Christy!

EPU’d OT (and “deux”) Richmond @ 154

On spy planes, no doubt you have also seen the item (I think on Raw) that in NYC they are seeing more “home grown” terrorists on the rise. No doubt with our amoral, death-driven Mid-East policies this is bound to happen here as it did in Great Britain after their involvement in the Iraq occupation. However, I wouldn’t put it past this administration from putting this out there as an excuse for even more indepth spying on citizens and arrests and imprisonment without trial those they see as supporting such a movement.

Rome.

Awww. Just missed that zed!

A friend who just came back from a week’s visit to New Orleans said there’s been little change in the Ninth Ward since Katarina. Wealthy and middle-class whites are now the majority in the whole city–excluding Algiers.

On New Orleans. Has anyone ever done a cross-check of people known as missing/dead and the list put together by the Hallburton affiliate who was charged (exclusively) with finding the dead. My assumption is that they were hired for this with the idea that they could keep the “losses to a minimum.” Hmmmm

That memorial video is dramatic.
And an indictment.

and let us not forget, kkkarl rove was responsible for the rebuilding of new orleans

Once again you put up a powerful post.
It is unconscionable to me that this is still getting ignored by BushCo, like it is going to go away or something!
If anything, it’s a matter of time until NO gets slammed again, finishing off the vulnerable city.
Bush should have to retire to the ninth ward, if he doesn’t just go to prison. Then I bet things would start happening.

perris @ 8

and let us not forget, kkkarl rove was responsible for the rebuilding of new orleans

Even though KKKarl is a long-time Tejas resident, I doubt he knows where NOLA is. When it comes to real-world stuff, I don’t think KKKarl could find his own ass with both hands.

perris @ 8

and let us not forget, kkkarl rove was responsible for the rebuilding of new orleans

mission accomplished

Me @ 5:

Katrina…

sporkovat @ 3

Rome.

we need the image of bush playing guitar while new orleans flooded juxtapose against nero playing violin while rome burned

The whole trailer “thing” was a scam. Top dollar for poorly made mobile homes, with out gassing insulation and particle board and no-bid contracts. The sight of 11,000 white mobile homes, sinking into the mud near the Hope, AR airport was/is a picture of ultimate govt corruption.

Prairie Sunshine @ 11

perris @ 8

and let us not forget, kkkarl rove was responsible for the rebuilding of new orleans

mission accomplished

soo sad that that’s actually the truth, the mission was accomplished.

perris @ 13

At least Nero created fire-fighting brigades. (Seriously, he did.)

Bush is more likely to be creating fire-starting brigades.

Federal programs indeed:

The scholars found that reconstruction ordained from above had less positive results. The much-publicized “Road Home,” a state-federal program that provides cash to rebuild damaged homes, has completed contracts with less than a third of the 180,000 applicants. The complex program requires third-party involvement and much paperwork.

The federal government’s role can be downright perverse. As the Associated Press reported, tax breaks available under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act are being used to fund condos with granite countertops and king-sized bathtubs in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, hundreds of miles inland. Some of the condos have ended up being used by University of Alabama alumni as comfy retreats after football games.

Steve-AR @ 14

The whole trailer “thing” was a scam. Top dollar for poorly made mobile homes, with out gassing insulation and particle board and no-bid contracts. The sight of 11,000 white mobile homes, sinking into the mud near the Hope, AR airport was/is a picture of ultimate govt corruption.

I think Teddy Roosevelt’s reputation was largely self-promoted, but, from what I’ve read, if this had happened on his watch, I think you could just about guarantee that Michael “Heck of a Job” Brown would be living in one of those shithole trailers for a good long while before he ever got to come up for air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akWgObxKnog

there could be better ones out there, but this came up first.

Biodun @ 5

A friend who just came back from a week’s visit to New Orleans said there’s been little change in the Ninth Ward since Katarina. Wealthy and middle-class whites are now the majority in the whole city–excluding Algiers.

Gentra-cide.

-GSD

Good morning Christy.

Thanks for shining the light in this direction.

This is from July 31:

NEW ORLEANS — Homeowners whose properties were ravaged by Hurricane Katrina hustled to meet a deadline to apply for rebuilding grants, but many had little faith the federally funded program would come through.

Residents have until today to request up to $150,000 from the state-administered Road Home program. It is funded with $6.4 billion, but if everyone eligible applied, it would face an estimated $5 billion shortfall.

