*** Official EPA Ground Zero Hearing Thread 2 ***

[MiniMe]

On CSPAN 3 http://www.cspan.org/watch/cs_cspan3_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3

Thread 1 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1179457&mesg_id=1179457

[MiniMe]

1. I think they are going to have a second round of questioning with this panel

"I did my best. It's not my fault. Nobody is perfect. It wasn't malicious." Call the waaambulance

[lovuian]

88. No its blatant they KNEW cleanup at Pentagon

was different than NY as well as Pennsylvania

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B2WBD-F-7I

Look at the different masks used at the Pentagon and Pennsylvania

Rudy is a murderer as well as Chris

[HCE SuiGeneris]

2. Christy Todd Whitman

has no remorse, no guilt, takes no responsibility. What a POS!

[file83]

3. Nadler is reminding everyone that the 70% of the responders AFTER the plume

are the ones that were sick.

[cal04]

4. thank you MiniMe,

Clean up apartments No documents about dust or using professional contractors for clean up

[IChing]

5. Nadler just called her a liar again

which she is.

[lovuian]

91. Yep

she should be in Prison

she will have killed more people than the terrorists

[Norquist Nemesis]

8. Saw a hearing last week with a woman testifying about her experience

on just that! She paid out of her own pocket for cleanup and within a short amount of time (a month, maybe?) had the levels read again, lead was waayyyyy up. She said one of the problems was that the individual owners of the builders were permitted to certify (not the government doing the certifying, mind you) that the buildings were safe.

[IChing]

14. Franks ........ attacking people who blame the government.

for the 911 attacks, and other malefic so called wrong doing of this government.

:crazy:

[Norquist Nemesis]

18. Notice the tactic...attack others instead of defending his "side"

The take things that are said by others, completely outside of government (be sure to pick some individual or group that's been labeled loony, outrageous, traitorous, or extremist) and use them to paint the broad brush over the entire political opposition.

[IChing]

20. Looney left........I hear that from Hillary supporters on DU

[Norquist Nemesis]

22. Loony Left - Rabid Right

Alliteration exercises. That's about the sum total of it.

[file83]

6. Nov 26, 2001 is the date Whitman needs to prove that the EPA

publicly announced that people needed to get their apartments cleaned "professionaly".

She responds that she said something about it on October 26, 2001.

[IChing]

7. Don't forget to nominate - thanks MiniMe

[file83]

9. Nadler just dropped a SLEDGEHAMMER!!!

He is charging that the EPA gave illegal advice to the public by saying it's okay for people to dump the dust in their apartments in the trash.

Whitman started stuttering in response "I'm not a lawyer...uh..."

:nuke::rofl:

[libnnc]

10. Are there going to be any first responders as witnesses in this hearing?

I haven't heard them mention if there were.

[file83]

12. I don't know, but what's the deal with the girl's eyebrows behind Trent Franks?

Looks like her eyebrows split into 2.

[Norquist Nemesis]

15. From CSPAN site

Nadler, Jerrold U.S. Representative, D-NY
Whitman, Christine Todd Administrator (2001-2003), Environmental Protection Agency
Kreisher, Tina Associate Administrator (Fmr.), Environmental Protection Agency, Communications, Education and Media Relations
Henshaw, John Assistant Secretary (2001-2004), Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Admin.
McGinnis, Eileen Chief of Staff (Fmr.), Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Administrator
Thernstrum, Samuel Member (Fmr.), White House Council on Environmental Quality
Newman, David M. Industrial Hygienist, New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health


The Senate had a hearing last week that had witnesses who were not gov't officials. Not sure about how the House is going to handle it.

[file83]

11. Rep. Trent Franks is attempting to label this inquiry to "conspiracy theories" of 9/11.

What an asshole.

I can't believe he just said that. WTF!?

[cal04]

13. Franks is an ass

these people make me sick. Protect your party at any cost

[file83]

16. This guy is emitting sulfur gas into the room...

jeebus

[cal04]

17. the press is dying for a fight here

what kind of excuse is that

[MiniMe]

19. Great, a month and a half after 911, EPA finally recommends that

residents get their homes professionally cleaned. A bit late.

[IChing]

21. Now the blame goes to the mayor

[Norquist Nemesis]

24. Give them 30 seconds and they'll blame it on Clinton n/t

[file83]

23. Conyers is up to bat...

He reminds Whitman what she said on 60 minutes - something she said about blaming the city of New York for the failures of health protection at the ground zero worksite.

Her response was that the only people to blame are the terrorists.

