Posted on 09/06/2005 10:15:17 AM PDT by Abigail Adams
This thread is for Katrina news and updates.
Bookmarking for later...
If that is the case, then Bill O'Reilly needs to have the head of Red Cross back on and question her, but Red Cross isn't a government agency and they have to do what the state homeland office tells them to do -- in Mississippi that is MEMA.
YIKES!!!!!!!!!! This is unbelievable. PLEASE keep us updated on this.......this is blockbuster stuff.
That Oprah is real sensitive...NOT! Showing dead bodies while thousands of survivors are still separated from their loved ones, many wondering if their dear ones are still alive.
I like him too. Just a caution that he more than sometimes gets it wrong, and often misses the general legal theme involved in the issue. I can listen to him, Gibson too. Good guys, I agree. I'd be happy to share a bivouac with them any time.
One point Gibson made that will bear watching- the courts never had to deal with the kinds of cases that will be coming from this.
And the cases will be numerous beyond imagination. I can already see 100's of personal injury defendants. I expect there will be legislation that cuts some of the plaintiffs off from entering court, otherwise the courts will be swamped, just like the city was.
I wrote Tancredo and thanked him. Wrote to Trent Franks (my representative) and asked him to support Tom.
WASHINGTON, DC. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) wrote a letter to Speaker Hastert, urging him to direct federal hurricane relief aid through channels other than Louisiana public officials. Citing incompetence and a history of corruption, Tancredo said a bipartisan select committee of the House should administer the aid and provide accountability for the $52 billion requested. The letter is reprinted below:
Dear Mr. Speaker,
Given the abysmal failure of state and local officials in Louisiana to plan adequately for or respond to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans, and given the long history of public corruption in Louisiana, I hope the House will refrain from directly appropriating any funds from the public treasury to either the state of Louisiana or the city of New Orleans. Instead, reconstruction and relief funds dedicated to the people of New Orleans should be administered by a private organization or a select committee similar to the historic Truman Commission.
Public corruption is a well known problem in Louisiana. The head of the FBI in New Orleans just this past year described the state´s public corruption as "epidemic, endemic, and entrenched. No branch of government is exempt." Over the last thirty years, a long list of Louisiana politicians have been convicted of crimes; the list includes a governor, an attorney general, an elections commissioner, an agriculture commissioner, three successive insurance commissioners, a congressman, a federal judge, a State Senate president, six other state legislators, and a host of appointed officials, local sheriffs, city councilmen, and parish police jurors. Given the documented public corruption in the state, I am not confident that Louisiana officials can be trusted to administer federal relief aid.
Clearly the federal response from FEMA in the aftermath of the hurricane was hampered by bureaucratic ineptitude. Making matters worse, the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana have demonstrated mind-boggling incompetence in their lack of planning for and response to this disaster. According to one recent media report, "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...[but] did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected."
The city of New York, by comparison, had no advance warning of 9/11. Yet Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki displayed tremendous leadership in managing a chaotic situation in the city. Their leadership inspired confidence in their ability to manage the emergency and coordinate federal aid In contrast, despite knowing days in advance about the coming hurricane, Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin seem to have done little beyond encouraging residents to leave the city or gather at the Superdome. City school and transit buses could have carried 12,000 persons per run out of the city, yet they sat idle in parking lots under water - while both the Mayor and Governor criticized the federal response.
In the coming days, tens of billions of dollars will likely flood Louisiana to address the costs of rescue, clean up, and rebuilding. The question is not whether Congress should provide for those in need, but whether state and local officials who have been derelict in their duty should be trusted with that money. Their record during Hurricane Katrina and the long history of public corruption in Louisiana convinces me that that they should not.
Sincerely,
Tom Tancredo
Are ya watching Major Garrett on Brit's show???
I just now turned it on, but from what I've seen so far, he must be the only reporter to get this right.
Yep.
I agree. They can't stay there. I don't have an answer.
WOW! He did his homework!
He is nailing this
And it falls back on Gov. Blanco!
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/09/07/katrina.zoos/
sorry if already posted...Katrina kills most fish at Aquarium
Hume took the leadership of the State of Louisiana (and the inaccurate MSM reports that have been pervasive for a week) to the woodshed tonight.
Thanks, I missed Rush today.
Tom Tancredo. AMEN AND AMEN. What he said. Thanks for posting it.
As I've said before, I love the people of Louisiana but they seem to be enslaved to a Banana Republic type of government. Sending that corrupt government $$$$ in aid is no different than sending aid $$$ to the 3rd world countries of Africa. Trust me, the LA officials are drooling already.
I tell you, they are going to overplay their hand if they keep that up.
It's disgusting.
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