Reply #15: Nagin & Blanco [View All]

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N & B did they best they could with what they had, considering Bushco flat lied to them about helping NO:

February 2002
The president unveiled his new budget, this one with a $390 million cut to the Army Corps.
The cuts came during the same year the richest 5 percent (those who make an average of $300,000 or more) were slated to receive $24 billion in new tax cuts. The cuts were devastating. The administration provided just $5 million for maintaining and upgrading critical hurricane protection levees in New Orleans—one fifth of what government experts and Republican elected officials in Louisiana told the administration was needed. Likewise, the administration had been informed that SELA needed $80 million to keep its work moving at full speed, but the White House only proposed providing a quarter of that. These cuts came even though the potential cost of not improving infrastructure was known to be astronomical. A widely-circulated 1998 report on Louisiana’s insurance risks said a serious storm could inflict $27 billion worth of damage just to homes and cars—and that didn’t include industrial or commercial property. Local insurance executives estimated in 2002 that the total damage would be closer to $100 billion to $150 billion—estimates that now look frighteningly accurate.
When Mike Parker headed to Capitol Hill for annual budget hearings in February 2002, he couldn’t hide the truth. Under questioning, he admitted that “there will be a negative impact” if the President’s budget cuts were allowed to go forward. The White House fired Parker within a matter of days.

Friday, August 26
PRESIDENT DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY
President declares a State of Emergency in Louisiana on August 26, 2005 that technically made the Governor’s request unnecessary. This can be seen from the official White House press release at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html

Sunday, August 28
GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA:
“I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.”
The Governor’s request for help on August 28, 2005 as can be seen by viewing her official request at:
http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster Relief Request.pdf

FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA:

Sunday, August 28
BUSH, CHERTOFF WARNED WHAT KATRINA COULD DO:
WASHINGTON - In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned
President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, put lives at risk in New Orleans' Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage.
Bush didn't ask a single question during the final briefing before Katrina struck on Aug. 29, but he assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: "We are fully prepared."

Sunday, August 28
9:30 AM — MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW ORLEANS:
“We’re facing the storm most of us have feared,” said Nagin. “This is going to be an unprecedented event.”
“Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to evacuate themselves.”
This is referring to evacuating people to an emergency shelter within the city, not evacuating people to points outside the city. The Mayor did implement an emergency bussing system that evacuated the city's poor and disabled to the Superdome. This can be verified by reading the plan at http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26

AFTERNOON — BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR:

August 29
MORNING- Blanco calls Bush: "I need everything you've got,
" the governor said she told the president on Monday. "I am going to need all the help you can send me."
MORNING – BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAIN
11:30AM — MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE:

DHS failed to use catastrophe response plan in Katrina's wake
The Homeland Security Department did not use a plan for handling catastrophes in its response to Hurricane Katrina, even though some officials say that doing so could have saved lives and brought the chaotic situation in New Orleans under control.
The department didn't activate a section of the National Response Plan
http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_FullText.pdf

Thursday, September 1
8AM — BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK2PM —

MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES “DESPERATE SOS” TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:
“This is a desperate SOS. Right now we are out of resources at the convention centre and don’t anticipate enough buses. We need buses. Currently the convention centre is unsanitary and unsafe and we’re running out of supplies.”


Investigation finds Red Cross agreed to withhold Orleans aid, operates in tandem with Homeland Security
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Investigation_finds_Red_Cross_agreed_to_withhold_New_Orleans_aid_operates_in_tandem_with_Home_0913.html


FEMA BLOCKS RELIEF
(1)FEMA won't accept Amtrak's help in evacuations http://news.ft.com/cms/s/84aa35cc-1da8-11da-b40b-00000e..
(2)FEMA turns away experienced firefighters http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/5/105538/7048
(3)FEMA turns back Wal-Mart supply trucks http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationalspec ..
(4)FEMA prevents Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationalspec ..
(5)FEMA won't let Red Cross deliver food
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05246/565143.stm
(6)FEMA bars morticians from entering New Orleans http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15147862&BRD=...
(7)FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/3/171718/0826
(8)FEMA fails to utilize Navy ship with 600-bed hospital on board http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0509..
(9)FEMA to Chicago: Send just one truck http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-050902dale..
(10)FEMA turns away generators http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWLBLOG.ac3fcea.html
(11)FEMA: "First Responders Urged Not To Respond" http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18470


Saturday, Dec. 3
Blanco defends actions in storm
From the Times Picayune:
“The Blanco administration released the mountain of documents to U.S. House and Senate committees investigating the response to Katrina on Friday evening, with the governor saying in a statement that they will show the hard work of her administration during its greatest crisis.
"These documents will demonstrate what I have said for several months -- that dedicated employees of the state of Louisiana worked tirelessly and effectively during this period to save many thousands of lives," Blanco said in the written statement.
To a large degree, the massive document dump was Exhibit A in Blanco's public relations defense of her performance during and after the storm. Since the days after the Aug. 29 hurricane, she has been portrayed as indecisive and bumbling in the face of the nation's worst natural disaster. But the documents, especially a 33-page timeline she constructed, take pains to show her as engaged and assertive as she tries to cope with false promises and intransigence from the federal government.

"I requested massive federal assistance in letters to President Bush on Aug. 27 and Aug. 28 -- before the storm's landfall," she said in one. "I spoke with President Bush on Sunday (Aug. 28) and Monday (Aug. 29) and told him I needed everything he had. I believed FEMA officials who told me that every federal resource was at my disposal. I believed this meant every single available resource."
Later on in the talking points document, she responds to a hypothetical question about what she did wrong in response to Katrina.
"I believe my biggest mistake was believing FEMA officials who told me that the necessary federal resources would be available in a timely fashion," she said.”

The Original can be viewed on line at:
http://www.nolarises.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=728
And at
http://www.nola.com/katrina/view.ssf