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| Let the Hurricane Blame Shifting Begin: Landrieu Presses Bush for Aide Coordinator |
| 2005-09-03 |
| Sen. Mary Landrieu called Friday for President Bush to appoint a cabinet-level official to direct the federal response to the devastation along the Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Katrina. Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, said she asked Bush during his tour of New Orleans on Friday to act within 24 hours to put a single official in charge of the overall relief effort who would report directly to him. ''The suffering has gone on long enough,'' she said. ''Now is the time for action.'' You tell 'em Landrieu. Why this had nothing to do with the ineptitude of the democratic governor, the mayor and police chief. Right? There also were calls from Republicans for Bush to name a prominent official to oversee the recovery effort. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y., suggested Giuliani, former Secretary of State Colin Powell or retired Gen. Tommy Franks to take charge. President Bush acknowledged Friday before leaving Washington that ''the results are not acceptable'' and promised that the government would restore order in lawless New Orleans. He has faced increasing criticism from state and local officials for the government's slow response to the disaster. Landrieu joined the chorus Friday. ''The people of Southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast have suffered in a desperate and unprecedented way, waiting for the administration to employ the full resources of the United States government, resources which, for whatever reason, have yet to arrive,'' she said. ''Hopefully, after today's visit, President Bush understands the enormity of our situation here on the ground and will put the full weight of his office behind our recovery efforts,'' she said. Wasn't it President Bush that convinced the lame governor to proclaim a mandatory evaculation? Well, ya Before the creation of the Department of Homeland Security following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported directly to the president. FEMA was folded into the new department and its head now reports to Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff, rather than to Bush. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., said Friday he intends to introduce legislation next week to separate FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and to call for a complete review of FEMA operations. |
| Posted by:Captain America |
| #9 Has anyone suggested Hulk Hogan - I saw on a trailer for the last episode of his show this season that he is bored and is trying out tennis and pilates but can't find a suitable replacement for the excitement of the ring. Maybe a cabinet level position would do the trick. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2005-09-03 19:04 |
| #8 In 1987, my old hometown of Grand Forks, North Dakota experienced a massive flood. From: http://www.draves.com/gf/gfindex.htm Flood crest: 54.4 feet. (Flood stage: 28 feet) Water flow: 140,000 cubic feet/second. (780 is normal) 46,000 people evacuated in Grand Forks (90% of population) 8600 homes with damage (75% of total) and 1616 apartments damaged (28% of total) Almost two billion dollars in damage (Grand Forks and East Grand Forks) 60,000 tons of debris removed. 13 days without running water, 23 days without drinkable water. No lives lost to the flood. Number of National Guard troops needed to put down the local insurgency: 0 |
| Posted by: Pat Phillips 2005-09-03 17:33 |
| #7 The Donks are also asking for an investigation. They never learn and have short memories. They asked for a 9/11 commission....and who was at fault?? Which party will be faulted for this one?? Personally, I hope the Donks scream for an investigation. Nothing would be sweeter than the revised 9/11 Commission report and the Hurricane Katrina report to come out at the same time. It is a ripe season for the Donks to loose more seats. Ka-Ching, Ka-Ching! |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-09-03 15:16 |
| #6 Landrieu Presses Bush for Aide Coordinator You already have two full time paid coordinators, they're call Senators. Appearently, Ms. Landrieu doesn't want to do her job of representing her state at the federal level. Why not ask Senator Frisk for an authorization for additional staff first? |
| Posted by: Spaviting Elmoting4926 2005-09-03 09:36 |
| #5 Head of Emergency Operations in New Orleans, Terry Ebbert should be investigated by a Federal Grand Jury. My sympathy is going to get very thin if the MSM and Democratic leaders in LA and the counrty don't STFU and get on with restoring order and the systems thaty make the society in this region work. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2005-09-03 02:44 |
| #4 Instead of focusing on getting the folks to safety, everybody is looking to blame. How very sad. I was surprised that they chose the superdome as the safe haven not being out of the below sea level area. Has anyone seen the hurricane evacuation plan? Obviously no one there has. Local government in NO is failing miserably and trying to blame everyone but themselves, and the ones that suffer because of it are all the folks still out there. Instead of the link I've included it here(you had to deal with ads to get to the story) A dry plan Louisiana's official hurricane plan says absolutely zero about how to handle an evacuation once New Orleans is flooded. - - - - - - - - - - - - By Mark Benjamin Sept. 2, 2005 | Engineers have warned for decades that a massive hurricane might drown New Orleans. So why are the efforts to evacuate the city in such chaos? Didn't somebody have a plan? Well, yes, kind of. The "Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Evacuation and Sheltering Plan" does note that a hurricane