Louisiana, they're trying to wash us away.
Knucklehead got a me a little surprise, the cd called "Our New Orleans" a musical response to and fundraiser for Katrina. I've been listening to it all day. Incredible, gut wrenching stuff from a great list of artists, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Buckwheat Zydeco, the Dirty Dozen brass band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, just a great mix. Go buy it. And after reading the AP wire, put the last track, Randy Newman's Louisiana 1927, on replay. Fitting that this news comes to light, seeing as a couple thousand people lose their rent/hotel subsudies today.
I'm beyond furious right now. Numb with it. This is the second time this administration has watched prior warnings go by the wayside, slept through them in their comfortable Crawford beds, and then claimed "No one could've known!" And to my two favorite cities in the world. Two bustling epicenters of mutlicultural life, music, art, genius. Two cities uniquely American. and this administration sleptwalk through the disasters that have ravaged them and slept walked through efforts to rebuild them.
A few days after Hurricane Katrina, the President was on ABC news claiming “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.”
Which is funny, because according to this video obtained by the Associated Press, that’s exactly what he was told before the hurricane hit by National Hurricane Center's Max Mayfield. According to the tapes obtained by the AP, he actually said, "I don't think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not but that is obviously a very, very grave concern,"
For the full story and video, fed to the Washington Post by the AP follow the link. Here are some of the lowlights:
In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, put lives at risk in New Orleans’ Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage.
Bush didn’t ask a single question during the final briefing before Katrina struck on Aug. 29, but he assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: “We are fully prepared.”
--
Further on in the story, it seems that the government had the opportunity to deploy active millitary to back up the National Guard , but failed to do so:
"Chertoff: "Are there any DOD assets that might be available? Have we reached out to them?"
Brown: "We have DOD assets over here at EOC (emergency operations center). They are fully engaged. And we are having those discussions with them now."
Chertoff: "Good job."
In fact, active duty troops weren't dispatched until days after the storm. And many states' National Guards had yet to be deployed to the region despite offers of assistance, and it took days before the Pentagon deployed active-duty personnel to help overwhelmed Guardsmen."
---
Even horsewhisperer Brownie doubted the use of the Superdome as a good place to house people post hurricane:
"The Superdome is about 12 feet below sea level.... I don't know whether the roof is designed to stand, withstand a Category Five hurricane,"
----
Okay, so that's one foreign country in ruins, one region of this country devastated all to go along with napping through September 11th, all to go along with him illegally wiretapping us, him approving that a company owned by a state who's not been our best ally when it comes to terrorism run our ports, and this shit is just the surface.
How many more things is this guy going to destroy before 2009?
There are some folks out there who are no longer surprised, maybe not even angry anymore. But lie after lie after lie, I still have it in me to be angry. I just wish these same Republican buffoons in Congress who went after Clinton for an affair would go after Chucklenutz for dereliction of duty. This guy never met a vacation he didn't like, and was playing golf while the disaster HE KNEW WAS COMING unfolded for the rest of our horror. He is our Nero, ladies and gentlemen.
If you start from the place that everyone, somewhere inside them, has a bit of humanity, you have to wonder where that humanity is in the stakeholders in this society right now. But maybe this will be the alarm, like the Dubai deal, that continues to wake people up.
In the meantime, the Gulf Region is still in shambles.
Louisiana, Louisiana, they're trying to wash us away, they're trying to wash us away.
I'm beyond furious right now. Numb with it. This is the second time this administration has watched prior warnings go by the wayside, slept through them in their comfortable Crawford beds, and then claimed "No one could've known!" And to my two favorite cities in the world. Two bustling epicenters of mutlicultural life, music, art, genius. Two cities uniquely American. and this administration sleptwalk through the disasters that have ravaged them and slept walked through efforts to rebuild them.
A few days after Hurricane Katrina, the President was on ABC news claiming “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.”
Which is funny, because according to this video obtained by the Associated Press, that’s exactly what he was told before the hurricane hit by National Hurricane Center's Max Mayfield. According to the tapes obtained by the AP, he actually said, "I don't think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not but that is obviously a very, very grave concern,"
For the full story and video, fed to the Washington Post by the AP follow the link. Here are some of the lowlights:
In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, put lives at risk in New Orleans’ Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage.
Bush didn’t ask a single question during the final briefing before Katrina struck on Aug. 29, but he assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: “We are fully prepared.”
--
Further on in the story, it seems that the government had the opportunity to deploy active millitary to back up the National Guard , but failed to do so:
"Chertoff: "Are there any DOD assets that might be available? Have we reached out to them?"
Brown: "We have DOD assets over here at EOC (emergency operations center). They are fully engaged. And we are having those discussions with them now."
Chertoff: "Good job."
In fact, active duty troops weren't dispatched until days after the storm. And many states' National Guards had yet to be deployed to the region despite offers of assistance, and it took days before the Pentagon deployed active-duty personnel to help overwhelmed Guardsmen."
---
Even horsewhisperer Brownie doubted the use of the Superdome as a good place to house people post hurricane:
"The Superdome is about 12 feet below sea level.... I don't know whether the roof is designed to stand, withstand a Category Five hurricane,"
----
Okay, so that's one foreign country in ruins, one region of this country devastated all to go along with napping through September 11th, all to go along with him illegally wiretapping us, him approving that a company owned by a state who's not been our best ally when it comes to terrorism run our ports, and this shit is just the surface.
How many more things is this guy going to destroy before 2009?
There are some folks out there who are no longer surprised, maybe not even angry anymore. But lie after lie after lie, I still have it in me to be angry. I just wish these same Republican buffoons in Congress who went after Clinton for an affair would go after Chucklenutz for dereliction of duty. This guy never met a vacation he didn't like, and was playing golf while the disaster HE KNEW WAS COMING unfolded for the rest of our horror. He is our Nero, ladies and gentlemen.
If you start from the place that everyone, somewhere inside them, has a bit of humanity, you have to wonder where that humanity is in the stakeholders in this society right now. But maybe this will be the alarm, like the Dubai deal, that continues to wake people up.
In the meantime, the Gulf Region is still in shambles.
Louisiana, Louisiana, they're trying to wash us away, they're trying to wash us away.
posted by Ruby K at 6:59 PM
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