Katrina: Shameful Acts Thread

[DudeAsInCool]

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA's parent agency, said last week that Brown would be paid for about a month for "transitional purposes." The spokesman, Russ Knocke, said he did not know how much Brown was being paid.

Brown's 2004 salary was $145,600, according to the Plum Book, a congressional reference guide to executive branch salaries.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/27/brown.fema/index.html

What happened to his resigning? :nope:

[DudeAsInCool]

What really caused Katrina?

When Hurricane Katrina struck land in Louisiana, an antiabortion group called the Columbia Christians for Life declared that the storm was God's way of punishing New Orleans residents for allowing "child-murder-by-abortion centers" to operate among them. Al-Qaidaapparently believes that Katrina was God's way of punishing the United States -- and New Orleans in particular -- for its tolerance of homosexuality. But right-to-lifers and terrorist groups aren't the only ones with interesting Katrina theories to share: Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan is suggesting Katrina is God's way of punishing the United States for the war in Iraq -- and that the federal government may have intentionally destroyed levees in New Orleans during the storm to rid the city of its African-American residents.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html

[DudeAsInCool]

washingtonpost.com

FEMA Plans to Reimburse Faith Groups for Aid

As Civil Libertarians Object, Religious Organizations Weigh Whether to Apply

After weeks of prodding by Republican lawmakers and the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said yesterday that it will use taxpayer money to reimburse churches and other religious organizations that have opened their doors to provide shelter, food and supplies to survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

...FEMA officials said it would mark the first time that the government has made large-scale payments to religious groups for helping to cope with a domestic natural disaster.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...2601799_pf.html

"What really frosts me about all this is, here is an administration that didn't do its job and now is trying to dig itself out by making right-wing groups happy," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

A spokeswoman for the Salvation Army said it has been in talks with state and federal officials about reimbursement for the 76,000 nights of shelter it has provided to Katrina survivors so far. But it is still unclear whether the Salvation Army will qualify, she said. 

[DudeAsInCool]

washingtonpost.com

$236 Million Cruise Ship Deal Criticized

On Sept. 1, as tens of thousands of desperate Louisianans packed the New Orleans Superdome and convention center, the Federal Emergency Management Agency pleaded with the U.S. Military Sealift Command: The government needed 10,000 berths on full-service cruise ships, FEMA said, and it needed the deal done by noon the next day.

The hasty appeal yielded one of the most controversial contracts of the Hurricane Katrina relief operation, a $236 million agreement with Carnival Cruise Lines for three ships that now bob more than half empty in the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay. The six-month contract -- staunchly defended by Carnival but castigated by politicians from both parties -- has come to exemplify the cost of haste that followed Katrina's strike and FEMA's lack of preparation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...2701960_pf.html

To critics, the price is exorbitant. If the ships were at capacity, with 7,116 evacuees, for six months, the price per evacuee would total $1,275 a week, according to calculations by aides to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). A seven-day western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston can be had for $599 a person -- and that would include entertainment and the cost of actually making the ship move.

[DudeAsInCool]

Brown: It's Louisiana's fault

Former FEMA director Michael Brown is testifying today before the Republican-controlled House committee investigating the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina, and he has an explanation for just about everything that went wrong: He should have worked harder on media relations, and he couldn't get state and local leaders to do their jobs in the "dysfunctional" state of Louisiana.

Blanco Goes to D.C. to Answer Brown Charge

WASHINGTON - Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco will appear before a Senate panel this morning, but she's already come out swinging against former FEMA head Michael Brown.

Blanco takes strong exception to a charge by Brown that she waited until the eve of the storm to order an evacuation of New Orleans. She says Brown's comment clearly demonstrates what she says is the "appalling degree" to which he's "out of touch with the truth or reality."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050928/ap_on_...zkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

[DudeAsInCool]

Iraq war delayed Katrina relief effort, inquiry finds

Relief efforts to combat Hurricane Katrina suffered near catastrophic failures due to endemic corruption, divisions within the military and troop shortages caused by the Iraq war, an official American inquiry into the disaster has revealed.

The confidential report, which has been seen by The Independent, details how funds for flood control were diverted to other projects, desperately needed National Guards were stuck in Iraq and how military personnel had to "sneak off post" to help with relief efforts because their commander had refused permission.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americ...ticle316682.ece

[DudeAsInCool]

House Passes Bill to Boost Refineries

WASHINGTON - The House, by a two-vote margin, is sending the Senate legislation to encourage oil companies to open new refineries.

Approval came Friday only after leaders of the Republican majority extended the vote by 40 minutes to buttonhole colleagues, prompting calls of "Shame, Shame" from Democrats.The bill, passed 212-210, would streamline government permits for refineries and open federal lands including closed military bases for future refinery construction.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051008/ap_on_.../katrina_energy