Posted on 09/06/2005 6:00:15 AM PDT by Brilliant
As the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues to shock and sadden the nation, the question on many lips is, Who is to blame for the inadequate response?...
Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible -- local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin.
The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his/her emergency operations center.
The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
bttt
Democrats who decry the so-called intrustion of the Patriot Act should be very careful about demanding more Federal involvement on the local level for "disaster prepardness". Do they really want to mobilize a federal "War on Weather"?
The story is out, now. The 'blame Bush' nonsense isn't going to stick with anyone but the DU crowd and their ilk, who will believe anything.
When is Blanco and Nagin up for re-election?
Sorry I could not post this entire opinion. The writer goes on at length about the mistakes made by Blanco and Nagin.
The truth is that these kinds of things MUST be handled at the local level. The President can't be familiar with all of the emergency plans throughout the entire country. That is the responsibility of local officials.
I'm pretty sure they won't be on the ballot.
A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan....
Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation and supervising the actual evacuation.... And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation....
But even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed." This was not done....
Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result people died, and there was even rape committed, in these facilities. Mayor Nagin failed in his responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation of the citizens of New Orleans. Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement is for the city's emergency center to be linked to the state emergency operations center. This was not done.
The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid.
-- Mr. Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a free market public policy research organization in Olympia, Wash. "As a former state legislator who represented the legislative district most impacted by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, I can fully understand and empathize with the people and public officials over the loss of life and property."
NOLA had a city evacuation plan that called for: 1. private cars and, 2. use of school busses. Neither required federal permission.
Blanco and Witt would love to let the feds take control...
after they've finished flushing the damning evidence down the toilet.
I've never started a thread, but wish someone would to thank our beloved President for his role in saving so many lives. Left up to the mayor and governor of Louisiana, almost all would be dead. Never have I seen such callousness from supposed leaders. How in the world do they sleep at night?
Anyone see the interview with Blanco standing with Witt on CNN? My husband was channel surfing and stopped there and called me in the den to listen but I missed most of it but he said that she was talking about the meeting she had with the President and her needing 24 hours to look at some plan that Nagin was complaining of...he said it was damning and that the reporter asked some very pointed questions...is there anyway to get a transcript of her interview...it needs to be posted on Drudge, etc.
Is Witt in LA to help Blanco's constituents, or to help Blanco flush the evidence down the toilet?
Watch the movie "Blaze" and even if a good portion of it is fictional (I doubt it)...it certainly gives a good idea of how things were run when the Long family was in charge.
This BushBashing by the MSM is going to be their downfall. It is so obvious that they immediately jumped on him while ignoring all the errors caused by the local gov't. They lose their credibility on almost a daily basis.
Also the reporter on CNN will probably be fired because she actually asked hardball questions to a Democrat...she broke the golden rule of MSM.
"Blanco and Witt would love to let the feds take control...
after they've finished flushing the damning evidence down the toilet."
No can do:
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1125239940201382.xml&storylist=louisiana
8/28/2005, 10:48 a.m. CT
The Associated Press
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1476383/posts
Mandatory evacuation ordered for New Orleans (Please keep this post - BUSH ORDERED EVACUATION!)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1476538/posts
Knight Ridder Newspapers ^ | Sun, Aug. 28, 2005 | BY MARC CAPUTO, DAVID OVALLE AND ERIKA BOLSTAD
National Hurricane Director had to call Nagin at home Saturday night to plead: "Get people out..."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050828/ap_on_re_us/bush_katrina_2
Sat Aug 27, 8:08 PM ET
CRAWFORD, Texas -
President Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana on Saturday because of the approach of Hurricane Katrina and his spokesman urged residents along the coast to heed authorities' advice to evacuate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5238307,00.html
Bush Declares Emergency in Louisiana
Sunday August 28, 2005 1:16 AM
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana on Saturday because of the approach of Hurricane Katrina and his spokesman urged residents along the coast to heed authorities' advice to evacuate.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1476404/posts
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18447
FEMA ^ | 8/27/05
Emergency Aid Authorized For Katrina Emergency Response In LA (BUSH ORDERED AID ON 8/27!)
Blanco did not want to cede power to Bush because she is a liberal wackjob and thinks he is a tyrant. Now she is trying to blame him.
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