Interesting piece in the Globe about the holes in the planning for this disaster:
And yesterday, even as thousands of National Guard troops began the process of restoring order to the devastated area, criticism mounted that it took the government too long to stabilize the city and bring relief to the flood’s victims.
Homeland security specialists attributed the delay to a series of holes in the federal plan. They mentioned the failure to require that local officials buy proper equipment, the lack of preparation for an evacuation, and the officials’ sluggish reaction.
”It’s not as if people didn’t know this could happen,” Paul Light, a professor of organizational studies at New York University, said. ”The Department of Homeland Security is doing a terrific job developing planning scenarios, ideas, and directives for preparedness. But the follow through, the grant money, the actual movement toward preparedness at the local level is a real weakness.”
New Orleans authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order before the storm, but more than 100,000 people stayed. Emergency plans did not address that many were too poor or sick to get out without help, and there was no system for removing them. The plight of the New Orleans victims suggests that, even with advance warning of a terrorist strike, the homeland security system would have trouble evacuating a significant portion of those at risk.
”There are some clear lessons to be learned about our ability to move large numbers of people where we might have some indication of a future problem, be it natural or man-made,” said P. J. Crowley, a former Clinton administration-era National Security Council official.
To me, these are the right questions.
The way I see it, the reason for the crisis is the total inability to get all these people who couldn’t or wouldn’t get out of the city (most of whom, I believe, simply couldn’t). The feds and the state declared disaster areas before the hurricane struck, but evacuation came too late, and wasn’t executed well enough, even though Hurrican Pam exercises supposedly identified the evacuation routes (“The search and rescue group developed a transportation plan for getting stranded residents out of harm’s way. ” [I don’t know if that means prior to or after the event- ed.]).
Also, it might be interesting to look at what attitudes authorities were dealing with:
According to University of New Orleans pollster Susan Howell, who led the study, Category 3 hurricanes used to be a smaller threat and residents could safely ride them out without evacuating.
But that’s no longer the case, due in part to coastal erosion, she said.
“It’s natural to rely on past experiences, but the world is changing; geography is changing,” she said.
Although officials were pleased to see that many residents, 78 percent, said they would evacuate for a Category 4 or 5 storm, the officials worry that people who plan to stay during a Category 3 or smaller storm do not understand the state and parish’s changing environmental conditions. The wetlands that used to protect coastal Louisiana are rapidly disappearing, putting residents at greater risk from weaker storms.
Again, the problem with that information is that it relies on self-report data, and you simply don’t know how many of the 22% who said they wouldn’t evacuate said so because they knew they couldn’t, whether because of pre-existing medical conditions, age, financial situation. And not to mention the mentally ill and the substance abusers.
I have no doubt that FEMA pre-positioned boatloads of supplies, so I don’t think that was a problem, necessarily. They probably could have done more and done a better job, but it all boils down to the fact that for the first couple of days, most of the efforts were focussed on plucking people off of roofs and other immediate rescues, rather than in life sustaining activities. It is a failure at the federal, state, and local level, and one of epic proportions. There should have been, in retrospect, perhaps federal, state, or local supply depots positioned throughout the city that cuold have been moved to the shelters of last resort. NORTA and school busses should have been moved to high ground. The airports and airlines and Greyhound should not have been allowed to shut down on Saturday.
And what worries me, is that in that context, it is quite appropriate to ask, “What if this had been a terrorist attack with not flood waters, but a persistent chemical agent or biological agents? Or, god forbid, nuclear?” And also, “What else have we not prepared for.” “What other cities are next?” “Why has the process not been streamlined between state, local, and federal agencies as to who is in control? Why are we still having a legal pissing match between the feds and the governor of Louisiana?”
Since everyone is eager to play blame games, that is the avenue for blame games, as I see it. Not these stupid attacks we have seen the last few days, although Brendan Loy is right- this is absurd.
*** Update ***
More here.
*** Upsate ***
The questionable comment about the declaration of emergency has been corrected on the WaPo site:
A Sept. 4 article on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina incorrectly said that Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) had not declared a state of emergency. She declared an emergency on Aug. 26.
ppGaz
That mantra is getting a little tiresome. A calamity unfolds, and people bitch about it.
Calling the bitching “the blame game” makes it sound very much — very, very much — like some people are more worried about who gets blamed than they are about the obvious collapse of government here.
As if “Bush Bashing” were the most important thing to worry about.
It isn’t. And you ain’t seen nothing yet, believe me. This defensive, CYA drumbeat is not serving the suits. It is going to backfire.
I am not a fan of Rudy Giuliani, but can you imagine him acting like a defensive “not my fault” whiner after 9-11?
That’s why people admire him. He stood up and took charge.
That’s all anyone has asked the government to do in the last week.
That’s not “blame game” and that kind of dismissive labeling isn’t going to feed the bulldog in this situation.
John Cole
You didn’t look at one fucking substantive point in the post and instead took issue with my saying the blame game is inappropriate. Why? So you can keep pointing fingers without knowing anything.
There are days when I think I am going to vote straight ticket Democrat in 2006 and 2008, just so I can sit and heap unreasonable shit on Democrats for a few years. I have learned some new tricks from my comments section in the past few years. Can’t wait to try them out.
ppGaz
HHS Secretary Leavitt is interviewed (now) by Wolf Blitzer, and he is describing the makings of a large public health disaster brewing — literally, brewing in the water — of New Orleans.
Just mentioning it, another vector for calamity that needs to be addressed aggressively right now.
Sojourner
I heard on Meet the Press this morning that Walmart brought in three trucks carrying bottled water and FEMA turned them away.
Anyone still want to claim that the Feds are doing the best they can?
ppGaz
Get serious, John. I’ve seen all those “substantive points” already, I’m a prolific web surfer and rather astute observer. I don’t need a blogdaddy to keep me informed.
I singled out your “blame game” remark because you can’t seem to talk about this subject without saying that sort of thing ten times a day, and you are also providing a theater here for every manner of govt apologist to beat the same drum … and I am right, it’s become quite tiresome. You can deny it all you want, that’s a fact.
And again you play the “I’ll vote such and such a way in the future” card. I don’t care how you vote, and I am not advertising how I will vote. This isn’t about a voting pissing contest. Vote however you please.
John Cole
IF you have ever seen port water, the brackish nastiness with a sheen of oil and chemicals, you know how nasty that is. Add to it decaying bodies, chemical and fuel spills, decaying animals, vegetable life, sewage, etc., and this is going to be a nasty mess for a long time. Oh- and throw in the heat, making this one big petri dish of standing water.
docG
The failures are widespead. How many of those making comments have actually prepared themselves for a disaster? Do you have at least three days food and water set aside for emergencies? Do you have a family disaster plan in place, including where to meet and how to evacuate your home and city? Do you have emergency clothing set aside? Extra prescription medications? Blankets, sleeping bags, toiletries, radio, batteries? Are all of these items stored in such a way to be available for immediate evacuation?
I am now going to get my emergency preparation up to speed. When I catch myself tossing bricks in a glass house, its time to put the bricks down and get busy.
capelza
Iwas trying to explain to my stepson just how nasty this water was..all I could come up with was the blige water of a shrimp boat (shrimp is particularily toxic when it rots, along with the oil and fuel and other stuff that collects in one). I walked past a boat once pumping it’s bilge and about passed out from the noxiousness. I did throw up, and I am a fisherman myself.
ppGaz
His point, pretty much. And let me say, Leavitt strikes me as the model of a proactive, problem-focussed public official (from what I’ve seen in the last few mins).
Knowing that this water is essentially a toxic, dangerous soup of disease and chemicals ….. how does the weeklong stutter-evacuation look in retrospect? Knowing that officials knew that this would be the case years ago, how does the planning of this evacuation look now?
John Cole
ppGaz- If you can find one statement where I have defended the evacuation plans, I will address your repeated catcalls. I think the evacuation was an unmitigated disaster, just like you do.
The difference between us, I think, is that I think the majority of the evacuation should have been before the hurricane hit.
ppGaz
Two answers: One, we’ve gone from very prepared in October 2001 to much less prepared now, which I imagine is pretty typical, and it’s a good time to review it.
Two, what is the “those making comments” modifier about?
rafael
Ok, a couple of days ago when this all started you said that given the magnitude of the crisis, you didn’t see what the government could have done better. You said you didn’t understand the expectations people had.
In this post, you seem to start getting it regarding what our expectations were. Homeland Security has had 4 years to prepare a plan for this type of thing. If it had been a terrorist attack, Al-Quaeda wouldn’t have warned us 2 days in advance like Katrina did. I’m afraid to even imagine how bad the government’s response would’ve been if they had been caught by surprise.
ppGaz
My question was purely generic and rhetorical. For the record, you’ve been on top of the planning thing from the get go, and still are.
demimondian
John, it worries me when any middle of the road blog repeats statements from unnamed Administration officials shifting blame. (Sorry, d00d, you’re MOR now. They moved the road.) They screwed up, and they’re backpedaling to try to cover their butts. It’s bad when Brown clearly doesn’t understand how important something is, but it goes from horrifying to horrible when they tell lies of omission to shift the blame to someone else.)
I don’t think that the Blanco and Barbour are blameless, and I agree that there’s a need to hold them accountable. But I am deeply troubled by attempts to stick blame which clearly are lies…and the “unnamed officials” are doing just that. That’s not a “blame game”, that’s “first reports stick unless promptly countered, ang these are both false and malicious, and so need even more aggressive refutation.”
John Cole
Tell him to imagine a toilet bowl the size of a swimming pool that hasn’t been flushed for a week but used by 100 people. Then throw in rotting flesh. A couple barrels of crude oil. A couple barrels of gasoline. A couple barrels of various chemicals. The have a garbage truck back up and dump a load of garbage in it. Throw in some grass, and leaves, and other vegetation. Let stand in 90 degree weather for a couple weeks.
