150 million for a political campaign and $1.50 for Ike/Gustov victims

How is it that Americans had 150 million dollars to contribute in September to the Obama campaign but had nothing but excuses when asked to donate to Hurricane Gustov and Ike victims? How is it that Americans claim they have no time or money to travel to Louisiana or Texas to help hurricane victims, but they willingly drive all over the country to attend rallies for both Obama and McCain?

How is it that to this date, neither Presidential candidate nor their running mates have ventured down to the areas devastated by Katrina, Rita, Gustov or Ike? How is it that even the latest attempt by Bill and George to solicit donations for the hurricane victims has been met with a resounding apathy?

Has America gone totally insane? Have the last elements of rational thinking been thrown out the window along with all the Stock Market gains of years gone by? Where has the will to help, serve and love those in distress gone? Has it really evaporated into vapor due to the financial meltdown?

Car sales are down and so are home sales in many parts of the country. Yet, people still find the money to buy 700 inch plasma televisions to watch football on. People still have the funds to drive 95 miles per hour to pay hundreds of dollars to sit in stadiums and arenas to watch athletes paid a king’s ransom play games. People still have the funds to flock to Las Vegas, Atlantic City and various riverboat casinos all over the country.

Funny, all the people crying about having no money have money to buy tons of lottery tickets twice each week. These same people who plead poverty to their church pastor when asked to give, think nothing of dropping hundreds of dollars on beer, whiskey, junk food and tobacco each week. People who would not give a dime to a starving person think nothing of spending enough for 10 meals on one night on the town.

Isn’t it interesting how the same people who show up at political rallies holding signs condemning the sitting President and his party are many of the same people who a short time ago were reaping the financial gains due in large part to the policies in place for years? Isn’t it interesting how people who claimed the most important issues to them in previous elections were abortion, individual rights and other conservative oriented matters suddenly could care less about them when they lose a few dollars in the Stock Market?

The hypocrisy of average Americans is astounding. They go to church on Sunday and feign to be good Christians and then the rest of week live like and associate with heathens. This is nothing new, but it is more pronounced now than ever.

When I saw the picture of Obama’s rally in St. Louis yesterday with 100,000 adoring fans coupled with the news that his campaign raised 150 million dollars in the month of September I felt physically ill. I know some of the people who attended that rally and have given truckloads of money to the Obama campaign. They USED to be people I could count on to help others in times of disaster. Now they claim they have no money and no time to volunteer.

Charities, non-profits, churches and various service groups are hurting so badly at this time it is unbelievable. The American public has quit giving to causes which help people and are throwing their money in the toilet of American politics. These same people will soon be throwing their money into the rat hole of the IRS in higher taxes to pay for the United States Government to start doing everything the charities, non-profits, churches and various service groups USED TO DO.

My heart aches for I know the pain and suffering going on in America and I know how many thousands of suffering people are buying into the promise made by Obama that the government is going to meet all their needs and take care of them come January. As sheep to the slaughter, these people really do believe Uncle Sam is going to drive to their home and either give them a check for $100,000 or take them to some utopia where they will lounge around all day drinking margaritas and getting suntans. These same people rejoice when they hear that the evil rich white men and women will be taxed more and more to pay for their life of leisure. What a crock this all is.

This all reminds me of why young terrorists are willing to blow themselves up to kill a few innocent victims. They are promised virgins in heaven and eternal rewards for their sacrifice now. Hundreds of thousands of minorities, lower income and other social fringe groups have been fed a bill of goods by the Obama campaign that has led them to believe their “messiah” will somehow be able to turn their life around and at the same time punish those who made their life miserable with pain and suffering.

Politics aside; if the American way of helping the disadvantaged through volunteer charities falls apart and is replaced with numerous governmental programs, this country is doomed. The free will giving on the part of Americans to help their neighbor in need has made America strong for decades. I pray that somehow America does not forget this as it gets all caught up in Obamamania.

Gustov and Ike victims have been totally forgotten and neglected

Some have told me to “let it go”. Others have told me “it’s a lost cause”. Still others have accused me of being “crazy” and through it all, NO ONE has told me “keep it up”. What is this all about?

One month ago today a major hurricane hit the Louisiana coast near Grand Isle. Hurricane Gustov continued inland and hurricane force winds battered places as far away as Baton Rouge relentlessly. Meanwhile, down the road in New Orleans all the reporters from all the major news outlets were focused on watching a few waves overtop a few levees. With every ounce of their being they were hoping to see the levees break and their cameras provide live footage of the greatest flood of all time.

All the willing of all the media could not force the levees to break. After a day of anticipation, they were bitterly disappointed that there was no huge story coming out of New Orleans. With heavy heart they trudged to either St. Paul to cover the Republican convention they never wanted to attend, or to South Carolina on the off chance Tropical Storm Hanna might turn into a real newsworthy storm.

