AmberSkyy
September 19th, 2005, 07:58 AM
Subject: Battle Over New Orleans
On Friday night, August 26, 2005 before the Hurricane hit, Max Mayfield
of the National Hurricane Center took the unprecedented action of
calling Mayor Nagin of New Orleans and Louisiana Governor Blanco
personally to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of New
Orleans and they said they'd take it under consideration. This was after
the NOAA buoy 240 miles south had recorded 68' waves before it was
destroyed.
President Bush spent Friday afternoon and evening in meetings with his
advisors and administrators drafting all of the paperwork required for a
state to request federal assistance (and not be in violation of the
Posse Comitatus Act or having to enact the Insurgency Act).
Just before midnight Friday evening the President called Governor Blanco
and pleaded with her to sign the request papers so the federal
government and the military could legally begin mobilization and call
up. He was told that they didn't think it necessary for the federal
government to be involved yet.
After the President's final call to the governor she held meetings with
her staff to discuss the political ramifications of bringing federal
forces. It was decided that if they allowed federal assistance it would
make it look as if they had failed so it was agreed upon that the feds
would not be invited in.
Saturday, August 27, before the Hurricane hit, the President again
called Blanco and Nagin requesting they please sign the papers
requesting federal assistance, that they declare the state an emergency
area, and begin mandatory evacuation.
After a personal plea from the President, Mayor Nagin agreed to order an
evacuation, but it would not be a full mandatory evacuation, and the
governor still refused to sign the papers requesting and authorizing
federal action. In frustration the President declared the area a
national disaster area before the state of Louisiana did so he could
legally begin some advanced preparations.
Rumoc r has it that the President's legal advisers were looking into the
ramifications of using the insurgency act to bypass the Constitutional
requirement that a state request federal aid before the federal
government can move into state with troops - but that had not been done
since 1906 and the Constitutionality of it was called into question to
use before the disaster.
Throw in that over half the federal aid of the past decade to New
Orleans for levee construction, maintenance, and repair was diverted to
fund a marina and support the gambling ships. Toss in the investigation
that will look into why the emergency preparedness plan submitted to the
federal government for funding and published on the city's website was
never implemented and in fact may have been bogus for the purpose of
gaining additional federal funding. As we now learn that the
organizations identified in the plan were never contacted or
coordinating into any planning, though the document implies that they
were.
The suffering people of New Orleans need to be asking some hard
questions as do we all, but they better start with why Go! vernor&n bsp;Blanco
refused to even sign the multi-state mutual aid pack activation
documents until Wednesday, August 31, which further delayed the legal
deployment of National Guard from adjoining states. Or maybe ask why
Mayor Nagin keeps harping that the President should have commandeered
500 Greyhound busses to help him when according to his own emergency
plan and documents he claimed to have over 500 busses at his disposal to
use between the local school busses and the city transportation busses -
but he never raised a finger to prepare them or activate them.
This is a sad time for all of us to see that a major city has all but
been destroyed and thousands of people have died with hundreds of
thousands more suffering, but it's certainly not a time for people to be
pointing fingers and trying to find a bigger dog to blame for local
corruption and incompetence. Pray to God for the survivors that they can
start their lives anew as fast as possible and we learn from all the
mistakes to avoid them in the future.
Thom Ridnour, Senior Vice President, Trizec Properties, Inc., 1201! El m
St., Suite 3838, Dallas, TX 75270 thom.ridnour@trz.com, Phone Numbers:
214-571-6260 (Direct), 214-571-6277 (Fax), 972-523-2120 (Cell)
On Friday night, August 26, 2005 before the Hurricane hit, Max Mayfield
of the National Hurricane Center took the unprecedented action of
calling Mayor Nagin of New Orleans and Louisiana Governor Blanco
personally to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of New
Orleans and they said they'd take it under consideration. This was after
the NOAA buoy 240 miles south had recorded 68' waves before it was
destroyed.
President Bush spent Friday afternoon and evening in meetings with his
advisors and administrators drafting all of the paperwork required for a
state to request federal assistance (and not be in violation of the
Posse Comitatus Act or having to enact the Insurgency Act).
Just before midnight Friday evening the President called Governor Blanco
and pleaded with her to sign the request papers so the federal
government and the military could legally begin mobilization and call
up. He was told that they didn't think it necessary for the federal
government to be involved yet.
After the President's final call to the governor she held meetings with
her staff to discuss the political ramifications of bringing federal
forces. It was decided that if they allowed federal assistance it would
make it look as if they had failed so it was agreed upon that the feds
would not be invited in.
Saturday, August 27, before the Hurricane hit, the President again
called Blanco and Nagin requesting they please sign the papers
requesting federal assistance, that they declare the state an emergency
area, and begin mandatory evacuation.
After a personal plea from the President, Mayor Nagin agreed to order an
evacuation, but it would not be a full mandatory evacuation, and the
governor still refused to sign the papers requesting and authorizing
federal action. In frustration the President declared the area a
national disaster area before the state of Louisiana did so he could
legally begin some advanced preparations.
Rumoc r has it that the President's legal advisers were looking into the
ramifications of using the insurgency act to bypass the Constitutional
requirement that a state request federal aid before the federal
government can move into state with troops - but that had not been done
since 1906 and the Constitutionality of it was called into question to
use before the disaster.
Throw in that over half the federal aid of the past decade to New
Orleans for levee construction, maintenance, and repair was diverted to
fund a marina and support the gambling ships. Toss in the investigation
that will look into why the emergency preparedness plan submitted to the
federal government for funding and published on the city's website was
never implemented and in fact may have been bogus for the purpose of
gaining additional federal funding. As we now learn that the
organizations identified in the plan were never contacted or
coordinating into any planning, though the document implies that they
were.
The suffering people of New Orleans need to be asking some hard
questions as do we all, but they better start with why Go! vernor&n bsp;Blanco
refused to even sign the multi-state mutual aid pack activation
documents until Wednesday, August 31, which further delayed the legal
deployment of National Guard from adjoining states. Or maybe ask why
Mayor Nagin keeps harping that the President should have commandeered
500 Greyhound busses to help him when according to his own emergency
plan and documents he claimed to have over 500 busses at his disposal to
use between the local school busses and the city transportation busses -
but he never raised a finger to prepare them or activate them.
This is a sad time for all of us to see that a major city has all but
been destroyed and thousands of people have died with hundreds of
thousands more suffering, but it's certainly not a time for people to be
pointing fingers and trying to find a bigger dog to blame for local
corruption and incompetence. Pray to God for the survivors that they can
start their lives anew as fast as possible and we learn from all the
mistakes to avoid them in the future.
Thom Ridnour, Senior Vice President, Trizec Properties, Inc., 1201! El m
St., Suite 3838, Dallas, TX 75270 thom.ridnour@trz.com, Phone Numbers:
214-571-6260 (Direct), 214-571-6277 (Fax), 972-523-2120 (Cell)