Katrina links

[cleolinda]

Quick links and reader submissions:

keever:

If you're still posting them, I found another option for donations (via Jennifer Weiner) that might be of particular interest to many of your readers. From the Louisiana Library Association site:

The LLA Disaster Relief Fund is now accepting monetary donations to assist school, public, and academic library restoration efforts in southeastern Louisiana. Please make checks payable to: LLA-Disaster Relief and mail to:

LLA
421 South 4th St
Eunice, LA 70535

kashmir1: "Cleo, I was wondering if I could ask you for help. I've read in more than one place that organizations are looking for things and not necessarily monetary donations. Problem is, I can't find the links and/or articles where I read that. I have donations from my family of clothes and things but I'm also trying to get donations from people I work with. So if any of your readers know of organizations that are looking for these kinds of donations, I would greatly appreciate a link/phone number/address/contact person/ANYTHING. Or if they know of a list of things that need donated. Thanks for any help you might be able to give me. My LJ is f-locked so if people want to get in touch with me, my e-mail is kashmir1 at livejournal.com or flamegirl_08 at yahoo.com."

In that vein, piratesorka:

Cleo darling, let the people know that it is the Salvation Army that is accepting donations of clothes and personal items. But also remind folks as I shall on my LJ that the clothing really need to be clean, free of stains or rips....unless of course, they are one of those new fashionalbly ripped jeans that are all the craze now! Here is one Salvation Army address:

Salvation Army
5302 Harry Hines
Dallas, Texas, 75235

I'm no big supporter of Salvation Army but I am reasonably certain they are more concerned with getting items to people than making new members these days. Its a solid organization in times of stress.

junebug138: "I linked it in my own journal, but I have to say I was so damn proud of Tim Russert yesterday. Here's a link to the transcript of him blasting Chertoff. Actually, I can say that I'm proud to work for MSNBC right now. A good portion of our anchors and reporters are angry and refuse to sugar-coat anything. They're coming right out and asking WTF. Good on them for doing so.

And Keith Olbermann had a delicious rant on it all tonight, blasting the government and their ineptitude... And showing Chertoff's idiocy in four words, a direct quote: "The 'city' of Louisiana..." The rant is here in his blog.

Also..."



arpeggiodreams: "Sears Holdings (aka Sears and Kmart) is also accepting donations at all registers (funds going to American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund), and the corporation will match all donations up to $500,000." Please note arpeggiodreams' icon while we're at it:


More Bush/guitar icons here.

Putli Bai: "Here's something that will boggle your mind. It's an article on the Louisiana Wetlands that was published in National Geographic in 2004. But maybe this will make you feel better. It's page after page of names of all the people that are safe."

sweetly_savage: "There has been (as of Friday noon at least) no official policy released by the Federal government regarding Food Stamps for the survivors. They may be leaving it up to the individual counties to decide. Here in Fresno, California we have a temporary "emergency" policy in place. (Which came about on Friday when we got 7 survivors showing up.) We are giving Food Stamps without the usual work requirements. And we are accepting "declaration of fact" statements in lieu of identification if the survivors have lost their IDs. Predictably, people will take advantage of this. But, that will not deter us from keeping this policy going until someone gives an official policy. So, I urge those survivors who have managed to get out of the area to apply for Emergency Food Stamps (can be issued the same day) wherever they end up. The policies will no doubt vary from county to county, but this is a viable option. And this is one of the things Food Stamps were created for in the first place. In some instances people may also be able to apply for cash aid as well. There is a huge problem with Assistance programs, and that is not going to change anytime soon. But, it's nice once in awhile to be able to do the right thing and provide the much needed assistance appropriately. (And I say this as a government worker in the Homeless Food Stamp program who sees all too regularly the people most in need disqualified for ridiculous reasons.) And I have to say that having lived in England and been treated as well as the citizens there in an emergency, that I am appalled that we were asking for citizenship verification during evacuation. That's just abominable."
 
scaffold: "An article from the nydailynews.com--The photo that shames America."

halogirl8: "I have no idea if you find this worth pimping or not, but I made a whole slew of NOLA icons (like the one I'm using), if you were interested in mentioning it in your next Katrina-related post. It was just a means of therapy for me, but the response so far has been really overwhelming, and it just now occurred to me that your readers might like them as well."

