First By the Floods, Then By Martial Law!! Check This Out !!! (From 09/05)

[WillyT]

First By the Floods, Then By Martial Law
Trapped in New Orleans
By LARRY BRADSHAW
and LORRIE BETH SLONSKY

<snip>

Two days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the Walgreens store at the corner of Royal and Iberville Streets in the city's historic French Quarter remained locked. The dairy display case was clearly visible through the widows. It was now 48 hours without electricity, running water, plumbing, and the milk, yogurt, and cheeses were beginning to spoil in the 90-degree heat. The owners and managers had locked up the food, water, pampers and prescriptions, and fled the city. Outside Walgreens' windows, residents and tourists grew increasingly thirsty and hungry. The much-promised federal, state and local aid never materialized, and the windows at Walgreens gave way to the looters. There was an alternative. The cops could have broken one small window and distributed the nuts, fruit juices and bottled water in an organized and systematic manner. But they did not. Instead, they spent hours playing cat and mouse, temporarily chasing away the looters.

And...

We decided we had to save ourselves. So we pooled our money and came up with $25,000 to have ten buses come and take us out of the city. Those who didn't have the requisite $45 each were subsidized by those who did have extra money. We waited for 48 hours for the buses, spending the last 12 hours standing outside, sharing the limited water, food and clothes we had. We created a priority boarding area for the sick, elderly and newborn babies. We waited late into the night for the "imminent" arrival of the buses. The buses never arrived. We later learned that the minute they arrived at the city limits, they were commandeered by the military. By Day Four, our hotels had run out of fuel and water. Sanitation was dangerously bad. As the desperation and despair increased, street crime as well as water levels began to rise. The hotels turned us out and locked their doors, telling us that "officials" had told us to report to the convention center to wait for more buses. As we entered the center of the city, we finally encountered the National Guard. The guard members told us we wouldn't be allowed into the Superdome, as the city's primary shelter had descended into a humanitarian and health hellhole. They further told us that the city's only other shelter--the convention center--was also descending into chaos and squalor, and that the police weren't allowing anyone else in.

And...

In short order, the police commander came across the street to address our group. He told us he had a solution: we should walk to the Pontchartrain Expressway and cross the greater New Orleans Bridge to the south side of the Mississippi, where the police had buses lined up to take us out of the city. The crowd cheered and began to move. We called everyone back and explained to the commander that there had been lots of misinformation, so was he sure that there were buses waiting for us. The commander turned to the crowd and stated emphatically, "I swear to you that the buses are there." We organized ourselves, and the 200 of us set off for the bridge with great excitement and hope. As we marched past the convention center, many locals saw our determined and optimistic group, and asked where we were headed. We told them about the great news. Families immediately grabbed their few belongings, and quickly, our numbers doubled and then doubled again. Babies in strollers now joined us, as did people using crutches, elderly clasping walkers and other people in wheelchairs. We marched the two to three miles to the freeway and up the steep incline to the bridge. It now began to pour down rain, but it didn't dampen our enthusiasm. As we approached the bridge, armed sheriffs formed a line across the foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak, they began firing their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd fleeing in various directions. As the crowd scattered and dissipated, a few of us inched forward and managed to engage some of the sheriffs in conversation. We told them of our conversation with the police commander and the commander's assurances. The sheriffs informed us that there were no buses waiting. The commander had lied to us to get us to move. We questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge anyway, especially as there was little traffic on the six-lane highway. They responded that the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans, and there would be no Superdomes in their city. These were code words for: if you are poor and Black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River, and you are not getting out of New Orleans.

<snip>

More: http://www.counterpunch.org/bradshaw09062005.html

Welcome to your future, Winston! You are the new...

:argh:

[WillyT]

1. I'm Gonna Kick This Til...

I fall asleep.

Somebody responds and recommends.

A Mod puts it out of it's misery.

CMON PEOPLE!!!

:wtf:

[Sydnie]

7. I'm with you WillyT

I remember this story when it was first reported. It makes me mad. Aren't these the people that are now suing because they were forced to stay on the ramp for days?

I also remember the story of the college kids (were they from Tenn? hummm) that were watching the coverage and decided to drive down to see what they could do. They found a family and drove them out of there. No one stopped them. They got in and out just fine. What could have taken them so long to respond if these three college kids could go and save a family on their own?

blivet** is so worried about his "historical legacy". He doesn't need to worry. Death and destruction will be what the historians will report about him, in chapter and verse, in multiple volumes.

[WillyT]

9. Amen... And I Plan To Do ALL I Can Do, To Help Them Write That History !!!

Thanks Sydnie!

