Bumped: Another Katrina Myth: Aaron Broussard's "Emotional" Appearance on MTP (Updated: MSNBC/NBC Correction(?))

(Originally posted 9/14/05)

NOTE: The update featuring MSNBC and NBC News' "Correction" is toward the bottom of the page (UPDATE IV).

In yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times [9/12/05], Richard Roeper called Jefferson Parish, LA president Aaron Broussard's tearful outburst, shown September 4th on Meet the Press, "One of the defining media moments of all the hurricane [Katrina] coverage":

 

"The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in a St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, 'Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?' And he said, 'Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday.' And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.""

Like a lot of people, I didn't think Broussard's story passed the "smell test". We were right: He was lying.

MSNBC's Dateline web site, September 5th:

On Sunday, America met 56-year-old Jefferson Parish president Aaron Broussard in an extraordinary display of raw emotion on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when he talked about a colleague whose mother was trapped in a nursing home awaiting rescue.

The man he was talking about is Thomas Rodrigue, who told “Dateline” that his 92-year-old mother was one of 32 elderly people found dead at the St. Rita’s nursing home.

September 7th, New York Times reported on the deaths at St. Rita's:

St. Bernard Parish officials say that 32 of the home's roughly 60 residents died on Aug. 29, more than a week ago.

August 29th was a Monday. Was Broussard confused about the day on which Rodrigue's mother died?

Susan Candiottoti, reporting on the September 8th broadcast of Newsnight With Aaron Brown:

CANDIOTTI: Sunday night [ed: August 28th], as Katrina struck, Rodrigue was 30 miles away directing emergency personnel for Jefferson Parish. He called the nursing home in St. Bernard Parish again, pleading with officials to get the residents out. He was told they were going to try.

RODRIGUE: I called the St. Bernard officials again and, you know, told them that, you know, they've got to get, you know, these people out. And they said they notified them, and that they weren't -- they refused to leave. And I said, "Well, you need to send the sheriff's office down there and make them leave." And he said, "I'm doing everything I can."

So, Thomas Rodrigue says he was calling the St. Rita's nursing home, and St. Bernard Parish officials on Sunday, August 28th, asking them to send the local sheriff to evacuate the nursing home. Katrina hit St. Bernard Parish on Monday, August 29th, killing his mother.

Broussard claims Rodrigue was talking to his mother for four days after she died, promising her some nebulous "cavalry" was on the way. His story doesn't jibe with the reporting of CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, or even Thomas Rodrigue's own account.

Why would he lie about such a thing?

Aaron Broussard's crocodile tears came at the tail-end of a tirade against FEMA, in response to a question from Tim Russert asking whether the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana could have been "more forceful, much more effective and much more organized in evacuating the area." Just before his "breakdown," Broussard said:

"Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry's coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming.""

Who is the "they" he's referring to? It's worth noting that, according to the State of Loisiana's Emergency Preparedned Plan (PDF warning)local officials are responsible for evacuating residents of the various parishes before and during the early stages of the aftermath of a hurricane.

Was Broussard (a Democrat) trying to score political points (and possibly deflect blame away from local government officials) by blaming federal agencies for failing to respond in a timely manner when people's lives were in danger?

If that was his intention, it worked (at least at first). Russert didn't challenge him, even when he made wild accusations of FEMA "cutting [his parish's] emergency [communication] lines" and ordering the Coast Guard not to give them badly needed fuel.

Since any blame for this should be placed on Lousiana state and/or local government officials, any OUTRAGE or RIGHTEOUS indignation should be directed toward them. But don't hold your breath waiting for Tim Russert to issue a correction.

To their credit, even Lies.com issued a correction after initially reporting on reporting on Broussard's accusations has been suspicious of (and asking questions about) Broussard's claims from the very beginning, and recently offered the following:

So, assuming the MSNBC story is accurate, Broussard’s story was at least significantly embellished... Broussard, for all the apparent sincerity in his emotional on-air breakdown, was willing to lie in order to make his story work better as political theater, which in turn makes it harder for me to credit the rest of the slow-FEMA-response anecdotes he described.

I won't be as kind. At best, I think Aaron Broussard is the political equivalent of a price gouger; taking advantage of a tragedy in order to gain political capital. He may very well be purposely trying to blame someone's death on an innocent party (or parties). Either way, it's despicable.

See also: Heh.

Other Katrina Myth posts: "Homeland Security" Wouldn't Let Red Cross Deliver Food and Water to Katrina Victims

UPDATE: Right Thoughts smelled a rat here (no offense to rats) as well, and has been tracking this story.

UPDATE II: I sent a link to this post to Richard Roper, with a short note saying:

It looks like (Aaron Broussard's) story doesn't match the facts as reported by CNN, MSNBC, Dateline, the New York Times, or even the son of the woman who was killed.

Last night (9/14/05) I received the following response:

thanks john, i appreciate the info.

Roeper is now on the record as knowing the facts surrounding the story Broussard recounted to Tim Russert on Meet the Press. I hope he informs his readers.

UPDATE III: I made a mistake on the date of the Sunday noted in the Newsnight With Aaron Brown interview with Thomas Rodrigue. It was the 28th, not the 27th. I neglected to link the transcript as well, that's been fixed. Neither of these mistakes would have changed the subtance of the post.

UPDATE IV: Check out this morning's MSNBC/NBC News article:

"An emotional moment and a misunderstanding"

New details and interviews with the son whose mother died in the flood show that the tragedy unfolded from Saturday through Monday, Aug. 29 — not Monday through Friday, Sept. 2 as recounted by Broussard...

Since the broadcast of the interview, which elevated Broussard to national prominence, a number of bloggers have questioned the validity of Broussard’s story...

The chronology of the phone calls described by Broussard came under particular scrutiny by bloggers.

Rodrigue said he didn’t see or hear Broussard’s comments on Meet the Press. When told of the sequence of phone calls that Broussard described on Meet the Press, Rodrigue said “No, no, that’s not true.”

(H/T: The Anchoress)

The article goes on to quote a spokewoman for Broussard, who says it was "A misunderstanding."

Rodrigue himself says he believe Broussard "Must have been confused."

I think it's worth noting that anyone who's watched the interview can plainly see that Broussard is reading from prepared notes throughout. If this was a misunderstanding, it was one that was carefully prepared.

UPDATE V: Satire from The Therapist: Broussard To Retract Drowning Timeline On Wednesday,Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday

Comments

[Bullshark]

I showed up at the Acaidian Ambulance Center in Terrytown, right behind the mall where the JP command center was on 31 Aug with 50 private boats. Aaron didn't want boats, he wanted the government. He turned us away.

[Brian]

In addition to being one of the more memorable "fake-cry" performances since Tonya Harding at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Mr. Broussard's style had that unconvincing, liberal creepiness of an Al Gore convention speech drama - syrupy thick with a cadence that even a dyslexic Jesse Jackson supporter could handle ("monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday"). Mr Russert's patented 2.3 second "the donkey ate my homework" delayed response was the perfect topper.

[Tom]

Poor Russert, the useful idiot was just lapping up every word the bumbling Broussard fool was "tearfully" spouting against the Bush Administration. What's new? Don't expect Russert to admit that he has been duped, again.

[rodander]

And given that Broussard is the president of the parish, it would seem that he is part of the problem that he was crying about.

[John from WuzzaDem]

Exactly. This happened before the storm hit, and according to the state's Emergency Preparedness Plan (linked in the post), parish presidents are responsible for evacuating citizens. There was no federal "cavalry" involved at that time.

