View Full Forums : Anne Rice's Commentary on Katrina


Panamah
09-06-2005, 10:46 AM
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/04/opinion/edrice.php

I used to be a big fan of hers, I went to her "Vampire Ball" one Halloween, it was hugely fun. But I really have hated her recent writing. Although oddly enough, I still read all her books, hoping she'll get "it" back.

I have been wondering about her wonderful house in N'awlins and wondering if she still had it.

Grenoble
09-06-2005, 12:13 PM
Indeed, I have little use for Anne Rice these days. She has consistently let me down...her series start off so well then just go straight downhill.

ie...I loved Witching Hour...hated Lasher and Taltos. I loved Lestat, Body Thief...but hated Queen of the Damned and I won't even mention Memnoch. For a long time I was disappointed that she never did a sequel to The Mummy, but considering how most of her sequels go, I guess I should be happy.

But she did toss out some interesting insights in that article. Sad to say, of all the places in the country I have ever wanted to visit, NO was top of the list. Probably never going to happen now.

Panamah
09-06-2005, 12:29 PM
I am so happy I did get there. I stayed at a wonderful B&B in the French Quarter. We had chicory coffee and Bengiets at Cafe du Monde. We at Paul Prudhomme's restaurant, we ate a wonderful meal at another very famous restaurant, the one where Banana's Foster was invented. We walked around the Garden District, saw Anne Rice's house, visited cemetaries, went to a voodoo shop in the FQ, drank "Hurricanes". We went to a jazz club.

*sigh* So sad to think that it is probably all gone now.

I'll never forget the splash of flowers spilling down from 2nd floor balconies, against the backdrop of wrought iron balastrades of some of those old buildings. There was such beautiful wrought iron there. I remember one fence that had a lot of wrought iron corn-cobs in it.

Little Rhunt
09-06-2005, 12:52 PM
That was a good read, thank you.

Panamah
09-06-2005, 01:07 PM
Another good commentary. What the hell will happen with all the evacuees?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090501035.html

Second, someone should have thought about what to do with hundreds of thousands of evacuees, both in the days after a disaster and in the long term. As people flooded out of New Orleans, it was officials at the state and local level who rose to the challenge, making it up as they went along. Bring a bunch of people to the Astrodome. We have a vacant hotel that we can use. Send a hundred or so down to our church and we'll do the best we can.

Anka
09-06-2005, 01:20 PM
FEMA should know what to do with the evacuees. If it doesn't know what do then just what is the point of FEMA? There's no point in having an agency to manage emergencies if it can't manage an emergency.

Arienne
09-06-2005, 01:42 PM
*sigh* Too many people want the government to take care of EVERYthing when a crisis comes and stay out of their business when things are fine. Thing is, you can't have your cake and eat it too. I fully agree that things should have been better planned for an emergency situation. For starters, they DO need to lay some ground rules for determining who's "in charge". Bureaucrats don't move unless they know who is the responsible party because everything they do hinges on funding. It's a fact of life and one we need to better come to terms with. Heck! That part shouldn't even have to be hindsight!

But to point fingers and state unequovically that the "government has to fix EVERYthing" is ludicrous! We ARE the government, despite the recent rumors. We ARE helping... we ARE giving and taking people in. We ARE cleaning up and helping move people. We ARE fundraising and sending blankets and bicycles and all the necessities we can. When the government uses OUR money, they have to take their "cut" to pay for the bureaucracy. Talk about a "charity" that is inefficient in it's overhead!!

Yeah... the government has been planning for a disaster since 9/11, but we have ALL had the same time to plan for ourselves. Thing is, people want to start off again where they were and it's not going to happen. I'm not an unfeeling lout, but one thing people are going to HAVE to realize is that the government can help with SOME things, but more than depending on the government people have to help themselves and others.

*sigh* With all the screams of "the government should have done more", the legislators are just primed for shoving more government down our throats under the guise of "necessity".

As to FEMA... FEMA is primarily in the money business. FEMA doesn't typically HAVE to deal with displaced individuals for more than helping them afford temporary shelter.

Jinjre
09-06-2005, 01:51 PM
There is some good to come of this. I am happy to know that when the Feds completely and totally drop the ball, the rest of America will pick it back up again. Portland just un-mothballed an old high school and over the long weekend took it from "stale musty icky" to "totally inhabitable". It will house 1000 refugees who should be arriving sometime between tomorrow and friday. Our city is already working with various local organizations to attempt to find more permanent housing, jobs, medical care, and getting the school system set up to get the kids back in school again.

