the media is trained just like the corporate lap dogs they are. PITIFUL!

There is no long form journalism in 99% of television news. They just want pictures and a quick quote from someone. If you want the full story, you still have to read several major daily newspapers and hope for the best.

it's bad when they have to send mule teams in. All the roads are just gone.

Then the media does an interview like that.

The response of FEMA and the White House has been praised by each governor in the affected states.

This stinks of the both-siderism in the corporate media that only lends credence to Trump's revolting lies.

The for-profit & 24-hour format haven't done journalism any good. The need to fill so many hours creates a competition to find fresh content so they can get the best ratings & charge more for advertising.

Everything for profit is going to kill everything.

There are plenty of people in desperate situations and they are the story. You want that suppressed?

If she had said "and it's because Biden is blocking aid" then a fact check would be in order. But she didn't.

But to say you have no water while holding water. Clarifying what exactly she was referring to would have been most valuable

She said, "There's people up there with no food. No water". She had just walked down the mountain and was clearly talking about the people still "up there".

I do know that the people up the mountain aren't forgotten. Everything is being done that can be done, but it's not going to be instant results. It takes time. Even the mules aren't flying up the mountain.

We know there are people hurting. We know there are people we'll never see or hear from again. And it hurts. It hurts every thinking person no matter where they are. But the best that can be done is being done. If you trust Roy Cooper for nothing else, trust him on this.

It seems.

nm

The story is pretty amazing.

It's not a bunch of mules. Though I'm sure if they were available they'd certainly be put to work.

My grandfather used a mule here at the farm that I inherited to plow his fields before he was able to afford to buy a tractor.

They're incredible animals capable of selfless devotion and extremely hard work. Each one can carry a load of almost two hundred pounds.

I wish I could find the article I read about this volunteer. I can't find it now. But I'll share if I do.



❤️

A group of special forces, who were often called Merrill’s Marauders (5307th Composite Unit), used mules to haul their equipment from India into the jungles of Burma.

There’s a book on this unit, Merrill's Marauders: The Untold Story of Unit Galahad and the Toughest Special Forces Mission of World War II by Gavin Mortimer. It details the unit from its organization and training, all the way to its last fight (out of 3000 men, only 200 men were left. All the rest were either KIA, WIA or sick with malaria). Mortimer doesn’t leave out the mules and the mule team’s contribution to the mission. Well worth the read.

There’s also a movie, also called “‘Merrill’s Marauders,” from 1962 (starring Jeff Chandler, and features Claude Aikin). I haven’t seen it, but it’s available on DVD.

The Legend.

It's a great adventure story. ❤️

I’m a WW2 history buff. I will devour whatever books and documentaries I can get. My grandfather, having been a B-25 pilot in the European-Mediterranean ToE might have just the slightest bit to do with it. Sidebar: I have a collection of vintage WW2 pilot’s gear that my grandfather would have used, or are actually his, including two, A-11 watches of his, both made by Bulova, that still work!

But there’s a symphonic metal band from Sweden, called Sabaton, and all of their music is centered around war events. Teaching history, really. Their 2014 album, called “Heroes,” is about people from WW2 and their heroics. Audie Murphy is probably the only one on the album you might be familiar with (song “To Hell and Back,” named after his memoire and movie).

All of their songs, the lyrics and the story behind each one can be found here. Even if you don’t listen to the songs, it’s well worth checking out, IMO.

Good time to recall an old song:

Had the album. Said that it reminded her of her father.

I miss her so much, Marthe48.

Thank you for sharing this. ❤️

My husband burned a CD for me, probably 12 years ago, with all sad songs. I listen to it when I'm really blue and feel better. This song is on that CD. When we were kids, we had a 45 with this song.

I don't think we ever stop missing our parents. I just talk to anyone I want to, no matter if they are with me or not, and that makes me feel better, too.

Mt LeConte watching llamas arrive with provisions. Then was hiking in my old stomping ground, Blue Ridge Mountains, where now mules are bringing provisions.

Takes 2 llamas to carry weight of one mule though.

There so many times. So many ways. Camping, hiking, driving the Parkway by car and motorcycle.

