How anyone on planet Earth could still not believe that BushCo
compounded the Gulf Coast disaster is incomprehensible, but if for
some reason you still think the U.S. Government (as it is currently
comprised) gives a shit about any of us, watch this personal account
of New Orleans survivor, and hero, Charmaine Neville:

http://www.wafb.com/Global/SearchResults.asp?
qu=charmaine+neville&x=13&y=10

And Think Progress has a complete timeline of the disaster here:

http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline

As you can see the first item is PROOF that Louisana Governor Blanco (a Democrat) officially requested federal help THREE DAYS BEFORE THE HURRICANE HIT, not as the Bush spin machine would like you to believe, three days after the storm hit New Orleans. Here's your proof:

http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=973

The fact that this president won't take responsibility for ANY mistakes that occur within his administration proves to all the world that he's incompetant and should be removed from office.

It is a great thing that Democratic Governors are showing...human decency.

I am sorry that New York cannot be included in that group of great and kind governors, but I will expect in 06 that we will have a Democratic Governor.

and it just shows how great these governors are...they are not sitting around blaming the victims, they are helping them...sigh...such a contrast to the present bush administration.

There you go! Something of action. From people other than the mayoral multitude memo. Choosing to highlight governors is a better choice, though, not a great one due to one thing. You have a LA governor problem as well as a NO mayor problem!

You are now voluntarily focusing the spotlight up the power chain and encouraging readers/media/voters to follow you. Where will you take them next - Congressional DEMS and perhaps the liberal philosophy itself?

In the cold hard world of politics, none of this matters. What matters is 60+ GOP in the Senate in one year's time. Learn to play chess. You're walking right into it! There is only one way to fix the looming DEM PR nightmare in 2006. Repudiate the NO mayor and state governor. And do it quickly. Your time is running out.

One last thing. Get rid of the map. It’s a nice idea, but it conveys a message you probably do not intend - not all states are contributing. A reader will easily see that you’re a minority party (true) and perhaps that the rest of “your” governors in grey are cheapskates (false). Never highlight your weaknesses, when a list would do as well or perhaps a timely quote like “100% of DEM governors have responded.”

You may also want to change the color of Louisiana to blue on your chart. You’re lumping the three affected stats together, I know, but you're also effectively saying that the DEM governor of Louisiana has yet to provide assistance to her own constituents.

Bush's moral stand on the issues? Sheesh. My cat has more morality in his tail. Or maybe you mean to say that Bush has morals on the issues except when it comes to their implementation? That Bush has rhetorical morals - all hot air and no reality. Snap out of your trance, fool! The game's over. Your boy is on the ropes. He danced himself into a stupor. Now all we have to do is watch him drag down his entire party since they refuse to dissociate themselves from his vainglorious performance.

On another blog, a lot of us were commenting about CNN. People were thinking they were seeing a spark of REAL JOURNALISM...HOWEVER, today,(Wed), I was watching the Situation Room...and once again they gave poll numbers that said 'very few people were blaming the President'!
When they said that, I knew, once again, the White House wrote their show for them...I don't believe them...Where did they take their poll from?...the ranch in Crawford, Texas? I NEVER BELIEVE THOSE POLLS, FOR ONE BIG REASON...I'm 57, and for except for a localized poll...I've never been polled, and no one I know has ever been polled!
Nancy Polosi, finally got it right when she said Bush is dangerous!
By the way, let's start looking at someone like Sherrod Brown, to run for President! The last thing we need are Bankrupt Biden, or people from the DLC(right wing democrats)to represent us anymore...Not if we want to keep jobs in the United States!

And what about the Govenors of those red states who love to preach morality to the rest of us? What are they doing about relief for the Victims of Republican screw-ups? Probably sitting on their collective asses waiting for their estate tax cuts to be voted in by their buddies in Congress. Hell is too good a place for this whole bunch of Bushcovites. And I include Mamma "Big Mouth, No Brains" Bush in that. After all she spawned him.

