Un-fucking-believable:
“The Homeland Security Department has requested and continues to request that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans,” said Red Cross spokeswoman Renita Hosler.
“Right now access is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities. We have been at the table every single day [asking for access]. We cannot get into New Orleans against their orders.“
UPDATE 9/8/05: The Red Cross also says “the state Homeland Security Department had requested — and continues to request — that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane.” Thanks to the commenters for the catch. I was on the road. But still — I should’ve gotten to it sooner.
Which almost makes this colossal screw-up look good by comparison…
Several states ready and willing to send National Guard troops to the rescue in New Orleans didn’t get the go-ahead until days after the storm struck…
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco help from his state’s National Guard last Sunday, the day before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Blanco accepted, but paperwork needed to get the troops en route didn’t come from Washington until late Thursday.
(Big ups: Sploid, which has been on fire since this story broke)
THERE’S MORE: David Brooks — usually one of the Bush administration’s most reliable editorial pals — is livid. Channeling the American Scene, he calls Katrina “the anti-9/11.”
On Sept. 11, Rudy Giuliani took control. The government response was quick and decisive. The rich and poor suffered alike. Americans had been hit, but felt united and strong. Public confidence in institutions surged.
Last week in New Orleans, by contrast, nobody took control. Authority was diffuse and action was ineffective. The rich escaped while the poor were abandoned. Leaders spun while looters rampaged. Partisans squabbled while the nation was ashamed.
The first rule of the social fabric — that in times of crisis you protect the vulnerable — was trampled. Leaving the poor in New Orleans was the moral equivalent of leaving the injured on the battlefield. No wonder confidence in civic institutions is plummeting.
AND MORE: “Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bushs visit to New Orleans,” the Times-Picayune reports.
(Big ups: BJ)
AND MORE: “While federal and state emergency planners scramble to get more military relief to Gulf Coast communities stricken by Hurricane Katrina, a massive naval goodwill station has been cruising offshore, underused and waiting for a larger role in the effort,” the Chicago Trib (via John) says. “The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can make its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore.“
AND MORE: Xeni is calling bullshit on Army Times, which called looters in New Orleans “the insurgency.“
It’s bad, for sure. And she’s right to say that “We are talking about fellow American citizens here — in America. Not insurgents. Not refugees. Not enemies. Americans.“
But Army Times doesn’t speak for the Army. I’d be shocked if soldiers started using the term.
I wrote to the Rhode Island National Guard and asked them what aid they were sending to the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Their reply:
“We are coordinating with the National Guard
Bureau and wait for their guidance. We have notified them of what we can
provide.“
Sad, this was two days after the storm. They finally sent 150 NG troops on the fifth day. There are probably tens of thousands of dead and murdered.
I don’t know if the Red Cross story is true or not, I hope it is. But as someone with no love for the Red Cross I’m glad it’s about time that somone else reconizes the Red Cross for what it is.
A money sucking organization that fattens itself first and any crumbs left over, well maybe.
Giving money to the Red Cross to parapharse Sen Jessie Helms, it’s “…like throwing money down a rat hole”.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
“Stewart’s Platoon”
“Though frustrated, Hosler understood the reasons. The goal is to move people out of an uninhabitable city, and relief operations might keep them there. Security is so bad that she fears feeding stations might get ransacked.”
Someone has to take control of this problem. Assets that are available and used is inexcusable. Anytime the federal and the state government work together it is a mess.
MASTER GUNS
Do any of you guys want a turn running the show? Responding to such a event is extremely hard. Especially with all the trouble communicating since katrina did her number. Getting a system to organize all the recourses is going to be tough, especially since it must be set up on the fly. We weren’t prepared for this. And while I find our unreadiness a little disheartening, seeing as new orleans was built BELOW sea sea level, theres no use cryin over spilt milk.
Just pray we can fix things.
The Red Cross is saying that they are being denied access by STATE officials, not Federal. See this link http://www.redcross.org/faq/0,1096,0_682_4524,00.html
President Bush should resign. His incompetance has led to the situation after Hurricane Katrina even worse. He conducted Grand-Standing show-up at the Hurricane sights but has not led this Nation to a Speedy Recovery which is unconsionable,to say the least! — Respectfully Submitted,Arnold D.Mackey
Let us run it down by the numbers so that the individuals affixing blame can put it where it should rightfully be affixed.
