38 Comments

1. PJ:

Wolf Blitzer is especially appalling, pitching softballs to the head of the black caucus which is, surprise, blaming Bush and blaming racism, from their comfy, dry DC armchairs. No mention, though, of the mayor’s responsibility or of the thugs who are largely responsible for the civil unrest.

Sep 2, 2005 - 4:30 pm 2. ryoushi:

This was the phrasing for today’s lou dobbs quick poll “Do you think local, state and federal officials should be held responsible for failing to respond adequately in the wake of Hurricane Katrina?”

The only possible answer is yes, and the results are predictably 89% affirmative, what else is predictable is that every commentator, pundit, and windbag that they interview on CNN this weekend will focus almost exclusively on the federal dimension of responsibility (if they don’t, well then I’ll eat one of Roger’s used fedoras).

The interesting bit is that unlike past disasters where CNN saw a bump in their ratings compared to FNC, this time Americans are turning to FNC for breaking news and continuing coverage. Either there are fewer liberals now, or more likely the unrelenting negativity displayed by CNN, and the desire to turn every bit of news into anti-Bush propaganda has caused all but the most committed Bush haters to tune them out.

This is a horrible disaster, unprecedented in recent history for a city in a developed nation to be laid waste like this (without benefit of a war).

I can’t imagine any news organization during WWII being as instantly and constantly critical of the federal government during an ongoing disaster. If New Orleans had been wiped out in 1943 and NBC then made the same editorial decisions as CNN has now, I think FDR would have sent in troops and shut down the network for sedition.

I’m not calling for censorship, but I do believe that if the media wants to remain relavent (which by their behavior would seem to be an open question) then they must exercise restraint when restraint is called for.

Sep 2, 2005 - 4:30 pm 3. kynna:

I saw a few moments of CNN today and the anchorette was talking about the parade of aid flowing in and had to end the sentence with …”that they’ve needed for days.” As if someone was deliberately keeping it from them.

This is really starting to tick me off. That mayor ought to be arrested for how he’s handled this situation. Will anyone hold him accountable? No, they think they can saddle George W. Bush with this disaster the way they saddled his father with hurricane Andrew.

Disgusting. I hope it doesn’t work this time.

Sep 2, 2005 - 6:03 pm 4. Hovig:

Does Fox News’s Shepard Smith have a black eye? No, I mean it, literally: Is his left eye injured? Does anyone know the “story of the eye” here?

Sep 2, 2005 - 6:08 pm 5. ExRat:

Well, it’s not the function of the media to offer solutions, only to report the facts, don’tcha know

Sep 2, 2005 - 6:09 pm 6. PJ:

The mayor’s attitude ticks me off. Going ballistic on the radio…snapping his gum when Bush showed up…cool sunglasses. He’s like a caricature of an old time liberal!

Sep 2, 2005 - 6:18 pm 7. ExRat:

I was being sarcastic, in case folks didn’t pick up on it. I tried to put the /sarcasm in there but didn’t do it right.

Sep 2, 2005 - 6:40 pm 8. Ice-Nine:

Fox’s location guys are going ape****. Shepard Smith is raving. Geraldo Rivera is *weeping* as he holds up a baby because he “wants the world to see this!” – with the implication that there is something wrong with this kid because, of course, relief has not showed up at this location yet. The kid is crying too; tears running down his cheeks as he watches the camera. One supposes that that is the is the indication of the baby’s dire condition that Whorealdo wants the world to see.

Uh, Geraldo, relax big guy; the kid looks fine. (I’ve examined and treated sick babies for 35 yrs and I can spot one across the room. They don’t cry, they don’t hold their heads up, they don’t follow action with their eyes and when they’re dehydrated,*they don’t have tears*!). These people are to be pitied and don’t we all wish that they could all be instantly evacuated but, the histrionics of these media whores is simply grotesque.

Sep 2, 2005 - 7:03 pm 9. Ice-Nine:

Fox’s location guys are going ape****. Shepard Smith is raving. Geraldo Rivera is *weeping* as he holds up a baby because he “wants the world to see this!” – with the implication that there is something wrong with this kid because, of course, relief has not showed up at this location yet. The kid is crying too; tears running down his cheeks as he watches the camera. One supposes that that is the is the indication of the baby’s dire condition that Whorealdo wants the world to see.

Uh, Geraldo, relax big guy; the kid looks fine. (I’ve examined and treated sick babies for 35 yrs and I can spot one across the room. They don’t cry, they don’t hold their heads up, they don’t follow action with their eyes and when they’re dehydrated,*they don’t have tears*!). These people are to be pitied and don’t we all wish that they could all be instantly evacuated but, the histrionics of these media whores is simply grotesque.

Sep 2, 2005 - 7:04 pm 10. Coisty:

Some guy on Wolf Blitzer’s programme Jack something (Cafferty?) came across all sanctimonius about the issue of race. Yesterday he made a big deal about how he unlike the rest of the press was going to discuss the “taboo” subject of race. So brave of you Jack!

Well, it’s been in British and Australian newspapers (though not prominently) over the last day that whites were being intimidated and targeted in the Superdome. It’s also well known that the ones doing the shooting and raping are blacks. A third of the mostly black police force has also deserted. If Jack whatshisname and CNN are so brave about the racial angle how come they won’t mention these aspects of it?

Sep 2, 2005 - 7:35 pm 11. Jim Rockford:

Smith is right to be angry, and Geraldo is weeping for a reason.

The Thugs in New Orleans rule the city. Period. At nightfall yesterday, thugs invaded the Convention Center and raped several women at gunpoint. Several people were killed. Police were nowhere because they are outgunned, outmanned, and afraid. The City is filled with bullet ridden bodies, including people who’s heads have been blown off by shotguns.

The Superdome was also lawless, with murders and rapes (and rape/murders) happening nightly. The City is ruled by the thugs from the Projects. This should surprise no one. The city police in the best of times barely kept the thugs under control, large swaths of the city had essentially no law. Almost 60% of NOPD simply deserted under these conditions, they admitted they are afraid of the gangs. One reporter mentioned that he’d observed with his own eyes a group of NOPD officers telling women not to walk down a street because they’d be raped by the large groups of armed men there.

Mayor Nagin is a decent man and the first non-corrupt man in NO history, but he should have known the need to confront early and destroy the thugs from the projects. Nobody cares about idiots looting a big screen plasma TV in a city that has no power and will be evaced eventually; but thugs roaming around shooting at evacs at Charity and Tulane University hospital; or trying to break into Charity Hospital to kill patients, nurses, and doctors is predictable. I’ve come upon the aftermath of a 14 year old boy killed for his bike on Magazine Street (and that’s UPTOWN folks) where thugs stole the dead boy’s shoes. Disgusting. NO has constructed horrible projects where thug factories operate; Baptists tried to use moral suasion (I recall a giant billboard saying “Thou Shalt Not Kill!”) at Claiborne and Louisiana Ave; Catholic Church and even vodouns tried to use moral suasion and it failed. Black Panthers in the seventies; and Nation of Islam in the nineties were brought in to try and control the thuggery in the projects and just organized the mayhem more efficiently.

If you haven’t lived there you don’t know what’s going on. Conditions are horrific in the Convention Center and they should be evaced right NOW over to Gretna. They are not because the thugs own the city (and are burning down the Garden District and other places) and there is no political will to go in and kill these thugs and take the heat for it. Patients at Charity and Tulane hospitals have died because thugs kept evacs from happening by sniping; firemen and families are under sniper siege over in St. Bernard Parish; people died at both the Superdome and Convention Center because doctors were afraid for their safety. One evacuee said she will NEVER return to New Orleans because she does not want to live in the same city that could produce the thugs who committed awful acts (she hinted she saw a woman raped and murdered with impunity).

The ordinary working men of New Orleans (nearly all African American) who kept the city running and built it in the first place went out and rescued people. The thugs just acted like they always do, this time with no effective police to stop them. So yeah I get Geraldo losing it.

Nagin, ESPECIALLY Blanco, and yes Bush deserve blame. Nagin for not realizing his city has tons of thugs who would simply need killing to save the lives of the innocent and helpless. Blanco for refusing to declare martial law and not asking for help (volunteer citizens, neighboring states, the Feds) and having the National Guard initially without ammo for PC reasons; and Bush for simply not firing Chertoff and others when he could see efforts failing and continuing to fail. Of all of these I’d say Blanco however deserves the most blame. Closest to the problem and with the most authority. At the very least a rolling convoy of citizen volunteers comprised of 20,000 trucks and SUVs taking people out of New Orleans in a “Red Ball Express” to Texas and Baton Rouge could have saved hundreds and perhaps thousands of lives.

Sep 2, 2005 - 7:38 pm 12. Kevin P:

Roger:

CNN logic seems to be “There is suffering, therefore Bush is an idiot” Anderson Cooper is using the “Look, most of the victims are poor blacks, therefore it could be racism.” Yes, I am sure President Bush said, “Don’t rush boys, it’s just darkies.” I don’t blame the victims being angry and impatient(I am not including the looters in this scenario), but CNN seems to be claiming that their frustration is proof of bad behaviour. Cooper is saying “They want to know why they have not been helped yet and I do to” it could be that everyone is doing the best that they can in the face of mother natures power. Powefull hurricanes sometimes produce terrible misery.And I am not claiming that everything has been done properly. We don’t know yet. When that moron suggested dropping 40,000 sandwichs on the superdome by helicopter did he think about the riot that probably would occur if they took his sage advice. And I am sure this jek would have come on the tube and said “How could they not know that a riot would happen.” The moment by moment second guessing is amazing. There could have been massive mistakes, on both the local and federal level. But lets wait until we have the exact facts before we conduct the media witch trial by speculation.

Sep 2, 2005 - 7:39 pm 13. Watchman:

NBC is getting in on the act too…tonight’s Concert for Hurricane relief featured almost unbelievable remarks by Kayne West:

“George Bush doesn’t care about black people” and “America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well off as slow as possible” and “they’ve given them permission to shoot us.”

NOT ONE DIME FOR THE RED CROSS!

Sep 2, 2005 - 7:41 pm 14. stavr0s:

Ice-Nice gets it right about Shepard Smith going ape****.

Slate has an article, “The Rebellion of the Talking Heads: Newscasters, sick of official lies and stonewalling, finally start snarling.” – by Jack Shafer.

I snarled back in an email to Shafer and told him it was his audience who is rebelling. Shafer responded, “My audience? They love me.”

Joking or not, that attitude is exactly what’s wrong with the mainstream media. They are all stars with scripts and agendas. They don’t report news.

Sep 2, 2005 - 7:44 pm 15. flenser:

Jim Rockford

“.. firing Chertoff and others when he could see efforts failing and continuing to fail.”

I keep hearing this everywhere, but nobody can tell me what it means. What efforts specifically do you think failed? What do you think Chertoff could have done, but failed to do?

Sep 2, 2005 - 8:01 pm 16. tioedong:

CNNI is “all the riots all the time”…giving a bad name to the USA…but they bash Bush regularly anyway…but here in the Philippines the alternative is ChannelNewsAsia from Singapore (or Japanese news, in Japanese)

Yet probably a million people are staying with relatives and even strangers who took them in…and I am sure the local Okla Baptists have loaded up food and water and their youth groups and are busy helping people (I know this because they did it last year for Florida and LA hurricanes)…

However, last night someone sardcastically questioned the empty rhetoric of Jan Englend from the UN. she kept asking him for specifics, and he just kept jabbering, and she looked annoyed..she even noted that Americans were resentful that we helpoe everyone and no one helps us…

(yes, the Aussies and Japan are helping, but it wasn’t noted on CNN yet)

Sep 2, 2005 - 8:16 pm 17. Kevin P:

Roger:

