All three broadcast network evening newscasts on Thursday informed viewers of President Obama’s trip to New Orleans – including criticism he received for only staying a few hours. But correspondent Chip Reid of the CBS Evening News uniquely played up the fact that, even though President Obama had complained about President Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina rebuilding, the Obama administration is receiving some of the same complaints -- including from one man wearing a Barack Obama T-shirt. On the down side, Reid passed on Obama’s attempt to blame the Bush administration without including anyone to advocate on former President Bush’s behalf.
After a clip of a man in the audience of the day's townhall meeting complaining to Obama about FEMA making payments too slowly – a clip which was also shown on the NBC Nightly News – with the man demanding, "I expected as much from the Bush administration, but why are we still being nickel and dimed in our recovery?" CBS’s Reid continued:
Story Continues Below Ad ↓CHIP REID: The President said his team is still cleaning up the backlog from the Bush years.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: -but we are working as hard as we can as quickly as we can.
REID: Ever since the campaign, Obama has taken President Bush to task for his response to Katrina.
OBAMA: I just don't think that there is a sense of urgency in the White House where the President is cracking the whip.
REID: He insists he is cracking the whip.
Reid then recounted the case in favor of the Obama administration:
The administration has freed up 1.5 billion that was tied up in red tape and directed another billion here from the stimulus bill. Even some Republicans, including Governor Bobby Jindal, have praised the President for streamlining federal aid. Many areas, including the tourist-friendly French Quarter, are once again bustling.
The CBS correspondent ended up showing the complaint of another man – New Orleans resident Robert Richardson – who was wearing a Barack Obama T-shirt who is "still waiting for President Obama to do something," as Richardson recounted that he voted for Obama because "I wanted change":
REID: By one market a staggering 75 billion federal dollars have been allocated, but little of the money is getting to Ninth Ward residents like Robert Richardson who lost his house to Katrina.
ROBERT RICHARDSON: It hasn't reached this area, you know. It hasn't got here. I mean, look around, you know.
REID: He's still waiting for President Obama to do something.
RICHARDSON: So, I mean, you know, I mean, that's correct why I voted for him, you know. I wanted change.
On ABC's World News, host Charles Gibson did mention complaints about the trip being so short, but focused on a question from a boy in the townhall audience to Obama about why some people "hate" him. Only CBS and NBC mentioned that Obama was also criticized for making such a short trip because he had to leave for a $3 million fund-raiser in San Francisco.
Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Thursday, October 15, CBS Evening News :
KATIE COURIC: Meanwhile, President Obama flew to New Orleans today, his first official trip to the region ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. He said he will not forget the 1,600 people killed by the storm and vowed to rebuild New Orleans, as he put it, stronger than before. Our White House correspondent Chip Reid is there.
CHIP REID: In some parts of New Orleans' lower Ninth Ward, it's hard to believe it's been over four years since Hurricane Katrina.
JULIETTE ALLEN, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: A lot of emptiness. It was like a whole community just disciplined.
REID: Juliette Allen says President Obama needs to spend some real time here to see how bad things still are. That's why many in New Orleans are so disappointed his first trip here as President is a stopover of less than four hours. A quick visit to a rebuilt school and a town hall, where the President heard from only a single critic who wanted to know why payments from FEMA are coming in so slowly.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN IN AUDIENCE: I mean, I expected as much from the Bush administration, but why are we still being nickel and dimed in our recovery?
REID: The President said his team is still cleaning up the backlog from the Bush years.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: -but we are working as hard as we can as quickly as we can.
REID: Ever since the campaign, Mr. Obama has taken President Bush to task for his response to Katrina.
OBAMA: I just don't think that there is a sense of urgency in the White House where the President is cracking the whip.
REID: He insists he is cracking the whip.
OBAMA: We have sent more cabinet members to this region than almost anywhere in the country.
REID: The administration has freed up $1.5 billion that was tied up in red tape and directed another billion here from the stimulus bill. Even some Republicans, including Governor Bobby Jindal, have praised the President for streamlining federal aid. Many areas, including the tourist-friendly French Quarter, are once again bustling.
ROBERT RICHARDSON, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Life is good if you live uptown.
REID: By one estimate, a staggering 75 billion federal dollars has been allocated to Louisiana since Katrina, but little of that money is getting to Ninth Ward residents like Robert Richardson who lost his house to Katrina.
