Thursday, September 08, 2005
When the Levee Breaks....
“I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees.”
“Nobody could have anticipated the breach of the levees” -- President George W. Bush
“Government planners did not predict such a disaster ever could occur.” -- Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff
Really?
Because there's plenty of evidence around that proves that the adminstration was fully aware of the catastrophic damage that could result if a hurricane were to strike the New Orleans region.
For example:
"In July 2004, just over one year ago, FEMA held a five-day exercise at the State Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge to develop joint response plans for a catastrophic hurricane in Louisiana.
In the staged scenario developed by FEMA, a fictitious “Hurricane Pam” brought 120-mph winds and storms that “topped levees in the New Orleans area.” “More than one million residents evacuated and Hurricane Pam destroyed 500,000-600,000 buildings.”
The New Orleans Times-Picayune covered the FEMA exercise and reported that officials focused on six major issues. One of which was: “Removing floodwater from New Orleans, Metairie and other bowl-like areas where levees will capture and hold storm surge, possibly for days or weeks.”"
And even before last week's disaster, the threat to New Orleans was more than well known:
"It's only a matter of time before South Louisiana takes a direct hit from a major hurricane. Billions have been spent to protect us, but we grow more vulnerable every day." (Part one of a Five-Part Series originally published June 23-27, 2002 in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.)
While Mark Fischetti wrote an another article for Scientific American that eerily predicted that "a major hurricane could swamp New Orleans under 20 feet of water, killing thousands" four years ago.
Which begs the question of why....
Hurricane protection was a low priority for Bush
and
Bush slashed hurricane funding For New Orleans
In fact, here's a timeline that outlines how the Bush administration gutted and neutered FEMA and slashed the budgets that could have maintained and stregthened flood control projects for New Orleans.
So bottom line, when the storm hit, they were inexplicably unprepared or were flat incapable of effectively getting help in even though 18 year olds and some resourceful college students seem to be able to manage just fine (or at least much better than FEMA). But is it any surprise when the head of the federal agnecy in charge of disaster management and preparedness is completely unqualified to hold the position and only got the gig because of cronyism (aka reverse affirmative action)?
So now "They out there spinnin''", as Mayor Ray Nagin put it in his infamous outburst of frustration a few days back, with team Bush playing the "Blame Game" and trying to pass the buck and the responsibility to Mayor Nagin, Governor Blanco and other local leaders for not being prepared and not declaring a state of emergency or requesting federal assistance early enough etc. etc. The reality though? Don't believe the hype.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
FEMA at it again??!!!
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann & WaPo's EJ Dionne ripping FEMA a new one....
They mangled Katrina. So how'd FEMA do on the California wildfire crisis? Hard to tell since there were no real reporters at their 'news conference.' FEMA: faking the funk yet again? How does this happen barely two years after the last debacle??
Labels: FEMA, GOP incompetence, Hurricane Katrina
Saturday, February 11, 2006
"No one could have predicted the levees would break...."
So said Bush at the time. Hmmm...
White House Knew of Levee's Failure on Night of Storm.
Ex-FEMA Head Says White House Knew About Levees.
But:
Ex-FEMA chief Brown was paid to aid in the investigation of the Katrina response but now refuses to cooperate (!).
And even more:
The Washington Post documents the Bush failings in New Orleans.
White House accused of foot-dragging in Katrina probe.
The Institute for Southern Studies uncovers evidence that they knew FEMA had serious problems a year before the Katrina disaster. (via SirotaBlog)
Ray Nagin may want NOLA to remain a "Chocolate City" but the studies predict otherwise. Some have even described what's happening down there as a virtual ethnic cleansing.
Well it's a good thing Bush has made the recovery of New Orleans a priority though! And that his domestic policies have really helped improve the federal response to such disasters. And that the companies run by his political cronies are doing a good honest job of helping restore the city.