1. Hurricane Katrina was not a surprise, it spent nearly a week developing before it hit the Gulf Coast.
2. Anyone voluntarily staying in the way of a Cat. 5 hurricane is an idiot, those unable to leave for other reasons should have had access locally to assistance.
3. The Mayor of New Orleans ordered a manditory evacuation before the hurricane but did not provide the assistance for people to leave. Oh yes, since the target of Katrina was quite large, other areas should have done the same.
4. After the hurricane the Mayor again ordered a manditory evacuation, did he provide assistance this time?
5. Pres. Bush was lambasted for not showing up in the disaster area and then lambasted for showing up and delaying the deployment of aid.
6. How many levels of government and how many generations of goverment stood by and let the conditions that led up to this disaster continue unabated?
I will stop ranting about all of the excuses people are using to point fingers point myself west to go help with the recovery. Yes, west. I have just recovered from Ivan and Dennis.
To blame one individual in any portion of our government for a natural disaster is about as intelligent as rebuilding a major city below sea. This is a very sad and horrific event. However, they were told those walls would not hold. They were told the people would not leave. (by choice) It is not the responsibility of any part of our government to protect us from ourselves. (the police exsist as a deterent to crime and chase the bad guys after they break the law) (the militery exists to destroy our enemy) We must be able to protect ourselves and be prepared if we choose to live in an area that mother nature can destroy.
One cannot relate this to 9/11. That was an attack. This is a weather event. (yes, I am simplifying it here)
One could ramble and discuss this forever. Bottom line: we need to come together as a country and help those who’s lives have been destroyed. We need to bulldoze much of the affected area, and save the parts that are worth saving.….….….“The Lord helps those that help themselves”.….I’ll be right beside Him.
President Bush should be impeached immediately. The blame is totally on him. He is suppose to be the Commander In Chief. He has American Soldiers in Iraq fighting and dying base on a lie. He continued to read to a classroom of children when this country came under attack on September 11. He never served this country as a soldier therefore he should not be our Commander In Chief. As far as Hurricane Katrina, not being a surprise, the hurricanes that hit Florida are no surprise either. These hurricanes constantly hit Florida and people are constantly rebuilding homes there. How stupid can you get. As far as I can see, they are only rescuing caucausian people out of New Orleans. There is no way in the world anyone can justify this blatant regard for human life that still exists in New Orleans. These human beings are not refugees, they are Americans.
“The Lord Helps Those That Help Themselves”, tell me where I can find that in the Holy Bible? They are constantly rebuilding Florida everytime a storm hit them, why not rebuild New Orleans? The stupidity of rebuilding either place had the same equality. We can definitely relate 9/11 to this New Orleans disaster, and sending our troops to Iraq based on a total lie, and this is why. The President does not have a heart, and he is not a christian. He has the power to make things happen, and when it comes to helping African Americans, he turns a deaf ear. It is easy to be on his side when he’s oppressing anyone other than yourself. Also every one that donated money to the Red Cross should ask for their money back and take that money and sponsor a family. If you’ve give millions that means that you can sponsor several families. Every body is saying donate to Red Cross. I beg to differ, because they are not helping those people and they are blaming it on the government. They have plans for that money and it has nothing to do with New Orleans.
Why is it that everybody wants to blame the Pres for everything? I grant you, I AM NOT a fan of his, not by a long shot, but to blame him for all the mess in the Gulf States, is insane. He advised the Mayor of New Orleans to evacuate his people … what did the Mayor do? Well, he didn’t follow his own Evacuation Plan for the city, for starters. There is a specific plan laid out for getting people out of the area in the event of impending disaster … use of the school buses to haul those who didn’t have a way to leave, and setting up shelters in specified areas. This was HIS watch, this was HIS responsibility AND the President and the fed could not intervene as it was a LOCAL issue. Now the fed’s involved because it’s been claimed a disaster area and FEMA is involved. Then after all this, the Mayor has the balls to get on the news and cuss and swear at the fed for not helping him?!? If he’d done HIS job, a lot of the issues we’re facing right now wouldn’t be issues.
And where do some of you get off slamming the Red Cross? My God, those guys have done more for people than you can imagine, they get NO federal funding, relying ONLY on donations from the public. The vast majority of it’s workers are volunteers … that’s people who don’t get paid a red cent for their time and effort. I know, I’ve been with their Disaster Services since I retired from the Army in ’98. Only this last year did I have to go inactive because I started school; if not, I’d probably be volunteering to go south and help.
