Last year on this date the hurricane hit. And last year on this date, the levees broke. And last year on this date, our president was in Arizona making a speech about the Medicare drug benefit. And last year on this date, hundreds of American citizens were dying in the flood from the aftermath of the hurricane and the breach of the levees. And no one was there to help.
8PM CDT – GOV. BLANCO AGAIN REQUESTS ASSISTANCE FROM BUSH: “Mr. President, we need your help. We need everything you’ve got.”
Last year on Tuesday, August 30th, a day after the levees broke, thousands of New Orleans residents were fighting for their lives in their attics and rooftops. President Bush was giving a speech on Iraq in San Diego. At 2 pm CDT, he was pictured playing guitar with country singer Mark Willis.
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.”
TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE:Los Angeles Times, 9/1/05]
“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. … There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming.”"
Last year on Wednesday, August 31st, President Bush flew over the city from Air Force One, observing the damage from space, safely in his airplane. He gave a speech at 4 pm, described by the New York Times: "Nothing about the president’s demeanor… — which seemed casual to the point of carelessness — suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis."
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]
8PM CDT — FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: “I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected.” [CNN]
Last year on Thursday, September 1st, 4 days after the storm hit, citizens were still - STILL! - stuck on their roofs and in the convention center and the Superdome and on the interstates, with no food, no water, and no sewage in 98-degree heat. There was still no federal response, not good enough state response, and the city's feeble forces were long since overwhelmed.
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]
Last year on Friday, September 2nd, I drove to Vermont with my friends to go drinking for the weekend, and we spent the entire night watching the news in complete shock. The people were still there. They were still there, no food, no water, living in human excrement and death. Geraldo looked like he was going to be killed, which was rather amusing, but in retrospect I still didn't have any idea of the scope of the disaster. Sadly, I wasn't the only one.
EARLY AM — BUSH WATCHES DVD OF THE WEEK’S NEWSCASTS CREATED BY STAFF WHO THOUGHT BUSH “NEEDED TO SEE THE HORRIFIC REPORTS”: “The
reality, say several aides who did not wish to be quoted because it
might displease the president, did not really sink in until Thursday
night. Some White House staffers were watching the evening news and
thought the president needed to see the horrific reports coming out of
New Orleans. Counselor Bartlett made up a DVD of the newscasts so Bush
could see them in their entirety as he flew down to the Gulf Coast the
next morning on Air Force One." [Newsweek]
10:35AM CDT — BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN: “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” [White House, 9/2/05]
12PM CDT — BUSH “SATISFIED WITH THE RESPONSE”: “I am satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with all the results.” [AP]
PM – FEMA’S NO. 2 OFFICIAL “IMPRESSED” WITH GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: “I am actually very impressed with the mobilization of man and machine to help our friends in this unfortunate area….I think it’s one of the most impressive search-and-rescue operations this country has ever conducted domestically.” [Time]
Finally - finally - on Saturday, the citizens were evacuated from the Superdome. Most had left the Convention Center the day before.
If you have HBO, please watch Spike Lee's documentary "When the Levees Broke". It is heartwrenching and depressing and difficult, but it needs to be seen by all citizens of this country. There was a national disaster, a tragedy that could not have necessarily been overcome - even though the levees were inadequately built, a danger known for decades - but it was the aftermath that is the thing that we all need to watch. All I kept saying throughout the entire film was "I don't understand". TV news crews were there. Soledad O'Brien was there. Anderson Cooper was there. The Canadian mounted police, some all the way from Vancouver were there. Sean fucking Penn was there. Helping. And yet the United States government was, for the most part, not. I don't understand. Why wasn't food and water there for the refugees? Why weren't there thousands of boats and helicopters to rescue people? Why weren't there thousands of buses to take people away from there? I don't understand. You might think it's race, or the fact that these people were poor, or the fact that the federal government was is run by such horribly inept political appointees, from Michael Brown to Michael Chertoff to President Bush himself. Whatever it is though, it still makes no sense. I don't understand. And anyone who can watch this movie and still have a favorable opinion about our president is either a racist misanthrope or a complete fucking idiot. I don't understand. Maybe I never will.
- And here's the aftermath... click on the links if you don't believe these facts.
Standing in Jackson Square on Sept. 15, President Bush stated, “This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina” and promised to “get the work done quickly.” But on the eve of Katrina’s one year anniversary, here’s a look at the current state of New Orleans:
– Less than half of the city’s pre-storm population of 460,000 has returned, putting the population at roughly what it was in 1880.
– Nearly a third of the trash has yet to be picked up.
– Sixty percent of homes still lack electricity.
– Seventeen percent of the buses are operational.
– Half of the physicians have left, and there is a shortage of 1,000 nurses.
– Six of the nine hospitals remain closed.
– Sixty-six percent of public schools have reopened.
– A 40 percent hike in rental rates, disproportionately affecting black and low-income families.
– A 300 percent increase in the suicide rate.
Eighty-four percent of New Orleans residents rate the government’s recovery efforts negatively, while 66 percent believe the recovery money has been “mostly wasted.”
Would somebody please blow the President already so we can impeach his ass? Worst President Ever, and it isn't even close. William Henry Harrison did more in 30 days in office than this guy will ever do. He was a failure as an oilman, a failure as a baseball owner, a failure as Governor, and now, surprise, he's run our country into the shitter. I hope Ralph Nader's happy. Sandra Day O'Connor too.
Posted by: Impeach Bush | August 28, 2006 at 09:42 PM