frankilin roosevelt

It's not about being liberal or conservative anymore y'all. That is a hype offered by the fascist whores who want to confuse the people with lies while they turn this country into an aristocratic police state. Some people will say anything to attain power and money. There is no such thing as the Liberal Media, but the Corporate media is very real.


Check out my old  Voice of the People page.


Gino Napoli
San Francisco, California
High School Math Teacher

jonsdarc@mindspring.com




Loyalty without truth
is a trail to tyranny.

a middle-aged
George Washington



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Monday, 5 September 2005 at 23h 15m 29s

How does FEMA fuck up, let us count the ways

FEMA won't accept Amtrak's help in evacuations

FEMA turns away experienced firefighters

FEMA turns back Wal-Mart supply trucks

FEMA prevents Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel

FEMA won't let Red Cross deliver food

FEMA bars morticians from entering New Orleans

FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid

FEMA fails to utilize Navy ship with 600-bed hospital on board

FEMA to Chicago: Send just one truck

FEMA turns away generators (See entry from 3:32 P.M. by Ben Morris, Slidell mayor)

FEMA: "First Responders Urged Not To Respond"


Monday, 5 September 2005 at 21h 41m 26s

The story of FEMAs demise

The story is written by the LA Times here. Read it for yourself.


Monday, 5 September 2005 at 21h 36m 23s

Where was the President?

Thanks to the Carpetbagger report[SOURCE]

NorthCom Lt. Commander Sean Kelly explained the military's efforts during Hurricane Katrina.


"Northcom started planning before the storm even hit. We were ready when it hit Florida, because, as you remember, it hit the bottom part of Florida, and then we were planning once it was pointed towards the Gulf Coast.

"So, what we did, we activated what we call 'defense coordinating officers' to work with the states to say, 'OK, what do you think you will need?' And we set up staging bases that could be started.

"We had the USS Bataan sailing almost behind the hurricane so once the hurricane made landfall, its search and rescue helicopters could be available almost immediately So, we had things ready.

"The only caveat is: we have to wait until the president authorizes us to do so. The laws of the United States say that the military can't just act in this fashion; we have to wait for the president to give us permission."


Yeah, Bush was on vacation, sharing some birthday cake with John McCain, pretending to play some guitar for a televised event, and then came home to camp for Wednesday night at his Crawford, Texas command and control center.

Relax people. There will plenty of money to make when the re-building contracts get passed around.


Monday, 5 September 2005 at 19h 2m 50s

The public relations presidency

Thanks to billmon[SOURCE]

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. ZDF News reported that the president's visit was a completely staged event. Their crew witnessed how the open air food distribution point Bush visited in front of the cameras was torn down immediately after the president and the herd of 'news people' had left and that others which were allegedly being set up were abandoned at the same time.

War and Piece September 3, 2005

Perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. 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 Press Statement September 3, 2005

Mr. Bush's arrival coincided with long-awaited deliveries of aid to the flood zone. But the president did not interact much with storm victims, and at one site, a Salvation Army truck in Mississippi, those he did see had first been screened by Secret Service agents with metal detectors.

New York Times Promises by Bush Amid the Tears September 3, 2005


I was just now listening to a black New Orleans native, graduate of UNO talk about why he thinks the administration was so slow, and why FEMA is turning away volunteers. He thinks the administration was too busy trying to figure out how they were going to spin the crisis and who they were going to give the contracts for rebuilding the city.

Which might be why that was all Bush could say when he first spoke into the microphone, while people were dying in New Orleans because the government sat on its hands and played mindgames.


Monday, 5 September 2005 at 17h 45m 20s

Comparing Katrina in 2005, with Florida during election year 2004

--Thanks to billmon. [SOURCE]

Here are some of the highlights from last year's relief efforts in Florida:

Gov. Jeb Bush sought federal help Friday while [Hurricane] Charley was still in the Gulf of Mexico. President Bush approved the aid about an hour after the hurricane made landfall. By Monday afternoon, the cavalry seemed to be in place . . . Cargo planes were shuttling FEMA supplies from a Georgia Air Force base to a staging area in Lakeland, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had shipped 11 truckloads of water and 14 truckloads of ice. The first assistance checks to victims were to be shipped Monday night.

