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Video Shows Blanco Saying Levees Intact

JEDIYoda

JEDIYoda

Lifer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060303/ap_on_go_pr_wh/katrina_video

WASHINGTON - In the hectic, confused hours after Hurricane Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast, Louisiana's governor hesitantly but mistakenly assured the Bush administration that New Orleans' protective levees were intact, according to a new video obtained by The Associated Press showing briefings that day with federal officials.

"We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said shortly after noon on Aug. 29, according to the video that was obtained Thursday night. "We heard a report unconfirmed, I think, we have not breached the levee. I think we have not breached the levee at this time."

pardon me when I say......
This seems to me to NOT have been Bush`s fault after all.....

We should be pointing the finger an the Govenor.....
 
she seemed concerned in the video, wasn't like she ignored it completely like bush did.

"waters that are 8 to 10 feet deep, people swimming in there"

She certainly knew she had a flood and needed help, because she asked for it. Nothing else really matters.

fema and other federal agencies should have had people on the ground before,during,and after the storm. they should have been there but they were not. the state and locals did not have the ability to communicate with each other and did not have the personal to co ordinate what information they did receive. the reliance on cell phone and other tower based communications failed..the federal government has the resources and solutions to overcome these problems.

But, you know, his 40 zillionth vacation and eating cake strumming a guitar was more important.
 
Originally posted by: Steeplerot
"waters that are 8 to 10 feet deep, people swimming in there"

She certainly knew she had a flood and needed help, because she asked for it. Nothing else really matters.

fema and other federal agencies should have had people on the ground before,during,and after the storm. they should have been there but they were not. the state and locals did not have the ability to communicate with each other and did not have the personal to co ordinate what information they did receive. the reliance on cell phone and other tower based communications failed..the federal government has the resources and solutions to overcome these problems.
Click to expand...

If they'd had people on the ground before and during Katrina they would have needed rescuing like evryone else. Think about it. Part of disaster relief is not getting caught up in the disaster.
 
Hmm, so if you business is disaster management in the most technologically advanced country in the world its ok to not be capable to function through one.

Nice try, it's no excuse still. And still does not excuse the days that went by with no repairing of the breach.
 
Fact: Anything you put in front of a Cat 5 hurricane is going to be destroyed. (See New Orleans) The object of the game is to place your first responders outside of the area about to get pasted so that they can respond as soon as possible and at full force.

Of course there were mistakes made in the aftermath of Katrina. Response to the levee disaster was too slow. I'm willing to offer a little bit of slack, though, considering that this was a disaster of unprecidented scale and we asked an entity that refuses to practice entrepenural-like initiative in any situation at the risk of making their superiors look foolish. (*cough*bureaucracy*government*cough*) There is pleanty of criticizm to go around and I'm not an apologist for anyone here.

But to suggest that there should have been first responders in the "bullseye" is just plain stupid.
 
No reason there could not have been a functional communication system to get proper information out to authorities, regardless this is recorded AFTER, which makes the feds look even worse, good thing it was not terrorism.

A day or two after when I was listening to independent media from the area they had the mayor saying he flew over the breach and STILL noone had done ANYTHING, not even thrown debris in to stop the lake from draining into the city. -shameful people were dying
 
Originally posted by: Steeplerot
No reason there could not have been a functional communication system to get proper information out to authorities, regardless this is recorded AFTER, which makes the feds look even worse, good thing it was not terrorism.
Click to expand...

Amen to that. Anyone who waits for the government to come to their aid is a fool.
 
Except of course people in foreign countries who happen to have oil under their feet. Suuuure.

Then the help is top priority throwing all logic out the window, or wait, is that why the response was so delayed anyhow..hmmmm
 
Notice how she says "we have an unconfirmed report" shes passing along all the information she has because for the feds to help they need all the info they can get but she also specifies that the info given my be erroneous because the report is unconfirmed.
 
steeplerot at no point in any of the 2 videos did the Govenor of Louisiana ask for help.

had she asked for anykind of help it would have been given.

matters such as hurricanes and such as state issues not government issues.
As such until she asks for the government to get involved they cannot act without her asking..other than to say we are her at your disposal....

In a perfect wporld your arguments against the Government might hold water...

But all your arguments have holes in them with this new videos and such coming to light!!
 
