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smartvoter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:07 AM
Original message
At this point, arguing with anyone who is trying to defend Bush
or spread the blame to the locals is a waste of time. The administration (including Bush personally) has been caught so many times in lies, and the documents proving the locals exceeded best expectations AND got their requests in properly are well known.

Anyone left arguing for the other side is either a liar or has been brainwashed by liars.
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LostinVA Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:09 AM
Response to Original message
1. OMG -- this is almost exactly what I wrote in an email
To someone this morning... except I said "cult members," instead of "brainwashed."
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Ishoutandscream2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:11 AM
Response to Original message
2. No doubt. They are the koolaide drinkers of koolaide drinkers
They have nothing in the tank, but they still try to defend their boy king. It's now almost laughable.
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liberal N proud Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:11 AM
Response to Original message
3. Yeah, I know but I had been laying it on thick on a bu$h loyalist
just to make him squirm.
I actually got entertaining after a while.
He finally got pissed off.
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formerrepuke Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:12 AM
Response to Original message
4. Bush is our President by the Grace of God (according to a significant
number of people)... so you can't possibly oppose him.
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Toots Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:20 AM
Response to Reply #4
6. Why does God make his work "so hard"?
Maybe Katrina was an act of Satan, ya that's the ticket, Bush* is battling Satan....It's our bad boy Bush* fighting Satan so all christianity should be relieved tremendously. :+
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tnlefty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:34 AM
Response to Reply #4
11. Why does God hate America?
:shrug:
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frankly_fedup2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:44 AM
Response to Reply #11
15. because N.O. was a Sodom and Gomorrah. Next is New York
again. God is going to hit New York again because of those G** D*** left wing bastards (click) host of Washington Journal cut this little old Christian lady off this past Sunday morning.

If you want to hear it live, go to cspan and washington journal and pull up Sunday's show in Real player. She is about 30 minutes into the show. Really big supporter of the God-fearing GWB.
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AspenRose Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:54 AM
Response to Reply #15
19. Nah, LA or San Francisco is next
They're gunning for the left coast.
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tnlefty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 12:11 PM
Response to Reply #15
23. 'I'm tired of hearing about those innocents in Iraq being killed. If
they're being killed by a policy of George Bush, then it's okay 'cause he's killin' them for Jesus'. I heard this on WJ one morning and my son exploded. He just couldn't believe what we'd just heard.

Just gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling doesn't it?
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fudge stripe cookays Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:13 AM
Response to Original message
5. I refuse to deal with anyone in this mindset ANYMORE.
I have an old coworker who used to be here, and now works for an aviation company, and voted for the guy twice.

She has always been very nice to me, and has a soft heart where pets are concerned, but the next time she calls me, I'm going to ask if she regrets her vote yet. If she doesn't, that's it.

I cannot deal with these idiots anymore, and won't.

I'm leaving this place as soon as I am able to find something else. Maybe even before. I'm making myself a nervous wreck trying to reason with people who are unreachable, and I refuse to do it anymore.

FSC

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Cyrano Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #5
13. I share your feelings, fudge stripe, but there's no place to run to.
You'll find these imbeciles wherever you go. The only way to escape them is to throw out your radio, TV, stop reading the papers, and become a media hermit for a while.

Conversely, if you blast them with your justified anger, you will be the one who is shunned.

IMO, your best course, at present, would be to avoid any political discussions and walk away when you hear one in progress. It's difficult, but you must place your own peace of mind before anything else.

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Cats Against Frist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 12:05 PM
Response to Reply #13
22. I agree
My old house, in SEATTTLE, of all places, used to have neighbors on two sides, who were freepers. The ones directly across the street had two monster trucks with confederate flags on them. There's no reason to fly the stars n' bars in Washington State, unless you're a racist. Then, my other neighbors had some kind of patriotic display in their yard, and cussed me out, because I had an anti-Bush sign, in my yard.

Seattle.

They're everywhere.

However -- now, I'm living in rural Iowa, in an area that is very blue, and very progressive. Not a lot of freep display through here.
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fudge stripe cookays Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 12:50 PM
Response to Reply #22
26. Which PART of Seattle?
I don't want to move into your old place! :P Glad you're in a bluer place.

If any assholes want to give me a hard time if i get to Seattle, I'll just say, "Look asshole, you call that being conservative? I used to live in Texas. I've got chunks of freepers like you in my stool. Bring it on!"

