Mr. President, WHY is the National Guard in IRAQ?

Not trying to make political capital out of a disastrous situation, but I knew this day would come unfortunately.

There should ALREADY be a lot more help, food, water, clothing, medical supplies and re-location efforts under way in the Gulf states than there has been. And I, frankly, am outraged that there hasn't been.

WHY hasn't it been better and more coordinated? There's plenty of food, water, and other supplies available..but the MANPOWER to distribute/move these items is NOT. Right now the Gulf states are operating at only 50% or less than normal of their National Guard manpower. Why? Because they are in frigging Iraq!

That's one of the main purposes of the National Guard..to be in your state in case of emergencies just like this one. Now other states are hurrying up and sending what they have in terms on manpower down to to the Gulf states.

And Gawd forbid that another terrible disaster hits this country as we are ill prepared to deal with a second Katrina like disaster.

I agree 100%. I know it takes time to get things done but it seem like more should be being done by now. Why isn't the national guard air dropping bottled water to the stranded people in need? It is a disgrace that people have to wait this long for help in the richest country in the world.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Northstar

I agree 100%. I know it takes time to get things done but it seem like more should be being done by now. Why isn't the national guard air dropping bottled water to the stranded people in need? It is a disgrace that people have to wait this long for help in the richest country in the world.

---

That's the part I didn't get -- air dropping in supplies. I'd of thought they'd have some pallets done up with water and food that could be lowered into areas they can't get to by road. What good is having 3 ships loaded with supplies arriving early next week???? They'll have everyone out by then (hopefully).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bec

That's the part I didn't get -- air dropping in supplies. I'd of thought they'd have some pallets done up with water and food that could be lowered into areas they can't get to by road. What good is having 3 ships loaded with supplies arriving early next week???? They'll have everyone out by then (hopefully).

---

That's the sad reality of it. I think the media, demos, etc. are biding their time because it would look very partisan to suddenly attack the Prez on this issue..but this WILL come out. You have to have to manpower to air lift/drop and move all of this equipment/supplies.

I hope the south in the next few elections tells the Repubs & neo-cons to SHOVE it big time.

Hell -- set em up on a tarmac and let the media copters take em. They're covering places that the gov't relief teams haven't even seen yet.

NEW ORLEANS - Fights and fires broke out, rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at and anger mounted across New Orleans on Thursday, as National Guardsmen poured in to help restore order across this increasingly desperate and lawless city. “We are out here like pure animals. We don’t have help,” the Rev. Issac Clark, 68, said outside the New Orleans Convention Center, where corpses lay in the open and he and other evacuees complained that they were dropped off and given nothing — no food, no water, no medicine.

New Orleans’ Charity Hospital halted efforts to evacuate its patients after it came under sniper fire, according to Dr. Tyler Curiel, who witnessed the incidents.

The attack came as New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued “a desperate SOS” for the thousands of people stranded in an around the city’s convention center with no food or water and fading hope.

Curiel and his National Guard escorts, were returning to the hospital after dropping off patients at nearby Tulane Medical Center, when someone started shooting at their convoy of Humvees.

“We were coming in from a parking deck at Tulane Medical Center, and a guy in a white shirt started firing at us,” Curiel said. “The National Guard (troops), wearing flak jackets, tried to get a bead on this guy


Been looking but can't seem to find any link to the story of how we are not trying to help the situation, but rather, playing cards and sipping tea.

Quote:

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Been looking but can't seem to find any link to the story of how we are not trying to help the situation, but rather, playing cards and sipping tea.

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That's not the point we were making ... yes, National Guardsmen are finally arriving ... but things that could of been done to ease the plight of survivors in devastated areas is being reported along the vein of "we can't help them til we can get in to them" ... yet we're getting news reports from these very same "inaccessible" areas. Something does NOT compute here.

the republicans i have talked with already have their reasons for believing that this was all necessary. i have been told that i simply don't understand logistics, and it couldn't have been done any faster. i have been called a tree-hugger who doesn't understand that the president is doing what's best for america.

the displacement of a million people, deaths of so many, and the fact that americans are doing without basic necessities don't even enter the minds of hardcore christian rightists. they have their excuses ready so denial can continue to function for them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slade

That's the sad reality of it. I think the media, demos, etc. are biding their time because it would look very partisan to suddenly attack the Prez on this issue..but this WILL come out. You have to have to manpower to air lift/drop and move all of this equipment/supplies.

