Tonight Anderson Cooper talked about how many Mississippians were asking where the federal government is. They have no water, no food, no shelter, and though it has been three days, no one has come to their neighborhoods to help them. Cooper talked to the FEMA director who was also upset by the slow response and promised to get help to them quickly. He said they had balanced the safety of their people with the need to respond, but also said that he was surprised that help hadn't come yet because the materials were there waiting to be distributed.

The Pentagon has committed another 10,000 national guard troops who are supposed to arrive tomorrow. My guess, though, is this will not be enough. After all, the Pentagon has proved over and over again to underestimate what is needed and to under-support their operations. Why should our government's reaction to this tragedy be any different than our actions in Iraq or Afghanistan? Is it a surprise that police have no radios to communicate with in New Orleans when my husband had no radios to communicate with his team in Afghanistan?

It is not just about the lack of help today, but also the lack of planning and funding the past several years. This from Sydney Blumenthal in Salon today:


Right at this moment there are tens of thousands of Americans with no food, no water, and no homes. Some are floating around on air mattresses in New Orleans, or beating their way to roof tops after another levee broke today. They are fearful for their lives. Criminals take advantage and good people are growing desperate because they are hungry. Others are wandering around their flattened Mississippi towns, sleeping outside, desperate for any food or water to sustain them. A couple of hours ago Bush said he "will" send food, he "will" send relief workers, he "will" help the area rebuild. When does this future begin? People need the help now. They need the relief now. This minute. Not tomorrow, not five days from now. The medical ship Bush promised will take a week to reach the Gulf Coast. The many people who need medical attention today cannot wait a week. The diabetics who are out of insulin, the hypertensives who are out of medicine, the hundreds of patients in New Orleans hospitals all need help today.

We were unprepared for such a massive disaster and our reponse has been inadequate. We underestimated the destructive power of Katrina. Our government's efforts have not been enough. Can't we do better? Aren't we the greatest country on earth, the wealthiest? New Orleans does not have enough relief workers or law enforcement officers to do this alone. They need help. They need proper support. I'm not surprised so many feel abandoned by the government, but I'm still sickened. After sending tools to my husband so he, a ranger, could repair his own trucks in Afghanistan, why would I be surprised? And yet I still am, because I expect more from my government.

Night falls on the ruined towns of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, and many people are wandering around looking for basic sustenance while they are stunned by the destruction around them and wondering, still, how much they have lost. Cooper talked to a mother who does not know where her two sons are. Another woman who is searching for her mother. The dead are decaying and no one is there to collect the bodies, leaving the towns engulfed in the stench of death.

Then there is New Orleans, our beautiful, soulful city. Tens of thousands of Americans -- our neighbors, cousins, friends -- are suffering there. Their lives are in danger. Chris Lawrence on CNN says there's a dead body in front of the Convention Center that has been there for two days, the same convention center where thousands of people are wandering around looking for help. The police are overwhelmed. They do not have enough support. Only a handful of people have been evacuated from Charity Hospital, where there is no running water, no electricity, where patients' lives are in danger and their nurses and doctors are also getting sick from disease and dehydration. Where is our government?! Where is the support they need?!! Hospital workers are having to call journalists to get any attention at all. It's outrageous!!!

New Orleans was a poor city before this happened. The police were understaffed and underfunded, just as the fire department was. The fire department's starting salary is $16,000! The nicer neighborhoods in the city were patrolled by private security corporations, hired by the residents, because there weren't enough police to patrol the city. Is it a surprise that there is chaos in the city now? Of course not! But where is our federal government? They knew the city had very little resources before this. Did they expect it would miraculously change with a disaster? Suddenly police would sprout from the water, armed and ready to go? The police are strapped, hungry themselves, grieving themselves for their own losses, and completely unable to cope with the situation at hand. They need the help of our government and if they don't get it more will die.

The people of New Orleans need immediate relief. Not next week. Tonight.

An additional 10,000 national guard troops are going to be deployed to New Orleans. They are coming to rescue those who are left, and CNN implies they will attempt to establish "law and order" in a city where people are desperate and uninformed. There is no communication. Would the folks who are stealing electronic equipment put the TVs down if they knew their lives were in danger? If the authorities can get everyone out, including the stalwarts who refuse to leave, then there will be hope for the city. If not, things will continue to deteriorate and become even more dangerous. Disease is an acute threat. If you're still there, get out!!

The mayor thinks hundreds, perhaps thousands, have perished in the floodwaters. If all of the people who are still in New Orleans don't get evacuated soon, there will be even more deaths, as disease is inevitable given the sanitation situation. The first priority has to be to get every single person out of the city. Now.

Idyllopus talks about how people are on the verge of death in St. Bernard Perish, who have already taken what they can from local stores, and are now thirsty and threatened with disease while surrounded by their dead. It may take more than 10,000 troops to rescue tens of thousands of residents.

