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From New Orleans to Mars

Here's a good chukle for you. This is the closing commentary from CBS's Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation, Sunday, 4/2/06:

"And finally today, when was it, a couple of years ago that the president said this was the century we should go to Mars? I'd forgotten all about it, but, as I got back from vacation last night and was going through last week's papers, there it was, a story that said for the first time in 30 years our scientists are hard at work planning a flight to the moon; not just a quick trip, but to build an outpost where humans can live as they prepare for that trip to Mars. Now, that gave me some pause. We can't figure out how to get those thousands of trailers standing empty in Arkansas down to New Orleans to house the people who lost their homes during Katrina, but we're designing housing for the moon? We can't seem to make those levees that broke the last time strong enough to withstand the next really bad hurricane, but, according to that story in The Washington Post, our scientists are now deep into studies on the effect of moon dust on the humans who will draw that lunar duty?"

"It's more than a matter of priorities, it seems to me. When you think back on how the government bungled the original response to Katrina, or the wrong
intelligence that took us to Iraq, and even that crazy deal, safe or not, that
left all of us unaware an Arab company was about to take control of our key
ports, you have to ask, has the federal bureaucracy grown so big and so
cumbersome that no one really knows what it's doing at any particular point in time? That leads me to the harder question: If we really had to go to the
moon, could we still find a way to get there?" Great, Bob!

Katrina: What did the President know and when did he know it?

Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post has the transcript of ABC's Elizabeth Vargas, Tuesday, 2/28/06, interview with President Bush:

"VARGAS: When you look back on those days immediately following when Katrina struck, what moment do you think was the moment that you realized that the government was failing, especially the people of New Orleans?"

"BUSH: When I saw TV reporters interviewing people who were screaming for help. It looked -- the scenes looked chaotic and desperate. And I realized that our government was -- could have done a better job of comforting people. A lot went right, by the way. But the chaotic scenes were very troubling. It just -- it was very unsettling for me to realize our fellow citizens were in near-panic wondering where the help was."

But the President has said on several ocassions that he doesn't watch TV news shows or read the newspapers.

"Okay, skipping over the euphemism about 'a better job of comforting people' -- when exactly was that moment?" asks Mr. Froomkin. His summary allows us to create the interesting timeline below.

Monday, Aug. 29: Katrina makes landfall.

Tuesday, August 30: "Former FEMA head Michael Brown told NBC's Brian Williams that he told Bush on Tuesday that 90 percent of the population of New Orleans had been displaced."

Tuesday, August 30: Two photos taken on the same day.

Bush strums:

President Bush plays a guitar presented to him by Country Singer Mark Wills, right, backstage following his visit to Naval Base Coronado, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Bush visited the base to deliver remarks on V-J Commemoration Day. (AP Photo/ABC News, Martha Raddatz).

People suffer:

Volunteers rescue a family from the roof of their Suburban, which became trapped in floodwaters on US 90 in Bay St. Louis, Miss. (Ben Sklar / AP) August 30, 2005.

Wednesday, August 31, 5:11 p.m.: Bush had finally cut short his summer vacation to give this lukewarm speech at the White House.

Thursday morning, September 1: Bush tells ABC's Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America: "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

Thursday evening, September 1: "In 'How Bush Blew It,' his Newsweek story last September, Evan Thomas wrote: "The reality, say several aides who did not wish to be quoted because it might displease the president, did not really sink in until Thursday night. Some White House staffers were watching the evening news and thought the president needed to see the horrific reports coming out of New Orleans. Counselor Bartlett made up a DVD of the newscasts so Bush could see them in their entirety as he flew down to the Gulf Coast the next morning on Air Force One." That night I went down to the Astrodome to volunteer to help the evacuees arriving on a huge convoy of busses and I spent the night there with them.

Friday morning, September 2: Bush sees "people screaming for help" on DVD made by White House staff. He arrives in Alabama and makes this famous statement, "..Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. The FEMA Director is working 24 -- (applause) -- they're working 24 hours a day."

"But the official White House line from homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend remains: 'I reject outright any suggestion that President Bush was anything less than fully involved.'" Froomkin reports.

American Red Cross President Resigns

The Washington Post reported on 12/13/05, that "The American Red Cross, which has faced criticism in recent weeks for its handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, said today that its chief executive, Marsha Evans, will resign at the end of the month."

Evans replaced Bernadine Healy in 2002, when Healy, was canned shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Evans is the fourth Red Cross CEO in less than a decade.

"The 124-year-old organization is headquartered in Washington D.C., but has 800 chapters around the country. It is responsible for one-half of the nation's blood supply, collecting and selling blood to the nation's medical facilities."

"The Red Cross also is designated by the federal government as the front-line responder in national emergencies for providing 'mass care' -- shelter, food and first aid -- for disaster victims."

"But members of Congress, civil rights groups and Katrina evacuees have criticized its performance in the aftermath of the storm that severely damaged the Gulf Coast last summer. They complained of long lines and lengthy phone delays when evacuees tried to get financial assistance from the organization. They also said the charity was insensitive in its treatment of the mostly minority evacuees." To answer the latter criticism, Evans had "vowed to increase the diversity of its volunteer network and to improve its relations with minorities."

I saw the Red Cross problems first-hand when I volunteered at the Astrodome the night the evacuees started arriving from Louisiana. I'll share my experiences that night soon.