WOW, what a concept!

[Im1chunkymunky]

Subject: Blizzard in Colorado



Priceless. Think about this for a moment.



This text is from a county emergency manager out in the western part of
Jefferson County after a snowstorm.



Up here, in the Northern Plains, we just recovered from a Historic
event; may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" ---
with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH
that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds
of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of
comm unities and cut power to 10's of thousands.



FYI:
George Bush did not come.
FEMA did nothing.
No one howled for the government.
No one blamed the government.
No one even uttered an expletive on TV.
Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit.
Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else.
Our Governo r did not blame Bush or anyone else, either.
CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5
snowstorm. Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.
No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House.
No one looted.



Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something.
Nobody expected the government to do anything, either.
No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No
Geraldo Rivera.
No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found.
Nope, we just melted the snow for water.
Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars.
The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a
penny.



Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments
delivered it to the snowbound families.
Families took in the stranded people - total strangers.
We fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman
lanterns.
We put on extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die".
We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of
a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades
votes for 'sittin at home' checks.



Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this
early, we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.
In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 40
degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world's social problems evaporate.
It seems that way, at least to me.



I hope this gets passed on.
Maybe SOME people will get the message. The world does Not owe you a
living.

[morey_b]

Amen to that!

[hardcore]

:thumps:

[SEATUX]

I lived most my life in the north, seen lots of heavy ice and snow storms, downed lines impassible roads,
I've lived thru only one hurricane, hear in Florida,..you cant begin to compare the two.

[bikewrench]

Seems like a different situation to me. Apples and oranges. The weather (snow storm or hurricane) is an "act of God", but the damage to NO was caused when a man made structure, constructed, maintained, and certified by the Government, failed. I don't see how the two can be equated.

[mnguy]

Seems like a different situation to me. Apples and oranges. The weather (snow storm or hurricane) is an "act of God", but the damage to NO was caused when a man made structure, constructed, maintained, and certified by the Government, failed. I don't see how the two can be equated.

That, and most of the homes survived, and the people were still in them. Its hard to loot when the people are still in the buildings.

[jackpine savage]

We get both hurricanes and blizzards here and I would take a blizzard any day.

[mbhalihunter]

how about an earthquake? we're do for a big loma prieta one soon, they are usually every ten years and we haven't had a big one since the '89 world series.

[bikewrench]

Now earthquakes, that's an act of an Old Testament God.

[aaron proffitt]

We get both hurricanes and blizzards here and I would take a blizzard any day.


Don't know Jack...once that power goes out, it's freezing cold regardless.And we all know the cold can kill ya.

One thing I hate about OK....we don't get the snow,it's all ice baby.


In anycase,I think the point of the message was missed be self-reliant and contribute to your community in situations.

[SEATUX]

Don't know Jack...once that power goes out, it's freezing cold regardless.And we all know the cold can kill ya.

One thing I hate about OK....we don't get the snow,it's all ice baby.


In anycase,I think the point of the message was missed be self-reliant and contribute to your community in situations.

Its allot easier to be self reliant when your home is still intact, in fact almost all bldgs are intact (except for a few older flat roof commercial bldgs that sometimes cant hold the snow weight) Grocery stores still have plenty of food, people come out on snow mobiles to shuttle to and from hospitals (which are still open and running) and get food to those who cant get it, most power is still on, police force still intact, SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED! It’s more like a holiday, totally unlike a hurricane.

[jackpine savage]

Exactly, the infrasrtucture is intact. Once the snow removal has been done then its back to normal. With a hurricane it can be years befre everything has been rebuilt.

[aaron proffitt]

I think you guys are missing the point...plan ahead(and yes,evacuation is a plan), and take some responsibilty for yourself instead of American taxpayers taking it for you.

[jackpine savage]

Well you should expect a certain amount of service, that is what taxes are for. I would expect healthy people to evacuate if they can but for the sick or the elderly then I would think the state would help in their evacuation unless you have incompetent boobs like Nagin in NO and Brown at FEMA running things.

[aaron proffitt]

unless you have incompetent boobs like Nagin in NO and Brown at FEMA running things.


Still boggles me how easy Nagin got off with this SNAFU, the gov. of LA skated pretty easy,too.

[FredT]

Seems like a different situation to me. Apples and oranges. The weather (snow storm or hurricane) is an "act of God", but the damage to NO was caused when a man made structure, constructed, maintained, and certified by the Government, failed. I don't see how the two can be equated.

Lets get this correct.
N.O. got thoroughly rinsed primarily due to the political corruption that is "business as ususal" in Louisiana resulting in failure of non-federally maintained levee structures. Even so most flood damaged structures are repairable with some effort, sheetrock and wiring supplies. Most of the repair is being paid for by the federally guarenteed flood insurance ALL homeowners were "supposed to have" in all of Orleans Parrish. Some choose not to have it, and the rental property on the East End generally wasn't in any shape to live in BEFORE the storm.