St. Petersberg Times : Unlike Andrew, aid's right on Charley's heels August 17, 2004

__________________________________

Just weeks after Hurricane Charley tore through Florida, Hurricane Frances aimed for the Sunshine State Saturday morning [September 4, 2004] packing winds of 105 mph and bringing the potential for up to 20 inches of rain.

CNN : Hurricane Frances weakens slightly September 4, 2004

__________________________________

FEMA has positioned a powerful list of disaster response personnel, equipment and supplies to help those who are displaced or suffer losses after Hurricane Frances continues to move across Florida. The advance preparations include:

FEMA's [national and regional operations centers] are operating around the clock, coordinating the pre-positioning of assets and responding to state requests for assistance.

FEMA has deployed an advanced emergency response team to the Florida State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee to facilitate state requests for assistance. In addition, three rapid needs assessment teams have been pre- deployed to Florida.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at FEMA's request, is coordinating the staging of 100 truckloads of water and 100 truckloads of ice at operational centers in Florida.

A first shipment of 30,000 tarps is en route to Atlanta, Ga., to be pre-staged for delivery to areas affected by Frances once the storm has cleared.

FEMA is working to provider 10 trailers of generators at the request of Florida that will be used to provide power to critical facilities affected by the hurricane . . .

Four urban search and rescue teams are deployed to Florida -- two in Miami and two in Jacksonville. Four teams are on alert.

Two disaster medical assistance teams (DMAT) have been deployed to Florida to support medical facilities and hospitals that are not fully operational following the storm . . .

Five pharmaceutical caches, containing emergency medical supplies, are being pre-positioned, and are currently en route to Atlanta and Tampa.

FEMA's Mobile Emergency Response Services (MERS) communications staff and equipment are available to provide telephone, radio and video links in support of response and recovery efforts . . .

. . . FEMA is working with the General Services Administration to analyze vacancy rates of various safe housing options . . . as part of pre-planning temporary housing strategies for those whose homes are severely damaged or destroyed.

FEMA : Press release on advance preparations for Hurricane Frances September 4, 2004

__________________________________

As of noon Monday [two days after Frances made landfall] FEMA and other Federal response agencies have taken the following actions:

About one hundred trucks of water and 280 trucks of ice are present or will arrive in the Jacksonville staging area today.

900,000 Meals-Ready-to-Eat are on site in Jacksonville, ready to be distributed.

Over 7,000 cases of food (e.g., vegetables, fruits, cheese, ham, and turkey) are scheduled to arrive in Winter Haven today.

Disaster medical assistance teams (DMAT) are on the ground and setting up comfort stations. FEMA community relations personnel will coordinate with DMATs to assist victims.

Urban search and rescue teams are completing reconnaissance missions in coordination with state officials.

FEMA is coordinating with the Department of Energy and the state to ensure that necessary fuel supplies can be distributed throughout the state, with a special focus on hospitals and other emergency facilities that are running on generators.

The Army Corps of Engineers will soon begin its efforts to provide tarps to tens of thousands of owners of homes and buildings that have seen damage to their roofs . . .

The Departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Defense together have organized 300 medical personnel to be on standby. Medical personnel will begin deployment to Florida tomorrow . . .

White House Responding to Hurricanes Charley and Frances September 6, 2004

__________________________________

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency . . . is preparing for Hurricane Ivan’s landfall, which could affect multiple states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Intense planning and immediate actions are underway today in anticipation of Hurricane Ivan, including:

FEMA personnel remain in Florida working with the victims of the two previous hurricanes. However, some staff has been repositioned to respond to state requests for assistance with Hurricane Ivan.

In addition to the supplies provided for the two earlier hurricanes, the Army Corps of Engineers is standing by with 100 refrigerator trucks of ice and 500 trucks of water to meet immediate needs as part of the Hurricane Ivan response.

FEMA is using every available means to move supplies to where they are most needed, including pre-positioning supplies and using alternative means of transportation such as ships, air transport, and railroad.

