is bush at fault? Options

[*disco infiltrator*]

Hmm, some articles.

QUESTION:  Madame Secretary, there was a report yesterday that Russia has been refused -- I mean that its offer has been turned down.  Is there anything to that?

SECRETARY RICE:  We have turned down no offers.  I think that, obviously, when something like this happens -- we had a task force set up, we had to make certain that everybody knew the vehicle to use to channel contributions.

Jonathan.

QUESTION:  Madame Secretary, no offer has been turned down, but according to FEMA, from them at least, no offer has been accepted yet.  I mean, what good is it to have, you know, nearly 60 countries step forward and offer assistance and apparently, at least as far as FEMA is concerned, they haven't been able to accept any of those offers?

SECRETARY RICE:  Well, as we are speaking or perhaps just a little bit before we were speaking, there is a group that is working.  Harry Thomas, who is the Executive Secretary here at the State Department and is the person who is in charge of coordinating this international effort, he is working with FEMA to go through the list, to see what might be used in the short term.

Obviously, in some cases, in places like New Orleans, it's a matter of access; but, to see which of the offers can be taken up immediately, which others might need to be taken up somewhat later, but we are matching those offers now to the needs on the ground.

Andrea.

QUESTION:  Madame Secretary.  This morning, some of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus had some pretty tough words for the federal government.  They said that they were outraged, they were ashamed.  The implication being that because many of the people who were without food and water over the last five days are poor and black, that food wasn't getting to them quickly enough.  Do you think that perhaps there is a kernel of truth to this?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, first of all, I have spoken to some members of the Congressional Black Caucus.  I have also spoken to Bruce Gordon of the NAACP and to Mr. Morial of the Urban League.  We are all going to need to be in this together.  I think everybody's very emotional.  It's hard to watch pictures of any American going through this.  And yes, the African American community has obviously been very heavily affected.  But people are doing what they can for Americans.  Nobody wants to see any American suffer.

I was with the President this morning at 7 a.m. for a meeting that he held with Defense and Homeland Security and others to make sure that the effort is as robust as humanly possible.  Nobody wants to see any American suffer, and I think everybody understands that; but it's a deeply emotional time.  This part of the country has been very hard hit.  This is something we haven't seen in the United States and, as a result, I think there is a lot of emotion.  But I can tell you that everybody is doing everything possible, and everybody wants to see these people taken care of.

QUESTION:  Madame Secretary, you have a Passport Office in New Orleans.

SECRETARY RICE:  Yes.

QUESTION:  Have officials gotten to it yet?

SECRETARY RICE:  Yes.

QUESTION:  And have you been in touch with all the people who work there?

SECRETARY RICE:  Yes.  We do have a Passport Office, about 165 employees work there.  It is one of our busiest and most efficient Passport Offices, there in New Orleans.  I spoke with both the Director and Deputy Director of the office.  They are both safe with families in other parts of the South.  We are reaching out through all means that we have for our employees.  We've heard back from a number of people.  We have not heard back from everybody.  We suspect that some of that is just that the communications is very difficult in New Orleans at this point.  We are also, obviously, working to secure the office and to get to it as quickly as possible.  But, yes, I've been in touch with both the Director and the Deputy Director, and Maura Harty from Consular Affairs has been very actively engaged in working on this problem.

QUESTION:  But have they gotten to the Office?  Do you know the extent of the damage?

SECRETARY RICE:  We know the area in which it's located, and so we have heard from the manager, as I understand it.  It is intact, as we understand it; but obviously, with movement restricted in the New Orleans area, we've not wanted to press the system, so to speak.  But we are working very actively with U.S. law enforcement officials to try to get to the office as quickly as possible.

