It was good to read Steve Gilliard

After watching this and reading this, it was great to hear him spell it out in no uncertain terms.

Still, especially after the freeper type in the comments, I think I'll add a couple of lists to fill out the wherefore and why of what's wrong with George Bush and his murderously incompetent cronies (that's the nice reading; the other version involves using the phrase "genocidal policies").

From Karen Wehrstein at Kos.

1) The delay in federal aid in the form of food, water and meds for the displaced within NO, especially at the Superdome and Convention Center, in air drops or any other form, has been implausibly long, as the media, Ray Nagin, etc., have more or less screamed to anyone who'd listen.

The military was well-prepared beforehand -- they started planning as the storm went over Florida, and had 9 million MREs ready to deliver. But protocol requires they await orders from FEMA or the president (via Terre on DKos).

New Mexico offered its National Guard on Sunday, again, before the storm hit, and Louisiana accepted, but "paperwork needed to get the troops en route didn't come from Washington until late Thursday" (Yahoo via Atrios.)

FEMA director Mike Brown claimed that FEMA didn't know about the Convention Centre situation until Thursday (CNN) -- here we have an example of a).  This simply cannot be true; even for purely partisan operatives, duties include following the networks.

All through, the victims were promised supplies and transportation to safety -- c).  Likewise Ray Nagin was stalled by promises of help from FEMA/Homeland Security: "I keep hearing that it's coming. This is coming, that is coming, and my answer to that today is: B.S." (his kickbutt interview on WWL, quoted everywhere)

2) Before the hurricane hit, Gov. Kathleen Blanco requested Washington provide disaster relief aid, including military personnel and $5 million for evacuation.  No military personnel showed up until Sept. 2; as far as I can tell, the $5 million was not received in time to aid with the evacuation.  No reason given.  The governor now knows to make sure the media sees her requests as well as the president, demands his "personal involvement" viz her presser of yesterday.

3) Rescue operations were suspended by FEMA due to shots being taken at helicopter -- a) -- as many DKos commenters have pointed out, National Guard rescuers shouldn't be discouraged by this. There's some doubt it happened at all, as at the bottom of this ABC story.  In the vast majority of cases this was likely not to be a danger at all.

4) Offers of help were refused:

• Canadian rescue teams -- held up by Homeland Security (DKos diary)
• air-boat volunteers required by FEMA to pay for their own gasoline, couldn't afford to (DKos diary), turned down even if they could (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
• Al Gore - airplanes -- refused by FEMA (CNN) because he was going to evacuate a private hospital, and FEMA mandate only allows aid to public hospitals
• 500 boats and 1,000 men from elsewhere in Louisiana -- diaried by pelican here
• Chicago mayor Richard Daley -- via espo111 on DKos, from Chicago Sun-Times: "Mayor of Chicago Richard Daley offered 36 firefighters and technical rescue teams, 8 emergency medical techs, search-and-rescue equipment, 100 police officers, 2 boats, a mobile clinic and 140 streets and sanitation workers with 29 trucks. All self-sufficient. And the FEMA response?  'Just send one truck.' "

That they accepted one truck rather than turning down all shows a clear intent to appear to be accepting the offer while in effect refusing it -- which is deceptive.

FEMA's refusal to pay for airboat gas came solely through DKos -- suggesting that FEMA isn't saying these things where the media will hear -- b).

More individual cases in this Help Offered-Rejected/Delayed diary by SarahLee.

5) Offers of desperately-needed equipment/supplies were also turned down by FEMA in Slidell, supposedly due to bureaucratic regulations -- a).  Slidell mayor Ben Morris (audio, transcript): "They have turned generators away from us. They´ve turned fuel away from us because they determine, or the driver determined, that it wasn´t the correct spot to put it. The generators ... oh, the site hadn´t been inspected yet. We´ve gotta bring an inspector to see where the thing is going.  ...We have heard that FEMA or some federal agencies are going around seizing equipment from our contractors..."

6) Private relief agencies (Red Cross, Salvation Army) are prevented from working in NO, by FEMA.  Reason given -- a) -- this would keep people from leaving the city.  The idea, apparently, was to make conditions so unbearable people would be forced to leave or face death.  But at the same time, no transportation was being provided them.  This came via Kossack SteveRose who writes that he was cagily asked by his source if he was a member of the media -- b). Red Cross website confirms they aren't allowed to go in.

