The Roanoke Slant

Roanoke Times, 9/5/05, Pg A 10: Sen. (D) Mary Landrieu threatened to punch Bush. Accuses Bush of not protecting New Orleans.
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Mary’s claim to fame was to tell a news conference at the start of the disaster that looters should not be confronted because they’re only getting food and water. Shortly after that the looters with guns that they stole starting shooting at rescue helicopters, rescue workers, police and folks trying to evacuate Mercy hospital and raped and killed at will.
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Mary’s statements on money are interesting. New Orleans spent $200 million to build the Super Dome – money they could have spent on protecting their people instead of entertaining them.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/03/1096741900787.html?from=storylhs
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Recently they have been planning for spending $174 million to upgrade the Superdome. If they knew they were at high risk why add more entertainment?
http://www.stadiumsofnfl.com/future/SaintsStadium.htm
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There are local experts whose view is that the Corps of Engineers had properly maintained the canal system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/01/national/nationalspecial/01levee.html
No one expected that weak spot to be on a canal that, if anything, had received more attention and shoring up than many other spots in the region. It did not have broad berms, but it did have strong concrete walls.
Shea Penland, director of the Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of New Orleans, said that was particularly surprising because the break was "along a section that was just upgraded."
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The bottom line is that local and state officials and government did not use the three day Category-5 warning to get their people to safety and utilize their first and second responder resources. After the roads and bridges were out and the dikes failed removing people was a one-at-a-time job.
**** What does "mandatory evacuation" mean? ****
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Clearly:
Mayor Ray Nagin is no Rudy Giulani and
Governor Kay Blanco is no Jeb Bush and
Senator Mary Landrieu is a jerk and
Thousands of folks paid a high price for that.
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Prior items:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/09/whose-job-is-it-anyway.html
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http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/09/some-hurrican-observations.html
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