Did anyone watch the Katrina Hearings ? I know the MEDIA SHOW we are susposed to watch this week is the Bad-Dictator- Saddam Trial, it's being displayed on all the channels and properly spread across the Media like Fresh Buffalo Manure. And I know that the Bird Flu and the Broken Borders Crap are also being broadcast in Classic Diversional Fashion. Not me I scrambled to find the Katrina Hearings, and they were well worth the search. ( Check C-Span- there will be late night re-runs) They were beyond Amazing. First off we need to give some Brass Ball Awards to the fine people who come forward to DC, and testified to what they saw, heard, and the Extent of Misery that was experienced by those in NOLAZONE during Katrina . These Fine People testified to the Arrogant at their Prescious Comfort Zone in the Marbled Halls of DC. They were eloquent and lyrical, even riveting in their descriptions and testimony.
And my-oh-my some of these "fine" reps had a Come-to-Jesus moments during these Hearings. The "R" word came up and the "P" word came up. Oh-Holy-Shit these men in suits did indeed turn many shades of paler pasty pale. ( oh ,and yes the words that came up over and over was Racism and also Poverty , echoing like shockwaves in this little Republican Shark Tank, because the Democrats are boycotting these hearings, geez, I sure as Tuesday hope that someone taped it or TIVO'D for them).
*NOTE TO READERS ( ALL 4 OF YOU) : Please do not be offended by reading this post. If I speak disparagingly of the Men in Suits on the Hill, please note that it is directed at their apathy and lack of concern for their fellow Americans. And yes, I am very worried that Color did indeed play a signifigant role in the Katrina Disaster. I am not the only one that has pondered WHAT IF the Disaster had Struck a Mostly White Upscale Golf Community in Florida- would things have been different ? I think we know the answer......hmmm, and Imagine that- the Katrina Hearings are not on cspan today....I wonder why. And the White House is to be supoenaed next week for the Documents that have been witheld up until now.My anger is not directed in White Men in Suits, just The White Men in Suits on the Hill- who appear so stupidified and confused.
There were some Priceless Moments:
(1) So Shay of Connecticutt asks, for some friggin' unknown reason, " Can we hear some examples of Good or Hopeful events that came of this Disaster"
( oh, yeah as we all watched TV during that week from HELL, that was the first thing that I thought of after CNNing for 6 days straight....)
So one of the panel members , who is an attorney says " Well, I know that seeing the Looters feeding the Hungry was an Inspiring Sight."
There was a collective THUNK as the white men jaws hit the table.
And then the Lawyer explained about the Looters and why it happened, and the whities sat and scratched and squirmed , realizing that maybe asking for Heroic HAPPY Patriotic WHY I LOVE America tales was not a bright move.
(2) Mama Dee is my new hero, this woman is the Lifeblood of NOLA, and she is the Queen of Integrity. She laid it out for these men, she rendered them speechless, Godsmacked and bewildered. She explained in her own way what the hell went wrong and is still wrong in NOLA and she did indeed bring up the R and the P words, alot. And after she was done there were grown men with hankies drying sweat and tears. She is so sharp she carefully and oh-so-subtley kept reminding these Repugs that yes-indeedy that there was mountains of tapes, video and interviews and photos showing what happened that week, alot of it that was on TV and some that wasn't. For those who don't know her, she is an Amazing Fine Woman, interviewed over and over on many channels and by Anderson Cooper and others. She is Courage in Motion. She is a longtime Community Activist, and her house was The Hub of Rescues, survivors and Response. Food to Boats this is a One-Woman-FEMA. And the media and rescue people alike went to her house as a sanctuary and for meals. Her full name is Dyan French Cole, but everyone calls her Mama Dee. She was full of stories, some would make any mama 's heart flutter. And others she told with sardonic wit and careful humor. She told about FEMA?RED CROSS and Military Air Dropping Barrel of Hard Rock Candy that was Expired. ( Geez, they should have airdropped Dentists also). And she gently chided them " It wasn't just poor black folk, it was also poor white folk. So it is still Racism, not all of it was about color, it was also about socioeconomic status."
