Bush and Chertoff LIED!

I don't know why I feel compelled to reply to a Bush hating, brick wall.

I suggest you pick up the complete report before you continue to go off half cocked. It's out and available. I know you can pick it up at FedEx/Kinkos.

I almost agree with you. We should start at the top, the top of the state government that did not properly convey the message to the people and the federal government about just how bad this storm was to impact the Gulf Coast. They knew and didn’t even force evacuation.

I can't expect you to understand how bumbling and incompetent our state government is here in LA but you can say all you want. The burden of protecting the people falls on the state.

Further proof that Louisiana is governmentally inept is the joke they have made of the people struggling to recover from Rita. Katrina this and Katrina that... blah, blah, blah. New Orleans is a tourist attraction. Southwest Louisiana is the place where oil is refined. I would speak of the drilling and production but that is something that covers all areas of our state. It seems to me that getting our tax base back starts with one of our major exports. I haven't even touched on seafood and rice industry here.

All of that is Bush's fault ... right? Since you are dissecting one single conversation not the full report.

You gotta ask youself, how bad do the people of New Orleans really have it? I mean didn't they just have the Mardi Gras? You would think they would have spent all that money making the parade and all into helping those who need help, but you don't see Col complaining about that right? You know why? Because it wasn't Bush who planed the parade.

One simple fact you ignore - NO agency had the resources required to deal with the magnitude of this storm EXCEPT the Active Military that ONLY Bush could provide. It took him SIX DAYS to understand that when he finally sent in the Active Military. He was informed on the 28th of the potential problem even though two days AFTER the storm he said NO ONE COULD HAVE PREDICTED the extent of the storm. THAT WAS A LIE! This is NOT Bush bashing it is SIMPLY TELLING the TRUTH that many on JoeUser do not want to acknowledge. We have an incompetent person sitting at the head of our government who has appointed many political cronies who are ALSO incompetent.

The people that were spending at Mardi Gras were members of the Bush Base. Not the over a million with no homes!

You gotta love how people like Gene demagogue this.

The people that were spending at Mardi Gras were members of the Bush Base. Not the over a million with no homes!

Who gives 2 rats a$$e$ who they were, as usual you always have something stupid to say. Mardi Gras is not #1 priority when thousands of people are homeless. But you hatred towards Bush is so blinding that even you can't see that the money spent on Mardi Gras, regardless of where it came from or who did it, could have been used to help those people who needed it more. But what do you care about the people of New Orleans, you only use them to bash Bush, they are only instruments in your personal war against Bush. Just like the miners, the Iraqis, those in the WTC on 9/11, the soldier and others.

But I think I just figured you out. I might be behind of some people here but I think I know how you tick now. All this Bush bashing is just promotion for your new book. I have to give props for using such a great idea to advertise your book by making people curious enough to see what the hell makes you tick. Too bad it's not gonna work with me and hopefully with many others.

EXCEPT the Active Military that ONLY Bush could provide

"COL", can the President send the army to any state whenever he feels like it or does he have to wait for the governor to either give his OK or clearly violate state or federal law?

YES. He can and DID declare an emergency. Ike sent the 82nd to Alabama WITHOUT the Governor asking and BEFORE these was civil unrest. Bush DID send the Active Military into the area just 6 days LATE. There was a DOD study that the White House had that showed that in a disaster the scope of Katrina ONLY the ACTIVE (Not the Guard) Military had the resources, communications and command and control to deal with a disaster of this size. Bush sat on his hands for SIX DAYS before acting. He is inept!

Ike sent the 82nd to Alabama WITHOUT the Governor asking and BEFORE these was civil unrest.

You just shot down your own theory here. Leauki is right. Your example falls under the President's Authority to protect the US from enemies Foreign and domestic. While each Hurricane has a name, it is not a living entity, group, or State.

My own State National Guard offered transport and medical assistance teams to LA, but the LA Governor did not except the offer for two days. They did get approval from the TX Governor, and had to land there until LA changed their mind.

If you actually listened to the Video tape of the briefing that the President received just before the storm. You can here that Brown had complaints/worries even then about LA Government's preparations. But it did appear that the FEMA head had briefed Bush that they where ready for the event. Obviously Brown was not as ready as his confidence showed in the tape. Do you except that Bush should doubt his advisor, when in the past five hurricanes FEMA completed those missions without any large problems?

Not Correct. A Presidential declaration can allow the use of federal Troops. When Ike sent federal troops into Alabama it was NOT because of any foreign danger. He sent troops to prevent disorder. There was looting and extreme danger that does allow the President to send in troops. In addition, The Gov. of LA said to Bush the FIRST day, "Send ALL AVAILABLE FEDERAL HELP. The last I looked the Active Military is Federal and the only thing that prevented Bush from sending the Active military, which was the ONLY resource up to the task, is because he is not a leader. He sat on his a*s the same way as when he was reading to the kids and was told the second tower was hit and we were under attack. He should have excused himself and got to his limo so he would be in contact with the national command authority.