“If the government doesn’t give me any assistance, then I guess I’m going to have to go overextend myself and take out a loan,” 59-year-old Bessie Griffin said Friday as she waited to meet with Road Home representatives.

Griffin beat today’s application deadline, but worried the program would go broke before she and thousands of others received any money.

Griffin had vowed to be the first on her block to rebuild when she returned to New Orleans after the Aug. 29, 2005, storm. Her enthusiasm gave way to crippling despair, however, after she gave $10,000 to an unscrupulous contractor who left town without working on her home.

As today’s deadline approached, several dozen property owners gathered at First Pilgrim Baptist Church in New Orleans to fill out applications or press officials for answers about pending applications.

And more noise than action:

The authors note that U.S. political culture itself can delay recovery. Politicians love to send signals to voters that they are addressing a disaster — to fly in for that speech. But the same politicians often don’t follow through, or their agendas conflict, stalling the process. Such signal noise, as economists call it, has only grown louder since the storm. New Orleans is on its fifth rebuilding plan, and no one from either party or at any level of government is sure where the funding will come from.

The confusion over restoring the Gulf Coast is only likely to worsen in the next 14 months. Election periods are veritable Katrinas of signal noise, alas for New Orleans.

Scout and I are going to keep in touch while she’s at the conference. A lot of the bloggers in the region have some amazing content — which you can see if you click through the Rising Tide link above.

Here’s the original AP story on them condos:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - With large swaths of the Gulf Coast still in ruins from Hurricane Katrina, rich federal tax breaks designed to spur rebuilding are flowing hundreds of miles inland to investors who are buying up luxury condos near the University of Alabama’s football stadium.

About 10 condominium projects are going up in and around Tuscaloosa, and builders are asking up to $1 million for units with granite countertops, king-size bathtubs and ‘Bama decor, including crimson couches and Bear Bryant wall art.

While many of the buyers are Crimson Tide alumni or ardent football fans not entitled to any special Katrina-related tax breaks, many others are real estate investors who are purchasing the condos with plans to rent them out.

And they intend to take full advantage of the generous tax benefits available to investors under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, or GO Zone, according to Associated Press interviews with buyers and real estate officials.

coffee spewing time)

dumbest headline of the year:
WAPO front page website:
Will Rove Pen A Tell-All Book?

GSD @ 20

Biodun @ 5

A friend who just came back from a week’s visit to New Orleans said there’s been little change in the Ninth Ward since Katarina. Wealthy and middle-class whites are now the majority in the whole city–excluding Algiers.

Gentra-cide.

-GSD

Has the racial cleansing of NOLA been enough to affect state-wide elections in La? I am sure Rove et al saw Katrina as a sign from god for the Republicans forever plan.

Any discussion of the postal rate hike for publishers? Click for action items.

P J Evans @ 16

perris @ 13

At least Nero created fire-fighting brigades. (Seriously, he did.)

Bush is more likely to be creating fire-starting brigades.

yeah, they are called U.S. Attorneys.

And let’s remember this:

Katrina also caused widespread loss of life, with over 700 bodies recovered in New Orleans by October 23, 2005.[37] Some survivors and evacuees reported seeing dead bodies lying in city streets and floating in still-flooded sections, especially in the east of the city. The advanced state of decomposition of many corpses, some of which were left in the water or sun for days before being collected, hindered efforts by coroners to identify many of the dead.[38]

OT - (just a heads up - upcoming news)
9th US Circuit of Appeals Hearing(s)
Today, Aug 15, 2-4pm PST (San Francisco)
Appeals Court Battle Over NSA Surveillance

The government is fighting to get the cases thrown out of court, contending that the litigation jeopardizes state secrets.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is representing the plaintiffs in Hepting v. AT&T, which accuses the telecom giant of collaborating with the National Security Agency (NSA) in illegal electronic surveillance of millions of AT&T’s customers.

The court will also hear the arguments on the future of Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. Bush, a case alleging that the government illegally wiretapped calls between the charity and its lawyers.

And these developers and buyers of these condos are some of the loudest screamers about Mercedes driving rich welfare moms.

Steve-AR at 26 — I’m not certain anyone knows as yet. The last election had a lot of absentee votes and a whole host of problems in determining who was supposed to vote where. It’s a mess.

