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08 Sep 05 - 08:23 AM (#1558965) Subject: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Amos Friday, August 26 GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: [Office of the Governor] GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26. [DOD] Saturday, August 27 5AM - KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [CNN] GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: "I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster." [Office of the Governor] FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA: "Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency." [White House] Sunday, August 28 2AM - KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN] 7AM - KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE [CNN] MORNING - LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: "Forecasters Fear Levees Won't Hold Katrina": "Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow." [Lafayette Daily Advertiser] 9:30 AM - MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW ORLEANS: "We're facing the storm most of us have feared," said Nagin. "This is going to be an unprecedented event." [Times-Picayune] 4PM - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE WARNING: In the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, "Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. … At least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed. … Power outages will last for weeks. … Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards." [National Weather Service] AFTERNOON - BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center: "'We were briefing them way before landfall. … It's not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped.'" [Times-Picayune; St. Petersburg Times] LATE PM - REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE: "Waves crashed atop the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early Monday as Katrina churned closer." [Times-Picayune] APPROXIMATELY 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS WORTH OF FOOD [Times-Picayune] Monday, August 29 7AM - KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN] 8AM - MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: "I've gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we've had one of our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is just a matter of how much." [NBC's "Today Show"] MORNING - BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION: "I spoke to Mike Chertoff today - he's the head of the Department of Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we got us an airplane on - a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are." [White House] MORNING - BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAIN [White House] 11AM - BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: "This new bill I signed says, if you're a senior and you like the way things are today, you're in good shape, don't change. But, by the way, there's a lot of different options for you. And we're here to talk about what that means to our seniors." [White House] LATE MORNING - LEVEE BREACHED: "A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new 'hurricane proof' Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina's fiercest winds were well north." [Times-Picayune] 11:30AM - MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: "Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as 'this near catastrophic event' but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, 'Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities.'" [AP] 2PM - BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: "We've got some folks up here who are concerned about their Social Security or Medicare. Joan Geist is with us. … I could tell - she was looking at me when I first walked in the room to meet her, she was wondering whether or not old George W. is going to take away her Social Security check." [White House] 9PM - RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld "joined Padres President John Moores in the owner's box…at Petco Park." [Editor & Publisher] Tuesday, August 30 9AM - BUSH SPEAKS ON IRAQ AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO [White House] MIDDAY - CHERTOFF FINALLY BECOMES AWARE THAT LEVEE HAS FAILED: "It was on Tuesday that the levee-may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday-that the levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to drain into the city." [Meet the Press, 9/4/05] PENTAGON CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION: "Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate National Guard units to handle the hurricane needs." [WWL-TV] MASS LOOTING REPORTED, SECURITY SHORTAGE CITED: "The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked," Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. "We're using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on rooftops." [AP] U.S.S. BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED: "The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can make its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan rode out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents. But now the Bataan's hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty." [Chicago Tribune] 3PM - PRESIDENT BUSH PLAYS GUITAR WITH COUNTRY SINGER MARK WILLIS [AP] BUSH RETURNS TO CRAWFORD FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION [AP] Wednesday, August 31 TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE: "A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. 