Letter from Paducah, Kentucky
Michelle,
I’ve been trying all day to get a hold of Senator McConnell but the line is busy. I guess that is a good sign. Out of frustration I called his local line here in Paducah, Kentucky and if anyone can’t get through to his Washington office they can call:
270-442-4554
By the way Michelle I just got my power turned on yesterday and feel fortunate as almost 4,000 here in Paducah still don’t have power and because of the damage may not have power for another week. The situation is much more depressing for those who live in the rural area of our region as utility poles were snapped in half by the weight of the ice all over far Western Kentucky. In fact our local paper reported this morning utility workers with direct Katrina experience are saying the devastation to our power grid is worst than Hurricane Katrina:
“The word from utility workers with direct Katrina experience is that ice storm devastation to western Kentucky’s power grid is worse than that inflicted by the infamous Gulf Coast hurricane.
“We’ve got linemen here from southern Mississippi who were there when Katrina hit, who worked the area after the hurricane,” said Kevin Inglish, a spokesman for West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corp.”
What stands [out] to me [is that] there [are] no news anchors from any of the Big 3 or any cable news channel including Fox News; No Sheperd Smith or Greta or any satellite trucks to document the devastation or two hour gas lines or the mad rush for generators at Home Depot.
Unfortunately they also won’t document that no one is crying for the federal government or FEMA as everyone is just taking care of business without them thank you very much…
Tim McCann
Paducah, KY.
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- Still More Why Does Obama Hate Flyover Country? [Dan Collins, UPDATED]
- Shut Up Hippy » Blog Archive » Letter from Paducah, Kentucky
- Letter from Paducah, Kentucky — But As For Me
- Sma' Talk Wi' T
- GayPatriot » President, News Anchors Absent from Kentucky Disaster
- Confederate Yankee
- PAXALLES
- The Other McCain: Dead hillbillies. Who cares?
- GOPMOM Note: Barack Obama hates poor, white people
- Common Sense Political Thought » Blog Archive » No Katrina Comparisons?
- If Bush were still president… « Right Minded Online
- Michelle Malkin » More dispatches from Kentucky
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This wrenches my heart! I have people who work on my team in these areas and they are DEVASTATED, but no one cares! Michelle, if you werent banging the drum on this and crying into the wind, I doubt the little focus on this tragedy would be even less or nonexistent. This is DISGRACEFUL..and btw…where is the Pres? Oh yeah…eating $100lb beef at a party.
Yes Mr. McCann, but how about all of the looting, oh wait Paducah is not a welfare city, it is a city obviously of people that believe in personal responsibility that don’t sit around waiting for government handouts so when something like this happens, they have the wherewithal to handle the situation.
Good luck and stay safe Mr. McCann, just because it is not on the news doesn’t mean you are forgotten, many of us are thinking of you and praying for you.
No body sitting around in the dark with a “SAVE ME” sign nailed to the roof?
Hmm, take care of yourself, there’s a new concept. /sarc
I just heard on Hannity, something about the lack of FEMA being in the area. Is there a concert in Hollywood being planned? Sean Penn and Orah going down for a photo op with a chain saw? Oh wait, no need to bash the OB administration. Never mind.
Paducah is just across the Ohio River from Metropolis, IL, where my girlfriend’s father lives. We just now managed to hear from him today after the storm; he’s been at the community center there since his home lost power, but he and his dogs, as well as her other extended family members, are OK.
Forget FEMA…where’s the mainstream media claiming that the lack of Federal response to this disaster is yet another example of how this President and his Administration are a miserable failure? Oh, and that he’s a RAAAAAACIST! to boot?
What? BO hasn’t sent FEMA? Oh, wait. It’s a Red State.
Upstate New York and part of New England were without power for almost three weeks in December because of an ice storm. Apparently only storms that can score political points are important.
Are things bad?
Yes
Will it be hard work to return things to normal?
Yes
Will the majority of people affected demand government help before they get to work?
No
Why not?
If you have to ask, you just don’t get what the “American Dream” is really all about and it probably is not worth my time trying to explain.
No Mookie,
If this had been New Orleans and Bush 43 in charge, the MSM would be harping 24/7 about the lack of leadership and racism.
MM is just posting what alot of us have been wondering out loud.
GSP
“This is Sparta!”
Obama won’t go there because he doesn’t like to be cold.
What are you talking about? I’m agreeing with Michelle.
