Ms. Russell, I am happy and relieved to hear that you are finally being helped.

This was originally written with the intent to be posted with the first Citizens Journal story regarding the FEMA flub....

It is absolutely heart-breaking that some could read this story and then call the citizens of Mississippi and Louisiana idiots, lazy, stupid, etc…. You should be ashamed. Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to treat other people? I would tell anyone who knows you (all of you who responded this way) to beware- self centered egotist only interested in furthering themselves no matter what happens to everyone else.

As for those who gripe about insurance- I want to know exactly where you got your information. What makes you think these people do not have insurance? Do you really think that the rest of the country has homeowners insurance, but that for some reason Mississippi and Louisiana are anomalies? Places where the norms of society got passed by? That everyone is backwards there? Well you know what, I know people who do think like you. That way of thought comes from a sheltered upbringing and parents who taught their children that everyone else is trying to drag them down so be the first to do it. Why don’t you just come out and say what you thought when you saw this unfold on the TV. You saw a bunch of black people whose culture you couldn’t understand so you called them ignorant and a bunch of white people that you think must be white trash if they chose to live among said black people. You look down upon them and actually think they are lower class citizens and that is why you assume (wrongly) that they had no insurance. Hell, Babs herself said they were used to living like that, right? It is somewhat entertaining that the rest of us whose minds aren’t closed can sit and read you entries and laugh about the fact that you talk of insurance when you really don’t even know how it works- my friends and family have loved to laugh at your posts over the past couple of days. To you I say, I hope you don’t get into a car accident while driving and try to get your insurance to cover it when you know you shouldn’t drive it on the street where there is a higher chance of it getting hit and then the whole country’s insurance premiums will go up as a result of you- you stupid lazy idiot. Does that make sense to you? You don’t have to write back and tell me I’m wrong because I know I am not. I heard it from many peoples mouths right after the hurricane hit and it just is sick and sad.

As for the “not my tax dollars” bloggers out there. I WOULD rather have my tax dollars pay to rebuild the homes of my fellow citizens. Where else would I want it to go? To decorate the White House Holiday Tree (and although I am Catholic, I am purposely call it a holiday tree as the lines become more blurred between church and state under this president). Why don’t you worry about the waste of your tax dollars known as the president? His salary is paid with your money. You should be mad as hell that they are wasting your tax dollars on someone so incompetent that he would place an inexperienced idiot into a job that directly affects millions of Americans lives. It was a serious error that resulted in the death of many people. How does that not bother you?

And lastly, for the “don’t blame bush” group, answer me why I should not in a way that is convincing and I might be able to find some respect for you. Do you honestly think he can lead a country to democracy that has been a site of utter turmoil in a region of the world which demonstrates time and time again that it is not ready to behave and play nice, but that when it comes to our own people he’s powerless? Come on. He is the god dammed president and if he wanted he could find a way. Period. Impeach. Impeach the president for putting the welfare of other countries and special interest groups before that of Americans. I think it is treason to aid another country when your own is suffering. Had we not been in Iraq, we would have had more resources to dedicate to the South and the whole mess would have been handled better from the beginning. Impeach the president for his refusal to help Louisiana because the governor did not form her letter seeking aid in the proper form. Every death that occurred as a result of people being trapped that could have been helped had her letter not been refused is on his head.

As an aside, it is well known and can be proven statistically that religion played a major role in the election of G.W. As for you who elected him based on religion I ask, is someone who is a true follower of Jesus willing to let anyone die? Would a true follower have gotten out of their helicopter and walked with the lowest- the most poor and suffering there? Would they be more concerned with helping the poor (the Bible does say they will inherit the earth so obviously God thought it was pretty damn important to take care of them)? Or is it all about homosexuality and abortion to you and you actually don’t have to do anything else that being a good Christian requires? I learned my religion, I didn’t find it, nor did I have to be born again since I never had a drinking, gambling, drug, screwing, etc… problem in the first place. What I learned is that above all we are to love. We are not to judge because God does that. We are not to use religion as a political tool because it degrades the good that we were taught. Our relationship with God is personal and although we may celebrate it in a community, we are not to impose it on a community. Congratulations religious voters. You got a president who is very good at pushing his views on everybody else, BUT THAT IS THE ONLY THING HE IS GOOD AT. HE CARES NOTHING ABOUT TAKING CARE OF THE SUFFERING, OR HIS HELICOPTER WOULD HAVE BEEN FERRYING PEOPLE OUT AND HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE GROUND HANDING OUT AID. HE WOULD BE PRESSURING THE INSURANCE COMPANIES TO PROCESS THESE CLAIMS QUICKER.

