Other Stuff You May Have Missed
People seem to keep reading my thoughts and news snippets on Katrina, so I might as well write a little more. However, after this one, I'll go back to something fun - no one likes to focus on tragedy forever. I'm sure this weekend's Ohio State vs. Texas game will provide enough hilarity for awhile anyway.
Last time I lightly touched on how high the death toll from all this may be. Last December, the government finished a preliminary report about what would happen if a massive hurricane hit New Orleans. What would you guess the death toll from that might be?
The simulation done by FEMA predicted 61,290 deaths from such a hurricane.
That would be 9/11 times about 20. I don't expect the casualties to be this high, but a hard number like this helps some people grasp the magnitude of the disaster.
In following up with my personal distaste with President Bush, a new poll was released today. His job approval rating has sunk to 39 percent, a new low. Will the aftermath of this hurricane be the straw that breaks the collective back of Americans thoughts on our president? Time will tell...
I hate to be so negative though, so here is a story, again, you may not have heard about, at least yet, because it just came across the AP wire a little bit ago. Here is the text in full, straight off the wire -
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Al Gore helped airlift some 270 Katrina evacuees on two private charters from New Orleans earlier this week. Gore was acting at the urging of a doctor who saved the life of the former vice president's son. Doctor David Kline operated on Gore's son, Albert, after a life-threatening auto accident in 1989. He was trying to get in touch with Gore. Kline was stranded with patients at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. Gore criticized the Bush administration's slow response to Katrina in a speech in San Francisco today, but refused to be interviewed about the mercy missions he financed and flew. An account of the flights was posted this week on a Democratic Party Web page.
People think I'm a hardcore Democrat (not true), but I never really cared for Al Gore. The only thing I ever remotely liked about Al Gore was Darrell Hamond's impression of him on SNL. However, this news story puts an incredible smile on my face. Someone with the money and means to help out during a tragedy, not waiting around for bureaucracy to take of the situation - and the guy who did it just happened to be Al Gore. I'm also pleased that he chose not to talk about it to the press, because then the whole thing comes off as more of a political stunt and takes a lot of the "warm and fuzzy" factor out of the whole thing.
There are similar stories of everyday people rising up during this time. Doctors, children, teenagers, and many other ordinary folks. Anderson Cooper on CNN has been covering many of these stories on his show during the last few days if this interests you. CNN is also highlighting many of these stories of triumph on it's website.
Finally, I am going to lay off posting about this incident for awhile. It is each individual's responsibility to see what is going on, and form their own opinion about it. I'm sure I will revisit this subject down the road, but for now, I will lay off and let you gather and respond to what is going on in your own way. The reports and stories I have mentioned were taken from the following sources:
And with that, I have about 3 minutes until my shift here at work is over, so I will bid you ado.
Go Bucks!!!
Last time I lightly touched on how high the death toll from all this may be. Last December, the government finished a preliminary report about what would happen if a massive hurricane hit New Orleans. What would you guess the death toll from that might be?
The simulation done by FEMA predicted 61,290 deaths from such a hurricane.
That would be 9/11 times about 20. I don't expect the casualties to be this high, but a hard number like this helps some people grasp the magnitude of the disaster.
In following up with my personal distaste with President Bush, a new poll was released today. His job approval rating has sunk to 39 percent, a new low. Will the aftermath of this hurricane be the straw that breaks the collective back of Americans thoughts on our president? Time will tell...
I hate to be so negative though, so here is a story, again, you may not have heard about, at least yet, because it just came across the AP wire a little bit ago. Here is the text in full, straight off the wire -
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Al Gore helped airlift some 270 Katrina evacuees on two private charters from New Orleans earlier this week. Gore was acting at the urging of a doctor who saved the life of the former vice president's son. Doctor David Kline operated on Gore's son, Albert, after a life-threatening auto accident in 1989. He was trying to get in touch with Gore. Kline was stranded with patients at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. Gore criticized the Bush administration's slow response to Katrina in a speech in San Francisco today, but refused to be interviewed about the mercy missions he financed and flew. An account of the flights was posted this week on a Democratic Party Web page.
People think I'm a hardcore Democrat (not true), but I never really cared for Al Gore. The only thing I ever remotely liked about Al Gore was Darrell Hamond's impression of him on SNL. However, this news story puts an incredible smile on my face. Someone with the money and means to help out during a tragedy, not waiting around for bureaucracy to take of the situation - and the guy who did it just happened to be Al Gore. I'm also pleased that he chose not to talk about it to the press, because then the whole thing comes off as more of a political stunt and takes a lot of the "warm and fuzzy" factor out of the whole thing.
There are similar stories of everyday people rising up during this time. Doctors, children, teenagers, and many other ordinary folks. Anderson Cooper on CNN has been covering many of these stories on his show during the last few days if this interests you. CNN is also highlighting many of these stories of triumph on it's website.
Finally, I am going to lay off posting about this incident for awhile. It is each individual's responsibility to see what is going on, and form their own opinion about it. I'm sure I will revisit this subject down the road, but for now, I will lay off and let you gather and respond to what is going on in your own way. The reports and stories I have mentioned were taken from the following sources:
- www.boingboing.net
- today.reuters.com
- www.npr.org
- www.bbc.co.uk
- CNN's website and show Anderson Cooper 360
- Jacob Appelbaum's weblog (he is in New Orleans documenting the area)
- Jacob's photos
And with that, I have about 3 minutes until my shift here at work is over, so I will bid you ado.
Go Bucks!!!
