Are Dems going to criticize Byrd next for being a KKK kleagle?

Source

Friday, Sept. 30, 2005 12:07 a.m. EDT
Bill Bennett Responds to Critics over Black Abortion
Former Reagan administration education secretary Bill Bennett blasted his critics Thursday night, including Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, of whom Bennett said: ""I'll not take instruction from Teddy Kennedy. A young woman likely drowned because of his negligence."

Bennett is on the hot seat for remarks uttered Wednesday during his radio show, "Morning in America," where he was arguing against some of the more extreme justifications for abortion, calling them "ridiculous and morally reprehensible."

Offering an example, Bennett said:

"I do know that it’s true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.”

By Thursday afternoon, prominent Democrats had seized upon the comment.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who said last year that the Supreme Court's lone black member was "an embarrassment to the court," is demanding that Bennett "issue an immediate apology not only to African Americans but to the nation.”

Left wing Democrat Ted Kennedy, whose brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, ordered the illegal wiretapping of Martin Luther King, called Bennett a "racist."

And Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, who suggested last year that most blacks hold menial jobs, called Bennett's comments "hateful" and "inflammatory" - and called on him to apologize.

Responding to his critics, Bennett told the Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes":

"I'll not take instruction from Teddy Kennedy. A young woman likely drowned because of his negligence . . . . He should make no judgments at all about other people. He shouldn't be in the Senate."
Neither Kennedy nor Dean nor Reid has ever condemned Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, who rose to the rank of Grand Cyclops in the Ku Klux Klan based on his ability to recruit new members.

In an autobiography released earlier this year, Byrd said the Klan was a "fraternal group" made up of "upstanding' people" - a characterization which drew no protest from Reid, Kennedy and Dean.

Delay prosecutor is making a movie about prosecuting Delay?

Story

Hattip: Drudge Report

For the last two years, as he pursued the investigation that led to Wednesday's indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Travis County, Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle has given a film crew "extraordinary access" to make a motion picture about his work on the case.

The resulting film is called The Big Buy, made by Texas filmmakers Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck. "Raymond Chandler meets Willie Nelson on the corner of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in The Big Buy, a Texas noir political detective story that chronicles what some are calling a 'bloodless coup with corporate cash,'" reads a description of the picture on Birnbaum's website, markbirnbaum.com. The film, according to the description, "follows maverick Austin DA Ronnie Earle's investigation into what really happened when corporate money joined forces with relentless political ambitions to help swing the pivotal 2002 Texas elections, cementing Republican control from Austin to Washington DC."

"We approached him [Earle], and he offered us extraordinary access to him and, to an extent, to his staff," Birnbaum told National Review Online Thursday. "We've been shooting for about two years."

Money connected to Dem Leader Harry Reid; Senator arranged for grant now involved in indictment of pastors

Story

Hattip: Drudge Report

WASHINGTON -- The money that led to the indictment this week of two Las Vegas pastors and the wife of one of them came from federal grants arranged by Sen. Harry Reid in September 2001, a Reid spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Moving to distance Reid from a possible scandal, aide Tessa Hafen said the senator sought the money on behalf of a nonprofit social services agency and not for the churches or persons who have been accused of mishandling the money.

"The money was administered by the Department of Justice, and it went to the agency in Nevada (Alliance Collegiums Association of Nevada)," Hafen said.

Schwarzenegger Vetoes Calif. Gay Nups Bill

Story

Blanco doesn't "fire back"

Although Michael Brown recently called Louisiana "dysfunctional" and pinned blame on Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin for a slow response, Blanco's recent testimony did not mention Michael Brown.

Instead, she asked Congress for financial aid in reconstructing New Orleans -- nearly a month after the storm severely damaged New Orleans. That does not seem like a very quick request to me?

Story

Sheehan must be past the "mourning" stage?

This smile and smirk are inconsistent with someone supposedly in mourning over losing their son in Iraq.

Brown's big mistake: relying on Democrats to do their job?

Source

Former FEMA director Michael Brown aggressively defended his role in responding to Hurricane Katrina on Tuesday and put much of the blame for coordination failures on Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. "My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional," Brown told a special congressional panel set up by House Republican leaders to investigate the catastrophe.

Brown "resignation" hasn't taken effect - won't for two weeks

Source

Interesting scientific conspiracy theories

The space shuttle disaster was caused by Megalightning?

Russians controlling our weather?

"Others are engaging even in an eco-type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves. So there are plenty of ingenious minds out there that are at work finding ways in which they can wreak terror upon other nations.It's real, and that's the reason why we have to intensify our efforts, and that's why this is so important."

Secretary of Defense William Cohen at an April 1997 counterterrorism conference sponsored by former Senator Sam Nunn. Quoted from DoD News Briefing, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, Q&A at the Conference on Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and U.S. Strategy, University of Georgia , Athens , Apr. 28, 1997.

Widely reported attacks false or unsubstantiated

Monday, September 26, 2005

Rumors of deaths greatly exaggerated

Widely reported attacks false or unsubstantiated

6 bodies found at Dome; 4 at Convention Center

By Brian Thevenot
and Gordon Russell
Staff writers

After five days managing near-riots, medical horrors and unspeakable living conditions inside the Superdome, Louisiana National Guard Col. Thomas Beron prepared to hand over the dead to representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Following days of internationally reported killings, rapes and gang violence inside the Dome, the doctor from FEMA - Beron doesn't remember his name - came prepared for a grisly scene: He brought a refrigerated 18-wheeler and three doctors to process bodies.

"I've got a report of 200 bodies in the Dome," Beron recalls the doctor saying.

The real total was six, Beron said.

Of those, four died of natural causes, one overdosed and another jumped to his death in an apparent suicide, said Beron, who personally oversaw the turning over of bodies from a Dome freezer, where they lay atop melting bags of ice. State health department officials in charge of body recovery put the official death count at the Dome at 10, but Beron said the other four bodies were found in the street near the Dome, not inside it. Both sources said no one had been killed inside.

At the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, just four bodies were recovered, despites reports of corpses piled inside the building. Only one of the dead appeared to have been slain, said health and law enforcement officials.

That the nation's front-line emergency management believed the body count would resemble that of a bloody battle in a war is but one of scores of examples of myths about the Dome and the Convention Center treated as fact by evacuees, the media and even some of New Orleans' top officials, including the mayor and police superintendent. As the fog of warlike conditions in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath has cleared, the vast majority of reported atrocities committed by evacuees have turned out to be false, or at least unsupported by any evidence, according to key military, law enforcement, medical and civilian officials in positions to know.

"I think 99 percent of it is bulls---," said Sgt. 1st Class Jason Lachney, who played a key role in security and humanitarian work inside the Dome. "Don't get me wrong, bad things happened, but I didn't see any killing and raping and cutting of throats or anything. ... Ninety-nine percent of the people in the Dome were very well-behaved."

Read More

Cindy Sheehan arrested

Source

HattiP: DRUDGE REPORT

No. 2 Al Qaeda in Iraq killed

Story

United States Dept. of the Treasury Bureau: deficit on track to shrink below the Administration’s initial target of cutting the deficit in half by '09

http://www.fms.treas.gov/bulletin/b35poe.doc

Federal budget
The Federal budget deficit was $250 billion through 9 months of fiscal year 2005, $77 billion less than in the comparable months of the previous fiscal year. The deficit has been narrowing as receipts of withheld individual income and employment taxes were up 4.5 percent from the same period in fiscal year 2004. Nonwithheld individual income and employment taxes (which are estimated and paid quarterly) jumped 28.6 percent in the first 9 months of the fiscal year compared to last year. In addition, net corporate income tax receipts have soared 41.0 percent as profits strengthened. Total receipts through the fiscal year to June have risen 14.6 percent from the same months last year, or $204 billion. Outlays were up 7.3 percent so far this fiscal year from last year, or $127 billion.

Mainly because of the boost to tax payments, the Administration cut its estimate of the fiscal year 2005 deficit to $333 billion in the Mid-Session Review (MSR) of the Fiscal Year 2006 Budget from the $412 billion recorded last fiscal year and down from the previous estimate for this fiscal year of $427 billion. The new $333 billion deficit figure is about 2.7 percent of GDP, much smaller than the 3.6 percent in 2004. Going forward, the MSR projects the deficit will fall further as a share of GDP in the next few fiscal years. The new estimates project the deficit to dip to 2.6 percent of GDP in fiscal year 2006, decline to 1.7 percent in 2007, and then drop to 1.1 percent of GDP from fiscal years 2008 to 2010. A deficit of 1.1 percent of GDP would be well below the 40-year average of 2.3 percent of GDP. That puts the deficit on track to shrink below the Administration’s initial target of cutting the deficit in half by fiscal year 2009.

