(R) and (D) Senators say White House blocking Katrina probe

[montana500]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060124/ap_on_go_co/katrina_congress_3

"WASHINGTON - The White House is crippling a Senate inquiry into the government's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina by barring administration officials from answering questions and failing to hand over documents, senators leading the investigation said Tuesday.


In some cases, staff at the White House and other federal agencies have refused to be interviewed by congressional investigators, said the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In addition, agency officials won't answer seemingly innocuous questions about times and dates of meetings and telephone calls with the White House, the senators said."

[gratuitous]

1. White House and agency staff refusing interviews?

Maybe it's time to break out the subpoenas, Senators? People died, a whole city was wiped off the map, and you're requesting interviews?! Put some teeth in those requests and start issuing subpoenas!

By the way, if they've done nothing wrong, they shouldn't have anything to hide, right?

[Trillo]

2. Is that Obstruction of Justice?

Impeach.

[biscotti]

3. Read it and rated it

Thanks for posting this. It is encouraging to know it is finally being exposed in the media.

[rox63]

4. Read it, rated it

And I'm posting it at other sites. What a bunch of lowlife scumbags. :puke:

[hvn_nbr_2]

5. More grounds for impeachment. K&R.

[wiley]

6. Homeland Security Ignored the Warning, and

FEMA couldn't care less. Why is this surprising? CORRUPT REPUBLICANS.

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

[opihimoimoi]

8. "More caviar pleaze....merci beaucoup...." on Day 2..while dining

when the Peeps of NOLA were starving, dying, suffering, etc. No toilet paper, no privacy, no water, no dignity, no fresh air, no help.

Bush let them down, and it seems, on purpose.

[LittleClarkie]

7. Well, golly, why would they do that? (innocent look)

After all, the Republicans keep saying, in regard to domestic wiretapping, that if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear.

So of course they have no reason to stop a probe of their actions regarding Katrina, now do they.

[MissWaverly]

9. kicking to the greatest page

Not only kicking for obstruction of justice, kicking for the missing, who have been
denied dignity in death and proper follow-up.

Kicked

[Twist_U_Up]

10. I no longer will click a yahoo source

although I will silently giggle at their hypocrisy. I just canceled my subscription to them today. Yep no more Yahoo for me

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x221250

[Debau2005]

12. Here is the AP article from a NON yahoo link.

I don't hit yahoo anymore either!

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KATRINA_CONGRESS?SITE=WABEL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[williesgirl]

11. Rotten from the top down - they know they'll get kudos from * Admin

if they block this. Great reviews all around. If senators don't get tough, we should vote them out.

[stepnw1f]

13. Grounds for IMPEACHMENT!

Homicidal negligence and the cover-up....

[Festivito]

14. Confidentiality of advisors is MORE IMPORTANT than lives.

If one advises the president, better that hundreds or thousands of Americans die than that person being named as an advisor.
WELL: Let him use a fake name, the way they do it in Brazil.

WHAT:
barring administration officials from answering questions and
failing to hand over documents
refused to be interviewed
won't answer seemingly innocuous questions about times and dates

WHY:
confidentiality of presidential advisers
preserve any president's ability to get advice

AND:
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has not handed over enough to fully comply

SICKENING.

[donkeyotay]

15. We're all just a focus group now.

Unless they wake up and impeach his imperial ass.

[Trish1168]

16. It was their version of ethnic cleansing- of course they'd hide it !

I read an article about the Tsunami. Many of the displaced in Indonesia were never allowed back. They were fisherman who knew no other way to make a living. After the Tsunami, the government figured they could get corporations to buy up the coastal property cheap. All the poor fisherman were relocated to camps in-land. They are now dependent on the government.

I tell my husband all the time that this was NOT a case of negligence and he does not believe me. This was purposeful and intended. Firstly, they wanted Louisiana to give up its national guard and there was a turf war and they wanted to punish LA for not giving in. Secondly, they saw the opportunity to displace thousands of poor black people and getting their property for pennies on the dollar. More conviently, they scattered these people across the country with no means of ever getting back. Now they are trying to bulldoze their homes.

Accidental - my ass. They turned away everyone who had food and water to offer. They redirected trucks and turned back first responders.

Many who live there suggest that the levees were blown. Honest to God, I cannot discount what they say. Do I think there are people in our government capable of this? Yes, absolutely. Would they? Sure? Could they? Yes. Did they? Maybe.
I run into the same road blocks with 9/11 (my husband cannot conceive that our government was behind it).