Drudge had audio on his radio show Sunday. NO Mayor Nagin had been interviewed prior to landfall on national TV and said the convention center *would not* be used since it was not needed. I can't recall which show it was. Either one of the A.M. shows (GMA?) or Sunday A.M. shows (MTP?).
And, as you said, the Red Cross (and Salvation Army) were prevented from supplying aid on that facility by the state Dept. of Homeland Security.
It's NEVER a surprise the press's DAMNED LIES are then regurgitated in polls.
And the purported rationale behind this decision, i.e. that they didn't want more people overcrowding the Superdome, is beyond comprehension.
You don't want to exacerbate a humanitarian crisis, so you intentionally deny food and water to people who are already in parlous health?
(Baffled Smiley.)