(3) Ms. Cynthia McKinney, rep. of Georgia showed up and listened and asked questions, the Democrats that didn't show looked arrogant. They should have listened to these tempest tossed souls with harrowing tales. As a Democrat I am embarrassed that such a stupid path was taken, it solved nothing and accomplished nothing, but was one more insult to the Witnesses to look at the Empty chairs before them.
( And have the Democarats Done ANYTHING to investigate this mess, or did they go to sleep on this too?)
(4) Horror Stories were shared about the Missing, and Still Missing. And the truth about the Dirty cops, and the missing young boys down there. And the Horrors of being poor and sick and black and not being ABLE TO EVACUATE. ( What is it about these men, they can't understand that not everyone can go climb in their lexus and shimmy up the Coast and hang out in the Marriot for a few days, WHY OH WHY can't they wrap their heads around that???) And the Witnesses did also point out that WHOLE Families are STILL Missing. ( Now yes, we know that Enigma has been ranting and raving on this very issue for monthes, but according to the Hidden Numbers and my earlier posts, more than 12,000 adults and 2,661 children. And in my head that is like THREE Twin Towers falling all at once, and all of us just walking the other way).
(5) And the last point that was brought up and is still disturbing and gave me pause and shiver, and actually made the little panel Extremely Uncomfortable. The Witnesses reported that in the 9th ward Explosions were heard.( I have read this on Blogs as well...but I had never heard it said OUT Loud). They said that many people heard and then the water rose all that night. They also said that people were wondering if the Levees failed or if something blew them up or damaged them. It was also said that the pumps went off. ( Why did the pumps go off- were they nuclear powered? And what about Nuclear Plant there- we have never heard if it was turned off or not- there were conflicting articles online that week , and yet NOW all the articels are GONE off the Internet- ALL of them have been removed.) Questions about the Explosions and about the Power Plant were actually not answered with any authority or accuracy.And I have tried to find out, but it does not appear that Entergy the Power Plant has had to appear at the Hearings, and they should. And I also wonder if the Army Corp has to appear and answer questions???)
(6) And I have another Question, Brownie and Chertoff certainly had to plant their behinds in the Hot Seat, when is Uncle Dick or the King 's turn? I have a case of popcorn , I am ready. And I know we have not seen the Lord of Darkness or the King with live humans- unless it is to press militarized Flesh.
(7) Another Higlight was Lawyers describing that the Superdome, the Causeway, and the Convention Center became Concentration Camps for the people left there to swelter and starve, trapped by the government in these zones. And the men with guns that would not let them leave or move. ( The Guard and the Black Water Boys I presume...)
(8) The Witnesses have been gathering much research and confronting the Government with their OWN research, including previous statements made by Brownie and Chertoff. Other Stellar moments invloved actual Math- the WHERE-IS-DAMN-MONEY-CAUSE-IT-AIN'T HERE ???And Why aren't the Guard still there? And WHY did it take SO LONG to get them there?
I could go on and on, in usual rant style, this I know many good points were brought up at these Hearings, and hopefully some good will come of them. But I am asking that the Witnesses be Heard, because we are damn lucky they survived to tell their stories.
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( Please see last post on this was about Ethel Freeman,the woman in the Wheelchair at the Convention Center, who died waiting , " Lost Souls and the Souless in Power" and multiple posts on Katrina)
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8 comments:
You can say whatever you want about the men in suits on Capitol Hill. I used to be one of them. The only problem is that the level of greed and corruption is much worse than when I worked there. Those "men in suits" -- not all of them, but most of them -- spend an obscene amount of time raising money for their next campaign, and thinking about ways they can obtain more money from any and every source possible. Most of those men in suits behave in very unadmirable ways.
All the men in suits can take a long walk for all I care. A real long walk.
What channel was this on? CSPAN? I'm surprised that Crooks and Liars didn't post an excerpt of it.
kvatch:
Yeah, it was corroborated by everyone who was stuck there for those five horrible days. It was corroborated by Geraldo Rivera on FOX early last September when he went inside the Superdome and cried on the air.
The men with guns not letting them leave story was corroborated by Shepherd Smith during that same broadcast. While relief workers on the other side of the bridge in Gretna were impatiently awaiting their arrival, the idiots in charge wouldn't let them leave. That was the point at which Smith screamed at Hannity and said, "THIS is context, Sean!"
