Reading the comments here, the posts on other blogs, and gauging my own gut reaction, it’s becoming increasingly clear to me that the aftermath of Katrina is quickly becoming an abject political disaster for the Bush Administration. Public opinion is rapidly turning; with each passing moment, there is more and more discontent and anger with the perceived inadequacy and slowness of the federal response — and not just in New Orleans. CNN’s Kathleen Koch and Anderson Cooper are reporting very similar concerns on the ground in Mississippi, where delays in the relief effort are much harder to understand.
You’ve got Anderson Cooper lecturing Mary Landrieu about rats knawing at dead bodies, and bloggers of all stripes cheering him on; you’ve got Mayor Nagin ranting about “too many goddamn press conferences,” and even I (despite my general dislike of Mayor Nagin) find myself feeling sympathetic. Bottom line, rightly or wrongly, if the feds don’t get this turned around very, very soon — like, today — I think the political ramifications may be staggering and far-reaching. The public does not easily forgive a government’s perceived failure in a crisis, nor should they (assuming the perception is accurate). Like graffiti carved into the wet concrete of a newly paved sidewalk, the perception that the government failed the victims of Katrina will be almost impossible to alter once it has hardened, and I sense that it is hardening very fast.
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Categories: Hurricane Katrina
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September 2nd, 2005 at 7:21:00 am
Whats about your gas price ?
Super hit 6.70US$/gal here in germany if my calculations are correct:
US$:Euro~1.25
US gal~3.78litre
Price 1.42Euro/litre
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:39:30 am
Just another google-ad….
Win a 3-Day, 2-Night Stay in New Orleans
I guess they should update once a week…
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:46:58 am
Brendan -
You are right on with this post. Not to minimize the impact of the human suffering, but with each passing hour new details of incompetence seem to change the political calculus in the US.
So much stuff you never believed you would see. Was that Shepherd Smith last night, reporting live on Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox News, in front of a rotting corpse on the highway and slamming the incompetent repsonse from local, state, AND FEDERAL officials? What will Rupert Murdoch do?
You need look no further than the tone of these blog postings, quickly evolving from “leave politics out of this” to “what are the politicians doing?”
I recalled last night that the Sunday after last fall’s election, Karl Rove told Tim Russert quite matter-of-factly that he envisioned a 50 year run of Republican legislative dominance to match the Democratic run from ~1930 to 1994.
Its almost as if each new revelation is a little like high tide coming in and potentially washing away Rove’s dream.
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:48:09 am
Last I checked, Mary Landrieu, Mayor Nagin, and the Gov. of Louisiana are all democrats. How does their handling of the situation become an “abject political disaster for the Bush administration”?
The federal government is the one sending in the cavalry–the engineers filling in the levees, navy ships on the way, additional troops.
The single biggest failure was local–not ordering & organizing a mandatory evacuation earlier.
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:51:19 am
I agree with you.
For quite some time now, the Bush administration has done its best to look as callous as possible. From the month-long vacation while a war is ongoing to Thursday’s stories about Condi’s expensive shoe shopping, they’re doing their best to present an appearance of “I don’t care.”
While there’s nothing wrong with vacations or shopping, appearances do matter and if this administration wants Republicans to win elections in the future, they have to get in better control of their image.
And the MSM is providing a very damning example. Not necessarily by their stories but by their very presence. If the reporters can brave bullets and gangs and floodwaters and fires to get their stories, why couldn’t the government do the same with aid trucks? Why did it take so long for aid to appear to a relatively accessible spot like the convention center? Someone could have loaded up a uhaul on Monday with supplies and driven it from Seattle and been at the Convention Center sooner than the government.
Fortunately for the Republicans, the Dems aren’t providing much of an alternative. I think they’ll survive this crisis without much of a loss in votes because the Dems are so painfully incompetent.
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:55:13 am
I think while right now there may be growing discontent for Bush’s (rightfully or wrongfully assumed) failed response to this s tragedy, I don’t believe it will stick over the next few weeks. I believe this precisely for the reason that I don’t believe democrats at the national level will be able to call him out on this failure as more and more info circulates about how Bush really has no say in how this is all treated, and more and more about the local failure is understood.
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:56:53 am
Let’s see. Day one after the hurricane, Bush lollygagged and photo-op’d in Arizona and California, stumping about Medicare. This was a category 5 storm before it came aground. FEMA declared, BEFORE THE STORM HIT, that it may be a devastating hit. Bush vacationed. By the time Bush acknowledged this as a disaster, at least one cabinet member still vacationed in New York City, VPOTUS hid out in Wyoming. This administration is not convening a cabinet; they are not treating this like a national emergency; they are not providing for the citizens of this country. Oh, sure, it’s New Orleans, “a cesspool of humanity and depravity”, as my Jesusland coworker declared.
The Federal response to this catastrophe is depressing and criminal. Any Bush apologizers are as bad as the looters in New Orleans. The Democrats as on par with Bush, because they’ve remained bloody well silent while all this incompetence KILLS PEOPLE EACH PASSING DAY.
Fuck Bush.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:05:24 am
How does their handling of the situation become an “abject political disaster for the Bush administration”?
Er, what exactly are the people of New Orleans supposed to help themselves using? I mean, their police stations are underwater, their command centers are without electricity, their first responders are themselves victims and have family as such. The state isn’t in much better shape, even ignoring all the state’s National Guard resources that are deployed out in Iraq. New Orleans and Louisana got the holy living daylights kicked out them. They simply _don’t_ have the resources to save or help themselves.
A diarist from near Fort Rucker, Alabama (link) wrote of the frustration of the Army helicopter pilots there. They had helicopters, and they both wanted to help and they were ready to help. But no orders had come from above — in fact, orders had come from above that their help was not needed. It’s not like the Gov. of Louisana can give the authorization for those men to go into action. That can only happen at a Federal level. And that is a microcosm of the myriad sorts of lapses, miscommunications, and missteps that have been happening.
To me, blaming the locals for the lack of federal response tastes of blaming the victim for failing to help themselves. I’m sure there were mistakes made by the local and state governments and things they might have been able to do — although the paper trail of requests from local Republicans and Democrats alike, for levee repair, for levee funding, for financing of planning that got rejected by the federal government is pretty damning at this point — but once the storm hit, the response _had_ to come from the federal level; the state and city’s own resources got wrecked. Complaining about the city and the state’s inabilty to relieve themselves is like complaning to a run over pedestrian she can’t crawl out of traffic quickly enough. And when you have the director of Homeland Security claiming he didn’t even know about things like the suffering at the convention enter when he’s supposedly the man who is supposed to be in flippin’ charge — yes, I think we can say the blame goes up federal way. And if that becomes a political disaster, it’s only because people are holding them accountable.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:10:18 am
I just wonder how the Bush administration is supposed to better respond when everyone who attempts to rescue people gets shot at. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s the bus drivers trying to evacuate people, the engineers trying to repair the levees, or the doctors and nurses who are now trapped in the hospitals by looters-the situation is hell. It seems the only way to get control of the situation is to send national guard, etc., in to just take down anyone shooting and bring order. But then you have the political ramifications of “using the military on our own people.” People would compare Bush and the African American population to Saddam and the Kurds within days. Bush is stuck, politically speaking.
