Bush should have just sent the military the moment he declared the area in a state of emergency.

There’s a little legal matter that gets in the way of this; it’s called the Constitution.

There is blame to be placed all the way up and down the line but the most egregious failures occured on the state and local level. Fore example in this interview between Hugh Hewitt Fox’s Major Garrett:

HH: You just broke a pretty big story. I was watching up on the corner television in my studio, and it’s headlined that the Red Cross was blocked from delivering supplies to the Superdome, Major Garrett. Tell us what you found out.

MG: Well, the Red Cross, Hugh, had pre-positioned a literal vanguard of trucks with water, food, blankets and hygiene items. They’re not really big into medical response items, but those are the three biggies that we saw people at the New Orleans Superdome, and the convention center, needing most accutely. And all of us in America, I think, reasonably asked ourselves, geez. You know, I watch hurricanes all the time. And I see correspondents standing among rubble and refugees and evacuaees. But I always either see that Red Cross or Salvation Army truck nearby. Why don’t I see that?

HH: And the answer is?

MG: The answer is the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security, that is the state agency responsible for that state’s homeland security, told the Red Cross explicitly, you cannot come.

HH: Now Major Garrett, on what day did they block the delivery? Do you know specifically?

MG: I am told by the Red Cross, immediately after the storm passed.

Oh wait, it’s all Bush’s fault.

Top previous news with this:

From BobHarris.com

I checked the parish map against the White House’s own press release, posted on their own site.  I have tried to figure out how this is my own mistake, but I can’t find it.  And the results are frankly so bizarre I had to make the graphic in order to properly show you.

Welcome to upside-down-land: the areas at risk for Katrina were quite remarkably the areas not included in Bush’s declaration of emergency.

If you click on the map he has posted, you will see the parish’s that were declared in the statement from the White House. Truly amazing that we are all still alive with the kind of competence we are seeing from the Bush Administration!

Here’s a question: Do you think that some of the reason the citizens of NO didn’t respond to the threat of the hurricane was because for the past 4 years we have constantly lived under the threat of major disasters that never actually come to pass? First it was Y2K, which was a fizzle in spite of whatever potential for disaster there might have been. Then, after 9/11, we’ve been dealing with ever-fluctuating threat levels and dire governmental prognistications, even though no new terrorist attacks have occurred in this country. I wonder if people haven’t become so inured to hearing constant hysterical warnings that they can no longer recognize the ones with actual merit.

A piece of good news to report:

From Yahoo! News
Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown is being removed from his role managing Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, The Associated Press has learned.

Brown is being sent back to Washington from Baton Rouge, where he was the primary official overseeing the federal government’s response to the disaster, according to two federal officials who declined to be identified before the announcement.

Brown will be replaced by Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad w. Allen, who was overseeing New Orleans relief and rescue efforts.

It’s about time! Pity it wasn’t done on 8/31, but maybe the horror stories I’m hearing about FEMA run detainment camps and such will stop.

Wow !! Dave M. That link you provided (FEMA run detainment camps) was like an Xfiles episode.

Frightening !

To add insult to injury…

Actually from the WSJ: “Ten U.S. Army recruiters are offering volunteer help for Katrina evacuees at Houston’s Astrodome. But the recruiters, struggling to keep enlistment up during Iraq war, are also available with options for the jobless. “Our intent is to approach the evacuees at the right time for them,’’ says Army spokesman Douglas Smith.�?

“Our intent is to approach the evacuees at the right time for them,’’ says Army spokesman Douglas Smith.

Yeah, I saw that bullshit too.  So when is the “right” time?  This sounds pretty damned close to “coercive choice” theory. 

That’s interesting… Our Mr. Daniel Medley’s website has been suspended. Hmm.. I wonder why?

Yeah, I saw that bullshit too. So when is the “right�? time?  This sounds pretty damned close to “coercive choice�? theory.

Uhm. No. Not pretty, but not really immoral either (unless you consider recruiting for the military immoral itself).

Before, they had x choices, many of them bad. Now, with the recruiters, they have x+1 choices, whatever you think of that additional option.

That’s interesting… Our Mr. Daniel Medley’s website has been suspended. Hmm.. I wonder why?