Oops. My post at 5:56 PM is in response to Glen's post at 5:46 PM.

In the world of Democrats, letting 10,000 people die in a hurricane is considered immoral. In Bush's world, not hiring cronies to fill vital postitions is immmoral. In the world of Democrats, not funding basic costs for sustaining the infrastructure is immoral. In Bush's world, not lowering the tax rate for millionaires is immoral.

There's simply a great divide in what we believe is moral and what you Republicans are willing to swallow as morality. I blame that on the fact that you've been brainwashed, but maybe you're just stupid. If you don't see the light now, you may be beyond help.

FEMA bans photographs of New Orleans ... Why isn't it a violation of first amendment rights to block the photography of New Orleans aftermath of flood victims (Bush's murder victims imo)?

Photographs are a form of communication, a form of voice. Ask any photographer; his pictures are his voice, his art.

The Reuters story on this (truthout.org) makes the comparison between this New Orleans censorship to the Bush Adminstration's censorship of all images of casualties and their caskets coming out of Iraq. But I say this New Orleans censorship is also comparable to the Abu Grahib Prison torture photos. Because the New Orleans flood victims were tortuously drowned by the unnecessarily slow response of Bush's FEMA.

This CENSORSHIP AND VIOLATION OF FREE SPEECH is criminal. It is obviously a crime committed to benefit the Bush Administration public relations machine's efforts to control the public perception of what has and is happening in New Orleans.

People across this country are calling for Government Accountability regarding this flood disaster and Bush's botched rescue. And yet, the Bush Administration proves it is not only incapable of accountability but chooses to compound the problem by hiding the photographic proof of their emergency management FAILURE.

This is unacceptable.

This is reassuring. It shows that sane people outnumber the insane.

But that said, we still need to make sure we don't have to clean up any more of George W. Bush's messes. Because, making us clean up after him redirects the energy we should be using to get him and his ilk out of the executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch. Doesn't that sound deliberately planned to you?

Now let me go further afield:

Bush's End Times Delusion?

Bush said no one anticipated a breech in the levees of New Orleans.

This is more than a cover-his-rear lie by a failed bureaucrat.

Bush knows his base anticipates this type of disaster as symbolic of their religious myth.

Backtrack to Bush's own religious viewpoint about the end of the world as we know it.

He has marketed himself to the Radical Religious Right as having a role in their religious myth. Was it just Rovian marketing or does Bush believe (delusionally) in the role he has claimed (publicly) God has given him in the Rapture/Revelation myth?! Woodward's book already exposed Bush's delusional psychology.

Bush believes he is doing God's work on Earth. Do we have to hear him say he is God's Rapture/End Days facilitator, say, in a press conference, before we admit we have a madman on our hands? He must be removed. And removed before another disaster. Start the impeachment push, please!

Can't wait to open The Boardroom up for a round of "Bush, You're Fired!"

Anyway, I'm glad our Dem Govs are working hard. Over the weekend I donated a dollar or two to help the victims.

Wonder who got the idea of giving gift cards to victims (although I've been thinking if that's a good idea).

I was ready to wonder why my Blue State of CT was not lit up until I remembered that it has a Republican Governor! I have great hopes she will get booted out next year, as the only reason she is in, is because they hauled John Rowland's butt off to prison for Corruption!

I'm with you, Granny. Get rid of the DLC/New Dems completely. Let them climb back on board the good old Original Democatic Donkey, that was good enough for FDR, Harry Truman, John Kennedy !
Why , all of a sudden, is it not good enough for them?

I am becoming more disturbed that this "relief" effort has become an "attack" effort by our party. It is not about us and them, it is about the refugees who have lost everything. We need to focus on providing support for these victims rather than focusing on all the negativity.

Why is this article called "Democratic Governors Respond to Help ..." - every city, county and state across America has unified to provide support regardless of political parties ... this is why our party is tearing itself apart with continous negativity.

