Stop the cover-up now
After every scandal comes the coverup. Katrina is a scandal. The cover-up is underway. Read Brian Williams’ blog:
At one fire scene, I counted law enforcement personnel (who I presume were on hand to guarantee the safety of the firefighters) from four separate jurisdictions, as far away as Connecticut and Illinois. And tempers are getting hot. While we were attempting to take pictures of the National Guard (a unit from Oklahoma) taking up positions outside a Brooks Brothers on the edge of the Quarter, the sergeant ordered us to the other side of the boulevard. The short version is: there won’t be any pictures of this particular group of guard soldiers on our newscast tonight. Rules (or I suspect in this case an order on a whim) like those do not HELP the palpable feeling that this area is somehow separate from the United States.At that same fire scene, a police officer from out of town raised the muzzle of her weapon and aimed it at members of the media… obvious members of the media… armed only with notepads. Her actions (apparently because she thought reporters were encroaching on the scene) were over the top and she was told. There are automatic weapons and shotguns everywhere you look. It’s a stance that perhaps would have been appropriate during the open lawlessness that has long since ended on most of these streets. Someone else points out on television as I post this: the fact that the National Guard now bars entry (by journalists) to the very places where people last week were barred from LEAVING (The Convention Center and Superdome) is a kind of perverse and perfectly backward postscript to this awful chapter in American history.
FEMA also tried to order that the press not take pictures of bodies. Here’s Josh Marshall on this.
If there were ever a story that demands the bright light of public scrutiny, this is it. And that is not just so people can be fired — though I’m still waiting for Brownie to get the axe — but so we can keep watch on dangerous government incompetence on behalf of our fellow citizens and so we can learn and prevent it the next time.
This is a story in which we can play some part: The survivors will soon start telling their stories. And we should be flooding the government with FOIAs.
: Reporters Without Borders issues a statement of concern about two incidents of violence against journalists.
Tags: Howard_Stern, Media, neworleans
September 8th, 2005 at 8:25 am
If this is the way they act on American soil with American citizens just think what these same types of people must be doing “Over There” where no one is looking or even cares what happens.
September 8th, 2005 at 8:42 am
I worked for about 15-years in local TV news around the U.S. Many, many police officers and fire fighters take great delight in obstructing media coverage of disasterous events. I’ve seen several photographers arrested for shooting video from a spot that one agency authorized him to shoot from - but another agency objected to. This in one city with one government and a single tragic event. I’m not surprised there is a great deal of turmoil in New Orleans.
September 8th, 2005 at 9:05 am
Jeff,
Here’s another example of your blind spot on this disaster “… be flooding the government with FOIAs. ”
THE government? Was their only one, probably you mean federal, involved here? Does the gov’t of New Orleans get a pass? Does the LA state gov’t get a pass?
Oh, BTW, why don’t I ever see anything about the area hardest hit by Katrina? Biloxi and Gulfport and the whole MS coast got hit much harder than NO by the storm itself, why no coverage of those areas, too many success stories?
September 8th, 2005 at 9:30 am
Hey, what did you expect? What’s working in Iraq will be working in La, too. The Rove spinmachine is revving up. No pictures of dead bodies that will make the Bushies look bad, but a continous flow of misinformation instead. http://mediamatters.org/items/200509080002
Rove does know very well that the TV media has to fill 24 hours of airtime every day, but he is pulling the strings so that they’ll report following republican talking points.
Same old, same old…
September 8th, 2005 at 9:33 am
Success story in Biloxi, AlanC? It was a PR success allright:
‘ARD correspondent Christine Adelhardt, who witnessed Bush’s visit to Biloxi, was shocked about the extent to which the event was staged. The President brought with him vehicles to cut though the debris and rescue search teams, for which Biloxi had waited for days. But they did not go to work where the victims were, but only served as photogenic background props in remote areas of the town, she reported.’
http://www.livejournal.com/users/insomnia/604683.html
September 8th, 2005 at 9:34 am
From Kevin Drum today (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/):
A FAILED CEO….I’ll confess that even I’m getting a little weary of the relentless post-Katrina fault finding, much of which has now deteriorated into nitpicking over even the minor acts of disarray that are inevitable following a disaster like Katrina. But every time I start thinking we should ease up, the White House delivers yet another outrage:
At a news conference, [Nancy] Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush’s choice for head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency had “absolutely no credentials.”
She related that she had urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Michael Brown.
“He said ‘Why would I do that?’” Pelosi said.
“‘I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn’t go right last week.’ And he said ‘What didn’t go right?’”
September 8th, 2005 at 9:54 am
Denial. Total denial.
You think you saw the Brown clown on TV, telling bald faced lies that were contradicted by the news coverage?
You remember feeling flabbergasted when you perceived that he had no clue what was going on?
It didn’t happen. The repub spinmachine is working hard to erase these memories by using their weapons of mass disinformation.
September 8th, 2005 at 9:55 am
This could be worse - http://www.emsnetwork.org/artman/publish/article_18337.shtml - as I commented at my blog (http://www.di2.nu/blog.htm?20050908 ) this looks like total incompetence followed by attempts to cover it up at best, and it could just be racism
September 8th, 2005 at 10:25 am
I know I will have the minority veiw in here but……… I think the media did a piss poor job thus far reporting the events of hurricane Katrina. Note the stories in the links provided, the filming of bodies yet to be identifyed, gimme a break! how would you like to see the body of your loved one for the first time being retrieved from an attic on CNN live all day long? Reporters at the scenes of fires and shoot outs with looters are just extra security risks for the teams trying to do their jobs. And what reaction by the National Guard to the press could you expect, the press spending the last 8 or 10 days screaming 24/7 that the guard was remiss in their duties, that somehow they were responsible for the carnage wrought by Katrina. No I do not believe the press did a good job at all. What I saw was hyper overreaction to the events that unfolded since this tragedy happened. The entire American MSM goulishly converging on New Orleans, and the Superdome reporting rapes and murders which as yet have been substantiated, reporting that bodies were “stacked like cord wood” in a cooler of the dome only to find out there were 6 or 7 bodies there. Raped 7 year olds, slashed throats, the list of the macabe goes on & on and did nothing to help in the understanding of what really took place there. Reporting ad nausium on N.O. as if this storm were a local event, almost completely ignoring the fact that the entire Gulf Coast, including other major cities in 3 other states were totally devastated. No, I do not believe this is a shining moment in American journalism. Not to metion the hasty decision by most news outlets to politisise this event very early on doing almost no investigation as to who was responsible for what, making public unfounded accusations against any and all those fully engaged in the relief effort. Turning reporters away from the Dome, a site that has now become a “crime scene” seems the prudent thing to do as an investigation will probably not be mounted until the rescue efforts and retrieval of the victims in N.O. is accomplished.
The effort to shine “the bright light of of public scrutiny” “so we can keep watch on dangerous government incompetence” adds nothing to to this terrible human tragedy. The press in its zeal for transparency does great disrespect to the victims, and the 10’s of thoudands of relief workers trying to do their jobs.
As an aside, I will post no more comments on the Katrina situation at this site. I am insulted and disgusted by much of the attitude I find in here. I am sickened to the point that it is effecting my “real” life. I will continue to donate to the relief efforts and intend on defending my government, National guard, police, firemen, Red Cross, the politicians and all who selflessly are working to restore order and relieve suffering in this American human tragedy. The press can go to hell!!
September 8th, 2005 at 10:32 am
The Cover up continues - ‘Republicans block efforts to amend relief bill, hold vote without providing copy of bill’
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Republicans_block_efforts_to_amendment_relief_bill_vote_without_c_0907.html
No pictures, no reporters, no discussion in congress. All parts of the same spinmachine.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:38 am
tonynoboloney, to cut your unnecessary long comment short: The MSM shouldn’t report from the desaster area, I didn’t like their coverage.
I want to answer with a quote of a guy called John you might have heard somewhere:
‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.’
September 8th, 2005 at 10:52 am
The press can go to hell!!
Yeah, how dare they make us feel uncomfortable about the safety of our nation while it’s in the hands of total incompetents and a commander-in-chief who refuses to reward failure with pink slips!
Ah — finally we’ve arrived at the final stage of the GOP spin machine: when all else fails, blame the media. When last I checked, the media wasn’t getting in the way of first responders in New Orleans. Who has made such a claim? If anything the media has helped them, especially in the case of the Convention Center, which the rescuers were apparently completely unaware of (a lie, of course, but let’s humor you for a moment) until the media brought it to their attention.
And as for the media focusing only on New Orleans — that’s just patently false. Granted, as the magnitude of the disaster unfolding in the city became apparent, N.O. had gradually received more and more of the coverage, but when Katrina hit we were getting news from all over the Gulf Coast. Do you forget Anderson Cooper in Biloxi? Jim Cantore in Gulfport? Please, let’s not manufacture grievances when there are so many legitimate ones to go around.
Show me an instance where the press has insulted the victims of this disaster. If anything they have given voice to the voiceless in their hour of need. Show me an instance where the press has hampered relief efforts — last time I checked, it was FEMA and Homeland Security who was preventing a small army of would-be helpers from getting involved.
Time to face facts. All the spin in the world isn’t going to save the hides of the people who dithered while thousands died. Not this time. No wonder you’re bowing out of the argument!
September 8th, 2005 at 11:03 am
You know what Jeff, it’s a bit hard for me to get all worked up and weepy for the media right now.
Why don’t you report some REAL NEWS?
The Red Cross says that the Governor of the State of Louisiana has ordered the Red Cross not to enter New Orleans.
Think about that Jeff. There are thousands and thousands of people in New Orleans who need food and water, and the Governor is PREVENTING the Red Cross from entering to provide those basic necessities. Only 80% of New Orleans was flooded Jeff. That means 20% was not. There are PEOPLE in those areas who need the Red Cross.