While Hanna was huffing and puffing and not really doing much of anything, Hurricane Ike was ripping the Bahamas and then Cuba apart like an angry monster let loose on the city. Of course no reporters are allowed in Cuba and no one in their right mind would have stayed in the Bahamas. Thus, the real story of Ike was neglected, just as the real story of Gustov.

For days, the headlines regarding Ike were directed towards Florida. Where and how this became the focus of attention is baffling. Ike was never headed that way. Still, whenever the folks on Key West are told to evacuate, that becomes the almighty big story of any storm. Why do people live there anyway?

Consider these facts. In the twelve days between Hurricane Gustov and Hurricane Ike, there was basically NO media coverage of Gustov’s damage except in the immediate New Orleans/Baton Rouge areas. Even the television outlets in coastal Mississippi did not cover the story. There were far bigger fish to fry than spending resources on covering a little ole storm that hit a section of Louisiana no one in the United States knows or cares about.

FEMA, the Red Cross, Salvation Army and a few other charities were on the scene providing a little help; but the response after Gustov was minimal and a disgrace to the heart of disaster relief in this country. If we are going to selectively pick and choose who receives aid, media coverage and prayers; our country has slid down the slope to extinction.

As Ike grew into the sprawling monster he became, of course every news outlet rushed crews to Galveston and Houston in anticipation of a huge story. Dreams of Katrina like footage flooded the minds of reporters looking for the story that would catapult them to the “big time”. As dire warnings were issued for those refusing to evacuate circulated, the army of reporters spread out to find safe areas to weather the storm at, yet be close enough to provide graphic shots of the impending carnage.

Images of reporters being swept off their feet in the rising storm surge made the rounds on the internet along with pictures of fools hanging sideways on light poles as the rising winds came ashore. Stupid interviews with people bragging about not evacuating but staying in their beachfront houses drinking beer and partying were still filling television screens the afternoon before the storm hit.

When the media went to bed that Friday night Ike came ashore, they were like children on Christmas Eve. Surely the next morning would provide days of coverage of a totally wiped out Galveston and a severely crippled Houston. Awards and high ratings danced through their heads as they endured a night of wind and storms.

But, alas, once again the weather gods did not cooperate. With bitter disappointment these loyal foot soldiers of the media giants went out to battle on Saturday only to find huge sections of Galveston still standing and worse yet, Houston was barely touched. With clenched fists they cursed the weather gods for not sending the 20 foot storm surge that would have leveled Galveston and crippled the oil and gas industries in Houston for years. Instead, all they got was a little category 2 hurricane with a storm surge that only destroyed places too far to film and that no one cared about.

As a result of Ike not killing 100,000 people, totally destroying the city of Galveston or flooding half of Houston; the media stayed long enough to give a few reports for a few days and then started the mass exodus to find the next big story that America craved to see. Within a week to ten days after Ike, most of the national media were long gone and by two weeks after the storm, there were no longer ANY stories about Ike, Galveston, Houston, the Texas coast or Louisiana.

What have we come to in this country? Do we simply cast off those who suffer the loss of their homes, jobs and families simply because the carnage was not great enough to warrant continued coverage? The media stayed in New Orleans and to a lesser degree the Mississippi coast for months after Katrina. Through their constant coverage of the devastation came the impetus for America to give of their goods, money and time to help those in need.

Since the media has chosen to forsake those affected by Gustov and Ike, there is but a trickle of help heading their way. The response by America to these hurricanes has been tepid at best and non-existent most of the time. America has quickly forgotten about Ike because of the soap opera playing out in Washington over the “bail out”. While debate continues on giving 700 billion to bail out banks, an obscure bill was passed giving a few billion dollars to help those affected by Gustov and Ike.

I know times are tough and everyone is uptight about money, but that does not give an excuse to forget about those who have lost everything and are only starting on the long journey to normalcy. Even the incredible story out of Atlanta regarding gasoline shortages has only in the past two days made the headlines (near the bottom). Either America does not care anymore about helping her fellow citizens in time of need or they do not know what the need is due to the arrogance and ratings driven media who have shirked their duty by failing to cover Gustov and stick with the Ike stories. Shame on you.

The Name Game; Laura is wasted so what do Marco, Nana and Omar Hold in store?

The only way to have continuity is to have a standard which is not changed by the whims of agenda driven people. I honestly do not know which is worse, the failure to name the storm which came into the Carolina’s late last week or the naming of the ridiculous area of disturbed weather in the middle of nowhere today. Both decisions on the part of the NHC make a person question what standards they are using as criteria for naming storms.

At any rate, the name “Laura” has now been wasted on a subtropical storm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean which might impact Iceland. Kyle must have forgotten his passport, for he never came close to the United States. The past week has not been a very good one for those who follow, forecast, track and name tropical systems. In all three cases, mistakes were made and the end result is that none of the three storms caused any great amount of hardship for anyone.

Our eyes must now turn to what lies ahead. All interests in the Gulf of Mexico must keep an eye on an area of disturbed weather off the Yucatan. Whether it develops into a named system or not, it promises to bring much rain to Florida this week. Not a good omen for the baseball crazed fans in Tampa.

