Flapping in the Wind...

Looking like the aftermath of Katrina is starting to shine down on La's favorite pasttime politics as well as La's imfamous corruption. My prediction is that it's not going to be very pretty.

Enough Crap to Fill 7 Super Domes...

(CNN) -- Authorities in New Orleans Wednesday said so far about 22,000 cubic yards of debris has been removed from the city -- a tiny percentage of the estimated 50 million cubic yards of debris left in the city by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The amount of total debris is enough to fill seven Superdomes. (Posted 1:40 p.m.)

Who will do the clean up? Where are they going to put all this crap?

Hee Haw!!!

Point the finger and there's three more pointing back at you. Morning Advocate Story Here.

Okay, so he's not coming across as an effective leader, and should probably buy himself a Steven Covey book or something. But in his defense, constitutionally the Federal government has no right to take over state and local matters without being asked for help. Thinking this goes way back to the days of Tea Parties and men wearing white wigs.

Cajun Wisdom... Geaux Tigers!!!

A Bad Rita Hangover...

10 inches of rain in Baton Rouge on Fri/Sat. Light gusty wind. Lights went out for nearly 36 hours. Oh yeah, and traffic still sucks.

La Nueva Orleans...

Our Latino brethren are already being bussed into NOLA for the cleanup and rebuilding process. Who needs to move back to Texas, we'll just move the family to NOLA.

More Info; Click Here!

Calling Bullpooppy...

Looks like the rapes, murders, and gangs-a-banging in the Dome and Convention Center were legends of mythical proportions. 5 bodies were recovered at the Dome and 4 at the CC. Only one of those has been ruled a homicide.

Click Here!

Swirling Rita...

Tornado warnings in EBR parish. Rita is grazing the La coast meaning we will have some pretty strange weather over the next couple of days. Also no bread and water at Walmart, but scored at Walgreen's. Beer is iced downed too.

The Other Woman...

RITA has taken a more northernly turn. Baton Rouge could potentially be on the eastern side of the storm. Looks like I'm heading to Walgreens again to buy out all their water.

New Orleans Trip Report...

Got a pass into NOLA on Tuesday. Trip Report:

1pm: I10 through Kenner/Metarie. Looks like a war zone. A storage rental facility was torn in half. Cloths falling out of it. A big metal billboard bent on to the ground. The "Galleria" has at least 100 windows blown out.

130pm: Metarie is busy. Houses are hidden behind piles of rotten carpet, furniture, tree limbs, and refridgerators they have been placed on the curb for pickup. Looks like bombs have gone off. A shopping center has no front wall. Looks like looters has had some great fun in Metarie.

200pm: Pass a National Guard checkpoint with little incident (a friend has a Mesquito Control Board Car tag. In NOLA. Rescue boats that couldn't be removed when the waters went down litter the roads and neighborhood yards. A thin layer of mud cakes cars and houses. Spray painted orange X's mark the dead. Okay that was kind of Geraldo-ish. Actually didn't see any mark the dead, but zeroes which means nothing was found.

230pm: The closer we get to the Quarter the water level lines receed. The Quarter has virtually no damage. We have a beer at one of the two open bars; Molly's. Also enjoy beers are a group of NY Firemen.

300pm: Leave the Quarter up Esplanade. Just some wind damage. First time that I've been to NOLA and wasn't afraid of being shot.

315pm: All the grass is dead near City Park. This area flooded.

320pm: WOW! Lakeview area. It's like a riverbed. Mud, rocks, and trash everywhere. Lakeview did not start to flood until the 17th street levee broke on Tuesday Morning. Erie sighting of a Lexus SUV, hatchback opened, kid's toys and strollers jammed inside. All of it completely covered in mud. Looked like someone tried to pack up and get out as the waters rose.

325pm: Close up view of the 17th St levee. Workmen tearing down temporary pumps. Backo's push dirt around on top of fixed levee breach.

Feeling Lucky Punk...

Big Apples to Oranges...

Ray Nagin is not Rudy Giuliani! People should quit expected him to be. Yes, Rudy had to deal with the greatest act of terrorism on American soil. Rudy didn't not have to deal with over 800,000 homeless citizens, evacuation of 150,000 citizens below the poverty line, or a city that is 80% under water. NY never lost complete power and communications. Rudy could also walk the street hugging babies without the threat of someone shooting at him. Apples to Oranges folks.

