As part of its damage control, the White House is trying to pit Louisiana governor Katherine Blanco against New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, suggesting, among other things, that Bush wanted to federalize the state National Guard but that Blanco delayed him doing so, and that Blanco and Nagin had fled New Orleans before the storm hit. Sorting out who did what and when is hard to do. Here's a basic timeline prepared by the American Progress Action Fund, a D.C. public-interest group run by John Podesta, Clinton's former chief of staff:
Blanco declares state of emergency. Gulf states begin requesting additional forces, according to Lieutenant General Russel Honore, commander of joint task force Katrina.
Katrina is upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane at 5 a.m. Blanco asks Bush to declare a state of emergency in Louisiana.
The feds declare it, and FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security are given full authority to respond. The White House says: "Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency."
Katrina becomes a Category 4 hurricane at 2 a.m. By 7 a.m., it's a Category 5. That same day, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser warns that levees may be breached: "Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm-driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow." At 9:30 a.m., Mayor Nagin, for the first time in the city's history, orders a mandatory evacuation. At 4 p.m., the National Weather Service issues a special warning: "In the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. At least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed. Power outages will last for weeks. Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards."
In the afternoon, Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, warns Bush, FEMA head Mike Brown, and DHS chief Michael Chertoff that the levees may not hold. The story is reported in The Times-Picayune and in Florida's St. Petersburg Times. Mayfield was later quoted as saying: "We were briefing them way before landfall. It's not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped."
Late that night, a levee is breached. About 30,000 evacuees gather at the Superdome.
At 7 a.m. Katrina, now a Category 4 storm, makes landfall. By 8 a.m., Nagin tell NBC's Today that a levee has been breached: "I've gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of the levee systems. In the lower Ninth Ward, we've had one of our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding. It is just a matter of how much."
During the morning, the president calls Chertoff to discuss not the storm, but immigration. According to a White House account, Bush says, "I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we got us an airplane on, a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, 'Are you working with the governor?' He said, 'You bet we are.' " At 11 a.m., Bush is in Arizona, talking about Medicare drug benefits. By late morning, the "hurricane-proof" 17th Street Canal levee gives way. At 10:30, FEMA's Brown asks DHS to send 1,000 employees into the region. He gives them two days to get there. Brown's memo to Chertoff describes Katrina as a "near catastrophic event." At 4 p.m. Bush is at a California senior center to talk about the Medicare drug benefit. That evening, Rumsfeld, who is in charge of the Army Corps of Engineers, takes in a San Diego Padres baseball game.
Bush speaks at the naval base at Coronado in San Diego. By midday, Chertoff first becomes aware a levee in New Orleans has been breached. "It was on Tuesday that the levee—may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday—that the levee started to break," he later told Meet the Press. "And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to drain into the city."
Bush Admits Blame for Katrina Failings
By MBA
WASHINGTON - President Bush for the first time took responsibility Tuesday for federal government mistakes in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and suggested the calamity raised broader questions about the government's ability to handle both natural disasters and terror attacks.
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at a joint White House news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
"And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong," Bush said.
It was the closest Bush has come to publicly faulting any federal officials involved in the hurricane response, which has been criticized as disjointed and slow.
Also Tuesday:
--Katrina's death toll in Louisiana climbed to 423, up from 279 a day before, the state Health Department said. The jump came as recovery workers turned more and more of their attention to gathering up and counting the corpses in a city all but emptied of the living.
Mayor Ray Nagin said earlier this month that New Orleans could have 10,000 dead. But a street-by-street sweep of the city last week yielded far fewer bodies than feared, and authorities said the toll could be well below the dire projections.
--The husband-and-wife owners of a nursing home near New Orleans were charged Tuesday with negligent homicide in the deaths of 34 people during the flooding unleashed by Hurricane Katrina. The case represents the first major prosecution to come out of the disaster.
The owners of St. Rita's Nursing Home in Chalmette "were asked if they wanted to move (the patients). They did not. They were warned repeatedly that this storm was coming," Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti said.
Salvador A. Mangano and his wife, Mable, surrendered and were jailed on 34 counts of negligent homicide. Each count carries as much as five years in prison.