He’s back.  We’re linked from the phrase “blithering moonbats on the Left” on the current article.

WooHoo!  Hey, everybody, we’re blithering moonbats!  On the Left!

‘Course not everyone here is a “leftie”, but hey, why get hung up on details.

In other news, what could Bush have done?  He could have continued Clinton’s work rebuilding FEMA from the budgetary and organizational rape of Bush 1 and Reagan, instead of putting FEMA under a BS agency and giving them totally unqualified leadership.

It is true that levees alone are a poor bet in a Cat5 hurricane, but they certainly did need improvement.  He could have persued that.

He could have signed the Kyoto protocol.  It’s a start.

He could have continued - and even expanded on - Clinton’s policies of wetlands protection.  But how was he to know that there would be a connection between wetlands and hurricane protection?  He could have listened to what the scientific community has been saying for years, like Clinton did.  But listening to scientists isn’t his “thing”.

(And before anyone goes ballistic at the mention of the Evil One’s name, “Clinton,” no, I’m not sayin’ Clinton was perfect.  He was like a poorly regulated clock - never exactly right.  But Bush is like a clock that doesn’t run at all - right twice a day.)

I have to agree with Ingolfson in that I don’t really have a problem with the Army trying to recruit Katrina evacuees. If the time frame for rebuilding is going to be even remotely close to the dire predictions being made (and I don’t think it’ll be quite that bad) then going into the military may not be a bad option for a lot of people. Especially if they were poor and unemployed previously as they can get some very valuable training and money for college. True some of them may not come back from their stint in the military what with the current idiocy taking place in Iraq, but as long as they’re being asked and not forced into joining then it’s still an option worth considering if they have few others to choose from

Before, they had x choices, many of them bad. Now, with the recruiters, they have x+1 choices, whatever you think of that additional option.

Right.  Yes, they might be shot in the military, but there are hazards to being poor, being uneducated, to having no self-control or discipline, and YES (blithering leftie moonbat that I am ) I do partially blame poverty on the poor.  A stint is the military is an honorable, constructive option.

Les, I can’t believe you agree with that. We agree on so much other stuff.

I don’t even really like the idea of the recruiter’s going into poor neighborhood’s trying to get kids that feel that they have no other options. I would rather mop bathroom floors than serve in the military right now. I don’t have a problem with serving in the military mind you, just for a just cause, not because our President want’s oil or to make his father look bad.

However, the recruiters going into the shelters attempting to recruit those poor victim’s of the hurricane. That’s just sick. I would suspect that most of those folks actually had jobs, some even two or more. Not having a car and all that goes with it doesn’t mean that they didn’t have jobs. The others are way to old or young to even consider.

As to Mr. Medley and his site. I notice that he didn’t seem to mention that Mr. Brown was all but fired from his post as the head of FEMA. Interesting. I may be a blithering leftie moonbat, but at least I look at both sides of the coin when forming opinions.

Les, I can’t believe you agree with that. We agree on so much other stuff.

It had to happen sooner or later. After all, we’re not clones, despite what some on the Right might think.

I don’t even really like the idea of the recruiter’s going into poor neighborhood’s trying to get kids that feel that they have no other options. I would rather mop bathroom floors than serve in the military right now. I don’t have a problem with serving in the military mind you, just for a just cause, not because our President want’s oil or to make his father look bad.

If the recruiters are going in there and portraying themselves as the only viable choice then I’d have a problem with the sales pitch itself, but not necessarily with the recruitment effort.

Whether I agree with what the current mission of the military happens to be or not that doesn’t change the fact that volunteering to join it is a good option for a lot of people who lack the opportunities or education for much of anything else. The people who volunteer will be getting something of value in exchange in the form of training and the G.I. Bill.

Certainly if the folks in question have qualms with what they may be asked to participate in then they shouldn’t sign up nor should they be coerced into signing up, but not everyone has a problem with the war in Iraq—regardless of whether I think they should or not— and if they don’t and joining would be to their advantage then I see no reason why the military shouldn’t be seeking them out.

