Don't f**king compare what's happening at Qualcomm Stadium with the Superdome

[Ezlivin]

Bryan Williams decided to compare one group of refugees in Qualcomm with the NOLA refugees in the Superdome. He said something to the effect that "Things are going much more smoothly. There is even clowns here to entertain the children and no fear of crime because of the police patrols."

Sure, the folks in Qualcomm Stadium are suffering, but they

1. have power;


2. have running water;


3. didn't have to boat/swim/wade through polluted water to get there;


4. didn't have the f**king police shooting at them;


5. have a functioning mass transit system.

I'm sure there are many other things I'm missing, but it pisses me off that anyone would compare what is happening in California with what happened with Katrina and then say "We've learned our lessons." Bull-fucking-shit.

Rant off.

[libnnc]

1. This afternoon on NPR I actually heard them say "more orderly"

in reference to the people at Qualcomm...

Like the citizens of NO were savage, heathens?!?!? :wtf:

[Ezlivin]

3. No kidding...

From what I'm hearing it's almost like "We're not like those people in NOLA. We're different. We have our shit together."

[SKKY]

8. I heard the same broadcast, and what I think they meant was...

...that San Diego had their stuff together and were more ready for this than NO was for the Hurricane. I didn't at all take it as an indictment against the citizens of either city. :shrug:

[Syntheto]

114. I don't know, I heard the same broadcast and...

I was pretty surprised that they would come across like that. It really seemed that the people they interviewed were taking a lot of pain to show how different they were from those in New Orleans; self-sufficient, not 'victims' expecting the government to help them, but rather telling the government to politely butt out.

"It's just like a big tailgate party here" seems to be a favorite quote.

Of course, maybe the situation in NOLA and the Superdome would've been better if those folks had bands playing, running water, electricity and massage therapists, and a celebrity governor glad-handing and having his picture taken with them, but I could be wrong.

Seriously, it's like WTF? You got a pile of apples, and you got a pile of oranges. Okay, they're both fruit, and they are both being sold at the supermarket, but it's a little disingenuous to compare them by only those two criteria, because, well, they are different.

I haven't like the overall tone of this, at all. A little too smug.

[SKKY]

140. Yea, I see your point. I guess we'll agree to disagree on this particular issue...

Oh, and by the way, welcome to DU! I hope you stick around! :hi:

[butterfly77]

141. Everytime,I hear it,,,

especially out of Geraldo's mouth, and the rest of the rightwing nuts I am sure it is an indictment against the citizens, the mayor, the governor and they are making sure that their fearless leader will take no blame. Bush took five days to bring his ass to N.O.

[musiclawyer]

2. I like to call them the bottom feeders

why do the network anchors have to show up at all. I can't forget dan rather showing up to the collapsed Cyress structure in Oakland and saying soemthing to the effect the "residents of San Francisco are fortunate" there were not as many cars on the raod as usual. Moronic.

[msongs]

5. media is loading in because the terrorist in chief is coming tomorrow nt

[PinkyisBlue]

89. The scariest words heard by those Californians affected by this fire:

"I want the good people of California to know that the Federal Government is here to assist you in any way we can," spoken by our fearless Commander-in-Chief. His kind of help is the kind we can do without.

[robinlynne]

88. why is that moronic? makes sense to me.

[LeftyMom]

92. Because a whole fucking lot of people had a freeway fall on their heads.

Saying that it could have been worse was shockingly insensitive at best.

[Dora]

4. You're right. There is little to compare between the two. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. There is a meme being created but... I am sure you were expecting this

all disssters have a pre planning phase and both cities were suposed to use their stadiums as far back as oh twenty years ago.

That said, during the DISASTER phase, there are differences, but the city of san diego implemented it in such a way that it worked

It is far more temporary and the attitudes by all involved are slightly different

I also blame the mess in the Superdome on federal authorities that didn't let any of that food go in, or for evacuations to happen

(and yes even the ARC which didn't tell the people maning those barriers to go you know what itself)

But you should expect these comparisons...

This is expected... and politicbs is also expected

They want to divide the country

Hell, locally we have had some of them really white people already floating the meme that them brown people are looting at the Q no less.

[NashVegas]

54. San Diego Benefitted from New Orleans' Mess

They (we all) had the opportunity to learn from NOLA's mistakes. Betcha the #1 difference is SD didn't wait for the Feds. Just a hunch.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. They are also not totally isolated and cut off from the rest of the country.

[Ezlivin]

9. And their stadium wasn't 20+ years old, just been through a hurricane and was leaking

N/T

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Actually the Q is just about that old

why locally the chargers have been pressing to get a new statium.

Just an FYI... it is one of the oldest stadiums in the league and why SD cannot expect another superbowl until we bulld a new stadium

Oh and I can see the new Chargers push for it RIGHT NOW... they will point out how well the Q worked... and how better it woudl be if we had a newer facilty

[Ezlivin]

Okay

But the surrounding city is still intact and they aren't huddling inside a dark, battered stadium.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Yes, but the comparisons were to be expected

also a fire is a different animal than a hurricane

If we had an oh 8.0 quike that lasted a minute and a half then you may be happier... the infrastructure, including landing strips, ports, and roads would be a total mess

And we would be looking at quite possibly hundreds of thousands killed

Look I used to do this for fun... and comparing responses is DONE EVERY DAMN TIME.

Every disaster has a lesson.

[MADem]

22. It's older than that--40 years old this Aug. I remember when it was Jack Murphy Stadium.

And that was in 80. It's the same stadium with a new name. It was built in the late sixties, and expanded over the years:
http://www.sandiego.gov/qualcomm/about/history.shtml
General History
August 20, 1967: The San Diego Chargers played their first game in the newly completed San Diego Stadium. Formerly the Los Angeles Chargers, owner Barron Hilton had been convinced by local sports writer Jack Murphy to move the team from the LA Coliseum to San Diego.

In 1984, the Stadium was expanded to nearly 61,000 seats and 50 suites were added at cost of $9.1 million.

In 1997, the Stadium was expanded again when 10,500 seats, 34 suites, 4 Club Lounges, upgraded food service and two video boards were added. The total cost was $78 million, which also included a new practice facility for the Chargers.

Of course, all those upgrades ten years ago spiffed the joint up a bit...

[Kajsa]

104. I was there when it was the Jack Murphy Stadium

in 1995.

It's a well designed stadium.

[frylock]

109. fyi -- we still call it the murph

[tlsmith1963]

164. That's Why the Chargers Want a New Stadium

Because Qualcomm is an older stadium. I heard that it leaks badly when it rains.

