Unbelievable

[tso-d_chris 0]

I just returned from the local Red Cross (I am in Missouri at the moment). I tried to volunteer my time and any applicable experience and was told I would have to waint until mid October to be trained. Isn't the whole point of a volunteer to offer experience, time and service to those who are unable to obtain them for themselves? Why would they turn away volunteers?

Does anyone know of any agency willing to accept volunteers? There are still news report of communities still in desperate need of assistance. I feel like an ass sitting around and hearing about it on the news, knowing I have the time to help, and not doing anything.

To be completely honest, I never imagined the government would be so woefully incompetent in the wake of the storm. Things were nowhere near that bad for most of us in Florida last year. I took it for granted that the Gulf Coast would receive the same immediate attention.

[kallend 2,175]

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I just returned from the local Red Cross (I am in Missouri at the moment). I tried to volunteer my time and any applicable experience and was told I would have to waint until mid October to be trained. Isn't the whole point of a volunteer to offer experience, time and service to those who are unable to obtain them for themselves? Why would they turn away volunteers?

Does anyone know of any agency willing to accept volunteers? There are still news report of communities still in desperate need of assistance. I feel like an ass sitting around and hearing about it on the news, knowing I have the time to help, and not doing anything.

To be completely honest, I never imagined the government would be so woefully incompetent in the wake of the storm. Things were nowhere near that bad for most of us in Florida last year. I took it for granted that the Gulf Coast would receive the same immediate attention.

How was the timing of the election with respect to the hurricane season last year?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Gawain 0]

That's pretty weird. In Kentucky, there were signs on the interstates prompting volunteers to call an 800-number.

I would guess that you might have received a different response if you were a few hundred miles closer to the area. .. who knows.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Rookie120 0]

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How was the timing of the election with respect to the hurricane season last year?

Ahh yes, that exactly what Bush said, it's not an election year so lets take our time helping them. Plus those black fuckers didnt vote for me anyway so to hell with them. Can we get off this it's Bush's fault and it not an election year trip

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[Rookie120 0]

Does anyone know of any agency willing to accept volunteers?***

The Salvation Army would be an excelent start.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[lisamariewillbe 1]

I just saw a snippet of a video... flippen funny they were playing the race card and the following was said..


" I sure wont be voting for him in the next election..." hahhahahaa

Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

[Rookie120 0]

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" I sure wont be voting for him in the next election..." hahhahahaa

I saw that to. If that person is that stupid he never voted in the first place.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[kallend 2,175]

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How was the timing of the election with respect to the hurricane season last year?

Ahh yes, that exactly what Bush said, it's not an election year so lets take our time helping them. Plus those black fuckers didnt vote for me anyway so to hell with them. Can we get off this it's Bush's fault and it not an election year trip

I doubt it was that way at all.

What happened was that last year there was a real sense of urgency because it was an election year. Maybe you recall the fuss about FEMA making quick payouts to people after the FL hurricanes without any proof of loss. www.sun-sentinel.com/news/sfl-femacoverage,0,6697347.storygallery?coll=sfla-news-utility

This year it's business as usual.

Do you know what FEMA director Brown's prior experience in emergency management was before his appointment?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Rookie120 0]

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Do you know what FEMA director Brown's prior experience in emergency management was before his appointment?

I'm not defending him at all due to the fact I think he dropped the ball big time but I believe he was a lwayer or something if I'm not mistaken.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[kallend 2,175]

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Do you know what FEMA director Brown's prior experience in emergency management was before his appointment?

I'm not defending him at all due to the fact I think he dropped the ball big time but I believe he was a lwayer or something if I'm not mistaken.

www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/12554958.htm

He's a political appointee with no experience in emergency management.
Edited to add text since the link requires registration.


WASHINGTON - (KRT) - From failed Republican congressional candidate to ousted "czar" of an Arabian horse association, there was little in Michael D. Brown's background to prepare him for the fury of Hurricane Katrina.

But as the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brown now faces furious criticism of the federal response to the disaster that wiped out New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast. He provoked some of it himself when he conceded that FEMA didn't know that thousands of refugees were trapped at New Orleans' convention center without food or water until officials heard it on the news.

"He's done a hell of a job, because I'm not aware of any Arabian horses being killed in this storm," said Kate Hale, former Miami-Dade emergency management chief. "The world that this man operated in and the focus of this work does not in any way translate to this. He does not have the experience."

Brown ran for Congress in 1988 and won 27 percent of the vote against Democratic incumbent Glenn English. He spent the 1990s as judges and stewards commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association. His job was to ensure that horse-show judges followed the rules and to investigate allegations against those suspected of cheating.

"I wouldn't have regarded his position in the horse industry as a platform to where he is now," said Tom Connelly, a former association president.

Brown's ticket to FEMA was Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's 2000 campaign manager and an old friend of Brown's in Oklahoma. When Bush ran for president in 2000, Brown was ending a rocky tenure at the horse association.

Brown told several association officials that if Bush were elected, he'd be in line for a good job. When Allbaugh, who managed Bush's campaign, took over FEMA in 2001, he took Brown with him as general counsel.

"He's known Joe Allbaugh for quite some time," said Andrew Lester, an Oklahoma lawyer who's been a friend of Brown's for more than 20 years. "I think they know each other from school days. I think they did some debate type of things against each other, and worked on some Republican politics together."

Brown practiced law in Enid, Okla., a city of about 45,000, during the 1980s and was counsel to a group of businesses run by a well-known Enid family. Before that, he worked for the city of Edmond, Okla., and was an aide in the state legislature.