Jedi, Blanco request federal help prior to landfall:
Look here
Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco declares a state of emergency for the state of Louisiana. This declaration included activation of the state of Louisiana's emergency response and recovery program under the command of the director of the state office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to supply emergency support services.
Click to expand...
This is on August 26th, 3 days before landfall
Governor Blanco requests that President Bush declare a major disaster for the State of Louisiana in a letter through FEMA Region VI Director Gary Jones. In the 4-page letter, Blanco makes specific requests under the Stafford Act for aid (housing, counseling, unemployment, and Small business funding) as well as requesting "direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property" (by removing debris) and agrees to reduced liability.
Click to expand...
That happened on August 27th, 2 days prior

She didn't need to request help in that video because she had alread requested it on multiple occasions
 
Originally posted by: fierydemise
Jedi, Blanco request federal help prior to landfall:
Look here
Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco declares a state of emergency for the state of Louisiana. This declaration included activation of the state of Louisiana's emergency response and recovery program under the command of the director of the state office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to supply emergency support services.
Click to expand...
This is on August 26th, 3 days before landfall
Governor Blanco requests that President Bush declare a major disaster for the State of Louisiana in a letter through FEMA Region VI Director Gary Jones. In the 4-page letter, Blanco makes specific requests under the Stafford Act for aid (housing, counseling, unemployment, and Small business funding) as well as requesting "direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property" (by removing debris) and agrees to reduced liability.
Click to expand...
That happened on August 27th, 2 days prior

She didn't need to request help in that video because she had alread requested it on multiple occasions
Click to expand...

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

had she asked for anykind of help it would have been given.


But all your arguments have holes in them with this new videos and such coming to light!!
Click to expand...

Doh! firey, pass the light, I think we have a roasted yoda here

 
First of your using Wikipedia as an accurate source...hmmm........
as much as I like wikjipedia as of late they have been having integrity issues concerning recent updates and such...

Ok..lets suppose she did ask for help 3 days prior....
How would you have helped 3 days before the hurricane hit??
Any and all your explanations still don`t hold water....

I quote you steeplerot--
fema and other federal agencies should have had people on the ground before,during,and after the storm. they should have been there but they were not. the state and locals did not have the ability to communicate with each other and did not have the personal to co ordinate what information they did receive. the reliance on cell phone and other tower based communications failed..the federal government has the resources and solutions to overcome these problems.

Fema and other agencies did have people on the ground....but you don`t put those people in harms way...or do you??

You put those people close enough so that after the fact you provide the assistance requested....

I quote you again steeplerot--Hmm, so if you business is disaster management in the most technologically advanced country in the world its ok to not be capable to function through one.

Nice try, it's no excuse still. And still does not excuse the days that went by with no repairing of the breach.

There are many more logistical issues to deal with tham just jumping in and repairing the breach...they made several attempts but failed....

also How do you function throughh a catagorie 5 hurricane..simple you don`t!!

Even the US Navy turns tail and runs rather than attempting to deal head on with a Hurricane and there ships are the most advanced in the world...

I quote you again--
No reason there could not have been a functional communication system to get proper information out to authorities, regardless this is recorded AFTER, which makes the feds look even worse, good thing it was not terrorism.

A day or two after when I was listening to independent media from the area they had the mayor saying he flew over the breach and STILL noone had done ANYTHING, not even thrown debris in to stop the lake from draining into the city. -shameful people were dying


YES--there was every reason there could not have been a functional communications system........lightning adverse conditions etc.....

Actually everything they threw at the breach was not enough..there were many many logisdtical headaches....

So as to roasting a JEDI...

When you get your thinking and facts straight just maybe..until then....repeat after me..OWNED!!
 
Ahh yes, lightning yeah you sure have a point there, all communication stops when lightning is around :roll:

Everything can be figured out with a lil can do, problem is bush and the feds couldnt be bothered sending a tin can on a string to help.

Anyhow this is not even about when the actual storm hit, the breach was the next day and this recording around noon.

Read your own linked article before you make a fool of yourself, your partisanship is hanging out all over the place again.

 
Blanco asks Bush to declare state of emergency ahead of Rita

BATON ROUGE, La. (CNN) -- Saying an effective response to Hurricane Rita is "beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments," Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco on Tuesday asked President Bush to declare a state of emergency ahead of the storm.

