"Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser
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This Week: News outlets downplay Bush administration's failure to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Katrina |
News outlets downplay Bush administration's failure to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Katrina
With residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama literally struggling to survive in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, some news organizations are asking obvious questions: Did we know it would be this bad? Could more have been done to prevent this disaster? Can more be done in the future?
The New Orleans Times-Picayune, for example, reported on August 31:
No one can say they didn't see it coming.
For years before Hurricane Katrina roared ashore Monday morning, devastating the Gulf Coast, officials from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have been warning about their vulnerability to the storms that swirl menacingly in the Gulf of Mexico every hurricane season. Now, in the wake of one of the worst storms ever, serious questions are being asked about the lack of preparation.
On Tuesday, looters could be seen carrying away whole shelves of merchandise from stores in New Orleans with no police in sight. A shortage of boats left people stranded on their roofs a day after the storm passed. State, local and federal rescue workers, all supplied with different radio equipment, were having trouble communicating with one another.
Meanwhile, local officials said that had Washington heeded their warnings about the dire need for hurricane protection -- including fortifying homes, building up levees and repairing barrier islands -- the damage might not have been nearly as bad as it was.
"If we had been investing resources in restoring our coast, it wouldn't have prevented the storm, but the barrier islands would have absorbed some of the tidal surge," said Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-La. "People's lives are at stake. We need to take this more seriously."
As the weblog Echidne Of The Snakes has noted, this isn't Monday-morning quarterbacking by the Times-Picayune; the paper reported about the consequences of budget cuts on the levees in June 2004:
For the first time in 37 years, federal budget cuts have all but stopped major work on the New Orleans area's east bank hurricane levees, a complex network of concrete walls, metal gates and giant earthen berms that won't be finished for at least another decade.
"I guess people look around and think there's a complete system in place, that we're just out here trying to put icing on the cake," said Mervin Morehiser, who manages the "Lake Pontchartrain and vicinity" levee project for the Army Corps of Engineers. "And we aren't saying that the sky is falling, but people should know that this is a work in progress, and there's more important work yet to do before there is a complete system in place."
The Chicago Tribune added on September 1:
Despite continuous warnings that a catastrophic hurricane could hit New Orleans, the Bush administration and Congress in recent years have repeatedly denied full funding for hurricane preparation and flood control.
That has delayed construction of levees around the city and stymied an ambitious project to improve drainage in New Orleans' neighborhoods.
For instance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested $27 million for this fiscal year to pay for hurricane-protection projects around Lake Pontchartrain. The Bush administration countered with $3.9 million, and Congress eventually provided $5.7 million, according to figures provided by the office of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).
Because of the shortfalls, which were caused in part by the rising costs of the war in Iraq, the corps delayed seven contracts that included enlarging the levees, according to corps documents.
Much of the devastation in New Orleans was caused by breaches in the levees, which sent water from Lake Pontchartrain pouring into the city. Since much of the city is below sea level, the levee walls acted like the walls of a bowl that filled until as much as 80 percent of the city was under water.
Similarly, the Army Corps requested $78 million for this fiscal year for projects that would improve draining and prevent flooding in New Orleans. The Bush administration's budget provided $30 million for the projects, and Congress ultimately approved $36.5 million, according to Landrieu's office.
"I'm not saying it wouldn't still be flooded, but I do feel that if it had been totally funded, there would be less flooding than you have," said Michael Parker, a former Republican Mississippi congressman who headed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from October 2001 until March 2002, when he was ousted after publicly criticizing a Bush administration proposal to cut the corps' budget.
But while the Chicago Tribune reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was denied the funding it requested to enlarge levees and protect New Orleans from hurricanes and flooding; while a Republican congressman said that additional resources could have prevented some of the damage; and while the New Orleans Times-Picayune concluded that "No one can say they didn't see it coming" ... the president did just that.
On the September 1 broadcast of ABC's Good Morning America, President Bush acted as though the breach of the levees was an unforeseeable fluke occurrence: "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."
But, as news reports in the Tribune, Times-Picayune and elsewhere made clear, plenty of people did anticipate the breech. The Army Corps of Engineers, for example, wanted to enlarge levees and improve drainage. But it couldn't, because the Bush administration and Congress didn't give it the money it needed.