Years of memories. I am so very grateful for them now. My parents would be devastated to see this.

I know that Daddy's heart would be broken.*

It's the only reason I have ever had to be thankful that they've passed on. What a thought. So bizarre.



❤️

* more about this here:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1069&pid=12310

They used big horse trailers to bring them in.

Totally different animal. My other cousin across the road has a horse boarding business.

Farm life can be hard but the animals can make it so worthwhile. ❤️

never let’s the truth get in the way of a good narrative.

Crews are working feverishly to bring back power. There are crews from all over the county, Quebec, and Mexico.

A friend works for the city of Asheville. They request something from FEMA and they have it the next day.

Military helicopters are constantly flying supplies to rural areas. Roads are washed out. Rail lines are washed out.

Food, water, and supplies are available all over the place. Pop up food trucks giving free food and supplies in multiple locations.

Food and water are in good supply.

Communication is still spotty and power is coming back neighborhood by neighborhood.

to lie about relief efforts and FEMA funds is beyond disgusting. If there was any justice in this world he could be muzzled for the lies he spews.

Science tells us that climate change is real and even after experiencing this hurricane covering over a 400 mile swath he not only still denies it but then complicates relief efforts by denigrating FEMA, Harris, Biden, and democrats in general.

My wish for the election is we win in a landslide and causes Trump to have a stoke and no longer able to speak. Muzzle applied!

but liars have to lie. Did the person with the microphone do anything???

But other than that, no

Not what she was holding in her hands.

Jeez, have a little compassion and think about it. People up there are traumatized. Hell, I'm traumatized and I'm on the easternmost edge of the disaster area and have everything back up and running here at my house.

witnessing the endless lies about the so-called lack of aid coming from the orange thing and the magats for a week now. That person with the microphone should have had her clarify.

I am glad that everything is back up and running for you. Please take care of yourself, and let us know how things are progressing.

Thank you, niyad! I lost the contents of my fridge and freezer, but my county is mostly just downed trees, power lines and such. A few houses had trees fall on them, but since I'm in the rural foothills, the flooding and water issues were at the rivers and low spots, and cleared pretty quickly.

part of the problem. . a very large part.

I was going to say, thank goodness the contents of the refrigerator and freezer can be replaced, but then I smacked myself. Stores? Deliveries? And all the other issues that those outside a disaster never think about.

hugggggs

Everybody and their brother is collecting supplies to take to the mountains. Every store, business and church is involved in collecting money and supplies..

I am very glad to not need toilet paper, paper towels, baby items or water this weekend!

We live at Hilton Head South Carolina

She clearly said that there was no water, etc., "up there". (The reporter had just said that she had just walked down off the mountain)

She said she was without those things and there's no reason to not believe her.

You can watch the video here:

We got our power back quickly, the city where our shop is located about 40 miles from us, had power out for nearly 5 days and food, and supplies were hard to get most of the week. I was running water and other things up there daily, once the roads were cleared. Many right here were also without power for nearly a week. We had 80+ mph winds that downed many trees and power lines.

I know several people who have made trips from here with essential supplies. Asheville is about 4 hours from us when roads are open.

Even one person falsely complaining can trigger a mudslide of lies and bullshit.

You can bet this administration is giving everything physically possible to these people--absent what the MAGATs in Congress deny them. Some privileged whites are upset that diverse communities are getting equivalent relief where in the past they would get nothing.

The MAGATS are the problem, not us. Biden & Harris are executing the recovery process at the best level humanly possible and the reporting should reflect that.

Are you there? Ever been through a serious disaster? "Up there", she said, referring to her community, has no water. Maybe some of the homes are washed away or inundated with mud. I'm sorry to use the word but being human trumps politics. Asheville is blue but surrounding communities are probably not. So what? A shit load of people and animals have died, some are still missing, and many there have no utilities or water and homes are gone or damaged. Have some compassion.

People who aren't going through this are in no position to judge hers or anyone else's experience. Oh, wow, she's at some tent with bottled water so she's good. NOT. Sheesh.