Bonus NOLA-related music:
5th Ward Weebie - "Da Katrina Song"
Monday, April 24, 2006
A First Hand Report from the Big Easy
This is a special guest post from my girlfriend Ndidi who just returned from a week-long community service project trip with Habitat for Humanity in New Orelans:
Katrina may seem like ancient history to some of us, but its’ devastating effects are still being felt daily in New Orleans.
The extent of the destruction is larger scale than one could imagine from the pictures or TV. You have to see it with your own eyes to realize the true horror of what happened.
Even now, 8-9 months later, a huge portion of the population has still not returned. Businesses are closed because they have no one to staff them. Traffic lights still don’t work in many areas.
The majority of schools are still closed, as are many of the major hospitals. Students at colleges like Dillard University are attending classes in cubicles in a hotel conference room. And officials were still finding bodies in houses as recently as a few weeks ago.
Most of the Ninth Ward and some other neighborhoods still look like ghost towns, and it’s hard to entice residents to return when they don’t know if they will l be the lone residents in a row of rotting houses.
Race and class injustices are still evident in how the city can decide to restore electricity to certain area, while leaving it off (to dissuade residents from returning) in an adjacent area that has a history of extreme violence.
In the midst of these devastating circumstances, there are certain signs of hope and human resilience. This spring students and others from all over the country came to help out in the rebuilding efforts. Groups worked with programs like Habitat For Humanity, Helping Hand, FEMA (yes, even FEMA is trying to do something right!), Common Ground. One such program was Habitat For Humanity’s “Collegiate Challenge” during which hundreds of students came to work in Musicians Village, a construction effort of 81 new houses in the upper Ninth Ward which was supported by Branford & Ellis Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr.
The complex issues surrounding the rebuilding of New Orleans, and the return of its residents will take a long time to resolve. But these efforts by volunteers are a good first step. And remember to Keep New Orleans in Your Prayers.
Extra credit:
- Learn more here.
- Donate to the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity here.
Ed. add-on's:
- From yesterday's The New York Times: "There have been scads of well-intentioned [Katrina benefit] compilations... But one thing all these tributes have in common is that, while [it] remains by far [the city]'s most popular musical export, they all ignored the thrilling — and wildly popular — sound of New Orleans hip-hop, the music that has been the city's true soundtrack through the last few decades." (click here to read the rest of "New Orleans Hip-Hop Is the Home of Gangsta Gumbo")
- Skating the aftermath: a look at how New Orleans' skaters are turning the tragedy of Katrina into something positive. (spotted via the Bodega)
Monday, December 12, 2005
"So Far Off The Radar Screen, You Can’t Find It...."
Untitled silk screeen by Andrio Abero, image courtesy 25 Above Water.
It's been a while since I looked at the post-Hurricane Katrina sitaution. I could get in to how FEMA was gonna leave thousands of victim families out on the street homeless but then changed their mind after public outcry but there's so much more than that going on:
- Death of an American City - "we are about to lose New Orleans. Whether it is a conscious plan to let the city rot until no one is willing to move back or honest paralysis over difficult questions, the moment is upon us when a major American city will die."
- A City in Lingering Pain - "this city of feathery Mardi Gras masks and chilling vampire yarns grapples with its new realities: More than 100,000 homes and businesses remain uninhabitable. More than three out of four residents live elsewhere. More than 5 million tons of storm debris is still on the ground. The power company is bankrupt. Workers are in short supply. Its pro football team is playing in Baton Rouge, its first -- and so far only -- public school reopened Monday. The police force is in disarray. Scientists are recording alarming mold levels. Suburban suicide rates are spiking. Local doctors are operating out of tents." (click here for more from "Night and Day in New Orleans" in The Washington Post)
- Bush Advisor To Reporter: Katrina “Has Fallen So Far Off The Radar Screen, You Can’t Find It” - be clear, this is a preview of how your so-called "Tough on Terror" Homeland Security-focused Bush government will handle things if there's another catastrophic terror attack.
- Another federal government propaganda boondoggle --- FEMA's "Recovery Channel" in New Orleans.
