Champion 110

[PawDawg]

I don't want to debate you on this, but I do want you to go back and look at the facts of the events that have unfolded for the past seven days. One thing sticks out to me that you keep bringing up in your posts.

That it took five days for the feds to respond in NO.

Here is a brief summary of the events as they unfolded.

Sat. 9/27 12:00pm - Cat 4-5 predicted. People begin leaving SE La.

Sun. 9/28 12:00am - Wind speeds up to 145mph
5:18am - Champion posts that he has talked to friends and family
in NO and that they are all on the way out.
????pm - Mandatory evacuation orderd by Blanco after Bush tells
her to do so. She tells state workers that she will let
them know on Monday about reporting to work.:rolleyes4
2:30pm - Reports that 100k to 200k remain in NO.

Mon 9/29 3:00am - Predictions indicate storm will hit just east of NO.
10:00pm - Many of those remaining in NO dancing in the streets.
The looting has begun.

Tues.9/30 ???am - Levee breaks.
5:00pm - NO flooded
10:00pm - Blanco calls for Superdome to be evacuated

Now this is the point that we actually knew we had a larger than life crises on our hands. Tuesday Night! The crisis was not getting the people out, but what to do with them once they got them out. Not before Tuesday night did ANYBODY realize how bad things actually were. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that the feds should have began doing something more by 12:00pm Tuesday, because at that point it was obivous to everyone that the leaders in charge were clueless.

At most it took three days (not five) for the feds to respond to getting the people out. By Saturday noon almost all of the Convention Center, and I-10 refugees were gone.

If you use the time frame from when Nagin pitched his fit (the very first plea for Fed. intervention) and admitted that the locals and state were helpless we are talking two days.

Also, you kept harping on dropping food and water to the refugees shown on Television at the Convention Center. Are you certain those folks didn't have food and water. From what I saw they did. I haven't heard one single report of one of those people dying of from dehydration or starvation. Yes, unfortunately some died, but not because pallets of water werent' there.

Bottom line: It just wasn't as simple as you and many have made it out. We learned that we are in deep trouble in this country if a major area is ever attacked in any form. It's time for ALL of our leaders to get their act together.

[TechsasDawg]

Excellent post, Monty. Solid, hard facts point out weaknesses all across the board. It also shows what little effort the local and state officials put in prior to the storm even hitting land, and even less effort once it came ashore!

TD
~~

[TechDawgMc]

Nice explanation. I've noticed the measurement of days from Sunday despite the fact that the original prognosis was not bad as well. All of the media are doing this -- including Fox, so I don't think it's just about bashing the administration.

One other thought about just dropping in water. If you have thousands of people needing something desperately in a situation like that, unless you can drop way more than they all need, you are just asking for a riot. They really did need people on the ground to deliver.

I still think they were a day slow. 4th ID left Ft. Hood early on Wednesday. Where did they go? There were some serious problems with command and control.

What bothers me is the rush to judgment about trying to lay blame (and that's certainly not aimed at you Champ). I suspect when all is said and done that if we know the truth, we'll know there was plenty of blame to go around.

[champion110]

Good post. Thank you for making it with respect. I will reiterate that if Blanco and Nagin are at fault, I want them OUT.

You are pretty close on the time frames. What you saw on Monday night was some people that thought they made it without the "big one" destroying everything. They had no electricity and had no idea of the whole damage.

There WERE thugs there and still are. That I don't dispute. It is a very small minority of who was left, though.

I believe that FEMA and the National Guard should have been there immediately. We can get to other countries faster than they got to N.O. The HEAD of FEMA stated on Thursday morning that he didn't realize the situation. That was shocking.

I have not one time really blamed the President. However, the FEMA Director and the Homeland Security Director are his responsibility.

As for the Convention Center crowd, there are dead bodies all around. It speaks for itself.

What I have seen on here (and I will include myself) is blame going in one direction. I would like to state again that this is NOT a Repub vs. Dem issue. This is a leadership issue. An investigation (after we get everyone out) should be conducted. It should investigate the Mayor, the Governor, the FEMA Director, the HLS Director, and the President. ALL of those people had a part in this and whomever dropped the ball on this needs to be held accountable. IT WAS TOO LATE!

[PawDawg]

I said I didn't want to debate you on this, but.....

I believe that FEMA and the National Guard should have been there immediately. We can get to other countries faster than they got to N.O. The HEAD of FEMA stated on Thursday morning that he didn't realize the situation. That was shocking.

