“Iowans are at their best when their backs are against the wall.”
Photo source: American Red Cross
The 500-year flood in Iowa has affected tens of thousands of residents, but they are showing remarkable resilience and can-do spirit. Notice anything missing from the reports from the crisis area? Tigerhawk did: “I have seen any number of man-on-the-street interviews, and nobody is complaining. They all seem to be working to solve their problem, which is not surprising because Iowans do not complain about tragedy. They complain about hot weather and dry weather, but not tragedy. And I have looked for reports of looting and come up empty so far.”
Also not seen: Hysterical, BDS-driven rumors of cannibalism and government conspiracies. Remember those?
The Des Moines Register reports:
Flood damage across Iowa will undoubtedly total in the billions of dollars in what will be recorded as one of the worst disasters in state history, Gov. Chet Culver said Saturday.
“But we will rebuild Iowa, and we will be stronger at the end of the day,” Culver said. “Iowans are at their best when their backs are against the wall.”
…”To the people who are downstream, I want them to know we are not going to quit,” said Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, who previously represented southern Iowa as a state legislator.
Iowa has sustained 16 fatalities from flooding and tornadoes since late May, and 83 of the state’s 99 counties have been declared disaster areas. The latest death was a woman found dead in her home in an area of Cedar Rapids that had been evacuated because of flooding, Culver said.
…The state faces a continuing emergency statewide, and the Iowa National Guard plans to call up an additional 1,000 soldiers and airmen to provide flood relief, said Maj. Gen. Ron Dardis, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard. There are already more than 2,500 Guardsmen on duty in Iowa, including 750 soldiers and airmen helping in the Des Moines area.
“We are trying to stay ahead of the fight” by working to combat flooding in downstream communities, Dardis said. He thanked the families and employers of Iowa Guardsmen, many of whom have already served one or two tours in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Culver said some of the worst damage will be sustained by Iowa farmers who have seen their crops badly damaged by flooding that will cost in excess of $1 billion.
Iowa blogger Liberty Pundit has a report, videos, and a call for help.
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Now, if only the ninny state will let these people back into their homes.
now that it’s advertised.. expect out of towner’s to flock in and grab while the grabbing is good.. anything you can float out of there..
but beware.. the police haven’t taken any guns away from law abiding citizens..
I currently live in MO, and told my husband this morning ‘funny; no one in Iowa has blamed Bush.’ I wonder if John Mellencamp will go on TV & say ‘George Bush hates Iowegians’?
God Bless Iowa. I’m very confident Iowa will be incredibly resilient.
#2.. the answer is obvious..
Iowa is mostly white.. that is why George Bush doesn’t hate them.. unlike New Orleans..
and we all know how that went..
/sarc off
So how many Iowans are out there looting their local Wal-Mart?
So where is Mc Cain after his insults against Bush for not responding quick enough to Katrina? Where is Obama? Where is Bush? Where is FEMA, Where is the Collective Angst of the Mainstream media? Maybe because the local people did the right thing and got all the people in the flood areas out. Maybe because the people rather than perpetuate victimhood actually got their valuables out of their houses and left the area before it got flooded.
I live in Iowa and have admired the spirit of the local people in dealing with what is actually a 5000 year flood. We had the 500 year flood in 1993 and this is far, far worse. The Cedar river rose to 20 feet in 1993. It rose to 32 feet in this flood. That town is devasted. Where is Foxnews? Where is Shephard Smith ranting over and over again, “Where is the US Government.”?
We’ve had a lot of damage here in Wisconsin too. I find it telling that neither the people here or in Iowa are blaming Bush & FEMA or crying that they should be bailed out of their troubles with house trailers, bigger TV’s, free hotel stays for years, free credit cards etc.
As far as looting. One family in Des Moines stayed behind (and luckily for them remained dry). They spotted a guy in a boat, going into a neighbors garage. He came at them with a knife, so they got a shovel and had a fight. He was arrested by the Des Moines police.