'We pee on the floor. We are like animals,' said Taffany Smith, 25, as she cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry. … By Wednesday, it had degenerated into horror. … At least two people, including a child, have been raped. At least three people have died, including one man who jumped 50 feet to his death, saying he had nothing left to live for. There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming."" [Los Angeles Times, 9/1/05] PRESIDENT BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL RESPONSE: Bush says on Tuesday he will "fly to Washington to begin work…with a task force that will coordinate the work of 14 federal agencies involved in the relief effort." [New York Times, 8/31/05] JEFFERSON PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY GONE: "Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering the help nearly as fast as it is needed." [WWL-TV] 80,000 BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS: Former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy "estimated 80,000 were trapped in the flooded city and urged President Bush to send more troops." [Reuters] 3,000 STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER: "With 3,000 or more evacuees stranded at the convention center - and with no apparent contingency plan or authority to deal with them - collecting a body was no one's priority. … Some had been at the convention center since Tuesday morning but had received no food, water or instructions." [Times-Picayune] 5PM - BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA: "Nothing about the president's demeanor… - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis." [New York Times] 8:00PM - CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW: "On Wednesday night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at 'Spamalot!, the Monty Python musical at the Shubert, when the lights went up after the performance." [New York Post, 9/2/05] 9PM - FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: "I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected." [CNN] Thursday, September 1 8AM - BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK: "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." [Washington Post] CONDOLEEZZA RICE VISITS U.S. OPEN: "Rice, [in New York] on three days' vacation to shop and see the U.S. Open, hitting some balls with retired champ Monica Seles at the Indoor Tennis Club at Grand Central." [New York Post] STILL NO COMMAND AND CONTROL ESTABLISHED: Terry Ebbert, New Orleans Homeland Security Director: "This is a national emergency. 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." [Fox News] 2PM - MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES "DESPERATE SOS" TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: "This is a desperate SOS. Right now we are out of resources at the convention centre and don't anticipate enough buses. We need buses. Currently the convention centre is unsanitary and unsafe and we're running out of supplies." [Guardian, 9/2/05] 2PM - MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF VIOLENCE: "I've had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they're banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I've had no reports of that." [CNN] NEW ORLEANS "DESCEND[S] INTO ANARCHY": "Storm victims were raped and beaten, fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. 'This is a desperate SOS,' the mayor said." [AP] CONDOLEEZZA RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING: "Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we've confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo's Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice's timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, 'How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!'" [Gawker] MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY LEARNS OF EVACUEES IN CONVENTION CENTER: "We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need." [CNN] Friday, September 2 ROVE-LED CAMPAIGN TO BLAME LOCAL OFFICIALS BEGINS: "Under the command of President Bush's two senior political advisers, the White House rolled out a plan…to contain the political damage from the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina." President Bush's comments from the Rose Garden Friday morning formed "the start of this campaign." [New York Times, 9/5/05] 9:35AM - BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." [White House, 9/2/05] 10 AM - PRESIDENT BUSH STAGES PHOTO-OP "BRIEFING": Coast Guard helicopters and crew diverted to act as backdrop for President Bush's photo-op. BUSH VISIT GROUNDS FOOD AID: "Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush's visit to New Orleans, officials said." [Times-Picayune] LEVEE REPAIR WORK ORCHESTRATED FOR PRESIDENT'S VISIT: Sen. Mary Landrieu, 9/3: "Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment." [Sen. Mary Landrieu] BUSH USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP: A group of 1,000 firefighters convened in Atlanta to volunteer with the Katrina relief efforts. Of those, "a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas." [Salt Lake Tribune; Reuters] 3PM - BUSH "SATISFIED WITH THE RESPONSE": "I am satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with all the results." [AP] Saturday, September 3 SENIOR BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LIES TO WASHINGTON POST, CLAIMS GOV. BLANCO NEVER DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY: The Post reported in their Sunday edition "As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said." They were forced to issue a correction hours later. [Washington Post, 9/4/05] 9AM - BUSH BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS: "[T]he magnitude of responding to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the size of Great Britain has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need." [White House, 9/3/05] ____________________________________________________________________________ And this is just through Saturday... If I listed all the examples of where FEMA either sat on its ass, or when it did arrive, it screwed up things negatively, I'd be here all day." -- A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. Edward Abbey (1927-1989) |