RICHARDSON: It hasn't reached this area, you know. It hasn't got here. I mean, look around, you know.
REID: He's still waiting for President Obama to do something.
RICHARDSON: So, I mean, you know, I mean, that's correct why I voted for him, you know. I wanted change.
REID: Another thing that has some people here in New Orleans upset is that the President had to keep his visit short here so he could jet off to San Francisco for a $3 million fund-raiser.
—Brad Wilmouth is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.
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Why is it only there?
October 16, 2009 - 08:27 ET by EddieWalkerBefore Katrina,we've had all sorts of natural disasters. Katrina hit the entire coast and three other states were severly damaged from the same storm. After Katrina, Rita hit Texas and did all kinds of damage. We've had massive flooding all over the midwest since then, and this year, Georgia suffered from flooding. In every location except New Orleans, the people and local government rebuild and move on with their lives. Only in New Orleans do we see this refusal to rebuild and move foreward. They re-elect the mayor who caused allot of the suffering and the blame goes to Pres. Bush. The Federal Government is not in charge of the local government, and when their incompetence and coruption creates a disaster, they should be held accountable. It's proven to work everywhere else, why not New Orleans?
NO
October 16, 2009 - 08:34 ET by BlondeWho knows?
The damage from Katrina was awful, but I live in South Florida.....and the damage from Hurricane Andrew was much worse, it looked like a nuke had been set off. It took two years, but eventually the only reminder was neighborhood after neighborhood without big trees. It's been 4 years since Katrina (and yeah, we got whacked here by Katrina....by the time we got our power back it was headed in to NO).....I don't understand why it has taken so long to put Humpty together again.
I hope he fails, too.
I don't understand why it
October 16, 2009 - 08:46 ET by BKeyserWasn't there some press shortly after Katrina about the amount of money funneled to NO for many, many years prior that was intended to go to the Army Corps of Engineers to strengthen the levies? If I recall correctly it wasn't played up by the MSM because, of course, that didn't fit the "Bush cased Katrina because he hates black people" theme. But it seems to me there were some stories that showed millions of dollars "earmarked" for prevention were re-directed to other projects (pockets?) deemed more important.
I certainly can't answer your question but would it surprise you that FEMA money was not correctly, or fully spent in that bastion of transparent and honest governance?
Alas
October 16, 2009 - 08:52 ET by BlondeIt was just another taxpayer funded safari. (I love that line, from Blackhawk Down).
FEMA has really improved alot, the 2004 hurricane season in Florida forced them to. But as I understand it, there were millions wasted in NO....from unlivable trailers to wanton graft.
"Hoping" a hurricane doesn't hit is not a storm plan. Hence the outsized damages from a minimal Cat 3 storm.
I hope he fails, too.
In Live Free or Die Hard
October 16, 2009 - 12:51 ET by ahusserMatt Farrell (Justin Long) hysterically shrieks at John McLane (Bruce Willis): It took five days for FEMA to get water to the Superdome (No quotes as I don't remember the quote exactly). FEMA was not meant to be a first responder and now in people's minds giving the Agency powers and responsibilities not envisioned in its inception. FEMA was meant to be a coordinating agency between the feds and the state with the state in the lead for loans etc after a federal disaster had been declared. In other words Emergency Management not Emergency welfare. It is still the states responsibility to use the money and resources given by the Fed government and the state's responsibility to first response. The City of NO and the state of LA failed miserably in their first response and subsequent responsibilities along the way the hysterical Bush hating media blamed Bush and his administration for this disaster natural and man made.
"Somehow, I told you so, just doesn't quite say it." Will Smith in 'I, Robot.'
I don't understand why it
October 16, 2009 - 08:52 ET by motherbeltI don't understand why it has taken so long to put Humpty together again.
Maybe it's the attitude of the people there. I lived in Melbourne when Andrew hit Homestead and Miami.....we had a rush of people out of the Space Coast going down to Homestead to help. People were not just sitting around waiting for the feds to come in and fix it.
IMO, it's simply a lack of initiative.
I remember it well, mb
October 16, 2009 - 08:58 ET by BlondeAndrew hit about 60 miles south of here, but because it was such a concentrated little storm sizewise (albeit a CAT 5 and moving at 25 mph)....the damage here was rather minimal.