In a letter to the president, Blanco said the affected areas would be all the coastal parishes, including the Lake Charles, Lafayette and New Orleans metropolitan areas. She said it would also include the mid-state Interstate I-49 corridor and northern parishes along the I-20 corridor that are accepting the "thousands of citizens evacuating from the areas expecting to be flooded as a result of Hurricane Rita."

"I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments due to the continuing impact of Hurricane Katrina, and that supplementary federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster," Blanco said.

Forecasters' current projections indicate Rita will make landfall late Friday or early Saturday between Galveston and Brownsville, Texas. However, they have not ruled out the possibility of a strike on Louisiana. (Posted 8:53 p.m.)

Blanco seeks FEMA housing for Katrina evacuees

BATON ROUGE, La. (CNN) -- Louisiana's governor Tuesday asked the federal disaster relief agency to help find more permanent housing for thousands of residents who remain in emergency shelters three weeks after Hurricane Katrina.

Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said President Bush agrees with her that people need "more stable, private housing," and asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help find locations for trailers that can house those left homeless by the Aug. 29 storm.

"We believe those shelters served their initial purpose, but now our people need that interim housing we talked about so much," Blanco said. "They need more privacy. They need real communities with vital services."

Blanco told reporters she is asking FEMA to move people already evacuated from shelters to motel rooms while her administration tries to find sites for trailers that can house displaced Louisianans on a long-term basis. (Posted 8:35 p.m)
Click to expand...
Text
 
If my partisanship is hanging out all over the place then what do you call your onesided way of seeing things??

Surely NOT the truth...

You use the oldest copout in the world and I quote--
Everything can be figured out with a lil can do, problem is bush and the feds couldnt be bothered sending a tin can on a string to help.

All I see are words from you that are nifty and look great but don`t go anywhere....


with a lil cando....rofl
 
Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
If my partisanship is hanging out all over the place then what do you call your onesided way of seeing things??

Surely NOT the truth...

You use the oldest copout in the world and I quote--
Everything can be figured out with a lil can do, problem is bush and the feds couldnt be bothered sending a tin can on a string to help.

All I see are words from you that are nifty and look great but don`t go anywhere....


with a lil cando....rofl
Click to expand...



Your attempts to blame local leaders that had already ahead of time asked for help as it was bigger then they could handle is actually the sad part of all this, your acting like emergency crews should respond DAYS after is an acceptable thing.

It's not, femas negligence got people killed. bush strummed his guitar on vacation.

Sad you cannot just look at reality.

you here are the one drowning in your own bs up to your neck.

SOMEONE was very incompetent at the federal level, and put more lives at jeopardy, and more lives were lost unessasarily. lets not even get into the media at the time playing "lets all get in touch with our inner kkk member" bit fearmongering much needed potential volunteers.

The same media that is trying like hell to cover the administrations ass with these tapes.

Pretty funny how these tapes are coming out one after another when they have been around for 6 months I hear.
 
Everything can be figured out with a lil can do, problem is bush and the feds couldnt be bothered sending a tin can on a string to help.
Click to expand...
Prior to the levee breach, there was no compelling reason for federal intervention as the actual damage caused by Katrina was quite minimal, and easily mitigated at the local level.

It's not, femas negligence got people killed. bush strummed his guitar on vacation.
Click to expand...
There is enough blame to go around, starting at local leaders and extending all the way to the President.

Your attempts to blame local leaders that had already ahead of time asked for help as it was bigger then they could handle is actually the sad part of all this, your acting like emergency crews should respond DAYS after is an acceptable thing.
Click to expand...
You have no grasp of reality...once the levees broke, the scope and magnitude of the devastation far exceeded what everyone expected to happen...there is no contingency plan for catastrophic flooding, total loss of communications, and the failure of evacuation plans PRIOR to the storm, which would have minimized the sheer number of people left in the city.

Various news agencies were reporting simulations of what would happen to New Orleans if the levees broke...sadly, I do not recall Nagin or Blanco taking the necessarily precautions for that contingency...no one expected the levees to break, and no one was prepared for it.
 
Nice try at diverting attention away from the lack of preparedness prior to the storm towards the understandable confusion in its aftermath...

The current desperation of BushCo fanbois is matched only by the incompetence of their idols...
 