That being said, the FEMA director’s comments blaming the victims for not evacuating was just plain stupid. He should be fired.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:18:43 am
People would compare Bush and the African American population to Saddam and the Kurds within days.
Not when much of the military itself is minority. It was a real perceptual problem back in the riots of the ’60s, when the officers were white and the rioters were black. But the helicopter pilots and marines who would go into New Orleans are a much more racially mixed group. I don’t think that would be the issue.
But when we say the Bush Administration needs a better response — we need to do better than having this — the head of Homeland Security claiming on NPR _yesterday_ that he had no idea what the rest of the flippin’ planet already knew — that all hell was breaking loose at the Convention Center. The Head of Homeland Security had no idea about one of the biggest concentrated humanitarian problems in the disaster zone. Forget poor response — he didn’t even _know_ while the rest of us were watching pictures on CNN of corpses propped up in wheelchairs. And if a little something like thousands of refugees without food and water manages to miss his attention, what the flipping heck else is he missing?
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:20:31 am
So damn tired of everthing being made political. This is about human sufferage.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:20:35 am
Katrina needs Rudy.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:21:57 am
I think it is too early to be turning this into a political blame game. Lets wait till there are not people dying in the streets of NO to figure out who is at fault. Nevertheless, Chertoff was pissing me off in his press conference yesterday; talking about how “we got hit by 2 disasters; we had no way of knowing this could happen.” Either he is really clueless, or that was some more BS. I don’t live in Louisiana, and I have been hearing about the big one that would wipe out NO for my entire life. I have herd several news reports about the situation over just the past couple of years. That kind of ignorance irritates and scares me.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:23:43 am
Brendan,
You have to remember that CNN HATES Bush. They will do anything they can to hurt him. If he’d send 10 million troops in, immediately, they would have said he responded too quickly, with too much.
Their polls are all skewed. I wouldn’t trust anything from CNN.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:25:13 am
Rudy likely will be the next president becuase people will trust him to handle crisis.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:30:43 am
This is the fault of the Bush Administration. Why? Because in a disaster the governor and mayor do not have the authority to manage Federal agencies like the Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and the military. They President does. That is why FEMA was created.
Funny how during 9/11 Bush took all kinds of credit for the great work FEMA did, but now that his incompetence is shining through it is suddenly the victims’ fault.
Besides, when has Bush ever taken responsibility for anything? He’s not responsible for the disaster in Iraq. He’s not responsible for the energy crisis (which we are now certainly in), he’s not responsible for stopping illegal immigration, he’s not responsible for trade policies that encourage outsourcing, he’s not responsible for the deficit. The man is unaccountable for ANYTHING.
The most damning thing is his mishandling of Federal funding. In 2003 he cut the Army Corps of Engineering’s funding for the NO levees by 60% - the first time in 37 years funding had been cut - and yet signs off on a transportation bill that builds a $250 million bridge to an island in Alaska that has two residents (I’m sure GOP donors at that).
Let them eat cake…
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:34:18 am
Callmemickey,
I said the same thing to my wife yesterday– that if this continues to be the major story of 2005, and a major story of 2006, people will remember that a President has to be a leader, not just a SGA-wannabe-prettyboy type.
Rudy 2008!
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:34:35 am
“So damn tired of everthing being made political. This is about human sufferage.”
“Sufferage?” Have things gotten so bad that Bush is anonymously posting things on the Internet himself?
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:35:49 am
But its not the Feds role to control and direct disaster response, it the state and local governments role.
The Feds role is to assist and support the local governments in disaster relief.
Miss. and Al. seem to be doing OK. Its the government in La. and NO that have collapsed under the stress.
How is this Bush’s fault?
I dont know how it is in La. but in California its is drummed into you by the state and local government, and by the media, that when the big one hits you are on your own for at least 3 to 5 days, maybe longer. You have to look after yourself, have your emergency kit ready, and be ready to move at short notice. And it is said, sotto voice, be ready to leave for an extended period of time while they try and clean up the mess.
Again if the state and city voters elect incompetents, how is this Bushs fault?
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:36:36 am
I especially like Haley Barbour going on the air yesterday and saying, “Relief is taking a long time and it is going to take a long time. People have to be patient.”
How patient can you be when you haven’t had food or water for four days - and this is in HIS state of Mississippi! These people will be dead by Labor Day if they don’t get water soon.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:39:12 am
One thing I find interestsing is the fact that after the FL hurricanes last year Bush was here in the state the day after the diasters surveying the damage. Of course his brother is the governor… Why is he touring the damage in LA/MS today? The feds have been slow to respond, and their responds sound hollow. Although, I personally think that they local and state officials have totally mishandled this situation from the get go.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:41:01 am
“Miss. and Al. seem to be doing OK. Its the government in La. and NO that have collapsed under the stress.”
Sorry to inform you, but CNN, MSNBC and even FOX are reporting from Gulfport and Biloxi that they have no food, water and have seen no National Guard.
How is this Bush’s fault? Well, maybe the governor of LA could have responded quicker if her National Guard units weren’t in Iraq.
I agree that the mayor of New Orleans has been a total disaster. But it is the Federal government’s responsiblity to deal with flood management. The mayor has been asking for help. It would seem to me that the Administration would put the political blame game aside and take charge of the situation when lives are in danger.
I guess if there is ever a nuke in your city you’d better hope the mayor doesn’t get killed because the Feds will do completely NOTHING.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:42:43 am
Jeff, Totally. I was talking with some friends about it and they all agreed that even if Bush couldn’t have acted like Rudy did in New York with this tragedy, they’d still want someone that they “knew could stand up if needed”.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:46:44 am
“You’ve got Anderson Cooper lecturing Mary Landrieu about rats knawing at dead bodies”.
Makes me think of Bruce Willis in Die Hard: “Glass? Who cares about f***ing glass!?”
Fortunately, they are saving the living, not worrying about the dead (at this time). But in a day or two, when diseases start, they might have to. On the other hand, no disease seems to be arising yet; maybe there are enough antibodies in everyone’s system that older models of disease don’t work anymore–let’s hope that’s the case.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:46:57 am
It is sad that while a majority of the American public is trying to help in anyway they can, people like Mad (i dont think angry; rather insane) are actively marching to the orders coming from Kos, Air America, the DNC. They are openly polling how their attack efforts via MSM and the net can bring down this administration. They hate is so apparent; and absolutely disgusting. Yo Max- be part of the solution (just waiting for the response on that one–chirp,chirp) not part of the problem.
DONATE VOLUNTEER PRAY
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:53:44 am
The truth is, this whole process is just in its infancy. An entire city with a population of 1/2 million has been erased off the face of the earth.
