Posted on 09/10/2005 10:34:29 AM PDT by Miss Marple
While cable news and the networks have concentrated their criticism on FEMA for the most part, I thought it would be helpful to concentrate our attention on the state and local actions during Hurrican Katrina and the subsequent flooding of New Orleans.
To that end, I have assembled a collection of links which document the lack of action by the state and local authorities, as well as some deliberate efforts to obstruct federal action.
This thread is meant to document the actions, and not to speculate on the motives of the State of Louisiana or the City of New Orleans. I intend for this thread to be useful as a resource for Freepers as they discuss the situation with those who have been fed the MSM spin and are not aware of the facts. Clogging the thread up with speculation will not be helpful.
I MAY start a speculation thread separate from this one. But until then, on this thread, let's stick to the facts.
Any additions of links or reports from the networks would be gratefully appreciated. Please attribute all sources and follow posting guidelines.
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NATIONAL GUARD
As detailed in these two articles, the governor was the person responsible for the few numbers of guardsmen deployed. She refused to sign the paperwork that would bring in guard units from other states until the Wednesday AFTER the storm.
State Rebuffed Bid to Put Louisiiana Troops Under U.S. Command Amid New Orleans Chaos
DENIAL OF ACCESS TO RELIEF AGENCIES
In addition to the low numbers of National Guard troops activated, relief agencies were denied access to New Orleans by the Louisiana authorities. The following articles explain why we saw no Red Cross, Salvation Army, or other groups on the scene.
FNC's Major Garrett: Red Cross Blocked by Order of the Louisiana State Government
Major Garret new blockbuster---Salvation Army efforts at supplying the evacuees BLOCKED
Louisiana officials accused of blocking rescue volunteers
This aspect got lost in some of the larger threads, and after the situation progressed I realized that we needed a quick way to refute the democrats who are looking to dump all the blame on Brown and Bush.
bookmark
This is a post from a fellow over in Merritt Is, FL, a reporter who's been researching what went on before the storm hit. His post is: CLICKPolitics over duty
I think all of Nagin's (NO's mayor) pomp and posturing is going to bite him hard in the near future as the lies and distortions of his interviews are coming to light.
On Friday night before the storm hit Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center took the unprecedented action of calling Nagin and Blanco personally to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of NO and they said they'd take it under consideration. This was after the NOAA buoy 240 miles south had recorded 68' waves before it was destroyed.
President Bush spent Friday afternoon and evening in meetings with his advisors and administrators drafting all of the paperwork required for a state to request federal assistance (and not be in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act or having to enact the Insurgency Act). Just before midnight Friday evening the President called Governor Blanco and pleaded with her to sign the request papers so the federal government and the military could legally begin mobilization and call up. He was told that they didn't think it necessary for the federal government to be involved yet. After the President's final call to the governor she held meetings with her staff to discuss the political ramifications of bringing federal forces. It was decided that if they allowed federal assistance it would make it look as if they had failed so it was agreed upon that the feds would not be invited in.
Saturday before the storm hit the President again called Blanco and Nagin requesting they please sign the papers requesting federal assistance, that they declare the state an emergency area, and begin mandatory evacuation. After a personal plea from the President Nagin agreed to order an evacuation, but it would not be a full mandatory evacuation, and the governor still refused to sign the papers requesting and authorizing federal action. In frustration the President declared the area a national disaster area before the state of Louisiana did so he could legally begin some advanced preparations. Rumor has it that the President's legal advisers were looking into the ramifications of using the insurgency act to bypass the Constitutional requirement that a state request federal aid before the federal government can move into state with troops - but that had not been done since 1906 and the Constitutionality of it was called into question to use before the disaster.
Throw in that over half the federal aid of the past decade to NO for levee construction, maintenance, and repair was diverted to fund a marina and support the gambling ships. Toss in the investigation that will look into why the emergency preparedness plan submitted to the federal government for funding and published on the city's website was never implemented and in fact may have been bogus for the purpose of gaining additional federal funding as we now learn that the organizations identified in the plan were never contacted or coordinating into any planning - though the document implies that they were.
The suffering people of NO need to be asking some hard questions as do we all, but they better start with why Blanco refused to even sign the multi-state mutual aid pack activation documents until Wednesday which further delayed the legal deployment of National Guard from adjoining states. Or maybe ask why Nagin keeps harping that the President should have commandeered 500 Greyhound busses to help him when according to his own emergency plan and documents he claimed to have over 500 busses at his disposal to use between the local school busses and the city transportation busses - but he never raised a finger to prepare them or activate them.
This is a sad time for all of us to see that a major city has all but been destroyed and thousands of people have died with hundreds of thousands more suffering, but it's certainly not a time for people to be pointing fingers and trying to find a bigger dog to blame for local corruption and incompetence. Pray to God for the survivors that they can start their lives anew as fast as possible and we learn from all the mistakes to avoid them in the future.
I don't know if you have this yet, but:
Despite Landrieu's complaints of budget cuts and paltry funding, the fact is that over the five years of the Bush administration, Louisiana has received more money $1.9 billion for Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects than any other state, and more than under any other administration over a similar period. California is a distant second with less than $1.4 billion despite a population more than seven times as large.
(snip)
The problem was at the local level. The ambitious plan fell apart when the state suspended the Levee Board's ability to refinance old bonds and issue new ones. As the Times-Picayune reported, Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle "repeatedly faulted the Levee Board for the way it awards contracts, spends money and ignores no-bid contract laws." Blocked by the state from raising local money, the federal matching funds went unspent. By 1998, Louisiana's state government had a $2 billion construction budget, but less than one-tenth of one percent, or $1.98 million, was dedicated to New Orleans levee improvements. By contrast, $22 million was spent that year to renovate a home for the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Investors Business Daily
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1481760/posts
Yeah...then they pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and carry on lying like they always do.
Ping..you gotta check out this photo gallery
Bump for later...
marking
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A state-of-the-art mobile hospital developed with Homeland Security grants to respond to disasters and staffed by 100 doctors and paramedics was left stranded in Mississippi because Louisiana officials would not let it deploy to New Orleans.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050909-121037-6314r.htm
Thanks and bump for later reference.
Oh, thanks for that one, Peach! I have been looking for that story!
Some news channel (I forget which one) reported this morning that when President Bush was in New Orleans he took Blanco and Nagin aboard to discuss who was going to have responsibility for what. In other words, who was going to have command and control. The president gave the governor three options for a command structure. She said she would need 24 hours to decide.
That woman has no business being the chief executive officer of a state. She has zero leadership skills. As I wrote on another thread, she couldn't put two privates in a formation and march them to the mess hall.
This article contains links to many of the critical failures of the state and local governments. Links are in the second half of the article:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1481623/posts
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