A Federal Disaster is not declared by the Feds until it is perceived that the magnitude rises to the Federal level, and is beyond the abilities of the State to deal with. This is regardless of the request of the State. It is not automatic, and there is specific paperwork that must be signed and approved, not just a phone call or a letter. With all things governmental "If it's not in writing, it's not worth sh**".

The levees were supposedly safe at the level of Katrina. Nobody had taken great measures to evacuate the city, showing that even Nagin saw no need to do so. The initial thoughts were that water would wash OVER the levee and cause flood damage. NOBODY thought that the levees would break. If that was the consensus, the nothing more than water damage would have occurred. That is not a Federal matter.

Poor prior planning, poor construction of the levees (found during repair), lack of practice and readiness drills; Poor communication channels, lack of procedural knowledge and lack of familiarity with FEMA and it's slow moving self. These are the issues at hand. I see failure at local, State, and Federal levels. Do I see negligence? No. Do I see (in hindsight) things that should have been done? Yes. Could any one person have changed the outcome? Not likely...

Nagin could have ordered everyone out, and if it turned out that the levees held, he would have spent serious $$$ that could have been better used. He didn't because he felt the levees would hold.

Blanco could have asked FEMA to walk her through disaster scenarios and request procedures in case Nagin didn't know his job, but that would imply that Nagin was incompetent, and that Blanco was micro-managing. Besides, the levees were designed to take Katrina.

FEMA could have set up a call center in NOLA and waited for information and the go-ahead, but that's not their job, and the funds would have to be found, and it is not for FEMA to do States work.

Bush could have set all night in NOLA to monitor the situation and bail with a bucket. That's about all he could do. Nagin, Blanco and FEMA were in-charge of the situation in that order.
 
WWL TV reported on their website on 8/29 no later than 9:35am:

.. A LEVEE BREACH OCCURRED ALONG THE INDUSTRIAL CANAL AT TENNESSE STREET. 3 TO 8 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED DUE TO THE BREACH...LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO ARABI AND 9TH WARD OF NEW ORLEANS.
Click to expand...



And a posting on one of the blogs (wunderground or nola.com)

Posted By: UFGATORDON at 3:01 PM GMT on August 29, 2005.
LA governor says water rising 1 ft per hour in NO. Major breeching of levees
Click to expand...

This was just hours after landfall. HOURS.

And where was the Propagandist? Eating cake with McCain in AZ. And the next day, Aug. 30, when the FLOODING was being SHOWN on LIVE TV where was the Propagandist? Playing guitar in CA.

Chertoff didn't know about the people stranded at the Superdome and the Convention Center until THURSDAY AFTERNOON! He learned about it when he was interviewed on NPR!

Criminally negligent!
 
Originally posted by: maluckey
A Federal Disaster is not declared by the Feds until it is perceived that the magnitude rises to the Federal level, and is beyond the abilities of the State to deal with. This is regardless of the request of the State. It is not automatic, and there is specific paperwork that must be signed and approved, not just a phone call or a letter. With all things governmental "If it's not in writing, it's not worth sh**".

The levees were supposedly safe at the level of Katrina. Nobody had taken great measures to evacuate the city, showing that even Nagin saw no need to do so. The initial thoughts were that water would wash OVER the levee and cause flood damage. NOBODY thought that the levees would break. If that was the consensus, the nothing more than water damage would have occurred. That is not a Federal matter.

Poor prior planning, poor construction of the levees (found during repair), lack of practice and readiness drills; Poor communication channels, lack of procedural knowledge and lack of familiarity with FEMA and it's slow moving self. These are the issues at hand. I see failure at local, State, and Federal levels. Do I see negligence? No. Do I see (in hindsight) things that should have been done? Yes. Could any one person have changed the outcome? Not likely...

Nagin could have ordered everyone out, and if it turned out that the levees held, he would have spent serious $$$ that could have been better used. He didn't because he felt the levees would hold.

Blanco could have asked FEMA to walk her through disaster scenarios and request procedures in case Nagin didn't know his job, but that would imply that Nagin was incompetent, and that Blanco was micro-managing. Besides, the levees were designed to take Katrina.

FEMA could have set up a call center in NOLA and waited for information and the go-ahead, but that's not their job, and the funds would have to be found, and it is not for FEMA to do States work.

