"It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground.": US President, G.W.Bush
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Published on Thursday, September 1, 2005 by Knight-Ridder
Federal Government Wasn't Ready for Katrina, Disaster Experts Say
The slow response to Katrina and poor federal leadership is a replay of 1992's mishandling of Hurricane Andrew
by Seth Borenstein
WASHINGTON - The federal government so far has bungled the job of quickly helping the multitudes of hungry, thirsty and desperate victims of Hurricane Katrina, former top federal, state and local disaster chiefs said Wednesday.
" What you're seeing is revealing weaknesses in the state, local and federal levels. All three levels have been weakened. They've been weakened by diversion into terrorism."
former Bush administration disaster response manager Eric Tolbert
The experts, including a former Bush administration disaster response manager, told Knight Ridder that the government wasn't prepared, scrimped on storm spending and shifted its attention from dealing with natural disasters to fighting the global war on terrorism.
The disaster preparedness agency at the center of the relief effort is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which was enveloped by the new Department of Homeland Security with a new mission aimed at responding to the attacks of al-Qaida.
"What you're seeing is revealing weaknesses in the state, local and federal levels," said Eric Tolbert, who until February was FEMA's disaster response chief. "All three levels have been weakened. They've been weakened by diversion into terrorism."
source: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0901-01.htm
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Bush and Katrina:
A time for action, not aloofness
AS THE EXTENT of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation became clearer on Tuesday — millions without power, tens of thousands homeless, a death toll unknowable because rescue crews can’t reach some regions — President Bush carried on with his plans to speak in San Diego, as if nothing important had happened the day before.
Katrina already is measured as one of the worst storms in American history. And yet, President Bush decided that his plans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VJ Day with a speech were more pressing than responding to the carnage.
A better leader would have flown straight to the disaster zone and announced the immediate mobilization of every available resource to rescue the stranded, find and bury the dead, and keep the survivors fed, clothed, sheltered and free of disease.
The cool, confident, intuitive leadership Bush exhibited in his first term, particularly in the months immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, has vanished. In its place is a diffident detachment unsuitable for the leader of a nation facing war, natural disaster and economic uncertainty.
Wherever the old George W. Bush went, we sure wish we had him back.
source: http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=59785
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The day Arizona was in the eye of Hurricane George
Aug. 30, 2005 12:00 AM
I'm guessing that Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, will not be remembered as the day President George W. Bush stopped by a retirement community in El Mirage to discuss prescription drug benefits for seniors.
As nice as it was to have the president visit the state we live in, I believe it would have been OK with us if Mr. Bush had canceled or at least postponed his plans in order to monitor the progress of Hurricane Katrina and to review federal relief plans.
As it is, however, the president decided to visit El Mirage. Life goes on. He spoke briefly about the hurricane, promising disaster relief. Then, after urging Americans to pray for those most affected by the storm, Bush said, "I also want to talk about immigration." I've got a feeling that historians looking back on this day will not describe that transition as a particularly shining presidential moment.
As important as the topic of immigration is to people living in Arizona, and as self-centered as we all can be, I figure that most of us would not have minded if the president hadn't discussed our troublesome border at the same time that huge storm was pounding cities on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi.
It may have been nice for us to hear the president tell Arizona residents, "It's important for the people of this state to understand that your voices are being heard in Washington, D.C." But I think that it would have been acceptable if, just for a day, the president focused all of his domestic attention on the meteorological event affecting Greater New Orleans.
We all have jobs to do, often at the same time that we are dealing with personal disasters, both natural and otherwise.
But on a day when the devastation of the hurricane was far from known, even those most concerned with, for instance, the war in Iraq, probably didn't need the president to reassuringly tell the El Mirage audience, "I'm very optimistic about Iraq."
And if Aug. 29, 2005, is remembered at all, I have a sneaking suspicion that it won't have anything to do with the president having told a friendly audience in Arizona how happy he is that "we finally got ourselves an energy bill."
Or because the president took a moment to reassure seniors about Social Security.
And I'd give you odds that it won't be because he said nice things about Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl or Rep. Trent Franks.
In a way, the president of the United States is the eye of a constantly circulating political hurricane. Ordinarily, the fact that he made landfall in Arizona would be big news. The fact that there were war protesters outside the president's appearance might have meant something, too, were it not for the fact that an actual hurricane struck on the same day.
Bush could have pointed this out. He could have skipped Arizona for Washington, D.C. He could have said that war, immigration, Social Security, Medicare and the rest are important, but for this day let's put them aside, along with the rest of our personal and political special interests, and concentrate on the folks in the path of the storm.