[IChing]

25. Oh, geez Rep. king is talking about the civil war and pearl harbor.

[libnnc]

26. What the fuck? Yammering to eat up the clock

I hate these fucks. :nuke:

[cal04]

27. Steve King There are SICK people you dumb

shit. We need answers

[file83]

28. What the fuck is Steve King talking about the Civil War or whatever...

Kind of ironic considering this guy obviously doesn't give a shit about what happened to the New Yorkers.

He was trying to say that New York was a warzone and that the because government employees may have lost family members during the attack, how could we expect the government to be able to do its job.

:wtf:

This guy is a dipshit and is just wasting his time. He's making shit up as he goes.

[Hubert Flottz]

31. He's an EXPERT on War, is he a veteran?

Why wasn't he Bush's War Czar?

[MiniMe]

29. Well, the repuke apologists have showed up

[MiniMe]

30. Why does this guy remind me of Rumsfeld?

We didn't train them to use the respirators before 9-11

[IChing]

32. The white house changed the press release for professional cleaning

Whitman said that they had their hands on it.

[cal04]

33. why don't you ask her what she'd think if it were her son

that was now sick

[IChing]

34. She would have to ask her handlers.

I can't believe her answer on people who have contracted illness
we don't know.

[cal04]

36. Pascrell wants answers about the White House

her answers are not honest

[cal04]

37. You have a habit of quoting what you want

whoa Pascrell

[helderheid]

35. reported to the PRESIDENT

[IChing]

38. What whitehouse officials were involved?.....listen to this he is pissed

Pascrell is just irate on her.

[helderheid]

39. KAPOW!

[rainbow4321]

40. Hah! "No recollection" my ass n/t

[cal04]

41. she refused to go to hearings and told everyone not to go

I was there and I remember, she has no recollection
that was Nadler

[IChing]

42. Give this guy more time...........please..don't cut him off

[cal04]

43. Pascrell was great. He was pissed

and didn't take any crap from her, either did Ellison

[Deb]

44. What was determined by the Presidents working group

on financial markets? I missed it. Thanks

[helderheid]

45. stepped out for one minute and came back and it's over? What happened?

[libnnc]

46. changing panels--new witnesses

[helderheid]

47. thanks!

[Norquist Nemesis]

48. Panel 2 - First up, an AEI guy

:eyes: We'll see, but I fully expect to lose my lunch. :puke:

[IChing]

49. Are all those woman Republicans?

and speechwriters?

[rainbow4321]

50. Judging by the looks on their faces...

I'd day they are repukes...they look like they would rather be ANYwhere but where they are right now.

[IChing]

51. The last one is a democrat and looks like it.

[rainbow4321]

52. You read my mind, IChing....

Thought she was the only one without a puckered "we're in deep shit" look on her face

[Norquist Nemesis]

53. *sigh* If this is just going to be another "We were at WAR!" panel

with "The WH did not, will not, and can not do anything that is wrong!", it's time to go and start dinner.

[cal04]

54. was that Pascrell taking notes

I just missed it

[rainbow4321]

55. Well that guy was a snippy bastard...

Whine, whine, whine "haven't had access to my WH records in the last 6 yrs". So basicallly he will be full of "I don't recollect"?

[aquart]

57. All asshole attitude.

And this woman isn't a whole lot different.

[Norquist Nemesis]

58. LOL! I was thinking patronizing bastard

"Make NO mistake..." blah blah blah fingerwag blah blah blah

Now, panelist #2 says, "I left behind all of my files and record and have not had access to them"

IOW, don't blame me if you suddenly find inconsistencies in my testimony.

[Hubert Flottz]

56. The GOP = The Memory Hole

The only thing they can EVER remember is, "it's the democrats fault"

[IChing]

59. Robert F Kennedy Jr. on Marianne Horinko

Marianne Horinko, was a consultant for petrochemical conglomerate Koch Industries, one of the worst offenders in the country. The head of the air division, Jeffrey Holmstead, was a lobbyist for the filthiest polluters in the electric industry.

http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200411/robert_kennedy_christine_todd_whitman_5.html

[MiniMe]

60. Geez, all of them say "We did the best we could"

Its not our fault if people died because of the bad air. The bad air wasn't our fault, it was the fault of the terrorists.

[file83]

Suzanne Mattei is blowing it all open!!!

[MiniMe]

62. She is the only one that is defending others and not her own butt

As all the rest of the panelists are.

