Jenny Walty

This week has been heart wrenching, no one deserves to suffer like the people who are stuck in New Orleans, and all Americans deserve a government that takes responsibility for everyone's welfare and the infrastructure of our country.

As one of many New Yorkers who experienced the bombings on September 11th, I know with certainty that what is happening is New Orleans is 100 times worse. And it's extremely upsetting because the government's response has been so blind to the inequities of class and race. Almost 30% of the people of New Orleans live below the poverty line, more than half do not own cars and 2/3 are black. There are over a hundred thousand people who had no way to escape, and I think they have a right to stay alive, to protect their children by any means necessary.

I have "zero tolerance" for the administration's insensitivity and the Governor's statement that National Guardsmen will "shoot to kill" those found looting. How about a real "culture of life?" I think Kanye West was absolutely correct when he said on NBC that Bush doesn't care about black people.

I am still hoping to hear that my friend Ammi and Patrick's Great-Aunt Caroline have left New Orleans and are safe, and my heart goes out to the thousands of people who I know are still suffering there. I'm including below a recent email forwarded from a friend with a first person account of what is going on.

I will be helping the best I can, from making a donation to Habitat for Humanity when my unemployment check comes, to possibly housing some friends of my roommates who luckily have a car and are traveling north. I know everyone will do what they can; please think about raising your voice to unseat those with responsibility for this disaster.


Email Forwarded by Colby Hamilton from his friend Lynne, N.O. native and resident:

"Right now, I have several friends that are missing or trapped in New
Orleans.

My friend, Adam Wilson, a fellow Louisiana Green, is currently holed
up in the American Can Building with another Green, Christina Kucera (of Planned Parenthood Louisiana), her partner, Jordan Flaherty of New Orleans Palestinian Solidarity and 2 other friends.

My other friend, & registered Green, RR Bill Crescenzo, and his
immediate neighbor, Charmaine Neville (sister of the Neville Bros.) have not been heard from and we know they stayed. We also know that when they dynamited the levee by the Industrial Canal in the 9th Ward, they used too much dynamite and subsequently flooded the corridor of St. Claude Ave. in the Bywater neighborhood which Bill and Charmaine and a Green Party member, Andrea Garland lives.

Andrea has learned that her house is seriously flooded. This was where we were putting our Green Party Office. Means nothing now but we had a lot of projects we were working on and this is the other side of our loss as well. She evacuated to the Waco Peace House with her husband and cats and she is currently trying to get a bus full of supplies put together and will be driving back to as close as she can get into New Orleans with some members of Veterans for Peace.

I am terribly worried about RR Bill and Charmaine so if anyone knows anything, please contact us. Bill is on medication and I know he will not leave his dog behind at all.

I have a friend, Karim, holed up with 4 others in the Cafe Roma on Magazine St. Their situation is getting dire. They have barricaded themselves in. They have a land line and can receive incoming calls only. She can see outside on their block several dead bodies in the street. They have food, no water but soft drinks and a bar, they have cash from the register. There were 2 attempts by armed thugs to break into the restaurant which they managed to hold off but shots were fired. They are desperate to get out and need to know where to go. They are afraid of leaving this "safe" spot until they know the route they are on will get them out. If anyone can confirm for us whether or not the Crescent City Connection Bridge to the Westbank is open-can they make it towards there and walk across? What is the road open out of the city--I-10 West?

Another friend, Mike, active in the anti-war movement is low on water and in the French Quarter. He says that the Quarter is safer than most places and he has not left there. He said that today he witnessed hordes of people walk down N. Rampart St towards the Superdome in hopes of being evacuated or trying to find food. He says that there is no food. All of the supermarkets are now empty and unfortunately, unless they get some aid in, he suspects that individual homes will be targeted next as people are starving. Literally starving.

He also has witnessed many instances of the police looting in the stores and then leaving them open to be finished off. The looting is almost entirely for food and the national media is apparently trying to make it seem otherwise. He said looting is occurring in all of the parishes, not just Orleans and the looters are racially mixed-just like the neighborhoods that they are looting in and it's mostly food stores and supplies like diapers and so forth that is being targeted. He says he has experienced no tension amongst the fellow refugees. He says there is tension towards the authorities and that the police are upset as well that there is no food. He wants people to please start calling the media, the govt., whoever and demand that they drop water and food to them. They are very desperate. It's Friday and no one has received anything."

Kevin Drum's chronology of Bush Administration policies which affected the disaster (from The Washington Monthly) is very informative.

Many people, Sidney Blumenthal among them, have affirmed that no one can say they didn't see it coming .

"In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war."
And from Newsdissector comes an informative and infuriating discussion on the history of New Orleans, race, Global Warming, preparations, and insensitivity.

"Twice recently, I've mentioned the experience of Cuba in dealing with hurricane Ivan(which was a Category 5 when it hit Cuba) -- 1.3 million people, more than 10% of the population, evacuated under the direction and with transportation provided by the government, not a single person dead, compared to 18 killed in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and 70 more in the Caribbean." (from