Are FEMA Trailers Making Residents Sick?

CBS News: Homes For Those Displaced By Katrina Can Contain High Toxin Levels

(CBS)  August marks the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Today the government says 86,000 families are still living in those white FEMA travel trailers across the Gulf - more and more waking up with a host of health problems - tied, medical experts believe, to the place they still call home.

When Hurricane Katrina tore apart homes here in Bay St. Louis, Miss., Angela Orcutt and her young son Nicky found shelter in a FEMA trailer meant for weekend trips.

That trip has now lasted 21 months - something these trailers were never built for. Time has turned them into human Petri dishes - unregulated experiments on the health of thousands still stuck inside.

What were the symptoms?

"Pretty much just the constant coughing,” Angela Orcutt told CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian. “He would just - you could hear it, just in his chest."

Dr. Scott Needle, a pediatrician in Bay St. Louis, was the first to notice Nicky was not alone. Dozens of his patients were suffering from the same symptoms that kept coming back: coughing, burning eyes, nose bleeds, sinus infections.

They had one curious connection.

"Every one of them said, you know, we are living in a FEMA trailer. And not only that, but, you know, little Johnny wasn't having these problems before we moved into that trailer," Needle said.

Trailers with floors and cabinets built with particle board containing the chemical formaldehyde. Under hot, humid conditions, formaldehyde lets off toxic fumes, especially harmful to young lungs.

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Blog: FEMA's Documents Tell The Story
Blog: Fumes Felt in Indiana

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"It's the long-term carcinogen issue that really concerns me," Needle said.

Terry Sloan was a floor supervisor at a Gulf Stream Coach factory in Etna Green, Ind. Gulf Stream Coach built more than 50,000 stripped-down travel trailers.

Sloane says his crew worked at a breakneck pace for months, which, he says, forced the company to use cheaper wood products.

"Quality suffered dramatically because of the drive and pressure to put these trailers out," Sloan said.

Executives at Gulf Stream Coach declined an on-camera interview. Instead, the company issued this statement saying, in part, "For the FEMA trailers it used components and materials that met or exceeded industry standards."

But there are no federal standards for formaldehyde. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends a workplace exposure limit of .1 parts per million.

Last year the Sierra Club tested 31 travel trailers in Mississippi and found that virtually all - 94 percent - had levels of formaldehyde above that limit.

And CBS News has discovered an internal FEMA document that cites cancer as a potential job hazard for those just inspecting the trailers.

FEMA'S recommendation for fixing the problem? Open the windows and turn on the air conditioner.

David Paulison, FEMA’s administrator, told Keteyian, "I don't know that the trailers are causing" any sickness.

As for Angela Orcutt, she's long suspected something in her home was making her son sick.

So we tested it, using the exact same meter used by FEMA.

Our result read .17. That’s 70 percent higher than what the EPA standard is.

"It's scary," Orcutt said.

Two year after the storm, there are still people living in the trailer? Come on. Get a job and move to an apartment. It is not the government's duty to provide housing to everyone. Trailers are meant for temporary use.

[dfisher51]

I was very interested in the FEMA news this evening. My father, was an 83 yr. old WWII Marine, purple heart recipient, whose was flying his own airplane prior to September and in excellent health. Well, he bought a new camping trailer, which burned your eyes, throat, sinuses and caused a terrible cough and all of the problems and symptoms on your report this evening. To make the story as short as possible, it killed him. I informed the doctors, who were baffled how he could have gotten so sick so fast (and they were never quite sure what caused his illness), and they listened to my theory on the camper and the formaldyhyde, but seemed to be uninterested or just plain didn't believe it could be related. Well, I want to thank you! You confirmed what I knew all along. My wonderful father died 4 months after he bought that formaldyhyde laced camper. Perhaps by my sharing this information with you, you can look further into the matter and maybe save some other lives in the process.

If you would wish to know anything further regarding the circumstances surrounding the events of my father's death, I am available.

Thanks for listening.

Darlene Fisher

P.S. My Dad died of lung cancer.

