They Really Dropped the Ball..

[amber]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I remember hearing FEMA or some Fed. declared martial law. I specifically remember hearing that because they mentioned it was the first time since Pearl Harbor. But, maybe I am wrong as a whole bunch of stuff has been misreported in recent days.

Right - I thought the governor was involved with that, too, though. We'll know in awhile....

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by amber

Right - I thought the governor was involved with that, too, though. We'll know in awhile....

I think once the Pres. declares it a Fed. Disaster Area - that shifts the control to FEMA, who Blanco specifically requested help from on Aug. 28 in that letter I posted a link to. Moreover, could you imagine W making the argument, "well, Gov. Blanco did not specifically ask us to be there after that - so we thought we'd wait and see"

[dissention]

Has there been anything said about Oily Dick at all? Has he bought the farm?

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by dissention

Has there been anything said about Oily Dick at all? Has he bought the farm?

He showed up on the same day that Rehnquist's death was announced.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by dissention

Has there been anything said about Oily Dick at all? Has he bought the farm?

Funny you should mention that. It appears he bought something. But it's not a farm, it's an estate:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...090401391.html

Where the Rumsfelds Retreat, The Cheneys Soon Could Follow

By Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 5, 2005; Page B01

ST. MICHAELS, Md. -- They've grown used to having a secretary of defense in their midst -- the way his weekend estate is tucked behind a bend in the road, how he takes casual walks tailed by dark SUVs. Now, residents of this Eastern Shore retreat are preparing for someone even bigger to buy a house down the road: the vice president.

"I'd heard it was going to close either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week," Carroll Hurley, a funeral home owner, said Saturday, seated with his breakfast gang at the Carpenter Street saloon and restaurant.

Whether it's true -- that Dick and Lynne Cheney are buying an estate here -- could not be confirmed. Those closest to the deal -- Cheney's office, the purported sellers, the listing agent -- aren't talking. Hurley admits he's not certain: "All I have is hearsay. It wouldn't stand up in court."

Still, a nosy visit here leaves a person with one of two possibilities: Either the Cheneys are coming or a lot of people have bad information. Police Chief Ed Henry -- who breakfasted along with Hurley -- even referred to the lot in question as "Cheney's house."

The house, listed at $2.9 million, backs up in spectacular fashion to an inlet of the Chesapeake Bay. "Right out by [Defense Secretary Donald H.] Rumsfeld's," said Charles Mangold Sr., whose Benson & Mangold agency brokers high-end estates in the area. "It's under contract, but he hasn't settled yet."

(snip)
.

Rumsfeld bought a weekend house in St. Michaels two years ago, reportedly for about $1.5 million. He gets generally good reviews here for his desire to blend in -- even if that means taking a walk with his wife, Joyce, down a rural stretch of road tailed by SUVs. Residents say he doesn't like to pose for pictures alone, preferring to ask people to stand next to him and have a brief chat.

(snip)

Cheney seemingly has spent far less time here. He, his wife and the Rumsfelds did dine on April 16 at 208 Talbot, a high-end restaurant in central St. Michaels.

"Cheney had the lamb," said Deborah Miller, seated behind the hostess stand.

She knew something was up that day when security agents showed up in the afternoon to scout out the place. An attache of Cheney's then arrived, saying he'd prefer a table among the regular diners -- rather than in a back room. No one bothered their table, and the foursome couldn't have been more pleasant, Miller recalled. But she didn't know whether Cheney was buying a place.

And the owner of the house in question declined to comment, saying politely from the end of its long driveway that he didn't want to talk about anything.

The estate goes back to 1930 and was said to be built by one of Thomas Edison's daughters, according to Robert Snyder, the Coldwell Banker agent who is listing the property.

The nine-acre lot includes extensive gardens, ornamental pools and spectacular views of the water behind it. Deer and osprey can be seen.

Snyder, who is vice president of the St. Michaels town commission, declined to say when any deal might close and whether the Cheneys were going to move in. "It truly is a magnificent piece of property," he added.