Abolish FEMA Says US Senate

[Audrey2Katrina]

Well.... then again there's the concept of "cold fusion"... granted strictly theoretical and most feel it's impossible--but they thought the same of flight vehicles breaking the sound barrier 75-100 years ago. IF it could be developed we'd have an enormous supply of clean, and very safe energy.

I have faith that one way or another science will find a way, and it will mark the end of man's dependence on all fossil fuels.

A2K

[Air Force Met]

Pop-Tarts????? Please. As a scientist, I'd think you'd give credence to the potential reality that there can be chemical creations that have a shelf life beyond a cure, rather than dismissing it in such a cavilier manner.

I was using humor to prove a point: That technology has advanced so fast in just the last 100 years...and our current curve of advancement is SO far beyind the curve of what could have been imagined just 20 years ago (I mean, 20 years ago when I was dreaming of weather...I never thought I would be dreaming of it on the internet...with all the data I have now)...I cannot even begin to think of what we will come up with 50 years from now...much less 500 years from now.

So...along those lines...and remembering we went from the Wright brothers to the moon in less than 70 years...I am figuring on not selling the human race short and thinking that we will develop a technology to deal with radioactive waste MUCH sooner rather than later...and a lot sooner than 10,000 years from now. In 1000 years...with the current rate of advancement...I can invision a technology that would turn something like nuclear waste into something as harmless as a pop-tart. It is not that far-fetched. Sure...right now it is...but given the rate of advancement? Not really.

If we are still wondering what to do with it 10,000 years from now...or even 1,000 years from now...we've obviously had MUCH bigger problems than the waste in the ground.

Here is a quote from last months National Geographic: "In 2 or 3 generations the industry could see generation IV machines that run more efficiently at much higher temps, thus getting far more energy from their starting uranium load.

"This leaves less waste and is less toxic...and lasts for shorter periods of time."

Much easier to manage...and this is only 20-30 years away...IF WE START INVESTING NOW. If we sit on our collective hind ends and do nothing...then it's that much longer away.

[Air Force Met]

Well.... then again there's the concept of "cold fusion"... granted strictly theoretical and most feel it's impossible--but they thought the same of flight vehicles breaking the sound barrier 75-100 years ago. IF it could be developed we'd have an enormous supply of clean, and very safe energy.

I have faith that one way or another science will find a way, and it will mark the end of man's dependence on all fossil fuels.

A2K

Yep...that would end all the problems. That or the use of anti-matter.

[Brent]

This may sound overly harsh and I'm not saying the government doesn't have a role in disaster recovery. But I am appalled at the number of people out there who do NOTHING to prepare for a disaster, not even carry insurance, and then expect the government to clothe them, feed them, house them (for some, indefinitely) - even though we are warned time and time again about the risks of living along the coast. And yet, thousands upon thousands of people in a mandatory evacuation don't leave, or if they stay, they don't stock-up on food, batteries, and water and then wonder day after why they don't have any fresh water to drink - and then blame the government for it. And the sad thing is that the more the government gives, the more people expect, to the point that personal responsibility ceases to exist. The end result, unfortunately, is a quasi-socialist oligarchy.

This has been my main problem with some of the Katrina evacuees. We're 8 months after the storm and they still expect the Government to pay their way. It's ridiclous.

[Air Force Met]

This has been my main problem with the Katrina evacuees. We're 8 months after the storm and people still expect the Government to pay their way. It's ridiclous.

Well...not all of them are expecting the Gov't to pay their way. Some of them are paying their own way Brent! Be fair.

Matter of fact, a couple of them, driving a gray jag...with Louisiana plates did some B&E in our place a couple of weeks ago and made off with about 15 grand in stuff. They also hit three other places in the same area.

So some of them are paying their own way.

[Brent]

This has been my main problem with the Katrina evacuees. We're 8 months after the storm and people still expect the Government to pay their way. It's ridiclous.

Well...not all of them are expecting the Gov't to pay their way. Some of them are paying their own way Brent! Be fair.

Matter of fact, a couple of them, driving a gray jag...with Louisiana plates did some B&E in our place a couple of weeks ago and made off with about 15 grand in stuff. They also hit three other places in the same area.

So some of them are paying their own way.

Well yeah, I was just referring to some of them.

[caribepr]

This has been my main problem with the Katrina evacuees. We're 8 months after the storm and people still expect the Government to pay their way. It's ridiclous.

Well...not all of them are expecting the Gov't to pay their way. Some of them are paying their own way Brent! Be fair.

Matter of fact, a couple of them, driving a gray jag...with Louisiana plates did some B&E in our place a couple of weeks ago and made off with about 15 grand in stuff. They also hit three other places in the same area.

