Cobb: Midday Friday

September 02, 2005

Midday Friday

I've been hearing tell of the mayor's valiant efforts to do right by his city. But it wasn't until I read his transcript over at Wonkette that I realized how fiercly he's pissed. I haven't watched any TV news in two days, and I usually don't nor do I need to. But I did see the press conference with the young blonde woman (whom I assumed was the mayor) and then the Governor of the state.

The young woman just had fear and sadness in her eyes, and you could just tell how she was looking up to the Governor. But neither of them had the kick ass tone that spoke of the depth of seriousness of the situation. It was, however, from their tone that I took the first tact on the priority being towards rescue. I can see how their attitude may have affected the priorities and gave weight to the idea that the 'dome could just be packed to the gills with no further attention.

Anyway, this mayor Ray Nagin is throwing down the gauntlet. The question now is how long will it be before we get some verbal overproduction. Me, I'm not going there. I'm even restraining the cartoon, because I've been thinking of some real zingers. Still, while I don't think time is right for finger-pointing, here's the man who was told that the cupboard was bare when he tried to be proactive on the matter of levee infrastructure. Nobody likes to think long-term, and now the cost is in life.

Back on the homefront, Blackweekly LA has set up a portal to keep up with some input and commentary from our folks. I expect that this will be the beginnings of the benefit network which is sure to crop up. Everybody knows what the right thing to do is, now it's just a matter of coordination of us out here.

Pops is coordinating donations with coworkers at his office in Marina Del Rey, and is planning to spend some of his spring sabbatical in New Orleans as a volunteer.

I've also heard, for what it's worth, that there is a working payphone at Shiro's at the corner of Royal and St Roch.

From Tom Joyner:

The Hurricane Katrina disaster has displaced families across the Gulf Coast region. In cooperation with Reach Media Inc., The Tom Joyner Morning Show and BlackAmericaWeb.com, the BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund will accept donations to provide resources to support families who are assisting those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. These funds will go to individual families who have opened their homes to families displaced by Hurricane Katrina, to supplement their personal households as the recovery efforts continue.

When you make your donation, you can be confident that your contribution will go to families that are in need of assistance.
You can make an online donation by going to www.blackamericaweb.com/relief, by mail at:

BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund
PO Box 803209
Dallas, TX 75240

The BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund is working cooperatively with churches in states neighboring affected areas to identify households in need of assistance.

Posted by mbowen at September 2, 2005 02:28 PM

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Comments

But remember, it's the mayor's fault for not utilizing his school bus force to get his citizens out of town. Whatever...

Posted by: T-Steel at September 2, 2005 05:00 PM

I am deeply saddened by the events of the last week.

The way I see it, the nation -- considered as an abstract geopolitical entity responsible for the welfare of its citizens -- has failed. Just how that failure is to be apportioned among individuals and organizations of all kinds, that is a difficult matter to figure out. But the fact of national failure is obvious.

This should not have happened. It was preventable given our expertise, knowledge, and resources. This failure is evidence that we are not ready for life in the 21st century.

Had the nation been healthy, the soul searching and reorganization in the wake of 9/11, would have made us less vulnerable to a natural force like that embodied in Katrina. Instead, it looks like that exercise had all the effectiveness of a Keystone Cops routine.

Finally, I've been seen comments on the web and on network TV that New Orleans looks like a third-world disaster area. That's the ugly truth about structural poverty in this country. Our geo-social fabric is riddled with third world enclaves while CEOs make 100s of times what their employees do.

The Nation is gravely ill. Do we have the wisdom to recover?

Posted by: Bill Benzon at September 2, 2005 06:42 PM