And I think he will understand.
John Cole
Gee- Imagine that. I am waiting to make assessments about failures until when they are clear, rather than just speculating.
And given the fact that there were that many people in the city and the disaster was that bad, I don;t know what peopole were expecting.
Again, I have participated in these sorts of clean-ups/rescues. It takes a while. When we go on flood duty here in thestate, it takes us days to reach some people, and we have planned this out and have it down to a tee.
neil
It is almost too depressing to have woken up and seen that Operation Slime and Defend is proceeding according to plan, when Operation Save New Orleans failed so miserably.
I almost feel a little bad that Bush has been hit so hard politically for the last week, because it seems pretty obvious that most of his staff has been working on who to slime and how to get those poll numbers back up, just as the work on how to fix FEMA is languishing.
But he is the one in charge, and the fact is that he shouldn’t be playing politics when he has a nation to run — while those lucky national Democrats have virtually nothing to do besides play politics because they are shut out of the corridors of power.
John Cole
What, specifically, in this post, is sliming and defending?
You people really just want Bush to stand up and say:
“This, all 100%, is my fault. I did it. I told them not to plan. I told them to wait because there are brown people in there. It is me, and you caught me.”
Sojourner
Well, the media appear to have been prepared. And corporations like Walmart and American Electric Power had their folks in there within a day or two.
That’s what I expect from the Feds. Not four or five days later.
over it
Actually, my family fully prepares every hurricane season. I was just a kid….but we were in Charleston when Hurricane Hugo hit. We stayed. Bad decision. There were over 30 trees down in our yard….3 on our house. Our first floor flooded(only by a few inches…but enough to matter). It was hell…even though I was little I can remember the stench. We only had to deal with the stench of standing water and dead animals though, not dead people.
Ever since then my mom begins filling 2 liter bottles with water in April….and does not empty them until November. We have 3 ‘hurricane boxes’ that are checked and rechecked each May. We no longer live in Charleston…we now live in Virginia….but the lessons learned from Hugo will never be forgotten.
I have asked my parents why we even bother taking the time and energy to prepare for a Hurricane here. After all….we have Pat Robertson to pray them away for us.
Too bad Pat does not care for the Gulf States.
So, yeah….some people do prepare for disasters such as this. Unfortunately it is mostly people who have already learned their lessons the hard way.
ppGaz
Nope, that’s not true. The “blame game” is not a zero sum game, in a situation like this.
That’s the Bush game: Get some blame on B, so as to take away from any that might splatter on me.
As I have said from the get-go, there is plenty of blame to go around.
It would behoove the Bush team and their sorry apologists to stand up and take their share, and act like they are in charge instead of reacting. Maybe Rudy Giuliani can teach them how?
That’s what they would do if they were men, but instead, they squeak like mice.
They are Chertoff and Brown, the Two Stooges of this debacle.
Add Nagin, you got the Three Stooges.
slide
Cole:
Well, for one I was expecting that my government could get water and food to the Convention Center (where officals told them to go) sooner than 5 days after the hurricane. Especially considering the fact that the Convention Center was on high ground, next to a cleared highway, where scores of reporters managed to simply drive to.
For another, I expected that the shelter of last resort, the Super Dome, would have food, water, medicine, porta potties, generators, etc.
I would have expected that the head of FEMA to have had some experience in Disaster management or ANY management for that fact and not have just been a poltical flunkie that got fired from his last $100,000 job as an lawyer.
Oh, there are dozens and dozens of things I would have expected 4 years after 911 when we are told almost on a daily basis that its not a matter of IF but rather WHEN we get hit with another terrorist attack.
I know… wild expectations.
ppGaz
That’s the transcript from MTP this morning. If you get a chance to see the rebroadcast tonight at 10 pm EDT, see it. The full video is just shattering. Nobody can watch it without getting sick over what has happened here.
I’m sorry, but Brown and Chertoff just don’t get it.
slide
ppGaz I agree with you, it was riveting televion and something I will not forget for a long time.
Davebo
“The difference between us, I think, is that I think the majority of the evacuation should have been before the hurricane hit.”
It was, in fact, the vast majority of evacuation was done before the hurricane hit.
rkrider
Cole:
And given the fact that there were that many people in the city and the disaster was that bad, I don;t know what peopole were expecting.
Isn’t this the president who said’ “I would have moved heaven and earth, if I’d have known about 9/11 in advance.”
I’m not saying they did but so what if the locals fucked up, so what if DHS they didn’t know the levee would break.
The bottom line is those people sat in that stadium dying with no food and water, being raped, wallowing in their own feces. Bush had to know that (if he didn’t something’s really wrong in this country). If there is anybody on the whole fucking planet who could have helped them, Bush could have. Leaders lead. Did he “move heaven and earth” to get them supplies? did he even pick up the goddamn telephone? apparently he didn’t do anything, if fact his FEMA turned supplies away.
If these were white middle class republicans in that stadium, would he have done anything to help them?
ppGaz
MSNBC, tonight, 10 pm ET, 7pm PT.
neil
You people really just want Bush to stand up and say:
“This, all 100%, is my fault.”
No, goddamnit, we want him to admit that any of it is his fault, that anything could have been done different, that it’s not 100% the fault of state and local officials and nature and the stubborn looters who shot at helicopters.
neil
By the way:
Do you think that these people, stuck in a hurricane refugee camp without food, water or power, have been influenced by the Kossacks or any other liberal propaganda?
ppGaz
That assertion by John is, of course, just insulting.
But not as insulting as:
When the president of the United States can stand in front of a camera and say something like that, under those circumstances, while people were still dying in the water of New Orleans, then don’t tell me a bunch of tiresome crap about the “blame game.”
Davebo
I don’t even need him to admit any blame. I think we should all realize by now that he’s never going to do that.
But even with our silent bigotry of lowered expectations, I do expect one thing.
Chertoff and Brown should not be employed by the federal government by this time next week. And I don’t want to hear any crap about how they are leaving to spend more time with their families or pursue interests in the private sector.
Trent
John, this isn’t about the evacuation, it’s about the response afterwards. Fine, improve the evacuation by 50%, you still have a huge number of people in the city. What’s your point?
Five days to get food and water is unacceptable. THAT’S the issue. That’s the accusation. That’s the indictment. Explain it. I once drove from Sacramento to Pittsburgh in under 48 hours. Baton Rouge is 2 hours away, Houston is 6. Get supplies in there. There’s no excuse.
Even Tucker Carlson (who i loathe) came up with a good point: If the Convention Center is on the river, why didn’t they just send some boats in?
Just wait: if those stories about supplies/trucks being turned away by FEMA turn out to be true, things are going to get explosive. And they should be.
This is such a lame excuse, John. You’re too smart to be using this tact. It’s a lazy way to duck and cover. i’m not saying you should be jumping on every rumor and going hyperbolic on every report. But the news is an evolving thing and you’re a smart guy. You can tell what’s solid and what’s shady, what’s substantive and what’s rumor, what deserves comment and what doesn’t.
You have no problem speaking on so many other topics (like everyone does) that saying that THIS TIME you’re going to wait til things are “clear” (When is that? Next week? Next month? When the investigation is done? When it’s in the history books?) is a bit of crap.
It’s like the creationist saying that they’re going to wait til things are clear on evolution before speaking on it.
slide
Yes. As soon as he saw that he was politically exposed he moved heaven and earth. Thank God for all those Bush Haters that created the political heat that got him off of his ass.
If everyone had taken the position, “well, they’re doing the best they can” and everyone just would “wait, till we get all the facts before pointing fingers” I bet there would still be people dying of dehydration at the Convention Center.
Once again, thank God for all the finger pointers that understood that people’s lives are more important than making apologies and excuses for bureucrats paid by our tax dollars.
Davebo
In a nationally televised interview Thursday night, he said his agency hadn’t known until that day that thousands of storm victims were stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. He gave another nationally televised interview the next morning and said, “We’ve provided food to the people at the Convention Center so that they’ve gotten at least one, if not two meals, every single day.”
Lies don’t get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President.
Yet, when you met with Mr. Brown Friday morning, you told him, “You’re doing a heck of a job.”
That’s unbelievable.
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporleans/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tporleans/archives/2005_09.html#076771
capelza
Brendan Loy nails it…I shudder to think how Brown would have explained himself if it had been a terrorist act. “We thought it was a typical terrorist situation”..”That nuclear bomb was much bigger than we expected”.
Which part of Cat 5 heading for for a city under sea level was “typical”? Good god, I knew it would never be typical just from watching the Discovery Channel or reading National Geographic.
capelza
I need to point out also something else that has been bugging me. Everyone keeps focusing on the fact that the levees were built to withstand a Cat 3. Okay, that’s a done deal for now. So, a Cat 5 (which did fall to a Cat 4) is heading to the city, and “noone anticipated the levees would fail?”.
SEARP
The substantial, apolitical point is that Homeland Security doesn’t seem to be able to perform its core functions. That should make us all very afraid.
The political point is that this administration has touted its superior ability, for years, to do just that.
Narvy
The trouble is, all of the parties who share responsibility seem to think it is zero-sum. There’s enough blame to cover everyone who has decision authority, with a lot left over.
What makes it worse is the “Who’d a thunk it?” leadership. Local government, for heaven knows what reasons, failed to prepare and refused to act and to ask for Federal help until way too late. Brown, by all acoounts is a drooling idiot. Chertoff is new at the DHS but presumably has experience to draw on – that’s why he got the job in the first place. They both work for the President of the United States, supposedly a real take-charge executive kinda guy. But what we get from them is “The buck stops there… no, there… wait, over there… well, anyway, not here.” Anyone who thinks that any of these people are defensible, including the President, is sadly mistaken.
ppGaz
CNN has broadcast the Broussard clip from MTP this morning.