I was saying the same thing to my FIL yesterday, and his response was, “Well what would he (POTUS) be able to do anyway [if he went to KY]?”
I said, “How about supporting his fellow Americans, you know, those he is supposed to be representing??? He can’t be bothered to leave his warm, snuggly office to go out in the cold for a few days??”
Dang, that makes me mad!!
or sitting on a bridge for 3 days waiting for a city bus.
Remember, keep a list.
Well, wait…
Do you think Bush should have come to New Hampshire when they were without heat, electricity and water for almost three weeks?
Whatever you do..make sure you check with Oprah before you use any terminology to describe a person of color who may be without power…she doesn’t like the term “refugee” for example, so just check with “whitey’s conscience” before you say anything.
Meanwhile, Obama and his hoard are enjoying an overheated White House! By the way, has Obama made a visit to the devastated area yet? President Bush caught hell for the Katrina thing but Obama makes news for throwing a Super Bowl party in the middle of this disaster.!!! I am so angry!!!
Touché, Mookie. That also angers me. Maybe he was just too busy wrecking our economy to come to NH.
I agree with you that
Crickets Washington Crickets
Or packing. It happens.
I’m a little uncomfortable with the Katrina comparisons. That was such a massive failure on virtually everyone’s part. What’s going on in Kentucky isn’t a failure of people as much as it’s a failure of infrastructure.
The statement I keep hearing from Obama and the lefties over and over and over again is “we have more pressing, important, urgent things to worry about now….” He only discusses urgent stuff.
Never never, what so ever depend on the federal government, especially if you live in a red state.
If you get enough people in Kentucky to start screaming “Racist” about federal assistance, it will come a lot quicker. Self-reliance is so Booz-wa.
boo-freaking-hoo!
Where are the “Justice Brothers”?
Maybe it’s unrealistic to expect POTUS to tour an area of the country with such great destruction??? Surely other things could trump the need to at least witness for himself what his fellow citizens are enduring (and overcoming)…
In the case of Katrina, all bureaucrats from the top down got caught with their pants down…even with a few days’ warning.
And with all of Obama’s blathering about infrastructure you think he’d be down there proposing a better grid with stimulus money – oh wait – millions for Hollywood’s millionaires takes priority. Sorry.
I respect the people getting the job done by themselves. What annoys me is the hypocrisy. Shep Smith indeed. The little wuss isn’t down there shivering demanding that Zero do something.
There is no BUSH to slap around,no political capital to gain.The MSM is to busy trying to cover Obummers mistakes and corrupt appointments to be bothered by a bunch of hillbillies.
Um, is it me, or if Bush was still POTUS, the media would be all over him for not touring the region?
And after all, the One could just arrive on scene, melt the ice, wave his hand and restore all the power. Media double standard?
We just went through Ike and I feel for these folks. Our prayers are with you all.
Remember Governor Blanco refused initial help. For FEMA to get involved without a request would amount to the Federal government invading a state.
I don’t know. I keep using our ice storm as a comparison point since it was very similar to what’s happening in Kentucky right now. As far as I remember, there was no media outcry for Bush to come up here. In fact, the only real media coverage I remember was on Rachel Maddow’s show and that was part of the bigger issue of infrastructure.
When things get tough, the tough get going. Case in point – cabinet choices found to be corrupt, go read to school children (apparently forgetting that bad things happen when Presidents read to school kids).
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090203/D964BKD01.html
I suppose we’ll hear from the Obama administration that they haven’t had time to replace all the FEMA folks and therefore can’t be held accountable for their slow performance. Has the president at least declared an emergency in Kentucky yet? That doesn’t cost anything. But you know, the smart people will be prepared and stick together to take care of themselves, because you can’t count on the feds to leap in and fix anyting.
Good point.
When I say all bureaucrats, that would include Blanco and Nagin. Why those two would put their heads in the sand while the storm was en route is beyond my comprehension.
In any event, the people of KY and TN, and those in the Northeast, as well as the recent Midwestern flood survivors (NOT victims) are to be commended for their efforts to pull together and help one another. We have a friend who works for a power company, who was deployed to KY from here in MD. He’s there for the duration, as are many other private citizens and volunteers who care about their fellow man.
I’m still TICKED about Obama’s fiddling while Rome burns (or freezes, as in Rome, KY).
That’s it exactly. Katrina was nothing more than a political show where the MSM saw money to be gained, and the politicans saw votes and power. It’s was a sham. Kentucky isn’t important. That’s the message coming out of D.C., and the MSM.