It's silly. The Col and others outraged over this are just grandstanding for political effect.

"Yesterday, I signed a disaster declaration for the state of Louisiana, and this morning I signed a disaster declaration for the state of Mississippi. These declarations will allow federal agencies to coordinate all disaster relief efforts with state and local officials. We will do everything in our power to help the people in the communities affected by this storm. Hurricane Katrina is now designated a category five hurricane. We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to Gulf Coast communities. I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety of their families first by moving to safe ground. Please listen carefully to instructions provided by state and local officials. "

That was August 28, 2005, before the hurricaine landed. He even signed off the areas for disaster status the day before that. The local authorites were criminally negligent, and didn't take the situation seriously. Nagin left people stranded and used buses to cart foriegn tourists out of downtown NO.

Beyond everything, you have to assume that the federal government has the responsibility to react with more than Bush did. The fact is they don't. If we want to do away with the existence of state and local governments, fine, try to pass the laws, but until then stop pretending that the Federal government is our lord and savior.

Gov. of LA said to Bush the FIRST day, "Send ALL AVAILABLE FEDERAL HELP.

Do you have a clue as to the real meaning behind that statement? Governor Blank Brain said send it all because she didn't even know what was available to her. Worse... when things started arriving, she was turning busses and troops away. The reason this ordeal went on so long (and compared to historic storm responses it was average) is because the bumbling idiots here could not get a clear plan of what they needed.

When she said send it all, just what was Bush supposed to send? Should he have activated the entire military and sent them on their way because a governor has no clue what she needs?

I dare you to answer those questions. (Maybe that will work since you can't answer a question posed to you - next time you will force me to use the double dare and the elusive double dog dare)

You ignore the fact that ONLY the Active Military was able to meet the needs. The National Guard assets were disabled by the storm. Bush was told the probable impact of this storm the DAY BEFORE THE STORM. Two days AFTER the storm, he said NO ONE COULD HAVE KNOWN the impact. That is a LIE pure and simple. The White House had the ONLY resources capable of proving the assistance required. The simple fact is that Bush is inept!

"Two days AFTER the storm, he said NO ONE COULD HAVE KNOWN the impact."

No, he said that no one was really expecting the levees to break. Personally, I think that was a polite way of saying that there were a lot of idiots in NO who were more worried about their tv sets getting stolen than drowning and getting stranded...

You ignore the fact that ONLY the Active Military was able to meet the needs.

You ignore the fact that the people should not have needed to be rescued. If everyone knew two days in advance (and in the real world we all knew at least a couple of days earlier), why were there so many people to rescue?

Answer my questions ... are you chicken? ... I double dare you!

When she said send it all, just what was Bush supposed to send? Should he have activated the entire military and sent them on their way because a governor has no clue what she needs?

Just John

The President should not have needed the Gov to ask. After the briefing HE RECEIVED on 28 August, a LEADER would have known what was needed. THE day AFTER the storm a FOOL would have known what was needed. IT TOOK BUSH SIX DAYS to send help. You ignore the study that said in situations like Katrina ONLY THE ACTIVE MILITARY had the capability to provide the help required. NOT THE National Guard and NOT the state governments. The resources and staff in the states were impacted BY THE STORM. HOW WERE THEY IN A POSITION to provide the needed assistance? This was a BUSH failure because he was the ONLY person with the assets capable of meeting the needs and he sat on his a*s.

Lawmakers: Katrina Tape Raises Questions
BY MARGARET EBRAHIM (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
March 02, 2006 6:01 PM EST

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers from both parties said Thursday a newly disclosed videotape of a pre-Katrina briefing for President Bush and top administration officials raises new questions about government response to the storm that flooded New Orleans and killed more than 1,300 people.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said the video "makes it perfectly clear once again that this disaster was not out of the blue or unforeseeable. It was not only predictable, it was actually predicted. That's what made the failures in response - at the local, state and federal level - all the more outrageous."

The video, obtained by The Associated Press, "confirms what we have suspected all along," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, charging that Bush administration officials have "systematically misled the American people."

Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California renewed their calls for an independent commission to investigate the federal response to the hurricane.

The House and Senate have conducted separate investigations of the federal response, and the White House did its own investigation. House Democrats for the most part refused to participate in the House probe, insisting since last fall that an independent commission should be created to handle the probe.