Just wait for it. Lefty bloggers have already started with two predictable memes: the one levee that broke in Des Moines did so in a poor part of town rather than downtown, and the National Guard is stuck fighting a pointless war rather than helping out at home. The citizens themselves are mostly fine and doing exactly what you said. But by the end of the week, it’ll all be Bush’s fault again.
Ouch - but true.
The character of our fighting forces never ceases to amaze me! GOD, bless them.
Volunteered in Pass Christian post Katrina and the same can be said for the great folks of Mississippi.
Iowa folks are hardy stock….God bless and watch over em!
I feel for the ones going through the flooding, but they vote like lame brains.
Great story Mister P!
Shovel beats knife. Good, bold folks!
That’s because there aren’t enough democrat constituents on welfare in Iowa.
My Dad was raised on a farm in Iowa. They are not the type who waits for the government to save them. They are strong, capable, independent people. They will get through this without the left shilling for them!
God bless ‘em!
On June 16th, 2008 at 10:31 am, phdsvp said:
No it was blown up, just ask Cynthia Mckinney
An uncle of mine, ( passed away a couple of years ago, sadly) was from Iowa and moved to Wyoming.. he was the type of man who’s handshake was his word and word was his bond..
very honorable man. loved to hunt and fish… why he loved Wyoming
Reminds me of an excerpt in Mark Steyn’s America Alone…
Self-reliance - it still exists and is a wonderful thing to witness.
My condolences to the good citizens of Iowa during these trying times between the tornados and floods they have been having a very rough spring. There have endured much and will always be exposed to these types of natural disasters in their part of the country, but instead of sitting by helplessly the folks in fly over country remain self reliant and will always band together to mitigate the threat to their neighbors and communities. After the flood waters recede they may require a hand-up in recovering, but you will never hear them demand a hand-out like the professional victim class like those in New Orleans that have yet to get up off their lazy butts and rebuild.
Pretty much everything I thought of has already been covered. No federal
assistanceinterference and yet these people managed to come through it relatively well off. I do feel sorry for them and having lost everything to natural disasters once and fire another time, I know it will be a difficult road to recovery. However, it is amazing that they seem to be accomplishing this without blaming the nation for their troubles.Where are all of the Hollywood celebrities holding telethons asking for help in restoring Iowa and helping the folks affected by the floods?
Where is all the media asking the tough questions about why the federal government hasn’t thrown money at the problem? Asking where the FEMA trucks (and trailers) are?
Where is Kanye West? Does Kanye West not like “white people”?
Where are all the looters stealing high-end tennis shoes (that they can’t wear in the water) and big screen television sets (that they can’t watch without electricity)?
After all, this is the state that had Democrats choosing Obama over Clinton.
I guess the media and Hollywood are trying to figure out how to tie this disaster to the “global warming” phenomenon. Of course, average temperatures have increased by over 20 degrees in just two short weeks. By that logic, the Eastern Seaboard can expect to be 12 feet underwater by 4:00 pm EST this afternoon.
Yep - parts of Wisconsin got hit realy hard, too. As did Minnesota and other areas around the Midwest.
No telethons. No celebrity hulabaloo.
Just plain, decent, hardworking folk cleaning up and caring for themselves and their neighbors.
Amazing contrast between two area of our GREAT COUNTRY. DEM (liberal) controlled Louisiana, LIB New Orleans. FIVE DAY notice of KATRINA to get ready, nothing done. IOWA, no notice of coming flood, LOCALS chip in to help SANDBAG and EVACUATE. 24/7 MSM in New Orleans starting 3 days before KATRINA hit. IOWA, 1 or 2 stories at the top and bottom of the hour. New Orleans residents COMPLAINING feds not helping enough. IOWA residents want back to their homes to assess damage, and start clean up… NO 5,000 IN CREDIT CARDS, NO LOOTING, NO BLAMING FEMA, NO BLAMING BUSH, NO PUBLIC OFFICIALS SITTING ON THEIR BUTTS, EATING BON-BONS AND DRINKING BEER. Just a group of EVERY DAY MID-WESTERN PEOPLE getting the job done Stark contrast in CULTURES, HUH???
