09/02/2005
Katrina Updates
Reuters: World stunned as US struggles with Katrina: "The world has watched amazed as the planet's only superpower struggles with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with some saying the chaos has exposed flaws and deep divisions in American society. World leaders and ordinary citizens have expressed sympathy with the people of the southern United States whose lives were devastated by the hurricane and the flooding that followed. But many have also been shocked by the images of disorder beamed around the world -- looters roaming the debris-strewn streets and thousands of people gathered in New Orleans waiting for the authorities to provide food, water and other aid."
Love this quote from an "unnamed White House official": "'Seventy-two hours into this, to be openly posturing about this, to be attacking the president, is not only despicable and wrong, it's not politically smart,' said one White House official who asked not to be named because he did not want to be seen as talking about the crisis in political terms. 'Normal people at home understand that it's not the president who's responsible for this, it's the hurricane. This will get better, hour by hour and day by day.'"
Of course it's not politically smart — that's obvious when you see people like FEMA head Michael Brown ass-kissing the White House by telling Katie Couric "people are getting the help they need."
Not yet. Last night, "An exasperated-sounding Mayor C. Ray Nagin did not hold back his anger in an interview with a New Orleans radio station that ended with sounds of the mayor and the interviewer in tears. 'I keep hearing that this is coming, that is coming," he said in reference to federal aid. "And my answer to that today is b.s. - where is the beef?'"
CNN: The Houston Astrodome in Texas, where thousands of refugees had been bused over the past couple of days, stopped accepting refugees late Thursday. Last week a grandma, this week a "refugee". Tragic.
FEMA directing donations to Pat Robertson! Robertson's "Operation Blessing" is on the list of organizations following the Red Cross. "Operations Blessing's chairman, 'MG Robertson,' is none other than the Rev. Pat — Marion Gordon Robertson is his real name — while Pat’s wife DeDe is vice president and son Gordon Robertson is also on the board. The front operation for the radical, pro-assassination televangelist and Republican power broker is also based in the Rev. Pat’s headquarters, Virginia Beach."
House Speaker Dennis Hastert retreats on controversial comments about the practicality of rebuilding the City of New Orleans. "I am not advocating that the city be abandoned or relocated. ... It is important that when we rebuild this historic city that we consider the safety of the citizens first."
Bush on relief efforts: "the results are not acceptable...We'll get on top of this situation and we're going to help the people that need help." Leaves White House to tour Gulf Coast region.
"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."
Bush to Sawyer on Good Morning America: "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."
Actually (as posted below), "In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war...
...A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken."
Even Saturday Night Live's Mr. Bill knew there was a problem with the levees.
I'm not saying it's directly Bush's fault here that the levees were not fixed, but don't go on national television and blatantly lie to the American people when there is just loads of evidence out there. Seems the only time Bush ever likes to take responsibility for anything is when it's time to hang a "Mission Accomplished" sign up, and given Bush's timing on such congratulations, it's about time to hang one on the Superdome.
A blanket covers the body of a woman who died in a wheelchair, and another body is wrapped in a sheet Thursday at the convention center in New Orleans.
Aid from Canada being blocked by Homeland Security: "Canadian agencies are saying that foreign aid is probably not being permitted into Louisiana and Mississippi because of 'mass confusion' at the U.S. federal level in the wake of the storm."
CNN: FEMA and Cst Grd suspending some operations due to gunfire...
Not in my job description: Condi Rice laughs it up at Monty Python farce, goes shopping for shoes: "A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, “How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!” Never one to have her fashion choices questioned, Rice had security PHYSICALLY REMOVE the woman."
"No One Can Say they Didn't See it Coming"
Yesterday, as he surveyed Katrina's destruction from Air Force One, Bush reportedly declared, "It’s devastating. It’s got to be doubly devastating on the ground."
Former Clinton advisor Sidney Blumenthal says the Bush Administration was warned:
"In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war...
...A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken."
National Guard military policeman stationed outside of Superdome: "This is mass chaos. To tell you the truth, I'd rather be in Iraq. You got your constant danger, but I had something to protect myself. [And] three meals a day. Communications. A plan. Here, they had no plan."
Crooks and Liars: "Anderson Cooper was visibly upset today by the fact that 'person after person' came up to him asking why the federal government hasn't shown up to help out yet." Video.
The Other August Memo Bush Ignored [tr]
Hard New Test for President [ny times]
"And Now We Are in Hell" [washington post]
sidney blumenthal [spiegel]
Posted 9:30 AM EST by Andy in Current Affairs | Permalink
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Read today's NYT lead editorial...opining that Bush "gave one of the worst speeches of his life.." regarding the hurricane. I try to be fair -- admittedly, a difficult task -- but listening to him and watching him made my skin crawl. Those smirks? The casual delivery? This will "make us stonger"?
What an asshole.
Posted by: Jon | Sep 1, 2005 9:58:48 AM
Jon -
Bravo. I couldn't agree more. In times past, the presidency was occupied by statesmen. How far we've fallen. The question now seems to be whether a truly inspiring, courageous, innovative leader can even be elected at all?
Posted by: Brian | Sep 1, 2005 10:22:37 AM
At first I was trepidatious about jumping on the blame Bush bandwagon, but after just watching his dismal performance on Good Morning America, and reading just how much his administration gutted programs that might have helped the affected area, how he dismisses the notion that we don't have enough National Guardsmen here, and how all of this is playing out...I don't know what I was thinking.
He had the audacity to simply plug the "War on Terror" when asked if America can continue what it's doing in Iraq and help ourselves at home at the same time (of course he didn't give a straight answer to the question). Mr. President, the people in New Orleans and Gulf Port, the people who's homes and family have been lost, really don't give a shit about Iraq right now. They were worried two days ago about how they were going to feed themselves.
Posted by: bmw | Sep 1, 2005 10:31:49 AM
Here we go again...
Is it Bush bashing day?
What do you expect him to do? Considering the circumstances I think they are doing everything they can. How easy do you think it is to evacuate and entire city when there is no food, water or barely a mode of transportation?
Posted by: The Yankee | Sep 1, 2005 10:35:28 AM
LOL. This is classic. I KNEW people would find a way to blame Bush for the hurricane. You people are as bad as the "Christians" who blame the gay drug-infested circuit party Southern Decadence for the hurricane. What, we're supposed to spend tens or hundreds of millions more protecting a city that was built UNDER SEA LEVEL???
The best, though, is over at AmericaBlog - the delusional one says Bush might have been slow to respond because too many Black people live in New Orleans. lol.
Posted by: Cyd | Sep 1, 2005 10:38:49 AM
I thought the GOP cabal planned the hurricane to distract us from Cindy Sheehan. They planned this whole global warming thing and then failed to sign Kyoto so that RIGHT NOW a hurricane would slam into New Orleans, which is expendable since it's full of blacks and sin, thus taking the media's attention off Sheehan. They obviously fucked up though. It happened two days early and the President had to interrupt his vacation. We'll try and do better next time.
Posted by: Mitch | Sep 1, 2005 10:51:14 AM
Yes we are supposed to do everything we can to protect all cites and all of our people. The people of New Orleans today did not build the city under sea level but they live there and as such deserve the protection of the government.
No one is to blame for this disaster. We now just have to do what it takes to improve the lives of the people affected.
I just found out my company is going to match all contributions. Please check with your HR department to see if your company will assist also.
Posted by: Donald | Sep 1, 2005 10:55:24 AM
I love this photo of King George surveying the damage from his comfy Air Force one plane, he needs to get his ass down on the ground like regular people and survey the situation. I can't believe we have such a moron for President, damn....
Posted by: Jocko | Sep 1, 2005 11:04:13 AM
No, the president is not to blame for the hurricaine. No one ever said he was. The criticism was based on his lackluster response to it. The fact that hundreds of years ago New Orleans was built below sea level is irrelevant. The city is a very special and lovely bit of America, unique among our otherwise cookie cutter cities, and brings in millions in tourism dollars each year. Yes, we should spend big money to protect it, just like the US does for San Francisco and just like the Italians are are doing for Venice (another city below sea level).
