They Really Dropped the Ball.. - Page 33

dissention · #**481** 09-07-2005, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Speaking of Mr Cooper http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200...0907_109.jhtml

Oh, I <3 him so. He's practically a hero. I saw him on Oprah and they put together a bunch of clips of his coverage of this; it was very good. He was also on Nancy Grace last night and said he wasn't leaving any time soon because he wanted to document the unbelievable things going on.

amber · #**482** 09-07-2005, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissention

Oh, I <3 him so. He's practically a hero. I saw him on Oprah and they put together a bunch of clips of his coverage of this; it was very good. He was also on Nancy Grace last night and said he wasn't leaving any time soon because he wanted to document the unbelievable things going on.

Very cool. I don't have cable so I never get to see him. How was Oprah today? I usually don't get home from work till 4:50

BTFLCHLD · #**483** 09-07-2005, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Here you go sweetie, resized and optimized. On edit: Actually, it looks like this is the same size Amber's was. You can crop it and then just type the quote below it.

maybe this will work...good luck!

dissention · #**484** 09-07-2005, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amber

Very cool. I don't have cable so I never get to see him.

Oy, he's the best. I always loved him before, but damn, his coverage of this has me positively smitten with him as a journalist and fellow human being.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amber

How was Oprah today? I usually don't get home from work till 4:50

It was another great show.

Her site will have parts of the show on it tonight just like yesterday, no doubt.

gldstwmn · #**485** 09-07-2005, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

That Esprit de Corps is what the

and

were for.

That sig is fantastic.

gldstwmn · #**486** 09-07-2005, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amber

The people who were in the zones are going to be sooooo much more pissed when they find all of this out. Not only did they live through it, but our gov't is saying the most ignorant, hateful things about it, as well.

Ugh. I'm convinced he's drugged, delusional or both.

gldstwmn · #**487** 09-07-2005, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissention

In case anyone is interested and wants to watch some good news, Anderson Cooper is doing his show on families looking for their loved ones and families being reunited tonight. Should be a good show.

Did you see when he held up the t shirt that someone had made with Hotel Rwanda written on it?

dissention · #**488** 09-07-2005, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

Did you see when he held up the t shirt that someone had made with Hotel Rwanda written on it?

Yes.

Did you see the piece on the blind woman who they wouldn't allow to take her seeing eye dog? I couldn't believe that. Thank heavens she refused to go until they let her dog go with her. And when Anderson interviewed the doctor and stressed how mothers and children and babies died because the response to this was so atrocious? Hoo boy.

Have you seen that video of Charmaine Neville that's floating around? It will chill you to the bone.

SuzeQuze · #**489** 09-07-2005, 09:11 PM

Sean Penn said that he and his group saved about 40 people from the waters of NO. He said the boat never sank as was reported. He waded in the water to get to some.

He refrained from placing blame for the lack of help, which he said he was doing while very conflicted, because the Lt Governor thought that was best and Sean has admired how he's handled things. He was on Larry King.

So was Anderson Cooper. Larry asked him if he needed a break, he said he and everyone else down there was committed to the story and he wouldn't be leaving any time soon. He had a surgical mask hanging around his neck.

John Walsh said that he hopes the American media doesn't tire of the story in a few days because it is very important to document everything and help as many people as possible.

Macy Gray was singing Redemption Song to close the show.

gldstwmn · #**490** 09-07-2005, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissention

Yes.

Have you seen that video of Charmaine Neville that's floating around? It will chill you to the bone.

I've only heard the audio.

gldstwmn · #**491** 09-07-2005, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Macy Gray was singing Redemption Song to close the show.

It was gorgeous.

gldstwmn · #**492** 09-07-2005, 11:04 PM

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/expor...0705/witt.html

Witt makes presence known in La.
t didn’t take long for James Lee Witt, the former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to throw his weight around in hurricane-ravaged Louisiana.

Witt, who headed FEMA during the Clinton administration, has been hired by Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) to help coordinate state and federal responses to the natural disaster.

Blanco introduced Witt to President Bush on Monday, according to a source who has spoken with Witt. Bush promised Witt whatever support he needed and said that Mike Brown, FEMA’s embattled director, is his man in charge.

Andrew Card, Bush’s chief of staff, called Witt to give him his home phone number and reiterate Bush’s support.

According to the source, Witt told Brown, “Mike, you’re going to do your job, and I’m going to make you do your job. And I’m going to show you how to do your job.”

Many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pleased that Witt, who contributed thousands of dollars to congressional Democrats last year, is involved in the disaster-relief effort.

Over the past several years, GOP lawmakers have sought Witt’s counsel, including Reps. Bill Shuster (Pa.), Christopher Shays (Conn.) and Jerry Lewis (Calif.).

“James Lee Witt was an outstanding director of FEMA and is a good choice by the governor, regardless of the activities of FEMA,” said former Rep. Bob Livingston (R-La.), who is now a top lobbyist.

Witt met with Shuster and Shays earlier this summer to discuss the fallout of removing FEMA’s emergency-preparedness function from its mission.

As fires raged in his congressional district in 2003, Lewis — who had chaired the appropriations subcommittee that funds FEMA when Witt was FEMA’s chief — became frustrated with the agency because it did not respond to the disaster as quickly as it should have, said Lewis spokesman Jim Specht.

“[Lewis’s] biggest concern was that FEMA hadn’t been able to come up with a plan” to prepare for a disaster, Specht added.

Lewis relied on Witt to help cajole FEMA’s bureaucracy to plan for what could have become a federal disaster area. Lewis and Brown eventually toured the vicinity in a helicopter.

After a week of mixed signals and non-communication, state and federal officials began holding joint press conferences, set up a joint command structure, worked to restore cell-phone coverage to the area and prepared to restore electrical power in New Orleans by stationing an additional 1,000 firefighters in case there were fires when the power came on.

For the first 45 to 60 days, Witt is working on a pro-bono basis for the state of Louisiana. After that, a contract will be negotiated, said a spokeswoman for Witt.

The spokeswoman added, “Witt is going to be the Bush administration’s knight in shining armor.”

“FEMA has never been without criticism, but it was once much more nimble, as it needs to be, and now is apparently becoming a responsive afterthought,” said former Rep. Ken Bentsen (D-Texas), who often dealt with FEMA when tropical storms and hurricanes flooded Houston and who credited Joe Allbaugh, Bush’s first FEMA director, for responding effectively to Tropical Storm Allison in 2001.

“Congress should look into this quickly and employ some management expertise to boot,” Bentsen said.

Witt left the government in 2001 to start his own consulting and lobbying shop.