We have a guy here in town who was shipped up here as a “refugee” and ended up staying in WV and opening a wonderful cajun restaurant here. He talks about going back, but everything is so incredibly difficult — and for the folks who stayed…all you have to do is listen to the NPR story of this one woman to know how tough it has been for the not-so-wealthy.

Biodun @ 24

And they intend to take full advantage of the generous tax benefits available to investors under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, or GO Zone, according to Associated Press interviews with buyers and real estate officials.

Y’know, most times I think that most of the people in this country are pretty decent, know the right thing to do, and want to at least help out those in need a little bit, if they can.

Then I read something like this, and I wonder WTF this country has become. Yeah, this has happened throughout the country’s history, but, maybe, never this brazenly, and never with so much assistance from the government.

It’s the true, abject face of corruption.

Steve-AR @ 26:

And this:

This and other reports ([8][9]) suggest that the hurricane will have demographic consequences, particularly in and around Louisiana. Prior to the hurricane, Louisiana was one of a handful of states projected by the U.S. Census department to become a majority-minority state within the next two decades. Because a majority of displaced Louisiana residents are black, this occurrence will likely be delayed in Louisiana, accelerated in nearby Florida and Georgia, and increased in Texas, which itself became a majority-minority state in mid-2005.

It has been noted that the displacement of a significant portion of African Americans from Louisiana is likely to shift the politics of that state in a more conservative direction[10]. Louisiana may also lose a vote in the Electoral College following the 2010 U.S. Census.

In regards to FEMA. A good Bush tactic practiced well in the past:

Run a bureaucracy so poorly that tax-payers get disgusted in it’s efficiency and when leaders propose to privatize it, no one is there to stick up for the program because it was crumbling already.

The problem of course, started when the leaders put in muppets and retards.

It’s been a good trick. FEMA has lost cred due to it’s poor leadership and distortion of purpose.

cancer_cures at 35 — I do think that is a lot of the problem here. When you have an agency run by people who think government is the problem. And they outsource a lot of its functions to cronies who are in it for the cash, and not for doing the job well…this is what you get.

What a freaking mess. And I shudder to think how bad things would be for the next disaster because they have literally learned nothing from this.

And also this not-very-surprising tidbit:

Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, quickly received reconstruction and damage assessment contracts for naval facilities in Mississippi and New Orleans affected by Katrina. [12] This was the first of several companies that had been politically supportive of President Bush receiving lucrative reconstruction contracts through FEMA and other federal agencies under the authority of the Bush Administration. [13] Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, is doing major repairs at Navy facilities along the Gulf Coast that were damaged by the hurricane. That work is being done under a $500 million contract with the Defense Department. Other no-bid contracts were awarded to the Fluor Corporation of California, a major donor to the Republican Party, and The Shaw Group of Baton Rouge, La. Shaw is a client of Joe M. Allbaugh, a consultant who was President Bush’s campaign manager in 2000 and his first FEMA director.

Just saw this at the ABCNews site:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thebl.....us-st.html

U.S. Eyes Homegrown Terrorist ‘Clusters’
Brian Ross, Richard Esposito & Maddy Sauer Report:

U.S. law enforcement officials say they have identified more than two dozen “clusters” of young Muslim men in the northeast United States who are on a path that could lead to homegrown terror, ABC News has learned.

“Any one of those clusters may be capable of carrying out a terrorist action that will result in fatalities,” Rand Corporation terrorism expert Brian Jenkins tells ABC News.

In a report to be made public today, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly concludes the 9/ll attacks were an “anomaly” and the most serious terror threat to the country comes from clusters of “unremarkable” individuals who are on a path that could lead to homegrown terror.

[shortened by mod]

cancer_cures @ 35

In regards to FEMA. A good Bush tactic practiced well in the past:

Run a bureaucracy so poorly that tax-payers get disgusted in it’s efficiency and when leaders propose to privatize it, no one is there to stick up for the program because it was crumbling already.I would like to see a Democratic candidate for POTUS declare that they will appoint only the best available expert administrators to important posts such as FEMA so that when the next disaster strikes we can say “heckofajob” without the sarcasm.

The problem of course, started when the leaders put in muppets and retards.

It’s been a good trick. FEMA has lost cred due to it’s poor leadership and distortion of purpose.