[sensible mom]

By the way, Roeper is a film critic. Of course he thought it was a defining moment, he evaluates play-acting as a profession -- he knows good acting when he sees it.

[Greg]

Great catch John. I hate to admit, I was taken in by his performance and didn't heed the red flags.

[cm]

After I heard Broussard's story on Sunday, I figured it was wrong or a lie because of one important detail. How was the em guy supposed to be calling his mom everyday when all communications were down in New Orleans?!?!

[Brainster]

Good job; this also invalidates a hefty chunk of Slow-Mo Dowd's column today.

[Lynxx Pherrett]

"I'm expecting that some people who are die-hards will die hard."

- Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, quoted on 2theadvocate, a joint local TV station and newspaper site in Baton Rouge, Aug 29.

Maybe reporters edited out his follow-on of, 'then we'll blame the feds.'

[JimK]

I was on this story 3 days ago and have been updating all along. I sent links around over the last three days and no one cared. All of a sudden it's a story.

*sigh*

[TheRightWingM]

This clarifies everything! Well I was skeptical about Broussard's Croc Tears on Meet The Press on Sept 4. But I didn’t see any tears when Broussard said this on Aug. 29th which so happened to be a day Thomas Rodrigue mother died in the hurricane.> “I’m expecting that some people who are die-hards will die hard,” Jefferson Parish council President Aaron Broussard told the Associated Press.

[Lisa]

Whoever inserted the [editorial comment] about the date in the transcript of September 8th's Newsnight with Aaron Brown quoted the wrong date. Sunday night was August 28th. Any pleas for evacuation would have been going on during the afternoon and night of August 28th. Long before dawn on the 29th, it would have been too late to evacuate. In all the stories I have read about St. Rita's, the nursing home flooded during Hurricane Katrina and not after the levee breach and flooding days later. Local residents tried to save some of the patients during the storm. If Mr. Rodrigue's mother did die in St. Rita's, she died Monday, August 29th.

[John from WuzzaDem]

Lisa,

You're right about the date, that was a typo and has been fixed.

If you read the post, it clearly states that Ms. Rodrigue was killed on the 29th when the storm hit. That's the point - she died a day before Broussard claims this series of phone calls took place.

As for the evacuation, they didn't need to wait for Mr. Rodrigue to call, they knew they were in the path of a cat 4 or 5 hurricane, and other nursing homes in the area evacuated in plenty of time - one of them was interviewed by Joe Scarborough just tonight.

If you do some Googling, you'll see that St. Rita's was in a low-lying area that was especially succeptible to floods. But the owners turned down offers of help and decided not to evacuate, which is why they're sitting in jail facing multiple counts of negligent homicide.

[Just another opinion]

July 12, 2005

Reported by The Associated Press

Criticized by the governor and neighboring parish leaders for calling an early evacuation as Hurricane Dennis approached the Gulf coast, Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard is threatening to pull his support of a state evacuation plan.

In a letter to Governor Kathleen Blanco, Broussard criticized the governor for saying in a television interview that the state can't have one parish going out on its own. On Friday morning, Dennis was forecast to hit around the Florida-Alabama state line Sunday evening but New Orleans was still in the margin of forecast error.

Broussard held a late morning news conference saying he had asked the state to implement contraflow at midday and that the state had refused. He called for a voluntary evacuation of all of Jefferson Parish beginning at noon.

In his letter to Blanco, Broussard said that following the state plan would have meant a late-night evacuation for many of his residents. Broussard said he let leaders of other parishes know of his plan in advance and none of them objected at the time.

Blanco, during a news conference today, said she hadn't yet had a chance to review Broussard's letter, but she said it is important to have coordinated evacuation efforts when hurricanes threaten Louisiana.



There you have if folks...the truth

[John from WuzzaDem]

Just another opinion,

I've seen this before. Can you explain how it is in any way relevant to this post?

[SarahW]

It is clear that all residents of the home who died from drowning died in rapid flooding of the home on the 29th, in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

As of Yesterday, Eva Rodgriquez' remains had not been located; also, as of Tuesday, none of the persons who died had been officially identified, according to the coroner, Bertucci

Many of those evacuated have also not been identified.

Some family searching for their relatives actually have no idea whether their loved ones who resided at the home perished or have been evacuated. The flooding occurred so quickly it was pparently impossible to acertain the identity of all the evacuees.

I suppose, it is even possible that Rodrigue is still alive but not in a condition to share her identity.

This USA today piece on the flooding at St. Rita's tells the story of one firefighter and his sister trying to find their father, and talking about how worried they were about their relatives being moved to safety.

I went to visit my dad Saturday night,' she said. 'He had trouble speaking. He kept looking at me, he kept saying, 'Hurricane is coming, are you coming to get me?' He asked several times.

Rodrigue is a former firefighter, he had sent a firefighter to try to retrieve his mother at some point.

I can't imagine there hasn't been a lot of personal stories being shared among local officials and first responders.

Perhaps Broussard confabulated his story from snippets he had heard.

[John from WuzzaDem]

That USA Today piece was chilling, but it did show that some of the residents were evacuated. It would be wonderful if Rodrigue's mother was found alive somewhere.

I hadn't heard of Rodrigue sending a firefighter for him mother, do you have a link for that?

Re Broussard "filling in the gaps" - throughout the interview, he was obviously reading from notes, and he was determined to get the nursing home story in before Russert cut him off. I can't believe he didn't prepare that story as well.

[rightnumberone]

It's even worse.

Let's assume it's true. That means that the director of Emergency Management in this parish received a telephone call from his own mother on five different days, she pleading for him to come and rescue her.

He never did.

On Friday, she drowned.

Should he be arrested for negligent homicide for failing to go get her?

[SarahW]

I first saw that in the The Lafayette Daily Advertiser.

Rodriguez said one fireman went to a local nursing home, St. Rita's, to rescue his mother only to find she had died. She was one of about 30 residents who had died in the facility waiting for help that never came

Great writing there - the pronouns are ambiguous. But I can't imagine him telling the reporter about some other guy's mom and not mentioning his own, and I think it's clear now he was referring to his own mother.

I read also firefighters were assisting the at the scene on the 29th trying to help evacuate the locals...
But when the firefighter Rodrigue arrived at St. Rita's I can not say.

I also think I ran across another reference to this...and it was more specific about Rodrigue asking someone to check on his mom...but haven't saved the link and can't reemember now where I saw it. I'll look for it.

Broussard definately had that "are you comin' to get me" story with him on his interview "to-do" list.

If Rodrigue believes his mother dead, he may have heard from those on the scene who knew that she didn't make it...so even though her remains have not been found, somebody specifically remembers her NOT getting rescued. Still, if they can't rememeber or identify everyone who got out, it could be that she IS alive.

That would be really happy icing on the cake.

Last I saw, Wikipedia was still saying that "some' were "speculating" that Broussard had...misspoken, "though it is possible" she survived the flooding for days and drowned after waiting for help (trapped in the nursing home? I think not!).

Again, everyone who drowned at St. Rita's, drowned on the 29th.

[SarahW]

"when the firefighter Rodrigue arrived at St. Rita's"

should of course be

"When the firefighter Rodrigue refers to arrived at St. Rita's"

[ScienceRocks]

Help me out here...why does this even matter? Are we really trying to discount the horror that any of these people went through? Why does this matter?
Personally, I think that anyone who tries to make this a state versus feds issue, or a right versus left issue in any way is just plain sick. All levels, both sides screwed the pooch. If we really want things to be fixed then we'll stop any paltry partisan pandering to any one group and hold them all accountable. Now that's fair.