You know, I really feel bad for the news reporters who aren’t allowed to just do whatever they want in New Orleans, but we can all hug them at the Pulitzer ceremony.
News needs to be reported.
Instead of whining, why doesn’t the media start asking Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco why they are using their power to prevent the Red Cross from feeding those still legally in New Orleans?
September 8th, 2005 at 11:15 am
It was the feds that prevented the Red Cross from entering and you know it. Why do you keep trying to perpetuate the lies? Again and Again and again, see here on Red Cross’ website.
http://www.redcross.org/faq/0,1096,0_682_4524,00.html
September 8th, 2005 at 11:31 am
rightnumberone, a lie repeated is still a lie.
September 8th, 2005 at 11:33 am
Linda,
Here is what the website says:
“The STATE Homeland Security Department had requested–and continues to request–that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage others to come into the city.”
You either cannot read, or you are blinded by your insistence that this is a federal problem. Do you HATE BUSH that much that you cannot even read correctly?
Governor Blanco, a Democrat, controls the National Guard - not the federal government. Not George Bush.
From the LINK YOU YOURSELF PROVIDED:
“Acess to New Orleans is controlled BY THE NATIONAL GUARD and LOCAL AUTHORITIES and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans AGAINST THEIR ORDERS. ”
Read that again and get over your blindness.
The National Guard for the State of Louisiana, controlled by Governor Blanco, has ORDERED the Red Cross NOT TO ENTER New Orleans, despite the fact that there are THOUSANDS of innocent people legally in their unflooded, and undamaged homes.
The state of Louisiana is being run by IGNORANT PEOPLE who need to be RELIEVED of their duties.
September 8th, 2005 at 11:45 am
>Why do you keep trying to perpetuate the lies?
They use Firemen as props while thousands are dying and in harms way so why would it really surprise you when they tell little lies in hopes of shifting the blame. They’ll do anything to protect the doffus in office.
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3004197
As specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew’s first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.â€
“Oblivious, In Denial, Dangerous”
God help us all!
September 8th, 2005 at 11:49 am
Jeff,
How is it that you have converted a REQUEST into an ORDER.
From the Reuters story YOU linked:
“When U.S. officials ASKED the media not to take pictures of those killed by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, they were censoring a key part of the disaster story, free speech watchdogs said on Wednesday.”
Hystrionic BS.
ASKING the media to have some respect for the families of the dead is NOT CENSORSHIP. Nor is it an ORDER to do anything.
Do you really think we can’t see the difference.
I have no doubt that CNN will be airing every dead body they can find.
What CNN will NOT DO, is ask why Democrat Ray Nagin didn’t use every bus at his command to get people out of New Orleans BEFORE THE STORM, as he was EXPECTED to do according to the City of New Orleans OWN Hurricane Disaster Plan.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:09 pm
Is there anything so wrong about evacuating a city flooded with water more than 100,000 times as bacteria-laden as sewage? From the reports of deaths from infection already happening, it seems like a sound plan to get everyone out. And I’d really hate to see Red Cross workers getting illnesses from wastes, trying to help those who are simply refusing to leave, helping them to stay where it’s dangerous.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:12 pm
Rightnumberone, Linda said talking to me was a brick wall, but they see “national” guard and can’t get their heads around the fact that:
AS LONG AS THERE IS EVEN ONE NEW ORLEANS POLICE PERSON, that person is SUPPORTED over the National Guard. Not the other way around as you seem to think Linda.
BLANCO controls the Guard.
Q: So is it fair to say it is the National Guard that’s keeping law and order in New Orleans?
GEN. BLUM: No. As long as there’s one uniformed police officer in the city of New Orleans, we will send as many National Guard soldiers to augment, support and work in support of that lone law enforcement officer as necessary. So if hypothetically there’s only one left, who’s in charge? It’s still that lone police officer supported by the National Guard in their role as military support to law enforcement.
Blanco would have to issue martial law to make it otherwise. She’s refused all along. The feds hands have been tied,…all along
http://www.proteinwisdom.com/index.php/weblog/entry/18956/
_______
from elsewhere..lost the links….
In a nutshell: BY LAW the President of the United States is not granted the power to supercede State power. The President of the United States cannot overrule the Governor’s power. He can advise but he cannot ramrod Federal power over States power. The President cannot call upon LA State Guards and he cannot issue mandatory evacuations.
The feds did everything by the book in this crisis. The Coast Guard worked miracles saving lives. The Navy was steaming to the area while Katrina was still blowing through the rest of the country. The National Guard pulled off a *miraculously* timely response in getting aid into NO [ONCE ]the Governors [FINALLY] authorized their deployment.
The simple, shameful truth here is that LA State and NO City officials **simply didn’t hold up their end of the log here**.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:24 pm
Marym…I think evacuation is sensible to avoid a plague. I think Local, State, & Feds all agree on that one.
Blanco made a decision to not encourage people staying so is keeping the supplies away.
It looks a cruel decision…immediately the leftists see “national” guard, gleefully think Bush and gleefully attack. An opportunity for the left to point to the bad repubs for keeping supplies away…only it backfired because the order comes from Blanco, not Bush.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:42 pm
Just on CNN…of all places….
Planes had come to a shelter to evacuate 80 “medically challenged” patients to safety, and were NOT allowed to take them…due to orders by the GOVERNOR.
September 8th, 2005 at 12:47 pm
FEMA to Mac and Linux users…
You’re Screwed
I’m not a programmer but shouldn’t we add this to the list of FEMA f-ups?
September 8th, 2005 at 12:53 pm
Too bad marital law wasn’t declared from the get go. If you insist Bush take blame, he would have had to be allowed to be in control from the 26th when he made federal help available for the asking.
Local and State donkeys stubbornly held on to their “power” using red tape, the pain and grief are massive, and now they desperately seek to pass it on to all those who had less control over the situation than they did.
September 8th, 2005 at 1:01 pm
Jeff,
I’ll read Marshall’s post on the dead, but I don’t see why this is so important, re the dead bodies. This isn’t Iraq. It’s the aftermath of a natural disaster where people tend to die. Are you actually going to look at a dead and bloated body and be ablt to say, “Aha! Another one for Brownie!!”?
C’mon, have some taste.
September 8th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
Okay, I read Marshall’s post. Stand-out quote:
“But a blanket ban serves only to prevent the public from knowing what really happened last week.”
I know what happened. We ALL know what happened. An enormous natural disaster affected a region of our country. In such circumstances, people die. It’s a given, and it’s a miracle of sorts if it doesn’t happen. How does my seeing a dead body pulled from the aftermath give me a better understanding of “what really happened”?
If you’re going to press for this nonsense to be televised, then to be consistent, please also press for the media to cover the bodies that’ll be pulled from the convention center and the Superdome who were murdered. This can serve your political motives as well, because you can blame it on government (i.e. Bush) too.
September 8th, 2005 at 2:05 pm
Yes natural disasters happen. But we in the rest of the world have been jaw-droppingly amazed at how inept the American response has been.
September 8th, 2005 at 2:16 pm
God, Ravo, you’re such a slimeball.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. The city is a public health night mare. The Red Cross is a volunteer organization, a private one. Not a government one. The government (pick one) would be negligent to send them into the city. Instead they have positioned them around the city to receive the evacuees.
This disaster is a failure on every level of government, you hear me? And right now the people in South Louisiana think their governor and the mayor are heroic. Understand that? Because us natives KNOW the reality. And little more could be done with the resources at hand. And little more could be done after the fact when the entire city had it’s freaking hands and head cut off. Can’t ask for help, can’t help itself.
You don’t know what you’re talking about, you really really don’t.
September 8th, 2005 at 2:31 pm
Glyn,
Never underestimate America. New York is thriving now, and was not long after 9/11 was cleaned up. New Orleans will come back as well, stronger than ever. We were slow out of the gate on the response, but once we hit our stride, nothing will hold us back. We’ve done this time and time and time again.
September 8th, 2005 at 2:35 pm
I guess it would depend on who’s National Guard units prevented the Red Cross from entering, as units from other states were arriving. But this will surprise you when I say you’re probably right on this point.
Actually, I had started off by defending the Mayor’s decision to use the Superdome as the primary shelter for evacuees. In accordance with the NO Evacuation Plan, the city sent RTA buses out to collect evacuees to the shelter, and that part of the evacuation was a success because the Superdome held. The Red Cross agrees. And I still see lots of folks perpetuating “misinformation” about that. R#1, please link to where it says in the NO Evacuation Plan that the Mayor’s required to evacuate people to points outside of NO. It doesn’t for good reason. It’s logistically impossible. The Plan only says to evacuate people to shelters.
I had previously stayed out of the National Guard issue because I hadn’t had time to research it yet. But I’ve read an interview with the Red Cross President who said that although the original plan was for the Red Cross to go to the Superdome to provide relief, but that the city officials asked them not to come due to safety concerns. The city officials were told by FEMA that relief was on the way to them, so there was no need to put additional Red Cross people at risk. Unfortunately, the relief came days later than they were told it would come.
So believe it or not, I concede that one point. Hey, at least I’m not a brick wall.
September 8th, 2005 at 2:48 pm
http://kurtnimmo.blogspot.com/2005/09/fema-and-katrina-rex-84-revisited.html
“It appears Hurricane Katrina has provided FEMA with an excuse to “dry run” its unconstitutional powers in New Orleans, rounding up “refugees” (now called “evacuees”) and “relocating” them in various camps. “Some evacuees are being treated as ‘internees’ by FEMA,” writes former NSC employee Wayne Madsen. “Reports continue to come into WMR that evacuees from New Orleans and Acadiana [the traditional twenty-two parish Cajun homeland] who have been scattered across the United States are being treated as ‘internees’ and not dislocated American citizens from a catastrophe. Some FEMA facilities are preventing these internees from leaving on their own. Reports of mandatory registration and the issuing of FEMA ID cards suggest that FEMA, an agency that is rife with right-wing security goons and severely lacking in humanitarian workers, has other motives in treating poor and destitute American citizens as prisoners in their own country.” Call it REX-84 revisited.”