Christy linked to an incredibly poignant NPR story by Michele Norris with a Katrina survivor named Sharon White, who has been stuck in some starkly dead-end scenarios since losing her home in the hurricane. Norris has been doing some fantastic mental health issue stories for NPR, and is an exception to the general rule that NPR’s news reporting is going downhill.

On economic and demographic effects:

The economic effects of the storm were far-reaching. As of April 2006, the Bush Administration has sought $105 billion for repairs and reconstruction in the region,[54] and this does not account for damage to the economy caused by potential interruption of the oil supply, destruction of the Gulf Coast’s highway infrastructure, and exports of commodities such as grain. Katrina damaged or destroyed 30 oil platforms and caused the closure of nine refineries;[23] the total shut-in oil production from the Gulf of Mexico in the six-month period following Katrina was approximately 24% of the annual production and the shut-in gas production for the same period was about 18%.[55] The forestry industry in Mississippi was also affected, as 1.3 million acres (5,300 km²) of forest lands were destroyed.[56] The total loss to the forestry industry from Katrina is calculated to rise to about $5 billion.[56] Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of local residents were left unemployed, which will have a trickle-down effect as fewer taxes are paid to local governments. Before the hurricane, the region supported approximately one million non-farm jobs, with 600,000 of them in New Orleans. It is estimated that the total economic impact in Louisiana and Mississippi may exceed $150 billion.[57]

Katrina redistributed New Orleans’ population across the southern United States. Houston, Texas, had an increase of 35,000 people; Mobile, Alabama, gained over 24,000; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, over 15,000; and Hammond, Louisiana received over 10,000, nearly doubling its size. Chicago received over 6,000 people, the most of any non-southern city.[58] By late January, 2006, about 200,000 people were once again living in New Orleans, less than half of the pre-storm population.[59] By July 1, 2006, when new population estimates were calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau, the state of Louisiana showed a population decline of 219,563, or 4.87%.[60]

Good morning from L.A. Thank you for this heartfelt post, Christy.

I’ve commented many times here about the folks I know along the Gulf Coast, as well as in Baton Rouge, St. Francisville, & Slidell who opened their homes & mustered every available resource they could to help Katrina survivors.
All continue doing it in spite of the morass of red tape & bureaucratic hoodoo involved in getting any kind of government cooperation (even so much as permits necessary to work on your own house reconstruction).

Lack of organized post-crisis management from the top causes those in need to do without, do for themselves as best they can, or go to charity & kindness of others, much of which is tapped out @ this point in the recovery efforts…

“When a federal government is in power that thinks government is inherently bad, you get just that- bad government.”

The 2nd anniversary of Katrina drowning our Gulf Coast approaches soon. May it be marked in the media by more than “specials” on CNN & the rest of cable news touting their own coverage.

Have to go in to work. Read you all later.

impeach - impotent - impotus - impatient

ET at 40 — Michele Norris has been following Sharon’s plight since Katrina. The stories that she has done on this woman have been as amazing as the amount of spine that Sharon has. I have been keeping track of these stories because she reminds me so much of my fiesty granny (who we lost several years ago) — and I keep hoping that things will get better for her. This last one really broke my heart. And I’ve heard the same sort of story over and over from others in the region as well.

Halliburton itself is not the problem. We need companies like Halliburton for reconstruction.

However, it’s overpriced and contracts can take longer than expected. Normally another more efficient company would get bids and contracts, but due to white house connections, halliburton is chosen.

It’s allowed to run inefficiently because there is no one there to cancel their contracts.

And another problem with Halliburton/White House connection is if Halliburton requires another 25 million to finish a New Orleans project due to poor project management, wastage, or cutting a little off the top, the White House will reward it with the next 25 million no question asked. Basically, inefficiency thrives because poor management is rewarded and unchecked.

I don’t worry. The DLC will take care of everything and everybody. They’re a “progressive” outfit. That’s what their web site says. And that’s that.