:yourock:

[EFerrari]

12. Greg Pallast says, the levees are federal and Junior didn't want it

to be a George Bush problem instead of "nature".

Well, it WAS a federal problem, the Army Corp of Engineers have admitted it was and those bastards didn't warn people even when they knew the levees had failed.

They let people die because people can't compete with politics. They knew a whole day in advance the levees failed and they didn't tell anyone.

[bdamomma]

68. Mike Malloy had Greg Palast on yesterday and apparently

there were cracks in the levees and Bush knew about it before the hurricane, and told no one about it. Did anyone else hear this?

[EFerrari]

8. I'll kick with you, WillyT. I was watching Greg Pallast on

Amy Goodman doing a special about NOLA.

My hair didn't used to curl this way.

[WillyT]

11. LoveYa sfexpat2000 !!!

:yourock:

[EFerrari]

16. Back atcha, my friend.

:yourock:

[gumby]

2. Thanks Willy T.

Heard Mike Malloy read this today and wanted the text.

Mike was in Randi's time spot today and can be heard on the White Rose archives.

[WillyT]

42. You're Quite Welcome gumby !!!

:woohoo:

[panader0]

3. Stories like this only re-inforce the idea that racism was at the heart

of the response. What happened to the American idea of Can Do! When people help each other it's heartwarming and when they turn folks away, it turns my stomach.

[WillyT]

4. Unfortunately, Americans Are Basically Followers...

We tend to do what those seemingly in-charge tell us to do.

I'm thinkin that's about to change!

:shrug:

[bdamomma]

69. geez, I hope so.

[EFerrari]

10. Of course it was. Greg Pallast says he worked for the housing

authority in NOLA and the plan was always to get those people out of their housing. And that's just a little piece of this crime.

People have been locked out of homes that weren't touched by the flood.

[Subdivisions]

44. How much you wanna bet that...

the place is already crawling with developers? I saw something on TV somewhere earlier tonight (maybe NBC/Brian Williams) where a brand new mansion was just completed and when they showed it, there was a Mercedes in the driveway and all around it there was the devastated homes flooded following the levy "failure".

[EFerrari]

50. The vultures were probably watching from the time the storm

came in.

[nosillies]

5. k&r&bookmarked

Thank you, WillyT

[WillyT]

43. Love Ya, amybhole !!!

:bounce::loveya::bounce:

[bullimiami]

6. these bastards are murderers. they should be found tried and jailed

for the rest of their miserable lives.

scum. i am ashamed that they breathe american air.

[The Backlash Cometh]

13. Why is Bush still president?

I just can't believe that Americans would tolerate this level of incompetence on American soil.

[EFerrari]

14. We've been defanged. There are no longer any consequences

for being Felon in Chief. They own the media and they own our elections.

I'm glad I got to live through Watergate and see my representative government while it was still representative.

:(

[The Backlash Cometh]

20. The only way to explain why Republicans aren't as alarmed as we

are about this, is that they disconnect easier than we do. They just don't really feel the pain, or better yet, they've become adept at blocking it out by blaming the victim.

[EFerrari]

22. The authoritarian mentally that Dean talks about comes into play.

You're right about that.

But, it's not invulnerable. If those Katrina images keep going out, for example, it will have an effect. First someone has to notice what they're dealing with. This isn't "business as usual", this is the ramp up to fascism.

[Horse with no Name]

21. because they did to the Katrina survivors

what Repubs do best...they demonized them.
It made it easier for people not to care anymore.

[EFerrari]

26. We cannot allow that to stand. It's that simple.

There has to be a wave of revulsion against that kind of propaganda.


We need to be that wave.

[The Backlash Cometh]

56. How do we demonize Republicans?

We've done our best to point out the flaws in their thought-processes, and they still don't get it. I think we need to get more direct. Show them that it's their greed and their strong desire to be right all the time that makes them such terrible leaders. They're not willing to listen to criticism, nor are they willing to look at data that is contrary to their opinions. In fact, they think the goal is to ignore that data, and deny others to see it to.

Is this what the business world is all about? If so, we don't need that kind of thinking in government. We can't afford to make those kinds of mistakes.

[bdamomma]

70. me too, how low can we go with bush, I just hate the guy

we are despised by the world. we have to get this jerk out, he's dangerous.

[KamaAina]

15. This one kind of sums it all up in a nutshell...

WE ARRIVED at the airport on the day a massive airlift had begun. The airport had become another Superdome. We eight were caught in a press of humanity as flights were delayed for several hours while George Bush landed briefly at the airport for a photo op. After being evacuated on a Coast Guard cargo plane, we arrived in San Antonio, Texas.

