I find it really incredible that despite all the warnings and the danger with this hurricane, that people are still foolish enough to stay in their homes in that area! Nobody will be able to help them if they get into trouble and it sure looks like they will be in trouble very soon now...the water will whipe them out..

If you stay prepare to die,just dont do it if you have minor children.They have no choice in your stupidity. By your actions you put our public safety officials in needless harms way. If you are rescued,I hope you are sent a fat bill !

This is more media HYPE. I was in Houston in 1983 for Hurricane Alicia, which was a CAT 3 with a well formed eye wall. IKE is larger/ but not as strong---
Windows were broken out of downtown Houston/but the building codes were changed; flying rocks from the roof materials blew most windows out--- not the 95-100 mph winds. Read history before you write hype and follow heards of cows!

I live in the Midwest, about 90 miles NW of Chicago. I have never been in a hurricane before. Although, I am curious to experience one like the CNN reporters do, I would never want to put myself or any of my loved ones in harm's way.

I have been watching hurricane coverage on & off all day on CNN, MSNBC, etc. as I do computer work for my business.

I am extremely frustrated with those persons who refuse to leave, despite the evacuation notices. These persons, of course, put their own lives at risk. On top of that, they place the lives of rescue personnel in extreme danger.

I believe every person who is rescued during the storm during these mandatory evacuations should be charged all rescues fees. Also, I believe the municipalities, counties, parishes, states, etc. should create laws which will punish persons who refuse to leave during a mandatory evacuation.

There is absolutely no reason a situation like Katrina should ever happen again. Any person who stays behind is signing his or her own death certificate.

Thanks for your great coverage CNN.

Sherri
Rockford, IL

As a Darwinist, I can only say I am very sorry for these people. Aside from the ones who COULD NOT LEAVE for some legitimate reason, that is how population is controled through mother nature. Some are rates ( bottom feeders) and some are Eagles. Some choose to use their brains and LISTEN to what is SAFE, and some act stupid or are stupid. The nature is not meant to help survival of the lower IQ ones. Life is unfortunatley very unfair and NO ONE in their right mind should ( and I believe would) endanger his or his loved ones life just to get some attention ( but unfortunately we all know some do, and nature is selected against them and gets rid of them).

I worked in Chase Tower and want to ask if there are any reports and feedback on the tunnel throughout Houston downtown & damages it has sustained?

It's good to see what has been going on in Texas with hurricane Ike has taken precedence over the election rhetoric/madness.

To me, it shows where our priorities lie.

Those individuals that decided to stay against federal/state mandatory evacuation orders. IF, you need to be rescued by any local, state or federal agency due to your stupidity for not following orders you should be assessed a surcharge. Let's say a $500.00/per individual. Let's see if the next time you take it serious. Coast communities should pass this as law.

I agree that those who ignore a mandantory evacuation should have consequences. If they are found prior to the storm they should be arrested and forced to evacuate by taking them to a facility/jail outside the evacuation zone. Those that are found after the storm should be arrested and charged for failing to comply and for jeopadizing the safety and possible lives of those that have to rescue them because of their own stupidity.

HELP! CAN ANYONE TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT "LEAGUE CITY"
ANY DAMAGE TO THE COMMUNITY OF SOUTH SHORE HARBOR?

Whatever you believe about the people who stayed behind, if you are the rescue worker sent in after the storm, or the Captain of the rescue workers, it is your job to do this. You have chosen it. It is not your job to say in interviews how stupid you think the people are and many of the things the rescue captain your reporter talked about having said. It is his job and his workers' jobs to rescue one and all, young and old, black and white, dumb and dumber. IF they must broadcast loudly how disgusted they are with "stupid people," they should choose another job, one that does not deal with the public, where undoubtedly those of us who deal with the public run into challenging people every day. If you are there to do your job and you run into this, your griping should be done in private, or you should not be a "public servant." And lest you think I have no right to this opinion, my husband used to be a volunteer firefighter and accident responder, so I know what rescue work means.

What most of you probably do not know is that many homes in Galveston were built before the 1900 storm & have weathered many storms since. These homes are probably safer than many newer homes in Houston. Most of the homes that were built later are on blocks several feet off the ground & have to be very well built to pass code. Most of these people who chose to stay are BOI's & have been on the island for every storm since their birth. Too many people tried to evacuate for Rita & ended up worse off because they were stuck in their cars in a traffic jam on I45 & could not get to safety when the storm rolled through. Many lost their lives because of that & these people may not have wanted to test their luck trying to survive that type of ordeal again. I cannot blame them for that, although I do agree that if they change their mind at the last minute & call for resuce, they should be charged for it.

