Update: New Orleans ~ Jason's Story

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whimsicaldeb
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Update: New Orleans ~ Jason's Story

Post by whimsicaldeb » November 15th, 2005, 6:54 pm

Jason is a teacher, writer, artist in New Orleans.

I want to share this because it’s real; not glamorized or sanitized … and because Jason is one of the most compassionate, talented, and heart-centered person I’ve ever met … and because Jason’s words, his experience, this ability he has to express all this ... has touched my heart, and I think will touch others as well. ~ Deb

~~~~~

November 11, 2005

I'm finally back in the suburbs of New Orleans with my mother. Its been a heck of a 3 months, I have to tell you. It's been hard.

I'm currently living with my mother. My mother's house had roof damage, and water from the roof came in. (along with black mold). Hurricane Rita (the second of these damned hurricanes ) had me scrambling to put up those blue tarpaulins.....2 hours on the roof in 100 degree heat.

But like [a mutual friend of ours] said, my cat is safe and sound thankfully. In the long run it was probably better that we didn't take her....two of my friends had their pets to die in the evacuation. One of my friends had her grandmother die. Thankfully, my mother's next door neighbors came back (illegally) and took care of her until we could return.

My school , however, was completely destroyed. I had met up with a parent of a student of mine who is a police officer in the grocery the other day. He came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. He had gotten permission to go there in New Orleans east to view the area and said that it was pretty bad at the school. Of course, every single one of my students has lost their home.

I'm not sure what's going to happen now. I don't think they'll ever be able to reopen. All I know is that I'm not being paid. (and won't ever be....and now I have no insurance either...not that there are any hospitals left down here. anyway anymore).

We did get food stamps, however. They let you buy all the junk you want....soda, candy etc....for some bizarre reason you can't buy any cleaning supplies of paper products. I can't imagine why.

The biggest hardship at the moment is finding doctors. It's nearly impossible. My mother's not doing well...she can't walk again so it's been a trial getting around the state (we've had to move 7 times!) with a wheel chair. She's not been able to get to her doctors for a month....and there have been a lot of problems with her health lately.

In the first days of being back here, even the suburbs of NO were crazy. Lots of people are back here, but very few services. Even now, there's still no mail, still very few gas stations open. It had been a month and miles of rotting meat and debris were still sitting on the sidewalk. It's indescribably disgusting.

There were only 2 groceries open here. I went to the grocery the and waited for an hour in line just to check out. It was insane in there....a literal mob scene. I'd gone days ago, but it was even worse then....the smell of rotting meat was horrible....there was a literal mob (like something out of the French Revolution). My mother spent the whole time in the bathroom vomiting. Then we just went home and at crackers. They're literally running out of food. The place was stripped.

The other day, I went back to my own home, illegally. They said on the 5th we'd be able to go in for a day. A friend of mine who lives right near me, went back to find her place destroyed. They're going to have to level the neighborhood and dig 18 inches because of a pesticide spill she tells me.

The last I had read of my neighborhood was an urgent plea in the Times Picayune (our local Newspaper) to rescue two adults and two children from a rooftop...who were "watching the bodies of their neighbors float by"

That's a direct quote....I can remember it verbatim.

So, I've spent the better part of last week or so trying to salvage what I could of my belongings, rummaging through the garbage.

I got there to find complete devastation. You know, a month or so ago, the neighborhood was beautiful........azaleas and crepe myrtles and oaks and palms...wild parrots flying about. Now, however....well...

Now nearly every door around has been knocked in by the people who had to come and search. My front door was on the floor. It had disintegrated from floating in the sewerage in the front room. My wooden floor had curled up and warped...it was hard to even walk on...some of the floorboards had floated around like matchsticks. There was still some sort of sludge in the hall. All my shoes had floated out of the closet and were strewn all over the house as had all my books and papers.

The worst of it is the mold....there is mold everywhere. It's been festering in the heat all this time, you know?

