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I think the nation has a misunderstanding of Saints' fans. Everyone is talking like Saints' fans only live in New Orleans, which totally isn't true. Saints have tons and tons of fans throughout the state of Louisiana. However, it doesn't seem like any reporters care about that. It seems that they think since New Orleans is gone there is no fan base left. And if the evacuees can't make the game, no-one else is going to make it. The fact is, there are plenty of season ticket holders throughout the entire state! Why do they disregard that?

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Well not just in the State... its weird but I have ran into Saints fans in Baltimore and CA. Some have never been to the State of LA nor have any ties there. I am hearing the Saints are not making any permenant moves. They are looking at 3 senerios, 1 playing in Baton Roughe, 2 San Antonio, and 3 playing all home games this year on the road. I am personally ok with Saints playing home games in Texas this year due to all they have assited the city with. Benson isn't looking at moving the team and many agree that the Saints will play a huge part in rebuilding the city. Also... the huge potential of being the NFL's darlings this year, being a team with such hardship and without a home for the most part.

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I believe both the people of New Orleans and the government are at fault.

Absolutely the government should have been prepared for the worst case scenario, but this just wasn't the case. You take a look 3, 4, 5 days after the hurricane and then you see buses come in to take people out. This should have been done the Saturday and Sunday prior to Katrina. This was a mandatory evacuation and the city had no plan. This is the government's fault along with not having troops and aid there right after everything went down. We are busy worrying about every other countries problem and we did a horrible job at addressing our own. Did the U.S. really realize how much this city means to our economy?

A friend of mines had 7 of his friends go back to Jefferson parish to check on their houses, and only 1 made it back alive. They were shot and killed being robbed while making it back to their respective homes. If the city was no going to ensure the safety of the people going back to Jefferson parish, why would you let people back into the city? I have countless stories of friends of friends who either have been killed or robbed going back. Where are these troops? Why aren't there more people patroling the streets?

One thing I find very ignorant is seeing these African American teens on CNN dusting off their shoulders and throwing gang signs behind reporters while they are doing the their broadcast. If you've paid attention to these little things, you'd wonder what are parents and teachers are teaching their kids. This is not a time for this and it irritates the crap out of me when I see it. This isn't a Cash Money video and it makes people stero-type the African American race.

Like I said it's not only the governments fault. Even if I only had 60 dollars in my pocket and a crappy car, I still would have done everything in my power to get my family out of New Orleans. A lot of these people probably have evacuated before and found it not neccessary to though this time. I mean every other time they've probably had to evacuate, nothing happened. A mandatory evacuation was issued and a lot of people just didn't take it seriously enough. I've seen tons and tons of cars in the projects under water on TV. Are you telling me none of those cars could have made it out? A lot of people trapped in these universities and homes chose to ride out the storm thinking it would be no big deal. They could have easily car pooled or caught a bus out of town. Whether they were just being cheap or whether they thought nothing would happen to their house because nothing ever does, they are also at fault.

Both are equal at fault for not doing what they could to get out of New Orleans. The government is completely at fault for not having the manpower/aid present their after the storm for whatever reason. It sucks all of these things have happened to my hometown, but I agree nothing will be solved by pointing fingers. There is nothing that we can do to change what happened. Its time to move on and start over. From what I've heard, Texas along with a few other states have done an absolutely fabolous job treating the refugees. We just need to be fortunate we still have our families and our lives. With two hands and two feet, there is no where to look but up. No point on dwelling in the past. Let's just house a couple of years from now when New Orleans is fully operational again along with our cities that were hit hard, if this event were to happen again, there will not be an identical result.

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Well this is just blowing up now... I have heard reports but didn't believe them until Fox is just reporting it as well now. becareful when we say government we need to be more specific, mayor, govenor, federal... apparentyly Bush called Blanco to have her sign off on a bill that would send federal troops in 2 days before the hurricane hit. She refused, she didn't communicate an appropriate response with the mayor of New orleans either. The mayor said mandatory evacuation and didn't back it up. Whats the point of a mandatory evac and not mandate it. The feds were telling them and they did nothing and refused help. THAT FREAKIN Gove/beeeaoch... needs to be held accountable. The whole debate of giving the Saints a new place to play may have to happen now that the dome maybe deemed a condemed building.