So some of them are paying their own way.

Ok, so now I'm understanding your sense of humor better! Sorry to hear about your losses, having experienced that more than once, it truly sucks!

[mobilebay]

I think one of the problems is that some people are too dependant on the government. I mean expecting the government to come to the rescue. Maybe it would help the government a little bit if we try to do what we can until they get there.

I think one of the problems is that some people have never
lost everything they owned and needed help. Government depends on me every check i get, why can't I expect help when I need it?

That's exactly one reason why we should have less government and lower taxes.

My best friend on Galveston faced that very question of losing everything (at least materially) last September when Rita was on the way. And I can tell you the LAST thing on his mind was what would the Government do if he lost everything. He was much more concerned with boarding-up his windows, moving irreplaceables off the island, getting his insurance papers and finances in order, and then evacuating to shelter (my house), etc. 2 days before landfall he fully expected that come landfall, he would no longer have a house. He wasn't even slightly concerned with "where's my FEMA check?".

This may sound overly harsh and I'm not saying the government doesn't have a role in disaster recovery. But I am appalled at the number of people out there who do NOTHING to prepare for a disaster, not even carry insurance, and then expect the government to clothe them, feed them, house them (for some, indefinitely) - even though we are warned time and time again about the risks of living along the coast. And yet, thousands upon thousands of people in a mandatory evacuation don't leave, or if they stay, they don't stock-up on food, batteries, and water and then wonder day after why they don't have any fresh water to drink - and then blame the government for it. And the sad thing is that the more the government gives, the more people expect, to the point that personal responsibility ceases to exist. The end result, unfortunately, is a quasi-socialist oligarchy.

Some people can't afford INSURANCE, people like me. I'm not wealthy and have Multiple Sclerosis. However, I get my A$$ out of bed and go to work EVERYDAY. What you need to be appalled about is these able bodied people that have been on welfare all there life and don't try to help themselves. A blanket statement like yours is ridiculous and hurtful. I did everything in my power to protect my home and property.I needed help and I accepted it. Sorry if that makes you mad, because you seem to know everything there is to know about disasters.

[mobilebay]

You know after reading this thread I feel like a low life for accepting a FEMA check. Lord have mercy!

[Aquawind]

You know after reading this thread I feel like a low life for accepting a FEMA check. Lord have mercy!

Ohh Man.. Don't feel that way.

Many ripped off the system as they have well before the Katrina disaster. We have all kinds of assistance plans that are abused and FEMA is no different in this case. It's important we are critical of FEMA and try to improve the system that is unique in that it's a massive immeadite response that is required and not just a matter of filling out forms monthy. I read about alot of people defending the assistance they recieve and improving the system will hopefully greatly reduce that unfortunate feeling. We all wanna help each other and doing it more efficiently will not only allow that help go a little further but also to the people who actually need it when they need it.

[Audrey2Katrina]

Couldn't agree with you more, Aquawind. The sad fact of the matter is that there are folks who abuse any system designed with the best of intentions. When I finished my evac it was just myself and my dog in a pickup until friends on the internet found a place for me to stay in Zachary. I had driven on something like a 1,000 mile odyssey before that, and found out my apartment flooded, and as a teacher certainly could have used "some" assistance in getting things back to normal in my life upon returning to a community under martial law with a complete lockdown by 5:00 PM every day. I found it beyond reprehensible that Entergy found ways to use the "Fuel Adjustment Charge" to actually wind up forcing returnees to pay exhorbitant bills for the two months after the storm, in essence making them pay for more than a month of NO service at all. I, too, accepted the first check FEMA sent me as I could well have used it, and God knows I've been "feeding" the system without a lick of return for well over 30 years. When the inspector came to my place and said I qualified for additional funding as I'd literally lost everything, I simply said--well, No Mas! I was glad to have that first check to help me get a start on rebuilding, and applied through the SBA to get a loan in making it the rest of the way. There is absolutely no WAY I'd look down my nose on anyone who needed the funds proffered. What IS disgusting is that I am certain that MANY took advantage of this tragedy simply to pocket money they neither needed nor deserved. I wish they'd audit each and every one of them--but these folks KNOW that won't happen. For those who truly needed it, more power to 'em, and God Bless 'em! For those who didn't and still reached for more... to say I have contempt for them would be to elevate their status several notches higher than where they actually reside in my estimation.

