In New Video, Blanco Says Levees Are Safe

[Tab]

WASHINGTON - In the hectic, confused hours after Hurricane Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast, Louisiana's governor hesitantly but mistakenly assured the Bush administration that New Orleans' protective levees were intact, according to new video obtained by The Associated Press showing briefings that day with federal officials. "We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said shortly after noon on Aug. 29, according to the video.

"We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said shortly after noon on Aug. 29, according to the video. "We heard a report unconfirmed, I think, we have not breached the levee. I think we have not breached the levee at this time."

In fact, the National Weather Service received a report of a levee breach and issued a flash-flood warning as early as 9:12 a.m. that day, according to the White House's formal recounting of events the day Katrina struck.

...

In the video of the conference call, Blanco appears uncertain about the reliability of her information and cautioned that the situation "could change."

Blanco said floodwaters were rising in parts of the city "where we have waters that are 8 to 10 feet deep, and we have people swimming in there."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060303/ap_on_go_pr_wh/katrina_video_35;_ylt=AsCICrhdB4NyxXG2XuJQUTsbLisB;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

[WLKjr]

1. still doesnt change things, it's six month's later and people are still

pointing the damn fingers.....sad.

This whole situation is a major FUBAR event on all scales IMHO.

[Poppyseedman]

6. You are exactly right.

I find it amazing that many DU'er bash the incredible incompetency of the bush administration, yet give Governor Blanco a pass. Anybody who looks with an honest assessment knows the state response was terrible and inter agency fighting was just as bad as the federal response and power plays they pulled.

All levels of government were beyond incompetent on this disaster. I think, the only guy who was a victim of a media witch hunt was Mayor Nagin.

Honestly, how much could the mayor do on his own? My only beef with him was he played the fool and the media were obedient lap dogs in making him look like one.

[Baclava]

10. That's what happens when you live down here...

You play the "It's not going to hit us" ...dodge the 'cane game...till the very last minute.
This time everyone got stuck with their heads in the sand.

Katrina missed a direct hit on N.O. by 30/50 miles or more...they just ignored the other consequences.
Mississippi took the brunt of the storm.

[Chomskyite]

51. Louisianan needing a primer here

Could you kindly explain to me how hesitantly passing along an early report is as bad as Bush, Chertoff and Brown not responding to the clear emergency until Thursday, when the flooding happened Monday?

[MADem]

64. Yeah, and the fact that the headline of that article does NOT match

what she actually said...she didn't say safe, she said she thought there was water coming over them. How they can morph what she said into that headline is curious.

I suspect it wouldn't have mattered what she said--Brownie was not being sufficiently aggressive, Chertoff was off at a conference, and Bushie was too busy eating cake and playing the geee-tar to give a shit about our fellow citizens in NOLA. There were no resources to be spared for those poor souls, because the feds didn't choose to spare them.

[Poppyseedman]

65. It isn't just that one early report.

There are many incidents where the state government failed miserably that has nothing to do with chimpboy or the federal response.

Just one example: La. National guard told not to go to the Astrodome with food and water because people might stay. WTF?

It is disingenuous to lay the whole blame on the federal government and pretend Blanco and her teams response is excusable.

There is whole lot of incompetence to spread around up and down the hierarchy of governments. Just because there is a "D" behind a politicians name does not make them less accountable. If anything, we expect more.

[Lindacooks]

40. Not to mention that it's six months later and cleanup hasn't even begun

in some areas. Proving chimpy lied, AGAIN. When the next hurricane season starts, in 100 days, there's going to be a lot of debris around to cause even more damage.

[The Taxman]

55. Crazy isn't it? The last I heard they've spent more than $60 billion

"and cleanup hasn't even begun."

[DeltaLady]

59. Oh, but the cleanup has begun

by the likes of Halliburton et al. They have a taste for scouring those no bid contracts :sarcasm:

[oasis]

2. Chimpyboy should have stayed with the situation given what the earlier

reports had indicated. He always stresses how we should "Err on the side of caution".

[babylonsister]

3. Where did she say they were safe?

"We heard a report unconfirmed, I think, we have not breached the levee. I think we have not breached the levee at this time."

That doesn't sound 'safe' to me.

Disclaimer: I didn't watch the video.

[geomon666]

4. What a misleading headline.

Saying, "The levees are safe", is a lot different than saying, "I think we have not breached the levees but that may change."

[niyad]

5. even an IDIOT (which * clearly is) SHOULD have understood "we have

parts of the city under 8-10 feet of water, people are swimming" What person in her/his right mind could NOT see that that indicated a serious problem??????