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I warned people over and over again about Blanco. She had no campaign, no stance on anything. The only thing she said was "I'm a cajun woman." She had some french band record a song for her political commercials. It was absolutely rediculous.

Bobby Jindal was all about business. He destroyed Blanco on the televised debate, but it didn't matter. All Louisiana could pay attention to was Blanco is a typical Cajun woman and Bobby Jindal looks like an "Arab."

I really can not see how she won. Jindal was such the logical choice. Blanco didn't even compare. Are we really that foolish? This state completely fell for her complete lack-of-substance campaign.

I remember distinctly she said she wanted to improve education for all. As soon as she got elected, tuition to Louisiana colleges shot up.

Blah.

I'm sorry you guys.

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On a more positive note, thank god for that Oil Museum she built for us. And that annual hot air baloon festival, thats going to get Louisiana's economy back on its feat.

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Let me work a couple of things here and see if this might play out in someones mind .

Now let's go back to Saturday the 27th .

The President issues a State of Emergency order to FEMA.

Then we have the local level response :

It is my opinion , that the Governor and Mayor could only say you need to evacuate , That FEMA would have been in direct control over where to . Let's go back to the FEMA directive and see :establishing shelters .

Given the unknown path of Katrina , it would be safe to say it would be hazardous even to bus people from New Orleans to Baton Rouge . If FEMA had established a location in Texas or even New Mexico to hold the evacuees at , the local officials could have boarded people on local buses and sent them there .

It is one thing to say everyone needs to get out your in danger . And another to say a meeting place has been designated by FEMA where local buses can take you if you cannot get out on your own .

FEMA had the order on Saturday and supposedly had run drills on worse case scenarios , so they knew the potential for danger.

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Brown needs to go no doubt... I think what is going to have to happen with the investigation is setting up a timeline. Granted New Orleans everyone thought dodged the bullet then BAM levee breaks there was really no sense of urgency in New Orleans until Tuesday when they realized the levee broke. So Fema seemed to have acted slowly in that reguard. But the local city and state government supposedly have plan and practice such event as the levee breaking but where was it.

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Nagin,Blanco,Brown, maybe even some other leaders will need to go. Time for a change in LA politics.

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Yeah I know Brown is with FEMA.

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I have to wonder , how much money and time was spent on running disaster scenarios , taking trips to the areas and working out plans , so that when Katrina made landfall FEMA could do nothing when help was needed .

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People were probably collecting pay checks as a member of such and such response team or board member ect ect... and they did nothing just a title and paycheck.

I guess politics in Louisiana is actually going to mean something for a change.

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Hey anyone hearing or seeing any of the problems with fema, mayor, and governor... post the stories here as well so everyone can be informed on what is going on and the faults... the fireman handing out fliers is a great example of mismanagement.

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Heard this morning and yes most likely a rumor .

Move on is moving into position at the Capital .

From Move on :

In the immediate days after Katrina, we saw the best of America as millions of people stepped forward to offer help. Meanwhile, the Bush administration failed at their most important job: keeping America safe. The federal effort was too little, too late and the fact that the White House would blame state and local officials after they had begged for help is appalling.

For those interested , the petition .

http://political.moveon.org/helpvictims/

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Yeah Blame the govt when people can't make the right decision and the local govt. can't inact it's evacuation policy and you don't see the govna except to do a photo op with the president. Go on Move-on keep making me vote republican. Oh yeah, Thanks Howard Dean for also saying that Race was a factor. Must be nice to be able to sit back and make excuses and point the finger.

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I love it that people don't realize there are white people in New Orleans. Asians other nationalities sure majority black but come on. its a Baton Rouge - New Orleans things once people realize that they will see the problem. Mayor wants mandatory evac and gove says no... ECOLI - HELLO... freakin governor

These are my favorite kind of people. Yes, blame the goverment, Why? Because they had ample opportunity to do something about it before the hurricane got here! Sure the hurricane looked like it would be much less until what, about 2 am the morning it hit when it picked up a lot of speed, and sure people could have got out of there much easier (if they had the money to). But the fact IS, and still remains, regardless of how bad or not so bad the hurricane looked like it could be, that FEMA should have been ready. They clearly were not.

