That's beautiful, J-Mac... You are a good man... Invisible... how true; but all it takes is one family, one face, one name to change that...
and whatever you do, keep painting those Blues, J-Mac.

Beautiful beautiful....you have a very artistic hand there John....and I enjoyed your website as well. Thanks for all you contribute and bring to the rain. A very happy healthy and proseperous new year to you as well!

My aunt dated a gentleman who was a bus driver in new orleans for the school district, he told her that the bus drivers had volunteered to drive those buses to safety full of people. 800 buses were totally submerged and ruined, each one if push came to shove could have taken 80-90 people to safety. So, 6,400 people who were told to evactuate, ordered too but didn't because for some reason thought they couldn't should have taken those buses out of town. There were other public transportation buses that were not used. In three days before the storm hit those buses could have made 3-round trips each per day. That would have been nearly 60,000 folks. I find fault not with the Bush Administration who warned everyone to leave there, but those who didn't and those in the local government who failed to mobilize and the dishonest corrupt politics where money should have been spent securing levees. I choose to send "no money" and do not wish my tax payers money to be spent for a city built by the French under sea level that should not have been built there. But that's just me, and with that aside, I do feel empathy of course, but it only goes so far. I believe that freedom comes with choices, if folks choose to stand in the face of such pre-forewarned events, best of luck and god be with you, is about as far as I can personally go. 

Lance: unless you were there, you don't know who had 'chosen' to stay and what was actualy going on... It souns as if everyone who wanted to get out, simply had to step outside and they would be whisked away by the chariot in a shape of a bus, and all would be well... There were sick people, and kids, and pets, and people who had no money, or a way to get to where there was transportation, never mind the National Guard willing to shoot anyone who seemes suspitious... Have you ever experienced a natural disaster first hand? Have you ever witnessed panic on a mass scale? Don't send the money if that's a choice, but your reasoning behind it is sub-human... I sincerely hope that no 'choice' you can be accused of ever making leaves you struggling.

Inna, well yes, I have been thru Natural Disasters and assisted as well, probably given more to the common good than anyone I have ever met, but I stand tall in my comments and know a thing or two about New Orleans. The local leadership failed, and many made a choice to stay. There were some cases of folks who couldn't but there were far more abled bodied folks who stayed. Giving is the hardest thing to do correctly, if you do it wrong it makes people weak. People make choices. Human hardship is a given, no one said life would be easy. Inna, please remember when you are asked to evacuate to do it and that will save us a lot of taxpayer's money. Many people here in Malibu did not evacuate during the last fire and they stayed to fight the fire with garden hoses, then the firefighters spent their time rescuing dummies rather than fighting the fire or helping real victims. See that point? If you would like to debate this offline, or privately, be glad too and bring your encyclopedia, and history books, there is more to the human saga than meets the eye. - Lance

My aunt dated a gentleman who was a bus driver in new orleans for the school district, he told her that the bus drivers had volunteered to drive those buses to safety full of people. 800 buses were totally submerged and ruined, each one if push came to shove could have taken 80-90 people to safety. So, 6,400 people who were told to evactuate, ordered too but didn't because for some reason thought they couldn't should have taken those buses out of town. There were other public transportation buses that were not used. In three days before the storm hit those buses could have made 3-round trips each per day. That would have been nearly 60,000 folks. I find fault not with the Bush Administration who warned everyone to leave there, but those who didn't and those in the local government who failed to mobilize and the dishonest corrupt politics where money should have been spent securing levees. I choose to send "no money" and do not wish my tax payers money to be spent for a city built by the French under sea level that should not have been built there. But that's just me, and with that aside, I do feel empathy of course, but it only goes so far. I believe that freedom comes with choices, if folks choose to stand in the face of such pre-forewarned events, best of luck and god be with you, is about as far as I can personally go. 

Well, well, well...........I have pondered stepping into the fray. Inna, thank you for showing the spunk to speak out about Lance's rather boorish comment.

