They Really Dropped the Ball..

[hayley]

Originally Posted by SomeKindaMother

We don't have 'TV' (the kids call it 'channel tv') at home, and my home computer crashed. We have my college daughter's laptop here for a minor repair, so I have just been catching up on all these atrocities. It sickens and repulses me.

We have a small 2 bedroom seperate basement home on our property completely furnished, with kitchen and bathroom... and I want to bring someone here...a small family. I have good friends who called some agency (sorry, don't know who) and offered to go bring a family to live with them, but the offer was refused and they were instead told to send money. I wonder if we can just drive somewhere, pick people up and bring them back? I don't mean to sound stupid, I'm really curious. Do you all think this is a bad idea? I have 5 kids, one in college--4 still at home. We have never done anything like this before, but I don't know really how else to help. What is the best way to help? I could possibly go volunteer somewhere for a week or so? What is the best thing to do?

Kelly

I read about a site that's helping to arrange housing in an article about Curt Schilling's family taking in a family of nine.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...m_new_orleans/

www.openyourhome.com

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by SomeKindaMother

We don't have 'TV' (the kids call it 'channel tv') at home, and my home computer crashed. We have my college daughter's laptop here for a minor repair, so I have just been catching up on all these atrocities. It sickens and repulses me.

We have a small 2 bedroom seperate basement home on our property completely furnished, with kitchen and bathroom... and I want to bring someone here...a small family. I have good friends who called some agency (sorry, don't know who) and offered to go bring a family to live with them, but the offer was refused and they were instead told to send money. I wonder if we can just drive somewhere, pick people up and bring them back? I don't mean to sound stupid, I'm really curious. Do you all think this is a bad idea? I have 5 kids, one in college--4 still at home. We have never done anything like this before, but I don't know really how else to help. What is the best way to help? I could possibly go volunteer somewhere for a week or so? What is the best thing to do?

Kelly

There's a lot of info on oprah.com with organizations to talk to. I would get on the phone and talk to these orgs to see what you can do. You are very kind-hearted to think to do this.

[heyjupiter678]

Have you guys read this yet? It's a partial transcript from yesterday's White House press briefing. Poor McClellan.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/ea..._id=1001055403

[dissention]

Originally Posted by SomeKindaMother

We don't have 'TV' (the kids call it 'channel tv') at home, and my home computer crashed. We have my college daughter's laptop here for a minor repair, so I have just been catching up on all these atrocities. It sickens and repulses me.

We have a small 2 bedroom seperate basement home on our property completely furnished, with kitchen and bathroom... and I want to bring someone here...a small family. I have good friends who called some agency (sorry, don't know who) and offered to go bring a family to live with them, but the offer was refused and they were instead told to send money. I wonder if we can just drive somewhere, pick people up and bring them back? I don't mean to sound stupid, I'm really curious. Do you all think this is a bad idea? I have 5 kids, one in college--4 still at home. We have never done anything like this before, but I don't know really how else to help. What is the best way to help? I could possibly go volunteer somewhere for a week or so? What is the best thing to do?

Kelly

Bless your heart if you take a family in. I have a huge place, it's too big for just myself, and was considering doing the same. My landlord said he had no problem with it and said he had a vacant apartment in another building that he had available, but Romney canceled all of the incoming relocations for my state yesterday night. You can go to http://www.openyourhome.com and submit your information and the available space that you have, that's what I did. Just remember that it's a matter of where you live; I'm in MA, so the chances are slim that anyone is going to want to relocate up here. The same would go with Idaho and places like that (they actually relocated a busload of people to Idaho without telling them).

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by heyjupiter678

Have you guys read this yet? It's a partial transcript from yesterday's White House press briefing. Poor McClellan.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/ea..._id=1001055403

Q But, Scott, more concretely, an officer of the Northern Command is quoted as saying that as early as the time Hurricane Katrina went through Florida and worked its way up to the Gulf, there was a massive military response ready to go, but that the President did not order it. It could have been ordered on Sunday, on Monday, on Tuesday -- the call didn't come. Why not?

MR. McCLELLAN: Bill, let's point out a couple of things. There were a lot of assets that were deployed and pre-positioned prior to the hurricane hitting. And you have to look back --

Q These assets were deployed, but the order to use them never came. The Bataan was sitting off behind the hurricane.

MR. McCLELLAN: I know these are all facts that you want to look at and want to determine what went wrong and what went right. I'm not prepared to agree with your assessment just there. There is a much larger picture here that we have to take a look at, and --

Q It's not mine, it's an officer in the Northern Command.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- in terms of the President, the President issued disaster declarations ahead of time so that we could make sure we're fully mobilizing resources and pre-positioning them. But this was a hurricane of unprecedented magnitude.

Q Right, but the military can't go into action without his order.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll be glad to talk to you about it, but I've got to have a chance to respond to --

[strandinthewind]

^^^^^^^

Q Well, the President has said that this government can do many things at once: It can fight the war on terror, it can do operations in Iraq, and aid and comfort people in Louisiana. Can it not also find time to begin to hold people accountable? It sounds, Scott, as if the line that you're giving us -- which is, you don't want to answer questions about accountability because there's too much busy work going on --

MR. McCLELLAN: Wrong. No, wrong.

Q -- is a way of ducking accountability.

MR. McCLELLAN: You don't want to take away from the efforts that are going on right now. And if you start getting into that now, you're pulling people out that are helping with the ongoing response, Terry. Not at all. The President made it very clear, I'm going to lead this effort and we're going to make sure we find out what the facts were and what went wrong and what went right. But you don't want to divert resources away from an ongoing response to a major catastrophe. And this is a major catastrophe that we -- and we must remain focused on saving lives and sustaining lives and planning for the long-term. And that's what we're doing.

