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Ya'll may have seen this going around.  I think it is pretty funny.

Subject: The Iowa Disaster, What's Different?

Half the state is under water and I have yet to see any footage of people looting beer, TVs or anything else for that matter. Nobody is shooting at the people that are trying to rescue them.  Nobody is bitching about the food, the temporary shelters, or is hollering on TV that they need some crack.  A levy broke in Cedar Rapids and nobody has accused the President of blowing it up.  Rather than sitting on their backsides with their hands out people seem to be trying to take care of themselves and most of them are actually helping others.  What a novel idea.

I mean seriously!  What's wrong with those mid-westerners?  Why would you spend all day piling up sandbags to keep the water out of your house when there is all kinds of stuff to be looted?  I think that Governor Culver of Iowa needs to call upon New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin or former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco for some advice on how to handle this situation. 

You got that right....had a lot of flooded basements here in central NE also, just prior to the Iowa situation.  Sure, lots of griping and complaining from some of those folks that are in the prone areas.  But again, they just sunker down and the neighbors pitch in, and everything one day returrns to normal.  Some of these same people had the same problem a couple years ago, and are going thru it again, but it had been about 20 years ago the same thing happened.  We all pitch in, suck it up & accept it and life goes on.  

Depending on govt assistance, welfare and the like just doesn't come to mind for the most part in the midwest.  Of course that might change this year with all the flooding that has occurred.  For the first time in memory, new ethonal plants & corn prices were going to make the farmer highly profitable.  But if those farmers hedged the increasing crop prices against the production loan, and now there will be no crop....there could be a lot of troubles ahead.  The hail insurance coverage is nowhere near the futures price, and fuel price increases are much less percentage-wise compared to the fertilizer prices.  

But like you said...the crying & whining won't be heard like it was from the Katrina/Wilma crowd.  The mid-America farmer will tread on with only one thing on his mind......work the land & produce food for the rest of the world while at the same time trying to make a living for himself and his family.

I've worked claims for CEO's,homeowners,government entities,renters, you name it.....but always loved working the farmer claims whether they were the insured or the claimant.  Two thumbs in the overall straps & just truthin" with you.  It doesn't get any better than that.  Then again, those are midwestern Oshkosh's.   The overall's do change in some jurisdictions.   

Guess that's why they call it the "Heart Land", eh, Mike?!!  

Dave, that is a good article and so very true. Lousiana, as a whole, is the arm pit of American society. There are some good people there, but they are overridden by the bad. It is nice, even though the circumstances stink, to see people coming together, working together, helping each other, without their hands out and the constant moaning and groaning. The same is true here in Arkansas. People, for most part are good and want to help when the need is there. The only thing I came away from NOLA with was a bacteria from the hospital I had my appendectomy surgery in, that almost killed me. Seven were infected, five died, two  lived. Fortunately, I was one that lived and only after $110,000.00 of ant-biotics. The CDC has still not determined what the bacteria was. I don't think anything or anyone can cure what ails NOLA. It is just full of derelicts, dope heads, alcholyics, and misfits. We did meet a few nice folks though, but they are not plentiful enough.

A fellow died one day and found himself in line with others for judgement.

As he stood there, he noticed others that were allowed into the Pearly Gates of Heaven.  Others, though, were led over to Satan who threw them into the burning fires below.  Every so often, instead of hurling a poor soul into the burning caldruns, Satan would cast a soul off to the side onto a small pile.

After watching this for some time, the fellow's curiosity got the better of him.   So he strolled over to the Prince of Darkness, and said "Excuse me sir, but I can't help wondering....why are you tossing those people aside instead of flinging them into the Fires of Hell like the others?

"Oh, those??, "Satan groaned"...They're all from Iowa and Nebraska, and still too wet to burn". 

Hmmm  is this post offensive? Is it true only White people are self reliant?

Gosh, Peter, I don't think I see anything within this thread referring to race at all.  One might infer......but it surely wasn't specifically stated by anyone.   And if I were to say that the tone of this thread was pointed to  particular geographical areas, it was that only and not to race.  One can certainly speculate though.

This is a late add/edit:  Maybe you're referring to the previous post by Larry.  In his defense (and Larry needs none), Des Moines and the surrounding area is of mixed race with the same economical challenges as most most mid-sized cities now.  But the midwestern self-responsibility  & help thy neighbor still seems to be intact for the most part.  Give it time, though, I guess. 

I believe Malvi hit it on the head. It is what you are raised into that forms your outlook on life. I worked on a farm for many years as a youngster and worked very hard, 12 hours a day. It was a rough life, but one that I respected. We had some dark skinned help and all they did was work, go home, eat, and sleep. They were not taught to have a desire to  improve themselves and from what I have learned all my life, the whites created this envelope. Times are changing and I am seeing some very successful dark skins. NOLA is an exception to any rule. Most of the people there are very pleasant, honest and trustworthy. You do have an element that expects something fo nothing, but that does not apply only to darker skins, it also applies to many white skins.

Iowa  people are for most part, hard working and honest. They don't expect hand outs, as that is not how they were raised. They are overwhelmed by all this historic flooding, but they just keep plowing ahead. Attitude, its just plain attitude.

Think about this, real hard.

Everyone concentrates on the problems we''re having in this country lately: illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida ..

I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It''s a win-win situation.

Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.

Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies.

Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border.

Think about this:

1. Cows
2. The Constitution
3. The Ten Commandments

C O W S

Is it just me, *or* does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.

T H E C O N S T I T U T I O N

They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq .... Why don''t we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we''re not using it anymore.

T H E 1 0 C O M M A N D M E N T S

The real reason that we can''t have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this:
You cannot post ''Thou Shalt Not Steal,'' ''Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,'' and ''Thou Shall Not Lie'' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians..It creates a hostile work environment.