The media is being kept out of these internment camps too. American citizens, devastated and destroyed, are not told where they’re being taken, then locked up behind armed guards and barbed wire.
Is this a secret deal maybe, keep the “riff-raff” away from the local citizenry, in Utah, in Texas, etc.?
Another beauty:
“FEMA’s deceptive role really did not come to light with much of the public until Hurricane Andrew smashed into the U.S. mainland. As Russell R. Dynes, director of the Disaster Research Center of the University of Delaware, wrote in The World and I, “…The eye of the political storm hovered over the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA became a convenient target for criticism.” Because FEMA was accused of dropping the ball in Florida, the media and Congress commenced to study this agency. What came out of the critical look was that FEMA was spending 12 times more for “black operations” than for disaster relief. It spent $1.3 billion building secret bunkers throughout the United States in anticipation of government disruption by foreign or domestic upheaval. Yet fewer than 20 members of Congress, only members with top security clearance, know of the $1.3 billion expenditure by FEMA for non-natural disaster situations. These few Congressional leaders state that FEMA has a “black curtain” around its operations. FEMA has worked on National Security programs since 1979, and its predecessor, the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency, has secretly spent millions of dollars before being merged into FEMA by President Carter in 1979.”
September 8th, 2005 at 2:59 pm
Jennifer…I didn’t say the Red Cross should or should not be sent in.
Linda was indignant because they were kept out. She was castigating the Feds. She is upset the National Guard are preventing it….not realizing the National Guard is following the orders from NO and LA, not Bush.
September 8th, 2005 at 3:14 pm
The city is a public health night mare. The Red Cross is a volunteer organization, a private one. Not a government one. The government (pick one) would be negligent to send them into the city.
Why? Maybe the Red Cross should be told what the risks are and allowed to make their own decisions about whether the public health risks are something they are willing to take on. They probably ought to keep out of the areas that are still lawless, but where the gangs and looters have been driven out, I would bet there is a lot the Red Cross could do to help, and would be willing to take some risks for.
Keep in mind, the original order was to keep the Red Cross away from the Superdome, with the apparent end of getting all the people out of the Dome, not by evacuating them, but by starving them out. Real nice.
September 8th, 2005 at 3:26 pm
Has it occurred to you Angelos, that those bands of thugs that were shooting and looting now most certainly are among the evacuees?
None of us know the circumstances behind why some are
being screened, so shut up and stop putting your country down constantly.
But then, I seriously doubt though you are parading as one, that you are even an American as you give so much comfort to our enemies.
September 8th, 2005 at 3:41 pm
Starving them out? You are an idiot. A complete idiot. You have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m hearing stories from my family (some of who are evacuees) who are helping the evacuees from the Superdome and Convention Center. You are a flaming idiot. All you’re doing is riding this for your political agenda and you STINK for it, you hear? You stink.
September 8th, 2005 at 3:42 pm
Linda…there is just so much information flying around, - it all gets jumbled. In the old days, we had to wait until the dust settled…lol.
From what I understand, Fema too, was ready days before they were allowed to go to work, for the same looting and shooting reasons. The National Guard was on the scene immediately…when permission was finally given by the Gov. for the Guard to bring things under control.
But really, what can any of us be sure of…nothing really…until the dust settles.
September 8th, 2005 at 3:50 pm
Oh, all of you just shut the hell up, way to many chief and not enough indians..
Thomas C. Smith
September 8th, 2005 at 3:57 pm
This blaming of the local authorities has got to stop. The local government’s capacity to respond to the disaster was severely compromised by the hurricane and flood. This was way too enormous to be handled by the state and the mayor alone. Unfortunately, no one knew that until it was too late. But the mayor was out making noise to get help as soon as it was apparent that he could not execute the plans that the city had in place. And the governor, too.
Everyone here acts like the governor and the mayor sat on their thumbs like there was no storm coming up the Gulf. Bullshit. They were completely overwhelmed by it.
And you know what? You’re right, there were no comprehensive disaster plans in place for a hurricane and flood like this. That’s true. Know why? Because the state couldn’t get funding for it. And some of Louisiana’s governments didn’t care so much (again, thank you Edwin Edwards). But in the end, it’s the nation’s shame that they didn’t want to protect the coast with the money the coast lobbies for.
and that’s the truth.
These leaders did what they did with what they could.
September 8th, 2005 at 4:05 pm
Ah Ravo, the last resort of the batshit insane winger - question the patriotism of those who question dear leader.
Thank you, come again!
September 8th, 2005 at 4:16 pm
“The effort to shine “the bright light of of public scrutiny†“so we can keep watch on dangerous government incompetence†adds nothing to to this terrible human tragedy. The press in its zeal for transparency does great disrespect to the victims, and the 10’s of thoudands of relief workers trying to do their jobs” SO SAYS Tonynoboloney…
You are right, there, Tony, you in a very small minority here!!! ANd rightly so. Let the media do their jobs for once. This attempt at a cover-up by Bush and Co. WILL NOT STAND.. THey must be held accountalbe for the thousands that have died directly because of their hubris and incompetence, hiring people like Brown who have no expericen whatsoever in disaster and emergency situations. THIS IS A MASSIVE FAILURE OF THE FEDRESL GOVERNMENT TO DO WHAT THEY ARE THERE TO DO!!!!
September 8th, 2005 at 4:32 pm
Ravo, I’m willing to wait until the dust settles on the National Guard issue. It is complex and there are definitely many versions out there, some true and some not true. But there’s one thing I know for sure. Bush made his declaration on 8/27, which was supposed to put FEMA’s wheels in action. There was no reason the airdrop of food, water and medicine couldn’t have started days earlier than it did. The Northern Command said they had millions of MREs ready. Perhaps those people may have had to sit in filth a couple of days until the evacuation arrangements could be completed, but especially water and medicine (insulin, blood-pressure medication, antibiotics, clean bandages, the basics) airdropped would have saved many lives.
September 8th, 2005 at 4:33 pm
you know i can’t believe some of you people, you’ll defind this administration at any cost even that of those who died while waiting for help. every excuse offered is so weak it makes me want to scream. but worse are you numskulls that are willing to defend this man. at what point do you stop towing the party line and regain your humanity. this is not about right or left, its about right and wrong and this man has not displayed he’s right for the job.
September 8th, 2005 at 4:45 pm
It’s amazing how legalistic the apologists have become in their defense, as if Bush like an univited vampire had been kept from intervening in New Orleans by some mystical force field. Too bad that whole line of argument is debunked by Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-5:
The Secretary of Homeland Security is the principal Federal official for domestic incident management. Pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Secretary is responsible for coordinating Federal operations within the United States to prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. The Secretary shall coordinate the Federal Government’s resources utilized in response to or recovery from terrorist attacks, major disasters, or other emergencies if and when any one of the following four conditions applies: (1) a Federal department or agency acting under its own authority has requested the assistance of the Secretary; (2) the resources of State and local authorities are overwhelmed and Federal assistance has been requested by the appropriate State and local authorities; (3) more than one Federal department or agency has become substantially involved in responding to the incident; or (4) the Secretary has been directed to assume responsibility for managing the domestic incident by the President.
It would be difficult to make the case that under this directive either Brown or Chertoff would have to wait for the Governor’s say to start relief efforts on their own initiative. In fact, the document goes on to say:
The Federal Government recognizes the roles and responsibilities of State and local authorities in domestic incident management. Initial responsibility for managing domestic incidents generally falls on State and local authorities. The Federal Government will assist State and local authorities when their resources are overwhelmed, or when Federal interests are involved. The Secretary will coordinate with State and local governments to ensure adequate planning, equipment, training, and exercise activities. The Secretary will also provide assistance to State and local governments to develop all-hazards plans and capabilities, including those of greatest importance to the security of the United States, and will ensure that State, local, and Federal plans are compatible.
There’s much less weasel room here than the apologists think there is. In fact most of their arguments only hold water in a pre-9/11 mindset. If we’re going to hold Ray Nagin and Governor Blanco to the letter of their disaster plans, we should hold the DHS and FEMA to the same level of documentary scrutiny, should we not?
September 8th, 2005 at 5:06 pm
Jennifer, I think I’m hearing you.
As you may know I have spoken out against the Liberal knee jerk response of blame the Bush Administration. I still feel this way.
You said: “The local government’s capacity to respond to the disaster was severely compromised by the hurricane and flood.”
No one in their right mind can disagree with you on this point.
We can never know what was in the minds of the Mayor and Governor during the critical time in the lead up to landfall, we can only speculate. We all must give them the benefit of the doubt, as I have been willing to do with President Bush.
This is a catastrophe, the worst of which can overwhelm the best of human planning.
My best guess is that we all had hoped that New Orleans had dodged a bullet, but as it turned out she didn’t.
Ultimately there will be consequences for all involved. Victims, survivors, administrators, responders, care-givers, families, and bystanders alike.
What does it say about us when we are too willing to think the worst of the other without considering the enormity of this tragedy first?
September 8th, 2005 at 5:15 pm
From the governor’s office:
http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf
From the White House:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html
September 8th, 2005 at 5:20 pm
I am not left nor right. I am, like most people from New Orleans, just a little bit different and a lot more centrist.
Yes, I am defending the governor and the mayor because they are the leaders of my state and city. And yes, I am mad at the feds for the FEMA debacle and for denying us the money to prevent this from happening.
But to blame one man or woman and one administration is foolish and it just pisses me off. We don’t need another cook in the freakin kitchen. We need help.
