Do you think the elections held in new orleans were fair to the people who had to evacuate?
398780
yes.  everyone had the same opportunity to return to vote.
201382
I was in New Orleans the day before Hurricane Katrina hit. When we were evacuating the city we passed by very poor neighborhoods. Most of the people living in those neighborhoods were African American. They were sitting on the porches waving to us. I asked my boyfriend why they weren't leaving and he said they didn't have enough money for gas, food, hotel etc.. I don't think its the entire black race that feels this way about it. Just those in New Orleans who did not have enough money to evacuate.
860123
Yeah, parts of New Orleans can still be fixed.  A lot of the Mississippi Gulf Coast just looks like a bomb went off.
249497
No, but I was there August 30th.  I'm a pediatrics resident @ Children's Hospital in New Orleans, and we caravaned 30 kids to the airport to have them air lifted to Kansas City & Houston.  It was a jaw-dropping experience.  I have been on many transports before across the gulf coast, but I have never seen anything like this.  I still kick myself for not having a camera.\n\nMyself and other doctors and nurses used our personal vehicles to transport these children from the hospital in uptown new orleans to the airport in kenner (30 minute drive).  Security was extremely tight on the tarmac.  When we finally got onto the tarmac, there were dozens of helicopters &  transport planes coming in and out of the airport - it looked like a fully functioning military base.  Transport teams came out of 3 different national guard aircraft, triaged patients and set off to their destinations in less than an hour.\n\nOn the way back to the hospital (we still had a few patients) we drove by the staging area in metairie @ I-10 and Causeway that you probably saw on TV.  There were thousands of people surrounded by hundreds of emergency vehicles and buses littering the intersection.\n\nThose days after katrina changed by life forever - I will never forget, and I am committed to bring New Orleans back - it's my home
917387
I think it's good to help people no matter where they are, but it's true that a lot more focus needs to be done here.  How can Bush say he is concerned with the welfare and safety of the Iraqi people when he can leave his own people stranded in New orleans for all of those horrible days? He was on vacation when he knew a huge storm was coming. Did he send troops there to protect his own people? I see your point.
1088923
I personally feel that this is part of the goverments doing. What I mean is if you think back throught american history can you ever remember a time when all people got along? Kudo's if you can because there isn't. The only difference now is that there are a lot of other ethnic people floating around. \n\nThe black population has been this nations whipping boy for many generations, and only recently did this honer get passed to the muslim/middle eastern folk. (Not trying to offend anyone at home). The more devided you are the less likly you are to unite and "beat the man" at there own endgame.\n\nAs far as interatial marrages go I am a firm beliver in "if its not what you like DON'T DO IT"! Its not for people to tell you that a white and black can't marry or any other gender/racial mix can't either. Some of the most beautiful are the product of interatial unions. Off the top of my head Vin Desil, and the Rock are both products of interatial unions. \n\nNow the white supremestis are a small section of very BITTER (ingorant)  angry white folks. For why else are there tools of choise are fear tactics and assult. Let them colinize there own section of america like the mormans did. Most of them are so messed up that they honestly belive that the holocost never happened. Come on how sick is that! \n\nThe problem in my oponion is not race it is the enviorment in which these people live. In poorer sections of town it is very sad to see these people(no need for a  lable because it effects many citizens and not one specific race) It is a problem that will be on going because the darling politions are to worried about re election. Sadly many don't vote there fore they don't really care.  If you don't belive me think back to New Orleans last year when the hurricane hit. If I am not mistaken the first people of the scene were Canadian not American. Now that is just wack!\n\nIn conclusion, I think that you are correct in that the blame game has got to stop. We have become a nation of people who can't take responsibility for there own actions. So they need to blame other people and, I find it sad. We need to stand up and stay strong in the struggle! Real quick if you want to see something that is garneteed to turn your stomach. There was an episode on Dateline where they were talking to white supremests and there were these twin girls who looked like a younger version of Mary Kate and Ashly Olsen. The things that they were singing and saying was revolting it will make you quite angry if not upest you all together. \n\nI mean come on people we are living in the 21 centery. Everyone is in need of a reality check.\n\n I also ask that you please excuse all my spelling errors!
315651
First, let me say that if you lived on the other side of the canal, you are NOT from New Orleans, you are in fact a Metairian from Jefferson Parish.\n\nSecond, the politics are so bad b/c of the political framework that has developed primarily since Huey P. Long which supports patronage and a welfare state.  These two components have been in place and supported by the electorate for so long, no one knows how to think differently.  This is obvious by the #2 vote winner in last week's mayoral election.\n\nTrue change cannot come overnight and will be very painful for those who most gain from the existing system.  This includes the politicians, their buddies in the businesses which are required to keep government going, the poor who depend on the state to help them by giving out money and equivalents, the list goes on . . .\n\nYou can fix it by doing two things: First, move into Orleans Parish.  If Orleans Parish does not succeed, your precious sheltered life in Metairie will quickly follow.  Second, get involved on city politics. You don't have to run for office,  but be informed and participate where you can.\n\nThe greater New Orleans area will recover but everyone has to make some sacrifice and also participate in the rebuilding of the arguably greatest city in the country.\n\nFollow Up: Point well taken!  I believe that the interconnectedness of the area still has its centerpoint in the economic health of Orleans Parish.  More power to you if you support Orleans with your actions, as you mentioned.  But,  your vote only counts if you live in the parish.  If you want to fix the politics, you must live in the parish so you can vote there.  Thanks for being someone who is committed to the rebuilding of the city, even if you won't live in it.