The system marching across the Atlantic is one which stands a good chance of developing. There are other areas of disturbed weather exiting Africa which could end up turning into one of those long track hurricanes which can take a week or more to get close to our part of the world. At this time of the year, the Caribbean must be closely monitored for developing systems.

Most of the experts are thinking that there should be at least three more named storms. Whether Marco, Nana and Omar end up turning into Ike type storms or harmless ones like Laura cannot be determined at this time. Whether any upcoming storms will afflict the Gulf Coast, Florida or the East Coast is not available to know at this time. All we can do is look at the overall pattern and deduce that it is conducive to the development of tropical storms.

This year has been very active in one sense (twelve named storms), but very strange in others. Although hurricanes Dolly, Gustov and Ike did inflict major damage to Texas and Louisiana; tropical storm Fay may have actually effected more people though its relentless rain in Florida. Although the Carolina’s have been hit with two tropical storms this year, the recent no-name storm perhaps was more intense in some ways than either named storm.

What is important to understand is that October is still hurricane season. Some of the more impressive October hurricanes which stayed south of the United States were Mitch in 1998 which raked Honduras with torrential rains for days, Iris in 2001 which was a major category 4 hurricane that hit Belize and Keith in 2000 which struck Mexico twice.

The top three October hurricanes to hit the United States were Hazel in 1954 which was a huge category 4 hurricane which struck the South/North Carolina border October 15 of that year, Opal in 1993 which struck Pensacola, Florida as a major category 3 hurricane on October 4, and of course Wilma in 2005 which crashed into southwest Florida on October 24^th of that infamous year.

Even though September is historically the most active month for hurricanes, October is roughly equivalent to August as far as potential for development. Due to seasonal cooling, the deeper into October we get, the more the threat shifts further south. All interests along the Gulf Coast, Florida and as far north as North Carolina must stay vigilant the next few weeks. Only after the middle of the month can this season start to be put in the archives.

Hurricane Kyle (?), Ike Relief and Recovery, Lack of Media Attetion and General Needs

Why the storm buffeting North Carolina with hurricane force winds is not named is a mystery known only to the government agency which is responsible for such things. If something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it probably is a duck. It is quite fascinating to have warnings issued for hurricane force winds (for a coastal area) and there not even be a tropical storm.

The next storm, once it finally gets moving will head due north and probably pay Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine a visit. These areas are prone to minor hurricanes, and that is what this storm (Kyle whenever named) will probably be.

The next three weeks should provide some interesting developmental opportunities for new storms. Where these storms form and hit along with their timing is at the moment pure speculation. The point is that meteorologically, the conditions are very similar to when we saw Fay, Gustov, Hanna and Ike form in rapid fire succession.

The fear among many who look at and study weather is that no matter what might happen, it will be a minor story due to the big “save the economy” news out of Washington. The horrible situation in Texas and Louisiana has already fallen victim to bigger and greater news. Any legitimate threat of an approaching storm would surely suffer the same fate.

The worst time to be struck by a hurricane is the final month of a Presidential campaign that is being hotly contested. Add in the historic events happening with the economy this year and what has happened with post-Ike media coverage will be the norm for future storms.

I was speaking with an associate who continues to help those devastated by Hurricane Katrina the other day. I told this person that if “Katrina #2” did indeed strike the central Gulf Coast this fall, not to expect even 20% of the new coverage, let alone the offers to help that came after Katrina. The will and ability of Americans is just not there to help like they did three years ago.

Isn’t it amazing how those who need help the most receive the least? There are precious few news stories coming out of Ike affected areas, and those that are done are always about Galveston. All the other areas of the coast from Beaumont, Texas to Grand Isle, Louisiana receive ZERO attention. It is these areas where just like after Katrina and Rita three years ago, hundreds and thousands of people will “fall through the cracks” and be left to fend for themselves.

I feel badly for anyone who lost their home or had it badly damaged by Gustov or Ike. But my heart aches for those who lost their home or had it badly damaged and to this date, no one knows about it. Those who somehow fall through the cracks and receive no aid from FEMA, Red Cross, Salvation Army or any other government or private organization are the people I care most about.

Mainly senior citizens or those with disabilities, the people who fall through the cracks after a hurricane are usually the same ones who fall through the cracks every day of the week. These situations present very difficult cases for those who try and help people on a daily basis. Yet, if someone does not at least try to locate and extend to these people the offer of help; they will suffer the most after a storm.

Yes, many of these folks reject the very idea of help out of pride. They take pride in their independence and look at charity as a sign of weakness. Yet, there comes a time, especially when their home is falling down on top of them, that they finally accept offers of help. These cases many times provide caregivers with the most rewarding success stories.

Americans must remember that in rural areas, especially in southern Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, there are many times no organized services made available for seniors, those with disabilities and those too poor to afford public services. Many locations have nothing like a “senior center” to provide daily meals or a service to deliver meals to homebound seniors. Many areas have no form of transportation available to get those who are elderly, disabled or poor to doctor’s visits or even to get to the store.

