News New Orleans disaster predicted in 2001

[TRCSF]

Ah, so it turns out that FEMA director from Mike Brown has been in troubled before.

He was fired from his last job.

For incompetence.

As a Judges and Stewards Commisioner at the International Arabian Horses Association.

It's like one bad joke that just doesn't stop.

 

[russ_watters]

Can you provide a source for this please? It seems to contradict statements Bush made 3 days after the disaster began that nobody could have predicted it.

Speaking of providing sources, how about a source for that?

I think you will find the vast majority of the affected states' emergency response equipment and comms were destroyed in the floods

And that.

whilst their national guardsmen are otherwise deployed at this time.

And that.

And how 'bout an explanation of why the emergency response equipment/comms were destroyed? Shouldn't they have been better protected? I guess, though, it's still the federal governments job to keep the states from screwing up, huh?

 

[TRCSF]

For the person(s) who thinks it was entirely the state's responsibility to handle the disaster, it was actually the FEMA's responsibility since last friday when Bush declared it a national emergency.

We all know what the 'F' in FEMA stands for, right?

 

[russ_watters]

For the person(s) who thinks it was entirely the state's responsibility...

No one is saying it is entirely the states' responsibility, we're just showing the other side of the coin to those who are saying it's entirely Bush's responsibility. Heck, even saying it was entirely the federal government's responsibility would be an improvment from those who are simply blaming Bush personally.

 

[Astronuc]

Another perspective -

Did New Orleans Catastrophe Have to Happen?
News: Times-Picayune Had Repeatedly Raised Federal Spending Issues

http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2005/09/new_orleans.html

Yes - I know its a liberal perspective - but this is perhaps the best thread in which to put it. It's someones opinion, and at this point anecdotal.

Hopefully we as a people and a nation will learn from this tradgedy and this time make sure it is not repeated.

Afterall, this is suppose to be the UNITED States of America!

 

[TRCSF]

Speaking of providing sources, how about a source for that? And that.And that.

Bush saying nobody could have predicted the levees breaking...

http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/katrinadonations.shtm

Bush, "I don't think anybody anticipated a breach in those levees."

Unclear if it was Bush Jr. or Sr., but either or is disgusting.

Since they're just using the term "Bush", they're likely referring to Junior. Usually they specify Senior.

And just to pour a little salt on that wound...

"Any politician who tells you they didn't see this coming is not worth your respect and certainly not worth your vote"

- Joe Scarborough, ultra-conservative former politician and right-wing pundit.

So much for partisan politics.

 

[TRCSF]

Heck, even saying it was entirely the federal government's responsibility would be an improvment from those who are simply blaming Bush personally.

If you haven't been paying attention recently, Bush is, technically, the President of the United States of America. He's (supposed to be, anyway) in charge of FEMA and and this country's response to such disasters. Especially AFTER he federalized the emergency last week.

It's funny, the Republican party says it's the party of personal accountability, but they sure like to ignore that everytime Bush loses another major U.S. city.

 

[Art]

Speaking of providing sources, how about a source for that?

see post #65

And that.

see post #64

And that

see war in Iraq.

The paper says that the government failed to rise to the challenge - despite New Orleans' susceptibility to flooding being well known - and that the poor response was compounded because many local National Guard troops were away in Iraq.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4208962.stm
Or if you don't like these sources I'll take the republican route and get my mother's opinion for you with all the authority that holds
Russ as a moderator please show a bit of leadership and take the time to read the links I've already posted before wasting my time asking me to repeat them. (I wonder is lack of leadership a core republican trait )

As to why the equipment and comms went down I believe it was something to do with water.

 

[Art]

Here's an interesting quote containing an eyewitness report from somebody in the convention centre.