FEMA : Hurricane Ivan Preparations Underway September 14, 2004



So, then you have to ask why did they handle Katrina completely different? Answer: it was an election year.

Did they think they could manage public relations by blaming the Democratic Governor and Mayor, so as to make Bush look Presidential with cameras and speeches? Was this planned all along?


Monday, 5 September 2005 at 20h 44m 45s

FEMA is supposed to manage, not finger point

From Ed Kilgore [SOURCE]

Anyone who's been involved in a disaster response episode will tell you the first few days are characterized by absolute chaos. Basic logistics are fouled up; communications systems are paralyzed; a thousand urgent needs must be triaged; a vast welter of well-meaning but tunnel-visioned federal, state and local agencies, plus private charitable organizations and volunteers, rush in; local elected officials are forced in front of cameras to inform and reassure the affected population. Somebody has to be in charge of the chaos, and that's FEMA's job.


From Knight-Ridder:
[Michael]Brown's ticket to FEMA was Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's 2000 campaign manager and an old friend of Brown's in Oklahoma. When Bush ran for president in 2000, Brown was ending a rocky tenure at the horse association. Brown told several association officials that if Bush were elected, he'd be in line for a good job. When Allbaugh, who managed Bush's campaign, took over FEMA in 2001, he took Brown with him as general counsel.

"He's known Joe Allbaugh for quite some time," said Andrew Lester, an Oklahoma lawyer who's been a friend of Brown's for more than 20 years. "I think they know each other from school days. I think they did some debate type of things against each other, and worked on some Republican politics together."

...

From 1991 until 2000, Brown earned about $100,000 a year as the chief rules enforcer of the Arabian horse association. He was known as "The Czar" for the breadth of his power and the enthusiasm with which he wielded it, said Mary Anne Grimmell, a former association president.

...

Brown's old friend Lester said the progression from horse shows to hurricanes was natural.

"A lot of what he had to do was stand in the breach in difficult, controversial situations," Lester said. "Which I think would well prepare him for his work at FEMA."


The article also says Brown made an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1988. This means he's just a good-ole boy trying to get in on the profits.

-- thanks to Joshua Micha Marshall at Talkingpointsmemo for this information.SOURCE


Monday, 5 September 2005 at 16h 57m 27s

The spinning begins

So they have to play word and mind games in order to deflect their incompetence?

From Joshua Micah Marshall [LINK]

Did Newsweek get spun too?

One way or another, let's get this straightened out once and for all.

As we've discussed over the course of the day, the Washington Post ran an article today in which they reported, on the say-so of an unidentified "senior Bush official", that as late as yesterday Louisiana Gov. Blanco still hadn't gotten around to declaring a state of emergency. This, allegedly, had prevented a more rapid federal response.

Only this claim seemed to be belied by a copious public record, not least of which was the actual declaration of a state of emergency dated August 26th, 2005, available on the state of Louisiana website.

The falsity of what the "senior Bush official" told the Post apparently turned out to be so patently obvious that before the day was out the Post issued a correction, noting Blanco's declaration on the 26th.

Yet the new issue of Newsweek says this of Blanco, as of September 1st, almost a week later ...

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco seemed uncertain and sluggish, hesitant to declare martial law or a state of emergency, which would have opened the door to more Pentagon help.

Now, all the rights and wrongs of this tragic debacle will turn on weightier facts than the day on which Blanco issued this declaration. But this claim, which appeared in two major national publications, seems to be patently false. In both the Post and Newsweek the anecdote appears as an illustration of Blanco's dawdling which prevented a more rapid federal response.

The Post got played by a senior administration official. Pretty odd that Newsweek would come up with the same false anecdote on their own, right?

Who's Newsweek's source?



Monday, 5 September 2005 at 17h 8m 35s

FEMA ... to the rescue?????

FEMA director Michael Brown is the old FEMA director's (Joe Allbaugh) college roommate. He was put in charge to get fat contracts for his good buddies. It's called privatizing -- because it's better to get big government off your back by giving the money away to your business partners.

