Time to shake things up people..

[Valigator]

during all this Katrina mess...my eyes got opened pretty big...its time to take the bull by the horns everyone....Me, I am good at stirring a pot....I hope most of you will also in your towns and cities.....I am gonna nail my city officials balls to the wall and find out what the plan is in a worst case scenario....all of it...hey I'll give the sex offenders a break.....;) maybe...I always have time to watch them...

[Lilred]

Ya know Val honey..I dont think there is no plan..fer none of us.

I'm kinda mixed on the New Orleans thing. In one sense I say:
If we are one of the richest and the most powerful...blah blah blah...why couldnt we have done better??
Then I say..It HAS to be one helluva undertakin movin tens of thousands of people...think about the numbers! It wont like you could just drive in fer the first couple of days..it took helicopters and what not. How many helicopters is IN the US? And how many would it have took fore they started crashin into each other?
Ya know..it would be a profound thread in here...
what would you have done?
If we was in the head of FEMA's shoes..what would you have done iffin you just heard that New Orleans was under water.
Just pretend we had no time to prepare...what would be our first LOGICAL step?

Of course..that aint our job..that's what we pay them fer now aint it..
I heared on TV this am that the head of FEMA aint have no experience on such things..that he was a former president of a horse club er somethin..and his college buddy got him the job.

Then on yet another side..I see how the victims act. Some deserved better..alot it seemed...deserved less.

Ya know..I wouldnt depend on the state or my country.
I would much rather depend upon myself. Then I think...
what would I do iffin a flood came through here?
It's really hard fer me to place myself in anybody's shoes that either had to control, rescue, plan, or be the victim of this whole thing. There are so many what if's..that it would be near impossible to have a perfect or even near perfect endin of such things.
I know Val, that you are wise..and givin yer govenment folks hell is a good thing..they need that. I have done it myself.
On this particular subject..I say give em hell girl..
but fer me..I'll just as soon have my very own game plan ready fer myself.
Here in VA..we do have earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados and alot of lightnin fires..floods happen..but not at that extent.
My advice would be to keep your survival skills sharp..so that whatever natural disaster might occur in your area..wont catch you offguard to where you might starve of have no shelter.
Never depend on nobody but yerself..my Pop always told me..and I aint sittin round on my rooftop waitin 6 days fer somebody to pick me up. I will find a way to survive..and iffin I caint..then my kids will survive fore I do..I will not sit there and let the elements take me or heaven ferbid my children,without an all out fight.

[gspsonny03]

I don't know, for all the talk about preparedness that we have been hearing since 9-11, I guess that I'm just a little disenchanted with this Katrina mess. Now I grant you the people were forwarned about it and should have left when they had the chance. The only problem with that theory is there were so many people who were not capable of leaving for whatever reason, whether it be from being with a loved one who was in the hospital, absolutely no transportation to get out of town or just plain old bad luck, it just didn't happen. A lot of people have been listening to Big Brother for so long about how he is going to protect us that they have become dependent on him for so many things and as Lilred said, when you start depending on someone else you are leaving yourself open for a whole lot of disappointment, because when push comes to shove you're way down on the totem pole and there is nothing on God's green Earth that is going to change that. I guess I was expecting more out of the Government, but then I get to thinking about the mass numbers of people that live there and when the levee broke there just was no chance to get them people out. It is just a good thing that as many people left as they did or the death toll would be a whole lot higher than what it is going to be. Thank God for that.

[Valigator]

Lilred, I am walkin with ya every step of the way on that one...first and foremost, have your own plan...I agree whole heartily...as this thing was unfoldin, my guy and I did alot of talkin..but the one thing we agreed on was nothing would be the same....Katrina was a wake up call for many people. My above post wasnt so much about what the government is gonna do for us...its more like makin sure the people we pay has more of a plan than the leaders did in Louisiana...ya know the more I keep thinkin about it...most people dont know much about these things other than the blue and white evacuation signs...and what was foreseen but not dealt with was the fuel problems...You know as far as things like this go...we are fortunate that we have resourses and friends with resourses...I am thinkin of the huntin camps in the swamps, some of those places are top notch and totally self contained. I am gonna start lookin at my house as a huntin camp..not that the decor doesnt already reflect that but...there is so much more to do...Lilred, hows that sweet baby?

[Tall Shadow]

I guess I'll add My $.02 to the mix....

While I feel heartbroken for the >Genuine< victims of the disaster in the gulf. My heart/Prayers/Donations will/have gone out to them!
I do not feel as bad for the many who have been firmly attached to the "Welfare Teat" for the past 45+years.

I'm sorry if this seems harsh, but the truth sometimes is.

The utter and total failure of the liberal system is evident in the situation down there.

The "I don't have to do anything/Prepare/Think....The Government will Save/feed/protect Me!" mentality, made this a thousand times worse than it should have been.

The resulting animals rampaging for the last week is just the latest symptom of the underlying disease.

Instead of being poor, dependent, leaches on society, Many of these people could have made the effort, or done the hard work to make something more of themselves and for their childeren. To rise above their poverty, and in doing so, become better able to protect themselves, aid the others in their community, and reinforce the infrastructure of their states. Instead they grew more and more dependent, and less and less civilized.

My parents and grandparents did it! They were poor, and yet they worked hard, educated themselves, saved and their children (Us) lived better because of it. They were not rich, Heck! I'm only 2nd generation native born, and yet I'm still trying to do the same for My kids!!

Do You know what the difference is?????
We Were/Are willing to do the work to achieve Our goals.
THAT"S IT!!!!