Disaster experts said Monday that it could take days or weeks before we understand the full extent of the damage caused by Katrina. Yet by afternoon the hurricane story seemed to have been downgraded more than the hurricane.
Monday will not be remembered for the trip that President Bush made to a retirement community in El Mirage. But a clever historian might mark Aug. 29, 2005, as the day when Americans proved that even in the face of a hurricane we couldn't get over ourselves.
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8978.
source:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0830montini30.html#
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Bush sees hurricane damage from Air Force One
Aug 31 2:33 PM US/Eastern
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's plane swooped low over three states on Wednesday, giving him a somber view of the destruction left by Hurricane Katrina as he returned to Washington to oversee the U.S. government's response.
Air Force One descended to less than 3,000 feet (900 meters) over Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to allow Bush to see some of the worst damage.
At 2,500 feet over New Orleans, the president and his aides could see the skin of the Superdome roof peeled back by the storm's fury.
"It's totally wiped out," Bush remarked as the modified Boeing 747 moved east past Slidell, a Louisiana community reduced to a pile of rubble and sticks.
"It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground," Bush said, according to his spokesman Scott McClellan.
to view the entire article please visit:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/08/31/MTFH18198_2005-08-31_18-41-55_SCH157745.html
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AirForceOne
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The National Guard Belongs in New Orleans and Biloxi. Not Baghdad.
by Norman Solomon
The men and women of the National Guard shouldn’t be killing in Iraq.
They should be helping in New Orleans and Biloxi.
The catastrophic hurricane was an act of God. But the U.S. war effort in Iraq is a continuing act of the president. And now, that effort is hampering the capacity of the National Guard to save lives at home.
Before the flooding of New Orleans drastically escalated on Tuesday, the White House tried to disarm questions that could be politically explosive. “To those of you who are concerned about whether or not we’re prepared to help, don’t be, we are,” President Bush said. “We’re in place, we’ve got equipment in place, supplies in place, and once the -- once we’re able to assess the damage, we’ll be able to move in and help those good folks in the affected areas.”
source: http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0831-27.htm
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Montana Governor Sets Off Fight with Call to Bring Guard Home
Reuters
Sunday 13 March 2005
Sula, Mont. - Gov. Brian Schweitzer has touched off a political fight with Montana Republicans after calling for the return of National Guard troops serving in Iraq to help out in what many fear will be a record-setting wildfire season.
Mr. Schweitzer, a newly elected Democrat, infuriated Republican lawmakers who see his request as a way to criticize the Bush administration over Iraq.
"He's figured out how to use the wildfire season to protest the Iraq war," said Bob Keenan, the state Senate Republican leader. "It's an antiwar statement and condemnation of Bush's actions."
The governor and his supporters deny those accusations in a growing political battle that comes as weather experts say a seven-year drought and a severely reduced snowpack could lead to a devastating summer of wildfires.
They also worry that limited resources stretched thinner by the National Guard's service overseas could make it hard to combat the kind of huge blazes that engulfed the state in 2000, when some 2,400 wildfires burned nearly 950,000 acres of mostly public land.
"Everything right now is pointing to the possibility of a large and damaging fire season," said Bruce Thoricht, meteorologist with the federal Northern Rockies Coordination Center in Missoula.
to read the entire article go here: http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/37/9609
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Following is a list of refineries that remained completely shut as of Aug. 30:
ExxonMobil /PDVSA's 187,000 b/d Chalmette refinery in Louisiana;
Chevron's 325,000 b/d refinery in Pascagoula, Miss.;
Valero Energy's 190,000 b/d St. Charles refinery in Louisiana;
Motiva Enterprises' 242,000 b/d Norco refinery and 252,000 b/d Convent refinery, both in Louisiana;
ConocoPhillips' 250,000 b/d Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, La.;
Marathon Ashland Petroleum's 245,000 b/d refinery in Garyville, La.;
Murphy Oil's Meraux plant;
Ergon Refining's 23,000 b/d refinery in Vicksburg, Miss.; and
Hunt Southland's 11,000 b/d Sandersville refinery and 5,800 b/d; Lumberton refinery, both in Mississippi.
Serious gas crunch reported
SUSAN KIM
BALTIMORE (August 31, 2005) —
Emergency managers up the east coast and elsewhere are reporting serious gas shortages.
"We may be facing a major fuel supply situation," reported a county-level emergency manager in South Carolina. "We in this county are cutting all non-essential services such as garbage pickup. It is a developing situation."
Gas stations in upstate South Carolina reported they were running out of gas. "The state is telling us the pipeline that services the northeast has been disrupted at the supply point in Louisiana, and that it will take a week and half for it to reach us," he said. "A lot of gas stations are out and closed in this area."
