So, let's get this straight.
"A lot of us out here are fighting for our lives,” said Feliciano, 51. “A lot of people are desperate. They don't know where they are getting their next meal."We are fighting amongst ourselves here because we are tired. And we are frustrated."
A major disaster occurs on the outskirts of one of the most advanced civilizations on earth, and 10 days later there are victims walking 6 miles to find food?
They should have voted for Republicans. This might be a scandal by now.
Welcome to the USSSA, the United Soviet Socialist States of America. Though at least the soviet union had an awesome space program. They don't even have that now thanks to obama
Those people should be grateful...as Chris Matthews said, Sandy allowed a lot of good politics to happen...
nothing like giving trillions away to foriegn banks and then letting your own people suffer. politicians suck.
I miss Michael D. Brown.
"They should have voted for Republicans. This might be a scandal by now."
I'm going to head off The Phantom here, who doubtless will show up shortly with some rant about how this is all FEMA's fault.
As a preemptive response, I will just point out this: the subways (maintained and repaired by unionized MTA workers) out to Coney Island have been up and running for days. The neighbourhood buses, likewise. So that's not what the locals are complaining about here.
No, their main problem is lack of power. And indeed, as the article notes, ConEd and other (private sector) utility companies are still struggling to get power back up to their customers. Likewise, the (privately run) building management companies in charge of fixing stuff like downed elevators appear to be sleeping on the job. Hmm...
Now, now, don't get me wrong -- I'm not advocating for nationalizing the utility companies or making landlords a public sector job; those are indeed best left to the private sector. However, these cases do show just how stupid an argument it is to claim that anything done by the public sector and/or unions is inevtably inferior to the private sector, and anything performed by the private sector is invariably superior to the public sector. As always, nothing is ever that black and white.
But of course, The Phantom will disagree.
Davenport is conveniently overlooking the fact that the unionized utility repair crews are refusing to let repair crews from non-unionized companies -who travelled to NY to help out- do any work, booting them out of town. Better to let the unionized people to take however long it takes them, at time and a half union scale, to get power back to the peasants.
As the Obaminations agenda continues, this is a taste of things to come. The beltway may get a flash mob with blood in it's eye. These sorts a not understanding nor forgiving.
Folks with nothing to lose are dangerous.
Another reason is that for every job that requires one man, if its a public secotr union job they have 2 or 3.Why else do you think it takes 5 men to remove a manhole cover. And I supsect the electrical problem is astronomical. From what I saw the power lines are down everywhere.
At least if Republicans were in charge the leftstream media would deign to discuss the poor response. Four days after Katrina, Bush was being blamed for not coming to everyone's rescue in New Orleans. All Obama had to do was show up in a bomber jacket and he was absolved of any blame for FEMA's predictable failure.
Davenport, thanks for the tip. If you check on Google and Wikipedia you'll find the company with the worst delays in restoring electricity and affecting the most people is the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), a municipally owned operation. As you pointed out, this is work best left to the private sector.
Let the eastern b*tards freeze in the dark !
Are these not the true believers in globall warming, they should be enjoying the weather along with their messiahs great win, sorry good people of the area, but your saviour just might forget you now that he is reelected.
Davenport, who do you think fixes elevators? No, it's not landlords or building superintendents, it's unionized elevator technicians. Do you know how difficult it is to get an elevator repairman even at the best of times?
It's not Liberals or Progressives who are the problem ... it's THE NEWS MEDIA. That's where the corruption is; that's who decides what is and what is not in the public consciousness. It's the job of Liberals and Progressives to be involved in polemics, as it is conservatives or any other politically oriented group.
It is though, not the News Media's job. It is the News Media which should provide the citizenry with a more or less unbiased and unfiltered view of the world.
A modern, free and open society must have a free and open (and honest) press. As it is, the News Media is corrupt. The view presented is filtered, massively, and therefore citizens have their whole world view filtered. The intellectual culture is now ghettoized because there is no middle ground to meet on. You are forced to either consume "progressive" media, or "conservative" media. It's getting harder and harder to find truly neutral ground.
Pat Caddell, long time Democrat Pollster, puts it best. You have the Corrupt Party (DNC), the Stupid Party (GOP), and the Corrupt Media which sees it's job as supporting the DNC. (In Canada it is much the same). The result is an ever more divided citizenry ... and an ever more ignorant one. Given that most people aren't political junkies, but rely instead on what they pick up incidentally from News Media, the Liberals/Progressives have a strong upper hand in forming public opinion because they control how most citizens get their incidental knowledge.
Why then, do Conservative politicians give the News Media deference? Why not declare war on it, and neuter it's dominance by openly and constantly pointing out its bias, instead of pretending otherwise? If you attack it in a systematic and constant fashion, eventually even the most dense consumer will become somewhat skeptical ... you've got to get people thinking, "it's the News Media, can I trust it?"
