President: Nixon
Category 5 Hurricane *Camille* (August 1969)
Area: About the same area as that affected by Katrina
Response: Nixon prepared the National Guard in advance, ordering rescue ships from Tampa, FL and Houston, TX to stand waiting along with over a thousand regular military, 24+ helicopters to assist the Coast Guard and National Guard about as soon as the hurricane passed.
President: Bush (the Elder)
Category 5 Hurricane *Andrew* (August 1992)
Area: Florida
Response: In the middle of a re-election campaign, Bush ceased campaigning the day before the hurricane, went to Washington, and assembled one of the largest military forces ever mustered on U.S. soil. 7,000 National Guard and 22,000 regular military were sent in with the necessary equipment shortly after the hurricane passed through.
President: Clinton
Category 3 Hurricane *Floyd* (September 1999)
Area: Virginia and Carolinas
Response: Meeting with China's president Jiang in New Zealand, Clinton immediately declared the hurricane-affected areas as federal disasters, allowing the military and National Guard to move in and help. Clinton flew home immediately, one day before the hurricane hit, to help coordinate the rescue.
President: Bush (the Lesser)
Category 5 Hurricane *Katrina* (August 2005)
Area: Gulf Coast
Response: National Guard troops are down about 8,000 members because they are in Iraq with much of the needed rescue equipment. Bush was on vacation, riding his bike for two hours the day before the hurricane landed. On that day, Bush attended a birthday party for John McCain and played golf. The levees began to crack. While emergency 1.5-ton sandbags were ready to be placed to strengthen the levee and exclude water, there were insufficient helicopters and pilots to set them before the levees broke. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded for federal-level assistance and got none. Bush went to San Diego to play guitar with a country singer and end his vacation early -- but not until the next day, because he had tickets to a San Diego Padres game.
[Duchess Note – Many thanks to fellow NYC Kucitizen (BC) in sharing the above tidbit. Rock the house girlfriend!]
HELP ANIMALS & PETS TODAY
Please take some time to call, write and/or fax your Congress member and urge them to co-sponsor HR 3858 legislation to include pets and service animals in any emergency evacuation plans in the future. Many animals and pets lost their lives in the wake of Hurricane Katrina & Rita. Please take the time … so far there are only four co-sponsors on this House bill. Let’s work together and bring about a change on this topic. Thank you!
http://www.opensubscriber.com/message/helptheanimals@yahoogroups.com/2207667.html
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM Working Families e-Activist Regarding "Stop the PayCut for Gulf Coast Workers"
Workers in the Gulf Coast have lost so much--many lost their homes, belongings and jobs. Some lost family members. Now they've lost decent pay, too. When President Bush signed that executive order taking away community "prevailing wage" standards for construction workers who will rebuild the Gulf Coast, he took hope from working families trying to put their lives back together. We can't allow this to happen. Please turn your outrage to action and help restore decent pay for Gulf Coast workers. Click the following link to sign our petition now ... http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/OpakW641nPbr/
There is no way a just America can allow pay to be cut for Gulf Coast workers--especially while politically connected contractors are getting fat no-bid contracts and the wealthiest Americans are getting massive new tax breaks. And especially when the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina exposed how workers in the Gulf desperately need decent wages. Let's be clear: The community wage standards President Bush cut were very modest to begin with. Federal law simply required that federal contractors not lower community construction wages--wages that average about $9.50 an hour in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, less than $20,000 a year for skilled, full-time work. Why in the world should these workers get pay cuts?
At least nine times in the past decade, right-wing extremists in the Republican Party tried in Congress to repeal or undermine the law that requires federal contractors to pay the "prevailing wage" for the region in which they are working. None of the efforts succeeded. But the Bush administration has taken advantage of Katrina to do what it could not do otherwise. Please take a moment to sign our Petition for Decent Pay in the Gulf Coast. President Bush and your members of Congress will get a message immediately letting them know you have signed it. Click here: ... http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/OpakW641nPbr/
Once you have signed the petition, please urge the people you know who care about working families and decent pay to sign it, too. Can you get five people to sign? 10? 25? The more signatures we get, the more we'll be heard. Please click this link to send a message to your friends ... http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/W1akW641nPbf/
QUOTE OF THE DAY ... Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it. Thomas Jefferson
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM the Office of Senator Edward Kennedy Regarding Responsibly Rebuilding the Gulf Coast
Last Friday, I visited the Gulf Coast with a congressional delegation to meet with survivors. They obviously need all of the help we can give them. We recently urged you to donate to charities that are helping with the relief effort, and we're both grateful for anything you can do to provide help for the people of these devastating circumstances to rebuild their homes, their lives, and their future. It’s essential to see that Congress and the Administration act responsibly in meeting this vast challenge as well. Initial controversies make clear, however, that inappropriate partisan efforts are likely to undermine the all-important process of recovery and reconstruction.
The Bush Administration and the Republican Congress are adamantly refusing to cooperate in supporting an independent investigation of the causes of the inadequate preparations and early responses to the tragedy, and there is little accountability for the billions of federal dollars being appropriated for the response. Some have even said that this is the time to turn the Gulf Coast into a conservative laboratory of national and economic social policy. I SAY NO. Now is the time to help the people of this region rebuild themselves. http://www.tedkennedy.com/rebuilding
I believe it’s essential that the recovery effort be carried out as effectively as possible, and I've proposed the creation of a special organization a Gulf Coast Redevelopment Authority to bring everyone together to create a common plan and vision for the new Gulf Coast. What I heard over and over on my visit is that local people want a voice in their own future. They don't want big outside companies with political connections to call the shots. That's why the goal of the Gulf Coast Redevelopment Authority would be to coordinate the redevelopment efforts with appropriate state and local guidance, create jobs, and give Gulf Coast residents the means to rebuild their communities and their lives. We should also owe it to our fellow citizens along the Gulf to get it right. We should seek the advice of the world’s best experts on flood control, modern communications and utilities, urban and community development, and more. We should preserve the best of the past and the regions culture and heritage, but also rebuild with an eye to the future, too. http://www.tedkennedy.com/rebuilding
Bringing everyone around a common table is the only realistic way to enable the nation to come together and support the people of the Gulf Coast with worthwhile jobs in the modern economy, and provide opportunity and hope that is so urgently needed. Thank you so much for your involvement and concern.
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