QUESTION:  Madame Secretary, just to follow on Andrea's question.  Did you speak to the Congressional Black Caucus and the Urban League before the press conference today or --

SECRETARY RICE:  I actually talked with Mr. Gordon -- Mr. Gordon reached out to me yesterday.  I talked to him very early this morning.  I was -- I talked to him, I actually talked to Mr. Morial, I think, just about the time of the press conference.  But these were calls that I had planned to make.  When I talked to the President yesterday around lunch time, I told him that I wanted to do what I could, obviously, in my capacity as Secretary of State but also to do what I could outside of my capacity as Secretary of State and help in any way that I can.  That's why I'm going to go to Alabama.

QUESTION:  And are you -- you've spoken very eloquently around the world about growing up as an African American in the South.  Are you concerned now that at least the impression is going to exist in this country and abroad that some of the relief has been affected by the race and class of the people most affected?

SECRETARY RICE:  I really do believe that people know that Americans don't want Americans to suffer, and this is a very sad situation.  I was listening to the First Lady today when she was in Lafayette and she was talking about the fact that, you know, the poor are often some of the hardest hit.  And I know New Orleans a little bit.  It's a very low-lying area and it's -- people weren't able to get out.

But that Americans would somehow in a color-affected way decide who to help and who not to help, I just don't believe it.  Americans are generous to each other; and I think you're seeing that people are opening their homes to people who are displaced and have had to be evacuated.  You're going to see more of that.  And I just hope that what the world is seeing is that even though we've been hit with something that is unlike anything that we've been hit with before, the generosity of this country and the caring of Americans for Americans is, I think, what is coming through.

QUESTION:  Madame Secretary, a general foreign policy question.  Do you think an event of this magnitude could affect public opinion in terms of support for a strong foreign policy?  I mean, the natural reaction here is, "Why are we doing XYZ in Iraq and overseas when we have these problems -- energy prices?"  Do you worry about that at all?

SECRETARY RICE:  Well, obviously, whenever there is something on the home front, people focus on the home front.  But I think Americans are plenty sophisticated in their understanding of the world to know that the United States can't live in isolation.  We learned that in a horrible way on September 11th, that our security is inextricably linked to, for instance, events and ideologies in the Middle East.  Americans, I think, have always known that when freedom is on the march we're safer, and when freedom's in retreat we're weaker and more vulnerable.  And so I'm not concerned that that will be the case.

I also would hope that Americans would look at the response of the international community, which has been warm.  I have had numerous phone calls over the last couple of days as this has unfolded from foreign ministers around the world just saying, "If there's anything we can do."  I thought that Kofi Annan was particularly eloquent in talking about the fact that America has always been there for affected places and that now the world needs to be there for America.  And I hope that too will remind Americans that we're all part of the same community.

Maybe a couple more.  Yes.

QUESTION:  Does it really make sense to accept money from these poorer nations?  We probably already give aid to them and, in effect, we'd just be turning around and giving the money back.

SECRETARY RICE:  I think there is something that is very valuable in people being able to give to each other and to be able to do so without a sense of means, so to speak.  And I was myself deeply touched by what Sri Lanka has wanted to do.  I think people are just reaching out to the United States.  And we're very grateful that people are reaching out to the United States.

Last question?  Yeah.  Oh, okay.  Yes, and then Jonathan you've got a question.

QUESTION:  Can you confirm that you had a phone conversation with the French Foreign Minister about help that France would like to give to Louisiana?  And could you give me the answer, please?

SECRETARY RICE:  I did talk to the French Foreign Minister, to Mr. Douste-Blazy, this afternoon.  And he talked about some pre-positioned equipment that they had not far from the United States.  And I said to him what I've been saying to everyone, which is that we are working very closely with the Department of Homeland Security to match up what is available with what is needed, and that I would get back to him.  But I did, indeed, speak with him today.

Jonathan.

QUESTION:  You said you are going down to the region on Sunday.  I'm wondering, it's a very unusual thing for a sitting Secretary of State to do.  This is not a traditional duty of a Secretary of State to go on a disaster relief mission like this.  Why are you doing it and what do you hope to accomplish down there?

