2 a.m. - KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE: [CNN].
7 a.m. - KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE: [CNN].
LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: "Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow [Lafayette Daily Advertiser]."
9:30 a.m. - MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST-EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW ORLEANS, A CITY WITH ABOUT 500,000 RESIDENTS: "We're facing the storm most of us have feared," said Nagin. "This is going to be an unprecedented event [Times-Picayune]."
4 p.m. - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE WARNING: In the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, "most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. ... At least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed. ...Power outages will last for weeks. ... Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards [National Weather Service]."
AFTERNOON - BUSH, FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center said, "We were briefing them way before landfall. ... It's not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped [Times-Picayune; St. Petersburg Times]."
LATE EVENING - REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE: "Waves crashed atop the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early Monday as Katrina churned closer [Times-Picayune]."
APPROXIMATELY 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS WORTH OF FOOD: [Times-Picayune].
Monday, August 29
5 a.m. - KATRINA ROARS INTO LOUISIANA WITH WINDS UP TO 150 MPH. IT PASSES INTO MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA: [CNN].
8 a.m. - MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: "I've gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we've had one of our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is just a matter of how much. [NBC's Today Show]."
MORNING - BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS NOT KATRINA, BUT IMMIGRATION: "I spoke to Mike Chertoff today - he's the head of the Department of
Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we got us an airplane on - a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, 'Are you working with the governor?' He said, 'You bet we are [White House].'"
MORNING - BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: [White House].
11 a.m. - BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: "This new bill I signed says, if you're a senior and you like the way things are today, you're in good shape, don't change [White House]."
LATE MORNING - LEVEE BREACHED: "A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new 'hurricane proof' Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina's fiercest winds were well north [Times-Picayune]."
FEMA PUTS OUT A NEWS RELEASE LISTING THE PRO-ASSASSINATION REV. PAT ROBERTSON'S OPERATION BLESSING AS ONE OF THE TOP ORGANIZATIONS TO WHICH TO GIVE CASH DONATIONS FOR KATRINA VICTIMS: "It's important that volunteer response is coordinated by the professionals who can direct volunteers with the appropriate skills to the hardest-hit areas where they are needed most," said Brown. .... Here is a list of phone numbers set up solely for cash donations and/or volunteers. Donate cash to: American Red Cross, America's Second Harvest, Humane Society of the United States, Operation Blessing...[FEMA news release]."
11:30 a.m. - MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: "Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as 'this near catastrophic event' but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, 'Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities [AP].'"
2 p.m. - BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: "We've got some folks up here who are concerned about their Social Security or Medicare [White House]."
9 p.m. - RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld "joined Padres President John Moores in the owner's box...at Petco Park [Editor & Publisher]."
BUSH GOES TO BED RATHER THAN CALL IN FEDERAL HELP: At about 8 p.m., Gov. Blanco called Bush and told him that Louisiana needed "everything you've got.....There are a number of steps Bush could have taken, short of a full-scale federal takeover, like ordering the military to take over the pitiful and [by now] largely broken emergency communications system throughout the region. But the president, who was in San Diego preparing to give a speech the next day on the war in Iraq, went to bed [Newsweek]."
Tuesday, August 30
8 a.m. - AIDES DRAW STRAWS TO SEE WHO WILL HAVE TO TELL BUSH HE HAS TO CUT HIS FIVE-WEEK VACATION SHORT: "Bush can be cold and snappish in private, and aides sometimes cringe before the displeasure of the president of the United States, or, as he is known in West Wing jargon, POTUS. The bad news on this early morning, Tuesday, Aug. 30, some 24 hours after Hurricane Katrina had ripped through New Orleans, was that the president would have to cut short his five-week vacation by a couple of days and return to Washington....[Bush] did not growl this time [Newsweek]."
9 a.m. - BUSH ADMITS IRAQ INVASION RELATES TO OIL AT NAVAL BASE IN CALIFORNIA: "President Bush on Tuesday answered growing anti-war protests with a fresh reason for American troops to continue fighting in Iraq: protection of the country's vast oil fields that he said would otherwise fall into the control of terrorist extremists [Associated Press]."