The whole of NOLA is under water … where exactly does anybody think Red Cross is going to set up a shelter in that? Much less, how could a speedy response to the stranded people have happened? All they could do is air evac and that takes a lot of coordination — that takes time. It also takes time to amass the huge amounts of water, food, supplies and meds that those people need.
Come on y’all let’s get a grip here and quit being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. Take your $$ to Red Cross or somebody else (legitimate) that’s sending help down there and quit creating more hate and dissention. There’s plenty enough of that going around already … just check out the Big 3 news media and all the crap they’re putting on the air.
I say beach the LST class ships & offload supplies into NO direct or use semisubmerged bridges leading into city as Supply Beach drop zone for supplies aside Airlifting supplies alone.
Me, I blame the Mayor of NO for NO Evac Plan or Disaster Plan in place since 1969.
& NO City Govt.
In his radio speech the Mayor made NO mention of any Citywide Diaster Plan.
Why not?
Why werent the dikes & levees better built after 100 yrs??or 80 yrs.
I blame this disaster at the foot of the NO Mayor & City Council.
Maybe State Govt???
They knew 5–10 hours out about this storm & made NO action.
Or from prior experience.
Or from FL hurricane exp alone.
Hello NO.
Too much booze from Mardi Gras?
NO Mardi Gras this year unless in Baton Rogue.
use UK hoverferries for supplies into NO area direct from offshore ships.
& map place with drones & Civil Air Patrol units.
Use amphibs up MIss River to area for supplies & revive WW2 AmTracks again???
More can be done.
Reuse USS Belleau Wood here for supplies base.
Revive Vietnam era gunboats for Countering lootting along riverside IE Mekong Delta????
Only armed with 20mm cannons.
I am reading the trash that has been written above, and can only say that, The poor democrats
that are bitching about President Bush , #1 having not served in the Military, Wrong, he was in the reserve or National Guard. At least he didn’t desert to Canada and then publicly like
Hanoi Jane Fonda, endorse the North vietnamise and be a pure Yellow Belly , And rely on his money and fame. President Bush was the son of a
leader of the CIA. and therefore couldn’t be brought into the Military in full combat, the risk of the nation would be to great.
Secondly the Red Cross , In my opinion is the most useless piece of dung that ever was brought into existence, I have fought floods on the Missouri River, and had the Red Cross selling the coffee and donuts that was stale, and Old, the Salvation Army was giving the same above only fresh, and Good. My father who had been a
big giver of money to the RC, Said that he would never give another penny to the Red Cross again.
I have had a distrust for the Red Cross ever since I was burned in Viet Nam, and a Red Cross person , who was told not to send a telegram to my family because they were being notified by my
commanding Officer, She was a real typical RC person and did it anyhow , With out my permission
If I could have I would have had her fired and sent back to the USA. TRUST the RED CROSS Never,
and you Poor Democrats that are crying because you cannot have the world handed to you by a dumb
Idiot like Hillary„ All I can say it T.S.
written by Peabody@gci.net.
I am currently pursuing an MA in Emergency Management. The federal govt.‘s mandate, through FEMA, is to ASSIST the local and state govts. with disaster assistance. The city of NO and the state of Louisiana sat back and waited for the federal govt. to do something. When NO police officers resigned rather than deal with the situation, where does the blame lie? If you aren’t personally involved, you don’t have any say anyway.
what the navy is doing!
http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/007448.php
Hi everyone. What a terrible piece of weather this past week on the gulf coast. I cannot imagine what the people have gone through. All I can say to them is, “We love you and we are praying for your well being”. To the rest of my fellow AMERICANS, please, let’s fight our enemies not ourselves. If you want to help by giving to the relief efforts, maybe think about places of worship (local or otherwise) who will be in the best position to help those in need. They know who these people are and probably can help them the quickest. I know of a church in Ohio which collected about $7,000.00 and is sending all of it to a church in Houston , Texas. That church is feeding 80 people a day who have been relocated from the stricken areas. Maybe a place of worship in your area could try the same idea. I know we all would like to help the people there but cannot physically go. Warmest wishes!