I can't do much, but what I can do I am. I've been trying to find a job for one friend of mine who isn't even going to bother going back to see if there's anything salvagable left (he's pretty sure he's got nothing now). I'm trying to talk my boss into reopening a position in my company for another friend of mine who could live with us while she gets back on her feet (she also lost everything).

Although we (and the world) heard so much about the looting and the anarchy and the horrible way people behaved, I'd like to think that those people were not in the majority. It does make me feel good to know that once the shock wore off and the anger set in, Americans have done what we've done for generations: we've tightened our belts, we've opened our hearts, we've opened our homes, our closets, our pantries, and our wallets. And those local efforts are making a difference one survivor at a time.

weoden
09-06-2005, 02:03 PM
FEMA should know what to do with the evacuees. If it doesn't know what do then just what is the point of FEMA? There's no point in having an agency to manage emergencies if it can't manage an emergency.

Sadly, every emergency plan that exist derived from previous disasters. Even air bags and smoke detectors exist because of past disasters. People complain about the cost of construction and one way to keep costs down is to design exactly to a standard. An example might be californian earth quake standards.

Panamah
09-06-2005, 02:47 PM
Problem is, no one has ever actually had this happen before, so no matter how much planning and preparing you do, you don't actually know how well you'll do until you do it. I mean, how the hell do you evacuate a good sized city in less than 24 hours? I'm sure there's going to be lots of finger pointing but there's going to be a lot of on-the-job learning about how to do better next time.... hope they just don't forget everything before the next time occurs.

weoden
09-06-2005, 03:00 PM
Problem is, no one has ever actually had this happen before, so no matter how much planning and preparing you do, you don't actually know how well you'll do until you do it. I mean, how the hell do you evacuate a good sized city in less than 24 hours?

There are many problems. If there was 1 million people in No and each bus held 100 people, then there needs to be 10,000 bus trips. School busses would have worked well. The levies were designed for cat 3 storms. The levies could have been upgraded to cat 5. There was 3 days notice on this storm since the storm was moving at 8 miles per hour.

I do think that the gov't does not move fast but that is generally a good thing. There is a hole list of procedures that LA should have done before this storm hit but there was no plan. If people were evacuated, where should they be evacuated to?

Kryttos Arcadia
09-06-2005, 03:23 PM
what bothers me the most is.. how are they gonna let the people that are gonna be out of state for a long time vote in upcoming midterm elections? Gonna be hard to track down people from a specific state spread out over what.. 19 states now?

Anka
09-06-2005, 03:31 PM
But to point fingers and state unequovically that the "government has to fix EVERYthing" is ludicrous!

In case this it is more ludicrous to expect the state to handle the refugees. There is no way on earth that Louisiana can house over a million refugees/citizens from it's major city when the whole coast has been obliterated. This requires a cross state solution and to bleat out tired slogans about government ignores the actual need of the people. There are hundreds of thousands of people who need food, housing, sanitation,and medicine. In the coming months the other needs such as education and occupational support will surface too. A million jobs have vanished in the last week and it's not as if a million new jobs will appear tomorrow for the workers to fill.

but more than depending on the government people have to help themselves and others.

So just what are you meant to do to help yourself when you have no home, no job, no food, no sanitation, no transport, no medicine, no school, no possessions? It's a genuine serious question. Just what are you meant to do?

Panamah
09-06-2005, 03:31 PM
There are many problems. If there was 1 million people in No and each bus held 100 people, then there needs to be 10,000 bus trips.
Did you see the gridlock on the highways leading out of NO before the storm? Looked like bumper-bumper traffic.

Arienne
09-06-2005, 04:01 PM
In case this it is more ludicrous to expect the state to handle the refugees. There is no way on earth that Louisiana can house over a million refugees/citizens from it's major city when the whole coast has been obliterated. This requires a cross state solution and to bleat out tired slogans about government ignores the actual need of the people. There are hundreds of thousands of people who need food, housing, sanitation,and medicine. In the coming months the other needs such as education and occupational support will surface too. A million jobs have vanished in the last week and it's not as if a million new jobs will appear tomorrow for the workers to fill.I live in Texas. Estimates are that we have over 250,000 "refugees" in this state alone. We have opened spaces in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas. People have opened the doors of their homes to people they have never met before. The children are already attending Texas schools. It's happening without a federal government mandate. Where is anyone saying that Louisiana has to handle their issues alone? Did TEXAS contact FEMA about funds? Yeah. Did Texas wait for Louisiana to say "we want our people to go to Texas"? Nope! There has been a ton of money, goods and services donated for the cause by the general population of the US, too.