Here is a trivia question for you. What was the job Mike Brown held before he was crowned head of FEMA?


Answer: Commissioner of judges and stewards for the International Arabian Horse Association, a breeders' and horse-show organization based in Colorado.

I can see how much these two positions relate to each other. The goverment as a whole should be disappointed to have overlooked something so ridiculously stupid.

Now that there's a wave of finger-pointing going on, I have a question or two.

1. Should we also be pointing fingers at local and state people in Mississippi? They went nearly a week with no sign of federal help too. If msnbc crews can make it to Pass Christian by Wednesday, why can't Mississippi or FEMA? Mississippi had Camille hit in 69, shouldn't they have had a better plan too? Even assuming that state and local people royally fouled up in Louisiana, does that explain why Mississippi didn't get help either?

2. Does Louisiana own relief ships? I thought that Euph's post that started this thread was a great observation. If New Orleans is one of the busiest ports in north america, why didn't anyone start parking ships in the river? If the state of Louisiana has hospital ships, cruise ships or aircraft carrying ships, then Blanco should be run out of the state for not having them parked at New Orleans within a day or 2 of the storm coming through.

3. Where does the buck stop? There has been this huge debate for days now about who gets the buck. Who is ultimately responsible for homeland security? Leadership is hard, but it seems like leadership has a lot to do with picking up other people's mistakes. Truman springs to mind here.

Just askin...

Yes, you're correct. That is all the feds have done for over a week now.
I agree that there is blame to go around on a local level. However, one of the key functions of intervention by the feds is protecting and assisting the people during times of unprecedented need. I think the most brutal natural disaster in our country's history qualifies.

They told us that they have worked and created agencies to handle homeland security. That we need to be lighter and more capable of fast response. Truly, this is worse than a terrorist attack because it was a scenario that many people knew was a distinct possibility. The state nor the city have the means to handle anything of this scope. This is when we rely on the federal government. Did NY (one of the richest,most populous, and most powerful states) carry the burden of 9/11 alone? Absolutely not. So how can anyone say that Homleland Security doesn't have an implicit level of responsibility in the wake of Katrina?

Take a look at Brown's resume and consider the job that FEMA has. He has no disaster recovery experience. He got released from his post at the Arabian Horse Society or whatever. So, there's a guy you want to take control of disasters. These are what I like to call FACTS and they are out there for public consumption. There is a time and place for hooking up your cronies....it happens in every administration. But, send this clown as the ambassador to Sri Lanka or something more suitable to his limited skillset. He has no business holding this post and if he's not relieved of his duties, it is an outrage.

You wanna talk about excuses? Bush actually said that no one thought the levees would break. That is categorically false. The depiction of this exact scenario has been talked about for years. It's all crap. There are no more facts, you can just say whatever you want. Brown said he didn't know that anyone was in the convention center. BS. But people continue to give these guys a pass when they talk out of their asses.

We need qualified people in place that can handle things like this. Most weather experts agree that there are many more rough hurricane seasons ahead. I would say that we have learned nothing about coordinating efforts for the protection of Americans. We are at war with terror. What have we shown them? That we are vulnerable and that we can't get out of our own freaking way.

Every time anything comes up where the administration can be blamed, the excuses pile up like houses in Biloxi. The governement should have been ready to mobilize, to assist, to treat, to feed, and to evacuate. I'm no socialist and I realize that there are those elements of society with their hand out.....it's a tough line to draw. But....you need to be there.

I went to Pascagoula last Weds to take food and water and to help friends clear houses. I was there for 2 days. The Guard started showing up on Friday. FEMA has yet to show. The situation was nowhere nearly as dire there, but it was certainly ugly. There is a certain time period where you have to enforce order or things get even worse. We missed that time in New Orleans and lives were lost. (You could very well parallel it to the chaos over seas.)

