Maybe Louisiana should secede from the union so she can get the same sort of deal Israel got....

Re "the same losers bitching about Katrina!"...If we continue with the same sort of "let them eat cake" GOP administration for the next 8 years, we'll still have Katrina survivors complaining about not having gotten help.

And I was going to add, I'll bet you wouldn't take the same sort of disrespectful tone about 9/11 survivors who needed help, but they truly got a sweet deal with some survivors having gotten over $1 million in compensation, so they don't seem to need help anymore.

SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU HILLBILLY!

Hows that impeachment coming?

IMPRISONBUSH - couple points, guess you are not aware of.

Bush personally called and asked them to start the evacuations. gov. advised the Mayor, do the same. he waited one day to order it. 1,000+ died. Gov. Blanco testified Tues that it's personal responsibility to evacuate - not governments'.

Superdome - no food/water? NOLA should've stocked necessary supplies before Katrina. Sate of LA refused Red Cross access into NOLA for almost a week.

Arrangement has long been:

"Under Federal Response Plan following a Pres declaration, the Red Cross and (FEMA) work cooperatively. Red Cross is a signatory to the Federal Response Plan and is obligated as an agent of the federal government to coordinate all mass care response assistance through Emergency Support function (EFS) #6. This means the Red Cross is the primary agent designated to provide mass care relief including food, shelter, supplies, first aid and more...

But you see, the State of LA ordered the Red Cross not to enter NOLA.

What about the homes. Billions are being given to homeowners to rebuild (or lesser amount if wish to re-locate). 43,000 individuals have received average of $73,000/each in Federal tax-free grants (not loans-it's a hand-out -historic in scope) to cover uninsured losses, in addition to other benefits received. The distribution (this federal money) is handled by the State of Louisiana - you can bet there is a lot of red-tape. Many reasons why it takes so long - but in the moment, it has been the inability of local authorities to come up with master planning, new building codes (flood plain restrictions/FEMA) etc. Other problems was that folks were'nt finding out about the program -was designed to help 200,000 severely damaged/destroyed homes get rebuilt (est funding allowed for average of $85,000 each, max/$150,000 per home - the press does not want the public to know about the possibilities - they only smear the program as "worthless" - "hasn't paid out a dime," "folks tired of waiting," etc.

Find where a national media outlet has laid out what is available and what is being done to help.

Yes, blame the liberals and the environmentalists. They cost money (past spent money). Money that you and your ilk benefit from day in and day out without acknowledging it. Who is paying for your roads, bridges, clean air, and water? Did these amenities just fall down from heaven, the infrastructure that enables you to look and smell good at your corporate job?

holy shit man! below sea level is no place to be

GH, as you proudly proclaim 'Never forget' and continue to link to the Lisa Meyers report of Blanco, which I believe was dated Oct. 2005. I thought of how sad this whole situation is. You personally would have people 'Never forget' a report produced in the immediate aftermath using selected clips and comments to divert from the issues...have at it.

I would rather have people 'Never forget' the images of lives, both human and pet, and property lost in a historical, unimaginable combination of natural and man-made disasters causing the devastation of a major US city and surrounding towns and communities that impacted an entire region of a State and its adjoining sister states and the political b.s. that contributed to the disaster. I would rather people 'Never forget' the self-deploying Coast Guard's heroic efforts, along w/ the emergency workers and volunteers that faced death-defying circumstances to rescue, house and recover victims and their pets and property. I would rather people 'Never forget' the donations and support from people from all around the world in efforts to help these people rebuild and recover. I would rather people 'Never forget' that this was a historical incident to this Nation where media and emergency and military became victims and part of the disaster also. Sharing with the citizens the fear, the isolation, the chaos, the rumors and the losses. I would rather people 'Never forget' the results of misinformation, rumors, lies, unfounded allegations and other 'tricks of the trade' by politicians and others in order to 'cover their a$$e$', gain politically and/or financially, or cast doubt and blame to innocent victims. I want people to 'Never forget' that this disaster did not discriminate politically, racially, religiously, educationally, nor by class, by age, or by species. And lastly, I want people to 'Never forget' that those that do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. I only pray that I never have a front seat view of a disaster of this magnitude in my lifetime again.

Another caring American citizen.

That's the most stupid sh** I've heard in a while.

Probably since...'heck of a job Brownie'.

There's too many ways to pick apart your comment. Idiot

It boggles my mind to think how selfish and cynical part of this nation has become. Did anyone question the need for federal assistance during the 1989 San Francisco earthquake? How about annual fed help for the western wildfires? Midwest flooding? Florida hurricanes? 9/11 recovery in New York? More recently for the Minneapolis bridge collapse? When did it become fashionable to denigrate tax-paying American citizens who through no fault of their own had their lives turned completely upside down? I know some are too dense and selfish to comprehend the magnitude of the Katrina disaster, that's their problem and I know my words will never change their un-American thinking. My theory is that this anti-people attitude stems from the Reagan Revolution in which corporations were deemed more important than individuals. I never would have dreamed that I would hear Americans talk about disaster survivors like some of the posts I read here today. Signed, a former Republican New Orleans Katrina survivor.

garth - the story as you told, has been repeatedly told - more or less.

katrina was a weak cat 3 at the time it made landfall. As the center of the storm came into the east of NOLA, the NW side usually being the worst for rain and wind, perhaps the winds in much of NOLA were only in the Cat 1 range.

However, the storm came in exactly where it would push the most storm surge into the lake. A few scientists have noted that the storm surge was actually already created mostly by the Cat 5 storm which was it was only a couple of days earlier. In the end, the storm surge was quite significant.

Perhaps, if the city had let the corps build the flood gates at the opennings to the canals, years ago, perhaps most of New Orleans would not have even had serious flooding.

And if the State of Louisian had evacuated the people in time - the pres. asked them to - and if the state of La had not ordered the Red Cross not to enter New Orleans to deliver food and water to those people at the Superdome - well, I guess a few things might have been different.

all that being said - yes, the corps did not do a very good job - and yes we need to spend a few billion more it looks like - but the lower 9th ward needs to be turned back into it's natural wetlands - go green.