Q And there are people in Louisiana and Mississippi who are doing that job very well. Your job is to answer the questions.

MR. McCLELLAN: And I have.

Q By saying you won't answer.

_______________________________________________________________

SHEEBUS

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

^^^^^^^

Q Well, the President has said that this government can do many things at once: It can fight the war on terror, it can do operations in Iraq, and aid and comfort people in Louisiana. Can it not also find time to begin to hold people accountable? It sounds, Scott, as if the line that you're giving us -- which is, you don't want to answer questions about accountability because there's too much busy work going on --

MR. McCLELLAN: Wrong. No, wrong.

Q -- is a way of ducking accountability.

MR. McCLELLAN: You don't want to take away from the efforts that are going on right now. And if you start getting into that now, you're pulling people out that are helping with the ongoing response, Terry. Not at all. The President made it very clear, I'm going to lead this effort and we're going to make sure we find out what the facts were and what went wrong and what went right. But you don't want to divert resources away from an ongoing response to a major catastrophe. And this is a major catastrophe that we -- and we must remain focused on saving lives and sustaining lives and planning for the long-term. And that's what we're doing.

Q And there are people in Louisiana and Mississippi who are doing that job very well. Your job is to answer the questions.

MR. McCLELLAN: And I have.

Q By saying you won't answer.

_______________________________________________________________

SHEEBUS

They've used this bullsh*t repsonse, "now is not the time..." before, but the time never seems to come, does it? Well, this may be the time, this may be it. The media does not want to let the president off the hook.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Q But, Scott, more concretely, an officer of the Northern Command is quoted as saying that as early as the time Hurricane Katrina went through Florida and worked its way up to the Gulf, there was a massive military response ready to go, but that the President did not order it. It could have been ordered on Sunday, on Monday, on Tuesday -- the call didn't come. Why not?

MR. McCLELLAN: Bill, let's point out a couple of things. There were a lot of assets that were deployed and pre-positioned prior to the hurricane hitting. And you have to look back --

Q These assets were deployed, but the order to use them never came. The Bataan was sitting off behind the hurricane.

MR. McCLELLAN: I know these are all facts that you want to look at and want to determine what went wrong and what went right. I'm not prepared to agree with your assessment just there. There is a much larger picture here that we have to take a look at, and --

Q It's not mine, it's an officer in the Northern Command.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- in terms of the President, the President issued disaster declarations ahead of time so that we could make sure we're fully mobilizing resources and pre-positioning them. But this was a hurricane of unprecedented magnitude.

Q Right, but the military can't go into action without his order.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll be glad to talk to you about it, but I've got to have a chance to respond to --

Don't be so shocked and ready to use that eeking emoticon, my love. This is Scott McClellan we're talking about, Bush's ultimate bitch. His job is to keep hammering away at the same illogical points, no matter what the question is, and not to deviate from the script that says a whole lot of nothing in a jumble of small and stupid words.

However, it's f*cking fantastic to see the Press Corps. finally growing some cajones and firing away.

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by dissention

Don't be so shocked and ready to use that eeking emoticon, my love. This is Scott McClellan we're talking about, Bush's ultimate bitch. His job is to keep hammering away at the same illogical points, no matter what the question is, and not to deviate from the script that says a whole lot of nothing in a jumble of small and stupid words.

However, it's f*cking fantastic to see the Press Corps. finally growing some cajones and firing away.

Right! Where were those fabulous organs for the past 5 years!!!??? Well, they're here now, hopefully to stay.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

Don't be so shocked and ready to use that eeking emoticon, my love. This is Scott McClellan we're talking about, Bush's ultimate bitch. His job is to keep hammering away at the same illogical points, no matter what the question is, and not to deviate from the script that says a whole lot of nothing in a jumble of small and stupid words.

However, it's f*cking fantastic to see the Press Corps. finally growing some cajones and firing away.

That Esprit de Corps is what the and were for.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

They've used this bullsh*t repsonse, "now is not the time..." before, but the time never seems to come, does it? Well, this may be the time, this may be it. The media does not want to let the president off the hook.

and HELLO - we and hopefully they can chew gum and walk at the same time I mean the Pres. can obviously multi-task enough to go to a Repub. fundraiser while citizens he has sworn to protect are dying

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

That Esprit de Corps is what the and were for.

Well, in that case:

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

and HELLO - we and hopefully they can chew gum and walk at the same time I mean the Pres. can obviously multi-task enough to go to a Repub. fundraiser while citizens he has sworn to protect are dying

He can't even eat a pretzel and watch a football game at the same time, honey.

[GypsySorcerer]

True Majority is joining forces with Community Labor United (CLU) to create a People's Hurricane Fund, which will be administered by the New Orleans evacuees themselves. Here is the link: https://secure.truemajority.org/03/clu

[dissention]

http://www.nola.com/weblogs/print.ss...int076556.html
Bush visit halts food delivery
By Michelle Krupa
Staff writer

Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush’s visit to New Orleans, officials said.

The provisions, secured by U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, and state Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom, baked in the afternoon sun as Bush surveyed damage across southeast Louisiana five days after Katrina made landfall as a Category 4 storm, said Melancon’s chief of staff, Casey O’Shea.

“We had arrangements to airlift food by helicopter to these folks, and now the food is sitting in trucks because they won’t let helicopters fly,” O’Shea said Friday afternoon.

The food was expected to be in the hands of storm survivors after the president left the devastated region Friday night, he said.