These are interesting times in which we live and are bound to get even more interesting in the coming month to six weeks. God help us all to stay strong, alert and aware of changing situations and needs.

Ike Fatalities, Gustov Devastation, New York Hurricane Threat; Where is the Media Attention?

To say that I am shocked would be a gross understatement. To say that I am surprised would not be true. To say that I am disgusted would perhaps best describe how I feel about the change in media policy toward covering REAL NEWS.

In a matter of three weeks, this country has been rocked by two major hurricanes along with a powerful tropical storm. Before this month is over, there will be storm lash the Carolina’s which will be as strong as most tropical storms. Before this month is over, there will be a hurricane of undetermined intensity strike either New York or New England. Where is the coverage of any of this in the news? It is not there.

The media has determined that they devoted enough time and space to Hurricane Ike coverage and have moved on to the greener pastures of the Washington economic bail out and the continuing fake news on the political front. Once most of Houston got their power back on and once the citizens of Galveston were allowed to at least see what became of their homes; the media figured their job was done and they were gone. The problem is that unless there remains a media presence, the American people quickly forget about a situation due their collective attention deficit disorder.

It seems the American public cannot focus on anything longer than a few hours. I would venture to say that the overwhelming majority of Americans have totally forgotten about Hurricane Gustov and are quickly forgetting about Ike. A few days removed from the front page and most stories are distant history.

The unfortunate reality when it comes to disaster relief is that the real work comes long after everyone things the work was all done. The tasks of repairing, rebuilding and restoring buildings and lives takes an enormous amount of time, work and money. Recovery from a major disaster entails far more than just pumping water out of a flooded basement or fixing a few shingles on the roof.

When I first visited New Orleans 8 months after Katrina hit one of the things that stood out most to me was the lack of retail businesses needed to repair, rebuild and restore. I made many trips to the one Home Depot that was open and waited in lines for upwards of two hours. There were few Wal-Mart’s and Targets open for months and even fewer grocery stores and restaurants. Part of the problem in New Orleans was the lack of people to work at these places.

If the majority of people in an area have had to leave due to major destruction, there of necessity will be a labor shortage for the few places trying to open. Another issue is where the evacuees are staying. If the area is demolished, they are not going to be staying in the area. They will be anywhere from a few miles to a continent away. Yet another problem is lack of reliable contractors and laborers to do the work.

Once debris removal is complete, the first thing that must be done to damaged homes and buildings is the removal of damaged drywall. The “gutting” out of structures is absolutely necessary to keep mold from taking over the dwelling. After Katrina, crews of volunteers from all over the United States descended on New Orleans and Mississippi just to gut all the structures which received water damage. When it comes to gutting, the need is volunteers and not supplies.

The next thing that must be addressed are the roofs. Immediately after a storm, blue tarps are put on damaged roofs to prevent moisture from getting in and ruining drywall and to prevent mold from growing. Logically, there is great need initially for roofing supplies and roofers. I am sure that there is a growing shortage of both supplies and workers in the roofing industry in Louisiana and Texas.

After roofs are fixed then, and only then, can the rebuilding stage start. It is utter folly to start repairs inside the house before the roof is repaired. Once the roof is finished, then a contractor must determine if the floor is ruined. Usually flooring is the next side of things to need supplies and workers. Notice how with each step of restoration the job becomes more expensive and labor intensive? Along with flooring comes electrical wiring and plumbing issues. Of course before all this are infrastructure needs that must be addressed.

Finally, after the roof, infrastructure, floors, electric and plumbing are done; then the time consuming and very expensive task of putting up new drywall starts. Even when that is done there remains the replacement of furniture, carpeting and drapes. The entire process of restoring a severely damaged building is very expensive and time consuming.

In the months and years after Katrina, there were constant shortages of building supplies that matched the progress being made. Initially there were shortages of lumber and roofing materials. Then there were shortages of flooring materials. Finally, the biggest shortage of all was drywall. Even once the literal shortages were relieved, there remained a dire shortage of qualified workers to do the work.

If the media had not kept the attention of America focused on Katrina for many months, there would not have been the continual outpouring of donated goods and volunteer services that continue unto this day. Yes, it has been three years since Katrina and there are still people either waiting for insurance money to get their home repaired or volunteer agencies to help when there was no money available.

The myths in disaster recovery are as follows:

1. Everyone has insurance and thus have the means to get repairs made

2. The area is flooded with reputable contractors and supplies

3. All the work is done and finished in a few weeks or months

4. Volunteers are only needed at the beginning of the relief effort

5. Donations of goods and money are only needed directly after the disaster

The great secret to success in disaster relief and recovery depends in part upon governmental agencies doing their part, private businesses doing their part and service groups and charities doing their part. It takes a team effort to see prompt and proper disaster relief, repair, rebuilding and restoration. The catalyst for this is constant media attention. It is truly a shame the media has chosen to leave the victims in Louisiana and Texas to fend for themselves.