[daleo]

8. They must teach misleading headlines in journalism school now

It has become an art form.

[EFerrari]

21. They don't have to, but answering a fax machine

now, that's a skill worth the tuition right there.

[daleo]

31. For the advanced student there is also "take dictation". n/t

[TomClash]

7. Assured the Administration that the levees were intact?

What audio were the folks at Yahoo News listening to?

[SoCalDem]

9. that's the second sentence after she said "as far as I know"

remember..no phones worked..people were separated from their staff members..the information the people on the ground got, came from reporters and people who wandered in and out telling what they had heard..

I really wish that Blanco & Nagin had huddled somewhere and done some coordinating.. They both were under extreme stress and talked as if no one would remember what they were saying,..THEY probably were in shock and didn;t know what they were saying half the time..

[RSchewe]

11. I am suspicious to the timing and withholding of all of these videos.

All of these videos could have been released months ago. Why were they withheld?

Some of these releases seem to be agenda driven. Maybe it is just me though.


I agree on the point that this story is being framed in a misleading way. You can expect anything when these people are out to sell more papers.

[DeltaLady]

12. Some of you are engaging in deliberate obfuscation.

I have called New Orleans home for over 30 years. My Gentilly neighborhood was all but completely obliterated when the London Avenue Canal breached. While you critics were asleep in your beds, I was actively looking for a way out of the city. Had republican shills been in charge, the federal stormtroopers would have been on their way into the city with guns, not food and water. Blanco is the ONLY THING that prevented that from happening.

From the gate, **shCo requested "martial law or as close as we can get." Under that scenario, the feds become responsible for law enforcement as civil authority is suspended. I know things were awful, but that would have been worse; all rights we americans claim as our own are suspended when this happens. New Orleans would have become Naziworld.

I'm certain some of you question whether or not this is true, but friends who remained trapped in the city told me on no uncertain terms that the military, when it did arrive, drove right by helpless dying people. They came to enforce order, not to help the desperate. Look at some Katrina photos and you will see truckloads of them, rifles literally in hand. It could have been a foreign nation as far as these troops were concerned; they ordered people around but DID NOT GIVE COMFORT OR AID. These guys and dolls were not trained for mercy missions, they were trained for WAR.

Blanco defied **sh by refusing to turn the state over to him. In turn, Mr. Snarly, the petulant pretender to the presidency held back what was needed for relief.

As far as Blanco not knowing what was taking place in New Orleans, (breach vs. massive flooding) communications were poor but the situation was clear, people were "swimming." Why is the cause relevant to any of **shCos actions at that point in time? To discard my usual genteel demeanor, WHAT A CROCK. Most of the equipment that SHOULD have been in place was in IRAQ. That included satellite phones and high water vehicles!

I would defend Blanco to my dying breath. She fought Bush tooth and nail to retain state sovereignty and autonomy. I salute her bravery and vision.

[underpants]

13. Excellent post

:thumbsup:

[Judi Lynn]

15. Very glad to have read your post. Some of us outside N.O. suspected

a lot was riding on the fact she refused to turn over all control to _Bush. He probably took great delight in getting some vicious revenge.

DU'ers were commenting on the oddness of the National Guard off fighting a phoney war, while federal soldiers patrolled New Orleans.

[Delphinus]

16. Dear DeltaLady,

Thank you for sharing with us your truth.

I hope, after reading your neighborhood was obliterated, you have found a peaceful place to call home.

[Bridget Burke]

17. The new tape was briefly mentioned on local morning news....

Apparently, it is being presented as a defense of Bush's indefensible performance.

I'm glad to read your take on the matter. Many of us had heard that Blanco's refusal to GIVE Louisiana to the Feds caused them to delay aid. But you have confirmed the facts with real authority.

[beltanefauve]

42. Good old NPR

slanted it the same way. All the propogandists are in lock-step.

[Spazito]

24. Excellent post! Thank you for sharing the truth from your

first-hand experience, it is much appreciated. From all I had heard, read and watched before, during and after the hurricane struck, Bush, not Blanco, is to blame for the catastrophe that occurred.

[pitohui]

36. hear hear to delta lady

i fully agree w. this post

[slackmaster]

43. I have to ask you something, DeltaLady, and no offense meant

Why didn't you get out before the storm arrived? Didn't you have at least a couple of days of warning?

...New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin declared a state of emergency Sunday and ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city....

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/28/hurricane.katrina/

I'm interested to know if you disregarded the evacuation order, or if your situation made it impossible for you to comply. You say you were "actively looking" for a way out. When did you start looking?