[John from WuzzaDem]

ScienceRocks,

Do a Technorati search on "aaron broussard" tell me how many "Bush's incompetence killed this woman!!" posts you find.

I posted the facts (as reported by the press and the son of the woman who died) to counter the ubiquitous misrepresentation of facts surrounding this incident.

If you really believe that anyone who tries to make this a state versus feds issue, or a right versus left issue in any way is just plain sick, then I would think you'd be glad to see someone pointing out that Aaron Broussard was doing just that, and I assume that once you've run that Technorati search, you'll spend a few hours leaving this same comment at all of the sites using Broussard's words to blame the feds - and ultimately the president - for this woman's death.

As for finding out who screwed up where and holding them accountable, I'm all for it.

[Gary]

So has the lying coward who abandoned the elderly of his parish Broussard given his side of his lies and deceipt yet? Has he tried to somehow back up his outright lies? Where are the reporters sticking mikes in his face asking for his follow-up? Where are the headlines accusing him of murdering all those elderly people. Arrrggghhh!!!!! This makes me so angry I'd like to challenge Broussard to Bricks At 3 Paces!!! His was the first governmental failure to strike the Gulf coast. He needs to go down and go down hard!

[Gary (again)]

I've gone to MSNBC's "send an email to Meet the Press" page and demanded that give an on-air retraction of Mr. Broussard's lies. I don't expect that they will, but here's the url if any of you want to send them a similar email: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6872152/

Of course, you can do like I also did and send an email to MSNBC.com: letters@msnbc.com

Then, you could do like I further did - went to Senator Bill Frist's website and demanded that they launch a congressional investigation into MTP broadcasting Broussard's lies. Okay, I know that won't happen, but it's about time that the Republicans stop bending over and taking this abuse.

Yes, I've done all that since my last post. I'm very productive when I'm angry.

[SarahW]

Here's who screwed up, and should be held accountable - Mable and Salvador Mangano.

They failed to implement their evacuation plan for unknown reasons, perhaps to save money, despite ample opportunity to evacuate. They were simply in denial about the real risk they were facing and decided to ride out the storm, and the people in their charge paid the price.

Perhaps local authorities bear some responsibility for not forcing evacuation of the nursing home. The Federal governement had no part and no responsibility for these deaths.

Eva Rodrigue did not wait four days for any cavalry, or for FEMA to get off it's ass and send someone to rescue her. She did not survive four days waiting for help tht would never come, only to perish by drowning the night before any attempt to rescue her was made.

The flooding ocurred in the immediate aftermath of the storm....it occurred rapidly. That evacuation/rescue attempt did not end until every living soul had been evacuated from the home. No one was left behind to die - those left behind were were dead already.

[Republicanvet]

Russert (and any other media hack) should have asked how this guy could have been calling his mother day after day AFTER the hurricane hit...if the power and phone lines were knocked out.

Is it possible a phone line was working for a day or two after it hit? Possibly. Until Friday? Impossible.

[Fade]

These republican blogs.. Wow. really shows you where THEIR priorities are. They are dissecting the facts behind Broussards interview/the mom dying. Unlike some Public officials (Bush, Cheney, etc) This guy had been in the middle of this shitstorm, was totally physically and mentally exhausted. The Woman died. End of fucking story. Why? Not why did Broussard not tell the fucking story in minute detail, but WHY did she have to die? God these people are so twisted...

[BushisworsethanHitlerSatan&KennyG]

"These republican blogs.. Wow. really shows you where THEIR priorities are. They are dissecting the facts behind Broussards interview/the mom dying."

Yeah, outrageous huh. I mean, looking at the FACTS behind Broussard's false alegations. The nerve!

[Gary]

Oh no you don't! Don't you dare sit on your liberal backside and tell us not to "dissect" Broussard's lies. Not after every one of you left wing morons has done nothing but try to pull detail after detail out of every little article about Katrina trying to weave a web of blame around Bush. No way. The fact remains that Broussard knew the hurricane was coming and he knew those people were in its path. They died because he did nothing. And then the worthless, lying coward tried to cover it up by bawling like some baby blaming his spilt milk on the older brother. Broussard is a gutless wonder who failed his people and then tried to shift his guilt to the feds. At least Bush has had the balls to admit that the federal government didn't respond ask quickly as it should've. Not one local official has acknowledged their failures, neither have state officials. (You want me to enumerate Ray Nagin's failures?) The fact that they are all democrats tells you which party is facing the reality of the situation and which party is populated by lying cowards trying to shift their blame to someone else.

[SarahW]

Gary, Broussard is not in charge of Bernard parish. He did confabulate, or maybe even outright lie about Eva Rodrique perishing after days of waiting for promised
aid ( that apparently only the Feds could offer?).

Fade - The woman, Eva Rodrigue, is believed to have died. It's known that 34 people died in the rapid flooding on the 29th.

Broussards pointed story was not about the fact that Eva Rdgrigue died horribly. Natural disasters take lives, and some can not be prevented, and while that story would have been affecting, it was not the reason his story was shocking.
HIs story was that she died horribly and tragically and outrageously waiting for help that local authorities were promised and that never arrived.

Except that part isn't true. The help that never came was KEPT AWAY, alright, by the owners of the home who did not want to evacuate, according their own official evacuation plan and despite the assurances they gave family members, before the storm.

The flooding that killed those people occurred very rapidly, within 1 or even 1/2 hour, on the 29th in the immediate aftermath of the storm. THey scrambled to evacuate all they could but not everyone survived.
All who perished perished then. No one was left waiting in the home to drown days later. She did not "drown-ded" Friday night after days and days of no help.

The Foolish complanceny of the owners of that home killed her. I
Why does it even matter? Because Broussard said the Feds were slow, they didn't give help, they didn't even show. And that's not true.

[cirby]

SarahW:

...and the local authorities knew, specifically, that the owners of that nursing home were announcing that they were not evacuating those old folks (as required by state law) and exposing them to the hazards of the storm.

By not sending a couple of cops over to roust those idiot owners (who were just doing what they did to save some money), the parish officials were responsible, too.

[SarahW]

Cirby - I agree the local authorities should have forced the issue of pre-storm evacuation of the home. They were well aware of this home's refusal to evacuate on previous occassions, too.

However the owners lied to the authorities to make them think twice about forcing evacuation. They told authorities they had permission from the relatives of their residents to ride out the storm in the parrish, and they said they were waiting to hear from the ambulance service ( which they had not contacted.)

[SarahW]

From Bloomburg.com US news and commentary: "

Parish officials called the owner of St. Rita's before the storm to ask her why she hadn't evacuated patients, said Dr. Paul Verrette, medical director for the St. Bernard Office of Emergency Preparedness.

``We have pleaded with those people for years to execute their evacuation plan,'' Verrette said. ``They never do.''

Fade,

Yesterday you posted this on your blog:

IF we could all stop the name calling and not fall into Frat-Boy arguments that simply berate the other side, then maybe some discourse could be shared.

All is not yet lost as long as we can still hold a conversation. When that ability is gone. And all civility is gone. There will only be one answer. Lack of conversation always equals conflict. Some people on the Left have already decided that this is a foregone conclusion. I hope for the sake of the country it will never come to that.

