Posted on 07/14/2009 6:45:04 PM PDT by abb
Weeks after Hurricane Katrina slammed New Orleans and worsened the medical plight of the city's poor, then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the publicly run Charity Hospital would not reopen, even though the military had scrubbed the building to medical-ready standards, the retired Army general who oversaw the work said.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Lt. Gen. Russel Honore said Blanco told him in late September 2005 the 20-story building that served the region's poor residents would not reopen.
"'Ma'am, we got the hospital clean, my people report ... if you want to use it,'" Honore recalled telling Blanco. "Her reply to me: 'Well general, we're not going to open it, we're working on a different plan.'"
Honore's revelation raises questions of whether state officials used Katrina as an excuse to leverage federal financing for a new public hospital.
It comes as state and federal officials continue squabbling over how badly the hospital was really damaged and how much federal recovery funding should be allocated to it.
The state wants $492 million for a new hospital to replace the Depression-era building as part of a proposed $1.2 billion medical complex. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has offered $150 million for repairs. The dispute is on appeal at FEMA headquarters.
Blanco said she could not remember the conversation with Honore. She said she didn't know the military had scrubbed Charity until she was contacted by the AP.
But she said Honore's comments struck her as out of context. "I would not have made that statement because I would not have the first idea of having other plans for Charity at that moment," Blanco said.
Honore suggested that money, not medical judgment, was at the heart of the decision.
"This is about business, man," Honore said.
snip
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
ping
Looks like Blanco was out to destroy New Orleans for political gain:-) Surprize!!!
And blame it on Bush for any political downside.
With apologies to my good friend Russ Honore, this is not about business. Its about kickbacks, and there simply were not enough to satisfy Blanco and her gang of crooks.
Russ, of course, knows this; but he’s too much of a gentleman to publicly acknowledge the gross corruption that runs amok in his beloved state of Louisiana.
I remember Honore and how much I loved his no nonsense approach. I am sure he is telling the truth, even though she conveniently forgets the conversation with him.
There is reason to believe that Blank-o was under the complete control of the DNC -- or some other Democrat organization -- at the time of Katrina.
Wherever she went, one of her aides carried a phone which was in direct contact with somebody in Washington. She consulted whoever was on the other end before making or announcing any decisions.
So, yes, there is reasonable suspicion that Blank-o was simply a willing tool in a Democrat scheme to blame President Bush for everything associated with Katrina.
Given a choice to chose between the truth of Blanco or the truth of Honore’, who would you chose?
They don’t call it the “Big Sleazy” for nothing. Just ask Ray Nagin, the mayor of Chocolate City.
“Blanco said she could not remember the conversation with Honore.”
I call BS. There’s no way anyone could forget a conversation with that man.
Blanko written her book yet?
Well, there was his mistake right there at the beginning. As Barbara Boxer showed us, they stop listening after the word "Ma'am."
-PJ
Never let a good crises go to waste.
After Dubya declared that area in a state of emergency, Blanco blocked FEMA assistance right up until the hurricane came ashore, them the DNC screamed to high heaven that Bush wasn't in there to help them.
They sacrificed their own constituents. That was one of the scummiest lowlife moves I've ever seen in my lifetime.
At least the LA residents were able to recognize what a tool Blanco was, and got rid of her. I wish I could say that about many other states.
As I have posted before, 80% of the residents of the city of New Orleans didn't wait for an official announcement. They all hit the road and got out of Dodge before the storm. My family and I were in that number.
I do remember however, that a few days before the storm hit, I saw Kathleen, C. Ray, and the head of the Louisiana National Guard Landreneau on TV talking about the storm and evacuating. C.Ray went so far as to say that if you don't evacuate you had better have a hatchet with you so you would be able to hack your way out of the attic of your house and maybe save yourself. Kathleen asked those who were not evacuating to write their name and social security number on there arms in indelible marker so that they could be identified later. Gosh, it's been almost four years and I just remembered that she made that statement. They were serious about people leaving.
TANKS,Abb,,,
Rusty should run for office...;0)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.