SECRETARY RICE:  John, I'm an American and I'm a southern American.  I'm an Alabamian by birth.  And I just hope that I can be a little bit of an extension for a President who cares deeply about what is going on in the Gulf region but can't be everywhere.  And you know, those conditions in New Orleans are so horrific and are requiring so much attention; Mississippi obviously; Alabama has been hard hit and at any other time, might have been the center, really, of this.  So I thought that it would be a good thing to go there.  The Governor was pleased to have the offer.  And so yes, it's a little bit unusual.  But as I said, when I talked to the President, I said that, obviously, I would perform my duties as Secretary of State in trying to coordinate the international relief effort, helping Homeland Security in any way that I could, but that I also wanted to do whatever I could that was outside those responsibilities.  So that's what I'll do.

Okay.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  (Inaudible) ask for permission to come and pick up their citizens?  I heard that was the issue with the Russians, that they wanted to send a helicopter to get their citizens.

SECRETARY RICE:  Whenever there are foreign citizens, then this becomes a question.  We are trying to make sure that any efforts are coordinated because, obviously, transport into certain parts of the South right now is the real problem.  And so we're handling it, but I would be surprised if we're not getting those requests and -- I'm sure we are.  But right now, we're in very close contact with all foreign governments that have citizens here, or believe that they have citizens here.  And by the way, that's not just diplomats and others, but foreign exchange students, we have some diplomats-in-residence -- or some academics-in-residence that we've accounted for.  So, we're trying very hard.

QUESTION:  Madame Secretary, do you have any comment on the IAEA report?

SECRETARY RICE:  I'm sorry, I'll get back to you on it.

MR. MCCORMACK:  Thank you very much.  Thanks.

Notice how some questions are not really being answered throughout the interview..




Oh, and..

* AUSTRALIA: $8 million to American Red Cross.

* AUSTRIA: Water pumps, plastic sheets, cots.

* BANGLADESH: $1 million.

* BELGIUM: Medical, logistics, civil engineering and diving teams, pumps, generators.

* BRITAIN: 500,000 ration packs, medical experts, search gear, marine engineers, high-volume pumps.

* CANADA: Three navy ships, coast guard vessel, Sea King helicopters, about 1,000 personnel.

* CHINA: $5 million.

* CUBA: 1,100 doctors.

* CZECH REPUBLIC: Rescue teams, field hospital, pumps, water processing equipment.

* DENMARK: Water purification units.

* DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Rescue workers, doctors and nurses.

* EL SALVADOR: 100 soldiers, including medical personnel and engineers.

* FRANCE: 300 tents, 980 cots, 60 generators, three water purification units, 30 pumps.

* GERMANY: 70,000 ration packs, medical supplies, vaccination teams, water purification equipment, medical evacuation aircraft.

* GREECE: Two cruise ships to house homeless.

* GUATEMALA: 80 specialists from army, health and interior departments.

* HONDURAS: 134-member medical and search team.

* INDIA: $5 million to American Red Cross, medical teams.

* INDONESIA: 45 doctors and 155 other staff, 10,000 blankets.

* ISRAEL: Doctors, trauma experts, other medical staff, field hospital.

* ITALY: 300 cots, 300 blankets, 600 sheets, pump, first-aid kits, baby food.

* JAPAN: $1 million, tents, blankets, power generators, portable water tanks.

* KOSOVO: $500,000.

* KUWAIT: $500 million worth of oil and other goods.

* LATVIA: Disaster team, financial aid, blankets, bottled water.

* LITHUANIA: Rescue teams, meals, building materials.

* LUXEMBOURG: Two jeeps, 1,000 cots, 2,000 blankets.

* MEXICO: Navy ship with food, amphibious vehicles, helicopters, medical team; 15 army vehicles carrying food, health workers, water-treatment equipment, mobile kitchens.

* THE NETHERLANDS: Three giant water pumps, frigate with water, medicine, helicopters and beds.

* NEW ZEALAND: $1.4 million, search team, victim identification team.

* NICARAGUA: Flooding and sanitation experts.

* NORWAY: Navy divers, 10,000 blankets, unspecified financial aid.