Advance Warning: Hurricanes Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana May Be Coming SOON

We are, by most experts’ accounts, somewhere between a week to ten days away from another outbreak of tropical weather. Right around the first of October we should be seeing at least three tropical storms or hurricanes in various stages of development in various places in the Atlantic, Caribbean and, unfortunately, the Gulf of Mexico. This season is far from over, and as bad as the Fay, Gustov, Hanna and Ike storm train was; the round might be even worse.

We saw three years ago what happens when the country is struck by a major hurricane soon after another one. The second storm does not receive the attention, supplies or other resources the first storm does. No one could possibly argue that Hurricane Rita victims received anywhere near the attention that Katrina victims did. Certainly this is in part to due to location, but it is also due to how near the two hurricanes were to each other time wise.

Lost in the Katrina disaster is the fact that a hundred fifty miles east of where Katrina made landfall (near Pensacola, Florida), two major hurricanes made landfall within a year of each other. In August 2004, Hurricane Ivan slammed ashore near Gulf Shores, Alabama just to the west of Pensacola. Ivan, lest we forget, was the third most expensive hurricane to hit the United States before Ike. In July of 2005, Hurricane Dennis came ashore near Navarre Beach, Florida just to the east of Pensacola.

Very few people in the United States have any recollection of Dennis and most have forgotten about Ivan. Although the people who lived in Ivan’s path will never forget the fear of a category 5 monster bearing down upon them, people outside of the immediate area long ago forgot about how fortunate we were that Ivan weakened and did not go fifty miles west right into Mobile, Alabama.

I vividly recall driving down Interstate 10 in July of 2006, two years after Ivan and one year after Dennis and being amazed at the number of blue tarps covering roofs. At the time, I could not understand how there could still be so many homes whose roofs had not been repaired in the space of two years. Part of the reason for this was certainly the double whammy of two hurricanes within a year of each other.

In September of 2004, Stuart, Florida had the distinction of being hit by two major hurricanes within three weeks of each other. First Hurricane Francis came ashore as a strong category 2 storm, and then amazingly, three weeks later, Hurricane Jeanne followed the exact same path as a category 3 storm. Together, the two storms caused almost 16 billion dollars in damage. As bad as this was for the immediate area, the scary part is to think what would have happened if both of these storms would have hit fifty miles further south in the densely populated West Palm Beach area.

The current situation in central and southwestern Louisiana is unprecedented in many respects. There are areas which have been impacted by first Katrina and then Rita in 2005 and now Gustov and Ike in 2008. Some would say that three years makes this a non-issue, but one must remember there was no rebuilding or recovery in most of this region from the 2005 storms until late 2006 and into 2007.

No one can say with any degree of confidence where any of the upcoming storms will be headed. But, there is ample evidence to suggest that one or more of the various tropical storms and hurricanes to form in the next few weeks will emerge in the Gulf of Mexico somewhere. Obviously, if any storm starts heading toward the Galveston/Houston area we will have MAJOR problems. There is no assurance that many thousand people currently in shelters won’t still be there.

One of the worst case scenarios would be another major hurricane do as Jeanne did in Florida four years ago and follow the exact same path as Ike. It is beyond the ability to comprehend how disastrous this would be. Of course this same exact fear was prevalent in 2005 when for a season it looked like Rita would hit New Orleans.

As horrible as this scenario would be, there are two that could be worse. The first would be for one of the upcoming hurricanes to follow Gustov’s path into central Louisiana. This area could not handle a third major hurricane in the same season without massive loss of property and life. Since this area is very difficult to reach due to the terrain and lack of roads, a third hurricane would be a calamity.

The worst case scenario would be a major hurricane hit New Orleans, the Mississippi Coast or Mobile/Pensacola. We are not equipped in this country to handle multiple major hurricanes at the same time; not with the economy as it is. Resources are already stretched thin, especially among major charities, due to all the tornadoes and flooding earlier this year.

Here is THE worst case scenario that could play out over the next month. A major hurricane strikes the central Gulf Coast (New Orleans, Mobile) before Galveston/Houston are on their feet. Then, a major hurricane strikes the East Coast either in North Carolina, Miami or New York. If, and this has never happened in our country’s history, we had 3 major hurricanes strike densely populated areas within a month of each other, it could and would cripple the country.

In 2005, there were 3 major hurricanes to strike (Katrina, Rita and Wilma), but Rita did not strike a densely populated area and Wilma’s damage was concentrated in an area well equipped to handle it. The fear of many who study, forecast and track hurricanes is that one of these years a major hurricane would ride the East Coast and hit either Philadelphia or New York. Unlike the Gulf Coast or Florida, or even the Carolinas, the big cities in the Northeast are not used to hurricanes and the potential for chaos and damage is very high.