MIDDAY - CHERTOFF FINALLY BECOMES AWARE THAT LEVEE HAS FAILED: "It was on Tuesday that the levee - may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday - that the levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to drain into the city [Meet the Press, Sept. 4, 2005]."
PENTAGON CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION: "Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate National Guard units to handle the hurricane needs [WWL-TV]."
MASS LOOTING REPORTED, SECURITY SHORTAGE CITED: "The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked," Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. "We're using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on rooftops [Associated Press]."
U.S.S. BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED: "The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can make its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan rode out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents. But now the Bataan's hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty [Chicago Tribune]."
3 p.m. - BUSH TRIES TO PLAY GUITAR WITH COUNTRY SINGER MARK WILLIS: In the photo, Willis looks like he's trying to take the guitar back before Bush hurts himself [AP].
EVENING - BUSH RETURNS TO TEXAS FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION BEFORE FLYING TO HIS OFFICE ON WEDNESDAY: [AP].
Wednesday, August 31
TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE: "A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. 'We pee on the floor. We are like animals,' said Taffany Smith, 25, as she cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry. ... By Wednesday, it had degenerated into horror. ... At least two people, including a child, have been raped. At least three people have died, including one man who jumped 50 feet to his death, saying he had nothing left to live for. There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming [Los Angeles Times].'"
BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL RESPONSE: Bush flies to Washington to "begin work...with a task force that will coordinate the work of 14 federal
agencies involved in the relief effort [New York Times]."
JEFFERSON PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY GONE: "Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering the help nearly as fast as it is needed [WWL-TV]."
80,000 BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS: Former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy "estimated 80,000 were trapped in the flooded city and urged President Bush to send more troops [Reuters]."
3,000 STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER: "With 3,000 or more evacuees stranded at the convention center - and with no apparent contingency plan or authority to deal with them - collecting a body was no one's priority. ... Some had been at the convention center since Tuesday morning but had received no food, water or instructions [Times-Picayune]."
5 p.m. - BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA: "Nothing about the president's demeanor... - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis [New York Times]."
8 p.m. - CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW: "On Wednesday night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at Spamalot!, the Monty Python musical, at the Shubert, when the lights went up after the performance [New York Post]."
9 p.m. - FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: "I must say, this storm is much, much bigger than anyone expected [CNN]."
CHENEY REMAINS ON VACATION IN WYOMING: The vice president has not said a word publicly about Katrina as he remained on vacation all week in Wyoming. Reports showed that Cheney was also finalizing the purchase of a $2.9 million mansion in Maryland near Rumsfeld's mansion. The nine-acre estate includes "ornamental pools and extensive gardens," according to news reports. Cheney was not even expected to visit the Gulf Coast until Sept. 8 [Salon].
Thursday, September 1
8AM - BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK: "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." That was despite warnings for years from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the levees could break [Washington Post].
CONDOLEEZZA RICE VISITS U.S. OPEN: "Rice, [in New York] on three days' vacation to shop and see the U.S. Open, hitting some balls with retired champ Monica Seles at the Indoor Tennis Club at Grand
Central [New York Post]."
STILL NO COMMAND AND CONTROL ESTABLISHED: Terry Ebbert, New Orleans Homeland Security Director: "This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans [Fox News]."
2 p.m. - MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES "DESPERATE SOS" TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: "This is a desperate SOS. Right now, we are out of resources at the convention center and don't anticipate enough buses. We need buses. Currently, the convention center is unsanitary and unsafe, and we're running out of supplies [Guardian]."
MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF VIOLENCE: "I've had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they're banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I've had no reports of that [CNN]."
CHERTOFF INSISTS THERE IS NO CRISIS IN NEW ORLEANS: The Homeland Security head denied on National Public Radio "that there was any crisis at the New Orleans convention center at the very hour reporters were finding dead bodies and abandoned, starving people there [Washington Post]."
NEW ORLEANS DESCENDS INTO 'ANARCHY:' "Storm victims were raped and beaten, fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. 'This is a desperate SOS,' the mayor said [AP]."
CONDOLEEZZA RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING: "Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes [we've confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo's Robin Givhan]. A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice's timing, went up to the secretary of state and reportedly shouted, 'How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!' Rice reportedly had the woman thrown out of the store by security [Manhattan Gawker]."
MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY LEARNS OF EVACUEES IN CONVENTION CENTER: "We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need [CNN]."
U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER DENNIS HASTERT [R-ILL.] HINTS AT NO FEDERAL MONEY TO REBUILD NEW ORLEANS: "It makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said of federal assistance for hurricane-devastated New Orleans [The Associated Press]."
Friday, September 2
MORNING - ROVE-LED CAMPAIGN TO BLAME LOCAL OFFICIALS BEGINS: As the reality of the devastation finally sinks in, Bush and Rove spend much time devising a political plan to divert blame for the slow response from the White House. "Under the command of President Bush's two senior political advisers, the White House rolled out a plan...to contain the political damage from the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina." The core of the strategy was "to shift the blame away from the White House and toward officials of New Orleans and Louisiana [New York Times, Newsweek]."
9:35 a.m. - BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job [White House]."
10 a.m. - BUSH STAGES PHOTO-OP 'BRIEFING:' Coast Guard helicopters and crew diverted to act as backdrop for Bush's photo-op.
BUSH VISIT DELAYS FOOD AID: "Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush's visit to New Orleans, officials said [Times-Picayune]."
LEVEE REPAIR WORK ORCHESTRATED FOR BUSH'S VISIT: Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu said, "Touring this critical site yesterday with the president, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment [Sen. Mary Landrieu]."
BUSH USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP: A group of 1,000 firefighters convened in Atlanta to volunteer with the Katrina relief efforts. Of those, "a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas [Salt Lake Tribune; Reuters]."
3 p.m. - BUSH 'SATISFIED' WITH THE RESPONSE: "I am satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with all the results [AP]."
Saturday, September 3
EARLY MORNING - SENIOR BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LIES TO WASHINGTON POST, CLAIMS GOV. BLANCO NEVER DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY: The Post reported in its Sunday edition, 'As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.' The White House was forced to issue a correction hours later [Washington Post]."
9 a.m. - BUSH SAYS HE DOESN'T WANT TO PLAY 'BLAME GAME,' THEN BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS: "[T]he magnitude of responding to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the size of Great Britain has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need [White House]."
REPUBLICAN SENATOR BLAMES VICTIMS FOR STAYING IN STORM: U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum [R-Pa.] told a television station that hurricane victims who "chose" to stay behind should face sanctions. Most people who remained behind did not own cars. "I mean, you have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving," Santorum said [Associated Press].
Sunday, September 4
10 a.m. - LOUISIANA OFFICIAL TELLS NATIONAL TELEVISION AUDIENCE ABOUT STATE BEING ABANDONED BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, ELDERLY WOMAN WHO DROWNED WAITING FOR HELP FOR FIVE DAYS: "Jefferson Parish, La., President Aaron Broussard told a heartbreaking story Sunday of a woman who pleaded for help, but drowned before it came.....On NBC's 'Meet the Press' Sunday morning, Broussard complained bitterly about the slow federal response to the New Orleans flood, demanding investigations and resignations. 'We have been abandoned by our own country,' Broussard said. 'Whoever is at the top of this totem pole, that totem pole needs to be chain-sawed off, and we've got to start with some new leadership.'...Then the parish president put the tragedy on a personal level. He said the man who runs the building where he is based spoke every day last week to his mother, who was trapped in a nursing home in St. Bernard, near the city. '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.' Breaking into sobs, Broussard said, 'And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night [The Dallas Morning News].'"
ON SAME SHOW, RUSSERT CONFRONTS CHERTOFF: Meet the Press host Tim Russert opened an interview with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff with a curt, "Are you, or anybody who reports to you, considering resignation?" Even on Fox News, Geraldo Rivera called the situation "Dante's Inferno" and said it was "the worst thing I've seen in a civilized nation." Even right-wing Republican Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, wrote in a memo distributed to top party members in the previous week, "The American people overwhelmingly know that the current situation is totally unacceptable. It is a mistake to get trapped into defending the systems and processes which clearly failed [Meet the Press, Bill O'Reilly Show, Washington Post]."