So when Bush told ABC's Diane Sawyer during an exclusive interview (video here) that nobody could have "anticipated the breach of the levees," surely she challenged him on his claim? Surely she said, "Wait a minute, Mr. President: the Army Corps of Engineers wanted more money to prevent exactly that. They must have anticipated something. The New Orleans Times-Picayune concluded yesterday that 'No one can say they didn't see it coming.' A former Republican congressman who headed the Corps of Engineers in your own administration lost his job after he publicly criticized your efforts to cut the Corps' budget. How can you say nobody saw this coming?"
But instead, Sawyer simply moved on to her next question:
SAWYER: And in fact Mr. President, this morning, as we speak, as you say, there are people with signs saying help, come get me. People still in the attic, waving. Nurses are phoning in saying the situation in hospitals is getting ever more dire, that the nurses are getting sick now because of no clean water. And some of the things they have asked our correspondents to ask you, they expected, they say to us, that the day after this hurricane that there would be a massive and visible armada of federal support. There would be boats coming in. There would be food, there would be water. And it would be there within hours. They wondered what's taking so long.
BUSH: Well, there's a lot of food on its way, a lot of water on the way, and there's a lot of boats and choppers headed that way. Boats and choppers headed that way. It takes a while to float them. For example, [the USS] Iwo Jima is coming from the East Coast of the United States toward New Orleans. And people have got to know that there is a massive relief -- the most -- most massive federal relief effort ever in combination with state and local authorities. And there's a lot of help coming.
SAWYER: But given the fact that everyone anticipated a hurricane [Category] Five, a possible hurricane Five hitting shore, are you satisfied with the pace at which this is arriving? And at which it was planned to arrive?
BUSH: Well, I fully understand people wanting things to have happened yesterday. I mean, I understand the -- anxiety of people on the ground. I can imagine -- I just can't imagine what it's like to be waving a sign that says, "Come and get me now." So there is frustration. But I want people to know there is a lot of help coming. I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. They did anticipate a serious storm. But these levees got breached, and as a result, much of New Orleans is flooded. And now we are having to deal with it and will.
SAWYER: A couple of quick questions about the concerns. ...
Later in the interview, Sawyer mentioned that "there was worry about the levees breaking ... years before" -- but she did it as a throwaway non sequitur, without challenging Bush's false claim, and without asking him to address that fact:
BUSH: I'm not expecting much from foreign nations because we haven't asked for it. I do suspect a lot of sympathy and perhaps some will send cash dollars. But this country -- this country is going to rise up and take care of it. You know, we'd love help. But we're going to take care of our own business as well. And there's no doubt in my mind we'll succeed. And there's no doubt in my mind, as I sit here talking to you, that New Orleans is going to rise up again as a great city. It's going to take a lot of work and a lot of effort. But this is a compassionate nation. It's a lot of resources at its disposal. And we're going to help those people.
SAWYER: There was worry about the levees breaking, as we know, years before. And replacing New Orleans in a situation where you have to have massive expenditures in order to protect it. Do you want to see it in the same place?
In its online article about the interview, ABC News completely ignored Bush's false and self-serving claim that nobody anticipated the breach.
A September 1 New York Times editorial noted:
The nation will soon ask why New Orleans's levees remained so inadequate. Publications from the local newspaper to National Geographic have fulminated about the bad state of flood protection in this beloved city, which is below sea level. Why were developers permitted to destroy wetlands and barrier islands that could have held back the hurricane's surge? Why was Congress, before it wandered off to vacation, engaged in slashing the budget for correcting some of the gaping holes in the area's flood protection?
The nation may indeed ask these questions. It's too bad Diane Sawyer didn't when she had the chance.
But Sawyer wasn't alone in ignoring shortcomings in the Bush administration's preparation for, and response to, the hurricane. A Washington Post editorial applauded the administration:
So far, the federal government's immediate response to the destruction of one of the nation's most historic cities does seem commensurate with the scale of the disaster. At an unprecedented news conference, many members of President Bush's Cabinet pledged to dedicate huge resources to the Gulf Coast.
It isn't clear what was "unprecedented" about the news conference -- or why it didn't occur until August 31, two days after the hurricane hit New Orleans. Nor is it clear why the Post would praise the government's response to Katrina; an effective response to predictable damage done by a hurricane would seem to include adequate preparation for such a disaster -- preparation that the Post itself suggests was subpar:
But over the longer term, it will be extremely important to better understand the causes of this long-predicted disaster and to determine what, if anything, could have prevented it. This administration has consistently played down the possibility of environmental disaster, in Louisiana and everywhere else. The president's most recent budgets have actually proposed reducing funding for flood prevention in the New Orleans area, and the administration has long ignored Louisiana politicians' requests for more help in protecting their fragile coast, the destruction of which meant there was little to slow down the hurricane before it hit the city. It is inappropriate to "blame" anyone for a natural disaster. But given how frequently the impact of this one was predicted, and given the scale of the economic and human catastrophe that has resulted, it is certainly fair to ask questions about disaster preparations. Congress, when it returns, should rise above the blame game and instead probe the state of the nation's preparation for handling major natural catastrophes, particularly those that threaten crucial regions of the country.
