Rant: Cluetards in Florida

[ZaphodBurner]

From today's news stories:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20051026/D8DG06NOR.html

""This is like the Third World," said Claudia Shaw, who spent several hours in a gas line. "We live in a state where we suffer from these storms every year. Where is the planning?""

Uh, check me on this, and I live in Oregon so I'm not exactly in hurricane alley, but "the planning" is three jerry cans full of gasoline my backyard just in case there's ever an ice storm or sudden gas shortage. The house I grew up in had a 500-gallon gas tank in case a crisis hit as well as a generator.

So much for self-reliance. These freakin smacktards couldn't get gas, water and food BEFORE the storm? Or just get the hell outta dodge? Did they not learn from the last two storms? Did they not learn from the hurricanes that kicked Florida's ass LAST YEAR?!

Can you imagine this lady at Burning Man? "I got all the way to the playa and these people don't have any gas for me. WHERE'S THE PLANNING?!"

More:
http://news.corporate.findlaw.com/ap/o/ ... 539aa.html

""We've lived here 37 years and we've never had a hurricane like this," said... "We didn't expect this. This one got our attention."

*SMACK* HELLLOOOOOooooooo!!!! What sequence of what categories of hurricanes is it where people officially forget to pay attention? At what desperate point in one's life do you slap yourself on the forehead and go "shit, I been doing this for over three decades. Maybe I should stock up on water, gas and food BEFORE the storm"?

Even Jeb Bush says it's not that hard to get 72 hours of food and water together ...

-zb

[HughMungus]

I think, maybe, you're hearing from the poor people who can't afford to stock-up on food, water, gas, generators, etc.

[joel the ornery]

I think, maybe, you're hearing from the poor people who can't afford to stock-up on food, water, gas, generators, etc.

or lack the forethought to make preparations?

[Kinetic IV]

I think, maybe, you're hearing from the poor people who can't afford to stock-up on food, water, gas, generators, etc.

So...they couldn't fill up milk containers to hold water? They couldn't buy even a few basic cans of food? I can understand the griping about gas and power...but the essentials like food and water I can't. To me anyone bitching about that didn't use their head and prepare. And if you live in Florida for any length of time at all you know this sort of stuff is going to happen. If you can't afford to do even basic self-survival stuff then it's time to rethink where you live and consider getting the hell out of there.

I'm sympathetic to the people that have property damage or are impacted by forces beyond their control that no amount of planning could influence...ie: Katrina's devastation. But in this case we're talking about a Cat 3 that left much of the housing stock relatively intact, the food and water caches would still be there if put in the center of the building. So to sit there and whine about not having food...no I'm sorry, it doesn't warrant much sympathy IMHO.

[can't sit still]

I was kinda hoping that if Wilma had to hit Florida, it would park itself on the front doorstep of Sea Org. Then they would have the opportunity to show us lesser mortals what the power of positive thinking could do.

[calsur]

I live in California. I would LOVE to have a week's warning before the next earthquake hits. It is so FUN to wake up to Terra Firma not being firma.

WOW, imagine that. A whole week to prepare for a disaster and ride it out or just leave. And then whining when you can not buy gas because there is no power.

And the hurricane was SO unexpected. But did they not get hit with nine hurricanes in fifteen months?

If you are too stupid to get out of the way or not stock supplies you do not need to live.

[ZaphodBurner]

I think, maybe, you're hearing from the poor people who can't afford to stock-up on food, water, gas, generators, etc.

Not in this case. Water is free. Anybody on any given day can put a week's worth of Ramen and some apples or canned food in the their backback for a couple of dollars.

Plus, the woman who was bitching about "Where's the planning" looked to be your typical late-American-model sedan driving middle-aged upper-middle-class white woman. Wasn't poor at all...

-c

[HughMungus]

I think, maybe, you're hearing from the poor people who can't afford to stock-up on food, water, gas, generators, etc.

So...they couldn't fill up milk containers to hold water? They couldn't buy even a few basic cans of food? I can understand the griping about gas and power...but the essentials like food and water I can't. To me anyone bitching about that didn't use their head and prepare. And if you live in Florida for any length of time at all you know this sort of stuff is going to happen. If you can't afford to do even basic self-survival stuff then it's time to rethink where you live and consider getting the hell out of there.

