[Rhodes22-list] katrina anniversary (political) reply to y2k

Tue Aug 28 01:57:45 EDT 2007

brad,
  Amazing you quoted that book, "rising tide". I just caught about 20 minutes of a program on public broadcasting on that very subject. Thinking outside the box is very difficult if all you know is the inside of said box. Government tells the people it will be there to defend them from war, famine, pestilence, etc., which they believe. It's not a lie, per se, its just the sheer size of a event like katrina, that shows the foolishness of people. By any definition it was a disaster. And there you have Caps. But you will have to put up with my run on sentences, as that has been a problem of mine, for a very loooooong time. 

Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:
  John,

Paying people for their losses in NOLA is fine by me. I said from the
get-go that the Feds should put a value on the homes lost, cut them a check,
and tell folks to enjoy their new life. Barbara Bush got lambasted for
welcoming Katrina refugees from the 9th Ward to Houston and implying that
this was an opportunity to do something with their life. Perhaps the timing
was bad, but there was much truth in her statement. Get a copy of "Rising
Tide", the story of the great flood of 1927. My copy developed "feet"
several years ago or I'd read it again myself. NOLA and the levee system
has been a corrupt and broken system for almost a century. The Army CORPS
are engineers after all, not politicians, and not ecologists. Forget
history, if a group of individuals, say about four hundred thousand, asked
the rest of the country to spend a couple of hundred billion to build them
their own island to live on we'd tell them to go screw themselves. Move to
Kansas, they've got lots of space! The harsh reality is that Katrina
revealed the failure of 40+ years of social experimentation with the
so-called War on Poverty and centuries of local incompetence and corruption
in NOLA. You can empathize with peoples plight but be realistic about their
future simultaneously. The MS coast is different, and yet it's much the
same. As Reagan said, "government is not the solution to the problem,
government IS the problem".

Brad

On 8/27/07, john Belanger wrote:
>
> I fOuNd iT!
>
> Brad Haslett wrote: John,
>
> While we're moving to a higher moral ground, why don't you learn where the
> Capital button is on the keyboard? Just because I fed you beer for a day
> doesn't mean you get off free. Try it! Your argument might command more
> weight.
>
> Brad.
>
> PS - If you didn't figure out that I'm an A-hole in a day, you won't
> figure
> it out in ten years on 'da list'.
>
> On 8/27/07, john Belanger wrote:
> >
> > brad
> > i've heard they are spending 12 billion a month in i/a so i just figured
> > if that money were spent here instead .......you know the line. the
> problem
> > is as you stated it...... if it was only a natural disaster then pull up
> > your bootstraps and get on with it..... but because the levees failed
> the
> > government is liable, and they have to make things right. its not just
> > georges problem, its the fact that, finally, the skimmed off money that
> the
> > system routinely loses to corruption, and waste, has had the disastrous
> > results that almost never occur. every once in a while that happens. but
> the
> > dishonesty continues. we impeached a president for lying. now it sems to
> be
> > done all the time. i'm ready for a move to higher moral ground!!
> >
> > Brad Haslett wrote:
> > John,
> >
> > Iraq and Afghanistan have absolutely nothing to do with Katrina.
> NOTHING!
> > Here is another little secret, Bush 43 had nothing to do with Katrina.
> > Absolutely nothing. I'll be just as happy as anyone when his term is
> gone
> > so folks like you will have to find something else as an excuse for
> > everything.
> >
> > The liberal media can't help themselves from somehow blaming bad weather
> > on
> > the government and suggesting that if only we spent a gazillion dollars
> of
> > taxpayer money, all would be well again. How about we think outside the
> > box? Here is a suggestion, BUILD YOUR FRIGGIN HOUSE ON HIGH GROUND!"
> I've
> > asked plenty of people on the coast how they rebuilt after Camille and
> > they
> > said, "we just did it". One of the reasons the recovery from Katrina is
> so
> > slow is that everyone is waiting around to see where the next government
> > tit
> > is going to land and how big it will be.
> >
> > If someone has a better idea of how to handle Katrina, I'm all ears. If
> > you
> > just want to bash Bush, pick another subject with me. There are plenty
> to
> > choose from.
> >
> > Brad
> >
> >
> >
> > On 8/27/07, john Belanger wrote:
> > >
> > > brad
> > > how many houses does that buy in iraq or afghanistan or
> "_____________"?
> > > and the home and car price can only be 2.5% of the cost of replacing
> the
> > > infrastructure necessary to support a habitable community. i'd be
> > willing to
> > > bet that after you put in new roads, gas and electricity, water,
> sewage,
> > > traffic lights, (did i forget anything??), you have nothing left for a
> > house
> > > or car. i also note you said allocated, not spent. there are plenty of
> > > people who have or want a house on the water. lakes, rivers, bay, or
> > ocean,
> > > (boat owners come to mind). those who do own property at sea level,
> know
> > the
> > > risks, so did the residents of nola. but the levees failed, and the
> > > government is liable for damages incurred regardless of whether you
> are
> > > talking about state, or federal jurisdiction. one more thing, if you
> > don't
> > > treat all people with respect, even if its hard, and you sometimes do
> it
> > > knowingly tongue in cheek, it will come back to you in spades. ask
> > yourself
> > > this one question: when
> > > a child gets caught in a lie, what is the real reason that it cries?
> > john
> > > b
> > >
> > > Brad Haslett wrote:
> > > The airwaves and the press are starting to get busy with the second
> > > anniversary of Katrina. In case you missed it, Katrina hit the
> > Mississippi
> > > Gulf Coast. New Orleans got hit by the remnants, at about a CAT
> 1level.
> > > The levee system that we all paid for was supposed to be good to CAT
> 3.
> > > Funny how after a hundred years of corruption by the locals the money
> > > didn't
> > > get spent where it was supposed to have been spent. I'm not heartless
> > > folks, I'm a realist. Here's your clue; this is a big country, live
> > above
> > > sea level. The Sun Herald (sunherald.com) ran an article today stating
> > > that
> > > the $23 Billion (Big B) that has been allocated to the MS coast would
> > buy
> > > two, as in TWO, $166,000 houses for everyone who lost their home in
> > > Mississippi. If that isn't enough, there is enough money left over two
> > buy
> > > the same folks a fully loaded Honda Accord V-6 each, to commute
> between
> > > their two $166K houses. Spin this in to "it's all 43's fault" if you
> > must.
> > > If I have to listen to one more "I feel your pain" or its equivalent
> > from
> > > a
> > > politician, I'll puke. I'm not sure whether our little company is part
> > of
> > > the solution or part of the problem, but we sure have had a good time
> > and
> > > enjoyed the fight so far. Be sceptical about every thing you read and
> > see
> > > on TV for the next few days concerning Katrina. They have soap to
> sell,
> > > and
> > > two weeks from now, Katrina won't sell soap or shinola.
> > >
> > > Brad
> > > __________________________________________________
> > > Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> > >
> > >
> > >
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