CNN's Lou Dobbs covers "Ray Nagin Memorial Pool" 9/6/05
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Just caught the re-broadcast of Lou Dobbs' Sept. 6 show on CNN. He had a report filed by Kitty Pilgrim. The transcript if here: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/06/ldt.01.html (scroll for Kitty Pilgrim's name) This was the first time I saw the MSM cover this scandal.
All of the Kitty Pilgrim report is worth reading, but here are some highlights:
And as this investigation over who's to blame for the disaster in the federal government continues, the criticism, much of it partisan, has centered on the role of the federal government and FEMA.
But tonight, there is new and intense focus on the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans, which may bear much of the blame for this humanitarian disaster. And Kitty Pilgrim has the report.
BEGIN VIDEOTAPE
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In New Orleans, as rescue continues, recovery also becomes a priority. The mayor estimates the death toll could reach 10,000. That same mayor, who early in the tragedy, as the water was rising, said everything was under control.
RAY NAGIN, MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: I don't feel like we're overwhelmed.
PILGRIM: That proved anything but true. During Hurricane Katrina, busses meant to evacuate people were not mobilized and left in areas where they were flooded.
The city's emergency plan clearly states that the mayor should take the lead, and New Orleans has a detailed written plan for evacuating 300,000 via transit and school bus. Some say blame for the New Orleans disaster clearly rests on the state and local officials.
BOB WILLIAMS, EVERGREEN FREEDOM FOUNDATION: Not only weren't the busses used; they weren't moved to higher ground. And so when they needed them, these busses were within a mile of the convention center, and yet they're all unusable.
Pilgrim mentions the "Hurriane Pam" drill of last summer where it was reailzed that 1 million people would need evacuating. She then said, "Despite the patterns of failure, Governor Kathleen Blanco even today was defending local and state efforts." She also reported that the Superdome was used for shelter in 1998 during Hurricane George and that evacuees "had to endure thefts and assaults. Yet, that facility continued to be a central part of the plan."
I was almost going to ask if this was a parody.
It seems that Sen. Landrieu is going to get quite a workout punching all sorts of people.
I'm glad even CNN is capable of asking questions about the incompetence of the locals and State folks.
The Feds share the blame, certainly, but so do the Mayor and Governor.
A WSJ op-ed agrees that Nagin and Blanco messed up BIG TIME.
See
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007219
An excerpt:
"The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved."