Finally we made it to Texas. It's finally sinking in the magnitude of devastation.
Last night in Baton Rouge(state capitol) St. Bernard Parish/County officials briefed the residents on the status of the parish which is a island totally surrounded by water.
It's been totally destroyed by wind, tidal surge and standing water for about 8 days. Houses in my subdivison were knocked off their foundations and some floated down the streets. They are going to let us go in one time only to try and salvage personnels and take photos for insurance purposes. The insurance companies are trying to screw us already besides the federal government got to our asses first.
FYI the first outside aid to our parish/county was not even American I am proud to say that the Royal Canadian Mounties of Vancouver came to the aid of the people of St. Bernard Parish the next day. The American troops and FEMA came five days later.
All of our parish officals and elected officials have never left their post until some order was restored. In St. Bernard the people were very civil and gracious just to be alive and rescued and taken to shelter.
Right now we are trying to find jobs because our mortgages are due soon. I will let you guys know where we will settle. Thank you for being so concerned. Please pray for the people of Southeast Louisiana, all of Mississippi and Gulf coast Alabama we need prayers and God's strength.
Dani and Alvin Babineaux
Well, as Willie Nelson sang we are on the road again. Our lovely sister in law has asked us to move on down the road so I guess we might go back to Louisiana for a while until we find work. David and Gaynell are fine. They were trapped in the city until September 4th and my mom and I picked them up in jefferson near the airport. He stole a fork lift to get thru the water and walked the rest of the way. He and Gaynell chose free flight to New York. Things are really crazy the government was and still not prepared for anything as horrific. I guess we learn as we go. Pat O'Brien where Alvin worked has been real jack asses they have not called, emailed or posted anything about his work. He has called and left several messages and nothing so I guess we will be relocating for work. They want to open the city and have it up and running in 90 days but that's a joke. Where will all the minimum wage employees who clean the hotels and waiters come from now they all live in shelters around the country. I guess they will flock back in groves for that minimum pay and water logged housing to re open the great city of New Orleans. Keep us in your prayers.
Dani
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The New Orleans FACTS!!
In case you aren't familiar with how our government is SUPPOSED to work:
The chain of responsibility for the protection of the citizens in New Orleans is:
1. The Mayor
2. The New Orleans director of Homeland Security (a political appointee of the Governor who reports to the Governor)
3. The Governor
4. The Head of Homeland Security
5. The President
What did each do?
1. The mayor, with 5 days advance, waited until 2 days before he announced a mandatory evacuation (at the behest of the President). The he failed to provide transportation for those without transport even though he had hundreds of buses (school & city) at his disposal.
2. The New Orleans director of Homeland Security failed to have any plan for a contingency that has been talked about for 50 years. Then he blames the Feds for not doing what he should have done. (So much for political appointees)
3. The Governor, despite a declaration of disaster by the President 2 DAYS BEFORE the storm hit, failed to take advantage of the offer of Federal troops and aid. Until 2 DAYS AFTER the storm hit.
4. The Director of Homeland Security positioned assets in the area to be ready when the Governor called for them
5. The President urged a mandatory evacuation, and even declared a disaster State of Emergency, freeing up millions of dollars of federal assistance, should the Governor decide to use it.
Oh and by the way, the levees (rated for a category 2 hurricane) that broke were the responsibility of the local landowners and the local levee board to maintain, NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. The mayor, and the governor knew the levees would not hold a category 5 hurricane, which was rated one week before it hit.
The disaster in New Orleans is what you get after decades of corrupt government going all the way back to Huey Long.
Funds for disaster protection and relief have been flowing into this city for decades, and where has it gone, but into the pockets of the politicos and their friends.
Decades of socialist government in New Orleans has sapped all self reliance from the community, and made them dependent upon government for every little thing.
Political correctness and a lack of will to fight crime have created the single most corrupt police force in the country, and has permitted gang violence to flourish.
The sad thing is that there are many poor folks who have suffered and died needlessly because those that they voted into office failed them.
For those who missed item 5 (where the President's level of accountability is discussed), it is made more clear in a New Orleans Times-Picayune article dated August 28:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - In the face of a catastrophic Hurricane Katrina, a mandatory evacuation was ordered Sunday for New Orleans by Mayor Ray Nagin.
Acknowledging that large numbers of people, many of them stranded tourists, would be unable to leave, the city set up 10 places of last resort for people to go, including the Superdome.
The mayor called the order unprecedented and said anyone who could leave the city should. He exempted hotels from the evacuation order because airlines had already cancelled all flights.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.
The ball was placed in Mayor Nagin's court to carry out the evacuation order. With a 5-day heads-up, he had the authority to use any and all services to evacuate all residents from the city, as documented in a city emergency preparedness plan. By waiting until the last minute, and failing to make full use of resources available within city limits, Nagin and his administration made a big mistake.
Mayor Nagin and his emergency sidekick Terry Ebbert have displayed lethal, mind boggling incompetence before, during and after Katrina.
As for Mayor Nagin, he and his profile in pathetic leadership police chief should resign as well. That city's government is incompetent from one end to the other. The people of New Orleans deserve better than this crowd of clowns is capable of giving them.
If you're keeping track, these boobs let 569 buses that could have carried 33,350 people out of New Orleans-in one trip-get ruined in the floods. Whatever plan these guys had, it was a dud. Or it probably would have been if they'd bothered to follow it.
As for all the race-baiting rhetoric and Bush-bashing coming from prominent blacks on the left, don't expect Ray Nagin to be called out on the carpet for falling short. You want to know why? Here's why:
To hold Nagin and his administration accountable for dropping the ball amounts to letting loose the shouts and cries of "Racism!". It's sad, it! 's wrong, but it's standard operating procedure for the media and left-wing black leadership.
Mark my words: you will not hear a word of criticism from Jesse Jackson Sr., Randall Robinson, the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP, or Kanye West being directed toward Clarence Ray Nagin Jr. Why? Because he is just another black politician instead of a responsible elected official who happens to be black.
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