* PAKISTAN: Doctors and paramedics.

* PANAMA: 120,000 pounds of bananas.

* PERU: 80 to 100 doctors.

* THE PHILIPPINES: 25-man relief team.

* PORTUGAL: Loan of 2 percent of strategic oil reserve -- 500,000 barrels of oil.

* QATAR: $100 million.

* ROMANIA: Two medical teams.

* RUSSIA: Three transport planes with generators, food, tents, blankets, drinking water, medical supplies.

* SINGAPORE: Three CH-47 transport helicopters and 38 soldiers based in Texas flying supply and airlift missions.

* SLOVAKIA: Water purification gear, cots, water.

* SLOVENIA: Cots, bedding, first aid kits.

* SOUTH KOREA: $30 million, search team, relief supplies.

* SPAIN: Firefighters and equipment, medical staff, tents, cots, blankets, water treatment units, heating equipment, meals, water, generators.

* SRI LANKA: $25,000 to American Red Cross.

* SWEDEN: First aid kits, blankets, meals, generators, plastic sheeting, two water purification units.

* SWITZERLAND: 50 tons of supplies.

* TAIWAN: $2 million.

* THAILAND: At least 60 doctors and nurses, rice.

* URUGUAY: Two mobile water purification units, two tons of powdered milk.

* VENEZUELA: 1 million barrels of gasoline, $5 million in cash, water purification plants, 50 tons of canned food and water.

* UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Tents, clothing, food, other aid.

WHY ARE WE NOT TAKING THESE OFFERS?!

Even Pakistan and Sri Lanka are offering us things! Why are we not taking anything? Sweden has had a plane waiting for a week to get the OK to come here to help, but nothing has been done! What, we just have too big of an ego to get some help? We need it!




Er, I forgot my article at school...but I might be going to the football game and might be able to get it then.

[Ington]

Okay, Sammi, please don't hurt me if I'm wrong.

I honestly have no idea about this, but I'm taking a complete guess as to why we might not be accepting some offers.

Maybe if would call for the US to pay debts to the countries later on.

[pandamonium]

i guess nobody reads my posts.

i guess its because i dont have 2,000 posts
well whatever if nobody reads this i guess it shouldnt matter.

there are many countries that are trying to help. I even heard Cuba tried to send hundreds of doctors for medical aid to the US. but Bush hasnt responded back to him (which isnt that suprizing)

this was on page 6

i already mentioned that other countries were willing to help. esp cuba and sri lanka i guess some people just dont care.

and for you ermfermoo ^ i dont think we need to pay any countries back. America has foughten wars and paid for them. We already do enough for other countries i dont think we owe them anything back if they did try to help.

[*disco infiltrator*]

Yea..really, this would more or less be them paying us back. A donation is not something that needs to be payed back anyway. There's no excuse for not taking help. These offers aren't loans..they're donations.

[technicolour]

They need to organize the help. They can't just send in random people in there only to have them swimming in circles. It just wouldn't make any sense.

[*disco infiltrator*]

One woman got three semi-truckloads of food down there all by herself. And there were no problems.

Why can't the government do this?

Supposedly they made a plan for this exact situation after 9/11. Why is there no plan? Why is there no operation?

They send people down there, but they have no idea what to do. Why?

[technicolour]

Cause the goverment are a lot of gay ass people who always have to do everything in a plan. Even if that plan is taking forever.

Everyone is getting at eachother's throats. Liberals vs. Conserv's. It's crazy.

Celebrities are also getting down there perfectly fine. John Travolta, The Connick guy.


I think it's because goverment has protocal....or rules? whatever the hell it's called.

[sadolakced acid]

what, there are rules that say you can't send aid to a federal disaster area untill 3 days have passed from declaring it a disaster area?

oh yea, and an unarmed mexican military kitchen convoy was allowed across the border to help.

[ComradeRed]

National Guard units may be called to supplement regular armed forces by presidential order, if required, which can include going abroad. I doubt the Constitution has anything to say on the matter, since the National Guard wasn't formed until 1903, and to my knowledge, no amendments have been made to the Constitution regarding the National Guard.

