I am so angry I could chew nails!! This is a colossal

[shraby]

screw-up of immense proportions. The storm was coming, a huge cat 5 which if it hit anyplace along that coast it was going to cause unimaginable destruction. Fortunately at the last bit of time it downgraded to a cat 4 which wasn't that much smaller. The officials knew this! When they saw a cat 5 coming, all efforts for evacuation should have been put in full swing. Every available vehicle should have been taken and moved people out of the area..especially NO because of the mass flooding that was possible.

After screwing that up and waiting too long, then when the levee sprung a couple of good sized leaks, they took overnight to "look at in the morning" and make plans. After all day of "planning" they still screwed up. Now it looks like the fatalities will run into the thousands. No excuse for it.

Those people should have been evacuated from the superdome right after the storm passed. It could have been used as a holding area for others that were being rescued with evacuation continuing.
Colossal colossal screw up!! NO EXCUSE FOR IT.

Now our dear leader has sent some ships with supplies..from Virginia no less. Another screw up. Those supplies should have been flown in.
Heads should roll over this!

[SharonRB]

1. Starting at the top.

[lonestarnot]

4. And trickle down or we revolt!

[Eloriel]

2. Bush is at fault too -- several different ways

MUST READ: When the levee breaks
http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002331.html

Disaster in the Making
http://www.sfbg.com/38/52/news_fema.html

rethug defunding of disaster planning & emerg. mgmt. aggravated Katrina (several links)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4493298

Hold Bush accountable for the flooding of New Orleans!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2045974
Link: http://www.sfbg.com/38/52/news_fema.html

New Orleans district, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cut by Bush
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2042880&mesg_id=2042880
Link: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20050606/ai_n14657367

I don't get it. All these years and NO FUCKING PLANS????
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4514528

[earth mom]

12. self delete

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. Excellent points all.... so sad that they are all true. Do you think it

would have gone this way if it were oh say... Cheney's neighborhood?

[RobertSeattle]

5. Agreed

Knowing how incredibly crucial the NOLA levy system was to lives (100K or so) and property (billions), the response or the plans for a response are just completely incompetent. Maybe W will finally fire someone for a change instead of promote them.

I hate to say it, but this is something Halliburton IS good at!

[jimshoes]

6. It's heart rending

to see New Orleans drowning in front of your very eyes. Such a beautiful and historic city. A real leader would have been on the goddamn job and not ducking grieving mothers or fundraising with the have more's. What a pathetic schmuck this joke of a CinC is.

[dddem]

7. The Governor of Louisiana (I think) was on Larry King

raising the question of why the airlines shut down on Sunday , not allowing people to leave. It's understandable to cancel incoming flights, but to leave people stranded like that seems irresponsible.
I don't understand how so many people could just be left to fend for themselves under these circumstances. God help them.

[rateyes]

8. Yeah, I still say it would have been a hell of a lot easier

to get them out of the Superdome before the Hurricane came than it's going to be now.

[Oerdin]

9. If I'm not mistaken.

It was a cat 2 storm until Saturday night when it was upgraded. That's why so many people decided to stay instead of evacuating. It's more then a little unfair to bitch about the state officials not getting ready for a cat 5 when just 12 hours prior the national weather service was telling them it was a cat 2.

The feds never get involved in the evacuations so I can't really fault them for anything other then cutting preparedness funds which the state and local officials get to prepare for stuff like this. Bush had tax cuts for millionares to make perminent though so cuts in disaster funds was his fig leaf to fiscal modesty. Spend $1 and cut $0.01 is still not fiscally good.

[shraby]

14. It became a 4 overnight then a 5 not too

long after that. They should have been monitoring that hurricane every minute in order to take action when it strengthened.

[sue_66]

10. Everything you

write is true. Is anyone else feeling as if we are heading to some strange evil new era in America? Soylent Green? A Handmaids Tale? 1984?

[Geek_Girl]

11. These people need to be evacuated NOW!

Every last one. Supplies should be flown into the area and people evacuated by boat, or plane. I don't understand what is going on with our fucking country!

[earth mom]

13. The majority of the people of this country are disposable to *Co

we now know that FOR SURE!!! :grr: :grr: :grr: