Help debunk the latest Blame-the-Liberals Bushco propaganda points!

[iconoclastic cat]

According to ColdFusion04 over at Daily Kos (author of the book, Growing Up Red), this memo with today's talking points is going around. I thought you all might like to help debunk it.

The Blame Game: Here's the Script

by ColdFusion04
Tue Sep 6th, 2005 at 11:47:48 EDT

Just got this mass email that is making the rounds. This is the script that I'm hearing on talk radio this morning as well. Funny how everyone gets the same message and expresses their talking points in exactly the same way. Could there be a party memo involved here?

We need to get this up on snopes.com ASAP since there are more lies in here than truths.

In case you aren't familiar with how our government is SUPPOSED to work: The chain of responsibility for the protection of the citizens in New Orleans is:

1. The Mayor
2. The New Orleans director of Homeland Security (a political appointee of the Governor who reports to the Governor)
3. The Governor
4. The Head of Homeland Security
5. The President

What did each do?

1. The mayor, with 5 days advance, waited until 2 days before he announced a mandatory evacuation (at the behest of the President). Then he
failed to provide transportation for those without transport even though he had hundreds of buses at his disposal.

2. The New Orleans director of Homeland Security failed to have any plan for a contingency that has been talked about for 50 years. Then he blames the Feds for not doing what he should have done. (So much for political appointees)

3. The Governor, despite a declaration of disaster by the President 2 DAYS BEFORE the storm hit, failed to take advantage of the offer of Federal troops and aid. Until 2 DAYS AFTER the storm hit.

4. The Director of Homeland Security positioned assets in the area to be ready when the Governor called for them

5. The President urged a mandatory evacuation, and even declared a disaster State of Emergency, freeing up millions of dollars of federal assistance, should the Governor decide to use it.

Oh and by the way, the levees that broke were the responsibility of the local landowners and the local levee board to maintain, NOT THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.

The disaster in New Orleans is what you get after decades of corrupt (democrat) government going all the way back to Huey Long.

Funds for disaster protection and relief have been flowing into this city for decades, and where has it gone, but into the pockets of the politicos and their friends.

Decades of socialist government in New Orleans has sapped all self reliance from the community, and made them dependent upon government for
every little thing.

Political correctness and a lack of will to fight crime have created the single most corrupt police force in the country, and has permitted gang
violence to flourish.

The sad thing is that there are many poor folks who have suffered and died needlessly because those that they voted into office failed them.

For those who missed item 5 (where the President's level of accountability is discussed), it is made more clear in a New Orleans Times-Picayune article dated August 28:

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - In the face of a catastrophic Hurricane Katrina, a mandatory evacuation was ordered Sunday for New Orleans by Mayor Ray
Nagin.

Acknowledging that large numbers of people, many of them stranded tourists, would be unable to leave, the city set up 10 places of last
resort for people to go, including the Superdome.

The mayor called the order unprecedented and said anyone who could leave the city should. He exempted hotels from the evacuation order because
airlines had already cancelled all flights.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding. (emphasis mine)

The ball was placed in Mayor Nagin's court to carry out the evacuation order. With a 5-day heads-up, he had the authority to use any and all
services to evacuate all residents from the city, as documented in a city emergency preparedness plan. By waiting until the last minute, and
failing to make full use of resources available within city limits, Nagin and his administration f**ked up.

Mayor Nagin and his emergency sidekick Terry Ebbert have displayed lethal, mind boggling incompetence before, during and after Katrina.

<.>

As for Mayor Nagin, he and his profile in pathetic leadership police chief should resign as well. That city's government is incompetent from
one end to the other. The people of New Orleans deserve better than this crowd of clowns is capable of giving them.

If you're keeping track, these boobs let 569 buses that could have carried 33,350 people out of New Orleans-in one trip-get ruined in the
floods. Whatever plan these guys had, it was a dud. Or it probably would have been if they'd bothered to follow it.

As for all the race-baiting rhetoric and Bush-bashing coming from prominent blacks on the left, don't expect Ray Nagin to be called out on
the carpet for falling short. You want to know why? Here's why:

It's more convenient to blame a white president for what went wrong than to hold a black mayor and his administration accountable for gross
negligence and failing to fully carry out an established emergency preparedness plan.

To hold Nagin and his administration accountable for dropping the ball amounts to letting loose the shouts and cries of "Racism!". It's sad,
it's wrong, but it's standard operating procedure for the media and left-wing black leadership.

Mark my words: you will not hear a word of criticism from Jesse Jackson Sr., Randall Robinson, the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP, or Kanye West being directed toward Clarence Ray Nagin Jr. Why? Because he
is just another black politician instead of a responsible elected official who happens to be black. In the mindset of more-blacker-than-thou blacks, black politicians who are on their side
can do no wrong.