FSC
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fudge stripe cookays Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 12:48 PM
Response to Reply #13
25. Believe me cyrano....
They're everywhere, but in Texas, they're more numerous than most places. Ergo, my elevated blood pressure.

I'm headed for bluer climes. SOON. Before I blow.
FSC :hi:
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azureblue Donating Member (412 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:29 AM
Response to Original message
7. Modded katrina time line
This is lengthy, but it's a great kool aid antidote::

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

Once the President declared the State of Emergency on August 26, 2005, it triggered something called “An Incident of National Significance.” According to the United States National Response Plan, this has quite a few consequences, all of which are designed to put the Federal Government in charge, eliminate delays based on paperwork, and eliminate any need for local officials to ask for help. Here are some quotes:

“The President leads the Nation in responding efficiently and ensuring the necessary resources are applied quickly and effectively to all Incidents of National Significance.”

"Standard procedures regarding requests for assistance may be expedited, or under extreme circumstances, suspended in the immediate aftermath of an event of catastrophic magnitude."

The US National Response Plan can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_FullText.pdf

The FEMA documents cited are Offical Notices in the "FEMA Federal Register" here.


GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA:

GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26.

Sunday, August 28
5AM — KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE

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 request for help on August 28, 2005 as can be easily seen by viewing her official request at http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf
and on the web:
http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=976

The official White House response to this request is in the press release at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050829-2.html

FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA: “Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.”

Stafford Act (42 USC 68), which was amended after the terror attacks of four years ago to state that any presidentially declared disaster or national emergency automatically became an Incident of National Significance and as such was the responsibility of the federal government to handle it. Reference is Section 5143, which states:

Immediately upon his declaration of a major disaster or emergency, the President shall appoint a Federal coordinating officer to operate in the affected area.

(b) Functions of Federal coordinating officer

In order to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, the Federal coordinating officer, within the affected area, shall -

(1) make an initial appraisal of the types of relief most urgently needed;
(2) establish such field offices as he deems necessary and as are authorized by the President;
(3) coordinate the administration of relief, including activities of the State and local governments, the American National Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Mennonite Disaster Service, and other relief or disaster assistance organizations, which agree to operate under his advice or direction, except that nothing contained in this chapter shall limit or in any way affect the responsibilities of the American National Red Cross under chapter 3001 of title 36; and
(4) take such other action, consistent with authority delegated to him by the President, and consistent with the provisions of this chapter, as he may deem necessary to assist local citizens and public officials in promptly obtaining assistance to which they are entitled.

Sunday, August 28
2AM – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE

7AM – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE

MORNING — LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: “Forecasters Fear Levees Won’t Hold Katrina”: “Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow.”


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


4PM – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE WARNING: In the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, “Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. … At least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed. … Power outages will last for weeks. … Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.”

AFTERNOON — BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center: “‘We were briefing them way before landfall. … It’s not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped.’”

LATE PM – REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE: “Waves crashed atop the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early Monday as Katrina churned closer.”

APPROXIMATELY 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS WORTH OF FOOD

DHS BEGINS BUNGLING:
In one instance, federal environmental health specialists, who were charged with protecting both rescue workers and evacuees, weren't called in by the Department of Homeland Security until Sunday -- 12 days after the Occupational Safety & Health Administration announced it had teams from various agencies standing by ready to assist. Even now, with mounting evidence of environmental problems, the deployment is being held up by continuing interagency wrangling, according to officials at the National Institutes of Health, which also is involved in the effort.
In addition, FEMA's official requests, known as tasking assignments and used by the agency to demand help from other government agencies, show that it first asked the Department of Transportation to look for buses to help evacuate the more than 20,000 people who had taken refuge at the Superdome in New Orleans at 1:45 a.m. on Aug. 31. At the time, it only asked for 455 buses and 300 ambulances for the enormous task. Almost 18 hours later, it canceled the request for the ambulances because it turned out, as one FEMA employee put it, "the DOT doesn't do ambulances."

FEMA ended up modifying the number of buses it thought it needed to get the job done, until it settled on a final request of 1,355 buses at 8:05 p.m. on Sept. 3. The buses, though, trickled into New Orleans, with only a dozen or so arriving on the first day.