Deficit for Dummies

Q: What is the difference between the Debt and the Deficit?

A: The National Debt is the total amount of money owed by the government; the federal budget deficit is the yearly amount by which spending exceeds revenue. Add up all the deficits (and subtract those few budget surpluses we've had) for the past 200+ years and you'll get the current National Debt.

Politicians love to crow "The deficit is down! The deficit is down!" like it's a great accomplishment. Don't be fooled. Reducing the deficit just means we're adding less to the Debt this year than we did last year. Big deal -- we're still adding to the Debt. When are we going to start seeing the Debt actually go down?

Q: How has the National Debt grown over time?

A: The National Debt on January 1st 1791 was just $75 million dollars. Today, it rises by that amount every hour or so.

The following graph shows how the National Debt has grown year by year since 1940 in actual dollar amounts, uncorrected for inflation:



US National Debt from 1940 to Present

This data was gathered from the U.S. Treasury department's web site.

From time to time, I've gotten e-mail saying that the above graph is flawed -- it's just showing normal inflation. Well, I took the Debt numbers from the above graph and converted them all to 2000 dollars. Picking a different year would not have changed the shape of the graph below, just its height:



US National Debt, corrected for inflation (2000 dollars)

As you can see, except for a rise at the end of World War II, the Debt remained remarkably constant for nearly forty years when inflationary forces are taken into account. After 1983 however, with the notable exception of the Fiscal Years ending in September of 2000 and 2001, the trend has been upward even when inflation is taken into account.

Q: To whom do we owe all this money? Who owns the Debt?

A: Here is a pie chart showing the makeup, or ownership, of the National Debt as of December 1998.

Ownership of the National Debt



As you can see, the largest slice of the pie, over 40%, is owed to the Federal Reserve Bank and to other government accounts; that is, this part of the Debt is owed by one part of the government to another. The remaining 60% of the Debt, roughly $3.3 trillion, is privately held.

The above information is from the June 1999 issue of the "Treasury Bulletin", a quarterly publication of the U.S. Treasury department's Financial Management Service. The Treasury Bulletin is the best place to find the latest information on this subject.

The Public Debt to the Penny and Who Holds It

Top 20% pay 80% of taxes

Excellent story

At any rate (reading from Times), "Fully one-third of President Bush's tax cuts in the last three years have gone to people with the top 1% of income who have earned an average of $1.2 million annually, according to a report by the CBO to be published today. The new estimates confirm what independent tax analysts have long said, that Mr. Bush's tax cuts have been heavily skewed to the very wealthiest taxpayers. Those are the people, however, who pay a disproportionate share of federal taxes."

Clinton: We did a good job with disaster management

STEPHANOPOULOS: Excuse me; the problems of race that were tied to poverty here, and I know you don't think there's any conscious racism at play in the response, but we saw one more time blacks and whites looked at this event through very different eyes. What can President Bush do about that, and looking back, do you think there was anything more you could have done as president?

CLINTON: Well, I think we did a good job of disaster management.

Source

Will incompetent Louisiana officials pull it together for Rita?

Should I stay or should I go????

Source

WT: Officials at all levels butt heads over hurricane relief operations - Bill Sammon

Hattip: Rushlimbaugh.com

Department of Homeland Security: more than 49,800 lives "saved and rescued"

Democrats have some nerve calling FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina "a failure".

Here is a link to the DHS site.

The amount of work that FEMA has accomplished in regards to Hurricane Katrina is staggering.

FEMA - FEMA has distributed over $1.4 billion in federal aid to more than 593,000 households. Families temporarily residing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are receiving assistance in a streamlined process to urgently expedite these payments of $2,000 per household to help pay for the emergency needs of food, shelter, clothing, personal necessities and medical needs.

FEMA has thousands of phone operators taking registrations on its 24-hour phone bank. Callers may register faster by calling during the off hours of 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Those registering should be ready, if able, to provide their Social Security number, insurance information, financial information, contact information and their direct deposit information. Registration will remain open for many months to ensure that all citizens eligible for assistance have had the opportunity to apply.

FEMA has deployed more than 87 National Disaster Medical System Teams and 28 urban search and rescue teams with nearly 7,000 personnel to save lives and render medical assistance. Teams have rescued more than 350 hurricane victims.

FEMA has moved millions of commodities of water, ice, and meals ready to eat (MRE). FEMA also supplied generators and thousands of cots and blankets.

FEMA established a Housing Area Command to oversee all temporary housing operations across the Hurricane Katrina impacted areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Housing Strike Teams are being readied for deployment into each state to begin the process of quantifying temporary housing needs.

Individuals in declared counties can register online for disaster assistance at www.fema.gov or call FEMA’s toll free registration line at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).

And this is only one small part of everything of what government is doing.

A failure? Please! If you want to talk about failures, let's rehash Election '04 and the Democratic party. No wonder! Saving 49,800 is a "failure" if you're living in some sort of fantasy land.

Factcheck.org: Is Bush to Blame for New Orleans Flooding?

Source

Summary

Some critics are suggesting President Bush was as least partly responsible for the flooding in New Orleans. In a widely quoted opinion piece, former Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal says that "the damage wrought by the hurricane may not entirely be the result of an act of nature," and cites years of reduced funding for federal flood-control projects around New Orleans.

Our fact-checking confirms that Bush indeed cut funding for projects specifically designed to strengthen levees. Indeed, local officials had been complaining about that for years.

It is not so clear whether the money Bush cut from levee projects would have made any difference, however, and we're not in a position to judge that. The Army Corps of Engineers – which is under the President's command and has its own reputation to defend – insists that Katrina was just too strong, and that even if the levee project had been completed it was only designed to withstand a category 3 hurricane.
Analysis



We suspect this subject will get much more attention in Congress and elsewhere in the coming months. Without blaming or absolving Bush, here are the key facts we've been able to establish so far:

Bush Cut Funding

Blumenthal's much-quoted article in salon.com carried the headline: "No one can say they didn't see it coming." And it said the Bush administration cut flood-control funding "to pay for the Iraq war."

He continues:

Blumenthal: With its main levee broken, the evacuated city of New Orleans has become part of the Gulf of Mexico . But the damage wrought by the hurricane may not entirely be the result of an act of nature.

…By 2003 the federal funding for the flood control project essentially dried up as it was drained into the Iraq war. In 2004, the Bush administration cut funding requested by the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by more than 80 percent. Additional cuts at the beginning of this year…forced the New Orleans district of the Corps to impose a hiring freeze.

We can confirm that funding was cut. The project most closely associated with preventing flooding in New Orleans was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Hurricane Protection Project, which was “designed to protect residents between Lake Pontchartrain and the Missisippi River levee from surges in Lake Pontchartrain,” according to a fact sheet from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (The fact sheet is dated May 23, long before Katrina). The multi-decade project involved building new levees, enlarging existing levees, and updating other protections like floodwalls. It was scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Over at least the past several budget cycles, the Corps has received substantially less money than it requested for the Lake Pontchartrain project, even though Congress restored much of the money the President cut from the amount the Corps requested.

In fiscal year 2004, the Corps requested $11 million for the project. The President’s budget allocated $3 million, and Congress furnished $5.5 million. Similarly, in fiscal 2005 the Corps requested $22.5 million, which the President cut to $3.9 million in his budget. Congress increased that to $5.5 million. “This was insufficient to fund new construction contracts,” according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ project fact sheet. The Corps reported that “seven new contracts are being delayed due to lack funds” [sic].

The President proposed $3 million for the project in the budget for fiscal 2006, which begins Oct. 1. “This will be insufficient to fund new construction projects,” the fact sheet stated. It says the Corps “could spend $20 million if funds were provided.” The Corps of Engineers goes on to say:

Army Corps of Engineers, May 23: In Orleans Parish, two major pump stations are threatened by hurricane storm surges. Major contracts need to be awarded to provide fronting protection for them. Also, several levees have settled and need to be raised to provide the design protection. The current funding shortfalls in fiscal year 2005 and fiscal year 2006 will prevent the Corps from addressing these pressing needs.

The Corps has seen cutbacks beyond those affecting just the Lake Pontchartrain project. The Corps oversees SELA, or the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control project, which Congress authorized after six people died from flooding in May 1995. The Times-Picayune newspaper of New Orleans reported that, overall, the Corps had spent $430 million on flood control and hurricane prevention, with local governments offering more than $50 million toward the project. Nonetheless, "at least $250 million in crucial projects remained," the newspaper said.