(More in the comments)

Ugh. I hate doing politics at a time like this. But that's because I have a conscience. Rove doesn't. He can't feel pain. He can't be reasoned with. He is a pasty, pudgy, evil polyp.

Now, git 'im!

[underpants]

1. Off the top of my head

First-The Gov asked last Sunday for aid and W declared it a disaster area on the 27th which means he is responsible for it (but can still leave the NG under the Gov for law enforcement).

The hierarchy seems screwed up to me. THe NO HMS is above the mayor???

The evacuation DID get 80% out, which seems pretty good to me.

The levees (this is laughable) are not the responsibility of the landowners-WHO would buy the land if it were??? I don't know about any "levee boards". The Army Core of Engineers maintain the levee and the ACE is part of the Feds. Oh the ACE commissioner was forced to resign because of the budget cuts (needed for the war that would pay for itself in Iraq).

That should be enough to show that this whole thing is a load of BS.

[Usrename]

2. Fake press conferences continue. No reporters are questioning fake press.

The "dog and pony shows" were internationally reported. He's still doing it.

I'm watching one on CSPAN. Why the fake press conf????

He's a fake President. THIS IS THE ISSUE NOW!!!!!

They pretended (on CSPAN) like it was a real press briefing and allowed a couple fake questions.

The question is this:

Did * even know the photo ops were fake? Does he know the ones he is doing now are fake?

(it's a pretty good fake, I like the whirring and clicking of cameras to add realism, it's great)

have you seen Landrieu's helicopter ride?
Landrieu Grows Some Berries (via Crooks and Liars mirror)

fake photo ops continue....

[Usrename]

12. I hate these guys -

#1 - In LA, like many southern states, you cannot be forced to leave under a mandatory evacuation. Curfews can be employed where anyone on the street is arrested, but they do not come into your home and make you leave. Even now, with the stench of death all around, some people refuse to leave their homes. God bless them.

[Usrename]

13. I know this doesn't seem responsive to the question of busses.

But it is. I speak fluent freeper, I think. It doesn't matter that it does or doesn't address the lies. It is simply a STRONGER argument for WHY so many people didn't get to safety.

[onenote]

3. i've seen the same list -- need point by point rebuttal

onenote

[Arkana]

4. Number 3 is a blatant lie.

Blanco declared emergency before the hurricane hit and requested aid--which did not come till AFTER Katrina left.

[guruoo]

9. Took longer than that, and here's why...

Video: http://www.canofun.com/blog/videos/bushtriestosnubblancosep5.wmv
Bush gave Governor Blanco an ultimatum -to get federal assistance she would first have to sign over control of the LA state guard to the feds.
Blanco refused, and the rest is history.

[guruoo]

10. Copy of Blanco's detailed request for assistance dated 8/28/05

Detailed request for assistance from Louisana Governor
Kathleen Blanco to President Bush, dated 8/28/05:

[guruoo]

11. Page 2 & 3 Blanco's request for aid

You'll need to add an 'h' at the beginning of these addresses to view the copies. I did this to keep these large images from adding to DU's server overload problem.
ttp://news.globalfreepress.com/katrina/Disaster_Relief_Request/images/index_img_1.jpg
ttp://news.globalfreepress.com/katrina/Disaster_Relief_Request/images/index_img_2.jpg

[EVDebs]

5. Elementary, My dear iconoclastic cat...FEMA outsourcing delayed all

FEMA Outsourced New Orleans Disaster Plans

http://www.wnymedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=35



by Wayne Madsen



shows us the company, Innovative Emergency Management, Inc. IEM for short, that should have planned out rescue and relief efforts in New Orleans. I also note that it took around FIVE whole days but FEMA finally got around to the process of privatizing bus contracts to rescue those New Orleans Superdome/ConventionCenter refugees. Those bus contracts appear to have gone from 650 to 5000 by the time FEMA realized people were AT those sites !



FEMA Urges Patience

http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18540



“ *Convoys of food, water and ice which are arriving hourly in impacted areas.

*The evacuation of thousands from New Orleans to Texas. FEMA has contracted for more than 650 buses to expedite the state-ordered evacuation.”



Local Company Sending Charter Buses to Gulf

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/09/02/bus.html



“The Federal Emergency Management Agency is mobilizing 5,000 buses nationwide.” This is from a Cincinnati, OH bus company ; a No. Carolina Christian bus charter firm also got a contract





Community Offers Relief

BY JENNIFER MENSTER

Record Staff Writer

Saturday, September 3, 2005



http://www.hickoryrecord.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=HDR/MGArticle/HDR_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031784847098&path=



So, you can see, FEMA was ‘privatizing’ the rescue/relief effort and dawdling in this effort, rather than expediting rescue/relief that the National Guard/military could have been doing.

