MERGED==> The politics of Katrina + Trent Lott + Michael Moore

[kellyahern]

Originally posted by AliEnvy


What reading this doesn't show is that Mr. Broussard, a middle-aged, white, burly, county sheffif-type broke down sobbing uncontrollably during his story and screamed for help through tears.

This is all so gut-wrenching everwhere you turn

Yeah, there's a video of part of it on the msnbc sight. I couldn't watch the whole thing .

[MadelynIris]

What kind of blows me away about all of this was... that on Monday - during the day, most of the press was announcing Katrina a NON-EVENT for New Orleans. That NO was safe.

It wasn't till that night when the levees broke. It wasn't till early Tuesday morning before anyone realized there was substantial flooding.

So, it wasn't really till Tuesday afternoon before people realized there was a REAL REAL problem. And by then, it was too late. Sending in relief while the water was rising would have been suicide. You had to wait till the water receded.

Ughhh!!!

[kellyahern]

Doctors Delayed by Bureaucracy at Storm Sites

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/arti...04164109990003

[najeena]

Our international standing has taken another huge hit, the pictures seen around the globe show third world chaos and despair right here in the richest country in the world. Five years ago we were admired, now our reputation is in tatters. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the poor, left to die because they couldn't afford to escape the city, I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the politicians making excuses for their failure to protect those who counted on them. The 'legacy' of the Bush administation is sealed now, one of incompetence and failure.

[kellyahern]

Originally posted by sharky


Not even that, but FEMA is now PART of Homeland Security. And the guy Bush called "Brownie" -- Mike Brown -- was fired his last position working for the International Arabian Horse Association for mismanagement of funds. If you can't take care of a bunch of horse lovers, why the hell should you be running FEMA?

NBC just had a story about this guy's qualifications. They even had a guy from the International Arabian Horse Association wondering how Brown got the job at FEMA.

[indra]

Originally posted by kellyahern



NBC just had a story about this guy's qualifications. They even had a guy from the International Arabian Horse Association wondering how Brown got the job at FEMA.

Nepotism.

[trevster2k]

Katrina victims anguished at leaving behind pets
Last Updated Sun, 04 Sep 2005 16:21:09 EDT
CBC News

As Valerie Bennett was evacuated from Lindy Boggs Medical Center in New Orleans, her rescuers told her there was no room in the boat for her two dogs.
NEW ORLEANS - SEPTEMBER 03: Donnie Panarello Sr. (R) and Donnie Panarello Jr. (L) pull dogs Chance (2nd R) and Buddy down a flooded street as they evacuate the hard-hit Chalmette community of Saint Bernard's Parish September 3, 2005 in New Orleans. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

She pleaded. "I offered him my wedding ring and my mom's wedding ring," the 34-year-old nurse said Saturday.

They wouldn't budge. She and her husband could bring only one item, and they already had a plastic tub containing the medicines her husband, a liver transplant recipient, needed to survive.

It's a scene that's been repeated over and over again during the past week: rescued pet owners, forced to leave their animals behind.

In an oft-repeated story reported last week by The Associated Press, a police officer took a dog from a little boy waiting to get on a bus leaving New Orleans. "Snowball! Snowball!" the boy cried until he vomited. The policeman told a reporter he didn't know what would happen to the dog.

Some at the medical centre, fearing their animals would starve without them, asked a doctor to euthanize them. He improvised a makeshift gas chamber by wrapping a dog kennel in plastic.

"The bigger dogs were fighting it. Fighting the gas. It took them longer. When I saw that, I said 'I can't do it,"' said Bennett's husband, Lorne.

The Bennetts ended up leaving their dogs with the anesthesiologist, who had promised to care for people's pets - about 30 in total - on the roof of the centre.

"He said he'd stay there as long as he possibly could," said Valerie Bennett, speaking from her husband's bedside at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital. She said that Saturday, he was still there, according to a posting on the PetFinder web site.

Louisiana State Treasurer John Kennedy, who was helping with relief efforts Saturday, said some hurricane victims were refusing to leave without their pets.

"One woman told me 'I've lost my house, my job, my car and I am not turning my dog loose to starve,"' Kennedy said.

He said he persuaded refugees to get on the bus by telling them he would have the animals taken to an exhibition centre.

The U.S. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals picked up two cats and 15 dogs, including one Kennedy found tied up beneath the overpass next to an unopened can of dog food with a sign that read "Please take care of my dog, his name is Chucky."

The fate of pets is a huge but underappreciated cause of anguish for storm survivors, said Richard Garfield, professor of international clinical nursing at New York's Columbia University.

"People in shelters are worried about 'Did Fluffy get out?"' he said. "It's very distressing for people, wondering if their pets are isolated or starving."

