Posted on 09/08/2005 4:42:37 PM PDT by Dog
The Fox News Channel's Major Garrett made another appearance on the program this evening, following up on his blockbuster story yesterday. Among other things, Garrett got confirmation --on camera-- of the Louisian State department of Homeland Security's blocking of the delivery of relief supplies to the Superdome and the Convention Center. In addition, Garrett received confirmation from senior Salvation Army officials in Washington, D.C. that the Salvation Army's efforts at supplying the evacuees were also repeatedly blocked. Radioblogger will have the transcript up later, but the key takeaway was when I asked Garrett if characterizing Louisian's preparation for the storm as "abysmal" was accurate and he confirmed that indeed it was. Read the whole thing.
I also asked Garrett why no other network is on this story. He can't offer an answer for that, event hough he points out that this isn't a hard story to get, and Fox News needn't be credited. All CNN has to do (or MSNBC or CBS) is call the Red Cross and get a camera over there.
I have heard quite a few ex-LA people call our local radio talk shows just disgusted with the corruption that is LA government...
They say the "inbreeding" between the Landrieu's and others is just sickening.
I heard quite a few Senators get up today and make a point of having complete oversight of any funds that are made available...and some that aren't really happy that we are hurrying so fast in voting for these supplementals...
Even Jeff Sessions, who is from Alabama, and one of my favorites...says that though his state and the others NEED the money....it should be closely monitored and only used in cases that insurance and/or business can't come in and do it...
a) my home would be looted or even worse
b) eminent domain!!
It would be real easy now for huge land grabs from condemned property or.............dead people.
Haven't seen anything from Allen other than the standard "we support...send money..." response. I did however find this from Tancredo's site (not one to be bashful):
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Will Adams
September 7, 2005
202.226.6997
Tancredo: Block Aid to Louisiana Politicians
Congressman Says Incompetence, Corruption Show Local Officials Cannot be Trusted with Federal Aid
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) wrote a letter to Speaker Hastert, urging him to direct federal hurricane relief aid through channels other than Louisiana public officials. Citing incompetence and a history of corruption, Tancredo said a bipartisan select committee of the House should administer the aid and provide accountability for the $52 billion requested. The letter is reprinted below:
Dear Mr. Speaker,
Given the abysmal failure of state and local officials in Louisiana to plan adequately for or respond to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans, and given the long history of public corruption in Louisiana, I hope the House will refrain from directly appropriating any funds from the public treasury to either the state of Louisiana or the city of New Orleans. Instead, reconstruction and relief funds dedicated to the people of New Orleans should be administered by a private organization or a select committee similar to the historic Truman Commission.
Public corruption is a well known problem in Louisiana. The head of the FBI in New Orleans just this past year described the state’s public corruption as “epidemic, endemic, and entrenched. No branch of government is exempt.” Over the last thirty years, a long list of Louisiana politicians have been convicted of crimes; the list includes a governor, an attorney general, an elections commissioner, an agriculture commissioner, three successive insurance commissioners, a congressman, a federal judge, a State Senate president, six other state legislators, and a host of appointed officials, local sheriffs, city councilmen, and parish police jurors. Given the documented public corruption in the state, I am not confident that Louisiana officials can be trusted to administer federal relief aid.
Clearly the federal response from FEMA in the aftermath of the hurricane was hampered by bureaucratic ineptitude. Making matters worse, the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana have demonstrated mind-boggling incompetence in their lack of planning for and response to this disaster. According to one recent media report, “A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan...[but] did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected.”
The city of New York, by comparison, had no advance warning of 9/11. Yet Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki displayed tremendous leadership in managing a chaotic situation in the city. Their leadership inspired confidence in their ability to manage the emergency and coordinate federal aid. In contrast, despite knowing days in advance about the coming hurricane, Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin seem to have done little beyond encouraging residents to leave the city or gather at the Superdome. City school and transit buses could have carried 12,000 persons per run out of the city, yet they sat idle in parking lots under water – while both the Mayor and Governor criticized the federal response.
In the coming days, tens of billions of dollars will likely flood Louisiana to address the costs of rescue, clean up, and rebuilding. The question is not whether Congress should provide for those in need, but whether state and local officials who have been derelict in their duty should be trusted with that money. Their record during Hurricane Katrina and the long history of public corruption in Louisiana convinces me that that they should not.
Sincerely,
Tom Tancredo, M.C.
cc:
The Honorable Tom DeLay, Majority Leader
The Honorable Jerry Lewis, House Appropriations Committee Chairman
The Honorable Thad Cochran, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman
"Except LA was starting to turn red. Blanco and Mary barely won. Getting rid of their voting block in NO is political suicide, isn't it?"
Yeah, I think the Louisiana Democrats are way too stupid to plan something that would embarrass Bush. They are simply corrupt and incompetent. But they do have the national Democrats running interference for them.