Tall Shadow

[Valigator]

What was probably the most broad and effective passage of a law was the original welfare act...in 1996 which by the way Clinton vetoed more than once...it was first instituted by then Govenor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin...he restructured welfare in his state to a five year one time limitation..this bill was nationally passed in 1994..here are some numbers..welfare rolls peaked in 1993 at 14.2 million people..1996..rolls were down 12.3 million...1999 to 6.8 million..2001 down to 5.4 million...it has since decreased but I need to find those numbers...welfare has very strict requirements in this day and age unlike the past 40 years..no longer can they pump the kids out and get monthly checks, it was one of the healthest legislations that has ever been passed..Idaho has an almost non existant welfare roll..

[Lilred]

Yer right Val gal...we do pay them idgits to do that fer us...and agreed that they dam well ought to. It's as simple as..iffin I dont do my job at werk..I'll git firit..lol :rolleyes:
Anyways...lilone is doin good. The lil hethren sings the theme song to the Dukes Of Hazzard! Funniest thing..seein as how she caint pronounce the werds werth a hoot. She's drivin me insane gittin into everything..and she loves books. Bout dam tirit of changin diapers..caint wait till she starts potty trainin..she's red most of the time..red hair to match that pithed off red face she gits when she gits riled..lol
Oh well..my hubby says all the time.."the nut dont fall far from the tree" :p :D

[Valigator]

Good, Kiss her on the lips for me...Val

[Valigator]

I spent a good portion of my morning yesterday researching my particular counties emergency management sites...boy what an eye opener...you could wallpaper a warehouse with the PHD.s and resumes...and such....I counted 20 people posted and all their titles..add to that their staff, building etc...and you got a pretty hefty payroll going..they are called BEMA , Broward Emergency Management Assoc...they are the people who are responsible from the county up for calling all the plays when a disaster hits in this county. Now the way I figure it, when heads need to roll, this is where it starts...they are the cities eyes, ears and first response to the Mayor...I am formulating in my head the way to approach these people...I also need to learn a little more about what each does and their responsibilities on the totem pole of the city...Katrina really got me to thinkin..I dont want to be one of those people standin on a flooded street, lookin to the sky for help...the taxes I pay are horrendous and its my duty as a citizen of this county to find out what is what here...and shake things up...basically I wanna put the people whos responsibility it is on notice that we are watchin them...and I wanna know what they are gonna do for me when an emergency shuts down all or part of my city...

[Valigator]

sent this letter this am, lets see what happens...I also sent to the local cable stations who have local guest, the mayor the city commissioners etc....

Dear Ms. Brown,

After researching Broward County and its various agencies in charge of emergency services especially in hurricane situations, it looks like the buck stops with you. I read your website and as entertaining as it is, it still left me in the dark as to what procedures are in place at this time in the event of a devastating storm as Katrina, was to hit Broward County. I realize that we may have different issues than the New Orleans scenario, topography etc... but we here in Broward county are still left with little more than where to look for the blue and white evacuation signs and to make sure we have batteries. After Louisiana and the Gulf Coast I find this woefully inadequate. I also find the coverage prior to Katrina from Irene Leiberman lacking in information in the event of a catastrophic storm. Also in my research, I read of grants and expansion of persons involved in hurricane preparedness. That is wonderful. But quite frankly Ms. Brown, I don't want to be one of those people standing on a flooded street in Ft. Lauderdale looking up to the sky wondering what is gonna happen next, while your agency plays catch up after the storm. As a resident of Broward County, I feel it is my duty and responsibility to inform myself, my family, and my neighbors in a worst case scenario what will be forthcoming from your agency, before, during and after a damaging storm. Please don't misinterpret my letter. I was born and bred in S. Florida and am very familiar with hurricane preparation. But Katrina was an eye opener for all of the Southeast and I feel that your agency, your website and quite frankly you in your position have some answers that are not forthcoming to the residents questions at this juncture. I suggest you look at the Gulf coast example and reassure the residents you represent that the issues that confronted those areas will not happen here... What is your agency doing for flood prone areas prior to the storm? What alternative shelters are in place for the existing designated ones with no power? What forms of transportation are in place for those unable to evacuate on their own? What ice, food and medical storage facilities are in place. I noticed with Katrina, areas for pick-up of these items, were not yet determined, no offense, but we have had enough practice runs. We wanna know point by point what your agency is gonna do....Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,

[Tall Shadow]

Looks great Val!

Keep Us posted , as to what you get for a reply.

Lilred-
Sounds like you have your hands full with the little one!
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt & DVD (X2!)!!

Hang on....It gets more insane, before it gets better..........At least that's what they tell Me!.....I'm still waiting for the "Better" part!! ;) ;)

All The Best!

Tall Shadow

[Valigator]

Well here's your standard run of the mill response from one agency...

Thank you for writing. We hope you were able to find some valuable information on the floridadisaster.org website.

Florida's response to Hurricane Katrina began Wednesday, August 23. The State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee was completely operational and staffed. This center works closely with the county Emergency Operations Center to ensure every aspect and every function of the event is coordinated. Ultimately, there were several distribution sites set up in Broward County. Their locations are announced when the site is ready to accept the traffic. Broward County Emergency Management has a state of the art facility in Sunrise and a complement of trained emergency managers. Free training and presentations on emergency preparedness are available to the general public on request. Call Broward County at 954-831-3900 for more information. Their website is: http://www.co.broward.fl.us/disaster/welcome.htm