<p>
I don’t agree on that point at all, FF. I think the media is headed for another Dan Rather meltdown that will once again leave it more damaged than its target.</p>
<p>I’m not so sure about that. With the Dan Rather incident it was only one network that had its neck on the line. The others were available to expose the situation. In this case they have essentially all taken the position that the primary screw up was by FEMA. I don’t see a lot of backtracking coming from them once they have taken this position.</p>
<p>The ABC report shows at least a hint of backtracking. The larger point is that fewer and fewer people are taking the MSM at face value any more, due to its own manifest failure to deliver straight news. There are many other sources out there that are forcing a full discussion.</p>
<p>This one’s got to hurt. The CNN/USAToday/Gallup poll just released shows that only 13% of the American public blames President Bush for the problems in New Orleans after the hurricane. It’s true that 24% believe that he did a terrible job and 18% more said that he did a bad job, but only 13% blame him. That’s remarkable in my view given the level of venom and hatred that has been directed his way from the usual suspects. I guess Sean Penn and Pierce Brosnan don’t speak for most of us. Who’d a thunk it?</p>
<p>WOW, browninfall, and to think CNN is hardly a fan of George Bush. The “usual suspects” greatly underestimate the character of the majority of American people who disregard the rantings of extremists.</p>
<p>If anyone wants to express their concerns to the government, here’s a link to a petition that MOVE-ON is putting together: <a href=“http://political.moveon.org/pac/helpvictims//letter.html[/url]”>http://political.moveon.org/pac/helpvictims//letter.html</a></p>
<p>Unabletomoveon.org…part of the paltry 13%…and leaders of the Bush is to blame for everything cult.</p>
<p>The real culprits are becoming clear.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007219[/url]”>http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007219</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/344065p-293598c.html[/url]”>http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/344065p-293598c.html</a></p>
<p>My head is spinning…wow…</p>
<p>the Feds had a few delays…nice euphemism for a really bad job</p>
<p>And they have spread lies about the repsonse, and when the truth comes out, they lie about something else</p>
<p>Spinning like a whirlpool</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The Times of London</p>
<p>Barrons, I’m not sure your opinion pieces have their sources straight. </p>
<p>Below is an excerpt from tpm.com from a few days ago. Marshall is reprinting excerpts from Blanco’s state of emergency letter as well as a letter from the White House site regarding Federal assistance. </p>
<hr>
<p>"On the state of Louisiana website you can find this letter Gov. Blanco sent to President Bush on August 28th, that was last Sunday, just on the eve of the hurricane’s landfall. (Here’s the PDF and here is a text transcription.) Basically the letter is a laundry list of requests for aid and assistance from the federal government, invoking various laws, and so forth. </p>
<p>Some of the key passages include …</p>
<p>Under the provisions of [the relevant federal law], I request that you declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period beginning August 26, 2005, and continuing … In response to the situation I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on August 26, 2005 in accordance with Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. A State of Emergency has been issued for the State in order to support the evacuations of the coastal areas in accordance with our State Evacuation Plan … Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.35, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster … </p>
<p>The referenced state declaration of emergency was apparently declared on August 26th, that is, the Friday before landfall. </p>
<p>There’s also this Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana, which appears on the White House website dated August 27th, which begins: “The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.”</p>
<p>Key excerpts include …</p>
<p>The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe … Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency."</p>
<hr>
<p>I am not clear whether some of these articles are spreading misinformation or arguing about the technicalities of Blanco’s letter. The state of Emergency was declared in advance of the hurricane. If Bush or Republican supporters are saying they didn’t respond because Blanco didn’t ask for something very specific then I think that is a poor excuse.</p>
<p>I would also appreciate if Bush supporters would please refrain from attacking Bush critics - calling us extremists and un-American Bush haters. It’s not like this is the first controversial thing this president has been involved in. I have a laundry list of incompetencies I’ve observed from reading and watching a variety of sources. Maybe you should step back a little and separate yourself from Bush - you’re kind of like helicopter supporters - swooping in to defend your president no matter what he does.</p>
<p>Oddly enough, most of the posters who are not blaming Bush, are not really pro-Bush, just pro-logic. I did not vote for Bush, I think the war is a mistake, I believe Katrina could have been handled better…but…I think responsibility (not blame) is spread over quite a few politicians in both parties.</p>
<p>I don’t think that the articles Barrons put up are arguing technicalities, but there is a distinction between “declaring an emergency” and implementing “the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city.” Declaring an emergency is similarly not the same thing as issuing a mandatory evacuation order—and seeing that it is carried out.</p>
