Taro T

Didn't Bush ask both the last 2 previous Presidents to help garner support for the tsunami relief effort? I believe he did. Where were the Newsweek articles about him using the last President to boost his credibility at that time? It is possible that they were there and I just missed them, but I don't recall hearing that criticism at that time. Consistancy would be nice, unfortunately the only consistancy we seem to get is: "BUSH BAD". Dave.

Didn't the Red Cross try to bring food and water to the Superdome and was told by LOHSEP to NOT bring food and water to the Superdome? Isn't the Red Cross one of the agencies that FEMA relies on to help with that portion of typical relief efforts? If the people you thought WERE bringing food and water AREN'T, your response might be a little slower than otherwise hoped for. Dave.

Now that Brown appears to be on the way out at the federal level, how long before Blanco tries to blame state and local mishaps on LOSHEP director Landreneaux? Dave.

Seneca county has been trying hard and unsuccessfully for a few years to figure out what to do with the old Seneca Army Depot. Any word on whether that is one of the facilities they are looking at? Dave.

Thanks for update. Dave.

Here's a thought, spurred by your question. Had Kerry won, it would be interesting to know whether FEMA would have even HAD a chief administrator as we are only 7 months after he would have taken over. My guess is that it would, but I know that not all of Bush's appointees were installed by August of '01, and there are several deputy positions that are not filled today; so it is not a given that Kerry's choice would be in place. I honestly believe that the response at the federal level would not have been any better than the actual response, and quite possibly could have been worse, as new people were getting oriented into their positions. As I've stated in other threads, I'd like to see the situation under control before all the congressional hearings and what not are assembled to determine blame. Heck, I don't even think we need congressional hearings. This board seems to have that pretty well covered already. Having lived many years ago in Louisiana, I am not overly surprised by the mayor's actions pre and post Katrina. I am surprised by the governor's. I would not be surprised to learn that there were things that FEMA did not do as well as possible, but again we are dealing with a disaster whose scale has never occurred in this country. Dave.

You mean they've slipped from #1? Well, good for them. Dave.

When I lived in Baton Rouge, I used to go to Ivar's to watch hockey. It is a great little sports bar. I would be shocked if you couldn't see the game there. Address and phone are below. Ivar's Sports Bar & Grill (225) 388-0021 2954 Perkins Rd Baton Rouge, LA 70808 Dave.

I was lucky (?) enough to go to XXVII. I will NEVER forget walking out of the stadium with the Cowboys "fans" chanting "3 Beat, 3 Beat, ...". They weren't saying "we're champs" or "we're #1", but "3 Beat". The really cool thing about it was, the moron's favorite team had also lost 3 superbowls (Colts & Steelers twice), so I guess they were more psyched about their past history than the events of that day. I still like the Fish less than the Pokes and do not have anything against Bledsoe, but I hope they don't win a game this year. As for Peerless, the thing that will always stand out in my mind was the interception in the Pittsburgh game. Dave.

Thanks. Dave.

Thanks for the update. If you do hear more of what is "actually" going on down there, I'd be interested in hearing about it. As for the people being testy, that doesn't surprise me much. We've lost power in the Rochester area for multiple days a few times, and that MINOR difficulty can make normal life very difficult. These people are being kept in close quarters with thousands of others, with little privacy, few of the amenities of home and tremendous uncertainty about the status of loved ones and their former/new lives. I would not be surprised to see that situation become ugly if it lasts for much more than another week. Hopefully, more "homelike" accomodations can be made in the near future. You mentioned the possibility of using old army barracks. That isn't a perfect solution, but sharing quarters with 20 people and having trees and lawns around has to beat sharing quarters with 10,000+ and having pavement outside, if the people can even go outside. Dave.

What's obvious? I would expect that wherever the Saints games end up getting played, that the SAINTS Season ticket holders would get 1st crack at the tickets; as they actually BOUGHT tickets to the Saints homegames with an expectation that the games would be played. The fact the games will not be played in New Orleans should not bump them out of their priority. I also would expect that the league would try to honor any single game tickets bought. With that being said, I doubt that many Saints season ticket holders are overly concerned about the games at this point in time and that most of the seats in the Ralph (if that is where the game moves to) are available. I'd expect that Bills season ticket holders would be given the next priority on purchases, but I definitely don't expect them to be "bonus" games. Nor would I expect season ticket holders to get priority on their "normal" tickets. Does anybody know any Giants ticket holders, as the league will probably distribute seats in a comparable manner as that game? Dave.

There's 2 guys drinking at a bar near the top of the Empire State Building on a hot summer day, so the windows are open and there's a pretty good breeze blowing through. The 1st guy says to the 2nd one, the breeze, because they are so high up, is strong enough to keep an object from falling if it's tossed out the window. His friend, incredulous says - "no way". 1st guy says, not only is it strong enough to keep a coin or something small like that from falling, but that it can keep a person from falling. "Bulls**t" says the 2nd guy. 1st guy says: "I'll bet you 50 bucks that if I jump off that window ledge, the breeze will blow me right back into the window." 2nd guy: "You'll kill yourself!" 1st guy: "No, I won't; you cheap prick." 2nd guy: "OK, you're on." 1st guy goes to the window, climbs gingerly onto the ledge, and then says "Geronimoooo" and jumps. He starts going down, but after about 2 floors down, his fall slows; and after about 5, he actually starts going back up! He lands safely on the ledge, climbs back in, asks the bartender for another drink and gets his money from the 2nd guy. 2nd guy says: "That's cool! I'm gonna try it." He goes out onto the ledge, shouts "Geronimoooo", and jumps. He falls past the 1st 2 floors, doesn't slow down, and keeps going. 1st guy walks back to bar and picks up his drink. Bartender says to him. "Damn, you're a mean drunk, Superman." Sorry, Dave.