Thursday, September 1st, 2005
10:46 pm The Real News
The following is the result of an interview I just conducted via cell phone with a New Orleans citizen stranded at the Convention Center. I don't know what you're hearing in the mainstream media or in the press conferences from the city and state officials, but here is the truth:

"Bigfoot" is a bar manager and DJ on Bourbon Street, and is a local personality and icon in the city. He is a lifelong resident of the city, born and raised. He rode out the storm itself in the Iberville Projects because he knew he would be above any flood waters. Here is his story as told to me moments ago. I took notes while he talked and then I asked some questions:


Three days ago, police and national guard troops told citizens to head toward the Crescent City Connection Bridge to await transportation out of the area. The citizens trekked over to the Convention Center and waited for the buses which they were told would take them to Houston or Alabama or somewhere else, out of this area.

It's been 3 days, and the buses have yet to appear.

Although obviously he has no exact count, he estimates more than 10,000 people are packed into and around and outside the convention center still waiting for the buses. They had no food, no water, and no medicine for the last three days, until today, when the National Guard drove over the bridge above them, and tossed out supplies over the side crashing down to the ground below. Much of the supplies were destroyed from the drop. Many people tried to catch the supplies to protect them before they hit the ground. Some offered to walk all the way around up the bridge and bring the supplies down, but any attempt to approach the police or national guard resulted in weapons being aimed at them.

There are many infants and elderly people among them, as well as many people who were injured jumping out of windows to escape flood water and the like -- all of them in dire straights.

Any attempt to flag down police results in being told to get away at gunpoint. Hour after hour they watch buses pass by filled with people from other areas. Tensions are very high, and there has been at least one murder and several fights. 8 or 9 dead people have been stored in a freezer in the area, and 2 of these dead people are kids.

The people are so desperate that they're doing anything they can think of to impress the authorities enough to bring some buses. These things include standing in single file lines with the eldery in front, women and children next; sweeping up the area and cleaning the windows and anything else that would show the people are not barbarians.

The buses never stop.

Before the supplies were pitched off the bridge today, people had to break into buildings in the area to try to find food and water for their families. There was not enough. This spurred many families to break into cars to try to escape the city. There was no police response to the auto thefts until the mob reached the rich area -- Saulet Condos -- once they tried to get cars from there... well then the whole swat teams began showing up with rifles pointed. Snipers got on the roof and told people to get back.

He reports that the conditions are horrendous. Heat, mosquitoes and utter misery. The smell, he says, is "horrific."

He says it's the slowest mandatory evacuation ever, and he wants to know why they were told to go to the Convention Center area in the first place; furthermore, he reports that many of them with cell phones have contacts willing to come rescue them, but people are not being allowed through to pick them up.


I have "Bigfoot"'s phone number and will gladly give it to any city or state official who would like to tell him how everything is under control.

Addendum: Bigfoot just called to report that "they" (the authorities) are cleaning up the dead bodies at the Convention Center right now.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/

 

[Art]

Ah, so it turns out that FEMA director from Mike Brown has been in troubled before.

He was fired from his last job.

For incompetence.

As a Judges and Stewards Commisioner at the International Arabian Horses Association.

It's like one bad joke that just doesn't stop.

I'm not surprised. Watching the guy talk he's in la la land.

 

[kat]

Nowhere in your article does it say Bush insisted the governer call a state of emergency as you claimed. Perhaps you're confused and it was your mother told you this.

My apologies...I should have said "appealed" in my first post as it would be a little misleading to suggest that the president can force the state to relinqiush it's rights. So again I'll ask you, WHY would the President of the United States have to give a personal APPEAL to the Governor to start a mandatory evacuation?!

I'm puzzled how does a high crime rate cause this??

In reference to the state of lawlessness, armed thugs and shooting at rescue helicoptors. Don't try to distort my statements.

Utter twaddle. If the federal government has no responsibility then why do they have an emergency reserve fund to assist in precisely this scenario.

It is the Federal Governments responsibility to assist the state. It is not the sole responsibility of the Federal Government and I will post in a following post exactly what the states responsibility is according to the Governors own executive order.

BTW has there been a single disaster in the USA in the the past 50 years that you have not been in the middle of?

It's 43 years, and I've been in enough to know what to do..and what to expect to be done by whom.

You seem to be most unfortunate.

Odd, I always considered myself to have been fortunate to have survived numerous disasters. Perhaps it has to do with your own personal life philosophy that you would suggest otherwise.