the strength of Katrina might push a 20-foot storm surge into New Orleans, that levees might break, pumps might fail, and the drinking water supply, electricity and sewage system might go kaput. The plan "prescribes the actions to be taken at each stage of a catastrophic hurricane emergency." But the plan doesn't mention anything about how a killer hurricane might make evacuating the city rather tricky, much less a logistical nightmare. In fact, it says absolutely zero about how to handle an evacuation once the city is flooded. The plan appears on the Web site of the state's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness under a button labeled "Plans." [This just had emergency radio stations and the like to tune to from what I could see] It was last revised in January 2000 and goes hand-in-hand with the state's Emergency Operations Plan, which outlines government agencies' responsibilities in big emergencies. Mark Smith, the office spokesman, did not return requests for comment on the plan. In a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Walter Baumy, chief of the Army Corps engineering division in New Orleans, says authorities could not have anticipated Katrina's impact. "There was a plan in place," Baumy said. "[Katrina's impact] was much more than envisioned. The city has never seen anything like this." According to the plan, state officials had a good idea how a storm like Katrina would deluge the city. "Tidal surge, associated with the 'worst case' Category 3, 4 or 5 Hurricane Scenario for the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area," it reads, "could cause a maximum inundation of 20 feet above sea level in some of the parishes in the region, not including tidal effects, wind waves and storm rainfall." The evacuation planners also knew that New Orleans could not handle that much water. "The area is protected by an extensive levee system, but above normal water levels and hurricane surge could cause levee overtopping or failures," it reads. It also says the city's now-famous pumps might give out, and that a catastrophic hurricane would result in "complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings" and might require a "massive evacuation." It just does not say how to do that when 80 percent of New Orleans is underwater. The plan states that to avoid danger, most people should get in their cars and drive away before the storm comes. "The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles," it reads. School buses and government vehicles will move everybody without a car. Interstate highways will be converted into one-way outbound evacuation routes (All of that did happen.) When the approaching storm produces high winds and rising water, the evacuation routes should be closed when driving gets dangerous. "As evacuation routes are closed, people who are still in the risk area will be directed to last resort refuge within the area," the plan reads. It is unclear if the authors understood that as many as 100,000 people might be left behind or might decide to stay in the city. That's it. The rest of the document outlines how to let residents back into New Orleans. It says roads should be clear, flood waters should have receded, and public utilities should be up and running. It says nothing about when people can return. Officials now estimate that fixing the levees and getting the pumps working to dry out the city might take 30 days. Mayor C. Ray Nagin predicts that residents won't be able to return to the city for 16 weeks. Hindsight is 20-20. But the state's hurricane evacuation plan appears to have been nearly blind to the devastation in store. It says nothing about people having to be air-lifted from their rooftops. It says nothing about how looting, violence or sheer desperation-driven anarchy might overtake the city. It says nothing about untold gallons of chemicals, gasoline, excrement and dead bodies floating through the city. It does say, though, that people should get in their cars and drive away before the storm, or hide in the Superdome, until the water recedes. |
| Posted by: Jan 2005-09-03 02:29 |
| #3 http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRPbaseplan.pdf President Bush and Tom Ridge put a plan together in 2003 for this situation. It was not followed on a local level in New Orleans. Read it. |
| Posted by: RG 2005-09-03 01:55 |
| #2 Guam's population is generally the size of New Orleans estimated nos. of refugees/evacuees [100K +/-] - the island suffered much devastation from various strong storms over the decades. espec during Supertyphoons KAREN and PAMELA. It gener takes FEMA at least one week to flying and set up here at a "sufficient" level of operation, not counting for repairs, local activat of USNG units, andor initial distribution of emergency supplies and foodstuffs/stamps. Orleaners began complaining after only ONE DAY, and allegedly shooting at rescue helos after barely TWO!? CINDY/MOTHER-GATE + NEW ORLEANS > MORE PC AMMO FOR THE LEFTIES TO CRITICIZE DUBYA, AND ARGUE FOR "MO' MONEY, MO'FREE MONEY, BIGGER GOVT. , and ME FIRST"! MORE REGULATION, SOCIALISM, MORE COMMUNISM, MORE GOVERNMENTISM, MORE POLITICISM,... TOTALITARIANISM, NOT AUTHORITARIANISM, TO SAVE AMERIKA AND THE USSA! Good Clintonians demand to be invaded and gulagged - call in the Commie Airborne, Cindy, you go girl! Anarchy is what happens when Repub Conservative world conquerors and Servants of God fall in love with Democrat babes - BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA........., like Angelinia Jolie, Attila and Genghis' little Commie OWG Supermodel. Sniffle, Sniffle. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-09-03 01:37 |
| #1 The MSM continues it's total war against Bush. They are happy to help Landrieu out even if she is totally wrong. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2005-09-03 01:18 |