[amandabeech]

14. The supply trucks can unload in the parking lot.

All the main roads are open, cell phones work, and all the rest of the utilities work, like water and sewer.

If by some evil version of a miracle were to flood San Diego up to 8 feet, I think that we'd see something that looked a lot more like New Orleans. Then nothing would function and it would be very hard for people to get to the shelters and to resupply the shelters.

And perhaps, just perhaps, some folks around the country looked at New Orleans and rethought their disaster plans so that they would work.

It is unfortunate that it might have taken something as horrible like New Orleans to get disaster planners to take their jobs seriously;.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. The plans to use these things in disasters are older than dirt

what happened at Katrina is inexcusable

But instead of going, but, but, but

People should be happy that the plan mostly worked in san diego and we didn't have hundreds killed

Damn it people the press is GOING to compare... it is natural... and so will every damn disaster manager in the United States that is worth his or her salt

[frylock]

110. not to mention that the stadium sits in the san diego river..

it would not be usable as an evac center.

[LynneSin]

176. I'm guessing there weren't hospital employees debating if they had to put their

elderly 'to sleep' before evacuating.

I feel for what's happening in San Diego and I know that we have many many DUers affected by these fires. But I'm absolutely fed-up everytime people try to compare Qualcomm scenario to the Superdome (and lesser extent Astrodome)

[MADem]

11. You should DEFINITELY compare the two.

To point out the differences, if nothing else.

To note not just the things that you have noted, but the fact that FEMA and CEMA are on site, they had preparations in place, a plan of action, plenty of equipment, supplies, and foodstuffs, and there's no one having to shit in a hallway.

And there's CLOWNS for the KIDDIES!!

CLOWNS!!!!

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. And Duncan Hunter

that is where some of the comparisons should also be done

And Daryl Isa, and Bibray

[AngryAmish]

53. Keep the clowns away from the kiddies

Isn't this the perfect time to implement the clown incarceration plan?

[Malikshah]

12. Bingo-- BTW-- don't turn the rant off

It is comparing Apples and Oranges.

Wading through floating bodies, trying not to drown in one's attic, the list goes on.

A vastly different situation than what is going on now.

This, btw, is not to detract from the horror and losses currently being suffered in California. They are indeed devastating.

But to talk already of "lessons learned" is vile and hurtful.

[rudy23]

13. If the toilets flush at Qualcomm, then it's nowhere near the same

But why keep the media from using this to kick New Orleans a few more times?

[Ezlivin]

15. The conditions inside the Superdome were horrible

I'm not saying that Qualcomm is a five star hotel, but toilets and running water go a long way toward making one feel civilized.

[rudy23]

30. Let alone having eaten and taken sips of potable water within the last 5 days

not to mention the 100 degree weather, the seperated families, and the fact that many of the people in the Dome had just been plunked off their rooftops, in their attics, etc. etc,

[fed-up]

18. yesterday's AP contrast of Dome vs Qualcomm

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/23/state/n004358D74.DTL&hw=Qualcomm+Stadium&sn=006&sc=509

At a stadium refugee center, massages and buffets buck up spirits
By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

(10-23) 00:43 PDT SAN DIEGO, (AP) --
Like Hurricane Katrina refugees two years earlier in New Orleans, thousands of people rousted by natural disaster fled to the NFL stadium here, waiting out the calamity and worrying about their homes.

The similarities ended there, as an almost festive atmosphere reigned at Qualcomm Stadium.

Bands belted out rock 'n' roll, lavish buffets served up gourmet entrees and massage therapists helped relieve the stress.

"The people are happy. They have everything here," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared Monday night after his second Qualcomm tour.


...snip

[Ezlivin]

21. "The similarities ended there..."

Amen.

Bands, buffets and massage therapists? Damn.

NOLA had bands of criminals, buffeting winds and needed massive therapy.

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. Bands volunteered

massage therapists volunteered

The food was provided by LOCAL restaurants

And the people manning this are VOLUNTEERS

Oh and the plans have been in place for DECADES, they didn't just improvise you know

[TahitiNut]

44. In Sandi Ego, the volunteers can commute from home.

The highways aren't blocked with water and trees and the traffic lights work. At home, the volunteers can shower, sleep, watch TV, and have meals with their family before commuting back to volunteer the next day.

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. I know that, but i get the feeling that people would only

be happy if instead of a fire we had an 8.0 in the richter scale quake, that lasted a minute and a half....

Then this place would look like NOLA, with even higher casualty rates

[redqueen]

111. I don't see what makes you think

that that would make anyone happy.

:shrug:

[nadinbrzezinski]

153. The hate filled posts round these parts

I mean this wasn't nothing like a natural disaster doncha know?

[LynneSin]

179. I think we all would prefer what is happening right now at Qualcomm

what disgusts us all is the fact that the media and talking heads are trying to somehow claim that there are some sort of comparison between Qualcomm 2007 and Superdome 2005. There isn't. If food runs out at Qualcomm then trunks and/or helicopters can easily transport in more supplies. This was NOT an option at the Superdome.

[Iggo]

133. Yep, you're right.

Katrina wins and the '07 California Firestorm loses.

You happy now?

Jeez, this is almost as bad as when people fight over which genocide was worse.

"The Holocaust was worse. We win!"

"No, the Armenian Genocide was worse. We win!"

(Sandi Ego? Really? Kick people when they're down, why don't you.)

[ronnykmarshall]

144. Sandi Ego?

How shitty.

[JPZenger]

145. Police: 1/2 of People at Qualcom Were Not Evacuees

This morning on CNN, they interviewed a Sheriff's officer who was in charge at the stadium. He said they found that half of the people at Qualcom Stadium were not really evacuees. They were people who did not live anywhere near the fire zones. Apparently, some people just went to the stadium to get free handouts. Some people were caught coming multiple times for the handouts.

[EFerrari]

20. We do need to compare these two situations

and ask ourselves why the f#ck they were so different.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. I can give you some answers

1.- You didn't have a flood

2.- Most people here self evacuated

3.- You had a working infrastructure

4.- Duncan Hunter, Daryl Issah and Brian Bilbray, all republican members of congress and what areas were mostly affected?

5.- The reverse 911 calls, which were a result of the Cedar fire and has resulted in few deaths and injuries

6.- San Diego PD is very profesional and is here to serve the people, not just some people.

and I could go on

[EFerrari]

26. No.

The answer is that the people who couldn't evacuate in NOLA were poor people who didn't have wheels.

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. Bingo

As I said, poiple could self evacuate here....

If they had not been able to... perhaps some folks here would be happy as we would be talking of hundreds of dead, if not thousands

But don't dminish the importance of duncan hunter for the federal response

[EFerrari]

41. Sorry if I'm testy and please never let me into a dark alley

with Mr. Hunter. :(

[nadinbrzezinski]

46. I hate to say it

the first 48 hours were apolitical, but alas we have entered that territory...

[KittyWampus]

37. actually, about HALF of the people in NOLA who didn't evacuate cause of no wheels

or had to stay cause of sick relatives.

Please don't say or imply all. And there's a reason I am asking that-

There is an important caution in people evacuating when told to.

Many prefer to stick it out and stay. I live in a hurricane prone area and a very large number of people do the macho thing.

[libnnc]

29. Free Starbucks and bagels versus

I can't help but think of it. I know I shouldn't but when I saw the footage last night of all the food, the pallets of bottled water being handed out...I don't know. The differences between those images and the images we saw in NO are just to staggering to ignore.

[EFerrari]

33. Thank you. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. If we had a massive quake

you'd see that too

Look local businesses here have been amazing, partly due to PR... it is GOOD... and leading the way (just as NOLA) is Wally Mart.

But what amazes me is that people seem to want thousands dead.

That is what sickens me

[libnnc]

40. No no, that's not it, It's not the death toll

it's how people are being treated by the local infrastructure (police/fire/etc). Instead of immediately assuming the worst of the population as the media did with NO, the media has changed it's tune with these fires and those involved. That's the difference that I see right now. No one wants a huge death toll--HELL NO. The numbers who have been displaced over the last few days are 10 times the numbers of the displaced in the Gulf. I'm talking about in terms of how government agencies treat those who have little to begin with and how the media disseminates those differences to us.

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. Start wiht the police

the way they are trained here locally they are trained to SERVE not to serve some folks

And this city tends to come together EVERY TIME we have a fire

I will say this and it may be not PC... but it is partly cultural...

The racism in the south, the deep south, is alive and well.. not that we don't have it... but it does not express it the way it does in the south... the deep south

What you are also seeing is a somewhat functioning government structure, as well as what taxes can do.

[Usrename]

134. I think you are missing the point.

If they treated SanDiego like NewOrleans then there would be Blackwater soldiers shooting at the firemen, making it impossible to fight the fires. First responders would not be allowed to enter the city. Also, after the entire city burned, the insurance companies would be excused from paying anything out, on some kind of technicality (like terrorism/act of war exclusion), and there would be no attempts to restore power or services to vast tracts of the city.

[butterfly77]

142. Did they change any laws ...

like the Davis-Bacon act...

[nadinbrzezinski]

159. And in case you are still purposely missing it

the reason why we still have a good evacuation here is in some ways we have a tax base... even if they try
every so often to cut taxes even further

You are also purposely missing it in the fact that we have different ways of dealign with disasters

And in case YOU WONDER OUR GOVERNOR signed a contract with Blackwater last year. They are not here because THANKFULLY they are not needed

By the way... there are parts of this county with NO electricity or water

Thanks for your concern, NOT

[Chovexani]

75. Bingo.

Instead of immediately assuming the worst of the population as the media did with NO, the media has changed it's tune with these fires and those involved.

Things that make you go, "hmm".

[Cookie wookie]

94. What amazes me is that you keep saying that here over and over --

that people here want to see thousands dead. No one here said or implied any such thing, in any way. There is no comparison with what happened in NO and SD.

What sickens me is people who can't see the difference. Why would they post here -- just to attack progressives & cause disharmony and disruption?

[Catherine Vincent]

150. "But what amazes me is that people seem to want thousands dead."

I think you're the one who wants thousands dead. :eyes:

[nadinbrzezinski]

160. Wrong, but if you all stop the hate filled posts

perhaps the perception that has been created for many of us in the ground would go away.

[Catherine Vincent]

172. Wrong?

Well you see how it feels to be accused.

[nadinbrzezinski]

178. Hate filled posts

see them rich californians

They have insurance

They live on the hog

Yep, them hate filled posts

That are comming from a MEDIA made reality that is NOT real

[rucognizant]

166. That's dead wrong!

I don't want to see thousands dead in SD BUT I'm furious at the MSM pitching the propaganda to make the CIC LOOK GOOD! "He learned his lessons from Katrina??? BUUUUUUUULL
He and his buddies and AAAAAHnold & DUUUUUncin etc. have made very sure to smooth the path for their future elections! Were the people of NO voting Repug? Not that many. Kathleen Blanco defineately looked like an abused woman during that event. ( Actually as Nancy Pelosi looks now!)I could just imagine what she was hearing on the phone from DC. probably a terrble browbeating and stubborn resistance every step of the way!

Where were the Blackwater at this event?????
The big difference here is the white elite don't want to take over the hills for their fancy businesses. In N O they were conducting a form of eminent domain.
Yes there was a high crime rate and drugs, but also many marginal homeowners; LIKE ME, hanging on to their homes by their finger nails. They may have inherited a modest home and worked cleaning toilets to keep the taxes up and make sure the Grandchildren went to school. I have managed to remain a home owner through the financial firestorm that has been created in this country for the last 30 years by the neocons. It's much less than the other 2 houses, but I don't have a mortgage and the taxes aren't too bad. If I had to rent, I would only have about $200. per month to buy food! It's located in an area tough to make any money. ( why the taxes are low!) Sometimes in life we don't have the choices we would like to have!
Don't FORFGET this pRes TURNED AWAY HELP FROM MANY OTHER COUNTRIES DURING Katrina!
How many families were separated rounded up into different buses and carted off to detention centers, in California?

[nadinbrzezinski]

180. And why don't you get it through your head

NOT EVERYBODY IS RICH OR EVEN WELL TO DO IN CALIFORNIA

THEY ARE SHOWING WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO SEE AND YOU'RE SWALLOWING IT LINE, HOOK, SINGER, BAIT, ALL THE WAY TO THE DAMN SHOULDER

[in_cog_ni_to]

60. No kidding! It makes my head explode. I'll never forget the dead elderly lady in the wheelchair at

the Superdome.....just left like garbage. Or the dead man laying the the street for DAYS as police just drove by and ignored him.....or all the bodies floating in the water for days upon days.:( No food. No water. NOTHING for days.

and these:

[kowanda32]

68. Great post!

:cry:

[Rockholm]

170. Tremendous Image.

The really SCARY thing is that photo could easily been Somalia, Darfur, Zimbabwe, etc...but is right here at home, in the good ole USA. And the residents of New Orleans and the greater Gulf Coast were left out to slowly dry.
Shameful and Pathetic.