There are people dying in the streets of New Orleans -- people without food, without water, without shelter, without medical attention; thousands of people suffering, in the richest nation in the history of the world; people suffering, in part, because funding for levees that could have lessened the devastation, people suffering, in part, because days after the hurricane struck New Orleans, neither food, nor water, nor medical supplies, nor evacuation vehicles have arrived. People are suffering and dying because a nation that can send a man to the moon can't send doctors and food and water to New Orleans -- and The Washington Post calls the government's response "commensurate with the scale of the disaster" and praises an "unprecedented news conference." News conferences, with or without precedent, are nice -- but the people in New Orleans don't need news conferences. They need food, they need water, and they need medical treatment.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan pretends everything is OK, claiming, despite all available evidence, that "[t]here are ways for them to get that [food and water] help." That doesn't seem to be the case, no matter how much McClellan and the Post want us to think things are going smoothly.
Rich Lowry and his colleagues at National Review Online's group weblog, The Corner, seem to get it:
Right now, the entire country is watching a great American city collapsing into hopeless devastation, and if there IS a Federal response going on it is barely visible. Government has got to move here.
Why doesn't The Washington Post's editorial board?
The Plamegate question nobody's asking: Why did Time magazine deceive readers about Rove's involvement?
As Media Matters detailed this week, Time magazine published an article co-written by Washington bureau chief Michael Duffy and reporter Matt Cooper in October 2003 that strongly suggested that Karl Rove had nothing to do with outing Valerie Plame, and quoted White House press secretary Scott McClellan flatly denying Rove's involvement.
There was only one problem: Cooper and Duffy knew that was false. They knew that Karl Rove was involved; knew that the article they co-wrote misled readers and presented without contradiction a McClellan quote they knew to be inaccurate. They knew this because Cooper himself learned from Karl Rove in July 2003 that Plame worked for the CIA.
While Time did everything they could to protect Karl Rove, the magazine did nothing to protect its readers; instead, it actively misled them. Defenders of Cooper and New York Times reporter Judith Miller frequently talk of the duty a reporter has to protect his or her sources, but shouldn't protecting their readers -- by not penning articles they know to be misleading -- be their first priority?
And yet, according to the Los Angeles Times, Time didn't seek a waiver from Rove allowing Cooper to testify to the grand jury, in part, because "Time editors were concerned about becoming part of such an explosive story in an election year." But Time was part of the story -- and they took sides in it. By choosing to protect Rove, and by extension Bush, and by choosing to mislead readers in order to do so, Time took sides. Intentionally or not, the magazine took Bush's side in the election; it took Rove's side over its readers' -- and it took the side of lies and deception over truth.
I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.
"I don't anybody could have anticipated terrorists flying planes into buildings."
Ineptness on display.
FEMA's director acknowledged that the federal government's response might not have been completely successful, but he defended the agency by saying it did not expect such large-scale logistical problems.
[link to www.dallasnews.com]
Do they *EVER* anticipate or expect ANYTHING?
I could probably provide quotes from Rummy about not anticipating the insurgency in Iraq.
Just showing a very dangerous pattern.
Right, and then rummy will say that the looting story is overblown, that the networks keeps running the same clip of an old woman holding a vase. then he'll squint and say that "democracy is messy"
"People are free to do what they want in a free society" - Rummy
Well, yeah, this possiblility was mentioned in the newspapers. Isn't this President notorious for not reading the newspapers? He has people to tell him what's important. And he assumes they're reading the papers. Maybe that assumption is not quite correct.
Well, yeah, this possiblility was mentioned in the newspapers. Isn't this President notorious for not reading the newspapers? by temphandle bed46wizards
************************************************************
There you go. The next time we elect a president I hope his hobby is reading instead of clearing brush.