I'm sympathetic to the people that have property damage or are impacted by forces beyond their control that no amount of planning could influence...ie: Katrina's devastation. But in this case we're talking about a Cat 3 that left much of the housing stock relatively intact, the food and water caches would still be there if put in the center of the building. So to sit there and whine about not having food...no I'm sorry, it doesn't warrant much sympathy IMHO.

I agree. Unfortunately we can't just let the stupid people die. Otherwise, who would vote Republican?

[HughMungus]

I think, maybe, you're hearing from the poor people who can't afford to stock-up on food, water, gas, generators, etc.

Not in this case. Water is free. Anybody on any given day can put a week's worth of Ramen and some apples or canned food in the their backback for a couple of dollars.

See my comment about stupid people.

Plus, the woman who was bitching about "Where's the planning" looked to be your typical late-American-model sedan driving middle-aged upper-middle-class white woman. Wasn't poor at all...

-c

Yeah, reminds me of the dumbass I saw in Cancun crying about the accommodations and the people on the buses who couldn't find a town to take them in. All I could think is, "You ungrateful fucks."

[ZaphodBurner]

The new story is about the divers rescued off the coast of Belize after they floated in the sea for two and a half days.

They headed out with a small craft warning and high seas right after Wilma. They had mechanical problems...eight people got off on an island, four people kept going. After that, "There were reports the anchor broke, the engine stopped, and the radio wasn't working..."

So they decided to swim back to shore while it was still in sight and spent nearly three days in the open water. One person ended up tethered to another because his bouyancy vest didn't work. When they became separated, he had to continually blow in it to inflate it. (Life jackets? Seat cushions? Dock fenders? Empty coolers? Nothing bouyant on the boat?

Another person died because she tried to make the swim without a wetsuit.

The point at which you make Gilligan look squared away is when it's time to think about staying away from deep water, sharp objects, busy intersections...

http://katu.com/stories/80718.html

-c

[calsur]

The thing that really pisses me off is that the news never reports the SMART people. The ones who had supplies on hand or left to places a hurracane was not going to be at in a week.

[Magikal]

The thing that really pisses me off is that the news never reports the SMART people. The ones who had supplies on hand or left to places a hurracane was not going to be at in a week.

News distorting...erm, reporting 101: Dog bites man is not news. Man bites dog is. Idiots perched on rooftops as their house floats away tugs at the heartstrings. Quiet, determined people who have their own supplies & transportation don't make good video, as they are not prone to disaster (duh! ).

But the fatuous fools who get all their news from the lobotomy box think what the news media spoon-feeds to them is what is really going on . Morons.

[Niacin]

First, you'll have to excuse the people without the means to stock up on four days of food and drop $50 on a tank of gas. After that, you'll have to understand that what was predicted to be a weak category 1 turned out to be a category 3. After you add in the near-complete failure of the power grid, the water grid, and the fossil fuel distribution grid; what happened was a little hard to prepare for. Further, it does grate on the mind a little bit to tell someone to plan on being on your own for four days, just to tell them afterwards that they'll be without power for near a month after that with water that may be drinkable, best of luck, wish you well.

Yeah, it sucks. Could've sucked less if you were a survivalist or prepared for the absolute worst case, but shit happens. And shit makes good TV, as someone observed.

[can't sit still]

Yeah, you guys got a big surprise when your little Wilma jumped from cat 3 to cat 5 in 11 hours. http://www.stormcarib.com/#eighteen

There are those who say it wasn't natural.

"ITEM: Smoking Gun? One of the "edge issues" ignored by mainstream media is the idea, prevalent on numerous sites and in several books, that the United States and perhaps others have been engaging in secret attempts to control the weather for military purposes. But before you tune this out, as I did for a long, long time, perhaps you can help explain Bills S.517 and H.R. 2995, introduced into both houses of our Congress in March and June, respectively. The intention of this "Weather Modification Research and Technology Transfer Authorization Act of 2005" is to "develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated national weather modification policy and a national cooperative Federal and State program of weather modification research and development." It sets up an 11-member board of directors to oversee all the research on weather control, and to direct funding to projects. A leaked 1996 Department of Defense report talked about "Owning the Weather by 2025." At a 1997 antiterrorism conference Secretary of Defense Cohen spoke of those who "are engaging even in an eco-type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves" and urged that the U.S. "intensify our efforts." Hurricanes Katrina and Rita both took sudden turns that baffled meteorologists. Is our government involved in weather control? If so, should we know about this new ultimate weapon of mass destruction."

If you're curious, search woodpecker and GWEN
Dan