wow. I had never seen that before. Thank you both for your explanations.

You know, I am usually completely appalled by looting, but I can sort of understand it in such an utter disaster. Some people are opportunists, but some are probably just panicked. Everything's a wash. I can't see the cops bothering about it, except and unless when it's otherwise hindering emergency response.

There was a vendor in here today who was an utter ass about New Orleans. He said that those who stayed were fools who shouldn't be upset about what happened to them, because what did they expect?

I tried to explain that some people couldn't evacuate -- they didn't have cars or money or were sick or had children and no cars or money or whatever. His response? They could walk.

Then he launched into one of those, I'm old and we walked everywhere barefoot because no one could afford shoes or cars or even a mule.

I refrained from throttling him and yelling "Where would they walk to! What about when Katrina hit! Dumbass1"

Yay, Stephanie!

I've been watching Battle of the Network Reality Stars on Bravo, which is oddly fascinating actually. Richard ( Survivor ) Hatch won the Simon Says competition, which seems to be cosmically correct to me.

I don't mind so much the looting food & diapers--but jewelry? Blue jeans? These people could be helping others, or doing SOMETHING productive--like staying out of harm's way and NOT wading in toxic waste water stealing things that are not theirs--and totally useless besides.

I refrained from throttling him and yelling "Where would they walk to! What about when Katrina hit! Dumbass1"

Wait, he was a vendor, right? Heh. GREAT sales attitude.

I cannot understand the reasoning employed by *those who had the ability and opportunity* to leave, but didn't. But it's cold, calling anyone going through this utter nightmare--for whatever reason--a fool. And you know, once the Superdome started leaking and until the levees gave, I was starting to think those who stayed, provided they weren't in the original flood zones, were probably better off.

I tried to explain that some people couldn't evacuate -- they didn't have cars or money or were sick or had children and no cars or money or whatever. His response? They could walk.

WTF? Oh my word. You should have clocked him, askye.

You should have clocked him with a really big map. Rolled up, for maximum whapping ability.

If a healthy person can walk 4 miles an hour (for a limited amount of time before legs falling off), and if a weather person can successfully predict the course of the storm (he/she can't), then what's the safe distance, 100 miles? That's a lot of hours of walking. 25 hours, in fact, which, maybe the warnings were more than a day before the actual impact, but probably not much more than a day.

It is literally impossible to out-walk the weather, even with advance notice.

It is literally impossible to out-walk the weather, even with advance notice.

You lie! I saw that we-all-freeze movie!

Wait, *I* lie. I never saw it.

Carry on.

I'm sick to my stomach. Partly for selfish reasons because I will never get a chance to visit NO as it was, but primarily for the massive amount of suffering those along the Gulf Coast are experiencing. It's so very difficult to wrap my head around, and heart-breaking all at once.