Idle school buses in New Orleans - where is the debunking?

I saw two LTTEs in my local paper today that had the story about school buses waiting to rescue the poor in New Orleans, if only Mayor Nagin hadn't ordered them to stand down (or whatnot)

I'm pretty sure that was debunked, but can somebody point to a legitimate source that debunks this story for my response?

Thanks

How else could they move them?

and, weren't Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Neil Boortz, Michael Savage, etc. lined up waiting to drive the buses?

I just forgot the :sarcasm: smilie.

moving very slowly and people died on the buses from the heat. Nagin then tried to get buses with air conditioning, but there was a problem and they never came. I'm sorry, I don't remember where I read it, but it was probably Reuters or AP.

thanks! Great links.

The issue they are trying to make is this: buses should have been used to evacuate the carless people of New Orleans.

The fastest way to shut up people (including some long-time DUers) is to ask this:

Contra flow (necessary to make sure you get all of the car-owners out) means buses make a one way trip. Presuming you could find the drivers of every available bus (350 RTA buses adn 250 school buses), you have seats for 40,000 people.

There are 125,000 carless people in the city, according to the census bureau.

Ok, now, pick which 65,000 people you are going to leave behind.

I think it would have been self-selecting. Everyone in NOLA knows there aren't enough buses to get everyone out. So you'd have chaos. The weak and the infirm, the very young and very old, would have been left behind. many of them injured or killed in the melee of boarding the buses.

Nagin had no authority under state law to commandeer the school buses (yes, you-know-who-you-are, I've read the plans). He has to go through FEMA to get other (non-city) resources.

FEMA wouldn't even allow school buses to get people out after teh storm. Hell, when he would have needed FEMA's help, FEMA's top leadership didn't seem to think there was a problem.

I assume where you wrote: Nagin had no authority under state law to commandeer the school buses (yes, you-know-who-you-are, I've read the plans). you are talking about "heck of a job" Brownie?

with an incredibly high post count since 2001, who is indistinguishable on screen from my local AM Radio Two-Hour-Hate host on this issue.

It's like he or she is reading from the friggin' GOP talking points.

Which pisses me off. If I have to fight this battle with people in my own party, I'm in the wrong party.

The same letter was in my mullet wrapper a couple of days ago.

If the Reminder is a fair and balanced publication, then it shouldn’t hesitate to print my response to “Racism Images.” This individual states that “The poor, mostly black, in New Orleans did not have the means to evacuate,” when in fact the bus drivers who volunteered their services were told by the black mayor their services were not required, and let the parked buses become swamped. The problem with America today is that too many people believe the media is reporting the truth. The real truth of the matter is that 90% of the media twists words and facts to reflect their ideology. The sad part is that many ignorant people believe the news shows and papers tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

and the other:

Thank you for letting all opinions be heard. I think President Bush, chosen by most Americans, is doing a very good job. His choice of John Roberts as Chief Justice is near-perfect. Who could ask for a better man? Katrina’s force took us all by surprise and the President is handling it as good as anyone, except New Orleans’ own mayor, who lets his evacuation busses sit idle, and Louisiana’s Governor, much too slow to react seriously. President Bush is encouraging each person’s own morality and responsibilities as Americans. As the 21 year old right-winger stated on your front page, all Presidents deserve our support, even if we didn’t vote for them. Let’s stop bickering, or being hateful or fearful and instead unite as Americans and support our President and our troops, for ourselves and for the world to see.

Link here.
http://www.remindernewspapers.com/daily/Skins/Vernon/navigator.asp?skin=Vernon&BP=OK

You then have to click on "Speak Out"

They just would have been death traps for old people

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Three N.O. nursing home residents die in evacuation

Three residents of a New Orleans nursing home fleeing Hurricane Katrina aboard a school bus died during an evacuation to a Baton Rouge church Sunday, authorities said.

The names, ages and sexes of the dead were not available Sunday.

In confirming their deaths, Don Moreau, chief of operations for the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office, said the coroner's office responded to a call from emergency medical technicians to a Baptist church, which was the destination for the bus of nursing home patients. Once there, Moreau said one person was dead inside the church and another was found dead inside the bus.

''That person (in the bus) appeared to have been dead for some time,'' Moreau said.

The others on the bus, 21 people, were transported to Earl K. Long Hospital, where a third nursing home resident later died, Moreau said.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08_28.html

This story was debunked on www.mediamatters.org two weeks ago. FEMA would not allow use of the school buses because they were not air conditioned.

Julie

they always bring up th ebuses and blame the Mayor