Interesting... a little criticism of the president and all the republicans get in a bunch.
Posted by: Brian | Sep 1, 2005 11:46:40 AM
Brian, criticism of the president, in the abstract, is not what's offense here.
Its the exploitation of a natural disaster and human tragedy, while bodies still lie and float about unburied, as a flimsy pretext for such criticism that is incredibly offensive.
Of course, you guys are in good company. In the post above, as you can see, the religious right is doing the same thing, blaming the disaster on The Gays, thus exploiting the tragedy to score political points. At a time when this country needs to pull together, you guys are playing the same sad, disgusting game.
Posted by: Cassius | Sep 1, 2005 12:24:24 PM
At LEAST "doubly devasting" compared to flying overhead in your own 747 tricked-out and staffed specifically for your comfort as you make your way back from a month-long vacation.
Yet another "Let them eat cake" moment brought to you by the White House -- the people who put the PARTY back in "Republican Party."
Posted by: Buster | Sep 1, 2005 12:37:24 PM
Anderson Cooper of CNN had it right. If all the news media saw the storm coming, mobilized, and was on site immediately, why wasn't FEMA. Didn't they learn from Andrew? Didn't the heed their own warnings in early 2001? The President needs to stop focusing our his own agenda and begin focusing on an agenda that will help this country.
IMPEACH BUSH NOW!
Posted by: justaguynatl | Sep 1, 2005 12:39:43 PM
If Anderson Cooper and Rob Marciano can get to survivors who have no food and water then why can't Bush get our troops and FEMA there?? This is why I'm bashing Bush today...because he is unable to do what 2 Gay news reporters CAN do!
The Gays will get you every time!
Posted by: Wayne | Sep 1, 2005 12:39:58 PM
Buster, and he was suppose to wade thru the water with his shoes off? Get real! Maybe he could have looted himself a Coke while he was there. I wish you all would get off the "vacation" thing. So he was on a vacation, big deal. I've had 3 this year and planning a fourth and I not running a country...
Wayne, Who gives a rats ass about Anderson Cooper? All's he is upset about is how is will do his hair in the morning. There aren't just a few people stranded in the south, there are thousands. There are also 28,000 troops in New Orleans right now rescuing people in addition to local authorities. With the scale of the disaster you can't expect each victim to have a personal guide.
Posted by: The Yankee | Sep 1, 2005 1:07:07 PM
Criticism of the president's inept handling of a national tragedy is not a "sad, disgusting game". It's a legitimate complaint about how our government is responding. Why can't we criticize the administration's performance without being labeled as "partisan"? I doubt Kerry would have done much better, if that makes you feel better. Sheesh...
Posted by: Brian | Sep 1, 2005 1:20:26 PM
It sounds to me like Anderson Cooper and Wayne have just figured out what we Libertarians have known all along: Government is inherently inefficient. A profit-motivated private organization will beat the pants off a bureaucratic government agency (regardless of the political party in control) EVERY SINGLE TIME.
Posted by: Cassius | Sep 1, 2005 1:22:45 PM
"Considering the circumstances I think they are doing everything they can"
This is true, though the circumstances (including a decision not to fund strenthening New Orleans' levee system) were in large part created by bush. Spending billions of dollars on an imagined war on terror [sic] and ignoring a real, concrete and specifically predicted disaster. "Everything they can" should have included federal funds and coordination of an evacuation BEFORE the storm (instead of just telling people to get out using their own means) and funding infrastructure needs and it would have helped to avoid destroying wetlands that GH Bush and Clinton both protected.
"How easy do you think it is to evacuate and entire city when there is no food, water or barely a mode of transportation?"
It's impossible, which is why the feds should have stepped in to do so. This is a great demonstration of why the selfish "personal responsibility" BS is wrong-headed and against core American values like helping others.
Posted by: ryan | Sep 1, 2005 1:24:07 PM
Cassius, I can't believe I'm going to say this, and neither will you, but you've recruited me! After watching President Idiot and the Do-Nothing Dem's I have to say you're right...there's got to be a better solution.
And to The Yankee, just answer my question. Bush himself stated yesterday, as did the Director of FEMA, that they couldn't get to those parts of the states for relief because the roads and water were still too dangerous, yet CNN and every other news network was able to get in and take water and rations to those left behind.
Anderson Cooper actually did a live interview with FEMA and even FEMA was appalled that the networks could get in but the Bush Administration couldn't.
It's a very simple question and your lengthy bullshit answer sounds like you're a speech writer for President Idiot himself.
Posted by: Wayne | Sep 1, 2005 1:33:20 PM
Anderson Cooper and other members of the Billionaire Boys Club are accustomed to picking up the phone and ordering whatever assistance they want. It's simply killing him that he can't pick up his cell phone and order room service for everyone in N.O.
While FEMA and Red Cross and a dozen other agencies were pre-staging supplies and equipment for this disaster in the days preceeding the storm, the looters were planning their attacks on gun shops, jewelry stores and drug stores. They didn't leave the city because they planned on cleaning it out while everyone was evacuated. Now they're having shoot-outs with the police and the rescue squads. They're car-jacking reporters and aid workers. They're stealing medical supplies that were destined for hospitals and aid centers. There's a good reason why some people didn't leave the city when the order came. They're crooks.
I'll say it as many times as I need to... George Bush,the federal government and the leadership of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, have been ahead of the curve from the very beginning. One of the things that no one anticipated was armed resistance to rescue attempts.
I pity the city that ends up with the last of these refugees. The ones who could be helped, those who wanted to be helped, and those who helped themselves, were gone before the storm arrived, and they will already be moving on with their lives, before the last looting thug drowns in N.O.
Posted by: jay | Sep 1, 2005 1:41:52 PM
Now we are attacking cute Anderson Cooper for having a rich mother. I am sure Anderson took the time to call good old Gloria and had her ship down food and water from the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis.
Good god will you Bush lovers never admit to any failings by his government. We get it Bush walks on water and those who point out according you all his imagined failings are just mad faggot Democrats who hate him just because.
Posted by: Donald | Sep 1, 2005 1:49:20 PM
And the most idiotic comment of the year goes to... THE YANKEE!
Please tell me how this makes any sense:
I wish you all would get off the "vacation" thing. So he was on a vacation, big deal. I've had 3 this year and planning a fourth and I not running a country...
Posted by: Rob | Sep 1, 2005 2:24:53 PM
Congress is STILL on vacation.
Posted by: Mitch | Sep 1, 2005 2:38:59 PM
This is all too difficult to watch. People are dying at the Superdome, there is no food, no water, no sanitary facilities. How can this happen? Why isn't the Pentagon airlifting food to the Superdome (and other areas with similar, desparate needs)? Drop some fucking MREs by helicopter IMMEDIATELY to alleviate the suffering.
Is this all Bush's fault? Debate it later. But he needs to get his stupid smirking ass on the phone to the Joint Chiefs and, as commander in chief, ORDER them to drop MREs now.
How hard is that?
Posted by: Jon | Sep 1, 2005 2:55:07 PM
Donald I concur. I remember that when Clinton was in office, I foolishly clung to the idea that the only reason people distrusted him was because they were sour old conservatives. While that remains true to some extent, in retrospect I will admit that I too was a bit unreasonable in that I didn't want to see his failings. I thought that if I questioned the Democrats too keenly that it would put me in the same boat as the icky baby boomer conservative pundits that I so disliked. That kind of myopic support of an administration was wrong then, and it's wrong now.
