Katrina Help Organization Links Updated

New York Times: New Orleans Is Now Off Limits; Pentagon Joins in Relief Effort; Pentagon Rescue Teams Are Sent to Region

CNN: Conditions deteriorate in Katrina's wake

I updated the Katrina Help Organizations links below. Scroll down to the Tuesday, August 30th, post or click here 'Ways to Help' for the updated list.

Amanda at clothesknit in Baton Rouge says:

"If you would like to donate items I'm happy to help by receiving them and then ferrying them to the many different sites around town who are distributing aid. Also, a couple of you left comments saying you would be happy to send baby stuff for our friends. It would be a huge blessing! Just leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Bloggers are the best!"

The relief organizations in Baton Rouge are getting food and water to those that need them. Hygiene and first aid items are really needed also. I don't know how it is going in New Orleans.

I just have to say this because it's making me crazy. If you see a freight train hurricane coming your way and there are things you are responsible for, why do you wait until AFTER it hits to do something? While hindsight is always 20/20, this is not the FIRST time emergency situations have been handled WAY after the fact. Cases in point:

President Bush - Vacation? Shouldn't you be at your desk no later than Sunday night in the White House when you know on Sunday morning, August 28, 2005 that a Category 4/5 hurricane is headed for anywhere on U.S. landfall? That life and property are going to get ploughed over? That Katrina is going over 1/3 of our oil rigs and refineries? Shouldn't you be at some White House command center at least overseeing and reviewing the Rescue Organizers by Monday afternoon?

Red Cross - Shouldn't you have Red Cross units DRIVING & FLYING into the outskirts of the 'I'm going to blow your house away' areas before it hits? The projected path was for Katrina to hit the Gulf states and go then head Northeast. So why aren't Red Cross units DRIVING Sunday night or Monday morning from CA, NA, AZ, WA, OR, etc. to the Red Cross TX units to get a foot up on being closer to where they are needed. Did they also not work thru Andrew and Hugo? The first 36 hours are crucial to life and limb. The Las Vegas Red Cross sent TWO people yesterday for a 24 hour drive to LA. This morning a few of our Rescue Units fly out. Excellent. Better late than never.

FEMA & Military - While I'm sure President Bush is responsible for the command to go help, if we can't deploy emergency units to our own county in 24 hours, we're fucked. It's Wednesday and the 'Pentagon' finally kicked in. I love and support our military, please don't think that this is a rag their way...I know that they have to go on orders. But if they see a freight train coming down the track, don't they ALREADY have plans to help geographic areas inline with certain types of disasters? The Gulf with hurricanes, LA and NY with nukes, China or Russia landing at a sea-shore? If we are not planning and protecting our own, what the hell are the elected 'representatives' of and for American telling the military to do? WHAT are our priorities? Is Iraq our only major military priority? And FEMA -- jes, we spent a TON of money on you. Why aren't you staging areas in TX to go in right after the winds die down?

Bless all the that are helping in this effort to rescue, evacuate and supply those in Katrina's path. And of course, my prayers are with ALL those effected by this, near and far. Next month, we had better start taking a REAL look at how we are ALL preparing for an emergency evacuation. Because if this was a nuclear bomb from a terrorist, there would be no going back.

In knitting news, I started on skein #3, Repeat #12 of the FBS. Black Clapotis is still in the straight section.