Then today you posted this:

The President had a lot on his mind, with his handlers rolling up his sleeves for him, combing his hair just right, having him walk alone past the statue of a much better President, to stand before a lovely tourist image of New Orleans in his speech last night.

So Should we forgive his assistants and him for buttoning his shirt wrong for his address to the nation?

Naaaaaah. Dumb Ass.

Way to go man. I can see where YOUR priorities are.

[SarahW]

TheLA timesreported on St. Rita today. Some relevent highlights:
.....
Like every nursing home in this part of Louisiana, St. Rita's was required to submit an updated evacuation plan every year. Larry J. Ingargiola, the director of the St. Bernard Parish office of emergency preparedness, said he approved St. Rita's plan this year, and that it would have worked if the Manganos had followed it.

"Their plan was to be out 72 to 48 hours" before a hurricane was scheduled to hit, he said, adding that the plan required the home to make advance arrangements for ambulance and bus service to transport patients to designated evacuation sites.
....
...because nursing homes bear the costs of transporting and providing for their patients, evacuations are a financial blow to small, family-run businesses like St. Rita's.
...
Relatives of patients were checking with St. Rita's as well.

Gallodoro said he went out to the home a few days before the storm and asked the Manganos about their plans. He said they told him that they were preparing to evacuate, and were going to take residents to Baton Rouge, Alexandria or Lafayette.

The 34 deaths at St. Rita's are horrible, terrible, and very sad. Most of the deaths were preventable by evacuation. None was caused by a delay in post-storm rescue efforts in Bernard Parish.

[SarahW]

Another interview of Tom Rodrigue:
Emergency worker couldn't save Mom 'They won't listen'

(registration required - you can use bugmenot.com to avoid)

He recounts his multiple calls for action to save his mother. Parting advice he got from parish official:

"I said, 'Send the sheriff to make them leave.'

"He said, 'Man, nobody listens to me.'

"The last word he said to me was, 'Sue the -- out of them[St.Rita's].' I just sat here with a hopeless feeling."

This next quote shows Rodrigue was not in contact with his mother. The four-day wait Broussard spoke of was Tom Rodrigue, for word on the fate of his mother:

Rodrigue heard nothing about his mother and the nursing home until four days after Katrina, when his son found the names of those evacuated from St. Rita's listed on the Internet. Her name wasn't on it.

Apparently her remains have been identified and cremation is planned.
A photo with the article includes a torso shot of Tom Rodrigue holding the first picture of Eva Rodrigue I've seen.

[SarahW]

edit for clarity - The four day wait Broussard spoke of, was Tom Rodrigue's, not Eve Rodrigue's.

[SarahW]

Another instance of St. Rita's nursing home giving false reassurance of evacuation of residents to the residents' family:

Anna Grace's daughter, Freda Mattox, who lives in Georgia, contacted the Lewises and said she had been assured by the nursing home that the patients had been evacuated to the Superdome.

(from the Beloit Daily News)

[Spiff]

Read the article about Rodrugue's attempts to get his mom out of the nursing home. He couldn't/wouldn't leave his post. It appears to me like he stayed at his post to do what he could to save as many lives as possible and that he got hold of the people he believed would get his mother out before the storm.

Broussard didn't say ANYTHING about FEMA being the "cavalry" that was supposed to come. That he implied it is up to you. He said "nobody's helping us" and that was precisely true.

You Bush-worshippers are a pathetic lot. Nagin, Blanco, Bush, and anybody else who put cronies in positions of authority that affect peoples lives are to blame. End of f**king discussion. You're just smearing to protect Bush's ass, and that's what doesn't pass the smell test.

[SarahW]

With all due respect, Spiff, what are you smokin'?

MR. RUSSERT: Hold on. Hold on, sir. Shouldn't the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of New Orleans bear some responsibility? Couldn't they have been much more forceful, much more effective and much more organized in evacuating the area?

MR. BROUSSARD: Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry's coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming." I have just begun to hear the hoofs of the cavalry. The cavalry's still not here yet, but I've begun to hear the hoofs, and we're almost a week out.

"... FEMA turned them back"...
"FEMA says don't give you the fuel."
"FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines"

Then the coup de grace about Eva Rodrigue trapped for days, everyday calling for rescue, perishing for lack of that "federal level" cavalry..

MR. BROUSSARD: Nobody's coming to get us. Nobody's coming to get us. The secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. [Referring to guess who] I'm sick of the press conferences. For God sakes, shut up and send us somebody.[before we all die because Federal help is so slow]

It sort of messes up his point if Eva Rodrigue dies the 29th - because the nursing home owners were negligent, and gave false assurance to family and authorities about evacuation plans, and refused help to evacuate because it would affect their bottom line. No federal cavalry failed Eva.

Broussard similarly misinterpreted and/or shaded FEMA's other actions to make it sound like they were obstructing local efforts.

Now tell me, what was his point? why is it important he confabulated or lied? Because he used a shocking and emotional story to say the Feds are getting in the way and letting people die. And it wasn't true.

It's no "smear" to say Broussard concocted that story. He did. In the light most favorable to him he misinterpreted what happened or relied on second hand, inaccurate information about the federal response. It makes everything he said suspect.

And as far as it not mattering where blame lies,(because now apparently "it lies with everyone") that wasn't what I heard from the anti-bush camp when this story first aired. Take a little trip in the wayback machine and see what people were saying this story meant.

[John from WuzzaDem]

What SarahW said.

And:

Broussard didn't say ANYTHING about FEMA being the "cavalry" that was supposed to come.

So who was the cavalry? His peer in the neighboring parish? Was he waiting for the St. Bernard parish president to send someone for days?

Maybe you could point us to some of the comments you made before all of the failures at the state and local level came to light. I'm sure you were very busy visiting blogs, telling them they were just trying to smear Bush by posting the video of Broussard's MTP appearance.

BTW, the post doesn't offer any opinion on what Rodrigue might have or should have done.

[jblo]

Great job wuzzadem!

I think this guy's lies nominate him for the silver douche bag award.

I'm disgusted that MTP didn't even mention it today. Nor have I even heard word one from the main stream media.

In retrospect I should have caught it when he said the woman drowned on Friday. How could the water be rising on Friday? It wasn't raining, the water should have been receding by then.

[Charlie]

Note the question that Russert asked Broussard just before his breakdown that never got answered: "Hold on. Hold on, sir. Shouldn't the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of New Orleans bear some responsibility? Couldn't they have been much more forceful, much more effective and much more organized in evacuating the area?"

[Um]

Does it really matter when the old woman died?

She died. Whether it happened on Tuesday or Friday, it "doesn't change the substance" of the story.

[The Therapist]

Hey UM,

Um. . . . .yes it matters. When you have somebody trying to underscore his case for Bush's alleged neglect, by taking a dog-on-leg addiction to the rythm and meter of naming all the days of the week for effect, it DOES matter. Especially when most of those days hadn't yet come and gone.

-T

[John from WuzzaDem]

Um,

I assume you came here by way of Kos, where a commenter is apparently shocked that someone is *going after Broussard!*, so I'll type slowly for you:

The DATE is only important because Broussard's crocodile tears came at the end of a rant that he began by saying to Tim Russert that he was promised "the cavalry's coming, on a federal level," when he knew full well that the responsibility for evacuation in the two days leading up to this poor woman's death (which was the 29th according to St. Bernard Parish officials, not just the NYT) was that of the parish president (his counterpart in the next parish).

Why do *you* think he made that mistake? Off-the-cuff emotional outburst? Watch the video - he's reading from notes throughout the interview, and is clearly eager to get this story in before the segment ends, so I'm dubious about this being "thrown in". He's clearly trying to pin the blame for this woman's death on the "federal cavalry."

I'm sure you're an advocate of "speaking truth to power" and holding government officals accountable, right? Are you usually so quick to cut a government official some slack or give them the benefit of a doubt? Oh, I mean, are you so quick to give Republicans the benefit of a doubt? I doubt it.

Broussard exploited this woman's death (and lied about the circumstances), and he did so to push his political agenda at best, and worst case scenario, he's trying to deflect blame away from the people who should be held accountable.

[FreedomNeocon]

Here is the VIDEO streaming, in case you missed it

http://freedomneocon.zippyvideos.com/5321182391049076/croktears/*freedomneocon

[LC TripleNeckSteel]

Yeah, yeah, yeah...trackback trackback trackback. Good for you.

Technorati, blah blah blah...

Ya gotta do one of those hilarious "dialogues" you do with a picture of whomever accompanying each remark using this guy's blubbering, Bush-hating mug in the full contortion of his sobbing. Somebody's gotta have a screen cap of that. Maybe juxtapose him with the dried-up old catcher's mitt Cindy Seahag calls a face.

Did that sound mean-spirited?

I'm sorry.

[seawitch]

I have a question for all those who continue to blame President Bush and not the local and state officials for what happened in Louisiana and more specifically at St. Rita's Nursing Home.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast was faced with an estimated 30-40 foot tidal surge. That surge destroyed everything in it's path. There were at least three nursing homes that were in the bullseye of that surge and yet you do not hear of any deaths from those nursing homes in Mississippi. Why, because those homes were under a mandatory evacuation declared by local officials and those in the nursing home were evacuated according to a local plan set forth by officials in each of the cities. These plans co-ordinated local ambulances, police, and the officials of each nursing home.

In hurricanes, local and state officilas are responsible for ordering mandatory evacuations and getting their people to safety. The governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour, declared the state a disaster area two days before the storm devastated our beautiful coast. That allowed the state to be able to have in place those supplies, provided by FEMA, and the National Guard on standby. Governor Barbour did this as soon as President Bush declared the region a disaster area, two days before Katrina hit.

The actions of Governor Barbour allowed the supplies of ice, water, and food to be enroute to the Mississippi Gulf Coast even before the winds had subsided. In other words, because of the actions of the local and state officials of Mississippi, we had a two day head start in insuring that needed supplies and security were enroute.

The FEMA response was awesome. They were here in three days and considering the widespread destruction and the number of trees covering main thoroughfares throughout Mississippi, it was a remarkable logistical feat to have those supplies roll in on the third day. The National Guard were down here in Gulfport on August 29, on the afternoon Hurricane Katrina struck even before the winds had stopped.

It all comes down to how local and state officials respond and though the winds and tidal surge destroyed 65,000 homes and heavily damaged another 38,000 homes in the six coastal counties of Mississippi, we who live down here had water, ice, food, and security.

[seawitch]

Oh yeah, I am sick and tired of those whiny, cry baby, officials of Louisiana who have nothing better to do with their then sit and wring their hands and blame others fot their mistakes instead of organizing what needs to be done to rebuild.

My governor and my mayor are focused on insuring that the citizens of Mississippi can and will rebuild. No crying false tears and certtainly no blame games. In fact, some insurance companies are trying to renege on policies. The attorney general and insurance commissioner of Mississippi have put a stop to that game.

[Nordeaster]

Although, I haven't been able to pin down the exact timeline yet (reports conflict), there also appears to be some FUNNY BUSINESSS IN CNN's REPORTING REGARDING THE EVACUATION OF CHARITY HOSPITAL vs. TULANE HOSPITAL. I enclosed a link to the transcript from Aaron Brown's 9/2 show.

In particular look at the lead in to the wrap up of Dr. Sanjay Gupta's report.

The implication is that at least a day separated the evacuation and that patients were still there. However, earlier on another channel an official confirmed that all patients had been evacuated from Charity Hospital. Also, I have seen reports that the Charity evacuation was initiated before Tulane, but was not completed for security reasons.

Beware -- the race-baiting in Aaron Brown's commentary is nauseating.

[Nordeaster]

Link didn't post - here it is...

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/02/asb.01.html

[Kevin]

I got busted for robbing a bank once. They let me go though when I told them it was 'a misunderstanding'.

[shipwreck]

Broussard was on Hardball last night with Matthews for about 15 minutes, and Matthews never once asked him about his phony story.

[John from WuzzaDem]

I caught that - at the end of the segment, Matthews said Broussard was "a real piece of work," but he actually meant it in a good way.

So, he doesn't read his own network's reporting?

[bird of paridise]

Sorry GREENPEACE nit wits but global warming did,nt cuase hurricane katrina its most likly a weather pattern

[Donnah]

Good work, John.

[Kiki B.]

Nordeaster,

Don't forget, in hospitals as well as in nursing homes, the evacuation of the facility has to be ordered by the hospital administrator. Staff cannot just arbitrarily start removing patients from the hospital, even if it is to safety. If there was a mandatory evacuation mandated by the Governor before the storm, the hospital admins. should have been preparing for the safety of their patients. It seems they let their staff and patients down.

[Josh]

Just to let you know, it's spelt Louisiana.

[John from WuzzaDem]

Thanks for catching the typo.

[Lyn Parks]

Hurray for Aaron Broussard!!! He is a man not afraid to show his genuine emotions on National TV. Regardless of the exact facts and the chonology of events, the bottom line is that the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is responsible for the massive loss of life in New Orleans.

Katrina was a national disaster: a disaster bigger than New Orleans and the local government, bigger than Louisiana and the state government, the only level of government capable of saving those lives was the federal government.

Instead George Bush, Homeland Security and FEMA allowed those folks to die. Well done!!! Extermination of the poor through neglect and wanton disregard. Hitler would be proud.

[Gen]

You're being stalked by a bunch of DUMBocratic Undergrounders:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4879692&mesg_id=4879893

[Mrs. R.]

Lyn Parks,

Proof that you are brainwashed by liberal propaganda: The flooding of New Orleans was not a natural disaster. New Orleans survived Hurricane Katrina relatively well, especially if one considers that Katrina was a category four storm when it hit land.

It was a shoddy and poorly maintained levee system that wreaked hell in New Orleans - a levee system that Louisiana government leaders (the vast majority liberal Democrats) failed to rebuild/repair for decades. And it was local and state leaders who failed to stock designated evacuation centers, like the Superdome, with emergency supplies, like food and water.

Since most of New Orleans' population is African-American and many live in poverty, that sure busts the myth that liberal Democrats really care about African-Americans, or the poor, or poor African-Americans who are directed to an evacuation center that has no emergency supplies on hand, like food and water, to sustain them.

You probably also think that the President and federal officials have the power to march into any state or city they please and order state and local leaders around.

Too bad. Liberal journalist and liberal educators have failed you in more ways than you are apparently aware of.

[fracas_futile]

Broussard: "Listen, sir, somebody wants to nitpick a man's tragic loss of a mother because she was abandoned in a nursing home? Are you kidding? What kind of sick mind, what kind of black-hearted people want to nitpick a man's mother's death? They just buried Eva last week. I was there at the wake. Are you kidding me? That wasn't a box of Cheerios they buried last week."