September 8th, 2005 at 5:20 pm
LInda, I understand and had the same thoughts. Someone bought up an issue about people being trampled to death, until enough security forces were there to prevent it.
An overwhelming job it was, if only they’d stepped aside early on and allowed the feds to come in and do the job..not stymie them, then use the delay for the nastiest kind of politics. Doing so just feeds the most rabid of our enemies.
At this point, we’ve all second guessed and it’s all been said.
Yes JE, we should hold them all to the same level of documentary scrutiny. The problem is, all the puzzle pieces need to be on the same table at the same time in order to get the whole picture.
A big job, as we see even here.
September 8th, 2005 at 5:28 pm
P.S. (I don’t mean that the mayor or gov used the delay for nasty politics…I mean the armchair generals have)
September 8th, 2005 at 5:30 pm
The Howard Dean’s etc.
September 8th, 2005 at 5:36 pm
Of course the GOP will orchestrate a coverup comensurate with the scale of the disaster. Calls for media to refrain from publishing pics of dead bodies is just the tip o’ the iceberg. The story below is a truly amazing first hand account of two conventioners stuck in NO. I hope that someday the criminal, racist conduct of “rescuers” is exposed, and hope Bush and his criminal regime are executed for their crimes against humanity.
—————————————
Hurricane Katrina-Our Experiences
Larry Bradshaw, Lorrie Beth Slonsky
Two days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the Walgreen’s store at the corner of Royal and Iberville streets remained locked. The dairy display case was clearly visible through the widows. It was now 48 hours without electricity, running water, plumbing. The milk, yogurt, and cheeses were beginning to spoil in the 90-degree heat. The owners and managers had locked up the food, water, pampers, and prescriptions and fled the City. Outside Walgreen’s windows, residents and tourists grew increasingly thirsty and hungry. The much-promised federal, state and local aid never materialized and the windows at Walgreen’s gave way to the looters. There was an alternative. The cops could have broken one small window and distributed the nuts, fruit juices, and bottle water in an organized and systematic manner. But they did not. Instead they spent hours playing cat and mouse, temporarily chasing away the looters. We were finally airlifted out of New Orleans two days ago and arrived home yesterday (Saturday). We have yet to see any of the TV coverage or look at a newspaper. We are willing to guess that there were no video images or front-page pictures of European or affluent white tourists looting the Walgreen’s in the French Quarter.
We also suspect the media will have been inundated with “hero” images of the National Guard, the troops and the police struggling to help the “victims” of the Hurricane. What you will not see, but what we witnessed, were the real heroes and sheroes of the hurricane relief effort: the working class of New Orleans. The maintenance workers who used a fork lift to carry the sick and disabled. The engineers, who rigged, nurtured and kept the generators running. The electricians who improvised thick extension cords stretching over blocks to share the little electricity we had in order to free cars stuck on rooftop parking lots. Nurses who took over for mechanical ventilators and spent many hours on end manually forcing air into the lungs of unconscious patients to keep them alive. Doormen who rescued folks stuck in elevators. Refinery workers who broke into boat yards, “stealing” boats to rescue their neighbors clinging to their roofs in flood waters. Mechanics who helped hot-wire any car that could be found to ferry people out of the City. And the food service workers who scoured the commercial kitchens improvising communal meals for hundreds of those stranded. Most of these workers had lost their homes, and had not heard from members of their families, yet they stayed and provided the only infrastructure for the 20% of New Orleans that was not under water.
On Day 2, there were approximately 500 of us left in the hotels in the French Quarter. We were a mix of foreign tourists, conference attendees like ourselves, and locals who had checked into hotels for safety and shelter from Katrina. Some of us had cell phone contact with family and friends outside of New Orleans. We were repeatedly told that all sorts of resources including the National Guard and scores of buses were pouring in to the City. The buses and the other resources must have been invisible because none of us had seen them. We decided we had to save ourselves. So we pooled our money and came up with $25,000 to have ten buses come and take us out of the City. Those who did not have the requisite $45.00 for a ticket were subsidized by those who did have extra money. We waited for 48 hours for the buses, spending the last 12 hours standing outside, sharing the limited water, food, and clothes we had. We created a priority boarding area for the sick, elderly and new born babies. We waited late into the night for the “imminent” arrival of the buses. The buses never arrived. We later learned that the minute the arrived to the City limits, they were commandeered by the military.
By day 4 our hotels had run out of fuel and water. Sanitation was dangerously abysmal. As the desperation and despair increased, street crime as well as water levels began to rise. The hotels turned us out and locked their doors, telling us that the “officials” told us to report to the convention center to wait for more buses. As we entered the center of the City, we finally encountered the National Guard. The Guards told us we would not be allowed into the Superdome as the City’s primary shelter had descended into a humanitarian and health hellhole. The guards further told us that the City’s only other shelter, the Convention Center, was also descending into chaos and squalor and that the police were not allowing anyone else in. Quite naturally, we asked, “If we can’t go to the only 2 shelters in the City, what was our alternative?” The guards told us that that was our problem, and no they did not have extra water to give to us. This would be the start of our numerous encounters with callous and hostile “law enforcement”.
We walked to the police command center at Harrah’s on Canal Street and were told the same thing, that we were on our own, and no they did not have water to give us. We now numbered several hundred. We held a mass meeting to decide a course of action. We agreed to camp outside the police command post. We would be plainly visible to the media and would constitute a highly visible embarrassment to the City officials. The police told us that we could not stay. Regardless, we began to settle in and set up camp. In short order, the police commander came across the street to address our group. He told us he had a solution: we should walk to the Pontchartrain Expressway and cross the greater New Orleans Bridge where the police had buses lined up to take us out of the City. The crowed cheered and began to move. We called everyone back and explained to the commander that there had been lots of misinformation and wrong information and was he sure that there were buses waiting for us. The commander turned to the crowd and stated emphatically, “I swear to you that the buses are there.”
We organized ourselves and the 200 of us set off for the bridge with great excitement and hope. As we marched pasted the convention center, many locals saw our determined and optimistic group and asked where we were headed. We told them about the great news. Families immediately grabbed their few belongings and quickly our numbers doubled and then doubled again. Babies in strollers now joined us, people using crutches, elderly clasping walkers and others people in wheelchairs. We marched the 2-3 miles to the freeway and up the steep incline to the Bridge. It now began to pour down rain, but it did not dampen our enthusiasm. As we approached the bridge, armed Gretna sheriffs formed a line across the foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak, they began firing their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd fleeing in various directions.
As the crowd scattered and dissipated, a few of us inched forward and managed to engage some of the sheriffs in conversation. We told them of our conversation with the police commander and of the commander’s assurances. The sheriffs informed us there were no buses waiting. The commander had lied to us to get us to move. We questioned why we couldn’t cross the bridge anyway, especially as there was little traffic on the 6-lane highway. They responded that the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be no Superdomes in their City. These were code words for if you are poor and black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River and you were not getting out of New Orleans.
Our small group retreated back down Highway 90 to seek shelter from the rain under an overpass. We debated our options and in the end decided to build an encampment in the middle of the Ponchartrain Expressway on the center divide, between the O’Keefe and Tchoupitoulas exits. We reasoned we would be visible to everyone, we would have some security being on an elevated freeway and we could wait and watch for the arrival of the yet to be seen buses. All day long, we saw other families, individuals and groups make the same trip up the incline in an attempt to cross the bridge, only to be turned away. Some chased away with gunfire, others simply told no, others to be verbally berated and humiliated. Thousands of New Orleaners were prevented and prohibited from self-evacuating the City on foot.
Meanwhile, the only two City shelters sank further into squalor and disrepair. The only way across the bridge was by vehicle. We saw workers stealing trucks, buses, moving vans, semi-trucks and any car that could be hotwired. All were packed with people trying to escape the misery New Orleans had become. Our little encampment began to blossom. Someone stole a water delivery truck and brought it up to us. Let’s hear it for looting! A mile or so down the freeway, an army truck lost a couple of pallets of C-rations on a tight turn. We ferried the food back to our camp in shopping carts. Now secure with the two necessities, food and water; cooperation, community, and creativity flowered. We organized a clean up and hung garbage bags from the rebar poles. We made beds from wood pallets and cardboard. We designated a storm drain as the bathroom and the kids built an elaborate enclosure for privacy out of plastic, broken umbrellas, and other scraps. We even organized a food recycling system where individuals could swap out parts of C-rations (applesauce for babies and candies for kids!). This was a process we saw repeatedly in the aftermath of Katrina. When individuals had to fight to find food or water, it meant looking out for yourself only. You had to do whatever it took to find water for your kids or food for your parents. When these basic needs were met, people began to look out for each other, working together and constructing a community. If the relief organizations had saturated the City with food and water in the first 2 or 3 days, the desperation, the frustration and the ugliness would not have set in. Flush with the necessities, we offered food and water to passing families and individuals. Many decided to stay and join us. Our encampment grew to 80 or 90 people.
From a woman with a battery powered radio we learned that the media was talking about us. Up in full view on the freeway, every relief and news organizations saw us on their way into the City. Officials were being asked what they were going to do about all those families living up on the freeway. The officials responded they were going to take care of us. Some of us got a sinking feeling. “Taking care of us” had an ominous tone to it. Unfortunately, our sinking feeling (along with the sinking City) was correct. Just as dusk set in, a Gretna Sheriff showed up, jumped out of his patrol vehicle, aimed his gun at our faces, screaming, “Get off the fucking freeway”. A helicopter arrived and used the wind from its blades to blow away our flimsy structures. As we retreated, the sheriff loaded up his truck with our food and water. Once again, at gunpoint, we were forced off the freeway. All the law enforcement agencies appeared threatened when we congregated or congealed into groups of 20 or more. In every congregation of “victims” they saw “mob” or “riot”.