The day after the storm, we packed up all of our storm supplies, ice, water, gasoline, and a chainsaw, and drove them down to some friends in south Miami. Granted...it was not easy to find them.
What you describe is not uncommon. The day after Wilma, I drove up to Orlando to meet my BIL, who had gone to Gainesville to get me a big generator. On the trip up and back, I passed hundreds of out-of-town power company trucks.
Basically, now, the State of Florida, in conjunction with FEMA and local municipalities, are prepared to supply ice and water immediately after a storm (within 2 days). Individual residents and businesses prepare to go it alone for a minimum of seven days. Fuel is the issue.
It's idiotic to live in a hurricane zone and not be prepared. So, you are correct, lack of initiative, prioritizing that plasma TV instead of storm shutters, generator, etc.
I hope he fails, too.
Speaking of generators
October 16, 2009 - 12:04 ET by BlondeI'm rethinking that failover generator. Now. Because our power was just out for an hour and a half....the same bloody transformer blows about every six months. It's only 90* here today....hmmm.
Okay....off to fix the Eastern North Carolina BBQ sauce for the smoked pig (I'm getting ready for tomorrow's game vs. Arkansas).
I hope he fails, too.
Hey Blonde.. success in Homestead?
October 16, 2009 - 12:05 ET by Gary HallAnd how did the federal recovery proceed in the years following Hurricane Andrew? Did they just run in and rebuild Homestead, like the media expects the feds to do in NOLA?
Ah... from few years back - let's use the imcompetent Al Gore to set the stage. Gore was on Larry King less than 2 years after Katrina railing off on how years later..
Too bad L. King didn't pull up a bit of tape from a 2002 CNN Sat
Morning report... Homestead Fla. 10 years later (includes 8 yrs of
Clinton/Gore) - read the description. follows here.
And that had to be Bush's fault as well, I'm sure.
Wait a minute here - of course Homestead Air Force Base is right there. And, Homestead is easy to get to anyway - not islolated behind water and bridges - not generally below sea level, etc.
Perhaps Obama should take a little trip down that way - sorry Blonde, but you don't have to go!!
(;~> gary
living on handouts
October 16, 2009 - 08:50 ET by jon_torlinBecause the majority of those people are used to having others do things for them, especially living off the gov't. I say majority because they are the ones who put the elected leaders there at the time. When I saw that the mayor got re-elected, I knew they didn't learn a DAMN thing. Small wonder why there was such a high crime rate, corruption and so on.(I forget how many times it was called the murder capital)
I still remember how a lot of those people were evac'd to other places like Houston and how the crime rate in those areas went up as a result and turned out the perps were some of the refugees from NO and other parts of the state.
At least Jindal was making some effort to do what he can, but the 'living off the gov't' mentality is still there.
Ridiculous. Texas got hit hard by Hurricane Ike last year but at least they didn't wait around to start cleaning things up and rebuilding.
-Jon
Difficult to answer
October 16, 2009 - 09:03 ET by general companyIt's proven to work everywhere else, why not New Orleans?
Buddy Raomer used to say, there is New Orleans, and then there is the State of La.
Also I will point out that unlike many of the other disasters you have pointed out, N.O. is a Urban area with many other considerations. Much of the private property was not insured for variouse reasons. The oppertunity to compleatly rebuild and replan, gets a lot of folks involved. This leads to much debate and as we all know,takes time. Rebuilding what was there, doesnt make sense, we have to do it better and smarter. That being said, I have become a little disinterested, and have not been following it much in the last year or so.
I also want to point out, that many of our local Reps, asked the Pres to visit the Gulf coast as well. In spite of what many think, they have not recovered much either, as our Reps pointed out, they simply do not get the attention that N.O. does. I heard Cao and Scaline both suggest this.
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
plan for action, plan to take action
October 16, 2009 - 09:12 ET by jon_torlinWhat's a big problem for me about what's happened with NO is that they had plans on paper, in books, manuals, whatever for precisely the situation they had with Katrina. Based on what I've heard about these plans, they were good plans and would have been effective had they been put to use, and therein lies the problem of why it didn't work.
The governor at the time, as well as the mayor, refused to put those plans into action which included the use of those school buses that we saw in the now infamous overhead shots of the flooded bus depot, which by the way, got flooded AFTER Katrina got hit, so there's no good reason why they weren't put to use.