First of all, let me say that as an AMERICAN, I am completely embarrassed and ashamed. I have spent a good amount of time here reading the thoughts and feelings of many people who are not the slightest bit shy of expressing themselves. If they are so intelligent and expressive, may I ask what it is they are personally doing to help the victims of hurricane Katrina, what plans are the making and putting into effect, and why is it taking them so long to react? The people in New Orleans and Mississippi don’t need all of us bitching and finger pointing. They need food, water, clothing, and shelter. So why don’t we all get on the ball and do what needs to be done instead of wasting valuable time and energy complaining about someone else.…. If you want to put the blame somewhere, consider this. There is only one President, only one Governor, and only one Mayor… but there are over 200 million other AMERICANS that also haven’t focused on the problem and the solution. Now talk about responsibilty. Thank you and God Bless all of us. BTW, just to let you know, I have registered on a site to have victims stay in my home. I have also sent out emails to all of my friends requesting that they help however they can. Finally, I have two fundraising projects to collect money for American brothers and sisters who have been completely devastated. Now I just need to think of some more ways to help. This isn’t going to be over soon.
I’m from the Island of Guam, and we have started collection efforts through Catholic Social Service and the Red Cross to Aid the relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina. Our prayers are with all those affected by this disaster
Petition to IMPEACH BUSH & CHENEY
http://elandslide.org/elandslide/petition.cfm?campaign=impeach&refer=friend
Contact info for elected employees at http://www.congress.org
~also see MANY(outraged)letters to ‘leaders’.
FYI: DISPLACED VETERANS #1–800-507‑4571
Not ONLY Katrina SURVIVORS.
Please pass this info on. thx~g
Here is the link to the Red Cross FAQ explaining that STATE authorities blocked them from entering, not the FEDS or FEMA:
http://www.redcross.org/faq/0,1096,0_682_4524,00.html#4524
Marty Evans, the president of the ARC, was just on FOX News saying the same thing. She stated it was the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security who stopped them from delivering food and water to the Superdome and Convention Center.
Awww, Kilo Echo 4 stole my thunder!
Love the selective quoting, fellas. Or are you just so intent on blaming Bush that you either are too stupid to read the actual information?
I wonder which?
http://csc5502dsays.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Thumbs up to Matt, Scott Free, Gary, Suzy, Jon, Bob Lewis, Pam S., R. Lambert, Alfredo D. Marin, Dave, Rey, M.N., Theresa, Kilo 4 and CDC5502D.
Thumbs down to the Times-Picayune, Arnold D.Mackey, Mary Etta Rowan, Rachel Butler, gimama, and their ilk. All adding to the problem.
I think it is about time that the media get their facts before running off at the mouth. It is fast becoming evident that most of the major broadcast and cable network reporters and print journalist must have been hired right from the supermarket tabloid ranks.
It seems to me that if a story is absurd the facts murky, suspect or even 100% wrong, it is still worthy of prime time TV coverage or a newspapers front page above the fold. The only requirement for the headline and story it seems to me is that the piece must degrade or accuse an individual, department, organization, or be engaged in some type of an action which they, the 5th estate, disapprove of. In this case, the individuals, departments, organizations, etc being blamed for everything from causing the storm to dereliction of duty are President Bush, the director of FEMA, the Corps of Engineers, the Red Cross organization, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, the Defense department in general, the Army and the Navy in particular, the war in Iraq and the Kieto (sp) Treaty.
We should all pray that God gathers up to himself, all the people who have died and that comforts all of the survivors. I thank God for the all the men and women who are working day and night to rescue, feed, evacuate, cloth, house, reunite families, those who survived. America’s citizens have always been a compassionate and generous to all the world and to their fellow Americans when in need. We should continue to do so in the aftermath of Katrina. There is plenty of time to identify what went wrong and why it went wrong, when tempers calm and reason is restored.
Once the aftermath of Katrina is stabilized, the victims housed, and the clean up in full gear, then the people of this great nation will come together to determine the causes and the corrective actions required to fix the real breakdowns and failures in our relief systems from the individual, in any disaster area, to the responsibilities of city, county, state and federal agencies, in the relief of such disasters. Government at levels must eliminate laws which tie the hands of the various agencies as they try to provide assistance.
Emergency plans when written must be executable. Some sort of emergency plan testing at all levels must be done. It is unfortunate, but reality, that unless a plan is executed or tested in the field, it can not be assumed that it will work. The public at large should be informed as to the real time lines involved in any disaster recovery. We the individual citizens must learn and understand that real life is not a TV series such as “24” or a Hollywood thriller where the world is destroyed and rebuilt in the 90 minutes it requires to view it.
You might want to try to ACCURATELY report this story — it was the state Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness agency NOT the federal Department of Homeland Security that was responsible. So it was the Governor of Louisiana that was responsible for the delay in aid, at least from the ARC and Salvation Army.
