In New Orleans, the police are confiscating guns from private citizens, supposedly to facilitate the forced evictions of those citizens from their homes. As we all know, the right “to keep and bear Arms” is guaranteed in the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution. I am not particularly fond of guns myself, but it worries me that citizens are being forced to give up their arms and being forced out of their homes.
When I was with my entire weird family in the desert last month, I had a talk with my 15-year old nephew about drugs. I explained to him that when I had been a drug peer educator at Berkeley, we never told people to do drugs or not to do drugs. Our programme’s mission had been only to give out as much information as possible and then leave people to make their own informed, and hopefully responsible, choices. We were dealing with university students.
In New Orleans, more experienced adults are being not only told what to do, but in many cases being handcuffed and forced to leave their own property. If I were in New Orleans and someone explained to me all of the potential dangers of staying there, I might be very likely to leave the city. However I would want to know that I could make my own decision and that I was not being told what to do as if I were a small child who could not be left on my own. I imagine it must feel absolutely heart-breaking and frustrating - and I don’t know what else - to be forced to leave your own home when you don’t want to go. It’s just wrong.
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I was listening to NPR yesterday and one of the heads of the New Orleans evac. was saying that they WOULD NOT forcibly remove anyone. Now this seems a little skewed since they are handcuffing N.O. residents. Another fakokta mess.
k
MM,
I know that this is your blogg and I don't want to bully my way in but I need to vent a little...As you know, I have been yelling at the television for over a week now...and you also know that while in the past, I have enjoyed pointing a finger at the USA with the smugness of a Canadian - I am now truly and utterly heartbroken...
What will it take for US citizens to take action - not just helping out with this disaster but actually take an interest in how the country is run? How is it that the leader of a disaster response team was hired when the only leadership experience he had was in horses?
Is it because the population of the USA is so brain-dead that they would rather watch football or sub-standard, delusional hopefuls grasp at any form of fame no matter how humiliating?
What really has made me hysterical has been the fact that taking away arms from citizens has caused more of an uproar than the fact people were dying while members of the Bush administration went shopping or were on vaction...
It makes that blowjob ten years ago seem like a dream....
Tits,
Maybe you could explain to us the exact protocol of how to handle a situation like this. Please start from the mayor of N.O. to the governor of LA then on to The Dept of Homeland Security for the state of LA (not national). From there please explain the city of N.O. evacuation plan and governance issues between federal (FEMA), state, and local authorities.
Thanks
ON MIKE BROWN
Prior to joining FEMA, Mr. Brown practiced law in Colorado and Oklahoma, where he served as a bar examiner on ethics and professional responsibility for the Oklahoma Supreme Court and as a hearing examiner for the Colorado Supreme Court. He had been appointed as a special prosecutor in police disciplinary matters. While attending law school he was appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee of the Oklahoma Legislature as the Finance Committee Staff Director, where he oversaw state fiscal issues. His background in state and local government also includes serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight and as a city councilman.
Mr. Brown was also an adjunct professor of law for the Oklahoma City University.
A native of Oklahoma, Mr. Brown holds a bachelor's degree in Public Administration/Political Science from Central State University, Oklahoma. He received his J.D. from Oklahoma City University’s School of Law.
SS,
How about this...don't go shopping and stay on vacation when your citizens are drowning...
That would be a good start...
Thank you for clearing everything up for me.
SS,
Is sarcasm the only come back you have? Thanks for the Mike Brown resume by the way...I stand corrected. However, now that he has been removed it is a moot point but thanks again.
How do you know it is sarcasm? The words are typed, not spoken.
Thanks again
Tits,
By the way, big football weekend ahead of us. Notre Dame plays Michigan and Ohio State plays Texas.
HOOK EM HORNS!!!!!!!!!!!
SS,
You illustrate my point..Nero playing the violin while Rome burned...
Oh sorry
GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
TITS,
Because the average wait time to get hospital treatment in Canada is 17.7 weeks, I suggest you look into getting that ulcer you are giving yourself checked out now.
