[NormsRevenge]

President Bush listens to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, left, as acting FEMA director David Paulison, right, looks on during a statement in front of a damaged hanger at Northrop Grumman in Lake Charles, La., Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005. Bush was getting a personal look at Hurricane Rita's damage to U.S. energy resources while visiting Lake Charles, La., and Beaumont, Texas. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

[NormsRevenge]

Blanco on Tuesday had vehemently denied that she waited until the eve of the storm to order an evacuation of New Orleans. She said her order came on the morning of Aug. 27 — two days before the storm — resulting in 1.3 million people evacuating the city.

"Such falsehoods and misleading statements, made under oath before Congress, are shocking," Blanco said in a statement Tuesday.

Rep. Christopher Shays (news, bio, voting record), R-Conn., said Wednesday that while Brown made mistakes, so did others. "He can't be the scapegoat. First responders are local and state, and the governor and mayor did a pathetic job of preparing their people for this horrific storm," Shays said on NBC's "Today" show.

[Enchante]

"40 percent of Louisiana's businesses were lost or damaged in the storm"

I don't doubt there are serious losses, but I really despise this kind of mis-use of statistics by lumping widely disparate elements into one category to pump up the number cited. "lost or damaged" covers a vast range from total destruction to having a sign blown down. It's a way of making it sound like nearly half the businesses of the state are in a condition of utter collapse and destruction, when I would bet the number that are a total loss is only a few percent..... but if she cited that figure it wouldn't sound nearly as dramatic.

[george76]