Katrina-Bush and the political questions begin

Tico, why don't you save us all the trouble and go find a reliable source that says Nagin says he's sending 60% of his cops to LV on city funds. I couldn't find one.

Re: Tico


You mean some folks go on A2K during their work time?

Yes he is, by members of your team. Keep up.

Again, I don't know what particular point you felt you were dispelling with your cited article. Do you? Care to share? But it's amazing how many of your compadres just nodded with approval at your post.

City to Offer Free Trips to Las Vegas for Officers
September 5, 2005
City to Offer Free Trips to Las Vegas for Officers
By JOSEPH B. TREASTER and CHRISTOPHER DREW
NEW ORLEANS

A day after two police suicides and the abrupt resignations or desertions of up to 200 police officers, defiant city officials on Sunday began offering five-day vacations - and even trips to Las Vegas - to the police, firefighters and city emergency workers and their families.

The idea of paid vacations was raised by both Mayor C. Ray Nagin and senior police officials who said that their forces were exhausted and traumatized and that the arrival of the National Guard had made way for the officers to be relieved.

"I'm very concerned about individuals who have been here, particularly since the first few days, and have been through a lot of hardship," Mr. Nagin said in an interview.

He said most of the police officers, firefighters and emergency medical workers "are starting to show signs of very, very serious stress, and this is a way to give them time to reunite with their families."

Mr. Nagin, who has been demanding more federal assistance for days as his city struggled with despair, death and flooding, said he had asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay for the trips but the agency said it could not. He said the city, therefore, would pay the costs.

He said he believed there were now enough National Guard members in the city to allow the police to take a break and still keep the city secure, and he brushed off questions about whether such a trip might look like a dereliction of duty.

"I'll take the heat on that," Mr. Nagin said. "We want to cater to them."

His words were seconded by the police superintendent, P. Edwin Compass III, in a separate interview. "When you go through something this devastating and traumatic," Mr. Compass said, "you've got to do something dramatic to jump-start the healing process."

The officials were planning to send 1,500 workers out in two shifts for five days each. They are sending them to Las Vegas because of the availability of hotel rooms and to Atlanta because many of them had relatives there.

They said that they were trying to get the first officers on their way on Monday and that the first stop would be Baton Rouge, about 75 miles from here.

There the officers will be given physical examinations and inoculations against possible infection from the polluted floodwaters, said Col. Terry Ebbert, the director of homeland security for the city, who has authority over the police and fire departments and other emergency services.

Then, Colonel Ebbert and other officials said, those who want to go to Las Vegas or Atlanta will be given air transportation and a hotel room. The city is reserving hotel rooms in Baton Rouge, they said, adding that the officers and firefighters may also be given the choice of flying to other cities.

Colonel Ebbert, the senior official running the recovery and rescue operation, and Mr. Compass both said that they planned to take a break as well, but probably for less than five days, and that they would continue to direct the recovery by telephone.

Officials said they expected the military, with much greater resources, to expand rescue work, begin cleaning up the city and take the first steps toward reconstruction.

W. J. Riley, the deputy superintendent of police, said that by late Sunday afternoon more than 2,900 National Guard members and law enforcement officers from around the country were operating in New Orleans. By early evening, Mr. Riley said, the advance units of a 2,200-person force from the 82nd Airborne Division had landed.

Several thousand more soldiers were expected, including members of the First Cavalry Division.

Reinforcements are also expected for the fire department. Senior firefighters, who have been forced to ignore some fires and to try merely to keep the worst blazes from spreading, said that several hundred firefighters with fire engines and radio equipment were heading for New Orleans from departments around the country.

New Orleans officials said they would remain in charge. Mr. Riley, who has been on the police force for 24 years, will oversee the police department in the superintendent's absence.

"We haven't turned over control of the city," Colonel Ebbert said.

Mr. Riley said that 40 percent of the city's force of about 1,200 officers would remain at their posts while the others were on leave. When the first group returns, Mr. Riley said, those who stayed behind will get a break.

Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Matthews, who is also the director of the city's Office of Emergency Preparedness, said officials viewed the time off for their security forces as essential. "We've been at this six days and we need to give our people a break," he said.

