Go on, hide behind polls, you cowardly motherfucker. Are they the like the ones whose results your kind disparaged after the last presidential “election”?

Apparently, the vast majority of the American Public simply does not agree with your opinion, but rather shares my beliefs.

A CNN/USAToday/Gallup Poll which will be released today said only 13% of respondents believed that the problems in New Orleans after the hurricane were George W. Bush’s fault. Most, of course, said nobody is to blame, but state and local officials received most of the blame, with 25% of respondents believing that they are most responsible for the violent, and inhuman conditions and lack of evacuation before the hurricane hit.

58% of people polled, in fact, think George W. Bush has done a “great” job, “good job” or had no opinion.

So, while you are certainly entitled to your view of the world, the vast majority of the American public isn’t buying it.

It won’t take me long to call you a name; I’ll do it right off the bat: you are an asshole.

Let’s say that you are right about Nagin and Blanco being derelict of duty, which is a lie but let’s assume it for the sake of argument. That does not mitigate one iota the blame of the despicable cheater who works in the Oval Office. Had that piece of shit been monitoring the situation, he would have seen the negligence that you claim took place. Were he a decent human being, he would have then moved heaven and earth to prevent the humanitarian disaster about to ensue. From Nagin and Blanco are blameworthy, it does not follow that your piece of shit president was not.

And keep on gloating about who’s running the country. When America’s working people rise up your ilk will be singing a different tune.

Please forgive my delay in responding and I appreciate the time you took to compile some sources. I don’t have the time to thoroughly read and dissect and search and respond to each of your citations at this point. I think if I were to do so, I’d probably still have some questions regarding these stories. How much is tainted by spin or motivated by self preservation? If true, what was the rationale for these *purported* responses by FEMA? At the very least, I do not believe they were malevolent. And there’s a whole lot more to learn regarding how good a job FEMA’s done in the face of ALL facts and the realities of this catstrophe. Add in the impact of state/local actions and lack thereof..

I’m trying to keep abreast as much as possible in the midst of ‘life’. To be continued, I’m sure.

I’m glad to learn that you think honesty is idiocy. It gives me excellent reason to skip your comments with an utterly clear conscience.
Thank you for being so easy to ignore.

Greg

I’m very unclear on if that was the state or the Feds

It’s the state, idiot. It’s under the Louisiana Military Department. This isn’t a great mystery, it takes about 30 seconds to find that out. I figure the rest of your post is probably equally worthless, but I don’t think it’s worth my time to find out.

That’s why President Bush and the Pentagon should cancel the so-called Freedom Walk scheduled for Sunday, September 11.

For the full story, see:

“Cancel the 9/11 Freedom Walk.”

There are conflicting stories on the Red Cross, but their website faq is here – http://www.redcross.org/faq/0,1096,0_682_4524,00.html#4524 . They say “state Homeland Security” but I’m very unclear on if that was the state or the Feds – my uneducated guess is that it was the Feds, since they work in FEMA (or FEMA approved, not sure) shelters. I don’t really care who did it – it’s appalling. The Red Cross page also says the Superdome was the right decision under the circumstances.

The Forest Service had firefighting tankers and fire crews on standby. They went on standby Tuesday, and hadn’t been called as of Thursday. http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/09/02/news/local/news02.txt

Sen. Landrieu referenced that and the Amtrak story last night. Yesterday DHS announced that FS and Amtrak help were expected. I’d seen both stories separately earlier, but I don’t have the original links. This link is to the discussions she had with Amtrak on the 1st, so I believe that she’s correct on that point as well.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050901/NEWS0110/509010402/1260

New Mexico (which apparently had the only medical team in the Superdome) Vovernor Richarson offered our National Guard last Sunday – got the clearance and paperwork from DC on Thursday. AP story – one of many links. http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/09/04/military/15_43_309_3_05.txt
We are getting displaced people in now, and the governor has declared a state of emergency so he can fund that – initial release $1million.

President Broussard from Jefferson Parish had three specific instances of fuel oil from the Coast Guard, water from Wal-Mart, and a cut phone line (?) by FEMA he went into on Meet The Press this morning. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9179790/

I believe the cut phone line for one reason – a rescue team from Virginia responded to him directly, and wasn’t allowed in. http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=3798468 FEMA (and apparently the state) failed to get back to them at the time the story ran.

This is relevent because FEMA issued a “directive” to local agencies not to respond to requests from parishes or counties, but to co-ordinate with them firs on Augsut 29th. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18470

Broussard and his sheriff obviously don’t play by FEMA’s rules when their people are dying. Broussard also said that Nagin was hearing the same thing he was – “they’re on their way”. If you haven’t yet, read the portion of his transcript.

Then there is the “take your boats home” link from above. FEMA-ized LA Wildlife and Fisheries. http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/371 Again, there may be interpretation here, but the first-person author clearly blamed FEMA, rather than the state.

That’s probably more than enough. I note that the stories are pretty consistent in tone and in ascribing the same sense to FEMA’s reactions – “we don’t need it”. My take is that communications were horrible, and I don’t mean the infrastructure, I mean the human communications. (On infrastructure we can investigate later the DHS initiative on interoperable emergency systems and if there was any.)

So – delayed, prohibited and failed to accept – I think that covers it.