[barbaraf4]

"Two year after the storm, there are still people living in the trailer? Come on. Get a job and move to an apartment. It is not the government's duty to provide housing to everyone. Trailers are meant for temporary use."
Posted by waynetran at 07:09 PM : May 16, 2007

Well said. The bad part is now they will start suing us.

[rplat]

Good lord people . . . get out those trailers, go to work get yourselves an appartment or a house and pay your own rent. You have about exhausted your freeloaders pass.

[mpville72]

And if the trailers were built with more expensive wood (not particle board), this site would have ran a "top story" about how the trailers were too expensive for the poor families and how the govt. was gouging them.

RIDICULOUS!

[dkelley142]

This "exclusive" was reported in depth a couple of weeks ago on Dan Rather Reports on HDNET. Why didn't you credit him for breaking the story?

[foamyfan05]

It doesn't matter if these people should have jobs by now. NO ONE should be building any kind of housing that violates health standards so blatantly, especially since they charged taxpayers to produce these toxic traps. Formaldehyde 70% higher than the EPA limit is inexcusable.Anyone remember science class? What did you put in the jar to kill the frog before dissecting it? That's right...a cotton ball soaked in formaldehyde. It's poison. I hope no one here is really suggesting that if we think the victims of a natural disaster are too lazy because they don't have a job after 2 yrs, that they deserve to be poisoned.How many of you booked a vacation to go to Mardi Gras and stay in a moldy hotel so you could help this city rebuild? Would YOU sign up for a 'funfilled' tour of the destroyed houses with the # of dead bodies found inside painted on the outside walls? Alot of New Orleans employment was tourist based before Katrina, how quickly do you think that's gonna return when there were still refrigerators full of rotting food sitting on the sidewalks over a year after the storm? I've been through a few hurricanes none as bad as Kat and if you haven't, you've no idea how badly it can disrupt everything required for modern living or how hard it is to rebuild an entire city when it takes forever just to remove the treefall,pieces of broken houses,and destroyed businesses. Have some compassion for crying out loud.

[brmom2]

A number of the people still living in the trailers in the fema parks are disabled to the point where they can't work. Some of the people living in trailers in the driveways of their former homes are waiting for insurance settlements Google Allstate Lawsuits or road home money from the federal government. Louisiana's very efficient government is only just now disseminating the grant money for a large number of these people. Rent in this town (Baton Rouge) has doubled to the point where I would have difficulty affording it and I am college educated and not trying to subsist on a Burger King job. New orleans has very little affordable rental property left and no child care available.
The people in public housing were basically abandoned. HANO just fenced the projects off and declared them condemned. I am running off at the mouth but my point is not everybody living in a trailer is lazy and living off the government. Life is not always real easy when you have nothing left and you are living paycheck to paycheck

[involved1-2009]

Left, Right, Middle. It's easy to just assume that the people still living in the FEMA trailers are "lazy, good for nothing welfare leeches".

You'd have to go there to see how wrong you are to generalize. Two months ago, my wife and I (from that infamous den of Liberal iniquity, New York City) traveled down to Ocean Springs, Mississippi with an inter-denominational group of 51 other adults and teenagers. We spent a week--as volunteers, paying our own way for the trip--to help Katrina victims. The destruction, more than 18 months after the hurricane, is beyond belief. There's a 100-mile stretch of coastal highway littered with the twisted steel and smashed concrete of office buildings, apartment houses, casinos, factories, you-name-it.

Several of the families whose homes we helped re-build were white, middle-class professionals. They had lost everything--except their lives--and were trying to re-build their world. The last thing they wanted was a free ride. For many, the emotional toll was difficult, if not impossible, to overcome.

[radiob-2009]

Posted by involved1 at 08:43 PM

My hat is off to you and all citizens that have helped the victims of this disaster.This is what we as human beings should do help those in need.

[liberate40]

So, you don't want your kids to be exposed to a build up of formaldehyde odor. Here is a radical idea: open the windows, run the A/C.

[nothappyatall]

I smell lawsuits coming down the pike soon against FEMA and Gulf Stream for providing defective trailers.They should have provided tents, safer- no formaldehyde.