Thank you, USAHIM, for putting my thoughts into your words. People need EMERGENCY help, and many would like to use that horror to pure political advantage. To me this is making hay on the backs of those who are suffering, and I will not participate in it. Instead, I will go about my daily work, seeking to be of what use I can possible be.

My grandmother used to say, "You can light a candle or curse the darkness."

The latter seems perfectly well-covered here, so I can go about doing the former with a clean conscience. And, no, when I help a person, I do not ask for whom they voted. I could care less.

Why is this article called "Democratic Governors Respond to Help ..."

There's nothing sinister about a Democratic blog promoting Democrats, I hope? Would you expect them to promote Republicans here?

Hello fellow Democrats from the Liberal Democrats here in Great Britain!

Many of us think that the Bush administration is where the buck stops for the awfully slow response
and handling of the Katrina crisis...There are many questions that need answering though the well being of the people affected is paramount right now!
Hopefully alot of good will come out of this with Global the US tackling Global Warming and developing Alternate Technologies for our future direction...
regards,
Christopher Wheatley
Liberal Democrat
London

When the Katrina enquiry eventually starts it needs to be independent and not controlled by Bush and his administration..!

USAHIM,

You seem to think that we (Dem Leaders, DNC, and we the people) must do one or the other. Are you implying that if we stop blaming, then we will be able to do the other(start helping?). To be 'focused' on support efforts, we must also then, keep our mouths shut?

I don't know any Democrats who have not supported the efforts. Another way of Supporting the efforts is to bring it out in the light, so that this does not happen ever again in our country. FEMA and Homeland Security must be investigated! Would you wait for a year or two before we demand investigations into what is wrong with those agencies? In the meantime, doesn't it bother you that that could have been a Terrorist attack on your own city, and the same reaction would have taken place ! Perhaps you would be a bit more outraged if it had, and you watched while Bush and the Agencies did not perform their jobs. Would this incompetance be allowed in any other occupation you can think of?

Realize this. The Republicans are out there in FULL force, circling the wagons around the President and Administration, trying to take any blame from them, and put it all on the State and the Victims themselves. You like having those poor souls blamed for this?

You should be thanking God that the Democrats are FINALLY not going to let this administration get away with their blundering attempts at governing. Pointing out That there is no leadership out of this administration! that this ungodly invasion into Iraq, took all of the money that would have fixed not only the problems in LA, but all around this country.

I for one, am thrilled that the Democrats are not going to let them sweep this catastrophe under the rug, like we have with 9/11, Iraq invasion for NOTHING, Pork laden bills, Bills that harm us being passed, etc.

If YOU really want to help , after you finish sending in your donation, maybe you will write some letters to editors, TV, congressmen, etc. Maybe you will keep this story out in the public eye and not let them get away with playing the Blame Game themselves, onto the backs of those Victims and the States involved.

Do you really believe our President would want poor or rich or white or black to suffer, I think not. People who say such are trying to make more trouble than there already is, and this is the worst thing to happen to America ever. If you are not helping you are hurting. Stop acting like kids and grow up. Start helping and shut your mouths.

Posted by Lorinda on September 8, 2005 at 10:45 AM

it is obvious you have not been paying attention the last 5 years, Lori ! Open your own eyes !Seen any good Abu Grahib pictures lately? Seen any Iraqi citizens laying in the streets, because of this US invasion where it is clear it is not wanted?

And instead of blogging, why aren't YOU out there diggins and bailing and opening Your home, and loading supplies??????? Practice what you preach, girl!

As much suffering those affected by this devastating crisis have and continue to endure, the Bush Administration forces them to suffer still. How is it that FEMA who is continuously fumbling over itself is telling people they have to wait 14 days or more for their debit cards which were promised to them 2 days ago. People are gathering every morning to stand on lines for these cards (it seems they've been standing on for almost 2 weeks now for one reason or another to no avail) and FEMA once again is not coming through. People need to buy clothing and other misc. products to live and yet again they are being denied. They are turning people away because of lack of id and paperwork. How much can one prove when everything one owns has been lost? What kind of nonsense is this? Once again, if the victims were not black, were not poor, were not elderly, this would not be happening. We have got to put an end to this. It's not just the debit cards, either. Red tape is getting in the way of many of these people moving on and it is not right. It is not supposed to happen this way. FEMA is making the same promises they made a week ago, help is on the way and their job is simply not getting done. They are using lack of id, paperwork, etc. as an excuse for not getting the job done.