Yes, jobs have been lost, but it will take a lot more jobs to rebuild the city. And you know that they will. Do you think that the natives of NO should just sit and wait for someone like "the government" to rebuild their city? Personally, I think that they should, and will help. And when it happens they won't be working for free. It will open up jobs to the displaced as well as people from other states.

So just what are you meant to do to help yourself when you have no home, no job, no food, no sanitation, no transport, no medicine, no school, no possessions? It's a genuine serious question. Just what are you meant to do?Be proactive and talk to old friends, family, church groups etc. and find a place to go. Life goes on and to think that everyone is going to be sitting in the Astrodome this time next year is silly. People need to get to the business of taking care of themselves and not wait around for "the government" to do it. And I doubt that most will wait around anyway. But people watching from afar seem to think that it's our government's job to "fix" their broken lives, when in fact it is up to the individuals themselves.

Anka
09-06-2005, 05:59 PM
Be proactive and talk to old friends, family, church groups etc. and find a place to go. Life goes on and to think that everyone is going to be sitting in the Astrodome this time next year is silly.

That might be fine ... but not if your friends, family church groups, and everyone else you know is also all homeless. Even the man in the rowboat picking you off your rooftop might be homeless. Your mayor is homeless and so might be your governor. This is an entire city that has been temporarily wiped from the map. How do you get to friends when you don't have a car? How do you contact friends out of state when you don't have telephone or all the mobile networks are down? How do you pay for bus fare, food, accomodation, or anything else when you've no money and nothing to sell? Day to day existence is a hardship. To say that life goes on is ignoring the scale of the devastation. A city has gone.

If you think that people should belong to big associations or church groups that can help then consider this. The US is the big association that can help. That is the entire point of nationhood. It's not just a flag.

Nimchip
09-06-2005, 10:03 PM
*sigh* Too many people want the government to take care of EVERYthing when a crisis comes and stay out of their business when things are fine. Thing is, you can't have your cake and eat it too. I fully agree that things should have been better planned for an emergency situation. For starters, they DO need to lay some ground rules for determining who's "in charge". Bureaucrats don't move unless they know who is the responsible party because everything they do hinges on funding. It's a fact of life and one we need to better come to terms with. Heck! That part shouldn't even have to be hindsight!

But to point fingers and state unequovically that the "government has to fix EVERYthing" is ludicrous! We ARE the government, despite the recent rumors. We ARE helping... we ARE giving and taking people in. We ARE cleaning up and helping move people. We ARE fundraising and sending blankets and bicycles and all the necessities we can. When the government uses OUR money, they have to take their "cut" to pay for the bureaucracy. Talk about a "charity" that is inefficient in it's overhead!!

Yeah... the government has been planning for a disaster since 9/11, but we have ALL had the same time to plan for ourselves. Thing is, people want to start off again where they were and it's not going to happen. I'm not an unfeeling lout, but one thing people are going to HAVE to realize is that the government can help with SOME things, but more than depending on the government people have to help themselves and others.

*sigh* With all the screams of "the government should have done more", the legislators are just primed for shoving more government down our throats under the guise of "necessity".

As to FEMA... FEMA is primarily in the money business. FEMA doesn't typically HAVE to deal with displaced individuals for more than helping them afford temporary shelter.

So how is the goverment able to solve International issues like seizing WMDs in Iraq? Of course people are gonna think that the goverment can solve any issue! (Especially one in the mainland)

Aidon
09-07-2005, 12:38 PM
I live in Texas. Estimates are that we have over 250,000 "refugees" in this state alone. We have opened spaces in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas. People have opened the doors of their homes to people they have never met before. The children are already attending Texas schools. It's happening without a federal government mandate. Where is anyone saying that Louisiana has to handle their issues alone? Did TEXAS contact FEMA about funds? Yeah. Did Texas wait for Louisiana to say "we want our people to go to Texas"? Nope! There has been a ton of money, goods and services donated for the cause by the general population of the US, too.