Posted by: Brian | Sep 1, 2005 2:55:43 PM
From what I am reading above it seems like you all are saying the same thing. What we are really lacking and making excuses for is the lack of leadership from our President. In times like these we need comfort and hope, ( Remember how Rudy did it in NYC). All of the bickering back and forth about Bush this and Bush that really says that leadership is lacking and has been for a while. That is something that Bush and his administration can't seem to get right. Remember how shocked we all were by the Oklahoma City bombing? Pres. Clinton, who is a great speaker, comforted and calmed fear. It's about Leadership.
Posted by: matt-chicago | Sep 1, 2005 3:08:48 PM
What is wrong with Condi buying shoes???? Jeezus...what is that woman doing to help those people out??? Shopping for shoes, just like Condi!
Posted by: Roy | Sep 1, 2005 3:17:16 PM
Where can I throw up?
Posted by: Nick | Sep 1, 2005 3:18:23 PM
So now we're blocking Canada from providing relief too...excellent. I'm sure the reasoning is because Canada allows The Gays to marry and have equal rights. If they provide food/water then it might be laced with whatever "tolerance" drug they've used on their countrymen, and we certainly can't have that.
And I was sweating about Condi finding the right shoes to wear to a disaster...I'm SO glad she was able to find something appropriate at Barney's.
Posted by: Wayne | Sep 1, 2005 3:19:42 PM
Go Mikey, Go!
Let Them Eat Catfish!
How an out-of-touch president gets by with a starstruck media
by Michelangelo Signorile
As factions threatened civil war in Iraq over the draft constitution, and as Hurricane Katrina threatened to become the worst natural disaster in American history, the president of the United States was on his fake ranch, determined to continue his five-week vacation. He rode his bicycle – “I like speed,” he’d said a few weeks ago to some reporters who rode with him – on his Disneyland-like camp, complete with its man-made hills and fake lake (which was created and filled with fish from elsewhere), shutting out the world outside.
Worse yet, the American media gave him a free ride, alternately motivated by fear, greed and plain old starfucking. Last Friday night 50 so-called journalists – members of the White House press corps from every major news organization covering his stay in Crawford – hung out with Laura and George Bush at the ranch by the pool, eating Bush’s food, including catfish and potato salad, and drinking his beer. The deal – for socializing with the president at his ranch – was that they couldn’t write about it.
As WashingtonPost.com columnist Dan Froomkin described it – told to him by a deep throat who’d been at the event – the reporters drove past the antiwar protestors camped outside the ranch, where Cindy Sheehan, a mother who’d lost a son in the war, waited for the president to meet her. Sheehan had been asking for a meeting to talk about the war and its direction. But Bush had more important people to meet with: the press corps that gives him life blood and has allowed him to lie about an invasion of another country and cover up for his lieutenant, Karl Rove, in the CIA leak scandal, among many other things.
No one at the Friday event was allowed to talk about what was said – that was the deal for getting “face time” and catfish from the president – though some reports said the antiwar protests were part of the discussion. In other words, the reporters get all giddy, eat and drink with the president, and hear his side of the story for use down the road. The fact that any news organization would allow its reporters to hang out with subjects – eating their food and drinking their beer – while having a good old time, represents everything that is wrong with the media. These are the people who are supposed to be exposing the lies and corruption – which swirl more intensely now around this administration than anytime before – and instead they’re cavorting with him and telling themselves it’s part of the job.
The longest vacation of any president in history was interrupted a few times by Bush’s trips to places that he could use as backdrops to try to stop the hemorrhaging of his poll numbers regarding the war in Iraq.
Cindy Sheehan had galvanized the antiwar movement, so Bush headed for Utah and Idaho to drum up support. Then, just when he thought he could go back to riding his bike all day, came Hurricane Katrina, threatening New Orleans and eventually devastating the gulf coast of Mississippi and Alabama . Rather than head back to Washington to lead relief efforts, Bush at first tried to ignore the hurricane as much as he ignored Cindy Sheehan.
As Katrina barreled into the coast with 145 mph winds, Bush rested up and then headed to California to push his Medicare drug plan – the one that benefits the drug companies – and announced he’d be bringing his draconian social security privatization plan back from the brink. He then went to San Diego to commemorate V-J Day and try to connect the Iraq war with World War II – the latest desperate spin by a White House that has connected the war with everything from 9/11 to a human rights crusade (even though women’s rights are now cut out of the draft constitution in Iraq).
Not until a day after Katrina tore through the coast, and the levees broke in New Orleans, tragically flooding the entire city, did Bush decide it was time to head back to Washington and lead relief efforts.
In a dramatic announcement, the White House noted that Bush would be cutting his five-week vacation short – by two days! But then, rather than head back to Washington directly from California on Tuesday night, Bush, the White House quietly noted, would go back to cozy Crawford for yet another night’s stay first – all while, one state away, thousands of people were frantically being evacuated from the attics of their flooded homes or were trapped in the Superdome in New Orleans.
Rescue efforts were hampered, the mayor of New Orleans said, by a lack of leadership. Bush activated 6000 Louisiana National Guardsmen, but another 7000 of Louisiana’s National Guard were in Iraq . Bush’s father had sent 25,000 troops into Florida a decade earlier when Hurricane Andrew struck, and an addition several thousand national guard. Katrina is much more devastating. But there simply aren’t the troops available for rescue efforts because the senseless war in Iraq has so strained the American military. And the president doesn’t have a clue anyway, since he was determined to ride his bike on his ranch and go on trips to sell his failing proposals and the war rather than deal with a horrible reality that needed urgent attention.
People often ask how it is that Bush is able to get away with this. How is it that few if any members of the press pointed out how callous and out-of-touch it was that he was still vacationing, and alternately politicking, while the most catastrophic natural disaster in American history was unfolding? How does he do it? The answer is now easy: Feed them catfish!
Posted by: Leland | Sep 1, 2005 3:56:28 PM
I heard that Bush went to the bathroom to relieve himself today. He has some nerve using a toilet when so many people in the gulf states don't have one.
Posted by: The Yankee | Sep 1, 2005 4:10:44 PM
Yankee, it's too late to redeem yourself with sarcasm and poor attempts at humor. Sort of like it's too late for your friend Bush to redeem himself...only difference is that he's rich and President of the "free" world, and I'm doubting you come anywhere close to that.
Posted by: Wayne | Sep 1, 2005 4:23:14 PM
I dread watching the news tonight as all reports are that New Orleans is at an even lower rung of Hell than it was yesterday as these pictures suggest. The shame is less that Yankee et al. would defend Bush regardless of what he did or did not do, but that, in the face of such suffering they don't simply remain silent out of respect for the victims. Suddenly, the movie "Dr. Strangelove" is flooding my brain.
"A man covers the body of a fellow flood victim who died at the Convention Center in New Orleans on Thursday."
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2005/09/02/mn_katrina_laeg102.jpg
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2005/09/02/mn_katrina_laeg106.jpg
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2005/09/02/mn_superdome_bigun.jpg
Not all illegal acts going on are selfish. "Jaabbar Gibbson, 20, sits behind the wheel of a bus he commandeered and drove himself and 80 people he picked up along the road to Houston Wednesday night. They were the first evacuees from Hurricane Katrina to arrive by their own vehicles hoping to find shelter at the Astrodome."
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2005/09/02/mn_katrina_schoolbus.jpg
Meanwhile, 30,000 feet in the air...
Posted by: Leland | Sep 1, 2005 4:46:40 PM
Reading posts from people like The Yankee, Mitch and Cassius just reaffirms my belief on how someone can be a gay Republican: 2 parts self-hatred, 3 parts stupidity, and 5 parts complete and utter denial.
Posted by: Rob | Sep 1, 2005 5:12:23 PM
In a past life I used to manage campaigns and I know that image is very important and it sends an important message. I don't care if she buys shoes but from an image point of view it was poor timing. She could have waited a week.
The message it sends is one of hubris and not caring (she has plenty of hubris and I know that she does care)
Posted by: Donald | Sep 1, 2005 5:14:24 PM
You'd think at the very least Condi would buy American.