Assuming that rebuilding can even be done, it’s start time will be next summer, regardless what the talking heads say. Basic infrastructure - electricity, sewer, transportation, communication, water treatment are gone. All that without even beginning to figure out how to keep the Gulf out of Burbon street.
Now consider that these folks need to be housed and cared for for a year. We are just beginning to see the face of this disaster, just beginning.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:08:37 am
The problem is, Americans want quick fixes. This is what we’re seeing here. Unfortunately, quick fixes are very rare. And sometimes quick fixes aren’t effective. You can’t move things any faster than possible. And, this wasn’t just Louisiana, it was also Mississippi, and Alabama. We’re talking large territories. Americans have become too reliant on the federal government for everything. The Americans back in the frontier days didn’t rely on the government - they made do with what they had - we need to get that spirt back.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:13:37 am
From WWL: “Mike Brown [of FEMA] tells CNN he didn’t know the New Orleans Convention Center was being used as a staging area for evacuees until he saw news coverage. He blames that on a lack of communication with city officials.”
What level of authority do federal officials have here? Are the local guys under their authority, or are the local guys in charge of the outsiders?
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:15:09 am
When Patton stormed into Germany (where I am this week) with his tanks firing, he paused to remark on the scene he saw in one village. An errant shell went over the Panzers he was firing upon and hit a home, blowing open the roof.
The family came out of the house, looked at the damage, and in the middle of the battle climbed up on the roof and started repairs. Patton was struck how industrious the family was, as compared to the lazy “lend-lease” English he was tired of dealing with. (You can read about this in his book “War as I Knew It” or something like that)
I mention this because I’m sensing from a few of the Germans I’ve met a sort of victim backlash developing. They are commenting “why don’t they walk” or “why don’t they steal cars and drive”. Of course, there seems to also be a racial element I’m hearing somewhat below the surface (my German isn’t that good, but I got that feeling).
Not sure if something like this is developing in the US yet…Just thought I’d mention what I’ve seen over here.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:17:32 am
I am utterly and completely amused by the people who believe that there is some vast left wing conspiracy in the media, and that they somehow have this awesome power to bring down the Bush administration. If that were true, do you really think he’d be President right now? Honestly.
The media, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, etc are covering what is happening. In addition to that questions are being asked as to what is going on with the relief effort, questions that should be asked, because it appears that the relief effort is being botched. If thats not the case then someone needs to explain why its not the case.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:24:01 am
I’m sorry loljl, that’s just an asinine post. Americans, I assume your countrymen and women, are dying daily from lack of food, water, and medicine. We’re talking about infants, elderly, and infirm now, but soon it will be all comers. And you post about the “frontier spirit.” This sorry episode is not about “self-reliance” or “pulling oneself up by the bootstraps” or any of those other talking points you listen to on the radio every day. This is about a large part of America and humanity getting its ass totally kicked by a massive natural disaster. And unfortuately, it’s becoming increasingly clear that its also about the total incompetence of the Administration.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:25:06 am
Andrew . . . exactly. At some point one has to stop becoming a victim and start doing things themselves.
And meanwhile, it seems Bush has gotten the message loud and clear . . . see .
“For the first time, however, he stopped defending his administration’s response and criticized it. “A lot of people are working hard to help those who’ve been affected. The results are not acceptable,” he said. “I’m heading down there right now.”"
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:31:53 am
If it was up to me, anyone who showed up for evacuation with a gun would be left in New Orleans to fend for himself, after disarming him. And frankly, it might be time to do what we SHOULD have done in Iraq: Send in the Army and shoot any civilian waving a gun around. Not all terrorists yell “Allahu akbar!”
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:43:35 am
Here is the FEMA director’s bio. It IS his responsibility to lead, coordinate and direct response. Even more so, it is HIS responsibility to prepare for disasters. He is also in charge of flood management projects. If there is ONE individual to place the blame on, it is Michael Brown…
As the head of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Under Secretary Brown leads federal disaster response and recovery operations and coordinates disaster activities with more than two dozen federal agencies and departments and the American Red Cross. He also oversees the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration, and initiates proactive mitigation activities.
Additionally, Under Secretary Brown helps the Secretary of Homeland Security ensure the effectiveness of emergency responders, and directs the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Integration Center, the National Disaster Medical System and the Nuclear Incident Response Team.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:45:50 am
Steve in PA-
I gave $1,000 to the Salvation Army two days ago. How much have you given?
F-You
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:47:40 am
As a former Bush apologist, let me just say that you’re right on, Brendan. The blame comes in with lack of leadership. In a crisis, there needs to be a leader who is firm, aggressive, clear, down-to-earth and composed. There is no such leader here. Nagin (not clear)? Landreiu (not down-to-earth)? Brown (not firm)? Blanco (not composed)? Bush (not aggressive)? There is no clearly defined leadership (it’s all passive), and by definition, chaos results. Sadly, leadership can be planned and in place before the hurricane even forms.
If there was an invasion on American soil, we would have paratroopers, special forces, infantry, and a significant show of force within a day. We now ceded the streets of a major American city to an enemy of a different sort, and no such support is there.
As for quick fixes, some sound like Ents in the Lord of the Rings. Not wanting to rush things while disaster invades. When you go four days with no water, a quick fix of water is exactly what you need. When you thirst for water, all the money in the world is worthless to you. I’ll take a glass of water over a hundred dollar bill in the desert anyday.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:53:02 am
I like these posts about how the victims should get in a car and drive out of there. Did you see the footage of the cops arresting a black family yesterday for trying to take a car and get out of there? Besides, where do they go? Do they sit on I-10 with the rest of the refugees without food or water?
I believe people could take more initiative, but when you are 80 years old, disabled or have a bunch of starving kids, there’s not much you can do.
Also, what about all the white people in Biloxi who are doing the same thing? They are just sitting there in the ruins starving to death. If there is 20 miles of destruction around you, where do you “walk to?”
The fact is Bush has acknowledged FEMA has failed. It is a FACT. You can blame the victims all you want, but there has not been a good faith effort put forth to deal with this situation. After 4 years since 9/11 and hundreds of billions of dollars in Homeland Security funds, this is wholly unacceptable.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:01:47 am
The only problem with Andrew Leyden’s German story is that the German’s lost. Maybe instead of trying to fix their house, the Germans should have picked up a gun and shot the enemy.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:05:06 am
Just finished watching a plea from a citizen at the convention center aired live on MSNBC where I saw someone offering their own presence and life to guarantee physical protection to anyone who would come with help. The anchor did not even act as if they hears the man. They were preparing a question and when the feed was “lost” for whatever reason they proceded to respond with empty anchorbabble. Where is their own sense of responsibility and leadership???. How hard is it to say “I hear you and we will work to get your message out. Thank you for your courage and leadership!!”
