Hmmmm.... who to blame?
Well aside from the Bush and the Republican majority taking money away from building up the levees- that wouldn't have been done till later anyway. It does however show their lack of concern for the region while Alaska was appropriated over twice what we asked to build a bridge to an island with 50 people.
And just so you know, I believe Nagin did all he could and that was a lot. He should be praised for his efforts. The reason for the wait for the mandatoy evacuation was simple: the city simply did not have the capacity to evacuate the poorest of the population. A recommended evacuation was announced in plenty of time to get everyone out. But how can you expect to round up about a hundred thousand people who don't have access to an automobile? The Superdome was given as a last minute shelter option for the hold-outs and buses were sent to retrieve the sick and infirm, but he warned everyone of how unbearable it could get if the water and electricity were out. Some people actually showed up there in cars, I guess they didn't get how bad it could be.
The problem with Bush was that the day before the hurricane hit, Bush declared the area 'A State of Emergency'. Wouldn't that give him the power of authority over the city in order to protect the American people in New Orleans? But he waited...and waited before sending the National Guard to protect the citizens from dying of dehydration and the rampant violence which occurred. I don't blame him for the hurricane, or for the levee breaking, I blame him for being on vacation for two days after the hurricane hit while local officials pleaded with him to bring help. This president vacations while people die, but I'm sure he thinks about it 'every single day' not that it helps.
And yes Michael Brown is incompetent, but that doesn't make Bush's responsibility any less. The buck stops with him, right?
Blanco- well she's very nice and all but I have no idea how effective she was in the task of getting the president to send help. Nagin however was excellent. His passion is what got the people listening and without that, it may have taken another two or three days to wake the president up.
Well aside from the Bush and the Republican majority taking money away from building up the levees- that wouldn't have been done till later anyway. It does however show their lack of concern for the region while Alaska was appropriated over twice what we asked to build a bridge to an island with 50 people.
And just so you know, I believe Nagin did all he could and that was a lot. He should be praised for his efforts. The reason for the wait for the mandatoy evacuation was simple: the city simply did not have the capacity to evacuate the poorest of the population. A recommended evacuation was announced in plenty of time to get everyone out. But how can you expect to round up about a hundred thousand people who don't have access to an automobile? The Superdome was given as a last minute shelter option for the hold-outs and buses were sent to retrieve the sick and infirm, but he warned everyone of how unbearable it could get if the water and electricity were out. Some people actually showed up there in cars, I guess they didn't get how bad it could be.
The problem with Bush was that the day before the hurricane hit, Bush declared the area 'A State of Emergency'. Wouldn't that give him the power of authority over the city in order to protect the American people in New Orleans? But he waited...and waited before sending the National Guard to protect the citizens from dying of dehydration and the rampant violence which occurred. I don't blame him for the hurricane, or for the levee breaking, I blame him for being on vacation for two days after the hurricane hit while local officials pleaded with him to bring help. This president vacations while people die, but I'm sure he thinks about it 'every single day' not that it helps.
And yes Michael Brown is incompetent, but that doesn't make Bush's responsibility any less. The buck stops with him, right?
Blanco- well she's very nice and all but I have no idea how effective she was in the task of getting the president to send help. Nagin however was excellent. His passion is what got the people listening and without that, it may have taken another two or three days to wake the president up.
posted by butterchurn at 9:00 PM
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