Fifteen Minutes of News Coverage

Just now on Fox news, Dr. Kristen Dascomp called in from University Hospital of New Orleans. She said that patients were now being evacuated as the helicopters could finally land on the roof of the building and take some of the patients and staff. Apparently the first helicopter was only thinking he had to take 20 people, but now the correct information has been relayed and more helicopters are coming. The news anchor asked the doctor, "How many people are there with you needing to be evacuated?"
"Eleven hundred."

Yeah, that's a big difference.

Meanwhile, the anchor asked about a jail set up in the hospital. Dr. Dascomp said, "Well, it's not so much a jail..." She said there were some people wandering into the hospital during the hurricane who were neither patients nor staff, so they set up a place for them on the first floor and tried to get them accommodations as much as they could (because remember, they were still taking care of patients). Eventually, those people ran out of food and water and with no money they became restless and aggressive towards the hospital staff that were also living on that floor. So to protect to the staff and the patients, those individuals were quarantined in their own area.

Amazing. The hospital tries to take care of them instead of kicking them to the street and they react by asking for more and more from the hospital staff to the point where they are making threats and need to be "quarantined."

Also, the doctor said that she has no idea where the evacuated patients are going, that there is no communication in the hospital and the only way to spread information is to run through the halls and shout out announcements.

And also in the area of unbelievable, the congressional black caucus is remarking on Katrina right now and saying that the difference between those who got out and those who had to stay is poverty, age and race.

Sigh. I agree that some people are poor and I agree that going to the super dome before the storm turned out to be not to good. But anyone who died in the storm could have done that and survived the storm. However, my real problem is that I keep hearing about the people who didn't have the "means" to escape. Well, maybe. Except I keep seeing people interviewed on TV saying "I lost my car, I lost everything."
To which I say: IF YOU HAVE A CAR, WHY DIDN'T YOU DRIVE OUT??!

He also said, "It would be unconscionable to stand by and do nothing."
WHO?? is standing by and doing nothing? What??
sigh. The President said it today, We can both thank the workers there for their efforts and acknowledge that the results are not enough - and we can do it without being offensive.

And then the Black Caucus speaker alludes to the Bible about giving people food when they are hungry. And as that is happening, a huge convoy of hundreds of trucks, boats and busses is flowing into New Orleans. In fact, Fox News cut away from Jesse Jackson to show the convoy arriving in the city.

Let's be unified to get this done. Please.