[plainjean]

Is this not another example of the inefficiency and incompetence in the federal government? And to think more than $800 million in donations from the international community still awaits distribution to these people and FEMA has done little of nothing for their cause. UNBELIEVABLE! Initiative, referendum, recall, and impeachment are only a few words I have for the good people of New Orleans to force their elected officials to do their jobs! I wonder. When was the last time a public official in America was tarred and feathered?

[dbstevens]

As a survivor of Katrina, I lost my home and everything I own in New Orleans. I know first hand what life has been like since. On the one hand, I am completely in sympathy with all the thousands of people who are still struggling, as I am. It takes a very long time to get back on your feet. Not all of us are lazy.

But on the other hand, it%u2019s ignorant to expect perfection from FEMA or anyone else. There is no other country that would do as much for people like is as has been done here. And just a decade ago, the extent of the assistance wouldn%u2019t be so vast as it is now.

It bothers me that people think everything should be PERFECT. This was a catastrophe beyond anything this country has ever experienced. It%u2019s not like changing a flat tire. If you didn%u2019t see it in person, you don%u2019t %u201Cget it.%u201D Yes, FEMA and others didn%u2019t do a great job with this in many ways. But people, you can%u2019t ignore the fact that this was a huge event, beyond any expectation, and as people galvanized into action to take care of victim%u2019s needs QUICKLY, mistakes were going to be made.

I for one, am taking responsibility for my own life, expressing gratitude for the help I DID get, and am being forgiving of mistakes, shortsightedness, etc. And I don%u2019t want to hear all these people sitting at their keyboards slamming ANYONE who assisted human beings in distress, including FEMA.

[duffyn]

I certainly don't think these people are lazy or filthy. Like my father used to say. Look in the mirror, when you see something perfect, go ahead and criticize others. Read the article. They think the people's problems are due to the way the trailer was built not their "house keeping". Some people are just so disgusting - afraid one of their tax dollars might go to helping someone other than themselves.

[juli28428]

May God bless you brucestevens! We who watched from afar are so fortunate. I cannot imagine what you and the others went through --- and are still continuing to experience. How horrible it would be to lose everything that you own.

[xfredmenzies]

ARE SENSATIONAL HEADLINES A REPLACEMENT FOR NEWS?

[victoriarum]

When any company is manufacturing "anything" it should be done in "quality" and not in quantity, only short changing the consumer.

Yes, a person can buy the same product with a different brand name but always in "quality.

But, when you have companies any a hurry trying to bet the other guy down the street to get the product out the door then, %u201Cquantity%u201D is more important to those CEO's and upper management, and %u201Cquality%u201D is placed all the way back in priorities.

This is happening more than we know.

Pray for Peace, God Bless You.

[re-bolton2]

I used to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses,several years ago I was talking to a man in Indiana about the fumes that were coming from paneling,which I think he said was coming from house trailors primarily,there was a man from Muncie IN, who did some research about this,I think he was a professor from BSU,he had the equipment to test the levels in peoples homes,I thought the man that I was talking to said he was coming over to check his home,because he was having respiratory problems!Its hard to believe that someone knew about this problem but no one who had the power evidently did not want to do anything about this problem!

[Rich Murray]

http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_1990.html full text Jack Dwayne Thrasher, Alan Broughton, Roberta Madison.
Immune activation and autoantibodies in humans with long-term inhalation exposure to formaldehyde.
Archives of Environmental Health. 1990; 45: 217-223. [ from mobile homes ] PMID: 2400243

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/915
formaldehyde toxicity: Thrasher & Kilburn: Shaham: EPA: Gold: Wilson: CIIN: Murray 2002.12.12

Thrasher (2001): "The major difference is that the
Japanese demonstrated the incorporation of FA and its metabolites into the placenta and fetus.
The quantity of radioactivity remaining in maternal and fetal tissues at 48 hours was 26.9% of the administered dose." [ Ref. 14-16 ]

Arch Environ Health 2001 Jul-Aug; 56(4): 300-11.
Embryo toxicity and teratogenicity of formaldehyde. [100 references]
Thrasher JD, Kilburn KH. [e-mail]
Sam-1 Trust, Alto, New Mexico, USA. full text
http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_embryo_toxicity.html