Even Wolf Blitzer nearly gasped.
Trent
No, I’ll tell you what a lot of people want. We want all the Bush supporters/apologists/excuse-makers who for the past 4 years have accused Democrats and liberals of being communists, terrorists, stupid, anti-American, un-Patriotic, leftists, wimpy, extremist, wild-eyed and unbalanced. to admit that our opposition to Bush was right. It wasn’t borne out of sour grapes, it wasn’t borne out of being on the losing side, it wasn’t borne out of jealousy, it wasn’t borne out of ignorance, it wasn’t borne out of being French!
It was borne out of looking at the man and his beliefs and his policies and his values and realizing that the man was not up the task of leading and protecting our country nor did he have the best interests of the nation at heart.
And it was borne out of the fear of exactly this moment! That his ignorance and incompetence and cronyism and careless and negligent stewardship of the federal government would turn into a nightmare catastrophe as we’re seeing right now.
I don’t expect Bush to stand up and take any kind of accountability because he never has. He’s a spoiled rich brat. He’s never made a mistake.
But i do expect the more rationale of his foot soldiers to stand up and admit we were right. It doesn’t mean trading in your conservative beliefs. (You know, the ones that this President doesn’t actually represent.) It doesn’t mean you have to become a liberal Democrat. It doesn’t mean you need argue for his impeachment. It doesn’t mean you have to end your relationship with your Republican friends.
It means that you admit that we were right on both Iraq and the danger of Bush’s incompetence to this nation. Right enough to prove that the fucking jackass divisive dismissive nasty grinding rhetoric of the past 4 years was a complete disservice to our nation.
It’s time to end this shit and become one fucking nation. Because if we want to talk about which political philosophy is best for the nation, after 5 years of complete Republican control, i think the answer to that question is becoming crystal clear.
hadenoughofthisyet
Well, here is possibly more fuel for the fire. I read this in comments on another site although I can’t find it on the BBC site so take it for what it’s worth (unconfirmed).
Stormy70
People being rescued in boats yesterday described how they were being fired on by snipers. How many rescue people refused to go into the city because they would be shot at? You can’t fault people for not wanting to go into a lawless situation. Also, the story of the white elderly couple who were threatened with murder because the buses would evacuate the elderly first is horrifying. They were told this was the reason the buses had to be delayed. There were thugs threatening the elderly with death.
Police in Dallas run everyone through a checkpoint before they are bused throught to the shelters. The evacuees go through a metal detector, then they get refreshments and a quick medical check-up. The police have taken scores of weapons away from people.
Also, because gangs from different wards will kill each other on sight, they’ve had to be very watchful in case they are thrown together in the shelters. So far there have only been minor incidences. Most evacuees are happy to be in a place of safety, amd the hell out of New Orleans. Most want to start over in Texas and never go back.
ppGaz
Let us pray. The man who gave you postwar Iraq is now on the ground in New Orleans. I mean, of course, Rumsfeld.
I sincerely hope that he helps. Excuse me for not being joyfully optimistic at this juncture.
So far …. oh Jesus, there’s Brown. And sure enough, these guys are falling all over themselves to pat themselves on the back.
Christ, let them stop talking, and start working.
ppGaz
Oh my fucking God, you cannot believe this.
They are saying that we’ve “turned a corner”.
We’ve turned five of those in Iraq so far.
Have these people no common sense at all?
Trent
Then give the truck keys to Harry Connick Jr. Apparantly he has balls of steel.
ppGaz
That’s right, Stormy … the rescue efforts failed because the victims hadn’t been put through a metal detector.
You make me sick.
Charlie (Colorado)
hadenoughofthisyet: The President can’t just take over. I’m pretty sure you don’t really want President Bush to have the power to declare an emergency and impose martial law on a city, taking it over from the local government. But your underlying complaint is that Bush didn’t do that.
ppGaz
That’s right, Stormy. You can’t expect the United States military to go into a lawless situation.
Somebody shoot me.
Trent
Charlie,
He has not problem throwing around the authority and supremacy of executive power. The point is, he chose a peculiar time to show restraint.
jobiuspublius
Ok folks. Game over. Who do you want to rescue you from a disaster?
a) James Lee Witt and his pre-2001 FEMA
b) Chertoff and his Homeland Scatology Department with his pet Brownie.
jobiuspublius
Pat Robertson is not an option, you dam snarks.
p.lukasiak
One point that people seem to have missed is that, in the hours after Katrina had passed, the Mayor of New Orleans was talking about how N.O. had “dodged the bullet”….The major levee failures, and the city filling up with water, did not occur until after Katrina had passed.
This is the reason why local police and public safety employees initially concentrated on “rescuing” people in one or two neighborhoods that had been badly flooded— the early reports out of N.O. talked about a few isolated cases of looting, which were being responded to by the police.
….and this is why I think that FEMA has to take the lion’s share of the blame — the REAL disaster in N.O. began after Katrina had passed and major levees were breached, at a point where city officials were literally incapable of taking the kind of action necessary to evacuate those who were left in the city.
********************
re: pumping out the city…..where are they going to put this water? It is going to be toxic by the time the pumping starts…..has anyone even thought about this aspect of the problem?
ppGaz
There is not going to be any pumping, AFAIK.
First, the city pumps are under water, and even if you could expose them, there is no power.
Second, there are no “mobile” pumps that could handle this job, as far as I know.
That water is going to be in there for a long time.
Gurney
See the way the people were treated/neglected in NO. Look at what they were promised:
Implicitly: That as American citizens they would never be abondoned by the government
Explicitly: Help is on the way
Look then at Iraq. The same crew is promising and not delivering relief in in Baghdad.
Common Result: rage among the citizenry.
And when called on their performance failures, the Bush people blame the people in both cases.
They say the Iraqis were given an oppurtunity when the US toppled Saddam, and failed to capitalize. The people in NO, they say, were warned fair and square, and the fault lies with those who did not leave.
The buck stops with the victim always with W.
jobiuspublius
Your fucking with us. If Negroponte shows up I’ll, I’ll, not be well. And this shit is not on network TV. Opium for the masses.
ppGaz
Exactly. These potatoheads have elevated the Blame Game to a national pastime.
Precisely why I have no intention of sitting here any longer and listening to “blame game” whines from certain quarters around here. It’s wrong, and it’s time for it to stop.
Gurney
ppGAz- You’re right. I’m loggin off. See you at the rally.
rkrider
Don’t want to seem like I’m pointing fingers, but add this to the list of BUSH FUCK-UPS:
I guess it’s too much to think a CIC, “mission accomplished”, “bring ’em on”, cowboy president would ask his military commanders for a list of available assets in the areas. I guess nobody told him.
demimondian
ppg…
I find your lack of faith…disturbing.
And the light up ahead is the headlamp of an oncoming train
It’s called setting expectations, ppG.
I sincerely hope that’s a rhetorical question.
Stormy70
I did not say that at all. I described what Dallas was doing so the evacuees felt safe. One has nothing to do with the other. It is fact that the rescuers are being shot at by snipers. Snipers left in New Orleans are hampering efforts, or did you miss the stories of the hospitals under seige after the hurricane hit. Oh, and the Superdome did put people through metal detectors on Sunday, Mr. Well Read.
I don’t see why you want to assign nefarious motives, but then you are the resident insulter of all things Darrell, Stormy or Rick. Sorry I don’t hate Bush like you, so I could belong in the Acceptable Commeters Club. LOL.
Stormy70
We’ll have to add reading comprehension to your list of commenting qualifications, since I mentioned rescuers, not the military. The military takes time to mobilize and get in there. Do you think an 8 mile convoy just magically blinks into existence, and loads itself with supplies? You don’t think it takes time to mobilize the guard, and get their equipment issued, and the trucks loaded and fueled up? You must believe in fairy tales, too. One ambulance company refused to go in because their helicopters were being shot at in the days right after the hurricane. They had to pull back.
Darrell
Trent wrote:
In the very same post:
Unbalanced? Draw your own conclusions
stickler
Stormy:
The military takes time to mobilize and get in there. Do you think an 8 mile convoy just magically blinks into existence, and loads itself with supplies?
Well, the USS Bataan apparently levitated itself to within spitting distance of New Orleans. See above. There it sat, and apparently still sits.
Is there the slightest chance that the man in charge — our CEO President — bears responsibility for the fact that the Bataan was, and is, sitting off New Orleans waiting for orders to help? In just this one, single, minor yet damning instance — could the Chief Executive perhaps have done his job?
Where, in other words, does the buck stop?
Sojourner
Our Commander-in-chief feels their pain. You don’t seriously expect him to do anything about that pain, do you?
Darrell
Weren’t the New Orleans port facilities almost completely destroyed? As the article says, the helicopters from the ship were utilized and were some of the first on the scene. But the port was destroyed… and we’re talking about a huge ship
My problem with the left, is that by and large they are extraordinarily dishonest and not too bright. Instead of asking logical questions (destroyed port for example) and waiting for answers, they simply pounce with emotion and ignorance
Sojourner
What I love about folks like Darrell is their mindless acceptance of any absurd excuse this administration comes up with to explain its incompetence, deception, and indifference. Doesn’t matter how idiotic the rationale, Darrell and his friends will offer their unthinking support.
ppGaz
Uh, right. You and Brownie are on the same page.
I think the American people will make their judgement on this.
Who would the rescuers be, if not the military? The Dallas Republican Women’s Auxiliary?
ppGaz
Have you no grasp of the rhetorical?