A2K

[MGC]

I would have no problem living next to a nuclear power plant. I consider them much safer than some of the oil refineries I have lived near. IMO, nuclear is the way to go. Recycle the waste. Going nuclear would reduce greenhouse gasses (I don't buy the human caused GW) as I am all for reducing pollution. If enough nuclear power was available, we could extract hydrogen from water and have hydrogen to fuel our autos. Even less pollution and we could get off imported oil....MGC

[jasons2k]

You know after reading this thread I feel like a low life for accepting a FEMA check. Lord have mercy!

Please don't feel that way, and my statement was in no way directed towards someone in your situation. It was about people who abuse the system.

[Aquawind]

Please don't feel that way, and my statement was in no way directed towards someone in your situation. It was about people who abuse the system.

I hear ya.. It didn't seem directed at anyone in particular other than the real abusers.. Unfortunately they have made alot of the Good Folks who really needed help feel guilty and that is frustrating for all.

[caribepr]

Please don't feel that way, and my statement was in no way directed towards someone in your situation. It was about people who abuse the system.

I hear ya.. It didn't seem directed at anyone in particular other than the real abusers.. Unfortunately they have made alot of the Good Folks who really needed help feel guilty and that is frustrating for all.

Laughing here...I am known as the Guilt Queen (Vietnam? My fault! Earthquake? My fault..a girlfriend finally told me...you only have to be guilty for the Western World, I'll take the rest).
No need to feel guilty for something where the right action is taken for the right need. If it is on offer, and you deserve and need it, be thankful and grateful...take what is offered, help others who don't get the what they should have and work to make it all better for those who come next.
As long as you are willing to do the most you can to help yourself, additional help offered that you pay for with taxes should just be taken with a thank you and more hard work to finish the job.
And...the heart of *pass it on" At least that's what I think

[HurryKane]

Suppose you invited 20 people over for Thanksgiving dinner. YOu have food for 20, and seats and settings for 20. Well, at noon...50 people showed up. What happens? There are a lot of people going hungry and a lot of people sitting on the floor.

We were at Jazz Fest this weekend and caught a cab back to the house when we'd given up on the city buses. While chatting with another passenger from Arkansas about Katrina and the abolishment of FEMA, he simply said: "They can say so and so didn't do this right, or so and so didn't do that right, and some folks did mess up, but....Katrina was a first for everybody. People did what they could do."

I agree.

This guy had caught a cab fare to Birmingham two days before the storm, went to Atlanta, then to Houston, evacuated Houston to Shreveport for Rita and said dangit, he wasn't going anywhere else unless it was home. Great cabbie.

[gtalum]

I'm of the opinion that FEMA probably ought to be scrapped and completely replaced. However, the time to take such action certainly is not a month before hurricane season. it doesn't hurt to start coming up with ideas, though.

Personally I think the money currently spent on FEMA would be better spent by redistribution back to the states to form and fund their own emergency management agencies. States are always better equipped to handle this type of job than the feds because the needs of different regions of the country are so varied. States coudl then contract to use one another's emergency resources in the cases when they are overwhelmed by a disaster.

I also think that every state should look to Florida and California as excellent models of how to handle disasters efficiently. Each state has learned form relatively recent major disasters how to run an effective emergency management team.

[Pearl River]

It's ridiculous to think that scrapping FEMA and spending millions of dollars to do it, is going to fix the problem. It was a problem after Andrew when it was it's own agency. Just fix the problem with people who understand disaster, or with people that have common sense. Have a set standard operating procedure so everyone is on the same page and they know what to do once the disaster occurs.

[skysummit]

It's ridiculous to think that scrapping FEMA and spending millions of dollars to do it, is going to fix the problem. It was a problem after Andrew when it was it's own agency. Just fix the problem with people who understand disaster, or with people that have common sense. Have a set standard operating procedure so everyone is on the same page and they know what to do once the disaster occurs.

Seems simple enought right? That's the problem....it makes sense.

[Stephanie]

It's ridiculous to think that scrapping FEMA and spending millions of dollars to do it, is going to fix the problem. It was a problem after Andrew when it was it's own agency. Just fix the problem with people who understand disaster, or with people that have common sense. Have a set standard operating procedure so everyone is on the same page and they know what to do once the disaster occurs.

Seems simple enought right? That's the problem....it makes sense.

Ditto!

NOONE here that received a check from FEMA because of Katrina/Rita and all other disasters should feel guilty. That's silly. The ones that should feel guilty are the ones that put in false claims and hopefully will be caught some day.

FEMA was built to handle catastrophies such as these. Even if this was disbanded and left to the states to handle, I firmly believe that we will still need the federal government to provide assistance. There is not ONE STATE that would be able to financially handle a catastrophe such as this nor do I think that any of them could be held fiscally responsible enough to plan ahead for something like this.