<p>"In the hectic, confused hours after Hurricane Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast, Louisiana’s governor hesitantly but mistakenly assured the Bush administration that New Orleans’ levees were intact, according to a new video obtained by The Associated Press showing briefings that day with federal officials. "</p>
<p>It is a time dependent progress report…Unless you know the exact time the levees were breached and the time of the call to the white house, you can’t make that judement. Also, don’t forget that governor like president relies on the information given to them by other people - like FEMA.</p>
<p>We all went to be that night thinking NOLA had missed the worst only to find out that the next morning that the levees had breached overnight. Even people in hotels downtown didn’t realize it until dawn. Considering all communication was down, I’m not too surprised.</p>
<p>I can only guess what the interest in Blanco’s mistake is. I suppose to the loyal Bush lovers this somehow makes up for Bush’s lie that “nobody predicted the levees could break”-- a prediction that he was videotaped listening to only a few days before?</p>
<p>My one wish for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast is this: Spend less time focusing on who did what wrong in August and September. Spend more time focusing on what needs to be done <em>now</em> and making sure we get it right the next time.</p>
<p>Politicians so love the blame game. I find it disgusting in the face of what they should be doing.</p>
<p>Amen Jmmom!!! My family is from Mississippi and my extended family lives in New Orleans. To me, it doesn’t matter who did what or why. It matters that the people that still need help get it. I had a friend of mine from college come stay with me a few weeks ago. She is from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Her statement upon arriving was, “I can’t wait to have an actual bed to sleep in and a full size shower.” All of her family and friends are living in FEMA trailers. In fact, her family is living in a FEMA trailer and a motor home and have been since early September. They only have two restaurants other than fast food with enough employees to operate and those stop taking customers at 6 and 7 pm respectively because they have limited staff. The other thing she wanted to do while visiting was eat out. Another friend of mine whose sister lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is pregnant. She is having trouble getting an appointment with a doctor because so many have left the area and so demand is high and the wait is long. It’s easy to get caught up in the blame game and finger pointing and forget that this is still very much reality for the people who went through it.</p>
I raised this issue on the other thread. The only video tape that I saw was the one saying that the levees could be “overtopped” which is VERY different than “breached”. Be careful before you call someone a liar, lest you become the liar.</p>
<p>Oh Teach2005 and Jmmom, how true! We are sitting here asking ourselves how are we going to make it through next hurricane season, and what if we have a big storm, will there be any energy left next yearin the gov’t or the private sector to respond? How will we evacuate with bridges still out?</p>
<p>I heard an interview with Haley Barbour (gov of MS) yesterday, it was sobering, they are planning beginning evacuations at least 2-3 days earlier this year, and mobilizing as soon as storm is likely to be in the Gulf - think of all those FEMA trailers with another Katrina bearing down on them!</p>
<p>The public schools here are seriously considering shifting the start of school until after Labor Day, until the hurricane risk starts decreasing. They have to clear with the state to change dates of standardized tests, etc. That way we may not miss so much school.</p>
<p>Cangel, let me ask you: How did you make it through the hurricane seasons of 1970-2004? Could it have been with a reasonable expectation that it would be an “average” year? I think that’s how you’ll make it through this year, if you can control the emotional factor.</p>
<p>It seems to me that Barbour’s approach is completely rational. Before Katrina people got used to ignoring evacuation warnings, and the state governments didn’t enforce them. </p>
<p>Except of course in Florida, where in 2004 they had FOUR major hurricanes with very little loss of life, because they take it seriously. Common sense is the watchword.</p>
<p>Wyogal, the difference is that the last 3 years haven’t been average years, and the forecasting gets better and better each year. My kids have missed weeks of school for the last 2 years, and we didn’t bear the brunt of either storm.</p>
<p>I guess what I mean about making it through is the damage to the infrastructure that is not yet repaired (understandably, I’m not fingerpointing at all, it is amazing what has been fixed). Common sense where I live, equals stay at home for the storm, don’t evacuate. My house is at about 130 feet and we are about 15 miles inland - we have a similar danger level in terms of our personal safety, that a person living in Neb or Ohio would have in tornado season, you can lose your house, people do, but for any individual it is unlikely. Its probably more dangerous on the road trying to get away, plus you are one more car clogging up the roads for people who truly need to get away. Its just going to be harder after Katrina to tell yourself stay home.</p>
<p>yes I think Gov Barbour is being very realistic. And his calm good sense and planning saved a lot of lives in MS. Think about the worst pictures you’ve seen of NOLA up close to the levees, there’s about 50-60 sq miles of South MS that looked like that. If the same percentage of people had stayed in MS that stayed there in 1969 for Camille, the loss of life would have been much greater, because the storm surge was much, much worse.</p>
<p>I wonder what it will be like when a Katrina bears down on Miami?</p>