In the past five years, the amount of money spent on all Corps construction projects in the New Orleans district has declined by 44 percent, according to the New Orleans CityBusiness newspaper, from $147 million in 2001 to $82 million in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

A long history of complaints

Local officials had long complained that funding for hurricane protection projects was inadequate:

*
October 13, 2001: The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that “federal officials are postponing new projects of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Control Program, or SELA, fearing that federal budget constraints and the cost of the war on terrorism may create a financial pinch for the program.” The paper went on to report that “President Bush’s budget proposed $52 million” for SELA in the 2002 fiscal year. The House approved $57 million and the Senate approved $62 million. Still, “the $62 million would be well below the $80 million that corps officials estimate is needed to pay for the next 12 months of construction, as well as design expenses for future projects.”
*
April 24, 2004: The Times-Picayune reported that “less money is available to the Army Corps of Engineers to build levees and water projects in the Missisippi River valley this year and next year.” Meanwhile, an engineer who had direct the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Study – a study of how to restore coastal wetlands areas in order to provide a bugger from hurricane storm surges – was sent to Iraq "to oversee the restoration of the ‘Garden of Eden’ wetlands at the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers,” for which President Bush’s 2005 gave $100 million.
*
June 8, 2004: Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, told the Times-Picayune:

Walter Maestri: It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq , and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us.

*
September 22, 2004: The Times-Picayune reported that a pilot study on raising the height of the levees surrounding New Orleans had been completed and generated enough information for a second study necessary to estimate the cost of doing so. The Bush administration “ordered the New Orleans district office” of the Army Corps of Engineers “not to begin any new studies, and the 2005 budget no longer includes the needed money.”
*
June 6, 2005: The New Orleans CityBusiness newspaper reported that the New Orleans district of the Corps was preparing for a $71.2 million reduction in overall funding for the fiscal year beginning in October. That would have been the largest single-year funding loss ever. They noted that money “was so tight" that "the New Orleans district, which employs 1,300 people, instituted a hiring freeze last month on all positions,” which was “the first of its kind in about 10 years.”

Would Increased Funding Have Prevented Flooding?

Blumenthal implies that increased funding might have helped to prevent the catastrophic flooding that New Orleans now faces. The White House denies that, and the Corps of Engineers says that even the levee project they were working to complete was not designed to withstand a storm of Katrina's force.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, at a press briefing on September 1, dismissed the idea that the President inadequately funded flood control projects in New Orleans :

McClellan: Flood control has been a priority of this administration from day one. We have dedicated an additional $300 million over the last few years for flood control in New Orleans and the surrounding area. And if you look at the overall funding levels for the Army Corps of Engineers, they have been slightly above $4.5 billion that has been signed by the President.

Q: Local people were asking for more money over the last couple of years. They were quoted in local papers in 2003 and 2004, are saying that they were told by federal officials there wasn't enough money because it was going to Iraq expenditures.

McClellan: You might want to talk to General Strock, who is the commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, because I think he's talked to some reporters already and talked about some of these issues. I think some people maybe have tried to make a suggestion or imply that certain funding would have prevented the flooding from happening, and he has essentially said there's been nothing to suggest that whatsoever, and it's been more of a design issue with the levees.

We asked the Corps about that “design issue.” David Hewitt, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, said McClellan was referring to the fact that “the levees were designed for a category 3 hurricane.” He told us that, consequently, “when it became apparent that this was a category 5 hurricane, an evacuation of the city was ordered.” (A category 3 storm has sustained winds of no more than 130 miles per hour, while a category 5 storm has winds exceeding 155 miles per hour. Katrina had winds of 160 mph as it approached shore, but later weakened to winds of 140 mph as it made landfall, making it a strong category 4 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.)

The levee upgrade project around Lake Pontchartrain was only 60 to 90 percent complete across most areas of New Orleans as of the end of May, according to the Corps' May 23 fact sheet. Still, even if it had been completed, the project's goal was protecting New Orleans from storm surges up to "a fast-moving Category 3 hurricane,” according to the fact sheet.

We don't know whether the levees would have done better had the work been completed. But the Corps says that even a completed levee project wasn't designed for the storm that actually occurred.

Nobody anticipated breach of the levees?

In an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on September 1, President Bush said:

Bush: I don’t think anyone anticipated breach of the levees …Now we’re having to deal with it, and will.

Bush is technically correct that a "breach" wasn't anticipated by the Corps, but that's doesn't mean the flooding wasn't forseen. It was. But the Corps thought it would happen differently, from water washing over the levees, rather than cutting wide breaks in them.

Greg Breerword, a deputy district engineer for project management with the Army Corps of Engineers, told the New York Times:

Breerword: We knew if it was going to be a Category 5, some levees and some flood walls would be overtopped. We never did think they would actually be breached.

And while Bush is also technically correct that the Corps did not "anticipate" a breach – in the sense that they believed it was a likely event – at least some in the Corps thought a breach was a possibility worth examining.

According to the Times-Picayune, early in Bush's first term FEMA director Joe Allbaugh ordered a sophisticated computer simulation of what would happen if a category 5 storm hit New Orleans. Joseph Suhayda, an engineer at Louisana State University who worked on the project, described to the newspaper in 2002 what the simulation showed could happen:

Subhayda: Another scenario is that some part of the levee would fail. It's not something that's expected. But erosion occurs, and as levees broke, the break will get wider and wider. The water will flow through the city and stop only when it reaches the next higher thing. The most continuous barrier is the south levee, along the river. That's 25 feet high, so you'll see the water pile up on the river levee.

Whether or not a "breach" was "anticipated," the fact is that many individuals have been warning for decades about the threat of flooding that a hurricane could pose to a set below sea level and sandwiched between major waterways. A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) report from before September 11, 2001 detailed the three most likely catastrophic disasters that could happen in the United States: a terrorist attack in New York, a strong earthquake in San Francisco, and a hurricane strike in New Orleans. In 2002, New Orleans officials held the simulation of what would happen in a category 5 storm. Walter Maestri, the emergency coordinator of Jefferson Parish in New Orleans , recounted the outcome to PBS’ NOW With Bill Moyers:

Maestri, September 2002: Well, when the exercise was completed it was evidence that we were going to lose a lot of people. We changed the name of the [simulated] storm from Delaney to K-Y-A-G-B... kiss your ass goodbye... because anybody who was here as that category five storm came across... was gone.

--by Matthew Barge

Where I stand

Alright, there seems to be a little confusion about where I stand on some things. So this little post should help clear it up.

On Katrina, I don't solely place "blame" on Democrats for Brown's nomination and/or confirmation. However, I think it's wrong to place blame entirely on the "Bush administration" when it was Joe Lieberman who headed Brown's confirmation hearing while Democrats were a majority and controlled the Senate.

Also, it doesn't help some of the things that have come out about Louisiana Democrat governor Blanco.

So if any blame is going to be placed, no matter how wrong that decision is, I think it's important that "the blame" be fairly balanced. I am not trying to "push this off" onto Democrats. Just the opposite. It's been Democrats trying to push this off on the Bush administration.

Now, I do acknowledge that Brown's nomination and confirmation were not failed. I think Brown just got a bad rap. He became a political pawn, of sorts. The victim of the vicious left-wing attack dogs.

The party that once wanted to discuss "important issues" is now filling their own blogs and news headlines with things like "Bush wrote a potty note" and "Bush can't button his shirt".

Now that's progress!?

My statement is, and what it always has been.

I don't place blame solely on Democrats. But when push comes to shove and you try to unfairly toss this in the Bush administration's lap - I think it's completely fair to play ball and put the truth out there.

So, on the Bush potty note (if I really need to dignify this childish news story) - I do believe the note may be real. I think it's important to look at every aspect, though.

It has come across to some that I am alleging the note is "phony". Well, I am implying that.

But, I am only alleging that to make you think about whether or not it is a legitimate photo. After all, I've reported in here in June that Reuters did post factually incorrect information and an incorrect photograph of the Downing Street Memo.

Might the note be legitimate? It may very well be.

But who cares? The poor man needed a bathroom break. To zoom in on that photograph and photoshop it to make it clearer was an invasion of GW's personal privacy. There was no legitimate reason to do that other than to continue berating our President.

As far as I am concerned, those who do that sort of thing have proved that they are inconsiderate baffoons. Congratulations. Think I'll vote your way next election?

