Katrina fall-out

in article R7qRe.79145$084.55689@attbi_s22, Jay Honeck at
wrote on 8/31/05 3:25 PM:


Why the hell were they there? Everyone in America knew that New Orleans --
and everything for 100 miles on each side -- was about to be blasted by
Katrina.

Consider this story that I heard from a caller to a radio show today:

This man had been vacationing in New Orleans with his wife. Last Saturday,
they were told they needed to get out.

All flights were booked. There were no rental cars available. The buses had
stopped running. Desperate, the man scraped together the last of his
cash--about $200--and somehow managed to flag down one of the last taxi cabs
still operating. He and his wife were able to get out of town. Other
tourists were not so lucky. I just saw an AP story quoting a Canadian
tourist saying, "I'm not getting out of here alive".

If tourists couldn't get out, even with plenty of warning, what options do
you think poor people had?

skym wrote:

I'm surprised someone hasn't yet figured out a way to blame this all on
the trial lawyers. They must be somehow responsible.

copied from a lawyer friends email from Dallas

I know your hearts, in particular, are for lawyers. Think of this...

5,000 - 6,000 lawyers (1/3 of the lawyers in Louisiana) have lost their
offices, their libraries, their computers with all information thereon,
their client files - possibly their clients, as one attorney who
e-mailed me noted. As I mentioned before, they are scattered from
Florida to Arizona and have nothing to return to. Their children's
schools are gone and, optimistically, the school systems in 8
parishes/counties won't be re-opened until after December. They must
re-locate their lives.

Our state supreme court is under some water - with all appellate files
and evidence folders/boxes along with it. The 5th Circuit Court of
Appeals building is under some water - with the same effect. Right now
there may only be 3-4 feet of standing water but, if you think about it,
most files are kept in the basements or lower floors of courthouses.
What effect will that have on the lives of citizens and lawyers
throughout this state and this area of the country? And on the law?

The city and district courts in as many as 8 parishes/counties are under
water, as well as 3 of our circuit courts - with evidence/files at each
of them ruined. The law enforcement offices in those areas are under
water - again, with evidence ruined. 6,000 prisoners in 2 prisons and
one juvenile facility are having to be securely relocated. We already
have over-crowding at most Louisiana prisons and juvenile facilities.
What effect will this have? And what happens when the evidence in their
cases has been destroyed? Will the guilty be released upon the
communities? Will the innocent not be able to prove their innocence?

Our state bar offices are under water. Our state disciplinary offices
are under water - again with evidence ruined. Our state disciplinary
offices are located on Veteran's Blvd. in Metairie. Those of you who
have been watching the news, they continue to show Veteran's Blvd. It's
the shot with the destroyed Target store and shopping center under water
and that looks like a long canal. Our Committee on Bar Admissions is
located there and would have been housing the bar exams which have been
turned in from the recent July bar exam (this is one time I'll pray the
examiners were late in turning them in - we were set to meet in 2 weeks
to go over the results). Will all of those new graduates have to retake
the bar exam?

Two of the 4 law schools in Louisiana are located in New Orleans (Loyola
and Tulane - the 2 private ones that students have already paid about
$8,000+ for this semester to attend). Another 1,000+ lawyers-to-be
whose lives have been detoured. I've contacted professors at both
schools but they can't reach anyone at those schools and don't know the
amount of damage they've taken. Certainly, at least, this semester is
over. I'm trying to reach the Chancellor's at Southern and LSU here in
Baton Rouge to see if there's anything we can do to take in the students
and/or the professors. I think I mentioned before, students from out of
state have been stranded at at least 2 of the other universities in New
Orleans - they're moving up floor after floor as the water rises. Our
local news station received a call from some medical students at Tulane
Medical Center who were now on the 5th floor of the dormitories as the
water had risen. One of them had had a heart attack and they had no
medical supplies and couldn't reach anyone - 911 was busy, local law
enforcement couldn't be reached, they were going through the phone
book and reached a news station 90 miles away!! It took the station
almost 45 minutes to finally find someone with FEMA to try to get in to
them!!

And, then, there are the clients whose files are lost, whose cases are
stymied. Their lives, too, are derailed. Of course, the vast majority
live in the area and that's the least of their worries. But, the New
Orleans firms also have a large national and international client base.
For example, I received an e-mail from one attorney friend who I work
with on some crucial domestic violence (spousal and child) cases around
the nation - those clients could be seriously impacted by the loss, even
temporarily, of their attorney

- and he can't get to them and is having difficulty contacting the many
courts around the nation where his cases are pending. Large corporate
clients may have their files blowing in the wind where the high rise
buildings had windows blown out.

I woke up this morning to the picture of Veteran's Blvd which made me
think of my students who just took the bar. My thoughts wandered from
there to the effect on the Disciplinary Offices. Then my thoughts
continued on. I'm sure I'm still missing a big part of the future
picture. It's just devastating. Can you imagine something of this
dimension in your state?