We cannot expect people who have been traumatized to speak eloquently, even coherently. Rationality can be in as short a supply as food and water. I cannot emphasize how psychologically, emotionally, and physically damaging living through something like this can be. Your sense of reality is gone. You're desperately coming to terms with what happened, how you're going to make it through the next minute, and trying to figure out your future simultaneously. I'm not going to hold anyone accountable for what they say at a time like this. No clue what was going through her head at that moment.

You know what gets lost in recovery and relief efforts? The psychological impact down the road. The PTSD is horrific and too many people don't recognize it as such and/or don't have access to help.

other day about the "long tail" of such a hurricane, including PTSD, something I have rarely seen mentioned.

I can't believe some of the shit I'm reading. WTF is the matter with people?

Why is it "just plain stupid" to say "there's no water up there" (where she lives)? There are a lot of people without water. Would you prefer it not be talked about?

She didn't start the fire.

"I don't have water" tends to mean "my water service isn't working right now." Being handed two bottles of water doesn't solve that problem, and in fact increases the feelings of despair around having such a basic service disrupted.

I can't tell from your post.

It's been more than a week, and the people of western North Carolina have had no power, no cell phone service, no running water. If they had food when the disaster struck, it is spoiled now. Few gas stations are open and those that are take cash only. Many roads are still impassable.

My son got out for a few days' respite and now he's going back. Thousands of people can't get out, period.

The mud and lakes stink of death and chemicals.

It may be weeks before water is restored. A couple bottles of water from the relief tent keep you alive, but what about your overflowing toilet? How does it feel to not bathe for weeks?

There's a sense of despair, isolation, trauma.

She is quite liberal constantly trashing the orange POS, fighting for what is mostly the good fight. Only right wing thing I heard her say was her opposition to student loan forgiveness since she fought hard to pay hers back. Reasonably successful upper middle class woman.

She was posting on FB for a week trying desperately to get her sister to where she lives around the beaches of NC. For the sake of brevity and my lack of skills typing a lot on an iPad, I will just say that her first/secondhand experience was quite awful with the government response…though she repeatedly did say she understood the need for resources to go to the more populated areas like Asheville. She couldn’t get a chartered helicopter to her sister either due to FAA restrictions not being lifted for the sake of emergency.

Her sister couldn’t stay at any hotels since they only took cash and credit card machines didn’t work. Her sister had only a few gallons of gas and couldn’t attempt to use the car if she might run out stuck near some flooded out road.

After a week her sister did get to a free and clear road to use the car and was then able to drive east to the beach at Kitty Hawk where she is now safe. That’s the experience of someone with some family resources.

I understand not wanting to give any fuel whatsoever to rw talking points, but it does seem like a shitshow. Weather forecasters predicted this accurately. Not sure if the government response was proactive enough given the forecasts that were indeed made a couple days in advance for Appalachia.

Keep in mind the mentally and morally challenged MAGAT "do-gooders" have been interfering with FEMA, causing chaos on the highways, interrupting air traffic (so helicopters cannot even get in to perform rescues) and causing supplies to be lost/stolen/mismanaged.

Of course it doesn't help that MAGATs have left FEMA underfunded and damaged it through Drump's malicious leadership.

The best thing we can do is trust and follow directions from FEMA and other government agencies. They are trained on these matters and can operate best when we suspend our animal instincts and inclinations towards "freedumb" and follow their directions.

Uh, these are adult human beings living in those areas, did they not think to fill up some water jugs?

If someone's house washed away, then fine, but if not, then there is no excuse for them not preparing and then blaming the government for not having food.

She was only able to communicate once or twice indirectly with her sister. Took a while to validate she was alive. Cell phones and internet barely work.

The sister was unable to drive out because the roads were blocked?

The government isn't responsible for electronic payment systems, road work is work and has to be physically performed in a situation where impacts are huge and widespread.

It sounds like the "not doing enough" was not reorganizing the world for the benefit of the very well resourced to hire choppers for their personal interests.

Region or community what they’ll be facing after a disaster of the magnitude of a storm like Helene. Goodness knows the authorities try to— “the first 72 are on you”— but unfortunately there is only so much you can tell people to try to prepare them for what’s ahead after the storm moves on.