Yes, jobs have been lost, but it will take a lot more jobs to rebuild the city. And you know that they will. Do you think that the natives of NO should just sit and wait for someone like "the government" to rebuild their city? Personally, I think that they should, and will help. And when it happens they won't be working for free. It will open up jobs to the displaced as well as people from other states.

Be proactive and talk to old friends, family, church groups etc. and find a place to go. Life goes on and to think that everyone is going to be sitting in the Astrodome this time next year is silly. People need to get to the business of taking care of themselves and not wait around for "the government" to do it. And I doubt that most will wait around anyway. But people watching from afar seem to think that it's our government's job to "fix" their broken lives, when in fact it is up to the individuals themselves.

Merciless. Chillingly merciless.

Arienne
09-07-2005, 05:52 PM
Merciless. Chillingly merciless.Is it? To say that people need to depend on themselves and others more than to wait for the federal government to fix their lives? The federal government should be a bootstrap start, not a "you sit over here, honey, and we'll call you when your life is ready for you again", fix everything organization. As I stated before, it's a hugely inefficient charity. Their "cut" before your donated funds go to the cause is pretty hefty.

/shrug
Maybe I'm wrong. It would appear that others here believe that the federal government should do it all.

Panamah
09-07-2005, 06:09 PM
Its good there were people ready to step in and do what had to be done while the govmnt pooped around doing whatever it was they weren't doing. Like not putting a comprehensive plan in place to deal with this sort of disaster, in advance. They KNEW that one of the worst disasters to hit the US would be a big hurricane hitting NO. I don't think they prepared for it adequately. We'll find out more in the months ahead, but this was a big failure.

But the whole reason we pay our taxes is to have the government pull our asses out of the fire (or water in this case). For instance, the military, the fire depts, the police, FEMA, coast guard, life guards, whatever. Of course, I think the government is putting our asses into the fire more than they're pulling them out lately.

Jinjre
09-07-2005, 06:24 PM
I read somewhere that in all the chaos and miscommunications that occured, the coast guard was the unsung hero. Somewhere (damned if I can remember where now) I read that the coast guard pulled 10,500 people out of NO during the first 4 days after Katrina.

In a way, it makes me feel good to know that at least ONE piece of our government could keep their heads and do what they're trained to do.

aha, here we go (http://www.uscgstormwatch.com/external/?cid=1008&fuseaction=external.viewDocument&documentID=82661), looks like the number is up to 24K+ now.

Stormhaven
09-07-2005, 06:53 PM
But the whole reason we pay our taxes is to have the government pull our asses out of the fire (or water in this case). For instance, the military, the fire depts, the police, FEMA, coast guard, life guards, whatever. Of course, I think the government is putting our asses into the fire more than they're pulling them out lately.I'm relatively certain that the founding father's didn't say "I know, lets start a government and make the citizens pay taxes so we can prepare for the day a hurricane hits our shores!"

One of this country's biggest hypocrisies is its citizens whining about the rising taxes paying for infrastructure improvements (including everything from roads to education to Medicare), lauding any tax cuts, then crying foul when disaster does hit and it was found that funding was cut because the people wanted less taxes.

Fact is that everything costs money and no one wants to pay because no one is far sighted enough to see into the future. Although a $10 billion dollar tax cut will save money in the present, it may cost $250 billion down the road playing "catch up" because of the drastic cuts "President A" enacted in order to get reelected. Everyone wants alternative fuels, but no one is willing to pay the extra $1.50/gal that it may cost to wean people off of fossil fuels and pay for R&D. Everyone wants the National Guard and Coast Guard to respond in a split second to any major emergency, but then balk at increasing military funding.

Can't have it both ways. You gotta spend it to make it.

Panamah
09-07-2005, 08:00 PM
Tell you what, lets stop picking fights with petty dictators and stop spending money on that and spend it on building better levies and coming up with emergency plans for handling emergencies that DO come up from time to time.

All in favor, say "eye". (No, not "aye"! This isn't star trek)

Anka
09-07-2005, 08:05 PM
How about securing oil supplies by building extra refining capacity on home shores rather than invading oil rich countries? That's a good one too ;).

Arienne
09-07-2005, 08:06 PM
Tell you what, lets stop picking fights with petty dictators and stop spending money on that and spend it on building better levies and coming up with emergency plans for handling emergencies that DO come up from time to time.