Saints or Bills? Dave.

How are they working the relief effort in the dome? I heard that they are giving the people staying there access to showers and 3 hot meals per day and have set up a postal address for the dome. Are they letting the people in and out of the complex, or are people stuck inside the dome 24 /7? If they are letting people outside, what are the people doing for money and transportation. There isn't exactly a whole lot to do in that part of Houston, or at least there wasn't 10 years ago. Thanks, Dave.

I don't think you are furthering your argument by bringing up Hitler. The right can pull up some really nice people like Stalin and Mao if the point is guilt by association. I wouldn't associate ANY of the posters on this board with either of those 2 "gentlemen". Was the real purpose of your post to associate the people with a right wing slant with Hitler? If it was, then all I can say is "wow". Dave.

People, or the media? I don't know a whole lot of people (on the left or the right) who aren't in the media who care what these people have to say. Dave.

Bo - Bosworth. Dave.

Ok, now that its all been settled that the whole thing was Nagin's fault, or Blanco's fault, or Bush's fault; etc. etc. and NO is starting to get drained, are there any guesses as to how the next 6 months to 2 years play out? There are now something like 1MM people displaced from 3 states. I am certain that local, state, and federal officials have "plans" for what to do following a disaster. I just would be surprised if any of the details of the plans have been thought out, as we have NEVER had a disaster of this magnitude on US soil. This is NOT a knock on the planners, it is just my perception of reality. (plan says people go to x and y happens - unfortunately plan doesn't have details of how 250,000 people get to x) If the plan goes FAIRLY smoothly, I will view that as a monstrously good accomplishment. Are there going to be efforts to provide these people jobs in the intermediate term, and are they going to be headed up by govt. or private organizations? Will these people remain concentrated in Texas and Baton Rouge or will they spread across the US? Are the jobs "temporary" with the expectation that the people go back to NO (or Biloxi, or Gulfport, etc.) when rehabitable, or are they "permanent" and NO is much smaller in its next incarnation? I've heard some reports that the business district of NO wasn't beat up as bad as other parts of the city, which would indicate that people could come back to work in fairly short order; but if there isn't anything habitable, could they? Also, just because the main employers could get their people back; would any of the support - grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, necessary be functional? Do the major employers take temporary offices in other cities with plans to return to NO when the support functions are available? I am certain that some of the people will find jobs elsewhere on their own, but with 500,000 - 1MM newly displaced workers, I expect it will generally be difficult for most to find new jobs in what is typically considered a reasonable amount of time. Assuming, NO gets rebuilt (and Biloxi and Gulfport as well), will this result in a renaissance for the city; or will the "best and brightest" find jobs elsewhere in the country, leaving an even greater concentration of low income people in the rebuilt city? I know NO is a major port, but I would imagine that a lot of the "port" activities could be transferred to Baton Rouge. EII and others - is this a plausible scenario? Will Congress actually wait a couple of months to begin hearings, so that the people trying to direct this effort will be able to do what they are supposed to (or at least try) rather than sit in hearings - talking about what they did or did not do in the past rather than doing what they should at the present time; or will the opportunity to try to score political points be overwhelming - much like the urge to get the next fix is to an addict? Unfortunately, I think I know the answer to that one. (Here's your fix, Mr. or Ms. Congresscritter.) I have lived through Andrew's Louisiana foray, but have never been associated with something at this massive a scale. I, obviously, have not been involved with disaster recovery, so any insight from people who do have experience with this will be particularily appreciated. Thanks in advance. Dave.

Thanks for the cronology. Also, thanks to other posters who answered. Dave.

I have seen you post this on a few occasions. Could you please tell me when FEMA was cabinet level (my understanding is that it is an agency and not a department and its head would not be a member of the cabinet) and when it was reduced in stature? Was it part of the creation of the Homeland Security Department? Thanks in advance. Dave.

Thanks for the update. Dave.

JP's preseason quarterback rating? Dave.

Yeah, and he also missed a 28 yarder against Pittsburgh. After the 5th game, when he was 1 of 3, Lindell was never given a chance to kick another 40+ yarder. I'd rather take my chances with an unproven kid, rather than a "proven" Lindell. Dave.

No, he's not. The weather for the game played on January 20, 1991 was "light rain, 36 degrees, 10/15 mph winds" (Source: 1993 Buffalo Bills media guide) The wather for the January 15, 1994 game was as follows. "The gametime temperature was zero, the windchill was minus 32, making this the coldest game in which the Bills ever had played." (Source: Relentless - the hard-hitting history of Buffalo Bills football) Dave.