George W. Bush has been able to slither out of accountability since his coup in 2000. This administration has given us the hijacking of the 2000 and 2004 Presidential election, the invasion of Iraq based on lies, Halliburton, Downing St. Memo, Karl Rove, etc. But in the end it will be the lack of response and indifference with the New Orleans Katrina aftermath that brings down this administration. PREDICTION: With Iraq, high gas prices, rampant illegal immigration, disgruntled and disillusioned republicans and now New Orleans, the democrats should win the Senate and House back during the mid-term elections of 2006. January 2007 will begin the impeachment hearings of G.W. Bush on the grounds of high crimes and misdemeanors including: abuse of authority, dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming in association with lack of rescue and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
This administration has down-played EVERYTHING to their own advantage. "Mission Accomplished" says it all. Had Martha's Vineyard, with all of its wealthy residents, been hit with such a disaster, FEMA would have been in there in a heartbeat. New Orleans leans more towards the Democratic side, so perhaps the Bush administration chose to put blinders on and allow these poor people to suffer rather than rush in and drop water, food and provisions. SHAME ON THEM! Bodies floating in the water, scores of people missing, fire on the waters of the Big Easy...thousands without homes, looting, etc. Bush really dropped the ball on this tragedy, unlike New York after 9/11. But then, Dubya is a lame duck, so what the hell does he care about this devastation? He's more worried about Senator Trent Lott getting his (insured) house back in order. Geez, Louise. Where are Bush's priorities, or does he even have any? How this buffoon can sleep at nights is beyond me!
CNN, I'M BEGINNING TO LOVE YOU
While Fox News is falling over itself patting themselves and the administration on the back for how 'amazing' the rescue mission is today (five days after the tragedy), CNN is actually being quite critical!
Firstly, CNN actually reported the fact that Bush was warned about the possibility of flooding. And they reported that Bush diverted funding for the levees!
Then Bush arrived from Washington to view the damage by hurricane. Before however, he was briefed on what was wrong by the governors, and the coast guard.
When it was over, the news anchor said it seemed odd to watch Bush being briefed like that - something which could have happened while he was in Washington, or on the plane from Washington. That the briefing in front of those cameras seemed more like a photo-op for Bush and the Republican governors. Good point!
Another anchor took note of Bush's comments describing what it looked like. Bush said it looked like if the worst weapon attacked the cities. The anchor says it reminds us of the question about what IF we were attacked with a weapon? The government doesn't seem like it would be able to handle it.
The same anchor also noted that at a time like this, people don't want to see Bush bring briefed, they want to see LEADERSHIP.
I myself want to add, that I'm sure the people don't want to see Bush sitting there expressing how happy he is to see how things are going (even though before, in Washington he BLASTED what was going on). They do not want to see the governors spending time thanking the president for what he's done - especially since most people believe he hasn't done a thing yet.
The entire briefing DID appear to be a waste of time. It IS something that could have been done at another time - I assume. At least, if this was the only time for a briefing, don't spend time congratulating each other, and please do not let the President ramble on about things. He's a slow speaker and he never as anything of importance to say! Explaining that the area looks like the worst weapon hit it does no one any good. We've ALL seen the pictures, we all KNOW what has happened. Get the heck out there and HELP!
Read The Report
And in the middle of that little "photo-op" he was sure to mention that Trent Lott's house would be re-built and he couldn't wait to sit on the front porch. WTF?
I wonder if this is possible:
CNN BREAKING NEWS: Bush to rebuild Trent Lott's house so he can sit of the front porch.
I have been completely impressed by CNN's truthful coverage.
If he didn't speak slowly, he couldn't speak at all. And if he tried to speak faster, we'd be laughing at twice as many of those delicious "Bushisms."
magnumdb, I agree, CNN has been pretty good about covering this, except that on Thursday, Mike Leavitt of FEMA told Paula Zahn that "we didn't know about the people in the convention center until today." He also said "those people just suddenly appeared." Those are preposterous statements and Zahn didn't jump on it they way she should have.
Fox is number one to people like you who spell Mayor, Mayer.
(My bologna has a second name it's M-A-Y-E-R)
Or the under educated ones.
I am going to have to blame Clinton on this one. When his adminstration ran FEMA, and they knew a hurricane was coming. Everything was in place and ready to go after the storm had passed.
"Thats why CNN is in the toliet and Fox is Number ONE."
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Actually, the quality of Fox's reporting is Number TWO, and in the toilet.
" I'm not expecting much from foreign nations because we haven't asked for it." - Bush
What the hell is he waiting for??!!! The people of New Orleans need all the help they can get.