Lance, you certainly have the right to your opinions. You have the freedom to share them when ever and where ever you choose. In a strange twist, I am glad that you chimed in. It is always helpful to glimpse into the mind of those that are above the fray. Your comment gives me a little better insight into what drives those in society that feel it is o.k. to ignore suffering. Your first comment speaks volumns. I want to be sure that I understand the source of your irrrefutable evidence. Your aunt dates a bus driver. This beau shared with her that buses stood at the ready to evacuate those scoundrels that refused to leave. He told her that they could have moved over 60,000 people out of harms way, had they only showed up at the bus stop. I am sorry that he missed his chance to be a hero.

Of course, there are other reports on the situation that cast a doubt on his version. The president did not order any evacuation. The govenor did not order any evacuation. The mayor ordered the evacuation. Of course, by the time that decision was made, there was not time to notify all of the potential evacuees. There was no one left to go door to door in the lower 9th ward. There was no left to go in and assist the old, the sick and the infirmed. There was no one left to gather everyone together in one spot for the buses you claim were on the way. There was no one left except those that were left to fend for themselves.

I have pondered your first comment since the day that you shared it here. I did not delete it. I wanted to be sure that everyone could see your thoughts on the matter. I would hazzard a guess that you remain the only member of that on-line think tank you created. You views certainly were not a call to action that any reasonable person would answer. Oh, I copied your comment so that it would not accidentaly be deleted. I would hate for anyone to miss the opportunity to see what makes Lance "the car wash guy" run.

Inna stepped up. You see the young and righteous still find indignation in the callous musings of the pseudo-intellectuals. The young still find the diatribes of neo-cons to be offensive. You must forgive her. She truly believes in mankind and has not yet accepted that there are some members of our society that are members in name only. She has not accepted that people really don't care unless it is to their personal advantage. She hasn't had to interact with many of your kind.

My regret is that this brief interchange with you may harden her heart a bit. I hope she sees beyond your self serving rhetoric and holds tightly to the dream the the world will be a better place for her children because she is part of those that are molding our tomorrows.

To your comment following her comment (again, I just have to copy and paste it here. wouldn't want anyone to miss the double dose of Lance "the carwash guy")

Inna, well yes, I have been thru Natural Disasters and assisted as well, probably given more to the common good than anyone I have ever met, but I stand tall in my comments and know a thing or two about New Orleans. The local leadership failed, and many made a choice to stay. There were some cases of folks who couldn't but there were far more abled bodied folks who stayed. Giving is the hardest thing to do correctly, if you do it wrong it makes people weak. People make choices. Human hardship is a given, no one said life would be easy. Inna, please remember when you are asked to evacuate to do it and that will save us a lot of taxpayer's money. Many people here in Malibu did not evacuate during the last fire and they stayed to fight the fire with garden hoses, then the firefighters spent their time rescuing dummies rather than fighting the fire or helping real victims. See that point? If you would like to debate this offline, or privately, be glad too and bring your encyclopedia, and history books, there is more to the human saga than meets the eye. - Lance

You are too modest sir! You have given more to the common good than anyone you have ever met? I must confess that statement only indicates that you have lived a very secluded life or your measure of giving to the common good is a far cry from what most other people perceive. You indicate that there is a right way and a wrong way to give. This statement is founded in the belief that you are the judge and jury of what is done with the gift. If you control how a gift is used, it is not a gift, it is a grant and a conditional grant at that. A gift from the heart is only wrapped in good intentions. If a bum ask for quarter and you give a dollar because if he is out tonight...he must be really down..........it is that bum's decision what to do with the dollar. You can not use a gift to control others behavior. Read the birth certificate again.. there is a better chance it says Lance Winslow than it says God or any other derivitive of the Supreme Being.

You statement regarding some cases of folks that could not leave but many were able bodied, overlooks the reason they stayed behind. Your bus driver, far removed from the fray, swapping horror stories with your aunt, may not have been completely informed. You both would be better informed should you take the time to watch the documentary "When the levees broke". You will have to suffer through the statements of people that were there. Hopefully, the truth will not prevent you from realizing how badly you have been informed.