This thing is getting weirder all the time”

Someday they will join the majority in this country in advocating fair taxes and wise spending. And I am not talking about libruls or Neo-cons and demofats or repugnicans. I am talking about *real* American and human ideals.

As a mark of respect for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, Tuesday, September 20, 2005. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same period at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

# # #

This thing is getting weirder all the time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20050904/ts_latimes/despitewarningswashingtonfailedtofundleveeprojects

I like this paragraph: “With the advantage of hindsight, the miscues seem even broader. Construction proposals were often underfunded or not completed. Washington officials could never agree on how much money would be needed to protect New Orleans. And there hung in the air a false sense of security that a storm like Katrina was a long shot anyway.”

No less authority than your New York Times earlier this year rejected increased funding for the Corps of Engineers (via Powerline):

“Anyone who cares about responsible budgeting and the health of America’s rivers and wetlands should pay attention to a bill now before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The bill would shovel $17 billion at the Army Corps of Engineers for flood control and other water-related projects — this at a time when President Bush is asking for major cuts in Medicaid and other important domestic programs. Among these projects is a $2.7 billion boondoggle on the Mississippi River that has twice flunked inspection by the National Academy of Sciences.
The Government Accountability Office and other watchdogs accuse the corps of routinely inflating the economic benefits of its projects. And environmentalists blame it for turning free-flowing rivers into lifeless canals and destroying millions of acres of wetlands — usually in the name of flood control and navigation but mostly to satisfy Congress’s appetite for pork.

This is a bad piece of legislation,” The Times opined.

Great timing there, huh?

You keep hammering local government OK fine. The public will buy your message, because they have their own local governments that aren’t much different.

I’m going to ask one last time, Yes or No: Do you think it was OK for Bush to remain on vacation and not fly back to DC when the magnitude of this situation was known last Saturday?

Do you think it was OK for Bush to attend a birthday party for a photo op with a cake and Guitar, and played a round of golf in Arizona while hundreds (maybe thousands) would die without his full attention to the matter?

Do you think it was OK for Bush to Fly to California to pitch his Medicare and Medicaide plan to a hand picked friendly audience that would have done absolutely nothing to convince the skeptical and those who kno it will just F**K the poor and working class, AGAIN?

Do you think it was OK for bush to appoint Brown to FEMA, who had no emergency management expertise whatsoever, who was, in fact, “let go” as an attorney for The Arabian Horse Association?

Do you think it was OK for Condoleeza Rice to be at a Broadway show on Wedensday Night and Shopping for $3000 shoes the next day while a shoestore patron started screaming at her that shee is buying shoes while 1000’s die?

Do you think it was OK for the VP to be completely silent during a crisis to the point of arousing widespread rumors of grave illness and death?

Do you think it was OK that Chertoff didn’t know anyone was at the Convention Center, when the media had known it for a day?

Do you think it was OK that Bush’s entourage held up relief for Approximately 6 hours?

Most Important: Do you think it is OK to allow the Federal Government’s Emmergency management performance to stand in light of Tax Cuts for 1% of the population, a war that diverted badly needed resources and personel to install a Sharia government in Iraq (some are already calling it “Western Iraq”) in a time when the Administration’s inattention to “loose Nukes” could lead to the next FEMA F-up being the president standing next to a mile-wide crater for his 3-day-late photo-op?

There’s so much more but I’m tired. Please. Defend your boy. Inquiring minds want to know.

I think we finally agree. Bad news for anyone in charge, whether they are really to blame or not. That just human nature.

I don’t particularly favor higher taxes, but I’m definitely not in favor of having elements of public safety (levees, nuclear reactor safety, police, etc.) hobbled by lack of adequate resources via state Constitutions.

Essentially, what the state of Louisiana is doing is deliberately underfunding levee districts so that the federal government will have to pick up the tab through the Corps of Engineers. The vast majority of the state levee budgets go to pay the salaries of those members of the levee boards and their brother-in-laws and top pay for the 4-wheel drive vehicles they use to perform once-a-month “inspections” of the levee system.

It’s the Corps that does the yeoman’s work of keeping the Port of New Orleans open and the Mississippi River navigable.

Damn shame that the levee that broke was the one they spent the most money on and had the latest improvements (such as a cement cap).

As to the rest, it should become clear later on. Based on the numbers that I’ve seen, though, I think it’s bad news for all involved.

So, you’re a republican, right? Do I understand you to be advocating higher taxes? I’m going to report you to the Club for Growth.

So, that’s a statistical tie, really. It seems to me that the disapproval ties back to Bush’s approval ratings, which are pretty close to those numbers–45-53 at Rasmussen.

So, I go back to what I said earlier–the preparedness numbers are very high for both locals and feds, with the locals being slightly higher.

There’s plenty of time for all parties to do some good work. But I think that when the bodies are counted, there’s going to be a heavy political price paid by all involved.

The state of Louisiana limits the amount of taxation that a levy board may impose upon its citizens to 5 mils.

That’s not a law.

It’s written into the Louisiana Constitution.

http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Documents/Constitution/Article6.htm#§38.  Levee%20Districts

The state of Louisiana deliberately keeps levee districts from being able to raise enough money to keep the levees up.

Marvelous.