I hope the south in the next few elections tells the Repubs & neo-cons to SHOVE it big time.

---

Well I do understand military logistics, having been in that field of operations for years -- It most certainly could have been done quite a bit faster.

This has nothing to do with National Guard troops being in Iraq. If there were no troops in Iraq, the sequence of events would not have played out any differently.

Perhaps if you suggest the Louisianans should turn out their representation, do you also think their Democrat Governor should be held at least as accountable? After all, Louisiana is her full time job. The "neo-cons" don't run the state.

In fact New Orleans is a town pretty much run by a Democrat machine. Despite this, I would suggest that it is not a R or D thing. It is more then anything else, a natural disaster.

I would hesititate trying to push a national RedState/BlueState lens onto New Orleans. I would remind people to realzie that Louisiana politics have always been one of the country's most colorful. In fact, there are a number of very good books for sale about Huey Long, state politics and the infamous Long subsequent dynasty.

Louisiana has always lived by its own set of rules. (that is a state that utilizes the Napoleonic legal code, for example) It's not a secret that the city's 1920s era system of dirt levys should be redone. It wasn't a secret twenty five years ago either.

I have been rattled all week watching the New Orleans news. Among other things, I was just there in June walking around Canal St, the French Quarter, etc. It is so sad. We just need to hang on and get through it. I will be happy to do what I can myself to help that beautiful city emerge into something even better.

Steve

the gov of louisiana sure hasn't impressed me - but that's just me.

as far as the rest, the government could have arranged to start transporting people out of there on thursday night, and then all day friday and saturday. sure, that's not the way we ever do things - we need red tape to cover every action - but think of the lives they would have saved.

the military just made the levy that broke, btw. it's not one of the old levies. for some reason, they made it only to withstand a category 3 or less :-/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

This has nothing to do with National Guard troops being in Iraq. If there were no troops in Iraq, the sequence of events would not have played out any differently.

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This has quite a bit to do with troops being in Iraq and the lack of organization and manpower.

I don't want a history on "state politics" here. What we are talking about is simple humanity and the ability of the most powerful, resourceful, and inventive nation on this planet to take care of it's OWN people. It is a sad commentary that we seem to be failing thousands miserably.

This has nothing to do with the Governor, or the Mayor, or Louisiana politics.
This is a NATIONAL effort in which the RESOURCES of the nation can and should have been mobilized quite quickly.

Look how slowly the FIRST response was. And that's my point about the national guard troops being in Iraq. They were so overwhelmed by the destruction and had such reduced manpower, that the National Guard wasn't even really used for the first 24 hours or so after this storm hit. And I still stick by my point that MORE guardsmen would have been VERY helpful in getting more done faster.

As it is now..the Gulf States are getting help from guardsmen from other states because of the sheer volume of the devastation. So, I cannot sit idly by and be quiet while I watch people die BECAUSE WE WERE NOT, AS A NATION, PREPARED FOR SUCH A DISASTER!

A post from another board:


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9160710/

TONY ZUMBADO: I've gotta tell you, I thought I'd seen it all, but just when you think you've seen it all, you go into another situation and you see something horrific. I've never seen anything in my life like this. ... I can't put it into words the amount of destruction that is in this city and how these people are coping. They are just left behind. There is nothing offered to them. No water, no ice, no C-rations, nothing, for the last four days.

They were told to go to the convention center. They did, they've been behaving. It's unbelievable how organized they are, how supportive they are of each other. They have not started any mêlées, any riots ... they just want food and support. And what I saw there I've never seen in this country.

We need to really look at this situation at the convention center. It's getting very very crazy in there and very dangerous. Somebody needs to come down with a lot of food and a lot of water. There's no hostility there ... they need support. These people are very desperate. I saw two gentlemen die in front of me because of dehydration. I saw a baby near death.

One other noteworthy post:

you can take military transport helicopters that have armoured protection and IMMEDIATELY fly in convoys of h20 and c-rations to place like NO convention center.

these machines are all weather 24/7 vehicles used by the us military all over the world in combat zones.

this is VERY poor form and shows a complete lack of understanding.

humans can exist for 7-14 days with no food.

they can exist only 3 or 4 days with no water, expecially since temps are in the 90's now in the gulf.
----------
and btw..mre's, which we have MILLIONS of, are sealed water tight and FLOAT!

