CRAP FROM HURRICANE IKE 3

Life is far from normal for many residents in the area ravaged by Hurricane Ike. Many homes have been left uninhabitable. In the Houston area alone, around 750,000 homes and businesses are still without power. Countless people lost all the food in their refrigerators and freezers. At social service offices, the lines this morning are up to seven blocks long with people waiting to apply for a supply of emergency food stamps. Some were so desperate that they started lining up at seven o'clock last night. Employers have terminated people who have been unable to get to their jobs.

FEMA is not without its faults, unjustly blaming the state for its failure to open, in a timely manner, PODs (Points of Distribution) for storm victims throughout the area. Once the PODs were open, some were slow to receive ice, water and MREs. The FEMA emergency supply distribution center at the Reliant Stadium complex was poorly organized with supply trucks waiting needlessly for hours before being directed to the various PODs. As a result, several PODs ran out of supplies, especially MREs.

It is clear that, given the experience of one Houston area homeowner, FEMA needs a serious reality check. With his home uninhabitable, he applied to FEMA for emergency housing assistance. The following day he was given a motel voucher. Well and good - under the circumstances that was fast. Unfortunately, he could not find any vacancies at the motels that agreed to honor the vouchers. When he notified FEMA of his predicatment, he was told to relocate to another city. And when he told FEMA that he could not move to another city because he had a job in Houston which he would lose, he was told, "I'm sorry, we can't help you."

We can't help you? What kind of crap is that? I suspect that most of the motels on the FEMA list are not the Marriott or Holiday Inn types. I can commend the government for being frugal with its voucher program, but considering all the waste in government, FEMA should have housed this storm victim, and others like him, in costlier motels or hotels if that became necessary for him to keep the job his family depends on. Whatever happened to plain old common sense?