The blame game: what I did wrong prior/during/after Katrina.

1). Johnny Baller: My failure to write my congressman about not doing enough to shore-up our levy system. Yep, I live in Sacramento, California and we are surrounded by 'em.

2). Residents in any area susceptible to a disaster (that's all of us): Believing that everything would be fine in a disaster because the gov't will take care of me.

3). The Media, who just didn't get it (most of us): looting is perfectly acceptable behavior if you are stealing supplies because your life depends on it. And, for all our experience in reporting horrible things happening around the globe, not using our initial airtime to get the message across: stuff like "get out now, how to get out, where to go, etc."

4). FEMA: acting like we never saw a hurricane before. A little preparation is a bad thing.

5). George W. Bush: Once again, prior to discussing important shit on TV, I still don't understand the levity of the events unfolding around me and can goof-off and make stupid jokes either before or during the televising; others would be stoic, crying, or adamant about getting something done. Think "inspiration", not teleprompter.

6). George's parents: we shouldn't go on TV and talk about poor people-it just makes us look arrogant and ignorant of what they are going through.

7). Stop reading this post and instead, click on my ASPCA link and help save someone's pet. It may be the only family someone has.

Re-Train America! Part One.

The premise is this: our nation, in its search for ways to stimulate the economy, foster more efficient and effective systems of transportation, and gradually yet systematically remove ourselves from dependence on an oil based-industrial revolution style lifestyle, is simply going about it the wrong way. My solution is elegant in its simplicity, effective merely by its application, and perfectly timed for $3 a gallon gasoline. We need to return to an economy where both product and people are moved not by automobile, but by railroad.

Over the course of several posts, I'm going to outline how we can do it, why we should do it and what you can do to help get it done. Disclaimer: post will not be consecutive and may be over take several weeks (I have other shit to do, you know). Plus, it's not like this is going to happen anytime soon (I may be optimistic, but I'm no fool).

So, now is the time to start thinking "trains," and literally, we just may get this thing rolling...

Wal-mart To the Rescue? Come On, Bill Gates!

Looks like I almost have to start shopping at Wal-mart again. It's a sad day when-and let's face it, this is exactly what they are-a convenience store outperforms the U.S. Government by leaps and bounds during a national emergency of catastrophic proportions. 20 million dollars in aid, 1500 trucks moving supplies to those in need and I still haven't heard Bush thank them once.

So, yeah, although they forced a few (O.K., tons of) local mom-and-pop businesses to close, created local gridlock, and refuse to provide decent benefits to insane employees who somehow still find praise for the wonders of Wal-mart, they certainly kick-ass as a disaster relief agency. Walmart, it turns out, is a true American patriot. Who would of guessed it?

And speaking of patriots, I'm throwing down the gauntlet at the feet of Bill Gates, the number one man at Microsoft. Bill, you have so much money, you could single-handedly rebuild all of New Orleans by yourself; your place in history would be carved in stone (literally, in highly polished granite, somewhere in the town itself should you rise to the occasion) as the man who rebuilt America's Cajun Headquarters and as the PC Emperor of the planet. For the record, I am fully aware the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a philothropic powerhouse. I just though I'd throw this out there 'cause giving feels so good.

Obese People More Likely To Survive Hurricanes Due To Buoyancy, Declares FEMA

You call this Disaster Relief? 'Cause I sure don't.

When the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, was pleading with residents to evacuate his city, were those in charge of FEMA and the American Red Cross listening? And more importantly, if they were, what was going through their minds? They should have been moving food and water in to the Louisiana Superdome, setting up tents and shelters in nearby safe locations; no such luck: we never bothered to reach out to organizations that provided relief for weeks, months and years in foreign countries and, instead, chose to rely on FEMA, who acted as though they had never even seen a hurricane before. This is the type of warning that should have given them a clue: "There's certainly a chance it can weaken a bit before it gets to the coast, but unfortunately this is so large and so powerful that it's a little bit like the difference between being run over by an 18-wheeler or a freight train. Neither prospect is good." This warning came from Max Mayfield, the Director of the National Hurricane Center.

It's time to ask some hard questions and do some investigating and start firing the obviously incompetent organizers of this so-called relief effort and replace them with quick-witted, capable people who can think on their feet and who are not afraid to make tough decisions in difficult times. Those of you in FEMA who turned away trucks loaded with water, who refused to allow the Coast Guard to deliver diesel fuel to the Jefferson parish, and who cut off emergency communication lines without bothering to provide any advance notice, you know who you are and you should be truly ashamed. If you were following some archaic rules and regulations you should have known that rules were meant to be broken. In times of need, you failed those who needed you most. Quit now and save us the paperwork.

These people are supposed to be the experts; people lives were in their hands and they simply were not up to the task.

I think we've become complacent and to far removed from reality. We don't know what it's like to be without food, water, shelter, transportation and a place to crap or piss. What it's like to have NOTHING. This is a common occurrence in third world countries. I'm listening to Larry King's show as I write this and I'm listening to former President Bush and his wife, Barbara, talking about how we should be focusing on unity and helping these people now, and not pointing fingers at what went wrong. This is exactly what is wrong with our leadership. They always focus on fixing what's wrong and not in preventing the errors in the first place. We all know how great it is that people are being saved this very minute, but it is tragic that we could have did so much more, buy neglected to do so out of incompetence. We have far to many "Yes Men," and not nearly enough of those who are fearless to say "No," to those who need to hear it most. If you want true change, surround yourself with those who possess different views and create an environment to foster ideas, and great things can come to fruition.

Our society, politicians, gov't leaders, managers and those who lead in general, spend way to much time putting out fires and not preventing them. Planes, buses, boats and trains should have been already in place, ready to move large numbers of evacuees. We have the greatest military force on the planet but we couldn't find the man powers to get ready for this? We could have moved cruise ships nearby to house people, readied large trucking firms to have rigs available to move goods and people. The majority of trucking companies are dispatched by computer and GPS; certainly our government could have set up accounts so we could tap in to their resources when needed.

Oh, and speaking of Trains, they would have certainly been helpful for moving folks out of town. I do not want to hear about how the poor could not afford to use buses and rail: in times of an evacuation, THEY SHOULD BE FREE! Do we need MBA's to figure this stuff out? I don't think so.

Yes, we are talking about class issues. In times of crises, however, we can blur those lines of division by using common sense. If Sacramento can have "ride RT for free" days, we can certainly give disaster victims a free ride as well.

The Department of Homeland Security is a joke. After 9/11 there was all this talk about creating a system of communication that emergencie workers would be able to use after acts of terrorism, but after Katrina, they had no cell phones and no land lines available for use, forcing the Police, Firefighters, Aid-Workers, and others scrambling for ways to communicate with each other. What the hell are they spending all that money on? Bush certainly didn't give it to New Orleans to shore up their levies. Oh, but we can spend 223 million dollars on an Alaskan bridge for something like 50 people. Yeah, that's right. Read it again if your having trouble with it. Yes, you voted for these guys. Time to make some changes.

Bush had to cut his vacation short-again. I am sick and tired of hearing about how it is so great that he, or any other leader for that matter, is down on the scene, getting their hands dirty, so to speak. It's their job. It's what they are expected to do. But, we should demand much more than that. Much, much more.

In my next post, I'm going to introduce my economic and transportation solution, intended to revitalize our economy and to help free us from oil, The Re-Train America Program.