[Armstead]

6. Piont 1: "at the behest of the President"

1. The mayor, with 5 days advance, waited until 2 days before he announced a mandatory evacuation (at the behest of the President). Then he failed to provide transportation for those without transport even though he had hundreds of buses at his disposal.


Well if the President hadn't been so busy vacationing, he might have pushed for his "behest" earlier than 2 days in advance. Bush should have been raising this when it first became a possibility.

[iamjoy]

7. They Did Not Have Five Days Notice!

Tuesday, August 23 it was a tropical depression, it was a storm Wednesday and a Category 1 hurricane Thursday when it hit Florida.

Friday morning, it moved into the Gulf - by this time we knew it would hit somewhere along the Gulf Coast, and even though it was a Category 1, they knew it could turn into a major storm.

Don't believe the lie that they had five days notice. It didn't exist five days before it devastated New Orleans.

[Wordie]

8. LSU report says that number of busses available was not sufficient anyway.

The following quotes are part of a report, "National Review of Hurricane Evacuation Plans and Policies," prepared by the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, which you can download here: http://www.hurricane.lsu.edu/&EvacuationReview.pdf

<snip>
"...The number of people
without access to transportation in New Or-
leans, has been estimated as high as 25 to 30
percent of the population. In addition to people
without vehicles, potential evacuees include the
indigent, elderly, prisoners, the infirm, and
tourists."

<snip>
"...Busing is the most common mode of
transportation for low mobility groups. To
transport people in busses, emergency man-
agement agencies have in the past contracted
with local transit authorities, school districts,
and tour operators, with varying levels of
success. Many heavily populated cities do not
have an adequate supply of busses to move all
low-mobility evacuees. "

<IMPORTANT SNIP>
"For example, about
250,000 residents of New Orleans (not includ-
ing tourists or special needs populations)
Low Mobility Groups and Use of Public Transit
have no means of private transportation..."

<AND HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SNIP>
"...The total number of busses in all of New Orleans
would provide only a fraction of the capacity
needed to transport all of these people. Thus,
Louisiana emergency management officials
plan to use any available alternative means of
transportation, including National Guard
vehicles. They also plan to open local shelters
and refuges of last resort for those not able to
evacuate."

So the "The mayor could have bussed everyone out." argument is a red herring.

[guruoo]

14. Another freeper emailing to debunk

This is the bash I run across most,
it's heavily promoted on every repug blog, and
message board I've seen.
Question is, did the NO Mayor really have this
option to begin with?
Taken from a freep emailing:

[Wilber_Stool]

15. Don't bother

They're just making this shit up.

[OKNancy]

16. Hurricane Andrew and Lawton Chiles

wish I could find this... but all this stuff about who and when...

When questioned about if he officially notified GHWBush about needing help with Andrew he said, " That's stupid, anyone with any sense could see on the television all the destruction"

[LSK]

17. FEMA and President had authority to act

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
http://www.fema.gov/library/stafact.shtm

This act gives the President authority to act to save lives:

"§ 5192. Federal emergency assistance {Sec. 502}

1. Specified

In any emergency, the President may--

1. direct any Federal agency, with or without reimbursement,
to utilize its authorities and the resources granted to it
under Federal law (including

personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, and managerial,
technical and advisory services) in support of State and
local emergency assistance efforts to

save lives, protect property and public health and safety,
and lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe;

2. coordinate all disaster relief assistance (including
voluntary assistance) provided by Federal agencies, private
organizations, and State and local

governments;

3. provide technical and advisory assistance to affected
State and local governments for--

1. the performance of essential community services;
2. issuance of warnings of risks or hazards;
3. public health and safety information, including
dissemination of such information;
4. provision of health and safety measures; and
5. management, control, and reduction of immediate threats to
public health and safety;

4. provide emergency assistance through Federal agencies;

5. remove debris in accordance with the terms and conditions
of section 407

6. provide assistance in accordance with section 408

7. assist State and local governments in the distribution of
medicine, food, and other consumable supplies, and emergency
assistance. "

[LSK]

18. Army Corps of Engineers

They are responsible for the levees. They are a FEDERAL branch of government.

[Wordie]

19. Yep...and BUSH has cut back their funding! (to send to Iraq)

[melissinha]

20. Ownership society crap:

Decades of socialist government in New Orleans has sapped all self reliance from the community, and made them dependent upon government for every little thing.

This is just something from the "Ownership Society" crowd who typically did not create their fortunes...

I do have to admit that the tax structure of the state is the least to be desired. Property taxes are so LOOOOOOWWWWW, it really makes it difficult to have a proper services.

[Tesibria]

21. On those buses

another freeper lie:

See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4667154