Tough. Don't count on it. Not exactly inspiring me to, to say the least.

To me, you aren't making progress. You are continuing in the same pattern that lead to your defeat in just about every important federal government institution in '04.

Think about that. Maybe then we can get to your precious "progress".

Is the federal government responsible for maintaining levees? NO!

Source

Responsibility for Levees

Levees are operated and maintained by their “sponsors”. These sponsors may be special districts created to operate the levee system. As the system ages, the effort required to maintain the levee’s performance increases.

Levee systems are designed to protect against a specific flood level, but they may not provide protection passively: sometimes action is required to ready levees for a flood event (“flood fight”). For example, roads and railroads passing through the levee often must be closed. If human intervention is required to make the system work, this requires advance planning, significant resources, and allocation of responsibility for specific, timely actions. A good public awareness campaign may reduce opposition to these preparations: a community that understands the reason for the disruption of transportation or utilities that may be required for a “flood fight” may be less resentful of the inconvenience.

-The Institute for Business and Home Safety

Official Louisiana death toll to date: 736

New Orleans mayor orders another evacuation for Hurricane Rita.

Why is Bush "Potty Note" clearly cut-off?

You decide.


Clearly, cut-off!


Where, oh where, oh where is shadow?


Why would you write in pencil when you have this nice pen. And why is the pencil facing an opposite direction now?

Proving Idiocracy

I saw this image posted the other day. I saw it on various blogs, too, in various forms. Seems that everyone is making fun of the President because in his address from Louisiana, his shirt was buttoned wrong. Some are calling it a "wardrobe malfunction".



One little problem. The shirt is buttoned correctly, one of the sides merely folded over, giving the appearance that the shirt was buttoned incorrectly.



As the picture shows, the distance between the top two buttons is too short. There is no button on the left side that matches with the alleged holes on the right side.

Also, the gap between the button holes is usually consistent on shirts that button down the front.

Oops!

Not a wardrobe malfunction! A Democrat malfunction!

Not the first time!

The Galveston Hurricane of 1900: 8,000 killed

http://www.1900storm.com/

In 1900, there was a Republican President, William McKinley. The hurricane struck September 8, 1900. On November 9, 1900, William McKinley was elected President of the United States.

Hurricane Mitch was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever observed, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph. Mitch battered the isthmus joining North America and South America (Central America) from October 22, 1998 to November 5, 1998, killing about 11,000 people. It was the deadliest hurricane in over 200 years, and second deadliest ever.

Source

It is second only to the Great Hurricane of 1780, which killed an estimated 22,000 people.

Source

Another tropical storm moving towards the Gulf

Hattip: Drudge Report

Image

Stupid comment award

Conservatives seized the congress a decade ago; for more than four years the GOP has controlled, arguably, all three branches of the federal government. This, then, is conservatism at its apex.

Majority Party (June 6, 2001-November 12, 2002 --): Democrat (50 seats)
Minority Party: Republican (49 seats)
Other Parties: 1
Total Seats: 100

Source

"Arguably", Gil writes factual columns that do not contain errors.

"Arguably", George Washington was not our first President.

"Arguably", Clinton did not have sexual relations with that woman.

ABC gets a surprise, Katrina victims blame Nagin - not Bush!

Source

Hattip: Rush Limbaugh, Excellence in Broadcasting

Louisiana officials indicted before Katrina hit

Source

Hattip: Drudge Report

Federal audits found dubious expenditures by the state's emergency preparedness agency, which will administer FEMA hurricane aid.

By Ken Silverstein and Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writers

WASHINGTON — Senior officials in Louisiana's emergency planning agency already were awaiting trial over allegations stemming from a federal investigation into waste, mismanagement and missing funds when Hurricane Katrina struck.

And federal auditors are still trying to track as much as $60 million in unaccounted for funds that were funneled to the state from the Federal Emergency Management Agency dating back to 1998.

In March, FEMA demanded that Louisiana repay $30.4 million to the federal government.

The problems are particularly worrisome, federal officials said, because they involve the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the agency that will administer much of the billions in federal aid anticipated for victims of Katrina.

Earlier this week, federal Homeland Security officials announced they would send 30 investigators and auditors to the Gulf Coast to ensure relief funds were properly spent.

Details of the ongoing criminal investigations come from two reports by the inspector general's office in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, as well as in state audits, and interviews this week with federal and state officials.

The reports were prepared by the federal agency's field office in Denton, Texas, and cover 1998 to 2003. Improper expenditures previously identified by auditors include a parka, a briefcase and a trip to Germany.

Much of the FEMA money that was unaccounted for was sent to Louisiana under the Hazard Mitigation Grant program, intended to help states retrofit property and improve flood control facilities, for example.

The $30.4 million FEMA is demanding back was money paid into that program and others, including a program to buy out flood-prone homeowners. As much as $30 million in additional unaccounted for spending also is under review in audits that have not yet been released, according to a FEMA official.

One 2003 federal investigation of allegedly misspent funds in Ouachita Parish, a district in northern Louisiana, grew into a probe that sprawled into more than 20 other parishes.

Mark Smith, a spokesman for the Louisiana emergency office, said the agency had responded to calls for reform, and that "we now have the policy and personnel in place to ensure that past problems aren't repeated."

He said earlier problems were largely administrative mistakes, not due to corruption.

But federal officials disagreed. They said FEMA for years expressed concerns over patterns of improper management and lax oversight throughout the state agency, and said most problems had not been corrected.

They point to criminal indictments of three state workers as evidence the problem was more than management missteps. Two other state emergency officials also were identified in court documents as unindicted co-conspirators.

"The charges were made after some very extensive reviews by FEMA investigators and other authorities, who identified issues they felt were of the severity and magnitude to refer them to the U.S. attorney's office," said David Passey, the spokesman for FEMA's regional office in Texas.

Passey, while acknowledging that the state had made some administrative changes, said it had not completed the kind of overhaul FEMA said was needed.

"It concerns us a lot. We are devoted to the mission of helping people prepare for, prevent and recover from disasters and we want these federal funds — this taxpayer money — to be spent and used well and in accordance with the rules," he said.

Keith Ashdown of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington watchdog group, said recent Louisiana history showed that FEMA "money earmarked for saving lives and homes'' was instead squandered in "a cesspool of wasteful spending."

Louisiana's emergency office receives money directly from FEMA. It passes on much of the funding to local governments that apply for assistance.

The audit reports said state operating procedures increased the likelihood of fraud and corruption going undetected.

Blanco tape circulating since about Wednesday

You might be able to view it or get a transcript here. These were comments made during a break.

Official death toll in Louisiana in aftermath of Katrina as of Sept. 16, 2005 : 579

Source

By contrast, the Mississippi fatality count appears to have reached a plateau, remaining at 218 all week, although the authorities in Jackson County on the coast said an additional body had been recovered on Friday.

The official death toll from Hurricane Katrina was 812 in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, a number still much lower than the projections of thousands of deaths made by some officials at the height of the crisis.

Shocking! Kathleen Blanco: I should have called the military

Source

Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005 12:35 p.m. EDT
Kathleen Blanco: I Should Have Called the Military

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco's abrupt decision Wednesday night to take responsibility for her state's inadequate response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster followed an inadvertent confession that was caught on camera where Blanco admitted she blew it.

"I really should have called for the military," Blanco said, while chatting with her press secretary in between TV interviews. "I really should have started that in the first call."

Unbeknownst to Blanco, her bombshell acknowledgment was recorded on a network satellite feed, and by Tuesday the clip was getting wide exposure in Louisiana news broadcasts.

In the early days of the Katrina crisis, disaster management experts repeatedly blamed the failure to send in the National Guard for the city's descent into chaos.

Most observers blamed the White House for the blunder - a misconception that was thoroughly dispelled by the governor's inadvertent confession.

Some say Blanco's blooper was responsible for the abrupt change of tone in her speech Wednesday night to the Louisiana legislature.

Where earlier she and her aides had openly blamed the Bush administration for bungling Katrina rescue efforts, Blanco announced: "The buck stops here, and as your governor, I take full responsibility."

Just as surprising were Blanco's words of praise for the White House: "I want the people of Louisiana to know that we have a friend and a partner in President George W. Bush. I thank you, Mr. President."

5thestate.com has some shocking news

This is the website of local favorite Ron Harper Jr. It appears Mr. Harper has discovered a county employee had been viewing child pornography (of boys) on the county computers.

Legal porn I don't have a problem with. (But not a very good idea in the workplace.)