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:06:53 am
I don’t think that people are intent on inflaming partisan politics when they criticize the federal response. It has nothing to do with the fact that we’re dealing with a Republican administration. We’re yelling at them, because *they’re in charge*. We depend on them to get this right no matter what party they belong to. If there was someone else with the power or resources to do the job, we would be screaming at them too. This is not about who gets elected next, it’s about saving people today by pressuring our leaders to work harder, work smarter, and use the resources and power that we’ve given them.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:10:24 am
A year ago CBS was questioning Bush’s rapid response to Hurricane Charley:
“Even before the storm hit, the president declared four counties disaster areas to speed federal money to victims. But that quick response fueled suspicion that he is using disaster politics to help his campaign in one of the most critical battleground states, a notion the president dismissed Sunday.”
[snip]
“President Bush Sr. put so much money into the state after Hurricane Andrew that he was accused of buying votes in that election. So there is potential that the president could float so much money into Florida that people would say that’s political opportunism,” says political analyst Craig Crawford.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/16/national/main636126.shtml
As for Rudi, he’s a great guy but in the aftermath of 9/11 he only had to deal with about 20 acres of damage. Katrina’s damage extends over thousands of square miles in four states.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:10:29 am
Michelle Buxton is 100% correct. I just assumed this kind of stuff couldn’t happen in this country because I figured - at all levels from the President down to the Mayor - people were at least capable of doing their jobs. We live in a Democracy. I am assuming in the next election cycle the Mayor, Governor and Republican Congress will be out of a job because of this. That’s how it should be.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:12:13 am
It seems like after 9-11, we focused on the heroes and it helped bring us together. After Katrina, the focus on failures seems designed to drive us further apart.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:16:34 am
Max, I truly thank you as a greatful American for your generousity in the donationto The Salvation Army (Im sure it will be put used well). I wiped out my accounts (not your 1k, but its what I have-thanks for picking up my slack; I know everyone in the country is doing the same.
Iam leaving now to go give some blood another good idea if your areas accepting.
Now another good one is putting away the Blame finger and use it to turn the discussion to how everyone can help. Keep channeling that anger buddy. I know you will.
DONATE VOLUTEER PRAY
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:17:02 am
This is the fault of the Bush Administration. Why? Because in a disaster the governor and mayor do not have the authority to manage Federal agencies like the Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and the military. They President does. That is why FEMA was created.
And FEMA will tell anyone who listens… you’re pretty much on your own for the first 72 hours. Sorry, it takes a little while for the cavalry to arrive.
But whatever, the blame Bush crowd has already made up his mind… The New York Times and CNN will be more than happy to back up this skewed view.
Morons.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:19:18 am
Like the Californian said, NO residents have known for years that when a big hurricane hit, it would be devastating on a massive scale. The residents, if they’re stupid enough to live there, should have had food and water stored for 3-5 days for themselves, as well as any medical supplies necessary to sustain themselves. So all this complaining about “they haven’t provided us with food and water” is a demonstration that these people did not take responsibility for their own lives, but instead think that someone else should care for them.
Watching CNN last night, I saw a woman on who had been transported to the Astrodome saying that they hadn’t been given food. When pressed by the interviewer, she admitted that they HAD given them MRE’s and crackers, “But that stuff is inedible.” So these people are whining that they don’t have hot meals prepared by gourmet chefs!
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:26:55 am
steve in pa-
It’s not “blame.” It’s called holding our leaders accountable, whether they be Republican or Democrat.
Frankly, if the media weren’t out there pounding on these people, do you think they would be sending 30,000 National Guardsmen in there?
You don’t think people blamed Lincoln for The Wilderness Campaign? You don’t think people blamed James Madison for the burning of The White House?
Those leaders didn’t criticize their critics. They took action and redeemed themselves. Hopefully Bush is actually doing that now.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:27:22 am
kobayashimaru - The sad fact is that most people simply aren’t prepared for a major disaster. I live in the suburbs of San Francisco, and I know *nobody* who has supplies laid up for 3-5 days.
Not one single person.
I would be highly surprised if it were different in any heavily populated area that is in a potential disaster zone; the disaster is too rare for it to factor into most people’s daily lives.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:27:33 am
On Sunday, one of the networks interviewed a woman going into the Superdome with nothing but her purse and a Diet Coke. When asked why she didn’t bring three days’ worth of food, she shrugged and said there would be plenty to eat, or something similar.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:29:16 am
Doug Dever -
Gee. I think the harshest criticism has come from Fox. How do you explain that? Maybe Bush just dropped the ball. Ever think of that?
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:37:19 am
Brendan,
I can’t find an e-mail addres for you so am posting this in comments section here. I found a small photoblog showing photos of the BelAir subdivision of Slidell. This is in an area N.W. of downtown Slidell out by the airport. The damage is thankfully light. This info might be of assurance to those in that area. The website is http://www.belairhomeowners.com/ Thanks for your efforts.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:39:42 am
Just saw at WWL a interview (sry don’t get who the woman was), “buses and gas, it’s so simple…we have to get the people out of NO now”.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:40:09 am
I just checked Yahoo news and saw a picture of an armed vechicle with armed soldiers - they’re apparently in the convention center.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:41:06 am
Buses and gas - yes . . . but what about the roads?
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:43:00 am
“I just checked Yahoo news and saw a picture of an armed vechicle with armed soldiers - they’re apparently in the convention center.”
If this is true, it is abou f-ing time!
Michael Brown said yesterday was the first time he heard about the Convention Center. That’s funny, it was on CNN since late Tuesday. How hard is it for someone from FEMA to turn on a TV and track what’s going on?
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:48:08 am
Brendan,
Here’s a report of what happens when a city/agency actually has a disaster plan and then implements it. What a contrast to the situation going down in the big easy right now.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9168628/
Here’s the money quote:
By Thursday afternoon, about 800 people had been treated and Leftwich considered his hurricane preparation plan a success. “The plan did what the plan was supposed to do, but we never anticipated this kind of need,î he said.
Thanks,
Bobby
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:49:46 am
lolajl,
“roads” I am not sure but I think they are able to drive straight through to the Convention Center.
September 2nd, 2005 at 10:58:35 am
aphrael-
I grew up in tornado alley. My parents always had a weeks supply of food and water.
Lived in FL for six years. Always had 5 days food and water…and an evacuation plan…from day one. Needed it once.
Live in New England now. I have one weeks supplies laid up for blizzards and the possibility of hurricanes. Came in handy last year.
What is wrong with the people in SF?
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:00:57 am
I think a lot of people, not neccessarily on this board are missing the key problem with the rescue efforts. Normally when one cleans us after a hurricane YOU DON’T HAVE TO NAVIGATE 50 SQR MILES OF SUBMERGED CITY!!
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:01:59 am
Mad Max:
I highly doubt the Republican Congress will suffer much from this. Most of their voters were unaffected, and probably won’t turn them out. The country may even retain a Republican administration, but you will soon be able to count anyone associated with Bush out. Rudy may be seen as a “great disaster manager”, should he run.
