Governor Blanco told ABC she had "no idea" how many people had died, when asked about fatalities because of the inadequacy of the response.
"We're not into the blame game... I've been trying to save lives," she said.
Well, I can see why she wouldn't be into the "blame game." And, you know, it's not always a game. Some people really do deserve blame. The city and the state failed in this one, it would seem. Now it's time — past time — for the feds to do what needs to be done.
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I concur here as well--Blanco is coming across as inept.
I think there is a difference between pointing finger and playing the blame game over why this happened and criticizing the relief effort.
Clearly there is a general lack of leadership here--at least that is how it is coming across to me.
I commented on the shoot-to-kill order here: http://www.poliblogger.com/?p=8047
Someone suggested last night that it would be the worst, with all the bad guys knowing that as of today, they would be outgunned.
I really don't think that you are going to see that much shooting. The bad guys are not that stupid.
So, to some extent, I see this as grandstanding on the part of the governor. Maybe necessary, but still grandstanding.
I don't think Blanco had much choice. There haven't been enough National Guard and law enforcement to help...and that's not her fault.
The main responsibility for a disaster of this scale falls to the feds..specifically FEMA. The head of FEMA says this morning that they still won't have the extra Guard folks until Sunday.
This is ridiculous.
Oh, it's just a "temporary disruption."
Oops, was that mike on?
Practically the first line of relief/defense is local, then state and then federal. Let me amend that, the first line is individual and neighborhood. It is unrealistic to expect FEMA to show up in my neighborhood to rescue me.
I don't think Blanco had much choice. There haven't been enough National Guard and law enforcement to help...and that's not her fault.
I'm not so sure. FEMA is a national response agency, and as such cannot be poised and ready to go at any possible location within the US, although aruguably they had plenty of warning and time to prepare for this.
While it is true that some portion of the LA National Guard is unavailable due to assignment in Iraq, that was no secret to LA government and should have been planned for. It seems to me, and I readily confess to knowing very little about civil disaster planning, that any major city should be ready to handle the first few days of a crisis knowing that it will be some time before federal assistance can be brought in. And, knowing that, they should update their plans to compensate for a partial reduction in their state national guard.
As I've said before, the National Guard has two major missions. One is national defense, and the other is local disaster support. It should never come as a surprise that some portion of the local guard is overseas, and it should, in fact, be the responsibility of state gov't. to compensate for that.
There's plenty of blame to go around (I've just posted to that effect). The thugs and criminals in New Orleans; the city government; the state government. Why should Blanco be any better than every other Louisiana governor since Reconstruction? Louisiana has been a mess for as long as anyone can remember.
Sure, blame Bush. But if you think that the primary responsibility for every potential disaster everywhere in the country resides in the federal government how do you think that would work? How large a bureaucracy would be needed? How fast could it respond?
I am amused by the posturing of the rugged individualists here. Earthgirl, there is no local defense, there are no local resources; the local police are engulfed by the same waters that filled the rest of the city. Their patrol cars were flooded, as were their stations. Their radios don't work. They're out of ammunition.
If you ever find yourself trying to guard your home while surrounded by floodwaters, dead bodies, and rioting looters, you'll be on your libertarian knees praying for help from somewhere, anywhere.
leeontheroad is right about pretty much everything. Living in New Orleans, we're not oblivious and our plans for hurricanes aren't restricted to "we'll pray." I've seen our news cover state and local exercises to plan for evacuations, explosions, mediical crises and so forth.
But it's clear the state and the city did not plan for the food and water needs of those who would be stuck, and, obviously, the evacuation of the poor, the ill, and those without transportation for whatever reasons.
There is blame to go around, as I've said before, all the way up from the city to the feds. The city police are not sufficient to keep order, not with their own resources under the effects of the hurricane. It's simply taken too long for the federal and state help to get to the city, whether in the form of food and water, transportation or security. And now, Bush agrees with me: he's said today that the efforts have not been acceptable.
Well said, Cat. There simply was no organization in NO comparable to the one that whipped NYC into action, and that's the fault of the local and state people, and Blanco and Nagin are actually the best in LA for a while, but blubbering on TV after a foreseeable disaster doesn't cut it. With any luck, Katrina will destroy this political machine. Why again should black people vote for Democrats???
Bush should have federalized it quicker, sure, but then he would have been accused of being heavy handed.
Lesson of the day: start building your own preparedness kits NOW.
"With any luck, Katrina will destroy this political machine. Why again should black people vote for Democrats??? "
Tell me, patca, why should they vote for GOP either? The previous governor, before Blanco, was Republican and had a much worse, unworkable evacuation plan. I was stuck in that one during Ivan; Blanco followed the plan Mike Foster's administration had in place and it was an abject failure. Other Republican governors in Louisiana have been corrupt--a charge on one levels at Blanco, by the way.