The president is on television listing in the millions the MREs and other supplies the federal government will provide. Good. But let's get these people the hell out of there, shall we?

Meanwhile in Iraq, over 700 adults and children were killed in a stampede when the bridge they were crossing collapsed. The fear of a suicide bomber was so great the crowds fled, leading to their own deaths. Where did the fear come from? From the instability and insecurity that we have not been able to control. Yet another tragedy.

And here's a story of another stop-lossed soldier who wants to get out of the military, and though his contract expired months ago, he's slated to go back to Iraq for a second deployment. He doesn't think the war in Iraq is worth dying for, and apparently he's not alone, which is why the military still can't meet its recruiting goals. Is this why it's taken three days for the government to be able to commit a sizeable number of troops for hurricane relief?

What a disaster. Iraq is in the clinch of fear, and death results; New Orleans is in the clinch of natural disaster, and death results. Desperate people act desperately. What else do we expect?

CNN is again making the story about looting and nothing else.

Clearly there are some dangerous people running around New Orleans with guns they've pilfered from Wal-Mart and other stores that sell guns in the city. Journalists have heard gun shots (which we heard nearly every night we lived on Washington and Carondelet). There are some criminals doing the looting, and no doubt more than a few drug addicts. But there are also residents who are desperate for water and food, and still others who are stealing clothes and shoes and have absolutely no idea that their lives are at risk because the city is falling apart.

Guess what, CNN. The story is how to get all of these people out. While you're talking about looting, you're showing pictures of people waving white tees out of their second-floor windows, with water brushing up that high; others on their roofs holding up signs that exclaim "Help Us!". You're showing images of streams of people wandering around looking for a way out of town, and still others who are standing on top of their cars with water all around them, clearly caught in the floodwaters while they were trying to evacuate.

Hospitals are desperate to be evacuated too. Yet another story, CNN. They have no electricity, they have no water. Touro Infirmary, according to an ambulance driver you interviewed, has over 100 babies that need to be evacuated immediately and the entire staff is panicked about what will happen when the sun goes down and they are left in the dark. Instead of this, though, you are trying to push the commander of the North Command to say he will talk to the president about sending active duty troops into the streets-turned-swamps in New Orleans to keep "law and order." Outrageous.

If they get the people out of the city, the looting will stop and lives will be saved. Evacuation is all that matters right now.

Matt's got an excellent post with links to resources, including forums and news. There are also links to missing persons databases in the comments. If anyone has anything to add to this, please comment and I'll let Matt know.

Thanks.

According to the Army Corps, the water has leveled, so no more water should be coming from the lake through the breach in the 17th Street Canal, at least until high tide. They are trying to plug up the breach. Meanwhile, there are buses being lined up to take people to Houston's Astrodome, which the Red Cross has prepared for the estimated 25,000 refugees that will be staying there.

Hopefully they will be able to plug up the breaches and begin the arduous task of getting the water out of the city. I hope, too, that everyone will get out of the city, even if they are living in dry areas.

I got an email from my friend Lisa who made it to Texas. What will she do now? Mayor Nagin has said the city will be without electricity and uninhabitable for 3-4 months (and really he doesn't know). This is about rebuilding whole lives because everything has been lost.

Update 1:15 p.m.: Yea! I just got a call from my friends Beverly and Michael. They and their family (including grandkids) got out and they're in Shreveport. What luck. They rented a car on Friday to run some errands and when the evacuation order came, they got out right away. Now they have nowhere to return their rental car to! Unfortunately, they left without their photography and writings, nor their computers. Michael said he wished he had a friend or two in New Orleans who could go and take his suits. That way someone could wear them! They are stunned and unsure of the future, but they are in good spirits because they're all safe. I'm so glad.

Idyllopus has a listing of Craig's List links concerning housing opportunities. People across the states are offering their spare rooms to refugees.

To all of our friends out there, if you happen to read this, please contact me by email or leave a comment. I need to know you are okay. Our house is open to you for a long-term stay. I got an email from S this morning and he wants you all to know that you are welcome here. He is coming home for two weeks in mid-September.

Take care, everyone.

The levees have not been repaired and water continues to flood into New Orleans. I've just heard on MSNBC that the 25,000+ refugees inside the Superdome are going to be bused to the Astrodome in Houston. Everyone has to get out of the city because the conditions are worsening.

I just received an email from my husband's advisors who are now refugees. They are staying with friends in Texas. Where will they all go? What will they do? After the water is stopped then pumped out, there will still be hundreds of thousands of people without homes, jobs, even a city to go home to. One month from now, two months from now, three or four months from now, many will still be homeless. This will be a long, long recovery. We have to be committed to helping our friends and neighbors for months to come.