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Matthew Hoy currently works as a metro page designer at the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The opinions presented here do not represent those of the Union-Tribune and are solely those of the author.

If you have any opinions or comments, please e-mail the author at: hoystory -at- cox -dot- net.

Dec. 7, 2001
Christian Coalition Challenged
Hoystory interviews al Qaeda
Fisking Fritz
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Thursday, September 08, 2005
Not just the Red Cross: Louisiana's fatally incompetent governor, Kathleen Blanco, not only barred the Red Cross from providing food, water and other basic necessities to evacuees at the Superdome and New Orleans Convention Center last week as conditions there quickly deteriorated, but also the Salvation Army. Why? Because she didn't want people to get too comfy.


The Salvation Army basically said look. We...first of all, both agencies also want to let people know that they've served the needs of thousands of people who got out, and who got out just a little bit to high ground, north of New Orleans. But they couldn't get in to meet those needs. They asked to get in. They were prepared with their...the Salvation Army has these ever-familiar portable kitchen canteens, is what they call them. They can actually make food, produce food on spot, and distribute it there. People line up. We've seen that at hurricanes and other natural disasters. They were ready. Not allowed in. At first, it was this idea that we don't want to create a magnet at the evacuation site. Secondarily, it became an issue of well, there's lots of water, and we can't assure your safety, so on and so forth. Here's another key point, Hugh. I was very specific with the American Red Cross, president and CEO Marty Evans, and said wait. Tell me clearly. Were you prepared to go in before the levees broke? Before water became an issue of any kind? She said absolutely. Were you denied access before the levees broke? She said we were denied access from minute one. [emphasis added]


People suffered and some may have died because of this idiocy. The fingerpointing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and President Bush is baseless and naked partisan opportunism. The most serious mistakes that continue to be revealed are not at the federal level, but at the local and state levels.

On a related note: Why this story hasn't been on the front page of every major newspaper in America and leading the network newscasts befuddles me. Is it incompetence? The herd mentality? Or maybe it wouldn't look good for Democrats if the truth came out?

11:50 PM

Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
 
I would add that last year Florida was hit by multiple storms. The view then was that government support resources performed well. So what is the difference between last year in Florida and this year in Louisiana?

First, Katrina was a much worse storm. One can't blame any human being for that. Second, state and local officials are different. Maybe there was a difference in competence between Florida officials and Louisiana officials. Draw your own conclusions.
 
Thank goodness the word is getting out. We know that only Democrats are to blame for this fiasco. Once again it will be shown that our President is without blame, acted perfectly, and never, ever makes a mistake while peforming his job. If we could evacuate all the people who don't agree with him 100% then we would never have another hurricaine, terrorist attack, and Iraq would be a democracy just like us!
 
Editor's Note: This is Joboo's original comment edited. We can do without the 4-letter words.

On CNN's Aaron Brown show on 8 September (yes, Aaron is impossible to watch, but Fox sucks right now with Pinhead Shepherd Smith and MSNBC is worse than CNN), they did a major report that not only implicated Blanco in massive bungling in delivering aid that FEMA and the Red Cross had delivered BEFORE the storm, but that Nagin did not use the buses he had to get people out, and that Bush tried to get people in on Tuesday and Wednesday but was thwarted by the Louisiana Homeland Security chief.

CNN ran this. The other day Soledad O'Brien questioned Nagin about his incompetence and he got pissed at her. Now Major Garrett of Fox is showing how local and state officials ****** up - notice that this kind of crap did not happen in Mississippi and Alabama - and not the Bush administration or FEMA.

The word is getting out. We need to be vigilant, and demand that Congress ONLY investigate this, and that the local and state responses be examined.

Dems don't want this. They want an "independent commission" which will try to divert blame on George W. Bush in time for next year's midterm elections.
 
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