Sharon: Children of a Lesser God:
One of the hardest things for a mother to come to terms with is that it's not always within her power to protect her children, even though the children are now adults and have children of their own. I just read Charlyn's blog and realized that I could not protect her from losing her home. It makes me both sad and angry.
My anger is directed at those who are supposed to help in these tragedies. The Red Cross, the National Guard, FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers. We all have seen videos of Florida after Hurricane Andrew, the Red Cross trucks with food, water, blankets and cots. But, the Red Cross won't set up shelters in New Orleans. They say it's because we are below sea level. Makes sense I guess. But I don't understand why they can't get a boat load of supplies and come down the Mississippi River immediately after the hurricane has passed. There are thousands of people at the Convention Center and stranded in hotels within walking distance of the river. Where are you Red Cross?????
And where is FEMA??? Aren't they supposed to be the Federal Emergency Management people? They say they have to wait until the water goes down in the city before they can help. They say they are waiting on the Army Corps of Engineers to fix the breaches in the levee and flood wall. What does that mean? Is it unreasonable of New Orleanians to think that the flooding of a major city in this country classifies as an EMERGENCY?
We can usually rely on our Louisiana National Guard. They understand New Orleans and would have helped by dealing with the looters while our brave and dedicated New Orleans Police Officers tried to save the stranded in the days following the aftermath. But, Louisiana has sent a vast portion of her sons and daughters in the National Guard to Iraq.
Now, that about 85% of the citizens have left, and the police are beyond exhausted, and the jail is still flooded and can't be used, the vermin have crawled out from under rocks and have taken over the city.
I heard one reporter show the looting and a sniper and say, "can you believe this is happening in the United States of America?" He meant the violence of course. But, when I ask that question I'm referring to the denial of this great country's resources to New Orleans and her "children of a lesser God". Resources that readily and immediately go out to other great cities in this country.
Charlyn: Uncharted Territory:
Last night we went to my aunt's house to celebrate a friend's birthday. No one was in a celebratory mood, but we got together to grill and watch the news. The talk turned to what people were going to do for the next (weeks? months?). No one was ready to make long-term plans, but they can't live in limbo indefinitely.
Some talked of going on the road to visit friends and relatives who have offered guest rooms. A few discussed the option of getting a new job and renting an apartment. We wondered how many temporary situations would become permanent. How many people would decide not to return to their homes and communities, after months in exile?
I guess that's one of the most upsetting parts of this. It's terrible to lose your job. It's so traumatic to lose your home and all its contents. It's devastating to lose the community you grew up in, where all of your friends and family live. But to lose all of them at once is beyond comprehension.
Sharon: What?????
To quote New Orleans Mayor, Ray Nagin, "I'm pissed." It seems that after watching one of the greatest cities on the planet and her citizens pleading for help while they die of thirst and starvation because federal emergency officals can't get their act together, House Speaker Dennis Hastert has decided that we should just "bulldoze" a "lot of that place" -- "a city that's 7 feet under sea level."
Mr. Speaker, should we bulldoze Florida? And what about the beautiful city of San Francisco? It's on a fault and subject to earthquakes. Do we bulldoze that city, too? And, are you going to wait until everyone left in the city is dead, or just bulldoze them now and end their misery?
This cold, heartless attitude is beyond belief. It takes away some of the precious little hope we have left.
Sharon: Medical staff at Charity Hospital Starving:
My sister Susie is a nurse and has volunteered to help at the Astrodome here in Houston. She just told me that the doctors and nurses at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which is still surrounded by water, are giving each other IVs of nutrition because they have had no food since Tuesday. God help us, because the federal government won't.
