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STPPINZ, that pendejo Harry Reid has already done it. They will never admit their own policies, feel good ideas, and pandering to lunatics are what is mostly to blame for the stuff that happens. I will not get on my soapbox this time.

Mike,

my relatives from fallbrook, who cant go home either, told me tonight that they heard that romona is ok, but apperantly the power was out to the water treatment plant and they are trying to make the water potable before letting residents back, seems like reliable info to me since they (my relatives) were long time residents in ramona, anyway hope you and jim can get back in and that the dealership is ok.

Andy
I liked your posts you have written on this thread, "pendejos' is putting it mildly.
Jacques as an outsider it's difficult to measure American reaction to disasters like these based upon the Euro mindset. As a transplanted Brit I understand both reactions to the frustration of Am Gov perceived inaction. Essentially I have concluded that there will be no action unless there is political will. There is and never "was/will be" political will to fix the Katrina debacle.
The difference between New Orleans and the California fires are based upon one thing and one thing only MONEY. The State of California has more voting numbers than poxy old Lousianna, so people in local & national Gov take alot more interest in what goes on out west than down south. The same goes for the State of Texas by the way. One of the things that astonished me when I was doing the UK Rail Bus project in the South East was the abject poverty I observed in what is supposed to be the richest country in the world!
I suppose I have to admit the maxim I learned at school takes on a whole new meaning. "The Power follows the Money, AND, The Money follows the Power". think about it.
One thing is certain the current US Fed Gov has a well oiled machine to control the press and put "spin" on situations playing down the negative.

There are a whole set of new dimensions going on anyway. Without doubt the Katrina debacle is a carbuncle on the nose of America. We have customers who are paramedics sent to "Clean Up" after the Katrina incident. Most were briefed not to mention what they saw there by the Feds, but most of all I was shocked to discover that those murdering mercenary bastards BLACKWATER Inc were patrolling the streets where N/O police forces were supposed to be in command. By the way have you noticed American forces have suffered far fewer casualties in Iraq this month. September was 65ish now down to 29 for October. Of course the the White house is slating the "Surge" is working. I contend Blackwater is largely off the streets in Iraq and not entagonizing the Iraqi public so reprisals on US forces are down accordingly.

After living through this terrible Cheney led Bush Gov here I hope we can see something positive as an outcome. I am ashamed of what this present government has done for the US populous. I am proud of the accomplishments of US citizens past & present and I think most of the world sees the same thing. Basically we need the US GOV off our backs, and let American enginuity take the high road.
The solution for New Orleans in my opinion is simple, get rid of those government wankers called the US Corps of Engineers, call in some Dutch
Engineers from the Netherlands, build a "New Venice in New Orleans" submerged sections of the 9th district and up scale houses and mooring for the wealthy like they have done in Khatar & Abu Dhabi.
Then see the money follow the power and the power follow the money!
Dennis

I love this country and I am proud to be an American. I worked/served this country for 32 years, but if the government was to tell me the sun rises in the east, I would check it for myself before I believed it. And then I'd be looking for the strings attached, or the smoke and mirrors.

Andy
I can see you are a man of few words
Well put!
Best regards
Dennis

Pinz Enthusiast wrote:Mike,

my relatives from fallbrook, who cant go home either, told me tonight that they heard that romona is ok, but apperantly the power was out to the water treatment plant and they are trying to make the water potable before letting residents back, seems like reliable info to me since they (my relatives) were long time residents in ramona, anyway hope you and jim can get back in and that the dealership is ok.

I've heard that from a couple of people who are still in town. They've also told me that in their estimation, over 100 homes in Ramona were lost, most of them on the NorthEast side of town. Roads are still closed, the evacuation order is still in place.

Now Julian, Palomar and outlying areas are under evacuation, the changing wind did not help these poor folks. The Julian residents had to evacuate through the desert.

We're going to try again later today, but it's not looking good right now for us to get in. The hardest part is not knowing.

