Now it's the Hurricane's fault???

[benfieldexpress]

Now wait a minute. Hurricanes have occurred in the Gulf almost every year, and I know this one's bad. I feel so bad for the people in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and the pain they must be experiencing, while I sit here all pissed off about the rise in fuel prices to possibily $3.00 a gallon or more because of this hurricane.
If enough hasn't been done already to push fuel prices out of sight, now they want to tell us that apparently we have been getting 90% of our fuel from the Gulf off shore rigs. I'm not going for it. While all the logistics companies maintain they can't raise the per mile rate we now get, most of us are trying to make it on rates we were charging when fuel was under $1.50 a gallon. I'm sorry, I am not a happy camper right now, and getting hotter all the time. I love what I do, I make decent money. A strike isn't possible for drivers who have to support families, and I can't see that happening. Walking on Washington???.. President Bush doesn't care about walks, I think he's more concerned about how his oil companies are doing, and how many fish he catches on vacation. He doesn't care about our troops in Iraq. He's "Mr. Tough Guy", who won't back down on whatever his principle is (?). This forum is read by all expediting companies, most sponsor this site, which I love. But come one guys, you big executives have more power than we drivers do. What are you doing? It should be you are are willing to bear some of this burden, and walking on Washington, and meeting with the NTB. All this is going to come back and haunt every big time logistics company in America. What are you doing about getting us drivers some help???

I'm an o/o for 9 years, and this is the worst I've seen it. If something doesn't happen soon, this is going to get really out of control.

gdb

 

[riverrat]

it is already out of control and you made some fine points

 

[aquawarrior7]

I recently posted this question on another site.
When something goes wrong

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do you do when something goes wrong and hurts your company's profits?
When I am taking a load of parts to General Motors assembly line what do you think should happen if say 2 of my tires blow out or my transmission dies mid way through the trip. I have to pay to get towed somewhere, pay to get truck fixed etc... All this cuts into my profit.
What we do is accept that as something that happens in business. We as the owners of the truck and business have to pay for these things and hope our luck gets better.


The reply of the only person who even cared to try to understand my question.



u know i understand this all to well being in the trucking business tooo it is so hard to own a truck right nwo with the price of fuel alone

companes not wanting to pass on fuel surcharges or think that we r getting rich off of them by charging them a fuel surcharge

i can remember not that long ago when it cost like 45 cpm to operate a truck what is it up too now im no longer an O/O and ill tell im glad about that cuz frieght prices r down but the price we pay for everything else is up up up when is it going to stop

i feel for u bud i think that if every1 thought about it and tried to firgure out what they got that didnt come to them by truck they couldnt think ok nothing but 1 thing and to some ppl even that comes by truck

hope it gets better
teddy

Now cut to the oil companies. They would decide that since their tire blew or trans went out they need to raise the rates on loads they take to cover this. Then every time anything happens not in their favor they raise their rates further.

What gives them the right to not not just accept their companies losses.

We do cause we keep buying their products.

If I did the same thing I would be out of business. Hell as a truck driver we are having a hard enough time getting people to pay more to cover the rise in fuel costs.

This is a link to an article basically saying how much of OUR tax dollars already goes into helping out our OIL companies.
All this pisses me off and I have been trying to get involved by informing others about our troubles,NO ONE CARES or not enough to do anything
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Savemoney/P126521.asp

 

[dukesadog]

Hi Guys,

Didn't anybody ever read any of those Grisham novels about the oil business? Gimme a break the people out there that think they are regular business people ( honest) are just nuts. Why do you think there are so many refineries in LA.? Its only been called over and over since the 1930s the most Corrupt state in the U.S.

This hurricane is just perfect. Perfect excuse to raise prices and I would bet fraudulent claims for insurance and everything else..Jeb Bush here in Florida already warned of Gas shortages. Last month it was the Los Angeles Refinery fire...this month its Katrina...next month it'll be the all out civil war in Iraq that we'll never get out of...and maybe 4 more hurricanes.

I see the U.S as one big ship with a bunch of holes in it....people are running around on deck trying to fill their pockets but no one is bailing the water out, if you turn your head too long it might disappear, only to be replaced by one big Chinese flag....hope you like rice.

Todays special is Flog.....Oh? I love Frog legs!...No...Not Flog Regs
whole flog....:O

dukesadog
Florida

 

[Chry65]

You hit the nail on the head dukes.

Corporate American greed. It's not terrorists that will destroy our country, it's the high-up-the-ladder corporate American officials that seek only to fill their pockets with bigger profits and forgetting the hard working Americans that got the big companies where they are today.

The reward: Sell out to foriegners to make billions and spit on the folks that made you succesful. Thanks Corporate America. Remember, there ain't no luggage racks on hearses.

Drive safe!!

