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The Cavalry That Never Came

By Jeralyn, Section Huricanes Katrina and Rita
Posted on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 09:48:22 AM EST
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As Cookie Jill at Skippy says, these are words that haunt the soul - by Mr. Aaaron broussard, President of Jefferson Parrish, on Meet the Press. Crooks and Liars has the video:

Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry's coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming." I have just begun to hear the hoofs of the cavalry. The cavalry's still not here yet, but I've begun to hear the hoofs, and we're almost a week out.

....And I want to give you one last story and I'll shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me. The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.

Nobody's coming to get us. Nobody's coming to get us. The secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. I'm sick of the press conferences. For God sakes, shut up and send us somebody.

Update: Transcript is here but the video is so powerful, watch it.

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    The Cavalry That Never Came | 11 comments (11 topical)
    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#1)
    by Kitt on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:12 PM EST
    Or you can go here:

    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#2)
    by aw on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:12 PM EST
    Who can explain this away? What are the excuses?

    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:12 PM EST
    So this is one of the guys that PPJ and James Robertson, both vile trolls that haunt this site, are blaming for not being ready and not implementing the evacuation plans for his parrish. I wonder if either of you are man enough to search this guy out and let him know what a huge failure you think he is. Probably not, since that would mean you having to relate to somebody on a human level and I think you two lost that capacity a long while ago. Oh yeah, I know you didn't ever specifically mention this particular parrish or person, PPJ and JR, but it doesn't take a first grader to understand that this is one of the local officials both of you have hammered away at for not being on the ball.

    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#4)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:12 PM EST
    Yes well the cavalry was out shopping, taking in a show, tennis lessons, vacationing in WY and fund raising in sunny So Cal. Fire the incompetent lot of them all right now. Or if they don't resign, arrest them for criminal negligence in the face of a national disaster. The only people more incompetent than this group are the idiots who voted for them.

    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#5)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:12 PM EST
    ShermBuck - Hmmmm, your ability to read a crystal ball us truly amazing, exceeded only by the distance between your eyes. The "locals" as I have called them are the Governor and the Mayor. Now, I think you knew that, but instead you just want to snark with a personal attack. BTW - I just love the constant challenges for me to do "something." You want me to search someone out, edger wanted me to shoot myself. Gee, guys. Can you do nothing yourself?

    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:12 PM EST
    Parsing as usual, PPJ. You really should look at being in this current administration. You have the brains and acumen for acknowledging when you have been caught making crap statements. If I have to I will go back through and copy and paste every time you called for some accountability of the local officials in Louisiana. And you didn't specifically call out just the Mayor and Governor. And as per your regular MO when someone calls on you to account for your vile attitude on this site you sidestep with some really lame snark. Come on, PPJ, I know seeing a lot of dead poor and/or black people gets you to feeling good and self-righteous, so try and think of some better barbs to throw at me. Mr. Broussard is on the ground seeing just how incompetently his federal agency is responding to the disaster. Not the Mayor or the Governor, but FEMA, which is run by an ex-estate lawyer, and not Blanco or anyone else in Louisiana. And what crystal ball are you talking about? I didn't show any prescience in my knowing that you and JR are too caught up in your hateful ideology to notice that the whole of the country, other than yourselves and other closeted bigots, knows that the buck eventually stops right at the foot of the CokeHead Frat Boy Bush. And believe me this won't just go way. The ramifications of Katirna on the human and economic levels will resound for quite sometime to come, and the American people will want heads to roll when we can pause from helping the refugees and can affix resposibility to those who most deserve it. And I'm sure the Mayor of NO, the Gov. of LA, and many others will get a taste. But your buddy Dumbya won't get off scott free this time. I wouldn't be surprised if articles of impeachment aren't tendered by Republicans for dereliction of duty.

    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#7)
    by aw on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:13 PM EST
    PPJ: What would you say directly to Mr. Broussard? What would you say about FEMA cutting communications lines? If you can't answer directly, don't bother.

    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#9)
    by aahpat on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:13 PM EST
    Red Cross was kept out of New Orleans from the start For 18 years I was a photojournalist in America. In that time I covered fires, floods, natural and man made disasters. In cities and in the rural areas of America. In both northern and southern states. One thing differed in the New Orleans disaster that has NEVER happened before. EVER! The Red Cross was kept out of New Orleans from the start. The Southeastern Pennsylvania director of the Red Cross, Tom Foley, told a story on KYW newsradio on Friday about how there are massive Red Cross emergency relief resources had been sitting for days literally on the border of New Orleans....

    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:13 PM EST
    The "locals" as I have called them are the Governor and the Mayor.
    Oh? The Governor? The one that sent this letter to President Bush a week ago today?
    Under the provisions of [the relevant federal law], I request that you declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period beginning August 26, 2005, and continuing ... In response to the situation I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on August 26, 2005 in accordance with Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. A State of Emergency has been issued for the State in order to support the evacuations of the coastal areas in accordance with our State Evacuation Plan ... Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.35, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster ...
    And as for the mayor, this is what the Washington Post said a few days ago...
    It will be weeks before this ex-businessman's stewardship of the crisis can be realistically assessed. For now, though, he is keeping the cool that has become his trademark in New Orleans. One of the few moments of visible agitation was before the storm hit, when Nagin was trying to hustle as many residents as possible out of town. His warnings were dire and apocalyptic and, observers say, effective: 80 percent of the city evacuated.
    Since when do city mayors have the authority to order the Army to come in? Since when can they do something about a natural disaster that has overwhelmed several states? How was this guy supposed to get busses from other cities, when they were all facing the exact same thing? That's what the federal government is for. That's what FEMA used to do. Why do we have a Department of Homeland Security, if it can't mobilize the resources needed to deal with a huge crisis like this? Bush apologists: do this. Recognize when excuses are weak and pointless. Your administration failed America. This is not the way to run a country. Give it up, already.

    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:13 PM EST
    pat as an established photo journalist as yourself, I would hope you have another link that contains some more evidence.

    Re: The Cavalry That Never Came (none / 0) (#12)
    by aahpat on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:13 PM EST
    Actually yes. I got this information from the Red Cross after posting the first note. At LeftIndependent: Official: Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans? Hurricane Katrina: Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans? Access to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders. The state Homeland Security Department had requested--and continues to request-- Disaster FAQs at the Red Cross: Hurricane Katrina: Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans?

    The Cavalry That Never Came | 11 comments (11 topical)