He Held Their Lives in His Tiny Hands: "In the chaos that was Causeway Boulevard, this group of refugees stood out: a 6-year-old boy walking down the road, holding a 5-month-old, surrounded by five toddlers who followed him around as if he were their leader. They were holding hands. Three of the children were about 2 years old, and one was wearing only diapers. A 3-year-old girl, who wore colorful barrettes on the ends of her braids, had her 14-month-old brother in tow. The 6-year-old spoke for all of them, and he told rescuers his name was Deamonte Love." Happy ending, by the way.

zhai:

Transport Provided to Anywhere - Room Desperately Needed! (For the Animal Victims of Katrina)

There is transportation provided, with people ready and waiting, for upwards of 200 dogs and 150 cats so far rescued from the devastation of hurricane Katrina. What these animals need is a place to go. Kennels, boarding, vets offices, shelters with any extra space, foster homes and rescues. Even one or two open kennels would greatly help.

From what we know, all animals have been vaccinated and are in good health considering the conditions. There are dogs and cats of every breed and size. Some are in groups of two, three or four, hailing from the same family, while some are solitary. ANY KENNEL SPACE AVAILABLE CAN CERTAINLY BE USED. These drivers are willing to move these animals ANYWHERE they need to go. Absolutely anywhere.

The current safe houses for these animals are being inundated and some of these pets will have to be euthanized if they are not moved to make room for the incoming animals.

Please feel free to pass on this information everywhere. Every forum, every list, every community.

REMEMBER THESE ANIMALS WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO YOU.

If you know anyone, anywhere, that is willing to take in even one cat or dog, please have them contact Lynda at the information provided below.

They are also asking for ANY kind of donations for the animals - money, food, bedding, water, etc.

Please Contact Lynda V. at: 203 515 3024 (cell)
Home: 203 227 5308
Email: Lynda@portone.com

Please contact at any time, day or night. These volunteers, rescuers and shelter workers are working around the clock.

Murder and Rape: fact or fiction. Important--read this one. Turns out many of the rapes and child murder stories can't be substantiated--but the reporting of them far and wide (something I'm also guilty of) may have created a reluctance to help or take in the "violent" evacuees, as noted in previous links.

Barbara Bush: Things working well for refugees: "What I’m hearing which is sort of scary is they all want to stay in Texas. [...] And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this [she chuckles slightly] is working very well for them."

(See, this is why I could never be a field reporter, because I would have stopped dead and blurted out, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?")

Dispatch from a Physician.

Cheetara gets an email from Netflix:

Dear Cheetara,

The U.S. Postal Service has let us know that postal delivery to your address has been interrupted due to Hurricane Katrina. All of us at Netflix extend our sympathies to you and your loved ones during this difficult time.

We want you to know that we have stopped billing your account and are in the process of issuing a refund of your last bill. When you are ready to resume your service, please visit the Netflix website, where you will have the option to restart deliveries. When you restart your service, your first month will be at no charge.

If you would like us to send your DVDs to a different address, please click here. If you would like to speak with us about your Netflix service, please call our Customer Service Team at 1-800-715-2130 which is open Monday-Friday from 6:00am to 7:00pm Pacific Time and Saturday-Sunday from 6:00am to 2:30pm Pacific Time.

Sincerely,

The Netflix Team

Survival, Hour by Hour.

‘It’s going to be awful’ as body retrieval starts.

Bush to lead investigation into hurricane debacle. curverex: "Isn't that the same as letting the robber study the break in?"

Alternate take: Bush resists immediate probe into Katrina response.

promise19: "Gulfport's doing better... Just heard a reporter from MSNBC say that there was a hotel available (with power) for them to stay in last night, the Waffle House was open and they were able to shop at Wal-Mart! The South will rise again! I have friends in Gulfport who I'm hearing from sporadically, so this was good news to get." Mmmwaffles.

particle_person:

Rivka, who writes the blog Respectful of Otters, has debunked the reports that the aid on display during Bush's visit to New Orleans was staged:

Looking at the transcripts, it seems easy enough to figure out what happened. Laura's commenter, who appears to have been reconstructing from memory a news story he'd seen on TV, elided the New Orleans segment (which had Bush speaking at "one of the few" supply distribution points) and the Biloxi segment (which had cleaning crews working only along Bush's route, and disappearing afterward). Combined, these two segments became a story about supply distribution points disappearing after Bush's visit.

Rivka is a Democratic blogger, and she adds,

It's natural that rumors are flying everywhere right now. But we should be careful about what we do with unsourced news, especially when it confirms our biases.