To the people who don't look at the way things are going at a national level and scratch their heads.....I don't know what to say. It's all right there in front of you and you choose to ignore it. FEMA has been crippled by this administration and their ability to function has been seriously impacted. There are people on both the right and the left who know this. (I'm in the middle.) So, if you choose to ignore that our ability to respond to catastrophic events in an age where your government lives on a premise of protecting the people from terror.......you are not listening. The ability to do these things should be better by proxy with the creation of the Dept. of Homeland Security. The fact is....it is not, and that is a failure by our government to deliver on their much touted ability to protect the good of our people.

Hey, I'm not giving FEMA an free pass but i'm wondering why march on the capital alone. They want to blame just one agency or one person or just one government. if that's the case then the federal government should just take over the local and state governments since anything that goes wrong they will automatically get the blame.

And from what I hear the Fed's (FEMA) need permission from the state to send in help,troops, whatever..Blanco took 24 hours to think about it.

And no matter what the local and the state must provide the first line of defense or aid.

Now what doesn't help anyone is to make it a Black against white thing(Dean)or to focus on just one agency or just the president. That shows an agenda against an administration, which is why move-on's march and deans comments are gonna do nothing to help fix things and is also the mantra of their party which is complain and point fingers but don't come up with any solutions.

As far as i've seen the only people that have been pointing fingers are the left anti-bush group. Yes Brown needs to be fired but if you just focus on one person in this or administration you are not doing justice to the situation.

Let me add to that. I know of some republican's also blaming the administration but they are not saying it was a race thing and they are not getting a march together.

I agree. Some of these things wreak of political opportunism (is that a word).

I am white and was raised surrounded by racists. I taught myself not to be that way. I know that alot of people are racists, but I think this was more of a cluster**** than any concious effort to screw over black folks. (At least I hope.) People see it as a way to mobilize the black vote, since a small percentage of African Americans show up at the polls. (Probably because they are skeptical based on the past.)

Anyone familiar with the city knows that there is a poverty problem and an education problem. Alot of those issues, unfortunatley, have a black face to them in NO. New Orleans is like a one night stand to America. Everybody loves it while it's happening but they are always glad to get away. It's really sad and I don't see why it's so hard to build up the cummunity there. (I'm not that familiar with the local politics outside of corruption being touted at all levels.)

If you look closer, there are people on the right pointing fingers. There are those who get turned off by the far left and their accusations, but just because you are on one side or the other should not make you give people a pass for screwing up.

Partisan politics have taken over and it sucks. People get more caught up going against each other than what is right or wrong.

My point with the administration is that we have sunk a ton of money into homeland security to make us responsive to large acts against our people. Some experts think this was done at the expense of disaster recovery efforts. In my mind, alot of the actions you take after someone blows up a city are similar to the things you do when mother nature unleashes. The recovery efforts are similar in that there is mass confusion, loss of general services, and a need to settle things down in a hurry so that recovery can begin.

We, as a nation, should be better than this. That is all I'm saying. DHS is a big fat turd that sucks up money. Bureacracy is stiffling our country's efficiency....from both the left and the right.

Sure the local gov should bear some of the blame. But, is it a newsflash that LA is poor? Is it a newsflash that their economy has been on the decline since 9/11? Is it surprising that the city is below sea level? Does the local economy give them the means to handle these issues? Sounds like the levees needed attention a long time ago. That's a corps of engineers thing (supported by massive federal funding).

Keep in mind that the recent transportation bill alocated about as much money to build a bridge in Alaska for 50 people to drive on as they did the last time they threw money at the levees. (The bridge is in a state reps district and s named after him.) There is so much money being wasted that we should, as americans, be pissed off when the system fails like this. I mean we just allocated a billion dollars to research coal as an alternative energy source...yes, I said COAL. It's ridiculous and it's time to cut some of the pork out of our government and get to the true meaning of federal government. Good roads, military (depployed intelligently), civil defense, infrastructure, etc. Most of these things were missed during Katrina and I think the problem is too big for a state in dire straits to deal with on their own.

It seems that the Republicans are starting to find out what it was like for Clinton and the democrats for eight years.

