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Come on People–it’s Time to Dig Deep and Help the People of Tennessee.

By: Susannah (Diary)  |  May 7th, 2010 at 04:15 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

From the diaries by Caleb

Americans are an extremely charitable people. We NEVER turn our backs on those in need—whether it be our fellow Americans in New Orleans, or strangers in distant lands like Haiti. However, even though Tennessee has been ravaged by floods that will take months to clean up and will wind up costing over a billion dollars in damage, the MSM has pretty much given Tennessee the back of its hand.

In a nutshell, Tennessee seems to be the disaster that nobody cares about. To me, this is shameful because Tennesseans are some of the most gracious people that I know. My fellow contributor from Hillbillypolitics, Steph C, lives in Nashville, and I can personally attest that she would give you the shirt off her back (and so would my other friends at Redstate and TMR who are from TN). Well, I’m not suggesting that we even go that far – I’m just saying that we stop giving our fellow Americans in Tennessee the Heisman, and start showing them some love by helping them out as much as we are able.

Michelle Malkin has a multitude of links to many different charities on her website where you can make a donation to help out the good people of Tennessee. I’m sure that they would do it for us without even blinking. It’s time to love our neighbors and help the people of Tennessee get through this horrific disaster.

(H/T to Newsbusters for the video.)

This diary was originally posted on The Minority Report and Hillbillypolitics.

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COMMENTS

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  • janis

    you have done 100% more good for Tennessee than the MSM has in the entire past week. Whatever people are willing to do for Tennesseans in need is so appreciated– and of course has been reciprocated many times over when our fellow Americans have been hit hard with their own disasters in the past. As those same Tennesseans will also do in the future when they are needed.

    • Susannah

      ….And, you are one of those wonderfully gracious Tennesseans that I was referring to in my diary. God bless you and every one else from TN during this terrible disaster. Please stay safe. :-)

      X0X0, Suzi

      • janis

        at the base of Short Mountain, which is the highest point between the Mississippi River and the Smokey Mountains. If we experience flooding where I live, then the end is here for most of the country, at least this side of the Rockies.

        But try telling that to an insurance agent when you are trying to argue that you don’t NEED flood insurance on your homeowner’s policy.

        • Susannah

          I’m happy to hear that you were never in danger. :-)

  • http://hillbillypolitics.com Steph C

    StephC will be okay. I think my insurance is going to handle my damage as it is not from rising streams flooding but of a different sort.

    I didn’t lose any clothing or other necessities and am still in my home. Maybe have to write off one or two desks (waterlogged at the bottom) but otherwise okay. I lost phone service for awhile; think the main outlet got wet and haven’t tried it again since as I have VOIP and hooked one phone straight to its modem. Even electric power has held up for the most part.

    Other Tennesseans, though, can sure use all the help they can get.

    I think I cried hardest just now when I watched the video. So many places I know… so much history… sigh.

    Also, could you send some extra special prayers for some few Tennesseans who were once refugees from Katrina and New Orleans, that they have the strength to face again what they faced then. They left N.O. with nothing, came here, and decided to stay. I hope with all my heart that they’re okay both physically and mentally.

    • Susannah

      ….And, my heart goes out to the other Tennesseans who didn’t fare as well as you. You all will be in my prayers.

  • Praying

    because it is truly the story that the media is NOT reporting. I watched the video (above) last night – it brought tears to my eyes. I am so proud of my fellow Tennesseans! It’s true – Tennessee isn’t crying to the gov’t to help, we are just digging in and doing what needs to be done. And there is virtually no crime, no looting, no whining. But that doesn’t mean our friends in Nashville couldn’t use some help. Thanks for mentioning the links on Michelle’s website – I’ll pass that along over here in Knoxville.

    I was actually in Nashville last weekend for a swim meet (at Tracy Caulkins pool) – I thought it was going to turn into an open water meet! The Sportsplex actually had water pouring in through the doors at the end of the pool Sunday morning – needless to say the meet was canceled for Sunday and we left town by 8:45 am – I lived in New Orleans for a number of years and NEVER have I seen it rain like it did in Nashville!

    Prayers to all those who suffered loss – both major and minor.

    • Susannah

      ….And I’m glad to hear that you are doing OK. :-)

  • kowalski

    We knew the disaster in TN was going to drop off the radar once national news couldn’t cover the “….endless rushing water and pictures of disaster unfolding LIVE” and it’s a shame.

    I’m making a donation tonight and I want to thank you both. People in Tennessee are working to rebuild and I’m in the fight with my money. It’s not much but I’m happy to help.