On environmental effects:

Katrina also had a profound impact on the environment. The storm surge caused substantial beach erosion, in some cases completely devastating coastal areas. In Dauphin Island, approximately 90 miles (150 km) to the east of the point where the hurricane made landfall, the sand that comprised the barrier island was transported across the island into the Mississippi Sound, pushing the island towards land.[62] The storm surge and waves from Katrina also obliterated the Chandeleur Islands, which had been affected by Hurricane Ivan the previous year.[63]

The lands that were lost were also breeding grounds for marine mammals, brown pelicans, turtles, and fish, as well as migratory species such as redhead ducks.[56] Overall, about 20% of the local marshes were permanently overrun by water as a result of the storm.[56]

Katrina also forced the closure of 16 National Wildlife Refuges, of which Breton National Wildlife Refuge received the worst damage, as half of its area was swept off.[64] As a result, the hurricane affected the habitats of sea turtles, Mississippi sandhill cranes, Red-cockaded woodpeckers and Alabama Beach mice.[64]

Finally, as part of the cleanup effort, the flood waters that covered New Orleans were pumped into Lake Pontchartrain, a process that took 43 days to complete.[23] These residual waters contained a mix of raw sewage, bacteria, heavy metals, pesticides, toxic chemicals, and about 6.5 million U.S. gallons (24.6 million L) of oil, which has sparked fears in the scientific community of massive numbers of fish dying.[56

BTW, Christy:

Thanks very much for this post. I really don’t want to take your wonderful and thoughtful and compassionate posts for granted. I’ve come to expect them–and gotten so used to them.

Biodun @ 34

Steve-AR @ 26:

And this:

This and other reports ([8][9]) suggest that the hurricane will have demographic consequences, particularly in and around Louisiana. Prior to the hurricane, Louisiana was one of a handful of states projected by the U.S. Census department to become a majority-minority state within the next two decades. Because a majority of displaced Louisiana residents are black, this occurrence will likely be delayed in Louisiana, accelerated in nearby Florida and Georgia, and increased in Texas, which itself became a majority-minority state in mid-2005.

It has been noted that the displacement of a significant portion of African Americans from Louisiana is likely to shift the politics of that state in a more conservative direction[10]. Louisiana may also lose a vote in the Electoral College following the 2010 U.S. Census.

I am now thinking that all of the “incompetence” by this administration is by design. Bush is the moronic, psychopathic front-man for some very smart people. The “mis-steps” in Iraq, Katrina etc. are now looking like highly planned out-comes. Where are these people headed? The combination of discrediting of the Federal Govt, gutting of the economy, policies that are likely to cause an economic crash, a police state and endless war. As the pattern unfolds, it is looking less and less like a series of random fuck-ups.

The report identifies mosques, bookstores, cafes, prisons and flop houses as what it calls “radicalization incubators” that provide “extremist fodder or fuel for radicalization.”

Well - as it should be. Attendance at a mosque, going to bookstores and cafes are all well known “attempted thought crimes.” So glad that someone’s looking out for me. It’s scary out there.

And having radical thoughts in a prison? Unacceptable - those misfits should be sent immediately to, err, prison.

Flophouses are well know to be places where poor homeless people hang out - and those people all seem to have *some* kind of gripe… thought criminals, all of them.

We must stop these evil people before they start to think.

Thanks for the post on a subject which still makes me burn with anger. To add to the good news, we have TS Erin now, and TS Dean, which now appears to be headed more westward towards the Yucatan — God knows that the Gulf Coast couldn’t handle much else right now.

Biodun at 48 — Thanks. This really is one of those issues that infuriates me and makes we want to sit and have a good cry at the same time every single time I do a post on it. Because it never seems to get better — and that is beyond frustrating. I can’t even imagine what itis like for the folks who live along the Gulf Coast and in NOLA.

The luxury football condo bullshit is such a craptastic symbol for all of hsi mess — these condos are far inland, and have nothing — NOTHING — to do with recovery efforts. And yet they are touted by the Bushies. And yet, the people who desperately need housing couldn’t afford to live there — they’d be lucky if they could get a job doing groundskeeping or cleaning there because they’d have to find transportation back and forth every day that far inland to work. Jeebus…

cancer_cures @ 35

In regards to FEMA. A good Bush tactic practiced well in the past:

Run a bureaucracy so poorly that tax-payers get disgusted in it’s efficiency and when leaders propose to privatize it, no one is there to stick up for the program because it was crumbling already.

The problem of course, started when the leaders put in muppets and retards.

It’s been a good trick. FEMA has lost cred due to it’s poor leadership and distortion of purpose.

A Reagan tactic, actually. But Bush certainly has polished it up hasn’t he?

