FNC's Major Garrett: Red Cross Blocked by Order of the Louisiana State Government

Hugh Hewitt ^ | 9/7/05 | Hugh Hewitt

[finnman69]

The Red Cross Blocked

The Fox News Channel's Major Garrett was just on my show extending the story he had just reported on Brit Hume's show: The Red Cross is confirming to Garrett that it had prepositioned water, food, blankets and hygiene products for delivery to the Superdome and the Convention Center in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, but were blocked from delivering those supplies by orders of the Louisiana state government, which did not want to attract people to the Superdome and/or Convention Center. Garrett has no paper trail yet, but will follow up on his verbal confirmation from sources at the highest levels of the Red Cross.

The transcript of the interview will be available at Radioblogger later this afternoon.

And here is a very interesting article from Septmber of 2004:

Debate continues over Superdome as potential hurricane shelter

Seems that the debate over using the Superdome goes back almost a year, and that no one in New Orleans thought it would be a great place in a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane.

Key graphs:

"If we were to lose power, if we were to lose plumbing facilities, if a storm were to hit and create flooding in the area; the Superdome would not be a desirable place to be," he said.

The American Red Cross admits it would not stay in town for a severe hurricane. Workers would offer supplies and training to the Dome but would then leave to ensure aid for the hurricane's aftermath.

Kay Wilkins, spokesperson for the American Red Cross, said, "While we're saying we;re going to move our volunteers and staff out of the risk area into areas where its safer for them to be it doesn't mean we're not going to be here ahead of time for others."

Mayor Nagin said the city has more than 80,000 people without transportation access, and when the next hurricane evacuation there will be thousands of people who will not, or cannot, leave, highlighting the city's urgency of finding the most suitable place for shelter.

Permalink

[BlackRain]

Have you noticed that Drudge dropped the link to this major story?

He did not replace it with any other supporting story.

[Cboldt]

Pittsburg Post Gazette - Editorial of September 4, 2005

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, supposedly given a high priority for funding in the wake of 9/11, seems to have come up short, four years later, to the point of being scarcely visible in the early days following the hurricane. We saw and heard evidence of the work of organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army; it was hard to tell what FEMA was doing.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05247/564878.stm

The September 3 editorial is on the subject of poverty in general. You can check out the recent editorial pieces of the paper from ...
http://www.post-gazette.com/forum/edt/

[Cboldt]

Oops - I just re-read the original post, and it is an article you are looking for. I'll
search a little more. It's amazing how the media can get the facts all wrong, and
are barely called on their gross errors.

[Labyrinthos]

Here's my problem with this story: The MSM has been bashing President Bush and FEMA for their response to Katrina for more than a week now. If the story is true, then why is it just getting out now and where is the paper trail to back it up?

[tazman3]

ping

[Cboldt]

As just reported on O'Reilly, forcing out the people is apparently her strategy, and it contradicts the Mayor's wishes.

Blanco's strategy is to cause confusion. She wants the citizens of NOLA to leave, she wants them to stay (countermands Nagin's forced evacuation order), don't bother the looters (do search nd rescue), shoot the looters, etc. etc.

[Cboldt]

How can Hillary and the Dems get away with that????
Just holding hearing on the federal mistakes and not the state & local ones?
Did she really call for that?

Heheheh. It's not possible to make the inquiry without getting into that. The mistakes the Feds made is compared against what? The orders they were given, that's what. And who gives the orders? Bingo, in comes the local/state folks. It is just plain unavoidable.

But yes, Hillary!'s call was for an investigation into the Federal errors.

[Cboldt]

The breach that has a barge nearby (and it is nearby) is not the 17th Street Levee, it is the Industrial Canal or something like that.

[Broker]

I know some of you have friends and relatives in the disaster zone and this does not mean to diminish any of them in any way. It is something to think about.

School of Hard Knocks

If people haven’t been learning the lessons from Katrina that they absolutely need to learn, then they haven’t been paying attention.

1. On Friday evening the National Weather Service predicted the path of the storm heading towards New Orleans. By Saturday morning, it was clear that the storm was growing in strength and it was suggested that people begin evacuating.

2. By Saturday afternoon it was clear that Katrina was growing in strength. The Mayor of New Orleans appeared on TV weepy and sad, expressing concern about what could happen in New Orleans.

3. Sunday morning it was obvious that the storm would hit as a Category 4 or 5.

4. On Sunday the Governor of Louisiana was crying and worried about the state and asked the rest of us to pray for Louisiana.

5. Sunday at 2:00 pm a mandatory evacuation was ordered.

Now let’s look at what has happened so far and what we know after the fact:

1. 10% of New Orleans was below the poverty level. It would have been obvious (and was obvious) that these people had no means to leave the city themselves.

2. Not a single hospital, faced with mandatory evacuation orders, was moved. We’ve not heard of a SINGLE airlift of patients out of hospitals in the direct path of the storm, moved to areas outside of the impact zone.

3. Not a single school, public, or charter bus left the city carrying people unable to find the means of leaving on their own.

What should happen now:

1. There are hundreds of buses and cars under water in New Orleans and elsewhere in the regions. The Mayor of Louisiana should be brought up on criminal negligence charges.

2. The people should understand that you NEVER elect a sympathetic social worker type to public office. If an individual hasn’t served in the military or in an equivalent capacity of managing huge infrastructures and people, they have no business running a government.

3. The Governor of Louisiana should be brought up on criminal negligence charges--she did not call up the National Guard, order a single evacuation plan, or organize shelters until AFTER the disaster hit. She, a babbling idiot, should spend the rest of her days behind bars, watching the death and destruction on a continuous loop her a jail cell.

