Stupid before the storm

Got this from my cousin this morning. Just in case anyone didn't see it or hear some of its content, read below. This reporter really locked down a lot that happened before the storm, and most of it isn't even being touched on the net. This kind of incompetance and stupidity in a Governor and Mayor is absolutely unforgivable and inexcusable. Before I read this, I thought impeachment talk for Blanco and Nagin was just talk, but now I don't think anything short of impeachment would be enough considering the level of absolute stupidity the two of them showed before this disaster. Totally unacceptable. Please read this below and pass it on to everyone you can think of. The more this gets out, the louder the outcry will be to remove them and those who worked for them.

"This is a post from a fellow over in Merritt Is, FL, a reporter who's been researching what went on before the storm hit I think all of Nagin's pomp and posturing is going to bite him hard in the near future as the lies and distortions of his interviews are coming to light.

On Friday night before the storm hit Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center took the unprecedented action of calling Nagin and Blanco personally to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of New Orleans and they said they'd take it under consideration. This was after the NOAA buoy 240 miles south had recorded 68' waves before it was destroyed.

President Bush spent Friday afternoon and evening in meetings with his advisors and administrators drafting all of the paperwork required for a state to request federal assistance (and not be in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act or having to enact the Insurgency Act).

Just before midnight Friday evening the President called Governor Blanco and pleaded with her to sign the request papers so the federal government and the military could legally begin mobilization and call up.

He was told that they didn't think it necessary for the federal government to be involved yet. After the President's final call to the governor she held meetings with her staff to discuss the political ramifications of bringing federal forces. It was decided that if they allowed federal assistance it would make it look as if they had failed so it was agreed upon that the feds would not be invited in.

Saturday before the storm hit the President again called Blanco and Nagin requesting they please sign the papers requesting federal assistance, that they declare the state an emergency area, and begin mandatory evacuation.

After a personal plea from the President, Mayor Nagin agreed to order an evacuation, but it would not be a full mandatory evacuation, and the governor still refused to sign the papers requesting and authorizing federal action.

In frustration the President declared the area a national disaster area before the state of Louisiana did so he could legally begin some advanced preparations. Rumor has it that the President's legal advisers were looking into the ramifications of using the insurgency act to bypass the Constitutional requirement that a state request federal aid before the federal government can move into state with troops - but that had not been done since 1906 and the Constitutionality of it was called into question to use before the disaster.

Throw in that over half the federal aid of the past decade to New Orleans for levee construction, maintenance, and repair was diverted to fund a marina and support the gambling ships.

Toss in the investigation that will look into why the emergency preparedness plan submitted to the federal government for funding and published on the city's website was never implemented and in fact may have been bogus for the purpose of gaining additional federal funding as we now learn that the organizations identified in the plan were never contacted or coordinating into any planning - though the document implies that they were.

The suffering people of New Orleans need to be asking some hard questions as do we all, but they better start with why Blanco refused to even sign the multi-state mutual aid pack activation documents until Wednesday which further delayed the legal deployment of National Guard from adjoining states.

Or maybe ask why Nagin keeps harping that the President should have commandeered 500 Greyhound busses to help him when according to his own emergency plan and documents he claimed to have over 500 busses at his disposal to use between the local school busses and the city transportation busses - but he never raised a finger to prepare them or activate them.

This is a sad time for all of us to see that a major city has all but been destroyed and thousands of people have died with hundreds of thousands more suffering, but it's certainly not a time for people to be pointing fingers and trying to find a bigger dog to blame for local corruption and incompetence. Pray to God for the survivors that they can start their lives anew as fast as possible and we learn from all the mistakes to avoid them in the future."

"There's nothing more racist than a political party assuming that if not for them, black people couldn't make it on their own."

That's the democrat party in the nutshell. It's pathetic and really sad, but the slave owners have just swapped out the chains and exchanged for welfare checks. And even worse, the "slaves" go out every November and keep their masters in power". That's REALLY scary!!! Makes no sense! I just don't get that!

Until we get answers we can't assign blame.

True. We can't assign blame.

But

we can defend folks who are falsely accused.
And we are allowed to "discuss" our thoughts on the subject.

After all, we aren't the almighty MSM, who are paid professional purveryors of (supposed) fact to all the world.

We can't be forbade
Since we are not paid.

From what I've read, the results of a hurricane of "Katrina" magnitude hitting New Orleans was clearly predicted. Yet the required fortifications of the levees to withstand such an onslaught of nature were not constructed. That was the initial mistake, the one which allowed this disaster to happen at all. The outrageous blunders by authorities compounded this negligence. And somebody, somewhere, is to blame for the city's obvious vulnerability to flooding. My two-cent opinion: don't even THINK ABOUT rebuilding New Orleans. The cost to taxpayers nationwide will be astronomical. I, for one, do not want the gov't sticking their greedy hands into my pockets for more money that they flagrantly waste. Having lived a life of careful spending habits, you can just imagine how government theft makes my hair stand straight up! Sorry for the rant; have to let it out sometimes.

We can't be forbade

Why are you addressing this to me? Or is this a rhetorical response to the MSM?

I don't think Brown was falsely accused and I think many, many members of the MSM are accusing the Democrats in Louisiana. But it's not yet clear which Democrats made what mistakes (except for those who diverted federal flood control funds). Nagin didn't design the emergency response nor was he responsible for the school buses or the shortcomings which led to a collapse of police communications. "Mandatory" evacuation never was meant to be used to force out those who didn't want to go. Blanco clearly can be held accountable for the failure to coordinate federal and state response...but is she responsible for the failure to provide shelters in the countryside? Lots of things are still not known.