On Edit: WISH I COULD K&R AN IMAGE! Is it possible to put this image in a thread of its own?

[DBoon]

177. I *did* see that in LA in the Northridge earthquake

nt

[Gormy Cuss]

35. I agree.

[KittyWampus]

38. can I modify that a wee bit? We need to compare and ask why our political leadership allowed

and CAUSED things to be so different.

It wasn't just happenstance that evacuations are so different.

[EFerrari]

42. Sure. Thank you. n/t

[ellisonz]

90. Contrast?

[Bluebear]

51. Massage therapists vs covering your loved one's dead body with a tarp

[EFerrari]

78. When you're lucky enough to find their body.

:hug:

[DS1]

24. If the toilet flushes your shit, the analogies will not fit

[KittyWampus]

32. that's pretty darned clever.. .and quick!

[rudy23]

71. Brilliant! nt

[bridgit]

81. heh-heh, punny...

:)

[eShirl]

27. 6. weren't abandoned

[sandnsea]

28. It's amazing what taxes will do

along with people who expect the government to function.

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. Well this is an oportunity to push for service fees

aka taxes, nation wide, though don't think we don't have a problem, we do... we don't have as many fire fighters as we need because people don't want to pay them taxes

[kimsterdemster]

39. Can one of the talking heads...

at least KO say the same on the T.V., this comparison it making me wanna puke :puke:

No electricity or water for days, I was so pissed off I called my Senator's, Rep.'s and the WH, I feel bad for the people in CA but there's no comparison :mad:

[The Blue Flower]

45. This is only the beginning

Bear in mind, too, that this disaster is only beginning to unfold. A week from now, two, three, a month past the fires themselves, when people still don't have homes to go back to, where will the clowns, masseurs, bands, and all the rest be when fatigue sets in? And is CEMA in it for the long haul? Where will these folks get fresh clothing, showers, etc. as the reality sets it that this is going to take a long time? Where will all the kids go to school and how will they get there? Where will they go for medical care?

[nadinbrzezinski]

47. Well most folks do not understand that we are in for

the usual 24 month reconstruction. Hell, there are folks from the Cedar fires that have not finished rebuilding, or ever started

[alcibiades_mystery]

49. Indeed...it's pure racism, American-style

The snide insinuation. The false comparison.

Yes, yes, I know. Not everybody in San Diego is poor and black. But most people in the Superdome WERE, and that's the fucking point of it all.

[bpeale]

50. you forgot the operational plumbing

[AngryAmish]

52. If the people could only carry themselves with the dignity of the people of NO

then all will be well.

[NorthernSpy]

66. actually, it took great steadfastness for people stranded in the path of a killer storm...

... to keep on keeping on in a country that seemed to take the prospect of their drowning en masse with perfect equanimity.


http://www.wsbtv.com/news/14357365/detail.html


Of course, the invidious intent of your post reads loud and clear -- as always.

[EarlG]

55. This kinda puts things in perspective

As of yesterday afternoon:

Four major fires ripping across San Diego County have burned at least 263,000 acres and destroyed or damaged 1,750 homes and 100 businesses. More than 500,000 people have been told to evacuate.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071023-1502-bn23fires1.html

October 2005

How big is the challenge? The American Red Cross estimates that more than 350,000 homes were destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, while an additional 146,000 had major damage. Overall, 850,791 housing units were damaged, destroyed or left inaccessible because of Katrina.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2005-10-05-katrina-housing-usat_x.htm

It's absolutely dreadful for the people who have lost their homes and belongings to the fires, but there's no comparison between this and Katrina.

[tammywammy]

58. Excellent post

Thank you, I agree. Katrina and Rita were massive and completely different that what's currently happening in California.

[progressoid]

59. I'm gonna need those stats for the inevitable B.S. email I'll receive from some RW relative about

about how NO was their own damn fault. Just look at San Diego.

That happened after that huge blizzard last year. :banghead:

[ribrepin]

93. Six months from now, I will receive an E-mail saying while NO sat on

the curb waiting for the government to save them, San Diego residents got busy and got out their garden hoses and fought the fire themselves. Tell me I'm wrong.

[Catherine Vincent]

155. Yep, I'm saving that one too.

Thanks for the tip.

[EFerrari]

87. The Federal government had days of warning before Katrina

And it's unavoidable that the comparison be made on how the evacuees are faring.

[redqueen]

112. Thank you.

It'd be helpful if the media noted of that fact in their comparisons.

:)

[in_cog_ni_to]

56. They aren't "REFUGEES" They are all U.S. citizens, displaced from their homes in their own country.

I just thought that should be pointed out.:(

[Ezlivin]

102. Noted

Sorry about that. I should have typed "evacuees."

I'll try not to make that mistake again.

[bvar22]

57. THANK YOU!!!!

If you hadn't posted this, I would have.

The "comparisons" followed with the smug "We sure learned our lessons" comments made me sick! :puke:


K&R

[TheFarseer]

61. just as dumb as comparing 9/11 and Katrina

Rudy is a hero because he stood on some rubble and didn't sh*t himself, while Ray Nagan is a loser because he didn't function so well when his city was underwater.

[tjwash]

62. The first thing I thought when I heard that was "what the fuck do they mean WE?"

Dipshit talking heads sitting behind a nice air conditioned desk 3000 miles away saying "WE" learned our lesson. :wtf:

Everyone here in San Diego knows there is no comparison to NOLA. The media has been trying to stir up divisive shit like this to somehow make the incompetent morons at FEMA look like they actually aren't the worthless pile of shit organization that fucked up NOLA in the first place. They keep thinking that it vindicates them somehow. "WE" saw that coming a mile away.

There's a reason that CNN, Fox, MSNBC, et-al keep showing the same huge mccmansion type houses burning down again, and again, and again even though those huge ones they are maybe 1 percent at most of the houses actually burned down. They don't show the houses and the apartments in the working class neighborhoods, the regular middle class communities burned to the ground, the tons of migrant laborers that have been displaced, or the working poor that constitute the other 80 percent or so of the victims. That would hit way too close to home, and remind too many people of FEMA's last fuckup. They want to spread a huge steaming pile of shit that somehow "WE" are just having a great fucking time at the stadium. That it is just a huge party, and everyone is just having a grand old time. That "WE" learned our lesson and are just waiting around for herr-chimpmeister to gallop in and blow out the fire with his mighty lungs.:puke:

They don't want to show the people walking around in tears because they haven't seen their kids in 3 days and have no idea where they are. They don't want to show the retirees walking around dazed and zombie like because everything that they had, everything that they worked for went up in smoke. They want to show us as a bunch of carefree-having a good time-no worries people that are waiting around for GWB to come galloping in to the rescue to save the "haves and have-more" types. The insensitive prick is so transparent, it is almost laughable. The worthless bastard didn't go out of his way to come out here after the Cedar fire now did he? NOLA happened the next year. It was a tremendous PR fuckup for bush and fema. He wants his galloping in triumphantly moment now and use this for it.