What people should have learned by now:

When the government says "leave" you LEAVE! You have ready: 3 days of water and food, a "grab and go" bag that contains clothing, toiletries, and cash to get you where you will be safe. If it takes you more than 15 minutes to evacuate, you’re doing it wrong and are not sufficiently prepared. If you have more time, you should be able to evacuate with three weeks of supplies.

Every person in your family over the age of about 12 should be trained in the use of firearms. If you live in an area that doesn’t allow you to own firearms, MOVE. You should have in your possession a weapon for every member of the family. That includes arming your 12 year old daughter. Because SHE may become separated from you and will need the means of defending herself.

You must have an evacuation plan. Discuss with family every possible need to evacuate--what conditions might require you to leave. Plan the routes, what you’ll take, a location to meet up if you are separated, etc. etc.

Do not leave your neighborhood with an empty seat in your car or truck. Make sure you have filled that seat with one of your neighbors.

Be prepared to take care of yourself for AT LEAST 3 days.

Expect civil unrest and looting. If you value your property more than the lives of your family, YOU WILL DIE. I repeat: IF YOU VALUE YOUR PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS MORE THAN YOUR LIFE OR THE LIFE OF YOUR LOVED ONES, YOU WILL DIE.

The Federal Government is not going to be able to help you. As with ALL law enforcement matters and catastrophes, they only come for the clean up. They are not going to help you until AFTER the catastrophe has occurred.

If I hear one more person making a statement that begins with "The President of the United States should..." I am going to punch him in the nose, kick him in the balls, or knock them over the head with a mallet. This is NOT a Federal matter. There is no way that anyone is capable of doing anything for AT LEAST three days, more likely three weeks.

The Federal Government is not the authority in charge here. The STATE and LOCAL governments are in charge. If the people you’ve been electing to PROTECT AND SERVE you in your local and state are bureaucrats with no leadership, management, or disaster experience, knowing how to do nothing more than write welfare checks, you are seriously screwed.

You have only one ally in such a disaster: YOU. You are responsible for the health and safety of your family. The looters and thugs of the world WILL crawl from the cracks of society and will prey on you and your neighbors. This has happened in EVERY SINGLE catastrophe. If you are not prepared for this, YOU WILL DIE.

Not a single event of this catastrophe is a surprise, with the exception of the extent of the incompetence of the local leadership.

You have been warned.

[Born Conservative]

Thanks; I'd like to write in to them also. That editorial is disgustingly leftist. But then again, I guess that's to be expected, considering the source...

[Tolik]

Incredible !

This ping list is not author-specific for articles I'd like to share. Some for the perfect moral clarity, some for provocative thoughts; or simply interesting articles I'd hate to miss myself. (I don't have to agree with the author all 100% to feel the need to share an article.) I will try not to abuse the ping list and not to annoy you too much, but on some days there is more of the good stuff that is worthy of attention. You can see the list of articles I pinged to lately  on  my page.
You are welcome in or out, just freepmail me (and note which PING list you are talking about). Besides this one, I keep 2 separate PING lists for my favorite authors Victor Davis Hanson and Orson Scott Card.  

[js1138]

Why would an official Red Cross site engage in finger pointing?

The truth will come out with time.

[Republican Red]

I was hoping Drudge took the story down simply because the RadioBlogger website he linked to was down (probably from too much traffic).

Please, bombard Drudge with the All Headline News story

Red Cross Says "We Were Kept From Superdome By State"

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7000062247

September 7, 2005 10:01 p.m. EST


Douglas Maher - All Headline News Staff Reporter

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A report on Fox News from correspondent Major Garrett Wednesday night reveals a major break into what exactly went wrong at the Louisiana Superdome in the days after Hurricane Katrina struck the city.

An American Red Cross representative tells Fox News that the Louisiana State Homeland Security Department refused the relief organization permission to take food and water to the Superdome because they did not want to "encourage people to go there."

They State office of Homeland Security wanted to get people out and were afraid that providing support would be a "magnet" attracting more displaced citizens of New Orleans.

Stay with All Headline News for more on the Hurricane Katrina Relief efforts.

[Cboldt]

Why would Drudge take the story down?
Did the Gov office ask him to? If so, why.

I doubt Blanco's people or DEMs in general got to him. He just decided something else was more newsworthy. The world doesn't revolve around Drudge anyway, no big deal.

Also, where is the statement on the Red Cross site which states the The Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness kept the Red Cross from entering the City?

Hurricane Katrina: Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans?

• Acess to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders.
• The state Homeland Security Department had requested--and continues to request--that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage others to come into the city.

http://www.redcross.org/faq/0,1096,0_682_4524,00.html

Note, importantly, the relevant National Guard is under the command and control of Governor Blanco.

[MortMan]

Fecal matter, meet rotary air impeller."

Is that Greek for 'Blanco meets Hillary'?

Nah - That would be "Fecal matter, meet fecal matter", or a "Meeting of the feces species"! ;-P

[js1138]

The Red Cross story is still on Drudge, just not on the front page.

http://www.drudgereportarchives.com/dsp/search.htm?searchFor=red+cross

[G.Mason]

I think you have summed that up quite well.

In my minds eye I see many Freepers reading that with disbelief and denial.

As you are aware, Florida took some hits from hurricanes last year. I found myself, at night, having to go outside to confront people who were driving around this neighborhood and up to no good.

"The looters and thugs of the world WILL crawl from the cracks of society and will prey on you and your neighbors. "

That is simply the bold face truth of the matter.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Build their gallows high

[Rutles4Ever]

OOPS!