Timeline of a Catastrophe
Posted by on August 29, 2006 at 05:43 PM
A year ago today, President Bush was attending pricey fundraisers and eating cake while the Gulf Coast was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
President Bush:
- Bush In Arizona Campaigning Hard To “Pre-Sell” A Political Victory at 12pm ET. Bush talked to an invitation only audience of about 400 people at the Pueblo El Mirage RV and Golf Resort. The Arizona Republic said Bush came to campaign hard for his new Medicare plan. “The main focus of Bush's visit was to elaborate on the new Medicare drug benefit…Having high numbers of enrollees also will be a political victory for the president, since he pushed the Medicare reform measure through Congress in 2003. Members of the Bush administration have been on the road, going across the country to talk up the program…. ‘I think Bush would like it (the Medicare drug benefit) to play a role in the elections next year -- he's been touting it as one of the big accomplishments of his first term,’ David Mark, of Campaigns & Elections Magazine, said Monday.… Bush said Monday that he was in El Mirage ‘pre-selling’ the importance of enrolling for the benefit.” [Arizona Republic, 8/30/05]
- Bush Stopped To Celebrate McCain’s Birthday At Luke Air Force Base. “Greeting Bush was Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)… The president paused on the tarmac to help celebrate McCain's 69th birthday, but on a blazing Arizona day, the cake melted before he could taste it.” [Washington Post, 8/30/05]
- “Upbeat” Bush Continues Campaigning, Speaking Straight From White House Talking Points In Rancho Cucamonga, CA at 5:45pm ET. “An upbeat and slightly sunburned President George W. Bush chatted with the nation's Medicare chief and several locals in a casual, town hall-type setting Monday, encouraging seniors to find out more about their new prescription drug benefits. Repeatedly telling an audience of 200 invited guests at the James L. Brulte Senior Center that the new program was "a good deal,' the president also assured seniors that he sympathized with their apprehension.… Bush, who spoke for just under a half-hour, pulled talking points directly from a White House fact sheet that states Medicare has not kept up with advances in medicine…. Bush's appearance was part of a $300 million campaign to promote awareness of the program and boost interest in it.” [Whittier Daily News, 8/30/05]
The Gulf Coast
- Katrina Moves On Shore As Category 4 Hurricane. At 6am, the National Hurricane Center warned that “extremely dangerous category four hurricane Katrina preparing to move onshore newar southern Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana…Hurricane-force wind gusts occurring over most of southeastern Louisiana…and as far east as the Chandeleur Islands.” [Hurricane Center]
- At Least 55 Reported Deaths By Hurricane Katrina Throughout Gulf Coast. “Hurricane Katrina barreled into the Gulf Coast on Monday morning, its fierce winds cutting a 125-mile swath of destruction stretching from coastal Alabama across Mississippi to the French Quarter and the Superdome. At least 55 people were killed. The storm's leading edge, wielding winds up to 145 mph across the Gulf of Mexico, made landfall as a fearsome Category 4 hurricane at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time near the Louisiana bayou town of Buras, about 63 miles southeast of New Orleans. Katrina then wheeled into western Mississippi, bringing a 20-foot storm surge along the coast near Biloxi. It headed north later Monday to inundate most of the Mississippi Delta, spun off dozens of tornadoes through the South and promised drenching rains later in the week as far north as the Ohio Valley.” [Washington Post, 8/30/05]
- The flooding begins - literally. Pictures start to come in from residents and reporters as the Gulf Coast is washed away.
For a full comparison, check out the research document, Timeline of a Catastrophe.
Comments (9) «
"No one could have anticipated...."
From Faux News to CNN to the BBC and the Chinese News agency, they were all doing stories about the strength of the levies before the hurricane. They were all interviewing folks who didn't have any way to evacuate. Star media divas were with them in the Superdome looking for a dramatic moment.
The President and Congress who had been warned for over a decade.
We had been listening the Max Mayfield for a weeek and sat by the tube waiting to see what would happen when the first ever Category 5 hit the Gulf coast.
Yet the President and his cabinet were on vacation and/or out fundraising. They were too busy to keep track of what was transpiring....
even thought they had been personally briefed by all the emergency preparedness people of the possible dire effects.
No one in the administration bothered to make a list and check it twice. They had the resources that the state and local officials didn't. They had the means to get them to where they would be needed.
