The AP: Never Have So Few Kept So Many in the Dark for So Long

Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 17 September 2005 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob)

[Congressman Billybob]

With the all-but-corporate death of the UPI, the AP is the main American source for news in the United States. Associated Press articles are mindlessly quoted by newspapers across the nation. Many local radio and TV stations rip and read either directly from the AP, or indirectly from local newspapers which use the AP.

Therefore, it’s reprehensible that the AP, three weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit, has not found out that there WAS an Evacuation Plan for New Orleans and southern Louisiana which was not followed. The Plan is on the Internet and available to anyone who can push a few buttons.

Yet here is the lede of an AP story today (17 September) by Rita Beamish:

“As far back as eight years ago, Congress ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan for evacuating New Orleans during a massive hurricane, but the money instead went to studying the causeway bridge that spans the city's Lake Pontchartrain, officials say.”

The article noted that “Congress... ordered ‘an evacuation plan for a Category 3 or greater storm, a levee break, flood or other natural disaster for the New Orleans area.’ The $500,000 that Congress appropriated for the evacuation plan went to a commission that studied future options for the 24-mile bridge over Lake Pontchartrain....”

Source: http://ap.onlineathens.com/pstories/20050917/3296346.shtml

The entire article is about this particular fraud in using public money for the wrong purpose in New Orleans. That subject is hardly news; it is so ordinary that it’s barely worth mentioning. However, the reporter ignored the existing Evacuation Plan, and by implication suggests there was no Plan. That was, at best, journalistic incompetence by the reporter and her editors.

To review the existing Evacuation Plan, and consider whether New Orleans Mayor Nagin should be prosecuted for manslaughter for failing follow it, go here: (You will then be far better informed than the AP and all who depend on it.)

Source: http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=16687

While we’re on the subject of FEMA and corruption in New Orleans, I received an e-mail at 2:42 a.m. this morning from Terry L. Hildebrand, writing for James Lee Witt and responding to a prior Newsbusters article, “James Lee Witt, Governor Blanco’s Paid Liar,” 4 September, found here: http://newsbusters.org/node/927

Mr. Hildebrand represented that, “According to Witt's spokesperson, James Lee Witt Associates continues to be fraudulently listed on IEM's web site as a team partner for the over $500,000 FEMA contract work. The IEM press release that contains the erroneous information has been disappearing and reappearing, another sign of something suspicious with IEM.”

“IEM, which is an 8-A minority-owned firm, apparently used Witt's name as a ‘buy in’ ploy to lock in the FEMA contract.... After IEM began the work on the FEMA contract, it never once used Witt's company and did not pay it one cent.”

If these statements are true, then James Lee Witt is aware of a half-million dollar fraud on FEMA that he has not reported to any authorities for investigation and prosecution. While this e-mail refers to Witt as “likely America's most effective FEMA Director,” it calls this Witt-FEMA story “an oobscure (sic) fact few people know or care about.”

I disagree. If Witt was involved deliberately or fraudulently, in a half-million dollar fraud on FEMA concerning New Orleans, I’d think an enterprising reporter would ask a question or two of Mr. Witt. I understand he can be reached care of Governor Blanco of Louisiana.

John_Armor@aya.yale.edu

[Congressman Billybob]

This is, IIRC, the first time I've ever clicked the button for "Breaking News." The reason is that part of this story is a "confession" on behalf of James Lee Witt, which I received in a private e-mail a 2:42 this a.m.

I Googled Hildebrand so I have a reasonable idea of who he is (a leftist Clintonista). But I'd appreciate more information on him from those who've followed his trail.

John / Billybob

[dr_who_2]

The AP does nothing more than produce press releases for the Democrats.

[cgk]

BTTT

[onyx]

http://ap.onlineathens.com/pstories/20050917/3296346.shtml

[Jim_Curtis]

Tell Bush to ban them from the White House grounds and issue a press release listing all of their deceptions and exclusions. This would destroy AP.

[msnimje]

Every time I hear "AP" I think "A$$HOLE PRESS"

[Republican Wildcat]

Are you sure it isn't the other way around?

[Mamzelle]

Bump--rather daring! Is there a La. ping list?

[Unicorn]

BTTT

[msnimje]

If this is true, is it possible Witt was not really hired by Blanco to protect and serve her.
Was he forced upon her by the Klintons to have him close to the spin machine in an attempt to protect these and other frauds?

[msnimje]

The Impeach Blanco site has a video clip of her admitting she should have asked fo the Nationa Guard earlier. Also lots of other great stuff.



http://www.impeachblanco.org/

[lilylangtree]

As far back as 9 years ago puts it under the clintoonian administration and under Witt, the latter now working for the state govt the money went to. HHHmmmmmnnnnn!!!