EVEN CASTRO DID A BETTER EVACUATION JOB, EZINE NOTES: "When an especially powerful hurricane hit that island [Cuba] last year, the Castro government, abetted by neighborhood citizen committees and local Communist party cadres, evacuated 1.3 million people, more than 10 percent of the country's population, with not a single life lost, a heartening feat that went largely unmentioned in the U.S. press [Znet]."
7 a.m. - KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE: [CNN].
LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: "Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow [Lafayette Daily Advertiser]."
9:30 a.m. - MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST-EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW ORLEANS, A CITY WITH ABOUT 500,000 RESIDENTS: "We're facing the storm most of us have feared," said Nagin. "This is going to be an unprecedented event [Times-Picayune]."
4 p.m. - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE WARNING: In the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, "most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. ... At least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed. ...Power outages will last for weeks. ... Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards [National Weather Service]."
AFTERNOON - BUSH, FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center said, "We were briefing them way before landfall. ... It's not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped [Times-Picayune; St. Petersburg Times]."
LATE EVENING - REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE: "Waves crashed atop the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early Monday as Katrina churned closer [Times-Picayune]."
APPROXIMATELY 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS WORTH OF FOOD: [Times-Picayune].
Monday, August 29
5 a.m. - KATRINA ROARS INTO LOUISIANA WITH WINDS UP TO 150 MPH. IT PASSES INTO MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA: [CNN].
8 a.m. - MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: "I've gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we've had one of our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is just a matter of how much. [NBC's Today Show]."
MORNING - BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS NOT KATRINA, BUT IMMIGRATION: "I spoke to Mike Chertoff today - he's the head of the Department of
Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we got us an airplane on - a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, 'Are you working with the governor?' He said, 'You bet we are [White House].'"
MORNING - BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: [White House].
11 a.m. - BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: "This new bill I signed says, if you're a senior and you like the way things are today, you're in good shape, don't change [White House]."
LATE MORNING - LEVEE BREACHED: "A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new 'hurricane proof' Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina's fiercest winds were well north [Times-Picayune]."
FEMA PUTS OUT A NEWS RELEASE LISTING THE PRO-ASSASSINATION REV. PAT ROBERTSON'S OPERATION BLESSING AS ONE OF THE TOP ORGANIZATIONS TO WHICH TO GIVE CASH DONATIONS FOR KATRINA VICTIMS: "It's important that volunteer response is coordinated by the professionals who can direct volunteers with the appropriate skills to the hardest-hit areas where they are needed most," said Brown. .... Here is a list of phone numbers set up solely for cash donations and/or volunteers. Donate cash to: American Red Cross, America's Second Harvest, Humane Society of the United States, Operation Blessing...[FEMA news release]."
11:30 a.m. - MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: "Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as 'this near catastrophic event' but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, 'Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities [AP].'"
2 p.m. - BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: "We've got some folks up here who are concerned about their Social Security or Medicare [White House]."
9 p.m. - RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld "joined Padres President John Moores in the owner's box...at Petco Park [Editor & Publisher]."
BUSH GOES TO BED RATHER THAN CALL IN FEDERAL HELP: At about 8 p.m., Gov. Blanco called Bush and told him that Louisiana needed "everything you've got.....There are a number of steps Bush could have taken, short of a full-scale federal takeover, like ordering the military to take over the pitiful and [by now] largely broken emergency communications system throughout the region. But the president, who was in San Diego preparing to give a speech the next day on the war in Iraq, went to bed [Newsweek]."
Tuesday, August 30
8 a.m. - AIDES DRAW STRAWS TO SEE WHO WILL HAVE TO TELL BUSH HE HAS TO CUT HIS FIVE-WEEK VACATION SHORT: "Bush can be cold and snappish in private, and aides sometimes cringe before the displeasure of the president of the United States, or, as he is known in West Wing jargon, POTUS. The bad news on this early morning, Tuesday, Aug. 30, some 24 hours after Hurricane Katrina had ripped through New Orleans, was that the president would have to cut short his five-week vacation by a couple of days and return to Washington....[Bush] did not growl this time [Newsweek]."
MIDDAY - CHERTOFF FINALLY BECOMES AWARE THAT LEVEE HAS FAILED: "It was on Tuesday that the levee - may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday - that the levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to drain into the city [Meet the Press, Sept. 4, 2005]."
PENTAGON CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION: "Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate National Guard units to handle the hurricane needs [WWL-TV]."