    • kowalski

      I donated to the Salvation Army with the express stipulation that the money be used for relief efforts in Tennessee.

      I am going to be following up with the Massachusetts office of the Salvation Army on Berkeley Street to make sure that my money actually gets to Tennessee, because they are listed as the responsible party on the receipt I received – specfically:

      The Salvation Army Massachusetts Division
      147 Berkeley Street
      Boston, MA 02116
      tel: (617) xxx-xxxx.

      I donated from Massachusetts to the Salvation Army using the link on Michelle Malkin’s website and if the money doesn’t get spent in Tennessee, I’m going to be very, very upset.

      • kowalski

        “This money MUST go to relief efforts in Tennessee, specifically to the victims of the floods there, and for no other purpose.”

        I intend to find out whether or not the Massachusetts Division of the Salvation Army uses that money in Tennessee. They’d better.

        • SteveLA

          kowalski

          I jumped over to a few of the charity rating services, for a variety of reasons the Salivation Army is not rated. I do tend to think they are pretty good on the percentage of funds put into programs and not so big on overhead.

          I didn’t realize that you could “earmark” donations, which in this context is a good thing.

          • kowalski

            On the night Bob Hahn had his “Holy ***t” diary here on Redstate talking about how there was a Cat 5 storm bearing down on New Orleans and everyone was transfixed, I donated to the Red Cross in advance of the disaster, and I feel the same way today about donating to people in Tennessee. Ray Nagin was already out of town.

            I just want to make sure the money goes where I said it should go. In the former case it did, and I want to make sure it is directed likewise in this case. I want to make sure that the Massachusetts branch of the Red Cross doesn’t throw that money into some big pool, which is why I “earmarked” it.

          • kowalski

            .

          • Susannah

            …..I’m sure that your generosity will be greatly appreciated.

            And wow, a quintuple “Kowalski”! I think that’s the first time ever. :-)

          • kowalski

            I want to make sure the small amount of money I give to people in TN doesn’t get used elsewhere. It’s for *them*.

            I have a little bit of experience knowing how charities work on the inside, and I think it’s really important that people make sure the money they donate is being used for the cause they choose.

            I really encourage people to donate to this cause but to stipulate that the money will actually be used in Tennessee. I’m going to do my best to make sure my donation actually gets to help the people I intend.

      • klondike

        I can’t remember if it was the donation that I made for Indonesia after the tsunami or for the victims of Katrina via the Salvation Army, but about two months later I received a letter from the SA letting me know that they had received more than adequate donations to service the area, so they sent my donation to my local community Salvation Army. Your donation will not go to waste, unlike with the Red Cross, if the support is overwhelming for TN.

        Thank you for donating via the Salvation Army. I did the same.

        For all of you in the disaster area, my thoughts are with you.

        • Susannah

          ….I took you guys advice and gave a donation to the Nashville chapter of Salvation Army (linked on Michelle Malkin’s blog), and made sure to earmark it to theTN flood relief. I couldn’t decide between the Red Cross and Salvation Army, so I thought that I’d read what other people had to say before I made my decision. However, you guys made a convincing argument about why I should go with the Salvation Army instead of the Red Cross (who I usually donate to).

          Anyway, thanks for the advice guys and for sharing your experiences.

          Have a good night. :-)

          X0X0, Suzi

  • southernilpat

    “We were handling it on our own.” This infuriates the MSM – what’s the story in THAT? Darn rednecks in flyover country don’t even know how to be decent victims. Where’s the people whining about help not showing up? Where’s the poor masses huddled in their hovels waiting for Big Brother to come rescue them? Where’s the starving children who can’t eat because FEMA isn’t handing out enough free food? Why, these ignorant fools are actually helping themselves! How dare they!

  • http://www.laborunionreport.combrand/brhttp://www.laborunionreport.blogspot.com LaborUnionReport

    I didn’t realize the extent of the flooding.

    Unbelievable!

    • http://hillbillypolitics.com Steph C

      I’ve heard that this or the oil spill should be Obama’s Katrina. Truth to tell, Bush should have never had a Katrina in that meaning. Yes, Obama is absent except for signing a document declaring TN a disaster area, but so what? So what if he doesn’t care?

      When Katrina happened, everything was hunky-dorry, nothing to say really until the levees broke. The levees broke AFTER the hurricane had passed. Mississippi was devastated along it’s entire coast and further inland. It survived and rebuilt without Bush having to hold the Governor’s or Mayors’ hands. Nobody paid much attention to MS and still don’t. Still less was paid to Mobile AL which also suffered some damage. All eyes were on N.O. and a lot of nasty and completely false things were said about Bush and the HHS response to the disaster.

      There is no looting going on here like there was there. Of course, you’re always going to have some, few or many, who will complain that everything isn’t being handed to them. That’s one of the drawbacks of the response to N.O. It now sets the standard to disaster response and it shouldn’t. People have the expectation of everything being handed to them, no questions asked, because that is what was done in N.O.

      But we will get through this and we will rebuild, regardless of whether Obama utters a statement or hops on a plane to make some toadying campaign speech in a dry spot of downtown, which is all he can really do without a hundred other toadies to do the heavy lifting of his agenda, and we’ll be better and stronger for it.

      If anyone really wants to use this against Obama, use it in campaigns not as a “he doesn’t care” but as a measure of the resilience and fortitude of a people who don’t need a government overseeing every little step of our lives. Why do we always look to Washington, D.C. for the answers when the answers are truly inside each and every one of us who makes a decision to be independent and self reliant? Use as proof that Obama’s claim that we are needy and stupid is simply wrong for the majority of Americans and use this as proof of that. Use as well all the other states which suffered this disastrous weather and other disasters before this.

      I’ve lost everything in my life before. It is only sticks, bricks, and mortar, after all. I could lose everything again but if I lose my freedom and and the right to exercise my own free will, there’s no coming back from that.

      It would be so easy to engage in the same kind of rhetoric used against Bush. Too easy, in fact. But it wouldn’t stick to Obama like it did to Bush anyway, not just because Bush is a Republican but because Democrats never accept responsibility for anything and never will. They can make all the decisions and control all the power but when what they do utterly fails, it will still be someone else’s fault. They have been that way for decades… or a century. Tough to tell these days, they’ve gotten so good at it.

      So, let’s try to use this in a positive way for conservatives and the American people and whatever negatives fall on Obama as a result, well, they will be well earned.

      • janis
        • penguin2

          what the American character and spirits is all about, as exemplified by the great folk of Tennessee.

          • http://hillbillypolitics.com Steph C

            I only said what I feel about it.

          • janis
          • Susannah

            Steph’s comment would make an excellent diary. :-)

      • Praying

        “use it in campaigns not as a ?he doesn?t care? but as a measure of the resilience and fortitude of a people who don?t need a government overseeing every little step of our lives.”

        I couldn’t have said it better myself. And you know what? There are a lot of Nashville’s in this great country. People who pride themselves on their can-do attitude, on their self reliance. Of course, you’d never know that from reading or watching the main stream (or is it the lame stream) media!

        • http://hillbillypolitics.com Steph C

          This is about the only thing the Tennessean has been good for in I don’t know how long.

  • Susannah

    ….I really appreciate it. :-)

    X0X0, Suzi

  • DavidS1787
    • DavidS1787

      I wonder where FEMA was hiding? Somebody ask these officials if you see them.

      • http://hillbillypolitics.com Steph C

        That fellow has been in Nashville since about Tuesday when Bredesen gave a press conference and signed his requests on TV. I haven’t seen anything about FEMA being set up here nor have I seen anything that says FEMA on it. Plenty of OEM trucks, etc. roaming around.

        As for filing a FEMA claim, Unless it’s different for the folks who lost everything but there are going to be a lot of hoops to jump through. I filed a claim although I’m pretty sure my insurance is going to cover mine. First you file the claim with your insurance. When they turn you down, you talk to FEMA who will send you docs that you have to fill out to get a loan through the SBA. If the SBA turns you down, then and only then will FEMA come into it. Kind of like the “Cash for Clunkers” program. So much red tape, you might see it in a year or two or never.

        Could be different for people with total losses.

        I went through it just to see what it was going to entail. If my insurance doesn’t cover my losses, I’ll do without FEMA, too.

        • klondike

          Your insurance covers your losses. FEMA provides temporary housing. If your losses were from a second, non-primary home, FEMA would likely be of no assistance. If you are unable to live in your primary home due to the disaster, FEMA will provide a trailer for you to live in while repairs are made, and that’s only if the Governor of Tennessee declares a “state of emergency.”

          • http://hillbillypolitics.com Steph C

            My home is damaged but still habitable. I’m pretty sure my insurance is going to cover it. If they don’t I guess I do.