Posted by: digger_nyc | Sep 1, 2005 5:20:12 PM
The reason I find Bush so annoying is that he is disengaged. Just simply not interested.
When his people tell him its time to get out and make a speech and hand him his notes he trots out and puts on a show. But you can tell his heart is not in it.
(So the press can be bought with catfish? It's so cheap.)
But what can one expect from a Rebulican Party which does not believe in a federal government? The point of the enormous tax cuts was to create huge deficits, just like Reagan's, so that the federal government would be ham-strung, unable to do things.
Remember the Republicans believe it's your money, you know what to do better than the government, so now take care of yourselves using all that tax money you didn't have to pay.
Yes, they are a cynical bunch in DC. Cynical, disengaged and uncaring.
Posted by: jessejames | Sep 1, 2005 5:30:33 PM
Hate to burst your bubble Rob, but about 25% of gays identify as Republican or conservative. The head of GLADD is now a gay Republican. So is the mayor of Redondo Beach and the executive producer of Desperate Housewives. We're everywhere!
As for me, I have a successful media job with a six figure salary, a nice house, a monogamous relationship that is going on ten years and a caring loving circle of friends and family. You can hurl all the insults you want, but I'm neither stupid, nor in denial and don't have a safe hating bone in my body.
Posted by: Mitch | Sep 1, 2005 6:26:01 PM
Rob, I don't like insults, because they make people stop listening. However, I for one am really not interested in Mitch's "six figure salary", which is likely the reason behind the Republican status. I also draw a distinction between those who identify as "conservative" and those who identify as Republican. (There are plenty of conservatives who are Democrats.)
Posted by: Brian | Sep 1, 2005 6:49:51 PM
Oh, puh-leeze Mitch. No one cares about your salary. How crass.
Posted by: Jon | Sep 1, 2005 7:28:54 PM
Oooh yeah, look at me, I make lots of money and have a nice house. I put my political party above everything else, and Bush can do no wrong.
What a surprise. Crass is an understatement. When are you Bush-lovers going to wake up.
Posted by: classic | Sep 1, 2005 7:58:00 PM
From NOLA.com:
Other presidents also have taken aim at the Corps' budget. President Carters' first veto came against a big water projects bill passed by a Democratic-dominated Congress. And President Clinton squeezed the Corps budget as well. Doing so frees money for other White House priorities.
"I fought every ... administration when they tried to use the Corps of Engineers as a piggy bank to pay for other projects," said former House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston, a Louisiana Republican who represented the New Orleans suburbs for more than 20 years. "I had major battles with the Clinton administration."
"Going back to Carter. They've all sought to draw down the Corps of Engineers and put it elsewhere," he said.
Former Louisiana Sen. John Breaux, a Democrat, said it was clear during his time in Congress that flood control projects were shortchanged.
"Those levees are OK under normal times but once every hundred years, that's not enough," he said in an interview. "We've all said for years that a category 4 or 5 hurricane hit just right on New Orleans, there was nothing there sufficient to prevent New Orleans from being 20 feet under water."
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/base/politics-5/1125614640276025.xml&storylist=hurricane
I apologize for the salary remark. It was inappropriate. I tend to lose my temper when I'm called stupid and self-loathing.
Posted by: Mitch | Sep 1, 2005 8:01:48 PM
"We're everywhere!" - Mitch
The CDC estimates that the number of parasites present in the United States alone number in the thousands.
http://www.thelifetree.com/images/hookworms01.jpg
Posted by: Leland | Sep 1, 2005 8:05:04 PM
When the Republicans are out of ammo, they blame Clinton or Carter. Don't worry kids, the Gay Republicans are almost done. Just meelee weapons for now on.
:)
Posted by: Damon | Sep 1, 2005 8:29:38 PM
I believe the President has given those who dislike him already the impression that little is being done and that he is more engaged in personal damage control than in responding in any useful way to the events on the Gulf coast. His behavior - and its timing - has been all an enemy could wish.
I believe those who would characterize people who either couldn't or didn't leave New Orleans as stupid or worse must imagine human nature to be much simpler, much more easily summarized than it is in fact.
I believe that 'hurricane preparedness' is more a fond hope than an achieved end; that we are not - with the best will in the world - very good at relieving the suffering which follows on wars and natural disasters. As the English say of themselves, we 'muddle through'. Ask someone who was at Charleston when Hugo struck that city. It will help you to put recent events in perspective.
Posted by: BAZ | Sep 1, 2005 8:40:39 PM
My My My and the bickering goes on. Instead of looking for ways to help out in the south the DAY people, DAY as in Dumb Ass Yankees, and the Bush Lovers are so intent on shouting out how wonderful he is and how much money they have.
First off I am a proud Florida native. Secondly I am a proud Southener. Also I am a proud American, Native American actually. And truth be told I am a republican; However I can not tolerate Bush! Any Bush! The father was a lousy president, but people seem to have short memories or selective ones anyway. The Govornor of Florida is as useless and detrimental to actual progress and government as his brother is as president. We, in the ravaged areas of Florida from last years four storms have been denied by FEMA the funding needed because it was given to Miami-Dade where no real damage was done by comparison. The funding given was at first reported to be returned and distributed to the aflicted areas but Bush and his brother interviened and those in Miami who filed false claims were allowed to keep the money and the County of Miami-Dade also did not have to return any funds. Still to this date there are families homeless because of FEMA and Bush's failings. I pity those in New Orleans. Yes their town is larger than some of the towns in florida that no longer exist due to the storms but the situation is the same. NO LEADERSHIP. NO GOVERNMENT HELP PROOPERLY APPLIED.
Today gasoline went to over 3.00$ at the local stations. The claim is the storm. Last week it was another excuse. There is no oil or gasoline shortage. Canada and Venezula and other countries have offered and sent help for New Orleans yet our Government has stopped its transport.
Yes we can say "Thank you Mr Bush" but finish the statement... "Thank You Mr Bush for filling your pockets with our money."
Posted by: Bear | Sep 1, 2005 8:52:57 PM
Gas is $3.09 here in lovely Wisconsin. Just in time for Labor Day weekend. Apparently someone at the Illinois and Minnesota borders erected giant, impenetrable barriers made of delicious Wisconsin cheese, thereby disrupting shipments of petroleum products to "America's Dairyland". It simply MUST be that... it just COULDN'T be the oil companies wanting to take advantage of the situation...
Like my grandma always said... "Greed makes the baby Jesus cry."
Posted by: Brian | Sep 1, 2005 9:23:54 PM
and even if the money was approved in 2001 the fucking improvements would not have been even started by now. get over yourselves!
Posted by: Patrick | Sep 2, 2005 1:38:14 AM
Say word, Patrick? Well in that casel et me toast to the President, his administration and for using that money for a more important affair in Iraq.
Posted by: Mikey D | Sep 2, 2005 9:38:51 AM
"Reading posts from people like The Yankee, Mitch and Cassius just reaffirms my belief on how someone can be a gay Republican: 2 parts self-hatred, 3 parts stupidity, and 5 parts complete and utter denial."
Ah, yes, the old standby. When people disagree with them, gay liberals always fall back on the self-hatred and stupidity name-calling. But, denial? Congratulations, Rob - you DID have some originality in that post.
Posted by: Cyd | Sep 2, 2005 10:06:01 AM
Actually the problem stretches back many years... the difficulty in funding adequate levees in that area goes back to the 60's.
Even so, there has been legitimate criticism of the administration's bungling of the situation on a dizzying number of levels. The reports of "magnificent" work from administration officials are in stark contrast to the reports from the scene, which describe desperate situations and little if any assistance.
It seems to show that people who have unquestioning faith in our leaders (as many republicans do) are not able to use good critical thinking skills at the same time. It's a bad style of government, no matter which party is doing it. That kind of faith works beautifully during elections, but it sure does break down when faced with this kind of responsibility.
