Check out their secondary headline:



You just can't make this stuff up......

This week’s weather fiasco in Atlanta, which stranded thousands of commuters on glassy-slick roads and gridlocked the entire metro region for the better part of 24 hours, was caused by a freak snowstorm, they say. And this is true, in the same way it’s true to say the Civil War started because some guys in Charleston, S.C., started lobbing cannon balls at Fort Sumter. But the real problem in Atlanta isn’t snow; the real problem is history.

I grew up in Atlanta and still have scores of friends, former colleagues, and family members in Georgia, so my Facebook feed lit up with snow news long before the first flakes hit. (Southerners greet the prospect of snow with the excitement they usually reserve for rumors of the Second Coming of Jesus. More, actually, since the Second Coming does not entail a frantic race to the store to get milk and toilet paper.) A friend whose office overlooks 10th Street in Midtown posted a picture of the snarled traffic as it was happening, and I knew this was going to be bad, bad, bad. I also knew that I’d be hearing stories about folks coming out to aid stranded motorists, or inviting strangers in for a bowl of hot oatmeal or some such, because Southerners are like that. A New Yorker might go out of his way to help a stranger cross the street in a time of disaster; a Southerner is apt to take him home and cook him dinner. And in fact there were plenty of such vignettes, all of them reminding me of what I miss about living there.

“Proud, brave, honorable by its lights, courteous, personally generous, loyal … such was the South at its best,” wrote W. J. Cash in his classic 1941 work, The Mind of the South. So far, so good—but Cash goes on to describe some less appealing but still quintessentially Southern traits, among them being “suspicion toward new ideas, an incapacity for analysis, an inclination to act from feeling rather than from thought, an exaggerated individualism and a too-narrow sense of social responsibility.” And, of course, “too great an attachment to racial values”—or, so as not to mince words, racism.

What does this have to do with snow? Let us review.

And, of course, there’s race. Race is a recurring motif in the long history of the city-rural divide in Georgia politics, as well as the uneasy history of relations between the leaders in City Hall and the state Capitol just down the street. Much as white Southerners despise being labeled “racist” whenever they vote Republican—and I do understand why that makes them mad—it is still a fact that you cannot separateanything in the South entirely from the question of race.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_p...story.html

Racism doesn't have anything to do with the failure of Georgia's state government to do diddly-squat.

Gimme a break

Didn't read the entire article...too long for me.

But here is Atlanta's mayor Kasim Reed.



And city council president Ceasar C. Mitchell



Yep, they sure look like the racist type.

Nomad, excellent find.

Any major metro area where the majority of people live in the suburbs and commute will go through what Atlanta just did.

I lived in DC 3 years ago when an ice/snow storm lead to commutes of up to 12 hours. The road was littered with stranded cars. DC and Atlanta are virtually the same with a very small percentage of the total population living in the city limits.

The road systems, no matter how wide and advanced, simply cannot handle millions of commuters all trying to be somewhere at the same time.

This is a case of poor planning by residents, companies, and government institutions in a lot of ways. For starters, the forecast was pretty clear. Employees and employer should have planned accordingly. The development and planning of the metro area is also very poor, but this is the case in pretty much every city in the south.

(01-31-2014 10:08 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  Nomad, excellent find.

I've been waiting for a time to post it.

Part of the problem is that fewer and fewer people work and live in Atlanta. More and more people live outside the city, yet commute to Downtown Atlanta everyday. Unless if it all goes back to being Atlanta, you will get the predictable result of dozens of local jurisdictions (cities, counties, school districts) every time an emergency situation develops: failure.

I heard an alternative, but equally plausible, theory, that members of the 1% were counting their money in the middle of the freeways and blocked traffic.

Then again snow IS white.

(02-01-2014 12:31 AM)chargeradio Wrote:  Part of the problem is that fewer and fewer people work and live in Atlanta. More and more people live outside the city, yet commute to Downtown Atlanta everyday. Unless if it all goes back to being Atlanta, you will get the predictable result of dozens of local jurisdictions (cities, counties, school districts) every time an emergency situation develops: failure.