FEMA has always done this job successfully. But this is what you get when you put someone in charge who has no experience, and is more interested in nickeling and diming the agency, more interested in public relations press conferences -- than helping people.

Bush put Joe Allbaugh [ read more about him here and here.] in charge of FEMA in 2001 when they decided to no longer make FEMA a cabinet level program. Allbaugh was Bush's campaign manager in 2000, and the FEMA appointment was his "reward". He also had no disaster experience. He "downsized" the agency and then left in November 2002 to become a consultant to help corporations do business in Iraq. In other words, get fat contracts and make lots of money.

Brown replaced Allbaugh in November 2002. FEMA was then folded underneath the Department of Homeland Security headed by lawyer Michael Chertoff who also has no disaster experience. He was appointed to make sure the contracts go to all of the right people.

In the past, whenever a storm comes into the gulf that might become a CAT ONE, they start getting supplies ready in Houston. This has been so as long as I can remember. After Camille and Betsy (in the 1960's pre-computer era) the government was there the next day with help.

This time they didn't set up a distribution center in Houston when they knew this would be a hurricane on Friday. They knew it would hit somewhere. It the past FEMA always did this. This time they sat on their hands.

Where was Bush on Tuesday and Wednesday? Answer: giving a speech in San Diego explaining "we are in Iraq to keep the oil wells from getting into the hands of the terrorists."

When Terri Schivo was on the verge of death, he cut his vacation short and immediately flew back to Washington. When Katrina hits and destroys the gulf- coast, it takes our president 3 days to get to Washington D.C.

On Saturday, the cameras show Bush, Brown, Chertoff, and Rumsfeld all have their press conference. Apparently, they were getting briefed on the situation (looking mighty presidential too) on Saturday. Why wasn't this done last weekend? Why wasn't our President on the god damn phone last Sunday, making sure everyone was preparing for this catastrophe?

The Governor and Mayor both notified FEMA of their needs by Saturday, as they were supposed to do. FEMA did nothing. The Governor and Mayor both put all of their efforts into saving people Monday and Tuesday while the waters rose. because property that is looted can be replaced, but dead people cannot. Had FEMA acted and coordinated ("managed") the needs of the city when the city and state detailed its needs on Saturday, the situation would not have gotten as bad as it did.

This is why there is a Federal Emergency Management Agency in the first place. That's what "Emergency Management" means. According to the agency's own website, it is the "Agency of the US government tasked with Disaster Mitigation, Preparedness, Response & Recovery planning."

Government programs do work, and have worked in the past quite well. Except when you have presidents and presidential appointees who look at government as a way to line their friend's pockets, and who know nothing about the position they head.

This current administration is DUMB. All they care about is politics and making sure their friends get some of the government contracts.

And these folks are supposed to defend us from a ... terrorist attack? Maybe they act so lackadaisical because they spent their time planning on how to take political advantage of the disaster when they had plenty of evidence the disaster was coming.


Tuesday, 30 August 2005 at 23h 50m 9s

Yes, he really said this today in San Diego



"We are in Iraq to prevent the oil fields from getting into the hands of the terrorists."

Meanwhile, New Orleans is flooded when 2 levees break that were not able to be completed because of 52 million dollars in cuts by this administration to pay for Iraq. And 300 plus Lousiana National Guards units AND THEIR AMPHIBIOUS EQUIPEMENT watch this disaster in Iraq.


Monday, 29 August 2005 at 3h 9m 35s

Bye, bye New Orleans


This one is real. A few of y'all who didn't call need to call me and tell me how you are doing.

There have only been 3 category 5 storms to hit the United States since these things have been recorded. Katrina is now the fourth. This thing has hurricane force winds at 45 miles from the eye. At 11 mph that is 4 hours long one way, followed by 4 hours of the end of the storm. The storm surges will probably inundate the city, and lord help those downtown buildings when the 160mph winds start hitting them.

This is the worst storm I've ever heard of, and recall that I grew up in New Orleans. I know hurricanes all to well.

Good god, what will be left of the city. The French Quarter has never been completely underwater. No one knows what could happen should this thing really hit at 20 feet high.

We will soon discover the power of mother nature, within 24 hours.




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