Jeebus, friends, from EW

Christy, I cannot get an e-mail to go through to you. I’m in WV–where is there a wonderful Cajun restaurant–it’d be worth the trip

Steve-AR @ 49

I am now thinking that all of the “incompetence” by this administration is by design. Bush is the moronic, psychopathic front-man for some very smart people. The “mis-steps” in Iraq, Katrina etc. are now looking like highly planned out-comes. Where are these people headed? The combination of discrediting of the Federal Govt, gutting of the economy, policies that are likely to cause an economic crash, a police state and endless war. As the pattern unfolds, it is looking less and less like a series of random fuck-ups.

I started coming around to your school of thought about September 21, 2001 - the third day of the anthrax episode.

BTW, speaking of wikipedia changes, this one probably won’t last. It wan’t up there a month ago:

Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two Democratic U.S. Senators, killing five people and infecting 17 others. The crime remains unsolved but is strongly believed to be the work of domestic right-wing extremists.

loubarr at 55 — try ReddHedd AT aol DOT com. We’ve had some attack issues of late and the e-mail has been a bit wonky as a result. Our tech folks are working on it — sorry for the inconvenience…

And Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans ain’t no saint neither. As Douglas Brinkley’s The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast convincingly pointed out, Nagin was in cohoots with the (white corporate) powers that be before and even after Katrina, to the detriment of African-Americans.

FishGuyDave — I know. The weather folks keep saying that this season looks to be a very active one again, and every time I hear that, I hope they are very, very wrong…

Steve-AR @ 49

I am now thinking that all of the “incompetence” by this administration is by design. Bush is the moronic, psychopathic front-man for some very smart people. The “mis-steps” in Iraq, Katrina etc. are now looking like highly planned out-comes. Where are these people headed? The combination of discrediting of the Federal Govt, gutting of the economy, policies that are likely to cause an economic crash, a police state and endless war. As the pattern unfolds, it is looking less and less like a series of random fuck-ups.

Absolutely. Results always favor the Republican Party. Incompetence is a ploy to avoid accountability while painting the government as inherently flawed and incapable of producing results.

Think this has anything to do with Hastert’s exit?
After all, his work here is done, too.
(h/t to PW, posted link at TNH)

Biodun at 58 — The more I look at all the issues involved, the more I am positive there are no saints in any of this except for the folks who are just trying to rebuild their lives by working their asses off to get back on their feet…there are far too many folks in it for what they can get who ought to be leading instead.

jayt @ 50

The report identifies mosques, bookstores, cafes, prisons and flop houses as what it calls “radicalization incubators” that provide “extremist fodder or fuel for radicalization.”

Well - as it should be. Attendance at a mosque, going to bookstores and cafes are all well known “attempted thought crimes.” So glad that someone’s looking out for me. It’s scary out there.

And having radical thoughts in a prison? Unacceptable - those misfits should be sent immediately to, err, prison.

Flophouses are well know to be places where poor homeless people hang out - and those people all seem to have *some* kind of gripe… thought criminals, all of them.

We must stop these evil people before they start to think.

This is scary. People are being labelled as terrorists because they do things people do all the time. Obscene.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 57

loubarr at 55 — try ReddHedd AT aol DOT com. We’ve had some attack issues of late and the e-mail has been a bit wonky as a result. Our tech folks are working on it — sorry for the inconvenience…

Sorry to hear about the attacks, Christy. So it goes.

I’m so glad to read a post about Katrina and Nola. It is a crime against humanity and citizens of the United States.

After having been a flood survivor 6 years ago, I can tell you that the trauma stays with you. I still have frequent flood dreams that are terrifying. Personally, I would not be able to go back and live in the 9th Ward for that very reason. It is obviously not safe.

The crime is that the flood was caused by unsafe levees, which the government knew would be breached should such a storm occur (Hurricane Pam).

The very worst crime is that American citizens were left to die of dehydration before our very eyes.

The ongoing crime is that no one has been held accountable. Those in charge of the oversight are complicit.

“Those in charge of the oversight are complicit.” Paging Senator Lieberman……

MayDaze @ 60

Steve-AR @ 49

I am now thinking that all of the “incompetence” by this administration is by design. Bush is the moronic, psychopathic front-man for some very smart people. The “mis-steps” in Iraq, Katrina etc. are now looking like highly planned out-comes. Where are these people headed? The combination of discrediting of the Federal Govt, gutting of the economy, policies that are likely to cause an economic crash, a police state and endless war. As the pattern unfolds, it is looking less and less like a series of random fuck-ups.