ALL CONDITIONS FOR FEDERAL RELIEF ACT ARE MET:
All necessary conditions for federal relief were met on August 28. Pursuant to Section 502 of the Stafford Act, "he declaration of an emergency by the President makes Federal emergency assistance available," and the President made such a declaration on August 28. The public record indicates that several additional days passed before such assistance was actually made available to the State;

The Governor must make a timely request for such assistance, which meets the requirements of federal law. The report states that "xcept to the extent that an emergency involves primarily Federal interests, both declarations of major disaster and declarations of emergency must be triggered by a request to the President from the Governor of the affected state";

The Governor did indeed make such a request, which was both timely and in compliance with federal law. The report finds that "Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco requested by letter dated August 27, 2005...that the President declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period from August 26, 2005 and continuing pursuant to " and "Governor Blanco's August 27,2005 request for an emergency declaration also included her determination...that 'the 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 disaster."

http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/crskatrinarept91205.pdf


The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief Brown, who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week, federal documents show.

Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials. Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown had only limited authority to do so until about 36 hours after the storm hit, when Chertoff designated him as the "principal federal official" in charge of the storm....

But Chertoff - not Brown - was in charge of managing the national response to a catastrophic disaster, according to the National Response Plan, the federal government's blueprint for how agencies will handle major natural disasters or terrorist incidents. An order issued by President Bush in 2003 also assigned that responsibility to the homeland security director."

http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/politic...

Monday, August 29
3AM- 9TH ST. CANAL LEVEE BREAKS
Statement given to the New Orleans Times Picayune by Master Sgt. Stephen Cockerham who was at the National Guard Headquarters during the storm:
"I'd say within 15 minutes, it was six feet deep inside the building."
The winds were too strong to flee, he said, and he did not know at the time that the levee gave way. "All I know is it came up damned fast," he said. "I'd say we were right in the midst of the strongest winds when the levee broke."
The flooding from the levee breach shut down the cities National Guard Headquarters, destroyed much of the communication equipment, and sent the Guardsmen to the Superdome for refuge.
Other communications gear, which was stored in the back of a military truck, floated away...
400 Guardsmen rode out the hurricane at the barracks...
By 9:30 p.m.(Monday), Guard leaders decided to relocate the command staff to the Superdome..."Once we lost power, that's really when we ceased to function,"...helicopter crews picked them up and flew them to the Superdome.

5AM- CIVILIAN CALLS CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO TELL THEM OF BREAK @ 17TH ST. CANAL. FEMA FAILS TO ACTIVATE EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM

7AM – KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE

8AM – MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: “I’ve gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we’ve had one of our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is just a matter of how much.”

8:15AM NWS ISSUES ALERT:

WGUS54 KLIX 291316
FFWLIX
LAC071-087-291915-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
814 AM CDT MON AUG 29 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR ORLEANS PARISH IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA
THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...NEW ORLEANS ST. BERNARD PARISH IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF CHALMETTE

MORNING — BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION: “I spoke to Mike Chertoff today — he’s the head of the Department of Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue , so we got us an airplane on — a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are.”

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

11AM — BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “This new bill I signed says, if you’re a senior and you like the way things are today, you’re in good shape, don’t change. But, by the way, there’s a lot of different options for you. And we’re here to talk about what that means to our seniors.”

LATE MORNING - LEVEE BREACHED: “A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new ‘hurricane proof’ Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina’s fiercest winds were well north.”

11:30AM — MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: “Brown’s memo to Chertoff described Katrina as ‘this near catastrophic event’ but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, ‘Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities.’”

2PM — BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “We’ve got some folks up here who are concerned about their Social Security or Medicare. Joan Geist is with us. … I could tell — she was looking at me when I first walked in the room to meet her, she was wondering whether or not old George W. is going to take away her Social Security check.”

6PM- FEDERAL OFFICIALS LEARN OF LEVEE BREAK:
Federal officials in New Orleans and Vicksburg knew at 6PM on the night of Monday, August 29th, that at least one levee had failed in New Orleans and that the city was in the process of flooding. Yet, armed with this critical life-saving knowledge, officials did nothing to warn the public of the impending deluge. The commander of the New Orleans district of the Army Corps of Engineers, Col. Richard P. Wagenaar, finally confirmed the breach between and 3 and 6 p.m. Aug. 29 and reported it to headquarters in Vicksburg, Miss.