Posted by: Brian | Sep 2, 2005 10:10:55 AM
Denial as in when you guys continually defend Bush at all costs. That's the disagreement here, can't you see that or do you just love a debate? Now your buddy in the White House is admitting the relief effort is unacceptable. It's nice to finally get a bit of truth from him. I hope FEMA Director Brown gets a clue soon.
Posted by: bmw | Sep 2, 2005 10:14:49 AM
FEMA's Brown needs to get off the air and focus on relief. Soledad O'Brien tore him a new one this morning and it was well deserved. His statements about the delivery of food and water are so obviously contradicted by footage of hungry and dying refugees in N.O. I am embarrassed and appalled by the response from the US Government. Is this really a job for a political appointee?
Posted by: Jon | Sep 2, 2005 10:46:22 AM
Not just any old polical appointee. Before FEMA Director Mike Brown came to BE the Director, he was the "Judges and Stewards Commissioner" for the International Arabian Horses Association. He was forced to resign because of mounting litigation and financial disarray.
This is the man Bush chose to lead FEMA.
Posted by: brent | Sep 2, 2005 10:54:17 AM
Worst... President.... Ever.
Posted by: Bill | Sep 2, 2005 11:20:33 AM
Why aren't people calling for George's resignation!
Posted by: justaguynatl | Sep 2, 2005 11:23:13 AM
Folks, Louisiana typically has gotten the highest share of Army Corps dollars in real and per capita terms.
New Orleans is a city that is entirely in a floodplain -- and below sea level -- yet people still choose to live there. And disasters happen, even in this wealthiest of nations.
Now can't we deal with it without reflexively looking to assign blame?
Posted by: The Malcontent | Sep 2, 2005 11:40:26 AM
I just watched the president, live from somewhere down south, and his comments included how Trent Lott's house was destroyed and they would rebuild it. IT IS HIS VACATION HOUSE, that only a millionaire could afford, right on the Gulf of Mexico. He was praised by the Mississippi governor for all his help, how FEMA has done everything they have asked for, the same person who compared the disaster to Nagasaki A Bomb devastation. Can t wait to see what the LA and New Orleans leaders say when they meet the president.
Posted by: JJ | Sep 2, 2005 11:59:15 AM
Even though I disagree with Cyd on many politcal issues I do agree with him on the name calling. It only lowers the level of debate to the gutter.
Whereas being gay can sometimes be a political act. Kissing in a straight bar, holding hands in the mall, etc. It is neither left or right, it is neither Democratic nor Republican. It is however how we connect to one and other on a personal and sexual level. My politics may be on the left but I am a very conservative person in my behavior which does not mean I am self hating. I like that I am gay and I would not want to be any other way. Now can we tone it down and just discuss this without all the name calling.
Thanks to Andy for creating this forum.
Posted by: Donald | Sep 2, 2005 12:12:25 PM
You might want to post this Andy...
Go Anderson! Watch this!
http://demo.ripside.com/fark/Anderson-Cooper-Landrieu-Katrina.wmv
Posted by: mk | Sep 2, 2005 12:27:23 PM
Malcontent - I don't believe the assignment of blame is necessarily reflexive in this case. There is definitely blame to be had if the US Govt's response to this hurricane is realistically assessed. The response has been horrific.
Can you clarify what you mean by "..and people still choose to live there"? I assume you are not blaming the victims, but what is your point? Thanks.
Jon
Posted by: Jon | Sep 2, 2005 12:29:24 PM
The President urged people not to use gas unless they had to -- and that means folks should stay home this Labor Day weekend and reflect, if not also donate to the relief efforts. If there was any a time to sacrifice and help, it's now.
So Andy, I hope you have a fun and relaxing Labor Day weekend going off to the Hamptons or P-town or to wherever else your fabulousness feels like escaping.
Posted by: Ars | Sep 2, 2005 12:50:59 PM
ARS, don't be mean to Andy. I'm sure he'd help pull people out of attics just like the rest of us would, if only we were a little closer. And frankly, gas rationing is the last thing the people of New Orleans need. They need food, water, and troops to help rescue the trapped and injured.
New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin is the only politician in America who is willing to say what needed to be said. If you haven't heard his phone interview with Garland Williams, you should.
That said, I'll be staying home this Labor Day weekend.
Posted by: Brian | Sep 2, 2005 1:08:08 PM
Brian - while we're not in an oil crisis by any means, we've been asked to keep down the energy usage, particularly gas. Those helicopters and tanks and planes and trucks use oil in one form or another and there certainly isn't any left in the Gulf. Anything we can do to help out, we should. I'm not doubting Andy's heroic instincts or what-have-you, but I'm saying I think it's insensitive and inappropriate to vacation at this time.
Mayor Nagin's radio interview was moving and, also, infuriating given the lack of help. There's something for each of us to do right now, whether it's volunteering to go down and set up cots and distribute MREs, donating money, or simply pestering elected officials to get off their asses. That's our mutual Labor Day debt to our fellow man.
Posted by: Ars | Sep 2, 2005 1:19:29 PM
ARS, so it's fine that the President just cut his 5 week vacation short, his third vacation this year, so that he could fly IN A JET over the area, but it's wrong of Andy, or anyone else, to go anywhere this weekend?
My Lord you have your priorities messed up!
Posted by: Wayne | Sep 2, 2005 1:42:17 PM
Not meaning to further divert the conversation off-topic here, if we're looking to help the economy, sitting at home reflecting, while it may seem stoic, does not in any way help the economy - it just serves to satisfy the self-righteous. The economy is served as much by tourism and holiday spending as anything else.
Posted by: charlie | Sep 2, 2005 1:43:09 PM
I don't think I let the President off the hook anywhere in what I've said, Wayne. Nor my senators or my congressman. With regard to the economy, Charlie, that's unrelated to the current crisis. You can spend all you want to bolster the economy, but our problem right now is helping the Gulf, not pushing down interest rates.
Posted by: Ars | Sep 2, 2005 1:55:00 PM
I don't think I let the President off the hook anywhere in what I've said, Wayne. Nor my senators or my congressman. With regard to the economy, Charlie, that's unrelated to the current crisis. You can spend all you want to bolster the economy, but our problem right now is helping the Gulf, not pushing down interest rates. So spend your money getting food and supplies to the victims, save your gas so that it's more affordable for the rescuers. Anything else is just the same old trickle-down logic that's been disproven again and again.
Posted by: Ars | Sep 2, 2005 1:57:03 PM
All you folk who think the president is doing all and the best he can ask yourself if things would be different if his two daughters were lost in New Orleans? There would be 150,000 national guard on the ground combing every inch. Well the people there are someone's children.
Posted by: al | Sep 2, 2005 2:22:07 PM
Are you people really under the impression that the President is only capable of doing anything of consequence from within the oval office. A presidential vacation is not the vacation you and I take for two weeks to the beach or to go camping in some national park. It is a change in scenery and a break daily procedural meetings with Washington politicians. To think that the Predisent wasnt surrounded by or in immediate contact with advisors and disaster relief experts and professionals just because he was on “vacation” is absolutely ridiculous.
Posted by: James | Sep 2, 2005 2:50:14 PM
if my mother, father, daughter or son died from lack of food or water after waiting at the superdome for 4 days (where the goverment told them to go for food, water and shelter), who could i blame?
Posted by: amelia | Sep 2, 2005 3:13:08 PM
Mitch, we're ALL safer when Congress is on vacation.
And to the rest of you for whom every discussion has to devolve into another reason to demonize gay Republicans, I am thinking about creating my own version of Godwin's Law. Maybe we'll call it Towle's Law, in honor of our host.
Posted by: The Malcontent | Sep 2, 2005 3:21:18 PM
I'll go ahead and break the ice. I bet Bush is reacting the same way Hitler would react in such a crisis like this.
Posted by: Damon | Sep 2, 2005 3:43:44 PM
Here in Austin we're taking in thousands. I've met a family and one homeless gentle individual. My roommate and I are letting her stay for a couple of weeks.