- And as of the middle of last month, they were STILL finding bodies in NOLA - WTF?!
- New Orleans Levees Still Aren't Safe ... And Maybe Never Were - Senate hearings question whether levees were purposely constructed poorly.
Don't worry though, I'm sure Michael Brown's new Emergency Planning consulting firm will make sure the federal government will be on point, right?
Lesson to learn:
Monday, October 24, 2005
"This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina"
As Wilma, bares down on Florida now's as good a time as any to take a look back at the catastrophe that hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region nearly two months ago now. Not hurricane Katrina but the disasterous federal government response to it.
It was bad enough that they messed up horrendously staging useless photo opps rather than taking any real action to save lives in a timely fashion. Even worse was that they then tried to lay the blame for the lack of response solely on the shoulders of local officials. Only last week did the Feds belatedly admit their own culpability and total lack of preparedness despite having contingency plans in place for just such disasters.
So seven weeks later, now that the hysteria has died down where are we at?
We now know that the majority of Katrina victims were elderly, those who needed the government's help the most because they were too weak or poor to protect themselves.
Maybe if Brown had spent more time concerned about others starving rather on feeding himself, the loss of life wouldn't have been so bad.
FEMA's Colorado evacuee site [looks] like "a concentration camp" says one reporter.
Congress is too spineless to shut down flagrant pork barrel projects like the absurd 'Bridge to Nowhere' poject in Alaska whose funding could be to redirected towards financing post-Katrina and Rita reconstruction efforts. For God's sake, even the ultra conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation agrees that this project is absurd. I mean how many times am I on the same side of an argument as them?!
Endowment-light Black Colleges struggle to get back on their feet.
The Center for American Progress outlines even more Bush post-hurricane neglect and incompetence.
Meanwhile, disgraced former FEMA chief and Bush crony Michael Brown is STILL getting paid by taxpayers like you and me. Truly sad.
Next up, Iraq....
Monday, September 19, 2005
"To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility...."
Finally!
Wardance - the excellent new current affairs blog from the folks behind the Broke B-Boys mp3 blog.
A timeline of what happened when during the Hurricane Katrina storm and aftermath from Think Progress.
The Daily Kos on the many episodes of FEMA incompetence and ineptitude. (via the Sirotablog)
Also: this man almost died because of Bush's FEMA.
And it's not just Michael Brown, DHS chief Michael Chertoff needs to be fired too.
Meanwhile, compare the difference in how Bush communicated with Democratic La. governor Kathleen Blacno and Republican Ms. governor Haley Barbour.
Separate but Equal? Schooling Of Evacuees Provokes Debate - this deserves a double WTF??
Jeff Chang on how reporters of color are being harassed and arrested in the Gulf Coast.
But finally, Katrina ushers in the return of Big Government. Meanwhile, Bush wants you to open your check book to help with the reconstruction... of Iraq! I guess we need to clean that up before we go into Syria.
I don't have time to keep up with it all though, so click here for links to the most up-to-date info on Katrina and the aftermath.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Christian Militia Domestic Terror Plot Foiled!
So help me out here: how is the Hutaree, this so-called 'Christian Militia' that plotted to kill a policeman and bomb his funeral in the hope of spurring an anti-government uprising different than your standard-issue ragtag Al Qaeda-inspired Muslim terror cell?? [Guardian]
And watch the video above: dude chooses his words very carefully saying his 'citizen militia' group disassociated themselves from the Hutaree after 'training' them, once they learned of their beliefs. But beyond that and his dubious claim that his group's primary mission is to function in a quasi-FEMA/National Guard role in times of emergency and not as a Christian fundamentalist, survivalist group like the Hutaree, I'm not sure why I shouldn't look at him sideways too the same Tea Baggers, xenophobes and other right wing racists do all Muslim or brown people in the wake of every new Muslim terror incident.
More:
Eugene Robinson on the Hutaree militia and the rising risk of far-right violence. [Washington Post]
Previously on The Kitchen: Violence, Threats and Vandalism?? America, Meet your Anti-Health Reform Protesters!
