XXXXX Them to Hell! New Katrina Video

[xoxoxoBruce]

Actually I made most of that in 4 months out of the year doing taxes January through April, so it really averaged 650/month over the whole year. The rest of the year I worked temp jobs for something to do.

I rest my case. You lived on more than $650.00/month.

What are you resting your case on?

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

What are you resting your case on?

Well, from what I understand, if she made $7,800/yr from H&R Block PLUS additional income from temp jobs - this would have made her monthly income more than the $650.00/month she claims. If she really only made $650.00/month from H&R Block PLUS her temp jobs, I'd be damned interested to know what her monthly budget was and how she managed to save money in addition. Even Wolf commented that my $350/month for a studio apartment sounded like paradise. So, where's this lady's paradise?

To elucidate further: Take home of $650.00/month would mean that she was earning under $6.00/hr at age 33. Well, stuff happens and I can feature an honest, hard working person earning some small sum per hour for whatever reason. But this lady claims she attended college and was STILL earning less than $6.00/hour at age 33 with no children and presumably anywhere from 10 to 15 years in the workforce. OK, it happens. But then she goes on to claim that she even SAVED money on that wage and turns her nose up at Katrina victims who need assistance.

THERE'S where I begin to dig in my heels. I want to know just what this woman paid for rent, food, utilities, and where she was living and what her circumstances were. I want to know what she would have done had she been stricken by a major illness or disability. I want to know how she felt about life in "paradise" on a budget such as what I outline which is REAL world and includes not so much as a dime left over for a cup of coffee somewhere, never mind your own phone or God forbid, cable TV or an Internet connection. How the hell did she pass her time and did she ever wish she had the money for a pair of nylons or some make-up to look pretty and go somewhere? Did she ever wish that she could put a dime in the collection plate at her church?

She did very, very well for herself on $650.00/month and I'd love to know how she did it so I could share her wisdom with the disabled of Colorado who must make do with $580.00/month. I'll spare them her scorn, however.

[busterb]

This flappin thread has lasted for about 20 post and now is about peoples income. What I'd like to know! WTF are any of you going to do about things?
Do you stay on your elected offical's asses about things? How do you know when they slip a big fucking into a bill? I'm not smart enough to know how. In fact most who vote on a bill, later claim if they had only know that was included would have voted against. BULLSHIT. I live around 100 miles north of the coast. The gov. hasn't given me a fucking thing. We had winds of around 100mph. Run! Hell this is the area where the coonasses come to hide from a storm. Anyway not one nail has been driven to fix my house except by me. FEMA passed the buck to insurance co. and SBA. Still waiting on a loan from them, because insurance isn't paying enough to fix. But still no contractor to do the work. I'm on the list.
I'm better off than a hell of a lot of people. And have got more help and offers of help from this board and others.
Most of this should have been post in buster's bs thread I know.
VOTE WISELY, but sometimes there's no one to vote for. yuk

Busterb, no lady like comment from me. You have no idea how many e-mails and letters I've sent, how many tears I've shed, how many sorry ass excuses I've heard, including one's like keryx's. Why don't you go ask her. She seems to have all the answers.

[FloridaDragon]

Back on the topic at hand. It is probably a safe assumption that a lot of the people that stayed with Katrina bearing down on them were just like me with Francis, Jeanne and Wilma here in South Florida ... I am staying with my house to protect what I have rather than take to a road and hopefully get somewhere that doesn't get hit. (the picture is a little different down here as we have to flee up Florida for 400 miles just to get to Georgia). Having gone through those storms in my house I now feel a bit foolish for sitting here when Francis was off the coast with 155 mph winds as my house probably wouldn't be here now if it hadn't weakened. But people prefer to stay and hope the worst will pass by to the west, east, north or south.

Also, look around where you live and think of the worse case scenario and think about what it would take to guard against it. No government can possibly come close ... did Bush and crew know that the levees could be breached? absolutely. Do they also know that NYC will get hit by a catastrophic flood as a result of a direct hurricane hit? absolutely. So do they spend 100 billion of the taxpayer's dollars today to guard against it? Tough call .... what about a tsunami on the west coast? going to happen someday? probably. So do we spend billions or trillions today to guard against it?

[tw]

Originally Posted by FloridaDragon

Back on the topic at hand. ...
Do they also know that NYC will get hit by a catastrophic flood as a result of a direct hurricane hit? absolutely. So do they spend 100 billion of the taxpayer's dollars today to guard against it? Tough call .... what about a tsunami on the west coast? going to happen someday? probably. So do we spend billions or trillions today to guard against it?

No one need spend $billions IF our leaders are not mental midgets. Look at what Clinton did after a previous disaster equivalent to Katrina. FEMA moved towns rather than rebuild them in the wrong place. Then when flooding arrived only two years later, so many were not flooded again.

One lesson still not learned are levees in St Louis that are too close to the river.

Humans who create unnecessary death is called the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. Rebuilding homes there makes zero sense. Making it even worse is the Mr GO. What about Bay St Louis or Pass (forgot the exact name). Why build any residences within one half or one full mile of that coast? Because ego is more important than intelligence. Those seafront establishments should be open parks, recreation centers, business, and other facilities that people need not flee to during inclement weather. It's called basic intelligence which too many $multi-million home owners cannot be bothered to agree with.