Now, Miss Russell I am sorry for using this blog to get out all my feelings about the current president. This forum was probably not the best choice, but I wanted what I had to say to be read by Republicans and Democrats alike. As you can guess, I am a Democrat and I am sick of being spoken about like a whiner with no real substance. Anyone who reads this can see I have substance. And if you listen closer, it’s not whining, it’s crying. Crying because this country is suffering and half of it doesn’t even care.

I know for a fact that Insurance companies are very slow when it come to paying out claims, they take your payments each month on time, and you have to spend hours on the phone getting no were, I wish you the best.

I agree with Colleen from Chicago. It is mind-boggling to me that there are people in America who are so uncaring. The real divide is not red states / blue states but those who care about others and those that don't. Unfortunately, some of our politicians fall into the "don't care category" as well. Most have enough sense of responsibility and concern about image to not let their non-caring be blantantly displayed, but the attitude is there and - mixed with general incompetence - costs lives.

I'm a senior and truthfully...I think many of the N. O. residents who could have evacuated, didn't & this made it twice as hard for the really needy people. I also think the local government dropped the ball.

Ms. Russell, I'm so glad that you replied to self-righteous, selfish, mean spirited people who are so quick to judge and begrudge. FEMA is a total waste of our money. Better to do without FEMA altogether; the money could be better spent. Colleen of Chicago is right also. God will judge, and that goes for Republicans, too. They can lie to us, but they can't lie to Him.

You mention the insurance companies with no insurance company names. Wouldn't you see the money faster if the name was used. Probably would get their attention. Especially if it's one of the companies who spends millions on advertising to get your trust!

Colleen from Chicago,
You are 100% right!!!! As a Louisiana transplant, I am so proud of you for saying what needed to be said. Now to all the wonderful WASP in this country, that gave negative remarks. You people have got to be the most ignorant, prejudice(admit it, you really are.) people on the planet. Do you really think families like ours did not have Insurance? I am lucky, my husband is a commercial Airline Pilot and has a job.. We have money in the bank.. we are college graduates and are healthy and yet some idiot thinks because we live in Louisiana we must be some kind of bums waiting for Fema to set us up?? Good grief, the next person who writes such an ignorant response should have a PHD, at least you will be just 1 step more educated then us and I might be able to be open minded with your opinon. If you really are just a 50 year old High School drop out that has a confederate flag hanging from your trailer making ignorant remarks go back to the swamp. If you are a Holy Roller type shame on you for not being Jesus like and keeping your negative mouth shut. and if you are a conservative Rush (drug addict) Limbaugh fan, I just want you to know that Christmas is around the corner and I can't wait to spend all of your tax dollar money.

I think your wrong Rozita. We do need FEMA. The idea of having someone there to organize, help in distributing supplies, coordinating relief effort, providing monies, clean up effort, organizing evacuations, helping rebuilding infrastructure and all around helping hands in peoples time of needs is an exellent one. THAT'S what we need. This is an organization that is riddled with people that need direction, can't think ahead of whats needed(even though thats their business) and said they were "waiting on local officials to make a move or ask assistance, placed under a newly formed government agency(and we know how efficent the government can be) which has huge responsability to our country as it is. Put that with the insurance industry which too many people know that they love to give any reason in the world NOT to pay out on claims and make mistakes, but never give an appropriate apology if/when they acknowlege their mistake. To be stnding on a slab of concrete that used to be your home and reading a letter telling you that you didn't sustain enough damage to warrant a clain is criminal. How many people are going to be held accountable for the mistakes made after this is all over and people have rebuild their lives??? Not many, you can bet on that...

as many comments your first got even FEMA is not so dumb to not notice....good for you!!!!