MASS LOOTING REPORTED, SECURITY SHORTAGE CITED: "The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked," Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. "We're using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on rooftops [Associated Press]."
U.S.S. BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED: "The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can make its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan rode out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents. But now the Bataan's hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty [Chicago Tribune]."
3 p.m. - BUSH TRIES TO PLAY GUITAR WITH COUNTRY SINGER MARK WILLIS: In the photo, Willis looks like he's trying to take the guitar back before Bush hurts himself [AP].
EVENING - BUSH RETURNS TO TEXAS FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION BEFORE FLYING TO HIS OFFICE ON WEDNESDAY: [AP].
Wednesday, August 31
TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE: "A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. 'We pee on the floor. We are like animals,' said Taffany Smith, 25, as she cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry. ... By Wednesday, it had degenerated into horror. ... At least two people, including a child, have been raped. At least three people have died, including one man who jumped 50 feet to his death, saying he had nothing left to live for. There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming [Los Angeles Times].'"
BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL RESPONSE: Bush flies to Washington to "begin work...with a task force that will coordinate the work of 14 federal
agencies involved in the relief effort [New York Times]."
JEFFERSON PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY GONE: "Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering the help nearly as fast as it is needed [WWL-TV]."
80,000 BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS: Former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy "estimated 80,000 were trapped in the flooded city and urged President Bush to send more troops [Reuters]."
3,000 STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER: "With 3,000 or more evacuees stranded at the convention center - and with no apparent contingency plan or authority to deal with them - collecting a body was no one's priority. ... Some had been at the convention center since Tuesday morning but had received no food, water or instructions [Times-Picayune]."
5 p.m. - BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA: "Nothing about the president's demeanor... - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis [New York Times]."
8 p.m. - CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW: "On Wednesday night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at Spamalot!, the Monty Python musical, at the Shubert, when the lights went up after the performance [New York Post]."
9 p.m. - FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: "I must say, this storm is much, much bigger than anyone expected [CNN]."
CHENEY REMAINS ON VACATION IN WYOMING: The vice president has not said a word publicly about Katrina as he remained on vacation all week in Wyoming. Reports showed that Cheney was also finalizing the purchase of a $2.9 million mansion in Maryland near Rumsfeld's mansion. The nine-acre estate includes "ornamental pools and extensive gardens," according to news reports. Cheney was not even expected to visit the Gulf Coast until Sept. 8 [Salon].
Thursday, September 1
8AM - BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK: "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." That was despite warnings for years from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the levees could break [Washington Post].
CONDOLEEZZA RICE VISITS U.S. OPEN: "Rice, [in New York] on three days' vacation to shop and see the U.S. Open, hitting some balls with retired champ Monica Seles at the Indoor Tennis Club at Grand
Central [New York Post]."
STILL NO COMMAND AND CONTROL ESTABLISHED: Terry Ebbert, New Orleans Homeland Security Director: "This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans [Fox News]."
2 p.m. - MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES "DESPERATE SOS" TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: "This is a desperate SOS. Right now, we are out of resources at the convention center and don't anticipate enough buses. We need buses. Currently, the convention center is unsanitary and unsafe, and we're running out of supplies [Guardian]."
MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF VIOLENCE: "I've had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they're banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I've had no reports of that [CNN]."
CHERTOFF INSISTS THERE IS NO CRISIS IN NEW ORLEANS: The Homeland Security head denied on National Public Radio "that there was any crisis at the New Orleans convention center at the very hour reporters were finding dead bodies and abandoned, starving people there [Washington Post]."
NEW ORLEANS DESCENDS INTO 'ANARCHY:' "Storm victims were raped and beaten, fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. 'This is a desperate SOS,' the mayor said [AP]."
CONDOLEEZZA RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING: "Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes [we've confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo's Robin Givhan]. A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice's timing, went up to the secretary of state and reportedly shouted, 'How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!' Rice reportedly had the woman thrown out of the store by security [Manhattan Gawker]."
MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY LEARNS OF EVACUEES IN CONVENTION CENTER: "We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need [CNN]."