[kejohansen-2009]

As a resident of southeastern Louisiana and someone who pays close attention to what goes on in Congress as well as in our state capital, there is something that everyone who reads this must understand. Our democratic senator and her party did something that has never been done before by Congress or the senate. They placed a disaster relief bill inside of another bill, which was a defense bill that the democrats knew the president would veto. They did not do this to help anyone, where in fact they did this as a tool to use in the upcoming presidential elections. In other words, the people we elected to look out for our best interest turn against those attempting to recover from the worst natural disaster ever strike the United States.

The truth of the matter is the hurricane Katrina had a devastating impact on three states. When you see pictures today on the news, it seems that everything may be back to normal. However, nothing could be further from the truth. I'm still living in a FEMA trailer next to my home having to suit my insurance company and wondering if I will never live my home that I'm still paying a mortgage on? With the recent actions of our democratic Congress all I feel is Shame that Congress would put their political party over that of American citizens, much less the welfare of hundreds of thousands of those affected by natural disasters.

As I tell people in other parts of the country, %u201CI endured Katrina; I am attempting to survive the bureaucracy".

[jrh2001]

My heart and prayers do go out to these victims of hurricane Katrina, but I feel they do not need to file lawsuits. The United States Government is not in charge of providing these people with housing, they just better be glad the government were considerate of providing the people a dwelling. Its either living under a bridge, or developing a cough.
You Choose!

[feelfree1]

The ***** were 18 inches too low, due to an Army Corpse of Engineers error. The Bush regime was urgently advised of this vulnerability, and did nothing.

Bush cabal negligence is ultimately responsible for the avoidable flooding in New Orleans. The 1500 Americans that died from the flooding are among the thousands of Americans dead-just another pile of the victims of the malignant Bush regime.

[disneyd]

I don't normally comment on stories but I need to comment on this particular one. First, some of the people still living in FEMA trailers are doing so because they are either in mitigation with their insurance companies or they are still waiting for monies from the Road Home Program. However, I need to inform everyone that I am also a hurricane survivor. During the time that we were left homeless, we purchased a travel trailer in Missouri in order for us to come home to begin the process of getting on with our lives. While living in the trailer, our daughter also became ill; with croup, infection after infection. Yes we had the air condition on and the windows open, however, sometimes we did not run the air condition nor open the windows because when it is 30 degrees at night the last thing anyone would want to do it turn on the air or open a window. Still she became ill. Our trailer was not constructed by FEMA but from a Dutchman manufacture. This investigation should go further than FEMA but to the core of the construction of campers and travel trailers.

[arthurcl1]

I agree with FeelFree1 Emperor Dynastic Bush is killing us over here, never mind about Iraq! "Bush negligence is ultimately responsible for the avoidable flooding in New Orleans. The 1500 Americans that died from the flooding are among the thousands of Americans dead-just another pile of the victims of the malignant Bush regime."

[rich1620]

I bought a 2005 Cavalier built by Gulf Stream from FEMA (through GSA in Atlanta, Ga) last fall. Since I purchased the trailer I have been sick. I have had one reoccurring round with sinus infections, sore throat, irritation of my bronchial tubes, wheezing in my chest, a ticking so far down my throat that it is very difficult to cough hard enough to get the infection up. I have had symptoms of chronic fatigue for about eight months. In March, I was diagnosed with glaucoma (internal eye pressure of 29).

I have told my wife several times that I felt like I was being poisoned or that I had something inside that was slowly killing me. Also, when I awake my t-shirt is soaked from my upper chest up. I change wet t-shirts twice a night.

I never got anything from FEMA or GSA warning me of formaldehyde poisoning!

I know that it is in my body or has done permanent damage, because I haven't been in the trailer in about a month and I haven't gotten any better.

Can someone tell me what I need to tell the doctor and lab technicians to look for in my blood or tissue to detect poisoning or how to detect if I have permanent damage from exposure there of?

I am going to attempt to contact GSA and FEMA today. If I find out anything I will post it here.