The federal portion of this debacle is likewise run by the GOP. Why turn this into a false dichotomy to score political points? Louisiana has a healthy mix of both GOP and Democrats in office; I've voted across party for who I hoped would be competent and align most closely with my interests and values. For example, I didn't vote for the GOP candidate for governor back in the early 90s, opting for a crooked Democrat over the Neo-Nazi-KKK grand wizard David Duke. I bet a lot of black people voted Democrat that election, too!
correction to my typo:
"a charge NO one levels at Blanco"
If you've seen too much vituperation, why add to it with your nasty little satire? That's a tired rhetorical trick. "Let's end this ugly fighting...as soon as I get in a good suckerpunch!"
And did you read the text on that photo? Those buses are all flooded! Maybe Bush can use his super double secret transformation powers and put water wings on 'em so they can skim across the water. But he'll have to dry out their distributer caps, change their sparks and plugs and get the water our of their gas tanks first. He'd look cute in a little mechanics outfit. We could get little Bush mechanic action dolls to match our Flight Suit Barbie Bush dolls!
My beef today is with you, bud, and your Fantasy Bush, not with Bush himself. I wish he'd come out front more assertively much earlier, but I'm thankful today that he's going to be in New Orleans, on the ground, and he's taking responsibility and urging the bureaucracy into action. Good for him.
Elizabeth, they're all flooded because they were parked in a lot instead of put to use bringing evacuees to a safe area. The mayor ordered the evacuation of the city, and left the means to do it parked in a lot in the middle of the city.
But it's George Bush's fault. You told me so.
Those buses weren't flooded over the weekend. They probably weren't flooded on Monday or early Tuesday. All the people who are stranded in New Orleans because they had no transportation out of the city could have been bused out earlier, including the many tourists who got stranded only because the airports closed. How many tourists are inadvertant drains on local resources just because they didn't have to be there?
The disuse of those buses is solely the fault of local government.
Elizabeth, agreed, the Reps are bad, too. That's true anywhere. I am an independent.
It's time that people wake up and realize the old alliances are not working and just because a mayor is black doesn't mean he is going to chang a damn thing in the schools or on the streets or in a disaster shelter. There's blame to go around everywhere for the dead people in the streets, including the Democrats who run the city.
Sippicancottage,
I did not tell you it was Bush's fault. I have criticized Bush for several specific issues and policies, along with Blanco and Nagin as well. But go ahead, make crap up if you need to.
They're flooded because they were parked in a lot during a hurricane and subsequent levee break. That's why NOLA needs buses to come in from outside the city. These can't operate anymore.
If you read my posts, you'll see I've judged Nagin harshly specifically for not arranging buses for the poor before the hurricane hit. But now that the storm and floods have passed, these buses are of no use.
Elizabeth, only up to a certain point am I a rugged individualist, thank you very much, and I come from a stock of rugged people. Please note as an individualist, I would take care of my neighbors, the elderly couple down the street for example, those who I could personally help. I cannot help everyone though and the government has a critical role; as I stated, the government's role starts with the local government (eg use those buses!) and moves out from there to the state and then the national level. Why yes, my house flooded in 1983 and I was evacuated but without the horror of dead bodies and anarchy and not on this scale. So I'm on my knees as you suggested and my pocketbook is open. What else can I do?
Elizabeth,
Not to nit-pick, but I've read emails from firefighters from Florida who say that their SOP drill is when it starts raining they drive their vehicles to higher ground. Again, no plan for this in NO.
It's just a tragedy all around, okay?
The question needs to be asked as to why there is such a difference in the response in NO vs. the response to Ivan last year in Florida and other hurricanes and tornadoes in recent years. The common components are from the federal government, the differences are at the state and local levels. So if the fed is so incompetent then why has this not been so apparent in prior disasters?
If the governor wants martial law, she can invoke it. The Constitution no longer obtains, and the military can shoot in defense of property. Actually, they can pretty much shoot however they please. A disadvantage is that martial law continues until the military authorities choose to hand it back to the elected officials, but generally they do so eventually.
Civilian authorities, and presumably military 'acting like civilians' (eg Guard acting as cops) are trained to shoot in defense of life. (Some areas still allow shooting to halt commission of a felony, but it doesn't take too many people shot for shoplifting more than $100 of merchandise to make that policy odious.)
The looters are unlikely to hear about this; the productive looting was doubtless finished days ago; the law enforcement people who actually believe her run the terrible emotional risk of converting themselves into killers for dreck like TVs; and while the looting will assuredly stop once a few have been killed for it, the governor who invokes it now will undoubtedly get an attack of politician-scoliosis later when the shit hits the fan.
Speaking as a former officer, this was an unconscionable remark.
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