[pitohui]

46. can't answer for delta lady but here's one story

the couple that i knew that drowned in gentilly, this is basically what happened, first, gentilly is on higher ground than many parts of new orleans such as 9th ward and they were in the same raised house that didn't flood in betsy, second, the london avenue canal was SUPPOSEDLY improved & strengthened in the 90s, when i lived in that v. house i never even considered getting out of town when a hurricane was on the way, thought it was perfectly safe, my main concern was the car because of the street flooding, and that was before the improvements were made, finally in this older couple's case, at their age, the risk of traveling and being on the road can also be a stress that threatens survival, indeed, i lost another friend who died immediately after driving his family out of plaquemines parish to higher ground, there is always a risk of clots, heart disease, etc. in a long drive, esp. for older folks and those w. a history of blood clots

basically in the case of this couple, they relied on decades of experience of living in that house and the army corps of engineers which would have led us to believe the london avenue canal was perfectly safe

this is one reason why you see the hurricane taking such a huge and disproportionate toll of our elders

when ray nagin ordered the evacuation, it was thought a cat 5 was heading for new orleans, but in reality we locals all know that a storm is highly highly unlikely to go as far inland as new orleans at cat 5 strength, i don't know if this has ever occurred anywhere w. an atlantic hurricane, and in fact it was a cat 3 at new orleans

the london avenue canal should have held and gentilly should have been OK

i don't see the point in blaming victims here, we all make the best decisions we can w. the knowledge and experience we have at our disposal

[DeltaLady]

52. I have no license nor vehicle.

On saturday I called Amtrak and Greyhound. Both calls yielded the same result, a recording which stated "due to Hurricane Katrina, all service is suspended at this time." I then tried the airlines and could not book a flight to anywhere. It was obvious unless I could beg a ride out I was stuck.

Rather than leave it at that, I began calling hotels; The Royal Sonesta, the Fairmont, etc., only to be told "we are not accepting any reservations, in fact, we're asking our current guests to evacuate.

I have a daughter and son-in-law, but he was insistent we would be safe at his mother's house. At 3AM sunday morning when Katrina was upgraded to a cat 5 I called them ready to battle. To my great delight, my son-in-law relented, agreeing to evacuate.

That's my saga, except for spending all of sunday making food for first responders. We stayed at a cafe owned by a friend in Kenner, madly slapping piles of sandwiches together; the owner was certain he was going to lose the contents of his refrigerator/freezers anyway, so reasoned that providing food for those who were forced to stay behind and work had basic sustenance. The state and local police, in an act of kindness and gratitude for our offering, gave us an escort into the contraflow just before it was closed down.

[slackmaster]

60. Thanks - A terrible ordeal indeed!

Wherever you live you have to do the best you can to prepare for the kinds of disasters that are foreseeable. Here in California the most obvious one is earthquake. The big problem with them is we know they are coming but have no idea when, so people who are on the ball stay prepared at all times.

I've developed an earthquake preparedness presentation and delivered it once. I'm fascinated by the subject.

I'm glad you made it through Katrina alive.

[Demoiselle]

47. Thank you! You make absolute sense.Bless you, I hope and pray that

Gentilly and all of New Orleans recover soon.

[Little Star]

48. Glad to read your post DeltaLady

I have felt that she did the best she could with what she had to work with. I was very glad she did not turn over state sovereignty to that mad man. I, of course, was only relying on my intuitions because I'm way up here in Massachusetts. It was good to have my thoughts validated by one who was there. Love to you and all the others who have suffered so greatly. Peace and prosperity, Carol

ps: Is there anything that we can realistically do to help? We all know to donate money and to try and keep the focus on this but is there something that we perhaps don't know to do?

[DeltaLady]

53. Good company always makes us smile.

Perhaps sometime you'll consider coming to visit; jazzfest has a great lineup this year;

http://www.nojazzfest.com/schedule/index04.html


The other thing I would ask is that those who donate monies do so to the Salvation Army. They were up and running long before the Red Cross began to get their act together.

Many thank yous to all of you who remain focused on helping us rebuild our unique and wonderful city. When you come to visit, know our smiles are genuine. We welcome you to share in the bounty and beauty that was and will again be the Queen of the South.

[Little Star]

63. Salvation Army it is and am glad to do so.

Hope some day soon to get to your most intriguing city.

[The Taxman]

56. Well, if all you want is " to retain state sovereignty and autonomy" then

I'm sure you have no use for federal aid.

[DeltaLady]

61. Fine with me.

We'll SELL you the oil and gas you need after we raise the tax on the lines that carry it through our state. We'll also collect 100% of the revenues generated by drilling offshore Louisiana. Additionally, we'll add a port tax to anything exiting the mouth of the river for overseas shipment (all the grain and goods from the midwest). A barge tax could also be imposed, and then we could easily add $1. per plate when you dine on seafood unique to our waters (I suppose you could save a few pennies and dine on shrimp from Taiwan, but they're tiny and come in cans...yes, I see great potential for Louisiana to manage just fine without your assistance Taxman.

Since 30% of domestic oil and gas production comes from us, you might have to switch to public transportation, but that's a small sacrifice on your part. The real problem will be in keeping from freezing to death in the winter. I wonder how long it will take 1,300 of your extended family to freeze to death? hmmm Pinpointing your family would be difficult, that is the only sticking point, but then again it didn't bother you that our extended family was swimming for their lives while federal aid was withheld. I would not cause others to suffer for your stupidity. Perhaps you and yours could negotiate a deal with Chavez?

Oh, did I forget to mention Port Fourchon? Perhaps this will help enlighten you:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/01/business/gulf.php

Now go troll in waters that are not over your head. I don't suggest you mess with us, we're in a very bad mood today in the Pelican State.

[DoYouEverWonder]

57. I'm with you

Some of us on DU followed the news and all the reports we could get our hands on very closely that week. We saw and knew what was going on. Blanco and Nagin are both heros in my book. Blanco saved the US from BushCo and their plans for Marshall Law. Most people don't understand how close we were to having a real military dictatorship. Nor do they understand how much Blanco had to do with preventing that.

[rfkrfk]

14. the state owns the levees

http://www.orleanslevee.com/

The Orleans Levee District, a state agency, owns the levees.

If/when, did Blanco tell shrub there was a problem?

[Bridget Burke]

18. Shrub already knew there was going to be a problem.

He just ignored it.

[rfkrfk]

19. ok, so what did Blanco tell shrub?

everyone needs to know

[Bridget Burke]

22. Why don't you find out & let us know?

With a link, of course!

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

27. Federal funding originally intended for levees was "reallocated" by Bushco

They purposfuly and knowingly took back the funds for the levee earllier in the year-the ones that Congress had appropriated...
They knew there was a potential problem but took the gamble that a big storm wouldn't hit on their watch.
They lost the bet.
Why isn't this in the headine?

[rfkrfk]

28. the levee board makes project decisions

the levee board knew the same thing,
but the levee board {really the state] owns the levees

the levee board gets a budget from the state

fed money is matching funds,

if you don't spend it, it will get pulled

[Bridget Burke]

34. Sorry--all the spin in the world will not erase the picture....

Of the clueless moron sitting in his Crawford bunker.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

49. you are dead wrong- they pulled the money to spend on IRAQ

literally-
This was on Bernie Ward KGO.com-
I will find a link for you.--they took it and actually literally physically took the funds and put it in an Iraq spending package.
CONGRESS voted to put money in the levees and Bushco actually took it back-
They were talking the hell out of this point not too long ago.

NOTE:no levee board matching funds involved here.


Lemme find a link for you-I just got home and have a million things to do but I wil be back.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

50. here's some links from Salon, factcheck,-

President'smple google of the fingertips you can get even more links-

Lack of funding had absolutely nothing to do with "matching levee board funds" as you claim-
these guys knew of problems and deliberately took back the money to fix them --and used it for Iraq-

"No one can say they didn't see it coming"
"In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war."

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2005/08/31/disaster_preparation/index_np.html


------

"In fiscal year 2004, the Corps requested $11 million for the project. The President’s budget allocated $3 million, and Congress furnished $5.5 million. Similarly, in fiscal 2005 the Corps requested $22.5 million, which the President cut to $3.9 million in his budget. Congress increased that to $5.5 million. “This was insufficient to fund new construction contracts,” according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ project fact sheet. The Corps reported that “seven new contracts are being delayed due to lack funds”

http://www.factcheck.org/article344.html

[Evergreen Emerald]

20. They don't show the whole conversation

When I have seen it on the news, it is cut off just after she says they have not been breached yet...she goes on to talk about how they expect breach very soon, but that part of the conversation is always cut off.

Bush is attempting to get a free pass for a disaster that caused the death as much if not more people than died in 9/11. He is not being held to task. Remember, Blanco was in her city doing her best to help while bush ate cake and played the guitar.

[Roland99]

23. WWL TV was reporting a breach by 9:30am >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

WWL TV reported on their website on 8/29 no later than 9:35am:

.. A LEVEE BREACH OCCURRED ALONG THE INDUSTRIAL CANAL AT TENNESSE STREET. 3 TO 8 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED DUE TO THE BREACH...LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO ARABI AND 9TH WARD OF NEW ORLEANS.