On the other hand, child pornography is disgusting and highly illegal. Great job, Ron, on catching this! Disturbing but true!

An excellent Katrina timeline

Katrina timeline

Official Louisiana toll for Katrina as of 9/15/05

The death toll for Louisiana reached 474 as the recovery of bodies continued.

Source

Death toll rises to 423 in state of Louisiana, according to Health Department

Story

New Orleans Death Toll Climbs to 423
Sep 13 6:12 PM US/Eastern


By ADAM NOSSITER
Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS

The airport reopened to commercial flights Tuesday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina struck more than two weeks ago, and the port was back in operation, too, as a battered New Orleans struggled to get up and running again. The death toll in Louisiana climbed to 423.

Mayor Ray Nagin said that dry areas of hurricane-ravaged New Orleans _ including the French Quarter, Uptown and the central business district _ could be officially opened from dawn to dusk as soon as Monday, provided the Environmental Protection Agency finds the air and water are safe.

"We're out of nuclear crisis mode and into normal, day-to-day crisis mode," he said.

At the same time, however, he said the city is out of cash and cannot make its next payroll. He said the city is working "feverishly" with banking and federal officials to secure lines of credit through the end of the year

The slow signs of recovery came amid promises from the White House and FEMA to learn from their mistakes and intensify their efforts to help the victims.

Northwest Airlines Flight 947 from Memphis, Tenn. _ the first commercial flight into or out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport since the storm hit _ landed around midday with about 30 people aboard, far fewer than the jet could hold.

Those aboard included emergency workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some carried only a few belongings in plastic bags and gym bags.

Among those returning to New Orleans was Steven Kischner, who said the mood aboard the plane was "eerie."

"I'm anxious to get home to see what our house is going to look like," said Sandy Rozales, who lives in the Lakeshore section of New Orleans, close to a levee break, and left on the last flight out of town Aug. 28 just before the hurricane hit.

She said those on the flight were "preoccupied thinking about what they'd see when they get home and hoping that the worst wasn't quite what they got."

Using generator power, New Orleans' airport was back in operation the day after the hurricane hit, but was reserved for emergency use, including evacuation flights.

The city's recovery could be seen along the New Orleans waterfront as well. A shipment of steel coils left the port by barge Monday, bound for a Hyundai auto plant in Greenville, Ala., port spokesman Chris Bonura said.

The port expected the arrival late Tuesday of its first cargo ship since the hurricane, and at least three more ships by week's end, said Gary LaGrange, port president and chief executive. The arriving ship was carrying up to 500 containers of coffee and wood products from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, LaGrange said.

"It's a historical moment. Two weeks ago the prognosis was six months, so to pull it off so our customers have enough faith and confidence in us is very heartwarming," LaGrange said. He added: "From a commercial and psychological standpoint, this is five stars. This shows the people of New Orleans their city is back in business."

The port of New Orleans is the gateway to a river system serving 33 states along the Mississippi River or its tributaries. The port also connects to six railroads.

During a tour of hurricane-stricken Mississippi, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta pronounced Katrina the worst disaster for transportation in U.S. history.

Mineta said Katrina affected ports, highways and rivers. "Add that all up and it's a larger magnitude than anything we've ever experienced," he said.

The government has estimated the damage to highways and bridges in Mississippi and Louisiana at $3 billion.

The state Health Department said the death toll in Louisiana climbed to 423 Tuesday, up from 279 a day before. The jump came as recovery workers turned more and more of their attention to gathering up and counting the corpses in a city all but emptied out of the living.

The death toll is all but certain to rise, because some flooded-out areas of the city have not been fully searched. But how high it might go is unclear. Authorities have cast strong doubt on the mayor's dire projection earlier this month of perhaps 10,000 dead.

Nagin said he expected to receive a report late Tuesday from the Environmental Protection Agency on the condition of the city's air and the floodwaters that still cover a large portion of the city. If the EPA concludes there are no airborne toxins or diseases above normal levels, dry sections of the city will be opened, he said.

Tuesday brought a sharp influx of people checking on their businesses in New Orleans.

Rusty White received a pass from police to check on the Bulldog, his bar on the edge of the Garden District. He drove in from his temporary lodgings in the town of Rayne and retrieved a data cartridge from the bar's computer. He also planned to swing by his house _ if he could get to it _ in a still-flooded neighborhood near Lake Pontchartrain.

"I probably lost my house, but I'm still in good spirits, considering," White said. "If you had told me before the storm I would lose everything, I'd probably tell you I'd be devastated. It makes me think all that stuff that I had isn't really as important as I thought it was _ at least until I go in and see it, and then I may cry."

White was relieved to find that the bar had sustained little damage from the storm, though looters had smashed open the cash register and video poker machines and apparently took a few bottles of bourbon on their way out. They left behind a flat-screen TV.

White was encouraged by his first visit to the city since Katrina.

"Many of the things that make this place special are still here. Everybody I talk to is coming back. They're not even thinking of going someplace else," White said. "I hope I'm not being naively optimistic, but that's the feeling I have."

In Washington, President Bush said "I take responsibility" for the government's failures in dealing with the hurricane, and he said the disaster raised questions about the nation's ability to respond to natural disasters as well as terrorist attacks.

"Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack? That's a very important question and it's in the national interest that we find out what went on so we can better respond," the president said.

The new acting director of FEMA pledged to intensify efforts to find more permanent housing for the tens of thousands of Katrina survivors now in shelters.

"We're going to get people out of the shelters. We're going to move on and get them the help they need," R. David Paulison said in his first public comments since he was named to replace Michael Brown. Brown resigned under fire over the government's sluggish response to the disaster.

While public health authorities have been warning about the risk of germs from the filthy floodwaters, workers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are not seeing many cases of disease.

Instead, between 40 percent and 50 percent of patients seeking emergency care have injuries _ CDC has counted 148 injuries in just the past two days, Carol Rubin, an agency hurricane-relief specialist. She said they include chainsaw injuries and carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.

Links of the Day

Hopelessness Begins to Lift in New Orleans

Authorities raised Louisiana's death toll to 197 on Sunday, and recovery of corpses continued. Teams pulled an unspecified number of bodies from Memorial Medical Center, a 317-bed hospital in uptown New Orleans that closed more than a week ago after being surrounded by floodwaters.

Elsewhere, there were nuggets of encouraging news.

- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport reopened for cargo traffic Sunday, and planned to open to limited passenger service starting Tuesday.

- The city's main wastewater treatment facility will be running by Monday, said Sgt. John Zeller, an engineer with the California National Guard.

- Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, commander of active duty troops engaged in hurricane relief, reiterated Sunday the number of dead would be "a heck of a lot lower" than initial projections of 10,000 or more.

Source, Hattip: Drudge Report

The federal response to Katrina was not as portrayed

Sunday, September 11, 2005

It is settled wisdom among journalists that the federal response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina was unconscionably slow.

Jack Kelly is national security writer for the Post-Gazette and The Blade of Toledo, Ohio (jkelly@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1476).

"Mr. Bush's performance last week will rank as one of the worst ever during a dire national emergency," wrote New York Times columnist Bob Herbert in a somewhat more strident expression of the conventional wisdom.

But the conventional wisdom is the opposite of the truth.

Jason van Steenwyk is a Florida Army National Guardsman who has been mobilized six times for hurricane relief. He notes that:

"The federal government pretty much met its standard time lines, but the volume of support provided during the 72-96 hour was unprecedented. The federal response here was faster than Hugo, faster than Andrew, faster than Iniki, faster than Francine and Jeanne."

For instance, it took five days for National Guard troops to arrive in strength on the scene in Homestead, Fla. after Hurricane Andrew hit in 2002. But after Katrina, there was a significant National Guard presence in the afflicted region in three.

Journalists who are long on opinions and short on knowledge have no idea what is involved in moving hundreds of tons of relief supplies into an area the size of England in which power lines are down, telecommunications are out, no gasoline is available, bridges are damaged, roads and airports are covered with debris, and apparently have little interest in finding out.

So they libel as a "national disgrace" the most monumental and successful disaster relief operation in world history.

I write this column a week and a day after the main levee protecting New Orleans breached. In the course of that week:

More than 32,000 people have been rescued, many plucked from rooftops by Coast Guard helicopters.

The Army Corps of Engineers has all but repaired the breaches and begun pumping water out of New Orleans.

Shelter, food and medical care have been provided to more than 180,000 refugees.