Absolutely. Results always favor the Republican Party. Incompetence is a ploy to avoid accountability while painting the government as inherently flawed and incapable of producing results.

Who benefits? The “incompetence”, increasing KIAs in Iraq, probable economic crash,and higher gas prices are likely to damage both political parties and could prove fatal to the Republican party. If the US economy tanks the major corps are going to be hurt. I think big business has supported a political agenda that has gotten out of their control.

well, suprise of all surprises

the president is actually going to write patreases reportuhyup

SHOCKED I tell you, SHOCKED

it’s feeding time guys, me needs to go and feed

c L8tr

I can’t really say anything about NOLA and Katrina. I just get too damn upset. I’ve been through some flooding too so I know 1/1,000,000th of it, but everytime I get back to this subject I just cannot, cannot, cannot understand why this could happen here. And why nothing is being done about it. I guess we just don’t *need* NOLA. It’s worse than the terrorism if you ask me.

And I know that this post is incredibly depressing. My apologies to all and sundry for making the mood so dark, but I needed to say all of this before a pounding headache descended…what a freaking mess.

Has Joe Lie-berman ever even been to New Orleans in his capacity as chair of the Senate Committee of Homeland Security?

retirin’ in five @ 66

“Those in charge of the oversight are complicit.” Paging Senator Lieberman……

That was my exact thought, too.

Have we mentioned the Mississippi gulf coast yet? It gets even less coverage than NOLA, and is in equally bad shape. Except for the CASI*Os, which have all been rebuilt.

retirin’ in five @ 66

“Those in charge of the oversight are complicit.” Paging Senator Lieberman……

And the Senators who enable him.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 70

And I know that this post is incredibly depressing. My apologies to all and sundry for making the mood so dark, but I needed to say all of this before a pounding headache descended…what a freaking mess.

That’s OK. We need this dose of reality check no matter how depressing. In contrast to BushCo who invent their own “reality,” their own “truthiness,” we live in a reality-based world.

I am angry and depressed today.

I want my country back.

Biodun @ 75

Christy Hardin Smith @ 70

And I know that this post is incredibly depressing. My apologies to all and sundry for making the mood so dark, but I needed to say all of this before a pounding headache descended…what a freaking mess.

That’s OK. We need this dose of reality check no matter how depressing. In contrast to BushCo who invent their own “reality,” their own “truthiness,” we live in a reality-based world.

Most of the news about the state of our country is depressing. The solution? Take action.

Betsy at 73 — Yes, I’ve done posts on it as well if you look in the Katrina folder. It’s tougher to find information on how things are going, only because it hasn’t gotten as much coverage.

Often I wonder what presidents like Dwight Eisenhower, Teddy or Franklin Roosevelt, or John Kennedy would have done after a disaster like Hurricane Katrina.

I’m too young to remember them, but historically I can watch video of their speeches at times when the country needed to hear their voices the most. At times when the country needed direction. At times when ordinary people would put their lives on hold to help.

Two years have passed. Does Bush seem interested at all about the reconstruction of Hurricane Katrina? Where’s his voice? When I think of Bush and Katrina, I think of this picture. Far from the problem, disconnected from reality, safe from the danger.

Oh yeah, remember that Bush was golfing during Hurricane Katrina. And definately off topic, but Bush was reading childrens books through 9/11. I don’t see how our neighbors on the right see him as a leader.

Biodun @ 71

Has Joe Lie-berman ever even been to New Orleans in his capacity as chair of the Senate Committee of Homeland Security?

Ha HA HA HA Ha, er, sorry but you get my drift.

Prairie Sunshine @ 74

retirin’ in five @ 66

“Those in charge of the oversight are complicit.” Paging Senator Lieberman……

And the Senators who enable him.

Paging Senator Reid, too.

Steve-AR @ 67

MayDaze @ 60

Absolutely. Results always favor the Republican Party. Incompetence is a ploy to avoid accountability while painting the government as inherently flawed and incapable of producing results.

Who benefits? The “incompetence”, increasing KIAs in Iraq, probable economic crash,and higher gas prices are likely to damage both political parties and could prove fatal to the Republican party. If the US economy tanks the major corps are going to be hurt. I think big business has supported a political agenda that has gotten out of their control.