This is disgraceful. Unfortunately, Obama and his gaggle of cronies are too busy trying to rape the treasury and pay off their parasitic constituents and left wing supporters. This poor sick country is slipping into an abyss.
Isn’t a failure of infrastructure ultimately a failure of people?
Well said and I agree. We had hurricane Isabelle come through here and power was out for weeks. The neighbors came together and helped each other. Those with generators gave freezer space to those without. We are on well water so those with generators offered water and showers to those in need. We had neighborhood cookouts to use food that could not be saved. We came together and did not wait for FEMA. I could go on and on with stories like those with lift kits on their trucks being the only ones able to go through the flood waters to get supplies for others but I think the point has been made. We have to take care of ourselves.
Ditto. We take care of ourselves, and each other. We don’t need goobermint to bungle everything up.
My hat is off to the people of your community for their spirit and generosity. What a great example.
Those of us in flyover country now know what kind of response we can expect if unfortunate enough to experience any type of natural disaster. Great to see individual states providing what little relief they can via National Guard and utility company cooperation. It is amazing in these hard hit mostly rural area the population isn’t out running the streets looting every store in sight. Oh! Wait! These are hard working resposible and when possible self reliant citizens that just need a hand up to recover from this disaster not a hand out.
I have wondered where the hell FEMA is, but from their past performance and newly appointed inept leadership (to include the Zero) I’m sure they could screw up a wet dream better than they could provide any relief or assistance to the citizens of Kentucky. Another great lesson in the old Boy Scout rule “be prepared.” Hope for the best prepare for the worst!
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE (mo-lone lah-veh) Translation: Come and take them!
Tim–Southeast Missouri has been praying for all of you in Kentucky. We have areas here that won’t have power for a few more weeks. Please let us know if we can help. Our prayers are with you.
No one cares about KY because it’s predominantly white tax-payers that obey the law.
Go figure…
Where are the leftover FEMA trailers that could be used to temporarily relocate those without power (and HEAT)? Where are the pre-paid Visa cards that Katrina victims got? Where are the free hotel rooms? If George Bush’s response was incompetent, Barack’s response is far beyond incompetent. But as many point out… it’s a red state.
Barack Obama hates white people.
Hello…….calling Keith Olbermann. Did you see what I wrote bath tub boy?
I thought I saw Sean Penn with a plastic spoon digging out a highway. Earler in the day he was using a plastic knife to cut down fallen tree branches.
You just have to look carefully. After all he used the high-tech red plastic cup to bail out a boat during Katrina, so he’s well trained in emergency responses.
Tim, our prayers go out to you and the family. We were fortunate enough to get the 12″ of snow up here in Independence while it iced up the rest of the state. Hang in there, friend.
I bet the Chinese would have the power restored by now… you know, they’re so much better than us. /sarc off
I’d rather see Shep than Geraldo. Anyday.
You all have it all wrong. What talking news head wants to go to KY where it’s COLD?
With Katrina, it was come down to NOLA, nice and warm, mon! Come have some rum, mon. See the ladies, all needing beads, mon. Party all night long!
I think Paducah is right across the river from Metropolis, Il (where Obama is in front of the Superman statue). I sold books door to door there one summer in college. Great people. I hope the best for everyone and will keep everyone in my prayers. Be safe and stay warm.
I’m in SE MO, luckily north of the real devastation. There are towns of 10,000+ people in the MO boot heel that have been without power since early last Tuesday morning and the citizens are being told it will be another 2 weeks before they get power and maybe as long for water as well. I have heard that residents in some outlying areas have been told it may be March before they have power.
I continue to find it amazing that news stories keep saying that northern Arkansas and western KY were the hardest hit with no comprehension or map skills to comprehend that on the path between northern Arkansas and western KY lies southeast Missouri. Those are also extremely rural counties which have had little help from anyone except the National Guard. The stories limit the scope of the devastation by leaving out those areas of Missouri.
I have friends in all the effected areas and lament not just their suffering, but the depressingly minute news coverage and lack of assistance. On the other hand, I am proud to know those people and admire their resilience and self-sufficiency. They are not crying and whining for the government to bail them out. They are not clamoring for debit cards, free transportation out of the affected area or free housing. They only want the restoration of basic services and restocking of purchasable supplies, e.g. electricity, water, sewage and availability of kerosene, fuel, and food stuffs so that they can clean up and rebuild as needed.