The point, of course, still stands that the intent of the National Guard is to help out at home, and since the National Guard is not subject to the Posse Comitatus Act, they are able to act as law enforcement at home, as well as help out with disaster relief--both of which were vital missions in New Orleans. It certainly would have helped to have had more units at home, although I believe there were some Louisiana and Mississippi units at home (but, of course, not all).

The National Guard was simply a new name for state militias of old. The Posse Comitatus Act just drew a brighter line between regular forces and militia (the United States Code also defines organized militia as including military units controlled by states and the National Guard). And the Constitution was very clear that militias (military forces commanded by states) may only be called upon by the President to suppress insurrections and repel invasions.

[*mipadi*]

The National Guard was simply a new name for state militias of old. The Posse Comitatus Act just drew a brighter line between regular forces and militia (the United States Code also defines organized militia as including military units controlled by states and the National Guard). And the Constitution was very clear that militias (military forces commanded by states) may only be called upon by the President to suppress insurrections and repel invasions.

You should read up more on the National Guard. The National Guard organized state militias into what is essentially a single force, which can, among other things, be called to supplement the regular armed forces.

[ComradeRed]

Which is unconstitutional by a reading of the militia clauses. Plus, the militia acts of the late 1700s prove that the intent of the Founding Fathers was to have an organized militia that would defend the domestic territory of the United States, separate from the army in order to ensure that the regular military would not get out of hand.

Even if the National Guard consolidated state militias, the fact remains that they are still state militias--not members of the regular military, and as such, laws that apply to militia, and not to regulars, should apply to them.

[*mipadi*]

For the most part, the National Guard units are under the control of the governor of the state to which they belong--with the proviso that the president can, under extraordinary circumstances, call them up to supplement regular armed forces. Naturally it is debateable whether that is an appropriate use of the National Guard or not, and whether they should be used in that fashion, but it is how they are currently used.

[*kryogenix*]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/10/kat...reut/index.html

Halliburton is going to clean up the Gulf.

If it was up to me, I would stay as far away from Halliburton as possible, in order to avoid conspiracy theories. But, dang.

[sadolakced acid]

^

that is kinda asking for it.

i mean, don't they know that it's going to be fodder for liberals?

i think i need to draw a political cartoon. it's bush and cheney watching the hurricane on TV, and cheney says "let's let it stew some, so they'll pay more to my company to clean it up"

probably get sued for libel, but oh well...

or...

a cartoon with bush giving them "aid", along with a massive bill.

[technicolour]

Newsflash:

taken from imdb.com




If someone doens't shut this fag up, then by god I WILL!

[sadolakced acid]

or, kristina, make a movie about bush's briliant handlign of katrina.

the man will probably exagerate, and you can't take half the things he says as true, what what it will do is inspire people to research it for themselves, which is always good.

[ComradeRed]

Also, the manager of FEMA should be fired. He actually blocked Red Cross and private aid into New Orleans so that the government agencies could have gotten all the good press and funding. FEMA has proven to be terribly inefficient, and has focused more on hogging good press than doing what the Red Cross and Salvation Army and state militias do, in terms of actually using money to aid people.

From a Von Mises Institute article:

What if there was no such thing as FEMA?

I asked myself that question after reading about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's bungled efforts to serve the poor and suffering in the area formerly known as New Orleans. Following Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, FEMA was criticized for inaction, epitomized by Director Michael Brown's August 29th memo suggesting workers be allowed two days to get to the ravaged region. (Incredibly, Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke defended the two-day delay as necessary to provide workers with adequate training.)

On the same day, notes the New York Post,Brown urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments. Above all, the goal of any relief effort (as Brown wrote in another memo) is to "[c]onvey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public."