To this day, I still haven't heard of any kind of reason why they didn't do it except for the fact that the governor kept demanding Bush to do something when it was HER job to do something which was to order the evacuation. What the hell were people thinking that the Federal Government was going to sweep in out of the sky and take everyone to safety in the blink of an eye? Balderdash!
It's one thing to help people out, but how do you justify helping people out who won't help themselves? What good does that do anyone? Where does the line get drawn?
-Jon
I agree Jon
October 16, 2009 - 10:05 ET by general companyI sat up here on the North shore waiting for 2 days before the State police would let Federal rescue teams to go in. This disaster was exasperated by our own official, as I have said many times they used it for a political ploy. With the media as conspirators. The good citizens here have continued to been used as a pawns for the media. 99% of us are pretty damd sick of it.
BTW I applied to go to Obamas "Townhall" yesterday in N.O., guess they didnt want any skeptics there.
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Even after the school buses
October 16, 2009 - 18:13 ET by danboEven after the school buses were flooded.
This is a disaster. But I'm going to get picky.
HAHAHAHAHA. HEHEHE. I didn’t even know about it. Um. So, you’ve got me at a loss. I don’t know. (Charles Gibson of the dead media.)
Re Nagin
October 16, 2009 - 21:11 ET by slickwillie2001The funniest bumbling Nagin story was the one on Air Force One with President George W. Bush, before a joint Press Conference. Nagin locked himself in one of the bathrooms and wouldn't come out. The Secret Service was debating breaking down the door. He later claimed he was shaving his head. The going opinion was that he was having a nervous breakdown. (Whose book was that in?)
PS Related; in August the story went around that Lt-Gen. Russell Honore' was considering entering politics, either a House race or the Vitter primary. Haven't heard since. Hope he does.
Here Are My Questions
October 16, 2009 - 08:57 ET by BourbeauHre we are, four years since Katrina, and still we're hearing from the locals about their tales of woe and the inability of the Federal Government to help them. What the hell is going on here? How much money has the Federal Government spent in New Orleans in response to Katrina. And when exactly does this 'recovery' belong to the state and local goverments? And lastly, why is it we're still experiencing national angst over this horrendous act of nature, yet, when it comes to the destruction incurred out west with wild fires, the floods in GA, and other less intense acts of nature, we hear absolutely nothing from the locals demanding Federal assistance - are we to believe everything works perfectly for them, but not for New Orleans? Seems to me, it's time for the country to tell the goverments of LA and NO fix their problems and move on.
The problem is that these
October 16, 2009 - 09:00 ET by Radical1979The problem is that these are people raised on the nanny state. God forbid they would rebuild their homes themselves, from whatever they can scrounge up. My grandparents home in Central PA was built from the wood from dynamite boxes left over from the quarries.
Good grief
October 16, 2009 - 09:37 ET by general companyDynamite boxes? Is that a recommendation? This is a Urban area, you dont build anything without mountains of permits. Also Why build if there is no utilities or insurance avalible. If this happened in any other city you would have the same problems, many of the folks who were left homeless were renters, just like any other city. As other cities, you are going to have a certain amount of folks waiting on handouts, but lets quite pretending they are in the majority, most folks here have moved on.
To see other disasters such as the fires in Cali or the floods in the midwest and assume there is no federal help is being just a little disingenuous dont you think. Who do you think put out those fires, who rebuilt those flood walls and levy's. Just because N.O. is kept in the spotlight doesnt mean other folks do not recieve federal funds to help them recover.
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
My point is that people can
October 16, 2009 - 17:51 ET by Radical1979My point is that people can use what is at hand, and quite frankly in that situation I don't think permits were a big issue. There is a point where people have to take responsibility for their circumstances. I have no problem with helping people, but feel people need to help themselves also.
New Orleans is not Louisiana
October 16, 2009 - 09:05 ET by richb313New Orleans may be the biggest city in Louisiana but it is not Louisiana. I live in Thibodaux La. We were spared the devestation of Katrina, Rita, and the list goes on. Just a few miles down the bayou they did not fare so well, but they never do when a big storm is in the gulf. These people did not wait for federal aid to stsrt re-building thier lives and businesses. They just got to work, cleaning up the mess and re-building. When Federal money became available they applied and then if approved they got some and continued to re-build.
