Gavin, ask yourself this question. What are you more afraid of, a giant murderous demon or me?

Lilah ,'Destiny'


Natter .38 Special  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


tommyrot - Sep 01, 2005 6:46:45 am PDT #3516 of 10002
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

Oh goodie - another MSM (mainstream media) article on Bush's budget cuts on the Army Corps of Engineers: [link]

WASHINGTON -- Despite continuous warnings that a catastrophic hurricane could hit New Orleans, the Bush administration and Congress in recent years have repeatedly denied full funding for hurricane preparation and flood control.

That has delayed construction of levees around the city and stymied an ambitious project to improve drainage in New Orleans' neighborhoods.

For instance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested $27 million for this fiscal year to pay for hurricane-protection projects around Lake Pontchartrain. The Bush administration countered with $3.9 million, and Congress eventually provided $5.7 million, according to figures provided by the office of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

Because of the shortfalls, which were caused in part by the rising costs of the war in Iraq, the corps delayed seven contracts that included enlarging the levees, according to corps documents.

....

"I'm not saying it wouldn't still be flooded, but I do feel that if it had been totally funded, there would be less flooding than you have," said Michael Parker, a former Republican Mississippi congressman who headed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from October 2001 until March 2002, when he was ousted after publicly criticizing a Bush administration proposal to cut the corps' budget.

Gee - someone warns about the dangers of Bush policy, and Bush fires him. I'm getting a sense of deja vu....


Topic!Cindy - Sep 01, 2005 6:47:33 am PDT #3517 of 10002
What is even happening?

And of course, when the Earth is destroyed by some cataclysmic disaster, the aliens will be telling us, "Dudes. You chose to live on such a dangerous planet. And you just expect us to save you now?"

Would there be a difference between asking the aliens to rescue us, and asking them to rebuild for us, in the same dangerous spot? In practice, I'm not against the gov't paying to rebuild New Orleans, but in theory, I understand the objections.


Susan W. - Sep 01, 2005 6:48:51 am PDT #3518 of 10002
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights

It's probably too much to hope for, but maybe this will wake up people to the idea that maybe guns shouldn't be so readily available that looters can go arm themselves at the nearest Walmart in the event of a disaster. And I say that as a person who's about as comfortable with guns as you can be without having to turn in your liberal card.


le nubian - Sep 01, 2005 6:52:45 am PDT #3519 of 10002
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."

Interesting...

10:34 A.M. - Hoss: Stories of armed, roving gangs going around town looting every business they come across have been overexaggerated by the national media.


Gudanov - Sep 01, 2005 6:53:37 am PDT #3520 of 10002
Coding and Sleeping

I'm not against the gov't paying to rebuild New Orleans, but in theory, I understand the objections.

I think there is a debate there about should we rebuild in such a vunerable place (I think federal aid should be given to people, but how to rebuild I think is debatable), but I think it is massively uncool to talk about cutting off aid to people while the disaster is unfolding.


tommyrot - Sep 01, 2005 6:57:26 am PDT #3521 of 10002
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

New Orleans should be able to withstand a catagory 2 or 3 hurricane. There was a study on making NO safe from a catagory 5, but it was shelved due to Bush budget cuts.

So yeah, NO is vulnerable. Politics made it more vulnerable. Politics could make it much less vulnerable.

Excellent editorial: [link]


beth b - Sep 01, 2005 7:01:12 am PDT #3522 of 10002
oh joy! Oh Rapture ! I have a brain!

If there is land there when the waters receed, people will build. Better to help them rebuild and do it properly.


Gudanov - Sep 01, 2005 7:04:48 am PDT #3523 of 10002
Coding and Sleeping

There will be land there once the breaches are fixed and the water pumped out, there won't be naturally. I think the case to rebuild there is pretty good, but I do think it is a resonable debate.


tommyrot - Sep 01, 2005 7:05:54 am PDT #3524 of 10002
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

Oh my:

US won't accept hurricane relief from Canada
Kos reports that the US is refusing Canadian aid for Katrina and the flood.

"A specialized urban search and rescue team from Vancouver will be joining the rescue efforts in Louisiana in the wake of hurricane Katrina."

Not so fast, elite Canadian rescuers! You can't just fly down here and start saving lives, not while the Department of Homeland Security's in charge. Canadian agencies are saying that foreign aid is probably not being permitted into Louisiana and Mississippi because of "mass confusion" at the U.S. federal level in the wake of the storm.

[link]


§ ita § - Sep 01, 2005 7:08:04 am PDT #3525 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

I woke up an hour early this morning with a stomachache and hungry. That is now gone. During my workout, I developed a headache. I took medication, and it's now gone.

I do, however, still have the aura. I can't think straight. And I have a 9:30 uncancellable meeting that I'm running. And a client with production issues pinging me directly (I'm not in support!) that I can't brush off because support isn't actually responding, and I need to shield the technical members of the team from the business users.

Meanwhile, people who promised me time-sensitive documents haven't delivered, and I can't even get one sentence urgent answers from people who have read my e-mail.

Today is not love.