Whatever the case, someone should be getting food and water in there on a regular basis. They've had plenty of time to co-ordinate that.
They seem surprised to discover that their fellow liberals don't care (other than the ritual hand-wringing) but if they look in the mirror they'll see why that is -- too pale. No narrative, no welfare.
Lest I sound like a big meanie, how long DOES it take to get some kind of power running or to relocate temporarily to a relative or friend's for a few days (though that may not always be possible)? The storm occurred BEFORE Halloween. And why did they vote for photo-op president, anyway? Where is your Chicago messiah now?
These are islands, yes?
If only the U.S. had some government ships, oh, like a navy or something they could use to bring these islanders food and water, ya'know, like they did with Haiti.
Corb Lund - Gettin Down on the Mountain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uASQgLwaIs
It could become viral after New York gets internet services restored.
lol
America's response to disasters anywhere else in the world is better than what's not happened after the storm. A real leader would have mobilized the National Guard before the storm hit and had all relief resources pre-positioned. But, they're all states that voted for Obama, so they can go complain to him. I have no sympathy for any blue areas of the USofA.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fevwna4wbi4/UJzwjPIvO6I/AAAAAAAADjY/VKctHnzz8OY/s1600/2012-Election-County-By-County.png
They can freeze in the dark for all I care.
Davenport said: "I'm going to head off The Phantom here, who doubtless will show up shortly with some rant about how this is all FEMA's fault."
You really are DENSE woman. FEMA, while it is a clusterfrig of titanic proportions, could not cause this much misery on its own. Although they FAILED to have emergency generators at key fuel distribution points (read gas stations) and although they FAILED to have any kind of plan to move food and fuel to the affected areas, and although they FAILED to even have a forward based supply of bottled water and ran out last Friday, even these gold plated MORONS couldn't have frigged things up this badly alone.
Do you want to know why the power is STILL off on Long Island, Davenport? Read this here: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Sandy-LIPA-Outages-Power-Long-Island-Defense-Military-178115341.html
In it you will find reference to a report from 2006, SIX YEARS AGO, which found that Long Island Power Authority had not done the basic maintenance required to secure the power grid from weather damage. The maintenance they're talking about here is tree cutting mostly, and replacing bad power poles.
I lived in New York in the 1990's. I could have written that report. The f-ing power went off every time it snowed because they didn't cut trees and the trees ripped the lines down. They also didn't plow the roads, but that's a story for another day.
You want to know why they don't cut the f-ing trees Davenport? It isn't because they are stupid, it isn't because they don't know, it isn't because private enterprise is inherently corrupt, it isn't even because union workers are a bunch of rent-seeking layabouts. Its because every time they go to cut down a tree, some local Greenies get up a petition or a court order to make them stop. So they stop. So the trees break and knock down the power lines. Same thing all over the North East until you get up into snow country, where even the f-ing tree huggers know better.
Well -this- time it all came home to roost the same day, and every overhanging branch from New Jersey to Connecticut took out a line.
But don't get me wrong, there's a ton of corruption and scamming going on too. Paying off inspectors, hockey tickets for town council, that sort of thing. That's why all those flooded switching stations were within reach of a flood in the first place, because the money to move them was skimmed off by graft. That's why FEMA didn't have any forward located stuff, because it all either vanished or was never there to start with except on paper.
But now that there's been a disaster the LIPA wankers are screaming for crews. And they aren't getting them. You know why Davenport? Because volunteer crews from as far away as Florida showed up Monday -before- the storm and cooled their heels until Friday, didn't get any assignments because they WERE NOT UNION, and then those volunteer crews went the hell back home.
And FEMA didn't say jack about it, did they? Nor did anyone else. One phone call from Barack "The Golfer" Obama to the head of the union could have fixed that. Just one, single phone call. Didn't get made, did it? He made a speech on Wednesday and then flew to Vegas.
Some of the people displaced by the flooding are still in tents. FEMA is supposed to find or make housing for these people, its been a week and a half now, and they are in tents. Looked out the window today? Its cold. People are going to -die- in tents this time of year. It is reported today that some of these cold tent dwelling people started calling the news media, and the FEMA types running the camps started confiscating cameras and refusing to charge up cell phones. No power, they said.
The only organizations in this whole farce that showed up like they meant it have been churches. Not seeing much of that covered in the MSM are we?
But the crowning touch Davenport, the cherry on top of it all that just makes it all the more outrageous and mind numbing is that New Yorkers voted for MORE of it on Tuesday. More graft. More incompetence. More better and bigger Big Government. Gimme my Obama phone.