[cal04]

61. suzanne is great. American's know more about Paris Hilton

people didn't use their common sense because of what the EPA said
A lot of things Americans still do not know about
We still live with the aftermath
We still live with the cleanup
We can't have closure

[file83]

63. I like her style of speaking plainly about these issues.

She's wiping away all the fog the people defending the EPA have been trying to create.

[IChing]

64. Applause by the audience

she was great

[cal04]

66. I like her style too. She was giving out information

that I'm sure most people still do not know

[rainbow4321]

65. Here we go.."I don't remember"..."I don't know" n/t

[file83]

67. Umm...how hard would it be for Sam to find out who he reported to at the NSC?

He should have known he'd be asked about that - this "it was six years ago" crap is pathetic.

[IChing]

68. This is about Rice who signed off on it.

[IChing]

70. Rice involment here in this link.

Condoleezza Rice's office gave final approval to the infamous Environmental Protection Agency press releases days after 9/11 claiming the air around Ground Zero was "safe to breathe," internal documents show.
Now Secretary of State, Rice was then head of the National Security Council - "the final decision maker" on EPA statements about lower Manhattan air quality, the documents say.

Scientists and lawmakers have since deemed the air rife with toxins.

Early tests known to the EPA at the time had already found high asbestos levels, the notes say. But those results were omitted from the press releases because of "competing priorities" such as national security and "opening Wall Street," according to a report by the EPA's inspector general.

The chief of staff for then-EPA head Christie Todd Whitman, Eileen McGinnis, told the inspector general of heated discussions, including "screaming telephone calls," about what to put in the press releases.

The notes come from a 2003 probe into public assurances made on Sept. 16, five days after the 9/11 attacks. They tell how a White House staffer "worked with Dr. Condoleezza Rice's press secretary" on reviewing the press releases for weeks.

Whitman said through a spokeswoman Friday that she never discussed her press releases directly with Rice. She also defended her collaboration with the White House.

Now-retired Inspector General Nikki Tinsley told The Post her auditors tried to question the head of President Bush's Environmental Quality Council, but "he would not talk to us."

http://911truth.org/article.php?story=20061006200535746

[lovuian]

82. Dust to Dust My You tube movie on Rudy and Christine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B2WBD-F-7I

There is more here than meets the eye

[IChing]

85. Yes, I know

but you know there are ways of saying things without saying them
so the message gets out.

[file83]

93. Well there it is. Did Sam forget who Condi was?

:rofl:

[halobeam]

72. but will it REALLY be about that?!

sigh

[file83]

69. Why is the NSC being so cloaked and protected?

No names from the NSC are coming forward.

[MiniMe]

73. Because it was Condi that signed off on it

And I'm sure they have been instructed to forget all about Condi.

[file83]

75. You're right. It's "let's all forget who Condi is" day.

[cal04]

71. no body knows what came from the white house

yeah right

[file83]

74. There goes Trent Franks again attempting to frame this inquiry as a "conspiracy theory".

What a jackass. How can this guy be taken seriously? He's mocking the entire process.

[pacalo]

87. Really.

Like the most corporate-friendly, stomp-on-the-little-man administration would never hide vital air-quality information from the public. Being forthright & honest with the 9/11 workers would have meant no sympathetic camera shots of overwhelmed volunteers who were dwarfed by the rubble, conveniently serving to garner support for the boy king's plans for Iraq.

It's not being claimed, Mr. Franks, that BushCo meant harm to the 9/11 workers; it's that BushCo was withholding vital, life-saving information from the 9/11 workers who were serving BushCo's agenda of shaping public perception. All EPA public statements had to be vetted by the NSA.

[cal04]

76. please take Franks off the committee, he's an ass

deliberately insinuate there was a conspiracy

[file83]

77. He's framing the inquiry that way to mock & discredit it.

It's weak sauce.

[cal04]

78. don't waste your breathe Rep.Scott

on Franks. They have to protect their party not the people of this country

[rainbow4321]

79. Thernstrom's editing

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/05/16/2007-05-16_christie_wont_clear_air_on_mess_at_groun.html



Thernstrom's testimony will be especially important in determining the direct role of the White House in all of this. According to a 2003 report by the EPA's own inspector general, one that sharply criticized the agency's response to the disaster, Thernstrom was the person at the White House who repeatedly edited EPA press releases to downplay any possible health dangers from toxic dust.

[cal04]

80. here's an article about the inspector general's report

An investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general into official statements about air quality after the collapse of the World Trade Center has found that White House officials instructed the agency to be less alarming and more reassuring to the public in the first few days after the attack.

