SwiftVets.com

[Ohio Voter]

This story is from one of my family members:

Got this from my friend. Thought it interesting since the same day one of the guys Tim works with had a similar story to tell. He used to work with the sheriff's department in Mississippi and was talking to one of the guys there ( they were trying to talk him into coming back to work). Evidently one of the officers took in an evacuee family and when they got home from work their whole house had been emptied.The evacuees were from the New Orleans area.

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This next story may or may not be true. It is being passed around by email. You be the judge.

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Something else you won't see in the national media

We have had a battery operated TV so we've been getting local
channels focusing on the situation there and here. I'm just
getting the "national perspective" and its *(&*&(*ing me off!)


First, this is not a racial thing. I'm sorry if all the reporters
are seeing are black faces but if they would take their cameras to
places like Slidell, Mandeville, Metairie and CHALMETTE! they
would see a several thousand white faces being affected by this.
Most of the tip of the boot that is Louisiana south and east of
Baton Rouge is under water. Those people are stuck too waiting for
help, dying, but all the news people can focus on is the
Superdome.

Another misconception. The violence going on there is not the
reaction of desperate people. Its typical New Orleans on any given
Tuesday!!! Its a dangerous, dirty, drug infested place where the
city police and city government is corrupt and useless. Volunteers
are getting shot at and their cars vandalized. Helicopters are
being shot at. Just another day in the city.

Another misconception. These poor people couldn't get out because
they don't have cars. If the cameras show the city once the waters
recede, you'll notice all the flooded out cars littering the
streets. They couldn't all have been broken down before the storm
hit . Yes, there are always people who do not have transportation.
Part of making the call for a MANDATORY evacuation is that the
city has to provide for transportation and/or shelter in the city.
People stayed for the same reasons they always stay. They think
the storm will turn and go in another direction. They think they
can "ride it out." Or, they're just too (*& amp;( lazy to pack up and
leave.

Another misconception. The federal government was slow to
respond. The president issued a state of emergency BEFORE the storm ever hit, unprecedented. This means that the full access of the federal
government, be it military or civil, were at our governors'
disposal. The levee broke early Monday afternoon. She did not call
evacuation until Tuesday morning. You cannot call up National
Guard units in 20 minutes. It takes time. The governor and mayor
are in high CYA mode at the moment.

The situation is bad here. Crime is becoming a problem in
Gonzales and Baton Rouge where the evacuees are being housed. We live
between the two cities and there is pistol on my desk shelf as I
type (yes, I know how to use it). Helicopters flying overhead all
day, gas is running out, stores shelves becoming empty. Its like a
war zone. Our kids are both here and are staying here until the
crime situation gets in control and I fear it will get worse
before it gets better. Pray for us.

[LewWaters]

I don't know about the overall truthfulness of this, but at least some of it is. As the flood waters are receeding (being pumped out) we do see several cars and trucks abandoned. More than I can count.

We have all seen the two bus lots filled with buses that aren't flooded out. Since almost all buses are diesels now, if the fuel tanks did not fill with water and if the air intake is above water, which they appear to be, they will run. Most all are automatic transmissions today, meaning almost anyone who knows how to drive could learn driving one pretty quick. Don't forget, a 17 year old kid did.

There have been altercations broadcast in Houston between Houston and New Orleans kids and even their Moms. I wouldn't call it a crime wave, but there are tensions being reported there and in other cities. They may be isolated, I don't know, but there are some happening.

Personally, I believe the majority of those evacuated are decent people, but all it takes is handful to make it seem worse than it is and put a community in fear for themselves.

As for being racial, if it is a racial problem, then Mayor Nagin, a Black, is a racist, as is almost the entire government of New Orleans, who are also a majority of Blacks. Sorry, but disasters are usually equal opportunity, affecting everyone.

As I read in one article, one main reason so many Black are poor in New Orleans and left behind is that the city itself is majority Black. What doesn't get reported is that the majority of those who got out were also Black.

One of the better articles I've read: Race-Baiters Capitalize on N.O. Tragedy

If all the energy spent by both sides complaining about this had been directed to rescue efforts, the rebuilding might be half done by now.