archived: 18 - 24 Sep, 2005         Back                 Next

UPDATED:  September 22, 2005 

            "ON THE GREAT NEW ORLEANS FLOOD OF 2005, II"      

As of the writing of this column, Sept. 15, 2005, the Bush propaganda machine, at both the White House and Privatized Ministry of Propaganda levels, is in full swing.  After two weeks of state and local government bashing by both, accompanied by daily admonitions from the White House not “to play the blame game,” on Sept. 13, 2005, Bush issued a statement saying that: "Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government.  To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility." By the time readers see this column, the story of just what he meant by that statement will have been told.   

Nevertheless, the Rove propaganda machine has been in full swing, doing five things that it does very well: displacing blame (playing the “blame game”) at the same that they are lecturing their critics about the harms of doing so; attempting to kill the messenger rather than discuss substance and policy (as they always do); having its minions make statements that are patently untrue (Hannity claimed that New Orleans Mayor Nagin had “2000 school buses at his disposal and didn’t use them [see Media Matters.com, 9-12-05]); stating that they “are doing all we can” (but certainly not doing all that could be done); doing their very best to keep the focus on the here-and-now, in the terms they would like it to be seen in (with as little attention as possible paid to their own actions that virtually ensured that in a Category 4-5 hurricane the levees that broke would break and the Great New Orleans Flood of 2005 would ensue).  In a phrase particularly apt for the New Orleans horror, they were and I am sure still are as you read this, fully engaged in muddying the waters as much as they possibly can. 

To provide you with a record of what really happened, from just before, to several days after the hurricane hit, I provide below first a quote from the lead hurricane article that appeared in Newsday, the Long Island (NY) daily, on Monday August 29, 2005, the day that the hurricane made landfall.  Following that is a “Katrina Timeline” compiled by Think Progress (© 2005 American Progress Action Fund, reprinted here under the “Fair Use” doctrine). Following that are links to hurricane-related stories provided by the Project for the Old American Century over the three-day period Sept., 2-4.  (POAC material is not copyright.  POAC uses some material that may be copyright, again under the “Fair Use” doctrine.)  

“A Once-in-a-lifetime-event,” Cynthia Daniels, Newsday, (Monday) August 29, 2005

 

 “Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city, which has 485,000 residents. . . . ‘We are facing a storm that most of us have long feared,’ Nagin said. ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. . . . ‘It’s capable of causing catastrophic damage,’ said Max Mayfield, head of the National Hurricane Center.   ‘Even well-built structures will have tremendous damage (sic).  Of course, what we're really worried about is the loss of lives.’  Nagin said the city, much of which is below sea level, could face a 28-foot storm surge and 15 inches of rain that could overwhelm the protective embankments between it and the waters of the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.  For years, forecasters have warned of a nightmare scenario.  Estimates have been made of tens of thousands of deaths from flooding that could turn New Orleans into a 30-foot-deep toxic lake filled with chemicals and petroleum from refineries, and waster from municipal septic systems.” 

Sound familiar?  Of course, from the perspective of the “let’s drown government in a bathtub” White House, no one could see it coming.  And now, onto the timeline, starting four days before the hurricane hit. 

http://thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline, 9/8/05, KATRINA TIMELINE 

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 

GOV. HALEY BARBOUR DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN MISSISSIPPI [Office of the Governor]

 

5 AM CDT — 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 

2 AM CDT – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]

 

7 AM CDT – 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 CDT — 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]

 

4 PM CDT – 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 

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

 

8 AM CDT – 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]

 

10:30 AM CDT — 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]

 

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]

 

11AM CDT — 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]

 

4 PM CDT — 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]

 

8 PM CDT — 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 

11AM CDT – 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]

 

2PM CDT – 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]

 

PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY DECLARED FOR ENTIRE GULF COAST: “After a natural disaster, short and long-term medical problems can occur. Diseases like cholera, typhoid, hepatitis and mosquito-borne illnesses tend to break out under these conditions.” [WCBS-TV]

 

4 PM CDT — 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]

 

7 PM CDT – 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]

 

8 PM CDT — 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 

7 AM CDT — 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 CDT — 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 CDT — 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]

 

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

 

10 AM CDT — 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]

 

12 PM CDT — 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]

 

9 AM CDT — 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]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now for three days of real-time selections from the Project for the Old American Century daily Newsletter. 

