"I feel the Mexican government is helping here to an extent, doing the best they can," said KeVen Riley, town finance administrator for Paw Paw, Mich. "But the U.S. has done nothing. Where is our government? They are only preparing for Florida; they forgot about us." He went to a foreign country, refused to leave when warned, now wants my tax dollars to bail him out. Any of you out there from Paw Paw? Who is this guy?

Evidently an american who was on "vacation" and could not bring himself to listen to the newscasts while "sunning". I have friends with a home in Cancun and they said the news reports were warning everyone in both "english and spanish" to evacuate due to the severity of the storm. I'm with you, leave the guy there - surely Paw Paw won't miss him!

Just read a short article about the tourists in Cancun beginning to panic and that they want to go home. WHY - did they not leave prior to the storm? Now they want the US to send transport planes down there to get them? Come on people - grow up and take some responsibility for yourselves!

I don't understand why they planned their vacations in Hurricane alley right at the peak of hurricane season, and now they're whining about it? A little forethought could have prevented this.

Because they are fools who don't pay attention.

I don't understand why they planned their vacations in Hurricane alley right at the peak of hurricane season, and now they're whining about it? A little forethought could have prevented this. **************************************** I just listened to an interview being done with an American tourist, she is mad and wants to know what the US government is going to do about this? Duh? why didn't they leave when they were warned? so here is how it goes, the American govt fails their own people in the states and they are responsible for American vacationers in other countries? geezh!

Why don't they carry their weight and pitch in to help people who live there clean up? That seems much more rewarding than sitting around complaining and being bored.

"I feel the Mexican government is helping here to an extent, doing the best they can," said KeVen Riley, town finance administrator for Paw Paw, Mich. "But the U.S. has done nothing. Where is our government? They are only preparing for Florida; they forgot about us." He went to a foreign country, refused to leave when warned, now wants my tax dollars to bail him out. Any of you out there from Paw Paw? Who is this guy? As an ex-resident of the state of Mich I find it repulsive that one of their officials would actually take and leave the country in it's time of need. Although Paw Paw not being a very big city nor a major city, I can understand his ignorance. In some respect there is a reason why those of us who lived in the UP referred to people in the LP as Trolls. They are cowards. I don't mean that about all of the LP residents but when it comes down to it. How often does anyone here of anything getting done to help this country coming from Mich. You never here any interviews that get done with Mich reps or senators. The Previous Governor of Mich gets charged with committing crimes. This really leaves me to wonder why we are putting trust in our government at all. All they really do is sit on there behinds, collecting tax dollars and passing laws that they like to think of as rules. When it comes to our country being in need they don't wanna hear it and they sure don't wanna deal with it. As I said in a previous posting its really sad that our government can respond to an earthquake faster than it can to a natural disaster in our own country. http://forums.go.com/abcnews/Technology/thread?threadID=239865#2100833

?[w]ho should we depend on? If we can?t depend on our own federal government, who can we depend on?? A question that directly comes to my mind here is: how about yourself, Mr. Self-Righteous-Moronic-Ingrate?! What happened to that creaky, prehistoric virtue known as self-reliance? Entitlement...that is what breached the levees and the opened the floodgates of unreason. And lazy. Hollywood has also created expectations of whole cities being destroyed and restored in an 160 minute film, disasters are animation, and poor people are never impacted in the film world. So people don't have to prepare, cause in the movies the calvary always shows up. Rarely, in real life, does the calvery show up...but dedicated small groups of people make a difference.

Excuse me but these touritsts have no idea how the people of New Orleans felt and what they endured. "Now I know how those people in New Orleans felt," said Angela Benites, 48, of Mexico City. "Several days of desperation is no way to live. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/10/26/mexico.tourists.ap/index.html

Most disaster movies always have the hero going to where majority of frightened people are waiting to be saved. Hero sizes up the futility of the masses and finds a vehicle (hot wires or hijacks) and then continues on journey. Oh, he'll break into stores, houses etc for much needed supplies. So what's the point? Don't follow the herd when disaster strikes!!! I don't understand how entitlement made the levees fail. Self reliance is second nature for most able-bodies, fairly competent people. But big majority of population have myriad of failings - i.e. physical, mental. Some also have burden of caring for members who can't take care of themselves. But one thing for sure, those NO people were in a world of trouble, and our gov't did fail.

