"Storm to cause 'pinch' at pump, Bush says" by Ben Feller, Associated Press | September 16, 2008
WASHINGTON - President Bush warned yesterday that people will face a "pinch" at the pump because of Hurricane Ike's disruption of energy production, as many consumers already grappling with the high price of gasoline have seen costs soar since the storm made landfall.
Bush said the hurricane's toll on refineries and pipelines is creating "an upward pressure on price" on people. "There's going to be a pinch," Bush said after a briefing on hurricane recovery efforts. I wish it wasn't the case, but it is."
Pfftt! Like he even gives a shit!
The president also said, though, that people should not be subjected to price gouging. The federal government is working with state leaders to monitor whether consumers are being charged unfairly high prices during the disruption in the energy supply.
Yesterday, a gallon of regular rose half a penny overnight to a national average of $3.842 - up 16.7 cents from Friday, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service, and Wright Express. Since the storm, prices have jumped above $5 per gallon in parts of the country, with huge disparities within some states and neighborhoods.
Bush encouraged people to report complaints to the federal government if they think that gas stations are engaging in price gouging . The president plans to visit Houston and Galveston in Texas today to inspect the damage and talk to emergency officials. He said the damage to infrastructure was extensive, but still not as bad as some had predicted on the energy sector.
--more--"
Oh, he is either a FABULOUS LIAR or GOD-DAMN BLIND!!!!
While the number of confirmed deaths attributed to the storm was remarkably low at 39 in Texas and nine other states, including one in Oil City, Pa., the distress was considerable.
Nearly 37,000 people were in shelters in Texas, and there was no word on when those living in the most devastated towns, such as Galveston, might return. About 2.2 million people in Texas alone remained without power. Many service stations had no gasoline, or no electricity to pump it.
With no running water, some residents were dumping toilet waste directly into the sewers. Major highways were still underwater. Victims grew irritable as they waited for food and water. Some relief stations ran out of supplies, leaving thousands hungry and panicked.
Also see: FEMA Handles Ike Like Katrina While Chicago Floods
Lines of cars stretched two hours or longer at Texas Southern University for packages of bottled water and bags of ice, the only supplies on hand until three 18-wheelers showed up about noon. Cheers broke out when it was announced there were boxes with chili, a small bag of Frito chips and a cookie.
"Why didn't they call for volunteers when they knew this was going to hit?" said Irene Makris, who waited in line but was told to drive to a station in another part of Houston, closer to her neighborhood.
Snapshots of damage were emerging everywhere: In Galveston, oil coated the water and beaches with a sheen, and residents were ordered off the beach. Dozens of burial vaults popped up out of the soggy ground, many disgorging their coffins. Several came to rest against a chain-link fence choked with garbage and trinkets left behind by mourners.
Galveston officials guessed it would be months before the island could reopen and warned that mosquito-borne diseases may begin to spread. Cows that had escaped flooded pastures wandered around a shattered neighborhood. An elderly man was airlifted to a hospital, his body covered with hundreds of mosquito bites after his splintered home was swarmed.
"Galveston can no longer safely accommodate its population," City Manager Steve LeBlanc said. "Quite frankly, we are reaching a health crisis for people who remain on the island."
If they can't handle this, then WTF good is this government?!!!!
And Bush says "this ain't so bad!"
More than 1,300 people, who had spent several nights at Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center, complained they could not get information about how to find food and clean clothes.
Michael Stevenson, 37, said that at one shelter, he had barely eaten. "They give you a little cup of water every four hours," he said. "They feed us one peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
This got cut. I wonder why: The Silver Lining of Ike
At a shopping center in Houston, honking motorists in a line of cars stretching for more than a mile advanced quickly to the front, as if in a fast food drive-in, as some 15 Texas National Guardsmen rushed to load food, ice, drinks and other nonperishable supplies into the trunks.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" guardsman barked at the motorists, rushing to fill their cars and move the line quickly. Search and rescue teams worried that the worst devastation has yet to be found.
Yeah, no need for AmeriKans to be told of the slowly-encroaching and expanding police state -- by any means available!!!!
In Texas, rescue crews were still going door-to-door in the hardest-hit neighborhoods, looking for the dead and alive, and the days after the storm were proving to be riddled with their own dangers: Three people were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.
--more--"