[dixiechick2000]

Ping AP for me, will ya'?
Tell 'em we found it for 'em.

Official State Of Louisiana Emergency Operations Plan January 2000 (supplement--Evacuation Plan)

[MEG33]

Indeed...

[jdm]

City of New Orleans removes evacuation plan from website

[dr_who_2]

If I'd meant to state it that way, I would have. But I didn't.

[dixiechick2000]

"The IEM press release that contains the erroneous information has been disappearing and reappearing, another sign of something suspicious with IEM.”


The last press release I can find on their website
is dated February 16, 2005.

[Congressman Billybob]

The press release referred to is the one that I noted was changed, which announced the IEM contract award in 2004. Originally it announced that James Lee Witt Associates was a "partner" in the project.

AFTER my article on Witt, the original 2004 release got modified. The date was the same, but a footnote appeared, claiming that Witt Associates were not involved in carrying out the project. I have in hand screen captures of the release, before and after it was mysteriously changed. LOL.

John / Billybob

[aimhigh]

You've all heard of a military coup. This is a media coup.

[dixiechick2000]

Ohhhh...I see.
Thank you for the clarification.


"AFTER my article on Witt, the original 2004 release got modified. The date was the same, but a footnote appeared, claiming that Witt Associates were not involved in carrying out the project. I have in hand screen captures of the release, before and after it was mysteriously changed."


LOL!
Why, you sly devil. ;o)

Excellent sleuthing!

If Witt's spokesman knows about the fraud, then Witt does, too.
I wonder why he would leave himself so exposed?
As far as a reporter being interested in asking him about this, don't hold your breath.
He was part of the exhalted Clinton administration, after all.

[Enterprise]

I'll engage in a bit of hyperbole if I may, but this seems more evidence of the mysterious abandonment of their "domain" and willingly, a surrendering their historic hold on "news," to others. You and DFU, and others at FR are well out in front of the so-called NEWS media. Keep it up.

[Enterprise]

Maybe a reporter won't be interested in the truth, but there are ongoing Federal Investigations into the fraud that is named "Louisiana." Federal Investigators might be interested, even if the press isn't!

[dixiechick2000]

"Federal Investigators might be interested, even if the press isn't!"


I surely do hope so!
That place has been a cesspool of corrupt officials forever.
I hope LA will be cleaned out, and cleaned up!

[meyer]

You've all heard of a military coup. This is a media coup.

Actually, it is an attempted media coup.

[Enterprise]

Lord, Lord, hear our prayers, and let it be so.

[dixiechick2000]

Amen!

[Enterprise]

This is one of the unseen benefits to society of having the Republicans maintain the Presidency. The Democrats are simply brazen in their corruption, and a Democrat Presidency will make no attempt to stop them. A Republican Presidency has a lot of scoundrels puckering. I hope they keep pushing hard to jail these crooks.

[kjo]

It has been rumored for some time that AP reporters are on the DNC unofficial payroll. If you read their stuff it doesn't take long to figue out there's good reason for this charge. AP headline writers regularly misrepresent the facts in a story to put the Bush administration in the worst possible light. I'd interested in seeing Congress investigate the relationship between the AP and DNC.

[Republican Wildcat]

The point of the post was lost on you, I guess.

[dr_who_2]

Yup.

[barker]

Bump for later reading.

[SE Mom]

Thanks for posting this. It's intriguing.

I am not a conspiracy theory person by nature- my tin foil is used strcitly for wrapping leftovers- but recently I've truly begun to wonder.

Throughout the election, Rathergate, the coverage of the war in Iraq etc. I've started to think something serious is afoot. As is always the case with evil- it's difficult to confront it directly- but it gives me chills. Day after day we find articles and press releases based on incomplete info or outright distortions and often blatant lies.

I don't think for a minute there is a group sitting in some office deciding to slant coverage..but something just feels different.

[George Smiley]

If this is true, is it possible Witt was not really hired by Blanco to protect and serve her.

Was he forced upon her by the Klintons to have him close to the spin machine in an attempt to protect these and other frauds?

Ha! Great minds think alike.

Let us travel back to 09/08/2005 10:26:54 AM to a thread titled JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal government tried legal takeover of Katrina operations: state official, I said in post #43:

Witt isn't taking over as head of the Louisiana Emergency Management Agency- he's just "running the relief effort", whatever that means.

I suspect that this is advance positioning of the defense's expert witness to enhance his credibility for her upcoming impeachment trial. (emphasis added)

[GOPJ]

The AP ain't was it use ta be... It's a shame, but when you shill for one side, "news" suffers. AP's become the PR newswire for dems...