Journalists complain that it took a whole week to do this. A former Air Force logistics officer had some words of advice for us in the Fourth Estate on his blog, Moltenthought:

"We do not yet have teleporter or replicator technology like you saw on 'Star Trek' in college between hookah hits and waiting to pick up your worthless communications degree while the grown-ups actually engaged in the recovery effort were studying engineering.

"The United States military can wipe out the Taliban and the Iraqi Republican Guard far more swiftly than they can bring 3 million Swanson dinners to an underwater city through an area the size of Great Britain which has no power, no working ports or airports, and a devastated and impassable road network.

"You cannot speed recovery and relief efforts up by prepositioning assets (in the affected areas) since the assets are endangered by the very storm which destroyed the region.

"No amount of yelling, crying and mustering of moral indignation will change any of the facts above."

"You cannot just snap your fingers and make the military appear somewhere," van Steenwyk said.

Guardsmen need to receive mobilization orders; report to their armories; draw equipment; receive orders and convoy to the disaster area. Guardsmen driving down from Pennsylvania or Navy ships sailing from Norfolk can't be on the scene immediately.

Relief efforts must be planned. Other than prepositioning supplies near the area likely to be afflicted (which was done quite efficiently), this cannot be done until the hurricane has struck and a damage assessment can be made. There must be a route reconnaissance to determine if roads are open, and bridges along the way can bear the weight of heavily laden trucks.

And federal troops and Guardsmen from other states cannot be sent to a disaster area until their presence has been requested by the governors of the afflicted states.

Exhibit A on the bill of indictment of federal sluggishness is that it took four days before most people were evacuated from the Louisiana Superdome.

The levee broke Tuesday morning. Buses had to be rounded up and driven from Houston to New Orleans across debris-strewn roads. The first ones arrived Wednesday evening. That seems pretty fast to me.

A better question -- which few journalists ask -- is why weren't the roughly 2,000 municipal and school buses in New Orleans utilized to take people out of the city before Katrina struck?

Source, Hattip: Drudge

NY Post Editorial: Schumer skimming funds for DNC via Katrina?

September 10, 2005 -- So, while many Americans were busy contributing money, clothing and other necessities for hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast residents, what was Sen. Chuck Schumer up to?

Raising money off the backs of Katrina's victims — for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.

In one of the more cynical tricks we've seen lately, Schumer's DSCC urged visitors to its Web site to sign a petition urging the firing of Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown, the focus of much of the criticism of the federal response to Katrina...

FEMA Deputy Director Michael Brown confirmed by Democrat Senate in 2002

Dem Senate Confirmed Michael Brown

Democrats who've been complaining about FEMA director Michael Brown still want him fired - saying that Homeland Security czar Michael's Chertoff's decision on Friday to recall him to Washington isn't enough.

"It is not enough to remove Mr. Brown from the disaster scene," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Sens. Dick Durbin, Debbie Stabenow and Charles Schumer complained in a letter to President Bush. "His continued presence in this critical position endangers the success of the ongoing recovery efforts."

Story Continues Below

As noted by National Review Online's Byron York, however, Brown got glowing reviews from some of his new critics, when he was confirmed by the Senate in 2002.

"Not only was Brown confirmed," noted York. "But he was apparently confirmed by a unanimous voice vote -- when the Senate was controlled by Democrats. . . .

"The whole affair, including tributes from Brown's home-state senators, apparently lasted less then an hour, and ended with [Sen. Joe] Lieberman saying, 'Mr. Brown, I thank you very much. I will certainly support your nomination. I will do my best to move it through the committee as soon as possible so we can have you fully and legally at work in your new position.'"

The hearing was for Brown's nomination as FEMA deputy director - but apparently Brown didn't have to be re-confirmed when he became director.

Newsmax article

Nyuk. Nyuk. Nyuk.

Click here to download a transcript of the voice vote from June 19, 2002.

Interesting Gallup poll numbers worth repeating

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Comment/ByronYork/090805.html

Gallup asked, “Who do you think is most responsible for the problems in New Orleans after the hurricane — George W. Bush, federal agencies, state and local officials, or is no one really to blame?”

Thirteen percent of those polled said Bush was most responsible. Eighteen percent said federal agencies. Twenty-five percent said state and local officials. And 38 percent said no one is really to blame.

Gallup also asked, “Do you think that any of the top officials in the federal agencies responsible for handling emergencies should be fired, or don’t you think so?”

Twenty-nine percent said yes, top officials should be fired. Sixty-three percent said no, they shouldn’t. And 8 percent had no opinion.

All in all, a fairly balanced view.

What has government done to aid Katrina?

This list is immense.

http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/katrina.htm

The Blame Game

The "blame game". This is a phrase being flung around recently regarding the response to Hurricane Katrina. At first I did not want to play the blame game regarding this natural disaster.

But then the media started crying "bring it on". They did not hesitate to play the blame game. It was in numerous stories and news columns.

Lots of disinformation is still being spread concerning the response to Hurricane Katrina which unfairly placed blame on the Bush administration.

Disinformation was spread concerning the qualifications of Michael Brown.

But now that the media and lefist blogs are losing this "blame game" that they started, they are crying foul. Because now, the truth about the Katrina response is coming out.

And it does not look good for the Democratic governor and her administration in Louisiana state. (Or any of those that unfairly placed blame on the Bush administration.)

If they really did not want to play the blame game, then they should not have showed up on the court in full suit, should they?

Red Cross confirms they never got into New Orleans

Oh my.

It's not "Faux News" anymore. The Red Cross has confirmed that state officials denied them entry into New Orleans.

Read the story here at CNN from about two days back.

It's interesting that so many Dems tried to immediately pile this onto the Bush Administration. In truth, it looks like this was an epidemic failure at the state level in Louisiana headed by Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco.

Political Issues Snarled Plans for Troop Aid

Unbelievable!

Blathering idiot makes fool of himself...again

Ok, I think I have it clarified.

Someone pointed out that Governor Blanco declared Louisiana a federal disaster area on August 27. This is what FEMA calls an "emergency declaration", which could have been easily confused with a "state of emergency". It's listed on FEMA's website here.

However, that declaration did not include the parish of Orleans.

Assistance was only asked for these parishes: 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.

In an amendment on August 29, the parish of Orleans was added.

That explains the Newsmax article that says Governor Blanco did not declare New Orleans in a "state of emergency". It is correct that Blanco did declare a state of emergency for the state of Louisiana on August 26 in a press release to the public. However, that release does not specifically mention New Orleans and does not help in getting federal assistance.

The articles are correct in asserting that Blanco failed to include the parish of Orleans in the federal disaster declaration on August 27, which is how federal assistance is obtained from FEMA.

According to FEMA's guide to the disaster declaration process and federal disaster assistance, "Local and State governments share the responsibility for protecting their citizens from disasters, and for helping them to recover when a disaster strikes. In some cases, a disaster is beyond the capabilities of the State and local government to respond."

"The Governor's request is made through the regional FEMA/EPR office."

Interestingly, the parish of Orleans does not appear in the initial Federal Register Notice.

Why? The Governor failed to get it included. It was the Governor's responsibility.

Many Democrats point to a letter to President Bush (and a regional director of FEMA) which asked for help in this area. However, the letter is dated August 27th. Not knowing when exactly this letter was sent does not tell us when the President or FEMA actually received it via U.S. mail. Perhaps it arrived on August 29th, when FEMA amended it's Federal Register Notice to include Orleans?

I think an investigation would be very insightful, because it would be difficult to believe that FEMA chief Michael Brown did not include Orleans in the list of affected parishes if it was correctly requested by the Governor.

Mayor Nagin: Gov. Blanco Delayed Rescue

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/9/5/234033.shtml

After days of blaming the federal officials for not responding quickly enough to the Hurricane Katrina crisis, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin praised President Bush on Monday - and charged that Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco had delayed federal rescue efforts by 24 hours.

"I'm so happy that the president came down here," Nagin said of Bush's Friday visit to Louisiana in an interview with CNN. "He came down and saw it, and he put a general on the field. His name is General Honore. And when he hit the field, we started to see action."

But Nagin had harsh words for his state's leaders, telling CNN: "What the state was doing, I don't frigging know. But I tell you, I am pissed. It wasn't adequate."

The New Orleans Democrat said he urged Bush to meet privately with Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco during the visit. The meeting took place aboard Air Force One, he said.

After reviewing the crisis with Gov. Blanco, Bush summoned Nagin for a private chat - where, according to Nagin, Bush explained: "Mr. Mayor, I offered two options to the governor. I said . . . I was ready to move today. The governor said she needed 24 hours to make a decision."

