"Rex B" wrote in message
...

Subject: Politics over duty

This is a post from a fellow over in Merritt Is, FL, a reporter who's
been researching what went on before the storm hit:

I think all of Nagin's pomp and posturing is going to bite him hard in
the near future as the lies and distortions of his interviews are coming
to light.

On Friday night before the storm hit Max Mayfield of the National
Hurricane Center took the unprecedented action of calling Nagin and
Blanco personally to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of NO
and they said they'd take it under consideration. This was after the
NOAA buoy 240 miles south had recorded 68' waves before it was destroyed.

Friday, August 26

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: [Office
of the Governor]

GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1
press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force
Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting
additional forces on Friday, 8/26. [DOD]
Saturday, August 27

5AM - KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [CNN]

GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN
LOUISIANA: "I have determined that this incident is of such severity
and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of
the
State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal
assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public
health,
and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster." [Office
of the Governor]

FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO
RESPOND TO KATRINA: "Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify,
mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources
necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency." [White House]
Sunday, August 28

2AM - KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]

7AM - KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE [CNN]

MORNING - LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: "Forecasters
Fear Levees Won't Hold Katrina": "Forecasters feared Sunday
afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans
levees
when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City
tomorrow." [Lafayette Daily Advertiser]

9:30 AM - MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW
ORLEANS: "We're facing the storm most of us have feared," said
Nagin. "This is going to be an unprecedented event."
[Times-Picayune]

4PM - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE WARNING: In
the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, "Most of the area will be
uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. ... At least one-half of
well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled
roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed.
....
Power outages will last for weeks. ... Water shortages will make human
suffering incredible by modern standards." [National Weather Service]

AFTERNOON - BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National
Hurricane Center: "'We were briefing them way before landfall. ...
It's not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the
levee could be topped.'" [Times-Picayune; St. Petersburg Times]

LATE PM - REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE: "Waves crashed atop
the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early
Monday as Katrina churned closer." [Times-Picayune]

APPROXIMATELY 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36
HOURS
WORTH OF FOOD [Times-Picayune]
Monday, August 29

7AM - KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]

8AM - MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: "I've
gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over
some of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we've had one of
our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant
flooding, it is just a matter of how much." [NBC's "Today
Show"]

MORNING - BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION: "I
spoke to Mike Chertoff today - he's the head of the Department of
Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue
[immigration], so we got us an airplane on - a telephone on Air Force
One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He
said, you bet we are." [White House]

MORNING - BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAIN
[White House]

11AM - BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT:
"This new bill I signed says, if you're a senior and you like the
way things are today, you're in good shape, don't change. But, by
the way, there's a lot of different options for you. And we're here
to talk about what that means to our seniors." [White House]

LATE MORNING - LEVEE BREACHED: "A large section of the vital 17th
Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new 'hurricane
proof' Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in
Bucktown after Katrina's fiercest winds were well north."
[Times-Picayune]

11:30AM - MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000
EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: "Brown's memo
to Chertoff described Katrina as 'this near catastrophic event' but
otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, 'Thank
you for your consideration in helping us to meet our
responsibilities.'" [AP]

2PM - BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE
DRUG BENEFIT: "We've got some folks up here who are concerned about
their Social Security or Medicare. Joan Geist is with us. ... I could
tell - she was looking at me when I first walked in the room to meet
her, she was wondering whether or not old George W. is going to take
away her Social Security check." [White House]

9PM - RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld
"joined Padres President John Moores in the owner's box...at Petco
Park." [Editor & Publisher]
Tuesday, August 30

9AM - BUSH SPEAKS ON IRAQ AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO [White House]

MIDDAY - CHERTOFF FINALLY BECOMES AWARE THAT LEVEE HAS FAILED: "It
was on Tuesday that the levee-may have been overnight Monday to
Tuesday-that the levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday
that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of
plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to
drain into the city." [Meet the Press, 9/4/05]

PENTAGON CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION:
"Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate
National Guard units to handle the hurricane needs." [WWL-TV]

MASS LOOTING REPORTED, SECURITY SHORTAGE CITED: "The looting is out
of control. The French Quarter has been attacked," Councilwoman
Jackie Clarkson said. "We're using exhausted, scarce police to
control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while
we
still have people on rooftops." [AP]

U.S.S. BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED: "The USS Bataan, a
844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has
helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can make
its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be
in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan
rode
out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief
orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first
to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents. But now the
Bataan's hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds
for 600 patients, are empty." [Chicago Tribune]

3PM - PRESIDENT BUSH PLAYS GUITAR WITH COUNTRY SINGER MARK WILLIS
[AP]

BUSH RETURNS TO CRAWFORD FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION [AP]
Wednesday, August 31

TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE: "A
2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a
restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by
teenagers. 'We pee on the floor. We are like animals,' said Taffany
Smith, 25, as she cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry. ... By Wednesday,
it had degenerated into horror. ... At least two people, including a
child, have been raped. At least three people have died, including one
man who jumped 50 feet to his death, saying he had nothing left to
live
for. There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming."" [Los
Angeles Times, 9/1/05]