"I try not to get angry, but I am plenty frustrated that we're not getting answers" from the administration, said Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La., one of the few Democrats who participated in the House investigation. "If nobody was hiding anything, why did the committee not get the documents it requested? We need to use subpoenas if necessary to get those documents."

A spokesman for Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., who headed the House investigation, said there was nothing new in the tape and accompanying transcripts.

"Top federal, state and local officials failed to process and act on information at their disposal," said David Marin, the spokesman. "We already knew that."

But Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, disagreed.

"If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a million," he said. "Six months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the homes and livelihoods of millions along the Gulf Coast, the truth about what the president knew and when he knew it has come to light."

The videotape captured a briefing, one day before Katrina stuck on Aug. 29, involving then-Federal Emergency Management Agency head Michael Brown, President Bush, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and other officials. Brown and others warned that the storm could breach levees, endanger lives in the New Orleans Superdome and overwhelm rescuers.

Five days after the briefing, with most of New Orleans underwater, Bush said, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

White House and Homeland Security officials urged the public not to read too much into the video footage.

"I hope people don't draw conclusions from the president getting a single briefing," presidential spokesman Trent Duffy said Wednesday, citing a variety of orders and disaster declarations Bush signed before the storm made landfall. "He received multiple briefings from multiple officials, and he was completely engaged at all times."

The White House did not immediately respond Thursday to the renewed Democratic calls for an independent investigation.

During the briefing, Brown expressed concern that there weren't enough disaster teams to help evacuate the Superdome. "I'm concerned about ... their ability to respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe," Brown told his bosses the day before the hurricane hit.

Later, Bush reassured federal, state and local disaster relief officials who were participating by teleconference, "We are fully prepared."

R. David Paulison, who replaced Brown as head of FEMA in the aftermath of Katrina, said Thursday he would not second-guess the administration response to the hurricane.

"I don't know what else the White House could have done," he said. "I think as soon as everybody recognized there was a big problem, stuff started flowing in within a couple of days."

HOW WERE THEY IN A POSITION to provide the needed assistance? This was a BUSH failure because he was the ONLY person with the assets capable of meeting the needs and he sat on his a*s.

So how do you explain Blank Brain sitting in a room with Mike Brown two full hours after the levees broke saying there have been no breeches in the levees. I knew about it before she did. I had friends on the ground and they were calling while thy still had a chance.

You can blame this on Bush. I know you will no matter what facts or logic is presented to you. You can't help it.

This whole situation ws a failure of communication, at the local level, at the state level and at the federal level. The fact that you can see your way to place blame anywhere but on the president only proves you don't care about the truth, just your own motives.

Col, your stupidity continues to amaze me. Listen to yourself for once and realize how idiotic you sound. I lived in Miami Florida for 8 years, I was there when Andrew hit, so I know what it's like to pay attention when a hurricane is on it's way. These are not tornadoes or earthquakes that are unpredictable and impossible to know where they will hit. The things can be seen from miles away and can be followed to have an idea of where it might go. We were always ready days before a hurricane came close cause we know what could happen if it does. The people of New Orleans chose to ignore the threat and paid the price for doing so.

You don't know jack what it's like Col, cause so far not once have you said anything about experiencing a hurricane and the aftermath. There are rules, protocols, a chain of command, strategies, etc. that must be followed in order to have the right people in the right places. It's sad that you being a soldier once are so ignorant to this. You should know batter that you don't just drop a bunch of soldiers in a battle field with guns and hope they know who to kill and where to go. Everything needs a plan, a strategy, you need to know what you need, where you need it. Imaging having hundreds of firefighters, thousands of soldiers, hundreds of paramedics and doctors, tons of food and water but no one knows where to send it, what to set up an HQ and who needs what more.

Your mind is to stupid to understand that a firefighter can not enter a burning building to save someones life without knowing more or less where to look.

NO agency had the resources required to deal with the magnitude of this storm EXCEPT the Active Military that ONLY Bush could provide

Did it ever occur to you that maybe no one knew that till after the report was made? Some people died because of their ignorance to be prepared, others died because they ignored the warnings and didn't think nothing would happen, others died because of the stupidity of their own Governor and Mayor. All agencies have blame on this cause none of them did the right thing in a way. To blame this all on a single man is as ignorant and childish as you can get Col. I will not deny that things could have been done better and that Bush himself is also to blame, but you bore me with your "blame Bush and no one else" rhetoric.

The President should not have needed the Gov to ask. After the briefing HE RECEIVED on 28 August, a LEADER would have known what was needed.

You ignorant fool, ofcouse he should have asked first, because the Gov was the one who should have know what was needed, Bush is not a mind reader and can not see into the future, no report made before the storm could ever tell you what exactly is needed except to have an overkill of help just in case. How was Bush to know what was needed if no one asked for anything in specific. This is a Govt, there are rules, plans and strategies for this kind of situation. They are there for a reason, to keep order and to make sure that the necesary help goes to where it is needed. The lack of communication and the lack of following the plans was what yielded the results that we have in New Orleans.