Reacting to the governor's footdragging, Nagin lamented: "It would have been great if we could have left Air Force One, walked outside, and told the world that we had this all worked out."

"It didn't happen, and more people died."

Why did the Louisiana Governor, Blanco, wait 48 hours to ask for federal assitance?

Blanco sent the "expediated" request on the same day assistance was needed. Why? The full PDF document.

Were Superdome stories Urban Legends?

Excellent article worth reading here.

Also, check the Captain's Quarters.

An excerpt:

The notion that the federal government has primary authority over cities and states, an error that any high-school graduate should recognize, has slowly begun to fade from media coverage of Hurricane Katrina. In its place comes dawning realization of the massive failure of Louisiana and New Orleans to initiate their own disaster plans and to use their available assets to maintain control in New Orleans. On CNN yesterday, even Mayor Ray Nagin now recalls his civics classes, although he still hasn't done much to take responsibility for his own failures to follow his own detailed emergency response plan...

Michelle Malkin has more memes that now look to be fading out. The children who had their throats slit, the rapes, and the corpses in the Superdome now appear to be nothing but urban legends. The same is true for the black people having to eat human corpses to stay alive in New Orleans, a lie spread by civil-rights activist Randall Robinson but now retracted. Ditto, apparently, for the story about the police shooting a teenager after running him down with their car. Don't expect these retractions and factual rebuttals to make much difference, but it does show how much of the initial Exempt Media coverage relied on hysterical and poorly sourced rumors. Take that into consideration when relying on them to tell you that George Bush was derelict in his duty because he failed to violate the Constitution and the sovereignty of Louisiana while its governor dithered on the state's emergency response.

Go check it out.

No federal assistance requested by Blanco until Sunday, August 28

I would like to note that in some of these articles, it has been pointed out that Gov. Blanco, the Democrat governor of Louisiana, did declare "a state of emergency" on August 26. However, that declaration did not request federal help and placed responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the state level.

The point of the article (which also appeared in the Washington Post) is that Blanco did not declare a state of emergency to the federal government until Sunday, August 28, which would explain the statement "As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency." Yeah, she did not declare it to the federal agencies until Sunday.

Here is proof.

On Sept.4, Democrat Gov. Kathleen Blanco Refused Bush Aid

Gov. Kathleen Blanco: No State of Emergency

Though her state has been devastated by Hurricane Katrina and thousands are believed dead in New Orleans, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco has yet to declare a state of emergency and refuses to cede authority over rescue efforts to the federal government.

"Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans," the Washington Post reported in Sunday editions.

Story Continues Below

Gov. Blanco's office rejected the request, the paper said - concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. The Louisiana Democrat has also failed to declare a state of emergency - in marked contrast to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, who both issued emergency declarations before Hurricane Katrina struck.

State and federal officials also told the Post that Gov. Blanco did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday - more than 24 hours after breaches in New Orleans levee system had flooded the city and killed thousands.

Story

Major Garrett interview

Radioblogger.com

Explosive revelation by Fox News' Major Garrett.

On the Fox News Channel just a little while ago, Major Garrett, one of Fox's star reporters, and author of The Enduring Revolution, broke a very disturbing story for those on the left that want to play the blame game regarding the reaction to the Katrina. Here's his interview with Hugh Hewitt moments ago:

HH: Joined now by Major Garrett, correspondent for the Fox News Channel, as well as author of The Enduring Revolution, a best seller earlier this year. We talked about that. Major Garrett, welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show.

MG: Hugh, always a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

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.

HH: Okay, so that would be on Monday afternoon.

MG: That would have been Monday or Tuesday. The exact time, the hour, I don't have. But clearly, they had an evacuee situation at the Superdome, and of course, people gravitated to the convention center on an ad hoc basis. They sort of invented that as another place to go, because they couldn't stand the conditions at the Superdome.

HH: Any doubt in the Red Cross' mind that they were ready to go, but they were blocked?

MG: No. Absolutely none. They are absolutely unequivocal on that point.

HH: And are they eager to get this story out there, because they are chagrined by the coverage that's been emanating from New Orleans?

MG: I think they are. I mean, and look. Every agency that is in the private sector, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Feed The Children, all the ones we typically see are aggrieved by all the crap that's being thrown around about the response to this hurricane, because they work hand and glove with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. When FEMA is tarred and feathered, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army are tarred and feathered, because they work on a cooperative basis. They feel they are being sullied by this reaction.

HH: Of course they are. Now Major Garrett, what about the Louisiana governor's office of Homeland Security. Have they responded to this charge by the Red Cross, which is a blockbuster charge?

MG: I have not been able to reach them yet. But, what they have said consistently is, and what they told the Red Cross, we don't want you to come in there, because we have evacuees that we want to get out. And if you come in, they're more likely to stay. So I want your listeners to follow me here. At the very moment that Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans was screaming where's the food, where's the water, it was over the overpass, and state officials were saying you can't come in.

HH: How long would it have taken to deliver those supplies, Major Garrett, into the Superdome and possibly the convention center?

MG: That is a more difficult question to answer than you might think. There were areas, obviously, as you approached the Superdome, that were difficult to get to, because of the flood waters. And as the Red Cross explained it to me, look. We don't have amphibious vehicles. We have trucks and ambulance type vehicles. In some cases, after the flood waters rose as high as they did, we would have needed, at minimal, the Louisiana National Guard to bring us in, or maybe something bigger and badder, from the Marines or Army-type vehicle. They're not sure about that. But remember, Hugh, we were transfixed, I know I was. I'm sure you were and your listeners were, by my colleague, Shep Smith, and others on that overpass.

HH: Right.

MG: ...saying, wait a minute. We drove here. It didn't take us anything to drive here.

HH: Right.

MG: Why can't people just come here?

HH: I also have to conclude from what you're telling me, Major Garrett, is that had they been allowed to deliver when they wanted to deliver, which is at least a little bit prior to the levee, or at least prior to the waters rising, the supplies would have been pre-positioned, and the relief...you know, the people in the Superdome, and possibly at the convention center, I want to come back to that, would have been spared the worst of their misery.

MG: They would have been spared the lack of food, water and hygiene. I don't think there's any doubt that they would not have been spared the indignity of having nor workable bathrooms in short order.

HH: Now Major Garrett, let's turn to the convention center, because this will be, in the aftermath...did the Red Cross have ready to go into the convention center the supplies that we're talking about as well?

MG: Sure. They could have gone to any location, provided that the water wasn't too high, and they got some assistance.

HH: Now, were they utterly dependent upon the Louisiana state officials to okay them?

MG: Yes.

HH: Because you know, they do work with FEMA. But is it your understanding that FEMA and the Red Cross and the other relief agencies must get tht state's okay to act?

MG: As the Red Cross told me, they said look. We are not state actors. We are not the Army. We are a private organziation. We work in cooperation with both FEMA and the state officials. But the state told us A) it's not safe, because the water is dangerous. And we're now learning how toxic the water is. B) there's a security situation, because they didn't have a handle on the violence on the ground. And C) and I think this is most importantly, they wanted to evacuate out. They didn't want people to stay.

HH: Now off the record, will the Red Cross tell you what they think of Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin?

MG: No.

HH: Will they tell you what they think about FEMA director Brown?

MG: No.

HH: Will they tell you any...will they give any advice of how to make sure this doesn't happen again?

MG: Well, there is something, Hugh, that I think we have to be honest with ourselves about. New Orleans is a situation, because of its geography, utterly unique in America. We don't build cities in bowls, except there. This complicated the Red Cross efforts, and the FEMA efforts, from the start. In the mid-90's, the Red Cross opened a shelter in South Carolina that was eventually flooded. And there was a big controversy about that. After that, the Red Cross made a policy decision that it would never shelter, or seek to shelter, any evacuee from any hurricane, anywhere where flooding was likely to occur. High ground is where they were going to be, and where they were going to go. Well, that basically rules out all of New Orleans.

HH: Sure. Does the Red Cross, though, assist in evacuation, Major Garrett?

MG: Not under the state plan in Louisiana. And not very many other places, either, because again, the Red Cross is a responding private charity. It is not an evacuation charity. It does not assume, as you can well imagine, Hugh, the inevitable liability that would come with being in charge of evacuating.

HH: How senior are your sources at the Red Cross, Major Garrett?

MG: They're right next to Marty Evans, the president.

HH: So you have no doubt in your mind that they have...