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08 Sep 05 - 09:18 AM (#1559003) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Amos I posted the above as a reference for those whose debates are sometimes led astray by an absence of clear chronology. It is from a correspondent who survived the hurricane. A |
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08 Sep 05 - 09:33 AM (#1559014) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: McGrath of Harlow That would work very effectively as a radio play. Or as the sound track to a movie showing shots of what was happening all the while. I can see Michael Moore putting out something like that. |
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08 Sep 05 - 09:38 AM (#1559017) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: John Hardly Yeah, Michael Moore would be perfect for that. |
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08 Sep 05 - 09:42 AM (#1559020) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: John Hardly 9:30 AM - MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW ORLEANS: "We're facing the storm most of us have feared," said Nagin. "This is going to be an unprecedented event." [Times-Picayune] His responsibility did not end with issuing the evacuation. According to the NO Comprehensive Emergency plan, it was the city's responsibility to execute the evacuation -- including using everything at the city's disposal to do so. They didn't. |
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08 Sep 05 - 09:49 AM (#1559024) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Peace We love y'all even if yer president don't. |
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08 Sep 05 - 01:33 PM (#1559162) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: CarolC Nagin would have used the equipment at his disposal (busses) had he been able to find drivers for those busses. He was not able to do that. The federal government could have assisted in this effort, though, and it did not. |
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09 Sep 05 - 09:33 AM (#1559744) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: GUEST,robinia Click here for an account that deserves to go into the mix because it raises a whole lot of questions; it shows folks folks TRYING to help one another, taking the kind of initiative that conservatives are always saying we SHOULD take and getting absolutely no help, for days -- in fact, being lied to, prevented from leaving the city, even attacked by the authorities... Read it and weep. Yes, these trapped touristts got out OK in the end, but just what in God's name was going on anyway? |
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09 Sep 05 - 09:39 AM (#1559749) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: beardedbruce Saturday, August 27 5AM - KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [CNN] ..... FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA: "Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency." [White House] ..... Monday, August 29 7AM - KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN] ..... So, you have just removed all blame from Bush? That is what it looks like, though you give a detailed list of non-associated events as if you think he should have been doing something else, besides directing the Ferderal agency to act. |
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09 Sep 05 - 03:29 PM (#1560007) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: CarolC The problem lies with what has become of FEMA under the Bush administration. Prior to the shifting of FEMA to the umbrella of the Dept. of Homeland Security, and prior to removing a significant percentage of its funding, and under the direction of James Lee Witt, according to disaster specialists all over the country, FEMA was a model emergency management agency, and was doing a very good job of managing disasters (including the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11). After 9/11, when the Bush administration completely reorganized the agency and put it under the wing of DHS, and cut funding to FEMA (all in the name of making the US more secure), disaster specialists and governors from states that experience a lot of natural disasters have been saying that it has become very difficult to work with FEMA and that FEMA has become ineffective, and laden with mismanagement, waste, and cronyistic and politically motivated appointments. To the extent that Bush is responsible for what FEMA has become under his administration, and to the extent that it did not function as it was supposed to in this disaster, Bush is, indeed, responsible for the extent of the disasterous consequences. |
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09 Sep 05 - 03:34 PM (#1560013) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Amos As anyone who has commanded a vessel at sea knows, the delegation of responsibility does not relileve the commander of responsibility. This is a hard rule, but it has been evolved through hundreds of years of naval operations as a necessary one: you are responsible for events on your watch even if you did not cause them immediately or asked someone else to handle them. You will notice that FEMA's head of operations has just been replaced by a naval officer. This may be a hopeful sign, if extraordinarily late in coming. Bobby "Bang-up Job" Brown has been sidelined from managing the Katrina situation. If this had been a naval situation, of course, the whole crew would have drowned by now, but that's why we are so forgiving toward our landlubbery, bumbling politicians: they are held to a more rotten standard. A |
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09 Sep 05 - 03:40 PM (#1560019) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Amos Sorry, that should be Michael "Bang-up Job, Brownie" Brown. A |
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09 Sep 05 - 03:45 PM (#1560022) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Bill D we have a saying in our family...."don't bother me unless that cat's on fire"..First, you are supposed to know when the fire if on and if the cat might get up on the stove get NEAR the fire...and IF the cat's on fire, you don't call the family members together, decide whether the fire is big enough and look up in Google the proper procedure for cat fires...you THROW SOME WATER ON THE CAT!. Certain of these principles were misunderstood by FEMA and other officials who were supposed to be watching the cat. |
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09 Sep 05 - 03:48 PM (#1560024) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Stilly River Sage Brown relieved of hurricane duties. |
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09 Sep 05 - 04:09 PM (#1560040) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: CarolC Here's what the Bush administration and FEMA were doing to prepare for and in reponse to hurrican Ivan (during an election year)... "And hurricane Ivan hit the gulf coast on Sunday, September 16, 2004 . This is from a September 16, 2004 Department of Homeland Security press release: . . . The following activities are taking place to prepare for Hurricane Ivan: Homeland Security officials are fully coordinating preparations and are in constant communication with our federal partners, governors, and other state and local officials in possible affected states. Currently, more than 5,000 FEMA personnel are in Florida and additional emergency response personnel have been deployed from the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Defense. FEMA�s Hurricane Liaison Team remains activated at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, to assist with advisories, information coordination and emergency evacuation activities. FEMA personnel continue to work with the victims of Hurricanes Charley and Frances while others have been repositioned to respond to state requests for assistance as a result of Hurricane Ivan. FEMA is positioned to send emergency management personnel, supplies and equipment to those areas impacted most to ensure a rapid and effective response as soon as Hurricane Ivan passes. Critical commodities such as ice, water, meals and tarps are staged and ready for immediate delivery to residents in affected areas. The Army Corps of Engineers is standing by with 100 refrigerator trucks of ice and 500 trucks of water to meet immediate needs as part of the Hurricane Ivan response. Two Urban Search and Rescue Teams are deployed in Florida with four additional teams en route to Alabama and Mississippi for immediate deployment if needed. Mobile Emergency Response Service communication units are also available to provide telephone, radio and video links in support of response and recovery efforts. Four Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) and Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams have been activated or deployed to sites in Florida, Georgia and Mississippi to support medical facilities and hospitals that are not fully operational following Hurricane Ivan. An additional seven teams have been placed on alert, assembling teams and loading equipment in case they are needed. The DMATs include doctors, nurses and medical technicians trained to handle trauma, pediatrics, surgery and mental health concerns. DMATs also bring truckloads of medical equipment and supplies with them. Preparations are being made for Disaster Field Offices and Disaster Recovery Centers to be established in the hardest hit areas within 72 hours after a federal declaration. This will allow impacted residents to receive disaster assistance as soon as possible. The U.S. Coast Guard has pre-positioned helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to support response activities, closed all ports from New Orleans to the Florida panhandle and has established a temporary safety zone extending the entire width of the lower Mississippi River from mile marker 88 to 106 to help protect people and vessels from the potential safety hazards associated with Hurricane Ivan. The U.S. Coast Guard is also broadcasting hurricane advisories and warnings to mariners along the hurricane�s projected path and coordinating area harbor safety committees to prepare ports and minimize potential damage. Following the storm, the Coast Guard will assist with post-hurricane response and recovery operations to aid navigation assessment and repair, marine pollution response, search and rescue operations, and support to other agencies and humanitarian aid. Aircraft from Homeland