No one can fully prepare you when nothing — absolutely nothing — is like it was. One day you’re in your air conditioned home with food, lights and many creature comforts we’ve come to expect. The next, the very structure of your home may lay in tatters. No running water. Toilets that flush are a dim memory. Rotting food in your refrigerator. No way to cook, unless you heeded warnings and have a grill, camp stove or if you’re VERY fortunate have a generator AND the fuel to run it. Even your neighborhood is not recognizable. Signs of the disaster are everywhere. Adding to your misery is the fact you are sleep deprived and teetering on the edge of a breakdown — mentally and physically.

What people say in the early days after a disaster come from a place of despair and helplessness. You become hyper focused on yourself and the situation you are in. Cut off from normal communications, you might not have a clue how massive the disaster is. Rumors creep in and create more confusion and fear.

We learn from every disaster, but the biggest lesson is that there probably are no easy, quick answers. It is easy to say what you’d do or what THEY are doing wrong or not doing. If you’ve never been through a disaster like Helene, it’s best not to condemn the ones working so hard to try to bring a measure of comfort to the suffering. Donate to the reputable organizations and volunteer if you can contribute something they need. And if you’re ever caught in a disaster, try to remain calm, know that help is coming and remind yourself to be as patient as you can. Learn from this disaster and prepare for the next one. The authorities are not just kidding when they say stock up on non-perishable foods, batteries, flashlights and lots of extra water.

Water, non-perishable food, batteries, flashlight among other things.

We live in a hurricane region. But even when we lived in Ohio or Missouri, we had some supplies to get us through a couple of days.

We also have a generator which, we actually bought in Ohio after a power outage allowed our basement to flood.

Living in South Carolina we have all this things and store enough gasoline to run a generator for several days. Water is stockpiled and we have a pantry of no perishable items.

But considering climate change Halene demonstrates that no one is safe.

the alpine desert where I am currently, I have at least the essentials for my kitty and myself for about a week. Not sure that anything can prepare completely for a Katrina or a Helene, no matter how well-equipped one is, so I take nothing for granted, nor do I assume anything. And, having seen how poorly (as in totally fucked-up) my city responded to the Waldo Canyon fire, I pay attention when a problem arises.

the truth is nowhere on the planet is prepared to deal with every disaster. Would it be possible? Maybe a lot better than it is now if no money got spend on wars and other stupid shit. I don't really know. I know that no matter how prepared any individual is, a bad disaster could make that all useless so you just have to do the best you can and deal with what happens.

I often think about what would happen if another New Madrid earthquake swarm occurred. NOWHERE in that part of the country is built to withstand something like that and there are millions of people there. Same if "the big one" hit California or another mega tsunami like the one geologists say inundated the PNW. Point being, shit happens and when it comes to the powers of the earth and it's atmosphere, we do pretty well but will still always be vulnerable. Life on earth is risky.

People living day to day or paycheck to paycheck are lucky to have food for tonight, let alone days

Talked to someone who lives in a part of S Car that was affected by Helene. One thing that came up was the need to pay for fuel and other things in cash, something many people no longer carry much of, if any at all. Almost all registers are electronic and hooked into computer systems. When the power is out, so are cash registers. It's all manual like the old days.

Helene made me rethink essentials like having a charger pack for electronics and a charger adapter in addition to the other things.

With that said, I have a hard time criticizing people in a disaster for feeling like no one is helping.

She shouldn't say anything about lack of necessities because she's holding two bottles of water and standing near a relief tent? Are you serious?

This is a desperate situation and the media is rightfully telling their story. If the victim and reporter had blamed Biden, you would have a point. But they didn't.

And perhaps she was explaining the situation in areas that don't have a giant relief tent in them.

Not everything's about politics and not everyone who says something that makes you uncomfortable is lying.

Was it two small bottles of water in a week, and that was it when her house was destroyed?

Was it two small bottles of water that day, as they set up a tent and gave her a sleeping bag and MREs and something that lets her charge her phone as they restore cell phone service?

These are two very different kinds of things. A bit of hyperbole--"no relief, no food, no water, no power..."--isn't substantially undermined by two bottles of water if the former is the case.

You can watch the video here: