On Brit Hume this evening, FOX News correspondent Major Garrett explained that FEMA/Red Cross had a truckload of water and other necessities , however the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security DENIED it. Why? Because they didn’t want to attract more people to the Superdome or the convention center, they want to get them out. Garrett also brings to light that FEMA couldn’t initially bring the National Guard into Louisiana because it is not their jurisdiction. Who has to give them jurisdiction? Drumroll please GOVERNOR KATHLEEN BLANCO.
UPDATE: Radio Blogger has a transcript of Major Garrett’s appearenced on the Hugh Hewitt show this evening.
DOWNLOAD and view video here.
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8:40 pm [ Quote ]
Garrett of course, is only partly right. He left out the most important point.
Under an law passed last December the Busheviks could have moved in regardless of anything anyone said. They have the authority to move things along quickly and circumvent red jurisdictional tape. The Feds had this great idea that this cumbersome bureaucracy might slow things down so they fixed it. Trouble is the president is on vacation a lot and doesn’t like surprises(remember his reaction when told of 9/11?). So it took him 4 days to react. He had the singular authority to put Homeland Security and Fema on it Sunday night, but he was getting ready to go to a birthday party.
Good luck with trying to scapegoat this one Karl. Its just one too many. Even a magician like Karl is having trouble carrying Bush through a second four years.
8:45 pm [ Quote ]
Even today, Blanco and Nagin are still fighting re:New Orleans evacuation TEN DAYS after President Bush gave them the early warning.
9:48 pm [ Quote ]
BLANCO: LET THEM EAT CAKE
The Queen of Obstruction, Kathleen “Antoinette” Blanco made multiple decisions to deny the Refugees of New Orleans the security, food and water they needed. Video link above. More from Major Garrett here. I think at least one of her decisions…
10:15 pm [ Quote ]
video link not working for me. Anyone else having a problem?
10:19 pm [ Quote ]
Sorry I had to change the link for hotlinking .. it’s working now.
10:56 pm [ Quote ]
QUESTION FOR THE BUSH SYCOPHANTS OUT THERE:
Regardless of whether there were failures at state and local levels, the buck stops with Bush, does it not?
Steve is correct, Bush has the authority to supercede any local or state agency in the event of a disaster such as Katrina.
Despite the fact that he had the power, he didn’t use it until way too late, and then sent in FEMA who is led by his inept political cronies:
AMAZING AND SAD LINK FROM NY DAILY NEWS on this subject:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/344004p-293718c.html
SO NOW ONTO THE QUESTION
…do you agree with the “president? that “Brownie has done a heck of a job?????
(for those of you with your heads in the ground, Brownie is Michael Brown, the Bush-appointed head of FEMA whose previous experience was managing horse shows (a job from which he was let go
!)
IF YOU DON’T AGREE WITH BUSH’S STATEMENT (and how could you possibly?) THEN HERE’S ANOTHER QUESTION:
Why do you think that hot air escaped Bush’s lips? Why did he say praise a man who had so obviously FAILED the American people?
Is it because Bush “The Bush administration has apparently transformed FEMA from a professional, world-class emergency responder into a dumping ground for former campaign staff and political hacks,” (Rep. Carolyn Maloney D-Manhattan). That’s right neo-cons, FEMA’s top three officials, all appointed by Bush, were political cronies.
LINK: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/344004p-293718c.html
Is it because Bush can’t admit accountability for such nepotism and ineptitude at his hands?
Is it because such an admission begins to peel away Bush’s thin veneer of confidence and show him for the fraud and failure that he truly is?
Anyway, don’t mean to put words in your mouth(s). Go on, we’re waiting?
11:09 pm [ Quote ]
New Orleans And Louisiana Blocking Aid To Refugees In City
Hugh Hewitt had Fox News reporter Major Garrett on his show tonight (transcript at Radioblogger) to explain his breaking story that Governor Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin have blocked aid from reaching the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the…
11:10 pm [ Quote ]
If you can stand listening to Diane Rhem, she has a guest tell the same story
http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/
The interesting part is around minute 35:25.
11:25 pm [ Quote ]
Life Under The Anti-Giuliani
John Hinderaker of Power Line writes:Major Garrett of Fox News is reporting that the Red Cross “had prepositioned water, food, blankets and hygiene products for delivery to the Superdome and the Convention Center in the immediate aftermath of the hurr…
11:32 pm [ Quote ]
Oh, Matt.
Matt, Matt, Matt.
When your mommy spanks you, do you blame Bush?
Anyway, I think he complimented “Brownie” because he (Brown) was smack dab in the middle of a long, difficult job and wanted to support him in the work he still had to do, since the people who were supposed to do it (local government) utterly dropped the ball.
I know, words of support are alien notions to leftists, who are incapable of anything but frothing at the mouth when hard work appears.
Oh, and a question for you: The hundreds of buses abandoned by the mayor: HUH?
11:48 pm [ Quote ]
[...] Here’s video of the original Fox New report by Major Garrett. [...]
12:05 am [ Quote ]
The goalposts are receding at the speed of light here…
A few days ago, the charge was “Bush and Brown didn’t do the job they were supposed to.”
There was never any factual evidence offered for this, just emotional hysteria: there was a problem, so it must, repeat, must be Bush’s fault.
Today (immediately above) the charge seems to be “Bush and Brown didn’t do the job Blanco and Nagin were supposed to do.”
(Which would have required, in effect, deposing the lawful government of a state at gunpoint, in case that sort of thing bothers you.)
Nagin was supposed to get people out of the city who couldn’t make it themselves; he had buses, but he didn’t do it—-> Bush’s fault!
Nagin told people to go to an ill-protected, ill-provisioned Superdome instead; Blanco et al. prevented the Red Cross from delivering badly needed food, water and hygiene supplies for the entire week—-> Bush’s fault!
Blanco could have sent LA National Guard reinforcements to help maintain order in New Orleans, where the police department disintegrated; she didn’t because she “assumed” Nagin was taking care of the city—-> Bush’s fault!
Blanco was supposed to bring in reinforcements from all the other states’ National Guards who were standing by just waiting to be called; she didn’t do it until September 1—-> Bush’s fault!
I won’t even castigate the LA folks for the initial decision to keep the Red Cross out, because there is some logic to it, even if in retrospect it was almost certainly the wrong one.
But we are beginning to see the outlines of the real picture here, and it looks nothing like the neatly scripted morality play (Bush bad!) the LeftMedia has been trying to cram down our throats for a week.
I look forward to the investigation.
12:17 am [ Quote ]
Sure the buck stops at the White House because that’s where it ends up after everybody else passes it. He took action before the storm hit land, but it does take some time to assess the damage and know where to send aid.
As Garrett’s report shows, not only were the local authorities not responding, but the state was keeping first responders like the Red Cross from getting in to help people, because that might encourage them to stay in the city instead of evacuating. But who was there helping people without transportation to get out, or even telling them they needed to get out?
This debacle is a failure from the bottom up, but so far, the only real help has come from outside. FEMA may have been slow getting there, but it did get there. The mayor and governor are still dithering and working at cross purposes.
If Louisiana wants to put this all on the federal government, it ought to dissolve itself and go back to territorial status.
I heard Nancy Pelosi demanding that Michael Brown resign. If I were Bush, I’d take her up on that. I’d fire Brown effective whenever his replacement is vetted and sworn in. Then I’d nominate Pelosi to run FEMA.
12:34 am [ Quote ]
You make me lauge, Otto.
Unfortunately, your resort to sarcasm and Limpbaugh-esque generalizations because the facts point to a massive FAILURE by an INEPT White House.
Bush himself said that the response to the disaster was “unacceptable”, yet people languished and died at the Superdome for days after Bush’s comments. What did he do about it? He let an incompetent sycophant bungle a rescue and recovery operation. Wow, that’s leadership!
But you’re right Otto. Bush does like to offer support to those who still have “hard work” to do. Maybe Brown will even get a medal of honor like past Bush admin FAILURES Tenet, Bremmer and Franks.
A little history lesson though I suspect that you have little appetite for facts that don’t fit your predetermined notions topped off with an utter distaste for irony:
Bush awarded the highest honor in the land, the Congressional Medal of Freedom, to three men: Tommy Franks, George Tenet, and Paul Bremmer. Franks, reportedly the only general willing to sign on without reservations about details like insufficient troop strength, led the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Unfortunately, the invasion failed to anticipate what would happen once the real conflict began, when poorly trained, ill-equipped, out of shape, highly disgruntled national guardsmen in their thirties and forties would be called upon to die on a daily basis from roadside bombs, ambushes, and mortar attacks.
Next up, George Tenet headed the CIA during the greatest intelligence failing in the history of the United States. It may or may not have been his fault, but he was in charge of intelligence, and while people from his own agency knew there were terrorists getting pilot’s licenses so they could crash planes into big buildings, the U.S. was still caught completely by surprise when they actually did it. Later, as an encore, he was in charge of the same agency when it provided “intelligence? about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in order to justify the aforementioned invasion of that country—intelligence we now know was complete, politically-driven hogwash. For his part in these two events, or perhaps in spite of it, George Tenet was awarded a Medal of Freedom.
Rounding out the trio, Paul Bremmer administrated the liberation/occupation of Iraq. In that capacity, he oversaw a shift from Iraqis celebrating and cheering in the street to widespread resentment, demonstrations, and sympathy for a brutal insurgency that has cost well over a thousand American soldiers and Marines their lives since mission success was declared (not to mention tens of thousands more who, thanks to the body armor they may have received from Mom and Pop back home, didn’t lose their lives so much as lesser things—like limbs). For his association with an administrative disaster of the highest order, Bremmer, too, gets a Medal of Freedom.
(from eclectica.org)
AND EVEN IF…as you ignorantly contend, even if the local government “dropped the ball”, when should we expect the federal gov’t to pick up that dropped ball? Day one? Day two? Day 4? Day 6? It’s hard to tell after over a week if the Bush administration has pulled their collective head out of their collective ass.
So, OTTO, get back to me when you have a real answer backed up by some big boy facts, and not some laughable Hugh Hewitt jibber jabber.
As for your pop quiz:
Try reading something other than bush-apologist-hackery and you might get a little closer to the truth than just “HUH?”
First of all, Nagin oversaw one of the largest evacuations in US history. That is not to completely excuse him from accountability—as you would like to do for Bush—but I’d say evacuating 350,000 from one of the nation’s more impoverished cities is commendable.
As for the buses…it’s certainly a shame, but not so fast, righty:
from wikinews.org:
It is unclear whether Mayor Nagin knew these particular buses existed, since the Orleans Parish School Board is not under his jurisdiction and his office would not normally know the location of OPSB bus yards or be able to contact the drivers of those buses to place them into service. Normally it is the job of FEMA to coordinate between the various local jurisdictions such as the OPSB and the City of New Orleans in this case. That is, under the rules of prior hurricane responses, FEMA would ask all local jurisdictions for a list of resources under their control. Then FEMA would have taken a request from Nagin for buses, relayed it to the Orleans Parish School Board or other local jurisdictions which had buses, and at that point the OPSB would have provided the buses to Nagin. That coordination did not happen here, but it is unclear whether Nagin ever made such a request prior to the hurricane and after the hurricane they were underwater and useless.
Anyway, you just go on believing that Bush can do no wrong and Brown is doing a “heckuva job”. The rest of us will go on dismantling the Republican house of cards that is systematically ruining live at home and abroad.
Nighty night.
12:45 am [ Quote ]
[...] Political Teen has the FOX videos [...]
12:53 am [ Quote ]
More Katrina, Update X
This will only get worse people, the Govenor and the Mayor will be going down in a ball of flames, much to the dismay of the “I hate Bushitler” crowd.
12:54 am [ Quote ]
The denouement of the political farce a grieving nation has been subjected to will begin to play out soon. In a few days, or maybe a week (since they’re so astute about this sort of thing) the moonbats in Washington and on TV are suddenly going to realize that they are hanging suspended in mid-air, Wile E. Coyote style, clinging to their ACME Self-Guided Aerial Bomb. And gravity is their worst enemy.
12:57 am [ Quote ]
Katrina: Second Draft of History
I said almost a week ago in my first draft of history: I don’t have time to explain… but trust me… when the history of this thing is written, Gov Blanco will be near criminally liable. I’ve heard tons of…
1:35 am [ Quote ]
You can try to blame other people but there is no way around this – Bush was a failure of leadership in this crisis. He didn’t step up. He failed.
It seems like FEMA doesn’t have any plans for evacuating a large number of people under difficult circumstances. Wouldn’t that be a possible scenario at a terrorist attack?
Everybody understand this is a tough situation but it’s plain an obvious that this was a massive failure by the two Governors and the Federal Govt. Bush is finished if he starts to hide behind governors.
Hey, read Joe’s blog:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8791344/#050905a
1:36 am [ Quote ]
[...] Radio Blogger has the transcript of a report by Major Garrett of Fox News, and The Political Teen has the video. [...]
2:16 am [ Quote ]
[...] MG: I have not been able to reach them yet. But, what they have said consistently is, and what they told the Red Cross, we don’t want you to come in there, because we have evacuees that we want to get out. And if you come in, they’re more likely to stay. So I want your listeners to follow me here. At the very moment that Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans was screaming where’s the food, where’s the water, it was over the overpass, and state officials were saying you can’t come in. Meanwhile, Political Teen has the video of Garrett making essentially the same report to Brit Hume. [...]
2:27 am [ Quote ]
I’m getting dizzy from all the spin I’m reading which is attempting to make Blanco and Nagin look like the only problems in this despicable tragedy.
The National Response Plan, drawn up by th Bush administration, clearly states:
“At times of any natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, and/or government functions,the federal government pre-empts local and state government in its responsibility to act quickly.”
-”THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PRE-EMPTS LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT IN ITS RESPONSIBILITY TO ACT QUICKLY.”-
Also, it’s time to stop spreading around the misconception that President Bush instigated the call for the evacuation. The call he placed to Governor Blanco came right before she and Mayor Nagin went into the press conference to announce the evacuation decree which had already been decided upon, and Bush NEVER spoke to Nagin about it.
I don’t disagree that the situation could’ve benefitted from better communication and coordination, but to attempt to completely absolve anyone above state level is wishful thinking at best.
2:29 am [ Quote ]
[...] One wonders what else Governor Blanco could have prevented in this disaster? One does not have to look too far these days. Major Garrett of Fox News tells another tale of ineptitude or poor judgment as seen courtesy of the Politcal Teen. Major Garrett explained that FEMA/Red Cross had a truckload of water and other necessities , however the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security DENIED it. Why? Because they didn’t want to attract more people to the Superdome or the convention center, they want to get them out. Garrett also brings to light that FEMA couldn’t initially bring the National Guard into Louisiana because it is not their jurisdiction. Who has to give them jurisdiction? Drumroll please GOVERNOR KATHLEEN BLANCO. [...]
3:22 am [ Quote ]
Whoa! Hang On A Second! Red Cross Blocked From Superdome?
Gateway Pundit tipped me to Right Wing News who led me to this amazing story. Hugh Hewitt interviewed FoxNews’ Major Garrett to discuss a story about the Red Cross being blocked from delivering supplies to the Superdome… ON MONDAY AFTERNOON,&nb…
3:25 am [ Quote ]
Crime against humanity
Let us consider the actions of Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco… the Babineaux makes it sound French, see. At approximately 3:30PM Eastern time. Fox News’s Major Garrett broke a blockbuster: the Red Cross had truckloads of supplies ready…
4:05 am [ Quote ]
[...] We and others reported a few days ago that the state government mandated the misery at the Superdome by keeping out the Red Cross. Now Fox is featuring the story (Political teen video), and Captain Ed and Hugh Hewitt have pieces on it. It is one thing, we suppose, not to advertise the Red Cross comforts before the storm, lest the Superdome become a magnet (that pathetic logic was the official rationale), but it is quite another thing not to let the Red Cross do precisely the work it does in every other disaster after the storm had passed. We are tempted to look for nefarious explanations, but the truth is probably more appalling than that: with Blanco and Nagin, no level of incompetence is beyond the imagination. [...]
4:15 am [ Quote ]
I’m certain that the President has the jurisdiction. The executive branch is authorized by our constitution to enforce the laws. It seems that by law the buck ultimately stops at the President, and it is abundantly clear that he was not tearing his hair out to get things moving. Which a decent man would have managed to do, no doubt.
4:43 am [ Quote ]
Uncertainty over who was in charge?
August 27, 2005
Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana
The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.
The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of …
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.
6:12 am [ Quote ]
The US is a *Federal Government. States have
rights, and one of them
is to get to decide if
Federal forces, are allowed to enter the state(simplified)
And Blanco & LA (Dem) Govt,
used that power to obstruct aid being brought in to the victims of the Hurricane.
Ask yourself. Why weren’t
there prepositioned supplies at the Superdome? Why was
the Superdome relegated
to being a “Last Resort”
instead of a secondary
shelter for people who couldn’t get out of the
city? Why, after telling people to go there, ween’t there any police detailed to the Dome? What ween’t there bigger generators there, with big tanks of gas…food water and power for a weeks time, for at least half the stadiums capacity?
I’ll tell you why: Criminal indifference by the NOLA Govt.
6:21 am [ Quote ]
Everybody is focusing on New Orleans as if it was the only place hit by Katrina. It was only ONE city, albeit an important one, on a three state wide Gulf coast. If the locals had done their job, when they needed to do it, I suspect the outcome would be a lot different.