 

[cleat]

Man are you missguided!

 

[simon says]

What is benfield express misguided about? He is absolutely correct, except I would add the massive hurricane has exascerbated the existing situation to the boiling point. We now have high fuel prices, low rates, new HOS rules which will cut our income if followed, and that's to us, the supposed o/o's who make so much money! American people have a government steeped in lies which have us mired in Iraq, and now a massive calamity hits the southeast compounded by dilapidation and poverty, and he gives a 9 minute speech and promises no significant aid. In fact, New Orleans had plenty of plans to fix levees and got no money. The cops have been told to quit rescuing people and protect property.
Perhaps, ms379pete (see her posts on "72 shutdown") is right, that a strike may help. I just don't see it as an answer in itself. But how is anyone misguided in these comments. Listen to talk radio- Coastline last night had people calling everywhere and all where talking about impact on their living standards. Bush and oil co's. policies are driving a collapse, and Dems are saying nothing. We may be forced to park and in effect go on strike...x(

 

[Chry65]

Simon....I agree.

A couple of fly-bys in the comfy Air Force One and a nine minute speach that really only said how the private sector is helping.

Those poor folks need more than a fly by and a nine minute speech.

Our president should have made a personal on the ground damage assessment.

Those folks need to hear in person that the US government is putting this disaster as top priority.

Maybe thats why there is so much lawlessness and chaos down there right now. Those people feel like their leaders really don't care.

I know it's off the subject, but it just seems our govt. is just moving too slow to aid the survivors. That speach surely was not what I and many others expected.

God bless all the private organizations and volunteers who are giving their all.

 

[ryan8374]

Go to foxnews.com and look at the pictures of Bush on the ground. Think before you speak. He didn't just fly over the area. He was there, just as he visited Florida last year after all of the destruction. Give him just a wee bit more credit than you are now.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

And how do you propose they EXPEDITE hundreds of thousands of people out of there? Where would you put them? They have to plan things out before, because in haste something is bound to happen worse than it is now.

 

[ryan8374]

Tennessee,

You tell me. Getting people out was never the question. They've been trying to rescue & evacuate people, until they came under attack by gunfire. They can't land a helicopter without being rushed by a mob. The question should not be how they're going to be evacuated. The question is WHY did they remain? They knew it was coming in as a Cat 5, yet they stayed. I remember hearing about the backups on I-10 and other interstates with all those trying to get out. I also remember at times when the traffic had died down. There were always opportunities to get out before Katrina slapped them down. They live below sea level. What did they think would happen?

I recall New Orleans being under a "suggested" evacuation. It was never ordered. Now, New Orleans and its Mayor are blaming the President and the rest of the Federal government for all the problems. If I had been told that my home was likely to be destroyed and that I should leave, I would be out of there. I wouldn't stay behind, lose everything I own, and then blame someone else for my problems.

Oh...now I see where I went wrong. I forgot that we live in a society in which we shouldn't need to face the consequences of our own actions or lack thereof. I guess a "suggestion" wasn't enough. We need the government to tell us exactly what to do and when to do it. We have the right to go through life without ever having to think for ourselves. What happened to accepting responsibility?

Personally, I believe that no one could have known exactly how disastrous it would be. You can try to be prepared, but you will never truly be prepared.

 

[highway star]

We're being told that most of these people are so down-trodden that they did'nt have the resources to move. While watching CNN today I could'nt help but notice that quite a few people were smoking. Smoking isn't cheap. It seems to me that someone who can afford smokes and has their wits about them enough to make sure they have them during the crisis should have been able to get themselves a couple hundred miles north or west.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Ryan... I'm not disagreeing with you here. I was responding to those who think the government is moving too slowly. For the most part, yes, those who stayed are stewing in their own soup. New Orleans did not have an effective plan in place for this situation, although they knew that it wasn't whether it would happen, but when. The feds will be blamed no matter what happens... they weren't fast enough... they didn't do enough.

Personal responsibility is a big part of it... most of whom are involved know nothing of that though. The poor are always looked at with pity. Um... excuse me, but they are poor for a reason. People get trapped within a world where the ghetto mentality rules. They are too ignorant to know how to get out (please do not confuse ignorance with stupidity, as they are not stupid). Now the government has to go in and clean things up for ppl not used to helping themselves. At this point, they have no choice but to rely on papa government.

So now we have the government in there trying to restore order to what is chaos. I can't blame the ppl who are mad... I'd be mad if I hadn't had fresh food or water in four days. But the relief work is moving... along with the snafus that normally accompany an effort this large. There will be food rotting on the flight line, where red tape keeps it from getting to the hungry. That's all a part of burocracy. All things related to the relief effort will just contribute to the nightmare.