;-)
ppGaz
Okay, kids, everyone outta the pool. Darrell and his other brother, Darrell — I mean, Stormy — are here.
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here now.
capelza
Stromy70, I have to ask…your point about snipers in N.O. may have the slightest shred of credibility, but what what about those still dying in the outlying parishes, like say Jefferson Parish. Snipers there, too? And why for the love of Pete, did FEMA cut off the emergency communication to that Parish? Thank god, the sheriff there hooked it back up and put armed guards on it. I will NEVER for the life of me understnad the rationale for that stupid act by FEMA (or many others, but that’s the freshest in my mind right now).
Demdude
But the port was destroyed… and we’re talking about a huge ship
===========
The point of having an amphibious assualt ship is not to need a port.
Andrei
Actually, I’d like him to say:
“My fellow Americans. I have finally come to the conclusion that it would be better for this great country if I step down as your leader. There are far more capable citizens amoung us who could serve you as your President, and while I had hoped I was up to the task, it has become clear to me that I am not. I have asked Vice President Cheney to step down with me, and once this disaster settles, I ask you to find a replacement for the executive branch of our great Democracy.”
That’s do me just fine. Heck… find an [R] to replace him… I dn’t care.
Bush seems to prefer vacationing for nearly 5 weeks out of the year anyways… Why doesn’t he just move along and go do something more suited to his talents? He’s not a competent leader. He’s an even worse policy makker. And right now, he’s driving the bus over the cliff.
ppGaz
Let’s not lose sight of the most important thing, which is, we should not be talking about the colossal fuckups that have already happened (that’s called blaming):
Instead, let’s talk about the collossal fuckups still to come, okay everybody? Let’s be forward looking.
Mind you, this same potatohead only a minute before was busy congratulating himself for a job well done:
Mind you, an army of reporters and cameramen seemed to have no trouble at all getting in there.
Andrei
Ok, John Cole… now’s your chance. Will you openly and publicly tell Darrell he’s full, of shit or will you — with your silence — provide him with positive agreement that you think he’s on to something.
Darrell
Translation: Make Darrell go away John. He makes me feel so stupid. I demand that you respond to my blatherings right now!
hadenoughofthisyet
The Times-Picayune agrees:
ppGaz
To John’s credit, and I can’t believe I am saying this here as pissed off as I am … John HAS said that Darrell is full of shit, in the past.
We’re big boys, Andrei, we can lick Darrell without Dad stepping into help us.
Look at the line that Darrell is taking these days. How would you like to be out on THAT limb?
Darrell
It’s all Bush’s fault!!:
ppGaz
We are comforted to see that FEMA officials have time to pause and play the “blame game” with the city.
Maybe John Cole should address that guy?
Darrell
Bush hates black people!!
ppGaz
Okay, mark the time. Darrell’s official position is that the greatest failure of government in modern history is to be blamed on the failure of the LA governor.
Brownie and Chertoff are doing a great job, after all.
hadenoughofthisyet
Geez Darrell. I wonder if that senior Bush official (initials K.R.?) might be, well, telling a lie? Bianco declaired a state of emergency on August 26. Google it if you don’t believe me.
Either this anoymous source is incrediably stupid… or, believes once a lie gets put out it will evolve into the “truth” in bush enabler land.
TallDave
This is even more unbelieveable than I thought.
Those buses could have saved hundreds or thousands of lives, and using them was specifically mentioned as part of the plan. How does anyone fuck up this badly??
Again, when this is all over, an investigation needs to be done, and whoever was responsible (Republican or Democrat, I don’t care) should be charged with criminal negligence. People died because of this incompetence. Lots of people.
Meanwhile, the response from leftists reminds me a lot of these guys.
Darrell
Is there any debate that evacuation of the citizenry most vulnerable is the responsibility of local and state officials?? Is there any debate at all over that? And since everyone knew how vulnerable the city was/is, wouldn’t you think local officials, you know, who actually live there, would know best how to evacuate them? Should FEMA and the federal govt. now be expected to be first responders and just take over local control after a disaster telling the governors and local officials to just f*ck off?
Nah, none of these questions are relevant because everybody knows “it’s all Bush’s fault!!”
ppGaz
You’re losing it, Darrell.
If you really want to help your little mousey president now, if I were you, I’d just shut the hell up. Every time you open your electronic mouth, your foot becomes more firmly lodged there.
But we know how well you take friendly advice.
jobiuspublius
Nagin was supposed to do what with no money? The money Bob the Rebuilder in Chief withdrew was insignificant?
One more time. Who do you want to rescue you from a disaster?
a) James Lee Witt and his pre-2001 FEMA
b) Chertoff and his Homeland Scatology Defartment with his pet Brownie.
There is pre-9/11 thinking and there is post 9/11 thinking. What’s being missed is that Bob the Rebuilder in Chief’s post-9/11 vision is a disaster that the public does not accept. He fired James Lee Witt, broke FEMA, defunded first responders, and dumped the responsibility on the local authority. People are tired of Bob the Rebuilder in Chief’s MO. Create the problem, then, create the “solution”, i.e., the blame and the plums.
Game Over
ppGaz
As Bambi would say, “Our Deer Leader?”
Darrell
She refused to put the National guard under federal control
ppGaz
While you sit here pointing the finger, Darrell, people are dying by the scores right now in New Orleans.
(CNN 4:12 pm ET 9/4/5)
Keep posting, Darrell. You’ll get Spud elected to a third term if you just try harder.
Andrei
Then I take that comment back. I must have missed that post somewhere. My apologies.
Darrell
Yes, because “Bush killed those people!!”
“Why does Bush hate black people!?”
ppGaz
It was a few weeks back when we started to see those “Darrell Flame” threads here. I think.
Darrell was flattered, of course, for the attention. Darrell always has his priorities straight. Right now, as people are still drowning in shit-filled muck, his main concern is that his precious Bush administration doesn’t get “blamed” for anything.
I mean, that’s the most important thing, isn’t it?
Andrei
Darrell… no one wants you banned. But for the love of whatever god you believe in, just shut the fuck up already.
jobiuspublius
Oh, that pre-9/11 thinking!
Narvy
Take two aspirin and call me in the morning. After the bike ride.
hadenoughofthisyet
This is from an August 31st press release from the Department of Homeland Security. The key words in the following passage are “Incident of National Significance”
So as of August 31 the DOHS had the lead responsiblity.
Darrell
Yes ppgaz, show us where John Cole said I was “full of shit”. Not just in a specific disagreement, but in the broad overall way that you suggest. Show us where Cole said that.
Narvy
Nixon did it. Isn’t he supposed to be a Republican role model?
ppGaz
(Inside the White House, midweek)
POTUS: Dang, that water is nasty, ain’t it?
Staff: Yes it is sir. People are dying and drowning as we speak.
POTUS: Dang! Has that Bell-anko woman, Louisiana governor, has she called yet?
Staff: No sir.
POTUS: Dang.
Staff: Yes, sir.
POTUS: If she’d call, we could do somethin’ down there, couldn’t we?
Staff: Yes, sir.
POTUS: Dang! Wish she’d call. Hate to see this.
Staff: Yes, sir.
POTUS: Does she have our number? Dang!
Staff: Yes, sir.
POTUS: Dang.
ppGaz
Maybe he just said you weren’t the brightest lamp in the store?
Hell, Darrell, for all I know, you ARE John, having fun with us.
I guess those “Darrell threads” were like little honors for you, then.
My Pet Goat
I’ll call bullshit. There wouldn’t have been ANY cable news personnel at the SuperDome if it had been as dangerous as you hysterical wingnut pussies keep insisting. Sure, there were likely places where thugs were roaming, but the relief force that was sent in, tragically late, is armed and trained to deal with the kind of threat they might possibly face. Bush fucked up by sleeping on the job, it’s that simple. City and state officials fucked up, sure, but that doesn’t excuse Bush. And no, laying blame on FEMA and HS doesn’t excuse Bush. He’s in charge of, and is accountable for the failures of the unqualified screwups he appoints.
slide
Darrell repeats the LIES of the right wing smear machine. The swift boating of the local officals continues in full swing.
.As I and others have pointed out Boanco declared a State of Emergency on Friday, August 26th, 3 days BEFORE the storm (and a day before Governor Barbour I might add.) A simple fact that anyone could find out in about 2 seconds if they wanted to.
So. A question for Darrell is the “senior Bush offical” lying or are they so incompetent that they didn’t even know that she had declared a State of Emergency. I don’t see a third option do you?
Oh, and in case they missed Blanco’s declaration of a State of Emergency, she sent the President a letter on the 28th, again BEFORE the storm. In that letter she TOLD the President:
Based on predictions we have received from the National Weather service and other sources, I have determined this incident will be of such severity and magnitude that effect response will be beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments and that Federal assistance would be necessary.
Again that was BEFORE the storm even hit, but yet the Bush apologists still want to lay the blaim on the local officials. Amazing.
How anybody can belive this adminstration is simply beyond me at this point.
pleonastic piranha
if the rest of you get tired of pounding darrell (come on, what is this, shooting fish in a barrel?), read this astute view of why new orleans must be rebuilt (maybe dennis hastert should read it, if dennis hastert, you know, reads):
george friedman on the geopolitics of new orleans
Narvy
Apparently what I said earlier (quoting myself: “There’s enough blame to cover everyone who has decision authority, with a lot left over “) doesn’t carry any weight in this tedious shouting match. So have it your way people, Bush, the innocent victim of unforeseeable circumstances, is completely responsible for the tragedy and Bush, the Chief Executive of the United States, has no responsibility at all.
I’m going down to Barnes & Noble and find something rational to read.
My Pet Goat
Sure seems like a classic case of psychological projection there.
