Brown speaking out mainly against Blanco, BUT......

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-abrown15sep15,0,3027611.story?coll=sfla-news-nationworld

Note the title of the article

Brown says state officials were disorganized


Governor of Louisiana is criticized

By David D. Kirkpatrick
and Scott Shane The New York Times
Posted September 15 2005

But then snip ---------------------

He focused much of his criticism on Blanco, contrasting what he described as her confused response with far more agile mobilizations in Mississippi and Alabama, as well as in Florida during last year's hurricanes.

But his account -- in which he described making "a blur of calls" all week to Chertoff, Card and Hagin, the deputy White House chief of staff -- suggested that President Bush, or at least his top aides, were informed early and repeatedly by the top federal official at the scene that state and local authorities were overwhelmed and that the overall response was going badly.

A senior administration official said Wednesday night that White House officials recalled the conversations with Brown but did not believe they had the urgency or desperation he described in the interview.

"There's a general recollection of him saying, `They're going to need more help,'" said the official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of internal White House discussions.

Brown's version of events raises questions about whether the White House and Chertoff acted aggressively enough in ratcheting up the response. The account also suggests that responsibility for the failure may go well beyond Brown, who has been widely pilloried as an inexperienced manager who previously worked overseeing horse show judges.

Brown said he had been hobbled by limitations on the power of the agency to command needed resources. With only 2,600 employees nationwide, he said, FEMA must rely on state workers, the National Guard, private contractors and other federal agencies to supply manpower and equipment.

He said his biggest mistake was in waiting until the end of the day on Tuesday, Aug. 30, to explicitly ask the White House to take over the response from FEMA and state officials.


On Edit: The Today Show, Bushco's morning mouthpiece just mentioned the article and Never mentioned these little details of what he said.

[justiceischeap]

1. If I'm going down, I'm taking everyone with me....

Eat your own, Brown, eat your own.

[Verve]

19. Thank God for self preservation!

Spill the beans Brownie!

[DemsUnited]

2. Interesting article all around. Thanks for posting.

:kick:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

3. Your welcome. What really is interesting is that on August 28th Bush

took full responsibility when he signed the state of emergency. It seems that little detail is escaping most everyone.


Click here: http://www2.dccc.org/docs/conyersgaokatrina.pdf

[bryant69]

6. Well he has since said

That to the extent Federal Governmentfailed he is responsible.

But that "to the extent" at the beginning causes me to doubt his sincerity.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

9. Just watching him say this showed that he wasn't sincere. He was

like a petulant child made to apologize (which he never really did) for something and was forced to do so. He is so frigging arrogant.

[rfkrfk]

15. Blanco has responsibility, not shrub.

Fed 'emergency', puts Fema into emergency mode,
'state of emergency' does not give
the Feds any more authority over state decisions

State Police --> Blanco is commander-in-chief
National Guard --> Blanco is commander-in-chief

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

18. Links for you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4758648

and then this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4761320

which goes hand in hand with this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4777452&mesg_id=4777485

[rfkrfk]

20. response

first link, rawstory

I an not second guessing the timeliness of
these various state and federal decrees.
Gov. Blanco took the usual steps, so did Bush.
Federal Emergency, does not change resposibility.


I suppose it could be said that the federal gov't
is in charge of the federal response.
With that said, the primary guardian of an individual
citixen is the state. The Federal govt can provide
advice to the locals, can help when asked, thru Fema, which
hs some supplies of it's own. and knows where other stuff is.

second link, conyers***katrina.pdf
how big is it? , could'nt get it to load

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

21. Blanco asked for help. She had to call back the next day.

I don't understand what you are not getting. Bush didn't even care what was happening. He wasn't even watching the tv or looking at headlines. He ate cake, played guitar and gave speeches while NOLA drowned.

This is an excellent compilation by Newsweek (ouch) Entitled "How Bush Blew It"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9287434

The PDF report is 25 pages long which includes all of the necessary documents.

[rodeodance]

4. Chertoff delayed federal response, memo shows

recall this article?

Write your congressional Reps and Senators

telling them that bushie and the FEDS didn't use the power they were given -- and giving them MORE isn't going to fix the problem.