I was also surprised by your response to another post that despite your father being in the USAAF and a scout leader you struggled to get C rations during one of the many disasters you've lived through. I thought the motto of the scouts was "be prepared"

That should tell you something about what to expect if post Camille in Biloxi...even after taking refuge on base...we still had wait and search out food and water. Note, I don't find any humor in your comment. Picking through debris for dead bodies and helping your friends and neighbors mourn and put their lives together isn't...humorous at all.

 

[kat]

For the person(s) who thinks it was entirely the state's responsibility to handle the disaster, it was actually the FEMA's responsibility since last friday when Bush declared it a national emergency.

We all know what the 'F' in FEMA stands for, right?

Nobody said "entirely" but are you sure about what your saying or are you talking through your you know what?

 

[TRCSF]

Jack Cafferty, conservative pundit, just asked on CNN if the relief was timed to get where it was needed at the same time Bush made his photo-op today.

That would explain the delay.

 

[TRCSF]

Nobody said "entirely" but are you sure about what your saying or are you talking through your you know what?

The Louisiana governor was calling for mandatory evacuations while Bush was still enjoying his month long vacation in a luxury resort in Rancho Cucamonga, eating cake and pretending to play guitar.

What you're trying to do is shirk responsibility for this utter failure from the President of the United States to other people, despite obvious evidence that it's the president who f*cked up.

So who is it that's talking out of what?

 

[kat]

If you haven't been paying attention recently, Bush is, technically, the President of the United States of America. He's (supposed to be, anyway) in charge of FEMA and and this country's response to such disasters. Especially AFTER he federalized the emergency last week.

It's funny, the Republican party says it's the party of personal accountability, but they sure like to ignore that everytime Bush loses another major U.S. city.

Bush has lost another major city? LOST? oh my word.
I'm not sure if your talking politically or in regards to the disaster?
Politically your couldn't be more democratic then NO unless you were DC. in regards to this horrid disaster here is the executive order that outlines who is responsible for what during a disaster.