[SE Mom]

Over here...

[Republican Wildcat]

I was just trying to bring out the irony (or whatever the word is) that it could be interchangable - it was meant to be conversational, not adversarial. Sorry that you misunderstood.

[Peach]

We're headed out; I'll check in with the thread later. Thanks for the ping -- it looks like an interesting thread.

[dr_who_2]

No problem. We donna want any trouble.

[George Smiley]

The IEM press release that contains the erroneous information has been disappearing and reappearing, another sign of something suspicious with IEM.

Er, a little elementary Web-sleuthing:

I put the IEM press releases page in the Wayback Machine. it shows that the last three times it captured the page were on June 22, 2004, July 10, 2004 and October 16, 2004.

It also indicates content changes on the first and third of these dates.

Note that on all these pages, and on the current page, there exists a link to a June 3, 2004 press release.

All the ones I looked at contain an asterisk next to James Lee Witt Associates and the disclaimer at the bottom.

However, if you feed the press release's URL into the Wayback Machine, it returns only a date of November 26, 2004, and guess what?

There's no asterisk or disclaimer on that copy of the press release.

And look at the title on the top of your browser window- it's for a previous press release.

I suspect that somebody copied the earlier page, inserted the new release, and neglected to update the HTML title information.

Print 'em now, folks, while you still can.

[George Smiley]

This is the original press release (from the Wayback Machine) with some graphical content missing.

IEM Team to Develop Catastrophic Hurricane Disaster Plan for New Orleans & Southeast Louisiana

June 3 , 2004

IEM, Inc., the Baton Rouge-based emergency management and homeland security consultant, 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. National weather experts are predicting an above normal Atlantic hurricane season with six to eight hurricanes, of which three could be categorized as major.

The IEM team will complete a functional exercise on a catastrophic hurricane strike in Southeast Louisiana and use results to develop a response and recovery plan. A catastrophic event is one that can overwhelm State, local and private capabilities so quickly that communities could be devastated without Federal assistance and multi-agency planning and preparedness.

Thomas said that the greater New Orleans area is one of the nation’s most vulnerable locations for hurricane landfall.

“Given this area’s vulnerability, unique geographic location and elevation, and troubled escape routes, a plan that facilitates a rapid and effective hurricane response and recovery is critical,” he said. “The IEM team’s approach to catastrophic planning meets the challenges associated with integrating multi-jurisdictional needs and capabilities into an effective plan for addressing catastrophic hurricane strikes, as well as man-made catastrophic events.”

IEM President and CEO Madhu Beriwal is the recipient of a s pecial merit award from the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association ( LEPA ) for her work in New Orleans hurricane emergency preparedness.

IEM, Inc. was founded in 1985, and is one of the leading emergency management corporations in the U.S. While some organizations include emergency management as one of many business areas, helping to plan for and manage emergencies is IEM’s core business . IEM’s clients include some of the foremost federal emergency and defense organizations in the U.S., including the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.ieminc.com

Established in 1956, Dewberry is a multidisciplinary planning, engineering, and design firm, employing more than 1,600 individuals. As FEMA’s largest contractor, Dewberry plays a significant role in the national effort to reduce the impact of both natural (flood, fire, earthquake, tropical storm, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, and winter storm) and man-made (hazardous waste, terrorism, etc.) hazards on people, property, and the economy. www.dewberry.com

URS Corporation provides planning, engineering, architecture, and applied science to hundreds of government agencies and private industrial and commercial companies worldwide. The company has more than 26,000 employees -- the largest Architectural & Engineering firm in the U. S. for the fourth consecutive year.URS has approximately 500 employees in Louisiana. URS has over 30 years of experience in hazard mitigation planning and engineering support work for FEMA and other customers. www.urscorp.com

James Lee Witt Associates, LLC, established in 2001 by the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is a leader in public safety and crisis management. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in Atlanta, Chicago and Sacramento, James Lee Witt Associates works with state, local and foreign governments, corporations, hospitals, universities and utilities in conducting vulnerability assessments, after-event audits and reviews, developing all-hazard emergency and continuity of operations planning, as well as with the telecommunications industry on wireless interoperability. www.wittassociates.com

 

[George Smiley]

This is the press release you'll see now. Graphic content may be missing.

IEM Team to Develop Catastrophic Hurricane Disaster Plan for New Orleans & Southeast Louisiana

June 3, 2004

IEM, Inc., the Baton Rouge-based emergency management and homeland security consultant, 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. National weather experts are predicting an above normal Atlantic hurricane season with six to eight hurricanes, of which three could be categorized as major.

