Katrina Coverage

We in California are usually sorry for inflicting Rep. Henry Waxman on the rest of the country, but sometimes he does something OK. Like, trying to find out whether FEMA is overpaying Carnival Cruise Lines for use of three of their ships.
Lawmaker Wants Review of Cruise Ship Deal
In a letter, Rep. Henry Waxman of California […]

Here, in all its "liberal" glory, is a question that Cynthia "Jihad" McKinney asked of Michael Chertoff:
"If the Nursing Home owners were charged with negligent homicide, why weren't you all charged?"

From Homeland security secretary defends actions:
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended his actions before and after Hurricane Katrina, telling lawmakers Wednesday he relied on Federal Emergency Management Agency experts with decades of experience in hurricane response.
"I'm not a hurricane expert," Chertoff said several times in responding to criticisms from members of a special House panel […]

Your eyes might feel slimy after reading this report, but this bit needs some research:
On August 30, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff labeled Katrina "an incident of national significance." In doing so, he set into action the National Response Plan (NRP). Secrecy News, published by the Federation of American Scientists, points out that […]

Former head of FEMA Michael Brown testified before Congress today. He spoke and was questioned for several hours, and the massive transcript is here and here in PDF form.
From the AP:
Former FEMA director Michael Brown blamed others for most government failures in responding to Hurricane Katrina on Tuesday, especially Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New […]

From this:
Chertoff worked from home the day [Leo Bosner, a "26-year FEMA employee and union leader"] first warned of the hurricane's catastrophic potential for New Orleans, CNN's Tom Foreman reported. Chertoff also has been criticized for writing a memo the day after Katrina struck, delegating authority to Brown and deferring to the White House rather […]

This CNN report has a lot of filler, but it does link to a segment on a "whistleblower". But, it also ends up being CNN reporting on someone who apparently used CNN as a source for remarks by Blanco, which are then re-reported by CNN:
"We told these fellows that there was a killer hurricane heading […]

WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - In the months before Hurricane Katrina, President George W. Bush sought to cut a key program to help local governments raise their preparedness, and state officials warned of a "total lack of focus" on natural disasters by his homeland-security chief, documents show…
…In July, the National Emergency Management Association wrote lawmakers […]

The article "Key military help for victims of Hurricane Katrina was delayed" says that Bush already had enough military powers to do what was necessary, he - and Michael Chertoff - simply failed to act quickly enough. The military has taken part in past disasters, and that's allowed as long as they don't perform police […]

Piecing together the unconfirmed timeline presented in "Key military help for victims of Hurricane Katrina was delayed" we get:
- Aug 29: landfall; "levee breaches" occur
Aug 29 3:22:00 PM - Navy says USS Bataan is standing by.
- Aug 30: Michael Chertoff goes to Atlanta for a "previously scheduled briefing on avian flu"
- Aug 30: "[Chertoff] aides […]