Replies

"Bush gave a Mandatory Order to leave the city.---if the Mayor was white "

Those comments are idiotic. I live in Slidell and from my view, the mayor is blameless, the Governor is culpable and the Feds were very,very late! The national guard in Louisiana which is under control of the governor was not there until it was too late.

As for people saying there was an evacuation order(which the mayor gave not Bush BTW), I am at a loss to understand how shallow these "thinkers" really are. You cannot evacuate millions of people for hundreds of miles on 2 or 3 roads at the drop of a hat. Pull your head out of wherever you are storing it.

the mayor is blameless? for not evacuating the elderly, infirm before the strong? for not preparing shelters adequately for several days of siege? come on! those seem like city preparedness basics to me here in Los Angeles where we knew about disasters too...i am haunted by the hundreds of buses that could have been used Saturday and Sunday to get people out. he should be too.

Strange you would say all that considering there is local comprehensive disaster plan, way ahead of FEMA.

"City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan" http://www.cityofno.com/SystemModules/PrintPage.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26

The mayor ONLY gave the evacuation order when TOLD TO DO SO by fed's.

The Mayor left hundreds of city municipal buses and New Orleans school buses to flood in their parking lots.

The mayor ordered evacuation centers in the Super Dome and Convention Center - But failed to stage food and water in either place for the tens of thousands he had DECADES to plan for a hurricane.

The Mayor had no police control, and no police to control because HE (and previous administrations) fed a corrupt and racist police dept.

The mayor had failed to maintain HSI pumps and levees.

The mayor failed to remove people from the Dome when they could have WALKED OUT - through knee-deep it is true, but he left them there in their (his own) squalor.

The mayor and Governor HAVE NOT YET signed papers to give the fed's local authority to take control - but this was requested and signed by AL and Missip. governors BEFORE the storm hit.

>>> "As for people saying there was an evacuation order(which the mayor gave not Bush BTW), I am at a loss to understand how shallow these "thinkers" really are. You cannot evacuate millions of people for hundreds of miles on 2 or 3 roads at the drop of a hat. Pull your head out of wherever you are storing it." <<<

The Mayor did not evacuate N.O. until Bush pleaded for an evacuation, and only then after the Mayor consulted with his lawyers. Only an absolute idiot would wait until the last day to evacuate when a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane is bearing down on you. Only an absolute idiot would leave all those poor, disabled and dangerous inside the city, when he had many hundreds, maybe thousands, of buses at his disposal. As for legal authority, the SE Louisana Hurricane Evacuation and Sheltering Plan clearly states:

"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."

BTW, where are your storing your head?

from my view, the mayor is blameless

Did the mayor use the public school buses to evacuate the indigent?

Did the mayor alert FEMA to the fact that thousands of refugees were being sent to an undocumented, insecure refugee center (convention center).

Did the mayor remain in the city working side-by-side with the chief of police, etc to secure provisions and shelter for the refugees?