The Bennetts had four animals, including two beloved dogs.

On Saturday, as Hurricane Katrina approached, both went to the hospital to help and took all four animals with them.

They fed their guinea pig and left it in its cage in a patient room. They couldn't refill its empty water bottle because the hospital's plumbing failed Sunday, they said. They poured food on the floor for the cat, but again no water.

"I just hope that they forgive me," Valerie Bennett cried.




These poor people have suffered such emotional, psychological and physical trauma and most don't have the means to address the issues which will affect them for the rest of their lives. First, they are unable to leave the danger zone, then they suffer the horrors of experiencing the hurricane, then the floods come, then they are moved to a place where they hope help is coming, none shows up for days. As the story above describes, many have the added anguish of having to give up their beloved pets which we all know is very difficult. And now, after all this chaos and suffering, they must come to terms with fact that they have lost everything including many loved ones. I hope that the authorities don't overlook the emotional well-being of these people.

[trevster2k]

http://www.katrina.com/


This site was started 7 years ago by a woman named Katrina Blankenship who is a web designer. She has converted the site to help provide links and message boards for family members to find out info about loved ones.

Good for her. One person posted that she was offered $500,000 for the site but refused to sell.

[Abomb-baby]

WASHINGTON POST !!!! FEDS URGED GOVERNOR BLANCO TO ACT... SHE REFUSED!!!!!

Micheal Moore will eat his words.......

Looks like the President suspected that the locals were no Rudy Guiliani and Bernie Kerrick and requested that Blanco and Nagin sign the paperwork get out of the way..... they didnt till it was too late.....


Quote:
Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state’s emergency operations center said Saturday.

The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. “Quite frankly, if they’d been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals,” said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.

A senior administration official said that Bush has clear legal authority to federalize National Guard units to quell civil disturbances under the Insurrection Act and will continue to try to unify the chains of command that are split among the president, the Louisiana governor and the New Orleans mayor.

Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.

“The federal government stands ready to work with state and local officials to secure New Orleans and the state of Louisiana,” White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said. “The president will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens of Louisiana.”

Blanco made two moves Saturday that protected her independence from the federal government: She created a philanthropic fund for the state’s victims and hired James Lee Witt, Federal Emergency Management Agency director in the Clinton administration, to advise her on the relief effort.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...090301680.html

[verte76]

Originally posted by LarryMullen's_POPAngel



Um, is it possible that most of these people were so poor they didn't have adequate transportation out of the city? Or were too old and sick?

Yep, they got screwed.

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

Originally posted by trevster2k
Katrina victims anguished at leaving behind pets
Last Updated Sun, 04 Sep 2005 16:21:09 EDT
CBC News

As Valerie Bennett was evacuated from Lindy Boggs Medical Center in New Orleans, her rescuers told her there was no room in the boat for her two dogs.
NEW ORLEANS - SEPTEMBER 03: Donnie Panarello Sr. (R) and Donnie Panarello Jr. (L) pull dogs Chance (2nd R) and Buddy down a flooded street as they evacuate the hard-hit Chalmette community of Saint Bernard's Parish September 3, 2005 in New Orleans. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

She pleaded. "I offered him my wedding ring and my mom's wedding ring," the 34-year-old nurse said Saturday.

They wouldn't budge. She and her husband could bring only one item, and they already had a plastic tub containing the medicines her husband, a liver transplant recipient, needed to survive.

It's a scene that's been repeated over and over again during the past week: rescued pet owners, forced to leave their animals behind.

In an oft-repeated story reported last week by The Associated Press, a police officer took a dog from a little boy waiting to get on a bus leaving New Orleans. "Snowball! Snowball!" the boy cried until he vomited. The policeman told a reporter he didn't know what would happen to the dog.

Some at the medical centre, fearing their animals would starve without them, asked a doctor to euthanize them. He improvised a makeshift gas chamber by wrapping a dog kennel in plastic.

"The bigger dogs were fighting it. Fighting the gas. It took them longer. When I saw that, I said 'I can't do it,"' said Bennett's husband, Lorne.

The Bennetts ended up leaving their dogs with the anesthesiologist, who had promised to care for people's pets - about 30 in total - on the roof of the centre.

"He said he'd stay there as long as he possibly could," said Valerie Bennett, speaking from her husband's bedside at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital. She said that Saturday, he was still there, according to a posting on the PetFinder web site.

Louisiana State Treasurer John Kennedy, who was helping with relief efforts Saturday, said some hurricane victims were refusing to leave without their pets.

"One woman told me 'I've lost my house, my job, my car and I am not turning my dog loose to starve,"' Kennedy said.

He said he persuaded refugees to get on the bus by telling them he would have the animals taken to an exhibition centre.