The same can be said for New York City and 3 inches doesn't shut them down. Hell, does 3 inches even need to be plowed? That's not really a lot of snow (until it starts to melt and refreezes again at night putting ice every where)

(02-01-2014 01:05 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 12:31 AM)chargeradio Wrote:  Part of the problem is that fewer and fewer people work and live in Atlanta. More and more people live outside the city, yet commute to Downtown Atlanta everyday. Unless if it all goes back to being Atlanta, you will get the predictable result of dozens of local jurisdictions (cities, counties, school districts) every time an emergency situation develops: failure.

The same can be said for New York City and 3 inches doesn't shut them down. Hell, does 3 inches even need to be plowed? That's not really a lot of snow (until it starts to melt and refreezes again at night putting ice every where)

New York residents use a lot of public transit that will go even in the snow. And NYC has the equipment, know how and manpower to handle snow because they have to every year.

Atlanta does not have the equipment to handle snow and is still very much a car commuter city even though they have public transportation.

(02-01-2014 01:13 PM)mptnstr@44 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 01:05 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 12:31 AM)chargeradio Wrote:  Part of the problem is that fewer and fewer people work and live in Atlanta. More and more people live outside the city, yet commute to Downtown Atlanta everyday. Unless if it all goes back to being Atlanta, you will get the predictable result of dozens of local jurisdictions (cities, counties, school districts) every time an emergency situation develops: failure.

The same can be said for New York City and 3 inches doesn't shut them down. Hell, does 3 inches even need to be plowed? That's not really a lot of snow (until it starts to melt and refreezes again at night putting ice every where)

New York residents use a lot of public transit that will go even in the snow. And NYC has the equipment, know how and manpower to handle snow because they have to every year.

Atlanta does not have the equipment to handle snow and is still very much a car commuter city even though they have public transportation.

I'll give you most of that. But even with NYC's public transportation system, there are still hundreds of thousands of daily commuters who drive to the City from Long Island, Upstate New York, and Jersey - hence the big deal surrounding the Brigdegate scandal. And while NYC and the surrounding areas have snow removal equipment, the density of the area leaves few places to dump it. Much of the snow just ends up piled up on street corners or pushed off to the side either eliminating a lane or blocking cars into their parking spaces.

But Jesus, it was just 3 inches.

(02-01-2014 03:15 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 01:13 PM)mptnstr@44 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 01:05 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 12:31 AM)chargeradio Wrote:  Part of the problem is that fewer and fewer people work and live in Atlanta. More and more people live outside the city, yet commute to Downtown Atlanta everyday. Unless if it all goes back to being Atlanta, you will get the predictable result of dozens of local jurisdictions (cities, counties, school districts) every time an emergency situation develops: failure.

The same can be said for New York City and 3 inches doesn't shut them down. Hell, does 3 inches even need to be plowed? That's not really a lot of snow (until it starts to melt and refreezes again at night putting ice every where)

New York residents use a lot of public transit that will go even in the snow. And NYC has the equipment, know how and manpower to handle snow because they have to every year.

Atlanta does not have the equipment to handle snow and is still very much a car commuter city even though they have public transportation.

I'll give you most of that. But even with NYC's public transportation system, there are still hundreds of thousands of daily commuters who drive to the City from Long Island, Upstate New York, and Jersey - hence the big deal surrounding the Brigdegate scandal. And while NYC and the surrounding areas have snow removal equipment, the density of the area leaves few places to dump it. Much of the snow just ends up piled up on street corners or pushed off to the side either eliminating a lane or blocking cars into their parking spaces.

But Jesus, it was just 3 inches.

NYC likely has much better planning around storms. Nobody really knows how to plan for snow in the south because it is rare.

Timing was really the biggest issue with this storm. If it happened early in the morning or during the evening, things wouldn't have been nearly as bad.

(02-01-2014 03:42 PM)Niner National Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 03:15 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 01:13 PM)mptnstr@44 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 01:05 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 12:31 AM)chargeradio Wrote:  Part of the problem is that fewer and fewer people work and live in Atlanta. More and more people live outside the city, yet commute to Downtown Atlanta everyday. Unless if it all goes back to being Atlanta, you will get the predictable result of dozens of local jurisdictions (cities, counties, school districts) every time an emergency situation develops: failure.