My furniture, the wood furniture, had just disintegrated....my book cases made of fiberboard had just melted into a big puddle, slumped onto the floor....all my childhood books....it really is the sentimental stuff that gets to you most, you know?.... all the books I had cherished from my childhood...gifts...were a big mass of wet paper and mold. My checks and documents, important papers and files and banking stuff was one big mass of papier mache dipped in sewerage. I live on the bottom floor of a two story building, but water had even come through the ceiling. Part of the ceiling was in my bed. The kitchen ceiling looked about to collapse too. I could see a watermark on my computer.

All the paintings that I'd done were destroyed, warped and covered in mold. All my letters and journals and short stories and a novel.....cards and gifts too...destroyed.

All of my clothes are destroyed....they were all wet and with a half an inch thick coating of mold. I touched a leather coat to find about an 8th of an inch of greenish mold. The smell is sickening. That's true of everything. You can't get rid of it with anything it seems. There was at least 6 feet of water there it seems.

And, as they say, "to add insult to injury"...it seems I had been "looted" as well. I don't know if that's even the appropriate term. I mean it's not that I had anything there of worth...but I got there to find that others had been there before me.

I didn't have anything salvageable to loot except a watch my mother had given to me for Christmas and a bit of other jewelry that belonged to my mother....and some liquor.

It's not that I didn't know that it was going to be like this....but even when you know it, it doesn't quite register with you, until you see it for yourself. It was good to go.

I couldn't get a Uhaul, because none of the places are open. I couldn't get a storage space, because no place is open. By the 5th, I was able to find someone to help me move some stuff....my father ...only to find all my stuff tossed out into the street by my landlord (with everyone else's stuff) He was already stripping the place. I was horrified. Just when you think it can't get worse it seems to. What hadn't been destroyed by the flood was now destroyed by the throwing out.

A few weeks ago, I tried applying with a service that supposedly helps you find teaching jobs...but of course they require letters of recommendation and transcripts. My transcripts are possibly destroyed......and certainly not available now anyway. I have no way to contact my boss.....and possibly never will again....and the references I might have can't be contacted either. These are little things, I know, but even the simplest things in life are so very complicated now, you know?

Argh

Ok, enough of my complaining...

In good news, the weather is gorgeous right now...really is very pretty. Ironically pretty. It's actually very beautiful, in the few parts of the city now that have escaped the floods.

all the best,

jason

[Deb sidenote: at this point, in my reply, I asked if I could post his experience here at S8 and he replied today, November 15 yes, along with an additional update]

Yeah, it's been difficult.. But honestly, I am very lucky all things considered. I really am.

I don't have to look far to see how lucky I was.
Things are better here in a lot of ways...but getting worse in many others.
What gets to me is that most of this is completely man made. You know what I mean?

The hurricane did not really hurt us here in NO....it was the incompetance and fraud of a whole lot of people...like the Army Corp of Engineers who built levees that they *knew* were structurally unsound. ....and Congress who cut funding for years and years despite the warnings to our levee systems.....and the President who lied about helping us and is now reneging on those promises right now....and many others.

Thank God for the ordinary citizens out there or nothing would get done. FEMA is a sad joke. God help the next city in the US that is in a disaster.

I heard not long ago that approximately 40 percent of the state is unemployed. 90,0000 small businesses are expected to go under in the next few months. There is no housing in NO and what there is... is now out of reach for anyone but the very rich. 80 percent of the city is uninhabitable and still without power, gas, or water. Still, people here are resiliant. We don't give up that easily.

But enough of my ranting. :)

The ironic thing about all of this, is that the tourist areas of NO are more or less perfectly intact. If you never left the area along the river you might not know anything was wrong (well, except for the soldiers riding around constantly ) It really is quite nice in some regards downtown....less traffic....friendly people.....the azaleas have been forced into bloom by the hurricane....and no meter maids! :)

(cutting)

I'm flattered by your wanting to share what I wrote to you. I bit horrified since I didn't proofread it, Yikes....but yeah, please do whatever you want.

much love,

jason

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Post by whimsicaldeb » November 24th, 2005, 3:35 pm

Jason sent me a couple of things ... I'm passing them along; the more who write - the better for everyone. Happy Thanksgiving. ~ Deb
~~~~