9PM — RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld “joined Padres President John Moores in the owner’s box…at Petco Park.”

Tuesday, August 30
9AM – BUSH SPEAKS ON IRAQ AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO

MIDDAY – CHERTOFF FINALLY BECOMES AWARE THAT LEVEE HAS FAILED: “It was on Tuesday that the levee–may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday–that the levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to drain into the city.”

PENTAGON CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION: “Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate National Guard units to handle the hurricane needs.”

MASS LOOTING REPORTED, SECURITY SHORTAGE CITED: “The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked,” Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. “We’re using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on rooftops.”

U.S.S. BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED: “The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can make its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan rode out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents. But now the Bataan’s hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty.”

3PM – PRESIDENT BUSH PLAYS GUITAR WITH COUNTRY SINGER MARK WILLIS

BUSH RETURNS TO CRAWFORD FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION
Wednesday, August 31

TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE: “A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. ‘We pee on the floor. We are like animals,’ said Taffany Smith, 25, as she cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry. … By Wednesday, it had degenerated into horror. … At least two people, including a child, have been raped. At least three people have died, including one man who jumped 50 feet to his death, saying he had nothing left to live for. There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming.”"

PRESIDENT BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL RESPONSE: Bush says on Tuesday he will “fly to Washington to begin work…with a task force that will coordinate the work of 14 federal agencies involved in the relief effort.”

JEFFERSON PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY GONE: “Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering the help nearly as fast as it is needed.”

80,000 BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS: Former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy “estimated 80,000 were trapped in the flooded city and urged President Bush to send more troops.”

3,000 STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER: “With 3,000 or more evacuees stranded at the convention center — and with no apparent contingency plan or authority to deal with them — collecting a body was no one’s priority. … Some had been at the convention center since Tuesday morning but had received no food, water or instructions.”

5PM — BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA: “Nothing about the president’s demeanor… — which seemed casual to the point of carelessness — suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis.”

8:00PM – CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW: “On Wednesday night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at ‘Spamalot!, the Monty Python musical at the Shubert, when the lights went up after the performance.”

9PM — FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: “I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected.”


POWER CREWS DIVERTED TO RESTORING POWER TO OIL PIPELINE FIRST

"Cheney orders rural electric crews to work on oil pipeline from Texas"

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Hattiesburg American) -- Shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through South Mississippi knocking out electricity and communication systems, the White House ordered power restored to a pipeline that sends fuel to the Northeast.

That order -- to restart two power substations in Collins that serve Colonial Pipeline Co. -- delayed efforts by at least 24 hours to restore power to two rural hospitals and a number of water systems in the Pine Belt.

"I considered it a presidential directive to get those pipelines operating," said Jim Compton, general manager of the South Mississippi Electric Power Association...
"We were led to believe a national emergency was created when the pipelines were shut down," Compton said.

White House call

Dan Jordan, manager of Southern Pines Electric Power Association, said Vice President Dick Cheney's office called and left voice mails twice shortly after the storm struck, saying the Collins substations needed power restored immediately.

Jordan dated the first call the night of Aug. 30 and the second call the morning of Aug. 31. Southern Pines supplies electricity to the substation that powers the Colonial pipeline.

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Mike Callahan said the U.S. Department of Energy called him on Aug. 31. Callahan said department officials said opening the fuel line was a national priority.

Thursday, September 1
8AM — BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK: “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.”

CONDOLEEZZA RICE VISITS U.S. OPEN: “Rice, on three days’ vacation to shop and see the U.S. Open, hitting some balls with retired champ Monica Seles at the Indoor Tennis Club at Grand Central.”

STILL NO COMMAND AND CONTROL ESTABLISHED: Terry Ebbert, New Orleans Homeland Security Director: “This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans.”

2PM — 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.”

2PM — MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF VIOLENCE: “I’ve had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they’re banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I’ve had no reports of that.”

NEW ORLEANS “DESCEND INTO ANARCHY”: “Storm victims were raped and beaten, fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. ‘This is a desperate SOS,’ the mayor said.”

CONDOLEEZZA RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING: “Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we’ve confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo’s Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, ‘How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!’”

MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY LEARNS OF EVACUEES IN CONVENTION CENTER: “We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need.”