These people are used to it. They evacuate everytime because they know the dangers. The elevation in these areas is only about 1 to 2 feet above sea level. Almost all houses are on raised foundations. The citizens of New Orleans have gotten used to having someone else do what they could be doing themselves, but it is not all thier fault. Too many families have NOT BEEN ALLOWED to rebuild because of local paper work BS that City Hall is responsible for. All the permits and inspections and so forth have caused so much red tape that many families have just given up and moved away.
The fiasco in New Orleans was the direct responsibility of Mayor Ray Nagin and Govenor Blanco, both Democrats. The Federal aid and response was delayed and hampered because of these two having a feud. Jefferson Parish, next door to New Orleans, had wide spread flooding as well. Today you cannot see hardly any remnants of Katrina.
Please do not paint all of Louisiana with the same brush that you paint New Orleans with. The corruption in New Orleans is institutional, as it used to be in State Govt. Today Bobby Jindal is our Gov. He is a bit of a wonk, but he is our wonk and has done more in less than one term to clean up Govt., Attract new business, and improve the quality of state services than has been done for over twenty years.
Never thought it
October 16, 2009 - 09:17 ET by jon_torlinGMTA, Rich, I just got through saying the same thing in a prior comment.
I think the only reason people hear about NO is because it's the one big place in Louisiana that's still a problem as a result of Katrina while the rest of the state recovered.
Honestly, no offense to NO but I'm tired of hearing about it, ya know? It's like a 4-year long pity party.
-Jon
Glad to hear it, rich
October 16, 2009 - 09:24 ET by BlondeInteresting, wasn't it, last year, when the big hurricane was headed into Corpus Christi, that all of the gulf state governors (republicans all) had come together in preparedness planning (and the democrats were laughing at them, saying the hurricane was God's revenge so that they couldn't attend the republican convention).
You should be justifiably proud of Gov. Jindahl....I hope you get to keep him for a little while longer....but he has much bigger things in his future.
I've never been to Louisiana, but I'd like to go. Jamie Lee Burke is one of my favorite authors, and his descriptions of your beautiful state are just amazing.
I hope he fails, too.
Your right Blonde
October 16, 2009 - 09:51 ET by general companyWe had the only Dem Gov on the Gulf coast. The Dems used this as a political ploy to bash Bush, even at the expence of their own folks. Unfortunatly the rest of the Dems havent been paying attention to what happend next, considering what they are doing to the rest of the country. I bet everyone else is though.
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Thanks Rich
October 16, 2009 - 09:45 ET by general companyDidnt realize we were neighbors (Tickfaw). I agree completly with your assesment. I get a little chapped about how the media has used our state as the poster child of gov needed assistance. We have great folks here.
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Mais. My home
October 16, 2009 - 17:57 ET by danboMais. My home town.
HAHAHAHAHA. HEHEHE. I didn’t even know about it. Um. So, you’ve got me at a loss. I don’t know. (Charles Gibson of the dead media.)
October 16, 2009 - 09:56 ET by jessieHIt rained here, today. They are gonna blame Bush for that, too. obama is the second worse president in history.
No, that is Rove's fault
October 16, 2009 - 10:08 ET by general companyHe is the one with the weather machine
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
yes neighbors, enough
October 16, 2009 - 10:08 ET by cajun2So many pundits talked about NO and know nothing about us. It is so frustrating. I would like to address a few issues if you guys will be patient with me.
First, Gov. Foster tried to disband the Levee Board, which was corrupt and wasteful, nothing but patronige jobs. He was unable to stop them from stealing billions of dollars over a 40 yr period because the NO caucaus is powerful in La. politics.
Secondly,Nagin and Blanco in a feud over corruption led to many of our failures in preparation for the storm. She called a special session of the legislature after Katrina and Rita, they passed 14 emergency bill, 12 of them changed the ethics rules so they could funnel money to their rich friends when Bush promised billions in help.
Third, Ray Nagin was reelected for a simple reason. We here in La. believe in responsibility. You broke it, you fix it. Here he is now, overwhelmed by his incompetence, so he is rarely even in the city.
Fourth, people in other parts of the state were as devastated by Katrina and Rita as NO. Many ignored these parts of the state because of less population but also a different culture. Helping family in Lake Charles, we heard many times, "whats a Fema"? A different culture and attitude of personal responsibility. These areas of the state have recovered very well thank you.