However, the recruiters going into the shelters attempting to recruit those poor victim’s of the hurricane. That’s just sick. I would suspect that most of those folks actually had jobs, some even two or more. Not having a car and all that goes with it doesn’t mean that they didn’t have jobs. The others are way to old or young to even consider.

I honestly don’t see how it’s sick at all. Sure some or even most of them may have had a job already, perhaps even two, but that doesn’t mean that joining the military wouldn’t be advantageous to them. Most of those jobs are gone now and likely will be for awhile. Even if the jobs come back anytime soon the question remains if they’re better than going into the military. For some, sure, for others, no.

As to Mr. Medley and his site. I notice that he didn’t seem to mention that Mr. Brown was all but fired from his post as the head of FEMA. Interesting. I may be a blithering leftie moonbat, but at least I look at both sides of the coin when forming opinions.

I find Daniel’s website to be an amusing read. We must be a relatively new discovery for him as we’re linked like crazy in the most recent entries, but near non-existent prior to that. I take great amusement in being described as a “blithering leftie moonbat” for some reason.

I’ll trow my hat in with the blithering leftie moonbats and agree with the recruiters presenting various and sundry opportunities to the Katrina refugees.

As stupid as things have gotten in Iraq, and given the time-frame it would take for these people to get back on their feet, the military makes a decent amount of sense.  Some of them could probably get a locked in 3-year tour and be back before the city is completely restored.  Plus they’ll have gained an additional skill, some more pride and have the FEMA money.

I don’t think anyone but the most hardened conservative would want the military to be the only choice these people have before going postal in a shelter.  In Texas, several job fairs are being held only only for Katrina refugees.  Some of the smaller businesses have been actively recruiting specialty trades like arc-welders, masons and mechanics.

That’s interesting… Our Mr. Daniel Medley’s website has been suspended. Hmm.. I wonder why?

My site was suspended because of a DOS from blithering moonbat, commie left brown shirts who don’t like what I have to say.

Don’t worry, I’m back up.

As to Mr. Medley and his site. I notice that he didn’t seem to mention that Mr. Brown was all but fired from his post as the head of FEMA.

Was planning to but my site was suspended.

We must be a relatively new discovery for him as we’re linked like crazy in the most recent entries, but near non-existent prior to that.

Actually, I’ve had you on my roll for, I’m thinking, a couple of years now.

To be clear, I’m not saying that the Feds and Bush are blameless. It’s just that it’s apparrent that the blame starts at the bottom and works it’s way up through the whole process.

Also for the record, I like this site (stupid evil bastard). I agree with much of what you say and I disagree with much of what you say. If we all agreed on everything the world would suck.

I have to admit that I’m surprised that SEB has never been the victim of a DDoS attack. I’ve always chalked that up to it being a small fish in a big pond, which is probably the case.

To be clear, I’m not saying that the Feds and Bush are blameless. It’s just that it’s apparent that the blame starts at the bottom and works it’s way up through the whole process.

I have no quarrels with that statement as I agree that there’s plenty of blame to go around. My biggest problem with the Bush Administration is the fact that they’ve known about the potential for this disaster all along as well as what could be done to help mitigate it—such as restoring some of the wetlands destroyed by the creation of the levees in the first place—yet they passed legislation that actively destroyed even more wetlands by turning them over to developers and that’s just plain old stupid.

I see a lot of this being the result of Bush’s tendencies to suppress any science he’s presented with that doesn’t match up with his political viewpoints. Could he have stopped the hurricane? Of course not, but some of the policy decisions he made contributed to the problem instead of helping to diminish it. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt about not being able to anticipate 9/11, but when he claims that no one could have foreseen the collapse of the levees he’s just flat out lying.

Also for the record, I like this site (stupid evil bastard). I agree with much of what you say and I disagree with much of what you say. If we all agreed on everything the world would suck.

I can certainly agree with you on that. For one thing, I’d have a lot less to rant about on my blog.

To be clear, I’m not saying that the Feds and Bush are blameless. It’s just that it’s apparent that the blame starts at the bottom and works it’s way up through the whole process.