1. Project for the Old American Century Newsletter, Sept. 2, 2005 

New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday as corpses lay abandoned in street medians, fights and fires broke out, cops turned in their badges and the governor declared war on looters who have made the city a menacing landscape of disorder and fear. 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/8afcd

 

We are like animals,' a mother says inside the Louisiana Superdome, where hope and supplies are sparse. 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/cqxum

Mayor issues statement: "This is a desperate SOS. Conditions at the Convention Center are out of control. We are allowing everybody to march to the expressway for relief". 9-2
http://www.cnn.com/?=onthemarch

Rapes & Beatings in the Convention Center: Angry Mob beats back 88 police officers 9-2
http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_fullstory.asp?id=40170

As a tired, hungry and frustrated crowd chanted "Help us! Help us! in front of the New Orleans Convention Center, someone pulled back a filthy blanket to reveal a gray-haired man slumped dead in a lawn chair 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/8ybnf

Sniper fire halts hospital evacuation 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/ae6za

Timeline that outlines the fate of both FEMA and flood control projects in New Orleans under the Bush administration 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/a4k4k

Timeline of Bush's inaction 9-2 http://www.mainstreetmajority.org/page.php?3

Chaos in increasingly desperate New Orleans 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/dlyqt

"No one can say they didn't see it coming" 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/bsttp

"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." Yeah, no one except for the Army Corp of Engineers who repeatedly asked for and were denied funds for flood prevention 9-2
http://tinyurl.com/85pf5

2002 Louisiana Wetlands Doc. - note Part 4: Hurricane Risk for New Orleans. 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/9wcjz

Insult to injury: September is National Preparedness Month 9-2 http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=4775

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff: “We’re Much Better Prepared Than We’ve Ever Been” 9-2 http://thinkprogress.org/2005/09/01/chertoff-prepared/

NPR grills Homeland Security Secretary about why nothing is being done for the thousands of people in the New Orleans Convention Center who have no food and water; the Secretary claims that's just a rumor 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/c4gk6

FEMA directing Katrina Donations to Pat Robertson 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/ex88s

Video: Jack Cafferty says it like it is on CNN 9-2 http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/01.html#a4734

Bush on defensive over Katrina response: "(Bush) certainly should not be being photographed with a guitar," said a Republican congressional aide 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/at496

NOW with Bill Moyers. Transcript. The City in a Bowl 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/alxcf

 

There will be no large-scale shifting of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan to help with disaster relief in Louisiana and Mississippi, a U.S. Central Command spokesman said Thursday. 9-2
http://tinyurl.com/8d5vy

There were not enough helicopters to repair the breached levees and rescue people trapped by rising water. Nor are there enough Louisiana National Guardsmen available to help with rescue efforts and to patrol against looting. 9-2 http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=7131

President Bush: "Don't buy gas if you don't need it". 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/c7bl7

Police (in uniform) caught on camera looting - cart and all 9-2 http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/01.html#a4725

The president's 35-minute Air Force One flyover of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama was the perfect metaphor for his entire presidency: detached, disconnected, and disengaged. Preferring to take in America's suffering -- whether caused by the war in Iraq or Hurricane Katrina --
from a distance. In this case, 2,500 feet 9-2 http://tinyurl.com/83b22

 

It will take just a couple more days of almost 100 degree weather to really bring this New Orleans stew to an incomprehensible completion with the bloated corpses of pets, animals and yes, people. As morbid as it is, it soon will be all too easy to find the missing. 9-2
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10052.htm