MS and the river parrishes of LA took the storm hit, and we did a self-rescue in most instances. What killed us was the "honorable response" we are getting from the insurance companies. State Farm is probably the worst, but none are living up to what coverage was sold. In MS north to I-20 and the LA river parishes Katrina left NOTHING but heavy rubble and bodies! Below about 30' elevation whatever was found on your property probably came from upwind & upcurrent. What the homeowner had went inland in a density sort operation. Above 30' elevation most did OKJ unless "the tree hit the house." Of couces the fact that along the coast 80% of all mature trees came down made that a very common occourance. 90 miles inland that percentage dropped all the way down to a bit over 30%. 100 miles farther inland up around Jackson at I-20 only about 20% came down. In an urban setting a 130' tall pine tree gets at least 2 houses, often 3 or more.

FT

[bikewrench]

Wait a second. You guys missed my point. The only reason that most of NO could be inhabited in the first place is because of the levees, which as I said were constructed, maintained, and certified as safe by the government. Seems like that places the responsibility squarely on the government. As far as hurricanes and blizzards go there is no contest, hurricanes win every time. Blizzards shut things down for a while, hurricanes DESTROY things.

[bgbill]

Wait a second. You guys missed my point. The only reason that most of NO could be inhabited in the first place is because of the levees, which as I said were constructed, maintained, and certified as safe by the government. Seems like that places the responsibility squarely on the government. As far as hurricanes and blizzards go there is no contest, hurricanes win every time. Blizzards shut things down for a while, hurricanes DESTROY things.

Who's fault is it that people who live at 9 feet Below sea level do not have flood insurance?

Is it the property owners fault, the governments fault or the insurance companies fault?

Who's fault is it that people did not evacuate when they were told to?

[mulefeathers]

And the very government that certified the levees told everybody that they would not stand up to anything cat3 or above. The government that is being blamed also told them to leave. Nagin did not issue the order until it was to late.

As far as Hurricanes go take a drive down to MS Gulf Coast. I was there two days after it happened and the destruction was unbelievable.

I think people just forget things sometimes very convienently but never the less I been told all my life that if a hurricane was going to NO cat 3 or higher the levees would not hold.

[jackpine savage]

Bret- There is a level of personal responsibilty that everyone must take for their own safety its just I expect a certain level of competence frm my government in its ability to repsond to this type of disaster. There are some people who are unable to evacuate, the elderly is who I have in mind the most. It is the government, both the local, state and federal, that are required to respond and make an effort to help their citizens. Nagin sucks, the governor sucks and the federal emergeny agency sucks. Its not a partisan issue, both parties dropped the ball and people die. There should be a sense of shame that goes through all levels of government.
As far as insurance companies go, well they are trying to get out of paying as much as they can and they are cranking up the rates of everyone who lives along a coast to help cover their costs. Insurance rates are skyrocketing up here as much as they are in Florida.

[Graham]

Well you should expect a certain amount of service, that is what taxes are for. I would expect healthy people to evacuate if they can but for the sick or the elderly then I would think the state would help in their evacuation unless you have incompetent boobs like Nagin in NO and Brown at FEMA running things.
Let's not forget Blanco

[bgbill]

Bret- There is a level of personal responsibilty that everyone must take for their own safety its just I expect a certain level of competence frm my government in its ability to repsond to this type of disaster. There are some people who are unable to evacuate, the elderly is who I have in mind the most. It is the government, both the local, state and federal, that are required to respond and make an effort to help their citizens. Nagin sucks, the governor sucks and the federal emergeny agency sucks. Its not a partisan issue, both parties dropped the ball and people die. There should be a sense of shame that goes through all levels of government.
As far as insurance companies go, well they are trying to get out of paying as much as they can and they are cranking up the rates of everyone who lives along a coast to help cover their costs. Insurance rates are skyrocketing up here as much as they are in Florida.

The Federal Government can not step in to help until the state and local authorities ask for help.

It is hard for me to feel sorry for the people of New Orleans when they re-elected Ray Nagin.

[Graham]

The Federal Government can not step in to help until the state and local authorities ask for help.

It is hard for me to feel sorry for the people of New Orleans when they re-elected Ray Nagin.
That is exactly right, and it was Blanco that denied the National Guard at first. The governors race coming up should get real interesting. Her "Road Home" program is a last ditch effort to get re-elected.

[jackpine savage]

Hey I dont excuse either Blanco(had forgotte her name), or Nagin. I don't expect a whole lot from my government but when I do expect them to act I want them to act competently. Seems like our government, from the Fed on do is just a bunch of incompetent boobs.

[bgbill]

Hey I dont excuse either Blanco(had forgotte her name), or Nagin. I don't expect a whole lot from my government but when I do expect them to act I want them to act competently. Seems like our government, from the Fed on do is just a bunch of incompetent boobs.


When Florida had the Hurricanes hit us, we seemed to be able to handle it pretty well, maybe it depends on how your local and state government handle things, you can't always depend on the Federal government to take care of you.