NationStates Jolt Archive

So, now thanks to extreme unpreparedness by the multiple levels of government response, many of us (me included) are under rolling blackouts. During these blackouts, there have been a lot of closings, including schools, grocery stores, and emergency clinics.

Shipping and stocking shortages abound.

I was told by, not my local grocer but, a grocer I had to go to two towns over because they had power while my town didn't, "Don't look for fresh fruits or vegetables any time soon."

The winds from Rita and the subsequent heat wave destroyed my personal corn and tomato plants, so I'm now forced to hit the grocery. The grocery has no produce.

Yet ... in all of this ... guess what's readily available? Liquor. That's right ... the liquor store is in full supply and readily stocked daily.

Yeah, I know, some of the rich folk and general well-to-do will scoff, but I'm wondering if they're allowing and encouraging liquor to get shipped in just to keep the poor at bay. To keep them from rising up over this mess.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but it seems strange to me that I can get all the bourbon I want, but can't buy a carrot to save my life.

I swear to Allah: If any one of you votes for an incumbent, Republican or Democrat, I will personally come to your house and shit on your bed.

To make it more fun, do you have any idea what it's like having a kid who's out of diapers and you have to drive 40 miles with no traffic signals operational just to get him some?

It's like being in Soviet Russia. I stood in line at a Wal-Mart for 45 minutes for those diapers.

No ... I'm not done ranting, by the way. I won't be done until January 20, 2009 ... and then I'll have even more rants.

I'll keep posting in this thread until then.

So, now thanks to extreme unpreparedness by the multiple levels of government response, many of us (me included) are under rolling blackouts. During these blackouts, there have been a lot of closings, including schools, grocery stores, and emergency clinics.

Shipping and stocking shortages abound.

I was told by, not my local grocer but, a grocer I had to go to two towns over because they had power while my town didn't, "Don't look for fresh fruits or vegetables any time soon."

The winds from Rita and the subsequent heat wave destroyed my personal corn and tomato plants, so I'm now forced to hit the grocery. The grocery has no produce.

Yet ... in all of this ... guess what's readily available? Liquor. That's right ... the liquor store is in full supply and readily stocked daily.

Yeah, I know, some of the rich folk and general well-to-do will scoff, but I'm wondering if they're allowing and encouraging liquor to get shipped in just to keep the poor at bay. To keep them from rising up over this mess.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but it seems strange to me that I can get all the bourbon I want, but can't buy a carrot to save my life.

I swear to Allah: If any one of you votes for an incumbent, Republican or Democrat, I will personally come to your house and shit on your bed.
Perhaps because alcohol is less perishable than a carrot?
The grocery stores here in Kingwood are still not fully stocked. They only had one brand of bread, very little meat, and not much in the fruit and vegetable department either - all perishables.

Perhaps because alcohol is less perishable than a carrot?

Ok that's fine ... but how come the liquor trucks can come in, but not the vegetable trucks? Perishable or not, my children cannot subsist on Vodka.

Why are one company's trucks shipping just fine while another isn't?

It makes no sense! It's like the priorities are screwed!

*grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* [dons angry hat]

Aren't there any canned vegetables? I mean, they are not as good as fresh, but for a long time they were an acceptable substitute.

Aren't there any canned vegetables? I mean, they are not as good as fresh, but for a long time they were an acceptable substitute.

Heh ... no. Those were bought up and the aisles emptied by last Wednesday and there's nothing left. No new shipments coming in.

If you have a fleet of trucks, please bring veggies to South Texas ... we really could use it.

I mean ... this is the problem:

My kids haven't had any real food since about last Thursday. Yes, they've eaten, but only that which the local McDonald's still had in stock and whatever I could find on the shelves of the rapidly depleting grocery store.

I don't know how the media is portraying this thing, but it's probably worse.

We haven't seen an orange in a week. Fortunately, I was smart enough to stock up on apples, but all the bananas have gone bad. I've made banana bread from them and that's all well and good, but how long will that last?

Once again, it comes down to priorities. I can drive down to the liquor store right now and buy 10 gallons of whiskey if I want, but I cannot go buy my children a simple breakfast. I've been relying on the school food program to give my children breakfast, and they've been giving my kids doughnuts! DOUGHNUTS! How in the fuck is that healthy?!

I have a friend coming down this weekend from much further north and she is bring some vegetables and such, so I personally will be fine, but what of all the people in the area who won't?

All I'm saying is, ladies and gentlemen, this is far worse than anyone can imagine. I stand by the final thought in my original post. We are being screwed.

Heh ... no. Those were bought up and the aisles emptied by last Wednesday and there's nothing left. No new shipments coming in.

If you have a fleet of trucks, please bring veggies to South Texas ... we really could use it.

That actually is bizzare. I would have thought that canned vegetable deliveries would have continued as normal - apart from in the really badly effected areas, - i.e, on a weekly basis. Plus you think the stores would have the intelligence to order more.