[JimmyTheVet]

Deeper scraping of the barrel bottom has never been done in such a callous and cold hearted way as that recent scraping by rightist propagandists. Can't you people find anything worth writing about? It is clear to me that the house of cards that is the Bush administration is crumbling under the strain and there is nothing...repeat nothing...you can do to stack it back up. Your control over government has been short lived and a total failure and there is no attacks on sincere people going through hellish conditions that will prop it back up.

[fracas_futile]

You probably also think that the President and federal officials have the power to march into any state or city they please and order state and local leaders around.

Please compare and contrast:

Rita:
Bush blankets the area "like a Today Show Weatherman."
FEMA prepositions buses before the hurricane.
82nd Airborne prepositions troops and helicopters.
Air Force evacs nursing homes using C-130 cargo planes before hurricane.

Katrina:
Bush eats cake, plays guitar during the hurricane, flys over on day 3 and on the ground on day 5.
FEMA provides some buses on the 4th day.
82nd Airborne activated 5 days after the hurricane.
Army Blackhawks start medevacs on 5th day after hurricane.

[Mrs. R.]

Jimmy and Fracas,

I suppose if a conservative got his/her facts wrong under similar circumstances and falsely blamed liberals for a person's death, you'd give them a free pass.

What's the message you're trying to convey? That anyone can lie or misrepresent the facts about anything, as long as he/she attaches the lies or misrepresentation of facts to the tragic death of a family member, friend, or acquaintance?

By that logic, no one should ask the relatives, friends, or acquaintances of a murder victim (who, by the way, are blaming some innocent party of the murder) any tough questions, because only black-hearted souls willing to nitpick the details of a murder would do such a horrible thing.

Try thinking out some of these ridiculous arguments before you parrot them.

[kevin lyda, co. galway]

all this coverage of one man's mistaken comments about his friend's dead mom.

if i read the rest of this blog, how much discussion will i read about one man's mistaken claim that led to a war of choice and thousands of american soldiers' deaths?

if people could please email me an answer since i'm not a regular reader here, i'd love to know.

[John from WuzzaDem]

Kevin,

My apologies. I'll drop everything and begin working on a definitive volume of answers to any questions you deem important.

It might take some time, as I think it only fair I have it professionally bound and engraved, and to deliver it to you personally.

BTW, thanks for changing the subject, rather than getting bogged down by the details of this post.

PS: Sorry I can't send you an e-mail, it seems my INTERNETS are broken.

[Mrs. R.]

Fracas,

Bush, FEMA officials, U.S. troops, etc. were ALLOWED into various disaster areas by state and local officials.

The Pres, feds, and troops didn't invade the various states affected by the hurricanes and shoddy levee systems. THEY WERE INVITED! FOR OBVIOUS REASONS!

None of the governors of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, or Texas relinquished their authority to the federal government. Nor should they.

Please, I beg of you, try to learn a little bit more about how our government works before you comment on related matters.

[fracas_futile]

I suppose if a conservative got his/her facts wrong under similar circumstances and falsely blamed liberals for a person's death, you'd give them a free pass.

What's the message you're trying to convey?

The simple message: The incompetent response to Katrina was immoral and criminal, whoever was responsible. This is not an ideological battle, this is an appraisal of government competence.

A bit more: After 9/11, disaster response has to be a joint and seamless effort by all levels of government. Four years after 9/11, the response sucked, even after reorganizations, millions of dollars spent, exercises conducted and after-action reports written. The Federal EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Agency is the top dog. FEMA took my tax dollars and failed their mission to insure a joint and seamless government response for Katrina.

A prime example: Air Force C-130 cargo planes were used to evac nursing homes prior to Rita. Army helicopters finally showed up to drop food/water and conduct medevacs on the Friday after Katrina.

[fracas_futile]

Mrs. R. said Bush, FEMA officials, U.S. troops, etc. were ALLOWED into various disaster areas by state and local officials. The Pres, feds, and troops didn't invade the various states...THEY WERE INVITED! FOR OBVIOUS REASONS!...None of the governors...relinquished their authority to the federal government. Nor should they...try to learn a little bit more about how our government works before you comment on related matters.

Not sure what your point is.

Is your point that some governors didn't want or allow federal assistance? All the governors requested a "state of emergency" designation and Bush declared a "state of emergency" for each of the states prior to hurricane landfall. Bush's response authorized the federal assistance wanted by the governors.

Does your point have something to do with invasion or relinquishment of authority? I never said anything about invasion of lack of Gov's authority. In fact Bush wanted to federalize the LA National Guard and Blanco turned him down. A Federalized Guard can not conduct police operations.

I think I understand how the government is supposed to work. Local and state request help. The federal agrees to help (in both cases before the hurricanes). During Rita, help was prepositioned and underway as the hurricane hit. In Katrina, it wasn't.

[Mrs. R.]

Fracas,

What's your point?

Don't tell me you're willing to hold the Democrats in Louisiana accountable for their leadership failures, including:

Not repairing/rebuilding Lake Ponchartrain's shoddy levee system.

Not stocking their evacuation centers with emergency supplies, like food and water.

Not using public transit vehicles, like a few hundred school buses, to evacuate residents who had no transportation.

Turning down an offer from Amtrak to help with the evacuation.

A state leader not knowing the protocol when enlisting federal assistance, i.e., not having a clue about what to ask the federal government for, what to send first, how much, etc....but, instead, just screaming, "Send me everything you've got!" Ahem, I believe there was only one state leader who didn't know this protocol.

(And don't give me the damn-the-protocol! argument. It is a leader's ability to stay focused during an emergency that guides people through it, and minimizes the negatives - not a leader's inability to control their panic and hysteria).

Etc., etc.

God knows, the feds' work in the aftermath of a catastrophe of this magnitude is hard enough - even when state and local leaders DO THEIR JOB. But when state and local leaders drop the ball, don't expect miracles.

This isn't a movie or fairy tale in which everything works out perfectly. It's real life. People have responsibility. When they don't fulfill these responsibilities, there are consequences.

I don't have a problem with holding federal officials accountable for any failures/ineptness in this crisis. (Is it just a coincidence that feds aided emergency response well in all states but Louisiana? And don't try the to use race card. Mississippi, Alabama and Texas also have large African-American populations).

But if the press and the late-night talk-show jesters want to crucify someone like Michael Brown, it is only fair they nail a few Louisiana Democrats to the cross, as well. But they're not. Apparently liberal Democrats are exempt from such criticism.

Or maybe fairness is just too much to expect from a liberal.

And let's not forget who started playing the blame game first, even before the levees of Lake Ponthcartrain were breached in the early hours of August 30th.

That would be NIMBY Robert "Private Jet" Kennedy, Jr. who, on August 29th at the Huffington Post, blamed George Bush for Hurricane Katrina.

No, the Left isn't loony, not at all.

[Mrs. R.]

Fracas,

You know what? You've opened my eyes.

What in the hell was I thinking?

You are absolutely right on about everything. It was all Hitler's, I mean, Bush's fault. And I do mean EVERYTHING!

Go forth and multiply.

[fracas_futile]

Mrs. R. You know what? You've opened my eyes.

Always glad to help!

Seriously, I'm still trying to figure out what you were trying to argue with "ALLOWED ," "THEY WERE INVITED!," and "None of the governors...relinquished their authority."

