The last word on "Blanco wouldn't let the troops in/blocked the prez

I got into a heated argument with my brother about this last night, but have to admit I don't know the real story, just that is sounds like right-wing excuse making for the lack of coordinated federal assistance.

Anyone have a link to a fact based treatment of the situation that started this meme?

Two good reads:

1. "The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast" by Douglas Brinkley,
2. "The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina--the Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist" by Ivor van Heerden and Mike Bryan

Check out a high level over view of the Incident Command System - which is mandatory for all (ALL) responders - from the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Adjutant General of the National Guard to Cub Scout Den Mothers --

Here's how a city on the fault line brings it all together

That's the authoritative stuff - forget about the blame game.

I keep trying to read it, but the errors scattered on almost every page are just too infuriating. It is an unedited manuscript written by somebody in a hurry to cash in on the storm.

Try reading Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security by Robert Bloch and Christopher Cooper. A much better investment of your time and money.

Blanco refused to federalize the Guard because she was caught up (like everyone else) in Nagin and the police chief's rumor mongering about large bands of armed gangs terrorizing the city. Federalizing the guard would require that they disarm, which she and her advisors thought unwise.

And, yes, there was some political gamesmanship involved, but it was Bush who was trying to usurp the local authority to try to cover his ass for the failures of just about everyone he sent down.

that,the horrendous spelling, and the 2 posts are ever so apparent.

Is this post for real??

:spank::spank::spank::spank:
:rofl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG6w3es93qE


IMO, EVERYONE f*cked up. I just don't think anyone really expected something like Katrina would happen, and everyone was caught completely by surprise.

Hope the link helped.

There were PLENTY of f*ckups to go around, but let's face it- the scope of this thing was HUGE. I seriously doubt that anybody could have effectively managed this disaster.

A Failure of Initiative, the last section in the report here:

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/27mar20061546/www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/pdf/hr109-377/app8.pdf

(12MB+ download) Starting around page 48 of the appendix you can see how
McKinney explains that Bush had every authority he needed to help the people of New Orleans. Existing law was sufficient yet he put the screws to Blanco on top of everything else that was going on.

It was politics. He didn't want to help Democrats take care of people.