Let's hope it doesn't start a flood.
July 14, 2007 7:57 PM Subscribe
Millions of tax dollars melting away... guess Katrina victims didn't need ice after all.
D'oh!
posted by wendell at 8:00 PM on July 14, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by wendell at 8:00 PM on July 14, 2007 [2 favorites]
I sure hope it doesn't cause a flood.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:01 PM on July 14, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:01 PM on July 14, 2007 [2 favorites]
D'oh!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:01 PM on July 14, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:01 PM on July 14, 2007 [2 favorites]
I have no issue at all with them ordering too much of something for the Katrina disaster. It's rather a nice change, in fact.
If they had underordered, they'd have gotten yet more shit.
Mistakes happen in disaster management. This is the kind of mistake you WANT to see. Having too much of something is much better than not having enough.
posted by Malor at 8:04 PM on July 14, 2007
If they had underordered, they'd have gotten yet more shit.
Mistakes happen in disaster management. This is the kind of mistake you WANT to see. Having too much of something is much better than not having enough.
posted by Malor at 8:04 PM on July 14, 2007
This ranks at about .000005 on the ol' Outrage Meter.
But still, we can put this on the pile with gutting the constitution, torturing prisoners, stealing an election, etc.
posted by empath at 8:05 PM on July 14, 2007
But still, we can put this on the pile with gutting the constitution, torturing prisoners, stealing an election, etc.
posted by empath at 8:05 PM on July 14, 2007
Maybe they could have used it for ice rafts and floated some people the hell off their roofs.
posted by Kickstart70 at 8:10 PM on July 14, 2007 [3 favorites]
posted by Kickstart70 at 8:10 PM on July 14, 2007 [3 favorites]
I am shocked! Appalled! Outraged! Flabbergasted! Dumbfounded! Taken aback! Surprised! Mildly amazed. Somewhat interested. Rather indifferent. Quite apathetic. Strongly not giving a flying fuck. Emphatically... yeah, sorry, it's gone.
posted by Krrrlson at 8:11 PM on July 14, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by Krrrlson at 8:11 PM on July 14, 2007 [1 favorite]
Someone call the ice pirates!
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 8:13 PM on July 14, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 8:13 PM on July 14, 2007 [1 favorite]
They were going to use it for corpses. I wouldn't make a margarita out of it.
posted by Brian B. at 8:19 PM on July 14, 2007
posted by Brian B. at 8:19 PM on July 14, 2007
Yeah, I don't see this as a big deal at all. I'd rather they'd be over-prepared then under prepared.
posted by delmoi at 8:21 PM on July 14, 2007
posted by delmoi at 8:21 PM on July 14, 2007
Well, here's my thought... I guess it would just be far more refreshing if the stuff they ordered was actually put to use. But hey... that's me.
But I'm not outraged either... which is kind of a shame in a way. Sad that our collective outrage plates are so overloaded... sigh.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:34 PM on July 14, 2007
But I'm not outraged either... which is kind of a shame in a way. Sad that our collective outrage plates are so overloaded... sigh.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:34 PM on July 14, 2007
This is why I had to resort to lukewarm cocktails in the aftermath. The horror. The horror.
posted by ColdChef at 8:39 PM on July 14, 2007
posted by ColdChef at 8:39 PM on July 14, 2007
Well... (ha ha!) I sure hope it doesn't start a flood! HA!!!!
D'oh!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by The Deej at 8:49 PM on July 14, 2007
D'oh!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by The Deej at 8:49 PM on July 14, 2007
I have no issue at all with them ordering too much of something for the Katrina disaster. It's rather a nice change, in fact.
If they had underordered, they'd have gotten yet more shit.
Mistakes happen in disaster management. This is the kind of mistake you WANT to see. Having too much of something is much better than not having enough.
posted by Malor at 8:04 PM on July 14 [+] [!]
