Lies - A Song In Pictures

September 6, 2005

Bush Lied, New Orleans Died

LA Gov. Blanco Asked Bush for Assistance on 8/28

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

Sent by a BuzzFlash Reader:

The elected Governor of Louisiana requested immediate assistance from the unelected dictator of the United States before Hurricane Katrina hit. Now the GOP storm troopers and their minions in the corporate press want to blame the locals for a catastrophe beyond the ability of both the Louisiana State Government and the New Orleans City Government to handle promptly or completely.

The bottom line: Bush lied about no one expecting a disaster. And his failure to act resulted in the deaths of as many as 10,000 U.S. citizens. Remember this: On August 5, 2001, when Bush was on vacation, he was briefed on bin Laden expecting to attack U.S. cities with hijacked airplanes, yet Bush did nothing.

The rest: http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/05/09/ale05130.html

Clip:

The political storm may only worsen for the White House. For most of this year Bush's advisers have blamed the president's sliding poll numbers not on the war in Iraq but on high gas prices at home. Those prices spiked after Katrina, topping $3 a gallon in many neighborhoods, as the national average rose to $2.68—a 44 percent hike since last year.

And there are signs that Bush's political capital is getting soggy. Former GOP House speaker Newt Gingrich sharply questioned the last four years of emergency planning. John Breaux, the former Democratic Louisiana senator and close Bush ally, rejected the president's claim that nobody anticipated the failure of the city's levees, saying he talked to Bush about it last year.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9190580

An Angry 'Times-Picayune' Calls for Firing of FEMA Chief, and Others, in Open Letter to President Bush

By E&P Staff

Published: September 04, 2005 10:40 AM ET

NEW YORK The Times-Picayune of New Orleans on Sunday published its third print edition since the hurricane disaster struck, chronicling the arrival, finally, of some relief but also taking President Bush to task for his handling of the crisis, and calling for the firing of FEMA director Michael Brown and others.

In an "open letter" to the president, published on page 15 of the 16-page edition, the paper said it still had grounds for "skepticism" that he would follow through on saving the city and its residents. It pointed out that while the government could not get supplies to the city numerous TV reporters, singer Harry Connick and Times-Picayune staffers managed to find a way in.

It also cited "bald-faced" lies by Michael Brown. "Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach," the staffers pointed out. "We’re angry, Mr. President, and we’ll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry."


The rest: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001054586

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Bush faked levee repair for photo op yesterday
by John in DC - 9/03/2005 06:29:00 PM

From a press release LA Senator Mary Landrieu sent out today:
But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe.

Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast - black and white, rich and poor, young annd old - deserve far better from their national governmeent.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/09/bush-faked-levee-repair-for-photo-op.html

(September 04, 2005 -- 11:19 AM EDT // link // print)

It's almost awe-inspiring to see the level of energy and coordination the Bush White House can bring to bear in a genuine crisis. Not hurricane Katrina, of course, but the political crisis they now find rising around them.

As we noted yesterday, the storyline and the outlines of the attack are now clear: pin the blame for the debacle on state and local authorities.

So, let's get all the facts out on the table now. And let's not be afraid to let them all fall where they may. There's no need to make saints of Gov. Blanco or Mayor Nagin. In such a storm of error as this, it would not surprise me if they made a number of them too. But the reason you have a federal government and particularly a FEMA in cases like this is that it is in the nature of local and state authorities to be at least partly overwhelmed in disasters of this magnitude. Read what Ed Kilgore wrote a couple days ago at TPMCafe ...
Anyone who's been involved in a disaster response episode will tell you the first few days are characterized by absolute chaos. Basic logistics are fouled up; communications systems are paralyzed; a thousand urgent needs must be triaged; a vast welter of well-meaning but tunnel-visioned federal, state and local agencies, plus private charitable organizations and volunteers, rush in; local elected officials are forced in front of cameras to inform and reassure the affected population. Somebody has to be in charge of the chaos, and that's FEMA's job.

This is just one of the many reasons why the White House's main excuse -- that the locals didn't tell us what to do -- is such a grim joke.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_04.php#006410