"i don't thiink.." An email I just sent to my whole address book

[eek]

"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. "
-gw bush
September 1 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4204754.stm
.............................................................................................

Unanticipated? Be sure and read through this 5-parter from the New Orleans Times Picayune

June 23-27, 2003.
"Washing Away,"
Mark Schleifstein and John McQuaid, The Times-Picayune
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf?/washingaway/part1.html
..................

Unanticipated?
Here's one of bush's biggest pundit pals:

"Katrina Blogging"
Michelle Malkin
August 28, 2005
As I write this, Hurricane Katrina is approaching New Orleans. New Orleans is about 12 feet below sea level and has always lived under a death sentence of a nightmare scenario which may very well unfold in the next 12-18 hours. Basically, if Katrina’s storm surge causes Lake Ponchartrain to flood the levees surrounding the city, New Orleans will be under 30 feet of water. Experts say that such a scenario could lead to a death toll in the tens of thousands. Some place the toll as high as 50,000-100,000. The city has no natural drainage and some estimate that it could take up to 10 months for the lake of the dead to drain.
In short, tomorrow could be one of the deadliest days in American History.
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/003422.htm

Even that handjob, Geraldo Rivera said over the weekend:
"Given the destructive potential of this hurricane, perhaps we've misused our resources fighting terrorists for the past few years."

What's more, one could make an argument that the death and destruction in Katrina's wake could have been lessened were it not for budget cuts and reorganization of our Federal Emergency Management Agency

Early in their first term, the bush administration cut FEMA's program, Project Impact (begun in the late 90's)from the 2002 budget.

Over the last several years there've been numerous articles, studies and news reports warning of the great danger posed by cutting this promising program.
Had the Project Impact funding still been in place you can bet lives and property would have been saved in Louisiana and Mississippi.

(Don't think I need mention the resources diverted from our Homeland to the black, bloody hole in Iraq)
.............................
Here's some of what I got from a very cursory Googling of ""Project Impact" 1997 budget cut"

March 1, 2001
Bush's budget cuts disaster preparedness funding
http://archives.thedaily.washington.edu/2001/030101/N9.BIHquakebu.html
....................
1998
BellSouth Joins FEMA "Project Impact" Initiative for Disaster-Resistant Communities
"Project Impact provides a practical, cooperative approach to disaster preparedness that benefits the entire community," said Rod Odom, president of BellSouth Business Systems. "BellSouth is fully committed to supporting FEMA's initiatives, and our Business Continuity Service is an excellent example of how we can help local companies protect critical business operations from any type of disruption."
http://www.fema.gov/regions/iv/1998/r4_055.shtm
..............
1998
FEMA Selects Burnsville as First Project Impact City in Minnesota Partnerships Are a Key to Building a Disaster Resistant Community
Project Impact is supported by a grant from FEMA. The amount of the grant will be approximately $300,000 to serve as "seed money" to support community wide disaster prevention. A kickoff event for the project will be held in February and the official designation from FEMA will happen in March.
http://www.fema.gov/regions/v/1999/r5_05.shtm
.......................
9/22/04
In North Carolina, no emergency power and an end to a program that saved millions
http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2004-09-22/cover2.html

Disaster in the making
As FEMA weathers a storm of Bush administration policy and budget changes, protection from natural hazards may be trumped by “homeland security”
Among emergency specialists, "mitigation"--the measures taken in advance to minimize the damage caused by natural disasters--is a crucial part of the strategy to save lives and cut recovery costs. But since 2001, key federal disaster mitigation programs, developed over many years, have been slashed and tossed aside. FEMA's Project Impact, a model mitigation program created by the Clinton administration, has been canceled outright. Federal funding of post-disaster mitigation efforts designed to protect people and property from the next disaster has been cut in half, and now, communities across the country must compete for pre-disaster mitigation dollars.
http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2004-09-22/cover.html

...............
( here's an EXCELLENT Article)

March 8, 2001
Bush Plan To Can "Project Impact" Could Be Disastrous
by Broderick Perkins
http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20010308_impact.htm
................................

April 6, 2001
Cantwell Says Republican Budget Fails to Meet National Responsibilities
http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/releases/budget4-6.html
........................

...........................................................................................................

Back to "unanticipated" breach of the levees. Doesn't remark that ring a bell?
Take a trip down Memory Lane:

May 16, 2002
" I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would
take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center..."

"Had I had any inkling whatsoever that people were going to fly airplanes into buildings, we would have moved heaven and earth to protect the country. Just like we're working to prevent further attacks."
president bush

"I believe the title was 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States.' "

http://www.house.gov/cummings/cbc/cbcpress/2004apr08a.htm

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0409041pdb1.html

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/04/08/911.commission/

[jarnocan]

1. good info and links

thanks

[BattyDem]

2. Don't forget this one - it's right on the money!

Experts expect Katrina to turn New Orleans into Atlantis

[eek]

3. Good! Thanks

send this stuff to everyone!