Bush could have set all night in NOLA to monitor the situation and bail with a bucket. That's about all he could do. Nagin, Blanco and FEMA were in-charge of the situation in that order.
Click to expand...

A Federal Disaster is not declared by the Feds until it is perceived that the magnitude rises to the Federal level, and is beyond the abilities of the State to deal with. This is regardless of the request of the State. It is not automatic, and there is specific paperwork that must be signed and approved, not just a phone call or a letter. With all things governmental "If it's not in writing, it's not worth sh**".

Bush declared a Federal Emercy on Friday, August 27. LINK

The levees were supposedly safe at the level of Katrina. Nobody had taken great measures to evacuate the city, showing that even Nagin saw no need to do so. The initial thoughts were that water would wash OVER the levee and cause flood damage. NOBODY thought that the levees would break. If that was the consensus, the nothing more than water damage would have occurred. That is not a Federal matter.

The levees in New Orleans were only designed to withstand Category 3 hurricanes and that was WITH the wetlands intact. New Orleans evacuated 33% more people than Hurricane Pam simulations thought possible. Levees being overtopped or broken through makes no difference except in the speed of the flooding. Link The levee system IS under Federal jurisdiction, btw. And it BECAME a federal matter once Bush declared a state of emergency. At that point, total control goes to DHS and FEMA.
 
Were not the initial reports that the levees had not failed IMMEDIATLY during the storm, but that they were breached
in the overnight hours AFTER the storm when they could not be observed.
She had stale information.

Once the sun came up and the rising of the water was observed, more panic ensued as there were few means of communication.

Where was Blanco ? In Baton Rouge - a command center. Just pick up any old phone at random and call from Atlantis ?
I don't think so.

Her freshest information would have been from 2 - 4 hours old by the time it reached her.
People on the ground in New Orleans with Federal Communications Equipment couldn't get through either.
Cell phones - where were the cell towers ? Blown down or crippled by debris.
Hell, Military Ground Com Gear barely functioned in the aftermath either.

Why is there more effort going to FIXING THE BLAME, and ABSOLVING BUSH, then in fixing and correction the problem.

I think that Chertoff should be fired - retroactively, he's a dud.
Loyalty to incompetence is all that keeps him on staff.
 
Originally posted by: conjur
WWL TV reported on their website on 8/29 no later than 9:35am:

.. A LEVEE BREACH OCCURRED ALONG THE INDUSTRIAL CANAL AT TENNESSE STREET. 3 TO 8 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED DUE TO THE BREACH...LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO ARABI AND 9TH WARD OF NEW ORLEANS.
Click to expand...



And a posting on one of the blogs (wunderground or nola.com)

Posted By: UFGATORDON at 3:01 PM GMT on August 29, 2005.
LA governor says water rising 1 ft per hour in NO. Major breeching of levees
Click to expand...

This was just hours after landfall. HOURS.

And where was the Propagandist? Eating cake with McCain in AZ. And the next day, Aug. 30, when the FLOODING was being SHOWN on LIVE TV where was the Propagandist? Playing guitar in CA.

Chertoff didn't know about the people stranded at the Superdome and the Convention Center until THURSDAY AFTERNOON! He learned about it when he was interviewed on NPR!

Criminally negligent!
Click to expand...



Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
Were not the initial reports that the levees had not failed IMMEDIATLY during the storm, but that they were breached
in the overnight hours AFTER the storm when they could not be observed.
She had stale information.

Once the sun came up and the rising of the water was observed, more panic ensued as there were few means of communication.

Where was Blanco ? In Baton Rouge - a command center. Just pick up any old phone at random and call from Atlantis ?
I don't think so.

Her freshest information would have been from 2 - 4 hours old by the time it reached her.
People on the ground in New Orleans with Federal Communications Equipment couldn't get through either.
Cell phones - where were the cell towers ? Blown down or crippled by debris.
Hell, Military Ground Com Gear barely functioned in the aftermath either.

Why is there more effort going to FIXING THE BLAME, and ABSOLVING BUSH, then in fixing and correction the problem.

I think that Chertoff should be fired - retroactively, he's a dud.
Loyalty to incompetence is all that keeps him on staff.
Click to expand...

Both Conjur and Capt are correct.

I was there.

Bottom line is the ball was dropped by all parties.

Yes, communications went down but that was no excuse.

It was really sad, we would've been better off in a different Country and that still holds true.
 
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