Security�s Immigration and Customs Enforcement will help transport FEMA officials to and from sites and will fly over the storm's path following landfall to collect high-resolution images for damage assessment. The remotely sensed data will allow FEMA to better target areas needing immediate disaster damage assessment. The Department's Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection unit is assessing the vulnerabilities and potential impact to critical infrastructure located in the storm's projected path. Based upon these assessments, Homeland Security will be prepared to work with private sector partners and state and local government officials during the recovery phase. Homeland Security is working with the American Red Cross and other volunteer agencies to ensure sheltering and critical needs are met immediately. Citizen Corps Councils and national Citizen Corps affiliate organizations mobilized more than 2,000 volunteers and representatives from 45 states to provide disaster support in Florida communities affected by Hurricanes Charley and Frances. In addition, Citizen Corps Councils and volunteer members already established within Florida are supporting state coordinated disaster relief efforts and preparing for response to Hurricane Ivan. Citizen Corps will also be recruiting an additional 500 people nationwide to support disaster recovery efforts following Hurricane Ivan. FEMA is working to provide multiple trailers full of generators at the request of Gulf Coast and inland states that will be used to provide power to critical facilities affected by the hurricane. All the National Processing Service Centers (NPSCs) are fully staffed and ready to register and process disaster assistance applications immediately, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." The Bush administration even had FEMA hire a political consultant during last year's hurricane season... "But politics was foremost on the mind of FEMA consultant Glenn Garcelon, who wrote a three-page memo titled 'Hurricane Frances -- Thoughts and Suggestions,' on Sept. 2. The Republican National Convention was winding down, and President Bush had only a slight lead in the polls against Democrat John Kerry. Winning Florida was key to the president's re-election. FEMA should pay careful attention to how it is portrayed by the public, Garcelon wrote in the memo, conveying "the team effort theme at every opportunity" alongside state and local officials, the insurance and construction industries, and relief agencies such as the Red Cross. 'What FEMA cannot afford to do is back itself into a corner by feeling it has to be the sole explainer and defender for everything that goes wrong," he wrote. "Further, this is not what the President would want. Plenty is going to go wrong, and his Department of Homeland Security does not want to assume responsibility for all of it.' Garcelon, a former FEMA employee, recommended that 'top-level people from FEMA and the White House need to develop a communication strategy and an agreed-upon set of themes and communications objectives.' 'Communication consultants from the President's re-election campaign should be brought in," he wrote. "Above all, everybody's got to understand that no amount of flogging DHS/ FEMA will insure that the recovery will go perfectly. This is going to be a huge mess. The public needs to be prepared for it.' " And this is what FEMA had to say for itself just prior to Katrina... "In contrast, before Katrina hit, Bush declared parts of the gulf coast a federal disaster area to streamline claims for financial assistance from the government after the hurricane passed. I have been unable to find any information on the White House, DHS, or FEMA web sites concerning any other actions taken in advance of Katrina except for a press release stating that: '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.'" In this particular emergency, what FEMA will be most remembered for is how it turned away badly needed assistance and supplies (including water) while people were dying because of a lack of the basic necessities of life, including water, food, and medicines. If it couldn't see its way clear to providing these essentials itself, the very least it could have done was to not interfere with other people who were trying to provide these things. It didn't even do that. |
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09 Sep 05 - 04:18 PM (#1560047) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: CarolC Expert's response to the removal of Brown from Katrina recovery... "Critics said it appeared the move appeared to be little more than cosmetic. 'It tells me that they are not correcting the structural problem with the agency,' said Jane Bullock, a 22-year FEMA veteran who rose to chief of staff in the Clinton Administration. 'That's not going to correct the fundamental problem the agency has with the leadership not understanding how to operate in a disaster.'" http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/hurricane_katrina/12603562.htm |
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14 Sep 05 - 02:46 PM (#1563682) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: GUEST,rarelamb "a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are." " What else was he supposed to do? What does the secretary of state have to do with natural disasters? |
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14 Sep 05 - 10:13 PM (#1563949) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Bee-dubya-ell What does the secretary of state have to do with natural disasters? Ordinarilly, nothing. But in a disaster of Katrina's scope, where foreign governments are offering assistance, State Department involvement is essential. |
