[MNJohnnie]

I cut out a lot of this pap to focus on the meat. The WASHINGTON POST just gutted the DNC attack lie. IF Bush is having to beg the Gov of Lousiana to get out of the way FRIDAY night, HOW can this be "All Bush's fault"? Thanks to Freeper Peach for bringing this article up

[MNJohnnie]

Next paragraph for your edification.

Blanco made two moves Saturday that protected her independence from the federal government: She created a philanthropic fund for the state's victims and hired James Lee Witt, Federal Emergency Management Agency director in the Clinton administration, to advise her on the relief effort.

[stylin_geek]

Yeah, but notice how the headline is written. The headline is contructed to make the administration look bad.

[prion]

"Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.

Isn't that exactly backwards? If the locals didn't control it, they couldn't be blamed.

[HawaiianGecko]

ping

[Sofa King]

"Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly."

Yes, while if the locals screw things up on their own it will clearly be Bush's fault.

[Congressman Billybob]

The Washington Post has become an instantaneous birdcage liner. You don't even need to have a bird; the cr*p is already on the paper.

The title is, of course, a lie. Not until the fourth paragraph does the Post admit that Governor Blanco delayed in calling on the Guard until Wednesday. The article does not bother to mention that under the US Constitution and the Louisiana Constitution, authority over the Guard remained with the Governor until she said otherwise.

The lede for this story implies that central fact. Why would the President have had to negotiate with the Governor, unless the Governor had the initial authority? However, to state the central fact that the Governor had to act first, would have undercut the political bigotry of the Post. And we can't have facts getting in the way of a good story, now can we?

Congressman Billybob

Latest column: "Tide of Lies Swamps NY Times: Employees Riot and Steal Office Supplies"

[HarleyLady27]

Don't you think alot of the change in opinion is the people are now out of the mess and are being housed in shelters, ie; and they are reading newspapers and watching t.v. and listening to radio....and they were there, they more than anyone, knows who to blame...

The thing that has impressed me with the flood victims is they are so polite, when a rescurer comes up to them, they smile and say thank you and shake their hands....when they were given water, food, baby food, diapers, wet, cold towels, they smiled and said thank you and God Bless You....I wonder how many of us would be that patient????

I know I wouldn't be, they would be taking me away in a straight jacket with tape over my potty mouth....lolol

[Zionist Conspirator]

This whole business is disgusting. Thousands of people are dead, no telling how many more are hurting or in the direst straits, and all our politicians can think of is how this is going to play out in the next elections.

A few years ago a conservative magazine (I forget which one) published an article entitled "Democracy: The God that Failed." The point was that with the old monarchies you had rulers who had a reason to think about the country, since they were going to leave it to their ancestors. In countries with elected governments the only thing that seems to matter is short term electoral benefit.

Sometimes I wonder if we wouldn't be better off without elections. (That's just my frustration speaking. Please don't take me too literally.)

[mc6809e]

Not enought resources for evacuation or levee improvements, but apparently enought to build:

The Louisiana Superdome Cost $163 million to build in 1975. The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, a state entity, was built in 1985. It was expanded in 1999, and the state just completed negotiations for a new 500,000 square foot expansion. The state signed a contract for the new expansion on Aug. 17, just 12 days before Katrina hit. The price: $315 million. Construction would have begun years ago, for a cost of $275 million, but for some delays. There was a legal dispute over the contract in 2003, then in 2004 Gov. Kathleen Blanco tried to combine the expansion with a new stadium to replace the Superdome.

[Darnright]

Bump and thanks for finding this

[Salvation]

BTTT!

[cardinal4]

The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.

Uh, most of the blame DOES lie with the locals..

[John Jorsett]

Many Evacuated, but Thousands Still Waiting

From what I've been seeing on Fox, a lot of the people are refusing to go, and the rescuers are having to talk them into it. The residents have no radios or televisions, so many are thinking the water will recede soon. The rescuers have to tell them that it'll be weeks if not months before that happens. I'd change the headline to read, Many Evacuated, but Thousands Unwilling.

[Travis McGee]

I hope that sooner or later the MSM discovers that New Orleans did have a written emergency plan to cover the evacuation of the poor, but that the idiot mayor of New Orleans ignored it, and allowed the evacuation buses to be ruined by the flood, forgotten.

The city leaders had at least two full days to use these hundreds of buses to evac the poor, exactly as their own emergency management plan called for.

Here's the southeast Louisiana evac plan supplement, most recently revised in 2000. Go to page 13, read paragraph 5. It states:

5. The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating.

[Chi-townChief]

bttt

[grellis]

concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law.

Given the present circumstances, how could this remotely be a bad thing???

[Misschuck]

Who is controlling that woman? That's what scares me.

[pabianice]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1477038/posts

[t2buckeye]

I think part of the problem is this too.

I just read an article of Chertoff saying, "THe feds are in control of New Orleans"...

It's not until later you realize he means that the city is "under control.' It sounds like the feds are "owning" the responsiblity of the city, yet you read the article saying that the state has REJECTED the feds desire to federalize the troops.
I think this disaster has uncovered the Achilles' heel of Homeland Security as a federal agency...