The US Navy has a HUGE HOspital ship... the USNS Comfort it was docked at its homeport in Poutsmouth Va. I was navy and stationed in the area. It was in fact in port. There was a numerous ships and rescue capability in port. Everyone's favorite governor of Louisiana was asked/told to sign off on the emergency relief from the federal government by the President himself... and she said no!!! He called 3 times to get her off her ass and she refused. This was as early as Thursday and late as Friday. Her signing the papers would have sent these ships in route to the area and had them there roughly tuesday/wednesday (levee break tuesday). There would have been immediate response from the military. Not only not signing the papers she prevented the Federal government from going in and support the mayors mandatory evacuation... troops would have gone in and bussed/trucked people out of new orleans not use city buses to the dome. The lack of communication from the govenor to the mayor and refusing the presidents offer is criminal in my opinion. The mayor also has the blame for not having security at the shelters... sending people everywhere, not inforcing the evacuation plan. Not fixing the levee with supposedly a responce team. What people in the state needs to do is take over the damn captial in Baton Rouge and get the governor out. She needs to be impeached now not tomorrow. The mayor is now calling for mandatory evacuation and the governor isn't supporting his decision this is so wrong you always support the mayors. So his word is mute. There is ecoli and other virus/disease in that water they all need to get out of New Orleans until its safe. I keep saying it, and I know this was discussed here before with the Saints and Baton rouge... she isn't the govenor of the state but on a team in a sick game thats been going on in the state and that is Baton Rouge vs. New Orleans. She wanted New Orleans to pay that contract of Benson's taxing New Orleans and slot machings in New Orleans... mean while Baton Rouge/State gets all the taxes from tickets food hotels... we really need to TAKE BATON ROUGE!!!

I just found out I lost a great aunt in New Orleans... she was in an old-folks home and her son was out of town and called to get them out of the home before the hurricane hit... he called several times and they said they'll do what they can do... he insisted it was a mandatory evacuation... well it was on CNN her son Todd Rodrigue was just interviewd about it.

No kidding .

Republicans came out of the wood work on Clinton for a blow job , and want understanding for a department head who blew his job .

I can say this much , I myself have been a Republican for years and after seeing Bush circle the wagons to protect Brown , I hang my head in shame at this matter .

Bush Bashing the bigger fish to fry is in your own backyard... the govenor. She refused to let the feds in. The Federal Government by law can not impose military action/relief action unless the state asks for federal assistance this goes to Letting the States rule/govern themselves.

The state had a plan and the city had a plan and they failed to act on the plans... they failed. They failed calling in the feds early. I am not saying Brown is innocent... he needs his butt canned as well. Sending professional-lifesaving firemen and paramedics in teams of 2 to pass out fliers with FEMA phone number on it throughout the gulf area is total mismanagement.

I don't look at it as Republican - Demacrat issue its a damn shame when you are elected by the people and then fail your people. She had the oppitunitunity to get people out early and get them assistance getting them out early and faild.

Here is an interesting story , quite long so I am linking it .


Hurricane Katrina-Our Experiences

Larry Bradshaw
Lorrie Beth Slonsky

Two days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the Walgreen's store at
the corner of Royal and Iberville streets remained locked. The dairy display
case was clearly visible through the widows. It was now 48 hours without
electricity, running water, plumbing. The milk, yogurt, and cheeses were beginning
to spoil in the 90-degree heat. The owners and managers had locked up the
food, water, pampers, and prescriptions and fled the City. Outside Walgreen's
windows, residents and tourists grew increasingly thirsty and hungry.

The much-promised federal, state and local aid never materialized and the
windows at Walgreen's gave way to the looters. There was an alternative. The
cops could have broken one small window and distributed the nuts, fruit juices,
and bottle water in an organized and systematic manner. But they did not.
Instead they spent hours playing cat and mouse, temporarily chasing away the
looters.

We were finally airlifted out of New Orleans two days ago and arrived home
yesterday (Saturday). We have yet to see any of the TV coverage or look at a
newspaper. We are willing to guess that there were no video images or
front-page pictures of European or affluent white tourists looting the Walgreen's in
the French Quarter.

