That is tough to find these days & it's been a breath of fresh air.
Second, I think at the end of the day, you & I are reaching a common ground. I would agree with you that local government plays a critical role. The issue becomes the fact that local/state governments have but a fraction of the resources that the federal government has. This means to get the help that they need, we they are relying on FEMA & other depts. like it for most of the help.
Finally I acknowledge that FEMA is stretched incredibly thin right now. However, before hurricane season ever started this year, NOAA had predicted one of the most active & strongest hurricane seasons ever. Because of this, I think the current situation of unpreparedness is inexcuseable.
I truly agree that it is nice to be able to have a discussion without someone flipping out. Nothing is ever accomplished that way and noone enjoys it or learns anything.
I hate to render this down to a money issue, but it's unavoidable. I don't recall exactly when the NOAA made its predictions but i'm sure it was long after the budget was already set. Of course the argument could be made that we dip into deficit for other things and why not this? But the government does do that, but it takes time to see what is needed, draw those resources together, and distribute them. I wish I knew the distrbution of help vs. population. I have not heard or seen any reports on this type of inoformation but it would be interesting to see. But I just can't see that things are really any better in one area compared to others. My aunt and uncle in Florida were waiting 5 hours for gasoline and other necessities, and from what I hear that's about the same as else where in the state. More than some, less than others.
One last comment. Keep up the good work of civily discussing things with who ever comes along. I think it does the world good. As long as people don't get into wide exaggerations and following just one side of the story. There's always another side, and both should be heard.
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