Local officials will probably suffer the most electorialy, and Federal Congressmen from Louisiana as well.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:07:02 am
they should take the gov and put her out there in waist deep water for 2 days,with no food and water, having guns cocked and see how she responds.
She should immmediately resign for those comments
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:11:49 am
People, the Federal government CANNOT send troops into a state unless the governor asks. Read the Constitution. Also, the President had to tell the Mayor and the Governor of LA to order the mandatory evacuation of NO and he would sign the disaster declaration…that was on Sunday. The mayor should have sent buses into the city on Saturday to get the elderly and disabled out. That is not the fault of Congress, the President, FEMA or anyone in the Federal Government. People in NO had their heads in the sand, not wanting to believe this would happen. Now let’s stop fingerpointing and everybody do what it takes to pitch in.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:14:54 am
“Normally when one cleans up after a hurricane YOU DON’T HAVE TO NAVIGATE 50 SQR MILES OF SUBMERGED CITY!!”
That is true, but people have known that flooding could and would happen if a hurricane hit NO. Weren’t there plans on how to handle an emergency if that happened?
That is the feeling that I get (rightly or wrongly) from reading all the reports. There weren’t any plans and the authorities, local and federal, weren’t prepared to handle this. No plans on how to fix the levee. No plans on how to evacuate the city in time before the storm hit. No plans on how to relocate people after the tragedy. No plans to feed a big number of people with no food/water.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:16:22 am
It might be worthwhile to compare Rudy Giuliani to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. Rudy took charge, did not whine, and started getting things done. Ray seems incapable of doing anything other than whining that someone will not come and take care of everything. New Orleans could not even put a competent, non-looting police force on the streets.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:17:08 am
Airlines to Fly Up to 25,000 Refugees Out of New Orleans
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
Published: September 2, 2005
The nation’s airlines have been mobilized to fly up to 25,000 refugees out of New Orleans beginning today, under an emergency plan put into effect for the first time by the Department of Homeland Security.
Skip to next paragraph
Under the department’s national response plan, 15 airlines, including 10 major commercial carriers, will transport up to 25,000 refugees from Louis Armstrong Airport outside New Orleans to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, airlines taking part in the plan said this morning.
The airlines are volunteering their aircraft and crew for the program, which is scheduled to begin at noon and run until this evening. The airlifts also will take place tomorrow and Sunday, the airlines said.
The Transportation Security Administration will secure the airport, according to a memo sent to the airlines. But airlines are being told to “bring everyone and everything you need,” the memo said. They were told the status of jet fuel at the airport is “unclear” while power is intermittent.
The airlines have been asked to provide narrow-bodied planes, like Boeing 737 and Airbus A-320 models. The T.S.A. will screen passengers, as it normally does at airports, and it will create passenger lists for the airlines.
The airlines are donating their services without charge, participants said. It is the first time that the Department of Homeland Security has activated the plan, which is being supervised by Michael Jackson, a former Transportation Department official who is the assistant secretary for homeland security. Airlines have been told the airport can handle seven to nine flights per hour, and that the airport will operate under visiual flight rules. That means that flights must take place in relatively good weather, so that pilots can see the airport from a distance as they approach.
Some airlines said this morning that they were not even aware of the plan’s existence. It is the first time the department has mobilized the airlines. The Pentagon has a program called the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, in which airlines contract to transport troops and materiel in peace time in return for the use of their planes during war time. However, that program pays the airlines millions of dollars a year in reimbursements.
The airlines participating in the New Orleans air lift include Alaska, American, United, ATA, AmericaWest. JetBlue, US Airways, Southwest, Northwest, Continental, Delta and American, as well as some charter carriers. Many of those carriers participate in the CRAF program, but JetBlue is not known to have participated in a government program before.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:17:27 am
Hallo DebbieS,
“People in NO had their heads in the sand, not wanting to believe this would happen”
that mean all rescue-efforts could be stopped. Only wait a week or two and the problem is solved. The saved money is more needed to rebuilt the oil-industry asap.
I think we have a different perception of humanity.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:17:40 am
Brendan. Wow. I must say that I am absolutely disappointed in seeing you make these comments.
I’ve been reading your blog for many months now and have found you to be a rational individual who does not succumb to the pressures of those on the right or the left.
What would you expect the Bush Administration to do exactly?? They released the oil reserves, they designated this an “incident of national security”, he has provided the funds, man-power and resources to the local and regional governments. That’s pretty much all he can do.
The failure here should be placed solely on the local and regional goverment officials for that area. Starting with the Mayor of New Orleans waiting and waiting to issue the evacuation order continuing through the failure of the rescue workers to provide a clue to the refugees on where to go and what to do.
I have enjoyed reading your blog and think you are doing a tremendous job covering the unprecedented events upon us, but it’s sad when you feel the need to cave in to political pressure and make these comments.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:21:47 am
Part of the problem is that the American people are impatient. We don’t like waiting for help, we feel we’re entitled to it faster than people in other countries. After all, this is AMERICA. Or something like that.
Anyway, it was interesting to hear President Clinton come on and say that he thought the effort was going quite well, as well as it could, considering the size and scope of the disaster. That won’t help Bush right now, though, as most people didn’t notice. (Of course - there are many other things TO notice - not blaming anyone there.)
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:23:56 am
Hey dqueue,
Keep the rantings, profanity and insults growing (..Jesusland coworker…). It simply cements what a sad and pathetic person you truly are.
Heaven forbid we get this whole situation under control and provide relief to all those involved before we start placing blame. But no, the hate-mongers on the left just can’t hold their tongues (or keyboards) and must blame somebody, so why not Bush.
BUSH WAS ON VACATION!!! Well, in case you were not aware, the President has all the resources needed to run the country both on Air Force One and at his house in Crawford. It’s not as if he was sitting on some Carribbean beach drinking Pina Coladas. Give me a break.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:30:26 am
IT DOES NOT MATTER WHOSE ADMINISTRATION THIS IS…THE ADMINISTRATION BELONGS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, AND IF THEY YELL LOUD ENOUGH, SOMETHING WILL BE DONE. DO YOU KNOW THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF NEWS STORIES TODAY THAT WASHINGTON AND LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE BEING OVERWHELMED WITH CALLS FROM THE AMERICAN PUBLIC?? BUT GUESS WHAT THE CALLS ARE ABOUT-HIGH GAS PRICES!!
WHY AREN’T THEY CALLING ABOUT THE DISASTER?? GIVING MONEY IS EASY. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE SPENT TIME CONTACTING EVERYONE YOU CAN THINK OF, AND HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE ???
THERE ARE ALSO PEOPLE HERE IN THE SE WHO FOUND ALREADY MADE MULTIPLE TRIPS TO THE GULF COAST AREAS WITH SUPPLIES, HOW MANY OF YOU PLANNING ON GOING THIS WEEKEND ?