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14 Sep 05 - 11:37 PM (#1563980) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Q (Frank Staplin) Now that everyone admits mistakes, but at the same time has their hands at the hips, ready to draw on each other, the sequence helps to keep order. Some fill-in is available now, but the frame is good. Thanks, Amos. |
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15 Sep 05 - 12:29 AM (#1564004) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: mg one of the most horrifying delays was the 82nd airborne...who most everyone knows are crackerjack infantry paratroopers...they mobilized instantly and waited for a week. If I had been there commander i would have said screw it and dropped them into the convention center, along with whatever food and water i could..butthey were needed immediately as sharpshooters to kill the snipers and rapists..or somehow persuade them short of killing them..that made a miserable situation a hell on earth. The violence and shooting of rescue boats, helicopters etc. prevented assistance from getting in and diverted personnel etc. from rescues. Now, what did the 82nd airborne do a week later? GPS dead bodies. Go around in little boats and rescue people..which almost any able-bodied people could have done...or if you had dropped the damn boats down first thing the stronger people could have rescued themselves and others..the 82nd could have prevented much of the death and misery and made the whole thing go much faster and allowed the thousands probably of civilian rescue teams that were on their way to get in and do their job. We have to find out who the delayers and obstructionists are..quick because the NW is supposed to have a big quake soon (don't worry it is supposed to happen before Sunnycamp). mg |
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15 Sep 05 - 07:05 PM (#1564663) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: GUEST,mg There is something else I need to know. Who was the lieutenant gov of LA? Why have we not heard from him or her? And why, when it was obvious to the casual observer, was there not a mutiny or a change of guard or whatever. This was not a time for earn while you learn. He or she should have said step aside, you are not competent to do this and taken over and taken the consequences after...unless they are all incompetent and obtuse. She could have perhaps saved face by being sent out on interviews or whatever while someone with some sort of sense was really running things...and spare me the crocidile tears for her....it wasn't a failure just to act and coordinate..it is sounding more and more like serious obstruction to people who did want to do stuff and could have saved lives...lead, follow or get out of the way. If you are window dressing, be window dressing but step aside in emergencies. mg |
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15 Sep 05 - 07:10 PM (#1564667) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: GUEST,mg P.S. I want Gen. Honore for president. I wanted a female president but I can't see that anyone has really stepped up to the plate like I would hope. Dr. Rice was not impressive in this. Maybe Maria Cantwell for VP..I don't know..she is a good senator. mg |
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16 Sep 05 - 10:26 AM (#1564892) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: GUEST,leeneia Amos, the chronology is heart-breaking. Thanks for posting it. Playing golf! Photo ops! I feel like my country has been taken over by frat rats. (I didn't vote for these bastards.) My husband tells me that where he works, the Bush government gets approval because "taxes are less." That's all people there care about. |
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16 Sep 05 - 10:49 AM (#1564920) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Stilly River Sage NPR did a very good and very important story this morning on what FEMA officials knew when. It's as clear an indictment of Michael Brown as I've read yet. Back when I was arguing with CarolC about the buses in and out of Newe Orleans, this hadn't been made public: Michael Brown was doing nothing while his FEMA people knew a disaster like no other was bearing down on Louisiana. Read the blurb and listen to this story. Brown should be brought up on criminal charges, and Bush should be for appointing him. There were people who knew that the buses should be running, and people who knew that cost (affordablity) should not be a factor--any available buses should have been deployed to simply move everyone out of harms way. FEMA Official Says Agency Heads Ignored Warnings. SRS |