For those who are trapped in the city and steal food to keep themselves alive I have complete understanding and sympathy. But there are two types of looting. Mr. Wests comments are so absurd. This is not Watts, this is not the Rodney King riots. And there have been some non-blacks particapating in the violent looting. But I have a question for Mr. West. Why don’t you want people who would take this tragedy as an excuse to rape BLACK women shot? If any of the rapists are white Isay shoot them right away. Why don’t you want thugs who are attacking and shooting at the first responders who are trying to help your brothers, whatever race they are, shot? Let me get this logic. You think the response has been slow, so lets make it harder for the people who have shown up to do their job. Lets see, 20% of the area is not under water, so lets burn and destroy the rest of it, that way it is even harder for the city to recover. Hey, lets shoot at the Helicopters that are saving BLACK men and women and make it harder to do it.

This activity is being done by a minority of the community but they do not deserve defense or protection just because they share his color. Sure, lets let them continue to destroy whats left of the city and keep the vast majority of decent African Americans that are suffering from being helped. I am not talking about anyone who took food or clothing or any other item that would help them survive. The aid is coming to slow, sure lets make it even slower and protect those who are taking advantage of this suffering to steal and pillage. You betcha. Makes perfect sense.

Sep 2, 2005 - 9:01 pm 18. HA:

What I’m about to say is probably as futile as a New Orleans levee in the path of a category 5 hurricane, but please for the love of God let’s not turn this natural disaster into a racial or partisan feud. Everybody needs to take a deep breath and tone down the rhetoric.

Sep 2, 2005 - 10:00 pm 19. flenser:

HA, I think you are a few days late with that plea, and it would not have made any difference anyway.

Besides political opportunism, I think a lot of people have been living in denial that a natural disaster of this size could happen here. This is the kind of thing that happens to brown skinned people across the seas, not to Americans. That seems to be the reaction in many places.

Sep 2, 2005 - 10:47 pm 20. Kevin P:

Ha:

In most of my posts I have tried to stay away from the looting issue. I am simply reacting to the West qoute that went out on national T.V. He of course has the right to say what he wants. Jesse Jackson has the right to say that one of the problems is the lack of black employees at FEMA. His son can tell Bush to go after God since he went after iraq after 9-11. CNN can feature the”was the reaction slow because of racism?” meme. The Congressional Black caucas can claim that the reaction was slow because Bush is a bigot. But the “race” question is already being pushed by the usual suspects. I agree that the race question should not be the major focus. When the autopsy of the Katrina hurricane is done President Bush may be found to have done a poor job. I don’t know for sure and I am not saying that it is not possible. But the idea that it is because Bush is a racist is crap and it is being sold agggressivly so responding to it is not the fault of me or any other poster who responds to it.

Sep 2, 2005 - 11:11 pm 21. gumshoe:

“Daddy can’t fix it

so we’ll kick him in the shins!!”

asia times’s Spengler has an article

on the contemorary American sense of Tragedy.

the MSM does seem to be piling on

before the rescue efforts are

anywhere near complete.

….and that constitues “helping”.

SPENGLER:

“Tragedy, I have argued on past occasions trains the mind to distinguish the necessary from the merely accidental…What we loosely call the great tragedies of history are just that, collisions which men no more could forestall than the shift in the earth’s tectonic plates.”

“…Victor Hugo adopts the structure of French bedroom farce, with the minor difference that violence takes the place of sex. The beggars of Paris, for example, storm the Cathedral of Notre Dame to rescue the gypsy girl Esmeralda from a charge of witchcraft; the deaf hunchback Quasimodo mistakes the attempted rescue for a lynching and pours molten lead on their heads; misinformed, the king orders his troops both to slaughter the beggars and to hang the witch. Because chance prevails, not necessity, the effect is not tragic, but merely grotesque. It has more in common with Grand Guignol than Sophocles. ”

“But the dramatic structure is identical; there is no tragic flaw, and no resolution, and everything will be exactly the same in the morning, ready for the next episode.”