The same can be said for New York City and 3 inches doesn't shut them down. Hell, does 3 inches even need to be plowed? That's not really a lot of snow (until it starts to melt and refreezes again at night putting ice every where)

New York residents use a lot of public transit that will go even in the snow. And NYC has the equipment, know how and manpower to handle snow because they have to every year.

Atlanta does not have the equipment to handle snow and is still very much a car commuter city even though they have public transportation.

I'll give you most of that. But even with NYC's public transportation system, there are still hundreds of thousands of daily commuters who drive to the City from Long Island, Upstate New York, and Jersey - hence the big deal surrounding the Brigdegate scandal. And while NYC and the surrounding areas have snow removal equipment, the density of the area leaves few places to dump it. Much of the snow just ends up piled up on street corners or pushed off to the side either eliminating a lane or blocking cars into their parking spaces.

But Jesus, it was just 3 inches.

NYC likely has much better planning around storms. Nobody really knows how to plan for snow in the south because it is rare.

Timing was really the biggest issue with this storm. If it happened early in the morning or during the evening, things wouldn't have been nearly as bad.

This.
Planning around storms was what I meant about "know how" for dealing with them.

(02-01-2014 03:57 PM)mptnstr@44 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 03:42 PM)Niner National Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 03:15 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 01:13 PM)mptnstr@44 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 01:05 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  The same can be said for New York City and 3 inches doesn't shut them down. Hell, does 3 inches even need to be plowed? That's not really a lot of snow (until it starts to melt and refreezes again at night putting ice every where)

New York residents use a lot of public transit that will go even in the snow. And NYC has the equipment, know how and manpower to handle snow because they have to every year.

Atlanta does not have the equipment to handle snow and is still very much a car commuter city even though they have public transportation.

I'll give you most of that. But even with NYC's public transportation system, there are still hundreds of thousands of daily commuters who drive to the City from Long Island, Upstate New York, and Jersey - hence the big deal surrounding the Brigdegate scandal. And while NYC and the surrounding areas have snow removal equipment, the density of the area leaves few places to dump it. Much of the snow just ends up piled up on street corners or pushed off to the side either eliminating a lane or blocking cars into their parking spaces.

But Jesus, it was just 3 inches.

NYC likely has much better planning around storms. Nobody really knows how to plan for snow in the south because it is rare.

Timing was really the biggest issue with this storm. If it happened early in the morning or during the evening, things wouldn't have been nearly as bad.

This.
Planning around storms was what I meant about "know how" for dealing with them.

Does Atlanta have a weatherman?

(02-01-2014 04:15 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 03:57 PM)mptnstr@44 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 03:42 PM)Niner National Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 03:15 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(02-01-2014 01:13 PM)mptnstr@44 Wrote:  New York residents use a lot of public transit that will go even in the snow. And NYC has the equipment, know how and manpower to handle snow because they have to every year.

Atlanta does not have the equipment to handle snow and is still very much a car commuter city even though they have public transportation.

I'll give you most of that. But even with NYC's public transportation system, there are still hundreds of thousands of daily commuters who drive to the City from Long Island, Upstate New York, and Jersey - hence the big deal surrounding the Brigdegate scandal. And while NYC and the surrounding areas have snow removal equipment, the density of the area leaves few places to dump it. Much of the snow just ends up piled up on street corners or pushed off to the side either eliminating a lane or blocking cars into their parking spaces.

But Jesus, it was just 3 inches.

NYC likely has much better planning around storms. Nobody really knows how to plan for snow in the south because it is rare.

Timing was really the biggest issue with this storm. If it happened early in the morning or during the evening, things wouldn't have been nearly as bad.

This.
Planning around storms was what I meant about "know how" for dealing with them.

Does Atlanta have a weatherman?

Yeah, but he doesn't moonlight as a city planner.

snow is white . . .

God evidently is a racist.