BS: Tent Cities in the USA

Subject: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Goose Gander
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 11:27 AM

Tent Cities in the USA

They used to call them 'Hoovertowns' in the 1930s . . . what are these, "Bush Camps"?

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Bee
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 12:11 PM

Someone on Fark just named them 'Shruburbs'.

I actually just read a little about them. Gettin' a little scary out there, ain't it?

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: heric
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 12:54 PM

I've got a knot in my stomach.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Jack Campin
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 02:20 PM

How many of the people living in these shanty towns will be able to register for the vote?

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: CarolC
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 02:23 PM

Homeless people are allowed to register to vote using the addresses of homeless shelters and government buildings.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: PoppaGator
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 03:00 PM

We have a pretty huge tent encampement in New Orleans under the I-10 interstate downtown, right where that elevated highway crosses Canal St. It's actually gotten a little smaller over the past year, as increasing numbers of shelter beds have come on line.

Of course, we had that big flood three years ago, which I assume most of you heard about, so there's some excuse for such a sad development to have occurred here. I'm surprised, and even shocked, to learn that it's a nationwide phenomemon.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: heric
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 03:19 PM

I met one of your guys yesterday poppaGator. He was real nice, and told me twenty minutes' worth of stories about the event and its aftermath. Helicopter evacuations let other people bring dogs, but not his lab-pit bull cross. He had a nice, low slung bicycle with a seat that had a seat-back on it, and a little bike trailer for his tent and gear (nicely stoweed.) He had gone to the Keys for a while, but couldn't afford it. I didn't ask him how he travelled cross-country, or where he slept - somehwere in the dunes / marshes I imagine.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: PoppaGator
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 03:25 PM

Unlike your new acquaintance, we got out of town JUST before Katrina. We were going to ride it out, but got scared (and smart) at the last minute.

We were only about 30 miles out of town for the big enent, just across Lake Pontchartrain, so we had a pretty complete experience of the rain and wind, but fortunately missed out on the post-hurricane levee-break flooding. We weren't able to return home, even for a quick look-see, for six weeks; didn't move back to New Orleans until January (i.e., 3 months after Katrina) and couldn't move into our own home until Thanksgiving (14 months).

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Goose Gander
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 03:44 PM

Tent Cities video from youtube.

More about Tent Cities in the USA . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: CarolC
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 03:50 PM

I wonder how the US compares with the other countries in the developed world when it comes to numbers of homeless people and numbers of people living in tent cities.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Goose Gander
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 03:57 PM

What burns me up is that right now, hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars are being funneled to Wall Street to clean up the mess some so-called 'free market' capitalists have made, while ordinary people are literally ending up outdoors. Gains are privatized, costs are public expenses. Bullshit.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: CarolC
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 04:02 PM

What's even worse is the billions of dollars being stolen/lost/wasted on the US government's military adventures overseas. Put the two together, and it's pretty fair to say that the US taxpayers are really taking it up the ass.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: CarolC
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 04:03 PM

...but there's nothing new about that.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Riginslinger
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 09:49 PM

Yes, but what is to be done about it? Both of the major parties have put up Wall Street puppets for president.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: CarolC
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 10:18 PM

Vote for Obama and keep a lot of pressure on him. He's more likely to be responsive to the electorate because he's getting more of his campaign funding in small amounts from a lot of people. But people have to keep the pressure on him to do what the voters want.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Alice
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 10:28 PM

As I was putting gas in the car before driving away from Butte today, I gave some money to a homeless man sitting next to the gas station. He wasn't sitting there with a sign or asking anyone for anything. What he told me could have been a total lie, but he said his wife died after a long hospitalization, and without health insurance, he was left comletely bankrupt and homeless. I'm ashamed of our country.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Barry Finn
Date: 20 Sep 08 - 12:21 AM

2 garden hoses & 6 outhouses for better than 350 people.

If I were on a construction site OSHA would require me to have 1 out house for every 10 workers & that's only for an 8 hr day. As for water it has to be supplied in a clean container with enough clean disposal cups & a large enough drinking supply that could accomadate so they don't have to stand to wait an unreasonable time to refresh themselves. That's just for drinking.

Unless these people are provided for the local communities or unless the government steps in to help the locals will be paying for the health issues that will certinally arise not to mention paying for the social issues. They are the responsibility of the nation.

In days gone by these were also called hobo camps, we are seeing signs of the return of a new Great Depression if we don't start to turn this nation around, NOW & MacSame is not the one to do that.

Barry

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: open mike
Date: 20 Sep 08 - 02:23 AM

after a fire swept thru our area, there were dozens of people camping in the local park. over 200 homes/shelters/dwellings
were destroyed by the forest fire, and there are hundreds
homeless due to this disaster. The situation is described
in the local paper this week, Chico News and Review. here:
http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=839622

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Bobert
Date: 20 Sep 08 - 08:55 AM

If these people didn't want to end up living in tents then they should have picked rich parents...

(((spit)))

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 20 Sep 08 - 09:04 AM

Who was smart enough to invest in tents?

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Donuel
Date: 20 Sep 08 - 12:33 PM

Palin better hope that community organizers do not register our tent people to vote.

Subject: RE: BS: Tent Cities in the USA
From: Donuel
Date: 20 Sep 08 - 12:37 PM

Who was smart enough to invest in tents?

AIG