The victims at St. Rita's died Aug. 29, the day the hurricane hit, and on Sept. 6, at least 14 unrecognizable bodies were still inside the nursing home, the New York Times reported last week.
The Manganos' attorney, Jim Cobb, said Tuesday night that his clients are innocent, and he blamed St. Bernard Parish officials for not ensuring an evacuation plan was proceeding.
The Manganos had an evacuation plan as required under state law, both their attorney and the attorney general said.
Foti said the nursing home had a contract with an ambulance service to evacuate the patients, but the owners didn't call the company. They also turned down an offer from St. Bernard Parish officials who asked if the nursing home wanted help evacuating, he said.
Tom Rodrigue, whose mother died in the nursing home, was near tears during an interview Tuesday.
"She deserved the chance, you know, to be rescued instead of having to drown like a rat," he told CNN.
--In New Orleans, there were both positive and negative developments Tuesday. New Orleans airport reopened to commercial flights, the port resumed operations and the mayor said dry sections of the ravaged city - including the French Quarter and the central business district - could be reopened during the daytime as early as Monday, provided the Environmental Protection Agency finds the air and water are safe.
The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, which escaped widespread damage from Katrina but was reserved for humanitarian flights in the storm's aftermath, received its first commercial arrival Tuesday, a flight with about two dozen emergency workers and returning residents.
However, the mayor also said the city is broke and unable to make its next payroll.
Nagin said the city was working "feverishly" with banking and federal officials to secure lines of credit through the end of the year.
--In a sign that initial rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina are coming to an end, Pentagon officials said late Tuesday that about 4,000 active-duty personnel, two large Navy vessels and three dozen helicopters ordered into the relief effort would return to their regular duties.
At the same time, officials said a sizable active-duty contingent remained, the approximately 5,200 ground soldiers drawn from the 82nd Airborne Division and the 1st Cavalry Division.
Back in Washington, as he accepted responsibility for the slow federal response Tuesday, the president scheduled a speech to the nation from Louisiana for Thursday evening. It will be his fourth trip to the devastated Gulf Coast since the storm struck two weeks ago.
The speech will include an appeal for Americans to "come together to support people who have been affected by this massive catastrophe," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said she welcomed Bush's Tuesday comments. "Accountability at every level is critical, and leadership begins at the top," she said.
And Louisiana's Democratic governor, Kathleen Blanco, accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency of moving too slowly in recovering the bodies. The dead "deserve more respect than they have received," she said at state police headquarters in Baton Rouge.
However, Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman David Passey pointed out that the state of Louisiana had asked to take over body recovery last week. Passey said he did not understand the governor's remarks.
"The collection of bodies is not normally a FEMA responsibility," he said.
Meanwhile, R. David Paulison, in his first full day on the job as acting FEMA director, told reporters in Washington the government would step up its efforts to find more permanent housing for the tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors now in shelters.
"We're going to get those people out of the shelters, and we're going to move and get them the help they need," Paulison said.
Bush selected him to replace Michael Brown, who resigned on Monday after being recalled as the top onsite disaster-relief coordinator. Brown, a Republican lawyer with little previous disaster-management experience, drew fierce criticism for his handling of the crisis.
Paulison, a career firefighter with 30 years of rescue experience, said he was busy "getting brought up to speed."
Bush promised him "the full support of the federal government," Paulison said.
The storm displaced an estimated 1-million people, destroyed large areas of cities and communities and heavily damaged roads, bridges, canals and oil and natural gas facilities.
Bush's acceptance of responsibility came in response to a reporter's question on whether the United States was capable of handling another terrorist attack, given its criticized response to Katrina.
"That's a very important question," Bush said. "And it's in our national interest that we find out exactly what went on - so that we can better respond."
"I'm not going to defend the process going in, but I am going to defend the people who are on the front line of saving lives," he added. "I also want people in America to understand how hard people are working to save lives down there in not only New Orleans, but surrounding parishes and along the Gulf Coast."
Stephen Hess, professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, said presidents historically have been reticent to acknowledge mistakes.
"This is not a full-fledged mea culpa. But by presidential standards, it's there, or pretty close to it," Hess said.
--Information from the Associated Press and New York Times was used in this report.