It's funny, my Grandmother used to religiously can her own veg. every year. She had cupboards full of the stuff "just in case." I used think, to say the least, that this was a little odd. Now I am not so sure.

(Still, no doubt candy and porn mags are in abundance as well as the liquor. The extent to which people can mismanage any given situation never really surprises me anymore).

That actually is bizzare. I would have thought that canned vegetable deliveries would have continued as normal

Yeah ... I would have thought, too.

Plus you think the stores would have the intelligence to order more.

Unfortunately, stores are run by people ... people who evacuated ... people who, with their pimply faced nametaggedness, don't realise that they have more importance to the community than just letting someone know that cream cheese is on aisle 7.

It's funny, my Grandmother used to religiously can her own veg. every year. She had cupboards full of the stuff "just in case." I used think, to say the least, that this was a little odd. Now I am not so sure.


She was a wise and smart woman. I do the same thing, but now we have this amazing heatwave. We are hitting temperatures 20 degrees (sorry if you use the metric, you'll just have to look that up in civilized degrees) above what we should be hitting for this time of year. I've had 17 jars of preserved fruit explode on me due to the heat.

Dang, if only the hurricanes had perhaps hit earlier in the year. We had a veritable explosion in our garden this year, all the organics were WAY larger than in the past, and therefore we were going through everything so much slower.....two weeks earlier and I could've sent you some.

We might have some in jars for the winter, if you want me to check and perhaps send some down to you. And I'm not even kidding -- you as a person I don't know well enough that I'd normally be like "Dude, poor Keruvalia, I should DO something" but when it comes down to the basic health and well being of children, I'm a bit more concerned.....

Simonist']
We might have some in jars for the winter, if you want me to check and perhaps send some down to you. And I'm not even kidding -- you as a person I don't know well enough that I'd normally be like "Dude, poor Keruvalia

Do not, under any circumstance, do anything for me.

There are people here who need you more than I could ever imagine.

My point in this thread is not for some Keruvalia Pity Party. I will always take care of my own, in the Libertarian fashion. However, there are people here who need things:

1] Fresh Vegetables.
2] Medical Care.
3] Air Conditioning.

Is it really that bad? The media portrayal (over here, at least) is far far less than that of Katrina. I haven't been watching the American news channels, though...

All I have to give is sympathy, though, and that ain't worth much...

I'm outraged. personally. And I see that I don't stand alone in this. What happened to the people who were sacked by the hurricanes is bad enough, but add to that the irresponsibility and incompetence of the government in dealing with this catastrophe and I'm ashamed to be an American. Not because we're internationally known for being boorish, uncouth, and rude, or ignorant, or uncivilized or anything people abroad have ever said about Americans, but simply because we can't take care of our own people. This has got to be the worst governmental blunder I've ever seen in the history of this nation. I mean, Bush, his adminstration, and any branch of the government could have used any means to help the people affected by the hurricanes, especially in a time when their control over the nation and its people is as solid and iron as ever, but no, they sat on their lazy asses and bickered and brainstormed and red-taped and bullshitted for several days before doing something about it. On a side note, Keruvalia, I ask you, the shipments of unecessary alcohols have been steady, so I take that to mean that the products are being bought? The big corporations' plans are working? The produce dealers are stupid because anything they sold to the groceries would be instantly bought up regardless of price? I don't get it, but I know if I could do anything directly about this mess, I certainly wouldn't do what's currently being done.
The Roman Empire was the biggest (population-wise) and most influential empire history had ever seen. Trade abounded, her borders were fairly secure, and her military might was known throughout the western world and some of the middle eastern one. Yet still she over-extended herself, allowed her traditions and security to be undermined, and she collapsed, slowly but surely shrinking into the pages of history. Will America do the same? overextend her "empire" and forget all that kept her great and powerful and secure, or will she succumb to the incompetencies of a select, idiotic few in the face of something as simple and predictable as the weather???

On a side note, Keruvalia, I ask you, the shipments of unecessary alcohols have been steady, so I take that to mean that the products are being bought? The big corporations' plans are working? The produce dealers are stupid because anything they sold to the groceries would be instantly bought up regardless of price? I don't get it, but I know if I could do anything directly about this mess, I certainly wouldn't do what's currently being done.

Yes, the product is there. I had to go to a liquor store ( I don't drink, myslef, and this is why) to buy ice and they were fully stocked. I asked them how they were so well stocked and I was told it was because their trucks arrived just fine.

Were people there buying? Yes, of course. The poor people. The ones that corporate White America want to keep down with their steady stream of intoxicants.

I find the whole thing sad and alarming. Mark my words, readers of NS: I will become the new Malcolm X. I will bring this nation to Islam, brotherhood, togetherness, and unity the likes of which only exists in neocon nightmares.

I will not stand for this.

A Rant by the Hippie.
Hey, I haven't sai-oh, you meant you...

...sorry, go ahead.


Seriously though, that sucks.

I will bring this nation to Islam, brotherhood, togetherness, and unity the likes of which only exists in neocon nightmares.

Ok ok ok ... that statement was a little strange ... but it was said out of anger. You may ignore it.

