Joobo the King of Wisdom

More Evidence That State and Local Officials to Blame for Slow Katrina Response

In the coming days, weeks, and months it will be coming out more and more that local and state officials, most notably those of the office of Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco, are 95% to blame for what happened before and after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf states. And when congressional inveatigations open up, they will also conclude that had Nagin and Blanco moved their liberal asses, the problems that occurred would not have been as widespread as they were.

We at Joobo are keeping you informed of these developments, even if the MSM is refusing to.

Here is one more story on this matter: a clear indictment of Nagin and Blanco for their refusal to aid those in the New Orleans Convention Center.

'It Was as if All of Us Were Already Pronounced Dead'

It was Saturday, Aug. 27, when New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin pleaded with city residents to leave. Katrina would be on land in less than two days. A day earlier, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco had declared a state of emergency, prompting heightened preparation by the Louisiana National Guard.

But by this point, the appeals from Blanco and Nagin were aimed at one group in particular -- the poor. Those with resources had already bolted.


Many simply had no way of leaving on their own. Many who had survived hurricanes figured this wouldn't get them, either. "They tend to look at evacuation orders as scare tactics," said Troy Jarreau, a New Orleans schoolteacher who has taught many children from impoverished households.

But by Monday, after Katrina hit New Orleans and the levees had broken, a different reality was clear. "Get out! Get out now!" was the message on WYLD ("Wild for Jesus"), a popular black radio station. It was repeated on Q93-FM, heavy with rhythm and blues and rap music.

This time, those who stayed behind found themselves wading, or swimming, using every ounce of energy to get themselves to the Louisiana Superdome, which had served as a refuge in previous hurricanes. But the indoor stadium had begun filling as early as Sunday, and by the next day, officials had started turning people away. It was becoming overcrowded, and the floodwaters had begun to encircle it.

The convention center, a sprawling complex of meeting halls nearly a mile long near the Mississippi River, was never intended as a shelter, said Capt. M.A. Pfeiffer, an operations officer with the New Orleans Police Department. "It was supposed to be a bus stop where they dropped people off for transportation. The problem was, the transportation never came."

As rising water engulfed the Superdome on Monday, trucks and vans that were rescuing people from the I-10 overpass and other locations began dropping them off on the dry road in front of the center. It was the only option, police said. Quickly, the crowd grew to 1,000 people.

This all happened before and during the storm, not after it.

Blanco declared a state of emergency - then did nothing. Nagin let hundreds of buses go unused and refused to allow AMTRAK to bring trains in to move people out.

If Congress has fair hearings, this will come out, as well it should. And it shows how bankrupt Louisiana state and local officials truly are.