Not to mention paranoia about the left: oh no, the scary, traitorous, immoral, weak, vapid, yet so paradoxically strong and therefore oh-so-threatening to everything you hold comforting, LEFT – OMG!
You just need to clap harder Darrell, cover your eyes and ears and sing LA LA LA real loud to make sure reality doesn’t intrude on the love-fest between you and that strong and resolute annd infinitely wise and compassionate superhero W that increasingly few can see.
Darrell
From the Army Times
“Bush lied people died!!”
ppGaz
Similar to my “plenty of blame to go around.”
Since I said that several days ago, I have copyrighted the thing and I must charge you a fee for using it.
I also said, today, that “Bush is 100% to blame”, a la John Cole’s sarcasm, is an insult.
Nobody is saying that. What they are saying is that maybe how much blame he gets is not the most important thing for us, or him, to be worried about at the moment.
But to some people, like Darrell, it apparently is.
God forbid that the little Wizard of Oz character we call president should ever get blamed, or be held accountable, for ANYTHING EVER.
jobiuspublius
jobiuspublius
But, Darrell, tell me if first response is supposed to last 5 days?
Narvy
Yes, Darrell. You might want to check this out. (props to ppGaz for noting it earlier).
Darrell
What’s amazing is how stupid and ill-informed you Bush haters are. Blanco’s letter to the President was a call for money which she received, nothing to do with giving jurisdictional control and responsibility. In fact, she RESISTED giving up her control and authority.Nothing vague or unclear about this
ppGaz
We can do this as many times as you like, Darrell. Is this what you suggest might have happened?
(Inside the White House, midweek)
POTUS: Dang, that water is nasty, ain’t it?
Staff: Yes it is sir. People are dying and drowning as we speak.
POTUS: Dang! Has that Bell-anko woman, Louisiana governor, has she called yet?
Staff: No sir.
POTUS: Dang.
Staff: Yes, sir.
POTUS: If she’d call, we could do somethin’ down there, couldn’t we?
Staff: Yes, sir.
POTUS: Dang! Wish she’d call. Hate to see this.
Staff: Yes, sir.
POTUS: Does she have our number? Dang!
Staff: Yes, sir.
POTUS: Dang.
Darrell
The largest f*ckup by far in this disaster was the lack of evacuation of those most vulnerable. That responsibility falls smack on the shoulders of the local officials who live there.. the ones who didn’t utilize buses and other resources, who didn’t follow their emergency plans.
Bush had to call the governor to have her order New Orleans to be evacuated. She didn’t do so until f*cking Sunday! KNOWING how vulnerable NO is to such a severe hurricane, why the f*ck didn’t she order that evacuation days earlier? But never mind any of that, because “it’s all Bush’s fault!!”
ppGaz
Darrell will now speak to you about what happened this week …
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……………….
I’m sorry, we seem to have lost the brainwaves of our audience …..
Darrell
“Criminal Bush killed those people in Louisiana!!”
jobiuspublius
Nobody in America expects their mayor or govenor to be able to deal with this disaster. They expect FEMA to deal with it. New Orleans, has debt and not much revenue. How can anybody dump this on them?
ppGaz
POTUS: Dang!
jobiuspublius
So, how do you think our best buddy is gonna take this?
jobiuspublius
Advises, just advice, bad advice no less. Do you actually think that people expect FEMA to take 72 to 96 hours? This is just another sign that Bob the Rebuilder in Chief’s post-9/11 vision is hell.
Darrell
From the FEMA website:
Evacuation and first response are solely the responsibility of the state and local govt. FEMA states clearly that the states should be prepared to be completely self sufficient without federal aid up to 96 hours. The biggest f*ckups in this tragedy seem to be the failure of the Louisiana state and local govt. You name it, evacuation was a last minute clusterf*ck. It didn’t have to be like that as they had several days warning. The mayor himself, who didn’t issue evacuation orders until Sunday night, is on record as predicting the levee not to hold the water
jobiuspublius
Similar things could be said about the feds. Who has the money?
Darrell
Why is it “bad advice” to tell the state and local governments to be prepared to be self sufficient for up to 96 hours? Seems like excellent advice, unless you’re a mindless leftist twit screaming “it’s all Bush’s fault!!”
jobiuspublius
Dam, the mayor strikes again!
jobiuspublius
Look what the Mayor did!
ppGaz
POTUS: Dang!
Darrell
You leftists are so f*cking dishonest. Louisiana had already received fed money in advance. State and local govt. were the ones responsible for evacuation and first response, the most critical aspects of dealing with this disaster, and they f*cked it up badly. Jeb Bush, not the federal govt., is who is responsible for stocking emergency supplies and placing buses on higher ground and critical locations when a hurricane approaches Florida.
jobiuspublius
My point Darrell, is that advise is not a plan nor does it absolve the feds of responsibility. Remember who assumes primary responsibility. And, what about the funding? Bob the Rebuilder in Chief has a history of being stingy unless your in his in crowd.
capelza
72 to 96 hours from the 26th when Blanco asked for the Feds to step in because she knew she couldn’t handle it herself????
Let’s see, taking it all the way out, the feds should have been on site within 4 days, like on the 30th?
Using your own criteria there Darrell…say what you want about “first responders”, but were the Feds there on the 30th? Uh, no……..
ppGaz
Tales of POTUS, The WonderDog
Staff: Sir, thousands are drowning in filthy water in New Orleans
POTUS: Dang! Call Cheney! What should I do?
Staff: Well, sir, you can’t do anything without the permission of the Lousisiana governor, and your mommy.
POTUS: Dang!
Staff: Sir, I have Karl Rove to see you.
POTUS: Dang! Karl, I’m about as tied up as a dang calf at the rodeo! I can’t do a dang thing!
Rove: Sir, you are the most powerful man on earth. When the dust has cleared ..
POTUS: You mean when the flood has gone down …
Rove …. when the flood has gone down, you can begin to blame any number of other authorities and Democrats for the loss of life here …
POTUS: DANG!
Rove: Yes, sir. You can start with Governor Belle Anko, or whatever her name is, and go from there. Don’t worry, you’ll be seen as the concerned, values-oriented strong leader who never got the phone call from those liberals down there at Baton Rouge.
POTUS: Dang! It’s Wednesday, that means we’re havin’ wieners and jello for dinner!
Staff: Yes sir, it is Wednesday, and it is weiners and jello.
POTUS: Hot dang! Okay, uh, let me know if anyone calls from Ba-tonne Ruuuge, but not until after I’ve given Laura her weiner! Uh – heh – heh -heh.
Rove: Dang.
Sojourner
Darrell:
Most Americans believe that America is the most powerful nation in the world. Yet for five days, the Feds could not manage to get food to thousands of people hanging out in the SuperDome which, by the way, is located next to a fully functional road that the media used to easily get around.
Scream all you want about leftist dishonesty, the above simple reality is what’s really pissing off most Americans.
Prior to Katrina, the US was assumed to be powerful and arrogant. Now the US just looks incompetent. Your boy gets the credit for that.
slide
Darrell if you would like to do some reading and see why the Bush adminstration failed to implement their OWN PLAN why don’t you read their December 2004 National Response Plan.
Efforts by Chertoff and other Administration spinmeisters to pin the blame on the delayed response on State and local authorities does not hold water. Although the NRP recognizes that State and local authorities have a responsibility to ask for help, the NRP correctly provides a provision to take proactive steps to deal with a threat. On page 43 of the NRP the section is titled, “Proactive Federal Response to Catastrophic Events” (which I have copied and pasted below:
While the Bush Administration is to be commended for coming up with a plan for dealing with terrorism and large scale disasters, it must be condemned for its abject failure to implement the NRP. And, specific heads must role starting with Michael Chertoff and the head of FEMA.
Darrell
Hello!? Katrina didn’t even hit until the 29th. How in the hell could Blanco know anything about hurricane damage in her state on August 26?? Did that ever occur to you moron? The state of LA and local govts have SOLE responsbility to evacuate before the hurricane and to provide first response after the hurricane hit
jobiuspublius
You mean, Bob the Rebuilder in Chief needs to be proactive about one of the top 3 dangers facing our country? Dam, our instincts are good!
Oh, Bob the Rebuilder in Chief needs a head rolling too.
Darrell
Further regarding Blanco’s Aug 26 request. Her request only allowed the Feds to have emergency funds ready for allocation, which Bush did by declaring the area a disaster area in advance
slide, you post a lot of words there, but there is no dispute that:
Very straightforward. No spin. Nothing complicated about who has what responsibility. You’re just too dishonest to admit it
jobiuspublius
Darrell, you’re in denial. Don’t worry we’ll get thru this.
DougJ
I have two points:
(1) The Post ran the following correction: “A Sept. 4 article on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina incorrectly said that Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) had not declared a state of emergency. She declared an emergency on Aug. 26.”
(2) The Times-Picayne article from 2001 or whenever it was predicted that 200,000 people would fail to evacuate most likely in the event of a forced evacuation. Does anyone have any idea how many actually failed to evacuate? If it was more, the local autorities did screw up. If it was fewer, then not. I have no idea what the actual number was.
hadenoughofthisyet
Hmmm. Seems that is not so clear cut.
ppGaz
Tales of POTUS, the Wonder Dog, Part IX
POTUS: What are they saying out there on the Internets?
Staff: Well, sir, mostly that government has failed the people, that there was a breakdown, no coordination of effort, no crisp execution of measures to protect the people.
POTUS: Dang! Where’s my Daddy?
Staff: He and President Clinton are down in the basement, sir looking at those movies that Mr. Clinton brought with him.
POTUS: Dang! What am I gonna do? They are gonna ride me like a mule over this New Orleans thing.
Staff: Well, not to worry, sir. We have a supporter named Darrell who is out there defending us at every turn.
POTUS: Does he work for us?