“…and now,Anderson Cooper…”

from:

SPENGLER,Asia Times

George W Bush, tragic character

Nov 25, 2003

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EK25Ak01.html

in our prosperity,

have we lost the ablitiy to recognize

“necessity”??

what else could explain political sniping

in the MIDDLE of a disaster??

Sep 3, 2005 - 2:39 am 22. HA:

flenser and Kevin P,

I agree with everything you guys are saying. But when people see other people suffering and it isn’t apparent that something is being done about it, you can expect some people to react passionately, emotionaly and negatively. I think this is what was going with West. In my opinion, he was angry and he lashed out.

People with common sense will see these kinds of comments for what they are. Those without common sense will not respond to any kind of counter-argument. So let’s hope that common sense will prevail here. There is no point in getting in an “is! – is not!” argument about whether GWB is a bigot.

Sep 3, 2005 - 5:00 am 23. HA:

One more thing. GWB needs to get together with Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco for a “were all in this together, so let’s roll up our sleeves” type news conference. I think this would help alleviate some of the finger-pointing.

Sep 3, 2005 - 5:05 am 24. j. marzan:

Why the Liberal Media and Dems are blaming it all on Bush

Because they are worried that the Katrina disaster will push aside Iraq and Cindy Sheehan from the news, and Americans will rally behind Bush (which will probably lead to a upward spike in his approval ratings) when he asks for their support to help the refugees in Louisiana.

So the liberal media and other dems are pre-emptively trying to poison the atmosphere by engaging in the blame game and partisan politics. See Robert Kennedy. See Randi Rhodes. See Kanye West. See CNN. They want to see Bush fail so that they will reap the benefits in the 2006 midterm elections.

Don’t believe me? Just check out how the bloggers on the left and right are covering the Katrina disaster. The left is focused on finger-pointing and bush bashing, while the right is busy organizing efforts to help the hurricane victims.

You also get to see how the liberals would react if the US is hit with another terrorist attack in the future. It’s Bush’s fault, always.

Sep 3, 2005 - 7:08 am 25. RogerA:

The city of New Orleans has had an ethos of corruption for many many years; compare, for example, Biloxi vs New Orleans–I think the civic culture makes a wonderful case study about the pernicious effects of long term corruption.

That said, the culprit, if you will, is increasingly looking like Governor Blanco, who, at her news conference mentioned that the President had personally called her to urge evacuation before the Mayor finally did.

The City of New Orleans has its hurricane plan posted on Instapundit. It calls for 72 hours to evacuate–that makes the Mayor personally culpable for not following his own plan–I would be very interested to know if the local emergency managers had a meeting late last week to go over the hurricane plan–Anyone want to take bets?

I know I have been an advocate of not blaming at this point, but it seems to me if people are going to start blaming (the cable news networks) they should at least know the facts.

Sep 3, 2005 - 8:04 am 26. dougf:

One more thing. GWB needs to get together with Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco for a “were all in this together, so let’s roll up our sleeves” type news conference. I think this would help alleviate some of the finger-pointing.–Ha

But they are not ‘all in this together’. Nagin seemingly f***** up the evacuation AND for good measure he then f***** up the security situation and failed utterly to provide adequate resources in his places of last resort.

Blanco’s performance is simply beneath contempt. She has failed UTTERLY. Bush apparently had to request that these clowns issue the ‘mandatory evacuation’ order in the first place. Unbelievble.

The Feds may have been slow to get their act together but I think that is debatable.What they needed was for Nagin & BLanco to ‘hold the fort’ for 3 days until they could get enough help into the city. These two could not organise the situation for 3 hours . They didn’t even support their own police forces with the proper supplies.

Someone has to answer. If these two don’t go down, then Bush will. It’s merely mathematics and nasty human nature.

Bush should avoid them like the plague and wait for the TRUTH to come out in the later investigations. People died because they failed to exercise proper control.

As to CNN— can’t stand the thing. As a Canadian I actually changed my TV provider just to get Fox and get away from that propaganda outlet when Fox was approved here in January.