Posted by: Damon | Sep 2, 2005 3:47:26 PM
So another reporter ripped into the FEMA Director this morning for being in High Denial/Total Cluelessness after Ted Koppel [finally discovering his balls again after deteriorating into a Status Quo lapdog the past few years] shot him down last night??????? Brown's boss Smirk showed he can still parse with the best of them even with a crate of egg on his face: "I am satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with all the results." Goddamn, Sparky, what's the difference? Even Gingrich is shooting holes in such nonsense. And Homeland Security Department Secretary Michael Chertoff is a wet dish rag. Kiss your ass goodbye the next time we're attacked. Hopefully, they'll be some kind of recognition and reward when all the chaos settles for the Real Heroes: the police and doctors and nurses who stayed 24-7 to help people in Bagdad, USA.
Posted by: Leland | Sep 2, 2005 4:05:35 PM
WE ARE A PEOPLE!
I have often flamed Texas overall, and will continue to do so, but bless you Damon, as well as other Austians and those incredible TX gays in the story below who, just as we continue to do with AIDS, are helping each other in the absence or inadequacy of our government's support! I've inserted links if you want to help them. And Tim Gill once again shows what too few rich people, gay or straight, are willing to do. SOME of my faith in humanity is restored--just in time.
Gay Houston Opens It Heart To Katrina Victims
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: September 2, 2005 3:00 pm ET
(Houston, Texas) Thousands of Houston gays had intended to leave tonight for New Orleans to celebrate Southern Decadence, instead, they're lining up to help members of New Orleans' gay community who have fled the ravages of hurricane Katrina.
"There's been a tremendous outpouring of concern and support," Sally Huffer of the Montrose Counseling Center told 365Gay.com.
Huffer said the Houston Gay and Lesbian Switchboard has been inundated with calls from locals offering their homes to people displaced by the hurricane.
"I think people realize that shelters may not be the safest place for LGBT people," Huffer said.
The Center and the Switchboard are coordinating efforts. "We've set up a database of available housing and are continually updating it," she said. "We've even had calls from as far away as Phoenix and Orlando."
The database includes information on whether the temporary housing being offered is in a smoking or non smoking home, if there are pets or if pets are welcome, and accessibility for people who may not be able, for instance, to climb stairs.
The Center is also creating a support group for people who have fled the storm. "These people are under immense stress." Huffer said. "Many of them have lost everything they own. Even living in a shelter can cause stress to a relationship."
Bering Omega, an LGBT organization for people with HIV/AIDS is coordinating food, clothing and meds donations. Some of the New Orleans evacuees escaped with only the clothing on their backs and did not have time to collect their medication.
Tonight, a special Montrose Community meeting will be held at E.J.'s, a popular neighborhood club, to determine what else can be done.
On the weekend a new housing crisis will begin in Houston. People who heeded the advance warning to flee New Orleans filled the city's 65,000 hotel rooms. But, those hotels have already booked those rooms and the hurricane victims will have to leave.
Volunteers from the Center have been visiting every hotel in the city today, meeting with desk clerks and concierges to let them know the Center has a data base of available places to stay.
Some locals have been carrying little rainbow flags or wearing rainbow pins to identify them as gay and have been walking around the outside of the Astrodome to help LGBT victims.
[LINKS: http://www.montroseclinic.org/
http://gayswitchboardhouston.org/
http://www.beringomega.org/ ]
In addition to the most basic needs of food and shelter gays displaced by the hurricane face immense legal problems, the result of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, Louisiana's constitutional amendment banning recognition of same-sex couples, and DOMAs is Alabama and Mississippi.
Gay philanthropist Tim Gill said Friday that the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado will offer a $1 million matching grant to the American Red Cross for hurricane Katrina disaster relief.
Gill, who founded the fund, said it will match individual donations from Coloradans up to $250 through Sept. 25. The effort could raise a total of $2 million for relief, however not all of that would be targeted towards LGBT people affected by the hurricane.
Posted by: Leland | Sep 2, 2005 4:22:14 PM
"if my mother, father, daughter or son died from lack of food or water after waiting at the superdome for 4 days (where the goverment told them to go for food, water and shelter), who could i blame?"
Amelia,
I've been reluctant to jump in and play the blame game, out of respect for the gravity of this situation, but since you ask and no one else here seems to feel the same as I do...the person clearly most to blame for this mess is New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin.
Mayor Nagin made at least two major blunders which dirctly caused this human tragedy. The first was the Superdome. The decision to move people unable to evacuate to the Superdome was obviously a monumentally stupid decision; and who was the politician in charge who made this call, you ask?
It was 100% mayor Nagin's decision.
He did not have to send the people into that Dome of Hell. He had at his disposal all the city buses, the school buses, hell, he even could have used the many trains in New Orleans to transport them all out of the city. Instead, he made the inexplicably stupid decision to use those busses to transport those undiciplined mobs to Superdome....with the disasterous consequences we are seeing today.
And now, in order to cover up his incompetance, we see him screaming "Where is FEMA! Where is FEMA!" Well, I'll tell you where FEMA us...FEMA is trying to get into New Orleans to help, but can't due to the widespead LOOTING and LAWLESSNESS in the city, once again caused directly by mayor Nagin's lack of courage, forsight and intelligence.
Mayor Nagin knew or should have known the poor moral fiber of those types of people who generally opted to stay in the city. As such, he should have empowered the police and national guard under his command to maintain order at all costs from the get go....including the authority to SHOOT LOOTERS ON SIGHT, and shoot them TO KILL. Why he did not do this is inexplicable and unforgivable, as the barrel of a gun is and was the only language these looters are capable of understanding.
Thus this is CLEARLY mostly mayor Nagin's fault. You compare Nagin with Guliani after 9/11 and...sheesh, there IS NO comparison. Nagin has got to go.
I beleive the Louisiana legislature has the emergency authority to remove him from office; in order to prevent further such horrific mayoral bungling they should convene and do so at the soonest possible opportunity.
Posted by: CassiusSD | Sep 2, 2005 5:24:07 PM
"The shame is less that Yankee et al. would defend Bush regardless of what he did or did not do, but that, in the face of such suffering they don't simply remain silent out of respect for the victims."
... i feel just as badly for the victims of hurricane katrina as anyone else does. so please don't accuse the "gay Republicans" (thanks, Rob- by the way, your comment about what ingredients make up a Republican was completely ridiculous and irrelevant as well as unnecessary) of not feeling sympathy for the victims.
however, i don't understand why in the face of such suffering, you as well as others don't simply refrain from blaming the president and lamenting all the things he could be doing but isn't- and instead, concentrate on what YOU can do to help the victims.
you're a hypocrite.
Posted by: sarah | Sep 2, 2005 5:24:13 PM
An emergency deployment order must be made by the Commander in Chief...President Bush. In order for the Natl. Guard and active duty to deploy to that region, President Bush must give the go ahead. There is no reason why he should not have given the order to deploy the day the hurricane hit the shore line. I spent many years in the military and nothing moves faster when they are given the go ahead. It takes 22 hours to move the deployed force from home station to the desired location and it only takes that long to move them to an overseas location. In country, it should take no more than 12. BUT, giving Bushie the benefit of the doubt that there are no runways to fly planes onto to unload troops and supplies, it could take a couple days. There are several bases within a few hours drive of NO. All he had to do was pick up the phone, but he didn't. One good thing that is coming out of this is the fact that we get to re-elect some of our state officials next summer. I suggest you all carefully consider re-electing those that are supportive of the Iraq/Oil money machine that has taken over the United States Government.
Posted by: Captain Tripps | Sep 2, 2005 5:39:42 PM
Sarah, no one is blaming the President for the hurricaine. That would be stupid. And we already ARE talking about what we can do for the victims, which frankly is not much aside from donating to relief charities (unless you live close to New Orleans).