Well I have lately been comparing this to my memories of 9-11. At least there you had Mayor Guilliani having press conferences, talking about where they were at in the operation, and what there was to do. At least the New York City government had some semblence of a process. This is chaos. You keep hearing how no one knows what is going on, and there is no information. Where is the chief of police? the mayor? the governor? After all, they live there and know all the local knowledge. Not a bunch of feds who live in Northern Virginia.

I visited New Orleans back in June, and you know the locals would go around and say how a force 5 hurricane could tear through their levy system if it happened... then they would sell you a "Hurricane" and send you to go walk around on the street.

And I've been hearing all summer long about how hurricanes are expected to be stronger in the Gulf for awhile. My exasperation would be more at why the people who live there and elect hadn't prepared a little better for it. But really to say that right now I think would be unfair, considering there are bodies floating around at the moment.

Much less try to allege that because there are troops in Iraq, this would have changed anything. Everything will be temporary until they now stop the breeches and get the water out.

Steve

The Federal government, and in particular the Bush administration, is firmly to blame for the level of damage incurred by this disaster and the lack of immediate aid to those in need, as we speak, in the effected areas.

"Just last year, the Army Corps of Engineers sought $105 million for hurricane and flood programs in New Orleans. The White House slashed the request to about $40 million. Congress finally approved $42.2 million, less than half of the agency's request.

Yet the lawmakers and Bush agreed to a $286.4 billion pork-laden highway bill that included more than 6,000 pet projects for lawmakers. Congress spent money on dust control for Arkansas roads, a warehouse on the Erie Canal and a $231 million bridge to a small, uninhabited Alaskan island.

How could Washington spend $231 million on a bridge to nowhere - and not find $42 million for hurricane and flood projects in New Orleans? It's a matter of power and politics." SOURCE

Desslock, being president of the United States of America is a difficult job. If being President were easy, and you weren't responsible for anything, anyone could do it. Only a select few, out of hundreds of millions of U.S. citizens, even seriously qualify to run for President.

The Bush, and his old boys network of an administration, have constantly blamed everyone else for everything that has happened since Bush has taken office. NEVER ever, not even once, has Bush taken responsibility for anything he's done to this country. We have a record deficit, record oil prices, record gas prices, a war in Iraq to free people from a dictator that's been captured, yet we're still being killed there on a daily basis, low currency value, citizens have fewer rights now then ever before, babies are being added to no fly lists by the TSA, the media is afraid to freely express itself out of fear. BUT... the president isn't to blame. Who is? On September 11th 2 airplanes flew into two buildings in New York killing a couple thousand people... how our government reacted, headed by our President Bush, is what brought us to where we are today, NOTHING else. We are FUCKED for the next three years.. it will only get worse.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

My exasperation would be more at why the people who live there and elect hadn't prepared a little better for it.

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How prepared can one be when their house is underwater? Some of this is unavoidable and no matter how prepared a person might be, they could end up with nothing but the clothes on there back and in need of water, shelter and food.

I saw the news coverage. Thousands of people were leaving the area, clogged up freeways, over crowded airports, etc. If you are poor, for whatever reason, and are living paycheck to paycheck, or are on public assistance, what can be expected of you in regards to preparedness for a natural disaster? What can be expected is our national guard, directed by the president, to be sent in to help evacuations for a notoriously impoverished area of the United States.. pretty simple.

NOTE to Desslock: I feel passionately about this subject.. no anger or resentment is directed at any way to you :love:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

Much less try to allege that because there are troops in Iraq, this would have changed anything. Everything will be temporary until they now stop the breeches and get the water out.

Steve

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Obviously it is more than having the full compliment of National Guardsmen available..but to say it makes NO difference is very naive I think. You don't think a few hundred more lives SAVED initially with more troops is signficant?

CBS news reported that there were just a handful of National Guard on the streets of New Orleans. New Orleans should be CRAWLING with National Guard..everywhere.

NBC News reported that there are only 14,200 guardsmen on duty in BOTH the states of Louisiana and Mississippi.

And finally, if there is no issue about the # of guardsmen available, why did the government just call up **10,000** COMBAT troops for relief efforts?


And thank you Squirt for what you posted too.
I would have thought that since the Gulf Coast was vital to America's oil production and refining, that the Bush admin would at least be motivated by that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

Perhaps if you suggest the Louisianans should turn out their representation, do you also think their Democrat Governor should be held at least as accountable? After all, Louisiana is her full time job. The "neo-cons" don't run the state.