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Chief Justice Nominee Roberts Takes Safe Road
By MBA
John G. Roberts Jr., 50, was nominated by President Bush to replace Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who died of cancer Sept. 3 at age 80. If confirmed, as expected, Roberts would become the youngest chief justice in more than 200 years and could potentially shape the direction of the court for decades.
Currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Roberts would be the first new member of the Supreme Court in 11 years.
Roberts has been appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearings, now in their third day. During these hearings he has been grilled on his personal positions on issues that have affected the country this century.
On the Eminent Domain Supreme Court ruling which allows cities to seize private property in the interest of private economic development, Roberts says that it is "very appropriate" for Congress to consider legislation that would counter that ruling.
The June ruling in the case of Kelo v. the City of New London, effectively expanded the right of local governments to seize private property under eminent domain. The court ruled 5-4 that people's homes and businesses -- even those not considered blighted -- can be taken against their will for private development if the seizure serves a broadly defined "public use."
Noting that the ruling had caused "an uproar across the country," Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) asked Roberts, "Isn't it now the case that it's much easier for one man's home to become another man's castle?"
Roberts said the high court majority had including a "caveat" in the decision, saying they were ruling only in the context of an urban redevelopment plan and noting that some states have passed legislation restricting the seizure power.
When Brownback noted that Congress is also considering legislation, Roberts said, "And I think that's a very appropriate approach to consider." He said the court leaves it up to legislatures to determine whether and how they want to exercise eminent domain powers.
Congress has been contemplating legislation that would bar federal funding for any project that proceeds under the ruling.
As he did during yesterday's hearing, Roberts repeatedly parried questions seeking to elicit his views on controversial legal issues that he said could come before him on the Supreme Court. The questions included several on abortion from two senators who strongly oppose it: Republicans Brownback of Kansas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.
When Roberts was asked if he would reverse the long-standing decision legalizing abortion, he said he believed the Constitution accorded Americans the right to privacy, the key underpinning of the landmark ruling.
Asked by Brownback whether individuals with disabilities have constitutional rights while they are still in the womb, Roberts said he must refrain from answering.
Some of the sharpest exchanges came when Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) grilled the nominee on privacy and right-to-die issues. Although Biden called Roberts "one of the best witnesses to come before this committee" in his three decades on the panel, he later expressed frustration with the judge's answers.
Pressed for a personal opinion as a family man on whether a legislature should be empowered to decide on keeping or removing a comatose person's feeding tube, Roberts said, "I'm not going to consider issues like that in the context as a father or a husband or anything else..." A judge should not "incorporate his or her personal views in deciding issues of this sort," he said, adding, "If you're interpreting a particular statute that governs in this area, your job as a judge is to interpret and apply that according to the rule of law."
Biden complained that Roberts was refusing to share his understanding of the law and that "we are rolling the dice with you, judge."
At another point the senator said, "you've told me nothing" and lamented "this Kabuki dance we have in these hearings here, as if the public doesn't have a right to know what you think about fundamental issues facing them." Lawmakers and the president must answer questions on what they believe to get elected, while a Supreme Court nominee "doesn't have to tell us anything," Biden said. "It's okay, as long as he is -- as you are -- a decent, bright, honorable man, that's all we need to know."
Roberts replied, "You make the point that, 'We stand for election and we wouldn't be elected if we didn't tell people what we stand for.' Judges don't stand for election. I'm not standing for election. And it is contrary to the role of judges in our society to say that, 'This judge should go on the bench because these are his or her positions and those are the positions they're going to apply.' Judges go on the bench and they apply and decide cases according to the judicial process, not on the basis of promises made earlier to get elected or promises made earlier to get confirmed. That's inconsistent with the independence and integrity of the Supreme Court."
In response to a question from Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Roberts said, "I do think I've been more expansive than most nominees" to the Supreme Court in previous confirmation hearings.
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Remembering September 11th
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| On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center was struck by commercial jets hijacked by terrorists, killing 2,752 people after the 2 buildings collapsed. |
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| My German Shepherd Dog Bam Bam was born on September 11, 2004, |
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By MBA
Today is the fourth anniversary of the World Trade Center bombings. For those who were close to the tragedy, the event sent them in many different directions. I can look back today and see how I was affected by this event. I was on a train heading towards the towers when the first plane struck. I headed home after that only to witness the second plane hit.