Yea for Colleen! I am a PhD and supposedly don't live in a flood zone. My property survived Camille with no damage and no water and my insurance agent told me I didn't need flood insurance. My house had over two feet of water and inches deep mud after the storm surge, yet my home owner's insurance and my "wind and hail" insurance won't cover the thousands of dollars of ruined contents.

FEMA sent me $5,200 to "repair" my home. That was enough to give me appliances and dry wall--no bed, no furniture, no rugs, no computer. Yet I feel that I am blessed because most of my friends lost EVERYTHING! They also had insurance, but cannot begin to rebuild because FEMA hasn't released the new height requirements and Waveland cannot issue building permits until FEMA does.

To those of you who say we are whining: try living here. It's not easy! We fight daily for our survival, our insurance settlements, our depression, and the mud. Those of us who are strong, are trying to rebuild our homes and our town. How dare you judge us!

Colleen has it so right. How can our government pay to rebuild another country and not the states in our own? I wonder if it's because HAlburton (sp?) wouldn't make enough profit with citizens watching them.

As a worker that has come here to help rebuild, I hear countless of times per day, that people have had an adjusters by but that was months ago and nothing has been done since. Insurance will drop us when we are more than 30 days late, but they do not get checks out to these people in all this time. If the government does anything, they should make these ins companies respond promptly to the service we have bought and paid for over years and years. Now that would be a worthy government investigation panel. Find out just how much money ins. companies make everyday they can manage to stall paying out on these claimes. I am convinced that everyday they hold their money is another day of interest they make. While the gulf coast continues to live with water runing in there roofs, and in tents. If there is a crime or neglegence committed down here it is in how the insurances companies are not acting promptly. I have also noticed that fuel prices here are out of sight. Which begs another question. Why, is fuel so much cheaper in, the mid west when the refiners can be hit with rock from here. hmmm? Can't be the high cost of trucking it in.

Angela is right. Name insurance companies!

Best of luck. My circumstances aren't as bad (only 90K in damages to the house), but I am getting the same run around. You spend your days wondering if enough time has passed so you can call the insurance company again. And if you've tried to deal with the "SBA Part" of the FEMA process, ai yi yi, that's even worse.

All I know is I am sitting here with holes in the roof, moldy sheet rock, and it keeps raining. I'm paralyzed to get anything done until such time as SOMEBODY steps up to the plate.

Do I think the Feds owe me a hand out? Nope. But I do resent the billions spent elsewhere in the world, when 60% of south louisiana is still without electricity, and 50% of the houses in my own town are uninhabitable.

And wait until the time comes when/if you have to get NEW homeowners. Yeah, that's not going to happen.

Colleen, Kate,..
You espouse many christian principles with which I strongly agree! However, the anger and intolerance which you display is distinctly not christian!

Ms. Russell, I read your first post and it didn't dawn on me that you had insurance, cause you didn't mention that. I agree you should be writing about your insurance company's (by name) failure to assist you, instead of FEMA's. I feel you misdirected a lot of people with your first post. Was that your intention?

The insurance companies plan to get rich off of this disaster. The Omaha World Herald newspaper carried an article a few weeks ago about all the money Berkshire Hathaway was going to make off raising premiums on reinsurance using Katrina as the reason. They also have $40 BILLION set aside in reserves for claims from previous profits. For those not familiar with Berkshire Hathaway it is the holding company for Warren Buffett, the first or second richest man in America who gives virtually nothing to charity; they on Geico and a large re-insurer which was involved in the AIG insurance fraud scandal you may have read about.

FEMA is responsible for paying flood claims but are not paying even on adjusted claims according to the news.

I'am glad to hear that something good came of this, way to go. I beleive that FEMA should be made to prove they are doing anyone any good...it's sound's like they need to fire everyone and start over.