Staff: I am not sure sir, but he definitely is White House material. He stays relentlessly on message and no matter what the people see on tv, no matter how obvious it is that we have basically sat here with our thumbs up our asses while thousands died, he is right there defending you night and day. He can take a licking, but he keeps on ticking!
POTUS: Dang. This is a great country.
Staff: Indeed it is, sir.
slide
More from the NRP:
Pretty comprehenisve plan if you read the whole thing. Too bad the Bush Adminstration didn’t follow it and are now blaming local officals. Pretty shameful, but what else is new?
Narvy
I beg to differ, the US now looks incompetent, yes, but it still looks arrogant, too.
Chris R
For all the spin recently that it was the state and locals who should have done better and not the President….
… where exactly does the buck stop with this Administration? Abu Grahib? Not *their* fault, apparently — it was some lowly staff. Lack of good intelligence in Iraq? The CIA shouldn’t have put the Niger reference in the SOTU, as if the President of the United States was Ted Baxter reading cue cards.
And now this.
I’m tired of this. Leadership means accountability and responsibility. JFK knew that after the Bay of Pigs.
I wish some defenders of the President would stop enabling him.
Darrell
Governor Blanco Announces Cover My Ass Executive Order
Look at the date of this order, Sept. 1. Incredible, she saw all those hundreds of buses sitting in water in New Orleans and realized that she herself has hundreds if not thousands of buses at her disposal. “Oops, I better start to use these things for evacuation”
But never forget you hateful kooks, “it’s all Bush’s fault!!”
Narvy
Darrell, in all seriousness, assuming everything you say is accurate and your assessment of Bush’s performance is correct, don’t you think that the widespread perception of fecklessness, even if it’s mistaken and unfair, is going to damage this Presidency?
Narvy
… And just so there’s no misunderstanding, Blanco is one of the people in my blanket condemnation of blameworthy officials.
RiverRat
Robert Modean Says:
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:24 pm
Sorry Joel & ROE, but you guys are WAAAYYY off base in criticizing FEMA. Disaster preparedness is the responsibility of State and Local authorities – in this case LEMA (The Louisiana Emergency Management Agency). There is a state-wide director for disaster relief in every state – that person is called the Governor. There is a local director for disaster relief in every municipality – that person is called the Mayor. FEMA is a coordinating body that assists State and Local authorities in getting the resources they need. Because they are the “go to” people most folks are under the impression that they are in charge, and in fact if the State and Local authorities abdicate control over a disaster area they will take over. Typically after the initial response to a disaster the local guys do just that, leave FEMA in control. That’s because they have the experience and personnel to manage disasters of this scale.
Disclosure: I’m a volunteer coordinator for MEMA (The Missouri Emergency Management Agency), I’ve been through three major floods and a few big storms that generated enough tornado damage to get the affected counties disaster relief – believe me when I tell you what we are seeing from FEMA now is lightyears ahead of what I’ve seen from them in the past. Typically it took two to three days just to get the disaster declaration, then another two to three to get FEMA deployed – of course by then the local guys had been on the ground working around the clock for five or six days and we were more than happy to dump everything in FEMA’s lap. That’s the way the system is designed. Bush saw that and tried to skip a few steps to speed things up, he pre-declared the areas disaster areas. So what we are seeing in NO is the result of a convergence of factors:
First, the storm damage was bad, but the flooding has made relief efforts ten times harder than anything they could have imagined. Second, Mayor Nagin’s performance has been pathetic. This is the worst case of poor planning and criminal incompetence I’ve ever seen. Like I said, Bush declared the gulf coast area a Federal Disaster area on Saturday – two days before Katrina hit. That freed up FEMA resources for local and state coordinators and allowed for the pre-positioning of supplies so they could be rapidly deployed to the affected areas. Mayor Nagin waited until the last minute to call for an evacuation of the city, but the poorest people could not evacuate – why weren’t school busses used to get them out of town? Mayor Nagin made the last minute decision to declare the Superdome and COnvention centers as refuge relocation points – why weren’t they stocked with water, food, bedding, generators, and fuel? Why weren’t hospitals offered additional resources by the Mayors office? Mayor Nagin made the decision to allow looting and told the police to focus on Search and Rescue – but looting hinders S&R efforts (as we’ve seen) and no one I know could believe that decision – it’s emergency management 101, preserving order preserves life. There’s plenty of blame to go around – Blanco deserves her share too – but the real culprit in the aftermath here is Nagin.
Darrell
slide posted:
I love it. You dishonest as hell leftists are moving goalposts. You see how badly the state and local officials have f*cked up, there’s no denying it, just as there is no question they bear primary responsibility for evacuation and first response.. so now you dishonest bastards are claiming that it was Bush’s responsibility under the ‘Incident of National Significance’.. that he should have invoked that to take control from the state and local govts.
In short, you’re blaming Bush for not seizing control of state and local govt. controlled resources such as the national guard and police. Pathetic
slide
The Washington Post printed a retraction, now saying that the Governor did in fact declare a State of Emergency on August 26th but that still leaves me withthe question, did adminstration officials lie to the the Post reporter? Or are they so unbelievably incompetent that they didn’t even know a State of Emergency was declared (despite the letter to the President from the Govenor).
I think that is an important question dont’ you think? Just printing a retraction isn’t enough for me unless the reporter made the mistake herself. In a case like this the reporter should reveal the name of the source that, in my opinion, intentionally tried to mislead the nation to protect his/her boss’s ass.
Darrell
I don’t believe I’ve commented even once on “Bush’s performance”. I’ve been addressing the absurd accussations that the hurricane aftermath disaster is all, or mostly, Bush’s fault, by pointing out exactly who had what responsibilities. But to answer your question, yes, I think perceptions of fecklessness could easily damage his Presidency.
ppGaz
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Good one, Darrell. Perceptions of fecklessness have never hurt your reputation ;-)
Darrell
There was no reference to “Niger” in the SOTU.. but thanks for your ‘informed’ commentary nonetheless.
Narvy
I suppose I should have said something like “degree of responsibility”, but I think you take my point.
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Darrell spews this nonsense:
Darrell no one is holding the local authorities blameless, and it is their responsibility for evacuation, ok. Granted. But it is very very clear that the feds did not do what they were supposed to do under their own plan. It took them five fuckin days to get food and water to the Convention Center, which was a designated area for evacuees to go to. This despite the Convention Center being on high ground and next to a useable road (so useable that reporters by the score were able to drive right up). Now if you think that comports with the NPR plan which stated that it is the federal government’s responsibility (the NPR says that not us BUSH HATERS) to:
whew…. I would like to have some of that Kool aid you are drinking.
Narvy
But there was a reference to seeking
which was subsequently revealed to be a reference to Niger. Your rebuttal is pretty weak and looks disingenuous.
Stormy70
Well, lookee here. I wonder if Russert will ask him about this in the follow-up interview. Hee hee.
Darrell
The Fed plan was contingent on following up on the state and local plans, which the state and local govts totally f*cked up, causing FEMA to have to do the jobs WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BY STATE AND LOCAL govts. And can you whiners find a shred of honesty and admit that it was LOCAL govt’s responsibility to provide for those in the Superdome?
Jeezus, FEMA came in less than 24 hours after the storm passed to those HARDEST HIT (ie, floating in water, rooftops, injured), not the Superdome. And besides, on Tuesday (Aug 30) governor Blanco issued and order to evacuate the Superdome, casting doubt and confusion as whether anyone would even be there?? And that’s Bush and FEMA’s fault?
I’m not the one having to dig up and twist the intent obscure legal references like ‘Incident of National Significance’ in order to try and make a point. Because no matter what the facts, you dishonest lowlifes are going to try and blame it all on Bush.
Demdude
Stormy. You are disgusting.
Narvy
I don’t know what the item you pointed to has to do with this thread, although I must say I am shocked, SHOCKED!, to learn of corruption in Louisiana politics. Maybe you meant to point to this?
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Wow Stormy link has this:
Wow, my first reaction, What SCUMBAGS. NOW they want the President of Jefferson Parish to do a records search in response to a subpoena? NOW? Which his whole parish destroyed? People dying as we speak? NOW they want him to produce records within the MONTH? WHAT MOTHERFUCKING SCUMBAGS. I dont’ give a shit if he is guilty or not don’t you think his time is better served now to try and help his people? Is this retribution for his incredibly riveting interview on Meet the Press? Is there NOTHING this adminstration won’t do to attack those that they perceive as their enemies? WHAT MOTHERFUCKING SCUMBAGS.
Pb
RiverRat,
Explain to me how FEMA’s response is “lightyears better”: is FEMA turning away less aid than they usually do in a catastrophic natural disaster? Do they normally turn away more offers of help? Do they generally get food and water to people slower?
Narvy
Darrell,
If I received the kind of
abusereponses you get on this blog, I would run sobbing from my keyboard and curl up in bed with my thumb in my mouth. You must have HUGE balls.Not so sure the same can be said for your brain.
hadenoughofthisyet
So that negates what has happened in his parish? That negates everything? And “hee hee” — you find humor in this disaster? You find humor with what happened to that man. What, are you going to Swift Boat him?
I’ve had it. I have outrage overload.
Darrell
Hilarious watching you lowlifes blow your gaskets. But Stormy, he gave “an incredibly riveting interview”, don’t your realize that?
capelza
Last time Darrell…Blanco knew it would be baaaad on the 26th, asked for help…one would think that the Feds who she asked help of would maybe, kinda sorts, get just the tiniest little bitty hint that the big hurking hurricane barrelling down on NO/LA might just mabe possibly need the FUCKING FEMA PEOPLE TO GET THE LEAD OUT! and ear up. She was thinking ahead, not waiting till the last minute…it is not her fault that the Feds didn’t really pay attention as is their mission is “PREPAREDNESS”.