Fifth, people forget, 50,000 estimated were unable to evacuate NO. About 750,000 did. They did not all go to shelters. Many went to family and friends in other parts of the state. Like, my house. Family stayed with us for 3 wks. My neighbor had 14 people with her for over a month. Every community churches and organizations took responsibility for all La. residents. All volunteered. There was no Fema here.
Sixth, Trying to repair damaged infrastructure in NO is not that simple. Electrical power, phone lines and towers, water plants and sewage treatment plants, highways and bridges, all were lost. The most impressive thing was the 100 yr old pumps in NO worked just fine. Nagin and previous Mayors(including Mary Landrieus father) misspent billions to funnel money to business friends by building new roads on the levees that caused erosion of the levees. Along with a handcuffed incompetent Corp. Of Engineers, disaster was waiting, as predicted by Gov. Foster.
Some posted that NO is not La. That is an apt description. But NO is still part of La. and has a long and proud history but like politics in so many other areas has become so powerful and corrupt, it will take courage and decades to clean it up. Bobby Jindal may be a wonk but he is a smart capable wonk and is doing his best to change the "old boy politics". We have to be patient. Its only been 10 months. Well, maybe we can get Bobby a Nobel. I have met this young man several times. A fine young man. We will support him even if our very liberal newspapers do not.
Blonde likes Burke. He gives great descriptions of parts of La. If you also read Julie Smith, she will tell you all about NO before Katrina, and Rebecca Wells will give you a great idea of life in central La.
We are a unique and diverse culture here. We are decendants of proud and hard working independant Americans. We dont want a hand out, except those that have always been promised a hand out. We only want our tax money back so we can rebuild. We will take a loan but dont walk on our backs in order to gain political leverage by lying about Bush. We here know very well who is to blame for failure to prepare, build, and recover from a natural disaster. Disasters occur in all parts of the country from various intities, we did not ask for special treatment. The recovery is very difficult because of geography, politics, and culture. We will do our part but we still need to rid ourselves of corruption and the Feds need to get rid of the third party contracts that delay and hamper the infusion of money.
Ok, my rant is over. Thank you.
Re Rant
October 16, 2009 - 11:18 ET by slickwillie2001A fine rant, thanks. I have to take issue with this point however: "Third, Ray Nagin was reelected for a simple reason. We here in La. believe in responsibility. You broke it, you fix it. Here he is now, overwhelmed by his incompetence, so he is rarely even in the city."
Using that logic, Jimmy Carter should have won reelection. Perhaps you meant something entirely different.
Yes slick
October 16, 2009 - 12:20 ET by cajun2Yes, I could have explained better, but I was on a rant. Nagin, like all politicians, never show that "pig in a poke" until they start squealing. I dont think NO really knew that much about this guy until a real crisis arrived. Like all humans, a crisis will show the true test of character and Nagin failed NO badly. A lesson learned too late. I have never lived in NO nor care too. But I feel their pain and disappointment and wish them well. There are too many fine people there, black and white and asian, that should not be painted with a brush. Obama, following his routine rhetoric, takes credit, blames other for failure, and promises people something for nothing. If NO buys that, then they will continue to struggle.
Having lived in NO and SE
October 16, 2009 - 17:45 ET by danboHaving lived in NO and SE Louisiana most of my life. But moved to the Miss Coast before Katrina, I will agree with you on a lot of issues but also disagree on a few.
Remember there was a long fued between Blanco and Nagin. Nagin didn't support her in her campagne for the gov's mansion.
And there was that political joke and incompetence when Louisiana was in the cross hairs of Hurricane Dennis. That was a dry run and demonstration of what happened with Katrina. Dennis turned to hit Florida. Katrina didn't.
#3 IMHO the reason Nagin is still mayor. There was a big field in the election after Katrina. However Nagin and Mary Landreau's brother Mitch had enough support to get into the runoff. Many good candidates split the bulk of the vote.
And IMHO a lot of people believed they would be rid of Nagin in 4 years. But would be stuck with Mitch for eight.
The storm came through on Monday. I got home about 3 on Tuesday. My neighbors said Fema had already come through. On Wed I met Fema myself. By thursday they had quite an organization set up. No Fema who from me. And I watched the convoys heading down I-10 to NO. But I keep getting told I didn't know what was happening as I was in the middle of it.
no 6. Part of NO's problems were NO's. I had power in a week. I went through the eye. One of my staff who lived in NO in an area that had little flooding didn't get power till about january or february. That was because of NO's red tape.