Sep 3, 2005 - 10:50 am 27. RogerA:

dougf–again, violating my self imposed restriction on assigning blame–you are absolutely correct–The Mayor and the Governor are both primarily responsible. End of story.

Sep 3, 2005 - 11:06 am 28. Snippet:

There is, of course, no taboo associated with publicly discussing race. If you want to blame whitey for any given problem, you will be given more megaphones to shout into than you can shake a stick at, as Jesse Jackson, Kwasei Mfune, Al Sharpton, et al know all too well.

The “taboo” that exists regarding race is a taboo against holding any particular racial/ethnic group responsible for the circumstances that are unique to it, or disproportionately associated with it.

Frankly, the idea that whitey is responsible for everything that ails the black community is an insult to the black community, by implying that they are passive victims of circumstances beyond their control, with no recourse other than wanton violence and mayhem.

Sep 3, 2005 - 11:09 am 29. TedM:

I am taking the liberty of posting a link to Atlas Shrugs. Scroll down to the item headlined

From A Man who Has Been There Done That.

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2005/09/president_is_no.html#comments

In the past few days it has been rare to hear from who is knowledgable and has FACTS.

I cannot watch the TV now. The bile and hysteria spewing forth from nitwits is beyond the pale.

If I were King, only senior staff from the Corps of Engineers, Construction Engineers and Rudy Guliani and George Pataki would be allowed on the morning talk shows tomorrow. No politicians, no political operatives, no so called journalists. And someone like Ben Bauman who actually knows what he is talking about.

Sep 3, 2005 - 12:06 pm 30. Skookumchuk:

RogerA, et al:

Can’t post too much, since these 16 hour days are kinda wearing . . .

But basically, the way the Feds respond to a disaster is the same as the way the Feds help any state or local entity.

Show us your plan and we’ll give you the goodies.

No plan, no goodies.

Second point. Entities like FEMA are small and depend for their survivial on playing nice with others in the government who can acommplish things for them and who also want a share of the credit. That means – for example – that MREs purchased in Marengo, Indiana are bought and moved to New Orleans by FEMA but distributed by the National Guard. That means that in the eyes of the TV-watching public, the National Guard “made it happen” and gets the credit. And FEMA is happy to give them the credit.

Third point. The ad hoc nature of the planning and execution process means that many entities must be involved in order to get something done. Plus the inherent bureaucratic desire to make things more baroque than they really need to be. So FEMA tells Bureaucracy A to instruct Bureaucracy B to choose between potential Contractor Number 1 and potential Contractor Number 2 to get something done. You can see where this is headed . . .

There is also the small matter of doing it quickly (and you can never do it quickly enough) while keeping the purchasing and the spending of money legal. The ability to do this requires a high degree of skill – bureaucratic skill – and there are lots of folks who really shine at this. Another thing you never hear about.

Fourth point. Since World War 2, we have had a very large and capable military Reserve, that increasingly has become more and more integrated with the active services. Health care, promotions, tuition reimbursement, training, the whole deal. There is no Homeland Security reserve.

Apologize for no spell check. Gotta run.

Sep 3, 2005 - 2:35 pm 31. Eric Deamer:

Yes. It’s just that MSM focusing on the negative again. Everything’s fine in New Orleans. Move along. Nothing to see here folks. Thank God we have the blogosphere to point out that the response to the disaster was perfectly executed and that Bush is beyond reproach, again. Because, you know, that’s not fatuous at all.

Sep 3, 2005 - 7:53 pm 32. j. marzan:

We’ll go ahead then, finger-point away. It’s all Bush’s fault and democrats will certainly gain from this in the 2006 midterm elections.

Sep 3, 2005 - 8:34 pm 33. RogerA:

The situation in New Oleans is clearly not fine–but when fingers of blame are pointed lets start with: the corrupt in incompetent city of new orleans (Eric Deamer: you can read their hurricane plan on instapundit; their own plan predicated at least 72 hours of notice for evacuation, and the Mayor failed miserably). Then there was the inability of the Governor to prepare and mobilize the entire national guard–In fact, the she herself said in her press conference with the Mayor that the President had personally called her and begged her to evacuate).

