They Really Dropped the Ball..

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Ooooooooo its never ending

Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts
FEMA taps Halliburton subsidiary, Shaw Group, Bechtel for cleanup

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.

One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton.

Bechtel National Inc., a unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., has also been selected by FEMA to provide short-term housing for people displaced by the hurricane. Bush named Bechtel's CEO to his Export Council and put the former CEO of Bechtel Energy in charge of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Experts say it has been common practice in both Republican and Democratic administrations for policy makers to take lobbying jobs once they leave office, and many of the same companies seeking contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received billions of dollars for work in Iraq.

Halliburton alone has earned more than $9 billion. Pentagon audits released by Democrats in June showed $1.03 billion in "questioned" costs and $422 million in "unsupported" costs for Halliburton's work in Iraq.

Watchdog groups take notice
But the web of Bush administration connections is attracting renewed attention from watchdog groups in the post-Katrina reconstruction rush. Congress has already appropriated more than $60 billion in emergency funding as a down payment on recovery efforts projected to cost well over $100 billion.

"The government has got to stop stacking senior positions with people who are repeatedly cashing in on the public trust in order to further private commercial interests," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight.

Bush appointees at Halliburton
Allbaugh formally registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root in February.

In lobbying disclosure forms filed with the Senate, Allbaugh said his goal was to "educate the congressional and executive branch on defense, disaster relief and homeland security issues affecting Kellogg Brown and Root."

Melissa Norcross, a Halliburton spokeswoman, said Allbaugh has not, since he was hired, "consulted on any specific contracts that the company is considering pursuing, nor has he been tasked by the company with any lobbying responsibilities."

Allbaugh is also a friend of Michael Brown, director of FEMA who was removed as head of Katrina disaster relief and sent back to Washington amid allegations he had padded his resume -- which he denies.

A few months after Allbaugh was hired by Halliburton, the company retained another high-level Bush appointee, Kirk Van Tine.

Van Tine registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton six months after resigning as deputy transportation secretary, a position he held from December 2003 to December 2004.

On Friday, Kellogg Brown & Root received $29.8 million in Pentagon contracts to begin rebuilding Navy bases in Louisiana and Mississippi. Norcross said the work was covered under a contract that the company negotiated before Allbaugh was hired.

Cheney's relationship with Halliburton
Halliburton continues to be a source of income for Cheney, who served as its chief executive officer from 1995 until 2000 when he joined the Republican ticket for the White House. According to tax filings released in April, Cheney's income included $194,852 in deferred pay from the company, which has also won billion-dollar government contracts in Iraq.

Cheney's office said the amount of deferred compensation is fixed and is not affected by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings.

Allbaugh's other major client, Baton Rouge-based Shaw Group, has updated its Web site to say: "Hurricane Recovery Projects -- Apply Here!"

Shaw said on Thursday it has received a $100 million emergency FEMA contract for housing management and construction. Shaw also clinched a $100 million order on Friday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Shaw Group spokesman Chris Sammons said Allbaugh was providing the company with "general consulting on business matters," and would not say whether he played a direct role in any of the Katrina deals. "We don't comment on specific consulting activities," he said.

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/...eut/index.html

Jason, that is just disgusting. and EVIL.

[strandinthewind]

The spirit of the people of LA shows through !!!!!!!! Moreover, we are not talking about rich people here. These are likely blue collar workers and IMO are the salt of the Earth.

Times-Picayune

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Guardsmen get treated to Louisiana hospitality
Friday, 8:13 p.m.

By Paul Purpura
West Bank bureau

It started as a chance encounter at a Raceland convenience store, where
a Tennessee National Guardsman went to buy canned ham and a loaf of
bread.

A woman there noticed the soldier’s pending purchase and told him that
that kind of meal in south Louisiana wouldn’t do. And on the spot she
made a couple of phone calls, said 2nd Lt. Steve Haley, a Tennessee
Guardsman.