But they couldn't disappoint their top contributors and postpone the West coast campaign trip. McCain had to have his birthday cake.
Even while mothers were on the tube begging for formula for their babies, McCain and Bush ate their cake...and assumed that the people of the Gulf coast would be eating their's, too.
They have assumed a lot...for far too long. They still assume that we will get over it.
OK, that is unfair ;}
Did anyone notice that while President Bush was in St. Louis Cathedral for a private prayer service, there was a larger Interfaith service in progress across town? I guess The President couldn't share the spotlight with Gov.Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin, nor with a roomful of Katrina survivors.
Well said Sandy!As bush goes around talking in New Orleans doing his television ops,and making like everything that has transpired is very natural.What a smuck!
As we look back at Katrina, we should remember how this was a major failure on the part of state and (especially) local government. There are 4 examples which clearly illustrate this:
1) For years prior to the storm, money that was sent to New Orleans to shore up the levees was being diverted to other projects;
2) When told to issue a manadatory evacuation, the mayor waited two days before doing so;
3) Even after issuing a mandatory evacuation, no plan was in place to evacuate those who might need help (remember the pictures of the 100's of buses sitting idle);
4) Food and water intended for those trapped in the Superdome were not allowed to be sent in by the governor, making the problem even worse for those people.
These are just a few examples. The point here is not to place blame (frankly, the blame games played by many, especially the Dem. party, were disgusting, factually incorrect, and did nothing to help). The point is to remind those cities and towns, and the states they reside in that are vulnerable to major storms to have plans in place when hurricanes hit, and then to actually implement them when they do. Imagine how many lives would have been saved if there had just been an evacuation plan in New Orleans? Florida is hit by hurricanes every year, and you see how they come through them pretty well, because they are prepared.
We need to stop playing politics with Katrina and start thinking about saving lives in case future storms hit. The first, and most important, line of defense in a hurricane is the local and state governments. If they are not up to the task, as they weren't for Katrina, there is only so much the federal govt. can do to help.
I am tired of the mudslinging. I am tired of tragedy, etc. being used for political tricks.
I reallize there are many naive Americans who are gullible enough to believe in the sincerity of those who use such tactics regardless of party affliliation.
My husband has been to New Orleans more than once as part of a technical team to examine and test for contamination in the area. His team went all the way to Lake Pontchartrain. He was appalled to learn how federal funds were being misused and to witness waste regarding personal items that had not been recovered instead of accepting FEMA money. The citizens of New Orleans failed in their own responsibility just as many other Americans have slipped into the mind-set that the federal government is supposed to take care of all their needs. They need to read President Kennedy's inaugural address, but sadly too many have probably not made the effort in school to learn to read.
I want also to know specifics about what is going to actually be done to make us energy independent, to close our borders to illegal aliens and restrict legal immigration, to place safety above so-called civil rights, to protect the Judeo-Christian foundation of America, to preserve the commonality Americans had before LBJ-Ted Kennedy disastrous immigration law in 1965, and in general to keep us from becoming a third world nation, the direction we are headed unless these issues as well as others change for the benefit of America.
Approx. 5000 Americans died on Bush's watch (approx, 1700 in Katrina and 3000 in the Towers.) And America thinks Bush can protect us? Come on Dems, make this an issue. We chant "5000 dead Americans on Bush's watch. "
Approx. 5000 Americans died on Bush's watch (approx, 1700 in Katrina and 3000 in the Towers.) And America thinks Bush can protect us? Come on Dems, make this an issue. We chant "5000 dead Americans on Bush's watch. "
"5000 dead Americans on Bush's watch." "Approx. 5000 Americans died on Bush's watch (approx, 1700 in Katrina and 3000 in the Towers.) And America thinks Bush can protect us? Come on Dems, make this an issue. We chant "5000 dead Americans on Bush's watch. "
The incompetence of the Bush administration should be the focus of the coming election. Katrina response, Rumsfeld's fiasco in Iraq, Abu Graibe and Cheney's defense of torture should provide plenty of material to bring this sad period in American history to an end.
If we stay focussed on the issue of Bush's basic incompetence and less on his evil motives, we can send a message that finally resonates with the broader American public.
This is the first time I've ever entered a comment into any kind of blog and I'm probably not even on the right page, but I'm really worried that the endless debates within the party will send a message of confusion and weakness to the voters we need to win this election.
StayOnTrack
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