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16 Sep 05 - 11:18 AM (#1564941) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Stilly River Sage The Karl Rove obfuscation tactic explained: Sierra Club Raw Issue #129, September 15, 2005 Welcome to the Machine Eric Antebi, RAW Contributor When Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, it not only burst through the best storm defenses the region had. It also tore a gaping hole in the myth that our government, especially our federal government, was prepared to manage a major emergency. The media and public reaction was brutal and rightfully so, after President Bush and his aides completely miscalculated the threat and mishandled the aftermath. The Bush administration thought it could make up for its embarrassing performance in emergency management with a tried-and-true exercise in image management. In Karl Rove's playbook, that meant find someone to "Swift Boat," as New York Times columnist Frank Rich would say. By September 8, Rove's smear machine was in full swing. The National Review online ran an article by John Berlau, a journalism fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the well known think tank, "dedicated to advancing the principles of free enterprise and limited government." The article suggested that environmentalists were responsible for the terrible flooding that New Orleans endured because they had opposed a major levee project along the Mississippi River in 1996. That story was immediately echoed by Fox News and right wing commentators and bloggers from coast to coast. Missing from these reports was the fact that the project was 100 miles North of New Orleans and would have offered no defense to Katrina. That's not all: conservation groups never opposed the levees themselves; just the fact that thousands of acres of wetlands were going to be mined for construction material. And it wasn't just conservation groups who objected; even the Louisiana Legislature voiced concerns. The case, by the way, was settled one year later, but the Corps never had the funding to move ahead on the project. The second volley came on September 9, when the House Resources Committee sent out a press release accusing environmentalists of derailing a massive barrier to protect New Orleans three decades ago. That story got retold by the Washington Times earlier this week and similarly found its way onto a host of other blog and conservative commentary sites. Never mind that the project also drew widespread local opposition from affected communities. Or that a Federal Judge chastised the Army Corps of Engineers for doing shoddy work and demanded the agency to provide more information. Or that the Corps never did provide the info and years later it abandoned the project on its own. The Bush/Rove strategy of course is to use the loyal soldiers in its propaganda army to create another storm that the mainstream media couldn't resist covering. Fact and fiction become impossible to separate, and a new myth is born. Even if the administration can't fix its image, at least it will have redefined the problem in ways that further its anti-environmental goals. The Bush administration has so far met its match with the unfiltered images and stories of desperate people abandoned by their government. I am counting on ordinary people, angry and armed with the truth, to once again throw a wrench in the administration's machine. |
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16 Sep 05 - 03:28 PM (#1565042) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Amos September 15, 2005: Bush commits the full credit of his insolvent government to rebuild the whole city of New Orleans. In doing so he ignores the fact that he has already practically bankrupted the government with his military expenses and tries to shift his image from east of Reagon to some strange admixture of FDR and LBJ. Conservatives who intuitively cringe at the notion of the federal government spending large sums of other citizen's bucks to help people are spinny with amaze, wondering who this guy is and what he did with their President. A |
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16 Sep 05 - 03:39 PM (#1565051) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: GUEST,rarelamb I've been wondering for sometime. Remember these boondoggles? Instead of No Child left behind he should have dismantled the department Steel tarrifs Invading Iraq Large deficits Drug entitlement Large farm subsidies |
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16 Sep 05 - 05:10 PM (#1565115) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Q (Frank Staplin) St. Bernard Parish (Chalmette area) posted a return schedule Sept. 15 for residents and businesses. Murphy Oil has outlined the oil spill area, and return to this area is excluded (map provided at website). At the second website listed below, click on News tab to get details. Many details, including negotiations with FEMA for temporary housing. Water level continues to drop; 5 of 8 pumps in the parish working. People are warned not to believe rumors, and to get their news from official Parish websites. St Bernard News at www.stbernardparishgovernment.com/index.html St Bernard This Parish, 88% white, was one of the most flooded. Per capita income is roughly 77% of the national average. |
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16 Sep 05 - 07:11 PM (#1565156) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: GUEST I DONT BELIEVE THE HOLES IN THE WALLS CAUSED ALL THE PROBLEMS I THINK THE HOLES IN YOUR GOVERMENT IS A LARGE PROBLEM FOR THE WHOLE WORLD |
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16 Sep 05 - 09:26 PM (#1565233) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Q (Frank Staplin) Here it is the 16th, and today on CNN I heard the police chief of Kenner (metro N. O., western Jefferson Parish) arguing with another official- the former pointing out that shelter for many was non-existent (Fema and no one else taking action), and the latter arguing that food and water was provided, as if that was sufficient. Coordination still seems to be lacking. |
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17 Sep 05 - 12:26 AM (#1565315) Subject: RE: BS: Katrina: Sequence of Events From: Ron Davies SRS-- Thanks so much for your Sierra Club Raw report. I always suspected that there was another side to the Limbaugh version given us so generously by Larry K. |