The fact that this president won't take responsibility for ANY mistakes that occur within his administration proves to all the world that he's incompetant and should be removed from office.

Posted by VannaB

And then three years of Dick Cheany? Good plan.

Why did so many have to die after the storm of toxic poison, trauma shock,sunstroke,and heat stroke
Why did the loved one have to watch the dead float in the water for six to seven days before Bush Authorized Federal First Responders to go in? Why did one of the Governors have to call Bush's office in DC over and over for six to seven days before Bush Responded? Why did the police officers have to commit suiside and still the local first responders had to wait days before Bush Administration picked up the phone and ask Federal First responders to go in? Where did all the Republican Christians Go in Bush's Administration?

My Red state, Alabama, just inherited lots, make that LOTS of angry and very motivated democrats from Louisiana. I was just thinking, do we get to register them? Is my state now blue? Is Delay's district now blue? Do they all have to vote absentee? Will this be the second time in history that NO exports the "blues" to the rest of the country?

Brannon, the leader of the party here in Alabama said he did not see why they could not be registered and sent me this link:

http://www.sos.state.al.us/election/vr/vr-a.htm

All the elements that George W. Bush and Karl Rove had exploited for political gain — a timid and kowtowing mainstream media, a deafening silence about America’s growing underclass, the fear that criticizing the White House in the era of Al Qaeda was tantamount to treason, and Bush’s can-do, cowboy image — were shattered by the same winds and rains that savaged casinos in Biloxi and homes in Jefferson Parish.

What emerged from the rubble — with the nation’s collective psyche now a toxic stew of shock, shame, fear, and anger — were the hard truths about our society’s frightening inequities and our government’s horrifying incompetence.

And so to those who are saying don't play the blame game, I ask you, where is YOUR shock, shame, fear and anger? Are you content to sit back and let this go by? Are you willing to just forgive and forget?

Link

What about cursing those that turned out the light while you light a candle? Dems can do two things at once, unlike Bush and his crony at Fema, the failed Arabian horse association prez. We all know that if we don't talk about what went wrong now, it will NEVER get talked about. We've learned how these folks work.

I'm sick of the self-righteous trying to lay a guilt trip on people who are doing plenty (but don't feel the need to take credit for it online) and also wanting to make sure that this does not happen again and that it is fixed NOW rather than later.

I'm very embarassed for my own home state of California's lackluster response to this disaster.

The Governator doesn't seem to have provided much aid and further complicated matters recently by vetoing a very important and historic gay rights bill that the California State Senate recently passed.

Though the Governator must have been too busy shmoozing the super-rich in some other state, which he's had a penchant to do frequently (probably travelling the country at taxpayer's expense), he did parade his wife out there along with the Chancellor of the UC school system, who never blinked once, or turned away from the cameras -- each with perma-grin's on their faces.

I've never been so ashamed to see such a phony display. And even though California residents have been largely unable to be admitted to these schools, the out-of-state tuition fees have been waived for those student-victims of this disaster so they can attend school in California, which is the least they could have done. So far they have admitted about 250 student-victims and kudos for that.

If only Republican Governor Pete Wilson would have been so generous at pressing for Bay Area victims to have received admission to these schools during the 1989 earthquake then maybe this action by the Governator's wife (who is a Democrat) would have seemed more credible and charitable.

As it turns out, it mostly comes off as an embarassing and lackluster response, and the partisan facade only betrays itself further by the Governator's "hands-off" approach. Who is governing this state? Schwarzenegger or his wife?

