New Orleans Mayor and Governor Blanco are incompetent (Vanity)

[CobaltBlue]

The Army Corps of Engineers are a federal agency -- not state or local.

So the failure to plan adequately for public works projects solely under their jurisdiction CAN and SHOULD be laid at their doorstep, as well as Congress and the Executive.

"The buck stops there."

There is plenty of blame to go around. Not blaming the government for the natural disaster but poor planning and poor execution.

[Congressman Billybob]

Fixed the link. Here it is:

Congressman Billybob

Latest column: "The Dutch Solution to the New Orleans Problem"

[Alberta's Child]

I've been under the impression that those 100,000 people didn't get stuck in New Orleans because of too much traffic on the bridges. They got stuck in New Orleans because: 1) they didn't have cars; or 2) they had cars but didn't want to leave.

If what I've seen posted here on FR is correct, Point #2 even includes people who got into their cars and drove to the Superdome!

[hatfieldmccoy]

Wow, further evidence that great minds... I've been watching the video feed on the web from WWL TV at times since Sunday. Both the NO mayor and the Gov had and have that deer in the headlights look. I saw the Lady Gov. in several interviews and news conf. break down in tears and repeat over and over "the situation is untenable" Now that's real leadership! Ex Mayor Rudy needs to go down and take charge of Louisiana

[Brooklyn Kid]

I just finished reading it. Thanks.
You have some good solutions, but I'm sure the problem is $$$.
Better not to rebuild homes there at all, and turn it into a theme park.

[t2buckeye]

Excellent point! I was wondering the same thing. I know that in Florida and elsewhere (I think in Mississippi) they had ALL routes going away from town. But when I watched the live coverage of NO, I heard them SAY that they were going to do that...but never saw it.

[PhiKapMom]

Exactly! This governor is clueless!

[river rat]

One must keep in mind, that both the Mayor and Governor are DEMOCRATS.... That drastically reduces the pool of candidates in LA to the "less than gifted" category of typical Democrat base constituency...
As a result -- both are glad handing, smiley faced incompetent jackasses and incapable of dealing with adversity --- as was our last Democrat President....or the one before him - Carter..

The primary "base" of the LA Democrat party, is currently looting the city or demanding the city do for them what they can't/won't do for themselves...

The cradle to grave mentality, is exactly what the Democrat strategy has created..........a totally inept, incompetent and dependent base of instantly potential criminals...

Too many African Americans are STILL chained and enslaved on the Democrat "plantation", and the whole country is the worse for it.....

Semper Fi

[Torie]

Misogynist.

[wardaddy]

Hey

I read Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them

...twice

[backhoe]

And just a question that maybe someone can answer. When they showed the traffic leaving NO, the inbound lanes were vacant...why didn't they open both sides of the road and have all roads exiting out?

Funny, that's the first thing my wife ( who I'd trust with my own life or with running the country... ) noticed, too.

[ovrtaxt]

Ah yes, the mayor. I had a bad feeling about all this when I saw his press conference before the storm hit.

I thought he looked like an MTV award recipient, with his posse and all.

[newfrpr04]

I was listening to the Governor of Texas who withing 48 had the Houston Astrodome equipped to deal with 25-30,000 people including medical facility, and all the neccessary items to maintain this large # of people. LA or the City of New Orleans didn't seem to be prepared at all.

Surfing channels - CBS made it a point to interview noting but complainer, demanding, expecting and stating that when hurricane hit Flordia, government, and everybody dropped what they were to help Florida, but because we are poor and black they don't care... on and on. City officials for NO did a lousy job making sure the elderly and poor were taken care.

The complainers are the ususal rift-raft that are the users of the system who took advantage of the situation . Jeb Bush, Mississippi did what needed to be done.

[t2buckeye]

EXACTLY RIGHT! Where were the officials of New Orleans in terms of enforcing the mandatory evacuation??? The mayor said, "Everybody leave" but apparently did NOTHING to get the people out. They kept saying that the poor couldn't get out because they didn't have cars...so why didn't they use school buses, other buses to get them out?

[newfrpr04]

I don't think I have seen any of NO officials out and about talking or reassuring the people. Except for the Lt.Gov who said her husband was out their pulling dead people out of water. It's really maddening that they weren't better prepared. Oh gosh.. diane sawyer is just interviewing President Bush. She is so full of bs.

[Ruth C]

I believe that the Army Corps of Engineers works with the projects developed by whatever county, city, etc. They work in consultation, what the area wants, how to achieve it. That doesn't mean they, or whatever Federal bureaus, politicians etc., don't hold a responsiblity, but I think you also have to look at State and City.

I'd like to know more about: 1. the development and building of such things, who is involved who pays and therefore decides the level of the construction, and 2. when were those particular projects done, when did they start having questions as to beyond category 3 storms problems.

I keep hearing '63 or so when those particular levees are mentioned. The Saffir - Simpson scale which developed the categories and their destruction didn't even exist in '63. That was sometime in the early 70s and I have no idea when it was an 'accepted' scale. Ruth