I spoke with an official who I knew at a Labor Day party from the “Office of Communications” for the State of Illinois who described a meeting where “a bunch of us were sitting around trying to figure out what to do” and they decided to place 11.000 people from New Orleans in a Military Base in Illinois. This hasn’t been announced yet. Illinois is pretty far North of New Orleans.
So much for Emergency Planning. Everything is being done on an improvisational level. Probably all across the country. The government is composed of incompetent appointees like Fema head Mike Brown and Michael Chertoff of Homeland (Fatherland?) Security. Neither have any real experience. They just like their job title. The only entity that is helpful right now is the military. It suddenly occurred to me why in South American countries many people are relieved when there is a military junta that displaces corrupt politicians. The Military is organized and generally not associated directly with business.
Perhaps a junta here would prove in the short term preferable to Bush. It’s actually worth thinking about, if for no other reason than to consider just how much a danger Bush is. (Just kidding….I think)Another individual with heavy political connections described a conversation with Hilliary Clinton where Hilliary said “Be Patient” with Howard Dean. Meaning his views were too radical. And Hilliary said something to the effect that “we are trying to reign him in”.
This Democrat who is connected to all the Illinois heavy hitter contributors indicated that Russ Feingold was “too liberal”. That seems to be the take on Feingold from the people with money who are democrats. Though this person is a friend I think I am begining to understand what is going on with democrats. From my point of view ,Democrats are quite confused, uninformed and naive. They actually believe in the individual honesty and integrity of certain politicians and their “good will” . These people populate the Daily Gloss where people actually believe the world and the politicians who live in it is real. That’s my opinion anyway.
The businees/political system however does not allow anyone, no matter what their intentions to survive outside of it’s own limited framework of business interests and conservative values that emanate from those business interests.
Fresh faces and fresh ideas are out. I think I caused a little bit of a muted snickering when I announced that the placement of people in these places all over the country is placement essentially in concentration camps. Concentration Camps are places where people are put in large numbers where access, from and to those on the outside is limited or restricted by beaucracy. That is one definition found in the dictionary of concentration camps and that is what these camps or Internment domes all across the country are, I beleive. And I think it’s use is proper as the conditiions these people are going to live under should be heavily scrutinized.
These camps will become the ignition for civil unrest. I suppose the unrest will further divide the Democrats on issues of law and order.
All this I think because no one took a stand against the war in Iraq. It has so muddled the thinking of politicians and the people who vote for them.
It has so muddled the thinking of politicians and the people who vote for them.
I agree with you so strongly on that point which I don’t think can be overstated. When a person compromises himself/herself to the degree they did, then it’s really hard to find steady ground again. There’s guilt, for one thing, and guilt is a great confuser and silencer. It’s also a danger, because it feels so awful that we want to get it out of ourselves and project it outward onto other people–like, onto victims of wars or hurricanes.
Personally, I don’t require them to do crawl on their bloody knees up the steps of Congress in penance, though if they want to it’s okay with me; but if they can’t do that, I wish they could at the very least fall back on saying what might even be the truth, “I believed their lies. I will never believe them again, starting right now with their lies about their response to this disaster.”
I am one of the snickering ones, although proud of your success here since the hurricane seemed to help you find a wide audience for your compelling, although somewhat paranoid vision.
Just for the record, where are the concentration camps exactly?
Does your definition of a “concentration camp” include the right of the “inmates” to come and go as they please?
I visited one such camp yesterday and found no one in lock down. The doors were unlocked both inside and out. On the news I heard the camp in Houston also is letting the inmates come and go freely.
Oh well. Congratulations on your success in making the typing left even more paranoid.
Well, I think there are going to be problems. I am very interested in what you saw if you could detail it, i would appreciate it. I am saying that anywhere they have a camp is a concentration of people. And if their are rules limiting their freedom to come and go or recieve visitors, then that is by definition a concentration camp. It’s one definition-admittedly among others but I like the use of the word.These camps or centers have to be watched carefully for abuse. Look what happened in the Super Dome. I’d like to know what the conditions are as described by the inhabitants of the Astro dome.
I am very suspicious of these camps or holding centers or whatever you want to call them. I suppose each one is different at the moment. But what is going to happen I fear is that these people are going to get angry. I just saw a “news report” of a lady who left the astrodome to look around the city. They had shots of her getting on and off public transportation and people on the street expressing their concern and her statement that she likes Houston and wanted to make it her home. YOu will probably see it, it will run every hour. I don’t believe this. I mean it looks like horribly obvious propoganda.
The same propaganda that does not tell us that there are still today people dying in their homes who need rescuing. And the real death toll which is being hidden according to one of the posters here Duranta and confirmed by Brussard, the president of a Parish in Louisiana.
Macie Gray- is that her name- said the people in the Astro dome cant’ take much more of being there. The situation will inevitably result in violence. Once the violence starts, then the rules get tougher for the “protection” of the people on the inside and outside of the camps.
Do you think it is paranoid? The problems are just beginning. Surviving the Hurricane is easier than surviving it’s aftermath.
What audience? 7-8 people read this.
so a concentration of people displaced by a hurricane equals a concentration camp?
You are responsible for your words. I didnt see a concentration camp. I saw devastated people who have no idea what their future holds who were happy to have some help. There were counselors on hand but not ehnough. The long term problem for these victims is post traumatic stress syndrome and depression.
Instead of your “surmising” in your paranoid fashion why dont You go and see for yourself. I dont want to call you out but I am fed up with all the paranoid bullshit and I know that your talents have helped to infect the “community.” This is not really the time for your particular vision.
I know I will catch all hell here for saying so as I have for a few days calling out the massive doses of bullshit but so be it.
You are an excellent writer and you have the power to influence people. In this time it is even more important to exercise that power with restraint.
But can you tell me where you were, what you saw, why don;t you make a diary –if you havent aleady-. I am not interested in me. I am interested in YOU, what you saw, the information however you saw it.
I am concerned that these camps will DEVELOP into holding areas with restrictions.
You should say whatever you want however you want without worrying about catching hell.
I do. I am not worried about it. Yes, you are right to be concerned but with that concern comes a responsibility as well.
I am in Tyler. There are several churches housing victims, many from Mississippi as well as New Orleans. I went to two yesterday, one a Baptist and the other a methodist church (dont remember the names–they all sound alike anyway). All races were represented by the way, including middle class white folks who I doubt are intended for ethnic cleansing. It was pretty mellow, altho in the sense that the victims are in extreme states of despair and displacement and boredom. And yes, the officials seem most concerned about their mental and emotional states above all else.
Trips to othe local zoo were being arranged for the kids and adults yesterday while I was there—it didnt appear to me that they were being prepared to be fed to tha animals….
What are you doing there. I am sorry for these people.
I live here.