ETA: Rebuttal from almostnever.


Connick Surveys Father's Damaged La. Home.

Officials warn against hurricane aid scams.

"Robert Fonteaine holds his puppy, Gangster, as he watches New Orleans firefighters try to save his house after it caught fire on the east side of the city Tuesday. Fonteaine's house was a total loss."


More AP/Reuters articles and some fresh CafePress designs on the way.

Comments

[kilted.livejournal.com]

What about this one^?

The credit for it is in my icon thing... I was told that it should be spread around as much as possible.

[almostnever.livejournal.com]

Does Rivka the debunker realize that Senator Landrieu also accused Bush of setting up photo ops?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/3/223021/8888

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) reports on BushCo faking levee repairs for a photo-op: "[T]he greatest disappointment [regarding the federal response] stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment."

Also, while Bush visited New Orleans, rescue helicopters were grounded.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/3/225254/3764

[almostnever.livejournal.com]

Checked it, and Rivka did cite the Landrieu story. And she certainly didn't debunk that. So the summary from Particle_Person is a mischaracterization. Some of the aid on display during Bush's visit to New Orleans was staged.

[katrionaa.livejournal.com]

I always take stories that start with "I heard that..." with a grain of salt. So many of those children being raped and/or killed had the ring of urban legends. It's sad that those stories made others reluctant to help - especially when there were so many real terrible things going on.

[urox.livejournal.com]

Actually, I watched a woman tell her story about her escape from LA. She was raped as were many other women she was with. She also witnessed killings. Can't speak for the children nor for the babies.

I have been trying for the life of me to find the news place or the video clip where I watched it, but, well, there's been a hell of a lot of reports to wade through.

[terriem.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if you've seen it, but the BBC have a great in depth section on their website here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/americas/2005/hurricane_katrina/default.stm

It's got good analysis and reportage and lots of space for reader comment, discussion and eyewitness reports.

[ladyeclectic79.livejournal.com]

First of all I have to say thank you so much for all the information you've been able to feed over the past horror of a week. It's a relief to know that there are people like you out there who are able to rally those of us who want to do something but haven't a clue where to start. Thank you.

I work for the Army Corps of Engineers, and I've received several emails over the last several days detailing events. You've touched on most, but just FYI within the organization there's a massive buildup of volunteers, many who have come out of retirement to provide any aid they can, who will likely be shipping out soon - myself included. As to what my job description will be (I'm a Park Ranger) I don't know; it may be grunt work or passing out MREs - I likely won't know until I get there. But we look to be shipping out en masse starting within the week.

It's also been officially confirmed (at least via my email): the Corps of Engineers runs a number of campgrounds, and many of those sites will be accepting refugees to abide there for free. They're still trying to figure out how to regulate it (who knows, I may be sent to help patrol) but they've confirmed that refugees will be allowed (or it may have already gone into affect) free camping on non-reservable sites within Corps camps. I don't know if this information has been made public yet, but anyone who's interested may want to contact the campsites in the area, or go to the USACE website. Obviously camps decimated by the hurricane are out, but we have several along the Mississippi and any Corps-run lakes.

Thanks again for all that you're doing though, I'll try to keep you updated with any info that I can pass on.

[mandy0x.livejournal.com]

That's really cool of Netflix.

[ter369.livejournal.com]

And Keith Olbermann had a delicious rant on it all tonight, blasting the government and their ineptitude... And showing Chertoff's idiocy in four words, a direct quote: "The 'city' of Louisiana..."


But just as Louisiana is not the same as New Orleans, Monty Python's Flying Circus is not the same as Spamalot.

I can only guess that the reference was to the Secretary of State's blog-reported attendance at the Broadway musical, and not a suggestion that someone in our government was watching DVDs. And I hate to guess, if the essay seeks to characterize the behavior of members of government last week.

My point may sound like petty trivia, but fact-checking (especially on a rumor, that I couldn't find substantiated online, except at blogs) should also apply to arts and entertainment.

[ginnytonnick.livejournal.com]

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3004197

"As New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded on national television for firefighters - his own are exhausted after working around the clock for a week - a battalion of highly trained men and women sat idle Sunday in a muggy Sheraton Hotel conference room in Atlanta. Many of the firefighters, assembled from Utah and throughout the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thought they were going to be deployed as emergency workers. Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA, shuffled throughout the Gulf Coast region to disseminate fliers and a phone number: 1-800-621-FEMA."