We felt safety in numbers. Our “we must stay together” was impossible because the agencies would force us into small atomized groups. In the pandemonium of having our camp raided and destroyed, we scattered once again. Reduced to a small group of 8 people, in the dark, we sought refuge in an abandoned school bus, under the freeway on Cilo Street. We were hiding from possible criminal elements but equally and definitely, we were hiding from the police and sheriffs with their martial law, curfew and shoot-to-kill policies.
The next day our group of 8 walked most of the day, made contact with New Orleans Fire Department and were eventually airlifted out by an urban search and rescue team. We were dropped off near the airport and managed to catch a ride with the National Guard. The two young guardsmen apologized for the limited response of the Louisiana guards. They explained that a large section of their unit was in Iraq and that meant they were shorthanded and were unable to complete all the tasks they were assigned. We arrived at the airport on the day a massive airlift had begun. The airport had become another Superdome. We 8 were caught in a press of humanity as flights were delayed for several hours while George Bush landed briefly at the airport for a photo op.
After being evacuated on a coast guard cargo plane, we arrived in San Antonio, Texas. There the humiliation and dehumanization of the official relief effort continued. We were placed on buses and driven to a large field where we were forced to sit for hours and hours. Some of the buses did not have air-conditioners. In the dark, hundreds if us were forced to share two filthy overflowing porta-potties. Those who managed to make it out with any possessions (often a few belongings in tattered plastic bags) we were subjected to two different dog-sniffing searches. Most of us had not eaten all day because our C-rations had been confiscated at the airport because the rations set off the metal detectors. Yet, no food had been provided to the men, women, children, elderly, disabled as they sat for hours waiting to be “medically screened” to make sure we were not carrying any communicable diseases. This official treatment was in sharp contrast to the warm, heart-felt reception given to us by the ordinary Texans. We saw one airline worker give her shoes to someone who was barefoot. Strangers on the street offered us money and toiletries with words of welcome. Throughout, the official relief effort was callous, inept, and racist. There was more suffering than need be. Lives were lost that did not need to be lost.
September 8th, 2005 at 6:19 pm
Everything I read of the above account before they were evacuted by the Coast Guard, was under the total control of either the city cops or state of LA.
Yet this Hen clown wants our President “executed for their crimes against humanity”.
(Wearily)…yes, including the National Guard, who answers to the local police, not vice versa(they really ought to strike the word “national” and maybe the misconceptions would stop. Even if there were only one city copy left standing…as reiterated endlessly heretofore…the “national” guard would stand ready to serve UNDER him or her AND OBEY HIM OR HER.
THE PRESIDENT DOES NOT HAVE THE POWER TO CONTROL THE POLICE AND SHERIFF’s.
The President has no power over the National Guard. They are sent at the assist those police and sheriff’s and remain under the control of the police and sheriff’s.
When was marital law declared?
THE LA GOVERNOR REFUSED TO GIVE UP CONTROL.
September 8th, 2005 at 7:04 pm
Why didn’t the governor give up control?
Because if the governor did that then the feds would have martial law over the entire state. Then it would be too easy for the feds to make sure that all the blame lay at the feet of Louisiana. And Gov Blanco wanted to protect Louisiana. In return for not handing over control, she was met with resistance at every turn from the feds when she used her power to authorize help.
Why did this happen? Well, the US government has always fought to own New Orleans. They fought the Spanish, the British, the South, and now the State to control New Orleans. Why? Simply because of how important New Orleans is to the economy, uniquely situated between a the largest river access to the entire country and a giant lake. Whether it’s for agriculture or oil, it’s all about money.
Rave, stop trumping this shit up about the governor. You’re not telling the whole story and trying to look like a fact stater. You’re just finger pointing.
It SUCKS ASS.
September 8th, 2005 at 7:43 pm
Look, you want to know what the people are saying? They love Nagin and Blanco. My parents, who are die-hard Republicans and voted for Bush, love Nagin and Blanco. They are fuming at FEMA for blocking the delivery of food and water. They are furious because they think that the feds are fighting Blanco because she’s a Democrat and because she won’t give up control. They think the feds are withholding because they want to pressure the state into giving control over to the feds. THAT’S what the locals think.
September 8th, 2005 at 7:54 pm
I don’t think pictures of the bodies should be shown. Maybe thre reporters could give a daily body count if they feel the government is covering up the deaths. In a way showing the nameless faceless bodies dehumanizes the victims and desensitizes the american public to the horror of what happened. And as for the blame game if people would stop and put politics aside for a moment they would see there is plenty of blame to go around. All levels of government failed the people of New Orleans, City, state, and federal. No one walks away from this without guilt as does anyone who doesn’t try to offer help. As with the reportes in this situation why not spend some time making the news instead of writing the news. If your presence is hindering relief efforts step aside. If your help is needed step forward. You can’t view yourself as a reporter you have to see it as another human.
September 8th, 2005 at 8:32 pm
Katrina Cover-up: First Locked In, Now Locked Out
That’s one of the pictures the U.S. government doesn’t want you to see. That and any pictures of the dead, the aftermath of the Superdome or Convention Center, and other things that shows how criminal our government behaved when it force…
September 8th, 2005 at 8:43 pm
Jenifer,
When Hen said he want the feds executed because he thinks the guard there IS already under martial law and IS under the fed’s control….and I set the record straight on that. Get over it.
The Feds followed the law, and the law says they can’t do certain things without permission. The Gov withholds that permission and some try to make it look like it to look like the Feds are witholding aid…rather than the delay being at the Gov’s hands. To the point where this lie gets people so mad, they call for execution? And that’s OK with you?
Did you just say the mayor and gov refused marital law that would have gotten things done —- so they could avoid being blamed? A delay that cost time and lives.
As a result, the Pres that could not come in as fast - and you are saying it’s OK to let all these guessers now throw all the blame at him, saying that all the criticized stuff the National Guard is doing (at the Gov’s direction) is at Bush’s direction (when it is not), and let Hen go unchallenged when he says the Feds deserves captial punishment for the orders the Mayor and Gov are having the Guard follow.
And that should be left unchallenged….yeah, right.
September 8th, 2005 at 8:49 pm
Taqiyya talkers in our midst; duly noted.
I saw dead bodies as well as the convention center and the superdome today on MSNBC. One body lying in water wasn’t even covered. Guess Satan isn’t doing a very good job of covering up and shutting out, as ‘reported’.
I personally don’t need to see dead bodies to know they’re there. How classless, clueless, insensitive and disgusting can you get?
Jennifer: I daresay you don’t have a lock on speaking for the locals, Jennifer. Many who read and comment on this blog have, or did have, relatives and friends in NO. Many of us are also reading multiple sources to obtain information. Apparently you’ve also been in all meetings and etc. conducted by or between Bush, Blanco, et al., judging by your comments. Do you have any authority for what you state ‘as fact’? There are a whole lot of so-called facts flying around here. Slit throats/no slit throats; rapes/no rapes; Feds denied Red Cross access/no, the state denied access. And etc.
Cite some legal authority for me while you’re at it, eh, re the scope of martial law, who may impose it, under what circumstances, and any/all jurisdictional issues related to local, state and federal roles during times of natural disaster or regional threat.
Cite some authority to back up your ridiculous statement that the Feds have always fought to “own” the city of New Orleans in modern history.
Jennifer to Ravo: “You’re not telling the whole story and trying to look like a fact stater.”
Sorry, Jen, but that’s the way I’m reading you.
September 8th, 2005 at 8:56 pm
GET OVER IT? Why don’t you kiss my ass? That’s my freakin city! Why don’t you get over your agenda and pay attention? Why don’t you go down there and see what’s going on for yourself instead of posting your stupid partison bylines? I’m freakin sick of it.
I don’t care about this Hen whoever.
I’m sick of you and others like you and your stink of political agenda. Look at you, no blame to the fed, none at all, must be those dummy dems in Louisiana. I’m no dem, but your line stinks. Don’t ask ME to eat a bullshit sandwich. And don’t expect me and people like me to nod politely when you say such crap like, “Oh, well, I’m just reporting the fact because, you know, I know it all. In fact, I was there and saw it with my own eyes.” And don’t freakin act like you every paid attention to Louisiana before this. Repeat: You don’gt know shit.
We can talk all day about FEMA being led by a poop, appointed by the Pres. We can talk all day about FEMA disallowing aid. We can talk all day about the Mayor and the Governor underestimating the levees, or not having resources to use those city buses. Lookit, those buses? Who was going to drive them? And what roads? there’s few ways into and out of New Orleans
Whatever, what’s the point of this? It’s not just you I’m raging at. It’s every dumb tool who thinks he’s know it all and wants to spend time telling everyone about it.
September 8th, 2005 at 9:05 pm
Eileen, you’re asking me to be calm and academic when my city is dying.
Naturally I don’t speak for all locals. I just spend my spare time combing through coverage and talking to relatives. My family immigrated from Italy and Ireland through New Orleans and never left. My grandfather’s body could be one of the ones dis-interned for all I know. I’ve got generations of family there. I talk to my family there every day. I’m speaking for them.
Some of the citations you’re wanting me to hunt up for you so I will be too busy to say my piece have already been put up, both here and elsewhere. I’m sure you’ve already seen them. I’ve already posted links, all over.
You call me a hippocrate? You’ve got nerve. Let me hear from one of you that has talked to someone from there?
And now you’re going to start in on ME? Because I’m defending my state? I’ve already said that when the dust settles it will show there was catastrophic failure on every level. But I don’t care right now. I want the finger pointing to stop and the assistance to start. And I keep getting goddamned caught up in a pointless defense because of the “I’m just telling the truth, Jen, get over it” crap.
