Blame Amid the Tragedy

The Wall Street Journal ^ | September 6, 2005 | BOB WILLIAMS

[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...

[mountainfolk]

Regarding the buses that were not used to save the NO citizens, there appears to be a reason that might have affected the decision to leave them idle. A post on FR yesterday had a passing mention of the union bus drivers, prior to Katrina, in a dispute with the city about overtime etc. Other posts I have read have noted that the mayor said there were no drivers for the buses. Just another little piece of the puzzle that needs investigation.

[angkor]

Blanco's behavior leads me to believe she or Witt have something to hide

Yeah, I've been having that same sense.

Something about it goes beyond mere incompetence.

[JLO]

Welcome to ChronWatch -- Striving for Balance in the News

Was President Bush Forced to Use the Insurrection Act? Written by Barbara J. Stock Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Hurricanes do not sneak up on people. Unlike tornadoes, hurricanes don’t just reach down out of the dark storm clouds to wreak havoc on humanity. Hurricanes are tracked, named, have warning flags dedicated to them, and all coastal cities have long-standing plans for dealing with them. Nearly everyone in the world knew Katrina was going to hit Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and yet so many have died in New Orleans. Why?

Hurricane Katrina struck the tip of southern Florida as a category 1 hurricane and made a beeline for the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. For three days Katrina churned her way across the Gulf, growing in size and strength until it was a monster storm. With sustained winds of over 175 mph, Katrina bore down on the city of New Orleans. Literally, at the last possible moment, Katrina was pushed, ever-so-slightly, by dry air from the Midwest, off to the East and dropped from a category 5 to a high category 4 with sustained winds of 150 mph. Katrina was still a killer storm by anyone’s description. For three long days, the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans watched Katrina bear down on their state and city respectively but took very little action to protect their citizens other than to state the obvious: “Leave town.” No assistance was offered to the poor or elderly.

Aerial views of New Orleans have shown pictures of hundreds of buses, left parked and unused. Why didn’t the mayor of New Orleans activate those buses to move the people out of the city those who wanted to leave but had no way out? Why was this golden opportunity to save lives left parked, only to be lost to the floodwaters? This from the Louisiana disaster plan, pg. 13, paragraph 5, dated 01/00: “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'...” Why was the city’s own disaster plan for using those buses to evacuate people not implemented? Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin had three days to evacuate the poor and elderly from New Orleans but they did not. Why?

While the governors of both Mississippi and Alabama put in a formal request for federal assistance before Katrina even made landfall, the governor of Louisiana refused to relinquish any of her power for the good of the people. Now she and her party point the finger of blame at the White House.

Liberal blogs and websites are pointing to the Department of Homeland Security’s website which states that it can take control in any disaster, natural or otherwise, but this is not true. The Department of Homeland Security can only work with the state and local officials in organizing relief efforts such as food, water, and shelter. There is no military arm of the Department of Homeland Security or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the military is what was needed and everyone knew that.

Instead of asking why the Democratic leaders of Louisiana failed the people, these sites post disgusting pictures of floating bodies with the message: “George Bush did nothing.” The truth is, the Democratic governor wouldn’t allow Bush to do anything. That floating body belongs to Governor Blanco. She is the one who “did nothing.”

[snipped article - see link below for the rest.]

[bitt]

'I watched some idiot Chinese young thing try to get Rev. Jakes to call Bush a rascist 4 times in an 2 minute long interview.'

I saw that too and wanted to run to the pc to e-m a protest///then decided that I didn't want them to know I was watching......

[bitt]

see 43 - good article!

(small, 'good article' ping list - FR mail me, if you want on or off.)

[bitt]

waa-waa-waa, "I pays my taxes where's my welfare check, who's gonna help me now"....an actual quote.

she pays her taxes and is worried where her welfare check is going to be sent. HuH?

[devolve]

FLEW A CHOPPER TO DA LEVEE

*2000 SCHOOL BUSES SAT UNUSED
WHILE MAYOR NAGIN PARTIED ON!

* Sean Hannity WABC 770am NY 3:15pm Tues Sept 6, 2005

[Horatio Gates]

BTTT

[Zacs Mom]

"In 1892, the visionary Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the New York World, offered Columbia University the money to create the world's first school of journalism. At the time, what journalism education there was in the United States and elsewhere consisted of experienced editors and reporters passing along the rules and tools of the craft. Pulitzer's idea seemed farfetched.