In central Maryland, many gas stations were shut down by Wednesday night. "I don't know when I'll get gas again," said one station owner in Laurel, Md.
In North Carolina, a gas station on U.S. 74 reported it had only premium gas left and was selling it for $2.99. Station managers say they are unable to get gas from their suppliers. A nearby competitor station reported it had to close altogether because it was out of all fuel.
In Michigan, gas prices were as high as $3.92 for unleaded regular in Garden City, just one of many stations with high prices in the Detroit metro area. Forty percent of Michigan’s gas comes from the Gulf Coast.
In Atlanta, gas prices were rising and shortages were imminent, residents reported.
Hurricane Katrina shut down a number of oil platforms, refineries and pipelines.
Posted August 31, 2005 6:56 PM
source: http://www.disasternews.net/news/news.php?articleid=2800
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Fuel shortages could affect W.Va. emergency vehicles
WKYT/WYMT Headlines
Gas Prices Hit Record High in Kentucky
Governor Mobilizes Kentucky National Guard
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- At least two West Virginia counties have been scrambling to find enough fuel to run their emergency vehicles and public transportation systems following looming fuel shortages caused by Hurricane Katrina.
The Transit Authority in Huntington, which supplies fuel to its fleet of buses, ambulances for Cabell County Emergency Services and to the Cabell County Sheriff's Department, only has enough gasoline for police cruisers until Friday, Vickie Shaffer, TTA general manager, told The Herald-Dispatch for Wednesday's edition.
Diesel fuel for buses and county ambulances would dwindle by the middle of next week, she said.
"What we have here in my opinion is an early indication the problem is bigger than we thought it would be," Shaffer said. "We may have an interruption in fuel, and we need to address that."
The problem could spread to consumer outlets, where the price of regular gasoline jumped 50 cents overnight in some areas from $2.59 a gallon to $3.09 on Wednesday.
Cabell County is not alone. Officials in Kanawha County also are facing short supplies of gasoline and diesel.
Doug Hartley, Kanawha Rapid Transit System's assistant general manager, said the county's supply of gasoline for police cruisers and other vehicles would only last until Friday, while it has a 21-day supply of diesel fuel. The earliest refill for gasoline could come Wednesday, while it might be possible to get diesel fuel Thursday.
"We're told there is no guarantee," Hartley told The Charleston Gazette.
Gulf Coast crude oil is not being delivered, causing several refineries in the Midwest to back off supplies, said Linda Casey, a spokeswoman for Marathon-Ashland Petroleum, which operates a refinery in Catlettsburg, Ky.
Eight of Marathon-Ashland Petroleum's refineries in Louisiana are now closed, she said.
source: http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=3789327
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What's being written to President Bush in the "Light of Day" !
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At Least Ten U.S. Airports Face Closure Due to Jet Fuel Shortages
August 31, 2005… Airlines and oil companies are working on plans to supply jet fuel to at least ten U.S. airports that could be shut down due to a lack of jet fuel caused by refinery and pipeline shutdowns from hurricane Katrina. The airports in most jeopardy for closure include Atlanta, Charlotte, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Orlando, Tampa, Washington Dulles and West Palm Beach.
source: http://www.airportbusiness.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=3343
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"No One Can Say they Didn't See it Coming"
By Sidney Blumenthal
In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war.
Biblical in its uncontrolled rage and scope, Hurricane Katrina has left millions of Americans to scavenge for food and shelter and hundreds to thousands reportedly dead. With its main levee broken, the evacuated city of New Orleans has become part of the Gulf of Mexico. But the damage wrought by the hurricane may not entirely be the result of an act of nature.
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Biloxi Newspaper Slams Relief Effort, Begs for Help
By Greg Mitchell
Published: August 31, 2005 10:15 PM ET
NEW YORK The Sun Herald of Biloxi, Miss., in an editorial today, criticized the relief effort in its ravaged area so far, and told officials and the nation-at-large: "South Mississippi needs your help."
It angrily revealed: "While the flow of information is frustratingly difficult, our reporters have yet to find evidence of a coordinated approach to relieve pain and hunger or to secure property and maintain order. People are hurting and people are being vandalized.
"Yet where is the National Guard, why hasn't every able-bodied member of the armed forces in South Mississippi been pressed into service?"
Pointedly, it declared that earlier today, "reporters listening to horrific stories of death and survival at the Biloxi Junior High School shelter looked north across Irish Hill Road and saw Air Force personnel playing basketball and performing calisthenics."
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