We also suspect the media will have been inundated with "hero" images of the
National Guard, the troops and the police struggling to help the "victims" of
the Hurricane. What you will not see, but what we witnessed,were the real
heroes and sheroes of the hurricane relief effort: the working class of New
Orleans. The maintenance workers who used a fork lift to carry the sick and
disabled. The engineers, who rigged, nurtured and kept the generators running. The
electricians who improvised thick extension cords stretching over blocks to
share the little electricity we had in order to free cars stuck on rooftop
parking lots. Nurses who took over for mechanical ventilators and spent many
hours on end manually forcing air into the lungs of unconscious patients to keep
them alive. Doormen who rescued folks stuck in elevators. Refinery workers
who broke into boat yards, "stealing" boats to rescue their neighbors clinging
to their roofs in flood waters. Mechanics who helped hot-wire any car that
could be found to ferry people out of the City. And the food service workers who
scoured the commercial kitchens improvising communal meals for hundreds of
those stranded.

Most of these workers had lost their homes, and had not heard from members of
their families, yet they stayed and provided the only infrastructure for the
20% of New Orleans that was not under water.

On Day 2, there were approximately 500 of us left in the hotels in the French
Quarter. We were a mix of foreign tourists, conference attendees like
ourselves, and locals who had checked into hotels for safety and shelter from
Katrina. Some of us had cell phone contact with family and friends outside of New
Orleans. We were repeatedly told that all sorts of resources including the
National Guard and scores of buses were pouring in to the City. The buses and the
other resources must have been invisible because none of us had seen them.

We decided we had to save ourselves. So we pooled our money and came up with
$25,000 to have ten buses come and take us out of the City. Those who did
not have the requisite $45.00 for a ticket were subsidized by those who did have
extra money. We waited for 48 hours for the buses, spending the last 12
hours standing outside, sharing the limited water, food, and clothes we had. We
created a priority boarding area for the sick, elderly and new born babies. We
waited late into the night for the "imminent" arrival of the buses. The
buses never arrived. We later learned that the minute the arrived to the City
limits, they were commandeered by the military.

By day 4 our hotels had run out of fuel and water. Sanitation was
dangerously abysmal. As the desperation and despair increased, street crime as well as
water levels began to rise. The hotels turned us out and locked their doors,
telling us that the "officials" told us to report to the convention center to
wait for more buses. As we entered the center of the City, we finally
encountered the National Guard.

The Guards told us we would not be allowed into the Superdome as the City's
primary shelter had been descended into a humanitarian and health hellhole.
The guards further told us that the City's only other shelter, the Convention
Center, was also descending into chaos and squalor and that the police were not
allowing anyone else in. Quite naturally, we asked, "If we can't go to the
only 2 shelters in the City, what was our alternative?" The guards told us that
that was our problem, and no they did not have extra water to give to us. This
would be the start of our numerous encounters with callous and hostile "law
enforcement".

http://www.livejournal.com/users/sfsocialists/3687.html

I think there were some misrepresentations... take the looting for instance, there was video coverage of police holding 3 black males. The shot was from a new chopper. THe officers were not aware it was on camera and after taling with the 3 black males the 3 white police officers turned and walked away and you could see that the 3 black men were carring food and water only. That shouldln't be classified as looting but survival. Citizend near thedome did try getting into a grocery store and the officers watched them and then went in with them people and made sure the food was being taken towards the dome. I do feel that with just reports or hearsay things may have gotton distored at times. I still have questions about some rapes of kids... but I only confirmed one and all I have heard was this dude was beatin to death.

If Blanco didn't want to agree to federal help beforehand (and this is the first I have heard reported of it), then it is as much her fault as FEMA and the Federal Goverment. Notice, I'm not fingerpointing to only one group, it is all of their fault. But I still say, to not be ready after the hurricane comes through was a joke. Are you going to tell me one piece of unsigned* paper can stop any type of rescue/relief effort, as we stand and watch our own people die? Seems like we need some reform if this is the case.

