“But city officials estimated that as many as 40 percent of the island’s about 60,000 residents remained in their homes.”

Well, I guess we know what percentage of the Galveston population are idiots.

Let me get this straight with Nagin;

He botches NO response to the backside of Katrina.

Orders the confiscation of law abiding citizens firearms.

Is facing numerous lawsuits from the NRA, and gun owners that haven’t gotten their guns back.

Facing a contempt of court charge from said named lawsuits.

States NO is going to be a “Choculate City”

Yet he still gets reelected by an illiterate group of citizens.

To the residents of New Orleans, do American society a favor, don’t evacuate and get out of the gene pool.

After seeing what your great citizens did to Memphis after Katrina and Gustav. Don’t come here.

There are too many horror stories about how New Orleans treated volunteers that came from out of state to help them, and they way they treated the shelter workers here.

My favorite one is when a single mom with three kids (including a baby less than 1 year) came in last November wanting some assistence from the last social agency I worked for. A member of our disaster relief services started taking her information, asking what home she lost, when did it occur, what kind of assistence did she need and etc..

The lady replied that she needed money for rent, new school uniforms, baby diapers and food and that they are Katrina refugees from New Orleans. 2 1/2 years and this woman is still wanting a handout.

Fortunately the company closed out that relief mission last Dec 31, and no other claims for Katrina victims are given out.

As far as I am concerned; New Orleans can rest in hades and I won’t give a bit of sympathy to them when the next hurricane hits.

I would rather help out people that need help, appreciate the help and are willing to help themselves out. Something I didn’t see from NO Katrina or Gustav evacuees.

GSP

consolers don’t even want to discuss the scenario and it’s a “victim handling nightmare” to rescue crews. Need feedback on this.

??

What are you saying? That they have orders to toss Fido, Garfield, and Polly the Parrot out to make room?

DougT said:

The margins the make on a cup of coffee is astronomical; the same goes for pizza (if you’re in the pizza business).

Speaking of margins, by the time the gas is at the station, the station owner makes hardly anything on a storage tank of gasoline. Gross margins are around 6%, but real operating margins plummet when you subtract operating expenses from the remaining profit. These expenses are things like payroll and credit card fees (who uses cash anymore?) Plus there are the lease or mortgage payments for the property, plus property taxes and water, sewer, power payments. Let’s just say that these so-called gouging gas stations aren’t gouging anyone at the pump. (Undoubtedly most are slow to lower prices versus quick to raise them, but they’re trying to make an additional penny or two on a gallon of gas. It helps them, but not by much.)

The real gouging occurs in their convenience stores and car washes, or, if any stations still have them, their service bays. Margins are amazing on the water, beer, cigarettes, food, etc that they sell inside.

Most service stations are just convenience store that use their gas pumps as bait. If you think a gallon of gas at $4 is a rip-off, try a 20 oz water bottle at a $1.99. Gross profits on water run up to 60%. Where’s the congressional action on water gouging? Well, that isn’t politically expedient, so they focus on those big bad oil companies.

If it weren’t for those convenience stores and car washes, gasoline would probably cost twice as much or we would have far fewer filling station choices.

Thanks.

James Greenidge
Queens New York

This is one instance where the government talks big about pursuing and prosecuting gougers, but in the end, they don’t do anything excpet talk tough. If they really want to do something, they need to ease restrictions on building refineries inland as well as get a grip on politicians who spout off about gas prices with no information whatsoever setting off a national (unfounded) panic. By opening their mouths, they created an artifical shortage by allowing dealers to run out based on the panic.

And for those who thought I was unhappy with Gustav or Ike’s wake… wrong. I’m still without power in Baton Rouge from Gustav on 9/1. All I was saying was that the media was really looking for a colossal home run of mass hysteria and destruction and all they could muster for sensationalism was the same side of the JPMC building in downtown Houston for roughly 12 hours. Texas will heal, but this could have been much worse and more widespread with a high Cat 3 or Cat 4.

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