While we're on the subject of apples to oranges. You cannot compare the Governors of MS and AL to Gov Blanco. On paper, TV, and internet, MS and AL looks to be handling the situation better than Blanco, but they also did not have to deal with their largest city being pushed to brink of complete destruction. 800,000 people homeless. Complete Parishes destroyed.

All that being said, Blanco and Nagin both share some responsible to the human horrors that occurred after Katrina dealt her deadly blow.

Waiting for a Bus...

The water is receeding in NOLA revealing cars parked in front of peoples' houses. Maybe Monday Aug 29 was also an ozone alert day.

Diarrhea of the Mouth Part 1...

U.S. Rep. Richard Baker of Baton Rouge was caught making an insensitive remark. In Wall Street Journal column this morning, the Republican is overheard telling lobbyists: "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did."

Finally Found...

10 days after the greatest natural disaster in the history of history, CNN is starting to file reports on the missing parishes of St. Bernard and Plaquimine. Maybe it's a sign that the lawlessness in NOLA is under control, so now they're looking for other stories.

Click Here!

At Least You Don't Have to Feed Them...

FEMA is using a huge wharehouse in St. Gabriel (pop 6000) as a makeshift morgue. When one local store owner was asked by a CNN reporter about having a morgue in her town, the store owner stated "I'd rather have them dead, there not going to rob you, and least you don't have to feed them." The blundt wisdom of a red neck.

Damn This Traffic Jam Part 2...

With an extra 250,000 people in Baton Rouge, traffic is just horrible. Yesterday, as I was making a legal left turn onto my street, an older lady of probably mid-70s was trying to turn right. I had the right away as their were no stop signs for me. The old lady must have been in a hurry and felt like she was more worth to turn first. However, knowing the laws of the roads, I turned first, and the old yelled "SHIT" and gave me the meanest look. I swear some people, but I'm sure I'll be just as crotchity when I'm 70.

I am a refugee. I'm not on vacation...

When one lady was asked if she was offended by the word refugee, she responded "I am a refugee. I'm not on vacation."

Why My Ass Will Never Be Put In A Nursing Home...

30 elderly folks drowned on Friday at a St. Bernard Parish nursing home after no rescue attempts were made by either the Parish, State, or Federal governments, and the nursing home staff decided to save themselves and leave the elderly residents behind. Freaking Criminal!!!!

Regis and Kelly Live...

What a better way to mark the one week anniversary of this tragedy by all TV and Radio stations returning back to regular program. Oh yeah, in case you are wondering, Regis and Kelly are alive too. But what about those women from the view?

2nd Busiest Airport in the US...

Mayor Kip Holden reporting that yesterday BTR was the 2nd busiest airport in the US. He also stated that he is working with FEMA on plans to support 800,000 residents for a long period of time.

Where To Get a Stiff Drink in NOLA...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/05/katrina.bars.reut/index.html

Body Count...

La. reporting 59 confirmed deaths in Orleans and Jefferson parishes attributed to Katrina; all adults. 22 bodies retrieved from I10 overpass refuge area. This does not include bodies found floating or in homes or at the Superdome or the Convention Center. 100+ reported in St. Bernard; official count coming. News reporting 150+ bodies found today. Numbers expected to rise into the 1000's.

Oprah's On...

Sept 4, 2005 @ 855a Oprah lands her jetplane at the Baton Rouge airport. She then departed by car for NOLA. Wonder if she's going to get on a flotilla and save some lives?

Battle of New Orleans...

Reports that the National Guard and Military has taken control of NOLA. Rumors that either special FBI SWAT or Navy Seals are "picking" off citizen snipers who've been shooting at policemen. Rumors that 50+ have been "picked off".

The Forgotten People...

Just talked with relatives from St. Bernard Parish. They are still waiting for help. Some folks are gathered at a school gym which is still flooded with water, and there's no place to put the dead.

9/11 Times 2...

Estimated cleanup and reconstruction costs for the Gulf South is upwards of $90 billion. 9/11 cost $50 billion.

Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!

Reports are saying officials are calling for Rudy Guilliani or Gen Collin Powell or Gen Tommy Franks to be appointed by GW to lead the rescue and rebuilding efforts in Ala, Miss, and La.

SOS!

Mayor Nagin is fearful that there is still 50,000 people trapped in homes in NOLA. Senator David Vitter is expecting thousands possibly even 10's of thousands of fatalities.

Fast Growing City in America...

Experts are saying that Baton Rouge will become the fastest growing city in America; going from 250,000 people to nearly 1,000,000 within the next 3 years.