6:22 am [ Quote ]
THE SHEEHAN-IZING OF KATRINA
MoveOn.org steps into the Bush-deranged circus, via e-mailer Andy Bryant and U.S. Newswire (check out the advice to the MSM at the end of the release about “excellent visuals;” the NYTimes has already set aside space on its Friday front…
6:43 am [ Quote ]
Some people really don’t have a soul. While the goal of America is racial harmony and unity, Democrats just want to have racial hatred, divison and discourse. Its just sad that people would use the worst tragedy in American history just for political gain. To liberals, New Orleans has become nothing more then a political football. For starters, lets take Ellijah Cumming. I heard this loud mouth ignorant blow hard on the television trying to make the response time of relief aid into a racial thing. Funny how Ellajuah cummings never comented on New Orleans when blacks were KILLING other blacks due to crime. I guess that would be to much like right I guess. Why isn’t Ellajuah Cummings down in New Orleans appealing for the looters to stop what they are doing? He won’t do that, all he can do is criicize Bush for the “slow”response. Isn’t he suppose to be a” Black Leader” or something? Him and the rest of the Congressional Black Cacus are nothing more then a bunch of loud mouth croneys for the Democrat National Committee. Here is a few news storys on the race hustler expoiting the victims in New Orleans. So thank you Mr. Cummings for putting yet another wedge in the attempt of racial unity
6:45 am [ Quote ]
THERE IS NO REPULICAN VS. DEMOCRAT ANYMORE. THE DEMOCRAT NATIONAL PARTY SEALED ITS FATE BY IGNORING CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRATS AND THINKING THAT ALL THE VOTERS LIVED IN MASS, NY, OR CA…... NOW WE HAVE CONSERVATIVE VS. LIBERAL…RIGHT VS. WRONG….....NORMAL VS. ABNORMAL…….AMERICAN VS. COUNTERCULTURE MISFIT.
7:16 am [ Quote ]
Isn’t it sweet that the good, caring, kind people of MoveOn.org are giving of themselves to help the suffering people who have been victimized by Katrina? They they were, out in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, rolling up their sleeves, feeding the babies, caring for the ill, comforting the elderly, offering a shoulder to cry on…
Huh? What’s that? They aren’t doing that? What are they doing? They’re flying victims to Washington? What ever for? To demonstrate outside the White House for TV cameras? A photo op with Henry Waxman? While people have lost everything but the clothes on their backs, they’re staging political theater like they did with marionette-of-the-month Cindy Whatzername?
Well. That’s different.
What a pack of scumbags.
7:20 am [ Quote ]
Well, I blame Blanco for being a moron, and I blame Bush for being an even bigger moron.
Blanco is the GOV. of her state, the highest authority, and she should have done whatever it took to get aid to her, to DENY it, was absolutely stupid. But then there’s the President who gets bigger moron status.
Hurricane tracks north towards Louisiana, he goes to Arizona for a Health Care fund raiser. Hurricane hits Louisiana, he goes to California. Hurricane passes through Louisiana, levees busted, problems everywhere, he waits three days before doing something. Now, Where is this guy’s focus? He’s shown me nothing but incompetence from day one much like Gov. Blanco.
But you know what, Louisiana voted for BOTH THESE MORONS… They have themselves to blame for it. NO one would wish this on any citizen in the United States. *(at least those who aren’t entire sicko’s) But with people in the government as stupid as these two in high offices, what do we expect?
7:26 am [ Quote ]
This may have been covered, but I didn’t see it. Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana prior to the hurricane hitting to expedite federal aid. He called to suggest the evacuation be mandatory. They, luckily, had already made that decision. He also offered to federalize all relief efforts, including direction of the National Guard and FEMA’s groups who act as first responders, i.e. The Red Cross. For someone who was too busy taking a vacation to help the relief efforts, he sure did a lot before the storm even hit. I mean, the only thing that he could have done that would have bettered the situation was if he had suggested to Mayor Nagin to use the available buses to get the people out of the city and if he would have taken over control of the relief efforts and relieved Blanco from her duty. Of course, we would have heard from the left that Bush is overstepping his bounds and trying to turn the US into a dictatorship. But I would have gladly accepted that criticism seeing how we would have saved thousands of additional lives.
7:31 am [ Quote ]
[...] Video worth watching about Red Cross being kept away from the New Orleans places of need. Led to it by Michelle Malkin with a download from The Political Teen. [...]