“Within two hours, they had enough to feed 200-plus” soldiers and
airmen, Haley, of Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The generosity the Tennessee troops are receiving in Lafourche and
Grand Isle is widespread, the soldiers said, and residents there are even doing laundry for the visiting Guardsmen who arrived in the state Sept.1 to help the region repair damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Saturday afternoon, several Tennessee troops gathered at the Naval Air
Station-Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, where in the back seat of a
Humvee sat a large pot of red beans, thick with sausage slivers, and a
pan of rice. Haley said the meal was a gift from a Lafourche Parish
woman, Haley said.

Holley said people in towns in the parish have laid out tables full of
food and deserts for the troops. “They’ve been eating gumbo,
jambalaya,” he said. “Good food.”

And the people aren’t stingy, Haley said. “’No’ is not an option, and
‘just a little bit’ is not an option, either,” he said.

The soldiers and airmen are part of Task Force Tennessee, which is
assigned to Lafourche Parish and Grand Isle recovery efforts. About 360
Tennessee Guardsmen are in the area, and another 109 were on the way
Saturday, said Col. Garry Hicks, the task force’s commanding officer.

“We have had nothing but -- considering the circumstances -- a most
rewarding experience,” Hicks said. “These people down there put their arms around our people. I have to say those people in Lafourche are a great group of folks.”

www.nola.com

[Mari]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

U.S. won't ban media from New Orleans searches

CNN filed suit for right to cover search for bodies of Katrina victims

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- Rather than fight a lawsuit by CNN, the federal government abandoned its effort Saturday to prevent the media from reporting on the recovery of the dead in New Orleans.

In explaining the ban, Ebbert said, "we don't think that's proper" to let members of the media view the bodies.

That was my first idea when I read this. I just hope no one will recognise their loved ones on tv. But for the good of truth, yes, good that press is allowed.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by Mari

That was my first idea when I read this. I just hope no one will recognise their loved ones on tv. But for the good of truth, yes, good that press is allowed.

I hope not as well. But, the press traditionally has not shown the faces of the dead or really the dead uncovered. I am just glad they are there to stop the Feds from covering any malfeasance up.

[strandinthewind]

That poor FEMA - someone should explain the difference between an a$$ and an elbow so they know the difference

Mayors fault FEMA response

BILOXI, Mississippi (CNN) -- Almost two weeks after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, some of the cities hardest hit by the storm are waiting for more help.

"Clearly the FEMA response has been slow," Matthew Avara, mayor of Pascagoula, Mississippi, told CNN Saturday night.

"We got a lot of good people on the ground here that are with FEMA and with the state agencies," he said. "They wear their badges, and they look good. But unfortunately, we just not have seen all the assets and all the resources that we need in our city."

FEMA -- the Federal Emergency Management Agency -- has been criticized for what state and local officials have said was a slow response to Katrina, which devastated more than 90,000 square miles in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi on the morning of August 29.

FEMA director Michael Brown was recalled to Washington on Friday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who named Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen to head the hurricane relief efforts.

Slidell, Louisiana, Mayor Ben Morris also slammed FEMA Saturday, saying when the storm hit, "everything we did was on our own."

The situation was gradually changing, he said.

"It's been quite slow, but we do have some of their folks on the ground, and they're working real hard," he said. "Hopefully, they'll get up to speed sometime soon."

Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway told CNN that past experience with storms led him to believe it would take at least three days before any assistance reached his town. He said FEMA was in the city working with local officials.

FEMA said Saturday it has paid $669 million to more than 570,000 households affected by the storm, The Associated Press reported.

www.cnn.com

[estranged4life]

watching any coverage of NOLA lately, Too disturbing and too scary to realize that what happened in a smaller US city, Could and can happen in a larger US city (ie-LA, Chicago, Houston).

So I have decided to focus my attention away from NOLA (Including the charity concerts).