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"Once the hurricane hit, relief trickled into the Gulf Coast. Even Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown, whose agency is in charge of disaster response, pronounced the initial results unacceptable.

The hurricane was the first major test of FEMA since it became part of the Homeland Security Department, a massive new bureaucracy that many feared would make the well-respected FEMA another sluggish federal agency." SOURCE

The Bush administration combined FEMA with the Homeland Security Department and the disaster in New Orleans in the result. The FEMA director himself said their results are unacceptable... why would you try to place blame with anyone other then those in control of FEMA saying they aren't performing to standard?

You're right NeoCons don't run the state, but they do control funding for maintaining and enhancing the levys that keep the place from flooding, and funding for natural disaster, as I demonstrated in my previous post. They also control FEMA and Homeland Security. :thumbsup:

Squirt --

You know while that Levy-Money transportation bill was moving through Congress, Loiuisana's Senator Mary Landrieu was using her resources to co sponsor the lovely Anti-Porn Internet Tax bill we were talking about on here earlier.

So do you think she might actually fit Even More into the kind of lax politician you would pin blame on here? You mention specifically the Bush's bad priorities, let's not dismiss hers.

Now MARY LANDRIEU LIVES IN NEW ORLEANS. Also SHE IS ON THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE. Good grief.... since she and her father have spent their whole lives in New Orleans politics, I would think people like her have some culpability.

Maybe a teeeny weeeny bit. Mebbe. Mebbe.

(well I dunno she's not a neo-con and they are the punching bag, right?)

Look I know you think Bush represents everything terrible in the world. But what if he were replaced, and the problems you dislike continue happening?
I still maintain that the local people who live in the area and are intimately familiar that their home was a bullseye for hurricanes should have prepared better. There's money there - the city bilks cash out of casinos..... taxes, oil/gas royalties. It's not like the place was broke.

As I said before, I just keep thinking about the difference between this and 9 - 11. It is just miles apart.... and its the same administration.

Sadly.... the whole situation is just terrible. I've had trouble concentrarting on work all week.

Steve

We've seen the management team do their stuff in Iraq, why should we be
surprised that their tripping over their shoestrings now?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

You know while that Levy-Money transportation bill was moving through Congress, Loiuisana's Senator Mary Landrieu was using her resources to co sponsor the lovely Anti-Porn Internet Tax bill we were talking about on here earlier.

So do you think she might actually fit Even More into the kind of lax politician you would pin blame on here? You mention specifically the Bush's bad priorities, let's not dismiss hers.

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It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out when the Army Corp of engineers says they need $105 billion to stabilize the New Orleans levies and setup flood/disaster systems, that it should be passed. No questions asked. But then again we have a Republican congress and it's a Democratic state... I guess it's what they deserve right?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

Now MARY LANDRIEU LIVES IN NEW ORLEANS. Also SHE IS ON THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE. Good grief.... since she and her father have spent their whole lives in New Orleans politics, I would think people like her have some culpability.

Maybe a teeeny weeeny bit. Mebbe. Mebbe.

(well I dunno she's not a neo-con and they are the punching bag, right?)

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Republican Sen. Ted Stevens is a senior member of the committee.. he has much more leeway don't you think? Let's not even get started on the appropriations committe. :wacko:

You can put whatever blame you want on Mary Landrieu... without ANY federal help BEFORE the storm look how many people were saved? They got the word out.. people were leaving. Unfortunately New Orleans doesn't have it's own FEMA or Army. Though the red cross and salvation army were poised and ready for action, thanks to her. You can only work with what you got, she's not the president of the united states.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

Look I know you think Bush represents everything terrible in the world. But what if he were replaced, and the problems you dislike continue happening?

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I'm an independent Steve.... if it was Clinton I'd feel the same. Injustice is just that, regardless of whom the purpatrator is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

As I said before, I just keep thinking about the difference between this and 9 - 11. It is just miles apart.... and its the same administration.

Sadly.... the whole situation is just terrible. I've had trouble concentrating on work all week.

---

Steve this is a natural disaster spanning several states! This disaster in no way compares with two buildings falling to the ground on one block in New York! How can you even begin to compare? In New York the own cities police and fire department we able to response because THEY WEREN'T UNDERWATER. In New York it was mainly a mission of cleanup and body recovery NOT saving starving, wet, cold, people with destroyed homes and families to take care of.