I remember getting a few calls from friends and acquaintances in the days that passed, wondering if I was ok. I had worked at the World Trade a while back and a few people knew about that. I felt all kinds of feelings during that period of time but have learned much more since then and I hope so have we all.
For those that died, we hope we can continue applying lessons we have learned from 9/11 and continue bettering our world so that such violence becomes appalling to all human beings. We hope that, for those that died that day, we can strive to understand each other better and to practice Principles for Living with everyone we come into contact with.
We should hope that from this we have learned that our actions affect others and we should be aware of it. We have learned that love is infinite and storing it away won't get you more of it when you go. We have learned that we ought to be free to express how we feel, when we feel it. We have learned that life is not for ever, it ends and sometimes when we least expect it.
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Volkswagen Launches Driver Safety Program
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| Buying a condominium is still an excellent way to start home ownership. |
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Volkswagen and Scholastic have teamed up for a second year to promote “Fasten Your Seat Belt ... Go Far!," an in-school education campaign that encourages teens to buckle up in an effort to reduce the number one killer of American teenagers – car crashes.
More than 5,500 teens lose their lives in car crashes every year and about two thirds of these teens would have survived if they had used safety belts. “Fasten Your Seat Belt ... Go Far! utilizes an educational videotape and provides teachers with lesson plans and materials to teach students about using safety belts. Students are then invited to participate in a contest to create TV ads or PSAs that will convince their fellow teens to buckle up.
The three most effective ads will then be broadcast on national television and winners will recieve a digital video camera and U.S. savings bonds. Additionally, Volkswagen has produced a new educational video on teenage seat-belt safety that will be distributed to its employees and dealers nationwide to share with teens and their families and communities.
Minority Scholars Win $200K in Scholarships
Congratulations to Nissa Benjamin (Mirimar, FL), Ashlee Garrett (Lake Worth, TX), Eba Hamid (Oxford, Miss), Rachel Luna (Hercules, CA), and Toluse Olorunnipa (Tallahassee, Fl) for winning $40,000 each in academic scholarships and internships from Knight Ridder.
For nearly two decades, the Knight Ridder Minority Scholars Program, the first of its kind in the newspaper industry and still the largest, awards five outstanding high school seniors who aspire to careers in newspaper and online publishing.
The five winners will be honored by the Knight Ridder Board of Directors at a dinner in San Jose in early May. They will also receive awards from their sponsoring newspapers, where they begin internships this summer.
Morehouse College Wins the Ultimate Challenge
Good Work Morehouse College. Congratulations goes out to them for winning the National Champion title of the 15th Annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge. As champions, Morehouse College takes home a $50,000 grant, while runner-up University of Maryland Eastern Shore wins a $25,000 grant.
Honda Campus All-Star Challenge was established by American Honda Motor Company in 1989. Since its inception, approximately 50,000 HBCU students have taken part in this prestigious program and nearly $3.5 million in grants have been awarded to the schools.
RadioShack Educates Teens on How to Protect Themselves
Radioshack launched a nationwide campaign geared towards teens called RadioShack Take Your StreetSentz All the Way to Hollywood Contest in cooperation with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
High school students will create scripts and storyboards for a 30-second Public Service Announcement (PSA) on how kids can protect themselves from abduction, exploitation and violence. The winner will win $5,000 and be flown to Los Angeles where they will work with the producers from HBO’s Project Greenlight, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris Moore to produce the 30-second spot.
The student’ teacher will win $2,000 and the school will win $1,000. To enter the contest, students can download entry forms at www.streetsentz.com. Entries are due April 29, 2004.
Marriott partners with USDA and Minority Farmers
Marriott will work with the USDA to identify minority farmers in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern states that will benefit from opportunities to provide products to the hospitality industry.
In addition, Marriott will provide training, technical assistance and mentoring to these identified farmers, facilitating the introduction and purchase of quality food products into the hospitality distribution systems.
Marriott International, the first hospitality company in the world to establish a formal supplier diversity program, today spends more than $150 million a year with over 10,000 minority and women-owned businesses.
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