Just watch. Coming soon in the next few days, he will ask other countries to help us and once again that is a few more days wasted. He could have asked for help even in his speech 9/31/05, but of course, a conservative president can't do that. Appearing strong is more important than helping the people of N.O.
I watched the interview. Diane was just being polite to the commander in chief in a time of crisis. Good Morning America is not exactly known for its hard-hitting journalism.
Let's hope this catastrophe fully exposes the failures of this administration. Reasonable people everywhere should now see that this administration cannot and has no desire to protect the American populace from the effects of a terrorist attack. Nor does it intend to spend our tax dollars on our own people, either to prevent or to ameliorate; let the charities help those folks foolish enough to choose to live in New Orleans (a la Hastert). The complete lack of any sort of disaster planning is obvious. Homeland Security is a farce.
Osama is laughing with glee. He's learning exactly how unprepared we are and how best to hit us.
Hey, now Casey...hold on one minute. Homeland Security developed a "color code" to protect us from terrorist. It just doesn't work for hurricanes, I guess, or someone forgot to send out the color for the day. FEMA formerly reported directly to President Clinton and things moved then.
Anybody: Why was the Coast Guard (a military entity) put under a farce Homeland Security? Why isn't Homeland Security under the Coast Guard? Hum-m-m?
Bush is down in Mississippi joking as usual and apparently he has no ability to appreciate the gravity of the situation that he needs to manage. He just held a press conference and with his typical inappropriateness he was joking about how he was going to help repair Trent Lott's house and his great front porch so he can come back and sit with Trent on that porch later. HE JUST DOESN'T GET IT. This administration is totally devoid of empathy and that combined with a total lack of competency has caused the situation in NO to spiral into this obscenity that I am seeing on the news. The next time we elect a president I hope my fellow citizens will consider more than if the candidate is someone they would like to have a beer with.
Things you'll never hear while Duhhbya and Lott are sitting on Lott's front porch:
- "Bill Frist is a great guy."
- "Wanna beer?"
- "I see black people."
Feel free to add more.
"Just make the connection. I don't care how you do it. Iraq and levees."
"Yeah, uh huh, OK... just get to the point. Have I lost any constituents? So far I haven't spotted too many."
"I remember coming here and getting plastered when I was sposed to be in Alabama"
"At least we're not talking about Iraq, Rove, or Robertson. Bring it on."
This is not playing well over in the UK either. The general viewpoint is "How on earth can it take four days to move in food aand water to stranded people in AMERICA?" A lot of people l have spoken to have said the same things, the current government don't seem to know what is going on and there are too many layers of government (local and federal) to deal with each crisis as it happens.
What's absurd is there's no downside to having really played the cowboy card, and gone full bore into massive, high profile rescue/evacuation. A line up of 747's leaving for cities in every direction. 500 people being evacuated every 4 minutes... The pres in a helicopter, etc. Would keep the press off Sheehand and Rove even longer.
Thanks for the UK perspective. I do care what other countries think of us.
I do not understand why any news broadcaster allows any spokesperson to get away with saying anything like "no one expected the levees to be breached."
They expected a Category 5 storm to have a direct hit on New Orleans. They expected that the storm surge that would hit New Orleans would be higher than the tops of the levees, which would push seawater and flood 75-100% of New Orleans. So they should have been planning for that event.
No one should be allowed to -skate- by with any comments that suggest that they did not anticipate this event. The fact that the results we now see, the flooding of 80% of New Orleans, could have been a result of a more direct hit of a stronger storm that was expected means that they should have been planning for that event. New Orleans could have been in much worse shape. We see what happened to the SuperDome. What would have happened to the roof if the winds had been even stronger?
Agreed monkey.
I have heard a multiplicity of statements issuing from the paps of the regime, always something to the effect, 'We've been planning for this for a long time.'
Hmmm, well I'm planning on flying to the Moon. If I were *preparing* for a trip to the Moon, I'd have a fully fueled Saturn V waiting for me to hop aboard. Plan all you will, if you don't *prepare* all your planning is for naught. Note that the first official thing that the (P)resident did in connection with Katrina? He got Bush I and Clinton to raise private money for Katrina relief efforts. Oh, I see, that's where the tax cuts for the billionaires came from...shortchanging the Army Corps of Engineers and other vital services. Now we have to spend orders of magnitude more tax dollars to repair New Orleans to further enrich the upper class. Ain't life fun?
"On the September 1 broadcast of ABC's Good Morning America, President Bush acted as though the breach of the levees was an unforeseeable fluke occurrence: "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." [emphasis added]
Where else have we heard this all-too familiar phrase?