You don't suppose anyone died from dehydration, exhaustion, what have you, during those "several hours", now do you? Chalk 'em up to the Bush Body Count... :grr: :banghead:

[EFerrari]

19. We need to put up a site "BushBodyCount" and we need to do it now.

I'm so not kidding.

:nuke:

[nashville_brook]

37. i LOVE this idea !!

[EFerrari]

38. I think I'll go buy the name and present it to DU. n/t

[NoSheep]

17. Kick! damn bastards.

[TroubleMan]

18. K&R

nt.

[proud patriot]

23. Thanks for posting this WillyT

:loveya:

[WillyT]

33. Anytime Love !!!

:loveya::bounce::loveya:

[bleever]

24. K&R, because hearing this read again on the radio today,

I couldn't take it.

This hurts really deeply. Fuckin' "Lord of the Flies" in the USA.

[EFerrari]

28. And these *murderers* are the same people who wouldn't steal

an election.

I'm all done keeping my powder dry. Listening to Greg and to Malik and others, it's every bit as awful as we thought and WORSE.

[tnlefty]

62. I'm still reeling from Palast's revelation of the 73,000 displaced from

NOLA who are in the camp of travel trailers who are forced to stay there and are enclosed by barbed wire!!! Damn it these are Americans and this needs to be yelled long and loud.

[Canuckistanian]

25. K&R!

Bookmarked, Scrapbooked and saved!

[bleever]

27. dupe. But kick anyway.

[Dover]

29. Have any journalists picked up on this and investigated/reported

about it? I remember hearing that people were trapped on the bridge and not allowed to cross, but never heard the whole story. OUTRAGEOUS!!!! There should be significant repercussions for this.
This is a story unto itself that needs to be magnified because it sums up the whole racial issue that obviously is always close to the surface, but comes to light during stressful events.
This has GOT to stop!!

I don't have HBO so wasn't able to view Spike Lee's films. Did he cover this episode?

[EFerrari]

32. I don't think he did but I didn't get to watch the second night

all the way through.

This whole crime is being suppressed because it lays squarely at Junior's door. The levee failure is a *federal issue*. And that's what killed people. Well, that and racism from hell.

[SeattleGirl]

30. Mike Malloy read this today when he was guest hosting the

Randi Rhodes show. The part that really pissed me off is when the cops came along to the overpass this group was on and destroyed it. These people had things working for themselves in an amazingly organized way, considering the situation they were in, but then it was destroyed by Johnny Law.

[EFerrari]

31. Mike Malloy, a person.

:)

[Dover]

40. The people of New Orleans were assaulted TWICE. Once by the storm

and levee breakage, and then by those whose job it is to care for them and their safety. That was also apparent with the Superdome incidents...patting males down before entering looking for MATCHES???? That is so lame and transparent. Trying to dehumanize people when they are most vulnerable.
And then, of course, not bothering to send them supplies for DAYS! Bushco likes to use the incompetency excuse for their behavior (as they have done time and time again as people suffer from their actions). But the truth became crystal clear in New Orleans for many. It was intentional.
What might one expect from those who have no connection to their own humanity? They are so unrecognizable as human being that they almost seem to be characatures of evil...commical if not so lethal.

I'm just astonished at the lack of compassion out of these 'authority figures'. That said, I live in the south and know something about how deep the racial divide still is. And I don't know how to cure it in people's hearts. But you can bet if the group on the bridge was white, they would have been treated very differently. Nuff said.

[Ani Yun Wiya]

48. The original group from the hotel...

WERE white.
Well to do tourists and foreigners.
When the group "grew" on the trek to the bridge others joined.
Those who joined the original white folks were black.
Deputy Dawg just could not see lettin' them niggras in.
That being the usual case, the whites were seen as "race traitors".

And so the entire group was treated with the kind of southern "hospitality" that most would rather not discuss.

[Jawja]

67. Bush held up aid

as a bargaining chip to get Gov. Blanco to let him have total military control of the State. She refused; so he withheld aid. He alluded to that fact in his interview with Brian Williams when he said "there were communication problems over the use of the military."

IMHO, his very MENTION of that issue gave away his guilt over his failed attempt to blackmail Blanco into allowing him to invade and occupy the State of Louisiana.

[Eric J in MN]

34. kick

kick

[me b zola]

35. I will never forget

NEVER





:cry:

[nashville_brook]

36. i remember this story -- much welcomed after the "looters are bad people"

threads.

fuckNa i won't ever forget.

[Eric J in MN]

39. The police and military didn't just fail to help, but caused problems

...by blocking exits from New Orleans, stealing buses, and breaking up peaceful assemblies.