          • klondike

            FEMA will send a representative to your house to verify that you are a flood victim. If you were to end up having to stay in a hotel because your home becomes uninhabitable, you just submit your receipts to FEMA and they are rather quick with reimbursement (within 30 days). I am relieved that so far you are able to stay in your home, but you don’t know if that will change. FEMA is a good resource even if you do not need a trailer in your driveway to live in while you rebuild.

            Also, if you are registered with FEMA, it won’t be long before you receive a call from the SBA offering you a loan at 2% interest. That is very helpful for those who may have been uninsured or underinsured. I was underinsured, and the SBA was practically pressuring me to take out the loan. I did not apply for the loan and instead choose to just go without furniture for about a year and a half rather than go into debt, but for those who had no flood insurance it can be a Godsend for rebuilding.

          • http://hillbillypolitics.com Steph C

            I got only about an inch of water both times. Or should I say days? I was already working on getting the first inch out when the second incident happened the next day.

          • tngal

            to a county after the federal government declares the county as a disaster. Bredesen called for disaster relief for 52 mid counties. So far the feds have declared 27 of them disasters. I believe based on some of your earlier posts you’re already in the declared group.
            The governor’s webpage has a list of the counties in his press section. My county’s on the list of 52 but isn’t declared yet. They’re still assessing damage in many counties.
            It strikes hard knowing we have 95 counties in the vol state, and more than half are affected by this.
            Oh, and Janet Napalitano will float through today to do something. Although what that is remains a mystery.

          • http://hillbillypolitics.com Steph C

            Davidson County. I can spit across the Nashville/Antioch border. :-)

  • tngal

    it was declared a couple days ago. Don’t spit, as your area is just now drying out.

    • http://hillbillypolitics.com Steph C

      Thanks for the laugh, too. We need ‘em wherever we can get ‘em right now.

  • http://www.redstate.com/tnjim TNJim

    and he said he wrote a song called “Lend A Hand” to raise awareness about the flood. Transcript of Rush’s conversation with John is here and someone has already put it on You Tube with pictures from the flood:

    • Susannah

      Thanks so much for posting it on my blog. :-)

      By the way, long time no see. I was worried about you. I assume that you escaped the flood unscathed. Anyway, it’s great to hear from you, and I’m so glad to see that you’re OK. :-)

      Take care.

      X0X0, Suzi

      • http://www.redstate.com/tnjim TNJim

        Yeah, I live in the Northeast part of the state, in the mountains. We got rain, but not anything like middle and west Tennessee got. My heart and prayers, and a few bucks to the Red Cross, goes out to folks like Steph_C and others who were in the middle of it all. The storm was nearly stalled out over middle TN but picked up speed as it moved east. I probably watched the Weather Channel more last weekend than I ever have.

        Thanks for the concern. :)

        • Susannah

          ….And , that most of my peeps here at RS did as well (except for poor Steph whose home suffered some flood damage).

          Again, thanks for the great video and for letting me know that you’re OK, :-)

          X0X0, Suzi

        • http://hillbillypolitics.com Steph C

          I don’t think it stopped raining even for a second for two days. It was like every storm that was supposed to pass with a new wave coming decided to stay and let the other waves of storms catch up.

          Must have thought we needed some water after all the times we’ve told that droughts are what’s raising our utility rates, ;-)

          I’m truly not trying to minimize my damages. I have a split level home and the lowest level was flooded from ground water as the back wall is partially underground. A ruined carpet, some wet desks (that was my office and will be again eventually), and a flooded bathroom that was muck slimed… the phone jack dried out and is working again (Yay!)

          There’s a dry creek bed running through the back yard, a small one but still…

          Compared to the total losses of others what I’m dealing with is nothing. It can be cleaned up and repaired. Just takes time.

          • Susannah

            ….It still sounds like a real pain in the butt (and an expensive pain in the butt at that)! You have my prayers. Please let me know if you need anything else.

            Take care. :-)

            X0X0, Suzi

        • janis

          after flooding so much of Nashville and surrounding counties, it only dumped around 5 inches on where I live east of Nashville. “Only” five inches– in any other time, that would be considered news worthy in and of itself! Strangely enough, however, less than a week later it is dusty here again. Guess most of it came down so hard that it just ran off instead of soaking in.

          I went back to Nashville just yesterday to see my folks, who had no problem with the flooding where they live, thanks be to God. But getting off the same exit on I-24 where just one week ago people died in flood waters was eerie. It is a reminder that life is so precious and we can take nothing for granted– if you don’t make it a habit to tell your loved ones on a regular basis how much they mean to you, then you need to develop that habit.