Only this time, the corporate media wants to make sure he gets to say that he did it right this time, even though the shrub didn't have a fucking thing to do with it. We go through this shit about every other fucking year now. People call this a disaster across the country. We call it October. We have had plenty of practice at all of this. When I walked out my door at 4am monday morning I took one whiff of the air, and called my boss in Philly and told him we were fixing to get slammed. I canceled all my appointments for the week, got out my evac kit, and knew exactly where all the centers were going to be before they even announced that there would be any evacuations. Most of my neighbors did the same thing.

I sucks. We have to have that mother fucker come over here and take credit for our preparedness, even though he didn't do a fucking thing.

[Cookie wookie]

95. I have lots of friends in San Diego -- just made me sick to see

what looks like the world on fire out there. Sending love to all of you.

[KamaAina]

63. San Diegans themselves seem to be rejecting this odious comparison

both those here at DU and those interviewed on the various network news broadcasts. Rather, they point to the lessons they themselves learned from the Cedar Fire four scant years ago. Case in point: the Reverse 911 system, which we are now talking about implementing out here.

[nadinbrzezinski]

64. Yeah but don't point this out to people outside of San Diego

[Dukkha]

65. There are even clowns here to entertain the children ...

oh no, when did * show up with his entourage?

[EVDebs]

67. FEMA isn't outsourcing busing contracts to places like OH and KY !

Superdome evacuation completed
Conditions had become intolerable for thousands of refugees
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9175611/

after 20,000 people waited days to be bused out of the Superdome, FEMA was dawdling getting out of state bus companies to come get those bused out of the Superdome. You can see this in Newsweek magazine pictures of school buses, that were used to take the Superdome evacuees out, stopped on a New Orleans freeway where the out of state FEMA-contracted-buses were waiting to 'diaspora' the evacuees across the country.

Also see this article by corpwatch,

KATRINA: DOT Audit Probes Katrina Evacuation Fiasco
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13142

"Why did it take nearly a week for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to mobilize private buses to evacuate thousands of city residents desperately seeking rescue from the horrific conditions in the Superdome, the Convention Center and the open tarmac of Interstate 10?

Clues to that mystery will come in the form of an audit into a FEMA contract for hurricane evacuation services awarded in 2002 to the Federal Aviation Administration. An initial report on the audit, which was quietly opened last October by the DOT's Office of Inspector General, is nearing completion and will be released to the public soon, a DOT official told Reconstruction Watch.
So far, the IG's office suspects that that the FAA "did not verify that the services were performed," said David Barnes, a public affairs officer in the Office of Inspector General. As a result, the IG "has raised questions about the FAA's internal controls."

The audit is also focused on Landstar Express America Inc. A trucking and logistics company based in Jacksonville, Fla., Landstar is a politically well-connected corporation that's risen to the top of the U.S. transportation industry without actually owning any trucks. Chairman Jeffrey Crowe served until recently as head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and last April Florida Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to his Advisory Council on Base Realignment and Closure."

[KoKo]

73. I wonder if the Silicon Valley Factor and the fact that CA has had disasters before

plays into this. New Orleans and Gulf Coast are so different in culture and experience. Plus the Gulf Coast Politics is so corrupt...

I guess we will see when it sorts out. But, Bush is probably inclined to through big bucks and put pressure to get CA/San Diego area up and running ...because of Boxer and Feinstein. He doesn't want Dems to look good and he hopes to pump his governor buddy like FLA got a lot of aid when Jeb was there. Actually the "aid" Florida got went to the wealthier counties ...but the initial investigations were shut down...just like so much aid went to Trent Lott's Casinos rather than NO's. And the Private Contractors once again got the big bucks for doing little to nothing for the people who were affected.

[nashville_brook]

69. i saw that and hit the roof! the effin' gall of Williams!

[WinkyDink]

70. Similarity: National Guards over in Iraq.

[spanone]

72. apples meet oranges

[malaise]

74. Great post

K & R

[deminks]

76. Exactly. The food in the stadium is from grass roots donors via radio stations

It is a great local effort to be the first responders, a thing they can be proud of.

What it is not - an example of how FEMA or DHS has 'learned' from Katrina. No one in government has learned anything from Katrina. Katrina was 'mission accomplished'.

[tabasco]

77. Biggest difference as I see it.

After a fire you can go back the next day. After a flood like NO, you may never be able to go back.

[dflprincess]

86. If you have a home to go back to.

Hopefully be harder for the insurance companies to refuse claims. Unlike in Mississippi and Louisiana where the adjusters would claim the damage was from wind, but not flooding or from flooding but not wind (whichever coverage a person didn't have) I'm guessing pretty much all homeowners have insurance that covers fire.

On the bright side, at least Mama Bush hasn't showed up yet to tell people in the stadium how well it's working out for them. ("Many of these people don't have clowns or massage therapists at home so they're really better off here")

[nadinbrzezinski]

91. They played those cute games during the Cedar fires

and they will play them again

Difference is, you will not hear about it.

[Elspeth]

130. We have to make sure they do, Nadin

It's not all starbucks and bagels

[nadinbrzezinski]

161. The media has won, they won't get it

[nadinbrzezinski]

162. The media has won, they won't get it

[Richard Steele]

79. Damn straight. recommended.

[bridgit]

80. negative, the greater commonality missed is that americans are being hurded...

into corporate sponsored sports arenas where & whenever governmental authorities are unable to support or lend assistance to tax paying citizens...and that is not good wherever it happens, that is a harbinger of 'things to come'

[nadinbrzezinski]

83. You get it, more or less

the arenas have been part of plans for decades

But the fact that they have to use them is telling

[bridgit]

85. yes, telling indeed...

[Elspeth]

97. I heard the rep from FEMA: Channel 10 newscaster said that FEMA had a lot to prove post-Katrina

especially to San Diegans. The FEMA whore basically did a lot of happy talk about how wonderful San Diego was, but, fortunately, the second newscaster asked exactly what FEMA would do for San Diegans in a practical way. When this second newscaster got the FEMA whore down to brass tacks, said whore could only offer a phone number, a website to register, SMALL amounts of money for emergency needs and low-interest SBA loansfor rebuilding. In other words, nada whole hell of a lot. Oh, and cots. They are sending a bunch of cots, about 10,000. (In a city where over half a million people have been displaced.)