Criticizing the President for his administrations bungled response not inappropriate. It is very much a patriotic duty to hold our leaders responsible for carrying out their responsibilities. As Capt. Tripps (love that name) pointed out, the President was not quite "on the ball" with this, and the fact that the spin machines have been whirring makes this even more grotesque (on both sides).
I blindly supported Clinton for a small portion of his time in office, and I know the feelings of defensiveness that happen when others criticized him and the disillusionment that happened when I realized that some of those criticisms were well-deserved. You and some other Bush supporters might be feeling similarly, I don't know. But regardless, perhaps you can save your namecalling for another time.
Posted by: Brian | Sep 2, 2005 6:43:32 PM
cASSius, you just keep making a bigger and bigger ass of yourself. "...the poor moral fiber of those types of people who generally opted to stay in the city." You moron, it wasn't their moral fiber that was poor--THEY were/are poor. Roughly 27%--more than 1 out of 4 residents of New Orleans-- live below the poverty line. That, essentially, was one of the facts that Ted Koppel shoved back in FEMA Brown's dumb face last night when he said "We had no idea how many people would stay in the city." DUH. They had no cars or money for transportation out. You blame the mayor for not commandeering mass free transportation for them, but imply they're too unruly to have cooperated anyway. Typical of every slime ball, Republican or not, you want to find a fall guy to take the blame for Bagdad By The Bayou instead of the one ultimately responsible for any failing of federal response, The Great White Father [the whitest white man who ever lived], Nero of Crawford. The mayor's biggest failure: believing the Bush Posse would know what to do and when to do it. But, hey "KILL" the looters--as if they are the reason innocents are dying in the streets waiting, like the mayor, for food, water, medicine, shelter, from Smirk. And, finally, one thing, Bitch, even you have to agree with--Nagin has been THERE all this time, your hollow hero has not.
Posted by: Leland | Sep 2, 2005 6:54:25 PM
I am hoping that Cassius meant the poor moral fiber of the looters, and by looters I hope he's talking about the idiots taking televisions and crap. If I or my family hadn't had food or water in 4 days, I'd probably be "looting" Wal-Mart myself, so shoot me.
I think it's pretty clear that most of the people that stayed behind in New Orleans had little choice, and those of us that have the advantage of internet access and computers shouldn't judge them for that.
It is sad that the people that had the least to lose, lost the most in this disaster.
Posted by: bmw | Sep 2, 2005 7:52:37 PM
No Leland, it WAS their moral fiber that was poor. But don't take my word for it.. here is a quote about these people from YOUR HERO mayor Nagin himself. From the radio interview he recently gave:
"...And one of the things people -- nobody's talked about this. Drugs flowed in and out of New Orleans and the surrounding metropolitan area so freely it was scary to me, and that's why we were having the escalation in murders. People don't want to talk about this, but I'm going to talk about it.
You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will.
And right now, they don't have anything to take the edge off. And they've probably found guns. So what you're seeing is drug-starving crazy addicts, drug addicts, that are wrecking havoc. And we don't have the manpower to adequately deal with it. We can only target certain sections of the city and form a perimeter around them and hope to God that we're not overrun..."
I rest my case.
Posted by: CassiusSD | Sep 2, 2005 8:08:45 PM
Oh and in addition to resting my case...I should add that this Nagin quote shows why there SHOULD have a been a firm "You Loot, We Shoot" policy from the get go. Not only would shooting "drug-starving crazy addicts" who were seriously holding up FEMA operations been a live-saving measure right now...but a nice little post-disaster benefit to society as well.
Posted by: Cassius | Sep 2, 2005 8:45:36 PM
OMG more damning evidence against LELAND'S HERO, mayor Nagin, just in...LOOK at this picture:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050901/480/flpc21109012015
Now do the math (205 busses x 66 people = 13530 a trip...):
http://junkyardblog.net/archives/week_2005_08_28.html#004749
Not only am I now MORE convinced that LELAND'S HERO mayor Negin is the one MOST responsible for the tragedy in New Orleans, and not only am I MORE certain he should be removed from office immediately, before his incompetance casues any more human misery...but after this as all said and done, CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE charges against Negin for CAUSING THIS GENOCIDE should be SERIOUSLY entertained.
Posted by: Cassius | Sep 2, 2005 9:27:46 PM
cassius you need to shut the fuck up
Posted by: doug | Sep 2, 2005 10:05:10 PM
Can't stomach the truth, eh Doug?
Posted by: Cassius | Sep 2, 2005 10:10:47 PM
no i'm just completely disgusted by you and people like you.
there is a special place in heaven for you.
good night.
Posted by: doug | Sep 2, 2005 10:20:53 PM
and please keep going with the ALL CAPS. its hot!
Posted by: doug | Sep 2, 2005 10:30:37 PM
OK will DO! LOL!
Posted by: Cassius | Sep 2, 2005 10:58:12 PM
let's all pray.
Posted by: sam | Sep 3, 2005 1:01:42 AM
http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/ap/20050901/capt.flpc21109012015.hurricane_katrina_flpc211.jpg?x=380&y=235&sig=NbUvEfVIaferkxoZTiys0Q--
http://www.junkyardblog.net/images/NO-buses-satellite.jpg
That's the view of 205 city school buses, which are now flooded out. The sat picture shows a road to the north of the bus yard. The Superdome is nearby to the right and to the left leads out of the city. The city also owns 364 public transit buses.
Cue da mayor: "I need reinforcements," he pleaded. "I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man...
None of these buses left the city prior to the storm either with evacuees or to safe ground to be brought back in for rescue.
It gets better:
PDF the official southwest Louisiana evacuation plan:
http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/plans/EOPSupplement1a.pdf
Have a look at page 13, paragraph 5, which states: "The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating."
Yeah that worked out.
Then check out page 18, paragraph 2, a2 and a3. Page 21, paragraph c4 and page 29.
The definition of buses, staging area, mandatory and hurricane are open for debate.
You have a plan, you chuck the plan and then you blame someone else when all hell breaks loose.
Good plan.
BTW...do you know how much it probably cost the taxpayers of Louisana to come up with this plan?
Oh there's more:
While the mayor was ranting and raving on national TV about the crisis, a rescue bus was diverted from the Superdome and sent over to the Hyatt fucking Regency:
"The evacuation of Superdome refugees was interrupted briefly when school buses rolled up so some 700 guests and employees from the Hyatt hotel. They were move to the head of the line to be evacuated -- much to the amazement of those who had been crammed in the stinking Superdome for days.
The 700 had been trapped in the Hyatt just like the others, but conditions were considerably cleaner, even without running water, than the unsanitary crush inside the dome.
The mayor has used the hotel as a base since it is virtually across the street from city hall, and there were reports the hotel was cleared with priority to make room for police, firefighters and other officials.
A hotel guest said they would be taken to the airport, but that could not be confirmed. The Hyatt was severely damaged by the storm. Every pane of glass on the riverside wall was blown out."
http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3800783&nav=0n4Je5Tk
And finally:
Turns out they've never called for a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans before and Governor Blanco and the Mayor, who are responsible for those sort of things, were hesitating. Who called? The President. I guess he and FEMA assumed they'd follow their own fucking plan. Idiot.
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/index.ssf?base/news-18/1125239940201382.xml&storylist=louisiana
Posted by: Mitch | Sep 3, 2005 4:24:16 AM
Soon, we will hear two different death totals from Hurricane Katrina -- the
number of people killed by it and the number killed by slow response time.
If you want to know who the real incompetents are, there's an easy way to
tell. They're the ones Bush will be giving medals to over the next few months.
Posted by: Bill | Sep 3, 2005 5:21:14 AM
Bill, I actually predict there will be zero people found to be killed by slow federal resonse time.