Governator's poll ratings holding steady between 32-36% who think he's doing a good job and who think California is going in the right direction.

Good to see Only Dem State Gov's are helping.
If only the Dem Gov of LA, would act. You people scare me. Is this the hope of the party I have belonged to for so long. Divide and destroy? Pretty sad

funny, no where do I read that ONLY Dem Governors are helping. This is to point out WHAT Dem Governors are doing, not that they are the only ones.

I have spent 8 hours a day for the last week and hundreds of dollars delivering food and water and counseling the victims of this national disaster.

In the process, I have increased our customer base and contracts by 500% !

How could the most powerful nation on earth fail it's people so miserably? That's easy - the corporate citizen has more rights than the human citizen. Profits come before people.

We dictate who is elected via manipulation of the press using our billions of dollars in hopes of being granted no-bid contracts and favors when we request our puppet to next invade another country with oil.

You see, The Republicans understand this much better than you Democrats because it is steeped into the very core of their being. Almost like a gene that Democrats don't possess.

After all, Democrats care about social welfare issues and put their priority on people first and companies second so why would we try to fund Dems? It costs more money and effort to buy a Dem than a Rep.

This is reality. People who think this is untrue are blinded by their brain-washed loyalty to a paycheck. Or they are too ashamed or too proud to admit they screwed up by voting for these reps.

Folks, Our government was hijacked in 2000 by corporations who bought a republican-based society that has continued to weed out the last few democratic politicians that still hold office.

When a government is run by corporations, it's called facism. Facism leads to anarchy. anarchy leads to rebellion. rebellion leads to revolution.

Go to moveon.org. Write congress. Send those letters to the editor. Do SOMETHING for God's sake!

And then pray that those people who voted with their hearts may never be allowed to vote again.

Vote with your head - not heart - else we will suffer with tens of thousands of future hellish tragedies and millions will die.

They will die because of inept leaders elected by 'hearts' who made their voting decision based on 30 second lies they saw on TV or because their church told them who to vote for.

Then these inept puppets will appoint unqualifed loayalists who - as we have seen over 4 years - will use horrendous bad judgement to steer this country into chaos.

One Question : If this disaster had hit Miami in Jeb's state, do you think it would have taken a week for Bush to act?

Before going too far up the chain of blame you must assign it at ground zero. The mayor was inept and so was the governor. Both did nothing until it was too late. The immediate fingerpointing at Bush only makes the democrats look like little kids trying to deflect their culpability.

Responsibilities for disasters are first and foremost a state and city issue. Disaster plans for evacuation are not a federal responsibility. The pictures of those hundreds of school buses sitting in water was a mayoral decision, not Bush's. (By the way, Bush asked the gov. to evacuate the Saturday before the disaster. No compliance from the gov or the people.) We cannot expect the feds to swoop in and do what local officials were supposed to do in the first place.

I personally have been involved in Los Angeles' earthquake disaster preparedness and believe me it is extensive and thorough. Not once in the meetings and classes did we place responsibility on the feds; we made the plans and we planned to execute them. If you live next door to a levy, then it is incumbent upon YOU to make darn sure you know what to do in case it breaks.

1. usamom is correct. why did those busses just sit there? who is to blame for that? at what point are people responsible to save themselves? we can't blame the GOP that the LA/NO government didn't take steps to do whatever it could at the local and state level.

2. I live in TX. this is a VERY red state, and has a very GOP governor. I dare anyone to claim our state hasn't stood up for the good of these victims.

3. I am not a rich man. I cannot afford to pay more taxes, and I am paying less now than I was with Clinton. That is a fact. if I have to pay more taxes, I will probably have no choice but to ask for government assistance to live. I expect that many people will be expectedto pay more taxes to fund rebuilding NO below sea-level again, and rebuilding millionaires homes along the southern coast, again and again when storms come.