God forbid any of these scenarios end up happening, but only a fool would sit back and assume none or only one could take place. Preparation is the key to survival. It would do all parties from Galveston to Boston well to start making preparations NOW for the possible hurricane threats coming up in October. With all that is going on economically, it behooves the American public to NOT sit back on their laurels and assume they are safe and secure. Only a true FOOL would be so naïve this year.

Disaster Relief and Recovery–Ike and Gustov; HELP WANTED and NEEDED AMERICA

As I sit here reflecting upon the past week; I find myself a combination of depressed, angry and confused. Three years ago, a week post Katrina, the country was glued to their television sets watching images of destruction never before seen in this country. They were also beginning to organize drives to raise funds, supplies and volunteers to go help. There was energy in the air that reflected the country’s “can do” attitude about helping their neighbor in need.

This year, there was NO energy manifested after hurricane Gustov and what energy was reflected after Ike quickly faded in light of the economic shenanigans going on in Washington and New York all week. Hurricane Ike is a distant memory to most people. The tolerance level for most Americans toward seeing images of destruction and suffering people standing in line for water is almost zero. The country got burned out seeing and hearing about New Orleans after two years of constant stories about the situation there. They are still burned out toward disasters as a whole.

There is simply no energy to speak of manifested toward wanting to help those devastated by Gustov and Ike. There are pockets of interest, but very little organized help to speak of. There is this eerie sense that the leaders of this country, the presidential candidates and the citizens in general simply want the situation to be handled by someone else and to go away. It is quite remarkable that no politician has tried to gain exposure by showing up to distribute water or other custom made photo ops.

Could it be that those who take the pulse of the American people have told the candidates that there is little interest in the country concerning Ike? Could it be that since the leaders of this land are up to their ears in economic woes and re-election hoopla that they do not want to be distracted by Ike? Could it be that this country no longer has either the means or the heart to give any more?

I do not know what the answers are, but I know we have a problem. Katrina hit more than three years ago and there are still massive rebuilding and recovery efforts going on in New Orleans and Mississippi. It takes incredible amounts of time, money, resources and volunteers to recover from a big hurricane. The unfortunate reality is that the amount of all these things has dropped off dramatically since 2005.

Does America still have the will to roll up her sleeves and help Galveston, Houston, the Texas coast and Louisiana recover from Gustov and Ike? We will find out in the next few weeks. Does America still have the means to provide equipment, materials and supplies to help areas clean up, fix up and rebuild? We will see in the next few months. Does America still have the “heart” to stick with these areas in the long run, to work with people for as long as it takes to get them on their feet again? We will find out in the next few years.

Disaster relief and recovery is a painstakingly slow process. It will be Thanksgiving before there is any real progress made in the hardest hit areas. Debris removal must be done slowly and correctly lest there be any bodies buried in the rubble. There is so much debris after a major hurricane it is unbelievable. There is trash, torn up buildings, trees and chunks of asphalt and stones. There is no quick fix possible, it just takes time.

Any house damaged by the hurricanes must be inspected and determinations made by insurance and FEMA as to financial retribution for to get repairs done. People must wait for insurance checks and the whole process gets bogged down in the meantime. Any building damaged by water (either from above or storm surge) must rip out the damaged drywall to prevent mold growth. Many times the carpets and even the floors must be replaced.

Even those with the means financially to pay for work to be done many times cannot find anyone to do it. There are only so many certified contractors. There are also only so many supplies that can be purchased. The point is simply that it takes time, patience and persistence to recover from a major event such as a hurricane. There are no quick fixes.

I pray the many church groups and others who faithfully went to Louisiana and Mississippi (and still go) will do the same for Texas and Louisiana as the recover from Gustov/Ike. I pray the huge corporations which go graciously donated mountains of food, drinks, building supplies and other materials after Katrina will do the same in the coming weeks for Gustov/Ike victims. I pray that better solutions arise than “FEMA trailers” and other ill fated ways to provide temporary housing to those who lost their homes. I pray those who have no job any longer find a means to make a living.

In the coming weeks and months, a whole host of issues arise that fall into the category of long term recovery. When you get past “disaster relief”, and into how to help individuals and a community start over; that is when the really tough questions start being asked and the amount of money needed to pull it off multiplies quickly. Ultimately I pray the money to rebuild and recover is there, as it has been after Katrina.

Update on Louisiana Hurricane Gustov/Ike Relief Efforts

This is a picture of a home in southern Louisiana taken two days ago. Notice how much water still remains? This is from Ike’s storm surge which topped the levees. The water has nowhere to go, so it is there until it naturally recedes.

Although the house above appears to not be inhabited, there are hundreds of homes just like this being lived in by the families who own them. They refuse to leave, even with no electricity and in many cases, water knee deep inside their home. The person taking this picture, Carolyn Thompson of Tri Coastal Community Outreach, was standing in this water when taking the picture. The water was black with oil and sewage.

Shortly after taking this picture an alligator was spotted swimming directly toward Carolyn. She jumped in the pickup and stayed there a long time. Consider those living in these homes and what they must go through when they hear a “bump in the night” wondering if what they heard was a log or an alligator hitting their house.