Yes this is a fact... the Feds can not take military action in a US-state unless the Governer of that state signs off on the act. If Blanco signed the deal before the President asked a lot when have been in motion days... the feds where concern and even the President stepped in to call her and pleaded withher to sign off on it. It is a fact. This broke days ago as early as Wednesday. You can go back and read this theard I believe there was an article even about it and it was in all of the media markets. Not to say there isn't blame to go around across the board but you have to weigh most of it on her. From the local level to the top, but the real even is sleeping in her plush bed this morning getting up soon to have her hot cup of coffee and 7 course breakfast, reading a newspaper on how she devastated a city Baton Rouge thinks so little of -New Orleans. A quick reaction to the levee break is on the responsiblity of the city and state... if they don't handle it they have to "CALL" in the feds... (army corps of engineers). THe law preventing the Feds from steping in... is to let the State govern themselves, I mean that is what we have state governments for. If the Feds took care of such things then we can get rid of local governments as well. In such desasters the feds come in and run the show they take everying they need and do the job the state government couldn't. Maybe she wanted to handle this herself to make a name for herself -well she has made a name for herself I will tell you that.

I am telling you I think the appropriate action is for the people in Louisiana is to take back the government starting from the top and that is the governor... people need to march down to the capital and protest and call for her to resign if not an old fashion take her out and force her out band hand if have to. This is almost the same level as the conlonial times -Taxation without representation- Colonies taxed and didn't have a voice or got back any of the money they sent to England recall that from your history books boys and girls. That is what she has been doing in reguards to the Saints. Tax New Orleans hotels, resturants, tickets, luxury taxes... to pay for the Saints, set up slot machines 'around NO' not not around the state mind you. Where was the people and money to fix the levee as soon as it happened??? Where was the money rushing food/water to the dome and civic center? Where was the money keeping state officers even at the dome. New Orleans police where overwhelmed. UGh the list goes on... There needs to be a activist group that gets together and take back Baton Rouge.

First, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss Euph.

I'm not clear exactly on the procedure that the feds are using to deflect responsibility for anything. Did Mississippi and Alabama not fill out the right paperwork either? If not, I guess that explains why FEMA didn't show up for the better part of a week either.

Where I get confused is here.
In Louisiana, the governor declares an emergency on the Friday before the storm hit.
http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Rel...ail.asp?id=973

General Honore talks about requests from all four state govs for federal help on Friday the 26th and Saturday the 27th.
http://www.dod.gov/transcripts/2005/...843.html<br />

On Saturday the 27th, the white house declares a state of emergency in Louisiana and authorizes FEMA to do it's thing to provide all possible help.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0050827-1.html

Then on Saturday the 27th, Louisiana asks the white house to declare an emergency.
http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Rel...ail.asp?id=976

If both the state and the feds are declaring an emergency and calling for FEMA to head up the operation, it seems like the ball is in FEMA's court?

I'm not sure I understand the procedure?

This time limit on editing is really unhandy........

Anyway, I figure that the big mistake the state made was continuing to wait for the feds to show up. After the levee broke, I think the state should have grabbed every school bus and bass boat in the state and gone into the flooded areas.

BrooksMustGo

Here is what FEMA says on th 27th.

Emergency Aid Authorized For Hurricane Katrina Emergency Response In Louisiana


Release Date: August 27, 2005
Release Number: HQ-05-169

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, today announced that Federal resources are being allocated to support emergency protective response efforts response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina.

Brown said President Bush authorized the aid under an emergency disaster declaration issued following a review of FEMA's analysis of the state's request for federal assistance. FEMA will mobilize equipment and resources necessary to protect public health and safety by assisting law enforcement with evacuations, establishing shelters, supporting emergency medical needs, meeting immediate lifesaving and life-sustaining human needs and protecting property, in addition to other emergency protective measures.

The parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn were designated eligible for assistance. In addition, federal funds will be available for public safety debris removal and emergency protective measures at 75 percent of approved costs.

Brown named William Lokey of FEMA to coordinate the federal relief effort. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.

"I need everything you have got," Ms. Blanco said she told Mr. Bush last Monday, after the storm hit.

In an interview, she acknowledged that she did not specify what sorts of soldiers. "Nobody told me that I had to request that," Ms. Blanco said. "I thought that I had requested everything they had. We were living in a war zone by then."

By Wednesday, she had asked for 40,000 soldiers.


WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 - As New Orleans descended into chaos last week and Louisiana's governor asked for 40,000 soldiers, President Bush's senior advisers debated whether the president should speed the arrival of active-duty troops by seizing control of the hurricane relief mission from the governor.