The IEM team will complete a functional exercise on a catastrophic hurricane strike in Southeast Louisiana and use results to develop a response and recovery plan. A catastrophic event is one that can overwhelm State, local and private capabilities so quickly that communities could be devastated without Federal assistance and multi-agency planning and preparedness.

Thomas said that the greater New Orleans area is one of the nation’s most vulnerable locations for hurricane landfall.

“Given this area’s vulnerability, unique geographic location and elevation, and troubled escape routes, a plan that facilitates a rapid and effective hurricane response and recovery is critical,” he said. “The IEM team’s approach to catastrophic planning meets the challenges associated with integrating multi-jurisdictional needs and capabilities into an effective plan for addressing catastrophic hurricane strikes, as well as man-made catastrophic events.”

IEM President and CEO Madhu Beriwal is the recipient of a s pecial merit award from the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association ( LEPA ) for her work in New Orleans hurricane emergency preparedness.

IEM, Inc. was founded in 1985, and is one of the leading emergency management corporations in the U.S. While some organizations include emergency management as one of many business areas, helping to plan for and manage emergencies is IEM’s core business . IEM’s clients include some of the foremost federal emergency and defense organizations in the U.S., including the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.ieminc.com

Established in 1956, Dewberry is a multidisciplinary planning, engineering, and design firm, employing more than 1,600 individuals. As FEMA’s largest contractor, Dewberry plays a significant role in the national effort to reduce the impact of both natural (flood, fire, earthquake, tropical storm, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, and winter storm) and man-made (hazardous waste, terrorism, etc.) hazards on people, property, and the economy. www.dewberry.com

URS Corporation provides planning, engineering, architecture, and applied science to hundreds of government agencies and private industrial and commercial companies worldwide. The company has more than 26,000 employees -- the largest Architectural & Engineering firm in the U. S. for the fourth consecutive year.URS has approximately 500 employees in Louisiana. URS has over 30 years of experience in hazard mitigation planning and engineering support work for FEMA and other customers. www.urscorp.com

*James Lee Witt Associates was a member of the original team, but did not participate in the project.

 

[Cheburashka]

If this is true, is it possible Witt was not really hired by Blanco to protect and serve her.
Was he forced upon her by the Klintons to have him close to the spin machine in an attempt to protect these and other frauds?
---
Witt no doubt was recommended to Gov. Blanco to "help her out".
She probably never considered that he might not work in her best interests, except when her interests and the Clintons' coincide.
Witt knows the people he is supposed to protect. Blanco is low on the priority list. But she ranks above Nagin.
If the Democrat Party itself must be destroyed to save the Klintoon legacy, well, then it should give it's life willingly for Bubba and Darth.

[jonrick46]

Because of the snow job the American media employs to keep the sheeple in the dark about the truth, one has to dig out a lot of snow to find the truth of the matter. I wonder how many people know that the New Orleans Levee Board took money for levee improvements and use it to build a casino? I wonder how many people know that a loose construction barge was the cause of the levee breech--21 hours after the hurricane had passed? I wonder if the press would be able to hold up if it was blamed, as intensely as President Bush was blamed, for the hurricane?

[combat_boots]

"Was he forced upon her by the Klintons to have him close to the spin machine in an attempt to protect these and other frauds?"

Bush wants to federalize troops by Wed/Thurs. Then came the conversation Nagin spoke of, in which Blanco asked for 24 hours. By Sat am, Witt's appointment is announced.

Do some DNC/Toon math.............

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

That was, at best, journalistic incompetence by the reporter and her editors.

AP is BIG!

AP has little writers.

AP has little editors.

The little people, the litle RATS write stories that the little RAT editors OK and the little RAT story gets published on the big AP and all the RATs in the world then start quoting AP.

It is that way with all MSM "news".

[Cheburashka]

I can figure the odds and the odds come up similar to how you figure them.

[the invisib1e hand]

great thread title.

[KamperKen]

The MSM news is prepared in the same manner that Stalin and Goebbels prepared the news. Write the story in accord with the totalitarian ideology, and then twist, toss-out or invent the "facts" to go along with it.

The MSM continues their penis envy of the great totalitarian propagandists of the 20th since they could murder their critics.

[Congressman Billybob]

Thanks for your use of the Wayback Machine. A friend of mine in New Jersey did the same, and was the first to show me that the IEM press release about James Lee Witt Associates had changed over time. The date was the same, but the footnote giving Witt an out was added -- at about the time that I wrote my first article calling Witt a liar.

Interestingly, the "official spokesman" for Witt has contacted me by e-mail, and has asked me to contact her. Even before I talk to her, I anticipate a heavy dose of damage control from her.

Thanks again, my friend.

John / Billybob

[George Smiley]

Hey, it's fun giving those dirtbags a hard time.