Stormy, so the “swiftboating” of Broussard is already starting. I see, and yes, that is disgusting in light of what he and his people are going through right now. Tee hee hee indeed. Jesus is so proud.
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Darrell you don’t read very well do you? Perhaps you should start with a primer like “MY PET GOAT”
The NATIONAL RESPONSE PLAN is not some arcane obscure legal reference moron, its the Homeland Security Plan for situations exactly like this as well as terrorist attacks. Did you see who signed the NRP? Its a whos who of the Bush adminstration.
Oh, just a side note, the NRP which was up on the HOMELAND SECURITY WEB SITE has mysteriously been removed. LOL….LOL.. the fuckin punk cowards have taken down the PLAN that shows what complete fuckups they are. They never cease to amaze me… I imagine that they are a tad to late as TALKING POINTS MEMO has already gotten a hold of it.
slide
correction the National Response Plan is still up on Homeland Security’s Web site…musta been a glitch.
Oh, Darrell that obscure legal reference is an official plan of Homeland Security and it was signed by:
Tom Ridge
Donald Rumsfeld
Colin Powell
Gale Norton
etc. etc… every cabinet offical as of December 2004
pretty obscure internet reference heh einstein?
ppGaz
One has to wonder, what caused these people to act on a Sunday, and on this of all Sundays, when the parish is under water?
I thought the reports of faked aid on Friday, as a backdrop to the Bush tour, were the most incomprehensible thing I’d ever seen.
But this (Broussard reference) takes the cake.
I am going to find out how and why this action was taken today. How an office in New Orleans, Louisiana, a city which is evacuated and closed, manages to have a federal office that takes this action, today of all days.
This could be the most evil thing I have ever witnessed from this evil government.
There are no words.
Narvy
Okay, I overlooked the reference to Broussard in that news story. Mea culpa. So the judge’s “ceremonial … campaign chairman” has been subpoenaed to produce records of campaign contributions. What inference are we supposed to draw here? Where there’s smoke there’s fire, so we
should assumeknow that everything the man says is a lie?Assumeknow that his emotional display on MTP was faked? Not bother waiting to see if he’s ever charged with anything? And giggle about it? What’s your point?Darrell
capelza, listen up because I answered this before, EVERY STATE in Katrina’s path, not just LA, declared a state of emergency in advance. Did you know that? Of course you didn’t, you’re a moron. The reason they do this is because it allows the Feds to have emergency funds ready for allocation. And the President did in fact declare the areas a disaster area in anticipation of the storm hitting
In NO WAY does this mean that the federal govt is to take over the responsibilies of the state and local govt. And the FEMA site spells out the responsibities of state and local government:
Blanco f*cked up really bad, as did local govt officials. But none of those facts matter a whit to hysterical Bush hating kooks like you.
Stormy70
No, just pointing out a simple article. The thought of all you exploding into OUTRAGE is the icing on the cake. You already had this guy sainted based on emotion, before all the facts about his motives are known. It’s a bash Bush Festivus, instead of a focus on helping the victims. You only bring them up to bash everyone else, not give any constuctive views on ways to help out the victims.
Narvy
Which makes me ask: Does anyone know what Haley Barbour thinks of the administration’s/FEMA’s performance?
Stormy70
Refering to Capelza above.
ppGaz
Nobody had the man sainted, you lying sack of shit. Nobody.
He told a story, which is the story of somebody drowning.
I know of no reason to believe that the story is not true.
What in the hell is the matter with you?
What kind of person are you?
Never mind, I already know. You’re the person who would “light up Palestine …. because all the good (people) have left.”
You’re a disgrace.
Demdude
not give any constuctive views on ways to help out the victims
===========================================
Since St. Fucking Stormy has that covered, we thought we would move on to other things.
capelza
Darrell, that vein on your forehead must be bursting…you can call me all the names you want, but it won’t make you any more intelligent or moral. Jesus, I’m wiping YOUR spit of my comp’s screen.
SO Romney, Gingrich, and other REPUBLICANS that have called this a clusterfuck are Bush hater’s too?
I did know about all the states, and yeah, until a few days ago, if they even have now, huge swaths of Mississippi were not yet reached. People were bitching there too, Darrell. It was just harder to hear from all the caterwalling. Has it ever even crossed your mind that the Bush admin didn’t feel the heat from lefty blogs that hardly anyone even reads, but from the national press the American public was seeing.
Folks like Shep Smith of FOX, Anderson Cooper, Joe Scarborough and even Tucker Carlson for cripes sake on national television asking where the hell the feds were? You can tourettes about evil leftists all you want, but the Bush admin did this to themselves.
Darrell
You seem the type to be an atheist or a Wiccan. What’s with the Jesus reference? Btw, note that local Christian churches are doing much (most?) of the volunteer work with the refugees. Let me guess, you’ve got a “hate is not a family value” bumpersticker on your car which you consider to be a profound political statement. what do I win?
Narvy
capelza Says
Nonsense! It’s an orchestrated effort on the part of all those loony lefties you named in your post.
slide
Your point is what exactly? It was all an act? Jesus you people are really unbelievable.
Stormy70
This is the situation the medics and EMS rescue workers did not want to go into without protection.
I was referring to the poster who insulted me.
This, coming from you is rich. I have been volunteering at the local shelter for two days now, not that you’d care since your raison d’etre is to follow my comments around and insult me since I came out for private social security accounts. I find your fascination with me…disturbing. ;)
ppGaz
Really? How did you happen to come across an obscure story on an obscure tv station website, regarding Mr. Broussard?
capelza
Darrell, you see, you are a complete idiot, I am a practising Catholic who also goes to my husband’s Episcopalian Church. Wow, sorry to burst your heavy breather fantasy about us evil lefties…I have raised my husbands six kids, two of whom are vets. And my lefty evil husband is a Marine war vet. And we work with local returning vets in our small town. I don’t put bumpersticker’s on my car either…but we do have an American flag flying from our house.
Darrell
Oh yeah, then why did you pretend as if Blanco’s Aug 26th request was some sort of special unique warning of disaster, rather than what it was, a technicality (also used by other states) to facilitate the release of funds. Speaking of busting a forehead vein, you wrote:
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yeah but capelza you don’t support assasinating foreign elected leaders how could you be a good christian?
capelza
God, you are a dunderhead, truly. Is Bush and Chertoff and Brown so isolated that they didn’t know this would be a bad one? My cat knew it would a very very destructive hurricane.
Are they so helpless that they can’t take any intiative on their own that they at least be ahead of the game, especially since Blanco asked for help? Are they THAT insipid?
ppGaz
The story is over 2 weeks old, and apparently, amounts to nothing.
So Stormy, how did you stumble across this obscure reference, again?
Stormy70
Volunteers sign up for small shifts since they will need vounteers to keep coming back for weeks. Do I need to furnish a timecard? I posted about the experience yesterday. Lucianne.com has lots of links to obscure articles.
Darrell
that’s surprising, given your mocking reference to Jesus. But then again, you lefties are so dishonest it’s not above you to lie your asses off about anything
Stormy70
But several of you had already claimed this was payback for him going on MTP. Looks like the reverse may be true, in his case. I am suspicious of this guy’s anecdotes, to say the least. SWIFTBOATERS!
Boronx
Go back and read the original story. The story says no such thing. The story says an administration official said it. Sure looks like the WaPo is trying to take the fall for an administration lie.
Narvy
Stormy reads Lucianne.com. That explains a lot.
Stormy70
Rome’s on, gotta sign off. Been fun.
capelza
Was I mocking? It was sarcasm at Stormy and her less than Christian glee at a petty stab at someone whose Parish is in severe trouble, not mocking Jesus.
You really are a jackass, you know that don’t you?
ppGaz
I would think that it’s verifiable, since he cited a gentleman who can easily be located.
But it brings up a point: I don’t believe anything you say, ever. I think you’d like to your snake-handling mother if it would get you a dollar bill.
So there you go.
ppGaz
errata: previous post, change “like” to “lie”
Darrell
The Feds were not set up to be first responders or to evacuate prior to the hurricane. What they probably meant was “where are all the national guard troops under Blanco’s command that she didn’t deploy?” As to “where were they”, the federal response arrived just 24 hours after the storm passed because the state and local govt COMPLETELY DROPPED THE BALL
Narvy
Stormy needs Tivo.
capelza
Gentleman, have fun with Darrell. When DougJ and I agree, from the post I saw upthread…the world is upended. I’ll never, for the life of me understand how Darrell can contaminate himself with our evil, lying presence. What a brave little soldier…
Darrell
The Feds were not set up to be first responders or to evacuate prior to the hurricane. A more pertinent question would be “where are all the national guard troops under Blanco’s command that she didn’t deploy?” and “why didn’t the city and state carry out their emergency disaster plans?” As to “where were the Feds”, the federal response arrived within 24 hours after the storm passed, and the state and local govts COMPLETELY DROPPED THE BALL, burdening FEMA with their irresponsibility.
None of this matters to dishonest kooks like you though, because “it’s all the fault of criminal Bush!” Isn’t that right?
ppGaz
Nope. Not right.
What’s right is that this little Lord Fauntleroy came into town with an arrogant air of infallibility, surrounded by flunkies who will cover up, excuse, or spin away any and every shortcoming and lack of perfection, 24 by 7. Claiming to be able to “restore honor and integrity” to the White House. Claiming to honor “values” and to be a man of “faith”, which is code for “I don’t listen to anybody unless they already agree with me.”
The little man made a film of himself laughing and joking around about those “darned WMDs” that nobody could find, showing himself looking under the sofa cushions for them. Joked about it, Darrell.