45077
katrina support, huh. i was in hancock county, ms. when it hit. i have to say that if it were not for the private sector, things would have been alot worse than they were. the first morning after, there was no law, there was no government. it was the second day after the storm when we first saw the busses and trucks loaded down with water and supplies. not one the the supply trucks we saw in the first days were government. now it's 4 months later and there are still people living in tents. my personal experience with fema has been a complete joke. i don't want to take anything away from the people who drove hours on end to deliver the needed supplies or the thousands of people who donated their time and money to help people pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. but i am damn mad at my government. i have had to relocate to another state. the only assistance my family has gotten was the initial $2000 check from fema. past that we have been made to feel like charity cases. we are not begging. these are our tax dollars. since i have been in nc, i have paid in more taxes than i recieved from fema since this whole nightmare began. when i got to nc, so i didn't have to sleep on someones floor, i got a job to provide for my family and because i got that job, was told that i didn't qualify for any public assistance. so no, i don't consider it support, no, it wasn't soon enough, racial bias, i'm white. thanks for letting me vent. and by the way, have any of you asked yourself where all the money you gave went?........
43433
As someone who deployed with the National Guard to Louisiana to help clean up, I can say without hesistation that Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco are two of the most inept, incompetent public servants I have ever had the displeasure of working with. Some claim that they were just caught in a bad situation - Good leaders rise above the situation NO MATTER WHAT IT IS. Just like Mayor Guiliani.\n\nNo, Mayor Nagin is incompetent and should not be mayor. But just like the idiots who just re-elected Mayor Kilpatrick in Detroit, New Orleans will get exactly what it deserves if it does not find new leadership.
932780
In my personal opinion, it was a failure of communication.  Everybody seemed to want to be in charge at that point.(city,state,federal etc.)  But nobody actually took the bull by the horns to make the very important decisions that needed to be made at the last minute. \nOnce the hurricane did hit,  the were no communications what so ever. No cell phone, no radio, nothing, for I think it was 4 or 5 days.  Nothing but each other.  \nIn short, to many chiefs and not enough Indians.\nI would like to note, that New Orleans was not the only affected area by the hurricane.
650901
we already have welfare, food stamps, government housing, and medical care. there shouldnt be any other special programs. new orleans has been taken down in the past by hurricanes, it will happen again. it is a stront city, it has rebuilt on its own in the past without the help of the government. i lived in texas where rita went through. i lost almost everything as far as possessions go. i'm not accepting handouts from the government. i moved, life continued on. when the weather dictates that you evacuate, you dont just sit there and then expect compensation for your own lack of listening. i say the government should completely back out of rebuilding new orleans and let it do what it needs to to rebuild itself. people with money will invest, it will come back bigger, better, and stronger.
286290
They were screwed before it happened, while it was happening, and now even the worst, after it happened. They say 3% of the people will receive aid; because 75% have already left the area. Their land is being repossessed as we speak; because they can't live there and pay for the mortgages that have lapsed. The land will be resold. FEMA sent out over 5000 letters last week to recover funds they say they paid out to fraudulent victims of the hurricane. They are charging the money back to the victims. You can find the Article at the New York Times, PBS FRONTLINE, and I am sure many others. The Republicans are glad the African Americans are gone from there, and they don't mind saying it openly.
383928
Some say the elections were rigged.
836064
I also remember that a Dem mayor and a Dem governor had no time to help the citizens of New Orleans. They also had no policemen available to protect these citizens or to supply them with food or water.\nHowever the same Dem mayor and Dem governor had plenty of time and policemen to go out and confiscate the guns owned by law abiding citizens.\nAnd of course plenty of time to blame Bush for causing the Hurricane. Go figure.
461287
They were WARNED that they MUST evacuate.  Busses were running full time to get people out, yet so many refused to leave.  Some were on the news dancing in the streets of the French Quarter as the storm approached.  After the storm, they all ran for the Superdome, and there were not enough supplies for the additional people, so that screwed the people who originally went to be sheltered there.  Something else angers me: The National Guard gets blamed for not responding, but the storm was over Tuesday, and TV cameras broadcast National Guard at the airport on Thursday.  This pretty enlisted female told the reporter that they arrived Wednesday, and were setting up relief.\n\nThen cops are out there looting Wal Mart (caught on video).  It would have been one thing if they were getting food, but, well you know the rest of the story.  \n\nPeople cry for the idiots in New Orleans (no, the ones who evacuated are NOT idiots), while Rita pretty much levelled some towns in Southwest Louisiana.  Places where there were towns were now just a bunch of cement foundations.  One person found their house a few miles away.  Nobody even talks about these people--Mississippi gets more attention.
328728
The Katrina evacuation was a disaster no matter which way you look at it.  Anyone with a leadership role failed miserably.  People who didn't get out, cast aside all personal responsibility.  \n\nThis tragedy put the spotlight on America, from all of the worst possible angles.\n\nGreed, Corruption, Ineptitude, Scapegoating, Destruction
509016
Yes, because they still represent the citizens of the city.  It doesnt say anywhere that they have to listen to your opinions or questions, that is why you elected them.  If you dont like them, then dont vote for them the next time around.