Friday, September 2
ROVE-LED CAMPAIGN TO BLAME LOCAL OFFICIALS BEGINS: “Under the command of President Bush’s two senior political advisers, the White House rolled out a plan…to contain the political damage from the administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina.” President Bush’s comments from the Rose Garden Friday morning formed “the start of this campaign.”

9:35AM — BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN: “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”

10 AM — PRESIDENT BUSH STAGES PHOTO-OP “BRIEFING”: Coast Guard helicopters and crew diverted to act as backdrop for President Bush’s photo-op.

BUSH VISIT GROUNDS FOOD AID: “Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush’s visit to New Orleans, officials said.”

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

LEVEE REPAIR WORK ORCHESTRATED FOR PRESIDENT’S VISIT: Sen. Mary Landrieu, 9/3: “Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment.”

BUSH USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP: A group of 1,000 firefighters convened in Atlanta to volunteer with the Katrina relief efforts. Of those, “a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew’s first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.”

3PM — BUSH “SATISFIED WITH THE RESPONSE”: “I am satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with all the results.”

Saturday, September 3
SENIOR BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LIES TO WASHINGTON POST, CLAIMS GOV. BLANCO NEVER DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY: The Post reported in their Sunday edition “As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.” They were forced to issue a correction hours later.

9AM — BUSH BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS: “he magnitude of responding to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the size of Great Britain has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need.”

Tuesday, September 13th
On last night's Nightline, FEMA staffer Leo Bosner appeared, careful to say he was giving his personal views, not the agency's official ones. He spoke quietly but did not mince words:

"Right now as we talk, unfortunately, Homeland Security is actually impeding - in my view - impeding the rescue effort. As I mentioned, we're running a 24/7 operation down there and we're trying to do the best we can at FEMA. And we're getting held back because we're bombarded with telephone calls, day and night, from Homeland Security, saying, `Oh, Secretary Chertoff has a press conference coming up, uh, stop everything and get us this information: Can you tell us exactly how many pounds of ice have been delivered to such and such county,' or, `Why are the number of rescues different from what they were six hours ago?' They're impeding the effort right now."

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azureblue Donating Member (412 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:31 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. Can't figure out why it made all the strike throughs
The post put in a bunch of strike throughs- sorry.
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iconoclastNYC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:33 AM
Response to Original message
9. Yup. Total waste of time. Instead you should....
Try to convince someone who is anti-bush or anti-neo con to get involved in either helping Democrats take back the congress or else reforming thier party.
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genieroze Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:33 AM
Response to Original message
10. Either they are evil, ignorant or both which is real dangerous.
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rniel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:39 AM
Response to Original message
12. I've reached that point
Arguing over this katrina event on internet boards off and on for the last week. I don't see how I have done anything to change people's minds. It's kinda a struggle you get nothing out of, but fits of rage.

I'm glad I can come on DU and feel some comfort that I'm not the only one left the reality based community.
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Coexist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:40 AM
Response to Original message
14. don't forget to note that a 25-page report by a bi-partisan
Congressional committee has exonerated the local and state governments.

www.rawstory.com
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TahitiNut Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:57 AM
Response to Reply #14
20. Congressional Research Service (is NOT a "committee")
It's a non-partisan professional service in the Legislative Branch that serves all Congresscritters no matter what stripe.
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Coexist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:58 AM
Response to Reply #20
21. thanks for the clarification
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info being Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:48 AM
Response to Original message
16. You can make a person "decent" even with a decent argument
Its either in their hearts or it isn't.
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DeepModem Mom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:48 AM
Response to Original message
17. Those who get their news from Fox, hate radio, or WSJ editorial page...
are blaming anybody but Bush. I've heard them -- it's Nagin's fault; it's Blanco's fault.
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drfresh Donating Member (424 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 11:52 AM
Response to Original message
18. Not a waste of time
You never know when someone might see the light, and we should try to facilitate that. Of course, you don't want to bang your head until it hurts...
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smartvoter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 01:03 PM
Response to Reply #18
27. I usually agree. But on this issue, when it isn't just us trying to
point out things that "would be all over the news" if they were true, there is little left to say...
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ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-14-05 12:12 PM
Response to Original message
24. This is why I call them "Bush Loyalists"
Edited on Wed Sep-14-05 12:12 PM by ComerPerro
Their allegiance is to Bush and the GOP, not to the country.
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