I thought Carter was a pathetic leader. He’s Patton compared to Obama. The MSM’s covering for him is just disgusting.
We all have to be independant of the power structure in D.C. They don’t, and never have, cared about us.
I lived in Michigan and, had a whole-house generator that ran off of natural gas. The Fed’s don’t want to save you; They want a photo-op in a nice location. The media is no different.
Rioting = MSM coverage…Especially, “opressed” people rioting against ” The Man “
Fixed it!
Down here in Texas last week we had two days of ice. Of course, it is nothing like what has happened to Kentucky. I just wanted to write I feel for my fellow Americans that take care of things themselves.
I do hope the National Guard gets in there with some food, and blankets.
G-d’s speed to you folks.
Huh?
The good news, however, is that as I write this post Spike Lee is planning to gather his crew together and get on down to KY so he can make his new movie about how George W. Bush created an ice storm of epic proportions. I think he’ll call it “When the Space Heater Broke”. But he’s not a racist pig…no…not at all. My prayers are with the good folks of Kentucky.
I thought the northeast was taken care of by all that cheap heating oil from Chavez?
I’ll try different wording…
It’s highly likely the Dream does not include complaining about what you have received with a big screen TV in the background.
C’mon, Obama had other problems. The roof caved in on two of his nominations today. Somebody thank the middle of the electorate for electing this guy. McCain was no prize, but I think we’d still be able to recognize the country in four years.
The disaster declaration was made on the 29th. FEMA was on location prior to the actual declaration with advance teams and communications units. And the “MSM” has been reporting this…..but if you get all your news from Joe the Plumber, you may not be that well informed.
Prepping in case junior gets sacked up by Fitzgerald in the Blago thing.
Oh, it’s SUCH a distraction anyway.
Besides, if Oblahblah did acknowledge it, then one might have to start discussing cost of rebuilding, and nobody in DC wants that when there is pork to be spent!
Uh, no. But nice try.
President Obama doesn’t care about White People. Where is FEMA?! Where are the trailers?! Oh, wait! This is Kentucky; sorry. Most everyone already lives in a trailer; I forgot. Who’s gonna save Lootie?!
You’re doin’ a heckuva job, Brownie!
There are no Obamacauses in Kentucky to get worked up about (just those bible-thumping, gun toting rednecks), so you won’t see any MSM & bleeding heart liberals at work. Call it a form of genocide, just because he didn’t get your vote.
Yea, no kidding.
So the Democrats in charge of sucking up to Chavez let you down again.
Yet you keep re-electing them.
Already in the Obama Administration.
I posted on Kentucky’s Katrina yesterday and wondered too where Shep Smith is.
He and the others were quick to get crews to New Orleans but this epic disaster is being sweprt under the rug.
Kentucky deserves help and attention to the problem brings in more aid.
The lack of response from the White House is meant as punishment for red state Kentucky.
How else can it be explained?
Not enough chocolate people in Kentucky.
Not quite sure who this “you” is that you’re referring to. Also, it sounds like you could use a primer as to how electricity works or doesn’t work in an ice storm and how heating oil has nothing to do with it.
…and you could use a primer in sarcasm.
Who could tell in this place?
Vet, you’re absolutely right that I missed the sarcasm and I apologize.
No worries.
Just got this in an email:
Someone calling me RAAAAAAAAAACIST in 3-2-1
I’ve lived my entire life (pushing 50 years!) in the Denver suburbs and I can’t remember ever losing power for more than a few hours, regardless of the wind, snow, or lightning. Granted, we don’t get ice storms – thank God.
We’ve lived in a new neighborhood for almost 9 years. The new subdivisions here have power lines buried. Besides eliminating unsightly lines and saving trees from being trimmed, we seem to have a lot fewer outages. When the power does go out, it usually comes right back on. In 9 years, I think we’ve had a total of 3 hours of outage, and not all at the same time.
Now burying power lines would be a useful stimulus project. Start with the areas of the country that are the most prone. It may cost a bunch up front, but would save a lot in the long run. And save lives too.
Of course there is minimal media coverage of the KY situation. The residents are working people and are too busy taking care of themselves and each other. Maybe if they just sat down and whined how they are “victims” they would attract notice.
That was a reference to Obama’s love for Chinese infrastructure.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a0a_1233694896
This home video is good for just listening to the effects of the ice storm.
Kentucky Governor Steven L. Beshear (?).
Three guesses as to his party affiliation, and the first two don’t count.
Could it be there’s nobody to victimize in Kentucky?