I imagine there are very few people in Texas who will not end up helping out in one way or another. One of them might be Cindy Sheehan, however. She’s got bigger fish to fry. I wonder how much gas she’s going to use up on that bus while America struggles with its supply of that needed resource. I wonder how she feels about adding refineries to produce more. Maybe she can talk about it next time she unloads.

There’s a fire in NO that threatens Bell South equipment. The phones in the Southeast will go out if it burns. The crisis spreads.

Actually, at least according to news reporters on the morning talk shows this AM, they’re not seeing all that much lawlessness. In fact, they’re all but apologizing for their tabloid journalism. When the history is written, I think it’ll be seen that the press, in their fervor to out-sensationalize each other, have critically delayed the relief effort. Clearly, reporters and celebrities are getting in, but we hear of relief workers being afraid to go in because of all the lawlessness. If the press had simply told the truth, and yes even to showing those rounding up needed supplies any way they can, the relief effort would’ve been galvanized. Instead, they’re left with total embarrassment; backpedaling on the magnitude of the violence because they’ve realized their mistake.

Yes, people were idiots for not getting out if they could. Yes, the local authorities were idiots for not immediately commandeering all available city vehicles to evacuate those who had no other way out. Yes, local authorities were even more idiots for telling people to evacuate vertically, then never storing supplies to tide them over. And yes, state and federal authorities look pretty foolish when Harry Connick can drive right in and out, but tens of thousands are left sitting for days. But ultimately, several golden days of lost time can be laid right at the feet of our vaunted press.

{Update: As I type this, there’s some idiot from the Congressional Black Caucus playing the race and class card. We all knew, I’m sure, that this was coming. The craven political opportunism of this press conference is typical of those who have enslaved themselves to the Demoncratic party.}

- Eric.

Watch Steve Herrigan on Fox (High Noon est). I don’t think they are making this up.

Not Bush’s fault, but that’s how the media is portraying it. The Feds didn’t do enough. But Louisiana is to blame for the complete lack of preparation and action.

I’m in Houston and I haven’t heard anything at all about any lawlessness here resulting from the refugees. We had a bit of a slow start as some folks were turned away from the Astrodome on the first day and ended up camping in the streets.

People here are responding in a way that makes me proud. My wife has a friend at work that has 16 people in her house right now. We are going to go through our cloths and take them to a donation center this weekend, along with anything else we think might be helpful.

There were stories all over sports radio this morning about random acts. Some local businessman bought 150 tickets to the Astros game last night, rented buses and picked kids up at the Astrodome, took them to the baseball game and bought them pizza and drinks. Somehow a bunch of the refugee kids ended up at the Cougars game last night and people in the stands, realizing who they were due to the pink wristbands that identify them and allow them in the dome, spontaneously got together and bought the kids food and drinks.

The local child advocacy center shut down for the week and sent all its counselors to the dome for crisis counseling. Firefighters here are collecting funds on the street corners to help buy food for the refugees just like they did after 9/11.

So yeah, folks down here are doing the right thing like they usually do, and getting little or no credit for it from anyone in the media. That’s ok though, the pictures of those poor folks and their kids standing around in human feces and toxic waste in New Orleans were starting to drive me crazy.

Dwilkers,

Thanks for posting those stories.….That is fantastic.

I’m outside of Houston and a buddy of mine is Houston FD - He called earlier and said that raping and beatings are occurring inside the Astrodome. Lawlessness is as Lawlessness does…

Hmm. Well I just watched an hour long local television show that focused on the people in the Astrodome and they didn’t say anything about any rapes or beatings. They had a lot of film of the inside of the dome and it looked pretty well organized to me. They also had a doctor on the show talking about the medical care the people were getting and he said they were safe and that the effort was very well organized.

Nothing in the paper, nothing on the radio, nothing on the TV either. Maybe its happening and the media isn’t covering it. Could be, I guess, although our local media isn’t any different when it comes to covering that sort of thing than any other news media.

As far as “lawlessness is as lawlessness does” I don’t have any reason to think any of the people here are lawless - or at least not in any way different from the rest of the populace - and I guess I’ll wait until they actually commit some sort of lawless act before I label them that way. As far as I can tell they’re just refugees from the natural disaster in NO, not some sort of tribe of gangsters we all need to fear.