All in favor, say "eye". (No, not "aye"! This isn't star trek)Before you ask for a vote, let's tie it up into a nice little bundle: HOW MUCH help when an emergency comes?

Nimchip
09-07-2005, 08:58 PM
Before you ask for a vote, let's tie it up into a nice little bundle: HOW MUCH help when an emergency comes?

Couple of trillion maybe? It's not like that kind of money goes into "defending the country" against WMD!

Aidon
09-08-2005, 12:03 AM
Is it? To say that people need to depend on themselves and others more than to wait for the federal government to fix their lives? The federal government should be a bootstrap start, not a "you sit over here, honey, and we'll call you when your life is ready for you again", fix everything organization. As I stated before, it's a hugely inefficient charity. Their "cut" before your donated funds go to the cause is pretty hefty.

/shrug
Maybe I'm wrong. It would appear that others here believe that the federal government should do it all.

The people have nothing. If the government cannot help them, when they've lost everything they own, literally, what the **** is the point?

If we are going to leave them to fend for themselves, what kind of barbarians are we? From the beginning days of our nation, people could rely on their neighbors. This time its so large, so many, so much, that it cannot be handled by anyone but the federal government. There are but a handful of nations on the planet which could afford the hundreds of billions of dollars this will cost to rebuild. You can be sure Louisiana (one of the three poorest states in the Union), can't.

The nation thrives because of cities like New Orleans. Its the responsible thing to do...but more importantly its the compassionate thing to do.

Aidon
09-08-2005, 12:06 AM
Before you ask for a vote, let's tie it up into a nice little bundle: HOW MUCH help when an emergency comes?

The same amount with which we go to war.

As much as is needed.

Stormhaven
09-08-2005, 09:08 AM
Tell you what, lets stop picking fights with petty dictators and stop spending money on that and spend it on building better levies and coming up with emergency plans for handling emergencies that DO come up from time to time.Ok, let the US become Xenophobic and only care about internal US issues, the hell with the world. Lets see how far that gets us.

Oh wait, we tried that already...

And just to add, the money spent in major conflicts or during emergencies like Katrina are above and beyond what the government would have spent normally (that's what that whole "emergency budget approval stuff is about - forget about that?) So if we suddenly decided to leave the Middle East tomorrow, that doesn't mean that whatever billions of dollars suddenly becomes available for other government services to divvy up. If you want the government to shift the budget from the Iraq conflict to something more permanent, then yes, you are looking at tax hikes and more money taken by the Feds.

Arienne
09-08-2005, 09:52 AM
The people have nothing. If the government cannot help them, when they've lost everything they own, literally, what the **** is the point?

If we are going to leave them to fend for themselves, what kind of barbarians are we? From the beginning days of our nation, people could rely on their neighbors. This time its so large, so many, so much, that it cannot be handled by anyone but the federal government. There are but a handful of nations on the planet which could afford the hundreds of billions of dollars this will cost to rebuild. You can be sure Louisiana (one of the three poorest states in the Union), can't.

The nation thrives because of cities like New Orleans. Its the responsible thing to do...but more importantly its the compassionate thing to do.I understand that and I never said that the government shouldn't be relied upon to help. The general populace is helping the victims as is the federal government and other state governments. But I see too much criticism lately with expectations that the federal government should fix everything.... provide housing, employment, day care, food, clothes... basically anything and everything the hurricane victims need. To me the expectation is outrageous. I know that the realities are that people are helping people, as it should be. My criticism is to those who believe that the government should do it all. Pick up every bit of slack that there might be... even relieve many of the efforts of churches, charities and individuals.

Anka
09-08-2005, 10:31 AM
If you want the government to shift the budget from the Iraq conflict to something more permanent, then yes, you are looking at tax hikes and more money taken by the Feds.

That would be true if good disaster planning didn't actually save money. Spending money in the good times to offset the damage in the bad times is always good value. Remember that in this situation, money may have been shifted from permanent budgets to a foreign conflict, not the other way round.

But I see too much criticism lately with expectations that the federal government should fix everything.... provide housing, employment, day care, food, clothes... basically anything and everything the hurricane victims need.

Charities can provide food for a day, or a week, and can provide some clothes. But that is the response a third world nation gets from a charity organisations too. Third world governments can never provide permanent solutions, typically through their own incompetence or poverty. A world superpower, however, has the opportunity to give its citizens the medium term support that charities can never provide and that opportunity shouldn't be neglected.