4. These people in LA have known that this tragedy would come someday. they did not prepare their city and state to withstand this storm. I lived and worked in LA, and I knew back in the 80's that NO was in trouble. NO citizens are responsible for protecting themselves- not poor taxpayers in TX, or any other state.

5. days before the storm hit I remember hearing Bush telling people to evacuate. My brother who is in the USAF, was put on alert to fly rescue missions into NO/LA. as soon as the weather permitted, they were flying, and the Coast Guard was lifting people ( poor black ones too. ) off rooftops. Sorry people, but those were government troops, supplies, and equipment. if you claim the government wasn't there for days afterwards, then you are discrediting our military who WAS there, and you are ignoring the truth.

6. we can't bash FEMA through the floor either. They have been there for every disaster since their inception. the fact is, this was not ONE city in Florida, a town in Georgia, or a trailer park in Texas... this was the coastline of THREE WHOLE STATES. we have never seen anything like this. hopefully we may not see it again in our lifetime.
it just doesnt make sense to politicize this event, blame a hurricaine on ANY president, and ignore the fact that NO's mayor, and LA's govenor are more responsible than ANYONE for saving their own people. Both were asleep at the wheel, and both are still shirking their responsibilites.

Playing the blame game is not going to help anyone. Bush isn't running for president again, and no one is going to hold the GOP responsible for Katrina during the next election.
this partisan bickering is only going to make things more difficult. Seriously, those of you who think the president should be impeached over this, are being laughed at. Do you expect to be taken seriously? it's embarrasing to hear Americans saying such ridiculous things when they should be joining together to help those in need. Remember 9/11? we all joined together back then, and it was the correct thing to do.
This is much much worse than 9/11, it effects ALL Americans, rich and poor, and all races.
put the politics aside for a while and join forces with your "enemy". Both of you are Americans, who should be trying to help Americans.

In answer to SansBull ("One Question : If this disaster had hit Miami in Jeb's state, do you think it would have taken a week for Bush to act?")

The answer - of course not. That's because Jeb Bush would not have blocked federal access and negotiate with the federal government in order to protect himself politically like Governor Blanco did.

If you democrats who pretend to be so outraged at the response of the federal government (and we all know you're not - it's all an act for the cameras) want to do something to change this situation, join the republican party who believes in a small trim federal government and more power in the hands of state and local government.

Local government failed because it was run by democrats who think someone else should be standing over them to do their jobs when they can't do them themselves.

How Clinton Transformed FEMA

"Rarely had the failure of the federal government been so apparent and so acute. On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew leveled a 50-mile swath across southern Florida, leaving nearly 200,000 residents homeless and 1.3 million without electricity. Food, clean water, shelter, and medical assistance were scarce. Yet, for the first three days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is responsible for coordinating federal disaster relief, was nowhere to be found. And when FEMA did finally arrive, its incompetence further delayed relief efforts."

"The red tape was aggravated by old-fashioned incompetence. FEMA was, in the words of former advisory board member and defense analyst Lawrence Korb, a "political dumping ground," a backwater reserved for political contributors or friends with no experience in emergency management. President Bush, for example, appointed Wallace Stickney, head of New Hampshire's Department of Transportation, to lead FEMA. Stickney's only apparent qualification for the post was that he was a close friend and former next door neighbor of Bush Chief of Staff John Sununu. Throughout his time there, Stickney was nearly invisible, except for regular trips to Capitol Hill to defend the agency against its many critics."

Now for the really good stuff:

"The GAO's final report recommended that FEMA develop a more proactive sense of its mission. The report caught a bit of luck in November 1992 with the election of Bill Clinton. The model for FEMA fit nicely with the new president's notion of an activist federal government. To implement this change in mission, the President appointed James Lee Witt as the agency's director. An unassuming and direct man, Witt was a former construction company owner and county judge who had worked with Clinton in Arkansas as the director of the state Office of Emergency Services. As state director, he had earned high marks for the successful management of three presidential disaster declarations, including two major floods in 1990 and 1991.