<p>I’ll repeat, Choc, what I said elsewhere:</p>
<p>I am not a citizen of NO. I am not a citizen of LA. But I am a citizen of the USA, and it is its response that I am responsible for. That’s why I, and many others, are questioning the federal response. They represent me, and I think they did so very poorly.</p>
<p>I’ll let the locals deal with the local questions.</p>
<p>With Brown lying about things, I am not sure what is true</p>
<p>What they have told the press, which turns out to be false and shown as false, who knows what is correct</p>
<p>ie- No one knew the levees would fail, heard that one a few times</p>
<p>But ignore that failure of even knowing some basic information</p>
<p>oh yeah, who told me to fall on my sword for the Barbara Bush statement…</p>
<p>that it was all cut and paste</p>
<p>yep, like a vault, i forget nothing</p>
<p>Below is an excerpt from Barron’s first link. Seems like the author is repeating the misinformation that came directly from the Bush white house- the misinformation that Blanco did not declare a state of emergency. His first statement seems false regarding what I’ve read regarding new Homeland Security Rules. </p>
<p>“The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid.”</p>
<p>OK, I’m going to wade into this muck. Garland, what you just stated is overly simplistic. There are laws governing when and how the federal government can step in and take over. Personally, I would feel very uncomfortable if these laws were changed and the federal government, accompanied by the military force, could come into my city and state and declare mandatory anything. </p>
<p>I live in a hurricane prone area. I have personally lived through 2, although not anywhere near the force or scope of Katrina, and as I said in another forum, my city, Houston, often conducts emergency response exercises to prepare for “the big one”. But, I am telling you the truth…if it came here many, many people would be trapped by water, buried under fallen houses, killed in horrific ways. Even though we are told that a hurricane is coming, we just don’t believe it will actually hit here. And, you never think it will be as bad as it is! We have become complacent. Governors and mayors are reluctant to order mandatory evacuations because so often the storms turn. Unfortunately for NO, this one didn’t and despite NO’s “plan” they were hit with the full force of a NATURAL disaster. </p>
<p>I know I have learned from this, I am going to listen when the Hurricane Advisory center tells me that it is coming to my city and I am going to run! I truly believe that everyone is going to learn painful lessons from Katrina, even the federal government. But, I also have learned the incredible generousness of good people in my city. And I do believe the evacuees appreciate the kindnesses they are finding here after their awful experience.</p>
<p>And BTW, contrary to what some people have said in this thread, Barbara Bush is a really nice woman with a wonderful heart, and she is, I’m sure, horrified by the inferences made from her unfortunate remarks. I know I have had a few toads jump out of my mouth before I could shut it. Haven’t we all?</p>
<p>Liz:
States declare emergencies all the time. It doesn’t automatically follow that federal assistance will be involved. President Bush declared an emergency for the states that were obviously going to be creamed by Katrina before the fact so that that part of the bureaucratic exercise would be out of the way when the request for specific forms of help from those states came.</p>
<p>The point of the WSJ piece cited by Barrons was that the governor of Louisiana seemed to be under the serious misapprehension–shared by many here at CC–that her declaration of emergency put the primary responsibility of “first responder” on someone else…when in fact, the declaration was meant to clear the deck for her to implement “the previously established” emergency plan. Which she didn’t even seem to be aware of.</p>
<p>The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered “Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.”</p>
<p>“The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe … Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.”"</p>
<p>Am I missing something here? From the above referenced quotes, it would appear that Louisiana’s Governor asked for help from the President, and the President declared a State of Emergency and authorized FEMA to provide the assistence prescribed by law. </p>
<p>I think most people can agree that FEMA (and by extention, The Dept. of Homeland Security) dropped the ball in handling the Gulf Coast disaster. I personally do not accept the excuse that FEMA could not have known that people were stranded at the Superdome. Heck, people in Papua, New Guinea were probably marveling at the specter of U.S. citizens living under such desperate conditions. There’s no earthly way, the folks at FEMA could have missed that widely known fact, even if the Mayor did fail to register The Superdome as a refuge site with FEMA. Sorry FF… </p>
<p>I’m not suggesting that the President bares no responsibility for the way things were handled in the wake of Katrina, but I don’t believe the majority of the blame can realistically be laid at his feet. Rather, I think that there were tragic, and numerous administrative failures all along the way, by virtually everyone in authority, from Mayor Nagin’s office, to the Governor’s office, to FEMA, to the White House. Everyone wants to find a single, simple explaination (and scapegoat) for what went wrong. But that’s not honest, and it’s certainly not intelligent.</p>