Ahh ... I see the error. 100% will be going, but in shifts of 60% and 40%. Was that what you were getting at, FD?

Re: FreeDuck


Tico, you're starting to convince me that he is at fault.
I hadn't considered him a suspect before.
Good work with those big font posts.

BBB
Most of the reports on Google are by conservative bloggers. I found few mainstream media articles in comparrison to the bloggers, many of whom were distoring the facts of the story..

BBB

Re: FreeDuck


I increase the font to where I can more easily read the text. Does it look too big? You inferred something the other day about my thinking you all were of poor sight, but you didn't clarify. It doesn't get that much larger on my screen. I suppose you have a different resolution than I do. Mine is set at 1600 x 1200, the manufacturer's recommendation.

Bullshit--he's being blamed for the lame response, not the storms themselves. I'm not a member of a team, so don't try that dodge either. Your attempts here to exculpate just get more and more lame, right in line with the incompetence of the regime of the Shrub and his Forty Theives of Baghdad.

Setanta


Now you've really shocked me beyond belief.

You are saying that small government Bush has secretely padded the government with 40 additional bureaucrats and all of them are thieves?

Well, I guess we should be grateful that they are only thieves and not incompetents.

BBB :wink:

You wanna educate him, BBB, or shall I?

Oh, what the heck .... I'LL DO IT.

(And I do consider him to be part of your anti-Bushie team, your protestations notwithstanding. :wink: )

You got a better response than BBB's Noah's Ark nonsense?

Tico, you win on the 60%. The only info I could find about first responders going anywhere was a group of 25 going to Vegas -- none cops. Good job BBB on digging up the only mention anywhere of any percentage. But you lose on the city funds and the global warming. So take your licks and don't go for my throat just because your usual sources are full of **** a little more than usual.

Tico


Tico, Nobody can beat my Noah's Ark gem.

BBB :wink:

First, i am not an "anti-bushie." Specifically, i refer to him as the Shrub, and his administration as the Shrub and his Forty Theives of Baghdad. I never refer to him as "bushie." And i am most definitely opposed to his venal and incompetent administration.

Second, i have no "team." I don't direct anyone else's posts, and you be damned sure that i don't take instructions from anyone else on how to frame my own posts.

Finally, I do not speak for Robert Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy does not speak for me. To my knowledge, Robert Kennedy does not post at this forum. Unless, of course, you now intend to suggest that Aunt Bee or FreeDuck are one or the other, Robert Kennedy in disguise.

Pathetic, even by your gutter standards . . .

Damn! Blew my cover.

Sorry, Boss . . . do the Shrub's trick, act like nothing happened, and when challenged on it, say "Huh?" and scurry off to find a spin doctor to raise extraneous and unrelated issues . . .

Amazing that I post the same article BBB does, one minute earlier, and I get no credit. I guess I'll have to go back to posting entire articles.

What is your basis for your apparently claim that city funds won't be used? Are you going back to your EMS article for this support? This will certainly be a paid vacation, offered by the City of New Orleans. Therefore, there is no question that it is being paid for by city funds. I suspect city funds will be used for travel, room, and board while they are in LV, but I don't know that for a fact ... but you don't know otherwise, it appears. Are you still claiming to have debunked that portion of Mr. K's story?

All the goodies on Brown and the irresponsible dipshits who put him in place...

http://www.slate.com/id/2125983/

You're right. I couldn't bear to give you the credit. But seriously, why didn't you quote the part at the bottom about the 40%? That would've gotten right to the point.



Nope, I'm willing to be disproved. But everywhere I saw details of an actual trip, as in the article I posted, everything was donated by the host city and local hotels. And every indication is that the mayor was calling other city mayors to see what they could do for them -- meaning donate. Maybe the city is paying them their wages while they are gone. That would qualify, I suppose, as "on taxpayer money".

The point is that much has been made about the fact that NO first responders are being sent on vacation (mostly by righties joining in the usual slimefest), as if it's some sort of indicator of, I don't know, wastefulness or incompetence or just naughtiness. When in fact it appears to be warranted. If the US government found a way to send soldiers to LV for free while the war in Iraq was still raging, would there be this outrage?