Pick up and read "The New Pearl Harbor." If you're a fast reader - 500 words a minute, let's say - it shouldn't take you the weekend.
Oops, should've read the other comments first, Missy A beat me to it.
From the "You just can't make this schit up" file: [link to www.atr.org]
Oh God.
How in the hell is repealing the estate tax going to help the POOR people of NOLA rebuild their neighborhoods and their lives?
No, you can't make that schit up.
I guess you could call NOLA Grover Norquist's bathtub.
Missy,
That's okay, Grover Norquist kind of compared the estate tax to the holocaust. He's a real winner. ( [link to www.commondreams.org] )
I'm impressed how he managed to tie the additional tax revenues (which in reality came from the profiteering at the pump by the oil companies) to show that tax cuts help the economy. These people can rationalize almost anything in 7 jumps or less...
Also impressed by the 4 million new jobs figure...just ignore the loss of jobs during the same time. No reason to put a useful figure in there like net new jobs.
Can we drown him in a bathtub? Just using his own words.
Bush partisans went on the offensive. Grover Norquist, the conservative activist with close ties to Karl Rove, blamed the chaos on "looting in a Democratic city run by a Democratic mayor and a Democratic governor."
[link to www.msnbc.msn.com]
I am sooooo thrilled to see all of the trolls following in lockstep with Rove's spin. If they had to think for themselves, they might not make it through the day.
On a side note, this appalling item from the online Chicago Tribune tonight (registration req.):
"[Mayor] Daley 'shocked' at federal snub of offers to help"
Tribune staff reports Published September 2, 2005, 2:44 PM CDT
Frustration about the federal response to Hurricane Katrina has reached Chicago City Hall, as Mayor Richard Daley today noted a tepid response by federal officials to the city's offers of disaster aid.
The city is willing to send hundreds of personnel, including firefighters and police, and dozens of vehicles to assist on the storm-battered Gulf Coast, but so far the Federal Emergency Management Agency has requested only a single tank truck, Daley said."
"I was shocked," he said.
"We are ready to provide considerably more help than they have requested," the mayor said, barely able to contain his anger during a City Hall news conference. "We are just waiting for the call."
[link to www.chicagotribune.com]
A review of the 2004 coverage by the New Orleans press, in which there was much worry that federal cuts in levee protection would lead to disaster, can be found at JABBS.
New Orleans officials were convinced that money was being diverted from a local Army Corps of Engineers project to the Iraq War, starting in 2003.
In short, the Bush Administration got what it paid for.
Shannon and Tommy (and others who defend this administration's fiasco),
What hole have you buried your heads into? Is your only information source Fox News?
You should be royally ashamed of yourselves. This is a disaster. It is FEMA's responsibility to come into disaster situations to help the victims (here's the kiddie page version so it won't take long to read - [link to www.fema.gov] ). The governor's of the affected states asked for federal assistance almost immediately. Therefore, it is the federal government's responsibility (thru military forces and FEMA) to help.
I've watched 3 different programs about what's happened in New Orleans and other affected areas. They all say the same thing (volunteers and victims)...they don't know where the federal government is. What help has been provided has largely been from voluntary organizations and state and local governments (my county is still waiting for word from FEMA or an equivalent federal organization on where to deploy our volunteers).
This is a disaster magnitudes above the ability of single local and state governments to respond. Yet you are blaming them? Are you insane?
Why didn't they provide public transportation? It's called tax cuts you idiots! You want all this stuff on hand now that there is a problem, but you didn't want to pay for it before. Do you really think Homeland Security grants were that much or went that far? You need to read a lot more. Only $248,375 was provided to each state for Pre-Disaster Mitigation. Only $19 million was provided to all states (yep, only about $380,000 / state) for Community Emergency Response Teams which went primarily to training. And much of the other money promised...was just that, promised. They never got the funds! ( [link to www.usmayors.org] )
Where was the LA national guard? Dealing with that fool's errand in Iraq. Have you forgotten that so soon?
Why aren't more people helping? You must be watching Fox News only. Pull out the remote and surf. Use at least 3 sources of information before you write. They have been told to sit still. I have seen video of obvious victims helping distribute what little food and water does make it in.
Care for the city? What the **** do you think there is left to take care of? Are you blind as well as witless?
Plenty of blame to go around? What, do you want to blame the victims for being too poor or scared to leave? Do you want to blame the state and local governments that are sending all available resources to help? It is the federal government's role to provide the bulk of coordination and assistance in a national disaster. What do you people not get about this?
