Posted on 09/04/2005 3:48:32 PM PDT by Sonar5
Jesse Jackson said today that the NO victims should receive the same compensation as the 911 victims did. Every family who lost someone in the TT got one million dollars + from the federal government. (you do recall that detail don't you) JJ wants the same for all from the Katrina disaster.
This is pretty symbolic of the whole problem. Tragic as Broussard's story was, the fact that an emergnecy management official left his own mother in a nursing home in the direct path of a hurricane (St. Bernard's parish) is indicative of everything that wrong here. Nagin is certainly to blame, but so are those in the parishes of Plaquimines and St. Bernards, along with the counties of Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson in Mississippi. In all incidents there were paltry (indeed non-existent) efforts to evacuate those who could not do so themselves. This despite over 48 hours in which forecasts put them in the cross-hairs of a category 4/5 hurricane. By leaving thousands upon thousands in areas so close to sea-level, it completely plugged up all subsequent rescue and relief efforts by local, state, and federal officials.
Parish Presidents were Signatories on the Emergency Evacuation Plan for their area. They are as Complicit in this as the Mayor and Governor.
no comment.
ugh
As for the MSM, which I'm watching as I reply, the Rathergate affair simply earned a few employees early retirement but the style and intent hasn't changed one iota.
I just finished watching Scot Peley (sp?) manipulating the mayor of New Orleans to slam and bash the Bush administration. The bashing was a bit more subtle than the Rather style but the interview was still a heavily edited, partisan, political piece cloaked in the sorrow of a disaster utilizing an unsophisticated, local administrator/victim, without shame.
As to defending the Bush administration, I don't think they need the help. From my perspective President Bush is doing fine. He's delivering an honest message of help and hope and staying out of the blame game. The administration's detractors are well know political hacks who's tirades are being amplified by the MSM. Their bickering is being increasing recognized as political posturing by the electorate and their credibility is decreasing as emphasized by their decreasing viwership/subscriptions.
President Bush's popularity, which is surprisingly strong in view of his lame duck status under of a barrage of unprecedented, continuous, savage, political assassination attempts, is testament to his abilities to defend himself.
You have to work pretty hard to make people feel sorry for right-wing radio talk show host Robert Namer, so give Orleans Levee Board president James Huey his due. Back in 1997, Huey was so upset about Namer's incessant on-air tirades against the Levee Board that he unilaterally authorized board attorneys to hire private dicks to get embarrassing information on Namer. As if Namer's reputation as a political gadfly weren't enough to discredit him, Huey felt the need to (in the words of his former "confidential assistant" Vincent Bruno) "neutralize" Namer. Per the longstanding Levee Board policy of financing dumb ideas, Huey paid the gumshoes with public funds -- through the board's legal department -- but without telling other board members. After a year, the "investigators" produced nothing. In fact, the probe has become a laughingstock. The tab for the detectives and the attorneys overseeing them came to roughly $45,000. Details of Namergate came to light only recently when the Louisiana Weekly got hold of a sworn deposition by Bruno, whom Huey fired after Bruno admitted to The Times-Picayune that he did nothing to earn his $50,000-a-year salary. Whatever Bruno did or didn't do for his salary, he at least paid attention, for he provided some titillating details about the Namer "investigation" in his testimony. He also admitted that no one ever asked whether spying on Namer had anything to do with flood protection.
http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2001-08-28/politics.html
Followed by this one;
Fax Shows State Agency Tried To Use FCC To Silence Namer Documents obtained early Thursday morning reveal that senior Levee District personnel attempted to use information obtained in their investigations of talk show host Robert Namer to undermine his standing with the Federal Communications Commission. In a fax dated January 7, 1998, Gary Beniot, the Senior In-House Council authorized Gerry Metzger, the Board's outside special council "to proceed with the complaint to the FCC" on any violations of FCC protocols. As Benoit wrote, "Additionally, it is my opinion that O[rleans]L[evee]D[istrict] Government officials have a duty to report violations of Federal law to the appropriate officials." According to Namer attorney Bob Harvey, this is true. "Yes, they can, if they learn of them through ordinary sources." However, explained, Harvey, if the administrators use extraordinary methods to obtain the information they must have a letter of approval from the Attorney General authorizing the expenditure of the hourly legal fees and approval from a majority of the levee board commissioners.
http://www.louisianaweekly.com/weekly/news/articlegate.pl?20010827j
These guys are dirty. This is the story here. The levee board members are appointed by the govenor.
What did Blanco do several times now? Seems like she issued a whole bevy of Executive Orders. Me wonders why these two people are engaging in beauracracy in their own state?