LOUISIANA EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. KBB 2005 - 18
________________________________________________________________________________
LOUISIANA EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN
________________________________________________________________________________
WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana must be prepared to respond in a coordinated, effective, and efficient manner to all emergencies and disasters to which it is subjected;
WHEREAS, effective preparations, including the development of an emergency operations plan, which is coordinated among all the departments and agencies of the state of Louisiana, increases the ability of the state to mitigate the adverse effects of emergencies and/or disasters; and
WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana will best achieve effective coordinated emergency planning by updating the state=s current emergency operations order through the replacement of Executive Order No. KBB 2004-20, issued on August 12, 2004, and by the Military Department, Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness updating its emergency operations plan;
NOW THEREFORE I, KATHLEEN BABINEAUX BLANCO, Governor of the state of Louisiana, by virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana, do hereby order and direct as follows:
SECTION 1: A. The director of the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Military Department, state of Louisiana, (hereafter "director") shall direct the state of Louisiana=s emergency and/or disaster operations.
B. The director, or the director=s designee, shall also coordinate the activities of all non-state agencies, departments, and/or organizations involved in emergency management within the state of Louisiana.
SECTION 2: A. The director shall supplement the provisions of this Order by prescribing rules, regulations, and procedures, which combined with the revisions of this Order, shall constitute the Louisiana Emergency Operations Plan (hereafter "Plan").
B. The Plan shall provide for the emergency operations that may be implemented should an emergency and/or disaster strike the state of Louisiana or an area within the state of Louisiana.
C. The Plan shall be binding on all departments, commissions, boards, agencies, organizations and employees of the state of Louisiana, and on all local governments or political subdivisions of the state authorized or directed to conduct homeland security and emergency management operations.
SECTION 3: A. The director shall control the activation and/or implementation of the Plan and the conclusion and/or deactivation of the Plan.
B. The director shall also control the activation and deactivation of the State Emergency Operations Center (hereafter "Center").
2
C. The activation of the Center shall constitute the implementation of the Plan.
SECTION 4: The departments, offices, agencies and organizations of the state of Louisiana government have primary and support responsibilities for the following Emergency Support Functions (ESF):
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 1 Transportation Department of Transportation and Development P
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Corrections S
Office of the Governor - Office of Elderly Affairs S
Department of Health and Hospitals S
Board of Regents S
Louisiana State Police S
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries S
Volunteer Organizations S
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 2 Communications Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Preparedness P
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Agriculture and Forestry S
Department of Corrections S
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism S
Department of Economic Development S
Department of Environmental Quality S
Office of the Governor - Division of Administration S
Office of the Governor - Office of Elderly Affairs S
Office of the Governor - Oil Spill Coordinator S
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center S
Department of Health and Hospitals S
Department of Justice S
Department of Labor S
Department of Natural Resources S
Louisiana Public Service Commission S
Board of Regents S
Department of Revenue S
Department of Social Services S
Louisiana State Police S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries S
Volunteer Organizations S
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 3 Public Works & Department of Transportation and Development P
Engineering Louisiana National Guard S
Office of the Governor - Division of Administration S
Department of Health and Hospitals S
Department of Natural Resources S
3
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 4 Firefighting Department of Agriculture and Forestry P
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism S
Department of Natural Resources S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries S
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 5 Emergency Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and
Management Emergency Preparedness P
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Agriculture and Forestry S
Department of Corrections S
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism S
Department of Economic Development S
Department of Education S
Department of Environmental Quality S
Office of the Governor - Division of Administration S
Office of the Governor - Office of Elderly Affairs S
Office of the Governor - Office of Indian Affairs S
Office of the Governor - Oil Spill Coordinator S
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center S
Department of Health and Hospitals S
Department of Justice S
Department of Labor S
Department of Natural Resources S
Louisiana Public Service Commission S
Board of Regents S
Department of Revenue S
Secretary of State S
Department of Social Services S
Louisiana State Police S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Department of the Treasury S
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries S
Volunteer Organizations S
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 6 Mass Care, Housing Department of Social Services P
and Human Services Department of Corrections P
Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Preparedness S
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Agriculture and Forestry S
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism S
State Fire Marshall S
Office of the Governor - Office of Elderly Affairs S
Department of Health and Hospitals S
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center S
Board of Regents S
Volunteer Organizations S
4
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 7 Resource Support Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Preparedness P
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Agriculture and Forestry S
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism S
Department of Economic Development S
Office of the Governor - Division of Administration S
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center S
Department of Health and Hospitals S
Department of Labor S
Department of Natural Resources S
Board of Regents S
Department of Social Services S
Louisiana State Police S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Department of the Treasury S
Volunteer Organizations S
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 8 Public Health & Department of Health and Hospitals P
Medical Services Louisiana State University Health Science Center P
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Agriculture and Forestry S
Department of Corrections S
Department of Environmental Quality S
Board of Regents S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Volunteer Organizations S
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 9 Search & Rescue Department of Wildlife and Fisheries P
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Agriculture and Forestry S
Department of Corrections S
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism S
Louisiana State Police S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Volunteer Organizations S
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 10 Oil Spill, Hazardous Office of the Governor - Oil Spill Coordinator P
Materials and Louisiana State Police P
Radiological Department of Environmental Quality P
Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Preparedness S
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Agriculture and Forestry S
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center S
Department of Health and Hospitals S
Department of Natural Resources S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries S
5
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 11 Agriculture Department of Agriculture and Forestry P
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism S
Department of Environmental Quality S
Department of Health and Hospitals S
Department of Natural Resources S
Board of Regents S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries S
Volunteer Organizations S
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 12 Energy Department of Natural Resources/Intrastate
Natural Gas P
Louisiana Public Service Commission/Power P
Louisiana National Guard S
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 13 Public Safety Louisiana State Police P
& Security Department of Justice P
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Agriculture and Forestry S
Department of Corrections S
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism S
Office of the Governor - Division of Administration S
Board of Regents S
Department of Revenue S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries S
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 14 Community, Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and
Recovery, Mitigation Emergency Preparedness P
and Economic Department of Economic Development P
Stabilization Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Agriculture and Forestry S
Department of Environmental Quality S
Office of the Governor - Division of Administration S
Office of the Governor - Office of Financial Institutions S
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center S
Department of Health and Hospitals S
Department of Labor S
Department of Natural Resources S
Louisiana Public Service Commission S
Board of Regents S
Department of Revenue S
Department of Social Services S
Secretary of State S
Louisiana State Police S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Department of the Treasury S
Volunteer Organizations S
6
PRIMARY/
ESF ANNEX DEPARTMENT/AGENCY SUPPORT
ESF 15 Emergency Public Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and
Information Emergency Preparedness P
Louisiana National Guard S
Department of Agriculture and Forestry S
Department of Corrections S
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism S
Department of Economic Development S
Department of Education S
Department of Environmental Quality S
State Fire Marshall S
Office of the Governor - Division of Administration S
Office of the Governor - Office of Elderly Affairs S
Office of the Governor - Office of Financial Institutions S
Office of the Governor - Office of Indian Affairs S
Office of the Governor - Oil Spill Coordinator S
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center S
Department of Health and Hospitals S
Department of Justice S
Department of Labor S
Department of Natural Resources S
Louisiana Public Service Commission S
Board of Regents S
Department of Revenue S
Department of Social Services S
Secretary of State S
Louisiana State Police S
Department of Transportation and Development S
Department of the Treasury S
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries S
Volunteer Organizations S