The draft of the inspector general's report also says the agency "did not have sufficient data and analyses" to make a "blanket statement" when it announced seven days after the attack that the air around ground zero was safe to breathe. "Competing considerations, such as national security concerns and the desire to reopen Wall Street, also played a role in E.P.A.'s air quality statements," the report said.

The report, which has not yet been made public, is an evaluation of the agency's overall response to the attack on the World Trade Center. One chapter focuses on the role of the White House Council on Environmental Quality in helping to shape the agency's communication after the attack.


http://www.mongabay.com/external/bush_statements_epa.htm

[cal04]

81. out of touch with reality, Suzanne Mattei

and Pascrell are really doing their job
Every dem on this committee is great today

[IChing]

83. Under pressure

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure
That burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets

Um ba ba bay
Um ba ba bay
Dee day duh
Ee day duh
thats ok

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out!
Tomorrow takes me higher
Pressure on people
People on streets

[MiniMe]

84. Fashion Accessory for the paper mask

:rofl:

[file83]

98. That's a candidate for the Daily Show right there!

[IChing]

86. To think Harold Ford's brother ran against Cohen.

[rainbow4321]

89. Now they make it sound like they did a favor to first responders??

With the "we thought about fining them and taking them to court for not wearing the respirators but...they were still searching for their comrades".

How nice of the regime to decide not to fine/jail the rescuers....

[file83]

90. That example just given about the change of message on Sept 17 was shocking.

That was not a "technical" change - it was a message change!

[helderheid]

92. SMACKDOWN!

[file83]

96. Mattei lists the "peer reviewed studies" that Trent Franks believes never happened.

Good lord, Mattei just proved the statement given by another member 100% WRONG.

[lovuian]

94. Heres some points

I have pictures that show different masks used by Pentagon cleanup workers and Pennsylvania crash site cleaner uppers

if you look at these clean up crews they have state of the art masks and yet NY did not get them use them and we breathing the smoldering air... why did Pentagon crews get better equipment
were they tipped off that Depleted Uranium and other materials might have been used...

if you worked in Lower Manhatten and have the 911 cough get it checked immediately but yes thousands are going to die because of Chris and Rudy

Rudy will never be President
He will go to jail for killing thousands

[IChing]

95. Trent Frank's bio

Franks was born June 19, 1957 in Uravan, Colorado, a company town and now a Superfund site. He was educated at Ottawa university (Ottawa, Kansas). Trent is a former member of the Arizona House of Representatives. While in the House, he served as Vice-Chairman of the House Commerce Committee and Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on Child Protection and Family Preservation.

Unwavering support of Tom DeLay

In March 2006, Franks gave $4,200 to the reelection campaign of Tom DeLay, nearly six months after the former House majority leader was indicted in connection to the Texas redistricting scandal. When asked about the contributions in August 2006, Sydney Hay, a spokewoman for Franks, said, "Congressman Trent Franks isn't going to cut and run from a friend when the going gets tough...If Tom Delay at some point is proven to have violated the law, Congressman Franks would be the first to acknowledge it. At this point, that is not the case." According to Hay, Franks believes the charges against DeLay are politically motivated and without merit

In January of 1987, Trent was appointed by the Governor to head the Arizona Governor's Office for Children, which is a Cabinet level division of the Governor's office responsible for overseeing and coordinating state policy and programs for Arizona's children.<3>

Trent founded and served four and a half years as the Executive Director of the Arizona Family Research Institute, a non-profit organization associated with Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family for the purpose of advocating public policy to protect children and "family values" in Arizona.<4> In that capacity, he authored a bill to give a state income tax credit to help pay for private school tuition.

He was also president of Liberty Petroleum Corporation, a small oil exploration company.<5>

When 3rd District Congressman Bob Stump decided to retire after 13 terms, Franks entered the race to succeed him. The district had been renumbered the 2nd after redistricting gave Arizona two additional seats. He defeated Stump's chief of staff, Lisa Atkins, whom Stump had endorsed as his successor.

A self-described "conservative Reagan Republican", Franks was voted by the National Journal as "the most conservative member of the Arizona Congressional Delegation...and overall, he was ranked the fifth most conservative Representative in the House."<6>

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Trent_Franks

[file83]

97. Summary: 5th most conservative douche bag in congress.

Thanks for the info!

[IChing]

99. Oh, gezz he's talking again.

[helderheid]

100. k

[Hubert Flottz]

101. He's not just a run of the mill "Frank"

He's a Total Weenie!

Edit...Bush, Rudy and the EPA played Politics and people are once more paying with their lives so karl's GOPers could look good.

[tishaLA]

102. what did the gallery member yell?

i missed it