See, this is where we agree to disagree. If a, oh lets say a waiter, is behaving inappropriately and the customer complains, the head waiter steps in. If the head waiter doesn’t satisfy the customers complaints, the manager is brought in. This process keeps moving on until the head of the chain or corporation that runs the restaurant is involved. At which point, lawyers have probably been brought in. This is an extrema case, but it still shows a chain of command that ends at the top. This is why Chartoff removed Brown. Not because Brown stepped aside, but because Chartoff, being told to “Fix it!”, fixed it.

Hell, all you have to do is look at the White House’s own website to see how badly they bungled the whole thing. Declaring parish’s that were in no danger of the hurricane in a state of emergency. How in the world is Nagin supposed to deal with a CAT 4 hurricane when the President can’t even figure out which perishes are involved.

The more I ponder Bush’s mentality the more I liken him to one of those mothers that smothers their children and then rushes to the hospital… or a fireman who starts a blaze just so he can be the first on the scene to put it out.

I have no problem starting at the lowest level of failure and taking corrective action.  I do have a problem when the people in charge deflect responsibility so they they can play the role of hero.

Bush Takes Responsibility for Blunders

President Bush said Tuesday that “I take responsibility” for failures in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and said the disaster raised broader questions about the government’s ability to respond to natural disasters as well as terror attacks.

“Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government,” Bush said at joint White House news conference with the president of Iraq.

“To the extent the federal government didn’t fully do its job right, I take responsibility,” Bush said.

Well, it’s about fricken time! Now mind you, it’s not as complete as I would have liked to see, but it’s a start.

I’m sure this and the address to the nation he’s going to do on Thursday, is just a ploy to up his poll numbers, but to make such a statement in front of a foreign leader is interesting and must have been a little embarrassing.

Holy shit! I’m stunned! Quite literally. As much as it pains me to say it, this does raise my opinion of Bush at least a little bit. He’s earned the benefit of the doubt. For the moment, at least.

Agreed. The more I listen to what was going on, the more I get the impression that Chertoff/Brown (mostly Brown) were a large part of the problem.

I have also read something rather interesting. We haven’t heard from Cheney much lately because he wanted Bush to flounder instead of Cheney fixing the problem like he has in the past. I think I saw that on the Crooks and Liars website.

I still feel he should have gone to Washington as soon as the hurricane hit or even the Sunday before, after all, he did acknowledge that the hurricane would be a big problem for New Orleans and the gulf coast.

Dave,

I will never understand people that are so full of contempt that they want to cut off the leg to save the foot.  I just don’t get it.

Let’s review:  Everybody from the local level to the top fell down on the job.  It is an embarassment to all of us that this happened.  Dave smiles about it, and I’m just guessing here, but presumably because it embarasses Bush.

Hundreds dead, tens of thousands of homeless, but Bush is embarassed so it makes him happy.  The title of this website has never been so apropos.

I’m sorry, you think that what happened to the victims of the hurricane made me happy? I’m not really sure where you got that from.

Since before the storm hit, I was unhappy and even mad about what was going on down there. Putting all those people in the SuperDome was the stupidest thing I had ever heard. If that structure had collapsed, there would have been a huge number of dead and criminal investagitions would have had to have been started. That at least didn’t happen, allthough it sounded like it was close…

I was mad about Bush sitting on his ass at his ranch during all this not making sure that everybody was doing what they were suppoed to be doing. All the way down to the mayor of New Orleans if that’s what it takes.

I was mad about the comment “No one expected the levee’s to fail” which is the biggest load of bullshit I have heard to date!

I was mad about FEMA not knowing about the folks at the convention center even though reports seemed to know about that days earlier!

I could go on an on. I was by no means happy. I still feel that Bush should be impeached, however, I’m not sure I want Cheney to be his replacement.

I am happy that Bush is finally fessing up to his multiple blunders. It’s something he should have done about two weeks ago!

Consi,

Let’s review:  Everybody from the local level to the top fell down on the job.  It is an embarassment to all of us that this happened.

The sky is falling, but for once I agree with you.

It is painfully obvious that there was a systemic failure and the most important questions in anybody’s mind should be:

a) How do we resolve the current mess?

b) What can we do to make sure that the next large terror attack or natural disaster doesn’t catch the United States with its pants down again?