Say, d'ya think LIPA and ConEd will be laying off because of Obamacare? I bet they will. I bet they lay of a thousand guys right before January first.
I prophesy this: until people like YOU, Davenport, stop actively sabotaging everyone who's trying to make our civilization work, there's going to be ever-increasing numbers of people dying of exposure in tents waiting for help from Big Brother that never comes. I also predict that the ones who survive are going to be p1ssed.
As my parting shot, I want you to think about Toronto for a second.
Did you know that thanks to the Liberal Party of Ontario and -decades- of stunning stupidity, there are two (2) main power lines that come in to downtown? Yep. Both running at the edge of melting most of the time. And did you know that most of your power comes from far away places like Nanticoke, Darlington and Bruce? Did you know that outside of Pickering there is no generation in the GTA at all?
Did you know that gas stations almost never have an emergency generator, even around Toronto?
I want you to think about Toronto after two solid weeks with no power. In November. Nice eh? Now try February. Hope you stocked up. On insulin. 'Cause there won't be any.
And remember. YOU voted for this. You did. Not me. I voted to fix it, you voted for the stupid short sighted @ssh0les who broke it.
You don't even know how close to the edge you are, yet you argue with me for telling you. Wake the hell up and LEARN something before Bad Things happen.
"Now, now, don't get me wrong -- I'm not advocating for nationalizing the utility companies or making landlords a public sector job"
Yes you are Davenport. Like all on the left you are a liar and a hypocrite. Makes me sick.
Hear hear Phantom! Hear hear.
Osumashi Kinyobe said: "Lest I sound like a big meanie, how long DOES it take to get some kind of power running or to relocate temporarily to a relative or friend's for a few days?"
It can take a really long time when you don't have enough men to even get the trees off the streets, never mind run new cable. They're probably short of cable too and just haven't told the media.
I'm sure plenty of able young men have started in shifting trees and cutting them up... and been told to stop by the cops. Rules says only UNION guys can clear downed trees. Health and safety, y'know.
Davenport I'm sure thinks I'm kidding or lying. If only that were the case.
"So, you supported Obama's re-election, eh?"
"That's good, then you won't be needing my technical services, he can take care of that for you."
I'm going Galt on all Libtards from now on. There are enough right thinking people to keep me gainfully employed.
Shortly...O'BlameBush will be sending fleets of buses to take the storm victims to refugee camps in Florida. It is going to take a very long long time to fix/replace, on the electricial grid, what has been flooded with SALTY (corrosive)sea water. Christmas will come and go and still there will be no power...
Phantom you NAILED it with those comments at 12:55!
Ottawa is no better than Toronto when it comes to tree huggers. Lines and transformers disappear in the overgrown foliage...and even more so since that city enacted a tree cutting bylaw that a permit ($$$$) is needed to even trim limbs...it won't take 4" of ice the next time to totally knock out the Nation's Capital.
Phantom @ 12:55: "I prophesy this: until people like YOU, Davenport, stop actively sabotaging everyone who's trying to make our civilization work, there's going to be ever-increasing numbers of people dying of exposure in tents waiting for help from Big Brother that never comes."
So right.
Phantom
Bravo.
Cold hard facts from you.
Idiocy from Davenport.
Ha! Go Phantom Go .... you are 100% correct on all points.
Get out of the "rat warren" big cities, folks, where everything is right around the corner. Move to the country or small towns where you have to learn to be self reliant. I'm sure that many of these big city folk are the same ones who would laugh out loud at the survivalist crowd and refer to them as ignorant hillbillies & rednecks.
Phantom, bravo!
Thanks all for the kind words. I must have a very odd mind because these things seem blinding obvious to me, while alleged educated people like Davenport can't even follow the breadcrumbs.
Guarantee you she's sitting trying to think of a way to win the argument instead of wondering how to last two weeks in her existing situation with no power. Clever and stupid, simultaneously.
Barack Obama doesn't care about white people!
Seriously though: the election's over, he doesn't need these people's votes now. He spent today on the golf course according to reports, and next week he & Michelle head off to Thailand for some R&R. All hail Emperor Nero and Queen Marie Antoinette!
I like to think that Republicans would give a damn. The Dems certainly don't.
It is more bad reporting to keep referring to "Superstorm" Sandy. It was no superstore, hardly even a piddling class 1 hurricane.
Men can be wolves to men; indifference can be even more damaging.
Phantom said>>>Guarantee you she's sitting trying to think of a way to win the argument instead of wondering how to last two weeks in her existing situation with no power. Clever and stupid, simultaneously.
Thank you for putting into words a thought that I have been trying to formulate for awhile based on liberals' activity on other boards that I frequent.