OTOH, there will be THOUSANDS found to be killed by a TIMELY FEDERAL RESPONSE BEING MADE COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE due to the IDIOTIC decision of Ray Nagin to cram 10s of 1000s of poor people into the Superdome and Convention Center WITHOUT ADEQUATE FOOD, WATER and SANITATION...DESPITE a mandatory evacuation order FROM BUSH...while having 500+ BUSSES on hand before the hurricane to evacuate ALL the poor citizens from New Orleans EASILY...AS PER the city's VERY OWN evacuation plan WHICH NAGIN IGNORED.
And no, I don't think Bush will be giving the mayor a medal, so, I fear your conclusion is off base.
Posted by: Cassius | Sep 3, 2005 5:56:02 AM
Minorities and the poor always suffer the most. Sixty-seven percent of New Orleans residents are black. Nearly 30 percent of the city's population lives below the poverty line without the money or the means to leave town despite dire warnings.
If the racial composition had been different, would the Federal response have been so tardy?
Posted by: noir | Sep 3, 2005 8:42:29 AM
Step back and look what you have created, Andy. All of these great posts talking about a subject that is so significant on many levels. You should take a moment or two and get how proud you should be of what you have created and what you continue to provide. Thank you, Andy.
Posted by: Jake | Sep 3, 2005 8:52:10 AM
'Outside Brooklyn Law School yesterday, a man selling recordings of famous African-Americans was upset at the failure to have prepared for the worst. The man, who said his name was Muhammad Ali, drew a damning conclusion about the failure to protect New Orleans.
"Blacks ain't worth it," he said. "New Orleans is a hopeless case."'
New York Times, Sept 2, 2005
Posted by: tony | Sep 3, 2005 12:18:21 PM
yes, people are blaming the president, that's why i wrote my comment. scroll up and read some of the comments referring to president bush.
but also, i believe that everyone thought they had the hurricane damage under control until tuesday. wasn't it tuesday that the levees broke and everyone realized the extent of the damage. but maybe i'm wrong, i believe i remember reading that somewhere.
Posted by: sarah | Sep 3, 2005 1:17:28 PM
Jake, you're right. Andy should be proud. It gets heated in here sometimes and there can be some nasty name calling, but this is a great resource.
Posted by: Mitch | Sep 3, 2005 1:37:34 PM
It's possible that there was a racial bias in who was to actually be helped and who weren't then again, I doubt the conservatives won't acknowledge that. (I had to take a cheap shot)
But really, I ask for everyone on this board who can practice what they preach to go through their cabinets and closets and donate. My brother, who's in the military will be arriving their to help. Wish I could do something more like that though.
Posted by: Damon | Sep 3, 2005 4:05:25 PM
If what were plastered all over the media had been images of white senior citizens and babies dying and suffering in the streets and at the shelters, instead of African-Americans, the Bush administration would have been right there and then with all the help needed: National Guards, medical personnel, food, water, what-not.
Not 4 or 5 days after disaster struck.
This is as clear as the difference between day and night, between white and black.
Posted by: suresh | Sep 3, 2005 7:36:02 PM
Since a mostly white population of disaster victims would have been much less likely to impede rescue efforts by massive amounts looting and disorder by roving hoards of drug addicts "looking for something to take the edge of their jones" (see mayor Nagin quote above) as occured in New Orleans, yes, I am FORCED to agree with Suresh here. I suppose there WOULD have been a faster FEMA response time; yes, admittedly.
This is as clear as the difference between day and night, between white and black.
Posted by: Cassius | Sep 3, 2005 8:02:26 PM
So unbelievably racist Suresh. You have absolutely no evidence to back that up, nor do you place any blame with the elected government of New Orleans, which is predominantly black, and is largely responsible for the absolute bungling of their own evacuation plan.
If the Mayor had followed his own governments plan, virtually none of this would have happened.
If Bush were out to hurt the black people of New Orleans why did he convince the mayor and governor to call for a first ever mandatory evacuation? The wingnuts over at Huff Post are calling this an ethnic cleansing, but if that were true they would have never called for the evacuation to begin with.
Posted by: Mitch | Sep 3, 2005 8:10:05 PM
"No, Mr Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 per cent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing - NOTHING - to do with this!"
MIchael Moore, Open letter to Bush, published 3 Sept 2005, The Mirror, U.K.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15926351&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=an-open-letter-to-george-bush-from-fahrenheit-9-11-film-maker-michael-moore--name_page.html
Posted by: an outsider | Sep 3, 2005 9:05:04 PM
Watching the news coverage of New Orleans, turning into "Baghdad on the Bayou" is the most appalling thing I have seen come out ot the U.S. in years, How can the worlds largest and wealthiest nation not have forseen this! Unlike earthquakes agencies can "TRACK" Hurricanes for days on end, The Dept of Homeland Security and FEMA should have had a plan to bus the remaining citizens out before Katrina hit, rather than piling them into the "Sewerdome" without facilities to maintain any sort dignity that these people should have been accorded, They have already lost everything! Hell the terrorists in Guantamano Bay are given shelter, food, water and sanitary facilities, Obviously the Bush administration cares more about that image to the world that it can treat these people humanely as opposed to it's own citizens who have been left to rot in the heat and stink of what is now the worlds largest cesspool.
Help is on the way, CBC has reported that the Canadian Navy and Coast Guard has dispatched 4 ships to help the stricken area.
Canada may not be the Superpower the USA is, but we know compassion and how to help, We all look forward to the day New Orleans rises again, God Bless You
Posted by: Darrell | Sep 3, 2005 10:37:50 PM
Darell,
I've posted it earlier, but I'll give you a link so you can take a look at it.
http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/plans/EOPSupplement1a.pdf
Louisiana and New Orleans did have a plan. They didn't follow it. They didn't even try. In our federal system DHS and FEMA aren't responsible, and in fact, couldn't do what you suggest. It's illegal.
What happened before the hurricane, the failure to adequately prepare and evacuate, falls squarely on the mayor and governor. The inadequate response following the hurricane falls squarely on FEMA and the President.
Thank you Darrell for your nation's kind offer of help. Canada remains one of our nation's closest allies and your aid is appreciated.
Posted by: Mitch | Sep 3, 2005 10:53:55 PM
The people of Canada have already given over $1 million for Katrina relief.
Posted by: Mitch | Sep 3, 2005 10:56:05 PM
Bush's visit to 17th Street levee was a *staged* photo-op:
“But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast – black and white, rich and poor, young and old – deserve far better from their national government." - U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La
http://www.newschannel6.tv/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=8695
Posted by: suresh | Sep 4, 2005 4:41:29 AM
it makes me SICK whenever people compare bush and hitler. even if i didn't support bush, i would find it completely outrageous.
what is WRONG with all of you who like to compare THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT to a man who had MILLIONS OF PEOPLE murdered? because of their ethnicity?
even if you say, "well you can compare bush to hitler because bush started a war that killed millions of people," that wouldn't be a logical comparison because bush didn't start the war due to ETHNICITY. he started it because he wished to dislodge a murderer from his position as ruler of a country- a murderer who had thousands of dead people thrown into a mass grave. and i understand this is entirely my opinion here, but i honestly do believe bush thought there were weapons of mass destruction and it was better to be safe than sorry.
if you really do feel like you are making a just choice in comparing president bush to dictator adolf hitler, you need to take a step back. maybe you should read your history books a little more, so you can fully understand what hitler did. i haven't seen bush ordering anybody to throw a baby into the air and shoot it, and i'm sure that would've been posted in the media.
bush is not a dictator. i can acknowledge that he makes some seriously bad decisions that even i, w/no advisors and many years less, can understand to be poor decisions. he is not infinitely cruel or a sociopath. and to compare your president to a dictator, especially adolf hitler? that's sick.
Posted by: sarah | Sep 4, 2005 1:20:30 PM
i don't want 2 live in new orleans at this moment :S
let's make something to help them!!
Posted by: Job | Sep 4, 2005 1:22:15 PM
Suresh,
Harry Shearer over at Huff Post has commented on Landrieu's bit of hyperbole and noted that the video he's seen doesn't qui