Of course the feds were invited in before the hurricanes hit and the Gov's retained their authority. Where's the problem?

[Mrs. R.]

Fracas,

Let me refresh your memory. When I posted this comment:

You probably also think that the President and federal officials have the power to march into any state or city they please and order state and local leaders around.

You responded with this:

Rita:
Bush blankets the area "like a Today Show Weatherman."
FEMA prepositions buses before the hurricane.
82nd Airborne prepositions troops and helicopters.
Air Force evacs nursing homes using C-130 cargo planes before hurricane.

Katrina:
Bush eats cake, plays guitar during the hurricane, flys over on day 3 and on the ground on day 5.
FEMA provides some buses on the 4th day.
82nd Airborne activated 5 days after the hurricane.
Army Blackhawks start medevacs on 5th day after hurricane.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assumed your response was designed to contradict my comment, i.e., that the President and the feds can do whatever they want.

Isn't that what any rational person would conclude?

[fracas_futile]

My Point: The incompetent response to Katrina was immoral and criminal, whoever was responsible. This is not an ideological battle, this is an appraisal of government competence.

Sure, Mayor Nagin should have had more than 2 to 3 days of food and water, and more than 90 cops and 300 Guard at the Superdome. He should have speeded up talks to have the Saints install backup generators at the Dome. Porta-pots could have been deployed to the Dome incase flooding backed up the sewers. There should have been a plan to move the school buses to higher ground when the evac was ordered (for standby use in case the flood hit). While the Convention Center wasn't used before Katrina, it should have been stocked with food and water just in case. A Cat 5 survivable emergency communications system should have been installed.

On the other hand, he did get 80% of his people out before Katrina without creating gridlock (Houston only got out 90% even with more lead time. ) He did use municipal buses to move people to the Dome.

But Nagin doesn't own a spare stadium outside of New Orleans to evac his people to when the wind picks up. He doesn't have a helicopter battalion of his own to drop food/water and medevac. He doesn't own a mobile hospital to process thousands of people at the airport prior to out of area evac. He doesn't command a brigade of Guard or Active Duty troops to secure the streets. He has no C-130s to evac nursing homes like the Air Force did in Houston. And he doesn't have his own Army Corps of Engineers to design, build and maintain levees.

Governor Blanco could have deployed the Guard differently, installed hurricane proof communications, developed a more detailed shopping list and shown more command presence.

But 3,000 of her guard was in Iraq, along with her Guard commincations equipment, amphibious vehicles and helicopters. (You are aware, of course, that Iraq deploying units pull the best soldiers and equipment together, leaving behind undermanned and under equipped units behind.) She did find shelter and food in Baton Rouge and many other LA cities for the evacuees with cars. She did commandeer school buses from other LA parishes to further evac NO even though FEMA told her to wait for air-conditioned buses, which took FEMA 4 days to provide.

Now, what's wrong with saying "Send me everything you've got!." Please, tell me, what emergency or disaster doesn't require evacuation assistance, food and water delivery, medical teams, emergency communications hardware and emergency (helicopter/heavy equipment) transportation assets? The immediate needs for a dirty bomb, a chem/bio attack, an LPG tanker/refinery attack, an earthquake, forest fires, massive tornadoes all seem similar: evac, feed, medical, communicate, emergency transport.

What's the protocol when anyone with a TV can see people waving from their rooftops and dead bodies in wheel chairs at the Convention Center? Request forms in triplicate with the Governor's seal in wax?

Is it just a coincidence that feds aided emergency response well in all states but Louisiana?

Is it a coincidence that the Governors of MS and AL were Republicans? Do you think the fact that Barbour is the past Chairman of the Republican National Committee might temper his public comments? Coincidence that Bush called Barbour 3 or 4 times and Blanco got shuffled around to Andy Card when she called the White House during the first few days?

LA was the only state to have substantial levee breaks in a major city, but not the only state to feel disenchantment.

Sen. Trent Lott (R) says Mississippians "are disenchanted" with the federal response in their state...Lott says, "It's been hard to get attention." He did help to get the USS Comfort hospital ship sent to Pascagoula after he tried to get the USS Battan moved from New Orleans.

Michael Brown? "Brownie, you're doing a hell of a job." The Arabian Horse Judge whose two deputies were PR and Advance Men for the Republicans? Michael "What Convention Center?" Brown who let his cable subscription lapse during "possibly the biggest national disaster" Brownie? There's only one word: crony. Only one solution: fire his incompetent butt.

Fire ALL the incompetent butts.

[Redneck]

Civil war: thats howz its gonna be. Redneck gainst libereral; rich gainst poor; it aint gonna be good, but its gonna happen. For me, I would start by burning down the whitehouse, after runnin laura and george out of town, but tar and fetherin the 2 would be the furst thin to do. THen, I would git all dim senators and congress folk, the ones that got us hear in this mess, and i would string em all up, but cut im donw at the last moment. Its somthin to here you all blame everybody cept your bush hitler boy. THe cracks are beginin to show,.,,

[fracas_futile]

Oh hell, Mrs. R.

You mocked liberals for believing "that the President and the feds can do whatever they want."

We both agree the Feds have to be invited in to conduct operations (except for Presidential visits, he scheduled his Sep 5th visit without notifying Blanco.)

I also contend Blanco invited the Feds in on Aug 26th.

I also contend FEMA should have been planning for Katrina in the Gulf as it passed over Florida. Things like lining up bus companies (you do know that FEMA ignored the commercial bus associations' offers for help and went on the internet to find a Florida event planning company for the buses). And things like alerting Guard and Active Duty troops and helicopters.

My Rita/Katrina Compare/Contrast bullets were meant to generate comments on what the Feds decided to do once Bush declared a state of emergency. For Rita, the Feds were proactive. For Katrina, the Feds were sitting on their butts.

[Mrs. R.]

Redneck,

Nice impersonation of a redneck, if you're trying to impress other clueless, goofy-ass, anti-Semitic, terrorist-hugging lefties, that is.

You should go on Air America with that bit. You'll have them in stitches and Randi Rhodes will want to bear your children.

Fracas,

You are wrong about Blanco. Read the facts about Louisiana's (not the federal government's) homeland security orders prior to the storm. Even Ray Nagin criticized Blanco for being indecisive (taking 24 hours to decide whether or not to evacuate) on Saturday before Katrina hit. The facts are out there, you just have to look for them. Bush declared an emergency for Louisiana on Sat. Aug 27th, before Blanco did.

Also, there's a big difference between preparing for a hurricane and preparing for a city the size of New Orleans being flooded in 12 feet of water because of a shoddy levee system. It didn't help much, either, that city/state officials failed evacuate residents, and stock evacuation centers with food and water, even though their emergency plans (on paper) indicated everything was all taken care of.

Again, at the risk of sounding repetitive, the flooding of New Orleans was NOT a natural disaster, was NOT the result of Hurricane Katrina.

Putting the onus of blame on Bush and the feds (and just Republican feds, I assume) for slow response and/or inability to contain the major f*ck_ups of Louisiana officials and the horrendous consequences of these f*ck ups is kind of like placing the onus of blame for a bank robbery on the police for not responding quickly enough to catch the robbers, while making excuses for the bank robbers!

What you're saying is that the babysitter needs a babysitter.

BTW, Fracas, one question: Why do you expect me to answer/address all your assertions while you ignore mine? Don’t think that’s fair. So, if I don’t respond to anymore of your comments, I hope you’ll understand why.