Robert Richardson 205-681-5509 [e-mail]

[bullis9]

I've owned 3 mobile homes over 19 years each had a formaldehyde warning lable posted in it. I've never had a problem related to it.

Personally, I think they should be *** grateful they were given a roof over their heads.
Sue FEMA! First of all go buy a tent and pitch it. Get out of the freebie house. The you'll have a tent next time you need it, you won't have a cough and you can save the taxpayers millions too. Oh, and get out look for a job and pay your own way.

I swear FEMA deserves some credit as do the mfg's who put together thousands of homes overnight.

Gratitude....

[olebd]

These trailers are not constructed to be lived in for prolonged periods. Especially in humid conditions. I have a travel trailer and it says so right in the manual. These things are very prone to mold and mildew if they are used for extended periods beyond a couple weeks. In the first couple years of ownership, on hot days, I would enter the trailer and have burning eyes and nose that would clear up once I opened up the windows and aired it out. I was told it was because the glue used in manufacturing was still going through a curing process. The problem seems to have gone away.

formaldehyde is used in more than just these campers, ever walked into a brand new single or double wide mobile home on a sales lot? These homes (trailers)have a very high concentration of formaldehyde and if the trailers had been closed and locked for a period of time the smell and irritation to the eyes is too much to bear. So we just bought a brick home

[nwihoosier]

arthurcl1,
Your rhetoric has no basis in truth. You don't even need to prove it, just demonstrate credible evidence. You can't. You are such a moron. Isn't your mother ashamed of you?

[ahrats]

Like any thing of new construction the materials used, cheap fiberboard, carpet, ect. give off fumes that are harmful to humans due to how they are manufactured. I'm sure FEMA was well aware of this and was forced to use these trailers before they had time to air-out, the fumes will dissipate with time. What is the U.S. government doing about rebuilding the homes for these people?
These trailers were only ment to be used for a short period of time. A natural disaster caused these people out of their homes and the U.S. government should help re-build the homes these people lost, cause you know the insurace copanies will not unless you are financially well-off. Oh right, some of the money to do this was the PORK in the last funding bill for the war. The U.S. can give money to other countries but not to the underprivedge of this country.

[waterandsand]

Ive had two homes destroyed through hurricanes over the past 2 decades. If your still sitting in a fema trailor after 21 months waiting on the federal government to help you theres one person to blame,,, you. If an illegal mexican can come over here and live in a freakin apartment and work why cant you.

[gramto7]

If an illegal mexican can come over here and live in a freakin apartment and work why cant you.
Posted by waterandsand

Could it possibly be that there are no apartments available or affordable for these people? Did any of you jerks ever think of that? Whole cities were destroyed! Buildings are not habitable and it will take a lot of time and money to make them be so. The money is usually tied up in litigation with some insurance company that doesn't want to have to pay after the person has been paying premiums for years. Why this cannot get through the heads of some of you is beyond me!

[sniper46-2009]

Don't be so fast to feel sorry for these people living in the Fema trailers. I live in the hurricane area and see the real story, not the one on the news. Every store and every bussiness has a help wanted sign posted. We can't find enough people to work. When you go to the grocery store the lines are full of people in good physical health paying with food stamps. I know people who quit their jobs after the storm to move into Fema trailers and take the goverment's free ride. The politicians keep extending the unemployment benefits for these so called victims when the only reason they are unemployed is because they are being paid to not work by a bunch of politicians looking for their votes.

[solark1]

Get a life people. It was Ray Naigin and Governer Blanco who were the responsible parties for holding up the help for the Hurricane. Get your facts straight. They (Naigin and Blanco) were so afraid of making the "Wrong" decision that they made no decision at all. By Law... Bush had to wait to be asked to come in from the "STATE OFFICIALS"!!! BEFORE he could call out Federal troops and FEMA!
Uninformed and Ignorant People are so ready to point a finger at Bush that it is laughable. Just shows how the Biased Media, that I used to work for, Spins and twists their stories to manipulate shallow minds. What Ignorance!!!