"But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas"

[kassandra05.livejournal.com]

What?! WHAT?!! OMFG. *is speechless*

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. That rape and murder link is really interesting.

Were the stories made up to show the survivors as animals AND discourage people from helping?

Did incidents occur but just not to the extent the rumors made them out to be, and then the rumors just spread? I told my mother when she asked that I felt the incidents DID occur because I heard about them in many places. But maybe they were all the same sources.

I hope to GOD those things didn't happen, but if those stories were deliberately planted for the reasons cited above, I'm speechless. Please keep an eye on this. Who knows....

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I don't think they were *planted.* But I think people in the media and outside the disaster area were all too happy to run with unsubstantiated rumors. I mean, if someone had told me a little boy was raped and murdered in a freezer, I as a reporter should have said, "Show me where. Take me to the officials who would know about this."

And I admit--you hear this kind of thing, and your first instinct is, "People have got to hear about this so they'll know how bad it is down there." It becomes an issue of the media not doing the proper legwork, and an issue of viewers and readers being too eager to believe what they're told.

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

But...didn't one of the articles mentioning rape give an eyewitness account? I remember reading something quoting two women who said they were in the rest room and seeing it happen right in front of them.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I know, I thought there was something like that, too. I'd have to go back and read through the articles.

[shesnotallthere.livejournal.com]

While it seems that many of the worst things we've been hearing about this whole mess are pretty much true, I have to say Rivka makes an excellent point. We cannot rely on ANYONE to be totally objective in a situation where so many are so (justifiably) angry, and thus it's a good idea to really watch and listen carefully to everything before rushing to judgement.

Not only will it ensure that the right people are held accountable, it'll give us great practice in thinking for ourselves before the next election...something I think a lot of the country is realizing it DIDN'T do last time around. (This is not a political jab...I'm just saying we relied far too heavily on our government to take care of everything without paying attention to the whys and hows, and now we're realizing how damaging that can be.)

I know you're probably sick to death of links, but . . .

[(Anonymous)]

A couple more suggetions:

bdbdb has a special offer for 'Angel' fans who donate money: http://www.livejournal.com/users/bdbdb/207930.html

Coinstar (you know the automatic coin-sorting machines) has an option where all the change you dump in can be donated to the American Red Cross or other charities: http://www.coinstar.com/us/html/a-home

Donate Music is a site to gather CD/casettes/ipods/discmen/etc. for teenaged survivors: http://www.kimyadawson.com/reliefthroughmusic/

[mckennl.livejournal.com]

I snagged let-them-eat-cake and I just wanted to thank you for your updates. You rock.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

Thought you'd be interested in this: FEMA relief catch 22 (http://katrinablog.msnbc.com/2005/09/what_is_fema_th.html#below-fold)

[elbiesee.livejournal.com]

You know, once upon a time I almost liked Barbara Bush. Now she can go hang, along with her son.

Deamonte Love needs a medal. That is all.

[wearejustducky.livejournal.com]

Word.

The part that broke me was when he still had the presence of mind to remember his address, phone number and elementary school. There's a reason you should drill that kind of stuff into your child, and he's living proof of it.

[elvensapphire.livejournal.com]

That rant of Keith Olberman's is one of the best I've read. I don't know what the hell our government is doing, but it needs to stop patting itself on the back and gathering a bunch of beauracratic talking heads to give pointless press conferences. It's ridiculous.

A bit like Nero, really. No kidding.


Did you see this? http://www.illwillpress.com/kat.html It's intense as far as language goes, and in its dark humour, it is so very true. Sad, but true.

And Cleo, thank you for all the links and the information. I haven't commented in your LJ in a very long time because I haven't had the chance, but I still read it fervently. I appreciate the times when you fill it with levity and fun as much as I appreciate the times you gather news and important links that we should be seeing. What you do doesn't go unnoticed by any of us. *hug*

[cordeliadelayne]

Hey Cleo. Don't know if you've come across this yet but someone has started up poor_planning. Looks like they're doing the same as you, gathering info, but in their user info it does state their aim is to "to put together the case that the poor of New Orleans were left to drown." May be a good resource for news and they do intend to try and get the Black Caucus involved.