[fracas_futile]

Mrs. R.

Governor Blanco Declares State Of Emergency Friday, Aug 26, 2005

Katrina is upgraded to a Category 3 Saturday, Aug 27, 2005, 5 a.m.

Governor Blanco asks President to Declare an Emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina Aug 27, 2005

Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for LouisianaAug 27, 2005, President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana

Mayor Ray Nagin...issuing a voluntary evacuationAug 27, 2005, 5 p.m., search for "Nagin followed" State Police activated the state's redesigned contraflow plan Saturday

States Request Military Support Aug 26 & 27, 2005, search for "Friday"

Katrina escalates to Category 4 strength Sunday, Aug 28, 2005, 2 a.m.

Hurricane Katrina intensifies to Category 5 Aug 28, 2005, 7 a.m.

Nagin orders first-ever mandatory evacuation of New Orleans Aug 28, 2005, 9:30 a.m.

RTA buses will be picking up citizens for free Aug 28, 2005, early a.m., The city has set up ten pickup areas to take people to emergency shelters.

The Louisiana National Guard delivered three truckloads of water and seven truckloads of MREs Aug 28, 2005, late p.m.

Hot food was served Sunday night and Monday morning Aug 28, 2005, late p.m., search for "the military delivered" Sunday night, the military delivered 360,000 meals-ready-to-eat to the 30,000 people using the Superdome as a shelter.

Waves crashed atop the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early Monday Monday Aug 29, 2005, early a.m.

CATASTROPHIC: Storm Surge Swamps 9th Ward, St. Bernard, Lakeview Levee Breach Threatens To Inundate City Aug 29, 2005, late a.m.

City officials said they might open the...Convention Center as a temporary refuge Tuesday, Aug 30, 2005, the Convention Center was not a designated evac center on day 1.

Hmmm, Blanco declares emergency Friday, Blanco asks Bush on Saturday, Bush responds, voluntary evac with Katrina at Cat 3, Katrina goes to Cat 5 Sunday 7 a.m., mandatory evac at 9:30 a.m., Superdome opened, City buses transport to Superdome, Guard delivers food and water to Superdome, waves top levees Monday a.m., Levee breach Monday late a.m.

RE: flooding of New Orleans was NOT a natural disaster, was NOT the result of Hurricane Katrina. Was it Farakhan's bomber? An Al Quada sleeper cell? Or maybe the "Intelligent Designer?"

OK, OK, I see: It was a shoddy and poorly maintained levee system that wreaked hell in New Orleans - a levee system that Louisiana government leaders (the vast majority liberal Democrats) failed to rebuild/repair for decades.

Well, When flooding from a massive rainstorm in May 1995 killed six people, Congress authorized the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, or SELA. Over the next 10 years, the Army Corps of Engineers...spent $430 million on shoring up levees and building pumping stations, with $50 million in local aid. But at least $250 million in crucial projects remained...

Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security -- coming at the same time as federal tax cuts -- was the reason for the strain.

...with the 2004 hurricane season starting, the Corps' project manager Al Naomi went before a local agency, the East Jefferson Levee Authority, and essentially begged for $2 million for urgent work that Washington was now unable to pay for. ...The panel authorized that money, and on July 1, 2004, it had to pony up another $250,000 when it learned that stretches of the levee in Metairie had sunk by four feet.

Let's see, $430 Million in Federal money, $50+ million in local money. Looks like Congress and the locals were spending some decent money on the levees, until the tax cuts and Iraq.

RE: your bank robber analogy. Well, if the police didn't show up until 4 days after the alarm was sounded, there may be a competency question here.

RE: the babysitter needs a babysitter. I’m a retired U.S. Army Officer.

As a Company Commander, if one of my Privates lost his weapon, I could kiss my career good bye. The chain of command works two ways. The Private is responsible for his weapon. I’m responsible to make sure he never forgets it.

Sure, the city and state should have a great plan and execute it well. (That's what the People of LA pay the Mayor and the Governor to do.) But it’s also FEMA’s responsibility to make sure it’s a good plan, “smack” them if there’s problems with implementation, and competently fulfill their responsibilities. (That's what I pay FEMA to do.)

Did I answer/address all your assertions? Is it fair now? I did post criticisms of the Mayor and Governor up-thread.

[Mrs. R.]

Fracas,

Before I get started, thank you for your military service.

In all seriousness, I am grateful that men and women, like you, who serve in the military, law enforcement, fire departments, and other professions in which one risks life and limb, serve and protect people like me and my loved ones.

So let's just say I respectfully disagree with position.

You better not be lying about being a retired Army officer :-).

I appreciate your efforts. I don't, however, have much credence in statements made at Governor Blanco's website, which you linked.

We learned on today's Meet the Press with Aaron Broussard that government staffers in Louisiana can screw up the facts.

As for the interview with Gen. Honore, you must have not read the entire interview. Search Saturday, Sunday, and note he was speaking, in general, re all three states involved. Also, I just can't picture a fine southern gentleman like Gen. Honore pointing fingers.

I can find links, too.

Here are some, and some excerpts:

This from Fox News Sunday interview from U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169133,00.html

WALLACE: But here is what the Washington Post found in an article this week, Senator. And let's put that up on the screen if we can: "The Bush administration's funding requests for the key New Orleans flood-control projects for the past five years were slightly higher than the Clinton Administration's for its past five years."

And, Senator, the article went on to say that Louisiana politicians, in too many cases, were involved in pork, rather than in trying to protect the city of New Orleans. And let's go back to the article. Let's put up another part of it: "For example, after a $194 million deepening project for the Port of Iberia flunked a Corps..." — that's an Army Corps of Engineer — "... cost-benefit analysis, Sen. Mary Landrieu tucked language into an emergency Iraq spending bill ordering the agency to redo its calculations."

So, question, Senator: Is it just the president who gambled and lost or, frankly, did a lot of Louisiana politicians, including you?

Also, I wonder why you didn't link to this article in The Washington Post published on September 4th (It took me about 30 seconds to Google):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html
Excerpts:

Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday.

The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.

A senior administration official said that Bush has clear legal authority to federalize National Guard units to quell civil disturbances under the Insurrection Act and will continue to try to unify the chains of command that are split among the president, the Louisiana governor and the New Orleans mayor.

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

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

WuzzaDem has a good one:

http://wuzzadem.typepad.com/wuz/2005/09/another_katrina_1.html

Again, I appreciate the effort. I'm actually surprised you didn't link some more blame-Bush links from the major newspapers and networks. Maybe that's because they don't contain any substantial facts that will hold up under scrutiny.

However, as long as you believe that all those responsible for negligence/incompetence should be held accountable, respective to their various levels of negligence, and regardless of how liberal they may be, I don't see where we disagree.

[Mike Carroll]

Chris Jansing actually used the original footage last night, to make a point about ethics!

Yeah, I saw both MTP interviews. So Brousard said "she drowned on Friday night" instead of "we found out on Friday night that she drowned" What's the big deal? He also never said that they got response back from the nursing home (though it did seem to be implied).

It seems that so many conservatives are jumping on this conspiracy theory because it's a liberal, while making fun of the libers that are jumping on other conspiracy theories.

While I agree that there were problems at all levels of government, I feel that the federal government showed criminal negligence in it's extremely slow response to the hurricane and the flooding. The local and state governments need to look at their pre-hurricane plans, but the screwups afterwards were all in the hands of the federal government.

(And to Mrs. R... maybe because it that article referenced o