If you were told to evacuate and didn't, then you should have to pay a fee for your resuce.

If you put your children through this, they should be taken away by CPS!!! Child ABUSE, CHILD NEGLECT, CHILD MEDICAL ABUSE!!!!! YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO KEEP YOUR KIDS IF YOU MADE THEM SUFFER, YOU WILL SEE WHEN THEY ARE GONE OR NOT THE SAME BECAUSE OF YOUR OWN ADULT ARROGANCE!!!!!!

I'M CONSIDERED A LIFELONG RESIDENT OF THE GULF OF MEXICO, A BEACHCOMBER. BORN IN '53 LIVED ON THE TEXAS GULF FRONT AND MISSISSIPPI GULF BEACH. HAVE GONE THROUGH & CLEANED UP AFTER 17 HURRICANES STORMS!! TO INCLUDE THE BREAKOFF OF GALVESTON IN CARLA AND THE LOSS OF MY HOME ON THE MISSISSIPPI COAST TO KATRINA. BELIEVE ME LIKE THE LADY SAYS MOTHER NATURE ELIMINATES THE LOWER LEVEL OF LIFE & HOMES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. I ALWAYS EVACUATED AND CAME BACK TO CLEAN UP, ASSIST OTHERS AND LIVE!!!!

Play Ball!! The stadiums were filled today, no regrets, except maybe a bet....scgrl

That's something really bad this hurricane.
We already have our economy so weak and again with this gas prices are up again.
Here in Miami-FL, since yesterday we had already in average more 0.40 per gallon.
It's crazy, somebody needs to do something.

We are from the West End of Galveston. News of the destruction is being PURPOSEFULLY kept off the air (NO fly-overs are being allowed). We have heard from ppl who stayed that we are definately NOT hearing the whole story. Do we Galvestonians really care that Hooters is a total loss? We want to hear about our homes! WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OUR HOMES.

I lived through Katrina and heard thousands of people say I was stupid for living below sea level and their tax dollars shouldn't go to rebuild a city 'living on borrowed time'. I evacuated but many of my friends were unable to. People who have lived through storms before think it will be the same. Someday the big one hits... Texas is lucky- America was prepared to rescue them. I wonder if America will be as blameful of Texans as they were of us in New Orleans. My heart goes out to you, Texas. You have my prayers.

Charging people who didn't evacuate rescue fees is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Many people don't evacuate because they can't afford to. It costs about 3-500 to evacuate for a storm with gas, hotel, food out etc. Not everyone has that. I weathered many storms because I was too poor to leave. You people have learned nothing from Katrina. Shame. My prayers are with you Texas- you took New Orleans in when no one else would.

I beg to differ with you on taking in New Orleans evacuees. I live in northeast Alabama and know we had about 200 here this last time and not even counting what Birmingham and other cities south hosted as well. I agree it is very costly to leave sometimes. The "haves" don not appreciate the way the "have nots" live.

Everyone who chose not to evacuate that were ordered too should have to pay the government back for the search and rescue operations that are taking place. It was not a request but an order to evacuate.

Okay this may sound a little heartless, but lets look this over. Ike was coming and everyone knew it. Storm surge was predicted to be as much as 27 feet, I heard at one time, with a 17 foot break wall in Galveston. Do the math. The storm was as big as Texas.People disregaurded the evacuation order, then had the nerve to get made at 911 operators when they could not help them during the storm. And lets for just a breif moment here think of the children of these familys whom were forced to stay with thier foolish parents in this terriffing event. I THINK we should fine the ones who chose to ignore the warning and had to be saved the following day, and the State should investigate the parents of these children. If they put thier children in harms way with this storm what other unsafe situations are these parents subjecting thier children too. Life is too short to play these kind of suicidal games, and the inocent children, my thoughts and prays are with them.