There are clearly some problems with FEMA and the disconnect between what the FEMA director was saying and the national weather service was saying–but the federal response has been excellent in the face of a storm of massive proportions–It is sad that the critics of the Bush administration will take a national disaster of immense proportions and use it to bash a president–really really sad.

The emergency preparedness system starts at the local and state level–it is their responsibility to plan and execute and call on the feds when it is out of their control–Clearly the city of NO and the state of LA are woefully incompetent. But New Orleans has had an ethos of corruption for 100 or more years.

I suppose the president could have declared the Gov and Mayor incompentent prior to the hurricane and federalized the operation (required by the posse commitatus act)–OR the mayor and the governor could have said it was out of their control which permits the president to declare martial law–do you, Eric Deamer, think that either situation is likely? Or are you one of these people who think the President and federal government have far more than they actually do.

It is sad enough when the critics come out of the woodwork–but sadder still when they have no knowledge of how emergency management works, or how the laws of our country work with respect to the division of federal and state power.

Sep 4, 2005 - 6:54 am 34. TedM:

This thread is almost done. I would like to thank RogerA for his clearheaded, calm and knowledgeable comments.

Reading other blogs and comments this morning is depressing. So much furor. So little fact. So much cherry picking of news items.

Michael Moore and Maureen Dowd are at their usual level of unhelpful propaganda.

One of the things you learn in management very early is not to accept responsibility without authority. The state leader in La. is unwilling to give up her authority. She must also assume the responsibity.

It seems evident that there was a total collapse in civil control from before the hurricane hit.Certainly, after the levee failed early Tuesday the city government had disappeared. The state was no more effective.

I wonder when the feds realized that the locals had lost control of the situation. And, what alternatives did they have.

Again, thank you RogerA

Sep 4, 2005 - 7:27 am 35. Sandy P:

Via LGF:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html

At the Washington Post, in a story with a headline that gives no indication of the important information it contains, we discover that federal officials were desperately trying to get Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to do something about the disaster in New Orleansóbut she refused to act:

—-

There’s a memo, too.

Sep 4, 2005 - 8:00 am 36. TedM:

Sandy,

That item is the most revealing about what has been going on behind the scenes.

I hate to be comical, but I have to.

The Governess of LA. is the Wizardess of OZ

The Mayor of N.O. is Chicken Little.

Sep 4, 2005 - 8:15 am 37. David Thomson:

ìThere are clearly some problems with FEMA and the disconnect between what the FEMA director was saying and the national weather service was sayingî

Michael Brown is virtually powerless if the local authorities opt to sit on their hands. The governor of Louisiana is still the chief executive of the state. Even the president of the United States cannot casually push her out of the way. We do not live in a dictatorship. It appears that some members of the MSM are unaware of the principle of federalism.

Sep 4, 2005 - 10:32 am 38. Kevin P:

Eric;

Many of us have admitted that the possibility of federal failure in the response is possible.I have included it in most of my posts and I have not decided who is “more to blame”It is the automatic assumption of “There is suffering, therefore it is evidence of federal bungling, they are the major culprits.” Do any of us have all the facts about the communication between, city, state and federal authorities. Do any of us know exactly what Bush could legally do. As I have stated many times before it could that the Bush administration blew it big time. I don’t have all the facts. But in certain sections of the MSM it has already been decided. And how do they know? People are suffering! Guilt has been decided, we don’t need all the facts, game,set, match. The FEMA head should quit, Bush hates blacks, (and of course this is also evidence that Iraq is wrong and Kyoto is right). The one week trial and execution method of the critique is simplistic and may not be correct. Lets get the stranded saved and get started on the recovery. Let’s wait a week, MAYBE TWO!!!!!!, and then we can hold the political trial. If Bush blew it I will have no problem saying it. For many, It haseen decided “because there is suffering, as if a storm of that quality is going to be painless.

Sep 4, 2005 - 4:55 pm

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