 

[TRCSF]

I don't mean lost as in lost the vote politically.

I mean lost as in the city has been destroyed. Just look at what's happened to this country since Bush took office.

Yes, Louisiana has had plans for this disaster. The federal government took over Louisiana's handling of the disaster last friday. They've been the ones in charge.

And if you listen to what the governor and mayor have been saying, the Federal Goverment has completely and utterly bungled the operation.

 

[kat]

The Louisiana governor was calling for mandatory evacuations while Bush was still enjoying his month long vacation in a luxury resort in Rancho Cucamonga, eating cake and pretending to play guitar.

What you're trying to do is shirk responsibility for this utter failure from the President of the United States to other people, despite obvious evidence that it's the president who f*cked up.

So who is it that's talking out of what?

"Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called andhttp://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWL082805catastrophe.f4dd3f.html for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding. "

Then why...did...the president... have to call and "personally appeal" the governor to start a mandatory evacuation?

 

[kat]

I don't mean lost as in lost the vote politically.

I mean lost as in the city has been destroyed. Just look at what's happened to this country since Bush took office.

Yes, Louisiana has had plans for this disaster. The federal government took over Louisiana's handling of the disaster last friday. They've been the ones in charge.

And if you listen to what the governor and mayor have been saying, the Federal Goverment has completely and utterly bungled the operation.

Why don't you read...the...executive order...and then think about why someone might want to shift the blame someone else when they've failed to do their own job.

 

[Art]

And here's FEMAs responsibilities:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA is an agency of the United States government dedicated to swift response in the event of disasters, both natural and man-made.

FEMA coordinates the work of federal, state, and local agencies in responding to floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. FEMA provides financial assistance to individuals and governments to rebuild homes, businesses, and public facilities; trains firefighters and emergency medical professionals; and funds emergency planning throughout the United States and its territories.

FEMA also has responsibilities in the event of nuclear power plant severe accidents. [1] [2]

FEMA has responsibilities in what it defines as four domains of emergency management:

Mitigation: Reducing the severity or likelihood of the hazard.
Preparedness: Ensuring you have the capability to respond to the hazard.
Response: Immediate actions taken to save lives, property, the environment, and the economy.
Recovery: Subsequent actions taken to restore property, jobs, and services.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEMA
So out of the four domains which it defines as it's areas of responsibility it would seem to have failed miserably at the first 3 so far.

 

[Skyhunter]

"Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called andhttp://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWL082805catastrophe.f4dd3f.html for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding. "

Then why...did...the president... have to call and "personally appeal" the governor to start a mandatory evacuation?