Labels: Religious Right, Right Wing Nutjobs, War on Terror, WTF
Thursday, August 03, 2006
"It's like a prison in these FEMA camps...."
Aren't you glad GWB did such an amazing job saving NOLA and getting it prepared for future disasters after initially botching the debacle that was Hurricane Katrina? Oh wait, never mind.
“The first hurricane of the season is looking likely.”
“…People have no idea how out of control things are down here….” - a heart-wrenching post about what's really happening in NOLA, the first major American city that was lost due to presidential incompetence. (spotted via Oh Word)
(More later when my Bloglines reader is back working properly and I can access some of the other links I had saved for a post like this)
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
"I don't have a good feeling, to be honest with you...."
I need this shirt!
News 'n stuff relevant to Black America.
"Chocolate City" re-elects Nagin!
Which prolly doesn't bode well for desperate Republicans . (related: 2006 - the year of the Black Republican?)
More Katrina/NOLA-related stuff: "Quick fixes to FEMA for the looming hurricane season could actually hinder efforts to be ready in storm strike zones state officials say" | Katrina autopsy: Police shot mentally disabled Black man in the back. (link via Ndidi)
Same ish, different year: MLB Giving Medical Coverage to Negro Leaguers, White Players Suing to Stop It. Semi-related: B. Bonds, keep ya head up.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow Defends his Use Of The Term ‘Tar Baby,’ Claims Critics Don’t Understand ‘American Culture’. Eh yo!
On the other hand: they shoulda neva gave you n-ggas money! (link via Sledgey again, c'mon you know I don't trawl BGOL like that)
The NAACP (which, by the way, will forever mean "N-ggaz ain't actin' like colored people" to me from now on after watching the incredible Wattstax DVD last week) sued Nebraska's governor and a state committee Tuesday over a new law that divides Omaha Public Schools into three racially identifiable districts.
Is Tyra Banks Racist?
And just because, let's end with: The 15 Worst White NBA Ballers of the Last Twenty Years. LOL. (via Joey)
Thursday, March 09, 2006
"We are fully prepared to help...."
What the f-ck was Bush doing back in NOLA yesterday even as conservatives are saying his efforts at restoring the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Region have been atrocious? I don't even know how he has nerve to show his face after the news that broke earlier this week. (related: links to the infamous video of Bush being warned about the possibility of the levees being breached by the hurricane before Katrina struck here.)
Bush better get his game tight: the start of Hurricane season is only about three months away!
More:
Report: Only $25m of the $2b Katrina relief aid has been spent so far. (read more here)
Freedom of Speech and civil liberties take another blow to the gut in the "Land of the Free" in this FEMA/Katrina-related lunacy.
A new Gallup poll indicates that Bush's disapproval rating is the highest of any president since Nixon. OK, so let's...
"Impeach the President" (thanks, DJ Green Lantern, dead prez, Saigon, Immortal Technique & Just Blaze for the mp3 and repping a sentiment that Congress seems incapable of mustering up.)
Monday, November 21, 2005
George Bush's Animal White House
You don't need me to put you up on recent developments in the Plamegate affair from Scooter Libby being indicted to the flameouts of journalists Judy Miller & Bob Woodward and increasing scrutiny of Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Stephen Hadley et al. (although I may still try to do a post to some intresting links to read that you may have missed), but with apologies to Chris Miller and Harold Ramis, I have to say:
"Inept, Corrupt and Unethical is no way to go through a presidency, son...."
"We face a demographic tsunami" - "David Walker, the comptroller general of the United States and the nation's top auditor [says] the United States can be likened to Rome before the fall of the empire. Its financial condition is "worse than advertised," [and] it has a "broken business model" as it faces deficits in its budget, its balance of payments, its savings — and its leadership."
Related: Bush has borrowed more than all previous Presidents combined, group says.
US 'had no policy' in place to rebuild Iraq.