But that stuff never got used. It was bought, and sent to the wrong distribution center, then, re-sent to a storage facility. refridgorated. That stuff is still costing us money. No one will ever be cooled in a refreshing way with that ice.
posted by Balisong at 8:51 PM on July 14, 2007
One time my friend and I got an extra large pizza and we definitely would have been fine with just the large. We finished it, but I'll never forget the shame.
posted by Partial Law at 9:19 PM on July 14, 2007 [5 favorites]
posted by Partial Law at 9:19 PM on July 14, 2007 [5 favorites]
George Bush doesn't care about snowmen.
posted by Remy at 9:23 PM on July 14, 2007 [3 favorites]
posted by Remy at 9:23 PM on July 14, 2007 [3 favorites]
Presumably, there was ice available on the ground; I haven't seen anyone claim that they both needed ice AND that it was stored in freezers out of state. It looks likely that they just had too much, and this was the excess; it didn't get used because there was other ice that did. They kept it because it was cheaper to store for a year than to buy new ice if they needed it in the next hurricane season.
Overall: a very minor foulup followed by sensible thinking. Sadly atypical for Bush's FEMA, but true nonetheless.
As empath says, it's like 0.0005 on the outrage meter. If Katrina victims were recklessly deprived of lifesaving ice cubes, then perhaps it might climb to 0.001. :)
posted by Malor at 9:36 PM on July 14, 2007
Overall: a very minor foulup followed by sensible thinking. Sadly atypical for Bush's FEMA, but true nonetheless.
As empath says, it's like 0.0005 on the outrage meter. If Katrina victims were recklessly deprived of lifesaving ice cubes, then perhaps it might climb to 0.001. :)
posted by Malor at 9:36 PM on July 14, 2007
miss lynnster: I would say our outrage plates are not just overloaded, they're full far beyond their intended capacity, like a trip to the salad bar at a Taiwanese Pizza Hut.
posted by wander at 11:21 PM on July 14, 2007
posted by wander at 11:21 PM on July 14, 2007
Mind you, did the ice really need to be trucked over 1500 miles? There had to be an operational ice plant just a little closer to New Orleans than Gloucester, MA.
posted by scruss at 4:45 AM on July 15, 2007
posted by scruss at 4:45 AM on July 15, 2007
There had to be an operational ice plant just a little closer to New Orleans than Gloucester, MA.
But scruss, if they find one, all of those Middle-Men don't get paid, like the Oil companies that have been contracted for the fuel, the lucky motel-owners who were able to bid on the truck drivers' accomodations and the owner-operators who agreed to do FEMA's overpriced ice-freight.
It's like the Mafia doing carting in new York City, only in this case, under the Bush Administration, they've got the whole East Coast and disaster relief that they've got nailed down.
posted by vhsiv at 5:28 AM on July 15, 2007
But scruss, if they find one, all of those Middle-Men don't get paid, like the Oil companies that have been contracted for the fuel, the lucky motel-owners who were able to bid on the truck drivers' accomodations and the owner-operators who agreed to do FEMA's overpriced ice-freight.
It's like the Mafia doing carting in new York City, only in this case, under the Bush Administration, they've got the whole East Coast and disaster relief that they've got nailed down.
posted by vhsiv at 5:28 AM on July 15, 2007
In 2005, the truckers were earning $2 per mile and $900 per day to transport the ice, and many simply moved ice from one area of the country to the other, never delivering to a disaster site. Including shipping costs, the government paid more than $4 per 5-pound bag of ice purchased during Katrina relief, the Times reported. The same bag could have been purchased locally for about $1.50.
posted by acro at 5:52 AM on July 15, 2007
posted by acro at 5:52 AM on July 15, 2007
Mind you, did the ice really need to be trucked over 1500 miles? There had to be an operational ice plant just a little closer to New Orleans than Gloucester, MA.
posted by scruss
I just checked and here in Tennessee we have all our ice trucked in from Gloucester, MA. Go figure.
posted by nola at 6:41 AM on July 15, 2007
posted by scruss
I just checked and here in Tennessee we have all our ice trucked in from Gloucester, MA. Go figure.
posted by nola at 6:41 AM on July 15, 2007
Lessee... The ice was in Gloucester, MA. Thar be fishin boats in Gloucester, MA. Wouldst thou thinks that the gummit would have been able to oh, say SELL the ice to the fishermen?