7:41 am [ Quote ]
Dawn Patrol
Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics – from the MilBlogs, other blogs, and the mainstream media. If you’re a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link…
7:56 am [ Quote ]
Detailed analysis and timeline of LA state government, Blanco, and her reasons for wanting to see Nagin fail:
http://www.americandaughter.com/frontpage.html#corrupt
8:23 am [ Quote ]
Hey, Jim Jones (and NO, I don’t want any Kool-Aid): Read the second paragraph of the WH press release:
The release is a reference to the Stafford Act of 2000, which specifies in SUBCHAPTER IV-A—EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS the following:
Blamin’ Nagin and Babbling Blubbering Blanco didn’t even follow their own emergency procedures. Nagin now says Blanco wanted 24 hrs to mull over aspects of Federal assistance! And the law always has to be in alignment with the Constitution. You remember the Consitution, dontcha? It’s that thing that Bush has been accused of shredding with the Patriot Act. Now all of a sudden, liberals say he should have torn it apart with his bare hands if he had to. Make up your stupid minds!
No MSMer dares to demand of Nagin why he didn’t use his power to use public buses or those infamous sunken school buses to evacuate those poor people who could have been saved and instead float face down in toxic gumbo. Confronting Nagin would be wrong, it seems, because it would shift blame from anyone but the President, which is always priority one, and (b) it would be suggesting that a black leader didn’t know what he was doing, which is only allowed if a black is a conservative. Similarly, calling Blanco on the carpet might make her cry again, and we can’t have that. It might make it look like all female leaders might do that when faced with a tragic situation that calls for cool, steady leadership. They can’t allow that idea with Hillary so close to announcing her Presidential aspirations.
Granted, Michael Brown is without a doubt overmatched, and shouldn’t be head of FEMA. I do NOT want that guy in charge in the case of nuclear terrorism. But you teeth-grinding Bush haters just can’t handle the fact that in the worst natural disaster in American history, two poster children for D-people were exposed for what they are.
8:31 am [ Quote ]
The moral giants at MoveOn.org are rolling out a new TV ad, calling for John Roberts’ nomination to be defeated because of … wait for it … Hurricane Katrina:
It gets better (or worse, I should say). Their complaint? That Roberts was consistently opposed discrimination on the basis of race!
8:45 am [ Quote ]
1) Bush unprecedently declared states of emergencies for areas likely to be hit 2 days before the hurricane struck.
2) It would be incredibly stupid to send would-be rescuers into the middle of a catagory 5 storm until it had passed.
3) The federal government is still subject to the Posse Commitatus Act which requires the governor of a state to request assistance of the federal government, BEFORE they can send active duty troops to the state.
4) Assuming they knew exactly where the troops were going to be needed, and they didn’t, it would still take some time to deploy them.
5) FEMA is not some all-knowing all-powerfull entity that can raise it’s magic wand and make things all better instantly. It is composed of fallable humans who require time to assess the damage, determine what resources are needed, and find ways to get them to where they are needed.
11:07 am [ Quote ]
Article found at mofak,com:
I think all of Mayor Nagin’s pomp and posturing is going to bite him in the ass soon 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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mofak
Back to Back We Face the Past
www.mofak.com
11:21 am [ Quote ]
More fun facts from the FEMA website:
A NATION PREPARED
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Strategic Plan
Fiscal Years 2003-2008
Pg 2
Partnership
In accordance with FEMA’s primary authorizing legislation, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, FEMA is first and foremost a coordinating agency. The Agency therefore relies on strong partnerships to successfully carry out its mission. FEMA works with a variety of partners, including Federal agencies, States, Territories, Tribal Nations, local governments, first responders, voluntary organizations, business, industry, and individuals. While the Agency’s mission is squarely focused on protecting and preparing the Nation as a whole, primary responsibility for disaster response rests with State and local authorities. This means FEMA does not respond to all disasters that occur in the United States. Instead, when State and local capacity to respond is threatened or overwhelmed, a Governor may ask the President for Federal assistance.
Pg 11
Disasters cause suffering and disrupt people’s lives and the normal functioning of their communities. States, Territories, Tribal Nations, and local governments bear the primary responsibility for responding to and recovering from disasters. FEMA—at the direction of the President—takes action when State, Territorial, Tribal and local resources are overwhelmed and the Governor requests assistance.
Pg 29
External Factors
Key external factors that could have a significant effect on achievement of this strategic goal are described below:
b. Public perceptions of disaster-related performance may not always coincide with FEMA’s roles. Specifically, FEMA IS NOT A FIRST-RESPONDER, nor are disaster programs intended to cover all losses that may be associated with an event.
Pg 51
Disaster or Emergency Declaration: A declaration by the President which authorizes supplemental Federal assistance under the Stafford Act. The declaration is in response to a Governor’s request and may cover a range of response, recovery and mitigation assistance for State and local governments, eligible private-non-profit organizations, and individuals.
http://www.fema.gov/doc/library/text_reader_fema_strat_plan_fy03-08.doc
Appendix D: Summary of Major Authorities
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, As amended, 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq. This statue authorizes the President to provide assistance to State (as in Louisiana) and local governments (i.e. New Orleans Mayor), as well as some non-profit entities and individual disaster victims, in the aftermath of Presidentially-declared emergencies and major disasters. Most of the Stafford Act authorities have been delegated to the Director of FEMA pursuant to Executive Order 12148, as amended. Title II of the Stafford Act provides authority for a variety of Federal disaster preparedness activities. Title III is comprised of the Act’s administrative provisions, while Titles IV and V of the Act authorize programs for responding to major disasters and emergencies, respectively. Title VI contains authorities formerly in the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 for emergency preparedness and cross references the Defense Production Act to include “emergency preparedness? in the definition of “national defense?
http://www.fema.gov/library/stafact.shtm
After reading this go to the link and read
This guy has feces in one hosiery device
http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000129.html
2:16 pm [ Quote ]
From the site of the American Red Cross:
http://www.redcross.org/faq/0,1096,0_682_4524,00.html
Disaster FAQs
Hurricane Katrina: Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans?
————————————————————
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.
The Red Cross has been meeting the needs of thousands of New Orleans residents in some 90 shelters throughout the state of Louisiana and elsewhere since before landfall. All told, the Red Cross is today operating 149 shelters for almost 93,000 residents.
The Red Cross shares the nation’s anguish over the worsening situation inside the city. We will continue to work under the direction of the military, state and local authorities and to focus all our efforts on our lifesaving mission of feeding and sheltering.
The Red Cross does not conduct search and rescue operations. We are an organization of civilian volunteers and cannot get relief aid into any location until the local authorities say it is safe and provide us with security and access.
The original plan was to evacuate all the residents of New Orleans to safe places outside the city. With the hurricane bearing down, the city government decided to open a shelter of last resort in the Superdome downtown. We applaud this decision and believe it saved a significant number of lives.
As the remaining people are evacuated from New Orleans, the most appropriate role for the Red Cross is to provide a safe place for people to stay and to see that their emergency needs are met. We are fully staffed and equipped to handle these individuals once they are evacuated.
———————————
For what it’s worth…
2:23 pm [ Quote ]
WORST 4-SOME in golf = Monica Lewinsky, OJ Simpson, Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton….. Monica is a hooker, OJ is a slicer, Ted can’t drive over water and Bill forgets which hole he is playing.
2:25 pm [ Quote ]
Required Viewing
I saw this on Fox last night, but it deserves WIDE play, so I’m going to link it—-just like everyone else in the blogosphere is doing. If this turns out to be true—-and I don’t see why it wouldn’t be…
3:07 pm [ Quote ]
Blanco blocks aid to New Orleans
The Political Teen has the video from Fox News reporting that the Red Cross and FEMA have truckloads of supplies, but have been DENIED ENTRY by the Louisiana DHS. Radio Blogger has the transcript….
3:43 pm [ Quote ]
STOP THE PRESSES: Red Cross Was Ready to Roll with Aid Immediately After the Flood, Told to Stay Out of New Orleans by Louisiana State Officials!
So it was all George W. Bush’s and FEMA’s fault.
Uh-huh. Right…
6:45 pm [ Quote ]
[...] Last night FOX News Correspondent Major Garrett reported that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco denied the help of the Red Cross. Tonight, Garrett digs deeper in what looks to be a cover-up and finds out who else Blanco denied and for what reasons. All I can say is I hope there is a Part 3 to this ongoing investigation. [...]
7:07 pm [ Quote ]
Fox news tells it like it is.
The mayor waited too long to evacuate, had poor communication with other officials and didn’t follow the emergency plan. It was a shame to see photos of all the empty busses that should have been used to get people to safety. Even before all of this, the state government didn’t use all the federal funds that were allocated for the levee upkeep. After Katrina hit, governor Blanco only used about 1/3 of the national guardsmen under her control; on top of that, she wouldn’t relinquish her control to the Federal/Bush government. It seems after the initial floundering the feds have picked up the ball, and it now finally seems to going in the right direction.