For reasons of practicality and politics, officials at the Justice Department and the Pentagon, and then at the White House, decided not to urge Mr. Bush to take command of the effort. Instead, the Washington officials decided to rely on the growing number of National Guard personnel flowing into Louisiana, who were under Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's control.

The debate began after officials realized that Hurricane Katrina had exposed a critical flaw in the national disaster response plans created after the Sept. 11 attacks. According to the administration's senior domestic security officials, the plan failed to recognize that local police, fire and medical personnel might be incapacitated.

As criticism of the response to Hurricane Katrina has mounted, one of the most pointed questions has been why more troops were not available more quickly to restore order and offer aid. Interviews with officials in Washington and Louisiana show that as the situation grew worse, they were wrangling with questions of federal/state authority, weighing the realities of military logistics and perhaps talking past each other in the crisis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/09/na...gewanted=print

This smells alot like FEMA .

See here this is what doesn't add up... there are recorded phone calls from the White House to the Governor about this and during the investigation this will come out even more. Its all going to come down to the timeline of all this. Monday the reports were... New Orleans dodged the big one. Everything seemed to stand still if you will assessing the damage... then Bam Tuesday Morning the levee breaks. That is when response was needed the most. The local and state levee repair team need to act and plans activated and they were not.

Of course the fix here from the political side is ok lets fix it but damn it there should have been a better plan and it activated no questions asked. US citizens... we pay there salaries and for this kind of thing. Fire everyone. Get someone in there to do the damn job.

:cheering:
Announcement Follows Barrage of Criticism; New Chief Is Named
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 2:54 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown is being relieved of his command of the Bush administration's Hurricane Katrina onsite relief efforts, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced Friday.

He will be replaced by Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, who was overseeing New Orleans relief and rescue efforts, Chertoff said.

Earlier, Brown confirmed the switch. Asked if he was being made a scapegoat for a federal relief effort that has drawn widespread and sharp criticism, Brown told The Associated Press after a long pause: ''By the press, yes. By the president, No.''

''Michael Brown has done everything he possibly could to coordinate the federal response to this unprecedented challenge,'' Chertoff told reporters in Baton Rouge, La. Chertoff sidestepped a question on whether the move was the first step toward Brown's leaving FEMA.

But a source close to Brown, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the FEMA director had been considering leaving after the hurricane season ended in November and that Friday's action virtually assures his departure.

Brown has been under fire because of the administration's slow response to the magnitude of the hurricane. On Thursday, questions were raised about whether he padded his resume to exaggerate his previous emergency management background.

Less than an hour before Brown's removal came to light, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Brown had not resigned and the president had not asked for his resignation.

Chertoff suggested the shift came as the Gulf Coast efforts were entering ''a new phase of the recovery operation.'' He said Brown would return to Washington to oversee the government's response to other potential disasters.

''I appreciate his work, as does everybody here,'' Chertoff said.

''I'm anxious to get back to D.C. to correct all the inaccuracies and lies that are being said,'' Brown said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Asked if the move was a demotion, Brown said: ''No. No. I'm still the director of FEMA.'' :bang:

He said Chertoff made the decision to move him out of Louisiana. It was not his own decision, Brown said.


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/nati...gewanted=print

yeah... sounds like he's a paper pusher now.

Hopefully , toilet paper pusher :flush:


In a letter to President Bush, Democratic Senate leaders said that the removal of Brown from Hurricane relief efforts was not enough.

"It is not enough to remove Mr. Brown from the disaster scene as Secretary Chertoff announced today. The individual in charge of FEMA must inspire confidence and be able to coordinate hundreds of federal, state and local resources. Mr. Brown simply doesn't have the ability or the experience to oversee a coordinated federal response of this magnitude," the letter said. It was signed by Sens. Harry Reid of Nevada, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Chuck Schumer of New York.

Critics of Brown point to an extensive list of FEMA's failures since the hurricane struck Aug. 29. Topping the list was what happened at the convention center in New Orleans. There, 25,000 people were essentially stranded for four days.


http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=1111074

Yeah right now on fox news some people doing a round table news thing... and they are calling the mayor and Governor incompetent. They brought up some points...