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:33:07 am
From my point of view it seems that the great american puppet has no crisis master to let him dance.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:33:21 am
Compare the initial aftermath of Katrina in NO to 9/11 in NY. Giuliani used the media to get word out to the city as to what to do. For instance, “Walk north - if you are in lower Manhattan - walk north,”
The Mayor in NO is an udder incompetent jerk. All I see him doing is complaining. He needs to step up to the plate and lead.
Check out Peggy NoonanÃs article yesterday at http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110007187
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:33:59 am
OK, you know its bad when the Chief of Homeland Security, a government position, and a MILITARY OFFICER at that says the following:
“6:20 A.M. - Terry Ebbert, the head of emergency operations for New Orleans. “This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans.” ”
That marks the turning point for me. I know Ebbert is probably tired, but he’s a man trained to follow orders and accept whatever command and control is put over him. The fact that he thinks there is none means that New Orleans chief federal offical for this type of thing has not been told where he fits in to this scheme. That is just not acceptable in any circumstance - military officers who have been included in a chain of command don’t say things like this - they follow orders and don’t comment. The fact we have him commenting means he has not been included.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:34:21 am
a couple of points the bush bashers are missing. first, emergency preparedness is primarily local govt’s responsibilty. nagin and his cronies had no plan for evacuating nursing home residents and people who do not have access to private transportation. if public tansportation had been provided, many of those stranded in NO would not be there. second,it is local law enforcement’s responsibility to maintain order in the immediate aftermath. in florida, local law enforcement agencies performed magnificently in the aftermath of recent hurricanes as well as the fires in ‘98. in NO, the police failed miserably, and the situation quickly got out of hand. the mayor is now lambasting fema for the difficulty it is having evacuating the people he should have evacuated and restoring order out of the anarchy his police dept was complicit in creating.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:36:16 am
“The results are not acceptable.
That would be the recent description of the relief efforts — by the President of the United States.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:37:34 am
OK, all you people who keep posting about some ridiculous media conspiracy against Bush, get a grip. The media has shown reports that are just as damning of the local officials, who if i’m not mistaken are both Democrats (governor and mayor).
I am sick and tired of this ridiculous idea that anytime Bush is criticized its partisan or some left wing conspiracy.
Guess what? Its also quite possible that people are critical of him because he is doing a crappy job (whether that is true or not in this case, is up for debate). So instead of flinging ridiculous accusations about how the media is out to get him (what is this some sort of vast LEFT wing conspiracy) honestly.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:38:43 am
Mad Max.
Holy crap dude.
You really need to get a life and get out of the 80’s’. Oh, and stop living your mom’s basement!!!
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:40:58 am
Now Bush says the efforts are not acceptable.
Yeah, even though Americans are impatient, I think that’s a pretty good indication that things could be going a LOT better. Because Presidents almost never say that what their underlings are doing is unacceptable.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:44:14 am
My favorite gambit of Bush’s was his low-level flyover in AF1 the other day. All airspace over NOLA would have had to have been cleared (of rescue and Engineers’ helicopters) for at least an hour while Bush checked out the devastation firsthand from 2500 feet. What an asshat.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:44:40 am
I find it interesting that so many of you are blaming the federal government and President Bush for this. My sister lives (well, not now) in Slidell and told me no one was taking this storm seriously. She didn’t even evacuate until early Monday afternoon when the storm was heading in. The mayor of New Orleans was hesistant to call for evacuation and when he finally called it, it was way too late. He was also being told not to open evacuation sites inside the city, but he did it anyway. Several years ago when Corpus Christi had to evacuate, we all knew we would have no shelters in the city because we are low lying. We had city buses moving our poor/homeless out to higher ground shelters. Thank God, we were spared a direct hit. You would think, living in a bowl, they would of done better. There are many levels of blame to go around, but now is not the time to be pushing blame around. I would encourage you all to quit moving your mouths, and start moving some of your money. If you really want to help, give to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army and PRAY for the people of LA,MS,and AL.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:45:17 am
Please can someone give me a short overview about which organisation has which main tasks and is under command by whom ?
Thanks a lot,
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:52:12 am
Brendan, I think your Gut is right re the Political Effect, and (with apologies to President Reagan, RIP) re that sound we hear being the Concrete hardening around it. (No, I suppose setting concrete [unlike CA Gov. RR’s metaphorical Cracking kind] doesn’t really make Noise; but CNN sure as Hell does and that’ll Do for the Purpose, here.)
I also think your Head is correct is withholding judgement for now as to whether the Perception is fully justified ~ but Politically, just as you say, once the Setting-in-Stone is complete, it doesn’t Matter. When the Sidewalk is done & the graffiti’s in it, Perception does equal Political reality:
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.
– Omar Khayyam
Hell of a comedown for poor ol’ Dubya, if his permanent Legacy turns out to be not the Homeland-rallying Response to September 11, nor even the Idealistic-albeit-bungled expedition to Iraq ~ but rather, the Ruin & Abandonment of New Orleans.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:57:18 am
I don’t see a media conspiracy. I’m glad they are reporting how horrific it is. I do have a problem with people saying this is “Bush’s fault” all the time though. Mostly this is coming from KosKidz on the blog comments though, like in this thread, and not from the MSM.
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:02:33 pm
There are so many things in here I would like to respond to, but don’t have time. However, as an overall point, I’d just like to point out that there is a difference between perceptions and realities and I made it QUITE CLEAR in my post that I was talking about the former. My point is that I sense that people are holding the federal government repsonsible for these failures. I explicitly made a point of saying that I don’t know whether that perception is fair or unfair (”rightly or wrongly” … “assuming the perception is accurate” etc.). So it is totally irrelevant to respond, “But that’s not fair, it’s not Bush’s fault!” What I’m talking about is the PERCEPTION. Something can be an “abject political disaster” even when the public’s response is unfair.
The only way to argue against what I am saying is to argue that I am wrong, the public does not feel this way. It does no good so say that the public SHOULD not feel this way, that’s not the point. I mean, you can say this if you want, but don’t say it like your rebutting my point, cuz you’re not.
With regard to the last point, “I would encourage you all to quit moving your mouths, and start moving some of your money,” why do you assume it’s impossible to do both? Is it not allowed to move our mouths AND our money? What a ridiculous line of bull.
I wish I could respond to more, but I gotta go. Suffice it to say, however, that there were plenty of comments in here from both Left and Right that I found to be lacking in substance. So if anyone here thinks I’m just being a blind partisan, well, you’re wrong…. I don’t give a shit about the parties in this instance, but I know that people will tend to blame the highest level of authority they can find, or rather, hold that authority accountable…. and in this case that authority is President Bush. Hence, the need for him to reverse the perceptions.
Oh, one more thing, about how people want to blame this on CNN and so forth. I am a believer in the concept of the liberal media, HOWEVER, the media is usually very deferential to the government in times of crisis. If you don’t believe me about this, well, frankly you don’t have a clue — this is easily demonstrable and consistently true. That they (including Fox reporters, as has been pointed out) are “turning” on the government is very telling. Moreover, the reaction that I’ve seen to Cooper’s antics has largely been “YEAH! YOU TELL ‘EM!” which was my real point; it doesn’t matter what Anderson Cooper thinks, if the public doesn’t agree. But in this case, they agree.