You extoll Inna to evacuate when asked. Save the tax payers money. You slam those that tried to save their homes in Malibu. You call them dummies. Your statements are inflamatory. It is easy to be the fool on line. It is easy to be a pompous ass on line. I only hope you have the courage to look any of the people you refer to as fools in the eye and tell them that to their face.

You and I both know.......that will never happen. It is safe under your rock. The "car wash guy" can drift from forum to forum and chat to chat without ever having to interact with anyone. The "think tank" guy can post his thoughts anywhere.

The people you castigate will get up tomorrow morning and go to work. They will continue rebuilding their lives with or without your support. Everyone would be better served if you kept your personal pain and angst bottled up. That being said...type on "car wash" "think tank" guy. Your words reveal you better than anything else.

From Lance's website:  Mr. Winslow believes it is necessary to understand the local dynamics of an area before he enters the market.

I would hope the same would be said of Lance before commenting on the placement, history and rebuilding of one of the most significant cities in the United States.  If your trusted source of information is your aunt's bus driver boyfriend, you are sorely lacking in the facts, Mr. Winslow.  If those buses had been lined up ahead of time, or even staged at the Superdome, which was a shelter of last resort, many people with no transportation WOULD have evacuated.  However, an evacuation order was not given until less than 48 hours before landfall.  In a city with as many poor residents as we have, the end of the month means that a great number of people are down to their last dollars, with no disposable income to use for a voluntary evacuation.  Mandatory evacuations are handed down at the last minute and are impossible for many to comply with.  If your mayor told you to pack up and get out of town, but you had no car and no money, how would you do it?  Would you leave behind your pets, children, sick and elderly?  This is the choice many people were faced with.

The fact remains that the city of New Orleans was not flooded by Katrina.  Katrina passed over us and the damage was minimal, as hurricane damage goes.  THE CITY WAS FLOODED BY THE LEVEE BREAKS, CAUSED BY AN INADEQUATE SYSTEM INSTALLED BY THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS.

I am sick and tired of the subtle and not so subtle implications that our geographic location should ring a death knell for my city.  Adequate levee protection is not just a New Orleans issue....there are cities throughout the US that rely on these same type of systems to keep residents safe from flooding.  Should they all be abandoned as well?  Where would you have us all relocate to?  How about your home town?  I'm sure there is a thriving artist community there that has room for more.  And world class restaurants in need of not just chefs, but waiters, busboys and dishwashers.  Perhaps your local school system is in need of another bus driver and can hire your aunt's boyfriend. 

Also, your concern for my tax dollars is quite touching, but has a rather hollow ring to it.  Apparently, your concern is with money more than people.  Too bad those runs for public office didn't result in your election...you could have had an opportunity to spout your views in a larger forum and let people see the real you.  Or perhaps you already have.

Lisa - Thank you for sharing. I know that you had both feet on the ground and I must publicly apologize that it took me so long to understand my complicity in the pain suffered following Katrina. I will do better and I hope that my tiny clarion call will elicit some response and understanding that we are the last line in defense when under attack by indifference and buck passing.

John, please do not ever think that you have not gone above and beyond what so many others have done following Katrina.  The fact that you have a dedicated portion of your website to recovery speaks volumes about the type of man you are, and I am blessed to have met you here. 

Lance - You really are misinformed!!! I was, as you say, one of the dummies that the fire fighters had to rescue during the last Malibu fire.  First of all the fire fighters did not spent their time rescuing anyone. We didn't see a fireman or fire truck in our area until hours after the fire passed. If it wasn't for the home owners that stayed behind and saved their homes and several others in the surrounding area the number lost would have been doubled!!! I suggest that you talk to some of the victims and you will see that it is extremely difficult for them to rebuild and start over. It is going to take them years and their insurance will only cover a fraction of the cost.