Talk about out of context.

time of the article

10:59 AM CDT on Sunday, August 28, 2005

from the same article

She said Interstate 10, which was converted Saturday so that all lanes headed one-way out of town, was total gridlock.

The evacuation was underway while they are doing the interview. She wasn't saying he told her to order a mandatory evacuation, she was saying that the president himself was appealing to people to get the hell out of there!

Would you guys give it a rest.

There is plenty of blame to go around. In the words of Harry Truman, if your listening George, "the buck stops here!"

 

[Art]

"Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called andhttp://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWL082805catastrophe.f4dd3f.html for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding. "

Then why...did...the president... have to call and "personally appeal" the governor to start a mandatory evacuation?

I presume it is an honest mistake that you didn't notice his appeal came after the evacuation had begun.

 

[kat]

I presume it is an honest mistake that you didn't notice his appeal came after the evacuation had begun.

Uhh...I could swear I typed M-A-N-D-A-T-O-R-Y...
BUT I'm sure it's an honest mistake for you to have not noticed that.

 

[TRCSF]

Just a reminder.

It wasn't Gov. Blanco or Mayor Nagin who shipped several thouand Louisiana National Guardsmen overseas.

It wasn't Gov. Blanco or Mayor Nagin who cut tens of millions from the levees and emergency response coffers.

It wasn't Gov. Blanco or Mayor Nagin who gutted FEMA.

It wasn't Gov. Blanco or Mayor Nagin who said, tuesday, that there was way to predict that the levees could fail.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

And it wasn't the governers who sent half of the national gaurd equipment overseas.

Earlier this month the Louisiana National Guard publicly complained that too much of its equipment was in Iraq. The local ABC news affiliate reported dozens of high water vehicles, Humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad. Other states are facing shortfalls as well when facing fires, floods or other disasters. A few months before summer began, Montana's governor called for that state's National Guard to be brought home from Iraq because of possible wildfires. As is the case with Louisiana's Guard, Montana found that critical equipment was overseas in Iraq. This included the bulk of the Guard's helicopters which are critical in shuttling fire crews and equipment to blazes.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/30/1354257

This is a betrayal of the nation of the highest order.

 

[TRCSF]

This is a betrayal of the nation of the highest order.

Bush let his own people drown.

 

[edward]

And here's FEMAs responsibilities:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEMA
So out of the four domains which it defines as it's areas of responsibility it would seem to have failed miserably at the first 3 so far.

I talked to a man this morning who has a trucking company. He told me that he contracts to FEMA during emergencies. He also told me that he has had 50 empty trucks waiting since Tuesday morning. FEMA has not yet called??

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The head of FEMA was doing interviews day and night for the last two days. Then, last night an outraged Mayor of NO demanded that he didn't want't to see any more interviews on TV until people stop dying in the streets.

This morning there was a spokesman speaking on behalf of the FEMA jerk.

I was wondering if he didn't have something better to do than tell lies on TV. Whiile dead people were being eaten by rats in the streets, and the elderly and incapacitated were drowning in their attics, Mike Brown was shining his face and covering his and Bush's butts on TV.

 

[Manchot]

Uhh...I could swear I typed M-A-N-D-A-T-O-R-Y...
BUT I'm sure it's an honest mistake for you to have not noticed that.

The fact that Bush asked for a mandatory evacuation is completely irrelevant. There were more people evacuating voluntarily than the thoroughfares could handle, which is why there were people who wanted to evacuate but couldn't. Forcing people to do so did not change that fact. After the storm hit, and the flooding started, pretty much everyone wanted to leave.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Many people described their attempts to get out on bumper to bumper highways, and many feared getting trapped on bridges when the storm hit. Many had no cars or transportation, and others are too ignorant to understand what was going to happen. Others had no money and nowhere to go.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Bush let his own people drown.

This is why you don't fight a war with the national gaurd. Bush's double ended candle called Iraq has burned down from both ends.

I wonder if Bush supporters are finally beginning to understand the utter hatred that many of us have for this man; his many lies and games.