Oh… and for the people who think it’s inappropriate to be posting anything like this… sorry, but again, you have to realize, this is my blog and I am going to post about all sorts of things, not just the latest status reports on New Orleans refugees and such. This is not a single-topic blog. Anyway I don’t agree with the concept that we should close our eyes and ignore potentially sweeping historical issues that are happening before our eyes.
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:10:51 pm
Hallo Brendan,
good point about perception.
We have a poll at www.n-tv.de questioning “Is the superpower USA overwhelmed by the aftermath of hurrican ‘Katrina’ ?”
Actual state is 88% for yes
Greetings,
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:12:34 pm
P.S. To those of you (both Left and Right) who are framing this through the typical prism of political debate — i.e., “Bush sucks,” “the MSM sucks,” etc. — I think you’re missing the boat. This is the sort of thing that can produce a sea change in political opinion. This is the greatest single disaster in at least 105 years in this country. To assume that people’s reactions will be governed entirely by their usual political biases is hopelessly naive.
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:15:50 pm
Sascha - if you were in a class I was teaching, even *I* would have suspected that the question you just posed was planted ! (grin)
OK - try this, from someone who has worked in disaster recovery efforts in a National Guard - Logistics Analysis … you are also likely to find the rest of his blog to be remarkably informative from someone who has been there and will be there again …
About the Louisiana National Guard - try this - LA Nat Guard …
Hopefully, if information like this becomes better known, perhaps we can get off the Blame Game and get back to solving the problems …
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:23:34 pm
Alasdair, thanks for your great information.
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:33:45 pm
Sigh, you’re probably right about the perception issue. What I’m worried about is that it will further the perception that the federal gov’t should be always relied upon to do everything. State and local authorities, and individuals have little or no responsibilities. The federal government will take care of you.
In the future, I fear, you will have more people like the woman with the coke and handbag showing up at the Superdome before the hurricane. She had nothing else with her. When asked why she didn’t bring anything else, she replied that she figured there would be food and water. (and clothes too I guess.) I do know that people in the NO area don’t all take hurricanes as seriously as they should, particularly the ones who are “born and raised”- I know I didn’t when I lived there. I never had a 1 week suppy of food and water put up.
We’ll have local governments who figure that they don’t have to take responsibility for a plan to evacuate the poor and sick to higher ground before the storm. I can’t belive the city did nothing to get those people out early.
I wonder, with the FEMA standards for the deployment of emergency aid being the city needed *at least* three days of supplies, including water and medicine, available beforehand. I wonder how many days of supplies were at the Superdome. How many days worth of supplies given the number of refugees expected, did the city have on hand?
Oh, and since the estimate was that it would take about three days to evacuate the city, why wasn’t the mandatory evacuation order issued on Saturday (at least). I remember (perhaps erroneously?) Brendan asking why the mayor wasn’t ordering an evacuation on Saturday.
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:34:11 pm
I found an interesting link from a National Guard member who has done several hurricane deployments. He explains just why you can’t expect instant National Guard presence: http://iraqnow.blogspot.com/2005/09/logistics-of-disaster-relief.html
Actually, he’s go much more up there now, so just visit his blog: http://iraqnow.blogspot.com/
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:40:18 pm
David - I cannot tell if you are the D-List David or another of the same name … (Joe - 10 pts if you get the Shakespeare reference !) …
“The media has shown reports that are just as damning of the local officials, who if i’m not mistaken are both Democrats (governor and mayor). “
“if i’m not mistaken” - IF you cannot tell from the get-go to which party the Governor of LA belongs, that is telling you something about the bias of your primary sources of information … and IF you cannot tell from the get-go to which party the Mayor of NO belongs, that is also telling you something about the bias of your primary sources of information … are you aware to which party the President of the USA belongs ?
ACK !
One of *the* single most simplistic propaganda techniques for manipulation of a population is to give only the information which is convenient … so - during a disaster, during a significant failure, the political affiliation of those you dislike is mentioned prominently and the political affiliation of those you like is mentioned only if it absolutely has to be … after all, we want to know with whom the failure is associated, don’t we ? (/sarcasm lite)
So - from this very post - from a comment by Mad Max: BS (now, if *those* last two letters aren’t ironic, what would be ? OY !) …
“I am assuming in the next election cycle the Mayor, Governor and Republican Congress will be out of a job because of this.”
Absolutely classic technique - flawless pre-kindergarten propaganda …
So - which party does Mad Max: BS favour ? And which party does he not favour ? With which party does Mad Max: BS wish the failure to be associated ?
(and, yes, the bold in the use of BS at the end is yet another simplistic technique … (only slightly embarrassed grin) …)
If you are not sure about what I mean, try these versions …
1) Neutral - (leaving aside whether any of ‘em are allowed by the US Constitution or their State Constitution to do what is demanded)
“I am assuming in the next election cycle the Mayor, Governor and Congress will be out of a job because of this.”
2) Anti the Democrats
“I am assuming in the next election cycle the Democratic Mayor, Democratic Governor and Congress will be out of a job because of this.”
It is interesting how, even *knowing* about the techniques, one must LEARN to recognise the techniques and BECOME immune to the techniques …
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:49:21 pm
On the subject of preparedness …
I’m from Scotland, originally … my wife and kids are Southern California born and raised …
I keep enough canned goods and enough bottles and cans of soda (which I cycle through) around to last us about 1-2 weeks, if we ever find ourselves unable to buy supplies … we keep a shovel and plastic bags, in case the sewage system becomes unusable … some of the liquids are in the back of my car …
None of it is heroic effort … it’s sorta inefficient (poorer gas mileage) … yet, if the water supply goes, we are not SOOL from the get-go …
Living in So Ca, I don’t always have dry matches (we happen not to smoke), but I have a couple of sizable magnifying glasses around, so access to fire (if needed) is not a problem …
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:51:01 pm
what is the D-List?
September 2nd, 2005 at 1:03:32 pm
With all the blame seeming to fall on the federal government, what we have to look forward to during the next hurricane is deployment of massive amounts of National Guard and Military assets, irrespective of need, and perhaps irrespective of the wishes of local and state governments. “I’m from the federal government and I’m here to help you.” They will take over. Totally. They won’t know the community as well as the locals, and to the feds it won’t matter because they know they will field total blame if anything goes wrong.
There are good reasons why state and local governments should have ultimate responsibility for command and control.