 

[ryan8374]

Tennessee,

I apologize. I misunderstood the stance you were taking. Since your message referenced mine, I figured you were talking to me.

 

[The Gibster]

Just as an aside we should all remember the info we are all getting from the media is largely how the media wants to paint the whole thing, indeed what the media wants us to hear and see. I can appreciate and agree with everyones' assessment and anger about the fuel costs, our profit being eroded, the shear mess of the whole thing.

But the media hasn't began to cover anything but New Orleans. What about the 90 miles of land actually south of that, all the people trying to make it on their own who evacuated when they were told to, even by walking to higher ground. Is anyone helping with their hotel bills?

My point is that I don't think we're getting the whole picture at all. The squeeky wheel get's the grease, and it seems the media is dictating what is squeeky, or 'newsworthy'. The rest of us, everyone else, seems to be 'by-products'.


The Gibster

 

[highway star]

I've yet to hear any talk of the real important issue here: What about Mardi Gras?!??!

 

[Tennesseahawk]

instead of beads, they'll throw salt pills and MREs

 

[davekc]

I agree with Gibster on this.

The fact is everyone is either spending their time blaming, Bush, FEMA, or the fact that many are black and once again, many are pulling the race card.

The facts will come out and alot has but not being reported.
Why was the response so slow?
It wasn't. Days prior to the storm, FEMA, the red cross and National Guard was on standby.
After the hurricane, many newspapers stated "New Orleans Spared"
The next day, the levees broke, and everything flooded.
Most of the blame should be on the mayor of New Orleans and the Louisiana governor. Why? Because they should have started evacuations of those poor areas days before using HOTARD (transit) and school buses to move them out prior to closing the city. FEMA can not go into a area until it is requested by the state. Not before. The request came in Tuesday. MS, AL, and FL made the request early Monday, and that is why they aren't getting alot of
news coverage.
Though I don't consider fault, there was hundreds of rescue vehicles lining the inbound bridges, but were refusing to go in because of people shooting at them. A large majority of help was already there. Only parts of the National Guard are equipped to handle this. Thus, calling in the army and marines, which takes time. No one expected as well that 2000 of the 3000 police force, would disappear. Again, seldom mentioned.

Is it a black or class issue? Only to the degree that the poor are living in more vulnerable areas. There are still whites trapped in the other parishes, but once again, you won't find that on CNN.
Rescues out of a neighborhood are not based on ones race. For the effort of speed, they are based on logistics, not lets pick out the white folks houses first, as Jesse Jackson is preaching to his flock.
They continue to have many refusing to be rescued, and sadly, they will perish.

Bottom line, evacuation should have been done by the city of New Orleans, and the state of LA. FEMA is only designated to assist, not do everything. Any more without a state request is illegal.

If Bush is to be blamed, then we need to throw his father and Clinton in there as levee reconstruction was defeated since the mid nineties because of budget cuts. That may come to light sooner rather than later.


Lastly, several days ago my brother was called from Camp Perry to head to Mobile for the Coast Guard. He will be working in Gulfport and Biloxi. His first reaction was that he was glad he wasn't going to be under fire while working. I don't call that a race issue.

Davekc

 

[highway star]

Great post Davekc. Race isn't an issue here. Stupidity is. These people were warned, they should have left. If you choose to live in a city that is 10ft below sea level on the gulf coast, you know you are in harms way.

The media would like us to believe ALL these people had no means to leave. No way. If those that had the means would have left, the human suffering involved would have been much less. The precious few resources available would have gone much farther. Even the poorest should have had the self-disipline to have a few hundred set aside for this so they could get out. Remember, they chose to live there.

I do feel very sorry for the children.

 

[cheri1122]

Mostly, I agree with the comments that the city of New Orleans and the state of La are to blame for not having an evacuation plan & disaster recovery implemented, and the federal govt is to blame for denying the money needed to improve the levies & floodwalls.
The people who didn't evacuate when it was suggested? Well, leaving out the ones who couldn't physically make the trip due to age, illness, etc, I would say it was most likely because they didn't expect it would be as bad as it was. Having lived in New Orleans, (and, not just loading up & taking off to help is tough right now!) and Houston, and Daytona Beach, I know how often evacuation is suggested, and how many of them turn out to be unneccesary, after all. I evacuated my home several times, and sometimes I stayed, & survived, & went through the process of cleanup & replacement without benefit of electricity - it's just part of life when you live there.
There is more than enough blame to assign, but (as the apologists for Bush keep having to say) - we need to put our efforts into fixing the problem instead of deciding who's fault it is.
If anyone is planning to go down there to help - please sign me up. If I had a vehicle larger than my van, I'd probably already be enroute. Cheri PS I was a nurse for years on the trauma unit @ Metrohealth in Cleveland, so I might be of use, and dead bodies don't send me running the other way....