Or The "Big Easy" evidently: "New Orleans Today: It's Worse Than You Think - months after Katrina, New Orleans is still a disaster & most people are gone." (related: the top five reasons why the contracting of Titan by FEMA to do post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding was a very bad idea.)
Abramoff Partner Charged With Conspiracy.
UN report: Halliburton ripped off Iraq for $208M. (related: more Halliburton fcckery.)
The "other" O-Dub on the Bush admin's "culture of corruption."
Antiwar sermon brings Liberal church IRS warning.
Deconstructing Cheney.
Bush staffers could take a cue from the Jordanian government but I'm not holding my breath that they'll do the right thing unless more Grand Jury indictments loom.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
The Myth of the Purple Finger?
How the NOPD deals with residents returning to check on their property.
It was bad enough that the Federal government learned virtually nothing from Hurricane Katrina and that evacuation plans barely a month later for Texas in the wake of Hurricane Rita were almost as inept but now FEMA is STILL fccking up leaving thousands still needlessly suffering. Sort it out....
And I'm not even gonna get into that nasty business with the police in NOLA. What was that Ice Cube said back in the day on Amerikkka's Most Wanted about the police being there to "Serve, protect and break a nigga's neck...."?
"Look Harriet Miers is every bit as competent and qualified as I am" - that's pretty much all I have to say on old girl. The Dems should be ashamed of themselves for playing politics and backing her nomination because it's helping the GOP implode (we can only hope) when she is clearly not qualified to carry Sandra Day O'Connor's lunch.
The fix is in? "Iraqi election officials said Monday that they were investigating "unusually high" vote totals in 12 Shiite and Kurdish provinces, where as many as 99 percent of the voters were reported to have cast ballots in favor of Iraq's new constitution." Hey, wasn't that like back when Saddam was running things there? Maybe they had democracy there the whole time? (click here to read more)
But should Americans have any faith in the election results in Iraq even if they turn out to be legit when some folks believe "Democracy may [actually] bolster the insurgency" or as The Daily Kos puts it: "The Myth of the Purple Finger" parts one & two.
Related:
- How NOT to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqis
- Trained by the New Orleans police? Iraqi police ‘linked to ethnic cleansing’
And learn how bad political news for Bush = Terror Alerts for America. Keith Olberman breaks down the Bush adminstration's MO of using the War on Terror as a crutch to deflect attention away from their problems since 9/11.
More on the Bush White House's MO: fake letter, fake news conference, fake war, fake president. Any questions?
And beyond Iraq: chaos grows in Darfur conflict as militias turn on government. (click here to read more)
While finally, millions homeless, over 40,000 dead, and a whole generation lost. Damn, I don't know how many more of these relief links my sidebar can take. Truly I wish there none at all. Until I get one up for the Pakistani earthquake disaster relief though, support here if you can.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
"Lives were lost that did not need to be lost...."
As regular readers know, I've been preoccupied with the hurricane tragedy but there's been plenty of other stuff going on. A few things I missed along the way:
"Here’s the truth about Chief Justice Rehnquist you won’t hear on Fox News or from politicians. Chief Justice William Rehnquist set back liberty, equality, and human rights perhaps more than any American judge of this generation. His rise to power speaks volumes about the current state of American values."
Alan Dershowitz from "Telling the Truth About Chief Justice Rehnquist" (Huff Post)
Meanwhile, John Roberts' supreme court confirmation hearings have just begun but many of his key files have gone missing or been mislabeled after being reviewed by adminstration lawyers. Scary....
A legit power out just a little over two years after the nation's largest blackout made it clear that the national power grid infrastructure needed a serious injection of funding to be upgraded (hmm, just like the New Orleans levees...), one of Bush faux terror scares when his poll numbers dip or Al Qaeda testing the waters before making good on one of their terror warnings? Take your pick, it's even scarier....
Colin Powell admits he played himself with his WMD "presentation pitch" at the UN in the lead-up the Iraq war (and also turns on his former boss over his inept disaster response efforts down in the Gulf).