September 2nd, 2005 at 1:05:27 pm
David - D-list are David, Dane, dcl, and other more Democrat-supporters … (grin)(blush) … to be considered versus the A-list who are Andrew, Antonia, Alasdair, Charles, and other more Republican-supporters … the two groups tend to somehow entirely innocently manage to hold just slightly different political perspectives on many aspects of Life …
September 2nd, 2005 at 1:07:59 pm
Ah yes Alasdair, because I disagree wtih Bush I automatically support the democrats…so sad that you live in such a black and white world. I also have no idea who the other david is, but i may have to go back to using a last initial or something at this point. Atleast you have that advantage alasdair, i doubt there is another reader of this blog with your name.
September 2nd, 2005 at 2:10:42 pm
Well, I’m rather surprised no one else has responded directly to dqueue, but what the heck: Do you have even the slightest sense of perspective? “Any Bush apologizers are as bad as the looters in New Orleans.” Let’s see: on one hand, we have people with whom you disagree with politically, attempting to divert the blame from where you believe it belongs. On the other, we having roving gangs of armed thugs terrorizing, among others, hospitals–which are full of victims I think we can all agree are absolved of blame for not having fled the city in the storm’s approach, as they were either hospitalized or they were medical staff choosing to stay in order to save lives. To equate these two in regards to their level of transgression is assinine. Hyperbole can be fun, but maintaing some sense of proportion and perspective will make it far more likely for others to take you seriously.
In terms of the victim’s preparation for disaster, well, my feelings are mixed. On the one hand, I have very little sympathy for people who are totally unprepared. I grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo NY, and so my family always had enough food and water to last a couple of weeks in case a bad enough blizzard trapped us in our house with no power and the pipes burst. I now live in the Bay Area of CA, so the disaster of choice is an earthquake–and I therefore still have enough food and water on hand to last a week or two without power or running water. However, floods are a bit different. It’s entirely possible that a number of the victims had food and water in their homes but lost them due to the flooding. The woman showing up the Superdome with just a diet coke was a moron, but it’s unlikely that all the victims were as clueless as she was.
Overall, I still feel it’s too early to place blame–though, as Brendan says, it’s the perceptions he was talking about here, not the reality of the blame. There are certainly things that are inadequate about the response–basic lack of communication or clarity of command structures, for one, and pointing these out is not the same thing as blaming someone. But as has been pointed out in the comments on other threads here, while it was known that New Orleans could flood, all of the models were of an incredibly fast flood due to a storm surge, not due to a floodgate or levee being undercut and filling the bowl as slowly as it was. So the models had very little in the way of evacuation of survivors as there wouldn’t have been survivors–those people currently looting the city, and the people who entered the superdome after Katrina made landfall would have drowned before there was even the possibility of rescue. You can argue that it was an oversight on the part of the disaster planners not to think about a slow filling of the bowl, but there was no plan in place for this scenario not because of complacency that New Orleans would never flood, but because all assumptions for how it would flood were based on storm surge, which would’ve led to a different reality than what occured.
September 2nd, 2005 at 3:11:35 pm
At first I was outraged that we were not moving in there fast enough to help these victims. As I consider the warning time that was given to New Orleans in particular, I become increasingly angry at the local New Orleans & Louisiana gov’t officials. You knew this was coming, you know the poverty level you are dealing with in your cities, WHY DIDN’T YOU DO SOMETHING TO EVACUATE these people when you first received the news of the cat 5 coming toward you. Now you want to blame everyone but yourselves for the response.
As a loyal American, I am ashamed of the response we have provided. However, as I reflect on 911 & the way the New Yorkers handled such a devasting attack caused by men, I have even more respect for them than I did that fateful day. There were no riots & looting & mass hysteria…there were Americans helping Americans. There is truly something wrong with this picture.
September 2nd, 2005 at 3:11:51 pm
Let’s be honest: It’s four days since the hurricane hit on Monday morning, and three days since New Orleans flooded on Tuesday. It takes time to get the logistics in place for a convoy of people and supplies like that which arrived today. Dubya can’t just wave a magic wand and make the aid appear instanteously. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron. Frankly, I think that they’ve probably done just about as well as they could under extremely difficult circumstances. It’s tragic that so many people have suffered and even died under the conditions in New Orleans as they waited for aid, but whose fault is it that they were completely unprepared as a Category 5 hurricane roared down on them? Hello! Ever hear of buying a couple of gallons of water and bringing them with you to the Superdome? God helps those who help themselves.
September 2nd, 2005 at 3:38:44 pm
Why is it that whenever someone criticizes the actions of a politician they are immediately accused of bashing? I guess some people must think that a politician in their party would never ever make a mistake. Ridiculous, utterly and completely.
As I said in another post there are a number of situations that have led up to this tragedy, and blame should be placed where it belongs.
First, disaster preparedness. The fact that the mayor of new orleans and the governor did not take the time to work with federal agencies to make plans is, to me, one of the biggest problems of this whole mess.
Second, evacuation. As Brendan has pointed out, anyone who was paying attention could tell that this was going to be bad for New Orleans. By Saturday it was clear that it was going to be really bad, barring a miracle. The fact that the mayor waited to order the evacuation is the second biggest screw up of this whole thing. To a lesser extent the failure of the governor and the President to step in when the mayor didn’t act is also, in my mind a huge error.
Third, the diversion of funds from the ACE to the Iraq War. This one is a little less written in stone, as an argument could be made that while unfortunate, those funds were genuinely more important as part of the war than in allowing the ACE to maintain and improve the levy system. And if the hurricane hadn’t hit, it might not have been an issue. But for those like me who feel that the Iraq War has been mishandled from the get go, the fact that part of that has led to this situation shows a clear failure from the Bush Administration.
Fourth, the lack of clear leadership following the crisis has been a huge issue. Many folks have tried to blame FEMA, but given their track record in handling disasters, i’m guessing that they are doing all that they are being allowed to do. Someone, whether its the Governor or the President, is not providing them with the direction and opportunities they need to get their job done.
The two key issues, lack of preparedness and lack of leadership, at all three levels (city, state, federal) have made this tragedy into a travesty.
September 2nd, 2005 at 3:50:38 pm
As he did last year, President Bush declared New Orleans a disaster area before the hurricane hit. (Democrats didn’t like that, either). No amount of planning based on limited resources could take care of this problem. Listen to Bill Cinton on CNN. The media has to stop spinning this and just report the facts.
September 2nd, 2005 at 4:35:42 pm
Some disasters a too big to be “managed”. This is one of those disasters. Now that the hurricane is gone and the flood waters are receeding we can manage the aftermath. Heavy on the “we”. My fathers family is from New Orleans. My father was the first in his family to graduate from college. He was also the first Republican. We as a country need to ingore the hate mongers on the left and right and do what we do best. What do we do better than just about anyone? Work together.
September 2nd, 2005 at 5:02:48 pm
tyree, i’m not saying that there was any way to prevent what happened. But there were forseeable ways to mitigate the extent of this tragedy. Things that aren’t just, well ya looking back we should have done that, but things that we knew before the hurricane even hit should have been done.
September 2nd, 2005 at 5:03:16 pm
tyree - and I suspect that you respect your father, too !