Southern University Law Center
Baton Rouge, LA 70813

Montblack wrote:
Hurricane Rodney King ...I shake my head at the area's local, city,
state and federal govt officials more though, WRT those levees ...and
about ten other issues.
It's like the potato famine in Ireland, when do you say 'enough is
enough' and make the decision to leave all that you've ever known? (Now
would be a good time)
Head north, or west, on foot and I'm sure that over a distance of 30-40
miles people will have garden hoses that you can drink from - 15 hour
walk for someone out of shape. Next day walk another 30-40 miles and I
bet a family, or a church, would take you in. I'd take in someone who
walked 75 miles over two days!!
Walk another 25 miles the third day - I bet your accommodations would
improve the further away from NO you'd get. By day four you should be
able to catch a ride. To where? I don't know - where do Mexicans go when
they walk across the border? To jobs...
This isn't for everyone, but I would think 10%-20% of the needy
refugees(?) left in the flooded city could make it work for them.

Very good analogy, Paul!
Thousands of Mexicans cannot be wrong.
They walk for miles with very little food and water.
And it is amazing how many jobs there are for them.
Just think, if only 50% of those Oleanders struck out on foot, they
would be gainfully employed, food in their bellies and have a roof over
their heads within a week!

Montblack wrote:

Hurricane Rodney King ...I shake my head at the area's local, city,
state and federal govt officials more though, WRT those levees ...and
about ten other issues.

It's like the potato famine in Ireland, when do you say 'enough is
enough' and make the decision to leave all that you've ever known? (Now
would be a good time)

Head north, or west, on foot and I'm sure that over a distance of 30-40
miles people will have garden hoses that you can drink from - 15 hour
walk for someone out of shape. Next day walk another 30-40 miles and I
bet a family, or a church, would take you in. I'd take in someone who
walked 75 miles over two days!!

Walk another 25 miles the third day - I bet your accommodations would
improve the further away from NO you'd get. By day four you should be
able to catch a ride. To where? I don't know - where do Mexicans go when
they walk across the border? To jobs...

This isn't for everyone, but I would think 10%-20% of the needy
refugees(?) left in the flooded city could make it work for them.

Good luck.

700 refugee students were registered for school in Lafayette parish
today, over 200 here at Eunice high school, 7 in Iota. These are just
the ones that arrived here, after they were told to evacuate...

in article 1xtRe.320308$xm3.164023@attbi_s21, Jay Honeck at
wrote on 8/31/05 7:17 PM:

JH Why the hell were they there?

Ah, finally we see an example of "conservative compassion."

???

Let's see, Jim Cantori (Sp?) on the Weather Channel told 'em...

Their State Governments told 'em....

CNN told 'em...

Fox News told 'em...

How many people have to tell these dumb asses to GET THE HELL OUT OF DODGE
when there is a Level 5 hurricane bearing down on them, before they actually
listen?

You might better direct your anger towards a federal government that had all
the same warnings, all the same information (and probably more), and yet has
STILL not taken control of the situation, FOUR DAYS after disaster struck.

Shoot, Jay, when even the collective might of the United States military and
its assorted agencies are running around with their thumbs up their asses
several days after the fact, is it really appropriate to express outrage at
the victims who are suffering most?

"Dan Luke" wrote

Not until late in the game:

HURRICANE KATRINA FORECAST/ADVISORY NUMBER 17
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL122005
1500Z SAT AUG 27 2005

Boy, I would have bet money, on this one. It sure seems different looking
back at it.
--
Jim in NC

Yes George, I was half heartedly joking. ;^)

Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone

You can't be serious? Using boxcars would be too reminiscent of the
Holocaust.

"john smith" wrote in message news:Y2NRe.61330
What about trains?
Are there rail lines that run into New Orleans?
You can move thousands with boxcars and flatcars and a couple engines.

john smith wrote:

Very good analogy, Paul!
Thousands of Mexicans cannot be wrong.
They walk for miles with very little food and water.
And it is amazing how many jobs there are for them.
Just think, if only 50% of those Oleanders struck out on foot, they
would be gainfully employed, food in their bellies and have a roof over
their heads within a week!

But they can't survive on tamales and tortias... Well maybe with some
Tabasco and Tony Chachere's... And beer, lots of Jay's beer...

"sfb" wrote in message news:_aPRe.18405$um2.5851@trnddc03...
You can't be serious? Using boxcars would be too reminiscent of the
Holocaust.

"john smith" wrote in message news:Y2NRe.61330
What about trains?
Are there rail lines that run into New Orleans?
You can move thousands with boxcars and flatcars and a couple engines.

Hardly,

Using railcars to take people TO life is the antithesis of the Holocaust.

Jay B