floyd simeon rules

I love the internet. You really can find anything. Yesterday I heard this sound bite on democracy now that was so cool that I wished I had a transcript so I could print it. And democracy now actually transcribes their shows and posts it on the internet for free. This guy was too cool to believe. Here's the choice quote:

to set the scene, here' s how the reporter started the report

JOHN HAMILTON: It's Saturday afternoon in Orleans Parish, six days after Hurricane Katrina hit. It's here that the waters of Lake Pontchartrain have flooded the Crescent City. What were once the streets of New Orleans are now a series of canals marked only by street signs scarcely breaking the surface of the water. We've come on a small motorboat with Dr. Tooty Sheban and Floyd Simeon. At the helm are two volunteers who rode in from Louisville, Kentucky. We've come to look for survivors.

Floyd Simeon is the guy that's the best. So that you can picture him, here's how Dr. Tooty described him:
JOHN HAMILTON: When you said pirate supplies, what do you mean?
TOOTY SHEBAN: I mean he (Floyd) went and begged. But we always call him The Pirate because he has a big black truck and carries a parrot and all that.

Finally, here's the quote:

JOHN HAMILTON: Floyd, what do you think about the government's response to this crisis?
FLOYD SIMEON: What government? We don't have any government response here. Everything that's taken place has taken place by volunteers and citizens in the area. You know, I don't want to be critical of my government and not supportive. It's just taken so long and it’s so slow. I mean you would think in this situation when you look around me and behind me at all this, why aren't there 50 inflatable boats in the water working a grid making sure all these people are out of here? Why is it just volunteers? That's the only people you see around. And on top of that they're trying to stop volunteers from coming in. It seems like everyone has taken this approach that this has to be handled by the professionals and there's no professionals handling it. And when you look at it and they keep saying people need to stay out, you can't come home, they're telling people in Slidell that, they're telling people in Jefferson Parish that. What really needs to happen is everybody needs to come home and help. That's the only way this is going to get fixed. Everybody has to come back and fix their city. Obviously this area is not ready for people to come back into. But there's places where we can come in. You clear the trees, you clear your roads. Let them hook up to utilities and let's get things going again. It's not just going to happen by everybody sitting and waiting. And that's why we're here. We got tired of waiting.