Hi Deb,

here's a link to a photo montage my friend Debbie (who also lost her house) made:(click on the link)

-------------------------------------
Hey everyone, sorry I haven't gotten back in touch
with you all. I'm living in the French Quarter now.
Here are some pics of my house and parts of the city.
The pictures do not do it justice.

www.photoshow.net/amourcat/favorites


Hope everyone is doing okay.
Debbie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Deb,

Happy thanksgiving! Sorry to forward this, but it's something I think is pretty important. If you can, please write Congress. (the addresses of the congressmen who hold our fate in their hands are below. Pass it on if you can. Thank you!

much love,
jason

-------------------------

This is NOT junk mail. Please read on if you love New
Orleans and want to do something to help.

Dear friends around the U.S.,

I have heard from so many of you over the past few
months, and it has touched my heart to know so many
are thinking about us. There have been so many offers
of lodging, prayers, etc., but I am one of the really
lucky ones. I did not lose my home, ( tho I have
plenty of damage) and my business seems that it will
survive, even tho it has taken a significant financial
hit. But so many others.. a staggering 200,000 homes,
and all the people that live in them, have no home to
come home to. Tonight, 60 Minutes did a story on our
city, and one interviewer, an "expert" in disaster
relief, questioned whether New Orleans was worth
rebuilding. At first I was outraged, and then as my
anger subsided, I broke into deep wails of sadness.
The t.v. cameras can't begin to capture the
destruction, despair, and horror that is my beloved
hometown. It is a combination of Hiroshima, a third
world country and the aftermath of a tsunami. Whole
sections of the city look like an old faded photo
negative that you might find in an attic. The houses
that still stand are like skeletons...windows, doors
and roofs gone, and vegetation that is the color of
death.

I am not writing to all of you to ask for pity. I
need your help. The t.v. cameras are gone..we are no
longer front page headlines. We can never crawl out of
this hole, without a lot of help from our government.
The Feds did such a terrible job of bringing "relief"
to the poor and elderly right after the storm, but it
is this same part of our government that will keep us
from dying. New Orleans cannot recover without the aid
of the federal government, and each of you is a voice
to your Congressmen and Senators. PLEASE, I beg you,
PLEASE ,again, write or email your representatives and
let them know that we are worth saving.
Louisiana provides a huge amount of the natural gas
that heats your home, and the gas that drives your
car. We provide about 40% of the seafood that comes to
your table. We had the busiest port, in tonnage, in
the nation, and I could ramble on and on. But think
also about the FUN we provided...jazz, great
restaurants, Mardi Gras, the Jazz festival, amazing
architecture...a really unique place to come have a
great time. All of this can't be reborn and made to
flourish without your thinking that we are worthwhile.

Please take the time...I know how busy you are, to
email you Senators and Congressmen. New Olreans has NO
MONEY, and no way to raise any. There is hardly any
sales tax collection, and it is impossible to depend
on property tax assessments, when your home is zeroed
out by your insurance company. I know I sound pitiful,
but this is an accurate picture of our situation here.
Virtually every governmental agency has laid off much
of their staff. Imagine your city with a dimished
police force, hardly any garbage collection, much of
your city w/ no electricity, water, internet
connections, the District Attorney saying he can't
prosecute criminals because he has no staff, a
streetcar that doesn't run, garbage dumps 6 stories
high in the middle of the city...and on and on.
You would do me such an honor if I could count on you
to send the letter I am asking for, and THEN to
forward it on to others. Our very survival depends on
it.

Thanks for your help, Bee Ewin Fitzpatrick

------

The fate of greater New Orleans' levees lies with the
committees and lawmakers below. These leaders won't
know how you feel about the need to upgrade greater
New Orleans' flood-protection system unless they hear
it from you.

Making contact can take a little effort. While some
members have public e-mail addresses, others only
accept e-mail via forms on their Web sites. However
you communicate, use your own words, and speak from
the heart.



SENATE MAJORITY LEADER

Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; 509 Hart Senate Office
Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; (202) 224-3344; Web
site: www.frist.senate.gov.

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss, chairman; 113 Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; (202)
224-5054; e-mail address: senator@cochran.senate.gov.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., ranking member; 311 Hart
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; (202)
224-3954; e-mail address: senator_byrd@byrd.senate.gov

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska; 522 Hart Senate Office
Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; (202) 224-3004; Web
site: www.stevens.senate.gov

SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., chairman; 393 Russell Senate
Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; (202)
224-3324; Web site: www.gregg.senate,gov

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., ranking member; 530 Hart
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; (202)
224-2043; Web site: www.conrad.senate.gov

SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman; 453 Russell
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; (202)
224-4721; Web site: www.inhofe.senate.gov

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., ranking member; 511 Hart
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; (202)
224-2651; e-mail address: max@baucus.senate.gov

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE


Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.; 235 Cannon House Office
Building, Washington, D.C. 20515; (202) 225-2976; Web
site: www.house.gov/hastert

HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER

Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; 217 Cannon House Office
Building; Washington, D.C. 20515; (202) 225-6536; Web
site: www.blunt.house.gov

HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., chairman; 2112 Rayburn
House Office Building; Washington, D.C. 20515; (202)
225-5861; Web site: www.house.gov/jerrylewis

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., ranking member; 2314 Rayburn
House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515; (202)
225-3365; Web site: www.obey.house.gov

HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE

Rep. Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, chairman; 303 Cannon House
Office Building; Washington, D.C. 20515; (202)
225-2911; e-mail: nussleia@mail.house.gov

Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., ranking member; 1401
Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
20515; (202) 225-5501; Web site: www.house.gov/spratt

HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITTEE

Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman; 2411 Rayburn
House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515; (202)
225-1947; e-mail: rpombo@mail.house.gov

Rep. Nick J. Rahall II, D-W.Va., ranking member; 2307
Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515;
(202) 225-3452; e-mail: nrahall@mail.house.gov

HOUSE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, chairman; 2111 Rayburn House
Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515; (202)
225-5765; Web site: www.donyoung.house.gov

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn, ranking member; 2365
Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515;
(202) 225-6211; Web site: www.oberstar.house.gov

Read the editorial:
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/editorials ... rial112005.
html

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Joined: August 15th, 2004, 8:54 pm
Location: El Paso

Post by mtmynd » November 25th, 2005, 9:12 pm

I was profoundly affected by the words of Jason and the provided slide show.

I'd like you to know that out of the list of contacts provided, I chose Senator Byrd as the contact for my own letter.

sent 11/25 as follows -

Senator Byrd -

I am writing in response to an article that I had read regarding the present and future New Orleans. It's a hard pill to swallow that the news of devastation has all put been put on hold, although the people of that city (what remains of them) still have some spark of hope left in them that our government will not forsake them.

Not enough police, no garbage pick-ups, no social services, no adequate medical care, no economy to speak of... you know the scene, as do your colleagues, but pray tell how our government can continue siphoning off billions of dollars from we, the American taxpayers, to sustain a war in Iraq, while the very citizens of our wonderful country are living in third-world conditions, many without even heat and electricity, to sustain themselves? Have we not promised the innocent citizens of Iraq to rebuild their own devastation... rebuild their schools, provide fresh water and electricity, etc..?

I don't forget the other towns and cities affected by Katrina/Rita. I know they must be in the same sinking ship of despair as New Orleans, but why does our government on one hand promise to assist and rebuild not only N.O., but the other places and yet our news services never follow up on the promises of our President, our Congress, our FEMA..?

If it weren't for the internet 'blog community' that provides words from the heart coming from those that, not visit, but live in these areas, most there only homes and communities, if it weren't for these citizens of our country, providing pictures, words and feelings to anyone interested, their stories would never be seen or told.

Senator Byrd, sir, I have contacted you and you alone out of a list of several provided me, to put in some words regarding these folks. I have called upon you because I have both heard and read (in so-called 'alternative news sources'} your speeches that you have given before the Senate and I feel that you are one of the very few, if not only, that I, myself, consider to be what is called "a Statesman," one who has and will continue to defend our great country from the barbarians both outside our lands and those that lie and confuse the reality of our citizens that only ask for aid and assistance in their plight. It is these very people that make up the vast majority of our Nation and to neglect their cries for help is to neglect America herself.

I urge you to use your power to call upon your colleagues to review the promises that were made to the fine people of New Orleans and the other towns and communities that have suffered so badly, not from Katrina?Rita alone, but the aftermath that continues to siphon off the hopes of all people hurt by this catastrophe.

Sincerely,

Cecil B. Lee
El Paso, TX

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Post by whimsicaldeb » November 26th, 2005, 4:07 pm

"Not enough police, no garbage pick-ups, no social services, no adequate medical care, no economy to speak of... you know the scene, as do your colleagues, but pray tell how our government can continue siphoning off billions of dollars from we, the American taxpayers, to sustain a war in Iraq, while the very citizens of our wonderful country are living in third-world conditions, many without even heat and electricity, to sustain themselves?" - Cecil


Wow Cecil, what a powerful, accurate and well written letter! Thank you.

I wrote Barbara Boxer, asking her to keep her eyes on all the Senate committees (Housing, Transportation, etc) that Bee mentioned; but it's not nearly as powerful as this one.

Strong or weak ... I do feel/think our letters, any style, all of them, work like the squeaky wheel by keeping the situation fresh in their minds, and attentions where it needs to be for things to get done.