New Yorkers have the govt they wanted. Now they are at its mercy. And it's true- Obama got re-elected, so Staten Islanders and others who are suffering can go pound sand. I'm reminded of a line from "Animal House": "You f***ed up! You trusted us!"
Hmmmmmm...........They turn away power line crews from three southern states cuz they won't sign union contracts, then they all go vote for Obama. Well, bless their pore frozen hearts. Now, what am I s'posed to care about again?
Ahhh, posting here from N. Florida. Plenty of gasoline, we got power. Lissening to the sound of Yankee icecicles breakin. The best revenge is the revenge they do themselves.
One more reason TPTB cannot afford to face reality:
The potential for this kind of disaster is _general_
due to a criminal neglect/looting of infrastructure.
Even absent natural disaster the same sort of thing
will happen in slow motion as infrastructure fails
due to age and overload, with no time or money to
repair it as the nation sinks back into recession.
It was so distressing hearing the whinnings of the distressed that our dearest Dear Leader has to release his stress with a game of golf. Poor man.
What is that idiom again? You make your bed, you lie on it.
Oh, to paraphrase: Frankly dear New Yorkers, we don't give a damn!
Hey, drop them some MREs, leftovers from that Cowboy Bush's Afghanistan campaign. Shoot them out of the drones that Obama sent overseas to kill Americans and terrorists who are a figment of Cheney's imaginations.
Bush didn't care about black people, Obama doesn't care about white people. Let's call it even and do a Kumbaya.
The fact running through my mind is that the East Coast guys lost a lot by not allowing Walmart into their communities.
If you remember, during Katrina Walmart had supplies into affected areas faster than anyone, at big embarassment to FEMA if I recall correctly.
They do this better than anyone because they do just on time delivery of supplies, every day. That's why the low prices. And Walmart has a low price reputation to uphold, so they are about the only store that would never even try to think about gouging you.
Of course I don't particularly like shopping in Walmart, where you stand in lines so long it feels like the Zombie Apocalypse is happening and our currency is about to crash, but it sure is good to have them when we need them ...
D
I heard on the radio news today that LIPA doesn't even have an emergency stockpile of power poles. WTF?
The military needs to be sent in, the Seabees would have it built out STAT.
Then some people need to go to jail for malfeasance.
Get thee out of babylon! Or starve when the next really big storm arrives.
Kudos to Mr Phantom BTW.
Even "private" utilities are heavily regulated by the state. If you demand heavy regulation, then you have to realize any failure also accrues to the regulator.
"The military needs to be sent in . . . "
- - - -
No way. Pay for this with local funds.
Look up how many times in the last four years BO has denied "disaster status" to Red States suffering far worse damage than these weenie east coasters.
Scroom. They get what they voted for. They get indifference and incompetence.
BJM2009 at November 10, 2012 11:46 PM: "The military needs to be sent in ..."
Not a snowball's chance in hell that's going to happen. Obummer wouldn't want the military to look good, just like he and the media have no time for the churches, even though, as The Phantom pointed out -- and this is the same in every emergency, wherever they happen in the world -- they're in there doing heavy-duty caring and relief work.
Our world has turned upside-down, with the Obamanation leading the way. Graft, corruption, voter fraud, no respect for the nation's laws: 'the wave of the future which will leave everyone but the very rich, including Obama and his puppet masters, literally out in the cold.
BJM2009: "Then some people need to go to jail for malfeasance." 'Couldn't agree more but it ain't going to happen. This is the Obama-nation where we're all being led to hell in a hand basket with a dazzling smile.
Kyrie eleison.
That, David H Dennis, is most likely WHY they didn't allow WalMart in. One can't have FEMA looking bad whilst the Chimp in Chief is in charge now, can one?
And thanks, The Glengarrian, for suggesting "sending fleets of buses to take the storm victims to refugee camps in Florida." Gonna put a WHOLE shitload of Trayvons down here for us to deal with, eh? Well, SOME of us have learned from Mr. Zimmerman's plight, even under a supposedly "Republican" governor. Shoot. Shovel. Shut up. Repeat as necessary...
I grew up on Staten Island, now live in one of the last conservative areas of NJ. NYC in the best of times is one large SNAFU. There is still seawater in some of these housing project basements! Not only will that have to be pumped out, but everything (heating, electic)will have to be replaced (hopefully before it is stolen). It is going to be a long time before things return to normal. And screw FEMA - the day before the nor'easter hit, they closed their offices on Staten Island "due to the weather". Really? And they have placed a couple of dozen families in housing - out of the thousands that applied.
For God's sake can we not get some solar panels and windmills in there, on the double!
This didn't happen on the outskirts of the most advanced civilization on earth, it happened in the economic center.