So getting back to Katrina:
Firing FEMA head Michael Brown was a good start but be clear, this failure stemmed from the top down. Newsweek breaks down "How Bush Blew it."
While NPR breaks down what went wrong before and after the storm (via Poplicks)
David Corn on the connection between Justice Rehnquist's Death and Hurricane Katrina.
Juan Cole compares the looting in Fallujah and New Orleans concludes that Bush cares deeply about the property of rich white people.
While probably related: the post-hurricane cronyism is already rampant.
I'd actually give Tom Delay the benefit of the doubt and assume he was trying to make some kids feel a little better about being in a terribile situation, but he still came off crazy with his recent comments. (Related: more compassionate conservatism in action - post Katrina)
'Racist' police blocked a bridge out of NOLA and forced evacuees back at gunpoint. Maybe I shouldn't be so tolerant after all....
An environmental experts alleges a cover-up and that "toxic waters 'will make New Orleans unsafe for a decade'."
While:
"Experts say it’s only a matter of time before a major hurricane strikes New York City. When it comes, you may want to have your evacuation plan nearby. If not, meet the fishes."
From "The Big One" I remember reading this a few months ago and being mildly interested. Now of course I'm a whole lot less blase.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Katrina: a few insider views...
Insider reports from New Orleans on blogs of many still stranded, starving and in need of rescue.
The Survival of New Orleans blog.
The Times-Picayune Blog/Forum Reveals the True Horror of Katrina Disaster. (via E&P)
Linked before - another Insider's Report from New Orleans.
Thank God it's over now, but here's a first-hand account of life inside the Superdome (not the Astrdome as stated in the Boing Boing link).
Survivors reveal Superdome horror.
Trapped in Marrero, LA under martial law being adminstered by FEMA? (phone call mp3 via Democratic Underground)
And even though its dominated the headlines, this catastrophe has effected more than just New Orleans: "My friend was shot and killed for his car. These murders are not being reported to avoid panic" - an eyewitness account post-Hurricane from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
"These people are dying for no other reason than the lack of organization...."
The more I read, see and hear, the more sick to my stomach and upset I get. The situation in NOLA (and elsewhere) is "criminal."
Despite the rescue and evacuation efforts finally getting underway in a significant way, the extent of how incomeptently and shamefully this catastrophe has been mishandled is slowly emerging:
"The only difference between the chaos of New Orleans and a Third World disaster operation is that a foreign dictator would have responded better." (read more here)
Major combat operations have just begun? The US government is now describing it's own citizens, those who couldn't afford to leave NOLA, as an insurgency? WTF?! Is there no end to the shame? (via Boing Boing)
FEMA: Mission (Not) Accomplished. And depsite the Right-leaning media and the federal government trying to spin the mess down in NOLA and the Gulf region as the fault of Mayor Ray Nagin and Gov. Kathleen Blanco rather than the Bush adminstration's own incompetence, the Federal disaster management agency even admits on its own website that they would assume primary responsibility for handling any "natural disaster or large-scale emergency" as clear as day. (via AMERICAblog)
And it's especially hard for the Bush admin. to feign ignorance about the possibility of a disaster like this occuring in light of this.
Sh-it is so bad now that even Sen. Mary Landrieu, who was put on blast on CNN by Anderson Cooper a couple days ago for glibly thanking Bush for his assistance despite the lack of it, has now changed her tune in light of Bush's compete lack of leadership in this tragedy including substituting fake photo opps for real action.
And even Republicans are attacking the President for his weak response to this tragedy too.
I pray the federal government really will hold the Bush admin. accountable for this disaster.
And FINALLY the media wakes up out of the stupor they've been in for the last four to five years and starts to call the Bush admin. on their BS. Even Fox Cable News reporters couldn't deny the insanity going on down there.
But the scariest thing of all is that Hurricane Katrina might not be the last of the severe weather devastation this region may have suffer through.