[SuzeQuze]

The shrimping industry was wiped out in N.O. CNN was traveling down there with a shrimper, they boated to his home and he saw the damage there. In speaking of Bush he said "And I voted for the idiot. Shows how bright I am." His 175,000 boat is gone, no insurance, his house is full of mud, he doesn't have anything.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

The shrimping industry was wiped out in N.O. CNN was traveling down there with a shrimper, they boated to his home and he saw the damage there. In speaking of Bush he said "And I voted for the idiot. Shows how bright I am." His 175,000 boat is gone, no insurance, his house is full of mud, he doesn't have anything.

OMG - that is soooooo true. I know so many in LA who are saying that. Sadly, much of GA thinks it was all the mayor's fault and the Fed. Govt. reacted as quickly as it could, which is utter BS and I am tired of patiently explaining it over and over again as many of them simply refuse to face facts.

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

OMG - that is soooooo true. I know so many in LA who are saying that. Sadly, much of GA thinks it was all the mayor's fault and the Fed. Govt. reacted as quickly as it could, which is utter BS and I am tired of patiently explaining it over and over again as many of them simply refuse to face facts.

Yeah my best friend lives in Dublin Ga in the middle of the state.He doesn't believe that way or I would have choked him by now but he tells me alot of people around there do .I guess it would take Savannah under 10 feet of water for it to finally sink in ..very sad.

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by BombaySapphire3

Yeah my best friend lives in Dublin Ga in the middle of the state.He doesn't believe that way or I would have choked him by now but he tells me alot of people around there do .I guess it would take Savannah under 10 feet of water for it to finally sink in ..very sad.

It is really sad. One of my friends blamed the governor for not letting help in and insisted it was true and asserted she would not listen to a word I said to the contrary. That just broke me. You can't have a discourse when someone just shuts down. And then, why don't they care about facts? I do not understand.

[SuzeQuze]

At the end of 60 Minutes tonight Andy Rooney did his monologue on N.O. He punctuated it by saying George W. Bush is a horrible president. I cannot recall his exact words but that was the meaning and how he closed the show. It shocked me since mainstream media people usually avoid those kinds of comments.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

It is really sad. One of my friends blamed the governor for not letting help in and insisted it was true and asserted she would not listen to a word I said to the contrary. That just broke me. You can't have a discourse when someone just shuts down. And then, why don't they care about facts? I do not understand.

I think it is because the Mayor is a black D and the Gov. is a white woman D - people still somewhere in them think that is lower than W. I will never get it. As you all know, I am all about the facts and the ones here do assign some blame to the Mayor and the Gov. But the overwhelming blame is on FEMA for failing to let readily available supplies in for four or five days until they had their act together. That really cannot be disputed and the Mayor and Gov. had nothing to do with that.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

It shocked me since mainstream media people usually avoid those kinds of comments.

Rooney has never shied away from voicing his disdain for Dubya and the Republican party. He takes every opportunity he can to get a dig in at them.

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by dissention

Rooney has never shied away from voicing his disdain for Dubya and the Republican party. He takes every opportunity he can to get a dig in at them.

Obviously I haven't been watching the show. Someone just told me that no media outlets lean anywhere near right. She cited a poll saying only 13% of people believed the president was responsible for what happened in N.O. When I asked her to show me the poll she would not which probably means it was a Fox poll.

I was doing some Coulter research and I realized that woman is just paranoid. She thinks everyone who isn't conservative is un-American, treasonous, and dangerous. She's scared to death! Her whole career is based on fear of those that are "different" which is really sad not to mention infuriating.

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I think it is because the Mayor is a black D and the Gov. is a white woman D - people still somewhere in them think that is lower than W. I will never get it. As you all know, I am all about the facts and the ones here do assign some blame to the Mayor and the Gov. But the overwhelming blame is on FEMA for failing to let readily available supplies in for four or five days until they had their act together. That really cannot be disputed and the Mayor and Gov. had nothing to do with that.

I agree with this, its a visceral "decision" to blame them.