As usual, Jesse Jackson doesn't know what he's talking about.
The one thing I've learned about the dems is when ever they are blaming something on the Republicans, it's the dems themselves who are guilty of doing it.
That's their smokescreen. And that's how you know what they've been up to.
I was replying to post #53. Before I had realized how long the thread already was...
GACK---There is a new thread that says that in an interview that will be on tomorrow night, on 20/20....
Colin Powell puts in his two-cents worth...and is blaming all of the government...and although he doesn't blame the slowness on racism, he says that the fact that these people were poor had something to do with why they didn't get out...
WELL, duh, and so----Mr. Powell, why didn't the MAYOR put them on buses and get them the hell outta there????
He is smart enough to know that from a legal as well as a public relations stand point, that Bush could NOT go in without being asked by the Gov....
I never have been a Powell fan, and once again he doesn't disappoint...blech!
"Beside Jesse spinning and lying when Sean was questioning him ... Why was Jesse pointing his index finger at his chin like that???
it was Odd"
Jesse is under a lot of pressure these days trying to keep the poor black people on the Democratic plantation when the Democratic Governor of New Orleans let them starve, get dehydrated, and survive without medical attention or law enforcement.
The Old Families of Louisiana (per the WSJ) may well reshape their economic landscape in their image, but the soul of New Orleans is gone.
I'm just so enraged that Texas has enabled them their evil plans by taking in refuge half their city I can just spit.
YES!!!!
There was an awesome article I read where R.Lee was handling the press in a Q&A on the war...funny as all get out!!
I may have printed it off....I'll try and locate it!
"I turned to football game for a minute and forgot to change back..."
That reminds me. I'm not watching Monday Night Football this year, either. Because of their decision to keep Kanye West. The enviros will love me because I'm conserving energy.
The U.S. Attorney General should appoint a special prosecutor. It looks like the Governor of Louisiana conspired with others to commit criminal negligence that resulted in death at the Superdome, the Convention Center, and the I-10 overpass.
Thank you.
I am afraid you may be right...but he also came up with this:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Will Adams
September 8, 2005
202.226.6997
Tancredo Proposes Oversight for Katrina Funds
Congressman Says Taxpayers Deserver Accountability for Record $62 Billion of Relief
WASHINGTON , D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) introduced a resolution today that would create a bipartisan select committee of House members to oversee the administration of hurricane relief and reconstruction funds.
The House approved a record $52 billion in relief funds this afternoon. Altogether, $62 billion have been appropriated, which is greater than the total annual discretionary spending for the Commerce, Justice, and State Departments combined. Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Frist announced that they will create a joint committee that is “tasked with reviewing, at all levels of government, the immediate preparation and recovery from Hurricane Katrina.” The committee appears to provide no oversight for the billions of dollars of relief aid that has been appropriated. Tancredo voted against appropriating the Katrina relief funds because of the lack of oversight.
“There is no question that billions of dollars are needed—and are needed immediately—to provide relief and reconstruction for Louisiana . But the urgent need of resources does not excuse us from our duty to safeguard the American taxpayers’ money,” said Tancredo.
Tancredo continued, “I’m concerned that the federal government has created a situation that is ripe for fraud and abuse. Billions of dollars are being handed out to a place where there is severely compromised infrastructure, where local officials have been incompetent in their early response to the emergency, and where there is little if any oversight in administering the funds. Resources are urgently needed, but the U.S. Treasury should not be left unguarded.”
“It is our duty to get relief to persons affected by Hurricane Katrina. But it is political malpractice to spend taxpayers’ money without making sure that the aid is getting to the right people,” said Tancredo.
Tancredo’s resolution would create a 15-member select committee of the House which would be charged with providing oversight for relief aid, accountability of contractors and government officials, and with recommending penalties for corruption and contract abuse related to Hurricane Katrina.
###
This is how a REAL governor acts in a crisis:
Twenty-four hours before hurricane Andrew hit South Florida in 1992, Governor Jeb Bush declared an emergency, initiated an evacuation of the population, and called up the Florida National Guard. Some of these 600 Guardsmen stayed on duty for weeks, dealing with the aftermath of Andrew, the most destructive natural disaster to strike the U.S. up to that time.
They patrolled neighborhoods ravaged by 160 mph winds, detained looters and other suspected criminals, directed traffic, and guided military units which followed them into the area. Only two dozen Floridians lost their lives, due to the cool response of the Guv and his Guard.
"Lamestream Press is ever more lame. ...And the good thing is, more and more people are seeing it., including a growing number of African Americans."
Now, if I was a black Louisianan, I would tell the State Democratic machine where to go.
OOO---see how much I haven't been paying attention to football, I didn't know they had Kanye West...
I know that I was disappointed that they kept the Rolling Stones, after they wrote that anti-Bush song...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.