"No one could have anticipated this kind of disaster"

In case people are looking for the series of articles from the New Orleans Times Picayune from 2002 that did, in fact, anticipate this kind of disaster in New Orleans, I provide the link below:


"Washing Away"

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This is the new mantra. And of course -- as Namo has effectively noted in two other threads -- it is eerily reminiscent of Condoleeza's infamous commentary on the Bin Laden threat vis a vis airplanes and tall buildings. I love what NY politico Charlier Rangel said: "Bush will tell us he had faulty intelligence..." FEMA will be heroes, the "media" weather folk will be demonized.

But already we're hearing that the "media" have made it look "worse than it is..." When in doubt these days, blame journalists. But as Bill Maher and company noted last night, many have stepped up to the plate, post Iraq war, to ask the hard questions. In particular, I've noted a new pushy edge in CNN's Miles O'Brian. This a.m., he had an army topcat on, who opined that the water had begun to drain back into Lake Pontrartrain. Miles pointedly interrupted, to say "you're telling me water is flowing uphill?" The army figure got fartutsed, and had no real response. It was perhaps the dawn of a new era -- an instantaneous and refreshingly honest moment of truthspeaking, as someone dared to cut through the spin.

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Updated On: 9/3/05 at 08:45 PM

Can you imagine if the news media hadn't been completely co-opted by the administration (yes, this means you Judith Miller) in the run up to the war and if the concept of being "embedded" had never been invented? Can you imagine how many lives would have been saved if investigative journalists actually investigated?

Since the reportage is coming from people who do not have to clear their reports with the government, they are free to point out the disconnect between "the official word" and reality.

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Which explains why, in this topsy turvy world that W has created, Michael Chertoff is the one being trotted out the most to talk about the incredible response of the US government.

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Plum, it still "could not have been anticipated."
Hell, here's the 2nd time during an administration when a report outlining what happened to a T has been dumped on our President's desk and he's gone out tree-chopping and mom-ignoring in the backwoods of Texas.

Ah, here's the latest bit of fun. Michael Brown, the head of FEMA, says that the agency did indeed have a plan for a Category 4 storm. Anyone else keep expecting smoke to come from the general direction of Chertoff's pants?

BTW, this is another lovely "official bullcrap vs. reality" story from CNN. They're seriously not taking it anymore.

CNN

Updated On: 9/4/05 at 02:10 AM

This was no natural disaster. Bush ordered the experimental use of HAARP to deflect attention away from his failure in Iraq.

Did anyone see Tim Russert take on Chertoff today, using the Picayune article? It was startling in its Cassandra like accuracy, literally illustrating (in Jan. of 05) the tragedy that would come.

It was also startling, once again, to notice the absence of owning up. No one will say, "we made a mistake." No one will simply answer a question with honesty. It's all about ass-covering. Chertoff should be fired. Just about everyone in FEMA should be dumped. It won't happen. As Frank Rich noted, in his predictably eloquent take on this debacle, they will be rewarded a la Tennet and Bremer.

I'm sticking with the media, who has been remarkable. Miles O'Brian, Anderson, Russert, even GQ cover Bryan Williams. They all managed to do what the "first responders" could not do: SHOW UP.

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It was also startling, once again, to notice the absence of owning up. No one will say, "we made a mistake." No one will simply answer a question with honesty.

I know exactly what you mean. The liberating thing about admitting mistakes is that it's the first real step in CORRECTING them. The other day in some thread Mr. Roxy was criticizing Bill Clinton for apollogizing for his lack of action during the Rwandna genocide. He illustrated how there is NO SUCH THING as redemption and forgiveness in the NY Post/Fox News worldview.

But since the pathology of this administration, starting at the tippy top (remember Bush not being able to think of a SINGLE mistake he made in his first four years during the debates) is to never, ever admit a mistake, the US continues its policy of Bumbling Arrogance.

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Can we just let the curtain ring down and return to the real world?

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He's never been accountable for any of his mistakes (costly mistakes at that), why start now?

What is the real world but history repeating itself?

Chertoff's line of the day -- which he actually believes works -- is built into his bizarre obsession with this tragedy being "two -- the storm and the flooding..." DUH. A week later, it's mind-numbing to hear this espoused as analysis, when we all managed to know, in real time, exactly that fact.

And equally strange: that they all "breathed a sigh of relief..." on Tuesday morning. What shocked me was hearing him say (to both Russert and Blitzer) "we all read the headlines on Tuesday which said 'New Orleans dodged the bullet.'"

I wish someone would interrupt him to say "but why was Homeland Security and FEMA using NEWSPAPER HEADLINES to make any kind of decisions -- and what were you thinking in daring to 'breathe a sigh of relief' when you hadn't even toured the damage, or made plans to!

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Updated On: 9/4/05 at 02:28 PM