Steve.. PLEASE tell me how New York relates to the Katrina disaster.... Keep in mind that your Bush administration merged FEMA with Homeland Security after 911, part of the reason for the problems occurring as we speak.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Squirt

Steve.. PLEASE tell me how New York relates to the Katrina disaster.... Keep in mind that your Bush administration merged FEMA with Homeland Security after 911, part of the reason for the problems occurring as we speak.

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Hey - it may be part of the problem. In fact, let me say too that I think the Bush Administration's response has been pretty weak. But rather then there being a lack of national guard troops, why not say that there are a good number of people there, but their resources are being terribly watsed because there is absolute chaos?

I am mentioning 9-11 simply in comparison of how the after-events management occured. As I mentioned earlier....Mayor Guilliani held news conferences, and there was some communication. Here it is like the entire local government just collapsed.... like Somalia.

You know, I actually have had a long standing concern about how many local cities and state governments are simply not held accountable by the electorate. In Austin, city politics is dominated by interest groups mainly, and I think that is not uncommon elsewhere. I think that is brings out the worst in politicians - who then spend the entire day following stupid pet projects like banning smoking. I don't think the problem is a lack of voter turnout.... it is just that when people go and elect a mayor simply because he has the seal of approval from your local gay rights political caucus... obviously may not translate to whether that same individual can guide the city through a unforseen disaster.

In fact, let's watch how events unfold in the hurricane area of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I just think you can hold the federal government and Bush accountable, but only to an extent.

You pretty much blew off my talk about Sen. Landrieu. (who is a Democrat by the way) She lives in New Orleans. And, many of you may not know, but she and her father have long been involved in New Orleans politics. THEY knew the chance of a hurricane hitting existed. It this was not just discovered one or two years ago.

and furthermore, I don't want to miss an opportunity to say again that she co sponsored the Internet Porn Tax bill we were all talking about on here last month as being a terrible waste of resources. So why can't you say that she fiddled while her Rome drowned?

And I'll bet if you looked there are a good number of porkbarrel appropriations for Louisiana from her for things like studying ants at Tulane University..... all in lieu of funding proper protection against hurricanes in her hometown.

Steve

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

You pretty much blew off my talk about Sen. Landrieu. (who is a Democrat by the way) She lives in New Orleans. And, many of you may not know, but she and her father have long been involved in New Orleans politics. THEY knew the chance of a hurricane hitting existed. It this was not just discovered one or two years ago.

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OK then:

Sen. Landrieu May 2005

Corresponding with the first day of a foreboding hurricane season, Sen. Mary Landrieu will join state and local officials and French Quarter businesses to participate in a dramatization of the impact of a worst-case scenario in New Orleans, a direct hit from a major hurricane. The event will feature the demonstration of the devastating level of flooding that would occur in the historical French Quarter of New Orleans also indicating flooding in frontline coastal areas that could literally be wiped out by the storm surge of a Class 4 or 5 hurricane. Coastal land loss and the loss of barrier islands have heightened the probability of flooding in Louisiana cities and towns. . . .


Sen. Landrieu Nov 2001

"....safety concerns also support the case for federal funding to improve I-49 South and LA-1. These safety concerns exists because the US Hwy. 90 / I-49 South route has a long history of vehicular fatalities and because more than 35,000 citizens in South Lafourche and Grand Isle must travel on LA-1 during a hurricane evacuation. Sen. Landrieu said, "Improvements to I-49 South and LA-1 will increase safety during normal conditions and will enhance evacuation capabilities during disasters. These safety concerns are of the utmost importance."

Sen. Landrieu Feb 2005 - Comments after visiting Tsunami devastation

"But warning is not enough. We must also invest and re-invest in our natural barriers and constantly and review our evacuation routes. This giant wave not only killed a quarter of a million people, it also obliterated the natural coastal barriers in the region. "

Sen. Landrieu 2002

On Sept. 28, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu called a hurricane preparedness meeting of top officials from Orleans, St. Tammany, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes. Landrieu's visitor, Sen. Jim Jeffords (Ind-Vt.), who chairs a Senate committee that is working on $280 billion national transportation and public works appropriations bill, heard concerns such as the need for multi-million dollar emergency back-up generators for pumping stations, flood protection for evacuation routes, and a light rail system to evacuate the indigent and disabled. The hastily called summit was certainly a good photo op for Landrieu, who is seeking re-election. But it was also a good idea, and it should serve as a model for future regional cooperation on disasters.