What was Charles Melancon's gripe on Nightline Friday night? Oh, well, gee, something about Blanco not filling out the forms correctly or something. Ted Koppel was asking who's responsibility it was to evacuate the people, who's responsiblity was it to ensure food, water and toilette facilities at the Superdome? Who's responsibility was it to ensure that protocol and procedure was followed such that there's be no question concerning Posse Comitatus - which Ted emphatically declared Melancon would be the first to protest about and that Melancon damn well knows it. Melancon said the whole circumstances were ridiculous. This is an emergency, you don't sit around dotting the I's and crossing the T's, you send EVERYTHING.
Interesting that Louisiana officials are obsessed with their own worthless bearacracy. That its worthless is eminently evident from the esteemed (not) Mary Landrieu's comments:
"If one person criticizes [our sheriffs], or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me - one more word about it after this show airs and I - I might likely have to punch him - literally," Landrieu railed on "ABC's "This Week." The threat of physical violence, by the party that protests violence is not the solution to anything.
That pretty much sums up the caliber, class and quality of Louisiana's elected officials. I just can't fathomn why both the Mayor and the Gov felt it so necessary to follow protocol, procedures as dictated by Louisiana beauracracy, after all, it was an emergency and action is just taken, is it not? Aaron Broussard (Parish President) says on national TV that beauracracy is murding his citizens. But interestingly enough, Broussard knows the beauracracy sufficiently well (or not well enough as the case may be) to get himself subpeanad and indicted (along with a Parish judge) 18 Aug 05 for corruption and bribery.
You know what the top nut on the fruit cake is? Blanco appoints as her emergency response advisor, none other than former FEMA head, and Clinton appointee James Lee Witt. And not just a former FEMA head, but the very person who crafted the very beauracracy that was absolutely not followed whatsoever. On 3 Jun 04, IEM, Inc., a Baton Rouge-based emergency management and homeland security consultant, announced they will lead the development of a catastrophic hurricane disaster plan for Southeast Louisiana and the City of New Orleans under a more than half a million dollar contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In making the announcement today on behalf of teaming partners Dewberry, URS Corporation and James Lee Witt Associates, IEM Director of Homeland Security Wayne Thomas explained that the development of a base catastrophic hurricane disaster plan has urgency due to the recent start of the annual hurricane season which runs through November.
All that notwithstanding, what is the one thing Blanco did not do? That's right, not cooperate sufficiently with the established protocols, and procedures of the very beauracracy that FEMA is required by Law to follow. These people are either incredibly, monumentally, and collosally stupid, or they're wise as serpents, and sly as fox in the chicken coop.
Katleen et al rolled the dice and would have won; but the levee was snake-eyes. I heard on the news Mon/Tues am that there was a small barge that was in the canal that broke loose and that is what broke through the levee (anyone else hear same).
Negligent homicide. Nagin and Blancco are going to see a lot of wrongful death lawsuits.
Bump
Wonderful post of invaluable information. Columnist Rick Casey of the Houston Chronicle wrote today that there was no plan for the evacuation of poor people and that it was "no accident", implying that the powers that be decided to let poor people die.
Just grabbed a bit more info on our crying Jefferson Parish President Broussard who has been on PMSNBC all day.
I also believe he may have been negligent in his failure to do his duty under the Emergency Plan as required under the Stafford Laws.
From:
Dated August 24, 2005. (Interesting date)
http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/library-87/1124865558219740.xml?nola
"Others who acknowledged receipt of grand jury subpoenas in recent days were Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard and Metairie lawyer David Sherman, subpoenaed because of their official roles in Hand's campaigns, lawyers close to the case have said. Metairie lawyer Gerald Nielsen also got a subpoena because of his role in Chehardy's campaigns, his attorney said."
Well, I hope you send this along to him.
Or Post his email address from the Article, and a few Freepers can send him the info.
There was a partial mobilization, though I don't think it was very big. The security at the SuperDome Sunday night was handled by a (regrettably small) contingent of the Guard.
Excellent info.....
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=5th&navby=case&no=0130728cv0
excerpt: With regard to the more general question of the levee district's budget, the Orleans Levee District receives very little funding from the state. The levee district generates its own revenues from the Lakefront airport, a casino, leases of property, fees from boatslips and marinas, and taxes. The district also receives income from various investment accounts currently worth $57 million. The levee board does not dispute these facts. At oral argument, counsel for the levee board pointed out that the district receives some state funds, even though they are usually in the form of capital outlays dedicated to specific projects. Because the state funds are already earmarked for other purposes, the state monies cannot be used to pay a judgment against the levee district. See Hudson, 174 F.3d at 688-89.
Thank You.
Just what I was looking for.
STOP! STOP!
You're making sense! That's wrong!
No matter what, it's Bush's fault, get with it man.
Red6
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