I agree that people that do not evacuate when told they are at risk of "certain death" are careless and ultimately put others at risk. That being said, the devastation to Galveston Island, Surfside Beach, and the Bolivar Peninsula breaks my heart. I have visited these areas all my life. Which reminds me--do the sensationalist reporters out there KNOW where the Bolivar Peninsula is??? OH--and Sabine Pass, Bridge City, and Orange, Texas??? Yes--the devastation to the larger Galveston and Metropolitan areas of Houston is tragic, but if the devastation to the above mentioned communities was revealed---you would see an area in absolute shambles. Hurricane Rita pounded these areas just 3 years ago. One month prior to Rita, these communities opened their doors for the evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. Now, these hard-working people (who,by the way, work in the petro-chemical industry that supplies 1/5 of the nation's oil and natural gas)are being largely ignored (with the exception of their local media in Beaumont, TX). That, people, is a travesty. You cannot imagine the pain of these people--gone to communities across North Texas and Louisiana, relying on spotty info. from family/friends who remained in the area, because no national television coverage addresses the needs of these smaller communties. This area contains my hometown. I guess because thousands of people aren't floating in the water it doesn't warrant national media coverage. Believe me, I do not use the above example lightly. As I said, our hearts poured out to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. I'm just tired of seeing our area neglected. Ike will help in the sense that Galveston/Houston were affected. Rita, however, will always be "the other hurricane." I was shocked to hear someone on The Weather Channel actually reference Rita in a newscast the day of Ike's landfall. The above mentioned communities are comprised of hardworking people, who often ae denied assistance because they have homeowners insurance or make "too much money." The truth is, being a working class American sometimes puts you at the bottom of the needs list. So--everyone receiving FEMA benefits and media coverage--thank us little Southeast Texans for our tax contributions, resources during storms that affected our other Gulf Coast neighbors, and tireless work ethic in the oil refineries that line our part of the coast. Maybe Geraldo will be able to pronounce "Sabine Pass" next time 'round (God forbid)

In response to "WestEndDivas" about no Est End coverage..
I'm really surprised that they are no showing more on TV.

I watched the "Live Feeds" from CNN's web site almost all weekend. Being in Ohio, and having family in League City and in Houston I couldn't get enough news.
Yesterday they had 2 hours of "live feed" copter coverage of the West end and just about everywhere else. Some areas looked like very little damage and some areas were devastated. I don't think any Channel used any of the coverage.

Ike made Rita look like a picnic. For all you people out there who think that FEMA, or even the response time is different, think again. I hunkered down for both of these hurricanes, financially unable to do otherwise, and am here to tell you that FEMA has not even delivered water to our community yet, 3 days after the storm. Money talks, and evidently, neither the state nor the feds consider small communities important enough to bother with. The power companies say a month before we see electricity again. The water company tells us to boil the trickle we receive. There is no gas, even if the roads were passable and there was a store open. This is not the first time I have seen small communities get overlooked for the BIG story, where the money is. The state is focused on helping evacuees, but the people in the local communities are suffering. FEMA? Still a joke. They knew this storm was coming, and should have had supplies already in place. My son and I lived in a house with 3 walls for the entire winter after Rita. It will be no different this time. If people don't take care of themselves, they will never have a chance. There is no help other than what you do with your own two hands, unless you live in the big city or are from another community than the one you live in.

easttexan, you said it yourself:
"They knew this storm was coming, and should have had supplies already in place."

Only, instead of "them" being FEMA, I think "them" points to "citizens," which is to say, YOU.

YOU knew the storm was coming.
--Did you pre-position supplies in your kitchen cabinets? Bread, crackers, canned meat and fruit are cheap and don't have to be wasted if the storm misses you.
--Did you clean your bathtub and fill it and every pot in your kitchen with clean water?
--Did you put ice from your ice-maker into zip bags and cram the bags into every available space in your fridge/freezer and set it to the coldest setting a couple days before the storm?

If not, kick yourself, not the government. Uncle Sam is not your daddy.

If you were even remotely concerned about my son and I, I think the tone of your letter would have been different. But, yes, I did prepare. I am accustomed to doing things for myself, and live as self sufficiently as is possible. I was not asking for handouts, but commenting on the preparation of the state and the feds, even after Rita, and Gustav. I am a woman in my mid 50s who wields a chain saw to heat her home, and I can use the downed trees for a good cause, to get us through the winter. We have food 'on the hoof' and had a good yield in the garden this year. I can survive and take care of my family. But realistically, how many average citizens are capable of surviving even 3 days when they are accustomed to eating at McDonalds and don't even (want to) know where real food comes from? Americans, as a whole, do need their daddy, and can not survive for days without fresh water and self heating meals. And when daddy is looking the other way while communities suffer, nothing has changed. Rural communities often consist of hardy folks who choose to live on the fringes of society. I consciously chose not to live in the city, and this hurricane has shown that government is still not equipped to deal with large scale disasters, even when we know they are coming our way. I continue to depend on my own two hands rather than trust in the empty promises that "things will be different this time".

