SOUND OFF! Say what's on your mind, but do not RESPOND TO what other posters write.

[concernedperson]

How wonderful of you and your daughter! I have two big boxes of clothes and can surely scrounge up more to donate, but I am in PA and have not yet heard of any place where they are collecting donations -- just money. I am sure it will happen once the initial rescue and relocation is over.

We will know more in the weeks ahead. Atlanta has tons of listings for shelters and charities taking in refugees. I don't know how many are here yet but they are arriving frequently at Dobbins AFB. Dozens of hospitals are taking in the injured and ill. You might want to contact one of the agencies and see if trucks are in the Pa. area headed south.

 

[TexMex]

IMO Gov Blanco bears much blame (if that's what we've come to now)

LA state officials sought to 'maintain their independence from federal takeover' by ignoring President Bush's legal pleas and proposals to start the ball rolling for federal assistance on FRIDAY, BEFORE the storm. President Bush was trying desperately to get Blanco's attention; trying to warn her that huge devastation was on the way, and yet Blanco and her "advisors' thought it was a political ploy by the administration to grab power.

Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.

"The federal government stands ready to work with state and local officials to secure New Orleans and the state of Louisiana," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said. "The president will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens of Louisiana."


The fact that even now, Governor Blanco continues to stubbornly cling to power, resisting the federal takeover of the evacuation, proves that 1) she's had the power -- and hence, the authority and responsibility to use it -- all along, and

2) Even though a shift to federal authority would probably be the best thing for all of the affected victims, Blanco -- is more interested in playing political games and covering her own sorry behind than she is in doing the right thing to help her state.

 

[Dara]

I know we've become somewhat accustomed to soundbites and snippets, but I hope that as Aaron Broussard becomes one of the more memorable faces of this tragedy and his expression grief and frustration is played over and over, the rest of what he said isn't forgotten. I just reread a transcript of the entire interview with Tim Russert and Broussard said a few things I think must be heeded:

I am personally asking our bipartisan congressional delegation here in Louisiana to immediately begin congressional hearings to find out just what happened here. Why did it happen? Who needs to be fired? And believe me, they need to be fired right away, because we still have weeks to go in this tragedy. We have months to go. We have years to go. And whoever is at the top of thistotem pole, that totem pole needs to be chain-sawed off and we´ve got to start with some new leadership.

 

[Maral]

IMO Gov Blanco bears much blame (if that's what we've come to now)

As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.

That is not quite true. On the State of Louisiana website you can find this letter that Gov. Blanco sent to President Bush on August 28th. That was last Sunday, the day before the hurricanes's landfall.

 

[Miss Daisey]

IMO Gov Blanco bears much blame (if that's what we've come to now)

LA state officials sought to 'maintain their independence from federal takeover' by ignoring President Bush's legal pleas and proposals to start the ball rolling for federal assistance on FRIDAY, BEFORE the storm. President Bush was trying desperately to get Blanco's attention; trying to warn her that huge devastation was on the way, and yet Blanco and her "advisors' thought it was a political ploy by the administration to grab power.

Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.

"The federal government stands ready to work with state and local officials to secure New Orleans and the state of Louisiana," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said. "The president will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens of Louisiana."


The fact that even now, Governor Blanco continues to stubbornly cling to power, resisting the federal takeover of the evacuation, proves that 1) she's had the power -- and hence, the authority and responsibility to use it -- all along, and

2) Even though a shift to federal authority would probably be the best thing for all of the affected victims, Blanco -- is more interested in playing political games and covering her own sorry behind than she is in doing the right thing to help her state.

This is exactly right, TexMex. Mississippi and Alabama Governors are stepping way back from any comments or criticisisms of Gov Blanco but you can see that their leadership has gotten the ball rolling in their states because they knew exactly what to do and when to do it.

 

[Cypros]

That is not quite true. On the State of Louisiana website you can find this letter that Gov. Blanco sent to President Bush on August 28th. That was last Sunday, the day before the hurricanes's landfall.