Condi Rice spends thousands on shoes, has angry women removed from store 9-2
http://tinyurl.com/8tbzo

The Poor and Hurricane Katrina: Left Behind to Drown 9-2 http://www.counterpunch.com/sustar09012005.html

Professor loses job for suggesting that the greatest threat facing modern Christianity might not be Spongebob Squarepants 9-2 http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/04/28/hope
 

2.       Project for the Old American Century, Sept. 3, 2005
 

We are asking you to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Moveon.org offers several options 9-3 http://www.moveon.org/

Additionally, 10 percent of the income the POAC makes from donations this month will go to Katrina victims. You can make a donation here: http://www.oldamericancentury.org/support.htm

You can also support us by purchasing something from our store. To encourage purchases this month, we'll throw in a free POAC bumper sticker with every order.
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/store_prima.htm

President Bush: "Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." (Laughter.) 9-3
http://tinyurl.com/bw5td

THEY HAD A PLAN. They just didn't follow it. And why weren't these buses used for evacuation?
9-3 http://tinyurl.com/dxd6q

Louisiana Congressman not allowed to visit Bush. Worse: Helicopter aid flights in Louisiana were prevented while Bush was in the state 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/ce8ae

Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans? "The state Homeland Security Department had requested--and continues to request--that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane." 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/93omw

President Bush indicated yesterday morning that the United States had not requested foreign help and didn't need it. 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/73n5k

FEMA forbids rescue flotilla of 500 airboats from entering New Orleans over worries it's too dangerous a place for people to be 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/aavfo

FEMA to Chicago: Thanks, but we don't need your help 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/9xvzx

US holds up Canadian help for Katrina victims 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/cmx2m

Updates of the team's work and experiences will be posted on the City of Vancouver's website

9-3 http://vancouver.ca/usar

Despite accusations and excuses of a lack of manpower, there are 124,000 National Guard troops available in the storm-hit states alone 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/btfzh

Halliburton hired for storm cleanup 9-3 http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3335685

Man who stole an abandoned school bus and rescued strangers could get in trouble for getting the bus 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/cnwz5

LA National Guard Wants Equipment to Come Back From Iraq: Dozens of high water vehicles, Humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad, and in the event of a major natural disaster that, could be a problem. 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/9ztu4

Newsview: Rhetoric Not Matching in Relief 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/9f7l6

 

CNN: Official version vs. reality 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/abdwo

RNC chair Ken Mehlman literally just sent out a mass email urging the elimination of, as he called it, "the death tax." Gee, just a coincidence that in the middle of the one of the greatest disasters in American history the head of the Republican Party is focusing on a partisan political agenda
dealing with tax cuts? 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/d2udw

Amid the chaos, looting, suffering and dying, President Bush sneaks in a recess appointment for a stalled justice official. 9-3 http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=54&u_sid=1495184

Cheney plays it safe and remains on vacation in Jackson, WY (middle of the
page) 9-3 http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/02/1418255

 

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert flip flops on rebuilding New Orleans 9-3
http://tinyurl.com/cvjxs

Bill Clinton on Hastert: "I'm afraid I would have assaulted him." 9-3 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/2/23285/05959
 

Is Bush to Blame for New Orleans Flooding? 9-3 http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=344

Kanye West says "Bush doesn't care about black people." 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/bjtkb

Bush Apologist/ Alibi Provider Head of Army Corps of Engineers, Fired Halliburton Whistle-Blower The man Bush is using to counter the news that he cut funding for hurricane safety projects in New Orleans is the same hatchet man who fired a whistle blower who reported inappropriate Halliburton contracts 9-3 http://tinyurl.com/dnfsb

New Orleans Isn't Anarchy. It's government-run chaos. 9-3
http://www.lewrockwell.com/edmonds/edmonds262.html