The levels of my frustration cannot be contained by your calm and detached post.
September 8th, 2005 at 9:36 pm
Forget about the party, think about humanity. Ignoring the plea for help in New Orleans is just plain WRONG!! What if members of your family were trapped in that disaster? Would you feel differently?
September 8th, 2005 at 9:41 pm
Jennifer,
“I want the finger pointing to stop..” Well, then, YOU stop it, eh? And don’t claim you haven’t. Finger pointing begets finger pointing. Anger and name calling begets more anger and more name calling.
You’re not the only one upset by this disaster, m’dear. My heart aches non-stop for you, yours, mine and Ours. But your anger and cussin’ ain’t going to help solve any of this.
People around here who pull up a single disaster plan or Presidential declaration, or Etc., and then purport to be armchair lawyers are - well, entertaining at best. They only prove their lack of knowledge as they claim to be AHA experts.
Sorry, I get sick of the taqiyya trash talkers fomenting hatred around this place, and I get really tired of all the anger and blame….and incredible factual distortion and deception.
Not many seem to want to wait to learn the ACTUAL Facts before they make blanket judgements.
I say we must.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:05 pm
And Jennifer…here’s a genuine hug and a pillow. May that pillow cradle you and your tears. And when you don’t feel it’s comfort as you cry out your anguish or (try to) sleep, may you please punch the livin’ daylights out of it.
Stay strong, sista.
We are all grieving here.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:06 pm
Sorry, I get sick of the taqiyya trash talkers fomenting hatred around this place, and I get really tired of all the anger and blame….and incredible factual distortion and deception.
People who disagree with you aren’t terrorists, Eileen. Knock off the “taqiyya” crap in these threads unless you don’t want to be taken seriously by anyone here.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:08 pm
Eileen, don’t ask me to act with the dispassion you have.
Am I running around “cussin” and finger pointing? Yes, and it frustrates me because it’s a distraction I’m getting caught up in.
Lookit, here I am, hearing my people get disparaged and hearing how we deserved it and how the city should be bulldozed and hearing right against left. It’s just your bad luck I’d had my fill when I stumbled onto this blog.
Because I can’t stand to hear it anymore. I want it fixed and I want you people to know how much you don’t know what your’re talking about.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:22 pm
Not to worry,all. Barbara Bush has toured the reception site in Houston and says it is all wonderful. “The response was a success for the evacuees who were underprivileged anyway” and she also stated that many of them “were faring better than before the storm hit” “What I am hearing, which is kind of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas.” “And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them.” Hope they, who have last their homes, possessions and some of them family members remember to be properly grateful. Does this mean they won’t be invited to a Barbeque over at Barbara’s? The callousness of these statements boggle the mind.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:35 pm
“People who disagree with you aren’t terrorists, Eileen. Knock off the “taqiyya†crap in these threads unless you don’t want to be taken seriously by anyone here.”
Obviously, I don’t refer to all who disagree with me as a terrorist, JE. I engage with many of them, often. But I call it when I see it. My prerogative, not yours. [Thank God I'm not a dhimmi, ready to be intimidated and controlled.] And I *do* question those who try to shut me up or attempt to denigrate me for noticing when they spout their trash. Don’t YOU, JE?
September 8th, 2005 at 10:47 pm
Jennifer, I don’t think a soul here feels you “deserve” anything but the best. It’s obvious you’re at the end of your patience. …and no doubt with good reason.
I myself posted, (before you got here I think)…. to please let’s let the dust settle. It’s just that when something is posted such as the “Hen” poster claiming person A should face an execution for the direct actions of a group it’s undeniable fact only person B had authority over, someone has a responsibility to not let that stand.
I hope your days get only better.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:52 pm
I’ve got a question or three dozen at this point. I’ve been busy working on the Recovery 2.0 project, rather than watching this tiresome exercise. But mebbe some of the folks here can figure this out.
Federal declarations of emergency include a list of counties or parishes that FEMA can assist in, and funds be released for. They’re issued before the disaster area declaration, presumably so that pre-staging and co-ordination of relief efforts and any possible preventative action can occur. Disaster declarations occur when there is a specific disaster area - after the event has happened.
Now in civil engineering (and I think law, but not sure there), the person who signs off on the document has the responsibility and liability, not the staffers who might have contributed to the document.
So, if an emergency declaration didn’t list any of the parishes most likely to be hit with the disaster, would FEMA be able to do anything in them? And if that happened, would the person in whose name it was issued be responsible?
September 8th, 2005 at 10:56 pm
Linda,
Thank you for at least admitting that you might have prejudged federal efforts. I wonder now if you would expound on what you think about the Democrat effort at the state level to prevent the Red Cross from feeding black people stuck in New Orleans.
As to your question regarding the evacuation of the city. Your assumption is that people would need to be evacuated to somewhere outside the city. That assumption isn’t necessarily true. There are many parts of New Orleans which are not below sea level.
The city has a comprehensive Hurricane Evacuation Plan. It can be found here:
http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26
I have read it. You should too. Mayor Nagin should too.
It says (in a nutshell) that the Mayor is responsible for evacuating the city. He orders it, oversees it, decides who is evacuated, etc. He has total responsibility for all hurricane evacuations.
As with any plan, there are contingincies for those who are too old or infirm to evacuate themselves. It is the city’s responsibility to provide transportation to evacuate these people. It promised its citizens that it would do that.
However, this part of the plan was not implemented by Mayor Nagin. And so possibly tens of thousands of old and infirm New Orleanians have perished.
The city didn’t make any efforts to evacuate people who could not evacuate themselves. Hospitals containing premature babies were not evacuated. Nursing homes full of infirm older people were not evacuated, despite the clear duty to do so contained in the plan that I linked to above.
Of special interest is this duty mentioned in the plan:
“D. Regional Transit Authority
* Supply transportation as needed in accordance with the current Standard Operating Procedures.
* Place special vehicles on alert to be utilized if needed.
* Position supervisors and dispatch evacuation buses.
* If warranted by scope of evacuation, implement additional service.”
Mayor Nagin told the populace to walk to the Superdome; despite the presence of literally hundreds of city-owned buses parked a few blocks from the Superdome. You’ve seen pictures of those buses in their flooded lots.
Mayor Nagin then left New Orleans and went to Baton Rouge, where he ensured his own safety.
The tens of thousands he left behind drowned.
September 8th, 2005 at 11:00 pm
I apologize for the rampant craziness of my last few posts. I am tired.
I know my cousin is still in the city working. I know my parents and the people in my little town are trying to deal with the people flowing through town, their stories. I know my city will never be the same. The places I spent and where my family lives. Even rebuilt. Perhaps it will be better. And I demand that flood and storm and wetland protection be top notch, too. But I keep thinking about how the drive into New Orleans over the Bonnet Carre spillway on I-10 will not look or feel the same.
I worry about all the poor blacks who will never return to the city that generations of their family were born in. I bemoan the uncovered rot of poverty and race in our country (though I do feel it is improving, unlike others). But the blacks are vital to the very fabric of New Orleans. And where they are now, they’ll get the same kind of jobs that keep them poor and they won’t have the means to come home. And New Orleans will turn into some version of Cape Cod.
But I just want everyone to talk about that. Not about right versus left or state versus feds. When dust does settle it’s going to settle all over everybody. But at least then we can start cleaning it off. Right now, the disaster is still happening.
September 8th, 2005 at 11:17 pm
The bickering and finger pointing can wait til later. In La. and South MS, we need the basics:electricity, communication, food, water, and ice. (not to mention the trees off of our homes) God bless those who are helping and I say to the others Help or get out of the way and let the cards land where they may AFTER this emergency..\from one who is there
Michael
September 8th, 2005 at 11:31 pm
RN1 - do tell where you got the idea that Nagin left the city for Baton Rouge. You’ve said it before - but everything I’ve read - from the 29th on - has placed him in New Orleans. As far as I know, he set up headquarters at a Hyatt across from City Hall. So - please document, or quit wondering why I mentioned lying the other day.
And I’m really quite serious about the answers to the questions I asked in the post above your last one. I don’t know the answers - do you?
September 8th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
The Bush White House, if nothing else, is a marketing machine, a triumph of style over substance. In the summer of 2002, Bush Chief of Staff Andy Card admitted as much, declaring the time for selling the planned war with Iraq was not yet ripe, “from a marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new products in August.”
Therein lies the problem for President Bush in the marketing of his administration’s abysmal response to hurricane Katrina. Bush has no product. Even worse, he has no pitch man, or worse still, pitch woman. In a nutshell, George W. Bush needs the Lisa Beamer of New Orleans. But sadly for President Bush, in New Orleans, the color of suffering - and heroism - is black.
For the full story, see:
“Where’s the Lisa Beamer of New Orleans?”
September 8th, 2005 at 11:54 pm
Anyone who defends the actions of any government officials (to include NO city, LA state, and federal) involved with the Katrina disaster is tragically missing the point. Even if the government relief efforts in Mississippi and Alabama were PERFECT ( they were not) and the media kept totally quiet for all those days it took for FEMA to take action it would not excuse the incompetance and ineptitude that may result in the death of as many as 25,000 people. How many of those deaths could have been avoided? How many families may have avoided unimaginable economic and social devastation? To not show the bodies and not allow those very people who were FIRST on the scene to report what is presently going on in NO in order to protect reputations and image may be the right thing politically but it is absolutely immoral. I would think that our morality as Americans and as human beings would have us demand that we see what’s going on down there, regardless of how it may reflect on government officials in NO, LA, and Washington. We owe it to every single person affected by this tragedy and its aftermath to insist, or better yet, demand that the press be allowed to report what is happening, get thorough and honest reports on the progress of the relief efforts, and have an INDEPENDENT investigator evaluate the response of all government officials and recommend corrective actions if necessary at some point in the near future. It’s time we as Americans stop the apathy and let our sympathy be reflected through something other than our wallets. Namely, sending letters and phone calls to our public officials and local press expressing our desire to get at the truth and correct any government deficiencies involving this tragedy. Don’t let those unfortunate people along the affected areas of the Gulf coast die and suffer in vain. Get involved and let someone know we are tired of the piecemeal censorship inflicted by our government and press in times of crisis and we’re not going to take it anymore!!!!