FEMA loves San Diego because FEMA gets to sit on its ass and do nothing except hand out a few bucks for coffee and leave the real financial struggles to the victims as they desperately try to get a pittance out of the insurance companies who will do everything they can to avoid paying out.

So FUCK FEMA. It's now a piece of shit organization. And victims are at the mercy of local governments, often starved for funds, and the corporations playing lady bountiful to help their own PR.

[bridgit]

100. Most correct, fuck FEMA, that FEMA thinks the answer is, as mentioned above...

somewhat blightly, "Starbucks & bagels" to (alluded to here & there) warm, cozy, rich, white San Diegans suggests to my mind the nefarious component of governmental PR, a PR that too many are swallowing sight unseen. That DU would seek to discount the plight of one set of besieged Americans in support of another points to a whole separate matter involving callous.

'callous', is not imo what is called for in this tragedy.

And you got it! FEMA gets to sit on it's ass; in either or likely every case, while the citizenry of America gets to scramble beneath the weight of Biblical Calamity wherever it occurs.

It's all like, "Whaaa? No Indian Ocean tsunami?" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake "Your Honor, I move to strike my own comment from the record in that Americas are not citizens of the world, harrumph."

There's a radio trio that plays in the morning here in town: Bad News Over Happy Music, a montage of the world's bad news, freaky shit sometimes, over 'sugar plumb fairy' music & shit like that. At the end the main dude concludes,

"And remember. It's not bad news until it happens to you."

And so...good times are had by all.

Stay safe down there :)

[Elspeth]

106. Thanks bridgit. And thanks for getting it . FEMA is crap, the national media is fanning race war

flames, and meanwhile, there are thousands of homes destroyed and thousands of families that will be put through the goddamned insurance ringer as FEMA takes credit for a few cots and, as you put it, "Starbucks and bagels."

FUCK FEMA.

[Postman]

82. Mostly affluent whites vs. mostly poor blacks.

eom

[nadinbrzezinski]

84. I'm getting tired of this

but it's not mostly afluent whites

Do play to the meme...

[Elspeth]

98. They aren't seeing local news. The victims of the Harris Fire in Jamul and the Witch Fire in Ramona

include many non-whites and non-affluents. The local news is interviewing them. Somehow these interviews are not making it to the national cable noise stations.

[earth mom]

96. New Orleans was completely shut down. San Diego is not. Your rant is totally justified.

:grr:

[Elspeth]

99. Yes. The rant should be anti-cable news, NOT anti-San Diego

And the rebuilding process will be problematic

[tjwash]

108. Nothing is gonna stop people from hating on us right now.

Thanks to CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and the rest of the cable hacks, the entire country is under the impression that we are just having a great time here. Hell, haven't you heard? We have 5 course meals, jugglers and clowns...hell Van Halen is even going to do a reunion concert in the stadium parking lot to entertain us here.

Yep. I'm just sitting here in my 10000 square foot mccmansion sipping champagne and eating caviar that was donated by other rich people and laughing it up right now.

I wish we had a fire every week!

[Elspeth]

122. Thank you MSM for using San Diego to feed the class war, the race war, and FEMA

None of which does ANYTHING valuable for the country.

[tlsmith1963]

165. It *is* Somewhat Shut Down

A lot of roads are closed, so it isn't wonderful here.

[earth mom]

181. I'm sure its's bad, but at least people have food & water in SD-unlike Katrina. nt

[IsItJustMe]

101. That's why I don't watch the msm anymore. The stupidity, ignorance, superficiality, turd polishing,

bull shit, propaganda, cheer leading, insane, tormented, and out right lies are just too damn frustrating.

[Renew Deal]

103. OK, and how are they similar?

[Elspeth]

115. Good question. The disasters are entirely different in how they affect areas.

*Fires move with the wind and, like tornadoes, they leave some places utterly destroyed (structures and infrastructure) and others intact.

*Fires can be raging in one town and be stopped from spreading too far away, provided we have the right equipment.

*Fire spread can be predicted in enough time to get people evacuated. Self evacuation (in cars) is possible, and most Southern Californians of all economic levels (often because of bad mass transport) usually have cars.


But in New Orleans, you had flooding by man-made levees breaking

*NOLA was not really about hurricanes, because Katrina itself did relatively little initial damage as it went through. Remember, everyone in NOLA thought they had "dodged a bullet" as the hurricane eye moved to the eastern border of LA and MI. Actually, the northeastern suburbs (like Slidel) got much more clobbered than the city proper.

NOLA's problem was that the man-made levees broke Monday night, and NO ONE informed the people until it was too late. (The Monday night time came from CNN, despite what the Chimp claims.) NOLA was a failure of the Federal Government, who BUILT those levees, to inform its citizens that their lives were in danger. NOLA was not a natural disaster: it was a Federal Crime. Authorities knew Monday night. I know I knew Monday night: I was watching CNN. (Check Greg Palast for some info on this.)


With a man-made levee breaking,

* Huge amounts of flooding takes place in a short time in a place that can ill afford flooding.

* If people are not evacuated early, they are trapped. There is no question of "outracing" a deluge of flood water in your car. Fires, on the other hand, can be (to a certain extent) "outraced". One Ranch Bernardo neighborhood was literally almost on fire when the police screamed out of the bullhorns to get people out. (The open field behind the neighborhood had burned clear up to the backyards of the houses during the night.) These RB residents were literally jumping out of bed and outracing the flames as they were evacuating. If that had been a deluge of flood water, there would have been no chance to race your car through it. The flood would have swallowed your car and you would have been stuck.

* Floodwaters, if deep enough, completely destroy the infrastructure, even in places far from the flood that are supposed to be shelters. It has been pointed out that the water and electricity did not work in the NOLA stadium while the water and electricity in San Diego's Qualcomm stadium did. This is because the deluge from the flood interfered with all the infrastructure, while the fires affected infrastructure in parts. Not that San Diego couldn't have lost power--it was touch and go yesterday--but people were informed of this and those of us who had power conserved energy yesterday.

*Floodwaters destroy livability in all the buildings in their path. Fires hit in spots, areas.