[file83]

58. I wonder why the MSM isn't covering this MOST IMPORTANT aspect

of the Katrina story. Has anyone seen CNN/MSNBC/FOX talk about this Martial Law aspect in their extensive 1 year anniversary shows? I haven't.

[TheMadMonk]

41. Has that Police Commander been identified and ...

... confronted with what he did? Prefereably on national televison.

[file83]

59. Someone should have written down his badge number and/or driver's

license number. On the other hand, maybe he would just blame "faulty intelligence" that he was given by some unidentifiable FEMA agent.

[pauldp]

45. K&R !!

[Surya Gayatri]

46. Thanks for posting this, Willy T (K & R)

The outrage is so overwhelming that it literally takes my breath away. How can this story be disseminated to a truly nation-wide audience? SG

[symbolman]

47. NO was nothing more than a PR political stunt

designed to glorify Bush after the fact (despite the fact that they KNEW it was going to happen) -- I knew the fix was in for the PR when as we watched in HORROR knowing the Media could get in, other countries were being booted when asking to help, and all of sudden here comes the HERO, and coincidentally the FOOD and WATER on a military convoy ALL AT THE SAME TIME..

SPLIT SCREEN PR. LIVE.

Napolean on one side, Help on the other. I was never so sick unless you count the 2000 theft as I was at that moment, knowing that babies had died in mother's arms, old folks in wheelchairs with notes pinned to them, people parboiled in attics for day after day, even when we were witnesses to Afghanistan having Yellow waterproof packets of FOOD dropped continuously on them, and food designed for their RELIGIOUS PREFERENCE to boot.

This was a GLORIOUS LEADER moment, and enabled by a Media who should share a suicide cell with Bush and Co at the Hague.

Thank god for Spike Lee, and a giant KICK for this Writing.

[EFerrari]

49. They've locked people out of housing that was never touched

by water.

They knew the levees were breached for twenty four hours and they never warned anyone.

When Junior flew in, people were waiting and dying at the airport because everything stopped for him.

There are no words for these people.

[symbolman]

53. Standard issue in a way BUSH KNEW

from 911 to Katrina..

Along with the nepotism of installing Heckavajob Brownie.

They WANTED this to happen, just another chance to declare Martial Law and float another trial balloon on the backs of the American people, and they always use the POOR to insert fascism, from chipping them to forced birth control and no abortions.

They knew alright, it was nothing more than another opportunity for them to use Halliburton with ROVE as the grand PooBah of rebuilding.

They'll turn it into a DisneyLand for Oil Execs full of whores for oil workers next.

They killed a city for profit and sheer class/racsism.

If anything takes them down I hope it's THIS issue, and we have to trumpet this one from the rooftops.. Bush as literally fiddling like Nero while Rome Drowned.

If I get time I'll have to make a FLASH political ad to keep this issue at the top of the scandal sheet.

[EFerrari]

54. I hope you do. I watched this poor lady walking around

a locked up apartment building with Greg. Her voice changed when she saw her own porch and she sat down on it for a moment of comfort. A year later, you could still read the trauma all over her face and in the fragility of her body.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

51. KIck for those who

Were left to languish, and even worse, not allowed to leave by "law enforcement."

Only law they were enforcing was Jim Crow. :grr: :cry:

[raccoon]

52. K & R. nt

[Search Party]

55. K & R

:mad:

[bonito]

57. k&R

[northamericancitizen]

60. Kick and recommended.

[Joanne98]

61. There's no free lunch in Amerikka! (sarcasm)

[tnlefty]

63. Thanks for posting this. I was listening to Malloy reading it while I was

out running an errand yesterday. I was enraged and in tears all over again and I'm appreciative for the text.

[newspeak]

64. can someone help me on this?

I was listening to AAR yesterday, and it was mentioned that funds had been set up for the levees under Clinton, but the Republican Congress sat on it, and when * came in he redistributed the funds that were to be used for the levees. Does anyone know the history of legislation involving revamping the levees?

[emmadoggy]

65. K & R. I'm speechless.

:wow: :wow: :wow: :grr: :grr: :grr: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[Chemical Bill]

66. One of the most important things written about Katrina.

Thanks for the reminder.

[leveymg]

71. A year later, how many have heard of the Incident at the Gretna Bridge?

Except us.

[Julius Civitatus]

72. Genocidal negligence, racism, mind-numbing stupidity, and fascism

all rolled in a ball of fear and incompetence.

What a SHAME!!!!

I woudl have never expected this sad, pathetic crumbling of civilization in America. This is a shame without bounds.