September 9th, 2005 at 12:06 am
There is no time for blame at this point, there are still bodies to recover and lives to be renewed, including women and children…
September 9th, 2005 at 12:15 am
State evacuation map & routes
The state’s evacuation plan goes into effect when any slow moving Category 3, and all Category 4 & 5 hurricanes pose a direct threat to this area.
Once the state plan goes into effect, everyone south of Interstate 10 will be ordered to evacuate. Remember, it usually takes four times longer to reach your destination during an evacuation.
HOW??????
September 9th, 2005 at 12:33 am
This is an outrage. I try very hard to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I tried to believe that the Bushies were misguided, but not outright evil (except perhaps for Rove and Chaney.) But alas I was truly mistaken. The behavior of this administration toward the people of New Orleans, especially the poor (read African American in this case) has been so heartless, irresponsible and generally abhorent that words fail me. The only hope we have to stop the EVIL behavior of this Federal Government is that the media and the people continue to shine the spotlight not only on the aftermath of Katrina but on the government’s heartless treatment of its citizenry and stupid blindness to the needs of our world environment. Oh, I forgot about Iraq….how silly of me.
September 9th, 2005 at 12:59 am
After reading many of these notes, I started to think back on some video I saw on CNN where people outside the Superdome were filmed chanting “We want help!”
I was thinking of all the police officers, firemen, and all the many others who were risking their lives to help people.
They weren’t shouting “We want help!”, they were helping to save lives!
Many of them had lost their homes and didn’t know where their families were, but they were still trying to help others. Not chanting “We want help”!
This is what has made America the great country she is, people who do everything they can in a time of crisis to help their neighbors, and those in need.
These true Americans more than make up for the “occupants” of our nation who give nothing and expect to be given everything.
September 9th, 2005 at 6:00 am
HangGeorge.com
September 9th, 2005 at 6:50 am
Blaming the victims just doesn’t cut it for most of us. Even if they publicly said “We want help”. They weren’t in the superdome because they wanted to be, they were directed to go there.
It seems the serious disconnect was between public image and actual action, and the weakness of those in charge at all levels seems to have been overexposure in words, and underexposure in action. A background in putting policies into effect might seem like something to include in future appointments, and in legislative review of appointments. A little too much rhetoric seems to be a bad preparation for actually holding public office.
The media has been courted for its agreeable attitude, and no wonder it got upset when viewing the actuality instead of all the pretty pictures.
September 9th, 2005 at 8:37 am
I guess we’ll hear the truth when the first responders start talking about it. They, after all, were the one’s who were there. And if the Admin starts to Tar and Feather them, and if the talking heads start to smear them, then we’ll know what’s up…
September 9th, 2005 at 8:51 am
I have just about had it with the whining and political spinning the media is doing. During the crucial first days of reporting the story, when the media seemed to have the only access to the flooded areas, why weren’t they getting their hands dirty and helping to get people out of the areas, give victims much needed water, and just lend assistance. Every single person who could have been helped in those first days would have made a differnce. I saw too many reporters railing against the government, pointing out the thirsty and stranded victims, and doing nothing except verbalizing their disdain for the government. Here we had huge numbers of media trucks & crews going in & out of these areas, and wouldn’t it have been far better to see these talking heads physically helping the victims rather than just talking about the need. Hey you guys, you’re there, do something to really help insted of just talkiing about it! Granted there were a few reporters who did help. but these were the exceptions. And now while the police, fire, and military are working 24-7 to get things done, give them the space to work. Maybe I am alone in this, but in times of vital emergency, I see no need for total media access when time is essential and the media adds nothing accept spin. Obviously the police and military are going to have weapons, hello. Why challenge except for trying to create a story where there is none. If the media would concentrate on assiting rather than creating stories at a time such as this, we would all be better off - especailly the vicitims. Set an example rahter than create strife.
September 9th, 2005 at 9:26 am
I would like to ask everyone to stop the finger pointing for just a moment and realize a few things about this unfortunate catastrophe:
1. The amount of damage that Katrina inflicted on the area is of a scale not seen in the US in many of our life times.
2. The entire infrastructure of EMS failed in the areas hit by Katrina resulting in lost communications between EMS personnel.
3. There are thousands of potentially dead bodies that everyone acknowledges and are preparing to gather and identify.
4. There are hundreds of thousands of people who are now homeless and being sent all over the US. Many of these people are still missing loved ones. These people have no homes or jobs and their future is uncertain regardless of their previous social history.
5. Many of our service man and women have never been in a situation such as this and don’t know how to respond, especially on their “home groundâ€. They have been briefed on the supposed dangers in the area, many of which were exaggerated by the press and led to a heighten sense of risk. This is the main reason weapons were pointed at people.
6. We have seen how seemingly good people turn violent and almost primitive in nature when there is no one around to enforce the law.
Now for the obvious to all the Monday morning quarterbacks criticizing the government’s actions:
1. FEMA is still broke. The members of FEMA are doing their job as written but the actual program itself is broken. The red tape involved has definitely contributed to the mass confusion and ineffective rescue and relief efforts.
2. The areas affected were not prepared for this magnitude of storm. So called evacuation shelters had little or no food available not to mention toilet facilities. This is not the fault of President Bush and his administration but the local and state government.
3. Mandatory evacuations ineffective. Anytime a mandatory evacuation is given people need to get out and not remain behind. The people who ate strong headed, looking for a thrill, or just plain stupid place undue burden and risk to EMS individuals who have t rescue them during the storm or it’s aftermath. The local and state government should be responsible for getting these people out of the area by providing transportation to those that need it and adequate shelter facilities outside the area. There was plenty of advance notice about the storms intensity and expected landfall area.
4. An excuse to bash and slander President Bush. It is obvious to those watching the news how every report has been slanted to slamming the President and his response to the storm. The President certainly has some say in what can happen but it is ultimately the local and state government job and infrastructure that handles emergency efforts in any particular area. When the area is damaged or impacted enough, the President will declare the area a “disaster area†thus authorizing additional funds and resources to the area. The National Guard and active military have both been activated or deployed to the area. Why was there a delay? FEMA is broke and the communications between ALL the relief organizations is terrible.
NOW instead of jumping on the blame game and flooding all the new reports and other types of journalism with these negatives that are already known lets start figuring out how to fix the problem for future cataclysmic situations so we can better respond as a nation. Put your efforts and hostility to use in a more useful direction that will benefit the victims of Katrina. I ask each of you reading and/or responding this entry – WHAT ARE YOU DOING OR HAVE YOU DONE TO HELP THESE PEOPLE?
LET’S FOCUS ON THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED DURING THIS EVENT AND DIRECT OUR ENERGY TO HELP THESE PEOPLE ANYWHAY WE CAN. I PRAY THE NATION CAN CROSS THE GAP THAT HAS BEEN CREATED AND JOIN TOGETER AS WE DID WITH 911. LETS PUT OUR LIVES BACK IN THE HANDS OF GOD AND ALLOW HIM TO TAKE CARE OF US AND HELP US TO TAKE CARE OF OTHERS.
MAY GOD BLESS EVERYONE
September 9th, 2005 at 10:33 am
[...] FEMA is preventing reporters from entering New Orleans and photographing the dead. Stephen VanDyke isn’t the first to call this a cover-up. Jeff Jarvis has called for openness as well. [...]
September 9th, 2005 at 10:41 am
‘Blame game’
‘Bush bashing’
‘Race card’
Any more buzzwords for those who aren’t interested in the news, and trying to stifle any reports that might not favor their personal or political agendas?
September 9th, 2005 at 10:44 am
We NEED to keep pressuring for answers, even if that does mean blame. Because even with the situation being a clusterfuck already, your Dear Leadership is just compounding the disaster.
Let’s see:
1) the Republicans announced a bipartisan committee to investigate government failure, but failed to include any Democrats.
2) “Republican Leadership in the House of Representatives limited floor consideration of the $52 billion Katrina relief bill proposed by President Bush and voted to reject any Democratic efforts to amend the bill to include a wider array of relief measures, RAW STORY has learned. Democrats said no one had even seen a copy of the legislation. Voting along party lines, Republicans denied a measure that would have allowed for two hours of discussion and opened up the measure to be amended.”
3) The $50 billion in recovery funds? To be administered by FEMA!! You know, the shell of an agency, with the director with the falsified resume? Oh, you didn’t know? See, at first, we just though he was unqualified, what with his getting fired from a horsey club not translating well to coordinating massive emergency operations. Well, it got worse. He hadn’t practiced law in 15 years before he became legal counsel to FEMA. His resume item of “assistant city manager with emergency services oversight” in Edmond, OK? He was an intern in college. “Outstanding Political Science Professor [at] Central State University.” He never tought there. “Director at the Oklahoma Christian Home since 1983″?. No one there’s ever heard of him. More here.
This rampant corruption and cronyism has to stop. Lives are at stake. Our nation is teetering on the brink, and these people just don’t fucking care.
September 9th, 2005 at 10:51 am
Careful R#1, do not (deliverately) misquote me. I only addressed the one point, that city officials, who had originally arranged for the Red Cross to come in to NO to help provide relief, ended up asking them not to come in because the situation in NO had deteriorated so badly that they were concerned about the safety of the Red Cross personnel. NO had been told FEMA was on their way, so had thought they were making a prudent decision. That’s it! The FEMA response was abysmal! And it’s the feds that have the adequate resources to handle this situation. The state didn’t have millions of MREs sitting in warehouses for these situations, they don’t have the budget for that. But the feds do. Per the Northern Command, they were only waiting to be given the orders to take the MRE’s to NO.