I completely understand people's frustration with the speed of response, but these blogs seem to be just another opportunity for Bush Bashing by like-minded Bush haters. Complaining about the President serves no purpose.
There is an organization called FEMA. It is staffed by people that do little until there is an emergency and then are overwhelmed when there is an emergency. This is not surprising; it makes no sense for us to keep a staff sufficient for a Katrina-like event in reserve. At this time there are probably a million people asking for help. How many people do you think are answering the phone?
When faced with limitless need and limited resources, you have to pace the response. In medicine it's call triage. Those with the greatest need come first. If all you have is a grievance with your insurer, get an attorney. There are people living in the street who have no water. (Compassion appears to only need to come from without.) Getting the water and other infrastructure in place allows contractors to get to your home so that it can be rebuilt. Cities get the most attention since more people can be helped faster. Reality is, that people hit last year by hurricanes still live in FEMA trailers. Why do you expect not to? They've been waiting longer.
I live in an area thankfully free of recent disaster. Here it takes more than a year to get a house built. Why should it be faster after a cataclysm? There simply aren't sufficient materials, laborers, insurance adjusters, or building inspectors to rebuild today.
I'm sorry for people's frustration, and for the losses they've suffered. I can't even begin to understand adequately. However, Bush and his adminstration didn't create the hurricane. Bush and his administration did not build the inadequate flood control infrastructure. Bush and his adminstration did not create FEMA. Yes the upper management of FEMA has Bush appointees, but the people on the FEMA staff most people are dealing with are life-long public servants.

Bush is one man. And even Jimmy Carter-with the support of Habitat for Humanity-takes months to build a house. Usually just one at a time, on a street that doesn't need to be cleared of hazardous waste, repaved, with new sewer lines, new power lines, and new phone and cable service.
If you are going to bash people for being religious, why do you think the President has the god-like power to answer everyone's request by creating miracles overnight?

Well I see that Rich from Dallas also has the "stay the course" mentality. Now this woman isn't after our tax dollars, she nefariously didn't mention that she had insurance. I'll bet she was hoping her house would be destroyed just to bug you, Rich.

I wonder what FEMA is for? - if they cannot perform the funtion for their very existence - then what good is the organization?

I love Colleen from Chicago! I wish I could say it as well as she did.

Rich, FEMA IS THE FLOOD INSURANCE! There is no flood insurance available except through the Federal Flood Insurance program. So, no, Maria was not misleading anyone and you and your insinuations have been beyond the pale. Why don't you leave your comfortable home in Dalas and come spend a few weeks down here helping pull out drywall and insulation or hanging new drywall and insulation ... or shoveling off the debris off of slabs, which is all many people have left. Or better yet, why don't you refrain from making such inflamatory statements of which you seem to know nothing about! Maybe when you have walked a mile in the shoes of us down here, then you can make your snide remarks, until then, why don't you go soak your head in a bucket of Katrina water ... I still have some I will be glad to send you! Oh, but better go get your tetnus shot first!

Ditto on naming the insurance companies. Then we can edit the company's motto, to make it more accurate:

"You're in Good Hands With Allstate, except when something really bad happens."

"Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There. But not here, where you need them"

"Nationwide is on Your Side. But never on Your Site."

I could go on.

I am from New Orleans but I have had a similar experience with FEMA. My home is one block from the London Avenue Canal breach. It has been totaled by insurance and SBA but FEMA has not approved rental assistance for me due to "insufficient damage." We still have no power or gas at our residence and there is so much mud and sand surrounding it (6-8 ft dunes) and downed power lines with yellow caution tape surrounding it, that we have not been able to get in and get the contents and sheetrock etc. out. We are displaced in Georgia and have returned to New Orleans twice with no luck. Will be going "home" for Christmas but it doesn't appear anything has changed. And yet, FEMA says I am ineligible for anything past the original $2000. Go figure.

Anybody who lives by the coast is stupid and deserves to get a hurricane. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go eat a shrimp dinner and plan my next beach vacation, using products brought to me via the port of the US's main artery.