I am waiting to see the numbers on how many operable vehicles and autos are under water in LA. Is it true that the only folks who stayed behind were those who had no way to get out of town? Or was there a good deal of transportation available in the neighborhood that people simply chose to not use?
The President of the United States has proved to us once again that he has the inability to take charge. I am a veteran of the Armed Forces, and Bush is the main reason I got out after serving my country for ten years. I find it very hard to respect someone who doesn’t have our best interest in mind. I ask God to forgive him for causing innocent soldiers to die on foreign soil. I also ask God to forgive him for the catastropy in New Orleans. And last but not least I ask God to forgive him for 9/11. The President of the United States has the power to put the Governor and the Mayor in check. Therefore if they were in fact not doing their job, then why didn’t Bush step up to the plate. After all, he is the President, and it was a national disaster. He had the means to make it happen, he just didn’t have the to do. We need to realize that the Governor and the Mayor have been victimized also. I commend the Mayor of New Orleans for sticking by his people, and I want to encourage him to keep his head up and look to the hills for his help. We need a shot caller to be our president. Bush is not. He is an oppressor. I joined the military, first because I love my country, Second, because I was willing to fight and die for a legitimate cause. Not for a lie. I have a major problem with the blood bath that is happening in Iraq and in New Orleans. There is no reason whatsoever that people in the richest country in the world die, and be left to rot on the street. There is no dignity, or compassion in the thought pattern of any individual who think that this crime that has happened toward these Americans in New Orleans is right. Holes have been blown into every excuse that our governemnt has come up with as to why they did not respond in a timely manner.
Americans versus Foreigners? Liberals versus Conservatives? Democrats vs. Republicans? The Fed versus the state?
We all tend to live rather insular lives until some cataclysmic event jolts us from our deluded self-interest, and cracks the veneer of our beliefs in ‘self relience’ and the ‘self made man’.
Apocalyptic fairie tales do come true, it can happen to you, if you’re cold of heart.
Isn’t there a tendency we have to over-identify with some label, & its assumed moralistically superior behavior?
Times like these are actually blessed openings where we are sprung free from our insular prescribed ways of looking at our world.
Whatever your usual self image, now is a blessed time to lose the cataract of egotism, and to evolve beyond needing to be identified with a side or a party or a label.
Whatever your image of yourself, and your image of ‘the other’, this catastrophe will only remain a tragedy if people do not evolve beyond their usual clinging to self-images that make them feel more secure.
The tragedy will be made cosummate if people do not learn to see that there is no ‘other’.
We are all interdependent. No amount of money or favored social status could have saved you in New Orleans once those levees and flood walls were breached.
This apocalyptic flood of biblical proportions is
the Universal Solvent, washing away all mental obscurations of social, classist or elitist distinctions. All sentient beings, men, women, children and animals, were rendered equally impotent to wrest themselves from such tortuous suffering as happened in my beloved city of New Orleans.
An enormous Thank you to every human being who has allowed themselves to be re-oriented to the primacy of all sentient beings interdependence, and thankyou for taking action, whatever and however, from your renewed understanding of your humanity.
Love to everyone, from a New Orleans native who managed to escape with my life, with help.
And though I just lost my house and my beloved ‘N’awlins’, as well as every material thing i own and worked for, I have gained a clearer understanding of my humanity.
Was the Red Cross ‘Blocked’ or would they have BLOCKED themselves anyway? Hope this contributes some clarity to the Red Cross Story.
MP
Red Cross: “It Was Not Safe To Be In The City” (Video).
In a Larry King interview on Sept 2nd, Red Cross CEO Marsha Evans explained that the Red Cross were not in New Orleans because it was unsafe.
It was unsafe to be in the city.
it was not safe to be in the city, and it’s not been safe to go back into the city.
According to other reports, Red Cross workers could have been shot or infected by disease if they entered New Orleans in the first days after the storm.
In addition, Evans mentioned concerns that relocating in the city would delay evacuation.
They were also concerned that if we located, relocated back into the city, people wouldn’t leave, and they’ve got to leave.
However, many reporters and news sources have failed to acknowledge the safety/security aspects of Marsha Evans explanation (an exception being Bill OReilly at Fox News).
It is not yet clear whether or not the Red Cross would have entered the city early on, given these serious safety risks, even if they had not been asked to stay out by the National Guard, the city and State emergency management.
A relevant video clip from the Larry King interview can be found here:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200509090002
MP