Just reported on Britt Hume's show

FNC

[carlr]

Major Garrett is talking with Britt and reported that a Red Cross representative told him the LA state homeland security department refused them permission to take food and water to the Superdome because they did`nt want to encourage people to go there.
They wanted to get people out and were afraid that providing support would be a "magnet" atttracting more displaced persons.

To paraphrase,the state was looking to discourage people through hardship out of the Superdome.All the aid in the world wouldnt have gotten through.

[JFC]

The Gov and Mayor of N.O... are CROOKS!~

[CommieCutter]

All the homeless say.....
We don't need another Naaagin
We don't need to know the waaay home
All we want is what we got...
Thunderdome.

LOL!!

Could you see parody's of the movie?
All the people whorsiping drawings of Mayor Nagin in Thunderdome in hopes of a rescue. Then some of the kids find Jesse Jackson passed out on a bridge and bring him back. When he's brought back the people chant : NAAGGANN, NAAAGAAN.
Then they say, "We studied the escape route Nagin" "We listened and 'memba'd,.. we 'memba'd it all Nagin". "Now we ready.... to go on the buses you promised."
NAAGAAN
NAAGAAN
NAAGAAN

[carlr]

I just remembered,last week when Shep Smith had his meltdown last week wasn`t one of his complaints that he has not seen any Red Cross vehicles since he had been there.

[PhatHead]

"...the mayor of New Orleans knew the Superdome was going to be a refuge, no matter how much they denied it..."

Knew it? Despite the pictures of swamped buses, Nagin had people bused to the Superdome, as reported by the AP on August 28th:

"Conceding that as many as 100,000 inner-city residents didn't have the means to leave and an untold number of tourists were stranded by the closing of the airport, the city arranged buses to take people to 10 last-resort shelters, including the Superdome."

And the governor, despite some reports, did have the National Guard on hand prior to the hurricane, as well. They were at the Superdome, patting people down for weapons before allowing them to enter!

Further, the Superdome evacuation began on August 31st (again, thanks, AP.)

Not trying to defend Nagin here, but while the Feds certainly knew that there were people at the Superdome and Convention Center, those were clearly designated by local authorities as shelters. It would have been an outrageous waste of resources to start pulling people out of shelters, when the primary focus the first few days was to rescue those in immediate jeopardy and putting htme into shelters. And, as has been well documented elsewhere, Lousiana authorities had not asked for Federal intervention yet (although, according to AP again, the White House had decided by Wednesday the 31st, that they ought to have done so.

According to Nagin's current account of the meeting between Bush and Blanco, this must have been around the time that Bush laid out options for Blanco, begging her to do something.

But Nero Blanco fiddled...

[dfwgator]

Blanco hates black people, pass it on. Heck, even her name in Spanish means "White."

[Americanwolf]

Well the more that I hear from the Gov... she is certianly a little power hungry... in her interview ealier on fox she she was in a power play with the mayor of NO as to weather the evacs should be mandatory...

So she is still willing to put peope in danger for her own purposes... if I were the Gov I would have cede control had the area evac'd and worried about the political implication later... this could border on neglagence...or deriliction of duty as head of Lousiana gov

[PhatHead]

Blanco hates black people, pass it on. Heck, even her name in Spanish means "White."

ROFL!

Kanye West: Call your office...

[lstanle]

"I just remembered,last week when Shep Smith had his meltdown last week wasn`t one of his complaints that he has not seen any Red Cross vehicles since he had been there."

I remember the Shep Smith meltdown, but I don't remember hearing him mention the Red Cross. I remember him saying that someone should get some water and food to the poor people at such and such an intersection of the highway he was on. If the state officials had allowed it he could have been dodging Red Cross trucks while he was having his meltdown.

[milagro]

I love it! Of course, we'd have to have a cameo appearance by Mel Gibson!

[LucyJo]

Interesting reading here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Nagin

Nagin was Republican and changed to Dem to run for Mayor of NO.

[carlr]

It may not have been Smith but I heard someone complaining that they had`nt seen any Red Cross vehicles and they could`nt understand why.It was done in an accusatory fashion as well.
Perhaps another reason the Red Cross has decided to defend itself.

[CedarDave]

Red Cross on Larry King told Jesse Jackson they were refused because it was too dangerous. This was last week. So which is it?

This will be the RATs out for the Red Cross not coming to provide food and water, even to the SD and Convention Center which had a minimum LEO presence from the cops/national guard. Of course, there was no LEO problem, at least not initially, on the I-10 elevated section. But that one excuse will continually be trumpeted to the MSM and used by them because they don't want to hear that their hero's have failed them and not FEMA or the Bush administration.

[Roccus]

I think that was Joe Scarborough and he was in Biloxi. He also complained tonight that FEMA set-up a command post 'a 15min. car drive from the most devastated area.'
Of course, that was after he reminded us that "...I spent four days on the ground..."
It is all about him, doncha know.

[PhatHead]

Very interesting - Nagin endorsed Blanco's Republican opponent in last year's gubernatorial election, also.

I hesitate to say it, but the more I read, the less I blame Nagin. He clearly lost his cool, appeared whiny at times when the crisis called for strong, visible leadership, and appears to have failed to execute the published plan. But it is not true that he did not use the city buses (he used them to take people as far as the Superdome,) and he appears to have been unaware that the governor was actively preventing aid from being delivered to the convention center and superdome.

In the best of times, New Orleans is a dirty, crime-ridden, corrupt town. Throw in a hurricane, and, well, what do you expect?

Instinctively, I would throw in with the 38% who told Gallup "nobody is to blame" for problems in the aftermath of Katrina. How could they be? It is the single largest natural catastrophe in our nation's history.

But the more I read, it truly appears that Gov. Blanco's administration took active steps to hinder relief and rescue efforts.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[LucyJo]

I doubt we'll ever know all that went on behind the scenes, but Blanco certainly had the power to over-rule any decision made by Nagin. I saw another thread title posted here mentioning that Blanco had rescinded Nagin's order to evacuate...going to look it up and find out what I can there as well.

He has said and done some unwise things, but I'd like to know "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey says.

[PhatHead]

He has said and done some unwise things, but I'd like to know "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey says.

Agreed. I am a bit encouraged that some of the stories are already starting to come out and the Bush-blaming is being pushed farther to the fringe. I think that some of the hysteria by people like Shephed Smith, and others who were on the scene at the Convention Center help fuel the worst attacks from the anti-Bush fringe. But some of the journalists' complaints were, I think, a bit of failing to see the forest for the trees. they were in the midst of some people in truly deplorable conditions, but they could not have seen the truly herculean effort underway across 90,000 square miles, seeking out, feeding and rescuing many thousands who were in immeidate peril.

The MSM, for it spart, may (may) have learned a lesson from memogate, and is starting (I think) to back-pedal just a bit from Bush-bashing and starting to report the real stories.

(he posted, hopefully...)

[CharlesWayneCT]

OH MY!!!

I remember this story. It says "Federal officials", but the Red Cross quote just says "Homeland Security".

The reporter must have assumed the federal department of Homeland Security.

But now we know the Red Cross meant the STATE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.

Think we'll see a correction from this paper?

[LucyJo]

There are a few among them that can engender hope at times, but their natural inclination is to see things from a liberal viewpoint. They usually will not report the whole truth until it has become so obvious that it can't be denied, and even then some of them report it reluctantly and defensively. The good thing is that the truth eventually does get out to the public. Thank goodness for the "alternative" news sources that force their hands toward complete and accurate stories.

[STARWISE]

Boy ... corruption is like their other religtion down there in "N'awlins."

Connick Defends Decision In Corruption Probe - Mayor Says Taped Confession Speaks Loud And Clear

NEW ORLEANS -- The war of words continues over District Attorney Harry Connick's refusal of charges in the city corruption case.

On Friday, Connick rolled out what he said were the case files for 53 suspects in the Taxicab Bureau sting -- cases his office refused because of an alleged lack of evidence.

Previously Connick said he was not informed of the police department's investigation of City Hall, but on Friday said that police investigators consulted with his office several weeks prior to the raids that netted more than 80 suspects.

"I was aware of it, but not the details of it," Connick said. "But let me bring it back to them. They're not going to get by or accuse me and my office of authorizing unlawful arrests, unsupported by any evidence or any documents."

Mayor Ray Nagin said he found the process puzzling.

"The (arrest) dealing with my cousin, the guy was on tape admitting what he'd done," Nagin said. "So I'm having a hard time understanding our legal system."

Charges against Nagin's cousin, Brad Nagin, were among those refused by Connick's office.

==========================================

Meanwhile, it looks like government corruption is on the retreat—in New Orleans of all places. The police moved to shut down rackets involving the hack bureau and automotive inspection stations. When the cops nabbed a son of new Mayor Ray Nagin’s cousin, the arrestee said, “You can’t touch me.” Hizzoner replied, “Nobody is immune from this.” There’s hope yet, America.