To respond to spin trying to blame Blanco and Nagin, shouldn't we start blasting the media with info such as the following?
Bush admin sought control over Nat’l Guard, normally under control of governor:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1750979http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.htmlWP, A01: White House Shifts Blame
Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. 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 had sought control over National Guard units, normally under control of the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request, noting that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. State authorities 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 is an adviser and does not have the authority to speak publicly.
Links to posts to the effect that numerous states had offered their N.G. before Katrina hit and Blanco had accepted, but that no one could move until the feds had provided the required paperwork or order, which in at least some cases did not materialize until Thursday; see, e.g.,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1749337See also
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2057771 ;
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/katrina_national_guard ;
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4610280 ;
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2058654 ;
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4605183&mesg_id=4605183Suspension of posse comatatus:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4628627 ; see also info in thread at
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4624810