NYC is another potential disaster. No where near as likely as New Orleans. A hurricane must hit NYC just right. How likely? Well NJ has not had a hurricane strike in over 100 years. Somehow the hurricane has to turn left at just the right time and strike NJ in Monmouth or Ocean County. Then major floods would travel up the Raritan and Hudson Rivers with catastrophic damage. Knowing this, we build today assuming a 10 or 20 foot flood may someday arrive. For example, ventilation shafts for Holland and Lincoln tunnels are constructed assuming water that high.

BTW, some who have intelligence have authorized or done these studies. Flooding is defined on Long Island maps for each type of hurricane. I believe Category 2 puts JFK airport completely underwater. This cannot happen under MBAs such as George Jr who stopped all such programs in FEMA - cost control mentality. Just another reason why good Americans should be daily calling for his impeachment.

All this does not require billions. It is part of normal planning. It means homes - the one place all go to in worst of weather - must be the safest place in town. It means building based upon intelligent zoning and people thinking like engineers - not like lawyers and MBAs.

[FloridaDragon]

Originally Posted by tw

No one need spend $billions IF our leaders are not mental midgets. Look at what Clinton did after a previous disaster equivalent to Katrina. FEMA moved towns rather than rebuild them in the wrong place. Then when flooding arrived only two years later, so many were not flooded again.

It does cost billions unfortunately....millions don't go far these days (sad thought).

And your point is right on target, why build most of NO back to begin with?? Lets see, live below sea level ... in an area that can get hurricanes ... behind corp of engineers designed and built levees??? are you nuts??? Down our way we can see what the COE has done to the everglades and know that they are clueless

[tw]

Originally Posted by FloridaDragon

It does cost billions unfortunately....millions don't go far these days (sad thought).

It only costs $billions when problems are not addressed up front. Meanwhile, I hope I have not given the impression that NYC has seriously addressed or solved their same problem. Indeed, NYC is on a top ten list of potential hurricane disaster spots. I cited the ventilation shafts for Holland and Lincoln tunnels because they are not high enough for (I think) a 10 foot surge. Since NJ has not had a hurricane in 100 years, then NJ coastline is ripe for major destruction. Again, construction that makes absolutely no sense.

Riding the Avalon causeway (20 miles south of Atlantic City) one fall when a NEer was pushing high tide higher. Those homes were cut off by flooded roads. I rode down a dry road and minutes later found myself in many inches of water. And this was not even a major storm. How can new homes be built here? Government insurance is one reason. No concept what a hurricane is really about - another reason that is too widespread along the NJ shoreline. So, for same reasons that New Orleans 9th ward is being rebuilt by George Jr, we also have $billion problems elsewhere.

Studies were done. But did we have leaders, or MBAs and lawyers where decisions need be made. One good thing about Clinton once he fixed his administration; he got problems solved. A responsible person could never say that about George Jr which is why people who talk nicely about the mental midget are driven by political agendas rather than advancing America. Only a mental midget or political corrupt officials would advocate rebuilding the 9th ward and some other dangerous parts of New Orleans.

[richlevy]

In Upper Darby (Delaware County, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Philadelphia), there was major damage in a flood from a rainstorm a few years back. This flood was part of the Delaware River Basin. Part of this was due to the freak nature of the rainstorm which dumped 4-5 inches of rain in an hour. However, another component, if I remember correctly, had to do with the fact that the watershed in that area had been completely mismanaged. This caused the State to force the township to comply with the Watershed Act to fix the issue.

Watershed management and flood planning are very difficult for non-engineers to understand, which is why politicians never seem to have the will to address them until something goes wrong.

[FloridaDragon]

Originally Posted by tw

Again, construction that makes absolutely no sense.

I agree that building NO back (below sea level) makes no sense ... and building on barrier islands as well makes no sense ... but ...

By this standard, you should remove all structures along the entire coastline of Florida (and Alabama, MS, LA, TX, GA, SC, NC, etc, etc). These areas are all in harms way and it is only a matter of time before catastrophe strikes.

BTW, history channel showed the Katrina event as a modern marvels episode last night ... they were saying it is going to cost 30+ billion just to rebuild the levees around NO ... and it would take a lot more to make it cat 5 sustainable.

Bashing Bush for this is just plain monday-morning quarterbacking

[xoxoxoBruce]

Well, from what I understand, if she made $7,800/yr from H&R Block PLUS additional income from temp jobs - this would have made her monthly income more than the $650.00/month she claims.

That's not what it says. She said, " I made most of that" doing taxes and "averaged 650/month over the whole year". The rest came from temp jobs.

Your budget has holes. $50 buss pass? I've lived at lot of places that don't even have busses. $30 for laundry? $15 cleaning supplies? What are you, a clean freak? Hell, you might as well get maid service. :p

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

That's not what it says. She said, " I made most of that" doing taxes and "averaged 650/month over the whole year". The rest came from temp jobs.