Thank you so much.
Deb

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Barbara Boxer's Reply:

Post by whimsicaldeb » December 2nd, 2005, 10:52 pm

Barbara Boxer's Reply

Subject: Responding to your message
Date: December 2, 2005 3:18pm

senator@boxer.senate.gov wrote:

Dear Ms. Hegerle:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

I am extremely upset about the Bush Administration's appallingly slow response to assist the victims of this tragedy. The people who have suffered so much in the wake of this tragedy deserve better from their government and need to know that we will help them rebuild their lives, homes, and communities.

Congress needs to develop a long-term recovery plan for the affected areas in order to build on its appropriations of $62.3 billion in emergency aid. That is why I am proud to be a co-sponsor of the Katrina Emergency Relief Act, which would provide medical coverage, housing, educational aid, and financial assistance for survivors. In addition, I am co-sponsoring S.1647, the Hurricane Katrina Bankruptcy Relief and Community Protection Act of 2005, which would exempt victims of the hurricane from many of the harmful provisions of the new bankruptcy law.

We also need to establish an independent commission to investigate what went wrong and how to prevent a tragedy of this magnitude from happening again. Furthermore, in light of the administration's inadequate response, I am redoubling my efforts to ensure disaster preparedness in California . I have asked President Bush to provide FEMA's disaster recovery plan for a major California earthquake to ensure that it is adequate. I am also working to expand Army Corps of Engineers flood protection projects in California and to provide emergency funding for interoperable communications so that our emergency workers can communicate with each other.

Finally, I would like to invite you to visit my website, which has links and information about emergency assistance and ways you can help with the relief efforts. You can find this feature at http://boxer.senate.gov/news/katrina.cfm.

Thank you again for writing to me about this very important issue. Rest assured, I will keep working to help those who need it most and to get the federal government moving in the right direction again.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Please visit my website at http://boxer.senate.gov

~~~

Thank you Senator Boxer

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Post by whimsicaldeb » December 15th, 2005, 5:32 pm

December 15th, 2005 3:02 pm
House Panel Subpoenas Rumsfeld on Katrina

By Lara Jakes Jordan / Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A House committee investigating the government's response to Hurricane Katrina issued a subpoena Wednesday to force Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to turn over documents but stopped short of sending a similar legal demand to the White House.

The subpoena commands Rumsfeld to produce internal records and communications about the Pentagon's response to the Aug. 29 storm, including efforts to send supplies to victims, stabilize public safety and mobilize active duty forces in the Gulf Coast. It requires the Pentagon to deliver the documents, spanning from Aug. 23 to Sept. 15, from Rumsfeld and eight other top military officials by Dec. 30.

Separately, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it would comply with a judge's ruling that FEMA keep paying for hotel rooms for hurricane evacuees until Feb. 7. The agency also agreed to extend the program for eligible storm victims who have not been helped by that deadline.

continues...
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5181

orginal source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051215/ap_ ... ongress_10

.....
good! thank you Barbara Boxer and all the rest of you 'house' folks ... keep up the good work. and thank you to all who wrote and still continue to write ~ it's working.

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Post by whimsicaldeb » January 12th, 2006, 11:15 pm

Image
President George W. Bush visits with local and state officials at Metropoliton Convention and Vistors Bureau.
Image and article excerpts from: http://www.nola.com/

Bush making first visit to Gulf Coast in three months
1/12/2006, 3:27 p.m. CT
By NEDRA PICKLER
The Associated Press

...The president spoke to reporters before meeting privately with small business owners and local government officials in the New Orleans visitors bureau, located in the Lower Garden District neighborhood that was not flooded. The area suffered little impact from the storm, and his motorcade passed stately homes with very little damage.

Bush praised the city's success in bringing much of its infrastructure back — if not most of its citizens and businesses. He ignored a question about what he thought of the city's rebuilding plan, unveiled Wednesday to residents angry about a suggested four-month moratorium on new building permits in heavily flooded areas.

Many New Orleans neighborhoods are still abandoned wastelands, with uninhabitable homes, no working street lights and sidewalks piled with moldy garbage. The levee system is as vulnerable as ever. Barely a quarter of the 400,000 people who fled have come back, demographers estimate.

--end excerpt

(asshole!)

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Post by Doreen Peri » January 17th, 2006, 2:26 pm

Thanks for sharing Jason's story and thanks to Jason for wanting it to be shared. My heartfelt sympathies to Jason and all those effected by the storm.

I just can't imagine it. I've come back to this thread to read his story several times just to try to imagine it. Geezzz... :(

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