Can't quite claim that the governor didn't give a heads up or ask for federal assistance.

What's the next excuse?

 

[TexMex]

so this is NOT the don't respond to other posters thread??

 

[Cypros]

Ooops! I keep forgetting that I am on this thread. I will try to pay more attention. It is not intentional.

 

[TexMex]

Ooops! I keep forgetting that I am on this thread. I will try to pay more attention. It is not intentional.

 

[Miss Daisey]

Sorry

 

[Only4Justice]

My turn to spout:

I'm frustrated with people who believe we have no right to question where or how our government failed in this situation. It's a fact that someone dropped the ball on some level, perhaps on more than one level. The president is not God. He's a human just like the rest of us. He is NOT infallible. If I question his actions, or lack of, I am not committing blasphemy. 'We the people' are supposed to ask questions. Remember, It's our government, paid for out of our pockets. They work for us.

The constitution was set up with a system of checks and balances. The ultimate "check" is us. It's our responsibility as Americans to monitor what our government is doing. Blind faith has it's place, but it is not in government. It seems that some would prefer a system like what we're fighting in Iraq, we could simply shoot everyone who dares speak out against our leader.



From the Declaration of Independence:

Not Really A Response BUT :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: WELL SAID!!!!

_____________________________________________

In My Honest Opinion.

 

[less0305]

Can't quite claim that the governor didn't give a heads up or ask for federal assistance.

What's the next excuse?

She asked for emergency assistance by way of funds. She asked on SUNDAY - one day before the hurricane hit. No where in that letter did she ask for additional National Guard troops. No where. She didn't ask for the troops.

 

[mysteriew]

A random thought keeps popping into my head. Yes, the hurricane hit several states and there was a lot of damage over a large area. Yes, the levee broke in NO and the damage was massive. But the breakdown of the emergency plan in NO was also massive. We are paying a lot of attention to the Gulf States- I think more because of the breakdown of the disaster plan than anything.
But the Gulf states are not the only ones who have been hit with catastropic disasters. Think of the California fires.
The Gulf states are not the only one ever hit with a catastrophic hurricane. Fla. has been hit with at least one every year for a while. Sometimes they get hit with multiple hurricanes in one year. Yet with all of the damage, and the destruction- you don't have the system breakdowns. You don't have the loss of lives. You don't have the people fighting the rescuers.
A few years back there was a hurricane that hit in Fla. and moved right on up the east coastline with massive damages to multiple states. Again massive destruction, but not the loss of lives, no system breakdowns, no people fighting rescuers.
So what makes NO different? Yes even with the best of planning- with the flood there would have been a lot of lives lost. But not to the extent that I think we are going to find in NO.
If I were Louisiana in the future to come - I would be looking to hire some emergency specialists from the Fla. area. And I would be listening to them.
And I would be looking into some plan to get the lawlessness under control.

 

[Mabel]

IMO Gov Blanco bears much blame (if that's what we've come to now)

LA state officials sought to 'maintain their independence from federal takeover' by ignoring President Bush's legal pleas and proposals to start the ball rolling for federal assistance on FRIDAY, BEFORE the storm. President Bush was trying desperately to get Blanco's attention; trying to warn her that huge devastation was on the way, and yet Blanco and her "advisors' thought it was a political ploy by the administration to grab power.

Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.

"The federal government stands ready to work with state and local officials to secure New Orleans and the state of Louisiana," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said. "The president will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens of Louisiana."


The fact that even now, Governor Blanco continues to stubbornly cling to power, resisting the federal takeover of the evacuation, proves that 1) she's had the power -- and hence, the authority and responsibility to use it -- all along, and

2) Even though a shift to federal authority would probably be the best thing for all of the affected victims, Blanco -- is more interested in playing political games and covering her own sorry behind than she is in doing the right thing to help her state.

Bush will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens........yet didn't send help in time because the Governer reportedly didn't ask in the proper way.