Well said. I live in a city outside New Orleans and the news is daily filled with different stories about people caught up in situations where the Gov’t hand-outs are coming to an end and “what are we expected to do now?” or “who is gonna do it for us?” seem to be the only things they know how to say.
It’s been almost 3 years! If you haven’t started working on your house by now, what do you expect?
Of course there are some stories about people doing it themselves (oddly, it’s usually elderly or even disabled folks) and someone calls the TV station hotline to get these poor people some help.
Help usually floods in right after the broadcast.
Note to others waiting for someone to do it for them: Maybe you could start!!!
Pretty concise list of rhetorical questions.
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
-Ronald Reagan
It’s nice to see folks who can honestly say, “No, thanks. We can do better on our own. Just stay out of the way or grab a mop if you like.”
Just like the good folks from Greensburg, KS who had the streets cleared before daylight after the tornado.
Amen. Now THAT makes me proud to be Iowa born! Been in Califonia for most of my life (family moved out here when I was 2-1/2) but still have roots and relatives there and consider myself more Iowan than Californian.
After witnessing Iowa experince thunder storms, tornadoes and floods on The Weather Channel (not to mention all that snow and freezing weather in winter), my Califonia born and bred wife thinks I’m a bit off kilter to still actually want to move back to Iowa when we retire: )
Iowans are a great example of what America USED TO BE. Strong. Independent. And White!
In order for America to “become great” again, she must first rediscover who she is.
Every founding citizen of America was white. Immigration was restricted to white Christains.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of. ESPECIALLY since whites of America opened her doors to all other races!
But since we did, the OTHER RACES KEEP DEMANDING MORE! They now even demand that we erase our white heritage,, because it makes them ‘uncomfortable.” They want us to pretend that the USA was founded by a multicultural rainbow, and that it’s her white citizens that are the “racists.” Just because we dislike being overrun by foreign invaders that share none of our founding ideals or principles!
The first step toward fixing America is acknowledging that she was conceived and built by white people. Sure people of all races contributed.- later on- but she is a purely white creation, and we whites should all take pride in that fact. Regardless of what the globalists and elitists say!
A nation with no pride in her founders, has NO FUTURE!
Who was watching Fox News yesterday when Ainsley Airhead on Fox and Friends responded to a story about Obamaessiah filling a couple of sandbags in Iowa? Did anyone else see it?
After the clip of Obama’s sandbag photo-op, she raved, ‘Wow! Whether you are going to vote for him or not, that is impressive!’
This giddy response to a photo-op shows once again what we are up against with emotional response voters. It is common. It is illustrative. It is scary.
Feeler. Your entire post is ridiculous and rascist. Ditch the neo-nazi rhetoric.
Not to mention that “white” isn’t even an appropriate term. What the hell makes you think that all the people of european descent are the same? I’d bet my austro-hungarian, ashkenaze @ss that you and I have no ancestry or heritage in common whatsoever. So, who exactly are the “white” people responsible for founding this country… People of British descent? The scots-irish? The Spaniards in california? The dutch of early new york? The french?
Coz, yeah, different groups of people who through the evolutionary process happen to all have paler skin.
Different heritages have contributed to the greatness of this country.
Freaking nazi.
Oh, and G-d bless Iowa.
One of the news networks was showing Obama with obviously spanking brand new work gloves on( staff must have gone to a hardware for the photo op) taking a couple shovel fulls of sand for a bag, with a little boy holding the bag. Obama looked like he never shoveled anything in his life…similar to bowling??!!
Well the imagery, since we are into that in this campaign, is that Obama can shovel it and the little people are left holding the bag!
With R. Kelly in a van parked next to a middle school playground.
Kandye West and the whiners of Nawlins are nothing more than human sewage. Au revoir, turds!