[pyrotechnik.livejournal.com]

Hey Dear. Just to let you know, I read in my newspaper today, the Bryan-College Station Eagle, that Gov. Perry has said that Texas cannot handle anymore refugees, and they were routing them from Houston to Ft. Chafee, Arkansas, but that they have filled up, too. Also, there is an article written by James Nolan for the Washington Post that y'all should read. I know that they are sendig evacuees out West Texas way where my folks are, and then into Albuquerque, NM. Thanks for reproting all this.

[sweetly-savage.livejournal.com]

I have an update on the Food Stamp situation. We finally got word from the Federal government. This is the memo we received:

"Expanded Disaster Evacuee Policy - Food Stamps Program

FNS is setting forth expanded criteria to enable State agencies to better serve people who have evacuated Hurricane Katrina disaster areas and are applying for food stamp benefits in areas where the Disaster Food Stamp Program is not operating. Applications may be accepted under these policies through October 15, 2005.

State agencies are to certify evacuees from areas affected by the disaster under expedited service rules.

The applicant and his/her family may be certified as a household separate from anyone they are living and purchasing and preparing food with. If the household has split up, the separate parts of the original household may be certified as separate households.

We are granting temporary exemption from the work rules at 7 CFR 273.7 (work registration and E&T rules) and the ABAWD requirements at 7 CFR 273.24 for victims of the disaster.

Applicants are eligible under this policy for 3 full months, plus the month of application. FNS will hold the State agency harmless from QC errors for such certifications.

These policies are based on authority in Section 5 (h) (1) of the Food Stamp Act. [7 U.S.C. 20149h)], which gives the Secretary authority to "establish temporary emergency standards of eligibility for the duration of the emergency...." "


And here's a couple of things we've been told:

Anyone still in the affected areas should be eligible to the Disaster Food Stamp Program, and they should contact their local agency to apply.

Anyone who was on Food Stamps in 8/05 or 9/05 in the affected areas will continue to receive their benefits for at least 3 months more. If they have lost their Food Stamp card or Food Stamps they should contact their local office or worker.

So, the above policy is for those people who have evacuated out of the affected areas.

If anyone who has evacuated out wishes to apply, please do not use the term "refugee" as that is a separate program for immigrants and may confuse some workers.

Expedited services are to be given within 3 days.

And I can't stress enough how important it is for people to know that if they evacuated and are staying with friends, family, or strangers they qualify as a separate household (this is a huge factor in Food Stamp qualifications) and are entitled to full benefits.

As some rules change from state to state it is important to contact the local agency. But, I am more than willing to try and answer any questions if I can.


Thanks again Cleo for giving out all the information you have done, and continuing to do so.

[lannamichaels]

Thanks for all these links.

All this horrible stuff, and the thing that set me over the edge into tears was the Netflix letter. Thank you for reposting that.

[sualocin.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you've already seen http://www.votetoimpeach.org/ (http://www.votetoimpeach.org/), and I don't really know if your political affiliation, but I find this whole response an impeachible offence. But the site does mainly talk about the war and not the hurricane.

Anyway, hi, random. And thanks for all you do.

[theendofallthat.livejournal.com]

Hey--I don't know if you saw this article (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/06092005/140/storm-survivors-told-expose-themselves.html). it reads like more hyperbole, but for some reason it doesn't strike me as being that unlikely, given everything else that's gone on.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

You know, after Ford's pitiful offer to the NO people who have car payments due to them, the Netflix thing is raelly kind of awesome.

Also, Deamonte Love needs to get a whole bunch of care packages full of candy, man. Wow. That is one tough, smart kid.

[the-wanlorn.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you'd want to link to this, but you're one of the two major NOLA linkers/talkers on my flist, so: http://www.livejournal.com/users/seattleforge/761210.html

A guy - importantish (?) guy whose name I've forgotten - being interviewed about NOLA (I think) that ends on a pretty heartwrenching "wtf US, wtf" note.

It made me cry in class when I watched it and I don't really cry ever, much less around other people, so I figure it's worth sending around.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I may have linked to this already--is it the Aaron Broussard clip about his mother drowning?

[hannasus.livejournal.com]

I've spent the last two days volunteering at Reliant Park and have posted a description of my experiences over in my livejournal (http://www.livejournal.com/users/hannasus/43753.html#cutid1), if anyone would like to hear about it.

All the evacuees I've met are the loveliest, bravest, most inspiring people I've ever known, and I wanted to thank you for everything you've posted here to help them and draw attention to this humanitarian crisis.