Anyone in South Texas/Louisiana will know my pain.

I find the whole thing sad and alarming. Mark my words, readers of NS: I will become the new Malcolm X. I will bring this nation to Islam, brotherhood, togetherness, and unity the likes of which only exists in neocon nightmares.

I will not stand for this.
I completely and wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments. And even though I be "Christian" (per say, not ascribing to the religion as it exists today, but to the teachings of Christ and those who knew Him), I know and worship the same God as Muslims, and your desire for neocon nightmares appeals to me more than what we have currently. More power to you, and the Libertarians like you! (lol I love Libertarians) Pax

I completely and wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments. And even though I be "Christian" (per say, not ascribing to the religion as it exists today, but to the teachings of Christ and those who knew Him), I know and worship the same God as Muslims, and your desire for neocon nightmares appeals to me more than what we have currently. More power to you, and the Libertarians like you! (lol I love Libertarians) Pax

Then get on the bus! You are welcome in the movement, brother!

The time has come for a new government, a new change. We must oust all the idiots and puppets who serve in "public" office. We must imbed those offices with those who would serve the will of this government, which is by the people and for the people.

We must take back our rightful claim to this United States. We belong to this place as much as this place belongs to us. Join me, brother, and let us create a new nation, a nation willing to live for its people, be they black or white, be they Christian or Muslim or Atheist.

This land is YOUR land. This land is MY land. We want it back!

Hey, I haven't sai-oh, you meant you...


:D

It does seem remarkably asshatted. Are there gouging laws in effect that are stopping people from bringing in food to sell? Or is it just part of the background noise of stupidity that has caused this?

It does seem remarkably asshatted. Are there gouging laws in effect that are stopping people from bringing in food to sell? Or is it just part of the background noise of stupidity that has caused this?

Yes, there are gouging laws in effect ... but, strangely in Bush's pseudo-State (He was born in Connecticut), not against the Gas Companies. (That's a rant for a whole other time)

Right now I'm only concerned with the people around me whose children are starving.

Right now I'm only concerned with the people around me whose children are starving.
As should the rest of the nation be. About the children and the rest of the populace sharing their fate. People rant and rave about how the conditions of the hurricane-affected populace mirror those in some third-world countries (or those not much better off), and then we get into all those touchy subjects about profiling and racism and the term "refugees" or "evacuees" and it boils down to this: while politics and the public, dance, the rest of America burns.

LOL! Good to see you survived with your sense of humour intact!
:sniper: :p :D
...then we get into all those touchy subjects about profiling and racism and the term "refugees" or "evacuees" and it boils down to this: while politics and the public, dance, the rest of America burns.
Give me a break! You think that all and only the whites had the option to leave? Are all those suffering or starving non-whites? Get bent!

Give me a break! You think that all and only the whites had the option to leave? Are all those suffering or starving non-whites? Get bent!

I encourage all Black members of this board to join me. Allah has a plan that goes byond everything that matters.

Come my brothers, join our cause.

Give me a break! You think that all and only the whites had the option to leave? Are all those suffering or starving non-whites? Get bent!

Yes ... and not only the White Man, and I could never belive they had the only right to leave.

I do know that some of you matter, that some of you Jews and Christians matter! I can only hope that some of you will ignore Bin Laden and just send some vegetables to South Texas.

This disaster has no culture or race. Just help!

Unholy Shiznacky.

The list of catastrophes that can/do/could smack our country is impressive.. In any given year we could have:

1. 4-5 major hurricanes hit the South
2. "The Big One" (quake) hits the Left Coast
3. "Supervolcanoe" erupt in Wyoming
4. Chicago heatwave that boils off Lake Michigan
5. Loch Ness monster rampaging out of Lake Erie
6. Mutant space gophers attacking children in prairie states
7. (the ever popular) "Plague o' Locusts"

*hic* - Sorry, I been sucking down too much cheap hooch - DAMN The Man for selling me this stuff!!! ;)

On a no less inebriated but more serious/topical note, I'm sorry that kids are suffering in your part of the country. The relative supply of booze vs. veggies doesn't seem to me to be part of a greater govt. conspiracy, ... I hope. That'd be giving our politicians & corporations WAY too much credit for intelligence... If they're actually that smart, we're (all of us, Homo Sapiens as a species) screwed. Our average American politicians and American coroporate executives (or "UberVampiric IntegritySucking PussBags", as they are defined scientifically) can only use their considerable powers for evil, never good - it's the way they're built.

Fight The Man!!!

~FLG

Yes, there are gouging laws in effect ... but, strangely in Bush's pseudo-State (He was born in Connecticut), not against the Gas Companies. (That's a rant for a whole other time)

Right now I'm only concerned with the people around me whose children are starving.

I gotta know, is it that peoples children are actually starving, or is it that they arent getting fresh fruits and vegetables in your area?
Going with out nutritious foods is one thing, but even McDonalds can keep you alive.

I rather see a kid eat twinkie, than nothing at all.