Isidore also provided Mayor Ray Nagin his first experience with the city's Office of Emergency Preparedness atop City Hall. Nagin noted that an estimated 100,000 residents of the city rely on public transportation, and he said he hopes federal support for a future light rail system will enable the city to evacuate these residents to Louis Armstrong International Airport and points beyond.

In addition, Nagin deplored the "patchwork of networks among the parishes in terms of [emergency] communications and technology." We expect police and emergency agencies to be talking to each other on the same radio channel during an emergency. Apparently, they were not, at least not during Isidore. Nagin is correct to worry publicly about such a lack of coordination, and we share his concern.

-----------

There's so much more but I'm outta time today.

I don't care that she's anti porn. People have differing views on differing topic, it doesn't mean that she hasn't done her job in trying to get help for LA. for quite some time now.. and been basically pushed asside. They were as prepared as they could be locally, the feds, on the other hand, weren't. I know I know.. it's Sen. Landrieu fault :coffee:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

But rather then there being a lack of national guard troops, why not say that there are a good number of people there, but their resources are being terribly watsed because there is absolute chaos?

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One reason there is absolute chaos is due to a lack of national guard troops.
Believe it or not..they DO go hand in hand.

It is obviously not the only thing at fault here (lack of troops), but I started this thread because I am angry that we have troops where they shouldn't be and DON'T have them where they SHOULD be.

For example..Governor asks for 40,000 MORE troops!
-------------------------
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (CNN) -- Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said Thursday she has requested the mobilization of 40,000 National Guard troops to restore order and assist in relief efforts in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans.
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And these troops are comming from other states.

And then there is also this:
-------------------
"Perhaps the biggest complaint about the federal response stems from the brazen lawlessness and looting in the city, punctuated with gunfire.

Chertoff said Thursday that 4,200 trained National Guard military police would be deployed in the city over the next three days, quadrupling the law enforcement presence in New Orleans.

"Fourteen hundred military police trained soldiers will be arriving every day --- 1,400 today, 1,400 tomorrow and 1,400 the next day," he said.

"Frankly, what we're doing is we are putting probably more than we need in order to send an unambiguous message that we will not tolerate lawlessness or violence or interference with the evacuation."

Yet, the first contingent of those promised military police were not scheduled to arrive until late Thursday night -- and only 100 Guard members would be in that first wave, according to Pentagon officials. Pressed about the other 1,300 promised troops, officials would only say that they were on the way.

New Orleans police officers told CNN that they needed the manpower earlier in the week to prevent the looting and violence now prevalent in the city. The situation is now much worse because among the first items taken from stores, according to the officers, were guns -- turning unarmed thieves into armed gangsters.

Police were reduced to looting ammunition from stores themselves, to keep it off the streets."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/0...nse/index.html

Why was Bush golfing while Katrina hit? We all heard on the news that this could possibly be the worst hurricane ever. Wouldn't you think Bush would have heard the same news reports that we did and would have been a little more prepared for this disaster? It sounds almost as responsible as Bush reading a book to little kids during 911.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by desslock

I am mentioning 9-11 simply in comparison of how the after-events management occured. As I mentioned earlier....Mayor Guilliani held news conferences, and there was some communication. Here it is like the entire local government just collapsed.... like Somalia.

Steve

---

Well, I happen to live in New York City, and I have to disagree with you. On 9-11, when those buildings fell down, it only knocked out power for the lower manhatten grid. (1% of the total citywide power grid.) Mayor Guilliani and the city of New York did such a good job becuase they hads the tools in place to do it. power worked, phones worked, cells worked, radio worked, With the exception of the subway system which was closed down, everything worked outside of lower manhatten.

The big easy however has no power, no water, no radio, no cell phones, no passable roads, no food, no hospitals, and 80% of the city is underwater. The goverment asked Bush for money to fix the leveys years ago, I don't think you can blame anything on the local goverment for this one. All the blame for the cuase of this disaster which could have been prevented lays in the White House.

These two events simply can't be commpaired in any way.

And in one of the biggest ironies, 100 National Guardsmen just back from Iraq were deployed in New Orleans today according to ABC news.

But Bush says they are NOT bringing the Lousiana and Mississippi guard units home early, even THOUGH their one year service there ends just NEXT MONTH!

Bush..the village idiot.