MG: Oh, none. None. And I want to give credit to Bill O'Reilly, because he had Marty Evans on the O'Reilly Factor last night. And this is the first time Marty Evans said it. She said it on the O'Reilly Factor last night in a very sort of brief intro to her longer comments about dealing with the housing and other needs of the evacuees now. She said look. We were ready. We couldn't go in. They wouldn't let us in, and the interview continued. I developed it more fully today.

HH: And the 'they' are the Louisiana state officials?

MG: Right.

HH: Now any in the 'they'...is the New Orleans' mayor's staff involved as well? Or the New Orleans police department?

MG: Not that I'm aware of, because the decision was made and communicated to the Red Cross by the state department of Homeland Security and the state National Guard. Both of which report to the governor.

HH: Do they have any paper records of this communication?

MG: I did not ask that. It's a good question. I'll follow up with them.

HH: I sure would love to know that. And if you get it, send it to me. We'll put it up on the blog. Major Garrett, great story. Please keep us posted. Look forward to talking to you a lot in the next couple of weeks on this story. Thanks for breaking away from the Fox News Channel this afternoon.

Red Cross may have been blocked by state to Superdome/Convention Center

Check this link.

The Red Cross is confirming to [Major] Garrett [Foxnews correspondent] that it had prepositioned water, food, blankets and hygiene products for delivery to the Superdome and the Convention Center in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, but were blocked from delivering those supplies by orders of the Louisiana state government, which did not want to attract people to the Superdome and/or Convention Center.

Looks like "the buck stops" at the Louisiana state officials?

This Sunday's Remark blows like the wind.

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.



First of all, this disaster is not a failure of our President.

There are several failures taking place here.

Unfortunately, some of the levees failed, flooding 80% of the city.

Another failure is the inability to stop a category 4 hurricane from hitting the U.S. That's as about as likely as it would be for Asia to stop a magnitude 9.0 earthquake from creating a tsunami.

One key difference, people had notification and plenty of time to prepare for this natural disaster. When you have "hurricane" and "below sea level" in the same sentence, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you get the hell out of there.

Where the real failure started was when people didn't heed those warnings and take part in the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. I've heard that only about 80% of New Orleans evacuated, leaving some 20% in the danger zone.

Another failure is the people. The looting. The shooting. The mob mentality.

That's a failure of the public to pull together and overcome this tragedy without resorting to violence and disobedience. And that makes the tragedy that much sadder that someone would take advantage of a moment this tragic.

Did our nation look weak? Sure, what nation wouldn't look weak that got blasted with a category 4 hurricane? Or a tsunami. Or even a volcano.

Could things have been done better? Sure. The President said that the situation was "not acceptable". Then Congress authorized 10.5 billion for disaster relief and the President stated he would sign it later in the day.

How is that a failure? That's exactly what should happen.

The people that are responsible for natural disasters are FEMA. That stands for "Federal Emergency Management Agency".

According to their site, they are doing an awful lot to help. Much more, than say, some guy in Lancaster sitting at his desk ranting and raving on paper how angry he is about the whole thing and implying the President hasn't done enough.

Actually, as I will get into, the President has done an awful lot.

Their most recent news is "Critical Commodities Continue Into Disaster Areas While Government Responds to Challenges of Most Catastrophic Disaster in U.S. History".

Here is an excerpt.

To date,

• 15,000 evacuations have been made from the New Orleans Superdome to the Astrodome in Houston and are continuing today to San Antonio for housing at Kelly Air Force Base. Evacuations will continue from Louisiana to Reunion Arena in Dallas, and Lackland AFB, Tex.


• 2,000 patients have been evacuated from the New Orleans airport. Seven National Disaster Medical Service Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) and 3 strike teams are supporting New Orleans medical facilities and hospitals not fully operational and setting up MASH-style tents. Five DMATs and 5 strike teams are working in medical facilities and hospitals in Gulfport, Biloxi and other areas of Mississippi.


• Commodities delivered to date include:


• 1.9 million MREs
  
• 6.7 million liters of water


• 1.7 million pounds of ice


• More than 600 buses to transport evacuees




• As of yesterday, there were 204 shelters with a population of 53,004. This number fluctuates daily.


• More than 170,000 meals a day are being served throughout the affected areas.


• 14,000 National Guard are on the ground in three states and an additional 1,400 will arrive today and 1,400 on Saturday to assist with security of victims and responders. A total of 27,000 members of the National Guard will be deployed to the affected areas.


• 200 Border Patrol agents, 200 additional law enforcement officers from other Louisiana jurisdictions and 2,000 officers from neighboring states are assisting in restoring order in the streets of New Orleans.


• Nearly 500 U.S. Corps of Engineers civilians and soldiers are working on the New Orleans levee breach and coordinating the transport of ice and water.


• A Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) is opening today in Bayou La Batre, Ala., and another tomorrow in Chatom, Ala.


• FEMA is setting up a Joint Housing Solutions Center to bring together public, private and voluntary agency stakeholders to develop innovative funding and streamlined operational partnerships to address the short and long-term housing needs of disaster victims.


• More than 7,000 people have been rescued – Urban Search and Rescue task forces have made more than 2,000 rescues and U.S. Coast Guard ships, boats and aircraft have been used to rescue approximately 5,000 people.

Was FEMA always part of the federal government? According to the site, FEMA was "a former independent agency that became part of the new Department of Homeland Security in March 2003...FEMA can trace its beginnings to the Congressional Act of 1803."

Since that merger, according to FEMA's Under Secretary's history says "In 2004, Mr. [Michael] Brown led FEMA’s thousands of dedicated disaster workers during the most active hurricane season in over 100 years, as FEMA delivered aid more quickly and more efficiently than ever before."

FEMA has a very interesting site that shows that Bush has actually done alot for FEMA and there has been billions pouring into this organization since 9/11. It's interesting that Gil never even took the time to mention this organization that has been essential to the relief effort.

Kind of makes him look like a real tool, doesn't it?

For more info, visit http://www.fema.gov.

Porn ads

Once again, with the stupid porn ads.

1) I didn't put them there.
2) I don't make money from them.
3) I'm not taking the time to remove them.

Quite honestly, I've taken more than enough time on this issue already.

Moving on!

We're on the INTERNET for pete's sake! Get over yourself.

If you can't take an expletive phrase or two or subject yourself to a porn ad, you might want to seriously consider just taking your Internet connection and unplugging it completely from the wall.

Problem solved.

Lancasteronline retard tries to rip me on "tabloid size" paper

People on Lancasteronline are ripping on me for calling the Daily Telegraph in London a "tabloid" because it's printed on broadsheet paper. Not tabloid size paper.

I carefully explained to them that I was referring to tabloid journalism, which is simply lurid and sensational journalism. Think about it. Tabloid TV is not on tabloid size TVs. Tabloid Internet sites aren't on tabloid size Internet pages. But this wasn't good enough. This librul, HARV1, could not believe that I did not know that tabloid size is 11 x 17 because anyone who uses Desktop software would know this.

One problem, a tabloid is a newspaper format particularly popular in the United Kingdom, which is roughly 23½ by 14 3/4 inches (597 by 375 mm) per spread.

What a stupid, fuck-faced asshole!

What a hoot!

Did I mention naked chicks rule? And porn rocks?

Good.

Now that that is dispensed with, there's this crazy old chick running around Philly that thinks she's an owl. You can find more details at this website . I s#!t you not!

You may be asking yourself: "What?"

Exactly.

All I am trying to say is that if I had my choice between reading that horrid Sunday column week after week and being molested instead, I'd pick the second one.

That's all I'm saying.

Hoot! Hoot!

Porn obsession?

Ok, just a quick update about lipnews1.com.

First, you can find out real quick who owns that domain by visiting a site like http://www.dnsstuff.com.

And then I found out why this person was so upset about the porn ads/links that slithered their way onto the public comments on the Smart Retorts blog. It seems that this person (whoever it is), has made allegations in the past - very serious allegations - that they are a victim of sexual abuse.

My heartfelt sympathies go out to this person.

First, let me say that the comments on Smart Retorts will remain exactly where they are. I will not remove any comments unless I know that the information is illegal.

Porn sites that request an age verification to enter are not, to my knowledge, illegal.

And besides, these alleged "porn sites" don't even contain pictures. This was not very good investigative work and there is potentially much more at play here over the whole issue.

If you want to find out more, simply visit DNS Stuff and type in the domain http://www.lipnews1.com. Fair warning; this is kind of disturbing!

But then again, we've all been exposed to a certain weekly column on a regular basis that many find disturbing, so we're pretty used to it.