This little man is surrounded by an armada of slavish supporters who cry “foul” and “unpatriotic” and “hurting our troops” at anything and anyone who dare to question or criticize the emperor.
It’s the Little Lord Fauntleroy, the Spud himself, who has brought this tide of anger against him. This is what happens when you declare war on half your country, declare yourself superior and infallible, and even manage to get blog sites to post “don’t blame me” warnings ten times a day while the country sits agog in front of its television sets watching a complete collapse of government. As if any blame that might rub off on the precious skin of George W Fucking Bush might be the most important thing that happens today. Because that’s exactly how you act, Darrell .. as if you think that is the most important thing going on here.
So cut the crap. It’s you, and people like you, and the cowardly little man you call president, that brought this upon your beloved band of Spuds.
So stop whining.
Darrell
sorry for the prior double post
Exactly. Several leftist kooks blew their gaskets accusing that, not realizing the date of the article. With the left, it’s all emotion, no reason. They read something, then react emotionally without thinking
Stormy70
Got two, one with dual receiving, I had to pause it and the siren call of Balloon Juice called to me. I bought them with dollar bills I earned. How dare I try to earn my own money, right, ppGaz? Oh, and the Palestinians are still trying to blow up innocents in Irael, so lighting the terrorists up is what I’d recommend.
pp – least my mother will be hosting a family. She has put in a request for a snake handling one, so she can live up to the phantoms in your mind. Now I really have to go, young men in Togas and all that Roman debauchery to revel in.
ppGaz
Whatever. How did you come across that obscure Jefferson Parish story, again?
Narvy
You left out “I’m a uniter, not a divider.”
Narvy
Gotcha beat, I have three. All with dual DirecTV tuners.
Well, this certainly adds depth to my perception of you. Tivo users are salt of the earth types, brave, loyal, kind, trustworthy, etc. Of course, every once in a while a mean-spirited, poison-fanged, fire breathing, hate spewing, right wing fascist apologist gets a Tivo, but they are definitely the exception.
Narvy
Inference from an earlier post is it came from Lucianne.com. I’d look for it, but going to Lucianne’s website makes my monitor emit smoke.
summr
I’d posted this in a different thread as a response to one of Darrell’s comments, but it looks like it might be more appropriate in this thread.
Do you have credible sources that back up your assertion that Bush had to “beg” the governor to issue evacuation orders and that she “refused” to use the national guard?
This article dated August 29th states that:
“About 150 National Guard soldiers, New Orleans police and civil sheriff’s deputies were patrolling the facility.” (referring to the superdome and implying that some national guardsmen were present by the 29th).
This article dated August 28th states that:
“As many as 100,000 inner-city residents didn’t have the means to leave, and an untold number of tourists were stranded by the closing of the airport. The city arranged buses to take people to 10 last-resort shelters, including the Superdome.
Nagin also dispatched police and firefighters to rouse people out with sirens and bullhorns, and even gave them the authority to commandeer vehicles to aid in the evacuation.”
With regards to the schoolbuses that you are referring to—did the mayor have the authority to commandeer buses belonging to a school district? I’m genuinely asking here because I don’t know.
This article dated August 1 includes the following statement:
“When members of the Louisiana National Guard left for Iraq in October, they took a lot equipment with them. Dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad, and in the event of a major natural disaster that, could be a problem.”
This article indicates that states that offered their
national guards did not receive authorization from Washington DC to deploy them until September 1, even though they were ready before this date.
When the dust settles we will probably find plenty of blame to go around, and serious communications breakdowns among local, state, and federal authorities, but I seriously believe that FEMA dropped the ball on this one completely.
National disasters are FEMA’s primary responsibility, and the accounts of response failure go beyond New Orleans, LA to Biloxi, Slidell, Gulfport, etc. The affected area is 90,000 square miles, not just New Orleans.
summr
Interesting article in the UK Guardian
Tragic events in New Orleans have laid bare America’s bigotry and exposed the lie of equal opportunity
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Sojourner
Stormy has no problem with rape rooms under U.S. control. Why should we assume she cares about old ladies drowning?
Now, if it’s a blow job that involves two consenting adults… now that’s a whole different can of worms.
Darrell
Here’s one. CNN posted it earlier, then changed their post removing the Bush having to call Blanco re evacuation part without explanation or retraction.. CNN just changed the article without explanation although several bloggers have the cached version.
Bush called the governor who finally called the mayor, who didn’t even begin the evacuation until sunday night. Sunday f*cking night. And he didn’t even use sirens. The governor could have used the National guard to go door-to-door with NO emergency workers days before. But she didn’t. And everyone has seen the pictures of the hundreds of school buses not used by the mayor in evacuation. NOTHING on the FEMA side comes close to the negligence of Louisiana’s state and local govt. Unforgiveable really.
Regarding her bungling of National guard deployment, I’ll dig up the numbers and links tomorrow. There were approx 8,000 available LA national guard. She didn’t begin to utilize these troops, immediately pleading with the federal govt to take control of law enforcement, didn’t utilitze them at all in the evacuation except for a small number (150?) at the Superdome.
I read that they were explicity mentioned in the NOLA emergency disaster plan
Translation: despite the obvious catestrophic failings of Louisiana state and local govts, I will continue to focus my blame on FEMA and Bush
Darrell
From the Guardian article:
Yes, the “blatent truth” that “Bush doesn’t care about black people”.
Note the leftist glee at international sneering.. And their embrace of the racist statements that “Bush doens’t care for blacks”.
ppGaz
Tough shit, Darrell. Looks like the people are not as stupid as you seem to think:
Bush Tanks
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another BUSH HATER thinks Brown should be fired:
these damn anti-american BUSH HATERS.
ppGaz
Just some more for you to chew Darrell, in case you haven’t seen this:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com
Narvy
Darrell is right about this. It’s not “blacks” that Bush doesn’t care about, it’s everybody in and below the economic middle class and people with progressive political views. Blacks merely happen to be a significantly large part of that group.
ppGaz
Where did it all go wrong, Darrell?
Narvy
My god, I’m in agreement with Michelle Malkin. Oh, The horror! The horror! Excuse me, I have to go check myself into a really good mental hospital.
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the resident Bush apologist says this nonsense:
Glee? I’ve never felt sicker in my whole life. I’m nauseated to the very pit of my stomach at how Bush has managed to lower the esteem of our great country in the eyes of the entire world.
And as far as Bush and racism, one thing I will guarantee you, if those faces at the Convention Center were white instead of black, things would have moved a tad quicker getting them food and water.
ppGaz
Darrell?
jobiuspublius
But, pp, it’s all Nagins fault. Bob the Rebuilder in Chief tagged him.
slide
ppGaz looks like in one fell swoop you wiped away all of Darrell’s arguments for the last six hours.
rkrider
Hey Darrell, if you were the most powerful man on the planet would you have let those people in the stadium sit there for 4 or 5 days with no food or water?
Narvy
I don’t believe this. I do not believe that Bush is a racist. Really.
I do think he is an equal opportunity incompetent.
ppGaz
Well, unable to get in there, they were forced to watch FOXNews, which was unable to broadcast the reports of CNN and MSNBC who were in there, and …..
Therefore ….
It’s just like the WMD thing, it was just bad intelligence.
ppGaz
Darrell, the most powerful man on the planet.
Doctor No?
Narvy
From the Los Angeles Times:
And you all thought the hurricane was a bad thing.
Narvy
All right, let’s quit all this badmouthing of FEMA.
They clearly know how to handle a hurricane.
(Scroll down to “Here then, are some of the highlights from last year’s relief efforts in Florida”.)
ppGaz
How do you think it is going to go for your Little Lord Fauntleroy President when the death toll in New Orleans soon is posted in the thousands, Darrell?
When the stories of abject death from heat prostration, from dehydration, from lack of medical care, from drowning in their own homes on the very days when Fauntleroy was praising “Brownie” for the great job he was doing, and he and Brownie were winking at each other for the cameras — when those stories are told and the nation is reeling?
Do you think that the little Shit will enjoy a rising tide of popularity on that day, Darrell? Think it over, because that day is not very far off now. You might want to get ready, because what you ‘ve seen in here today is nothing compared to what you will see on that day.
Thousands Feared Dead
ppGaz
Discuss, Darrell. Your Hero fiddles while Rome’s Berms collapse.
ppGaz
Darrell, this should enhance your hero’s popularity:
ppGaz
Darrell?
Head explodes.
ppGaz
Darrell, this oughta help prop up your little president:
ppGaz
Bush’s dad now speaks.
This is what a competant president looks and sounds like.
Compare, contrast.
Pj
I think the biggest problem is, first there hasn’t been a disater of this size since Japan bombed Pear Harbor. Secondly we have a bunch of over protected, overpaid millionaries in DC that never had to beg for food to feed a baby running the show before, and thirdly the military was not turned loose soon enough to do what it does best. And people who have no common sense at all were put in positions of absolute power.
Comandeering buses paid for by a hotel to move guests to safety is not how to win friends. I can promise you there are at least 500 travelers who will vote democratic if they get home alive. These strangers to the city were turned out, from a very expensive hotel where they had been staying during their visit, with luggage and sent to the NO Super Dome. After treatment like that from our loving governent and the gangs I wouldn’t vote for them either.
I understand why ships couldn’t get in port any sooner. What I don’t understand is why a miliary hospital ship wasn’t the first boat in the bay? Why does it take five days to drop water and food packets? Too many things have gone wrong and too many people with no common sense are now playing the blame game.
Bush can’t be blamed for the storm or its consequences. But, the military knew about the storm and where it was most likely to hit when it was five days out to sea. Then was the time to start moving miliary into place and on alert status, and stockpiling food and water. Not days after the storm passed.
As the NO Mayor said, ” too little too late.”