[jetlizhan]

i would hope that if my housing and belongings were washed away, so to speak, that i could at least have a job and apartment within 2 years - come on people.

[jetlizhan]

gramto 11

i see what you're saying and i agree to a point - but if you've lost everything and have nothing - then start over in another town/city. what have you got to lose? NOTHING. go where there's housing and jobs. this is exactly what i'd do and exactly what i did in the late 70's - best experience of my life.

[waterandsand]

Could it possibly be that there are no apartments available or affordable for these people? Did any of you jerks ever think of that? Whole cities were destroyed! Buildings are not habitable and it will take a lot of time and money to make them be so. The money is usually tied up in litigation with some insurance company that doesn't want to have to pay after the person has been paying premiums for years. Why this cannot get through the heads of some of you is beyond me!

Its attitudes like these that are driving this country in the crapper. You prob live up north somewhere and only see things from the blinds of the liberal news. These people are perfectly capable of getting jobs and apartments. Why you cannot get this through your head is beyond me!
And i live in this area.

[rushman71]

The people here in Houston have welcomed the evacuees with open arms and understanding to the Katrina victims. Today, we want them to go. Why? Crime rose dramatically to an all time high in the past year and a half. And what are some (not all) of these people doing? Nothing, but going around causing more mischief around our city. If you can't go home, find some where else to live. Houston is big enough as it is.

[cathaleen]

These look like young people to me. Were they satisfied living like this for the past two years,
have they no ambition? I can understand the elderly who have no choice but these young people should get of their arses and go look for employment.

[realitybite1]

This is unbelievable! They don%u2019t want to move away from their home town area and they don%u2019t seem to be able to see the %u2018Help Wanted%u2019 signs so they stay put, taking advantage of the free ride because there%u2019s no motivation to move on. They have all they need: food, water, shelter (in some cases, better than before the storm) and now they get to live the American Dream to have those basic essentials with out spending all day at a job! And as for those that had no job before the storm, now they don%u2019t even need to go out steeling things anymore either! So crime is down, food is plenty, rent is non-existent. Apparently the living conditions are not so bad that they are uncomfortable so sure %u2013 why not stay?

And the longer these people live in the trailers, the sicker they get, the sooner they will want to sue FEMA. Then our tax money will turn from supporting and feeding them to defending FEMA and housing, feeding and supporting them (we will probably even help pay for their attorneys as well)! Then we will be supporting and feeding them in their new houses that they will be able to afford to build (of course they will move to a new area to do that as %u2013 who would want to live in that area now %u2013 just look around %u2013 its poverty stricken) from/with the settlement money they get.

Are they crazy? Crazy like a fox:

Sounds like a plan to me; All they need is time. And as long as we feed and house them, time they have

[rileyriley1]

Are people getting sick in those trailers? they sure are. One friend of mine who was forced to live in a fema trailer til he could move back into his house (which they finally did last month) told me that his wife was sick with a respiratory prob for months...and hospitalized twice. They later found in the back of the closets, under the bed, and in the walls that a layer of thick black mold had grown. I would say that's pretty serious. From what i have read that stuff can kill you.

I have to say, some of the comments here were disappointing and frankly ignorant. All I can say to those people is I am sorry you are tired of still hearing about hurricane victims on tv or in the news. Sorry again, the problem is still there and it will be for a while. Visit the coast yourself and you will see. Its not a bit like tv.

People I know or have talked to when I was over in Mississippi last are employed or self-employed and, yes, hard working. They are not bums, sheisters, martyrs, or ingrates. They are doing what they can to survive. Yes, it was wonderful that FEMA was able to provide trailers, or at least something to live in, but NOBODY I have talked to actually wants to stay in a fema trailer any longer than they had/have to. They just want their dignity and lives back.

[toldyouso21]

These look like young people to me. Were they satisfied living like this for the past two years,
have they no ambition? I can understand the elderly who have no choice but these young people should get of their arses and go look for employment.
Posted by cathaleen at 09:45 AM : May 17, 2007


What is wrong with all of you people? Just because someone lives in a trailer does not mean they do not have a job. Did it ever occur to you that people do not have the means to just pick up an move? Every new job does not come with a relocation package and everyone does not have the means to spend THOUSANDS moving their household. On top of that, there is a shortage of housing in New Orleans and other areas right now. If you can't have empathy, how about just shutting the fvck up? The last thing people whose lives have been devasted need are a bunch of immature, self centered troglodytes who think if they personally cannot benefit from something--then it is time to bash others. You should be more concerned that the government is allowing the levels of formaldehyde to go untested--because the same building products could end up in your faux Mcmansion in the suburbs. Anywhere town, USA. Then you and yours could be coughing and be the next cancer candidates also.

[toldyouso21]

Its attitudes like these that are driving this country in the crapper. You prob live up north somewhere and only see things from the blinds of the liberal news. These people are perfectly capable of getting jobs and apartments. Why you cannot get this through your head is beyond me!
And i live in this area.
Posted by waterandsand at 09:26 AM : May 17, 2007


The attitudes expressed here are NOT liberal. To a one, they represent the "not my tax dollars, and I don't want my taxes raised mindset of the REpublican party" You know, the one that wants the government to stay out of all issues unless they are ones they think should be crammed down all of America's throat. When you hear people screaming tax dollars and "what's in it for me" and I have to bust my butt so I don't want to help anyone else--you are invariably looking at the lower middle class, Republican voter. FACT.

[nolalou]

Ok, I lived through Katrina, and I've had it with you insesitive JERKS who want to do nothing but blame the victims! I have neighbors still in FEMA trailers, and they are hard working, with jobs! Some people are still fighting insurance companies, crooked contractors, and a whole bunch of other problems. The last thing you expcect is a FEMA trailer to make you seriously sick! On top of that, the government is now offering to sell those trailers to the current occupants at a big discount. (each trailer cost the taxpayer about 60 thousand dollars, including delivery and installation, which is scandal in itself!).

It should also be remembered that the reason the damage from Katrina was so bad is the failure of levees built and maintainted by the Federal Goverment! If there ever was a disaster that goverment has some resposibilty for, it's this one!

I only hope none of you insesitive jerks never have to go through anything like this. And yes, even though it's been almost 2 years, it's still news!

[starleo146]

FEMA is a joke Chertoff is a joke I hope our country doesn't have another disaster you will see how Fema is prepared, God help us all I say. I would like a public audit of where our money goes and how much to Homeland Security that would shake them up I bet.

[toldyouso21]

I only hope none of you insesitive jerks never have to go through anything like this. And yes, even though it's been almost 2 years, it's still news!
Posted by nolalou at 10:11 AM : May 17, 2007


Actually every single one of these insensitive jerks SHOULD go through something exactly like this. Sometimes experience is the best teacher and God has a way of letting life teach people to have empathy. If they don't have the sense and decency to have a bit of empathy for others--then perhaps God visiting a personal disaster on each--that makes them end up homeless and relying on government support (car and home and everything gone with the cases tied up in court) perhaps such a scenario would be the best thing for them. I would bet they would whine louder and longer than anyone AND they would expect the rest of the country to care about their plight FOREVER. but to be fair, we should all grouse and complain about why they all can't just suck it up and get it together--just like they are doing to the Katrina victims. People are azzholes and extremely immature and self centered. Don't let it get you down. I applaud and pray for everyone still trying to come back from that horrible disaster--not to mention sending money down that way. God Bless all the Katrina victims and don't worry, when we finish cleaning out the pig sty--er I mean white house--help will finally really be forthcoming.

[toldyouso21]

Houston is big enough as it is.
Posted by rushman71 at 09:26 AM : May 17, 2007


I remember hearing and reading about the high crime in those "wards" in Houston before 2005. Who did you blame the horrible crime rate on before the Katrina victims?

[rushman71]

toldyouso21: Do you live in Houston or the surrounding areas? Just a simple question.

[rushman71]

The number of homicides in Houston from September 2005 through February 22, 2006 went up by 23% relative to the same period a year before; 29 of the 170 murders involved displaced Louisianans as a victim, a suspect, or both.

And that was just talk of homicides.