U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER DENNIS HASTERT [R-ILL.] HINTS AT NO FEDERAL MONEY TO REBUILD NEW ORLEANS: "It makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said of federal assistance for hurricane-devastated New Orleans [The Associated Press]."
Friday, September 2
MORNING - ROVE-LED CAMPAIGN TO BLAME LOCAL OFFICIALS BEGINS: As the reality of the devastation finally sinks in, Bush and Rove spend much time devising a political plan to divert blame for the slow response from the White House. "Under the command of President Bush's two senior political advisers, the White House rolled out a plan...to contain the political damage from the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina." The core of the strategy was "to shift the blame away from the White House and toward officials of New Orleans and Louisiana [New York Times, Newsweek]."
9:35 a.m. - BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job [White House]."
10 a.m. - BUSH STAGES PHOTO-OP 'BRIEFING:' Coast Guard helicopters and crew diverted to act as backdrop for Bush's photo-op.
BUSH VISIT DELAYS FOOD AID: "Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush's visit to New Orleans, officials said [Times-Picayune]."
LEVEE REPAIR WORK ORCHESTRATED FOR BUSH'S VISIT: Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu said, "Touring this critical site yesterday with the president, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment [Sen. Mary Landrieu]."
BUSH USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP: A group of 1,000 firefighters convened in Atlanta to volunteer with the Katrina relief efforts. Of those, "a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas [Salt Lake Tribune; Reuters]."
3 p.m. - BUSH 'SATISFIED' WITH THE RESPONSE: "I am satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with all the results [AP]."
Saturday, September 3
EARLY MORNING - SENIOR BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LIES TO WASHINGTON POST, CLAIMS GOV. BLANCO NEVER DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY: The Post reported in its Sunday edition, 'As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.' The White House was forced to issue a correction hours later [Washington Post]."
9 a.m. - BUSH SAYS HE DOESN'T WANT TO PLAY 'BLAME GAME,' THEN BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS: "[T]he magnitude of responding to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the size of Great Britain has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need [White House]."
REPUBLICAN SENATOR BLAMES VICTIMS FOR STAYING IN STORM: U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum [R-Pa.] told a television station that hurricane victims who "chose" to stay behind should face sanctions. Most people who remained behind did not own cars. "I mean, you have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving," Santorum said [Associated Press].
Sunday, September 4
10 a.m. - LOUISIANA OFFICIAL TELLS NATIONAL TELEVISION AUDIENCE ABOUT STATE BEING ABANDONED BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, ELDERLY WOMAN WHO DROWNED WAITING FOR HELP FOR FIVE DAYS: "Jefferson Parish, La., President Aaron Broussard told a heartbreaking story Sunday of a woman who pleaded for help, but drowned before it came.....On NBC's 'Meet the Press' Sunday morning, Broussard complained bitterly about the slow federal response to the New Orleans flood, demanding investigations and resignations. 'We have been abandoned by our own country,' Broussard said. 'Whoever is at the top of this totem pole, that totem pole needs to be chain-sawed off, and we've got to start with some new leadership.'...Then the parish president put the tragedy on a personal level. He said the man who runs the building where he is based spoke every day last week to his mother, who was trapped in a nursing home in St. Bernard, near the city. '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.' Breaking into sobs, Broussard said, 'And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night [The Dallas Morning News].'"
ON SAME SHOW, RUSSERT CONFRONTS CHERTOFF: Meet the Press host Tim Russert opened an interview with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff with a curt, "Are you, or anybody who reports to you, considering resignation?" Even on Fox News, Geraldo Rivera called the situation "Dante's Inferno" and said it was "the worst thing I've seen in a civilized nation." Even right-wing Republican Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, wrote in a memo distributed to top party members in the previous week, "The American people overwhelmingly know that the current situation is totally unacceptable. It is a mistake to get trapped into defending the systems and processes which clearly failed [Meet the Press, Bill O'Reilly Show, Washington Post]."
EVEN CASTRO DID A BETTER EVACUATION JOB, EZINE NOTES: "When an especially powerful hurricane hit that island [Cuba] last year, the Castro government, abetted by neighborhood citizen committees and local Communist party cadres, evacuated 1.3 million people, more than 10 percent of the country's population, with not a single life lost, a heartening feat that went largely unmentioned in the U.S. press [Znet]."
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