Yes, I agree, those who stayed should be punished. Fined or their property taken. Had they left, crews could be working to clean up the storm ravaged areas so the citizens could return sooner.

Stupidity costs money and lives.

checkout www.pollabear.org for updated information on what is going on in Southeast Texas after Hurricane Ike. POD locations, Food Stamp locations, FEMA locations etc..

I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right area to reach the news desk.

I think that Sara Palin typifies a type of Citizen that resided in our American past but is missing from the modern landscape. I think she is typifies the spirit of Davy Crockett.

Davy was not a properly mannered politician and was somewhat rough by comparison to others. He was strong and forward in the execution of his office as a Representative of the State of Tennessee but could not compete with their genteel nature and shrewdness. I suppose that shrewdness has no place in a wild frontier, giving way to strength, a good eye and an innate sense of direction.

Governor Palin has some of the same qualities as Davy Crockett. He killed a Bear, she killed a moose. She lacks the prowess of a seasoned politician but wields the spirit and hopes of the common man in manner that resonates with their simplistic desires and aspirations.

Simplicity is not a negative prognosis, it is workable means to an end that can be shared and understood by a larger group of mixed personalities and intellects. It denudes the complexities where the shrewd hide the mechanics of their shrewdness. They are driven by self-interest, as opposed to the common interest.

Davy Crockett said, "Be always sure you are right, then go ahead".

I guess the simplicity in this statement is grounded in the hope that the needs of the many will propel us to find a path to achieve our common goals.
Perhaps what our country needs is a new path. I think, Sara Palin, faults and all, is a type of Pathfinder, as was Davy Crockett. The current path our county treads upon has been beaten barren, as demonstrated by the current economic crisis where we find ourselves stalled.
Yes, I think Sara Palin typifies the spirit of Davy Crockett. She has demonstrated the courage to face raw nature and find comfort within its bounds. She may not be shrewd but she makes up for in spirit and prowess.

Maybe we need a Davy Crockett to find us a new national path. Perhaps Governor Sara Palin could be the pathfinder we need at this dire moment in time.

It seam's to me that we have allot of UNAMERICAN's on this site.
When are you people going to wake up?
There is no hope for our GREAT America if you fall for the bullshit of Obama, he has changed his words ever since he got in this race and you people follow him like little dogs! We need change and it not the same shit that the Democrats have tried to put out for many many years. WAKE UP AMERICA MAKE A REAL CHANGE
McCain & Palin The only real change for a GREAT AMERICA

you know i cut wood for a living and own 6 different riffels my chainsaw has a 36inch bar on it i fall my own trees buck it up load it in the truck and sell it then i go fishing with friends clean the salmon run home cook supper for my daughter and parents and get up and do it all over again but you don't see me running out to be the next prime minister of canada . there is alot of women out there that do more then me in a world of single parent families this is no great feat so get over yourself do your country some good and bow out till you have more experience and can take care of yourself without mcain playing big daddy.I absolutly dispise woman who put themselfs on a pedastol and brag about themselfs you make me sick!!!!!!!!!

OMG....I just re-watched the vp debate....sarah palin's many comments to Biden were so disrepectful, i.e., when she commented about his wife "being rewarded in heaven" when she knows damn well that his first wife died in that awful crash in the 70's. She also didn't even comment when he got a little choked up about that subject. She just kept going on about what a "maverick john mccain is! How disrespectful. she could have paused and said something nice. Just terrible. This woman is an embarrassment to our country to even be considered for a vp slot. how dare mccain even pick her. now, she was here in L.A. and said some things the "NY Times" had printed, evidently, about Ayres and Obama. She has truly shown her true colors about what a scumbag she truly is. mccain and his camp are now stooping so low as to pull this crap out of nowhere just because they are losing. But that's okay. Obama has class, and will fight back just fine, with class. Not scumbag style, because that's not his style. This woman needs to go home with her family and take care of her daughter and her newly upcoming grand-kid and special needs kid. VOTE OBAMA, OR DON'T VOTE AT ALL.