Witt's first challenge was to assemble a staff to direct the new FEMA. Much criticism had been leveled at the high number of political appointees in the agency. More than one member of Congress, including Senator Mikulski, had called for FEMA to be reorganized along the lines of most federal agencies, to be "professionalized." In other words, only the highest positions would be appointed by the president, while all other positions would be staffed by career civil servants. Only then, these critics suggested, could FEMA properly respond to catastrophes.

But Clinton and Witt demonstrated an understanding of the virtues of the patronage system. The high number of political appointees allowed the new administration to free itself of the incompetents and replace them with talented new people. Clinton agreed to let Witt interview all potential appointees to ensure that they were qualified for the jobs. As a result, the resumes of the team they assembled are formidable. Elaine McReynolds, head of the Federal Insurance Administration served as the insurance commissioner of Tennessee for over seven years. Richard Moore, a former state legislator from Massachusetts, was appointed to help make state and local governments better prepared for disasters. Carrye Brown, head of the Fire Administration, had worked on Capitol Hill for 18 years where she was a specialist in disaster and fire legislation.

With a new mandate and the staff to go with it, Witt conducted a top-to-bottom review of FEMA's mission, its personnel, and its resources. The review brought swift changes. In its first two years, the agency shut down several unneeded field offices. It reduced internal regulations by 12 percent and drafted a plan to reduce them by 50 percent by the end of 1995. It strengthened programs that prepared states for natural disasters. And, so it could better inform state directors what aid was available, FEMA conducted the first comprehensive inventory in the agency's history.

Recognizing the unlikelihood of a massive nuclear attack, Witt also moved the agency out of the nuclear war business, making available to natural disaster responses many of the resources the agency had accumulated in preparation for a Soviet attack. One hundred FEMA disaster specialists were freed up to deal with natural catastrophes.

Virtually overnight, the agency has developed a new reputation for quickness and efficiency. Gone are the bureaucratic swamps that the old FEMA had made its hallmark. It is telling that when state disaster officials talk about FEMA's response time, they no longer speak in days or weeks, but in hours. They speak of phone calls, not of forms dropped in the mail.

Consider the Oklahoma City bombing. Tom Feuerborne, director of Oklahoma's Civil Emergency Management Department, can cite the events of April 19, 1995 almost down to the minute. It was 9:02 a.m. when a truck bomb ripped through the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Office Building in downtown Oklahoma City. At 9:30, Feuerborne placed a phone call to FEMA's headquarters in Washington. At 2:05, FEMA's advance team arrived, complete with damage assessors and members of Witt's staff. Six hours later, at 8:10 that evening, Witt himself arrived to be briefed on the situation. By 2:30 a.m. April 20, the first of FEMA's search and rescue teams had arrived to supplement the efforts of the Oklahoma City fire department. Says Feuerborne, "My office is very happy with the quick response of FEMA."

http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=108858

NOTE: The above article came from the Washington Monthly first:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0509.franklin.html

In response to -Hoosier_Conservative- (and others) who still deflect blame from the federal agencies to the victims and local government of LA:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&u=/nm/20050913/ts_nm/katrina_dc_35

Amen - and that's how a REAL leader leads his people! Thank you Mr. President!

And as for the specific accusations charged against Blanco by Hoosier (".....Jeb Bush would not have blocked federal access and negotiate with the federal government in order to protect himself politically like Governor Blanco did.")

Please provide the source for the basis of your testimony against Blanco. Where did you find this bit of fictional K.W.Rove "save our butts" spin about Blanco blocking federal access?

Neither myself nor anyone else I have spoken with can recall reading it in any newspaper or seeing it on any major news network.

Thanks.

Our efforts this weekend were centered on donating and setting up more computers at a civic sponsored picnic / cookout at our local school. We helped locate 2 missing persons and registered more than 19 families for FEMA and for TWC to help them find jobs.

On Monday we setup 3 systems at a self storage business where the owner donated two empty office suites for registering survivors. This is being managed by Your Life Ministry. We donated and setup 3 others at Sabine Creek Ranch where they expect about 100 families in the next few weeks as the FEMA paid hotel option starts expiring.