Meanwhile, Mikey Brown didn't even know what was going on.
Hey E4E,
Looks like your total number of readers is about 5 at my count:-)
I have often and always said the following: If Katrina hit Boca Raton, the response would have been substantially different. Also, we (as in the royal we in the USA - the American Taxpayer) are in for a legal spanking once the dominoes fall in the tumult of wrongful death suits that should justifiably be filed against the W, Rove and Co. It is critically important as to when a person died in the Gulf Coast - on the day of Katrina, the cause is the storm. After the storm, the cause might very well have been becuase of negligence and improper response by the Feds, The State, and the Local governments - but where it hurts us is the FEMA boondogle. They really screwed the pooch on this one. FUBAR.
Windspike thanks for the e4e nickname- I like that , and you are right about the posse- it is atleast 5 now....And about your points that you made about Cause of Death- so true, in my earlier post I wrote about Ethel Freeman- who clearly died AFTER the Hurricane- she died waiting for Response, and her son has filed a Case- and I believe was the first one filed. She died of exposure, dehydration and starvation.And there are pictures to verify her death, and sadly witnesses. ( see earlier post Lost Souls & Souless in Power Post)...and her poor son had to fight Tooth and Nail to get her back and bury her- it took Seven Weeks. And many people have not had bodies returned. And the bulldozing has begun in the 9th ward/St.Bernards. There are more than 12,000 adults unaccounted for, and 2661 children. This is an atrocity , and yes, the Bushco will try to Lawyer it. But that might get difficult if the UN is investigating Crimes Against Humanity, on our own shores.
Regarding Entergy's nuclear power plant (Waterford), it's on the west side of the Mississippi river at (duh) WATERFORD, roughly on the opposite side of the Bonnet Carre spillway, well upriver of New Orleans, and probably safe from storm surge -- for now. If you know where LaPlace is, LaPlace is basically the first high ground on the east side of the Mississippi River beyond New Orleans (north of the Bonnet Carre spillway), and Waterford is on the opposite side of the river, equally on (relatively) high ground.
Just thought you'd want to know, since you were wondering about Entergy's New Orleans area power plant.
Note that Entergy New Orleans, the incumbent power company in New Orleans, is not the same Entergy as the Entergy that owns Waterford. 100% of its stock is owned by the same Entergy that owns Waterford, but on paper it's a different company. That's why Entergy New Orleans is declaring bankruptcy at the same time that the parent company is raking in over a billion dollars a year in profits.
Also note that, with the rise in natural gas prices, Entergy's nuclear power plants have suddenly become unusually profitable, now selling most of their capacity because they can generate for less than companies that rely on natural gas. For many years Entergy was roundly blasted for building those nuclear power plants -- they almost forced Entergy into bankruptcy at one point, and had far more capacity than needed to meet the electrical needs of Entergy's customers. But now Entergy is apparently cashing dividends for that investment from decades ago.
I didn't even know the hearings were happening -- that tells me the MSM has once again fallen down on the job. The aftermath of Katrina was and continues to be a nightmare for the people affected, but our legislators just want to move on to the next pork barrel project. Thanks for keeping the focus on the people of the Gulf Coast. And thanks for coming by Birmingham Blues! Come back anytime.
e4e (yeh, thanks Windspike--that's catchy!)....e4e, listen, have been having computer problems over on Dada's Dally, but I wanted to thank you for the kind words. I also wanted to say that I caught the C-Span showing of the House committee's hearing on Katrina. There are soooo few in our congress I respect, much less look up to--Cynthia McKinney, Barbara Lee, Barbara Boxer, Dennis Kucinich--but I'm with you. "Mama D" is the newest hero on my list. She literally kicked a**. And when reminded of her time allotment, she didn't hesitate to remind them she was an "old hippie" and she wasn't about to stop until she had said what she came there to say. It was great television--a rarity in this day and age.
Also, thanks for the good wishes for Annie, our greyhound. Sadly, she didn't make it. That leaves Pony to receive all the attention we formerly divided between three. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner but, like I say, have been distracted with computer connection problems (which tomorrow, we're promised, will be fixed). Oh wait....did I tell you how much I enjoy your blog? Keep up the good work.
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