Conveying such an image will be a tall order. Other news reports noted how FEMA prevented the Coast Guard from delivering fuel and the Red Cross from delivering food, barred morticians from entering New Orleans, blocked a 500 boat flotilla from delivering aid, and ignored a Navy ship equipped with a 600-bed hospital — all while thousands died. Let's face it: If Michael Brown wasn't a political appointee and operated instead in the private sector, Congress would be going after him with criminal charges like he was Ken Lay.

But such a comparison is not fair to the former Enron chief. After all, Lay had enough of a clue to resign and find legal representation. Brown has not resigned, but he was taken off New Orleans duty under pressure for oddities in his resume. What's more,the agency itself will likely face no repercussions; in fact its budget will likely be increased. (I have called this tendency for failure to lead to expansion Westley's Law.) Most everyone knows this. Even in New Orleans, when a major storm threatened to test the publicly-managed levees, over 80 percent of the population decided to get out when it had the chance.

[*mipadi*]

Brown has not resigned, but he was taken off New Orleans duty under pressure for oddities in his resume.

He did resign, in fact, earlier today.

[ComradeRed]

-Post deleted-

[ComradeRed]

As he should have. But that still doesn't address the fundamental problem of FEMA: They don't have an incentive to actually help people.

The Red Cross and Salvation Army, etc. are run by people who devote their lives to charity and value it for its own sake, and the state militias are rescuing their own friends and neighbors. FEMA just cares about its budget and public relations.

It removed property owners at gunpoint from New Orleans. The way I see it, if you want to go down with your house, that's your right--the relief workers should go aid people who actually want to get out.

In earlier disasters like Hurricane Frances, it used money to shore up its political base--giving millions to people in Miami-Dade County, even though the hurricane hit a good distance to the North and Miami-Dade wasn't affected at all. ( http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/south...06/15/56194.htm )

Even Wal-Mart was able to respond more effectively than FEMA, offering jobs and aid to displaced workers in Mississippi and Alabama--of course, they weren't allowed in New Orleans.

[latinprep12]

Here are some interesting facts surrounding tthis unwarranted and unfair lynching of Bush.
The hysterics by the Democrats are appalling and they just don't seem to get it yet. Despite their hysterics the people do not blame Bush because he didn't do anything wrong. They are overplaying their hand, yet again.

But overall, the Bush administration's funding requests for the key New Orleans flood-control projects for the past five years were slightly higher than the Clinton administration's for its past five years. Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, the chief of the Corps, has said that in any event, more money would not have prevented the drowning of the city, since its levees were designed to protect against a Category 3 storm, and the levees that failed were already completed projects.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...090702462.html

And:

In New Orleans, those in peril and those in power have pointed the finger squarely at the federal government for the delayed relief effort. But experts say when natural disasters strike, it is the primary responsibility of state and local governments - not the federal government - to respond." (Dan Harris, "Who's to Blame for Delayed Response to Katrina?" ABC News, 9/6/2005)

WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF THE BUSES AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE EFFORT?
FACT: Available Buses Were Not Used To Evacuate Before The Hurricane: "Some 200 New Orleans school buses sit underwater in a parking lot, unused. That's enough to have evacuated at least 13,000 people. Why weren't those buses sent street by street to pick up people before the storm? A draft emergency plan, prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and obtained by NBC News, calls for "400 buses to ... evacuate victims." Yet those 200 buses were left in Katrina's path." (Lisa Myers, "What Went Wrong In Katrina's Wake?" MSNBC, 9/6/2005)

"New Orleans' own comprehensive emergency plan raises the specter of 'having large numbers of people ...stranded' and promises 'the city ... will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas.'" (Dan Harris, "Who's to Blame for Delayed Response to Katrina?" ABC News, 9/6/2005)

"The city's evacuation plan states: 'The city of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas.' But even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. (Bob Williams, Op-Ed, "Blame Amid The Tragedy," The Wall Street Journal, 9/6/05)

FACT: Additional Personnel Was Not Recruited To Move The Disabled: "The plan also states that 'special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed.' This was not done." (Bob Williams, Op-Ed, "Blame Amid The Tragedy," The Wall Street Journal, 9/6/05)