I’m not sure most of the perpetrators think any further ahead than the next election. The true believers in laisse-faire capitalism are fine with disruption - it creates opportunities for creative investment, don’tcha know…

I think it is also very important to remember and revisit what actually happened at the time, and hold the government accountable for their crimes directly against suffering and dying human beings, before some statutes of limitation run out the clock or something like that.

I don’t understand why major action in that regard has not occurred, unless I’m just unaware of it. The proof is all there.

TribeScribe @ 61

Think this has anything to do with Hastert’s exit?
After all, his work here is done, too.
(h/t to PW, posted link at TNH)

Ok, now I’m really sad AND really, really, really mad too. Does this mean that DeLay knows MORE about these matters today than the people trying to do oversight? I bet. Super-duper-secret my ass.

Resignation. That is what I see and here from New Orleans. Like before the fall of Cambodia, the people celebrate today as best they can and look out for each other. They know everything is precarious and are ready to relocate, somewhere.

I was born and reared in the Ninth Ward and spent all my school years in that ward. My parents and grandparents were born and reared there so we have an old history with the area. For those from the area, we lived between St. Claude and the River. My family lived on France and Dauphine Street along the Desire Streetcar line (now Desire bus). We have generations buried in the cemeteries in that local.

My sister and her family live in Metairie one block from Lake Puntchartrain and two minutes away from West End, totally devastated by Katrina. Because of lack of doctors and limited medical facilities plus damage to her and my sister’s home, my Mom was placed in a nursing home.

The storm was terrible but the response to it is worse. It’s been killing, draining the life out of people drop by drop. Everyone is suffering. There are the usual “carpet baggers” looking for some opportunities. It was so bad that my family just struggled on their own rather than get ripped off by outsiders over-charging for mediocre services.

Within five months of placing my Mom in the nursing home, she died. The medical staff just was not available through no fault of their on. Everyone was doing their best. My sister and I just accepted the reality of the situation. She and I spent a day together visiting all the places in our childhood and early twenties that we spent with our family. All was destroyed. We wept together, giggled at old times, and just hurt. The entire population feels this way. We are just a typical family there.

People have pride and they try to make the best of a terrible situation. They have been deserted by their fellow Americans, the entire Bush Administration, the hopeless state and local politicians and Federal agencies. They are left with opportunists coming at them from every angle. They have little strength left to fight them. They just struggle to survive. My sister says everything is falling apart around them. They are barely holding on by their fingernails.

And yes, they just had neighbors over for a fish fry party.

Maydaze @ 60

Steve-AR @ 49

I am now thinking that all of the “incompetence” by this administration is by design. Bush is the moronic, psychopathic front-man for some very smart people. The “mis-steps” in Iraq, Katrina etc. are now looking like highly planned out-comes. Where are these people headed? The combination of discrediting of the Federal Govt, gutting of the economy, policies that are likely to cause an economic crash, a police state and endless war. As the pattern unfolds, it is looking less and less like a series of random fuck-ups.

Absolutely. Results always favor the Republican Party. Incompetence is a ploy to avoid accountability while painting the government as inherently flawed and incapable of producing results.

there was some fictional anecdote I heard once about how a criminal gang should have at least one disposable idiot to take the blame if they get caught. If he gets left behind by the getaway car, no worries.

but the (D) party can’t even stir itself to bring impeachment proceedings!

A simple majority of those present and voting is required for each article or the resolution as a whole to pass.

complicit.

Hi gang, it’s been awhile since I have had the time to read and comment. Going back to the FEMA trailer issue: No surprise there. The “manufactured housing” industry has had issues for years. Off-gassing of Formaldehyde is just one of them. Mold is another. (Bad joke- in NOLA, how could you tell?) And then there is structural integrity. I could go on and on about how friends of mine have consulted with the good fabricators of mobile homes to improve their product, but you know that FEMA got a good deal from the “bad” manufacturers and didn’t even think, much less cared, about the living issues inside those crates.

Quakergirl, thank you so much for sharing all that. I am sorry for all the losses you and your family have been through.

And let’s not forget Barbara Bush the elder saying that the poor folks of New Orleans are better off being located elswhere, implying that the city was a dump anyway.

Unrelated: One “expert” was quoted days after the hurricane saying “New Orleans naturally just wants to be a lake.” Memorable.

Welcome back Gnome. We missed you. (This is TexBetsy.)