PRESIDENT BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL
RESPONSE: Bush says on Tuesday he will "fly to Washington to begin
work...with a task force that will coordinate the work of 14 federal
agencies involved in the relief effort." [New York Times, 8/31/05]

JEFFERSON PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY GONE:
"Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering
the help nearly as fast as it is needed." [WWL-TV]

80,000 BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS: Former Mayor Sidney
Barthelemy
"estimated 80,000 were trapped in the flooded city and urged
President Bush to send more troops." [Reuters]

3,000 STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER: "With
3,000 or more evacuees stranded at the convention center - and with
no apparent contingency plan or authority to deal with them -
collecting a body was no one's priority. ... Some had been at the
convention center since Tuesday morning but had received no food,
water
or instructions." [Times-Picayune]

5PM - BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA: "Nothing about the
president's demeanor... - which seemed casual to the point of
carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current
crisis." [New York Times]

8:00PM - CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW: "On Wednesday
night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at
'Spamalot!, the Monty Python musical at the Shubert, when the lights
went up after the performance." [New York Post, 9/2/05]

9PM - FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: "I
must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected." [CNN]
Thursday, September 1

8AM - BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK: "I don't think
anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." [Washington Post]

CONDOLEEZZA RICE VISITS U.S. OPEN: "Rice, [in New York] on three
days' vacation to shop and see the U.S. Open, hitting some balls with
retired champ Monica Seles at the Indoor Tennis Club at Grand
Central." [New York Post]

STILL NO COMMAND AND CONTROL ESTABLISHED: Terry Ebbert, New Orleans
Homeland Security Director: "This is a national emergency. This is a
national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no
command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami
victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans." [Fox News]

2PM - MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES "DESPERATE SOS" TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:
"This is a desperate SOS. Right now we are out of resources at the
convention centre and don't anticipate enough buses. We need buses.
Currently the convention centre is unsanitary and unsafe and we're
running out of supplies." [Guardian, 9/2/05]

2PM - MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF VIOLENCE:
"I've had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word
unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they're
banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or
whatever. I've had no reports of that." [CNN]

NEW ORLEANS "DESCEND[S] INTO ANARCHY": "Storm victims were raped
and beaten, fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open,
and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as
flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. 'This is a
desperate SOS,' the mayor said." [AP]

CONDOLEEZZA RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING: "Just moments ago at the
Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several
thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we've confirmed this,
so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo's Robin
Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice's
timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, 'How dare
you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!'"
[Gawker]

MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY LEARNS OF EVACUEES IN CONVENTION CENTER: "We
learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all
available resources to get that convention center to make sure that
they have the food and water and medical care that they need." [CNN]
Friday, September 2

ROVE-LED CAMPAIGN TO BLAME LOCAL OFFICIALS BEGINS: "Under the command
of President Bush's two senior political advisers, the White House
rolled out a plan...to contain the political damage from the
administration's response to Hurricane Katrina." President Bush's
comments from the Rose Garden Friday morning formed "the start of
this campaign." [New York Times, 9/5/05]

9:35AM - BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN: "Brownie, you're doing a
heck of a job." [White House, 9/2/05]

0 AM - PRESIDENT BUSH STAGES PHOTO-OP "BRIEFING": Coast Guard
helicopters and crew diverted to act as backdrop for President Bush's
photo-op.

BUSH VISIT GROUNDS FOOD AID: "Three tons of food ready for delivery
by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on
the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic
was
halted because of President Bush's visit to New Orleans, officials
said." [Times-Picayune]

LEVEE REPAIR WORK ORCHESTRATED FOR PRESIDENT'S VISIT: Sen. Mary
Landrieu, 9/3: "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." [Sen. Mary Landrieu]

BUSH USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP: A group
of 1,000 firefighters convened in Atlanta to volunteer with the
Katrina
relief efforts. Of those, "a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was
ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first
assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated
areas." [Salt Lake Tribune; Reuters]

3PM - BUSH "SATISFIED WITH THE RESPONSE": "I am satisfied with
the response. I am not satisfied with all the results." [AP]
Saturday, September 3

SENIOR BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LIES TO WASHINGTON POST, CLAIMS
GOV. BLANCO NEVER DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY: The Post reported in
their Sunday edition "As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a
state of emergency, the senior Bush official said." They were forced
to issue a correction hours later. [Washington Post, 9/4/05]

9AM - BUSH BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS: "[T]he magnitude of
responding to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the
size of Great Britain has created tremendous problems that have
strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our
citizens simply are not getting the help they need." [White House,
9/3/05]

Here is the timeline Rex.
Regardless of fault, the response was a tit's up from start to finish.
--
John R. Carroll
Machining Solution Software, Inc.
Los Angeles San Francisco
www.machiningsolution.com