It will take weeks before the water recedes in places such as Houma, Louisiana and the clean up can begin. Amazingly, all these people want is water and bleach to disinfect their houses after the flood subsides. Red Cross, Salvation Army and FEMA are in the area along with Louisiana National Guard. In fact, it is the National Guard who delivers food and water to many of these types of homes.

Our fear is that deep in bayou there are hundreds, if not thousands of these types of situations but where the Guard has not been able to get to due to high water. Please pray these people “hang in there” until help and supplies arrive.  Following is the pickup loaded with food and cleaning supplies “Doc” and Carolyn took from Mississippi to Louisiana.

Louisiana–The Forgotten Battleground of Gustov and Ike (Rita too)

AMERICA—The call has gone forth and has not being heeded.

AMERICA—The needs are far greater than anyone knows.

AMERICA—Are you going to step up and meet the needs.

AMERICA—Your brothers and sisters await you.

While the vast majority of Americans are either pre-occupied with the daily financial market soap opera installment or spend all their time wondering what their favorite candidate said or didn’t say today; deep in our country’s hurricane ravaged South, the pain is deep and the need is greater. A story which should be at the top of the news has, amazingly almost dropped out of sight in the media.

On Labor day, Hurricane Gustov slammed into the central Louisiana coast as a strong category 3 hurricane. While all the eyes of the nation were glued to see whether New Orleans would survive; nary a soul was watching to see what Gustov actually did. As constant images of flood walls being overtopped by a little water filled our television screen, those gathered in Minnesota for the start of the Republican National Convention were holding a telethon to raise money for Gustov victims.

Amazingly, the next day Gustov was ancient history except for a few stories of evacuees scattered all over the Southern states. There was no media coverage of the damage caused by Gustov outside of New Orleans. By Wednesday of that week, there was no longer any coverage of the event whatsoever as all media attention was switched to the speech by Gov. Palin at the Convention.

As soon as the Convention ended, tropical storm/hurricane Hanna came to life and threatened Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina. Even while Hanna was toying with becoming a major storm, hurricane Ike exploded in the Bahamas into a giant hurricane. By the time Hanna had come and gone, Ike was quickly becoming the major story as it first destroyed Cuba and then set his sights on various places along the Gulf Coast.

Meanwhile, during this period of time, an absolutely incredible thing was taking place. Deep in the very heart of Louisiana, Hurricane Gustov victims were by and large being totally neglected and forgotten. Unlike every other major hurricane to strike this country, there was no media coverage, no racing to the scene by various charities and very little help from even government agencies. It was as if no one cared about what had happened because of the people involved.

Who lives in this area of Louisiana anyway? What do they do down there? Why should I care about some God forsaken, mosquito infested backwater chunk of real estate in one of the strangest states in the country? These were the questions America asked after Gustov, instead of those which should have been asked.

Should it really matter where disaster strikes in this country? Should it really matter whether those impacted are rich or poor, white or black of English origin or Cajuns? Should it really matter if the area which is devastated is lush farmland or a swamp? Should it really matter what state the disaster is in?

Hurricane Rita ravaged this area three years ago. No one knew and no one cared. One ministry out of Lafayette tried to provide food and supplies to people scattered from Cameron Parish to New Iberia. That is until their resources ran out 9 months after Rita hit. There was never any Red Cross or Salvation Army presence. FEMA came and moved in and quickly moved out to handle Katrina related matters. While these tattered and torn people had no one helping them, those in New Orleans and Mississippi were being flooded with supplies and volunteers.

Does lightning strike twice? You bet, especially when those who have little to begin with are affected. Those people scattered in south central Louisiana were devastated by Rita in 2005 with little or no outside help to repair and rebuild. This same area, but now including Baton Rouge and Lafayette had to deal with the full fury of hurricane Gustov. Lest we forget, Gustov was a stronger hurricane than Ike. Less than two weeks after Gustov, this same area was swamped by hurricane Ike.

What is it like to live in an area no one knows about or cares anything about? It breeds self reliance and extreme bitterness. Those who live in these areas are highly skeptical of anyone claiming they want to help. They have been neglected and forgotten about countless times. Why should they believe this time is any different?

Last week, the day before Ike hit; a retire medical doctor from Gulfport, MS who goes only by “Doc” braved the rising waters and took some much needed food to these people in south central Louisiana. Just barely beating the rising storm surge from Ike leaving, he was awed by what he saw. This says a lot because Doc has been rounding up food and other supplies for Katrina victims since the day after Katrina hit.

Yesterday Carolyn Thompson from Tri Coastal Community Outreach in Grand Bay, Alabama returned with Doc to Louisiana to drop off more supplies. Fighting knee deep water, the devastation they found is beyond description. Yet, America does not know and could really care less about what is going on in New Iberia, Louisiana. See, America is too busy raising money to elect another worthless President. America is too busy crying over drops in the Stock Market. America is too busy trying to help those in Houston and Galveston to worry about Louisiana.