7) The military is now disallowing people to leave the city on their own via the only way out, at the same time that no transportation is being provided (Shepard Smith and Geraldo Rivera -- Fox News). In these situations the military is directed by FEMA.

The concept that rescuers are not safe due to looters and snipers has been blown way out of proportion, with even Bush himself emphasizing it.  See this LA Times story about a military unit who didn't find anything like what they'd been led to expect.  The purpose here could be not only to discredit/blame the victims, but to serve as an excuse -- a) -- for calling off aid/rescue work, as above.

Now, the central source: note how all of these actions can be traced back to FEMA/Homeland Security, or the President himself (as CoC) in Washington.

Possible motives?  Note that any or all of them can apply, simultaneously; actions are often taken for more than one reason.

And from Tony Pierce:

9/3 Chicago Sun-Times: "Daley 'shocked' as feds reject aid"
All FEMA allowed them to send was one tank

(Chicago) Mayor (Richard) Daley said the city offered 36 member s of the firefighters' technical rescue teams, eight emergency medical technicians, search-and-rescue equipment, more than 100 police officers as well as police vehicles and two boats, 29 clinical and 117 non-clinical health workers, a mobile clinic and eight trained personnel, 140 Streets and Sanitation workers and 29 trucks, plus other supplies.

9/3 RedCross.org: Red Cross Not Allowed in New Orleans

Acess to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders.

The state Homeland Security Department had requested--and continues to request--that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage others to come into the city.

9/3 AFP: Angry LA Senator accuses President Bush's visit as a Staged, Phoney "Photo-Op"

Perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street Levee.

Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe.

Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity.

The desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment.

9/3 Race has nothing to do with this? Army Times, Brig. Gen Gary Jones, commander of the Louisiana National Guard’s Joint Task Force told the Army Times on Friday that hundreds of armed troops were going to "take this city back"

"This place is going to look like Little Somalia," he said. "We’re going to go out and take this city back. This will be a combat operation to get this city under control."

9/3 CNN.com DHS Has Failed to Release Nine Stockpiles of Emergency Gear

Nine stockpiles of fire-and-rescue equipment strategically placed around the country to be used in the event of a catastrophe still have not been pressed into service in New Orleans... The gear -- including generators, radios, breathing apparatus, cots and other items -- is stockpiled by DHS in nine locations. The three closest to New Orleans are College Station, Texas; Columbia, S.C.; and Clearwater, Fla. The gear is intended to replenish or sustain up to 150 first responders.

Contractors who maintain the gear are required to transport it to a disaster site no later than 12 hours after the initial request is made by local authorities and approved by DHS.

9/3 NO Times-Picayune: Tons of Food Delayed When Bush Arrived

Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush’s visit to New Orleans, officials said.

The provisions, secured by U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, and state Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom, baked in the afternoon sun as Bush surveyed damage across southeast Louisiana five days after Katrina made landfall as a Category 4 storm, said Melancon’s chief of staff, Casey O’Shea.

9/3 DailyKos: NorthCom had millions of meals and supplies available, but no order from the President to deploy

A: Now I'm sure you're aware of the criticism that the authorities have been slow to respond to this. When did you get the order to start relied work?

K: NorthCom started planning before the storm even hit. We were ready for the storm when it hit Florida because, as you remember, it crossed the bottom part of Florida, and then we were plaining, you know, once it was pointed towards the Gulf Coast. So what we did was we activated what we call defense coordinating officers to work with the state to say okay, what do you think you'll need, and we set up staging bases that could be started. We had the USS Baton sailing almost behind the hurricane so that after the hurricane made landfall it's search and rescue helicopters would be available almost immediately. So we had things ready. The only caveat is, we have to wait until the President authorizes us to do so. The laws of the United States say that the military can't just act in this fashion, we have to wait for the President to give us permission.

9/3 AP: Federal Paperwork Stalled Nat. Guard Response

Several states ready and willing to send National Guard troops to the rescue in New Orleans didn't get the go-ahead until days after the storm struck — a delay nearly certain to be investigated by Congress.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco help from his state's National Guard last Sunday, the day before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Blanco accepted, but paperwork needed to get the troops en route didn't come from Washington until late Thursday.

8/17/04 SP Times Hours After Hurricane Charley Hit FLA, Bush Approved Aid to Bush

Gov. Jeb Bush sought federal help Friday while Charley was still in the Gulf of Mexico. President Bush approved the aid about an hour after the hurricane made landfall.

By Monday afternoon, the cavalry seemed to be in place.