Well, I live in the deep south, and never could I have imagined the inabilities of people who had no responsibility but to pick their feet up and walk up the road after the hurricane was over. Able bodied people sat and sat and sat...not those with children, but very able bodied adults sat. As to the government failing, we failed them long before the hurricane...entitlement is a mindset of ineptitude and I can't do for myself so someone else must. Katrina rolled a rock over and it is their fault and the governments fault...they share the blame.

My sister and husband TRIED to leave Cancun. ALL flights were booked. Ask the other 40000 tourists there also. It's just not that easy to leave when the planes are full. The government should have sent in more planes and made more arangements to get the americans out.

Learn to wait, it's a virtue. There are things which cause governments to not be able to send in 100 to 200 aircraft to immediately evacuate an area they should have evacuated long before the disaster struck.

For goodness sake! It is the hurricane season. What did these people think was going to happen? Especially after all the hoopla over Katrina.

Ok... so according to all of you. If you are in a hurricane's way and don't evacuate then why help any of them. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... what about all the stupid idiots in south florida... on the keys.. that sit there... get hit, no insurance, almost get killed, lose their house and when asked why they didn't leave when a cat 4 hurricane was coming they say..."we have lived here for 20 years and it's never been this bad. we didn't think it would be this bad." What about all the STUPID people that have small children and instead of thinking we have to save our children and get the heck out of here, they stay because there is always that slim chance that it will NOT hit. We live in an area where we do have hurricanes. Our area got hit bad by Ivan. Do you know who benefited from the government??? It isn't the people that had insurance but still had a deductible and the insurance didn't pay everything... it was the people who had NO insurance... that fema helped. We were turned down by fema, as we had insurance. We heard stories that people were demolishing their own homes... breaking windows, throwing stuff out the windows, messing up walls, pouring water in houses, and then turning it in to fema... and gee.. guess what.. fema bought them a new mobile home. We got zilch. Nothing. We had damage to our house and no we didn't leave even though a cat 5 was coming. We own a business here, plus have 80 foxhounds and NO small children, so we stayed to be able to tend to our business and our hounds. AND we live far enough from the water that the surge would not effect us, just the wind and rain. Ask anyone that lives in a hurricane prone area. Just becuase they say it's coming your way, does not mean it is going to hit you. I am always on alert... When Katrina hit New Orleans... why did those people not leave? Because they didn't think it was gonna hit... they didn't think it was gonna be that bad. Why did the people not leave Cancun??? Most tried... the flights were booked. But... they showed it mostly going between cozimel and cuba... Cancun did not have the hurricane warning until very late and too late for the people to leave.

My sister and husband TRIED to leave Cancun. ALL flights were booked. Ask the other 40000 tourists there also. It's just not that easy to leave when the planes are full. The government should have sent in more planes and made more arangements to get the americans out. Okay so they tried, but then when they couldn't get out did they try to prepare for themselves, i.e. extra water, wipes, food, blankets...? Granted shelters are not the best circumstances to be stuck in but why should the "government" be responsible to send planes? I don't understand this "thought process".

Why did the people not leave Cancun??? Most tried... the flights were booked. But... they showed it mostly going between cozimel and cuba... Cancun did not have the hurricane warning until very late and too late for the people to leave. You are incorrect; it showed hitting Cancun at least 2-3 days prior and effecting that area was advised 4-5 days ahead. I have friends with a home in Cancun; they closed it up 4 days prior to landfall and headed to Mexico City. In fact, they said that officials were making many announcements in both english and spanish 4 days ahead of the storm.

soooooooo, south florida knew wilma was coming and did those that were able stock up on food, water, gas? nooooooooo...those who live from paycheck to paycheck, yes, needs help. those on welfare should begin thinking about purchasing bits and pieces at a time 3 days worth of food and water. that is not that hard.

soooooooo, south florida knew wilma was coming and did those that were able stock up on food, water, gas? nooooooooo...those who live from paycheck to paycheck, yes, needs help. those on welfare should begin thinking about purchasing bits and pieces at a time 3 days worth of food and water. that is not that hard. +++++++ Its not. Chances are those on welfare are receiving food stamps. I can buy a lot with a couple hundred dollars of food stamps.