"Why, people wondered, would any university want to train journalists? They were mere ink-stained wretches who practiced what at best was a craft, learned on the job. The idea that journalists belonged in a community of humanists and scientists seemed laughable. Columbia's trustees rejected the offer.

"Pulitzer, whose name is associated today with U.S. journalism's highest award, the Pulitzer Prizes, persevered. In 1904, he published an article titled "The College of Journalism" in The North American Review. In it, he laid out his case for journalism education":*

The above Joseph Pulitzer quote appears on an inscribed plaque visible to all upon enter the halls of the Columbia School of Journalism.
*See this article from 2003 by William F. Woo ~ 'Journalism and Serving the Public Trust'

Visionary, indeed! Pulitzer was downright prophetic!

Most of what Americans read in their papers and see on television is the product of only a handful of giant corporations and the situation in NOLA is but the latest example of dishonest and blatantly incendiary "reporting" by agenda driven representatives of these mega-corporations. Reporting specifically intended to undermine national and international confidence in President Bush and his administration.

A review of the outrageously provocative "coverage" of Hurricane Katrina and NOLA serves to underscore the extent to which the "MSM" has joined forces with the radical left in an all out effort to overthrow a standing president. Such a review clearly demonstrates that these "Guardians of the peoples right to know" are not merely complaisant in this assault on the presidency of George W. Bush but that they, in fact, active participants!

They aggressively propagate malicious falsehoods and knowingly lie by omission, they willfully disseminate misinformation and disinformation and they go out of their way to facilitate and legitimize every radical entity's Bush-hating promulgations.

One has only to review the speeches given at the cRATconvention in 2004 to realize that this orchestrated effort to undermine/discredit/impeach President Bush is an ongoing vendetta against George W. Bush for having "STOLE"the Presidency in 2000 and the "Fourth Estate" is the means with which to "reclaim what is rightfully theirs" regardless of the cost!

IMHO, we cannot afford to simply try to ignore these attacks! We must all be on the offensive to loudly expose this for it is at each and every opportunity!

[Smartass]

The people of Louisiana should give Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin their pink slips...after they do a two year or so jail term for defrauding the federal government out of FEMA funds.

[Eagle Eye]

Katrina is Bush's elaborate plot to gerrymander the NO voting districts.

[bitt]

can you change the name of the lake to "Lake Poop"?
<

[Brilliant]

Looks like it worked brilliantly.

[bitt]

what's the over/under on jail time? hehheh

[Smartass]

LAKE POOP

[bitt]

yes, that's it.....!!!

sending it to some poopheads right now....thanks!!!!(and pookie18, too!)

[Smartass]

Louisiana, along with all Gulf Coast and Atlantic states have been given FEMA monies for "first" emergency response. The federal government is suppose to be a support, and not the primary or first responder. That's the law. In all appearances, Louisiana had a plan on paper to obtain the funds, but when the storm hit, there was no beef. So, where did the money go Governor Blanco, and Mayor Nagin? Much can be learned from Florida, where teams of state and local employees with emergency response know how are in place with supplies.

[potlatch]

I received at least 4 different emails today from knowledgable people explaining the 'chain of command' and how the Governor did not follow through on it.

[potlatch]

the liberal mindset is to treat this people like they are incapable of living if you take them off their plantation

WELFARE is the word. I read an account of people in the Astrodome trying to pass out 'unemployment applications' and getting responses like, "I've never worked a day in my life", and "don't be bothering me with that s***!", etc, etc.

[Texas Songwriter]

I don't agree. I think Witt is there to represent the interest of his client of 30 years. I think Hillary had several recommendation for Blanco during the time she was trying to make up her mind as to whether or not to turn it over to Bush in accordance with the law. But there were political considerations Hillary told Blanco she should consider. Time passed and the levees broke before she acted or allowed Bush to act. At this point Blanco is political toast. Enter Mr.Witt. No one needs to know Hillarys telephone conversatins with Blanco. Thus Witt is the "Fixer". He is the perfect person...previous FEMA director. Who would ask such questions?

Who told Blanco to hire Witt? That has a very interesting answer.