Now, I have said over and over that the city doesn’t have a plan to evacuate to points outside the city (neither does FL), so I don’t understand why you’re insinuating that I said they did. You’re obviously not reading, or else making up your own interpretation. I’ve also linked to the City’s Evacuation Plan, and I’ve read it.
As I’ve said, the evacuation plan was to evacuate residents from their homes via the RTA to designated shelters, which they did all day on Sunday. The shelter of last resort was the Superdome, which turned out to be the right decision, considering that the Superdome held up to the storm.
There’s no way in the world that a city with limited resources can evacuate to points outside the city. Where are they going to take 100,000 people? There aren’t enough buses or drivers to do that. And sending out massive numbers of buses would only make an already congested traffic situation even worse, which could have left thousands of people exposed out on the road when the hurricane hit.
Every nursing home and health care providor in NO must submit evacuation plans and are responsible for the care of their residents. For those special needs people in their homes without transportation, you must be on a list so that the city knows where to find you. If you had read the plan, you would know that a special needs person must be pre-qualified, and must be pre-registered. If you were watching the same NO that I was watching, you would have seen the hundreds of special needs people in the Superdome and Convention Center. You know those people. They were the ones that were dying of heat exhaustion and lack of medicine because of the slow pace of the FEMA response. They were the onces that were being covered and pushed to the side with their I.D. pinned to their shirts.
Please note: If you take the time to look up the evacuation plans in Florida (which gets hit with more hurricanes than anywhere else), you will find that the NO evacuation plan is no less comprehensive than theirs. In fact, the fact that NO runs the RTA to move people to the designated shelters is more than what I’ve found elsewhere. Waveland MS evacuation plan said, if you hve special needs, you better have someone lined up to get you out. Waveland didn’t make any provisions to help anyone evacuate.
So why do you hold the NO officials to a higher standard than any other hurricane-prone area? You seem to be so deperate to blame Nagin that you’re just making up half the crap you’ve written.
September 9th, 2005 at 11:41 am
One last thing R#1, then I’m done with this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_New_Orleans#Evacuation_order_and_refuges_of_last_resort
“Pre-disaster scenarios estimated that 100,000 or more residents would not have the transportation means to escape the city. In the interest of protecting these residents several “refuges of last resort” had been designated in advance, including the Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center. Beginning at noon on August 28th and running for several hours, some city buses were redeployed to shuttle local residents to the refuges. Several hundred school buses were not deployed due to the City being unable to find drivers. By the time Katrina came ashore early the next morning the Superdome was housing over 9,000 residents along with 550 National Guard troops. The elevation of the Superdome is about three feet (1 m) above sea level, and the forecasted storm surge was predicted to cause flooding on that site. The Superdome had been used as a shelter in the past, such as during 1998’s Hurricane Georges, and because it was estimated to be able to withstand winds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) and water levels of 35 feet (10 m), it was considered one of the best options available at the time. The mayor told those coming to the Superdome to bring blankets and enough food for several days, warning that it would be a very uncomfortable place. [11]“
September 9th, 2005 at 11:55 am
Linda,
You should do a bit more digging. So far, you have been incorrect on key points of your arguments. (Remember, you started off by calling me a “liar” when I said that the Democrat Governor prevented the Red Cross from entering New Orleans.)
You have stated as an undisputed fact that “The state didn’t have millions of MREs sitting in warehouses for these situations, they don’t have the budget for that.”
You are, of course, incorrect.
I am deliberately not linking to the source of this information. Let’s see how good you are at confirming whether I am lying or not. If you think I am lying, I will in 4 seconds post a link detailing why I am not lying.
You and many others seem to have gotten over your outrage that the Democrats are CONTINUING to keep the Red Cross from feeding poor, black people in New Orleans.
This “starve them out” strategy seems to be OK with you and other commenters, as I haven’t heard one additional peep about it now that we know it’s the Democrats who are starving them out.
Where is the outrage for this racist, inhuman behavior on the part of a white Democrat governor in Louisiana? White people aren’t being starved out. They have plenty of resources to get food and water.
It’s only poor black people who will be affected by Governor Blanco’s order keeping the Red Cross out.
It’s patently racist.
Where is Jesse Jackson? Where is Al Sharpton? Where is the principled left?
September 9th, 2005 at 12:14 pm
Jeff,
Surely you are going to make a correction to this sentence:
“FEMA also tried to order that the press not take pictures of bodies.”
If the New York Times makes an error of fact, you frequently demand that they print a correction? Terse letters are sent to the “readers representative.” Do you hold yourself to these same standards?
Should we forgive errors of fact on one of the nation’s leading blogs?
That doesn’t sound like a good prescription for the future of “new media.” In fact, it sounds a lot like the “new media” once it gets big, is just as unaccountable as the “old media.”
Do you have an ombudsman that I can contact about this?
September 9th, 2005 at 1:05 pm
AH, RN1, good to see you this morning. Now where was that link about Nagin leaving for Baton Rouge? I haven’t seen it yet, odd that…..
September 9th, 2005 at 1:46 pm
Greg,
Working on it. Back shortly.
Are you outraged that Democrat racists in Gretna blocked routes out of New Orleans at gunpoint while Democrat racists inside New Orleans kept the Red Cross out and are attempting to starve poor, black residents of the city to get them to leave their homes?
http://washtimes.com/upi/20050908-112433-4907r.htm
September 9th, 2005 at 2:01 pm
Meanwhile, in the reality-based community:
Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown (search) is being removed from his role managing Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
If the Feds were truly doing everything by the book, why then would Bush — who stands by his men no matter what — ask Chertoff to cut this guy loose?
Again, you apologists are about to be sold short. Have fun fighting the rear guard action as your fearless leaders scramble onto the last helicopter out of Saigon…
September 9th, 2005 at 2:10 pm
RN1 - good, keep looking. And while you’re looking, see if you can find the answer to these questions:
Now in civil engineering (and I think law, but not sure there), the person who signs off on the document has the responsibility and liability, not the staffers who might have contributed to the document.
So, if an emergency declaration didn’t list any of the parishes most likely to be hit with the disaster, would FEMA be able to do anything in them? And if that happened, would the person in whose name it was issued be responsible?
September 9th, 2005 at 2:10 pm
Jersey,
I suspect that Bush has recalled Brown (reports of his firing are premature despite what headline writers are telling you) to have him explain why he padded his resume. You see, that’s the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. Republican’s believe in accountability. If Brown did pad his resume, I have no doubt that George Bush will fire him.
Incidently, when Michael Brown was nominated in to be Deputy Director of FEMA, Democrats, led by Chairman Joe Lieberman, investigated his background as part of their advice and consent duties in the US Senate.
The Democrats-controlled Senate committee spent almost an entire 43 minutes grilling Brown about his qualifications to head one of the most important offices in our government.
September 9th, 2005 at 2:20 pm
Greg,
The problem I’m having finding good documentation about Ray Nagin’s whereabouts the night before and the morning the hurricane hit is that I believe that he may have sent just his wife and three children to Baton Rouge to ride out the storm while the rest of his citizenry was told to walk to the Superdome, and those who couldn’t walk were left to drown.
None of the thousands of reporters covering Nagin will ask that question; so it is left to me, I guess, to root out the facts on this one.
I’m still attempting to document whether Nagin himself left town.
Incidently, I’m not criticizing Nagin for having his wife and children evacuated. Rather, I’m juxtaposing Ray’s concern for his own family against his concern for the ordinary citizenry which placed him in a position of power and responsibility and who pay his salary.
He took care of his own; and I applaud him for that.
He failed the most vulnerable citizens of his city by refusing to properly implement the city’s own Emergency Hurricane Evacuation Plan. Those vulnerable citizens are now dead because of Nagin’s criminal negligence.
And for that, he should be arrested.
September 9th, 2005 at 2:24 pm
Holy shit!
“You see, that’s the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. Republican’s believe in accountability.”
You have GOT to be kidding me.
September 9th, 2005 at 2:28 pm
Oh, yi. The ignorance here makes me tired and sad.
September 9th, 2005 at 2:39 pm
RN1 - let me make it easy for you. He stayed in NO, and was evacuated from the City Hall Emergency Response room when it started flooding. He set up a command post at the Hyatt. There are literally dozens of reports on this - based on AP articles.
What you said was “Mayor Nagin then left New Orleans and went to Baton Rouge, where he ensured his own safety.
The tens of thousands he left behind drowned. ”
And now you say “I’m still attempting to document whether Nagin himself left town.”
Right. You threw accusations recklessly - and at this point, I believe deliberately. That’s lying.
How bout answers to the other questions I have?
September 9th, 2005 at 3:10 pm
Greg,
Where did Ray send his wife and three kids? Down to the Superdome, or did they go to the Convention Center?
September 9th, 2005 at 3:15 pm
Jennifer you wrote “This disaster is a failure on every level of government, you hear me? And right now the people in South Louisiana think their governor and the mayor are heroic.” That doesn’t follow. But the first part is right on. And I’m agreeing more and more with Angelos these days. We must continue to demand answers and after the answers demand action.
Bruce Larson needs to go a few days without proper food, shelter and water and then cry about those who are working and those who are merely ‘occupants’ that ‘expect to be given everything’. You mentioned the police officers–you mean the ones that up and left? No, I suppose you weren’t referring to them. I could be wrong but you’d probably be complaining without AC or hi-speed cable for a day let alone what these people went through for 6 days–on top of being around for the worst disaster in our country’s history.
I’d be yelling too. But it would be more along the lines of we DEMAND help.