From what I've read, the results of a hurricane of "Katrina" magnitude hitting New Orleans was clearly predicted.

Yes, that is certainly true. The Times-Picayune series was extremely detailed and accurate. I did not mean to say that the possible (and probable) scenarios were not understood in advance.

My point was that FEMA was/is responding to a disaster area far, far larger than New Orleans, and, regardless of the expectations of particular catastrophic results, many logistical details simply can't be worked out until after the storm hits. Like: where are the victims? Who needs food? How can we get there? Are there remaining hazards that must be mitigated before rescues can even begin? And remember, the planning and rescues had already begun in the wake of the hurricane before the levees were breached, which necessitated a whole new cycle of reaction and planning.

Everything before the disaster is just guesswork. As to your point about the inadequate levee system, there is no doubt that improving the levees was a very low priority in Louisiana government over the years. Even the improvement project that was underway was not designed to withstand a Category 4 Hurricane. I've heard some critics say "why would you plan only for the most likely, and not plan for the worst case?!" Well, you always plan for the most likely case. This is the first Cat 4-5 to hit New Orleans in the 200 years the city has been there. If being prepared for the worst possible case is the standard, we are all in for some colossal taxes and spending.

Having said that, the many years of huge funding for Corps of Engineers projects in Louisiana would certainly have allowed for levee improvements beyond what was done, and many officials, including Nagin and Blanco, will have to answer for how that money was actually (mis)spent.

And don't apologize for the rant - it was a good one!

I noticed that Larry didn't have a response to the fact that a MONTH went by after hurricane Hugo, before federal relief got to parts of the Carolinas, whild clinton was President.

For a guy who claims he's not particularly partisan you sure are partisan. :)

I haven't said anything about FEMA on this thread. I spoke about Brown because his own words convicted him of incompetence. I haven't taken a position on FEMA on other threads either - except to notice that Nagin, who was highly critical of FEMA, made it a point to compliment General Honore. There must have been a noticeable difference.

I don't live in hurricane country. All I know is that responses to previous natural disasters have not generated this firestorm of criticism.

Ya gotta feel a little sorry for Terry Ebbert.

ONE:
In 1997 Terry Ebbert said New Orleans was doing a good job of reforming the police department and getting rid of crime. [NEW ORLEANS -- THE COMEBACK CITY]

Unfortunately for Ebbert and the folks of New Orleans, the police reforms didn't take hold [A Blockbuster Report (New Orleans MURDER CAPITAL of the US)]

TWO:
This past January there was an article in which Ebbert praised the new cameras which were supposed to help reduce crime. [CITY OF NEW ORLEANS LAUNCHES HIGH-TECH ASSAULT ON CRIME ]

Ebbert said: "Our ability to protect citizens and structures just received an unbelievable boost."

I don't think the cameras were of much use during the disturbances in the aftermath of Katrina.

THREE:
After Katrina hit, Ebbert announced to the AP that the breach in the levee would be repaired in a few hours and the water was only slowly rising. {Is T. Ebbert [NOLA DHS chief] responsible for delay in large-scale response to levee breach?]

Most of the world knows how wrong Ebbert's prediction about the levee was.

This burns me up as the President is being slammed by those soulless democrats over this, when they darn well know all of this too. Curses on them!

I'm one of the guilty ones who believes everyone, everywhere, must prepare for the worst-case scenario. Thanks for your information. Two hundred years is a long time, at least as far as lifetimes last. I guess it's enough to look at what happened 5, 10, 20 years ago for many to gauge the probabilities of what to expect now. But is that good enough? Especially today when the threat of another terrorist attack hovers over us? Straighten me out here: the world watches the unending scenes of misery in our gulf states, played out day after day on TV; it shows us as a country which is still vulnerable...unprepared to defend itself against those who hate us, want us dead. And, repeating myself, to rebuild a city 9' below sea level, with the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi R.encircling it sounds to me like a bad idea. And a whole other subject: FEMA insures those who choose to build homes in risky locales and FEMA does this with our money! If you haven't already read it, see John Stossel's account of this subject. He openly admits to being one of FEMA's (our) beneficiaries. But this is another subject for another thread.

I'm with you 100% - at least as far as individual preparedness goes.

On the individual level, I think we need to prepare for worst case scenarios, and I think there are a lot of individuals in new Orleans who did not even begin to do that; did not, in fact, prepare for even the likely scenarios, even after they were told to do so ("bring 3-5 days of food and water with you to the Superdome")

The people who did prepare are the "hold-outs" who remain in the city. And now they are confiscating these folks' guns and talking about forcibly evacuating them. Personally, I like the stories about the bar that never closed (still!) in the Quarter. They are still fending for themselves, defending themselves, and, yes, drinking beer. That's the kind of quirkiness, and the type of characters that give any city its unique charms.

What I have always disliked about New Orleans is the prevalence of the sort of folks who, despite all the warnings in the world, refuse to take any steps to take care of themselves, then chant "help, help, help" in front of the news cameras at the convention center. Ray Nagin may well be incompetent, but, really, what can you do for these people? They didn't even go, on city-provided buses (yes, you read that right) to the Superdome before the hurricane. They just waited until after it was too late to gather their own supplies, then shuffled over to the Convention Center and demanded supplies and evacuation. What plan would have kept these people out of jeopardy?

Not an emergency preparedness plan. How about good law enforcement, ethical government and an end to the welfare culture?

But here I go onto a topic for another thread, too...

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