8:54 pm [ Quote ]
David Corn, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Jesse Jackson, and many others rushed to make politcal hay over a national tragedy before even a week had passed.
Now that the facts of the matter are coming out, once again America is learning who they can trust.
The people who waded in immediately pointing fingers and trying desperately to score political points?
Nope. Turns out they were wrong as usual.
This is the 4th time I can remember in the last year that something happened, and the leftists ran shrieking into the fray screaming their invective and getting wide play in the MSM….only to quitely fade away and move.on to other things once the facts quietly came to light.
Al-Quaa.
The early exit polls on Election day 2004.
The TANG AWOL B.S. that culminated in the infamous fake Bush memos.
And now this.
Only this time, the facts are coming out while the leftist horde is still full barking moonbat mode.
Gotta love it.
manofaiki
8:56 pm [ Quote ]
Remember, They Work For Us.
What do you get when you give tax breaks to the weathly, add in a little tort reform, sprinkle in some over-reaching changes to the bankruptcy law, toss in a healthy serving of eminent domain while creating a bloated and…
11:27 pm [ Quote ]
I think the people of La and NO deserve the resignation of the Gov and that loud mouth mayor, and possibly the director of homeland security for the city of NO. They had no plan even after all the money that was thrown that way.
2:32 pm [ Quote ]
What Lies Beneath/2
There is somebody even more guilty than New Orleans’ Mayor, in this tragedy. We are talking about the democratic Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. Up to the last moment, and against any common sense, Ms Blanco kept on denying her auth…
9:24 pm [ Quote ]
Red Cross: “It Was Not Safe To Be In The City? (Video).
In a Larry King interview on Sept 2nd, Red Cross CEO Marsha Evans explained that the Red Cross were not in New Orleans because it was unsafe.
“It was unsafe to be in the city.?
“…it was not safe to be in the city, and it’s not been safe to go back into the city.?
According to other reports, Red Cross workers could have been shot or infected by disease if they entered New Orleans in the first days after the storm.
In addition, Evans mentioned concerns that relocating in the city would delay evacuation.
“They were also concerned that if we located, relocated back into the city, people wouldn’t leave, and they’ve got to leave.?
However, many reporters and news sources have failed to acknowledge the safety/security aspects of Marsha Evan’s explanation (an exception being Bill O’Reilly at Fox News).
It is not yet clear whether or not the Red Cross would have entered the city early on, given these serious safety risks, even if they had not been asked to stay out by the National Guard, the city and State emergency management.
A relevant video clip from the Larry King interview can be found on this liberal (website):
http://mediamatters.org/items/200509090002
MP
6:42 pm [ Quote ]
Governess Blank-O.
Major Garrett (the reporter with the funny first name) has a mind-blowing report about the Louisiana state government keeping needed relief from the evacuees in the Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center. The Political Teen has video from Fo…
2:01 pm [ Quote ]
TO: HURRICANE WARNINGS FOR LS MS
RE: FLAG YOUR HOME -SAVE LIVES+TIME
FM: KIM DAVID (504)828-RATE
OWNER/ PRIVATE HEALTH INS.
MARK YOUR HOME TO SAVE LIVES
PLACE WHITE FLAG (PAINT) ON ROOF &
WHITE FLAG (PAINT) ON FRONT OF HOME
WHITE MEANS SURRENDERED-NO ONE INSIDE
PEOPLE WHO REMAIN IN THEIR HOMES
DURING A HURRICANE…
MARK ROOF WITH RED (REFLECTOR)
MARK FRONT OF HOME WITH RED
HELICOPTER CAN SPOT RED ROOF MARK
BOATS CAN SPOT RED MARL FROM STREETS.
THIS WILL HELP SEARCH & RESCUE SAVE PRECIOUS TIME. A VACANT HOME WILL NOT NEED TO BE SEARCHED. LIVES CAN BE SAVED BY SAVING TIME.
3:19 pm [ Quote ]
[...] Another nail in the coffin for Gov Blanco. This from Hugh Hewitt: 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. Watch the video here (h/t The Political Teen), or read the transcript: HH: Joined now by Major Garrett, correspondent for the Fox News Channel, as well as author of The Enduring Revolution, a best seller earlier this year. We talked about that. Major Garrett, welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show. [...]
6:04 pm [ Quote ]
art…
art
You seek to shield those you love and you like the role of the provider.
...
7:24 am [ Quote ]
poker online gaming…
poker online gaming
poker online gaming – poker online gaming
Chicken Little was right.
It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three benefits:
freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never to use either.—Mark Twai…