Numbers Game...

By now, pretty much everyone can recite the number of water bottles or cots or buses or National Guardsmen heading for NOLA, but when asked about numbers of evacuees, people missing, or the dead no one will comment. Spin?

Get Off Your Asses!

Ray Nagin, Mayor of NOLA, sent a message on local radio to the head of FEMA, the Governor, the President: "Get Off Your Asses, and let's do something!" Politicians need to shut the hell up, stop the spin machine, and save people's lives. The media is also partily responsible, stop clogging the time of our "leaders" with needless interviews and press conferences asking what's going wrong and let them do their jobs. They'll be plenty of time in a couple of months to figure out what went wrong.

Transcript for Nagin Interview: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/nagin.transcript/index.html

Nagin for President in '08.

Worse Than the Convention Center.

Doctor after doctor from NOLA hospitals are calling local radio stations begging for rescue. They are out of water and food. Patients are dieing; one hospital reporting 3 deaths last night. Looters are closing in looking for drugs. Some have bottom floors still flooded with water. One doctor though felt lucky about the flooding because it would keep the looters away.

Give Blood!

One of the largest blood supply in the gulf coast was in New Orleans. It's not there anymore. If you can't give money, think about giving blood.

Family Flyover Floodzone

My uncle had to rent a plane today to fly over and assess his company's oil properties in SE LA. His intial report is that the damage is much worse than being reported by the news. Again, the parishes of St. Bernard and Plaquemines are completely under water. I guess video of a massive sea of water that used to be people's homes isn't a sexy enough news story.

Boats for Rent.

A doctor from a hospital in NOLA just reported that "entrepreneurs" are offering boat rides to safety for $40 a person. They also have cigarettes for sale too.

Your Daddy Loves You...

From CNN.com:

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu toured the stricken areas said said rescued people begged him to pass information to their families. His pocket was full of scraps of paper on which he had scribbled down their phone numbers.

When he got a working phone in the early morning hours Thursday, he contacted a woman whose father had been rescued and told her: "Your daddy's alive, and he said to tell you he loves you."

"She just started crying. She said, `I thought he was dead,"' he said.

French Quarter Only One Quarter Flooded...

Had an oppurtunity to visit with family from NOLA yesterday. During the visit, GW spoke about our nation's commitment to rebuild Louisiana and Mississippi. One visual used during his speech was a view of NOLA from Air Force One. Immediately, everyone recognized the French Quarter. There's was then a collective sigh of relief as everyone saw green grass in front of St. Louis Cathedral. Mardi Gras will go on! :-)

Going Mad Max in NOLA...

Both substantiated and unsubstantiated reports from NOLA aren't painting a good picture of humanity.

From the substantiated files, a group of armed gunmen attacked a convoy of water, food, and medicine heading for a hospital. The hospital then had to ask for an emergency evacuation. The unsubstantiated part is that 11 patients died last night.

substantiated: People are firing upon rescue helicopters as they try to evacuate the Superdome. Helicopter activities had to be halted. Helicopter operations were being used to evacuate the sick. Also one national guardsman was shot at the Superdome.
unsubstantiated: riots and small fires have been reported from the floor of the Superdome.

Substantiated: Emergency communications in NOLA is non existent. Emergency personnel are having to use runners to send messages.
Unsubstantiated: Several emergency personnel have been shot and/or killed last night.

Also, the media tends to be focus a whole lot of attention on the evacuation of the Superdome, but there are nearly 10,000 people near an overpass in Metarie waiting for evacuation. There are also 3 major colleges in NOLA, one report that there is over 5,000 students still waiting to be evacuated. There are 10 major hospitals in NOLA, it is report that over 12,000 doctors, nurses, and patients need to be evacuate.

Another thing that the media has not reported on, are those missing in St. Bernard and Plaquimines parishes, both of which have been completely swallowed up by the gulf.

Baton Rouge. No Vacancies. Real Estate Boom.

Over night the population of Baton Rouge has doubled going from 250,000 people to over 500,000. The mayor has stated that there is not enough security personal or infrastructure to support this population, and has stated that we are no longer able to take any more evacuees. He is also looking to move those located at the River Center to other cities.

One week ago, news and business reports were stating that we were on the verge of real estate bust. Overnight, this has changed as well. Apartment complexes are getting calls requesting blocks of 20, 50, even 100 apartments. People are buying houses that have been overpriced and on the market for over 18 months. People are buying houses sight unseen.