Pushing Back

Karl Rove has started pushing back after a pretty bad PR week. The story he's pushing right now is that Kathleen Blanco was late in declaring a state of emergency. WAPO and Newsweek bit and printed it. (WAPO has printed a retraction.) This is obviously false. Blanco sent a request for aid to Bush on August 28th. She ordered the State of Emergency on the 26th. Even if she didn't send it, the blame lays solely on the Bush Administration, FEMA, and the Department of Homeland Security.

You are probably going to be hearing a lot in the weeks to come about the DHS's National Response Plan. Pages 43-44 of this plan deals with Proactive Federal Response to Catastrophic Events. From the Department of Homeland Securities plan:

Notification and full coordination with States will occur,
but the coordination process must not delay or impede
the rapid deployment and use of critical resources.
States are urged to notify and coordinate with local
governments regarding a proactive Federal response.

In other words, fuck the paperwork, get off you asses and get something done.

In this situation, the exact opposite happened. The only federal officials there were FEMA officials whose main job seemed to have been turning private relief organizations relief efforts away. I read about a team of firemen from Houston trained in hurricane recovery with boats sitting in a parking lot for five days before they said fuck it and went home. FEMA refused to let them into New Orleans due to security concerns. When they asked if could go to other areas of Louisiana where security was better, FEMA's answer was simply no.

The administration can push back all they want, the blame is theirs. The president thought it more important to play golf, eat cake and go to a fucking hillbilly jamboree.

National Response Plan found via Larry Johnson

No Fly Zone

On Friday, while our dickless leader was in Louisiana, where he didn't even bother to leave the airport, all helicopter rescue flights were grounded. Is there anything this guy can't fuck up?

Friendly Visit

So, Kathleen Blanco had to invite herself to Bush's fluffing event today in Louisiana. Do us all a favor Kathleen, take a fucking baseball bat with you.

Supplies

A friend of mine's brother owns a shooting range here in central Ohio. The past few days he has been visited by several members of the Ohio National Guard who showed up to buy supplies before being deployed to New Orleans. The same thing happens everytime a unit is mobilized to Iraq.

One thing is clear to me. If you don't write large checks to republican campaigns or even better, just flat out bribe them, republicans hold nothing but contempt for you even if you are in the service of this great nation.

Nothing

President cocksucker nominated John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the Supreme court today. If the Democrats want to stay relevant in this country, let me give you some advise. Nothing, and I mean nothing, gets done until we fix the monumental fuck-up that was last week.

In 2006, we take out every mother fucking republican we can and I don't give fuck number one how dirty we have to play to do it.

Naming Names

We all know what Dear Leader was doing this week (golfing and jamboree). So, what the fuck was the rest of our federal government doing. Over the next several weeks I am going to call the DC offices of every elected member of Congress to find out what the fuck they were doing. I will post the responses, or lack there of here.

Hours

Bush just said in his weekly radio address that "we don't abandon fellow Americans in their hour of need." Perhaps he meant their 126th hour of need.

A Word For The Democrats

As pathetic as George Bush's reaction to Katrina was, yours wasn't any better. I didn't see any prominent Dems immediately pressing the president for help, save the locals. Oh, I realize you're on vacation, but you better stop wondering why you lose elections.

Nobody in the federal government is exempt from criticism for this tragedy. Hundreds if not thousand of American citizens died in American streets from violence, exposure, and dehydration due to the inaction of our government. Every member of Congress, the Senate, and the executive branch should feel nothing but shame today.

Civil Unrest

God I hope I'm wrong about this. I believe that when the military enters New Orleans and starts shooting American citizens, specifically African-American citizens, the lid is going to blow off of this country. Civil unrest will spread to other cities. The mayor of every US city needs to be put on notice about this possibility. Anyone caught with their pants down is going to get skewered.

I believe some of the readers of this blog work for mayors, do you hear me? Prepare your bosses for this and have a plan ready. This could happen as early as Monday.

Commenters, don't name names.

Unqualified

You might be wondering what Michael Brown did before he headed up FEMA. He was the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horses Association (IAHA). Sounds like a pretty gravy gig, why would he leave? Because he was shitcanned. Yep, fired. Don't bother to google them, they don't exist anymore. Brown's incompetence forced them to reorganize under another name.

An E-mail from a member to Goldy at HorsesAss says it all:

Well, for 3 years Michael Brown was hired and then fired by our IAHA, the International Arabian Horse Assoc. He was an unmitigated, total fucking disaster. I was shocked as hell when captain clueless put him in charge of FEMA a couple of years ago. [Emphasis mine]

This brings us to a very important point. Winning elections is great, but you have to fucking govern once elected. As we are seeing all across this country, republicans are very good at winning elections, but fail miserably at governing. A disaster like this simply shine the light on that fact.

We are reaping what Bush sowed when he filled government positions with cronies that are completely incompetent.

Goldy has more in this Kos diary

Not Acceptable

I just saw Bush give a short speech prior to heading to Mississippi. He said the relief results were "not unacceptable." Well Mr. President, YOUR results were not acceptable. YOU played golf on Monday. YOU played guitar, or as some might say fiddled, on Tuesday. YOU put an incompetent in charge of FEMA.

YOU are a failure to our country in this dire time of need.

Patrick Rhode

What did the deputy director of FEMA have to say about the agency's anemic response to Katrina?

"Probably one of the most efficient and effective responses in the country's history."

I hope your pink slip is written on efficiently made paper with an effective pen.

The B Word

Three extra zeros. What is it with this administration that efforts that used to cost millions now cost billions? Cronies gotta get paid mutherfucker!!

Worst Return On Investment Ever

How the fuck exactly is FEMA spending over half a BILLION dollars a day right now. Did they hire Tom Noe to run the Katrina relief fund?

National Guard

12,000 National Guard members have now been mobilized to enter New Orleans. Too little, too late.

Pathetic

I'm watchhing New Orleans TV. They're broadcasting from Baton Rouge with loaner equipment. I'm currently listening to a nurse from a hospice who called the station to ask for help to move 26 patients to a helopad. They are close to running out of generator power which will kill their phone system. She said they afraid to stay after dark because they have no protection. By the way, the staff at this hospice has to stay behind if they manage to get these patients evacuated. They're on their own.

Yes, that's right. She had to call a TV station to find help.

Our government has failed us.

It Only Gets Worse

I just got a weather forecast from New Orleans. A slow moving thunderstorm is expected to hit there this afternoon with torrential rain, lightning ground strikes and gusts of wind up to forty miles per hour.

Fuck

Escape From New York

New Orleans has officially now turned into the movie Escape From New York. The police are on the run. 500 troops from the Wisconsin National Guard are mobilizing to enter the city with possible shoot to kill orders. One nursing home was told by gunmen to get out or die.

There are now estimates of two to three thousand dead in New Orleans.

Jesus, we're going to have a few hundred thousand IDPs for at least two years.

Sharks Patrol These Waters, Sharks Patrol These Waters

I hope our dickless leader had fun shooting golf and playing guitar the last few days. Shit changed when Bush got off the plane in DC carrying his fucking dog and giving a speech the NYT called appropriate for Arbor Day. The press is getting ready to bring the hammer to bear.

IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME.

CNN's O'Brien twins this morning destroyed Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security for ineptness in their response to Katrina, and Haley Barbour, the Governor of Alabama for defending the federal government. Can't wait to get the transcript.

Note To FEMA

The Hurricane Katrina catastrophe is far to important to swell your ranks with inept Heritage Foundation nitwits doing resume building ala Hurricane Andrew and the CPA in Iraq. Both clusterfucks, by the way. Don't let New Orleans become Baghdad by the Sea