ALL THIS SAID:

San Diego does have to be congratulated for having better planning this time around. The Cedar Fire 4 years ago is still in recent enough memory that city/county planners have had to come up with drastic improvements. Some of the best ones are:

*Reverse 911 (Still has a kink or two, but the thing worked!) I have many friends returning to their homes who were evacuated with the reverse 911 system, sometimes in the middle of the night. These friends are not "rich" by the way and some are just renters.

*Better cooperation with local military and use of military aircraft. This was non-existent during the Cedar Fire. (This still could be better.)

*Better cooperation with the state. Governor D'uh has been down here "early and often". He's a pain in the shorts, but he did the right things and state resources got here.

*Good plans for evacuees. Not just "Starbucks and Bagels", this was a widescale plan to keep evacuees comfortable. NO ONE wanted a Superdome situation again. The planners realized that a large evacuation facility needs to be as comfortable and SAFE as possible. (I know a few single women, both with and without kids, and some elderly folks who won't go to a public shelter for fear of crime to their persons. We know that rapes happened in the Superdome.) Safety is a primary concern. I am sure that the SD planners had the images of the Superdome in their minds when planning the Qualcomm evacuation center. And good for them for planning a better evacuation site.

*Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers: So much of the local help was volunteer. San Diego realized (after Katrina) that the Feds and FEMA are unreliable anymore, and everything LOCAL kicked in: volunteers, donations, corporate help--this was all solicited and people (and companies) stepped up. AT&T was stingy, but other corporations, and LOTS of LOCAL businesses donated goods, services, and help.

[Kajsa]

105. One glaring difference, besides the ones already mentioned here, is that

THE RELIEF EFFORTS WERE IN PLACE THE SAME FRIGGIN DAY of the evacuations!

There was no five day wait to get help.

[tjwash]

107. They were actually 2 days late here to Diego, but that didn't matter anyway.

Chertoff showed up here 2 days late, and didn't do a damn thing anyway. He didn't need too. Thanks to global warming we go through these fires every couple of years now, and have had a lot of practice in getting out of their way, and fighting them.

FEMA's done nothing but get in the way and hog the airwaves since they got here.

[Elspeth]

116. Exactly, TJwash. FEMA has been nothing but a giant gasbag of talk

The real people doing the real work have nothing but contempt for FEMA, I'll bet.

[Kajsa]

125. Hi Tjwash. I sure wasn't referring to FEMA.

The people of San Diego got it together way before FEMA.

I can imagine they are getting in the way.

They don't help and they sure as hell are slowing things down.

My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

:grouphug:

[midlife_mo_Jo]

151. Yes, and it was the state and local municipalities that

provided those initial relief efforts. That's the way it has always been. I've lived on the Gulf Coast my entire life, and the feds don't show up until after a hurricane. T

Face it: the people of NO never had a chance. Idiots were running the city, state, and federal governments. Everyone had been waiting for a big hurricane to hit New Orleans for years, yet the pre-hurricane preparations were lousy.

[slackmaster]

113. Nominated for one of the most hyopocritical OPs ever on DU

Ezlivin admonishes us all not to compare the two situations, then lays out five specific differences and assures us that there must be many other things that could be compared.

[Elspeth]

117. Not really, he just used the wrong word. I think he meant "Don't equate the two situations"

Comparing them is natural. Equating them is ridiculous.

[slackmaster]

118. Imprecision me molesta

More than 10 years of getting paid to write clearly and concisely left me unable to overlook sloppy work.

[Elspeth]

123. Then call it sloppy work, not hypocrisy. That would be more precise, yes?

:evilgrin:

[slackmaster]

131. Not necessarily

You're the one who suggested it might be sloppy work rather than hypocrisy.

Since the author hasn't responded, I can't tell.

[Elspeth]

132. It wasn't merely a suggestion. It was evaluating the context of his words and

the common usage of "compare" which is often used informally by a lot of people to mean "equate":

As in:

"Don't compare me to that guy. I had a really good reason for what I did."

What is meant here is "equate", not "compare"

This is extraordinarily common in the vernacular.

[slackmaster]

138. I have a larger issue with the OP

I don't like people telling me what to do and what not to do.

[MADem]

119. Yep, a language, not a logic, deficit... nt

[pattmarty]

120. That's the modern MSM folks, showing us the difference between black & white people.

[pattmarty]

121. "A tale of two stadiums"

[Elspeth]

127. No, what it does show is the difference between

people expected to stay and rebuild and people who were, I believe, targeted for removal.

To see the NOLA evacuees MOVED OUT OF THE STATE so quickly and not helped to return to their homes meant that the current administration did not see then as evacuees at all. The use of the word "refugee" was deliberate: evacuees return to their homes; refugees leave their home for somewhere else.

NOLA was a Federal Crime involving Federal levees which broke on Monday night after the hurricane. The Feds did NOT inform the citizens and let them die or struggle to escape, in some kind of sick Darwinian fascist mind game.

The plans to move these people were probably in place before the hurricane hit. The MSM started calling them refugees almost immediately, distancing their plight from the general public and getting people used to the idea that they would be moved.

[pattmarty]

128. Exactly my point, just with a "touch" of sarcasm.

[Elspeth]

129. Were you being sarcastic?

Sometimes sarcasm is hard to pick up on.

[camero]

124. You missed one

6. Have money.

[jberryhill]

126. You mean....

...Fox News isn't running pictures of this guy:

[lebkuchen]

135. completely agree

That comparison shouldn't even have been broached, but CNNI hasn't let up yet. One is left with the impression that San Diegoans are so much more organized and filled with compassion and brotherly love than folks in NO, the inference being that the plight of the people of NO was their own fault. Horseshit.

[blayne]

136. I've been thinking the same thing.

The 2 very different situations won't be comparable
in how they are handled or their final outcome.

I wonder why?

[EV_Ares]

137. It is two entirely different types of disasters. One hit all at once and

the other one is like some moving monster and the ones in front have transportation in most cases to get out of the way. A lot of the people in NO didn't even have any transportation to get out of the city. No comparison between the two at all, both are horrible but it is unbelievable the media is trying to make this look like FEMA & Bush are really rocking here.

[johnp]

139. Yeh theres a difference, Louisianaian's couldn't fight a hurricane

People in New Orleans could not stop the disaster, where as Californians can stop this if they want to. This ultimately is the fallacy with mandatory evacuations. When they made evacuations mandatory here in Louisiana they would not let anyone back into the city right after the storm for a week. Had they let everyone back in immediately you would not have had this situation of people starving and being stuck on their roofs for days because all the people coming back in would have brought in with them, food, boats, supplies, whatever they would need to immediately rebuild and get the situation under control. But, noooo, instead what did we do, let the stupid fucking military and FEMA run the show and what a disaster that was. Those people in California should all be out there fighting the fire, and not letting the same stupid losers who couldn't manage Louisiana's disaster now manage this one. You know the beauty of fighting fires is anyone with two legs and two arms can do it. Its really easy see, you just point the hose at the fire, and don't get to close to the fire. I could teach a 5 year old to do it! If I was there I would volunteer to help fight the fire. It would burn me up to be sitting in a stadium when I could do something more constructive with my time.