The U.S. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals picked up two cats and 15 dogs, including one Kennedy found tied up beneath the overpass next to an unopened can of dog food with a sign that read "Please take care of my dog, his name is Chucky."

The fate of pets is a huge but underappreciated cause of anguish for storm survivors, said Richard Garfield, professor of international clinical nursing at New York's Columbia University.

"People in shelters are worried about 'Did Fluffy get out?"' he said. "It's very distressing for people, wondering if their pets are isolated or starving."

The Bennetts had four animals, including two beloved dogs.

On Saturday, as Hurricane Katrina approached, both went to the hospital to help and took all four animals with them.

They fed their guinea pig and left it in its cage in a patient room. They couldn't refill its empty water bottle because the hospital's plumbing failed Sunday, they said. They poured food on the floor for the cat, but again no water.

"I just hope that they forgive me," Valerie Bennett cried.




These poor people have suffered such emotional, psychological and physical trauma and most don't have the means to address the issues which will affect them for the rest of their lives. First, they are unable to leave the danger zone, then they suffer the horrors of experiencing the hurricane, then the floods come, then they are moved to a place where they hope help is coming, none shows up for days. As the story above describes, many have the added anguish of having to give up their beloved pets which we all know is very difficult. And now, after all this chaos and suffering, they must come to terms with fact that they have lost everything including many loved ones. I hope that the authorities don't overlook the emotional well-being of these people.

This breaks my heart. I saw a report on NBC yesterday where a reporter tried to give an abandoned dog some water. The dog was frightened and started yelping and barking at the reporter. I cried so hard after seeing that.

These animals are so helpless, and as a pet owner myself I feel for their owners.

[A_Wanderer]

They should shoot these poor animals, it is the only compassionate thing to do.

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

Originally posted by A_Wanderer
They should shoot these poor animals, it is the only compassionate thing to do.

Yeah, really. NOT.


I'm sorry, but this really is the last straw for me. They're living things, too. If that were your dog out there, wouldn't you have tried to save him?

[A_Wanderer]

If I had to leave my dogs behind then I would rather end it quickly than leave them behind to starve.

[kellyahern]

Originally posted by LarryMullen's_POPAngel



Yeah, really. NOT.


I'm sorry, but this really is the last straw for me. They're living things, too. If that were your dog out there, wouldn't you have tried to save him?

I thought there were organizations who would adopt or foster out animals who have been separated or unable to reunited with owners.

[verte76]

Originally posted by anitram
This is an administration which had Congress fly back in the dead of night to try and keep alive a corpse and a President who joined them. Do you remember all the hullaballoo about how it's inhumane to have her dehydrated? Where is the outrage now?

I just don't get it. The Canadian government has offered aid and our military. If Bush isn't going to get his act together then let other people willing to help step in. Because this looks ridiculous. I'm ashamed it's allowed to happen on our continent at all!

This is shameful. Just tonight at mass there were some refugees from southern Mississippi. The st they've been through is unbelievable. In a very small way I'm a participant in the whole situation. This has me very pissed off.

[verte76]

Originally posted by pax
Amen.

It's somehow less inhumane that THOUSANDS of people are dying of starvation and dehydration?

Get on this, Bush administration.

I never thought I'd see this scale of people starving in the streets of one of our major cities. Honestly............

[kellyahern]

Originally posted by Abomb-baby
WASHINGTON POST !!!! FEDS URGED GOVERNOR BLANCO TO ACT... SHE REFUSED!!!!!

Micheal Moore will eat his words.......

Looks like the President suspected that the locals were no Rudy Guiliani and Bernie Kerrick and requested that Blanco and Nagin sign the paperwork get out of the way..... they didnt till it was too late.....


Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state’s emergency operations center said Saturday.

[/url]

This was this Friday. It was already too late by Friday. Their just trying for damage control, to shift the blame around.

White House Shifts Blame to State and Local Officials

Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.

"Everybody shares the blame here," said Thomas. "But when you talk about the mightiest government in the world, that's a ludicrous and lame excuse. You're FEMA, and you're the big dog. And you weren't prepared either."

[Dreadsox]

It was ONE WEEK AGO FRIDAY!!!! Not 48 Hours AGO. It was 48 Hours before the storm hit the Bush Administration asked for control. The Governor refused thinking they could rely on help from the states around them, not thinking it would be this massive.

[kellyahern]

Originally posted by Dreadsox
It was ONE WEEK AGO FRIDAY!!!! Not 48 Hours AGO. It was 48 Hours before the storm hit the Bush Administration asked for control. The Governor refused thinking they could rely on help from the states around them, not thinking it would be this massive.

No need to yell, I read it the other way. I'm not saying your wrong, but the article does not say a week ago Friday, it just says Friday.