Pull yourselves away from your group and open your eyes. You know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if it was this bad in 1997 your group would be demanding Clinton's resignation. Stop defending the group you are associated with, step back and look at this situation objectively. Not only is it one of the worst natural disaster's in our history, it has been the worst handled disaster's in our history. As a national disaster, the primary blame must fall on the federal government and it's leadership. Dancing around the issues does not absolve this administration of blame.
They kept saying "9/11 changed everything," as the American people unwisely put their faith into a group of people who told us over and over that the world was dangerous and only they could keep us safe.
The winds flood water of Katrina is changing everything back. Through the destruction we discover that those who promised safety never intended to deliver. They preferred ephemeral threats to real ones -- preferred declaring war on a concept -- preferred the loose billions that could so easily be scooped up by their croneys. Spend tax revenues piling dirt on levees? Where's the profit in that?
Our treasury has been looted and a few have gone from rich to very rich while our country has begun its slide into a new Dark Age. It's dark because our government has its eyes screwed shut. They see only what they've created -- the phantoms of terrorists and stockpiles of WMDs halfway across the globe. That which is real will always be in their blind spot.
I remember after 9-11, vital questions could not be asked in the name of "national security".
Look what happens when we don't collectively, as a country, ask those vital questions.
We ignore the realities AND it is acceptable to place completely incompetent, political hacks to positions that demand experience.
The republicans wanted an ineffectual government and that is exactly what we have. The government is so ineffectual we are unable to respond to a national disaster. If this had been a terrorist attack, we would be screwed. The chickens have come home to roost. It is about damn time.
Unbound, Thank you. Your post brings tears to my eyes...all the aid being offered that is not coming because this group of heartless thugs are just stonewalling, either through intentional heartless design or by incompetence. I haven't sorted out which it is...
Do they really want all these poor people to die or just go away from the Gulf coast so that prime real estate will get gobbled up by the rich? or what?
Maybe incompetence plus greed. Mary
One cannot always predict the things that cause the downfall of politicians. For all of Marion Barry's incompetence in Washington, DC (remember his statement that DC would have had one of the lowest crime rates in the country if you didn't count the murders?), it wasn't until a blizzard hit the city and the Mayor was partying it up at the Super Bowl that Barry was voted out of office.
Let's all hope that Katrina is Bush's blizzard, and his playing golf, fundraising, and strumming a guitar while the city of New Orleans drowned is his Super Bowl.
"You're doin' a helluva job, Brownie" [link to www.talkingpointsmemo.com]
God Bless Texas! So much for "rich, greedy, Republicans"!
shannon...it's about six days too late for some of the folks, honey! Hopefully, there will be some compassionate republicans helping out, too. Surely not all are blinded by the by this administration!
Dear Lord I pray that come September 24th in Washington the folks who have the sense to see what's happening with our beloved country will DEMAND this bloke be impeached for the atrocities and lies he and his administration have inflicted on us. America cannot go one more year much less three.
I ask, again, please tell me where is the outrage we endured about a consensual BJ when now we have soldiers killed, maimed, families and homes destroyed, innocent Iraqi's killed, maimed, families and homes destroyed and the tragedy of Katrina and city infrastuctures, i.e., the broken leevee...where is the outrage! bush MUST be held accountable for all these blundering mistakes! We must hear the outrage from this. The blood and the devestation is on this administration's hands and those who attempt to defend him!
"Hopefully, there will be some compassionate republicans helping out, too"
Considering the amount of people who have opened their hearts and homes, not to mention the fact Texas is truly a red state, I think it's safe to say there are far more "compassionate Republicans" than you care to admit to.
This interview doesn't suprise me. Most of the corporate media constantly gives Bush a free pass. Do you think Bush's handlers would let someone interview him if they knew they were going to hold him accountable and ask the tough questions?
there ought to be a headline that reads: "Bush Sacrifices Americans For Oil" there are many connections. make yours.
shannon - Saturday September 3, 2005 11:20:53 PM EST
That would be passed
stymie - Sunday September 4, 2005 10:17:15 AM EST
Yeah, I am too lazy, I am also a terrible typist. Feel free to ignore my posts. Those apostrophes are especially, too much trouble. Your point overall, is.... pretty much on target We all have out pet peeves. I dont like to see sentences ended in prepositions or homonyms misused, oh and I hate the word irregardless its redundant, the word is regardless. You dont see me correcting mispellings or punctuation. On the other hand c'mon, past for passed, do you mean to say it didnt bother you?
I noticed on Fox early Saturday morning that the topic was "should we blame anyone" or something close to that. I could almost imagine the staff meeting where the entire schedule of talking points was put into place for the week culminating in Clinton not only being the one to blame, but also being the one who was asleep at the switch until Wednesday.
Actually, I imagine them deciding that (much as they'd like to) since they can't blame this on Clinton, they'd better use the strategy of spreading the blame to everyone even tangentially involved, so as to subtract from the amount Bush is getting. In fact, isn't this exactly the argument our local trolls are desperately making?
Hugh Kaufmann (l hope l spelt his name correctly) of the EPA was on BBC Radio Five last night and put the blame squarely at the door of the current administration and its policies including the cutting of funding to the levee building, tax cuts for the rich, National Guard deployment in Iraq and the fact that the people in charge at Homeland security and FEMA are not only imcompetent but have no real knowledge or experience in the feild they work in. The stories and news reports l have seen on tv and read in the papers have left me both in tears and very very astonished that somehow this could happen in a Western country let alone the USA. Why was aid from the UK, Holland (also below sea level) and others turned down? These are people with experience in dealing with problems like this. The levels of beureaucratic incompetence is staggering. In an honorable administration those in charge at Homeland Security and FEMA would offer their resignations and not take no for an answer.
I have also promised to severly verbally abuse the next muppet over here who has the audacity or stupidity to say that the people trapped in New Orleans "chose" to stay behind.
Nice segueway, UK, to what's been swirling in my mind since the tragedy broke: pretty soon, the only Bush loyalists remaining will give new meaning to the term "left behind."
Why is this guy still in power? Seriously.
A failing across the board, but at the end of the day hes the boss and should of been making sure things were getting done.
I heard that Condi was taking in a boardway show and buying shoes while people were dying and Bush took time to play guitar for a photo-op.
Now compare that to Clinton who cut his holiday short for PENDING Hurricane and ensured that evacuations took place. What happended there? The Republicans had a go at him for his actions.
But for Bush to come out and say there was no warning this was going to happen... It is just mind blowing.
Another thing he fails to mention about "Other countries not giving support". Germany had support people and resources ready to roll once the hurricane hit and Bushes adminstration told them not to come.
For all the Bush apologists out there here is a question for you. At exactly what point of incompetetance does Bush have to reach before he is impeached? What is your limit?
There's no limit as long as the blame game means never having to admit that Bush IS incompetent.
michael chertoff, homeland security head, was just on meet the press and said it was a "surprise" that the levees failed after the hurricane had passed. why would it be a surprise? they wouldn't have been weakened and subject to rupture? he actually said he saw the papers and they said new orleans "dodged a bullet" because the levees didn't breach. guess there was no need to have the corps of engineers go out and inspect and sandbag the weak areas. he probably had a golf game like bush. this nation is under the control of clueless buffoons. and no "surprise", chertoff said it was time to "move forward", the mantra of the bush administration. let's not look at 9-11 failures, whether bush used cherry picked intelligence for iraq, and now the new orleans disaster.
I have mainly seen two reactions here in Norway in regard to the hurricane disaster.
Some are just in awe over this lack of response being at all possible in a developed industrial western country. Hearing about boats and help finally arriving almost a week later only adds to the awe as people really DID expect these things to be in place already, and these reports only confirms neglect to a level we thought impossible in United States. That fact doesn’t really change even if you do believe Bush when he said “I don't think anyone anticipated the levees to breach”. When I then point out that this indeed was predictable, eyes tend to widen in amazement.
The other reaction is of a much more sinister kind; That the Bush administration isn’t REALLY viewing this as negative (even though they pretend to), as this can be equated with bulldozing an entire city offering an opening for opportunities for the elitists in United States. They simply got a little help from the forces of nature, that’s all. Hence this smirk on Bush’s face in the interview on ABC was due to things going “smoothly” in these fascists mindset.
So in short, either an amazing incompetence or pure elitist greed (or a combination). I’m not sure if the latter is a little too evil to be humanly possible, but if the rumours about Halliburton getting a highly profitable contract to tidy up the mess gets confirmed, I’ll certainly keep that option open as a possible explanation.
Obviously there are also those who parrot the “they chose to stay” spin, and also the “local authorities are to blame for lack of response” spin as well. Though those tend to be easily disputed and a result of limited interest and/or insight.