FACT: Lessons From Past Failures Were Not Addressed Or Were Repeated: "A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate." (Bob Williams, Op-Ed, "Blame Amid The Tragedy," The Wall Street Journal, 9/6/05)

"Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan. again, they did not take corrective actions." (Bob Williams, Op-Ed, "Blame Amid The Tragedy," The Wall Street Journal, 9/6/05)

WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO USE THE SUPERDOME?
FACT: Mayor Nagin Ordered The Superdome To Be Used As Shelter: "Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation for the city's 485,000 residents and opened the Superdome as a shelter of last resort, bluntly warning those who stayed that they would be at the mercy of Katrina's high winds, 28-foot storm surge and 15 inches of rain that threatened to overwhelm the city's protective levees." (Brett Martel, "New Orleans Flees, Braces, Prays As Monstrous Hurricane Katrina Bears Down," The Associated Press, 8/29/05)

"Instead of evacuating the people, the Mayor ordered the refugees to the superdome and convention center without adequate security and no provisions for food, water and sanitary conditions." (Bob Williams, Op-Ed, "Blame Amid The Tragedy," The Wall Street Journal, 9/6/05)

"Plenty of missteps at the local level contributed to last week's disaster too, from a failure to take basic steps to protect the telecom infrastructure to inadequate food and water at the superdome. New Orleans may be able to stage events such as Mardi Gras and Jazzfest and provide parking, crowd control and adequate toilets for millions of visitors, but its hurricane plan was more rudimentary." (Robert Block, Amy Schatz, Gary Fields and Christopher Cooper, "Power Failure" The Wall Street Journal, 9/6/05)

“Get people to higher ground and have the feds and the state airlift supplies to them - that was the plan, man,' Mayor Ray Nagin said in an interview ..." (Robert Block, Amy Schatz, Gary Fields and Christopher Cooper, "Power Failure" The Wall Street Journal, 9/6/05)

FACT: Lessons From Past Failures Were Not Addressed Or Were Repeated: "In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected." (Bob Williams, Op-Ed, "Blame Amid The Tragedy," The Wall Street Journal, 9/6/05)

http://www.blogsforbush.com/mt/archives/005362.html

It has now come out that the LA state Govt prevented aid from going into the city:

http://www.radioblogger.com/#000970

On a side note, the only network reporting this is FOX.
Why would the other networks bury such a story? Perhaps it doesn't fit the "blame Bush" agenda they are on?

ok look at all these busses. They were supposed to be used to evacuate all the people. LA's own disaster protocall was not followed. How can this be Bush's fault?

[*mipadi*]

There is a thread about this issue already--no need to start another one about it.

[sadolakced acid]

three words.

war on terror.

all our tax cuts means that our wonderful amount of money is paying for the safety of iraq at the expense of the US.

[Levy2k6]

yeah....

"it is the primary responsibility of state and local governments - not the federal government - to respond."

i hate ppl always blaming bush! it always starts at the local level! ITS A PYRAMID! local-state-national!

anyways.. most of the reason people didn't leave was because they though it would miss them AGAIN... hmm.. anyways... even when people realized they were gonna get RAINED ON.. winds and stuff was probaly too hard to get to the busses... if u ask me.. i rather be indoors than out on the streets trying to escape.

[sadolakced acid]

hurricanes do not affect one town only.

they do not affect one state only.

they are national disasters.

relief usually comes from national guard and federal troops.

there's no reason to wait 3 days before sending troops.

can i ask you , why do people in new orleans see news helicopters first? why do celeberties go there?

how did al gore rent two carter buses to go to new orleans and pick up evacuees, when the government couldn't do it?

why does almost everyone agree, bush messed up?

could it be that for the hurricanes of election year in the battleground state in which is brother was the governor was the one badly hit?

wasn't he touring it the day after?

and what did bush do for lousianna?

he cut his vacation short two days to return to the white house and make a statement.

now that's commitment to the american people, all of them.

thank you mr. bush.