Rush Limbaugh renames hurricane to hurricane Katrina Vanden Heuvel (liberal,
editor of The Nation) 9-3 http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=18079 

3.  Project for the Old American Century, Sept. 4, 2005. 

Pat Robertson's prayers answered: Chief Justice Rehnquist dead 9-4
http://tinyurl.com/bvzeg

Levee repairs faked for Bush photo op 9-4 http://tinyurl.com/7t25f

 

There was a striking discrepancy between the CNN International report on the Bush visit to the New Orleans disaster zone, yesterday, and reports of the same event by German TV 9-4
http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/002485.html

 

U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., issued the following statement this afternoon regarding her call yesterday for President Bush to appoint a cabinet-level official to oversee Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts within 24 hours. 9-4 http://www.fromtheroots.org/story/2005/9/3/19542/97952

 

New Orleans police officer says that National Guard troops sat around playing cards while people died in the stricken city after Hurricane Katrina 9-4 http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=68532

 

The Homeland Security Department has requested and continues to request that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans 9-4 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05246/565143.stm

Michael Chertoff: 'we don't tell them to get ready and leave in 24 hours,
unless it's some sort of big emergency' 9-4 http://tinyurl.com/d5esu

 

First-hand account from boater who was part of a convoy of 500 citizen boats that sped to NO and were denied entry. 9-4 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/3/171718/0826

Entire city of New Orleans will remain abandoned for nine months, and many residents will remain homeless for two years according to U.S. officials 9-4 http://tinyurl.com/9o56e

Article on the Army Times web page is referring to American citizens in New Orleans as "the insurgency". 9-4 http://tinyurl.com/a6txd

 

"Last night at 8 p.m. they shot a kid of just 16. He was just crossing the street. They ran him over, the New Orleans police did, and then they got out of the car and shot him in the head" 9-4
http://tinyurl.com/cuxhv

Police On The Rampage in New Orleans.  'Stop the car right now,' reporter told. `Back up, or I'll shoot.’ The last of more than 350 images shot by Oleniuk depicted officers delivering a fierce beating to the two suspects, an assault so fearsome one of the suspects defecated. 9-4
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10086.htm

 

The last bedraggled refugees were rescued from the Superdome on Saturday and the convention center was all but cleared, leaving the heart of New Orleans to the dead and dying, the elderly and frail stranded too many days without food, water or medical care. 9-4 http://tinyurl.com/apbzq

Fearing riots, National Guard rejects food airdrops 9-4 http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?article=31346&section=104

Many people dying at NOLA airport. Bill Frist: "The hallways are filled, he floors are filled. A lot more than eight to ten people are dying a day" 9-4 http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3803295

 

"The following comes from a woman who works in the VA system in Shreveport, LA." 9-4
http://tinyurl.com/dc42r

 

In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility. No, really! 9-4
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp

Bush administration officials blamed state and local authorities for what leaders at all levels have called a failure of the country's emergency management. 9-4
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050904/1066662.asp

 

W. drove his budget-cutting Chevy to the levee, and it wasn't dry. Bye, bye, American lives. 9-4
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/03/opinion/03dowd.html

According to FOX"news" criticism of President Bush should now be treated as an obscenity 9-4
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/09/03/fox-race

300 troops with kin in Katrina zone sent home 9-4 http://tinyurl.com/dueyw

 

Very high resolution pictures of Katrina damage 9-4 http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/katrina/

________________  

Dr. Steven Jonas is a TPJ contributing author.  He is a Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University (NY) and author/co-author of over twenty books. Dr. Jonas is one of America's most perceptive Democratic political analysts.

In his book The New Americanism, Dr. Jonas presents his case that the Democratic Party has come adrift from its founding principles.  He urges the Party to turn to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to find the new vision and mission that it, and our country, so desperately need.  "The New Americanism: How the Democratic Party Can Win the Presidency  is available from Amazon.com (go to "Books;" enter the title) and BarnesandNoble.com (same).