From 1991 until 2000, Brown earned about $100,000 a year as the chief rules enforcer of the Arabian horse association.

He was known as "The Czar" for the breadth of his power and the enthusiasm with which he wielded it, said Mary Anne Grimmell, a former association president.

The suspensions Brown delivered to those suspected of cheating resulted in several lawsuits. Although the association won the suits, they were expensive to defend, and Brown became a controversial figure.

"It was positive controversy," Connelly said. "It got word out that we were serious about enforcing our rules."

But he said Brown could be "abrasive." Others were less charitable.

"He just wouldn't follow instruction," said Bill Pennington, another former association president. "Mike was bullheaded and he was gonna do it his way. Period."

At FEMA, Brown rose from general counsel to deputy director within a year. Bush named him to succeed Allbaugh in February 2003. With FEMA now part of the Department of Homeland Security, Brown's title is undersecretary for emergency preparedness and response.

Brown's old friend Lester said the progression from horse shows to hurricanes was natural.

"A lot of what he had to do was stand in the breach in difficult, controversial situations," Lester said. "Which I think would well prepare him for his work at FEMA."

Despite the withering criticism and a promised congressional investigation of FEMA's performance, Brown still has the support of his most important constituent.

In Mobile, Ala., on Friday, Bush said the response to Katrina was unsatisfactory. But he had nothing but praise for his FEMA director. "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," the president said.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[NickDG 23]

Here in San Diego when we had the big fires many people who evacuated their homes gathered in the local football stadium. They were attended to by plain old volunteers who appeared out of nowhere. I was one of those volunteers and we made sure all had water and something to eat. When the smoke got worse I went around and talked local hotels into giving up whatever rooms they had to get the older and younger people indoors.

When we moved the whole operation to Balboa Park it was the first time in three days I ran into anyone from the Red Cross. Unlike the grass roots effort that actually did something here was the Red Cross, the first people I saw sitting down. They were spending more time filling out paperwork than actually helping anyone . . . In this case the Red Cross was a bloated bureaucratic joke . . .

NickD BASE 194

[tso-d_chris 0]

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That's pretty weird. In Kentucky, there were signs on the interstates prompting volunteers to call an 800-number.

I would guess that you might have received a different response if you were a few hundred miles closer to the area. .. who knows.

It was certainly not the reaction I was expecting.

While it would be ideal to get help from the closest people, there has now been the time to bring in anybody from anywhere in the world, and there are still communities (as of this afternoon) begging for assistance.

I don't suppose you have that 800 number, do you?

[tso-d_chris 0]

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Ahh yes, that exactly what Bush said, it's not an election year so lets take our time helping them. Plus those black fuckers didnt vote for me anyway so to hell with them. Can we get off this it's Bush's fault and it not an election year trip

Maybe it was because last year was an election year, or maybe it was because his brother was Governor of Florida. Either way, I can't see how the blame does not rest squarely, although not solely, on Bush's shoulders this time.

[tso-d_chris 0]

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The Salvation Army would be an excelent start.

Good tip. That one slipped my mind.

[tso-d_chris 0]

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Here in San Diego when we had the big fires many people who evacuated their homes gathered in the local football stadium. They were attended to by plain old volunteers who appeared out of nowhere. I was one of those volunteers and we made sure all had water and something to eat. When the smoke got worse I went around and talked local hotels into giving up whatever rooms they had to get the older and younger people indoors.

When we moved the whole operation to Balboa Park it was the first time in three days I ran into anyone from the Red Cross. Unlike the grass roots effort that actually did something here was the Red Cross, the first people I saw sitting down. They were spending more time filling out paperwork than actually helping anyone . . . In this case the Red Cross was a bloated bureaucratic joke . . .

Trust me, I've thought about just heading down there myself, but as I am not familiar with the area, I would likely be more effective working with some organization who is already on the ground, but short of volunteers.

[eaglenrider 0]

Does anyone know of any agency willing to accept volunteers?

Try Eaglenrider Masonry , eaglenrider@yahoo.com .
We are currently training "volunteers" in the craft of masonry.
You can begin your free training tomorrow and within a month be ready to help rebuild anywhere in the gulf coast.
eaglenrider@yahoo.com

So happy to help .

Blues,
Cliff

[akarunway 1]

Does anyone know of any agency willing to accept volunteers?

Try Eaglenrider Masonry , eaglenrider@yahoo.com .
We are currently training "volunteers" in the craft of masonry.
You can begin your free training tomorrow and within a month be ready to help rebuild anywhere in the gulf coast.
eaglenrider@yahoo.com

So happy to help ________________________________________________ Or call Bechtel. As CCR says" I heard it thru the grapevine"

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[tso-d_chris 0]

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Try Eaglenrider Masonry , eaglenrider@yahoo.com .
We are currently training "volunteers" in the craft of masonry.
You can begin your free training tomorrow and within a month be ready to help rebuild anywhere in the gulf coast.
eaglenrider@yahoo.com

So happy to help .

Blues,
Cliff

I think you are missing the point. Help is needed now. I have time to help now. If everyone were able to do a little of what they already know about, a lot could get done sooner. If someone is qualified to help on the ground in a situation where help is desperately needed, there should be no need for additional training for far less time critical services. The idea that everyone needs retraining wastes time, and ignores existing abilities of volunteers.

[billvon 3,132]

>I think you are missing the point. Help is needed now.

Experience has shown that it is a mistake to take Eaglenrider seriously on such topics.