Has anyone heard more about the Lake Arrowhead fires? I'm wondering if they've got that under control yet.

Wow! Dennis, WELL SAID.
Jim, Mike, everyone else: So sorry to hear how bad things are. We're hearing the weather is changing a bit. Hopefully things turn around for you. Good luck with things.
Paul

My back has been hurting latley and I got a bad hair cut last week! Im blaiming that on Bush too....

At the risk of getting tooo far off topic, I agree fully with STPPINZ. People who will not do the right thing in helping themselves; how much government do you want? Big Brother? Soviet Union?

Michael,

I heard that it's mandatory evac, from crestline all the way over to green valley lake, (last town before big bear),
Big Bear lake is closed to lake traffic so the super scoopers and other aircraft can load up with water, Saw some beautiful video of the DC10 doing air drops on Lake Arrowhead, man 16,000 gallons of foschek falling infront of the fire will certianly help contain that one, we finnaly got some air support here in OC yesterday ( a little to little a little to late for some folks) I know its around 19,200 acres burned 21 structures of which 9 are homes and 4 firefightera were injured. its totally nuts, and this is kinda putting a damper on my tours up in big bear too, hope you guys are doing good, say hey to Jim for us and be safe.

Well... we were hoping for the best.

Jim's house is a total loss. The entire house is about a foot high in ashes. I took a bunch of pictures of Ramona and the surrounding areas, the amount of devestation is incredible. I'll post them when I can find a mini-USB connector.

For now, Jim and his family will be staying with me and my family. Hopefully FEMA will be able to assist with Jim's situation; at that point we'll post our criticisms or praise of the how the system works.

No real damage to the shop, we snuck into town through some back roads. The wind, ashes and tree parts took their toll, but we should be able to conduct business by this weekend if we can get back into town.

Here's a pic and a link to some more pics of Jim's house and other areas that we passed by.


Pics: http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r187 ... ek%20Fire/

Michael,

Tell Marcus that Joseph send his best and hopes he can still go to school....(you know these kids) he (Joseph) was quite concerned when her heard that Marcus lost is house and hoped he got all his favorite toys out before....good to hear the shope is ok and glad you didnt loose the business would probably be a lot tougher for assistance as I hear that its tough enough on a house.

Michael, if there is anything I (probably we,,,the rest of the people on this forum) can do to help Jim or you out, please don't be bashful about saying something. I hope you get worthwhile assistance from whatever agencies are set up out there.

Best wishes to you both and your families.

Andy

pinzwheeling wrote:Well... we were hoping for the best.

Jim's house is a total loss. The entire house is about a foot high in ashes. I took a bunch of pictures of Ramona and the surrounding areas, the amount of devestation is incredible. I'll post them when I can find a mini-USB connector.

For now, Jim and his family will be staying with me and my family. Hopefully FEMA will be able to assist with Jim's situation; at that point we'll post our criticisms or praise of the how the system works.

No real damage to the shop, we snuck into town through some back roads. The wind, ashes and tree parts took their toll, but we should be able to conduct business by this weekend if we can get back into town.

Here's a pic and a link to some more pics of Jim's house and other areas that we passed by.


Pics: http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r187 ... ek%20Fire/

Very sobering picture. Good luck Jim. Hope to see you up and going soon.

I thought I'd give an update as to Jim T's status. He is currently living in a rental property, and the generosity of the townspeople, Red Cross, Salvation Army and others has been phenominal.

Jim has received almost half a house worth of furniture, clothing, toys, appliances and donations of other sorts from people we've never met before. Just now, a local gentleman just dropped off a brand new washing machine for Jim because he heard that Jim needed one from a third party. Local churches, and other folks have given hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards for food, toys, and other needs.

Some people that we do know, including a few from this list, have come by and donated time, money, and other assistance. Although the fire was a tradgedy, I believe that the good that comes from experiences like this is invaluable.

My faith in human nature has been restored.