Soldier on, Hawkeyes!
Contrast Iowa with Louisiana. These Hawkeyes are awesome.
Now, when will Jeremiah Wright tell us that George Bush blew up these levees? When will Mayor Chocolate - his term, not mine - tell me that George Bush hates white people, like he supposedly hates black people?
Hello, Obama? Any comments?
God Bless Iowa, and the Hawkeyes!
We here in Iowa as well as Minnesota and Wisconsin are very self-reliant and don’t believe that government is supposed to help us with everyday life. This maybe a 500 year flood but its still everyday life. We help ourselves and each other as we always have. We don’t believe in a dependent way of life. Great place to raise a family and live your life as you want. The values you learn growing up here will be with you the rest of your life. And that’s a good thing.
So much so that I retired and moved back here.
Wonder when we’ll hear Governor Chet Culver say that they’ll rebuild a “vanilla” Iowa, because that’s the way god (yes, little “g”) wants it?
When will we see him sitting on his fat butt doing nothing but swearing and cursing President Bush for doing nothing?
Probably never, because he’s doing something, and appreciating the fact that all races are working together.
Here in Wisconsin we’re also getting some flooding. One guy on the news last night talked about how “about 30″ of his friends from Illinois came up to help put sandbags around homes - many for people they didn’t know. No looting. No shootings. No blaming - just getting stuff done that needs to get done.
Does Soros pay you by the word or in Kos-points?
Neko chan.
I understand your confusion over the term white.
It’s because of your “Askanaze” or Jewish side.
For you see, Jews are not white. Just as Arabs are not white. No matter how you try to confuse whites about their race, we still understand the term “white.” Just as we understand the term “Jewish” or “black”.
When you say that there’s no such thing as white people, you are showing your own elitism and anti-white bigotry! As you claim that there are no white people, I wonder how would you react to someone who claims there are no real Jews? I’ll bet you’d consider those “fighting words!” ‘
But, AS USUAL, disagree with a Jewish person, get called a NAZI! Predictable and boring!
I’d be a lot more impressed by all this Iowan independence and “can-do” attitude if I didn’t know they consistently vote for Democrats because of the farm subsidies. When their noses are in the trough, they all look like pigs to me.
feeler : Whiskey Tango Foxtrot??
feeler:
Should have worn your seatbelt while you rode up top on your garbage truck cruising down the Albert Gore, Jr. Information Superhighway.
I’ve been calling my family in C.R just about every day to see how things are going. My neice’s boyfriend owns 5 houses and 4 of them have bad flood damage. The house that used to be my grandmothers is now owned by the son and wife of my cousin and it had water well into the 2nd floor. I feel bad for everybody affected.
The one thing that kind of disturbs me though is that 2 days ago Chief Graham of the CRPD made it perfectly clear that no police officers would be entering homes for any reason during flood inspections. Well, yesterday video turned up of CRPD officers entering homes during searches anyway. They’re breaking down down doors to enter the homes and then after doing a search they try to secure the house (that was secure until they broke in) and move on to the next one. There’s been a lot of mistrust with the CRPD anyway in recent years because of the way cops behave, how they’ve treated people and corruption. Just within the past year one officer and two detectives have been fired.
I’m not accusing them of stealing but people need to remember what happened in Greensburg, KS last summer. Residents were forced from their homes at gunpoint and the whole area supposedly sealed off by the sheriff, police, FEMA, ATF, etc. When residents were allowed back in many of them foundd their houses broken into and ransacked and a lot of firearms and jewelry went missing, never to be seen again.
Not everything is hunky-dory in Iowa. In Cedar Rapids, cops weren’t letting people go back to their homes to clean up:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MIDWEST_FLOODING_CEDAR_RAPIDS?SITE=AZPHG&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-06-15-17-47-31
Excerpts: “Hundreds of people waited for hours at 10 checkpoints set up by the city before they were allowed into their neighborhoods. … Those who break the rules could be arrested, Police Chief Greg Graham said.
” ‘We’re going to have zero tolerance,’ Graham said. ‘It’s for their safety and security of their property and the property in the area. They will be forced to leave.’ ”
Achtung! Vor your own safety, ve vill haff zero tolerance! You vill be vorced to leave! Und giff me zat gun! Mach schnell!
I think everybody is missing the big picture in all this: You know the Quaker Oats plant shown next to the river, under water? It is the ONLY place in the world where Cap’n Crunch is made! Start hoarding now.
But seriously, Paul Green, not all is hunk dory in Cedar rapids? Really? I’m shocked.
Ah, but Iowa is a “white” state. Of course things will be handled alright there. Bush cares about White People.
Get with the narrative.
I guess that depends on how you define “enough.” My sister used to fill out welfare paperwork for folks in Des Moines too stupid or lazy to fill it out for themselves.
But the people getting themselves back on track will take care of their neighbors, too, without their intellectual betters pleading for other people’s money (without contributing a dime of their own, of course).
And the bit about the Iowa National Guard being understaffed because of the war is BS. My brother’s in the Guard and hasn’t been activated yet because they enough people on the ground already. He sounded disappointed.
How is it that only 2 other posters condemn the racist poster feeler? And how is it that this guy’s posts aren’t deleted? Embarrassing. Kudos to Iowa. But keeping it real, it may be that the disaster in Iowa wasn’t of the same order of magnitude as Katrina and maybe FEMA learned something from Katrina. The local and state governments in Iowa are probably a bit more efficient than in NOLA.
I got back from helping in Iowa, and the funny thing was that I was thinking much of the same stuff reflected above. After people lost their homes they just went to the next house to help the fight. No whining, no screaming at the government, no looking for payouts. Red Cross stopped by and dropped off a load of cleanup supplies. A few thanks, then back to work. Cops stop by to say hello and see how things are going. Then, back to work.
No Sean Penn. No Dixie Chicks. Just hard work.
“…maybe FEMA learned something from Katrina”
Now THAT’S funny!
“The local and state governments in Iowa are probably a bit more efficient than in NOLA.”
Even better.
This one is a no brainer. No perpetual victims + no racist mayor in charge = Pride and passion…
Dakine has got to br from Hawaii. Howzit from the Big Island; cattle country.
Free speech can be rough, but its still free speech.
These stories are why I love Americans. Great people…
People are resiliant and will do a lot better without government sticking their nose into our business!
Thanks for the good words about Iowa. Please remember the folks in Wisconsin, Indiana, Nebraska and the other states suffering similar damage. The tornado which killed and injured boy scouts at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch took out power lines and trees on our farm. A center pivot was destroyed two miles northeast of us. My wife and I are still cleaning up the debris.
Someone commented about Iowa’s voting record. Western Iowa is culturally, politically and climatologically more like Nebraska than the rest of Iowa. Until this year, most Democratic candidates hardly bothered to visit our side of the state. We tend to vote Republican, and Steve King is our representative.
A FEMA rep has been wandering about Nebraska and Iowa since the damaging storms began over three weeks ago. He had good words to say about heartlanders.
With gas prices being higher I guess no one bothered to drive all the way up there from New Orleans to take advantage of the deep discounts at Walmart..
Contrasted against post Katrina New Orleans, people on welfare don’t know the meaning of ‘hard work’ or why to help themselves out of trouble let alone why to help someone else. Welfare is the most ugly social experiment ever perpetrated upon US citizens. The claws of its evil grip have so deeply impaled poor inner city black people with a culture of dependency that they are as unable to experience any satisfaction in giving charity to another person as much as they are unable to be thankful for receiving it. What liberals have done with welfare is worse than slavery because slaves had the dream of FREEDOM; they suffered slavery but, for that dream, did not allow it to break their souls. They had the hope that someday their children and grandchildren would be blessed by God and be free. Most people on welfare have no hope at all because there is no dream. They have been broken; broken by liberalism.