Be sure to read this

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

Chertoff delayed federal response, memo shows

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - 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 who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week, federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder 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.

As thousands of hurricane victims went without food, water and shelter in the days after Katrina's early morning Aug. 29 landfall, critics assailed Brown for being responsible for delays that might have cost hundreds of lives.

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.

But according to a memo obtained by Knight Ridder, Chertoff didn't shift that power to Brown until late afternoon or evening on Aug. 30, about 36 hours after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi. That same memo suggests that Chertoff may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department.

Chertoff's Aug. 30 memo is posted at www.krwashington.com

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

8. Yes, I recall this from the other day. Thank you for posting.

According to the National Response Plan, which was unveiled in January by Chertoff's predecessor, Tom Ridge, the secretary of homeland security is supposed to declare an Incident of National Significance when a catastrophic event occurs.


"Standard procedures regarding requests for assistance may be expedited or, under extreme circumstances, suspended in the immediate aftermath of an event of catastrophic magnitude," according to the plan, which evolved from earlier plans and lessons learned after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "Notification and full coordination with the States will occur, but the coordination process must not delay or impede the rapid deployment and use of critical resources."


Should Chertoff have declared Katrina an Incident of National Significance sooner - even before the storm struck? Did his delay slow the quick delivery of the massive federal response that was needed? Would it have made a difference?


"You raise good questions," said Frank J. Cilluffo, the director of George Washington University's Homeland Security Planning Institute. It's too early to tell, he said, whether unfamiliarity with or glitches in the new National Response Plan were factors in the poor early response to Katrina.


"Clearly this is the first test. It certainly did not pass with flying colors," Cilluffo said of the National Response Plan.

[rfkrfk]

16. Chertoff seems to have followed the plan

do you expect Chertoff, on the word of Brown
{to the effect that 'the locals are slow'}
to deviate from the plan?

two problems I have with that are,

the locals are generally assumed to know more
about their area and problems, Chertoff now has to
choose between Brown, and trusting the locals

to deviate from the plan, would set a bad precident
in so far as letting locals off the hook in the
bacic responsibility of asking for what is needed.

[xultar]

5. White House to take over the response from FEMA...FEMA needed rescue?

WTF?

[0007]

7. What can one expect from a government stamped bona fide

cretin?

[DELUSIONAL]

10. Add to all of who was in charge -- and who knew what -- when

Talking Points Memo -- has a small bit about Cheney's office calling the power company in Mississippi and demanding that power to the pipe line be restored -- which CUT power to the hospital.

So .. . was Cheney really on vacation or in a bunker somewhere playing at being the Prez?

The whole response needs to be investigated -- supplies to a New Orleans hospital were diverted by FEMA -- and patients probably died due to FEMA's mismanagement of critical supplies to a HOSPITAL.

So WHO was stealing hospital supplies and WHERE did they go?

Sounds like a massive investigation needs to be started ASAP -- and apparently the Republicans have something to hide?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

13. Let's not forget FEMA cutting the lines of communication and

how so very quickly a no-bid contract was awarded once again to Halliburton.

[DoYouEverWonder]

11. The Federal Government Deliberately Withheld Aid and Assistance

A lot of people made mistakes, however the Federal Government did it deliberately.

When your own government decides not to commit resources and also actively blocks resources during a National Emergency then they are murderers.

There is no blame to share, it all goes to the criminals in the Bush Administration.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

12. Done with stone cold deliberateness. No doubt in my mind. I was

trying to display how the WH was turning a deaf ear.

As Bush sat for 7 minutes on 9/11, he sat for days with purpose to not act on Katrina. I am looking forward to Moore's film when he does another split screen demonstrating the horror of this.

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. They fail to lead on purpose

That's their MO

[triguy46]

17. "hobbled" , a term he brought with him from the horse biz...

Didn't any one else notice how well pressed his shirt was and how clean and well fed he looked on "You're doin a great job Brownie" day??? He sure hadn't been missing any meals or sleep or baths or laundry. He was somehow able to keep so neat and nice while making his "blur" of calls. Damn that punching numbers in the phone.