And a posting on one of the blogs (wunderground or nola.com)

Posted By: UFGATORDON at 3:01 PM GMT on August 29, 2005.
LA governor says water rising 1 ft per hour in NO. Major breeching of levees

This was just hours after landfall. HOURS.

And where was the Propagandist? Eating cake with McCain in AZ. And the next day, when the FLOODING was being SHOWN on LIVE TV where was the Propagandist? Playing guitar in CA!!!

[daleo]

32. I remember reading about a breach before going to bed that night

I think that would be about 1:30 a.m. in my time zone, so 3:30 a.m in Florida. Maybe my memory is off, but that is my sense of it.

[jsamuel]

33. you are right, but that was the early morning of the 30th, not 29th

when the news started covering the breech, I believe

[daleo]

44. Well, I read about it here on DU

So, whatever it was, it was the first accounts. Maybe even the unofficial accounts that were starting to show up in General Discussion. The news was fast and furious in both forums (fora, I suppose) during Katrina. I suppose the early accounts are still in the archives.

[DoYouEverWonder]

58. Daleo is correct

Those of us on DU following the storm knew early on the 29th that the levees were being breached. That's why it was so appalling to see the headlines saying that New Orleans had bit the bullet. We knew that New Orleans was flooding and that the worse was yet to come.

[Roland99]

45. Katrina made landfall about 7am Eastern time

http://uspolitics.about.com/library/bl_katrina_timeline_2.htm

6.10 AM CDT: Katrina Makes Landfall
Katrina makes landfall as a strong Category 4 storm, south of Buras, LA along the Mississippi delta. The eye crossed the coastline a second time along the Mississippi- Louisiana border. The most dangerous part of the storm, the eastern eyewall, hit the Mississippi coastline where Hurricane Camille struck in 1969. The report states that "some levees in the greater New Orleans area could be overtopped."

[jsamuel]

25. There are soooo many holes in this story it is umbelievable they printed

it...

Did she say "safe" or did she say "we don't know about the levees yet, but people are 8-10 feet under water in NO..."?

Aug. 29th was the day after the storm and Bush was told of the levees later that day and didn't show up for DAYS!

[mimitabby]

29. yes, but for some..

this headline today will give them reassurances that their Chimpy really didn't let them down
and they can go back to sleep in front of their TV's...

[AngryAmish]

26. Does this prove the levees were bombed?

[pitohui]

38. yeah and blanco piloted the jets into the WTC herself while she was at it

christ what's the matter w. people?

anything that happens somehow it is not the fault of the federal authorities who hold all 3 branches of power and most of the country's fortune, and instead it's the fault of any random democrat that makes the mistake of happening to exist

no, the levees were not bombed, the effin army corps of engineers didn't build them to spec in the first place, since some people are unclear on the concept, i had better explain NO louisiana don't have its own army that is the UNITED STATES army corps of engineers that fucked it up in all its glory

army corps of engineers said we had a cat 3 levee system, a cat 3 storm hit, the levees breached in multiple places, they short-sheeted us, it really is that simple

[stepnw1f]

30. BULLSHIT! I Can't Believe This is Even Posted here

Jesus Christ I'm gonna explode....

[sabra]

37. it Needs to be posted here... we must expose the LIES!

[pitohui]

39. whatever

while we are eating our own, the GOP continues to have free reign to destroy this country

don't do me no favors

[librechik]

35. Bushies Play the Blame Game

don't they look craven and petty?

Stand up and act like a man you mewling tike!

You did it, you don't deserve to be president, step down!

[xxqqqzme]

41. wasn't there a complete breakdown in

communication between NO and everybody else in the world at that time. Blanco is qualifying her statement because communications were virtually non-existent.

[DeltaLady]

54. BLANCO TAPE: LINK HERE

Please listen to the entire clip available at:

http://www.nola.com/

Click on "Blanco's levee assurances."

She audibly and clearly states "floodwaters at 8-10 feet deep, and people are swimming..."

She was unaware of the breaches, reasoning that the levees might have been "over topped" as opposed to "breached" but the depth of the floodwaters and the fact that people were swimming were two points she made abundantly clear. I believe that was more than sufficient to begin alarms ringing for all but the brain dead or deranged.

[blue4barb]

62. Just emailed Gov. Blanco, asking her to fight the cm spin from

the videotape. Asked her to stand up to this. It's so obvious that b*sh people are trying to deflect criticism of him.