SS,
Do me a huge favour and take a long, hard look at the medical situation in your own country before you offer a critique of mine.
Cant, got to go to the doctor. Just made an appointment 5 minutes ago.
SS,
Better yet, how would you like to offer an explanation why the USA is ranked 8th on the UN Human Development Index? And yet despite falling from Number 1, Canada managed to come 4th....
Falling from 1st to 4th is nothing to be proud of. Why do Canadian put up with that?
1) norway, population 4.5 million
2) sweden, population 9 million
3) austrailia, population 20 million
4) canada, population 32 million
5) netherlands, population 16 million
6) belgium, population 10 million
7) iceland, population 293,000
8) USA, population 297 million
Pretty good if you ask me. The US is almost 10 times the size of the next biggest country. Not to mention the fact that we have a ton of people from every backgound imaginable. Bound to be some illiteracy and crime. By the way Canada pulled an astounding 0.943 while the US lagged behind at .939.
Go bash Japan they pulled a shitty .938 and were 9th.
Is the UN Human Development Index similar to George Costanza's Human Fund?
SS,
Canada is addressing the problem with our rating, but it seems we continue to provide cheap drugs and flu vaccinations to Americans despite our slide into fourth.
Perhaps your doctor would like to provide medicine to some of the busloads of senior citizens arriving in Ontario from the USA every day. It seems hers/his appointment book is rather empty.
so it all boils down to cheap drugs. i don't take perscription drugs and have had a perscription maybe 10 times in my life. dont think i have ever paid more than 15 bucks.
by the way i dont think you mentioned the fact that a lot of canandians die during that 17.7 week wait or from complications that arise from having to wait that long. do you guys have a drug for that?
SS,
I don't know where you are getting this 17.7 week wait information...I have never waited...my mother during five breast cancer operations never waited...in fact no one I have ever known in Canada has waited for a doctor or medical services.
However, American citizens arrive by the busload every single day to Ontario to buy drugs they cannot afford in the greatest nation on earth.
And as for cheap drugs...nothing beats the current price of B.C. bud.
Skeeter,
Why do you hate to say it?
Hook Em Horns!!!!!!!!
No, no money on Texas. They won't show up.
Back to the initial blog. I have to agree that Americans are very misinformed or not well informed people. I can't understand why you would want to stay in a sinking house in a dead town. Maybe because they feel at least they have a roof over their heads and if they leave they will be homeless. I agree with Max, rather then busting in and telling them what to do why doesn't the national guard explain to them the dangers of staying there. Patience is a virtue and if the NG were more patient and people persons they would maybe convince the "evacuees" who don't want to leave to eventually leave.
Then again, the national guard are misinformed or uninformed americans as well no?
I stopped watching the Katrina fiasco because I just get angry and start to cry. Then I laugh my ass off at how disorganized the most power country in the world is.
SS you mess with Tits Malone, you mess with the whole family.
Oy!
PS GO TEXAS
(I love the wilson brothers (luke and owen) that's why)
Chatsy, you Mad Canadian, please don't put words into my mouth. I did not say in this post that Americans are "very misinformed or not well informed". My point was that adults in a free country should not be told what to do, only that they should be given all available information so that they can make their own informed decisions.
I think there are many reasons why people, at least those in less damaged (especially above sea level) areas, would want to stay. In fact we had a very protracted and enlightening discussion about it last Friday night in the pub. We may not be able to understand all of the reasons as we can only attempt to imagine being in that situation.
You might think about stopping by more often and participating in discussions in a more timely manner.
P.S. I discovered yesterday that one of my colleagues here (now a lawyer) used to work with you - Jindřich K - he was a German/Czech translator at Links. When I asked him if he knew you, he said, "Oh, the crazy Canadian." I kid you not.
I remember the name but can't put a face to it. Hey I was the life of the party at links ski trips!
amen sister.
PS I meant I hear what you are saying and I think americans are just not informed well enough....
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