Please America, though they may not be many and they are certainly not mighty or influential; our fellow citizens in Louisiana desperately need our help. Unlike Texas where outside help has problems getting in, there is no such problems in Louisiana. Any and all help is desperately needed. For more information and current status please contact:

Carolyn Thompson, Director of Tri Coastal Community Outreach–(228) 623-0017, or go to Tri Coastal’s website at http://www.tricoastalcommunity.org/main.htm or contact me via my website at http://heart2heartshare.com/contactus.htm

The Gustov/Ike legacy is FAR MORE than Houston or Galveston. There are smaller less populated areas stretching from Galveston all the way to Mobile, Alabama which have suffered greatly from storm surge damage from these two storms. Please, there are huge immediate needs NOT being met in many of these areas. As soon as the water ever goes down, there will be a gigantic need for supplies and volunteers all along the Gulf coast.

Who Am I and Why Do I Write about Ike and other Hurricanes; My open letter to YOU

Dear Friend,

With grateful heart I rejoice that Hurricane Ike was not worse than it was. A disaster of epic proportions was averted by probably 12 hours and 20 miles. Yes, at the rate Ike was strengthening, if it had another 12 hours over water there is ample evidence to suggest it would have been a category 4 storm instead of a category2/3 one. A wobble to the west would have changed the storm surge to have done far more damage than it did.

I am no scientist. I am no meteorologist. I am no one you ever heard of or ever will. I deliberately work in obscurity and under no circumstances want my true identity used. I believe strongly that what is important is the message and not the messenger. I believe too much emphasis is placed on academia and too little on common sense and logic.

My life is a gift from God for the blessing of His people. Anything and everything I can do or give on behalf of others is my life’s goal and intent. I have no advanced degrees from prestigious institutions of higher learning. I have no doctorate, master or even bachelor’s degrees. I have a worthless Associate degree in theology plus many years of devoted service to God and His people.

I have studied weather since I was a child. I have watched tornadoes form and been in more than one. I have spent hours studying radars and satellite images just to help someone know what to do weather-wise in a situation. I have my trusted sources for technical information, but I basically trust my instinct based on logic, patterns and principle vs. model runs.

I have no business other than to do what my Lord places on my heart to do. I am promoting no one and no cause in particular. I do not sell weather related materials, and in fact, I do not sell anything other than clothing on eBay. I have no agenda, hidden or otherwise. I am a simple man who only desires to find a way to help people gain a better understanding of life, weather, disasters and most of all God.

Many months ago, out of the blue I had a strong premonition that the Houston area was going to deal with a major hurricane this year. There was nothing I could do other than study the area, its history and lay of the land. I wrote a few pieces dealing with how a huge hurricane hitting the Houston ship channel would be a major disaster. Other than that, I have waited patiently for the fulfillment of what I was shown, no doubt by my Lord.

When the flurry of tropical disturbances started a month ago, I decided to start posting on a regular basis regarding them. There is so much ignorance and misunderstanding among people regarding weather and especially hurricanes and tornadoes. When it became apparent that Ike was heading for the Houston area, I saw my mission as one of helping to condense and disseminate the volumes of technical data being stated about the storm, its track and intensity levels.

When it became apparent that Ike was going to be a massive monster storm, I assumed the reason God had pre-warned me was so that I could try and help someone. In my many posts on Ike, I simply was trying to convey the magnitude of the situation in enough time to allow those who could and wanted to leave to do so. Drawing upon my experiences working with Katrina victims, I simply tried to tell you folks what I knew and in such a way as to hopefully help.

Yesterday and last night were very hard for me. My heart so wanted to reach out and comfort those who were huddled in fear and hold those who were breaking under the stress of a very mean storm. I, along with everyone else who studies hurricanes, was sure there would be thousands of casualties from Ike and Galveston pretty much destroyed. The data showed what should happen. As it turns out, it simply showed what COULD happen. Thank God it didn’t happen as bad as was feared.

Now that the storm is over I return to my normal frustrating life of trying to locate help for small independent charities who have no access to the huge warehouses where supplies are stored and no access to AID MATRIX the clearing house for disaster services and groups part of VOAD. My mission is not to find help for a place like Houston, for there are plenty of well supplied groups taking care of both Houston and Galveston.

No, my mission is to find help for places such as Cameron, New Iberia and Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. These are locations which will (and already have after Gustov) fall through the cracks and receive basically no help from anyone. I am sure there are similar places along the upper coast of Texas also. I fight for the underdog in all things. That is my life and ministry.

In the days ahead, as my coverage of hurricane Ike winds down; I will be zeroing in on the needs in those places the media never go. I will share what is REALLY going on in the little communities who are always forsaken in huge disasters. I will offer avenues of giving, sharing and prayer to anyone with a heart to want to help the “underdogs” and the forsaken.

Thank you for allowing me to share a bit of my heart, whether it is one or a hundred of you who read this. All I can do is give the best I can and pray God opens doors to handle the rest. God’s richest blessings to you.