Most NO people are good people. But when I lived in NO I saw a lot of people who believe they were due something. And they're still waiting for the rest of us to rebuild. Then go get them and bring them home.
HAHAHAHAHA. HEHEHE. I didn’t even know about it. Um. So, you’ve got me at a loss. I don’t know. (Charles Gibson of the dead media.)
right danbo
October 16, 2009 - 18:18 ET by cajun2It was embarassing for Fox and CNN to show thousands standing on the overpass, angry because a ride had not yet showed up. This is what happens when you have a nanny state. For generations people are given housing, food stamps, a check and nothing is expected of them. They forget how to think for themselves, forget simple survival skills.Totally unable to take any personal responsibility. These were not ill or handicapped people. This tragically is what the world saw but learned nothing from it. After 4 yrs, people are still waiting for someone to come to their rescue. Now we have a liberal democratic party in power who want to expand this idiotic nanny state on the grounds that it is your right. People are not understanding that the entire country could well become the same as that crowd on the overpass. It saddens me.
New Orleans ...Bush...Blanco..Nagin
October 16, 2009 - 11:58 ET by Dr. RonSo, His Barackiness has again bashed Bush..and "fotgetten" the facts: Ray Nagin, the mayor of , in his words, a "chocolate city" never used the 400 buses set aside for evacuation to evacuate those without transportation; Blanco, the then-governor, wrung her hands for 2 days before an aide told her she, as governor, could call out the guard and did not need the feds to do it. New Orleans suffered less destruction than many towns in MS who just rolled up their sleeeves and worked with their governor to clean up and re-build. FEMA now acknowledges massive fraud by many claimants in New Orleans. There is so much more but, why bother? Facts are trumped by rhetoric as ever in the USA of today.
Ronald John Lofaro, PhD
Dr Ron
October 16, 2009 - 14:23 ET by general companyMuch of what you said is true, but the folks in Miss would disagree with your assement of their situation. Most of the residences their have not been rebuilt there either. Sure the casino's and some other buisnesses are back. But not much else.
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Katrina - 125,000 folks received $64,000 each in federal grants.
October 16, 2009 - 12:38 ET by Gary HallOh here - let me summarize the theme:
Besides rebuilding and improving miles of levees (which Bush inherited) and constructing massive flood gates at the mouth of several canals in the city, etc., there just happens to have been this little federally funded aid program called The Road Home. Now, it was administered by the State of Louisiana, and there were plenty of complaints of red tape, and that's a shame -- but that's what seems to always come with federal programs (wait till you experience ObamaCare). The Road Home project was designed to provide funding to help cover uninsured losses resulting from Katrina to assist in rebuilding, and/or in relocating (a smaller amount). The funds were paid out as cash grants - not low interest loans - and are received tax-free. The maximum award per dwelling was set at $150,000.
I suspect that this was the single largest federal grant program to individual homeowners following a disaster in history.
To date, according to the Road Home statistics page, $8 billion has been paid out to individual homeowners. 125,066 people have received a federal cash grant in the average amount of $63,966/each.
They ain't given us nothing.
Now - let me bring in ACORN. I talked to Beth Butler (Wade's ex - or current - I really don't care). Beth was just fired this week - whoopie! I called the NOLA ACORN offices after seeing a demeaning quote from her in the LA Times:
Ready? Beth assured me that the Road Home project was worthless - and they were not going to steer folks that way. The next day, the Rev. Jackson led a parade thru the lower 9th ward. Community organizing at it's best.
I won't address the claim about the gov't destroying the homes - but I think I just did address the claim that they didn't step up to the plate to assist folks in rebuilding. The issues surrounding the rebuilding in the extremely vulnerable areas, like the lower 9th ward, were, and probably are, still bogged down in local building and zoning decisions - not the feds.
Folks are free to argue for more, or for it to be done differently; however, if folks don't even know that $billions of dollars are available to them - well, I wonder if any national media outlet has ever actually covered this program, such that their audience has a clue.
Oh, right - that is not a worthy news story.
(;~/ gary
→ Vietnamese -vs- Katrina
October 16, 2009 - 18:13 ET by Cool ArrowAnybody remember this story on DATELINE from 2007.