posted by Gungho at 6:43 AM on July 15, 2007
posted by Gungho at 6:43 AM on July 15, 2007
The quoted FEMA representative in the article says they tried to donate the ice, but maybe that means they paid for an ad in an obscure national publication with 10,000 other government auctions and drug seizure lists and called it good.
posted by acro at 6:49 AM on July 15, 2007
posted by acro at 6:49 AM on July 15, 2007
Wonder if Brownie has a cousin in this AmeriCold outfit, 'cos it sure sounds like a sweet deal.
posted by Anything at 7:18 AM on July 15, 2007
posted by Anything at 7:18 AM on July 15, 2007
Lessee... The ice was in Gloucester, MA. Thar be fishin boats in Gloucester, MA. Wouldst thou thinks that the gummit would have been able to oh, say SELL the ice to the fishermen?
Certainly not at $5 a pop. Cheaper to let it melt than it is to even donate it to the fisherman (delivery costs).
posted by furtive at 7:34 AM on July 15, 2007
Certainly not at $5 a pop. Cheaper to let it melt than it is to even donate it to the fisherman (delivery costs).
posted by furtive at 7:34 AM on July 15, 2007
Never underestimate the things you learn from reading pulp crap like The Perfect Storm:
Gloucestermen would not buy the ice because hauling pre-made ice out from Gloucester to the fishing grounds would inefficiently suck up fuel and time. They go out light and make ice as they catch fish, cramming as much fish and ice into the holds as they can and stay afloat -- so as to make maximum profit while not drowning Mark Wahlberg.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:06 AM on July 15, 2007
Gloucestermen would not buy the ice because hauling pre-made ice out from Gloucester to the fishing grounds would inefficiently suck up fuel and time. They go out light and make ice as they catch fish, cramming as much fish and ice into the holds as they can and stay afloat -- so as to make maximum profit while not drowning Mark Wahlberg.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:06 AM on July 15, 2007
But scruss, if they find one, all of those Middle-Men don't get paid, like the Oil companies that have been contracted for the fuel, the lucky motel-owners who were able to bid on the truck drivers' accomodations and the owner-operators who agreed to do FEMA's overpriced ice-freight.
Unfortunately, at its core this is a strong argument for corporatising FEMA, which I imagine is one of the last things most critics of this administration would endorse.
posted by Kwantsar at 1:11 PM on July 15, 2007
Unfortunately, at its core this is a strong argument for corporatising FEMA, which I imagine is one of the last things most critics of this administration would endorse.
posted by Kwantsar at 1:11 PM on July 15, 2007
Yeah, as a hurricane-prone state, we heard about this last year, when apparently we couldn't get any of that ice for some stupid reason that only made sense in bureaucrat-ese.
It's a pretty old story, so I can't really get worked up over it any more.
posted by misha at 1:23 PM on July 15, 2007 [1 favorite]
It's a pretty old story, so I can't really get worked up over it any more.
posted by misha at 1:23 PM on July 15, 2007 [1 favorite]
Unfortunately, at its core this is a strong argument for corporatising FEMA
Thats like saying Enron is a strong argument for socialism.
posted by bystander at 6:06 PM on July 15, 2007
Thats like saying Enron is a strong argument for socialism.
posted by bystander at 6:06 PM on July 15, 2007
I guess I'm missing a big part of this, but what is the ice needed for?
posted by kg at 7:20 PM on July 15, 2007
posted by kg at 7:20 PM on July 15, 2007
I believe the ice was for anything you could use ice for. Keeping food and drinks cold, etc. Keeping meats from spoiling. But with no fresh water, and no electricity to run freezers... no ice.
posted by The Deej at 7:26 PM on July 15, 2007
posted by The Deej at 7:26 PM on July 15, 2007
My town didn't get electricity restored for three weeks. We could have used that ice. We might even have paid five bucks a bag for it.
posted by ColdChef at 8:12 PM on July 15, 2007
posted by ColdChef at 8:12 PM on July 15, 2007
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posted by wendell at 8:00 PM on July 14, 2007 [2 favorites]