Your budget has holes. $50 buss pass? I've lived at lot of places that don't even have busses. $30 for laundry? $15 cleaning supplies? What are you, a clean freak? Hell, you might as well get maid service. :p

See, this is what gets me. You people who don't have to count pennies have no idea of the realities. Fine, how did you get around in those places with no bus passes and what did it cost you? And, NO, it does NOT count if you were a membr of the armed services, a CO rep who had the red carpet laid before him or any other such circumstance. Tell me about the time when you lived in Anytown, USA and worked 36 hours a week at the local hotdog stand and how you got there and what it cost you. Also, please describe how you got to church on Sunday, how you stopped over at your best friend's house and how you managed to make it to the Local Elderly Fascists for Amerika rally and what the costs were.

In Philly a WEEKLY transit pass costs $18.75. Tokens and transit passes are good on buses and subways but not on commuter rail lines.

In Colorado Springs, Colorado a monthly bus pass (20 trips) WITH transfer fees to my town costs $50.00. I can give you the number of the local transit authority if you don't believe me. PM me.

Philly must have the deal of the country on laundramats. Here the laundromat charges $1.25/load /per wash and $1.00/per dry. I do 4 loads of laundry a week. I'm an uppity poor person who changes my sheets weekly and showeres every day with clean towels and a clean change of clothes. I suppose you'd be complaining about how bad I smelled if you ever happened to stand in line behind me waiting to buy your bus pass. Anyhow, my Swiss, out of control laundry standards come to $9.00/wk or $36.00/month. My estimate was for smelly non Swiss background members of the population.

OK, so I lied on cleaning supplies:

Monthly costs:

Laundry soap (on sale) 2.99 x 2 = $5.98/m
Fabric softener (on sale) 2.99
Dish soap (on sale)= .99, x 2 = $1.98
Vacumn cleaner bags (on sale) one per month = 1.99
Bleach (on sale) $1.09/gal
Pine-sol type floor mopping detergent –generic- (on sale) $2.00
Ajax type sink and bath scrubber (generic brand) =.99
Total $14.00 mas o menos
Colorado state and city sales tax 7% = .98

Sum = $14.98

I LIED EVERYONE! My cleaning supplies costs are ONLY $14.98 NOT $15.00! Can you ever possibly forgive me? And I was really, really stupid to have picked up a road flare thinking it was an old (and therefore, harmless) stick of TNT. And I'm ever so sorry I tip toed back and put it back when everybody explained to me how stupid I was. And I apologize from the bottom of my heart for EVER thinking "flippent" was my friend and telling her about the Cellar. And I am really, really sorry I ever mentioned having to be homeless, camped on the San Miguel River. And I apologize from the bottom of my heart expecting ANYONE here to understand about mild traumatic brain injury or diffuse brain injury and I'm really, really stupid. Hitler was cool and Rommel couldn't have fought his way out of a paper bag and Katrina happened only to low lifes who deserved to die.

Now.

Are you ALL happy?

Well, why the hell NOT??????????????

[wolf]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Your budget has holes. $50 buss pass? I've lived at lot of places that don't even have busses. $30 for laundry? $15 cleaning supplies? What are you, a clean freak? Hell, you might as well get maid service. :p

And Mari left out a $1000 dog, plus upkeep from her calculations.

Wrong, the dog of many names was $600 and eats caviar every day. :p

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by wolf

And Mari left out a $1000 dog, plus upkeep from her calculations.

Now, now...don't be snippy. She wasn't posting about herself, but the people she champions.

Originally Posted by marichiko

See, this is what gets me. You people who don't have to count pennies have no idea of the realities.

Your making the assumtion that everyone that in comfortable, has always been comfortable. Not so grasshopper, everyone has had ups and downs due to "shit happens" and/or bad choices. Some, myself included, have had to squeeze the poop out of that buffalo on the nickel for a condiment.

I'm an uppity poor person who changes my sheets weekly and showeres every day with clean towels and a clean change of clothes.

Because you can.....you're fortunate to have that option, many don't.

Fine, how did you get around in those places with no bus passes and what did it cost you?

Walk, hitch a ride, bicycle, don't go......cheap.

I LIED EVERYONE! My cleaning supplies costs are ONLY $14.98 NOT $15.00! Can you ever possibly forgive me? And I was really, really stupid to have picked up a road flare thinking it was an old (and therefore, harmless) stick of TNT. And I'm ever so sorry I tip toed back and put it back when everybody explained to me how stupid I was. And I apologize from the bottom of my heart for EVER thinking "flippent" was my friend and telling her about the Cellar. And I am really, really sorry I ever mentioned having to be homeless, camped on the San Miguel River. And I apologize from the bottom of my heart expecting ANYONE here to understand about mild traumatic brain injury or diffuse brain injury and I'm really, really stupid. Hitler was cool and Rommel couldn't have fought his way out of a paper bag and Katrina happened only to low lifes who deserved to die.

Now.

Are you ALL happy?

Well, why the hell NOT??????????????

(raising hand) No......because you're making it personal. You take any rebuttal to what you post, as a personal attack. Just because I don't agree with what you post doen't mean I think you're an idiot. I may, but if I don't say so, don't assume that I do, OK? :p