Dwilkers,

There is/was? mass anarchy in New Orleans. Lawlessness is really an understatement. Below is a post from someone who is in the midst of the madness. The posters moniker is “LC HOGHEAD” and you can find his post at http://nicedoggie.net/2005/index.php/?p=810#comments

I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing a portion of his post:

“Anyway we get to the city and it looks like a freaking war zone. The best visual I can give is the movie “Blackhawk Down” when all the Somalians are rushing the city. They are people EVERYWHERE, they are pissed off, and all have weapons, 2X4’s, Axes, and guns. If this wasn’t bad enough we are 2 white boys in a truck in a sea several hundred armed pissed off blacks. There wasn’t a white person to be found. I couldn’t get over the little 8-10yr old kids with weapons, I ever saw one carry a claw hammer!

These people were absolutely nuts rammed trucks(stolen I’m sure) in to jewelry stores stealing items, they were tearing apart Wal-Mart carrying out TV’s, Playstations, DVD players, etc. One lady was wheeling out an entire rack of merchandise, not sure what it was but sure wasn’t clothes for food. They were all laughing and carrying on like it’s freaking Christmas.

We got stuck in traffic when we see the group of guys walking down the street w/ AK-47’s, at that point the “pucker factor” kicked in, a couple Glocks and shotguns were no match for that. We haul azz trying to get to Uptown when we see these people chopping down the front door w/ an axe of this $4-5 million dollar mansion on ST. Charles Ave. I was just in total awe because it was so surreal. Making matters worse it’s 11pm at night there is no electricity and you really can see anything or anyone until they are right up on you.”

Excellent post! I’ve linked to it! Thanks for the great work!

I don’t doubt it Apolloyon, I saw the stories about what was going on in the Superdome. I’m just saying its not happening here.

In the Astrodome there is electricity for lights and aire conditioning, water for plumbing and police. The Superdome was without those normal facets of civilisation.

And whatever was going on in NO somehow I doubt that the lawless behavior was on the part of more than a small minority of thugs. I am not willing to label the majority of these unfortunate folks as some sort of criminals when my guess is they’re just normal people trying to live out their lives and raise their kids.

These people are desperate and need our help. This is the United States not some third world backwater.

And here’s a guy blogging about volunteering at the Astrodome:

http://rightwingsparkle.blogspot.com/2005/09/volunteering-at-astrodome.html

Nothing about beatings and rape there, quite the contrary if you read his entry carefully.

After seeing the Los Angeles riots I’m not shocked at the depths of depravity or own fellow citizens will dive into in a time of disaster. Geraldo, on FOX, said that a person was shot in the superdome raping a 13 year old girl. It would be extremely outrageous for him to make such a statement if he wasn’t absolutely sure. People have already been murdered due to violent crime so rape doesn’t seem so far fetched. Needless to say, hopefully those stories are rumors…However; over the next few weeks we will hear many stories which will be shocking.

I’m very glad to hear that there’s no lawlessness in the Astrodome. Never thought there was or would be, given the fact that Houston seemed to be planning things pretty well (unlike their neighbors to the east). But my dad is in law enforcement, and my parents had heard that a low level of lawlessness was spreading out from NO. That was most likely early rumors and nothing more. There haven’t been any confirmed reports of anarchy spreading into TX.

I guess I’ve just been bothered by all the talk about looters and whatnot. I don’t doubt there were thugs acting out when they saw the opportunity, but it began to seem to me as if people were focusing on that when they should have been thinking about the tens of thousands of women and children that were standing around in the filth without food and water.

Gangs, thugs and cowards will always be with us, regardless of whether there is an emergency like this one. By all means shoot their asses.

In a situation like this though let’s don’t focus on that to the exclusion of the tens of thousands of law abiding people that need our help - and let’s don’t tar those same helpless people with the “lawless” brush just because they were in the same geographic area. That’s all I’m trying to say.

Maybe that’s just my little liberal coming out, I dunno.

I am collecting links for helping refugees in Austin TX.

WOW

Dallas was blessed tonight on the streets of downtown.

7 Trumbones 1 Trumpet 1 set of drums 2 tamborines 1 french horn

A group playing Dixieland in downtown Dallas to raise money for their New Orleans friends the government just started moving in over in the Reunion arena and Convention Center.

If you’ve never heard rich, full, brass dixieland, New Orleans Jazz and blues you’ve missed out on life.

A lot of people stopped to hear those beautifull rich sounds from New Orleans.

and, a lot of people had tears in their eyes listening to these incredibly talented musicians playing for what we could give them.

Re: Appollyon’s 4:14 commnent about Geraldo. ROTFLMAO