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Posted on 09/02/2005 3:03:06 PM PDT by NautiNurse
Oh my gosh, you saw her, too? She needed Valium or a slap to the face to stop her crazy tirade. I was embarrased for her.
The Times-Picayune of New Orleans on Sunday published its third print edition since the hurricane disaster struck, chronicling the arrival, finally, of some relief but also taking President Bush to task for his handling of the crisis, and calling for the firing of FEMA director Michael Brown and others.
In an "open letter" to the president, published on page 15 of the 16-page edition, the paper said it still had grounds for "skepticism" that he would follow through on saving the city and its residents. It pointed out that while the government could not get supplies to the city numerous TV reporters, singer Harry Connick and Times-Picayune staffers managed to find a way in.
Here is the text.
***
We heard you loud and clear Friday when you visited our devastated city and the Gulf Coast and said, "What is not working, we’re going to make it right."
Please forgive us if we wait to see proof of your promise before believing you. But we have good reason for our skepticism.
Bienville built New Orleans where he built it for one main reason: It’s accessible. The city between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain was easy to reach in 1718.
How much easier it is to access in 2005 now that there are interstates and bridges, airports and helipads, cruise ships, barges, buses and diesel-powered trucks.
Despite the city’s multiple points of entry, our nation’s bureaucrats spent days after last week’s hurricane wringing their hands, lamenting the fact that they could neither rescue the city’s stranded victims nor bring them food, water and medical supplies.
Meanwhile there were journalists, including some who work for The Times-Picayune, going in and out of the city via the Crescent City Connection. On Thursday morning, that crew saw a caravan of 13 Wal-Mart tractor trailers headed into town to bring food, water and supplies to a dying city.
Television reporters were doing live reports from downtown New Orleans streets. Harry Connick Jr. brought in some aid Thursday, and his efforts were the focus of a "Today" show story Friday morning.
Yet, the people trained to protect our nation, the people whose job it is to quickly bring in aid were absent. Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach.
We’re angry, Mr. President, and we’ll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry. Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been were not. That’s to the government’s shame.
Mayor Ray Nagin did the right thing Sunday when he allowed those with no other alternative to seek shelter from the storm inside the Louisiana Superdome. We still don’t know what the death toll is, but one thing is certain: Had the Superdome not been opened, the city’s death toll would have been higher. The toll may even have been exponentially higher.
It was clear to us by late morning Monday that many people inside the Superdome would not be returning home. It should have been clear to our government, Mr. President. So why weren’t they evacuated out of the city immediately? We learned seven years ago, when Hurricane Georges threatened, that the Dome isn’t suitable as a long-term shelter. So what did state and national officials think would happen to tens of thousands of people trapped inside with no air conditioning, overflowing toilets and dwindling amounts of food, water and other essentials?
State Rep. Karen Carter was right Friday when she said the city didn’t have but two urgent needs: "Buses! And gas!" Every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially.
In a nationally televised interview Thursday night, he said his agency hadn’t known until that day that thousands of storm victims were stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. He gave another nationally televised interview the next morning and said, "We’ve provided food to the people at the Convention Center so that they’ve gotten at least one, if not two meals, every single day."
Lies don’t get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President.
Yet, when you met with Mr. Brown Friday morning, you told him, "You’re doing a heck of a job."
That’s unbelievable.
There were thousands of people at the Convention Center because the riverfront is high ground. The fact that so many people had reached there on foot is proof that rescue vehicles could have gotten there, too.
We, who are from New Orleans, are no less American than those who live on the Great Plains or along the Atlantic Seaboard. We’re no less important than those from the Pacific Northwest or Appalachia. Our people deserved to be rescued.
No expense should have been spared. No excuses should have been voiced. Especially not one as preposterous as the claim that New Orleans couldn’t be reached.
Mr. President, we sincerely hope you fulfill your promise to make our beloved communities work right once again.
When you do, we will be the first to applaud.
What I like is how he specifically zeroes in on some goofy comment or charge by Geraldo and systematically refutes it, pointing out that Geraldo's statement is wrong. Excellent!
Like to know what's in the General's head that he won't share with the junior correspondent.
she ought to be ashamed of herself. she comes to this country, gets access to the best plastic surgeons in the world to reconstruct her face, makes millions of dollars here, and then trashes the US military.
The "historian" Douglas Brinkley. What the hell was he doing there?!!!
I contacted some family members in Mobile and found out that it was hit harder there than I thought. The first floor of the downtown convention center was flooded and it was starting to flood on the second.
Both my relatives had trees fall on their houses and suffered structural damage. Electicity was turned on yesterday for one of them. The other gota few days earlier. I heard the battleship was moved off it's moorings. I'm trying to get a better feel for the damage in that area. My relatives from New Orleans are in Mobile. I imagine their home was flooded.
It pointed out that while the government could not get supplies to the city numerous TV reporters, singer Harry Connick and Times-Picayune staffers managed to find a way in.
Anti Moonbat, Anti MSM Sarcasm Torpedo ARMED. FIRE!!
Perhaps these moonbats would care to publicize how many cases of MRE's and how many bottles of drinkable water Harry Connick, Jr. brought in?
And perhaps they would like to point out the TITANIC rescue efforts undertaken by many of the luminaries, such as Sean Penn?
Did you hear Blanco at one of her pressers last week. A reporter asked her about the toxic soup water condition and she blankly looked at him and said "It's just water, from the storm and rain, what do you mean"?
I think back to all those debates I watched of her and Jindal and how stupid she was and am still so amazed she got elected.
I think she is amazed as well! Little Ms. Puppet....
You're going to love this: guess who was with him: DOUGLAS BRINKLEY!!!
Guess he must have finished examining all Kerry's Form 180 records.
he lives in New Orleans - he evacuated at the very last minute, he said he was one of the last cars driving on the interstate out of there.
Sometimes my fellow Americans are so stupid that I am ashamed.
Oprah to the Rescue!
and we now descend into the silly, Dr. Phil babbling, Oprah.....
I suppose we will shortly see the Katrina Aid wristbands at the check out counter...with matching magnetic ribbon for the car, all for only 19.99.
When did everything get so ridiculious in this country?
Honestly, it's like I'm living in a nation half full of Middle School girls sometimes...let's all cry and hug and then find someone to blame.
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