FEMA and the Guard were there immediately. Just not in the numbers that were needed. Unfortunately, it takes time to deploy troops. Saying we get to other countries faster is a stretch. They had no leadership at this point. Reports are now unraveling that the NOPD, State Police, and Guard were all giving different directives to evacuees.

It was too late. Yes, but what is acceptable here? Early reports were that over 100k remained in NO Proper. Reports are sketchy at best as to how many were evacuated from Thursday to Saturday. These are the ones we were shown repeatedly on TV. Example: FOX kept reporting that thousands were waiting on I-10 to be evacuated. They reported on saturday that approximately 1500 were moved off the interstate. The numbers from the convention center appear to be similar. My point is that the media (including FOX) did not do a good job in giving accurate reports and we still aren't getting them.

I suggest we all withhold judgement until this is sorted out. There is plenty of time for accountability.

[champion110]

I said I didn't want to debate you on this, but.....

I believe that FEMA and the National Guard should have been there immediately. We can get to other countries faster than they got to N.O. The HEAD of FEMA stated on Thursday morning that he didn't realize the situation. That was shocking.

FEMA and the Guard were there immediately. Just not in the numbers that were needed. Unfortunately, it takes time to deploy troops. Saying we get to other countries faster is a stretch. They had no leadership at this point. Reports are now unraveling that the NOPD, State Police, and Guard were all giving different directives to evacuees.

It was too late. Yes, but what is acceptable here? Early reports were that over 100k remained in NO Proper. Reports are sketchy at best as to how many were evacuated from Thursday to Saturday. These are the ones we were shown repeatedly on TV. Example: FOX kept reporting that thousands were waiting on I-10 to be evacuated. They reported on saturday that approximately 1500 were moved off the interstate. The numbers from the convention center appear to be similar. My point is that the media (including FOX) did not do a good job in giving accurate reports and we still aren't getting them.

I suggest we all withhold judgement until this is sorted out. There is plenty of time for accountability.

We are in pretty close agreement on this. The media always gives a skewed version of things. It is difficult to tell what the whole picture is from the pictures and conflicting reports that we receive. Withholding judgement is fine - I think I can calm down and do that, as long as there is a true investigation of the whole matter. That HAS to happen for me and other U.S. citizens to ever feel safe again after a disaster. What happened was not acceptable and our leaders (local and national) need to be held accountable. We should all expect that, regardless of political affiliation.

[Dawgbitten]

We may get to see how Japan handles it's storm and aftermath.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...n_typhoon_dc_8

[CARTEK]

It came out today that GWB wanted to federalize the LA NAtional Guard on Monday and Blanco refused because she did not want to loose control over the state!

I said I week ago Saturday...she is an idiot and possesses no leadership skills.

[champion110]

It came out today that GWB wanted to federalize the LA NAtional Guard on Monday and Blanco refused because she did not want to loose control over the state!

I said I week ago Saturday...she is an idiot and possesses no leadership skills.

Federalizing meant that the NOPD lost all power. They were all over the city with no communication abilities. This would mean that they could not have shot anyone in defense of the city and citizens. Also, the not federalizing of the state would not have prevented anyone from coming in sooner. That had nothing to do with FEMA and the National Guards doing their job on Tuesday. It is not federalized right now and look at all of the good things happening. Did Bush withhold help unless she signed? I don't think so.

If anything, every person on here should know that there are ALWAYS two sides to every story.

[CARTEK]

Federalizing meant that the NOPD lost all power. They were all over the city with no communication abilities. This would mean that they could not have shot anyone in defense of the city and citizens. Also, the not federalizing of the state would not have prevented anyone from coming in sooner. That had nothing to do with FEMA and the National Guards doing their job on Tuesday. It is not federalized right now and look at all of the good things happening. Did Bush withhold help unless she signed? I don't think so.

If anything, every person on here should know that there are ALWAYS two sides to every story.

The looting would have been stopped before it started...but Nero Blanco played her fiddle because she was afraid she'd "loose control"...please notice the quotation marks!

[saltydawg]

Yeah, Blanco will have a hard time getting re-elected.

[champion110]

Trent Lott has spoken out about lack of FEMA help in Mississippi. He stated Wednesday that it was fine and it was a good response. He then toured and figured out that it wasn't apparently in between then and now.