We expect a real problem coming up soon with a shortage of housing in N. TX. : This is a link to help people donate housing or locate housing: www.hurricanehousing.org. God bless these folks. This housing website will help a lot of people!

At our Cyber Cafe store we have had about 30+ people come in to use our systems for free and the traffic is picking up and the focus has certainly shifted to looking for housing now.

As of this writing, we have neither asked for nor recieved any donations or funding assistance for our efforts.

It is sad to think that some of you think "the only ones to respond were the democrat governors." Georgia was the first to respond in this tradgedy...even before the great democrat Governor of LA. ever gave permission for the Federal Government to come in....Oh...our Governor is Republican.

c-span2>>> You've got to see this!!! Waldon is blasting the commission on 9/11's omissions...this is incredible...deleting a warning about Atta - special clearances for him -Raytheon and Mr. Burton???? I cannot believe what I am seeing/hearing. Does this mean that 3000 people dead could have been avoided??!!! Waldon is so angry he is yelling. He is demanding accountability from this administration and he is very upset like the rest of us...looks like they are busted big time if this is the case... I know you want to keep dreaming and believing that this is the only way, but you must wake up and come to understand that there is something very wrong here Gortex, these guys have got to go before the next disaster strikes. Waldon is saying that there is something very fishy here indeed. He is furious with them...and oh, by the way, Waldon is a Republican. Meanwhile at this late date there are 93,000 people who evacuated from NO area and they are looking for a home...their homes are in a toxic stew and they are still waiting...

I'm just curious, since the Louisiana govenor sent a message to the president on the 25th and he signed the state of emergency on the 26th, although he didn't have his good 'ol boys do anything until 2 days after Katrina hit, that means the govenor of Georgia responded on 24 August or sooner. I just want to know, if the man is so clairvoyant, why is he still a Republican? Anyone who can even guess at the future can see the Republicans are driving this country into the ground.

Hhmmm. I'm bored. These blogs are old. The GOP's blogs are also too long. Everyone's writing; few are reading.

Is there anything we can do about thread management: specific thread topics maintained specific throughout and one all purpose "blab" thread. Limit the blog to 100 entries, as well?

Perhaps also varying your topics more than 1/month?

I'm a Republican but I thought I would like to see what Democratic citizens were saying about the federal response to Hurrican Katrina. Most of the people I know aren't very satisfied with anyone's response; local, state, or fderal. I think positive changes have been occurring lately on all sides. Mayor Nagin was very correct in stopping residences from coming back to New Orleans on account of Rita. I created an account today to be able to post because it really bothered me that the states with Republican governors that are helping the evacuees are not mentioned. I live in Arkansas in a small town and we have been helping lots and lots of evacuees. Our governor and other state legislatiors (the vast majority of whom are Democrat) have been very open and helping to evacuees. I realize this is a political site and the main mission is to post the Democratic agenda, as set forth by their leaders, but to ignore the good citizens of America who are helping others; regardless of who they are is beyond me. I would like to thank people whose comments I've read that commented on how this looked. That really makes me feel like there are Democrats who can see that Republicans, too, are trying to be of help; as I hope Democrats know that Republicans apprecitate the help that many Democrats have given to help Hurricane Katrina vicatims.

I see lots of whining here. Its never any good if democrats speak up and smash the other side down, and its not any good if they lead by example and help everyone while the rich fat conservatives squander their money.

No pleasing people, it seems to me. Well, I applaud the efforts and continue to push for the democrats to do both. Smash down the opposition ala Paul Hackett, and help those in need by leading through example.

Only then do we take everything back.

nick

By the way Kerry gave a good speech on this. I know there's alot of Kerry bashers, but he absolutely laid the smackdown on FEMA and the Bush admin and really tore into them.

He's a very good leader. After the 2004 debacle people will always remember him as the real president come to think of it.

nick