Okay

 

[kgeaux]

Bush will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens........yet didn't send help in time because the Governer reportedly didn't ask in the proper way.

Okay

I may phrase this wrong, but there is a separation of state and federal powers. He needed to be asked. It's a RULE, a LAW, something. The federal government cannot move in and take over state responsibilities without an invitation. The invitation was not issued. You can blame Bush all day long, but he responded immediately when our governor finally, finally realized she was in over her political head, and her constituents were in over their heads in water.

The federal response has been phenomenal. Wonderful. Had they been there on day one, what a difference it would have made.

 

[Dara]

I may phrase this wrong, but there is a separation of state and federal powers. He needed to be asked. It's a RULE, a LAW, something. The federal government cannot move in and take over state responsibilities without an invitation. The invitation was not issued. You can blame Bush all day long, but he responded immediately when our governor finally, finally realized she was in over her political head, and her constituents were in over their heads in water.

The federal response has been phenomenal. Wonderful. Had they been there on day one, what a difference it would have made.

So, let me get this straight. Bush had no power to send in troops or take over in any way. It was all up to the governor? He had absolutely no recourse at all? He was, in effect, sitting horrified with the rest of us (except for Michael Brown, who didn't know), watching people die and knowing that people were being raped and beated and that rescue efforts were halted because of shooting. He could do nothing. Right?

Edit: Oops, I didn't realize this was the "Sound Off" thread because I was responding to a poster who was responding to a different poster. I can delete, but I really want to know the answer. Please can I leave my post?

 

[JBean]

I wish the governor had signed a disaster declaration sooner.

 

[concernedperson]

I may phrase this wrong, but there is a separation of state and federal powers. He needed to be asked. It's a RULE, a LAW, something. The federal government cannot move in and take over state responsibilities without an invitation. The invitation was not issued. You can blame Bush all day long, but he responded immediately when our governor finally, finally realized she was in over her political head, and her constituents were in over their heads in water.

The federal response has been phenomenal. Wonderful. Had they been there on day one, what a difference it would have made.

I agree that Kathleen was paralized and over her head but FEMA Michael Brown didn't even know about the convention center and we knew it all day. That is not good response from those we entrusted to carry on and protect us. Remember no water was thrown from the helicopters on the expressway nor the convention center until Friday.Days after the flooding occured, not happy with the fed either. We are grasping at straws.

 

[Dara]

I am sounding off at myself for still not understanding whether or not the governor of LA did what she should have done wrt declaring a disaster. I've read that she declared a state of emergency last Friday (this article is dated August 26th):

In anticipation of a possible landfall, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared states of emergency Friday.

And the White House issued this statement on August 28th:

[font=arial, helvetica, sans serif] 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.

So, as of August 27th, Bush had signed a disaster declaration that would "allow federal agencies to coordinate all disaster relief efforts with state and local officials" and he said "we," which I assume means the federal government, would do "everything in [their] power to help the people in the communities affected by this storm."

So...that still didn't give the president enough power and only the governor could request troops? I keep looking to confirm this, but I can't find anything to explain it clearly and definitively.
[/font]

 

[Melissa Marshall]

I am SO SICK and tired of people blaming The President over this tragedy. That is the most rediculous thing I have heard. I am so sick of people turning this into race. HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE. I am sick of other countries bitching because their people were not saved fast enough. Uh hello there were alot of people not saved. What were we suppose to do say "go find the tourists and leave the others behind???" It really pisses me off that there are people here who are acting like savages by raping, shooting and murdering people. I would not help them either. I am sick and tired of watching the Mayor of NO say that he called everyone and they just didn't bother to show up. Yeah and while he sat safe and sound his people were dying. I find it hard to believe this mans calls were unanswered. He is like the Mayor he should have stayed and made sure his people were ok and taken care of. I am very proud of the efforts President Bush has set in motion to get this tragedy taken care of. Now remember, because it seems that some people are having a hard time following the rules, This is a no respond thread!