[BellaLuna]

143. Comparing does not always mean to make them appear the same

It can also be done to show differences. So, I would say we do need to compare in order to define the different responses by the govts, the conditions etc..

What is happening in California is tragic and what happened in NOLA does not change that. This does not mean NOLA wasn't completely screwed over by it's govt both locally, state and federal.

In other words it is possible to compare to emphasize the mishandling and neglect of NOLA to the situation in Ca.

[madrchsod]

146. the rude pundit`s take on this subject

here`s qualcomm




here`s the superdome


http://bp1.blogger.com/_94vWmzABPGg/Rx9gGWnLSbI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/-dh8IZKKZeY/s400/24429365new+orleans-after+copy%5B1%5D.jpg


from ....http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/

[Virginia Dare]

147. How could you look at that picture..

and not think that NO was a crime against humanity. No humanbeing in the richest country on earth should have to die like that. Heck uv a job indeed..fuck their culture of life..:puke:

[madrchsod]

148. yes it was and still is....see my next post in gd/p

on who could do something about this but won`t

[BayouBengal07]

154. No, it's hardly the same situation.

80% of New Orleans was flooded, and thousands of its citizens were stuck right in the middle in the Superdome.

If 80% of San Diego were a conflagration and it's citizens were trapped downtown, you can bet it would be more difficult (or at least that would be the excuse; I don't know why it took the government 5 days to get into NOLA but that's a different rant for a different thread).

I hate that New Orleans had to be the disaster response guinea pig, but you can't say everything has gone mostly right in San Diego because we've learned all we need to know. It's a different kind of disaster.

[LuckyLib]

149. It doesn't help that NPR just talked about QualCom serving Starbucks and caesar salad,

and offering massages and acupuncture.

[Tiggeroshii]

152. agreed.

It's an entirely different situation.

[GumboYaYa]

156. In New Orleans, Sheritf's deputies fired on people if they tried to leave the city.

You could get out via the Crescent City Connection, but Jefferson Parish police lined the bridge and refused to let people into the parish. That was the only way people had to get to food and water. They were trapped in that hell hole with no food or water for five days.

I get infuriated when I hear the media using San Diego as a way to once again malign the VICTIMS of hurricane Katrina.

[autorank]

157. I was waiting for this. GREAT POST. K*R

Bryan Williams is way way out of line.

Your points are all excellent.

Another point - the federal government did not deliberately allow people to starve and be victimized
in isolation from the entire country.

And one more - none of the surrounding communities placed local police at the entrance to their towns
as did the communities just adjacent to New Orleans - remember the convention center.

MSM is on it's last legs. Everybody hates them. They're just below used care salesmen in approval
ratings. No offense to used car salesmen who have much higher ethics than Williams, who failed to
report on the real outrage of NOLA - it was deliberate neglect of people without resources.

[rabies1]

158. You are 100% correct !

The Bushies believe:

If the race is right
then relief is in sight.

[tlsmith1963]

163. I Live in San Diego...

...and Qualcomm *has* been handled very well. I am still angry at Bush over Katrina, though, so I resent him coming here.

Oh, & I am okay. My area wasn't affected by the fires.

[flordehinojos]

167. insurance to cover their losses.

jobs to go back to.
they are no being prevented from returning to their ruins (people in the 9th ward are).
they are not being patrolled by blackwater mercenaries. people in NOLA are.

[nadinbrzezinski]

171. Read on the CEDAR fire and insurance

those troubles are about to start here AGAIN

[rockybelt]

168. What you're missing

What you are missing is the fact that you have a lot of white republican people with money in this area. The WH is going to say they have learned lessons from Katrina. You know that is bull-shit because they are too f&^$%ng dumb and arrogant to learn anything!
In a poll that I am taking, 63.6% of the people answering the survey believe that the wild fire victims will be treated differently than the victims of Katrina.:grr:

[nadinbrzezinski]

169. Why I said the major differences are

Duncan Hunter
Brian Bilbray
Daryll Issa

Yep, those districts were heavily affected

So was Filner's, he is a Dem, care to lay bets just how well his residents do?

[nealmhughes]

173. There are no real comparison between the two events, save "Act of God" and evacuations.

The City and County of San Diego are both functioning to the largest extent. Fires are isolated, and may or may not be spreading. In the Gulf Coast, an area with multiple state, county/city/parish jurisdictions was affected.

In NOLA the people who would or could not evacuate were left to root like a hog in the woods after being turned out of its pen, save for the Convention Center and Superdome. They literally had no place to go and then were kept in place by troops!

There was no electricity and no water in NOLA. There are in SD.

People in SD are not sweltering and listening to news reports of "armed gangs of roving ethnic groups" and "mass rapes" on their radios. People are not viewing elderly citizens propped up in a wheelchair with a sign around their neck after beign carried outside to prevent the stench of their deaths from spreading.

A flood and a fire are extremely different events in most ways, besides the obvious. Add in the racism and politics and one has night and day between NOLA and SD.

Any comparison is futile and forced in extremis.

[KamaAina]

174. The good news: The MSM is finally reporting on this.

The bad news: It's the BBC, specifically today's Newshour on the World Service. You can get to it using the handy-dandy BBC Radio Player found here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/waystolisten/internet

the report starts about 11 minutes into the broadcast.

Bonus: A prominent NOLA blogger and academic, never at a loss for an opinion, is interviewed. A must-listen!

edit: Prominent Blogger himself provides this direct link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/ondemand/worldservice/meta/tx/newshour2000?bgc=003399&lang=en-ws&nbram=1&nbwm=1&ms3=6&size=au

[Crabby Appleton]

183. Hey, I just saw you over at Ashley Morris's

[KamaAina]

184. Looks like he's busted!

There's your "prominent NOLA blogger and academic".

http://ashleymorris.typepad.com

Wonder how many other DUers lurk over there? (Wouldn't he like to know!)

[LynneSin]

175. I'm gonna guess they had enough Diapers and Tampons so they don't run out

I remember those scenes in Spike Lee's "When the Leavee Breaks" and it broke my heart

[SunDrop23]

182. BRAVO!!!!