As usual, you jump past the guilty party in order to feed your hatred towards Bushand your need to find him guilty of anything and everything. I have never met a person who has blamed a president for every accidents, natural disasters, attack, broken law, etc and no one else. I have come to the conclusion that you don't know anything about the chain of command in the US Govt, as far as your concerned, the president is our God and savior, he is responsible for anything and everything. I wonder why we have Governors and Mayors for. But then I should have seen this along time ago when you began to call Bush "King Bush".

DJBandit

Hay Brain Dead. The Gov of LA asked Bush for "ALL Federal Help" Since when is the Active Military not Federal help? It took Bush until Saturday to send the Active Military. Bush could have known from CNN the day AFTER the storm the levies had broken. It was in living color on TV. A leader would have moved late Monday or at the very latest Tuesday AM. NOT Bush. He sent in the 82nd Saturday which is SIX DAYS AFTER THE STORM hit!

Hay Brain Dead. The Gov of LA asked Bush for "ALL Federal Help" Since when is the Active Military not Federal help? It took Bush until Saturday to send the Active Military. Bush could have known from CNN the day AFTER the storm the levies had broken. It was in living color on TV. A leader would have moved late Monday or at the very latest Tuesday AM. NOT Bush. He sent in the 82nd Saturday which is SIX DAYS AFTER THE STORM hit!

I'm bran dead? You can't even say "hey", instead you put "hay". Your a joke Col.

Get this thru that titanium plate you have on your head after they removed your brain, you don't ask for "all Federal help" just like that. You are part of the Gov't chain of command and things are done in a proper way. Once again for that empty head of yours, there are plans and strategies for these situations. Example, firefighters don't run out the doors in their sleepware when ever the Firehouse alarms goes off. They need to get their gear, get their vehicles and get an address. Once their they need a plan on how to get in the building and put out the fire. Everything is done with a plan, they don't all just jump off the fire truck, grab a hose and start shooting fire, they don't just go in with out being prepared to try and save lives. Jesus why am I ever explaining this, you are the military guy here and you don't even know what it is to be prepared before you do your job. You being a soldier, and a Col, should now better about the chain of command. You don't go and send your boys to fight with out a plan or permission from a higher authority. Man, you really did take one too many bullets to the head. I hope you weren't this stupid during combat or I would have felt sorry for your fellow soldiers.

Yes I had a Typo.

When Bush SAW the situation on Monday he should have known the area needed help and not just LA. The situation was clear to anyone with half a brain. You are such an ASS. You are the kind of idiot that support Bush and his lame and ineffective leadership. You deserve him but the American people need a leader that is a LEADER!

Bush could have known from CNN the day AFTER the storm the levies had broken.

Couldn't the same be said about the state government? Us dumb coon asses down here know how to crank up the boob tube and watch us a little CNN.

Col. I am not even slightly saying that the feds held no responsibility in this breakdown of the system. I even hold Bush personally responsible to a degree. He is our commander. He is in charge. So, if he was supposed to activate the military and send them, what exactly was he supposed to send?

Did they need ships? Aircraft? Helicopters? Specialized personnel? What?

Plain and simple the governor didn't know what she needed. To deny that fact is foolish. I know you have no clue what it is like to live in Louisiana.

How about this interesting question. Why did we not have these same issues in Mississippi? You know they got hit by the same hurricane.

They didn't need to be rescued because their people were told ... GET OUT! They weren't told "come to the Super Dome if you don't have anywhere else to go". Those people in that building have only a few people to blame: Themselves - I am responsible for my own safety, Local government - There were local options that could have easily moved those people out of harms way, State Government - For not forcing the inept local government to do the right thing, President Bush - For not relieving the state and local government of its powers.

President Bush only screwed up once. He let Blanco run the show. Blanco has less of a clue today about what needs to be done than she did days before the storm.

BTW ... have you picked up your copy of the report yet or are you going to continue to beat he same tired drum?

TThe assets of the State and local governments were incapable of dealing with this storm. Most of the National Guard equipment was either in Iraq or under water. State and local equipment was in the same condition. The study done some years ago that was known to the White House PRIOR to this storm clearly concluded that in a storm of this magnitude ONLY THE ACTIVE MLITARY WAS ABLE TO PRIOVIDE THE HELP REQUIRED. Bush is the ONLY person with the power to employ the ACTIVE MILITARY! He sat on his A*s for SIX DAYS! Then he sent the ACTIVE MILITARY. This storm was not something any state or local officials could handle.